Wasn't the reason she had managed to sign Senju Murasama by snatching him away? Otherwise, why would an award-winning author like him choose to sign under her?
Whether in connections or resources, those veteran editors were far superior to her—even now, when Senju Murasama had created a sales miracle.
But there was one thing those veteran editors couldn't beat her at—
They simply weren't competitive enough!
Kagurazaka Ayame happily replied to the author saved as "Vehicle Killer," then froze.
"Okura Hotel?"
There was nothing wrong with the location itself. The Okura Hotel was a five-star hotel, and the "Angel Ladder" on the top floor was also a social venue frequented by celebrities and socialites.
But wasn't this a little too coincidental?
Why had these authors all chosen the same place, and even the same time?
"Could they really be the same person?"
Kagurazaka Ayame inexplicably thought of an editor's speculation again, but quickly shook her head and rejected it.
It wasn't as if one person submitting multiple works had never happened in Dengeki Bunko's history. Last year, an author had even submitted more than ten works at once, in a display of sheer madness!
The quantity might have been high, but the quality was truly worrying. Most of them hadn't even made it past the first round of judging.
But if they really were the same person, why would the author submit them using different email addresses?
Not just the email addresses—even the LINE accounts were different.
Surely the other party couldn't have been so bored as to use four accounts to give her the same information?
Kagurazaka Ayame muttered to herself:
"A coincidence. It has to be a coincidence."
Shimazaki Yuna sent the chat screenshots to Kira Yoshikage and asked nervously:
"Kira-kun, is this okay?"
"It is, but..."
The account saved as Kira-kun quickly replied, making Shimazaki Yuna's heart leap into her throat.
"But what?"
Kira-kun: "But why are there three screenshots?"
Shimazaki Yuna: "Because I used three different accounts, so I had to take separate screenshots."
Kira-kun: "Why did you use three accounts?"
Shimazaki Yuna: "Because Kira-kun said you didn't want people paying attention to you..."
Kira-kun: "These three books are all yours. What does that have to do with me?"
Shimazaki Yuna: "But..."
Kira-kun: "Besides, even if you used three different accounts, where would you find two more different people to meet Kagurazaka Ayame? Can you clone yourself?"
"Uu..."
Shimazaki Yuna lowered her head timidly. She seemed not to have considered that problem.
Shimazaki Yuna struggled to type out a reply:
"I can ask my friends for help..."
Halfway through typing, Shimazaki Yuna's fingers stopped. She silently deleted the words.
Asking her friends for help would make things troublesome. They would ask questions and make Kira-kun dislike her.
Besides...
She had no friends.
Chapter 41: Is This It?
"Angel Ladder"
The purple-haired, bespectacled girl in a long white dress stepped out of the elevator. After looking around, she quickly spotted the familiar figure standing behind the bar.
The girl sat down on a barstool and pretended to be casual as she asked in a halting voice:
"Um, could I have a glass of... um, what do you recommend here?"
Shimazaki Yuna had never been to a place like this before and stumbled over her words. She had no idea what people usually ordered here.
"How about lemonade?"
Kira Yoshikage spoke in his usual tone, treating her like any other customer.
"Um... okay."
Shimazaki Yuna nodded obediently, her wandering gaze sweeping over the customers around her.
Just then, the girl's phone vibrated. She picked it up and glanced at the message:
"I'm here, Teacher 'Vehicle Killer.' Where are you?"
"I'm at the bar."
"Wait a moment. I'll be right over!"
At the elevator entrance, a mature woman in an office-lady outfit and a short bob haircut walked straight toward the bar. Looking at the only girl seated there, she asked uncertainly:
"Are you Teacher 'Vehicle Killer'?"
Shimazaki Yuna was somewhat stiff.
"Hello, Editor Kagurazaka. My name is Shimazaki Setsuna."
Kagurazaka Ayame smiled warmly.
"Don't be so nervous. Just chat with me like we're friends."
"Your lemonade."
Kira Yoshikage placed a glass of prepared lemonade on the table.
"Thank you."
Shimazaki Yuna thanked him softly and took a sip through the straw. The cool, refreshing taste filled her mouth and helped her calm down a little, making her less nervous.
Kagurazaka Ayame said:
"I'll have a Gin and Tonic."
"One moment."
After receiving the blond server's response, Kagurazaka Ayame immediately turned her gaze back to Shimazaki Yuna and asked with a smile:
"Teacher 'Vehicle Killer'..."
Shimazaki Yuna hesitated before interrupting her:
"Could you not call me that?"
Kagurazaka Ayame immediately changed her address without losing her smile.
"Then, Teacher Shimazaki, regarding this year's Dengeki Novel Award, what are your expectations for your work?"
Shimazaki Yuna finally seemed to take a little interest.
"Does it have a chance of winning an award?"
"It does~"
Kagurazaka Ayame nodded confidently and praised her without reservation.
"Teacher Shimazaki's Accel World is outstanding in both its setting and plot, and the writing is excellent as well. It could be published directly without any polishing. A work like this would have been a sure lock for the top prize in previous years!"
"It's just that there are truly too many high-quality works this year. Accel World might have to share the top prize with other works, or even receive the Gold Prize..."
Shimazaki Yuna wasn't disappointed. Instead, she seemed to sigh with relief as she patted her chest.
"The Gold Prize would already be great."
Kagurazaka Ayame's gaze grew even more approving. Her mindset was far better than she had imagined.
And she had a wonderful personality, too. What an excellent girl!
In fact, when she discovered that the author she was looking for was a beautiful girl, she had been somewhat surprised.
The other party also didn't look very old, seeming to be only a high school student.
That made Kagurazaka Ayame even more delighted.
Over at Immortal River, Machida Sonoko, the editor who refused to reveal her name, bragged to her every day about having a beautiful JK novelist under her.
Although the sales weren't very good and couldn't even reach a fraction of Senju Murasama's figures, it still irritated Kagurazaka Ayame.
So she had been holding her breath, wanting to win back some face.
And now, hadn't the opportunity delivered itself right to her door?
"Um..."
Shimazaki Yuna secretly glanced from the corner of her eye at Kira Yoshikage, who was mixing drinks, and asked softly:
"Can I ask a few questions?"
Kagurazaka Ayame smiled and nodded.
"Of course. What does Teacher Shimazaki want to know?"
Shimazaki Yuna asked, puzzled:
"The submission deadline only passed recently, and the first round of judging hasn't even ended yet. Why did Miss Kagurazaka find me so quickly?"
Kagurazaka Ayame raised one finger and explained:
"It's very simple. Although the submission deadline only passed recently, the review process didn't begin only after the deadline."
"In reality, most works begin being submitted several months, or even half a year, before the award's submission deadline."
"We have enough time to review those works."
"As for works submitted during the month before the deadline, they account for less than a quarter of the total."
"Although there are still quite a lot of them, each editor has very few works to review on average."
"Although the first-round results won't be announced until May 10, the related work has actually already been completed."
"As for why I came looking for Teacher Shimazaki..."
Kagurazaka Ayame put on a mysterious expression.
"To give an analogy, the Dengeki Novel Award process is like panning for gold."
"Most submitted works are brass ore, while only a small portion are gold ore."
"The purpose of the first round is to filter out the brass ore and leave behind the more valuable gold ore."
"After that, the second and third rounds repeatedly filter the gold ore."
"They remove gold ore with too many impurities and retain gold ore with a higher purity."
"Only the batch with the highest purity can enter the finals."
"But Teacher Shimazaki's work isn't gold ore. It's genuine gold—gold shining with a brilliant luster!"
"Gold ore needs to be screened and refined before its quality can be determined, but real gold can be recognized with the naked eye. It can basically be guaranteed a place in the finals ahead of time."
"It's just that there happens to be a little too much real gold this time, so the rankings may vary somewhat."
As she spoke, Kagurazaka Ayame offered some more reassurance:
"The final ranking of a work is actually heavily influenced by the editor's preferences."
"Even if it ultimately only receives the Gold Prize, that doesn't mean Teacher Shimazaki's work is inferior to the others."
"Do you understand what I mean, Teacher Shimazaki?"
Shimazaki Yuna nodded thoughtfully and asked curiously:
"If Accel World can only receive the Gold Prize, which works are qualified to receive the top prize?"
The corners of Kagurazaka Ayame's lips lifted slightly. She wasn't surprised by the question.