After drinking a glass of cold water, Kotomi Izumi finally managed to cool her obsessive thoughts a little. Whenever she came back to her senses, she couldn't help but be surprised by the depth of the obsession rooted in her heart.
Surprised, yes—but not afraid.
Kotomi shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about it and shifted her gaze back to the Word document.
Only an hour had passed, and she had already written more than 15,000 characters. Kotomi was quite satisfied with her current typing speed.
For an average author, writing 15,000 characters could easily take several days.
She finished it in under an hour.
Especially in Japan, where authors weren't expected to update daily, the environment allowed for a more relaxed pace. Kotomi felt like a typing machine in paradise. Most of her time was spent idling, drawing manga, and organizing plotlines. Only when the deadline loomed did she devote a few weeks to focused writing.
With her typing speed, 100,000+ characters in a week was completely doable. Kotomi was confident she could submit a full manuscript of several hundred thousand characters right before the deadline.
"Just a few more days of writing, and Volume 1 of Redo of Healer: Restarting Life will be finished."
"But if I send the manuscript to Haruno now, it'll make me look way too efficient."
"Whether it's readers or editors, I need to keep them hanging a little—can't let them think writing is too easy for me."
Having made up her mind, Kotomi picked up her phone and opened Twitter, posting a quick update.
[The breeze is gentle today, the sun is bright, and yet I'm still sitting in front of my computer, racking my brain over plot ideas. So painful~]
Within seconds, the tweet racked up over a thousand likes. The comments were a mix of urging her to write and expressing sympathy.
[Sending love to Sensei! Please remember to take care of yourself! Don't push too hard—a few thousand words a day is enough!]
[Agreed! We're all gentle readers who just care about Sensei's health~ We're not demons, promise!]
[I don't care about anything else. I just want to read the newest volume of Sword Art Online.]
[And the latest chapter of Chainsaw Man!]
[You're such a devil, Izumi Ki! I never even read light novels before. But after finding out the author of Chainsaw Man in Weekly Shonen Jump also writes for Dengeki Bunko, I went and bought my first light novel.]
[I used to only read novels, never manga.]
[I want to be your dog, Sensei... but you said you only like cats.]
Reading the flood of comments, Kotomi didn't even know how to respond.
Sometimes, it wasn't that she didn't want to interact—it was just that most of the comments on her Twitter posts were impossible to reply to.
Still, even if she couldn't respond, Kotomi loved reading the comments left by her readers. As awkward or weird as some of them might be, they were just another way her readers expressed their love for Izumi Ki.
Ever since opening her Twitter account, Kotomi's favorite daily activity had become scrolling through the replies to her tweets. She would often read them until after 1 a.m. at night.
Just as she was enjoying the scroll, a new comment popped up.
[Keep it up!]
She took a closer look—it was from Renmu Toki.
Kotomi smiled calmly and replied politely:
[Thank you!]
Funny coincidence—Kotomi's Sword Art Online Volume 1 and Renmu Toki's The Girl Who Lived Inside a Mecha Never Smiles Volume 10 had both been scheduled for release in October by their respective editors.
As a seasoned author with consistent sales, Renmu had the advantage of seniority. The PV promotional video originally intended for Sword Art Online Volume 1 had, naturally, been reassigned to Renmu's volume instead.
Which was fair enough. At the time, Kotomi hadn't published a single volume. Even if her work had enormous potential, no one could guarantee one hundred percent it would sell.
In the commercial world of light novels, sales are everything.
Giving the PV promotional video to a veteran best-seller was only natural. After all, Dengeki Bunko only produced one promotional PV per month. That was the rule. Just because Sword Art Online showed promise didn't mean they would break it.
If it were today, though, the situation would be different. Because Sword Art Online by Izumi Ki had started to rack up impressive sales.
Not just good—spectacular.
It even surpassed Renmu Toki, who had received the PV boost. Izumi Ki was now firmly dominating the best-seller rankings, crushing other titles beneath her.
In both light novels and manga, it's simple: if your sales are strong, you earn privileges.
With the sales figures Kotomi had now, if the same situation arose again, the PV slot would likely go to her instead of Renmu.
Just when everyone thought this would ignite a rivalry—a showdown between the hotshot newcomer Izumi Ki and the veteran chart-topper Renmu Toki—something unexpected happened.
On the very first day Sword Art Online Volume 1 topped the best-seller chart, Renmu posted a congratulatory message—along with a photo of herself buying Volume 1 at a bookstore.
Kotomi responded in kind with a tweet of her own, posting a photo of The Girl Who Lived Inside a Mecha Never Smiles Volume 10 and wishing Renmu great success with the anime adaptation of her novel.
Other publishers had secretly hoped the two authors would become bitter rivals. After all, both of them were invaluable to Dengeki Bunko. If the rivalry ever escalated beyond repair, it would be a serious headache for the publisher.
And if Dengeki Bunko had a headache, other publishers would be thrilled.
They could take the opportunity to secretly approach one of the two authors. If the author felt disappointed with Dengeki Bunko, offering a better contract with higher pay and perks might be enough to lure them away.
But surprisingly, the anticipated feud between Izumi Ki and Renmu Toki never materialized. Instead, after their volumes were released, they promoted each other's works on Twitter and exchanged public congratulations. Several other best-selling authors even joined in, making the atmosphere unexpectedly warm and supportive.
Which, to the disappointment of many rival publishers, was... understandable, yet undeniably frustrating.
Kotomi, of course, wasn't going to post anything arrogant like, "You got the PV promo and I still outsold you." She liked showing off, sure—but she also knew when not to.
As a total newcomer, a blank slate, she had rolled into the best-seller chart on her little bike. Building good relationships with her seniors was crucial. One day, that good will might come in handy.
After replying to a few more comments, Kotomi put her phone down and went back to writing.
Until the ringtone on her phone rang out.
It was a call from Asuka Chizuru.
"Izumi-sensei, do you have a moment to chat? I have some good news to share!"
There was a brightness and excitement in Asuka Chizuru's voice that was easy to catch. It surprised Kotomi, because Asuka usually sounded a bit dry and serious whenever they talked on the phone.
Kotomi had even subtly asked her once why she always sounded so serious.
Faced with Kotomi's question, Chizuru paused for a moment, then explained a bit awkwardly that it wasn't intentional. She wanted to speak more cheerfully, to joke naturally with others and lighten the mood.
But her parents had both been junior high teachers. Their personalities, and the way they had raised her, had always been serious and strict. Even though Chizuru herself didn't become a teacher and had joined Shueisha as a manga editor, it was hard for her to break free of those deeply ingrained influences.
As the saying goes, you become who you surround yourself with. Perhaps because Kotomi was like a little sun, gradually warming everything around her, Chizuru had slowly started to change after becoming her editor.
When talking with Kotomi now, Chizuru would try to express her emotions, even laugh and joke a little. Just like she was doing right now.
"Editor Asuka, every time you call me, it feels like you're bringing good news. There's this bird called a magpie that people really like, you know why? Because there's a saying, 'the magpie brings good news.' Editor Asuka, I feel like you're becoming my personal magpie."
Kotomi said it half-jokingly, not thinking much of it since they'd exchanged similar banter before.
But Asuka Chizuru actually took it to heart. It had been several years since she graduated from university and entered Shueisha. Her mindset had long shifted from student to working professional. And yet—here she was, blushing from a single comment made by a high school girl!
A first-year high school girl at that!
In a mild panic, Chizuru rushed to the office freezer, grabbed a popsicle, and gently pressed it against her cheek to cool down the rising heat on her face. To avoid Kotomi noticing her flustered state, she didn't stay silent for too long. After a quick cough, she continued speaking as if nothing had happened:
"Ahem, I'm a person, not a bird. But hearing that from you, Izumi-sensei, makes me very happy."
"Alright, back to business."
"The final designs for the Chainsaw Man Volume 1 cover and first edition obi are done. I'll send them to you by email shortly. If you want any changes, let me know by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
"I've finalized everything with the printer and the online/offline distribution channels. As long as the cover and obi are good to go, the publication process can start the morning after tomorrow."
"Shueisha's current plan is to have Chainsaw Man Volume 1 hit bookstores at the beginning of next month."
"The promotional PV video is already in production. If you review the cover and obi soon and there's nothing to change, the video can be finished tonight and uploaded tomorrow to Shueisha's official Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts."
As soon as Asuka had said she was calling to share good news, Kotomi had already half-guessed what it might be.
And it turned out she was right.
Heck yeah!
Even though she had already gone through the release of Sword Art Online Volume 1, now that her manga Chainsaw Man was about to be published as a standalone volume, Kotomi couldn't help feeling nervous again.
This was something that affected many commercial creators. No matter how famous you were or how much money you made, whenever a new volume was released or a new series began serialization, there was always anxiety about the results.
After all, sales figures constantly determine whether a work lives or dies.
Everyone wants their work to live. No one wants it to die.
Alongside the nervousness, Kotomi felt her excitement building.
She couldn't wait for the day Chainsaw Man Volume 1 would hit the shelves.
"That really is good news. I'll check out the cover and obi you designed later, Editor Asuka. But honestly, I doubt there will be anything that needs changing. I've always admired your design sense. To be honest, I think it's a huge loss for the industry that you didn't become a designer."
Kotomi said this with a smile, but she wasn't joking.
Asuka Chizuru, a seasoned editor at Shueisha, had always personally handled the cover, obi, and bonus designs for the manga volumes she managed—as long as there weren't any unexpected issues.
Kotomi had seen many of her past designs for other series, and they were always top-tier.
Just placing them on a bookshelf made them feel like valuable collectibles.
It was only during one of their chats that Kotomi learned Chizuru had graduated from Tama Art University, one of the "Tokyo Five" art colleges. She had even been selected as an outstanding graduate that year.
Originally, her parents had wanted her to return to her hometown to become an elementary school art teacher after graduation. Both her parents were teachers themselves and believed teaching was the most stable and appropriate career for her.
But Chizuru had gone against their expectations. Without even discussing it with her parents, she decided to stay in Tokyo and applied to Shueisha, where she became a manga editor.
What she had learned at Tama Art University wasn't forgotten after graduation. On the contrary, she put it into practice—just like the line she had written in her student internship report, purely to meet the word count:
"Apply the knowledge gained from textbooks to real-life work, and use the experience gained on the job to reinforce that knowledge."
She'd written it just to get the assignment done and avoid losing points. But after entering the workforce, she ended up half-living by those words.
Being praised like that by Kotomi made Chizuru smile with joy. Still, she responded seriously:
"Even I can't always design the perfect cover every time. Each new project requires a fresh concept and a different style. Just take a look when it arrives. If there's anything that doesn't feel quite right, let me know. As long as we finalize everything before tomorrow afternoon, we're good."
So humble... Kotomi thought with admiration.
After agreeing, she chatted with Chizuru a bit longer before ending the call herself.
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