"Ah, isn't it? What about you?" Mochizuki felt it was indeed just average, and he wasn't very clear on what constituted good sales for a work.
However, looking at the foot traffic and purchasing situations at the bookstore on two occasions, it seemed okay?
Next time, he wouldn't go to the bookstore to join the fun.
Oh no, he still had to go with Shiina Mahiru one more time, he almost forgot again.
The first sale of volume 1 sold around 30,000 copies, while this time it was around 40,000 copies, an increase of nearly 10,000.
Furthermore, reprints weren't included, but there weren't many reprints.
But adding all of this together, the gap from Yamada Elf's two million sales is too big!
Looking at it this way, Yamada Elf is like an insurmountable mountain.
And Kasumigaoka Utaha had to wonder if Mochizuki really didn't understand, or if he was just humblebragging.
She knew she shouldn't have asked in the first place to avoid embarrassment, but who could blame her for being a little curious!
Kasumigaoka Utaha then spoke with a touch of regret: "Only 20,000 copies."
"Oh, that's pretty good too."
Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head, took a bite of bread, it was indeed very dry!
She felt she could do better, and should do better.
Mochizuki didn't expect his sales to be one and a half times more than Kasumigaoka Utaha's, but he wasn't complacent either.
Sure enough, there's no harm without comparison.
"Have you started writing the next volume?" Kasumigaoka asked.
She also followed Mochizuki's work, and because the male protagonist, Natsuki Subaru, died inexplicably at the end of volume 2, Kasumigaoka was somewhat curious about the subsequent developments and wanted to probe.
Also, only Mochizuki could keep up with her writing speed.
"Not yet, I've been slacking off recently." Mochizuki finished the last bite of bread and slowly folded the packaging bag.
"Hmm... slacking off isn't good, if you don't write, be careful that Machida Editor might come looking for you."
"Hey, how is that possible! There's still plenty of time."
.....
Meanwhile, in the stairwell, Aki Tomoya climbed to the top floor and saw the slightly ajar door, a hint of joy appearing on his face.
Sure enough, the rooftop was unlocked year-round, just as the students rumored.
Gently pushing open the door, Aki Tomoya was startled by the sudden sound of conversation.
"I've already finished the third volume and am preparing for the fourth volume." Kasumigaoka Utaha said, smiling smugly.
At least for now, she was faster than Mochizuki in terms of writing speed.
"Wow, that's fast!" Mochizuki was a little surprised.
The last time he saw Kasumigaoka writing a novel, she was still on the third volume, and now that the second volume had just been released, she was already preparing to write the fourth volume.
As expected, she was diligent!
Aki Tomoya at the rooftop iron door staggered, taking a step back, thankfully without making any noise.
Aki Tomoya breathed a sigh of relief.
Hmm? Are there other students?
Damn it, is it this difficult to find a place where no one is around to quietly read a light novel?
"Of course! This is called striking while the iron is hot."
"Senpai, you're not writing all day, are you? Don't you do anything else, don't you rest?"
"Hmm, other things, well, I don't seem to have anything to do.
As for resting, the breaks during class are quite sufficient."
"Senpai, if you're like this, have you considered the feelings of other new authors?
For us, the pressure is really big!"
Mochizuki's mouth twitched slightly.
It was really not easy being Kasumigaoka's sensei!
"Hmph, well, I can't help that."
"Senpai, your readers will definitely love your update speed."
"Hmm, so you shouldn't be lazy either."
The sound of conversation continued.
Aki Tomoya, having just arrived, couldn't hear very clearly.
Hmm? Wait!
This voice made Aki Tomoya feel a bit familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for a moment.
Aki Tomoya: Striking? Striking what iron? Senpai? Author? Updates?
Aki Tomoya calmed down and continued to listen carefully to the voices.
What?
They seemed to be discussing light novels, which meant that the other party could be his fellow enthusiast.
If that's the case, then I, Aki Tomoya, must promote the latest works to them, I believe they will definitely like them!
Aki Tomoya thought happily, he didn't expect to meet fellow enthusiasts on the rooftop, and there were two of them.
In Aki Tomoya's class, he couldn't find classmates who could discuss otaku culture with him, or those who liked it never discussed it in class.
Alas, this made Aki Tomoya very disappointed!
Every time he preached about manga and light novels in class, it caused many classmates to look at him with strange eyes.
And they called him a "shut-in otaku."
Therefore, Aki Tomoya could only spend all day discussing and preaching with netizens online.
However, because of this, Aki Tomoya became a somewhat influential blogger on 2D culture.
At the same time, his blogger identity also brought him some income, but it couldn't meet his consumption expenses, after all, he had to buy light novels, manga, figures, merchandise...
Too many!
So he also had to work part-time.
Subsequently, Aki Tomoya leaned against the wall, poked his head out, and peeked, wanting to see what kind of two people they were.
Aki Tomoya quickly withdrew his head, showing an even more surprised expression.
It was fine if he didn't look, but once he looked, Aki Tomoya didn't expect it to be those two people, no wonder their voices were so familiar.
Mochizuki Yo and Kasumigaoka Utaha, what were they doing on the rooftop?
Sure enough, these two had something going on that couldn't be seen by others, right?
In that case, wouldn't his opportunity come again?
The photos he took last time hadn't been used yet, and recently he didn't have many opportunities to see Kato Megumi.
The main reason was that Kato Megumi seemed to be avoiding him, and her weak presence made it impossible for him to notice her at all.
Another reason was that Aki Tomoya had been busy reading volume 2 of re:zero - starting life in another world recently.
When it was first released last time, he was unlucky and didn't manage to get one!
These past few days, he had run all over many bookstores, big and small, in Chiba, and finally bought it last night at a remote store.
Of course, Aki Tomoya wouldn't be foolish enough to secretly take pictures at such a close distance.
At this distance, if he opened his phone to take a picture and the sound rang out, wouldn't he be discovered immediately?
As long as he eavesdropped or peeked, and confirmed that the two were not just ordinary male and female classmates, that would be enough.
At that time, he would have the confidence to talk nonsense to Kato Megumi.
He decided to act immediately.
Aki Tomoya gently leaned against the wall, maintaining a silent state, not making a sound.
He wanted to hear what kind of relationship Mochizuki and Kasumigaoka had, and he also paused his intention to go forward and preach.
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