"Ding-dong."
A LINE message came through on Sogo Doma's phone. As he checked it, he also closed his mouth.
Thanks to that, Utaha Kasumigaoka was finally able to finish signing in peace.
But why did she feel just a little bit exhausted?
She handed over the signed novel, then glanced once more at Sogo Doma, who was smiling broadly in front of her.
She had the feeling that all the world's malice had focused on her because of this guy. And what kind of consolation was "just some money-grubbing scammers," anyway?
"Great. One more item for training my useless little sister." Sogo Doma looked quite pleased with the signed book he'd just obtained.
After glancing at Utaha Kasumigaoka, who seemed to be bearing the brunt of the world's malice and wore a gloomy expression,
Sogo Doma suddenly smiled. "Looks like you still don't believe in yourself, Utako Kasumi..."
Indeed, everything Sogo Doma had just said assumed that Utaha Kasumigaoka doubted herself. If she truly believed in herself, how could a few words from other people make her lose her confidence?
But no matter how much he said, facing cancellation made everything seem meaningless.
"This is a really good novel." Sogo Doma suddenly spoke as he was about to leave.
"Huh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka came out of her daze, not knowing why he'd brought that up all of a sudden.
"So have a little confidence. If you're a creator but don't even believe in what you've created, what can you believe in?" As he spoke, Sogo Doma waved again. "Also, Ms. Utako Kasumi, you probably don't need to worry about promotion anymore..."
"Huh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka blinked again.
"That little blonde tsundere is a huge fan of this novel. As soon as she got the review copy, she started promoting it on her own. I have to admit, that blonde's influence is ridiculously powerful in a lot of situations. Maybe you'll have your hands full from now on, Ms. Utako Kasumi."
Watching Sogo Doma walk downstairs, Utaha Kasumigaoka was once again stunned.
It wasn't the part about having her hands full that had left her reeling. A casual remark like that probably wasn't something to take seriously. What stunned her was this: how long had it been since she'd talked to a boy like that? It wasn't until Sogo Doma had left that she realized the last time might have been in middle school, when someone had said, "That's my desk..."
And yet she'd chatted with that guy for so long. Why?
Because he didn't look at her with lust? Don't be ridiculous. When Sogo Doma called himself a sadist, the fire blazing in his eyes had seemed hot enough to roast someone. But after talking with him, she'd also realized...
Was it his smile? No. All she could picture was Sogo Doma's delighted smile. How annoying!
Utaha Kasumigaoka clutched her head, unable to figure out why she'd talked with Sogo Doma for so long—or even signed a rather impressive autograph for him.
"Riiing..."
Just as she was puzzling over it, her phone rang inside her bag. She checked the number. Sure enough, it was the taskmaster, Sonoko Machida.
"Fine, fine, I know. I'll go to the signing event, okay..." Before the caller could even speak, Utaha Kasumigaoka spoke first.
"You finally agreed to—" The voice on the phone started with delight, then hurriedly corrected itself. "No, no! Who cares about that awful signing event now? Tell me honestly, when did you hook up with someone?"
"Hook up?" Utaha Kasumigaoka froze. Who had she hooked up with? In a daze, she blurted out, "Who did I hook up with? Sogo Doma?"
"..."
The phone fell silent for a moment. Utaha Kasumigaoka seemed to remember something, and her face turned bright red.
"Um, Utaha, I just wanted to ask if you knew God's Tongue..." The voice on the phone grew a little quieter, as if it lacked confidence. But just a moment later, a teasing laugh came through again. "So, Utaha, who's Sogo Doma? What made you use the words 'hook up'?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
Faced with her unscrupulous editor, she chose to meet silence with silence.
"Okay, I'll stop teasing you. Utaha, barring any surprises, your Love Metronome is about to get a reprint."
"What?" Faced with the sudden news, Utaha Kasumigaoka broke her silence. "Why? Didn't you say that if the signing event went badly, the third volume would be canceled?"
"That's why I asked if you knew that God's Tongue."
"God's Tongue?" Utaha Kasumigaoka, who paid little attention to the world around her, looked utterly baffled. Who was that?
It was no wonder. People who didn't follow the food world—or, more specifically, weren't very interested in chefs—didn't know much about God's Tongue.
On the other hand, some nerds had heard rumors and started digging around. Once they confirmed that every detail of her persona checked out, the young lady known as God's Tongue became a goddess not only in the culinary world but among nerds, too.
Beautiful, with a fierce gaze and a generous figure.
All the skills of a perfect homemaker... and maxed-out cooking ability.
A refined heiress who wasn't just a pretty face, and whose word could make or break a restaurant.
And on top of that, top chefs everywhere revered her as a treasure of Japan's culinary world.
What kind of anime heroine had stepped into reality? How could nerds not adore her?
"Wait, Utaha, you don't even know about God's Tongue, the treasure of Japan's culinary world, the chefs' last hope, the beautiful and talented young lady?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
Sorry for not knowing, I guess!
"Oh my God, Utaha, writing novels is all well and good, but you should pay a little attention to the real world..." Sonoko Machida's weary voice came through the phone. But a moment later, she continued, "Never mind, it doesn't matter whether you know her or not. Anyway, Utaha, your novel's a hit. Online orders have already topped a hundred thousand copies."
"By the way, thanks to your novel, the editor-in-chief is now running around like crazy, and the marketing department people are practically spitting..." As she spoke, Sonoko Machida suddenly couldn't hold back her laughter. After a while, she covered her mouth and said, "Seeing those people regret it so much is killing me. But they brought it on themselves. As your editor, all I want to say is, Utaha, you're a hit!"
"Beep, beep, beep..." Hearing the dead line, Kasumigaoka Utaha stood there in a daze. Her novel—her novel had become a huge hit?
A novel that had been on the verge of cancellation had suddenly become a hit?
Did it really have to be so thrilling?
Did it really have to feel so unreal?
"Ding-dong!"
As she stood there stunned, a LINE message came through on her phone.
It was from her editor, Sonoko Machida.
It contained a web address.
"Utaha, this is God's Tongue's Twitter. That young lady is your fan, so why not take a look?"
A fan's Twitter account? This fan seemed to be someone important. Should she say hello first, or...
Well, Utaha Kasumigaoka decided to lurk for a while first.
Before you continue