"Mhm."
Yae Miko nodded in response and said, "Go about your work."
"Yes."
Inagi Hotomi nodded and continued to handle the affairs of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
The documents reported that it had rained a few days ago. Some parts of the Torii gates at the Grand Narukami Shrine were damaged and required repairs.
Looking at the content of the report, Inagi Hotomi pondered for a moment, picked up a pen, and annotated the handling plan on the document.
"Over there are the book samples for the new issue, as well as the sales situation."
Yae Miko smiled gently, walked to the chaise lounge, and sat down. "Pick one to read."
"Lady Yae, may I look at the sales data for the past two days first, and then choose which one to read?" Kano Nana asked.
"No problem, it's right over there."
Yae Miko pointed to the documents placed amidst the pile of books, leaning casually back onto the chaise lounge.
"Understood."
Kano Nana picked up the documents from the book pile and began to look through them.
Page one.
First place in first-day sales: A Legend of Sword.
She had been reading this book all along. Although what she read before wasn't from official channels, the official content shouldn't have changed much, at most revising some sentences. After all, Teacher Zhenyu's book was already famous in the literary world of Inazuma.
At the time, many people appeared who vied to imitate this book. Kano Nana was very interested in the continuation of this story.
However, since Lady Yae had invited her here, she definitely didn't want to hear her thoughts on a book that already held an unshakable position in the literary world. She could only skip it and look at the next one.
Second place: The Senior Disciple of the Guhua Clan.
Although this book's status in the literary world was inferior to A Legend of Sword, the difference wasn't large. There wasn't much to evaluate either.
Thus, she cast her gaze toward the third book.
When she saw the title of the third book, Kano Nana couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
Book Title: Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts.
Seeing this title, Kano Nana froze for a moment, subconsciously looking toward the conspicuous copy of Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts in the book pile.
Wasn't this the very book with the shameful content that those shrine maidens were discussing just now?
The Junior Sister and Senior Sister sitting in the bath, the series of actions by the Junior Sister causing the Senior Sister's pretty face to turn pale, frowning in shy brows, and murmuring the sentence that was the book's title.
Recalling the content narrated by that shrine maiden just now, Kano Nana's face flushed red in an instant, burning hot.
If she had seen this book outside, although she might have been a bit shy, she wouldn't have had such a big reaction. But this was in the side hall of the Grand Narukami Shrine, right in front of Lady Yae Miko!
"Is something wrong with that book?"
Yae Miko's voice rang out. Kano Nana turned her head subconsciously, meeting Yae Miko's playful gaze.
"N-No, nothing."
Kano Nana hurriedly shook her head, guiltily withdrawing her gaze to look further down.
Just listening to what those people said, she could guess roughly what kind of content was inside. Lady Yae frequently conducted the final review of manuscripts for the Yae Publishing House.
For instance, that book Reborn as the Raiden Shogun, Then Invincible Under the Heavens, which was selected when the Raiden Shogun and that famous Traveler were traveling together, was also published only after Lady Yae's review.
Speaking of that book, ever since it was read by the Raiden Shogun, it leaped to become a top-tier hit in the Inazuma literary world, flourishing for a time and remaining at the peak of the sales charts to this day, unreachable by anyone else.
Even she had read it for quite a long time back then. The story content was actually quite interesting. It told of a protagonist who was always bullied and couldn't do anything right, but after becoming the Raiden Shogun, he possessed infinite martial power and authority.
The selling point of the story was the feeling of the protagonist holding their head high, as well as the process of inner growth and transformation from low self-esteem.
However, among the novels in this issue, there was no new volume for that book. This made Kano Nana quite disappointed.
So, it was possible that Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts had also passed through Lady Yae's review. Whether Lady Yae had actually reviewed it specifically, she didn't know, and she didn't dare to ask.
Consequently, she continued to look down, scanning the entire list. Apart from the first and second places in first-day sales being novels from Liyue, the top few dozen were all local Inazuma novels.
Kano Nana was not surprised by this. She had been reading books with Lady Yae for some time and had gained some understanding of the novel market's operation.
Firstly, Liyue and Inazuma had cultural differences; books written by Liyue people might not necessarily be liked by Inazuma people. After all, not everyone was Teacher Zhenyu.
It was normal for Liyue's hit books to struggle in Inazuma, given the cultural differences between the two nations. Then there was the issue of the author's accumulated fame.
Even in Inazuma, a newcomer author who wrote very well couldn't possibly sell a high volume on the first day. This was determined by work stickiness and author stickiness.
Just like a book by a newcomer of the same level as Teacher Zhenyu: Teacher Zhenyu's book would achieve terrifying sales on the first day. But that newcomer's book would take some days to start gaining traction, relying on word of mouth among readers to reach its peak at a relatively later time.
Unless a famous person helped promote it, allowing it to catch up quickly in a short period. For example, that Eldest Miss of the Kamisato family, who held extremely high prestige in the hearts of the people.
Or like Reborn as the Raiden Shogun, Then Invincible Under the Heavens, receiving the favor of the most supreme and noble Raiden Shogun.
In short, unless there was such celebrity promotion, it was difficult to rise in a short time. Of course, the prestige of the Eldest Miss Kamisato was naturally inferior to the Raiden Shogun.
After all, a book read by the Raiden Shogun, even if it had no substance, would be pursued by the entire populace of Inazuma. Naturally, such opportunities were rare. Leaving aside the Raiden Shogun who rarely left Tenshukaku, even that Shirasagi Himegimi of the Kamisato family was not interested in Yae Publishing House's novels.
Moreover, Yae Publishing House had signed a large number of books from Liyue in one go this time. Even if readers were curious about Liyue books, their sales would be diluted by so many titles.
Thus, she flipped to the second page, wanting to see what changes Liyue books had on the rankings.
"As expected, not much change."
Just as she was planning to skip directly past the thirtieth place to randomly find a Liyue novel with a nice-sounding title to read, she suddenly discovered that just after the tenth place, two Liyue novels appeared.
One was called Your Lie in April.
One was called The Eternal.
Author: Fang Qiu.
Moreover, these two books were by the same author, which caused her to freeze involuntarily.
Eh?
What was going on? Who exactly was this Liyue author named Fang Qiu, to actually have two books enter the top twenty simultaneously?
Furthermore, the rankings of the two books were so close? And in terms of sales volume, there was only a very small gap.
This... wasn't this a bit too inconceivable? Even for one author, the sales of two simultaneously published books wouldn't be this close, right?
"What is it?"
Yae Miko, seeing her stunned, asked, "Have you chosen a book?"
"Yes, I've chosen."
Kano Nana nodded.
"Oh? Which one caught your eye? Let's hear it," Yae Miko said.
"I took a fancy to two in total. One is called Your Lie in April, and one is called The Eternal. These two are books by the same author," Kano Nana replied.
"Oh?"
Yae Miko raised an eyebrow, then smiled faintly and said, "Let me see the sales data."
"Yes."
Kano Nana nodded and handed the sales data file in her hand to Yae Miko.
Yae Miko took the sales data file, flipped through it roughly, and revealed a knowing smile.
"Oh? A Liyue author actually managed to charge up to such a high position on the second day's sales data? No wonder you became interested in these two books."
Yae Miko said, "The books are right over there. Look for them."
"Yes, Lady Yae."
After Kano Nana responded, she found Fang Qiu's two books in the pile. Placed on top was precisely Your Lie in April.
The book cover was cherry blossom pink. She subconsciously opened the title page. The paper of the title page was also cherry-red, and a sentence was written on it:
"When you fall in love with someone, you will find that the whole world becomes colorful."
"Then, Lady Yae, I will take my leave first," Kano Nana said.
"Go ahead." Yae Miko waved her hand with a smile and said, "Remember to tell me your thoughts after you finish reading."
"Yes."
Kano Nana nodded and turned to leave the side hall.
Watching Kano Nana's retreating figure, Yae Miko narrowed her eyes slightly, then cast her gaze toward the sales data file in her hand.
"Fang Qiu? Interesting."
Yae Miko raised her eyebrows slightly, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile. However, very quickly, a trace of doubt rose in her eyes.
Was this Fang Qiu a pen name... or a real name?
She beckoned with her hand, and two more books flew out from the pile, landing in her hands. These two were precisely Fang Qiu's Your Lie in April and The Eternal.
Because they were shipped from Liyue and rushed onto the shelves for this issue, this batch of books hadn't gone through her final review; they were put directly on the shelves after being reviewed and proofread by the editors. It was precisely because of this that she had asked Yae Publishing House to send her two copies of these books this time.
"Lady Yae."
To the side, Inagi Hotomi put down the pen in her hand, turned to look at Yae Miko, and spoke.
"Is something the matter?"
Yae Miko was just about to open the book. Seeing Inagi Hotomi speak, she stopped her movement and asked.
"Regarding the books you were discussing just now, Lady Yae, I seem to have heard people who came to the shrine to pray during the day mention them. They said Miss Kamisato personally went to the Yae Publishing House main store to buy two books by this author," Inagi Hotomi said.
"Oh? The little girl from the Kamisato family?"
Yae Miko chuckled softly. "No wonder this book is selling so well, and the sales are so close."
"However, to make that little girl from the Kamisato family personally go to Yae Publishing House to buy books, the quality of these two books surely won't be poor."
Yae Miko looked at the books in her hand with a faint smile, a trace of curiosity emerging in her charming eyes.
"You should rest early. I'm going back to my room to have a good look at these two books."
Yae Miko held the two books, stood up elegantly, and spoke.
"Yes, thank you for your concern, Lady Yae. I will rest after I finish handling the remaining documents," Inagi Hotomi nodded and said.
"Thank you for your hard work."
After saying that, Yae Miko walked out of the side hall.
...
Meanwhile, on Kano Nana's side, she hugged the books and returned all the way to the rear courtyard. Several shrine maidens were chatting idly while sweeping the ground.
Of course, they naturally didn't dare to talk about that book from before anymore. They chatted about trivial matters. For instance, the difficult problem that always surrounded their hearts: what to eat tonight? And also topics like going to the shrine to take a bath together later.
"Where is that child, Sayu?"
Kano Nana glanced at the Ema rack and didn't find Sayu's figure, so she asked.
"Eh? Where is that child?"
"I didn't even notice when that child disappeared."
"However, the 'Misfortune' slips have all been tied. She probably finished her work and found a place to sleep, right?"
"It's rare to see her run away only after finishing her work. Hehe, it seems Lady Yae's majesty is indeed terrifying."
"But it's already dinner time. To slip away even now—isn't she going to eat dinner?"
"That child won't let herself starve, just don't worry. After all, only by eating a lot can she grow tall."
"True. Speaking of eating, what are we eating later?"
"Let's eat tonkatsu rice bowl."
"That idea seems pretty good."
"Eh, wait, Nana, are you holding new books you got from Lady Yae?"
"Yes, but both of these are written by a Liyue author. They probably don't suit your tastes," Kano Nana said.
"A Liyue author? I thought you would choose the one we discussed earlier, Nana. When we were discussing it before, I saw that your face turned a bit red, Nana."
One of the shrine maidens said with a wicked smile. After speaking, she seemed to realize something and hurriedly looked left and right. Seeing that Lady Yae wasn't nearby, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Right, right, I saw it too. Although it wasn't very red, just a little bit."
"Didn't you guys blush just the same?"
The other shrine maidens also joined in the teasing.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I have no interest in that kind of book. Moreover, how could I possibly choose that kind of book in front of Lady Yae?"
Kano Nana shot a glare at those teasing shrine maidens and said.
"Mmm... By the way, Nana, since you can only read one book at a time anyway, can you lend me the other one to read first?" one of the shrine maidens said.
"Eh, Nana, I want it too."
"Me too, I want to read it too."
Several shrine maidens who didn't plan to go down the mountain in the coming days spoke up one after another.
"Alright then, you guys take turns reading it. As for the order, decide it yourselves. When I finish this one and ask you for it, you can't make excuses. I still have to report my thoughts to Lady Yae after reading it."
Kano Nana sighed helplessly and said, "Also, you must protect the book well. Don't crumple it, and definitely don't damage it."
"No problem, rest assured."
The shrine maidens spoke one after another.
Kano Nana weighed her options and decided to keep Your Lie in April.
________________________________________
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