Multi-Anime, Kira Yoshikage Yearns for a Peaceful Life

"Impossible."

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't hesitate. "With sales this low, it's definitely getting axed!"

Machida Sonoko sighed helplessly.

"Even if sales are a bit low, there are still people reading it..."

"Like who?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha shot back. "Can you name a single example?"

"Like..."

Machida Sonoko was a bit stumped. Her gaze swept past Kira Yoshikage, and her eyes suddenly lit up:

"Oh, hey, this young man—Kira Queen, Kira-kun might have read it, right? Hey, young man, have you read Love Beat?"

Machida Sonoko read his name off the nameplate on Kira Yoshikage's chest, secretly clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture, hoping he'd say a few nice words to offer some encouragement.

Kira Yoshikage, who was wiping a glass, replied without looking up:

"I have."

"Is that so?"

Machida Sonoko let out a sigh of relief and asked with a smile:

"Then what's your evaluation of the work?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha added sharply:

"I want the truth!"

Even as she said that, there was a faint glimmer of hope hidden in the girl's eyes.

She was waiting to hear praise from someone else—only that way could she deceive herself into continuing to write.

Kira Yoshikage thought for a moment, then said seriously:

"As for an evaluation, I'd say it's a passable volume of toilet paper."

Chapter 31: Not as Good as a Harem

"Toilet paper..."

Kira Yoshikage's words cut like a sharp knife, stabbing deep into the girl's heart. Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her lip hard. Her pride screamed at her to strike back fiercely, but the dismal sales were an undeniable fact.

Kasumigaoka Utaha felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest, as if she couldn't breathe. She clutched her chest, lowered her head, and closed her eyes in pain, a bitter, wry smile tugging at her lips.

Toilet paper?

Was that how others saw her work?

So in someone else's eyes, the work she had poured her heart and soul into was that worthless.

Machida Wako watched Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression and felt a pang of sympathy.

She had only wanted to find a stranger to offer some encouragement, never expecting it to turn out like this. She quickly tried to salvage the situation:

"Shi-chan, don't mind what he said. He clearly hasn't read your book and is just trying to upset you..."

"I'm fine."

Kasumigaoka Utaha took a deep breath, lifted her head again, and looked at Kira Yoshikage with a hint of defiance:

"Why did you give it a... a toilet paper evaluation?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart ached faintly. For an author to have to say out loud that their own work was toilet paper was nothing short of the greatest humiliation.

But she had to know why.

Why was the novel she had poured everything into so easily dismissed?

"How should I put it."

Kira Yoshikage paused his glass-wiping and thought for a moment before speaking slowly:

"If I had to sum it up, the problem is with the positioning."

"Positioning?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned deeply, while Machida Wako looked a bit surprised.

She had initially thought Kira Yoshikage was just talking nonsense, but now it seemed he actually wasn't...

"To be fair, the author's prose is delicate and graceful. Even compared to many well-known veteran authors, it's not inferior—in fact, it might even be stronger, since many veteran authors still need to hire editors to polish their work."

Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha inexplicably found Kira Yoshikage a bit more agreeable, but this wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"The author's problem lies in the work's positioning.

"The first volume of Love Beat depicts the innocent romance between the male and female leads. If I had to categorize it, it's a single-female-lead story.

"But Love Beat differs from typical single-female-lead novels because the author's writing clearly focuses on the female lead, Sayuka. This shows that the author was clearly self-inserting into Sayuka's role during creation.

"And the reader's sense of immersion often follows the author's words. When the author writes the novel by self-inserting into Sayuka, readers will instinctively immerse themselves in the female lead, Sayuka, rather than the male lead, Naoto.

"Single-female-lead light novels are already a niche market, with sales far below those of harem stories. And because of this difference in positioning, most male readers simply can't immerse themselves in the male lead. On the other hand, female readers will feel a strong sense of immersion when they read this novel."

"They'll project themselves onto Sayuka and fantasize about having a sweet romance with the male lead, Naoto."

Glancing at Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression, as if struck right in the heart, Kira Yoshikage continued:

"And when the author wrote the second volume, they made the same mistake again."

Kasumigaoka Utaha clenched her fingers tightly, her pretty face paling slightly:

"Because of Mayui?"

"Right."

Kira Yoshikage withdrew his gaze from the girl's slender hands:

"Mayui, introduced in the second volume, is clearly a compromise the author made after noticing the poor sales of the first volume.

"The author tried to boost sales by adding a new heroine, using common elements from romance novels like factional conflict and love triangles, but this only caused Love Beat's positioning to deviate again.

"The first volume's sales were poor, but that was due to genre limitations, which filtered readers from the start. The people reading this novel were mostly drawn in by the 'single heroine' premise. Then the second volume suddenly turned into a factional struggle, essentially filtering the already sparse reader base a second time.

"Readers who originally wanted to see the innocent romance between Sayuka and Naoto couldn't accept it, so sales naturally kept plummeting.

"There are plenty of similar examples, like the numerous 'fake harems' in Light Novels. They start with a harem premise, but end with a single heroine. No matter how well such novels sell, in the readers' hearts, they're just a roll of disgusting toilet paper.

"In fact, if the author had maintained the style of the first volume in the second, Love Beat might have become a niche masterpiece. Unfortunately..."

Kira Yoshikage paused, and Kasumigaoka Utaha's face grew even paler as she murmured to herself:

"There are no ifs in this world."

Kasumigaoka Utaha lifted her head, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, and gave a bleak smile:

"You're right. Love Beat is just... a roll of toilet paper."

"Utaha-chan."

Machida Wako felt even more pained.

"I'm fine."

Kasumigaoka Utaha wiped the tear stains from the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand, then looked at Kira Yoshikage and said softly:

"Sorry for disappointing your expectations..."

To analyze it so thoroughly, he was clearly a devoted reader of hers. Love runs deep, and so does hate. To be ruthless enough to call it toilet paper, he must be really let down by her, right?

Kasumigaoka Utaha's mood turned bitter. It wasn't the readers who failed her—it was she who failed them!

Kira Yoshikage glanced at the girl, who seemed a bit guilty, and said frankly:

"Actually, not really, because I'm not your reader."

Machida Wako was a bit speechless:

"If you're not Utaha-chan's reader, how can you analyze it so thoroughly? Don't tell me that's your friend's analysis!"

"No, that's not it. That was my own insight. But I'm really not her reader, because I never spent a single yen buying her book."

"..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha opened her mouth, momentarily at a loss for words, and asked instinctively:

"Then how did you read the book?"

"I used to work part-time at a bookstore and just flipped through it casually."

Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a bit annoyed: "That's way beyond just flipping through it casually!"

To analyze it so thoroughly, he must have read it from start to finish many times!

Even if he didn't spend money, so what? Why couldn't he just admit he was her reader? Was she not worthy?

"Maa, maa~"

Machida Wako smoothed things over again:

"Anyway, this isn't Utaha-chan's fault. One failure doesn't mean anything—failure is the mother of success. The Fumishigawa Bunko award deadline is still four months away. Utaha-chan, learn from this experience, submit your entry by then, and you're sure to sell big next year!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha remained silent. She wasn't really that confident.

Kira Yoshikage glanced at the two of them and suddenly said:

"Actually, it's not completely hopeless. There's no need to rush into the next book."

"Huh?"

Machida Wako's eyes lit up:

"Got any advice, young man?"

"The current poor sales are because the original readers feel deceived and are no longer buying in, but the author herself never admitted her novel was a 'single heroine' story. So she can simply claim it's actually a harem novel, just that Sayuka had more screen time in the first volume.

"As long as she's willing to spend money on promotion, Love Beat still has a chance to come back from the dead."

Chapter 32: I Will Definitely Make You Mine!

"Attract new readers?"

Machida Wako's eyes lit up. That was highly feasible!

The first volume had already filtered out readers who preferred harem stories, leaving only those who liked single heroines to buy her book. The factional conflict in the second volume disappointed the loyal readers of the first, so sales kept dropping.

But if she relaunched the promotion, turning the original selling point of a single heroine into a harem...

That would attract new readers. These readers, coming for the harem story, would be more tolerant of the first volume's 'fake' single heroine, knowing the second volume would be a harem.

That way, as long as the third volume continued with the factional conflict and harem writing style, she could fully solidify the 'harem story' selling point! She could even refine and reprint the first volume, adding more scenes for Mayui to cement the 'harem story' label.

Machida Wako pulled out her phone, excited:

"Utaha-chan! I'll go talk to the editor-in-chief right now, maybe..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha grabbed Machida Wako's right hand holding the phone, her lips pressed tight:

"I don't want to do this."

Machida Wako froze, but Kasumigaoka Utaha said dejectedly:

"I don't want to disappoint them again. Let's just leave it like this..."

"Utaha-chan."

Machida Wako's expression turned helpless. She knew Kasumigaoka Utaha felt she had let down the loyal readers of the first volume and wanted to let it go. And if Kasumigaoka Utaha herself gave up, with no one to write the third volume, even if Machida Wako could convince the editor-in-chief, it wouldn't matter.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked up at Kira Yoshikage and said softly:

"Sorry, let's just end the story here. At least this way, Sayuka from the first volume can stay in your heart..."

Kira Yoshikage glanced at her, paused for two seconds:

"Is there a chance—just a chance—that I'm actually a harem fan?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha froze on the spot, then flushed red, feeling her pride had been insulted.