After Breakfast – On the Way to Sobu High.
Su Yu walked hand in hand with Yuigahama Yui.
Kawasaki Saki trailed a step behind, making no attempt to interrupt them.
As they neared the school, Su Yu's phone rang.
It was a call from Satou Yumiko.
The online pre-orders for Yuuya had officially begun.
The upcoming Monday edition of Future Manga Weekly had a special announcement regarding the pre-orders.
Compared to the serialized chapters in the magazine, the Yuuya manga volume included an extra chapter.
Even though readers could wait until Monday to see the next chapter, knowing that Yuuya had a compiled volume available made them eager to buy it and read ahead.
The price of ordering online was slightly higher than buying from bookstores.
For those who preferred physical copies from bookstores, they would have to wait until Friday for the release.
For online orders, the delivery time depended on location.
Satou Yumiko had initially prepared 500,000 copies, estimating that around 200,000 people would pre-order.
This number already surpassed previous records for pre-orders.
Moreover, Yuuya had been selected as an official reference book for art education, which generated widespread discussion both online and in the news.
Su Yu, however, remained calm.
He knew that Yuuya was about to make a breakthrough on the bestseller charts.
The publisher, Future Manga Publishing, would have ample time to print additional copies.
Lunchtime.
After class, Su Yu received another message from Satou Yumiko.
"100,000 pre-orders in just four hours."
Su Yu raised an eyebrow.
That fast?
He had expected it to take until the afternoon to reach that milestone, but Yuuya had already hit 100,000 pre-orders in just four hours.
Then, he remembered a certain ojou-sama—the wealthy lady who had taken an interest in his work.
Could she be involved in this sudden surge?
He wondered just how many of these pre-orders were genuine and how many were influenced by outside factors.
One Hour Later.
Su Yu's phone vibrated again.
Glancing at the screen, he was momentarily stunned.
"200,000 pre-orders in five hours."
An additional 100,000 orders in just one hour?
How is this possible?
Su Yu was tempted to ask Satou Yumiko if there was an error in the data, but then he reconsidered.
No… this has to be her doing.
With that in mind, he dropped the idea of questioning it further and simply informed Satou Yumiko that he would be visiting Future Manga Publishing in the afternoon.
Future Manga Publishing.
Satou Yumiko had already inquired about the numbers from the online sales department.
"The data is accurate. Every order can be traced back to an individual account. However, the sudden spike in just one hour is indeed unusual," a young woman in charge of online sales reported.
"As long as the numbers check out," Satou Yumiko exhaled in relief.
Looking at Su Yu's message, she couldn't help but admire his composure.
With 200,000 pre-orders already, Yuuya had set a new record.
By the 24-hour mark, it was projected to surpass 300,000.
That meant the moment Yuuya officially released, it would rocket onto the bestseller charts.
Knock, knock.
Satou Yumiko looked toward her office door.
"Come in."
A woman in business attire stepped inside—she was responsible for bookstore sales.
"Satou Chief Editor, bookstores have been calling all morning to increase their orders for Yuuya. The total number of copies ordered has now exceeded 500,000."
Satou Yumiko was stunned.
"What… what did you just say?"
"Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto—almost every major bookstore in these cities has placed large orders," the woman confirmed.
"What about the other regions?"
"They remain the same as before, ordering between 10,000 and 100,000 copies each." The woman handed over a document detailing the orders.
Satou Yumiko glanced at the figures, barely able to believe them.
Although bookstore orders didn't necessarily equate to sales, they at least indicated strong confidence in the product.
Bookstores would sell the copies first. If they sold out, they'd restock. If they didn't, they'd return unsold copies. Final sales numbers would be based on actual purchases.
Could Yuuya really sell over 500,000 copies?
No one could say for sure.
But the order numbers were real.
That meant Future Manga Publishing had to print additional copies to supply the bookstores.
Before that, however, Satou Yumiko needed to get approval from the company president.
Printing 500,000 copies wasn't a small decision—it required the president's authorization.
"You, come with me. You, keep monitoring the online sales," Satou Yumiko instructed before heading upstairs with the bookstore representative.
President's Office – Future Manga Publishing.
Satou Yumiko was greeted with a polite smile from the president's assistant.
"Has President Hanada had lunch yet?" she asked softly.
"She should have finished. You may go in directly, Satou-san," the assistant replied.
Satou Yumiko nodded and proceeded to the office door, knocking twice.
"Come in," came the voice from inside.
Satou Yumiko stepped in.
Hanada Yui, the president of Future Manga Publishing, looked up from her desk and stood up.
"Please, take a seat."
"President Hanada, I have an urgent matter requiring your approval," Satou Yumiko got straight to the point.
"What is it?" Hanada Yui asked curiously.
"Yuuya's manga volume. As of now, bookstore orders have exceeded 500,000 copies. If we are to meet demand, we need to print an additional 500,000 copies. The online pre-orders alone are expected to reach 300,000 or more."
Hanada Yui blinked, processing the information.
"Su Yu-sama's manga?" she asked after a pause.
"Yes." Satou Yumiko nodded.
Although Hanada Yui was the president, she didn't oversee editorial work directly—that was the responsibility of the editorial department.
She wasn't fully up to date on Yuuya, likely because she had been focusing entirely on the development of the company's digital manga platform.
"Satou Chief Editor, you don't need my approval for this. Printing additional copies is an absolute must," Hanada Yui responded.
"I understand." Satou Yumiko smiled.
"Just bring me the paperwork, and I'll sign off on it. However many copies you think are necessary, I'll support your decision," Hanada Yui added.
"Yes, I'll go prepare the documents now," Satou Yumiko replied with a respectful bow before leaving the office.
Hanada Yui watched the door close behind her, then suddenly remembered—
She had a copy of Yuuya's first volume, a gift from the editorial department.
She hadn't opened it yet.
Walking over to her desk, she pulled the sealed manga from her drawer, carefully unwrapped it, and began to read.
As she flipped through the pages, she found herself drawn into the peaceful countryside setting.
The village in Yuuya reminded her of her own hometown.
The characters, especially Ren's friends, brought back memories of her childhood companions.
A little girl with braided hair, who used to call her "Onee-chan"…
She must have grown up by now.
Knock, knock.
Hanada Yui snapped back to reality, quickly putting Yuuya away.
"Come in."
Her assistant entered.
"President, the beta testing for our digital manga platform is complete. All submitted titles have been uploaded, and we're ready to go live anytime."
Notes-You can read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X