Tokyo: Oreimo

Ayumi looked up from the ledger, glanced at them, and said with a smile, "Go on, go on, we've got you covered here, don't worry."

Tian Zhongxue waved his hand from the side: "Gao Cheng, you haven't been out much these past few days, have you? You've got some free time today, might as well go shopping! I'll call you if anything comes up!"

Ryosuke responded and walked out of the stall side by side with Ryou.

......

"Senior! The manga club booth over there looks really lively!"

Aoi Morikawa pointed in the direction of the East Fourth Building.

Hayakawa Rumi looked in the direction she was pointing and indeed saw a long line in front of a stall. For there to be such a scene on the third day of Winter COMI, either some limited doujinshi product had been released, or the work itself was quite popular.

"Let's go take a look."

The two walked to the stall. Hayakawa Rumi didn't rush to queue up. Instead, she stood on the outside and observed for a while. This was her habit. She would first look at the stall's layout and the quality of the customer flow before deciding whether it was worth taking seriously.

The preview copy was worn and frayed from being turned over so many times. On the cover, Ryougi Shiki's silhouette was holding a short sword in the moonlight, with a line of cold dialogue printed next to her. She had seen this line many times online.

The Garden of Sinners.

As an editor, she naturally paid attention to the heated discussions about this fan fiction on the Future Dimension Forum over the past two days.

She also saw the pinned post from the official account last night, and she was thinking that the fact that Aniplex would specifically recommend a doujinshi from a university club said a lot.

She flipped through a few pages of the preview.

The narrative pace is brisk, the psychological descriptions are approached from a mature angle, and the atmosphere is created quite well. After several years of editing work, she can now make basic judgments on these technical aspects in just a few pages.

Then her gaze settled on a particular paragraph.

That description used three consecutive short sentences, then abruptly shifted to an extremely long inner monologue—a transition she had seen before.

I saw it in the script for Fate/stay night.

Hayakawa Rumi closed the preview book and remained silent for a moment.

Is this author intentionally imitating Kinoko Nasu's writing style?

She was thinking to herself.

Because they look so alike.

It's not the writing style that's similar, but rather the way the narrative rhythm is handled.

In FSN, Shirou Emiya's inner monologues also habitually use this "short sentence to start, long sentence to advance" structure, which is completely different from the rhythm commonly used by most light novel authors, and is more like a person's muscle memory.

But she quickly shook her head.

No, that can't be it.

Ryosuke Takagi's writing style is so varied that it's almost absurd.

The calm and restrained style of "Kino's Journey," the heavy tragedy of "Fate/Zero," and the carefree and cheerful style of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"—every time he changes his subject matter, even the breathing of his writing changes accordingly.

Even if the writing style of "Kara no Kyoukai" is somewhat similar to that of FSN, it doesn't prove anything.

More importantly, given his current skill level, there's absolutely no need for him to write fan fiction. He's currently managing Aniplex's game scripts and animation projects simultaneously, so writing fan fiction for a university club would be redundant from any perspective.

But she still had a lingering thought in her mind.

This fanfiction is highly original. Apart from using the Type-Moon universe as its underlying framework, the main characters and core settings are all original creations.

"A very high-quality work. Rather than being a fan fiction, if you remove the world-building, the plot is original."

If we discuss the copyright issues with Aniplex, it has the potential for commercial publishing.

"sunflower."

"exist!"

"Go to line up." Hayakawa Rumi put the sample copy back on the table. "I want you to try signing this doujinshi."

Aoi Morikawa's eyes widened. "Eh? You want me to go?"

"Hmm. I've reviewed the writing style and the completeness of the setting; you're a very experienced author. As an editor, it's important to sign excellent works," Hayakawa Rumi said. "This is an opportunity for you, good luck."

"Yes, senior!"

The line moved quickly, and after about twenty minutes, the two reached the front of the stall.

Morikawa Aoi took a deep breath and, following the procedure taught by her senior, took out her business card holder from her pocket and handed it to the bespectacled boy behind the stall with both hands.

"Hello! I am an editor at Kadokawa Dengeki Bunko. My name is Morikawa Aoi. Our editorial department is very interested in your company's 'Kara no Kyoukai' and would like to discuss the possibility of commercial publication with the author."

Her voice trembled slightly with nervousness, but she still managed to get the words out completely.

.....

The people at the stall stopped moving at the same time.

Ayumi was stacking change in her hand when she froze, and the coin almost slipped through her fingers.

Misaki Asakura was walking by with promotional cards in her hand when she heard the name "Kadokawa" and her steps froze on the spot.

Tian Zhongxue turned around, pushed up his glasses, and stared wide-eyed.

"K-Kakukawa?"

“Yes.” Although Morikawa Aoi’s palms were sweating with nervousness, she still tried her best to maintain the demeanor of a professional editor and handed over her business card with both hands. “On behalf of Dengeki Bunko, I would like to discuss matters related to commercial publishing with the author of Kara no Kyoukai.”

Tian Zhongxue took the business card, his fingers trembling slightly.

He glanced down at the gold-embossed words "Kadokawa Dengeki Bunko" on the business card, then looked up at the young female editor in front of him wearing round-framed glasses, before turning to Ayumi.

Ayumi's reaction was slightly better than his, but not by much.

She put down the change in her hand, took the business card and looked at it carefully to make sure it wasn't a prank or a printing error. Then she took a deep breath and said in as calm a tone as possible, "I'm very sorry, our author is not at the booth right now."

"Is he not here?" Morikawa Aoi was a little disappointed, but then hope rekindled. "Then could you please pass on our message? We sincerely want to have a detailed talk with the author of your group."

"Okay, okay!" Tian Zhongxue finally snapped out of his stunned state and grabbed Ayumi's shoulder. "Ayumi, go contact Takashiro! Quickly!"

"I'm already typing." Ayumi had already taken out her phone and was quickly swiping her fingers across the screen.

Hayakawa Rumi stood behind Morikawa Aoi, watching the scene before her, a slight smile playing on her lips.

She was familiar with this reaction. When members of a university club were poached by a publishing house for the first time, they were so excited that the whole place was in a panic. Every winter at COMI, she could see a similar scene.

Chapter 260 This is my ideal type!

Ayumi took the phone away from her ear. The dialer on the screen was still flashing, but the unanswered tone had already rung three times.

No one answered.

"Try hitting it again?" Tian Zhongxue leaned over, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

Ayumi dialed again, but all she heard was the familiar dial tone. She hung up and shook her head.

"It might be muted, or the signal might be bad in the exhibition hall."

Shota Okubo was anxiously wringing his hands beside him, "What should we do? The editor is waiting."

"Let's make things clear to them first."

Ayumi put down her phone, turned to the two people in front of the booth, and said apologetically, "I'm very sorry, we can't contact our author right now. He's probably at the exhibition, and the signal isn't very good in the exhibition hall."

Aoi Morikawa's expression visibly fell.

Her fingers tightened around the notebook, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say, "We can wait," but then she felt it would be too presumptuous, since the author wasn't at the booth and she couldn't let him stay there indefinitely.

And there were many customers queuing up behind them.

"I see..." Her voice was filled with unconcealed disappointment.

"It's alright." Hayakawa Rumi gently patted her junior's shoulder, her tone gentle. "It's common for authors not to be at their booths at doujinshi conventions. Don't worry about it too much. It's just bad luck."

Morikawa Aoi bit her lower lip, trying to adjust her expression and regain the proper demeanor expected of a newly hired editor, bowing slightly to the crowd at the booth.

"Please pass on these business cards. If the author is interested, please feel free to contact us. Kadokawa Dengeki Bunko is always ready to assist you."

"I will definitely pass it on! I will definitely pass it on!" Tian Zhongxue nodded solemnly, holding the business card. "I will tell him as soon as he gets back!"

"That's great." Hayakawa Rumi smiled slightly, her gaze sweeping over the stall.

The manga research club at Waseda University had a booth that was a bit messy, but you could tell they had prepared it carefully. The cover illustrations of the preview copies were of a very high standard, completely different from those doujinshi that were just drawn on the spot and printed out.

It's a club with potential.

She didn't say anything more, but gave her junior a look. Morikawa Aoi understood, bowed again to thank her, and then followed Hayakawa Rumi, turning around and merging into the crowd at the East Fourth Building.

"Senior, did I perform poorly?" Morikawa Aoi asked softly after walking a distance.

“No, that’s not true.” Hayakawa Rumi shook her head. “For her first attempt at striking up a conversation, she did a great job. At least she handed out her business card, made things clear, and did everything she was supposed to do.”

"But the author isn't here..."

"If you leave your business card, the author will naturally contact you if they are interested. In the editing profession, you have to learn to wait. You can't feel like you've failed just because you didn't meet the person once."

When Hayakawa Rumi said this, it was as if she was recalling something. "Moreover, the authors of the circles that are recognized by Aniplex will not have their vision limited to doujinshi conventions. Sooner or later, they will realize that there is another way to go: commercial publishing."

Morikawa Aoi nodded thoughtfully, hugged her notebook to her chest, and glanced back at the direction of the manga club booth.

“Let’s go, there are still a few more stalls to visit.” Hayakawa Rumi pulled her scarf up a bit. “I’ll take you to try and meet some other promising authors.”

.....

At the comics club booth, after the two editors left, the suppressed excitement finally erupted.

"Kadokawa! Kadokawa's editor is here to see us!"

Tian Zhongchu held the business card up high, almost poking a passing tourist with his exaggerated gesture. "Ayumi, did you see that?! It's Kadokawa! The Kadokawa that published 'Kino's Journey' and 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'!"

"I saw it, President. Please put your business card down first. There's someone glaring at you from behind." Ayumi rubbed her temples.

Tian Zhongxue then realized how exaggerated his actions were, and quickly and carefully put the business card into the inside pocket of his coat, even patting it to make sure it was in place.

"However, the one standing at the back just now seemed even more formidable." Shota Okubo leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, as if savoring something.

"What do you mean?"

"That's the feeling."

Shota Okubo gestured, "That young editor was very polite, but she was obviously a newbie. Her hand was shaking when she handed over her business card. But the person behind her just stood there watching from the beginning and didn't say a word. But as soon as she opened her mouth, the new editor immediately calmed down."

“Indeed.” Misaki Asakura nodded, holding the promotional card. “And she flipped through the sample copy very quickly, but she read each page carefully before speaking.”