After dropping my little sister off at school, I headed in for work.
I was working at SR Bunko, a new imprint launched by Editor-in-Chief Kamimatsu.
It started as a small publisher, but with the Kaida Group stepping in as investors, the business expanded rapidly.
As a result, we moved our headquarters to the former Takana Building, establishing ourselves as a major publishing house. It was early August at the SR Bunko light novel editorial department. “Oka-ta~n.” “It’s Sakuhei here.”
A woman in her mid-twenties wearing a business suit approached me. This was Meki Sakuhei.
She had previously been an editor at Takana, but Kamimatsu poached her from there.
The initial core team for SR Bunko consisted of three people: me, Kamimatsu, and Sakuhei. “What’s up?”
“I was thinking about next week’s meeting.” “Next week… Ah, right, Comiket.” We moved into a small conference room.
Comiket. It’s a doujinshi event held in Tokyo during the Obon period of summer.
We were scheduled to release a doujinshi there under the SR Bunko label.
It was formatted as a sample version featuring three works from our inaugural lineup.
Three volumes, freshly printed from the launch lineup, were lined up on the table.
“But no matter how many times I look… it’s a pretty impressive lineup, huh?” Sakuhira remarked, lost in thought.
“The super-popular Kaimatsu-sensei. Black Princess Erio, the author of the much-awaited debut work Ida de-re. And Shirokuma-sensei—Oka-gai-kun.” “It’s not ‘my’ Oka-gai,” he corrected. “Don’t joke with me. She’s the author of AMO.”
Sakuhira knew that I and Prince were university friends. “They’re bound to sell well, right?”
“Yeah. But we can’t afford to get complacent. We have to make sure they actually move off the shelves.”
“I know. No matter how godly a work Kaimatsu-sensei and the others create, selling it is our job, after all.”
Together with Sakuhira, I attended a meeting regarding Summer Comic.
Both she and I were scheduled to participate as staff that day.
“Oh, right. Kaimatsu-sensei entrusted these to me—the recommendation blurbs.”
Recommendation blurbs. Those little endorsements usually found on book jackets.
Sakuhira handed me a printed copy.
“Ugh, you already finished Ruchiana’s new work?”
In fact, we had asked Kaimatsu-sensei to write the recommendation blurb for this one.
Luthia’s new volume will be released right after the summer vacation ends.
In an effort to boost sales a bit, I’d asked Professor Kamimatsu to help me out, reaching him through Sakuhira.
“I feel like I sent you the manuscript data yesterday…”
I believe the main story itself was nearly four hundred pages long.
“Our godlike author is incredibly fast at both writing and reading,” Sakuhira said, puffing out her chest with a smug fu-fun.
She was Professor Kamimatsu’s assigned editor.
“And it gets better—I emailed the text to him at 19:00, and by 19:10 he’d sent back an email saying he’d finished reading it, along with that long, detailed recommendation letter.” “No way…”
Normally, it takes at least two or three hours to read a single light novel.
And Professor Kamimatsu had read the whole thing in under ten minutes? He’d even written a full recommendation letter… I skimmed through the text of the letter.
…Without realizing it, tears were welling up in my eyes. “See? Amazing, right?”
“Yeah… it is. This is an incredible recommendation letter. That teacher writes with such power not just in the main story, but even in this kind of detailed work.”
“Of course, he is the number one godlike author in the industry♡”
Well, whatever else could be said, I managed to secure a recommendation from a god-tier author.
To make matters better, they even went the extra mile, attaching an email note that read: “It was incredibly fun! If you release a new book, I’m absolutely buying it!”
Seriously, Kamimatsu-sensei is an amazing writer—not just talented, but a truly decent person, too.
“What other tasks do we still have left for Ruchia-sensei’s new release?” “The author’s proofreading and… the illustrations.” “Ah… so that settles it.”
For this one, I’ve commissioned the illustrations to [Misayama Kou], a god-tier artist.
He’s an incredibly popular illustrator who has even collaborated with Kamimatsu-sensei before.
I know he’s busy, and he mentioned recently that his health has been failing him.
But honestly, I’m getting a bit worried if the character roughs don’t arrive soon…
“That kid works fast once he starts, but taking on the work itself takes forever.”
“Have you ever met Misayama-sensei in person?”
“Yeah, I have. Actually, speaking of which, regarding Kamimatsu’s harem… ah, forget it. Don’t worry about it.”
I’ve never met Misayama-sensei face-to-face. We only communicate via email or phone.
“I’ll give them a quick call. Thanks.”
“Mm. Okay… so, Okaya-kun?”
Sahhei asked with a sly grin spreading across his face.
“Since when did you and Sensei Lucia get so close?”
…What’s wrong with him all of a sudden?
“Like, you were using her surname just now, right? C’mon, c’mon, what’s up? Did something happen?”
He was a competent guy, but he had an awful habit of prying into other people’s business.
On top of that, he absolutely loved gossiping about other people’s love lives. “Nothing happened.”
“Really now? Like, no romance between the author and her editor or anything?”
“Nope. And what about you, huh? Isn’t Sensei Kamimatsu your life?”
“Mm, well, yeah… but… it’s just that. I’ve got a lot of competition.”
Sahhei let out a small, sorrowful laugh. Had he been rejected? “Let’s vent our frustrations together sometime.”
“Mm. Thanks, a lot. Ah, but sorry, Okaya-kun. Even if you’re interested in me, I can’t return your feelings.” “You have way too high an opinion of yourself, man.”
As I let out a bitter laugh, Sakubei laughed along with me.
Ever since we joined the company at the same time, we’ve been working side by side right up until today, and he’s a good guy.
I can see why Kamimatsu-san would want to poach him.
“Well then, I’ll see you next week at Comiket.”
After parting ways with Sakubei, I headed back to my desk. Checked my email.
”……So, nothing from Professor Misyama yet?”
Normally, we don’t speak directly often, but it’s been quite late, so I decided to check in. Brrrrr♪ Click!
“Good afternoon/Evening, this is Okaya from SR Bunko.”
Thud. Smash! A loud noise came from the other end of the line.
“Are you okay, Professor Misyama?” “I-I’m fine… wheeze” Wheeze?
“Professor, how are things progressing with the character roughs for Kimitabi?”
Thud, thump! A loud noise. 『It’s g-gone a long way already!』 「How far along are you?」
『P-plenty! Just a b-bit left! Only about ten p-percent to go!』
Ah, this is something she hasn’t touched at all…….
「Teacher Misayama, could it be that your schedule is tight?」
『I-it’s n-nothing of t-that s-sort, n-no way』
「But aren’t you busy right now preparing for Comiket?」
Thud-thump! A loud noise.
『H-how d-do you k-know a-about… Comi-Comiket?』
「No, other illustrators all exhibit at Comiket around this time of year too. Besides, Teacher, didn’t you announce it on Twitter yourself?」 『KP$%KR<#P……』
Through the phone, a language that wasn’t Japanese could be heard. What country’s language was it……?
『<P%#<P%, M%O#%#!』
「I’m sorry, the connection seems to be bad. Could you say that again?」
Professor Misayama speaks in a flustered tone.
“I’ll send over the rough sketches by the end of today! Please, I beg you, don’t postpone the release!”
“Is that true? Thank you very much. That’s a huge help.”
『<R%#……MO%#<P%#, M%O#%#`』
Once again, Misayama-sensei was speaking in a language other than Japanese on the other end of the line.
Could it be that he’s not Japanese…?
“Well then, I’ll leave it in your hands from here.”
“Y-yes, I’ll do my best…” The call ended.
“Phew… I guess he’ll probably pull through…” Well, the other guy is a pro artist too. Besides, there are much worse artists out there.
There are plenty of freelancers who never answer calls or emails. As I was thinking that, suddenly— Beep. ♪
A notification appeared on my desktop indicating a new email had arrived.
When I opened it, it was from Professor Misayama.
“This is way too fast… even for that standard…”
The rough sketches of the main characters had been sent over, barely five minutes after I’d placed the order.
I mean, she claimed to be ninety percent done already (self-proclaimed), so if you consider that ten percent as taking just five minutes…
No, even so, it’s fast. Way too fast.
I called Professor Misayama again. “Good work today, sensei.”
“Hiiik…! D-did you receive the illustrations?!”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve checked them. Just calling to give my thanks, actually.”
“W-what… I thought I was gonna get killed…” That’s a hell of an assumption.
“I’ll send the art you provided to the original author for approval and will get back to you once we have their sign-off.” “U-understood… got it…”
“Sensei, thank you so much again. As always, the quality and speed are impressive. Truly commendable.”
“＄OM%#<%`<！ MO%#<P%#！ ＜P%#%#！”
I had no idea what she was saying, but judging by the pitch of her voice, she was likely just flustered.
“Then, please start on the cover rough.”
“Aww… oh, r-right, that’s another thing I should check for!”
“Yes. As soon as we get confirmation on the character designs, it would be wonderful if you could send it over sometime in the third week of August.”
“Y-Yes ma’am…! I-I will absolutely make sure not to run late this time! I’ll be careful so that the cover isn’t delayed past September!” “Thank you.” “If I’m late, I’ll seppuku!”
“There’s no need to go that far. Thank you for your continued cooperation.” He hung up the phone.
Next, he emailed the character roughs he had received to Rushia. Then, he called her. “Hello?” “It’s me, Rushia.”
“Oh, Kayama! What’s up? If you’re asking about an assignation, I’m totally in favor!”
A bouncy voice came through the phone.
“I’m sorry to raise your hopes and then let you down, but this is a business matter.”
”…Is that so?”
Rushia was visibly disappointed. “We can go on our date another time.” “Mm!” This time, she seemed happy instead.
“The character roughs for Kimetabi have arrived.”
Kimitachi. It’s about Russia releasing their second work.
“I sent it by email, so I need you to check it.”
“U-um… I’m sorry. Actually, Saburo is resting, and my PC isn’t turning on.”
Russia is incredibly clueless when it comes to technology.
When exchanging emails, it seems Mr. Saburo has been doing the computer operations for her.
“Then I’ll print it out and deliver it to your place.” “H-Huh? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I’m heading your way on the way back.”
“N-No… uh, could we just meet outside instead?” “Got it. What time works?”
“If possible, as soon as now… but that’s probably too much to ask?” I checked my watch. “No problem. I’ll head over right away.”
“Oh! Thank you, Okaya. For accommodating my schedule like this.” “Don’t worry about it. See ya later.”
I hung up the phone, printed out the draft, and headed out in the company car.