After leaving the Yukinoshita residence, Hikigaya Hachiman got into his assistant's car and headed for Tokyo. He had two things to do that afternoon: the main task was to go to Sakuraba Publishing to deliver the final revision of The Clockwork Museum Incident and discuss his next work. The secondary task was to "accidentally" visit the set of the Confessions movie.
"Mr. Hachiman," his assistant, Sakamachi, said before starting the car, "this morning we received a cooperation proposal from Kodansha. I've sent it to your phone. However, this proposal is different from those from other publishing houses. They hope you can provide an original story for a manga, and they will select a cartoonist to serialize it in Weekly Young Magazine."
"A manga series?" Hachiman asked in surprise. "What kind of magazine is Weekly Young Magazine? Do you know anything about it?" He hadn't expected Kodansha to approach him with a proposal for a comic. They truly were a major player in the world of manga and anime.
"To put it bluntly, Mr. Hachiman, this magazine is the leader among Japanese seinen manga magazines," Sakamachi answered quickly and accurately. As someone hired to be Hachiman's assistant, he possessed an extensive knowledge base in various fields, especially publishing.
"Moreover," he added, "based on the style of your past works, the invitation would have to come from a seinen magazine, which is aimed at young adult men, rather than a shonen magazine for teenage boys." Sakamachi clarified that he wasn't a fan of Hachiman's, but he had read his novels many times before taking the job. It was just his personality to be thorough.
"I see... So, in a manga collaboration like this, what would I have to do?" Hachiman asked.
"Normally speaking, even the party providing the plot is most likely a cartoonist or someone with relevant experience. They would need to provide the artist not only with the plot but also with rough storyboards. In short, the 'soul' of the comic would need to be provided by a partner like you," the assistant answered.
"So, if I cooperate with Kodansha, I'll have little control over the serialized manga," Hachiman confirmed. "After all, I can't draw, and I don't understand storyboards. The cartoonist would have to be given free rein."
"Well, how should I put it?" Sakamachi said, choosing his words carefully. "As long as you make a request to Kodansha, they would definitely have the cartoonist contact you frequently to confirm the creative direction. But you can probably sense that this would greatly reduce the efficiency of creation. Considering this is a weekly magazine, the pressure of serialization is already quite high, so..."
Sakamachi didn't continue. He himself was not optimistic about this collaboration, but as an assistant, he wouldn't take the initiative to express his opinion; he would just explain the objective situation.
"It's okay. I understand what you mean," Hachiman said with some sarcasm. "If I let it go, I'd be irresponsible to my own work; if I'm too demanding, it would be difficult to continue the series. In the end, the problem might even be blamed on me because I can't provide them with ready-made storyboards. How interesting." But a new idea had already formed in his mind.
"However, I could find a cartoonist I'm familiar with to create this work. Of course, I'd still need to confirm if she's willing. Let's do this, Sakamachi: go back and ask Kodansha if they would accept my own choice of cartoonist, whose artistic skills are guaranteed. If they don't agree, then forget it. There are other magazines that would be willing to serialize it," Hachiman ordered.
"I see, Mr. Hachiman. By the way, may I ask who this artist you're considering is? I won't tell them the name, but if I have an impression of her, I can at least describe her to Kodansha."
"Um..." Hachiman said, a little embarrassed as he lowered his voice. "Her name is Kashiwagi Eri. Have you heard of her?"
"Kashiwagi Eri... Wow, writer Hachiman," Sakamachi replied, his face a picture of intrigue.
"Don't just say 'wow'! She's my friend," Hachiman retorted defensively. "But it seems you know quite a bit, Sakamachi."
"I just know a little about a lot of things, Mr. Hachiman," Sakamachi said with a smile. "Knowing a little about everything makes life more colorful."
"Understood, Mr. Hachiman! Now everything is ready!" Mr. Shibuya, the head of Sakuraba's publishing department, said excitedly after receiving the final manuscript and illustrations from Hachiman. "You can now look forward to the grand occasion when The Clockwork Museum Incident is released on July 3rd!"
"But, Mr. Shibuya," Hachiman asked curiously, not to pour cold water on his enthusiasm but simply because it was the truth, "as far as I know, pure mystery books like this don't usually have particularly good sales." Since the new era of mystery novels began, although the orthodox mystery genre had shown a trend of revival, in terms of market performance, social mystery still held a crushing advantage—a trend Hachiman himself had contributed greatly to.
"You're right, Mr. Hachiman," Mr. Shibuya admitted. This was a serious business discussion, so there was no need to be shy. "The mystery literature community is very small. Any mystery novel that has achieved great success in sales, such as your Confessions, must have attracted a large number of readers from outside the circle. This is the advantage of social mystery; it's highly readable and based on social reality, making it easy for readers to feel involved."
"However, if we look for the reasons within the works themselves," he continued, his excitement growing, "I think that ever since Mr. Shimada created The Astrology Murder Magic, although orthodox reasoning has shown signs of revival, there has never been anyone who could take on the responsibility of leading it. And you, Mr. Hachiman, your The Clockwork Museum Incident will shoulder this mission. Our entire publishing house, including Mr. Shimada himself, believes so!"
"In short, Mr. Hachiman, The Clockwork Museum Incident will be a work that transcends time. Therefore, it can do what other orthodox mystery novels cannot. It can make more people understand the beauty of mystery literature. You can rest assured."
"Since you've said so, Mr. Shibuya, I have no worries," Hachiman said proudly, inspired by the man's confidence. "I am certain that The Clockwork Museum Incident can become a new benchmark for 'orthodox' reasoning in this new era."
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