"So, do you have time now?" Ajitani asked, raising an eyebrow at the people in front of her.
"Yes, yes, yes," Shouko nodded helplessly. "Ajitani-chan, this is the fifth time you've asked today."
"I was just afraid something might suddenly delay you," Ajitani chuckled, scratching the back of her head.
"Ajitani-chan, don't worry. We're free in a few days, and we've already told our parents," Takagi said, pulling over a chair and sitting down, echoing Shouko's words.
"I was just afraid that Miyamura, this busy person, might suddenly be delayed by something."
Before Tsuna, who was sitting next to her, could explain, Shouko interjected, "Don't worry, Tsuna has been very idle lately."
The three of them simultaneously turned to look at Tsuna. He chose to ignore them, resting his head on the desk to sleep, not participating in their conversation.
The truth was just as Shouko said; he had indeed been very idle for the past week. Perhaps everyone considered that he had exams coming up and chose not to disturb him.
Two months truly flew by in the blink of an eye. The sales of the first volume of "Anohana" successfully surpassed 50,000 copies, already qualifying as a high-selling bestseller.
Online discussions about the subsequent plot of "Anohana" were also growing.
This was unexpected for him, as he had initially estimated only around twenty to thirty thousand copies, and the content of the first volume wasn't particularly outstanding.
However, he had underestimated the backwardness of modern Japanese literature. Initially, it might have been due to a lack of publicity, but then in June, sales began to surge.
Futaba Publishing hadn't anticipated this and had to start reprinting overnight.
The fame of "Anohana" also successfully boosted Shouko's account on "PIXIV."
Her account had already surpassed 100,000 followers without any promotion, making her a small internet celebrity.
Everyone was very curious about the anime characters she posted on her account, mostly speculating if they were characters from Miyamura-sensei's new book.
"Dong... dong...!"
The bell for the last class rang. Shouko reached out and shook someone, "Tsuna, wake up, class is starting."
As Nanase-sensei walked into the classroom with her textbook, Tsuna fully woke up.
The ceiling fan in the classroom creaked, and the buzzing of cicadas clung to the windowpanes.
Fine white dust rose as the chalk tip scraped the blackboard, lazily swirling in the afternoon sun.
In the front row, Shouko quietly extended her fan under her desk, fanning herself. The shape of sweat stains on the back of Ajitani's school uniform slowly expanded with the rhythm of the fan.
On the podium, Nanase-sensei loosened his tie and continued writing on the blackboard. As he emphasized the verb conjugation rules for the third time, the crisp sound of a mechanical pencil rolling onto the floor came from the back row.
The sudden cheers from a club at the end of the corridor burst into the classroom. The moment those by the window turned their heads, the after-school bell, along with the shimmering heat rising from the treetops, swept in.
"Class dismissed. Be careful on your way home," Nanase-sensei said before leaving the classroom in a hurry.
At the stairwell, Shouko and Ajitani bid farewell to the three of them and headed towards the Art Club. At the school gate, Takagi and Nishikata waved to Tsuna and turned to walk down the street to the left.
Watching the two walk away side by side, Tsuna retracted his gaze, got on his motorcycle, and rode toward Futaba Publishing.
It was a familiar route, a journey of just over ten minutes. The security guard downstairs at Futaba Publishing merely glanced at Tsuna before looking away.
Perhaps seeing him so often, he no longer suspected him of being a suspicious person.
Tsuna skillfully arrived at Jun's workstation, pulled over an unoccupied chair, and sat down naturally.
"Jun, why did you call me here this time? Is there a problem with the second volume of The Flower We Saw That Day?"
That was the only problem he could think of, as there were less than two weeks until the second volume was released.
But on the way there, he felt it shouldn't be that problem, as there was plenty of time for the second volume, and he had personally overseen issues like the poster and cover.
Unlike the first volume, which only had half a month, he had to let Futaba Publishing handle it.
"No," Jun shook her head, took a bottle of juice from her drawer, and handed it to him. "There are no problems with the second volume right now. I called you here because there are a few things to discuss."
"What kind of problems can't be discussed on the phone?" Tsuna opened the juice and started drinking.
"Because if I talk to you on the phone, the higher-ups will mistake me for slacking off and scold me."
"And there are higher-ups who dare to scold you?"
Jun ignored his suspicious gaze, shrugging. "Just saying, that's how they all complain."
"…"
"Cough cough..." Jun lightly coughed. "Back to the main topic. On one hand, it's about the royalties for your first volume, which is nearing 60,000 sales. On the other hand, and this is the main point, someone wants to adapt your book into an anime."
"Elaborate?"
"Let's change places to talk first." Jun felt the curious gazes of her colleagues and walked into the discussion room with Tsuna to continue their conversation.
"Didn't the publisher only send him the advance royalty for the first volume?
That advance royalty was only for about five thousand sales. So, do you want the remaining amount to be sent along with the advance royalty for the second volume, or do you want it directly deposited into your card in a few days?"
"Together with the second volume," Tsuna didn't hesitate on this question; he was more interested in the main point that followed.
Jun saw how calm he was and thought it made sense. After all, he was the heir to an agency, so he might not even care about this amount of royalties.
Excluding the advance he had already received, this royalty was a huge sum of over 6.5 million! For her now...
(6.5 million Japanese Yen is approximately $60,918 in 2020.)
Tsuna: 'Jun, you haven't heard, when I was in kindergarten, my mom settled things with a few slaps for 500,000…'
(Approximately $4,686)
"Next question, an anime company wants to adapt The Flower We Saw That Day."
"Hmm..." Tsuna didn't speak, quietly listening to her subsequent words.
"However, they are hesitating because they don't know the quality and sales of the second volume yet, but they want to talk to you first, since the copyright is with you."
"So it's still pending?"
"More or less. I've pushed them to the first day of your summer vacation. You can come to the publishing house and talk to them then."
"Hmm, arigato."
"No big deal." Jun waved her hand. "There's one more thing: your contract needs to be changed."
"Okay, I'll go back and tell my family, and then I'll have him come talk to you about it."
Tsuna nodded, and after briefly learning about the anime company's background from Jun, he got up and left.
It was an anime company that had just been established not long ago. She told him not to worry too much about it and to focus on getting through his exams in a few days first.