Time flew by, and soon it was July 15th, the release day for the paperback edition of The Setting Sun.
Today, Yukinoshita Shizuku was dressed in a long, aqua-colored dress with a white collar. Her usual loose, long hair was tied into fluffy twin braids. Every time she turned back to look at Tsushima Kagami, the braids would swing—sometimes resting against her chest, sometimes bouncing behind her shoulders—looking utterly adorable.
After the two finished lunch at home, they went out to the nearby Fujiwara Bookstore. As soon as they entered, they saw Mr. Tanaka conversing with a customer.
Seeing the two walk in, Tanaka guided his customer to the section they were looking for, then made his way over to Tsushima Kagami and Shizuku.
"Congratulations on the paperback release of The Setting Sun today, Yukinoshita-sensei," Tanaka congratulated them with a smile.
Before Tsushima Kagami could speak, Yukinoshita Shizuku asked, "Tanaka-san, how are the sales of The Setting Sun in the store today?"
"Ah, since our store only took in fifty copies, they were all sold out this morning."
"I heard many bookstores ran out in the morning."
"Many customers even came specifically to private bookstores like ours to try their luck."
"Just now, Boss Fujiwara called the publisher to order another batch, but they said they couldn't print them fast enough and had to prioritize supplying the large chain bookstores."
"Ah, then doesn't that mean we can't buy any either?"
Listening to Tanaka describe the delightful sales situation, Yukinoshita Shizuku was initially beaming with joy. However, upon hearing that they sold out in the morning and supply couldn't keep up, her face fell.
"Miss Yukinoshita, you don't need to worry," Tanaka said. "When the stock arrived last night, we set yours aside. Just like always, three copies, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Tanaka-san."
As Tanaka spoke, he walked over to Boss Fujiwara.
Boss Fujiwara smiled and took out three pre-packaged copies of The Setting Sun from the side, speaking softly. "Congratulations on the massive success of your book, Yukinoshita-sensei."
Watching Yukinoshita Shizuku accept the books, Tsushima Kagami also smiled and said, "Thank you, Fujiwara-san and Tanaka-san, for reserving them for us. Otherwise, we'd have to run all over the place and might not even find them."
"It's the least we could do. I never expected a figure like you to frequent our small shop. It simply brings light to our humble dwelling!"
After the pleasantries, both Boss Fujiwara and Tanaka secretly pulled out a copy of The Setting Sun and handed them to Tsushima Kagami with both hands.
"Please, could you sign these for us?"
Since they were all acquaintances, Tsushima Kagami didn't say much. He took the books, signed his name, and handed them back.
The two received them respectfully with both hands.
After bidding farewell to Boss Fujiwara and Tanaka, Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku took the subway to the Maruzen Marunouchi Main Store near Tokyo Station.
Walking to the entrance, they saw Sayuri, Machida Sonoko, and Kosaka Akane waiting there.
"Kagami-kun, Shizuku-chan, over here!"
The group had gotten to know each other during the previous hospital visit. Since they called Tsushima Kagami by his given name, calling Yukinoshita Shizuku by her surname felt a bit odd. Coupled with the fact that they were all naturally friendly people, they simply started calling her Shizuku as well.
When the group finally met up, Tsushima Kagami noticed Kosaka Akane's outfit for the day. She wore a pale purple long dress with a printed white T-shirt. Her usual straight hair, typically held back by a white headband, was today tied up into a high ponytail with a white scrunchie.
Machida Sonoko wore casual denim trousers and a plain shirt, maintaining her tomboyish look. If one hadn't seen the original anime, almost anyone would misjudge her appearance.
Sayuri, on the other hand, wore a pink short-sleeved T-shirt with apricot-colored overalls over it. The black ribbons she usually used for her twin tails were replaced today with red ones, adorned with two small bell decorations at the ends.
After greeting each other, they walked into the store together. They ordered some drinks in the café area before finding seats to sit down.
"Kagami-kun, did you guys manage to buy the book?" Sayuri asked. "We went to several stores and couldn't buy a single copy."
After speaking, Sayuri looked around at the café and the adjacent reading area. Many people were gathered in groups reading The Setting Sun, most of them young people.
At this moment, Yukinoshita Shizuku took out The Setting Sun from her bag.
"This was reserved for us by a friendly shop owner; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to buy it either. I didn't expect it to sell so well."
"You guys don't know yet, do you?"
Kosaka Akane smiled and opened her shoulder bag, taking out a stack of newspapers and magazines, which she placed on the table. The group gathered around, each picking one up to read.
Asahi Shimbun: "The Setting Sun precisely captures the nihilism, hesitation, and beauty of decadence during the collapse of the old class system. It is the pinnacle of 20th-century Japanese aesthetics."
Yomiuri Shimbun: "This is a pathological report on a transitional era. The protagonist Kazuko's 'Love and Revolution' and Naoji's (the younger brother) self-destruction symbolize two extreme choices for people in the postwar era: struggling to survive or giving up completely."
Even Shukan Bunshun, rarely serious, commented in its social section: "The Setting Sun is a 'paradox where depravity and innocence coexist,' finding poetry in decadence and eternity in destruction."
In addition to these, there were various reviews in literary magazines, and even several women's weeklies mentioned Kazuko's female revolution in The Setting Sun.
Looking at these "tofu-block" clippings that Kosaka Akane had cut out from her grandfather, Professor Kosaka's, newspapers and magazines, Tsushima Kagami scratched his head.
"It doesn't seem like Kobayashi-san paid for this many internet bots and ads?"
"What need is there for ads?"
Kosaka Akane took a copy of The Setting Sun from Yukinoshita Shizuku's hand, raised it, and smiled at Tsushima Kagami. "Grandfather said that the young people today revere this book as a 'Bible for the Youth Soul.' Especially among students—boys are embarrassed to even talk to girls if they haven't memorized a few classic lines from it."
*
Inside the Editorial Department of Shinchosha.
The landline phones in the editorial hall rang incessantly today. From the start of the work day, they hadn't stopped once.
"Hello, this is the Shinchosha Editorial Department."
"What? You say the Maruzen Marunouchi Main Store wants another 2,000 copies of The Setting Sun?"
"Sorry, the printing plant is still printing; we don't have that many at the moment."
"Moshi moshi, Kinokuniya Shinjuku Main Store, is it? You want another 1,500 copies?"
"Sorry, I'm afraid we don't have that many right now."
Seeing that all the editors in the department had turned into telephone operators today, Kobayashi Tomoaki, sitting in his small office, was restless. He tapped his fingers on his desk continuously; he hadn't even taken a sip of his jasmine tea all morning.
Just then, an editor knocked and pushed the door open directly.
"Editor-in-Chief Kobayashi, this is the sales report compiled by our colleagues in the Statistics Section this morning."
Kobayashi Tomoaki immediately stood up, grabbed the sales sheet, and hurriedly looked it over.
"What? The initial print run of 80,000 copies sold out in one morning? Are you sure the colleagues in Statistics didn't make a mistake?"
The editor looked outside at the other editors still busy answering calls from various bookstores, then spoke with certainty.
"There can be no mistake."
Kobayashi Tomoaki looked at his busy colleagues outside and felt that, indeed, there shouldn't be a mistake.
Just as Kobayashi Tomoaki was about to get excited, he heard an editor outside pick up a phone and suddenly shout loudly.
"What? The printing plant is out of paper?"
"Bakayarou! What are you people good for!"
"I don't care what method you use—borrow it from other factories if you have to! Can you afford to take responsibility for this loss?!"
After speaking, the editor hung up the phone in a rage and ran into Kobayashi Tomoaki's office.
"What happened?"
"I'm sorry, Editor-in-Chief Kobayashi. The printing plant says they are temporarily out of paper."
"How can a printing plant run out of paper? What kind of printing plant are they running!"
Amidst Kobayashi Tomoaki's angry questioning, the editor hurriedly explained.
"The plant said the paper for the first run used up the last of their stock. New paper won't be delivered until tonight. They didn't expect the initial run of 80,000 copies to sell out in a single morning. Normally, 80,000 copies of a bestseller would take about a week to sell."
"Bakayarou!"
Upon hearing this, Kobayashi Tomoaki was so angry he uttered the foulest curse of his life.
He had calculated everything, but he never expected the chain to drop at the printing stage. Tonight... if they had to wait until tonight for new paper, how many fewer copies of The Setting Sun would be printed?
How much of a loss would that be?
He suddenly collapsed weakly back into his chair.
"Editor-in-Chief Kobayashi, are you alright?"
Kobayashi Tomoaki waved his hand.
"Go quickly. Contact other printing plants we've worked with and see if we can borrow some paper of the same specifications to transfer over and start printing sooner."
"Yes!"
Watching the two editors leave, Kobayashi Tomoaki leaned back in his chair again. Looking at the busy crowd outside, he felt a bit helpless.
Right now, only four words occupied his mind—Paper is expensive in Tokyo!
____
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