If we were to ask who the two happiest people in Fuzugawa Bunko are these days, the answer would undoubtedly be editor Machida Sonoko and the beautiful author, Kasumi Shiko, whom she represents.
Thanks to a brilliant plan from her editor, which she learned from an expert, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt as though she was writing with divine inspiration. After learning from the mistakes she made in the second volume, she crafted a detailed narrative for her new book, "Love Metronome." This story picks up with the hero and heroine from the first volume, showcasing their journey as they get to know one another, understand each other, and become friends.
In the second volume, the two characters face bullying from their classmates due to their close relationship, which ultimately brings them closer together. Just as they were considering confessing their feelings for one another, the male protagonist must move away because of his family's job.
After their separation, they can only communicate through their mobile phones. The love of junior high school students is often immature. One cold winter, they decide to meet in person. However, a rare snowstorm makes this meeting very difficult. When they finally reunite, it is already late at night, and all trains have stopped running.
Their first kiss, although just a gentle touch, takes all their courage. They spend the night huddled together in a shabby cabin, sharing many conversations. The following morning, they part ways once again, feeling a deep sense of reluctance.
Kasumigaoka Utaha managed to expand the story to over 100,000 words, enough for a full volume. This kind of immature love story, which stands out among other light novels, has received positive feedback from both Machida and Fuzugawa Bunko, with the second volume scheduled for publication in early October.
"I must invite you out for dinner, Xiao Shi. Please find a suitable time," Machida said, clearly thrilled. In just half a month, she had gone from being on the verge of failure in the publishing house to having a bright future.
"Of course I can go out for dinner, Editor Machida. As long as you can invite the mysterious person who inspired you, I'll treat," Kasumigaoka replied, eager to discover the identity of Machida's friend who had offered such brilliant ideas.
"No, Kasumigaoka. I promised that person I would only let you meet him when he is willing to reveal his identity," Machida responded, respecting Hikigaya's wishes. Furthermore, since this year is Hachiman's year for further studies, she decided against introducing someone as beautiful as Kasumi Shiko to him for the time being—studying was more important.
"You make it sound like that person is some kind of mysterious master. Never mind; he must have his reasons for not wanting to see me. We can just enjoy our time together," Kasumigaoka compromised. She turned on the speakerphone and began flipping through the latest issue of "All Reading" magazine.
"…What you said isn't that he doesn't want to see you. Forget it; I won't offer more reasons. In about half a year, I'll ask for his opinion," Machida said helplessly, realizing that she had unintentionally made Hikigaya seem a bit arrogant in Kasumi's eyes, so she decided to take the blame for it.
"Is it that he doesn't want to see me, or is it that you, Editor Machida, didn't introduce me at all? Could it be that he's handsome, and you don't want to share?" Kasumigaoka speculated playfully.
"If you have time to chat with me, you might as well quickly type out the outlines for the last three volumes of 'Love Metronome' so the publishing house can make plans. I have work to do, so I won't talk for now. Xiaoshi, bye," Machida said, realizing the conversation was straying off track and wanting to end it. She then began to reflect on whether she truly wanted to keep Hikigaya to herself.
"Hmph! You make him sound more mysterious than Mr. Hachiman. It's a pity that no matter how powerful you are, you can't be more powerful than him," Kasumigaoka remarked sharply as she read "The Causes of Disintegration."
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After Hikigaya informed Sakuraba Publishing that the adaptation rights for "Malice" were open for discussion, Sakuraba quickly released this news. Soon, at least five television stations or film companies approached Sakuraba, hoping to get in touch with Hikigaya. He naturally agreed to speak with them one by one. Although he understood he wouldn't make much money from selling the adaptation rights, he knew that the highest bidder would ultimately win.
At this time, Hikigaya had already started school, so he could only make appointments with these companies on weekends, meeting with one company at a time. He also had to allocate one day for tutoring with Machida Sonoko. By the end of September, Hikigaya had met with all the interested companies. He ultimately decided to sell the film and television rights for "Malice" to NHK TV for 10 million yen, in addition to receiving 800,000 yen for each episode aired.
The reason Hikigaya chose NHK was straightforward. They expressed interest in adapting "Malice" into a TV series, which aligned with his vision. Several companies wanted to turn "Malice" into a movie, but Hikigaya ruled that out, believing the content wouldn't fit the scope of a film.
Another reason for selecting NHK was their broader reach, which would help expand the influence of the original work. Although Hikigaya had experienced harassment from NHK's fee collectors in the past, he was relieved to hear that after negotiating the copyright, the other party assured him no one would come to collect payments at his house anymore.
Hikigaya was skeptical about this, as the fee collectors were not NHK employees; they earned commissions by collecting television fees. Would they really adhere to the head office's directives?
While he kept this concern to himself, he recalled that a previous iteration of the "Malice" TV series, produced and aired by NHK in another world, had a very high production quality. However, there were aspects he found unsatisfactory, notably that the role of Detective Kaga—who was intended to be handsome, suave, and romantic—was played by a squinty-eyed, elderly man. Conversely, the role of the seemingly petty murderer, Nonoguchi Osamu, was portrayed by an actor with a more attractive appearance.
Determined to rectify the mistakes from the previous adaptation, Hikigaya specifically instructed the production team to select a charming actor for the role of Kaga Kyoichiro during the copyright negotiations. He hoped that NHK would recognize and choose someone suitable for this important character. He was yet to discover whether an actor named Abe Hiroshi existed in this world, but he believed Uncle Hiroshi's temperament and image would make him the perfect fit for Kaga Kyoichiro.
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