Chapter 244: The Other Party Seems Unreliable
"Arigato."
As soon as Jun sat down and exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Tsuna, the waiter brought the drink Tsuna had ordered ten minutes earlier and placed it in front of her.
"Shouko Teacher, would you mind telling me how old you are...?"
"Shouko?"
Shizuka, who was eavesdropping from the back table, looked at Shouko beside her, who had re-immersed herself in the dessert, and was a little curious as to why Tsuna would choose such a pen name.
"Sixteen, why?" Tsuna was slightly confused.
Jun shook her head. "It's nothing, just a little curious." Then, her voice became softer:
"If I hadn't seen you in person, I wouldn't have believed that 'We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day' was written by a junior high student..."
"Let's get straight to the point. What's the signing process like?" Daisuke was already a bit impatient, not wanting to let the two continue exchanging pleasantries.
"Oh, okay."
Upon hearing this, Jun quickly took out a few printed paper contracts from the shoulder bag beside her and handed them to Daisuke, carefully explaining the general process and situation to the two of them.
After listening, Tsuna went over it in his mind again and asked:
"Sister Jun, do you mean that if I want to publish a physical book, I first need to upload the first volume of my work to Futaba Bunko? Then, based on readers' clicks and readership, we'll accumulate popularity before the physical book is decided?"
"Yes." Jun nodded vigorously, then patted her chest and assured him, "But Shouko Teacher, don't worry, I can guarantee that publishing your book as a physical copy will definitely not be a problem."
The two had already introduced themselves during the previous pleasantries, but they still addressed each other in the same way.
"What about the copyright for this novel?" Daisuke asked.
Jun looked at the place he pointed to and patiently explained:
"The copyright is exclusively owned by Futaba Publishing, and authors are prohibited from submitting similar works to other publishers during the cooperation period."
Daisuke nodded, thought for a moment, and under the confused gazes of Jun and Tsuna, he handed the contract back.
"Wh-What's wrong? Is there something you're not satisfied with?" Jun was puzzled, even feeling that this signing might fall through...
He gave Tsuna a reassuring look. "The terms in the contract are quite good, but I'd still like to discuss it further."
In Japan, the light novel genre is relatively underdeveloped, to the point where no representative works had emerged yet.
The contract he currently held was indeed quite good on the surface, but there were still many potential issues, which he couldn't mention in front of them.
It was still uncertain whether the other party had the ability to revise the contract, so it would be faster to ask the President of Futaba Publishing, President Fūno, out for a meal to discuss it.
Moreover, he had a bit of a selfish motive. Leaving aside whether Tsuna's light novel would become immensely popular, there were several potential issues just regarding the copyright.
Putting aside the copyright issues, he just happened to have the ability to keep the copyright directly with Tsuna, so why wouldn't he?
If Tsuna wanted to adapt it into a manga or anime in the future, he could make the final decision.
"Further? How much further...?"
Jun was extremely confused. In the past two months, she had also signed two or three authors, but she had never heard them mention anything about discussing it further.
Those few people would immediately sign their names on the contract as soon as she took it out, after just a brief glance...
"Don't worry, when Tsuna signs later, it will also be under your name."
Daisuke said lightly. Regarding the girl in front of him, he had a general guess, but he didn't know if it was correct.
While Jun was bewildered and confused, the few of them chatted a bit more. She knew it was likely going to fall through and could only leave disheartened in advance.
As for trying to persuade him to stay or something, she was too embarrassed to say it. The pressure the other party gave her was too great; it felt like there was no room for negotiation...
As for Daisuke's previous remark, she just took it as a polite formality.
Daisuke waited for the other party to leave, and then briefly explained to Tsuna. He quickly understood what his Dad meant.
Simply put, it meant his dad would make a move, and he just needed to continue writing with peace of mind. Dad would handle the contract issues.
Shouko saw that the other party had left, so she directly carried the unfinished cake and sat down opposite Tsuna. "How did it go, Tsuna?"
"Half-signed, I guess."
"Half-signed...?" Shouko tilted her head in confusion.
First, it was an intern editor, and now a half-signing. She really didn't understand anything about light novels and was completely confused...
Tsuna roughly explained it to her, and only then did she understand. Afterward, the four of them sat in the coffee shop for another ten minutes before leaving.
Daisuke drove the three of them home, explained the reason to Shizuka, and then drove away, telling her not to prepare his dinner tonight.
It wasn't until past ten in the evening that Daisuke returned home with a faint smell of alcohol on him. He himself had only drunk a little; most of it was drunk by 'others.'
Shizuka had prepared hangover soup for him in advance. After drinking it, he wanted to go to bed, but she chased him to the bathroom to take a shower before he could climb into bed.
---
In early March, as the morning light first broke, the chill of the Tokyo streets still wrapped around the thin mist. Office workers in crisp suits poured out of the subway exits like migratory birds, the hems of their dark coats ruffled by the wind.
The navy blue uniform skirts of students brushed against the sidewalk, and the straps of their school bags gleamed with subtle light in the morning sun.
They cycled through, accompanied by the crisp sound of bicycle bells, and white steam from Oden escaped as convenience store automatic doors opened and closed.
Tsuna was distracted in class as usual, and because they were graduating directly, the teachers had also relaxed their management considerably. Teachers no longer woke up students who slept in class.
Except for Teacher Fujiro, no one dared to sleep in her class.
"Dong... Dong... Dong...!"
"Class dismissed, students, and remember to wake up those who are sleeping so they can get up and eat lunch." The elderly teacher chuckled and walked out of the classroom.
The quiet classroom immediately became noisy. Students who were still in their dreams didn't even need others to wake them up.
Shouko took out two bento boxes from her school bag and was about to reach out to wake someone up, but when she turned her head, she saw that he was already awake, his gaze fixed on his watch.
"I'm going out to take a call, Shouko, can you help me heat up the bento?" Tsuna showed her the caller ID note on his watch; it was Jun from yesterday.
"Mhm."
Shouko agreed without thinking. This was Tsuna's business, and it was best not to be willful at this time.
She got up and pulled the still confused Ajitani and Takagi to the heating area in the first-floor cafeteria to heat up the bento boxes.
As for Nishikata, his family hadn't prepared a bento today, so he had already rushed down to the convenience store to buy rice balls as soon as the teacher said class was dismissed.
Otherwise, he might not even be able to squeeze into the convenience store later, and even if he did, just waiting in line to pay would take ten minutes or so.
"Hello? Sister Jun, what's wrong?" Tsuna walked to the corridor, his gaze falling on the cherry blossom trees downstairs that hadn't bloomed yet, and answered the call.