Short hair, blue eyes, ample bosom, and most importantly, black stockings.
Although she projected a seductive image, she was, in fact, a serious publishing house editor, soon to be promoted to editor-in-chief.
This was Sonoka Machida.
Standing before the office door of Futabasha's editor-in-chief, Sonoka took several deep breaths before knocking.
"Reporting in, Sonoka Machida here for debriefing."
"Come in."
A calm yet resonant middle-aged male voice sounded from within.
Hearing this, Sonoka tightened her grip on the folder in her left arm and pushed the door open.
Upon entering, she came face-to-face with her boss's boss's boss—Editor-in-Chief Itō.
As Sonoka stood across the desk from him, Itō merely glanced at her before speaking.
"Machida, I hear you've had quite the disagreement with the marketing department?"
"N-no, it was just the usual debate over print runs for a particular work."
Despite having mentally prepared herself beforehand, Sonoka was still startled by the question.
What was the marketing department playing at? Reporting such trivial matters to the editor-in-chief? Were they tattling?
Editor-in-Chief Itō flipped to the summary report for The Metronome in Love and frowned.
"Sales fell short of projections. The printers even have 15% of the print run still in stock. Reader feedback hasn't been ideal either... I'm curious about your insistence on increasing the print run for this work, Machida."
"..."
Sonoka instantly fell silent.
Though the work's quality was excellent, the lacklustre sales were due to its sudden release with minimal promotion. The 15% overstock wasn't a reflection of poor performance—the real issue lay with the publicity department botching the campaign.
Having now offended two of the publishing house's most powerful departments, could she even continue working as an editor?
Burdened by such concerns, Sonoka stayed quiet—too afraid to speak.
Noting her silence, Editor-in-Chief Itō remained composed.
"Machida."
"Yes."
Itō clasped his hands together, resting them against his lips, his expression grave.
"I understand your frustration. It's painful when a work you love isn't appreciated by the masses for various reasons."
"But pain aside, such matters shouldn't cloud an editor's judgment of the data."
"The Metronome in Love may be an excellent work, but a publishing house must turn a profit. We don't pursue excellence—we pursue profits!"
"Now, looking at the data objectively, does this work truly merit a reprint?"
Sonoka dared not evade the question.
"Based on sales figures and reader feedback... no, it doesn't."
Seeing this, Itō didn't press further, speaking plainly instead.
"Notify the author to wrap it up in three volumes. Have them focus on preparing their next work. The publishing house won't reject any project with promising feedback data."
"You may go now."
"Yes."
Sonoka understood the root of the problem.
It was simply a case of someone in the publicity department playing petty games.
Unaware of this at the time, Sonoka had fervently recommended Utaha Kasumigaoka's work to the marketing department, who—trusting her judgment—had increased the print run.
As a result, due to someone in the publicity department meddling, sales completely tanked. A large number of overprinted paperback editions remained unsold, and the pressure fell squarely on the marketing department, which was responsible for determining the print run.
For the marketing department, wasn't this just setting them up for failure?
They had trusted Sonoka Machida's judgement and decided to increase the initial print run, only for the product to underperform and remain unsold, leaving them in the lurch.
This outcome directly led to the marketing department blaming Sonoka Machida for screwing them over, sparking a conflict that even escalated to the editor-in-chief's office.
After all, in Japan's publishing industry, releasing novels involves physically printing books.
Regardless of how well a book sells, the print run must be decided before publication.
And this print run requires payment up front.
Printing costs, editor royalties, author royalties, illustrator royalties, bookstore commissions, and shipping fees.
All these payments must be made once the marketing department finalises the print run.
And if the print run doesn't sell out, the responsibility falls squarely on the marketing department.
All it took was one casual alteration by a frontline publicity staff member, and a book Sonoka Machida had predicted would sell well was abruptly axed.
For romance light novels, five volumes make a standard series. Ending at three volumes? That's clearly an axe.
The publicity department messed up, yet she and the marketing department bore the blame. To top it off, the marketing department now resented her. Sonoka Machida truly felt unjustly treated.
Yet there was nothing she could do about it. She was just a powerless junior editor, after all.
Sonoka Machida left the editor-in-chief's office, weighed down by negativity. As she was about to leave, a colleague suddenly rushed past her.
"Excuse me."
Sonoka Machida stepped aside and glanced back through the open office door. She saw the editor-in-chief's trusted aide speaking urgently to him, looking tense.
"Emergency board meeting... equity transfer... president's reassignment... new president arriving for inspection..."
At the very end, Sonoka Machida blinked in surprise upon hearing a familiar name following the mention of the new president.
—Utaha Kasumigaoka.
"No way?" A terrifying thought surfaced in Sonoka Machida's mind.