— — — — — —
Oikawa was happily playing LEGO Batman when a rare message from Yukino arrived.
[Yukino: "Are you going to Copycat-sensei's autograph event in January?"]
"Oh? Yukino actually messaged me? That's unusual."
After thinking for a moment, Oikawa replied, "Not sure. Depends on whether I'm free then."
A response came almost immediately, "I see. Then let's go together if possible. I happen to want to see what kind of person that rotten bastard Copycat really is."
Oikawa stared at the message.
For some reason, he could almost feel killing intent hidden between the lines.
And... rotten bastard?
His eyes narrowed slightly.
It was the first time he'd ever heard Yukino swear. Somehow, it felt... strange.
Still, Oikawa prided himself on staying calm under pressure and adapting to whatever came his way.
So he typed, "Sure. Let's go together then. Honestly, I want to meet Copycat too and see if he's really as handsome as he claims."
Oikawa instantly switched into roleplay mode.
Yukino replied, "Is that so? Then I'll have to take a good look myself and see just how handsome he is if he's supposed to surpass our Oikawa-kun. Hehe."
Something felt off.
Oikawa frowned.
The message looked strangely sarcastic.
After hesitating for a while, he sent another reply, "Since when did you become so interested in Copycat-sensei? I remember Yui saying you promised to visit a shrine with her during New Year's. Did your plans change?"
Looking at the chat window, Oikawa muttered to himself, "She hasn't figured something out, has she? Everything she's saying feels weird..."
Soon, another message appeared.
[Yukino: "It's just... I simply think his writing is very good. And thanks for reminding me. I'd completely forgotten about my promise with Yui. Let's talk about the autograph event later. I'll have to see whether I have time. Oikawa-kun, I'm going to bed now. Good night."]
Oikawa let out a sigh of relief.
"Looks like she didn't notice anything. Maybe I'm overthinking it."
Shaking his head, he replied, "Yeah. Good night."
Under Yukino's name, the words 'Typing...' briefly appeared. Then they disappeared.
Silence.
Oikawa tossed his phone aside and returned to his game.
...
..
The release date of Clannad was drawing closer and closer.
The internet was still full of criticism. Yet even so, most bookstores throughout Chiba had already put up promotional posters at their entrances.
The advertising slogans were so exaggerated that even Oikawa, the author himself, found them ridiculous.
{Life is arrival, encounter, and companionship. This winter is destined to become a warm one because of Clannad.}
{The newest work from Copycat-sensei, the youngest million-selling author in history. Clannad releases January 2nd.}
{A healing story or an emotional tragedy? Step into a bookstore and discover for yourself what kind of novel Clannad truly is.}
{This winter will no longer be cold. Clannad will soothe every misfortune in your heart. A must-read masterpiece of healing fiction}
Most bookstore owners believed in Copycat-sensei's reputation.
They believed Clannad would become a phenomenon.
In truth, light novel sales weren't all that different from movie box office numbers. If a director's previous film had been a huge success, theaters would naturally be willing to take a chance on the next one.
Whether it continued to sell afterward depended on the quality of the film itself.
Light novels worked the same way. The massive success of Your Lie in April gave bookstore owners enough confidence to place large orders for Clannad, despite all the backlash online.
Risk and reward had always gone hand in hand.
Christmas fell on December 25. Clannad was scheduled for release on January 2. But on December 22, Full-Drive Bunko had already mailed preview copies to major SNS influencers and reviewers.
It was one of the largest expenses in the entire 30-million-yen promotional campaign.
That very night, countless reviews of Clannad appeared across social media.
...
SNS Reviewer: Elf Yamada. A beautiful young novelist with 270,000 followers. Her work Infernal Dark Elf had sold over 700,000 copies in total.
Her review began:"When I learned that Full-Drive Bunko was sending advance review copies to SNS influencers and discovered that I wasn't on the list, I immediately went looking for my damned editor, Chris Yamada. That's right. The same arrogant, impossibly picky brother of mine."
"That said, I have to admit the guy has good eyes. He noticed Copycat-sensei's talent before Copycat even debuted. Unfortunately, he missed him by just a little. If he'd been a bit more decisive back then, there's a good chance Your Lie in April would've been published by Full-Drive Bunko instead. Still, after all the twists and turns, Copycat-sensei and I ended up as colleagues. Even though I've never actually met him once."
"Alright, enough venting. Let's talk about how I felt after reading it. First, my conclusion: the first volume of Clannad is absolutely a healing novel. As for the second volume... I can't make any promises. What I can spoil is that, judging from the direction of the first volume and Copycat-sensei's personality, even if Clannad isn't a depression-inducing novel, the second half is definitely going to hit readers with all kinds of emotional damage. The main reason I'm not completely sure whether Clannad is ultimately a healing story or a tragedy is because of the 'Light Orbs' setting."
"Simply put, Light Orbs are things that can grant wishes. Kind of like... Dragon Balls without the dragon? Honestly, I strongly suspect Copycat-sensei came up with them because people keep yelling at him online. My guess is he'll harvest a mountain of tears and then somehow swing things back into a happy ending."
"Now let's talk about the characters. Hmm... they're actually pretty simple and unpretentious. At least compared to Your Lie in April, which buried all kinds of foreshadowing everywhere. Clannad's first half is simply a warm and heartfelt story. Copycat-sensei's prose is honestly difficult to criticize. Even if he started writing mainstream literary fiction, I wouldn't find it out of place at all. To be honest, I'm insanely jealous. I'm a minor. Copycat-sensei is also a minor. Why is the gap between one minor and another so huge?"
"In short, Clannad is absolutely a must-read. With Your Lie in April, some professional writers criticized the plot for being rather shallow. But Clannad won't have that problem. After finishing the first volume, I'm already looking forward to the second."
Beneath the tweet was an endless stream of comments from light novel fans.
["Wow, if Elf-chan is praising it this highly, Clannad really must be a can't-miss novel!"]
["Yeah right. You're from the same publishing house. You expect me to believe you're unbiased?"]
["Listen up, everyone. Don't buy bastard Copycat's new book! They say it's healing fiction, but it's obviously depression fiction in disguise! Don't give him your money!"]
["Exactly! An author like that deserves to be boycotted forever!"]
["Don't buy Clannad. Start with me. Start with yourself. Start today."]
...
This group of people calling for a boycott of Clannad had been active on SNS for over half a month now.
And instead of dying down, they were only growing louder. Almost every post mentioning either Copycat-sensei or Clannad would attract them like clockwork.
Chris Yamada clicked through their profiles one by one.
His brows gradually knitted together.
"They aren't paid trolls..."
He muttered to himself, completely baffled, "Then where the hell did all these people come from?"
Elf wasn't the only one posting reviews. Many other influencers shared their thoughts on Clannad as well.
Besides book reviewers, even creators whose content had absolutely nothing to do with novels joined the campaign.
Money really could work miracles.
—Twitter: Yukihira (Teaches Cooking) (1.53 million followers)—
"Clannad is the greatest light novel I've ever read. It warmed my entire winter. If I had to choose between tempura and Clannad, I'd pick Clannad without a second thought."
— Facebook: Nagashima Sae (Vlogger) (8.29 million followers)—
"Reading Clannad felt like a ray of sunlight shining directly into my soul, cleansing my entire being. As women, we shouldn't just maintain our figures. We should also keep improving our souls."
"(Photo of herself reading by the window while drying clothes.)"
...
..
Meanwhile, Oikawa and Kawasaki found themselves standing in the same kitchen once again.
This time, however, it wasn't Oikawa's house. Nor was it Kawasaki's.
They were standing in the kitchen of Keika's kindergarten.
Kawasaki was at the counter chopping vegetables while Oikawa sat on a small stool peeling garlic.
"I seriously can't believe this." He looked utterly bewildered. "How did you even land a part-time job like this? That's amazing. And more importantly, you even brought me along. You're at least doing skilled work. I'm basically just washing vegetables. Getting paid for this makes me feel kind of guilty."
That morning, Oikawa had been dragged out of bed by a phone call from Kawasaki.
She told him she needed help with a part-time job.
He'd just finished his morning run and had been enjoying a second round of sleep when the call woke him up.
After hearing the details, he'd been convinced he was still dreaming.
It was ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.
Most importantly, the pay was surprisingly good. Three thousand yen for two hours.
"It isn't as impressive as you're making it sound." Kawasaki blushed slightly at the praise and lowered her voice. "I usually make snacks and lunches for Keika. Her classmates really like them. They always trade their own snacks for mine. Then today, the kindergarten's cook suddenly got sick. The principal called and asked if I could fill in for a day. She said the amount of food was too much for one person and asked if I knew anyone who could help."
"And then..." Her voice grew even quieter. "I thought of you."
Oikawa immediately gave her a thumbs-up.
Knowing a practical skill really was invaluable.
"So what's all this garlic for?"
"Stir-fried beef cubes." Kawasaki continued chopping vegetables. "I found the recipe online before and made it for Keika. Her classmates seemed to love it."
The two chatted back and forth while working.
Peeling garlic wasn't much harder than washing vegetables, which was exactly why Oikawa felt unworthy of his fifteen-hundred-yen hourly wage. Totally unworthy.
But...
Who cared when Kawasaki was the one who brought him here?
Every now and then, Oikawa would glance up at her.
Today, Kawasaki was wearing a purple sweater.
The apron tied around her waist only emphasized how slender she was.
Despite having hugged her countless times already, this was the first time he'd had the chance to observe her from this angle.
Her hair had been tied neatly into a ponytail. And since she was cooking for children, she'd clearly taken extra care with it. Not a single strand had escaped.
He then noticed she had rolled up her sleeves to keep them from getting dirty.
Instead of appreciating it, Oikawa frowned.
Clothes could always be washed later. What if hot oil splattered onto her arms?
After staring for a while, inspiration struck.
He grabbed a plastic bag from the side, cut it apart, and fashioned a pair of makeshift sleeve protectors.
Then he slipped them over her forearms.
"It's okay." Kawasaki seemed to understand what he was trying to do and softly protested.
"How is that okay? What if hot oil splashes on you later? Do you have any idea how worried I'd be?" Oikawa said, still refusing to let go.
Kawasaki nodded obediently and let him fuss over her.
What a shame. If she could be this obedient in his own kitchen, life would be wonderful.
"There." Oikawa admired his handiwork and nodded in satisfaction. "Now the oil won't get you."
A faint smile appeared on Kawasaki's lips.
Standing beside her, Oikawa began washing vegetables.
"By the way, when did you learn to cook?"
He glanced at the ingredients they'd prepared.
Besides the stir-fried beef cubes, today's menu seemed to include donburi, pork cutlets, and pan-fried fish.
All of them were Kawasaki's specialties.
"Umm..."
She thought for a moment.
"Maybe when I was seven or eight? I don't really remember. Back then, both my parents worked night shifts. Taishi was still little and always complained about being hungry. I didn't want to keep taking him out to eat, so I taught myself how to cook." As she cleaned a fish, she answered calmly.
"That sounds rough. Being a good older sister isn't easy."
"Mm." Kawasaki smiled. "But I like it. I think being needed by someone is a wonderful feeling. Especially when it's Taishi and Keika who need me."
The smile on her face was completely genuine.
There wasn't the slightest trace of pretense.
Or perhaps... she had never tried to pretend in front of Oikawa.
The Kawasaki she showed him was always her honest self.
.
.
.