"Impossible."
Kasumigaoka Utaha replied without hesitation, "With sales this dismal, it'll definitely get axed!"
Machida Sonoko was helpless.
"The sales are a little low, but people are still reading it..."
"For example?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha countered, "Can you name even one?"
"For example..."
Machida Sonoko found herself at a loss. Then the corner of her eye caught Kira Yoshikage, and her eyes lit up.
"Why, this young man here—Kira Queen, Kira-kun, might have read it! Hey, young man, have you read Love Beat?"
Machida Sonoko read his name from the nameplate on Kira Yoshikage's chest, then secretly clasped her hands in a prayer-like gesture, hoping he would say a few good words and offer some encouragement.
Kira Yoshikage was wiping a cup and did not even look up as he replied, "I have."
"Really?"
Machida Sonoko immediately let out a sigh of relief and asked with a smile, "Then what do you think of the work?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha added sharply, "I want to hear the truth!"
Though she said that, there was a faint trace of anticipation in the girl's eyes.
She was hoping to hear someone else praise her work. Only then could she deceive herself into continuing to write.
Kira Yoshikage thought for a moment before answering seriously, "As for my evaluation, it's passable toilet paper for one volume."
"Chapter 31: Feels Inferior to a Harem"
"Toilet paper..."
Kira Yoshikage's words were like a sharp knife, stabbing viciously into the girl's heart. Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her lip tightly. Her pride made her want to fight back, but the dismal sales were an undeniable fact.
Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly felt as though her chest was so tight she could hardly breathe. She covered her chest and lowered her head, squeezing her eyes shut in pain, a bleak, bitter smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Toilet paper?
Was that how other people viewed her work?
So, in other people's eyes, the work she had poured her heart and soul into was actually that worthless.
Machida Wako felt a little sorry for Kasumigaoka Utaha when she saw her expression.
She had only wanted to find a stranger to offer some encouragement. She had never expected things to turn out like this, and she hurriedly tried to make amends.
"Utaha-chan, don't take what he said to heart. He clearly hasn't read your book and was just trying to provoke you..."
"I'm fine."
Kasumigaoka Utaha took a deep breath, raised her head again, and looked stubbornly at Kira Yoshikage.
"Why did you rate it as toi... toilet paper?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a faint stab of pain in her heart. Having an author personally say that her own work was toilet paper was undoubtedly the greatest insult to her.
But she wanted to know why.
Why could someone look down on the novel she had devoted all her efforts to?
"How should I put it?"
Kira Yoshikage stopped wiping the cup. After thinking for a while, he slowly began, "If I had to sum it up, the problem is that it was mispositioned."
"Positioning?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha's brows knit tightly, while Machida Wako looked surprised.
She had initially thought Kira Yoshikage was talking nonsense, but now it seemed he really wasn't...
"Speaking objectively, the author's writing is delicate and graceful. Even compared to many famous veteran authors, she is by no means inferior. In fact, she may even be better, since many veteran authors need to hire someone to polish their work after finishing it."
Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha found Kira Yoshikage considerably more agreeable, but this was not what she wanted to hear.
"The author's problem lies in how she positioned the work.
"Love Beat's first volume depicts the immature romance between the male and female leads. If it had to be categorized, it would be a single-heroine story.
"But Love Beat differs from ordinary single-heroine novels in one respect: the author's writing clearly focuses more on the heroine, Sayuka. This shows that while writing, the author clearly placed herself in Sayuka's role.
"And readers' sense of identification often follows the author's words. When the author places herself in Sayuka's position to write the novel, readers will instinctively identify with the heroine, Sayuka, rather than the male lead, Naoto.
"Single-heroine light novels are already a niche genre, and their sales are far inferior to harem novels. Because of this difference in positioning, most male readers simply cannot identify with the male lead. Women, on the other hand, will feel a strong sense of identification when reading this novel.
"They will place themselves in Sayuka's position and fantasize about having a sweet romance with the male lead, Naoto."
Glancing at Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression, which looked as though he had struck her at the very center of her heart, Kira Yoshikage continued, "And while writing the second volume, the author made the same mistake again."
Kasumigaoka Utaha clenched all ten fingers, her pretty face turning faintly pale.
"Because of Mayui?"
"Yes."
Kira Yoshikage withdrew his gaze from the girl's slender hands.
"The Mayui introduced in the second volume was clearly a compromise the author made after realizing that the first volume's sales were poor.
"The author tried to boost sales by introducing a new heroine and using the love-triangle and faction-war elements commonly found in romance novels. But this instead caused Love Beat's positioning to deviate once again.
"The first volume's sales were poor because of the limitations of its subject matter. It screened its readers from the very beginning. Most people who read this novel came specifically for a 'single heroine.' Then the second volume suddenly turned into a faction war, which amounted to screening the already scarce readers a second time.
"Readers who originally wanted to see the immature romance between Sayuka and Naoto couldn't accept it, so naturally, the sales continued to plummet.
"There are actually many similar examples, such as the numerous 'fake harems' in light novels. They clearly advertise themselves as harems at the beginning, only to become single-heroine stories at the end. No matter how good such a novel's sales are, in readers' hearts, it is still nothing more than a volume of disgusting toilet paper.
"In fact, if the author had continued the style of the first volume while writing the second, Love Beat might well have become a fine niche work. Unfortunately..."
Kira Yoshikage paused. Kasumigaoka Utaha's face grew even paler, and she muttered quietly, "There are no ifs in this world."
Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her head. Tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes as she gave a bleak smile.
"You're right. Love Beat is nothing more than a volume of... toilet paper."
"Utaha-chan."
Machida Wako felt even more distressed.
"I'm fine."
Kasumigaoka Utaha wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, then looked at Kira Yoshikage and said softly, "I'm sorry. I let you down..."
The fact that he could analyze it so thoroughly clearly meant he was one of her devoted readers. The deeper the love, the harsher the hatred. To give such a merciless evaluation, he must have been terribly disappointed in her.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart felt bitter. It was not the reader who had let her down. She was the one who had let the reader down.
Kira Yoshikage glanced at the girl, who seemed somewhat ashamed, and said frankly, "Actually, you didn't, because I'm not your reader."
Machida Wako was speechless.
"If you aren't Utaha-chan's reader, how can you analyze it so thoroughly? Don't tell me this is your friend's analysis!"
"Not exactly. These are my own impressions. But I really am not her reader, because I never spent a single penny buying her books."
"..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha opened and closed her mouth, unable to think of anything to say for a moment. She asked instinctively, "Then how did you read the book?"
"I used to work part-time at a bookstore. I just flipped through it while I was there."
Kasumigaoka Utaha was a little irritated. "That was far more than just flipping through it!"
To analyze it so thoroughly, he had clearly read it many times from beginning to end!
So what if he had not spent any money? Why couldn't he admit that he was her reader? Was she not worthy?
"Now, now~"
Machida Wako tried to smooth things over again.
"In any case, this isn't Utaha-chan's problem. One failure doesn't prove anything. Failure is the mother of success, after all. The Fumishigawa Bunko Award still has four months before submissions close. Utaha-chan, learn from this experience and finish your submission before then. You'll definitely sell well next year!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha remained silent. In truth, she was not that confident.
Kira Yoshikage glanced at the two of them and suddenly said, "Actually, it isn't completely hopeless. There's no need to start thinking about your next book so soon."
"Huh?"
Machida Wako's eyes lit up.
"Do you have any suggestions, young man?"
"The current poor sales are caused by the original readers feeling deceived and refusing to buy it anymore. But the author herself has never admitted that her novel is a 'single-heroine' story. So you can completely declare to the public that this is actually a harem novel, and that Sayuka simply had more screen time in the first volume.
"As long as you are willing to spend money on publicity, Love Beat still has a chance to make a comeback."
"Chapter 32: I'll Definitely Make You Mine!"
"Bring in new readers?"
Machida Wako's eyes lit up. The idea seemed highly feasible!
The first volume had screened out readers who liked harem novels, leaving only readers who liked single-heroine stories to buy the book. Then the faction war in the second volume disappointed the first volume's loyal readers, which was why sales kept declining.
But if they advertised it again, changing the single-heroine angle that had originally been its selling point into a harem angle—
They could attract new readers. Once readers who came for the harem genre knew that the second volume would be a harem story, they would be more tolerant of the first volume's "fake" single-heroine setup.
That way, as long as the third volume continued with the faction-war and harem elements, they could firmly establish its selling point as a "harem novel"! They could even revise and republish the first volume, add more scenes for Mayui, and cement the "harem novel" label.
Machida Wako pulled out her phone and said excitedly, "Utaha-chan! I'll go talk to the editor-in-chief right away. Maybe..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha grabbed Machida Wako's right hand, the one holding the phone, and pressed her lips tightly together.
"I don't want to do that."
Machida Wako froze, but Kasumigaoka Utaha said dejectedly, "I don't want to disappoint them again. Let it end here..."
"Utaha-chan."
Machida Wako wore an exasperated expression. She knew Kasumigaoka Utaha felt guilty toward the loyal readers of the first volume, which was why she wanted to let the matter end here. And if Kasumigaoka Utaha herself gave up, with no one to write the third volume, it would be useless even if Machida Wako managed to convince the editor-in-chief.
Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her head and looked at Kira Yoshikage.
"I'm sorry. Let the story end here. At least this way, Sayuka from the first volume can remain in your heart..."
Kira Yoshikage looked at her and pondered for two seconds.
"Is it possible—I mean, just possibly—that I'm actually on the harem side?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha froze, then immediately flushed bright red, feeling as though her pride had been insulted.