— — — — — —
At Night—
"I really shouldn't be drinking cappuccinos this late again. Sigh~"
No matter how he lay down, Oikawa couldn't fall asleep. In the end, he sat up and scrolled through his phone for a while.
Then he saw messages from Utako Kasumi.
"Senpai! I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."
"You always say you're more handsome than Yamaki Kento. Guess I'll finally find out if you've been bluffing."
Oikawa lay back down, holding his phone high above his face as he typed a reply.
"So you're a looks person, huh? Little girl, I have to tell you a universal truth today."
"In this world, no one better-looking than me writes light novels as well as I do. And no one who writes as well as I do looks better than me."
A long pause followed.
Utaha finally replied: "Senpai, good night."
And then… nothing.
Oikawa set his phone aside and lifted Sable into the air.
After teasing it for a bit, he gave an order, "Bark once."
"Woof!"
"Twice!"
"Woof woof!"
Now intrigued, Oikawa sat up again and tried pushing it further. "Go on, bring me the Switch from the couch."
Sable tilted his head, looking adorably clueless.
"Idiot. Guess I overestimated you."
Oikawa sighed, disappointed.
Looks like training a dog to run errands to the convenience store was impossible, at least for now.
No spark at all.
"Wait… I don't even know if you're male or female."
He picked the dog up and checked. Male.
Setting him down, Oikawa yawned. Before long, he drifted off to sleep.
Sable stared at him for quite a while, as if debating something dangerous… but in the end, he simply crawled under the covers and curled up beside his arm.
...
..
Because of the Obon holiday, the Shinkansen was much more crowded than last time. It wasn't packed to the brim, but most of the seats were taken.
Taking out his phone, Oikawa sent a message to Ayame Kagurazaka, "I'm on the Shinkansen. Should be at Dengeki Bunko in about an hour and a half."
Two hundred signed copies.
No, wait, plus the twenty he promised in the group chat… that made it 220.
After today, he had a feeling his arm wouldn't be up for any strenuous activity for quite a while.
He was starting to regret giving such promises.
With a sigh, Oikawa opened Pokémon and started playing.
...
Dozens of kilometers flew by. The Shinkansen reached Chiyoda in just thirty minutes.
After getting off, he navigated the route with practiced ease and boarded a local train.
He checked the time: 10:20.
He should be able to start signing before eleven.
Soon enough, the Dengeki Bunko office building came into view again. Same approach as last time, just walk straight in like you belong there.
As he passed the front desk, Oikawa flashed the receptionist a friendly smile before stepping into the elevator.
The receptionist froze for a moment, then her face lit up with excitement.
On her desk, a copy of Your Lie in April was clearly visible.
She wanted to stop him and ask for an autograph, but that brief hesitation cost her the chance.
"When 'he comes out later, I have to work up the courage and ask for a signature!"
"Shizu, you can do this!"
She clenched her fists, hyping herself up.
---
Dengeki Bunko—
The moment Oikawa walked in, he was greeted warmly by the editor-in-chief.
"Oikawa-sensei, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
"I'm Kazuma Miki, editor-in-chief of Dengeki Bunko. When Kagurazaka told me you were a high school student, I honestly didn't quite believe it."
"But now that I've seen you in person… truly, talent shows itself early!"
Miki looked at Oikawa like he was staring at a gold mine. This kid could be Dengeki Bunko's cash cow for the next decade.
At the previous award ceremony, Miki hadn't shown up.
Back then, Oikawa and the others hadn't proven their worth yet.
But things were different now.
Your Lie in April had exploded in popularity, practically sweeping through the entire month of August.
The editor-in-chief's job was largely about maintaining strong relationships with top-tier and first-rate authors.
And at this point, Oikawa could already be considered a first-rate author. Becoming a top-tier one didn't even feel out of reach anymore.
Miki had already made up his mind.
When the second volume of Your Lie in April was released, he would offer Oikawa a 10% royalty rate in the new contract. That was standard treatment for a first-rate author.
"Nice to meet you, Editor-in-Chief Miki."
Oikawa didn't falter. He shook hands confidently and exchanged a few polite words.
He wasn't surprised by the man's attitude.
In Japan, authors held a high status, especially successful ones.
Miki's approach was simply about protecting the publisher's interests. Just like pushing for the early release of Your Lie in April, it all came down to recognizing its commercial potential.
Everyone was just doing their job.
"Editor-in-Chief Miki, I'll head over to sign the copies of Your Lie in April now."
After a bit more conversation, Oikawa stepped into a small reception room nearby.
He looked at the stacks of Your Lie in April covering the table and even the floor, and let out a long sigh.
Well…
What else could he do?
Time to start signing.
.
.
.