— — — — — —
Things afterward were… a little awkward.
You could tell there wasn't much warmth between Yukino and her sister, Haruno. At least, nothing like the easy closeness between Hachiman and Komachi.
Once Yukino got into Haruno's car, everyone else gradually drifted off and left the school grounds one by one.
As for Oikawa, He did exactly what he'd planned.
The moment he got home, he downed every last bottle of soda in the fridge in one go, then flopped onto the couch, put on some anime, and slowly started drifting off.
Unfortunately, his phone rang at the worst possible moment.
He glanced at the caller ID.
Ayame Kagurazaka.
If she was calling directly, it had to be something important.
"Oikawa-kun, I'm not disturbing you, am I?"
"Not really. I was just about to fall asleep when my editor decided to call, that's all."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"…Ahem."
"Well, Oikawa-kun, I'm calling mainly about the written interview."
Kagurazaka continued, "If you've got time in the next few days, it'd be best if you could come by Dengeki Bunko."
"Your Lie in April is selling really well. It's already gone into a second reprint, and the promotion team has come up with an event. We'll need you to stop by."
Oikawa blinked, surprised.
A second reprint already?
It hadn't even been half a month since release.
"How many copies this time?"
"Fifty thousand."
"And the previous reprint—already sold out?"
"Not yet. But some smaller bookstores have already started calling to restock. The rest is just a matter of time."
Recently, calls had been pouring into Dengeki Bunko every few hours.
Smaller, rural bookstores didn't have much capital. Each order was usually just a few dozen to a hundred copies at most. If they overstocked and couldn't sell, the loss came out of their own pockets.
But from the frequency of their orders, experienced editors could roughly gauge how well a book was performing.
If Kagurazaka had still been a little unsure before about whether Your Lie in April could break 500,000 copies…
Now, she had no doubts.
It was only a matter of time.
First week: 23,000 copies. Second week: 16,000. Third week so far: only six days in, but projected at around 12,000.
Altogether—
51,000 copies.
Many books never reached that number even after more than a year on the market. Your Lie in April had done it in under three weeks.
It was, without a doubt, a breakout hit.
Oikawa felt a flicker of excitement himself. Since release, he'd already received two royalty payments from Dengeki Bunko.
One for a little over 2.3 million yen. Another for over 1.4 million.
At this rate, a third payment was just around the corner.
Honestly, just sitting at home while money fell from the sky like this…
It felt amazing.
He had to admit—this was one thing Japan did right. And this kind of payout system really kept you hooked.
Every so often, you'd open your banking app, half-expecting a fresh deposit to have landed. It was addictive.
"So what do I need to prepare for this event?" Oikawa asked.
"Do I really have to show up in person?"
If possible, he wanted to stay out of the spotlight. Especially now, with that massive bet still hanging between him and Yukino.
"No, no public appearance needed," Kagurazaka replied quickly.
A lot of light novel authors were pretty resistant to showing their faces, after all. Most of them were homebodies who spent their days writing alone, with little social interaction. Naturally, they tended to be more introverted.
"This event actually came from the idea you mentioned earlier—about giving out signed copies."
"The promotion team wants you to sign five hundred copies of Your Lie in April. Then we'll mix them randomly into shipments sent to bookstores nationwide. It'll boost reader interest."
Oikawa's face went dark instantly.
What kind of ridiculous promotion team was this?
If they had the guts, they should come say that to his face. He'd show them what a "final boss move" looked like.
Seriously—did they really expect him to sign his name five hundred times?
What kind of grudge was that?!
"Oikawa-kun?"
"Not happening. Absolutely not."
Oikawa shut it down immediately. "Editor Kagurazaka, do you have any idea how much work five hundred handwritten signatures is?"
"Two hundred, max. Not one more."
"Deal. It's settled, then, Oikawa-kun. I'll have tea ready at Dengeki Bunko. Just come by when you can."
Click.
She hung up without hesitation.
Oikawa stared at his phone, listening to the dead tone.
"…Huh?"
A long moment passed before he muttered bitterly, "…Damn. I was tricked."
.
.
.