Tokyo: Oreimo

"Speaking of which, there's another similar work in this month's awards selection, which I initially thought was quite interesting."

"You mean 'Magical Idol Yumi'? The one who won the silver award for best newcomer?"

"That's right, but after seeing this work, the flaws of that one are very obvious. Whether it's the plot, the storyboard, or even the animation techniques, they're not on the same level."

"It's like being eliminated early; the chances of competing products from the same category making it into the monthly bonus are very low."

"What a pity."

Iori Setsuna listened to the editors' discussion in the meeting room and closed the manuscript of "Cardcaptor Sakura" with considerable annoyance.

.....

Hideo Nomura nudged his colleague on the shoulder, covered his mouth with his hand, and looked somewhat shocked.

"You idiot, you really stepped in dog poop! This is a work by Rumiko Takashiro?"

Saito Ritsu glanced at him with a smug look.

"Didn't you already know this beforehand? And CLAMP-sensei, it's a collaborative work."

Nomura looked on with envy, and secretly mustered his strength to punch him hard.

"I really envy you, you bastard. You clearly inherited a mess, yet you still managed to run into such good fortune."

“Heh.” Saito Ritsu chuckled softly.

He couldn't help but sigh that he seemed to be quite lucky.

If Iori Setsuna hadn't been uncooperative, he wouldn't have gotten Takagi Ryosuke's contact information from Hayakawa Rumi.

Therefore, there will be no doubt about their identity.

Perhaps when Takashiro Ryōno handed over the new manuscript, she didn't even have the interest to open it and simply turned it away.

All I can say is that luck was on his side.

"If Editor Iori found out, she'd be so angry she couldn't breathe, right?"

"Probably. If that happened to me, I might flip the table."

Ritsu Saito was secretly pleased.

.....

The monthly meeting was coming to an end. All the manuscripts submitted by the editors had been reviewed, and the vote counting began.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will select seven high-quality works of different genres from these works, and each person has the right to vote seven times."

“Works of different categories are ranked by the number of votes, while works of the same category are ranked higher and eliminated in order of ranking.”

"Random selection!"

In the conference room, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Nakano stood up and went to the blackboard.

The names of the dozens of works participating in the selection were already marked on the board.

The deputy editor-in-chief took a slip of paper from a box that had been arranged to the side, unfolded it in front of him, and showed it to the editors present.

"So, let's start with City X Hunter for our first entry!"

As soon as the deputy editor finished speaking, most of the editors in the room raised their hands.

Raising your hand during a meeting signifies approval and also represents a formal vote of recommendation.

The votes were counted by the assistant to the deputy editor-in-chief.

Ultimately, the work "City X Hunter" received 42 votes, out of a total of 53 editors, representing 79% of the total votes cast.

"As expected of Hojo-sensei, this number of votes should get him directly into the shortlist."

"Yes, his art style is very familiar, he has a considerable reputation, and his stories are also excellent."

"The veteran author's talent is undeniable; wasn't their selection inevitable?"

Once the vote counting began, the meeting proceeded at an extremely rapid pace.

One work after another was mentioned, but none of them achieved the overwhelming majority of votes that "City Hunter" did.

The vote-counted work ranked twenty-third.

"Voting for the work 'Magical Idol Yumi' begins!"

At the meeting, Iori Setsuna raised her hand.

This is her new project, so naturally I had to cast my vote. The editors sitting next to her also seemed to have been prepared, and they all followed suit.

But apart from them, none of the other editors present raised their hands.

"Let me double-check, is there anyone who wants to vote?"

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Nakano spoke calmly, as if he had anticipated the current situation.

Iori Setsuna looked quite unwell and looked to Yamazaki, the editor-in-chief, who was sitting in the main seat, for help.

"This work is of good quality and deserves some encouragement for the new author."

Editor-in-Chief Yamazaki narrowed his eyes, spoke slowly, and then raised his hand.

Many editors in the meeting room immediately followed suit and submitted their own submissions.

After all, the editor-in-chief has spoken, so we have to give him face.

After a back-and-forth, "Magical Idol Yumi" ultimately received 28 votes.

Hideo Nomura clicked his tongue under his breath.

"It's a complete waste of votes."

Saito Ritsu wore a cold smile.

"Even though there are better works of the same type later on, that old guy Yamazaki encouraged his subordinates to rush for votes. His blatant abuse of power for personal gain is too much."

Nomura reached out and tugged at Saito Ritsu's arm.

"Don't act impulsively."

He was really afraid that this colleague would argue with the editor-in-chief at the monthly meeting, which would make things very ugly, and he might even be targeted by his superiors because of it.

Ritsu Saito brushed Nomura Hideo's hand away, shook his head, and said nothing.

He knew in his heart that the vote counting wasn't over yet.

Although the voting process is more than halfway through and Cardcaptor Sakura has not yet been drawn, most editors still have votes and may not be affected by the vote-buying frenzy.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Nakano counted out the votes several times and then drew another slip of paper from the box.

He paused suddenly, then showed it to the conference table.

"Voting for the series 'Cardcaptor Sakura' has begun!"

Chapter 28 The Loser

"Finally, we've reached this work. I've been waiting for so long."

"I don't know which editor had such a keen eye to discover this work."

"Maybe it can be serialized in the new issue during the back-to-school season; it definitely has the potential."

The editors whispered among themselves in the meeting room.

Hands were raised from the conference table.

"Forty-three, forty-five, forty-eight..."

Almost all the editors raised their hands, except for Iori Setsuna and a few of the new editors below her.

Even Yamazaki, the editor-in-chief, raised his hand in full view of everyone.

"Forty-eight votes! How could they get such a high number of votes?"

Hideo Nomura was convinced that Cardcaptor Sakura would win, but he never expected to win by such a large margin.

Nine out of ten editors cast their votes.

This is quite rare even in the context of a year-round monthly meeting.

"Heh, otherwise why do you think no one voted during the voting for 'Magical Idol Yumi'?"

Saito Ritsu raised his eyebrows, in high spirits.

"Most editors are unwilling to waste their votes on a work that is bound to be rejected, which also shows the quality of Cardcaptor Sakura."

"If it weren't for that old guy Yamazaki speaking up, that newcomer award silver prize would probably have ended up with a dismal single-digit number of votes."

"You're right, you're really something to be jealous of!"

Hideo Nomura was extremely envious.

If he were the only one who found it interesting, that might be a case of being blinded by a single leaf, but the fact that so many editors voted for it means that this work really has the potential to become a huge hit.

Almost none of the works ranked number one in the monthly awards have ever flopped, unless the author deliberately ruined their own career.

"However, I didn't expect the editor-in-chief to vote as well. I thought that since he voted for 'Magical Idol Yumi,' he wouldn't vote for this work again."

"Ha, that old guy Yamazaki, how could he not vote? As the editor-in-chief, with so many works approved by the editors, if he didn't vote, his professionalism would be questioned."

"you're right."

Hideo Nomura nodded.

.....

The vote counting process is coming to an end.

The vote rankings have been determined.

Cardcaptor Sakura has won the crown with 48 votes, followed by Gale Force.

Next up is Hojo's "City Hunter".

Seven different works stood out.

"Now that the monthly awards selection is over, the editors of the selected works will submit the author information and work with their colleagues in the publishing department to advance the work for this period."

After a brief discussion, the editors-in-chief made a decision immediately.