Tokyo: Oreimo

Seeing this group of peers so excited and incoherent over a pinned post, he felt a deep sense of appreciation.

It's not that being recommended is anything special, but rather that for the other members of the manga club, this recognition doesn't come from "Ryosuke Takashiro is the president of Aniplex," but from the fact that their work, created by their own hands, has been recognized by a third party who has no personal connection to their efforts.

Saori probably thought of this as well, which is why she specifically asked Mao to post it at the top of the chat.

"Eh? Takashiro-chan, what's wrong?" Asakura Misaki noticed that Ryouno's expression was a little strange.

"It's nothing," Ling Nai said, withdrawing her gaze.

She had figured out the general situation.

If it wasn't Ryosuke's doing, then there's only one person involved.

That female giant.

The pinned recommendation is, to put it bluntly, a gesture of goodwill towards the manga club, or more precisely, a gesture of goodwill towards the club that Ryosuke belongs to.

However, Saori handled it very cleverly. She didn't use the identity of "the president's girlfriend," but rather had Gokou Mao operate as an official of the company, and she only did this on the last day.

It was just a matter of moving her fingers, yet she managed to win over the entire manga club, and even Ryosuke thought, "This guy did a good job."

Typical yarn weaving operation.

When we finally meet in person, I'll probably win favor, reputation, and that guy's affection without even realizing it.

Ling Nai crossed her arms and suddenly realized that the panic she felt when Tian Zhongxue exposed her secrets at the barbecue table was nothing compared to his watertight handling of the situation. It was like a child playing house.

Chapter 259 Visiting the Exhibition, Then Making a Strike Up a Friend (Combined Chapter)

On the third day of Winter COMI, the business district remained as bustling as ever.

Rumi Hayakawa stood at the entrance of the West Hall of Tokyo Big Sight, pulled her scarf down a little, and exhaled a puff of white breath.

Today she wore a beige wool coat and had a canvas bag slung over her shoulder containing a notebook, a business card holder, and a three-year-old fountain pen.

"Senior! There are so many fewer people here than in the doujinshi section!"

A vibrant voice came from behind me.

Aoi Morikawa, a 23-year-old new editor who joined Kadokawa Dengeki Bunko this spring, has a low ponytail and round-framed glasses on her round face. At this moment, she is standing on tiptoe, looking around with curiosity in her eyes.

“The corporate section is just a booth for each company, so it’s not as crowded as the doujinshi section.” Hayakawa Rumi smiled. “But if you want to check out the doujinshi section, we can go around there later.”

"Really? That's great!"

Having been with the company for six months, this was the first time that a senior colleague had taken her to visit the Winter COMI.

She was holding a brand new notebook in her arms, with the Dengeki Bunko logo sticker on the cover. She had received it from the front desk on her first day at the company and hadn't used it yet.

Looking at her like this, Hayakawa Rumi was reminded of herself three years ago.

She was like that back then, following behind Editor Hattori, knowing nothing, even having to carefully choose her words when sending emails to authors. Now, she's starting to mentor newcomers.

time flies.

Why did you decide to visit the Winter COMI exhibition?

As they walked, Morikawa Aoi asked, "I heard from other senior members of the editorial department that Hayakawa-senpai has several authors with stable serializations, so she shouldn't be short of manuscripts."

Hayakawa Rumi remained silent for a moment.

It's not that we're lacking manuscripts.

The new authors she oversees have all entered a stable period of serialization, submitting their manuscripts on time every month. While the quality isn't top-notch, it's consistent.

Aoi is right. Judging from the workload alone, she didn't need to make a special trip to the exhibition on the third day of Winter COMI.

But she hasn't received any new works from Ryosuke for almost half a year.

Since "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya", Ryosuke has never contacted her again.

It's not that they broke up; he simply "has no new works to release."

Hayakawa Rumi knew better than anyone that the person was now focusing most of his energy on Aniplex games and anime, and light novels were no longer his main focus.

But she is, after all, an editor at Dengeki Bunko, and she can't rely on just one author, "Shigsawa Keiichi," forever.

"A stable serialization is a form of stability."

Hayakawa Rumi pulled her scarf down a little, revealing a gentle smile. "But an editor's job is not just to maintain existing authors, but also to constantly discover new talents. Winter COMI is the largest doujinshi convention, and many promising authors will exhibit here. You might encounter some surprises."

"I see!"

Aoi Morikawa carefully wrote it down in her notebook.

Hayakawa Rumi looked at her, feeling a mix of nostalgia and emotion.

The story of discovering Keiichi Sigsawa was spread like wildfire by the younger members of the editorial department, who said things like "Hayakawa-senpai had a keen eye for talent" and "he saw the talent of that high school light novelist at a glance."

But only she knew that it wasn't a matter of having a discerning eye at all.

She was just lucky; Hattori's editor randomly assigned her to pick someone up at the station, and she happened to bump into that high school student who had submitted his work to the Dengeki Bunko Newcomer Award.

If it weren't for Hattori Takuya's initiative to recommend her and Ryosuke's willingness to give her a chance, she would probably still be just an ordinary junior editor.

"Senior, the story of how you discovered Mr. Shigaze has spread throughout the editorial department!" Morikawa Aoi followed behind her. "Everyone says you're the kind of editor who can recognize geniuses at a glance."

It really was that matter.

Hayakawa Rumi shook her head, her tone soft but carrying an undeniable certainty.

"I didn't discover Teacher Shi Yuze; I was just lucky."

"Huh?"

“When he submitted his work, I knew nothing at all.” Hayakawa Rumi put her hands in her coat pockets and glanced at the corporate exhibition areas along the way. “Rather than saying I discovered him, it would be more accurate to say he chose me.”

Aoi Morikawa tilted her head, clearly not understanding the meaning of those words.

Hayakawa Rumi didn't offer much explanation.

Some things cannot be explained in just a few words.

For example, how did that boy who wrote "Fate/Zero" at just eighteen years old stir up the entire ACG industry with three different pen names in just two years?

But these things cannot be said to outsiders.

"In short, the reason I brought you here today is to let you experience the most primitive way of working as an editor."

Hayakawa Rumi looked around and saw many other colleagues wandering through the various exhibition areas. Editors from major publishing houses were personally browsing the exhibition to find potential authors, which is one of the most traditional scenes at doujinshi conventions.

"Browse the exhibition, then strike up a conversation."

"Huh? Should I just start a conversation?"

"Yes, when you see a good work, just go up to it, hand over your business card, and ask if they are interested in commercial publishing. This is the most basic and effective way."

"That's amazing..."

The two walked and talked as they passed through the main passageway of the business district.

"Senior! There's an Aniplex booth over there!"

Morikawa Aoi suddenly grabbed Hayakawa Rumi's sleeve and pointed to the huge black-and-white lightbox sign in front of her. There was still a long queue at the SAO demo area, and the staff in the BD sales area were busy restocking the limited edition bonuses on the shelves.

Hayakawa Rumi looked at the signboard, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

Teacher Shi Yuze is probably in the exhibition area now.

But she didn't come to see him today.

She is prepared to rely on her own judgment to find new, promising authors, and not always depend on one person.

"Let's go to the doujinshi section."

......

Dongsi Hall, Manga Research Booth.

Unlike the chaotic situation of the previous two days, today's sales were clearly more organized.

Shota Okubo was in charge of hawking the goods, Yosuke Kobayashi was in charge of collecting money and keeping accounts, Misaki Asakura was distributing promotional cards on both sides of the line, and Ayumi was focused on restocking and checking inventory.

Tianzhong Middle School, on the contrary, became idle.

He stood in front of his booth, looking at the orderly queue. Although there were fewer customers in the exhibition area than yesterday, thanks to the support of the official pinned post, the number of people in front of his booth did not decrease, but rather showed a trend of getting longer and longer.

"I said, there shouldn't be any problem selling them all today, right?"

“Isn’t that obvious?” Ayumi flipped through the ledger. “The pace so far is about the same as yesterday. At this rate, we should be closing up shop by noon at the latest.”

"What a pity." Tian Zhongxue was both happy and somewhat regretful.

The club has limited funds, and today is the last day. Even if we print more, we won't have enough time to get them to the site for sale.

It seems the final sales of "Kara no Kyoukai" will be fixed at 2500 copies.

Ryosuke stood inside the stall, holding a thermos in his hand, watching the customers queuing in front of the stall.

His actions were the same as yesterday, occasionally handing Ayumi a stack of new books to the table. As for book signings? There weren't any to be signed.

Because everyone became familiar with the sales process, he and Ling Nai had some free time.

The past two days have been chaotic, like a headless fly. Today, we can finally catch our breath. While Ayumi was organizing the accounts, she even took the time to pour Ling Nai a cup of hot water. Ling Nai didn't refuse and took small sips of the paper cup.

So setting up a stall also requires experience. For example, at the summer COMI event where they sold FSN, Hououin Saori was able to keep the stall running smoothly by herself. At most, she only needed Ryouno or Gokou to help with packing.

When it comes to accounting, Saori doesn't even need a calculator.

Ryosuke looked around the stalls. There were many more people available now than yesterday, and the absence of him and Ryounai would not affect the operation at all.

He put the thermos into the canvas bag.

"Ling Nai."

The blonde girl was leaning against the edge of the table on the side of the stall, idly flipping through a sample book. When she heard him call her name, she looked up.

"Shall we go to the exhibition?"

Ling Nai blinked and closed the trial copy.

"go with!"

She answered faster than she had expected.

Ryosuke nodded and greeted Ayumi.