"Have you had lunch yet?"
As soon as he entered the meeting room, he spotted Mari Kazaoka already seated inside. Beside her sat an unfamiliar woman, wearing glasses and giving off a somewhat inexperienced vibe—likely a junior staff member from the publishing company. Haruto gave her a polite smile before walking over and sitting down across from Mari.
"I ate before coming. Shall we get started?"
"This is the publishing contract. There's no issue with the manuscript itself; in fact, the editor-in-chief holds your work in quite high regard. As a result, they're offering you a very favorable contract for a newcomer. Please take your time reviewing it to see if there's anything you'd like to amend."
Mari handed the contract to the woman beside her—Suzuki, apparently. As a junior staffer, Suzuki dutifully accepted the document, stood up, and placed it in front of Haruto before quietly returning to her seat beside Mari.
Mari had initially expected that Haruto would bring someone along with him for support, but surprisingly, he had come alone. Watching the boy flip through the contract seriously, Mari remained calm. After all, she doubted a high schooler would truly understand all the legal jargon.
"Only 9% royalties?"
Just as she lowered her gaze to the paper cup in front of her, ready to patiently wait out his 'pretend reviewing,' Haruto's question caught her off-guard. She looked up at him, startled.
"Industry standard royalties are usually around 10%, aren't they?"
Haruto's sharp gaze met hers. His brow furrowed slightly. In his previous experiences, royalties had always floated between 10% and 12%. A figure under 10%—he hadn't encountered that before.
"It seems Miyamizu-kun has a good understanding of the industry. Generally speaking, royalties are indeed around 10%. However, as a newcomer who's not yet familiar with the market, it's typical for us to deduct taxes on your behalf. The 9% listed here is your net income, after taxes."
"No need. I have a tax consultant. I can handle that myself, so your company doesn't need to worry about it."
Fūoka Mari met his steady gaze for a long moment, then silently smiled and nodded. She opened her own copy of the contract and made a quick note to adjust that clause.
"Very well. Miyamizu-kun will handle taxes himself. Besides that, are there any other issues?"
Signing a contract was a serious matter. Handle it well, and it would work in your favor. Handle it poorly...
Without answering immediately, Haruto continued carefully reading the contract. He started with the revenue split and breach-of-contract clauses, meticulously confirming the details before moving on to the rights and obligations section. His silent, focused demeanor drew Mari's gaze toward his profile, her eyes becoming slightly entranced.
"There are a few clauses that seem problematic. For instance, the exclusivity period—you're locking the rights for two years under your publishing house…"
Haruto's brows knitted together as he tapped the table lightly with his index finger, a serious look on his face.
"Miyamizu-kun, you're still a newcomer, correct?"
"Yes."
He hadn't been one in his past life, but now, objectively speaking, he was indeed an unknown rookie without awards or notable publications—purely a 'nobody' in the eyes of the industry.
"If Miyamizu-kun were an award-winning newcomer, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You'd get the full 10% royalties and far better terms. But publishing a newcomer's work carries risks for us too. I hope you can understand that."
Haruto closed his eyes for a brief moment, his expression calm. He flipped through the contract again, confirming there were no other glaringly unfair clauses.
"Alright. Let's just adjust the royalties, then."
"Suzuki, prepare a revised contract."
"...Understood."
Without another word, the woman called Suzuki stood up and quietly exited the meeting room, leaving just Haruto and Mari inside.
The room fell into a heavy silence. After Suzuki left, Haruto lowered his gaze and waited quietly, not sparing another glance at Mari. Meanwhile, Mari found herself studying the boy before her with growing curiosity.
It was strange. He looked like an ordinary high schooler, yet during the negotiations, his calm and natural demeanor felt more like a seasoned professional than a naive beginner.
"Miyamizu-kun… does your family work in this industry?"
"Hmm?"
Haruto lifted his head slowly at her question, meeting her gaze for a moment before shaking his head slightly.
"No. By the way, how many copies are you planning to print initially?"
"Since you're a newcomer with no prior publicity, we're estimating an initial print run of six thousand copies."
Mari's eyes flickered slightly under Haruto's calm stare. Pressing her lips together, she answered honestly.
"I'm sure Miyamizu-kun understands…"
"I do, I do. New author, new book—there's a lot of risk. It's safer to start with a small print run and gauge market response before deciding whether to reprint. Perfectly reasonable."
His blunt reaction made Mari frown slightly. She had been planning to gently explain the realities of the market to him, but it turned out he already understood perfectly. That saved her some effort, but it also deepened her curiosity about why he was so quick to accept the harsh reality without a hint of complaint.
"Selling hundreds of thousands of copies is something only top-tier authors achieve. For a newcomer, six thousand is pretty decent. That said, will your company be handling any publicity?"
"Of course. We'll promote it through our magazines, weekly publications, and media channels."
Mari's response was serious. Haruto smiled faintly but didn't expect much. The room fell silent once more.
Accepting reality and embracing reality—those were two very different things.
Even though he kept his expression in check, Haruto couldn't help feeling a trace of dissatisfaction deep down as he quietly sat, thinking about other possible ways to boost publicity.
Watching the boy sink into thought, Mari didn't say anything either. The room remained still until half an hour later, when the door opened again.
Suzuki returned with two newly prepared copies of the contract, handing one to each of them.
After carefully checking them over, both parties confirmed everything was in order, signed their names, stamped the papers, and rose to their feet. They exchanged a perfunctory handshake before Haruto took his leave from the publishing company.
"That boy... he looks so delicate and refined, but he's surprisingly cool-headed. If we held a signing event, I bet he'd attract a lot of female readers."
Suzuki watched Haruto's departing figure and suddenly spoke up.
"Why don't we arrange a bookstore signing event for him?"
"He's still a student—he probably won't have much free time. Besides, looks aren't everything. Ultimately, it's the quality of the work that matters most."
"Are you saying his work isn't good?"
"It's acceptable. The quality's right on the average line. Even if it doesn't win a grand prize, it could still snag an excellence award or something."
"Well then…"
Mari packed up her things and walked out of the conference room without answering Suzuki's question — why she didn't seem particularly optimistic about that boy's work.
Returning to her desk, she sat down heavily. A stack of unfinished work awaited her, and her face once again sank into deep, helpless resignation.
"Back to work…"
Meanwhile, leaving the publishing, Haruto returned to his apartment. He tossed the contract onto his desk without a second glance and collapsed onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Somehow, even the familiar ceiling felt a little alien tonight.
Six thousand copies.
"It's a little less than I'd hoped, but still… that should be around 300,000 to 400,000 yen."
Earning that much in about a month wasn't bad. Lying still on the bed, Haruto let out a quiet sigh.
"Well, whatever. At least it's getting published. The rest is up to the market."
Images of the girl he met that morning floated back into his mind. Slowly, he closed his eyes...
Since the contract was already signed, Haruto informed Setsuna and Mai that very evening. Seeing how genuinely happy they were for him, he couldn't help but let go of his earlier hesitation over the "six thousand" figure and smiled along with them.
"Have they decided the publication date yet?"
Mai asked, clearly interested. She still didn't know exactly what Haruto's story was about, and her gaze flickered subtly toward her daughter, a hint of curiosity stirring inside her.
"Not yet. They're probably still working on the cover design."
"I see…"
"But it won't take too long. A month, maybe two at most."
"So, around June or July?"
"More like July. There are still a few details left to iron out."
Hearing his answer, Mai thought for a moment. Two months didn't seem like such a long wait. She nodded, making a mental note to buy a few copies when the book finally came out to support him.
"No need to go line up at the bookstore," Haruto added with a smile. "They'll be sending me some copies."
"Oh, I see."
Mai blinked at him, tilting her head slightly with a puzzled look.
"You seem oddly familiar with how this works?"
"I picked up a few things. Plus, I learned more today during discussions with them."
Haruto explained with a calm smile, mentioning Mari's name casually. Hearing that, Mai's expression eased — she seemed to understand, and didn't press any further.
Sitting quietly nearby, Setsuna watched her mother's reaction without a word.Then after dinner, she pulled Haruto aside into her room, leaving Mai alone in the living room...
From within Setsuna's room, soft and ambiguous sounds began to leak out not long after.
Even though Mai had mentally prepared herself, when it actually happened, a wave of helplessness and shame still crashed over her. She sat stiffly for barely ten minutes before retreating silently to her bedroom, carefully shutting the door behind her.
By the time Haruto returned to the living room from Setsuna's room, it was brightly lit and empty — a sight that gave him a strange sense of peace.
With the publishing details settled, life for Haruto returned to a quieter rhythm.
School during the day, writing his usual novels at night, and occasionally checking Mari's emails for updates — progress reports, cover drafts, things like that.
"Is the cover too minimalistic?"
Looking at the black-and-white design — a lone, falling black speck representing the heroine — Haruto fell silent for a long moment and sighed.
"Do you have any suggestions or requests?"
Mari's reply came swiftly. After some thought, Haruto sent back his ideas.
She didn't refuse.
A day later, a new cover arrived. This time, following his suggestions, it felt far less oppressive — more comfortable, more in line with what he had imagined.
—
"Publishing?"
At the astronomy club, Haruto had originally gone looking for Rio Futaba, but she wasn't in the science lab today. Instead, he found Koharu sitting by the window.
The breeze from the open window caught the edge of her skirt, lifting it just enough to flash the white frills underneath. Haruto's sharp eyes caught the fleeting glimpse before trailing back up to her face.
"So the trips to the publisher were for your book?"
Koharu left the window and walked over to him. She stretched out her arms, like a child asking for a hug.
Smiling faintly, Haruto scooped her up into his arms and sat down on one of the nearby chairs. His gaze drifted to the left wall, where — as always — dozens of photographs of him were plastered all over.
No, wait — there were even more now.
He sighed inwardly. He was used to this room by now. Still, noticing the change, he casually commented:
"Maybe it's time to take these down. It could cause trouble if anyone sees them."
"This is the top floor. No one else comes up here," Koharu said.
"Still, just in case?"
Glancing down at the girl in his arms, Haruto tried to reason with her in a gentle tone. Koharu fell silent for a moment, then gave a small nod, seemingly understanding his concern.
"Alright. I'll take them all home after school today."
"..."
Honestly, he had hoped she would just destroy them, but... Well, taking them home was at least better than leaving them here.
"When's the release date?"
"There's still a bit of time. Probably July or so, before it hits the bookstores."
"Got it."
Koharu nodded thoughtfully, committing the timeframe to memory. She was already planning to have her father buy copies for everyone at his company — one for each employee — as a show of support for Haruto.
"What's the title?"
"Not finalized yet, but if nothing changes, it'll be 'The Angel with a Stigma'."
"Who's the 'Angel'?"
Tilting her head back to reveal her slender, pale neck, Koharu gazed up at him with her lively eyes, full of innocent curiosity.
Haruto met her gaze briefly before looking away, falling silent for a moment. Then he smiled faintly and locked eyes with her again.
"Why didn't you come with me last weekend?"
"I got caught by my mother and was grounded," Koharu admitted with a pout.
"..."
Their eyes met. Haruto pressed his lips together to suppress a laugh, while Koharu simply nestled closer against him without a hint of blame for his amusement.
—
Leaving the astronomy club, Haruto made his way back toward the classroom.
Halfway across the campus courtyard, he ran into a familiar figure — Rio Futaba, wearing her usual lab coat.
Seeing Haruto, Rio's eyes flickered briefly toward the direction he had come from.
"Club activities?"
Haruto nodded.
"...Yeah, just came from the clubroom."
Seeing Rio standing in front of him, he was a little surprised — he hadn't run into her at the lab, but here she was, crossing paths with him on the way back to the classroom.
"You weren't at the lab?"
"I wasn't at school this morning. I just got back around noon."
"I see."
Remembering something Rio had mentioned to him before, Haruto nodded in understanding.
"Hmm?"
Just as he was about to chat with her a little more before heading back to class, Haruto noticed something.The girl in front of him suddenly lifted her hand and lightly wiped the corner of his mouth — a gesture so abrupt and unclear in meaning that it left Haruto blinking in confusion.
"Your lips... Lipstick. It's really obvious, you know."
Tapping her own lip with her fingertip, Rio said it calmly, her eyes steady as she looked up at the boy standing before her.