Once he was out in the world, Ryunosuke's first priority was to clear his debts. Lugging his massive suitcase, he made a beeline for the home of his creditors.
The Sakuragi-gumi.
This was the stronghold of the organization that had issued Ryunosuke's loan—a yakuza syndicate boasting nearly a thousand members. While they couldn't be compared to the "Big Four Gangs" of Tokyo, their influence was that of local sovereigns. They were the kind of group that demanded absolute subservience from anyone stepping into their territory.
Sakuragi Kazuhiko was the father of Sakuragi Yaeka and the undisputed boss of the organization. His right-hand man was Kirishima, the very person who had dragged Ryunosuke back in the past.
Ryunosuke now sat formally on the tatami mats; he had come with the sole, pure intention of repayment. Kazuhiko had briefly suggested that Ryunosuke shouldn't be in such a rush—after all, what if he still needed the cash? In truth, Kazuhiko was simply hungry for the interest.
If Ryunosuke settled the debt this year, he owed 96 million Yen—up from an initial loan of 87 million. If he delayed another year, it would climb to 108 million, and the year after that, the interest would skyrocket to 120 million.
Kazuhiko felt it was a bit of a loss to have Ryunosuke pay so soon. His wife was currently undergoing expensive treatment at a hospital, and as a husband, he was under pressure to bring in more capital.
However, Ryunosuke politely declined the "generosity" and insisted on paying in full. He was no fool; Kazuhiko calculated interest with lethal precision, and since Ryunosuke was even more protective of his own wealth, he knew exactly how much he would lose by waiting another year.
Seeing his resolve, Kazuhiko relented. One doesn't exactly block the path of someone coming to pay their debts, do they? So, with a hint of reluctance at the loss of two years' worth of interest, he accepted the money.
Ryunosuke pushed the suitcase forward. Inside was 40 million Yen in cash given to him by Manabu before his departure. Combined with the 40 million check from Ai and his royalty check worth 36 million, the total came to 116 million Yen—more than enough to kill the debt.
His royalties were set at the highest industry standard of 10%. This was thanks to Hiyori's intervention; normally, a new author would start at 5%, and even a breakout talent like Ryunosuke would be lucky to see 6%.
In Japan, royalties for physical books range from 6% to 10%, and this was Ryunosuke's focus. Digital e-books, by contrast, offer 15% to 30%.
Why the massive gap?
E-books have no printing costs. However, despite the higher percentage, digital works are often considered the least valuable. If ten people read your novel to the end, an author might only see 2 Yen. The platforms swallow about 70% of the profit, leaving the author as little more than a digital laborer.
Physical books are a different breed. A publisher lives and dies with the author. If sales tank, the publisher loses money, which is why human editors perform such rigorous curation. This has created a unique market: a physical book is a synonym for quality. If you want high-quality literature, you buy the print version. Conversely, e-books are often seen as a "dumping ground" where anyone can post; traffic is unstable, and many authors vanish after 100,000 words once the initial novelty wears off and the quick cash dries up.
Physical publishing guarantees quality because if an author stops writing, an editor will literally show up at their house and "lock" them in a room until the manuscript is finished.
Because Ryunosuke earned 10%, with a book price of 960 Yen, he made 96 Yen per copy. His novel, 5 Centimeters per Second, had already surpassed 5 million copies in sales, meaning his earnings were roughly 480 million Yen.
As for I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, Ryunosuke had only just received about 36 million Yen since only the first volume was out. He drew from that portion specifically to settle his debt.
The reason he didn't count Your Lie in April was because he had suffered a "collision" with reality. In this world, there actually existed people named Arima Kousei and Miyazono Kaori. One of his main reasons for leaving school was to fix this mess. Ryunosuke massaged his aching head. When he was writing, he was only thinking about his debt and had forgotten that this was a crossover anime world. Fortunately, the problem wasn't insurmountable yet.
Kousei was only 9 years old this year. He wouldn't enter the piano competition that triggered the original plot until he was 10. There was still a chance to save him. If necessary, Ryunosuke would derail the plot entirely so Kousei never competed, or he would simply defeat the boy himself. That way, if anyone sued, he could argue that while the names were the same, the experiences were different.
Only Kaori's part was difficult, as her physical condition truly mirrored the illness in the novel. He would have to brainstorm a solution for that later...
Once the debt was cleared, Kazuhiko produced the house deed, stamped it, and declared that the property used as collateral was now free and returned to him. Ryunosuke accepted it with both hands.
The crushing weight of debt was gone. Ryunosuke leaned back in his chair, feeling his shoulders suddenly become light and relaxed. He couldn't stop himself from laughing. Who else could truly understand the ecstasy of a debt suddenly vanishing? Perhaps only a fellow debtor could relate.
At that exact moment, the front door swung open. Kirishima walked in leading a small girl; he had just picked up the boss's daughter from elementary school and returned to the Sakuragi-gumi headquarters.
Ryunosuke raised a hand in greeting. "Yo! Kirishima-san, long time no see."
Kirishima smiled, though it looked terrifyingly fierce. Make no mistake—it wasn't intentional; after years of threatening people for a living, a scary grin had simply become his natural reflex. Despite the look, he was genuinely glad to see Ryunosuke again.