Furthermore, both Slayers and Record of Lodoss War were works from 27 years ago.
Record of Lodoss War was a work from 22 years ago, and even The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya series was already 13 years old.
But Fantasy Demon Blade Legend had only been released two years ago!
In just two years, it had surged to third place with cumulative sales of fourteen million copies. This was absolutely an unprecedented achievement!
It was thanks to such achievements that Kagurazaka Ayame had been able to become an editor-in-chief, sit in this conference room, and stand on equal footing with her seniors, whose average age was ten years greater than hers!
Besides Senju Murasama and Fantasy Demon Blade Legend, she also had a group of outstanding authors under her, sweeping up various awards in the light novel grand prize over these two years. Of the thirteen works that had won the Newcomer Grand Prize during that time, three had been written by authors under Kagurazaka Ayame!
It might seem that they accounted for less than a quarter, but one had to remember that there were more than ten editors-in-chief here!
So she did indeed have the qualifications to say, "Because this is a work I reviewed."
Although it sounded somewhat conceited, she truly had the capital to be conceited.
An established editor with a worrying hairline spoke up unhappily:
"Kagurazaka, that's a little too conceited. Although the writing in Infinite Stratos is good, its overall quality is clearly inferior to Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World."
"I'm only stating my opinion."
Kagurazaka Ayame shrugged indifferently.
"Besides, the department head told me to say it."
The department head who had been saddled with the blame was speechless, but he could not very well say anything.
Thanks to the two of them speaking up, however, the other editors-in-chief also began to voice their opinions after some deliberation.
"Actually, I think Accel World is quite good too. Its futuristic science-fiction setting is novel, and it should be very popular with teenagers.
"Especially among readers who have grown somewhat tired of the 'isekai' genre, this work might instead emerge as a dark horse!"
"I also think Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World is very good. Although some readers may have grown somewhat tired of the isekai genre, there's no denying that isekai stories are still mainstream."
"Speaking of which, I think Kino's Journey is exceptionally brilliant. Although its subject matter is very different from the mainstream, its writing and plot are both beyond reproach! Telling different stories in different countries from a traveler's perspective, while incorporating thought-provoking philosophies, this type of work is virtually unprecedented. I believe that even readers who have grown tired of the isekai genre would not reject this masterpiece!"
"Masterpiece? Forgive me, but I can't agree. As far as the mainstream is concerned, Re:Zero is the true masterpiece!"
"I think Re:Zero is the next Fantasy Demon Blade Legend. Who agrees and who disagrees?"
"I disagree! Kino's Journey is the future!"
"What good does your disagreement do? You have no taste whatsoever!"
"I have no taste? Heh, forgive my bluntness, but your taste is a steaming pile of crap!"
"Kino's Journey is very good. It would be even better if that author could change the ending of 'The Country of Kindness.'"
"Although I still think Re:Zero is the masterpiece, I agree with your opinion on that."
"Change it? It can't be changed! If the ending of 'The Country of Kindness' were altered, the story would lose its meaning!"
"Does that mean only tragedies can give a work meaning?"
The atmosphere in the conference room quickly grew tense. At first, it had been a rational debate, but soon they were arguing until their faces flushed red.
"Quiet!"
The department head slammed his hand heavily on the table, and only then did the noisy meeting room finally fall silent.
The department head once again turned his gaze toward Editor Kagurazaka.
"Editor Kagurazaka, what do you think of these works?"
"My opinion?"
Kagurazaka thought for a moment before speaking.
"Speaking objectively, all of these works are very good."
"But if I had to name one thing they have in common, besides their outstanding quality, it would be that their pen names are all very strange."
"..."
The meeting room instantly fell silent. Many editors-in-chief silently lowered their heads and glanced at the pen names of those works:
Infinite Stratos
Pen name: 17 Years Old, Afraid the School Isn't Violent Enough
Accel World
Pen name: Vehicle Killer
Kino's Journey
Pen name: The Last Gentleman of the Joestar Family
Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World
Pen name: 15 Years Old, Wants to Become a Yangge Star
To be fair, they really were all very strange.
Suddenly, someone asked:
"Is it possible that all these works were written by the same author?"
The conference room fell silent for a moment, as if everyone were considering the possibility of this guess.
For example, "17 Years Old, Afraid the School Isn't Violent Enough" and "15 Years Old, Wants to Become a Yangge Star" were not only equally strange, but even had exactly the same format...
But before the others could seriously consider it, someone immediately objected:
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"That's right. It should just be a coincidence."
"Exactly, just a coincidence!"
The reason the editors-in-chief had argued until their faces were red was simply that if these works belonged to the same author, the works would most likely all be signed under the same editor.
But if they were written by different authors, each of them would have a chance to snatch one!
Kagurazaka Ayame lazily watched the people arguing nonstop, looking completely detached and unconcerned.
Chapter 40: Subway, Old Man, Phone
At 3:20 p.m., the bell rang across the school on time.
The teacher on the podium packed up the textbooks and left the classroom. The students gathered in groups of three or five, preparing to attend their respective club activities.
Kira Yoshikage had a club too, but since the Light Music Club was about to be disbanded and no one had told him where the clubroom was,
he could justifiably skip club activities.
As usual, he climbed over the wall and left school. Kira Yoshikage entered Mita Station and boarded the subway that had arrived on time without stopping.
Kira Yoshikage found a seat and sat down, then took the buzzing phone from his pocket.
It was Shimazaki Yuna.
Shimazaki Yuna: "Kira-kun, did you receive an email?"
"What email?"
"It's from an editor at Dengeki Bunko. It seems they think Kira-kun's work has reached the standard for signing a contract."
Shimazaki Yuna attached a screenshot of the email, then added worriedly:
"Kira-kun, could it be a scam?"
Kira Yoshikage thought for a moment before replying:
"It probably isn't. They know your email address, and they know you've submitted work to Dengeki Bunko before, so they should really be an editor."
Most Japanese companies had little awareness of big data. They believed that data belonged to them and would not share it with other companies.
This certainly resulted in data monopolies, but it also ensured that customers' information remained highly private.
However, the identity of this so-called "Dengeki Bunko editor" was still questionable.
Under normal circumstances, the publisher would wait until the first round of judging was over before sending emails to the authors whose works had passed. But the announcement of the first-round results was still more than ten days away, so this email clearly did not follow the usual process.
Kira Yoshikage opened his inbox and took a look. Sure enough, he found an email with no known sender:
"Dear author, after review, your work Infinite Stratos has reached the standard for signing a contract. To discuss the signing process, please add the editor on LINE. When adding the editor on LINE, please state your book title and author name.
Dengeki Bunko Editor [Editor-in-Chief]: Kagurazaka Ayame
Contact information: ..."
Without a doubt, the email was almost exactly the same as the screenshot Shimazaki Yuna had sent him.
Kira Yoshikage did not hesitate and copied the LINE account from the email to add it.
He had thought he would need to wait for a while, but the request was accepted almost instantly.
"Hello. Am I speaking to '17 Years Old, Afraid the School Isn't Violent Enough'?"
"Yes."
"I'm Kagurazaka Ayame, an editor-in-chief at Dengeki Bunko. Are you free to meet now?"
Just as Kira Yoshikage was about to reply, Kagurazaka Ayame added another message:
"Your work has grand-prize potential. Please contact me as soon as possible."
Kira Yoshikage stared at the phone screen in silence for a long time.
Subway, teenager, phone.
Although that was all true, why did it look more and more like a scam?
Would they ask him to pay a deposit next?
Or perhaps claim that his work contained sensitive material and demand money to unlock it?
Kira Yoshikage pondered for a moment before replying:
"Eight tonight, Angel Ladder at the Okura Tokyo Hotel."
After sending it, Kira Yoshikage took a screenshot of the chat and sent it to Shimazaki Yuna:
"You can add her on LINE and arrange to meet her at the same place at seven-thirty tonight."
"Okay."
After receiving Shimazaki Yuna's reply, Kira Yoshikage put away his phone.
Scam or not, it made no difference.
If it was not, that would naturally be best.
If it was, Kira Yoshikage did not mind letting Pink Panther touch her once.
Well, just once.
He guaranteed he would do nothing else—at most, he would press his thumb down once more.
Ding-dong!
The subway arrived at Roppongi-itchome Station. Kira Yoshikage followed the crowd out of the subway and headed for the nearby Okura Tokyo Hotel.
Dengeki Bunko Editorial Department.
Kagurazaka Ayame was happily slacking off as she waited to get off work.
Just now, she had successfully contacted the authors of the several works the editors-in-chief believed had "the potential to reach the finals."
Although she had acted at the meeting as if she did not care about these authors at all—
in reality, she had already secretly found out the email addresses they had used to submit their works and sent each of them an invitation to meet in her capacity as an editor-in-chief at Dengeki Bunko!
While the others were still arguing until their faces turned red over who would claim the first tower, she had already made her move in secret and decided to steal their home base!
The corners of Kagurazaka Ayame's lips curved upward slightly, and her mood was excellent.
Some people might consider her behavior despicable, but she preferred to call it efficiency!
"If you don't fight for them, where will the authors come from?"
Kagurazaka Ayame felt no shame—instead, she was proud of it.