First, there was a lie that wasn't a lie: geniuses were admired by others...
People longed to possess extraordinary talent themselves. But when that talent belonged to someone else, all they felt was fear and envy... When that talent surpassed ordinary people by too much, fear turned into dread.
At first, the writers at the hotel didn't understand Teacher Kimura's anger. That was, until—
"Editor Yamagami, what does Editor Kambara mean? Why does the Legend of the Red Moon, which I scheduled to publish next month, have to be reformatted?"
Editor Yamagami looked earnest. "Teacher Kimura, because your publication slot happens to conflict with Teacher Gyojin's... The publishing house is looking out for your interests by postponing the release. Editor Kambara should have explained that, right?"
Teacher Kimura glanced at Sogo Doma, who looked completely innocent.
"The publishing house has to be joking, right? Because of this little kid?"
Yamagami hurriedly replied, "Teacher Gyojin's orthodox mystery novel is a masterpiece that even Kudo praised without reservation."
Kudo Yushiro was a representative of Japan's new generation of mystery writers. Thankfully, it wasn't Kudo Yusaku, or Sogo Doma himself would have been tempted to bring about his own doom—twenty years of it, from Big Sister Ran to Little Sister Ran, and then from Little Sister Ran to Niece Ran. Even a master couldn't let go of that grudge.
The two hadn't lowered their voices, and by now, some of the other authors were looking at Teacher Kimura with sympathy.
The young overthrowing the old!
It was a tradition that dominated much of Japan, but when it happened to someone right beside you, it still felt bleak.
Sogo Doma: "..."
Had he somehow drawn everyone's attention again?
Come to think of it, if the publishing house hadn't said that attending the gathering would boost sales, he'd much rather be lying at home, helping Idiot Little Sister gain some points, than sitting here grinning like an idiot.
Of course...
That was also what gave Editor Yamagami a headache. His authors were great, but they were way too laid-back. What was he supposed to do with them?
"Editor Yamagami, is this your decision or the publishing house's?" That was Teacher Kimura asking.
"Editor Yamagami, is this the publishing house's decision?" That was a group of mystery novelists asking.
And judging by the situation, it seemed that his author had gone to one gathering and already offended a whole crowd of big shots. What was he supposed to do?
As Editor Yamagami pondered, an older author flared up. "I absolutely refuse to accept this! What the hell does a kid of twelve or thirteen know about writing mystery novels?"
It wasn't that he refused to accept it. It was that if Teacher Kimura's publication slot could be taken today, theirs might be next. When all was said and done, it was about their own interests.
Someone else said:
"Exactly! That's why mystery fiction isn't accepted by the mainstream!"
The mainstream here meant the traditional literary world and the Bald Eagle literary world...
Sogo Doma was still utterly bewildered.
People admired geniuses, but someone who went one step beyond was a genius, while someone who went ten steps beyond was a monster. In that situation, only those who could withstand being suppressed could become masters!
Once again, Sogo Doma was a monster.
And so, Sogo Doma had never feared anyone's attempts to suppress him.
Just like today. He'd only wanted to attend a mystery writers' gathering in peace and harmony, but everyone's disregard for him had instead stirred up his rebellious streak.
Fortunately, all he'd done was run his mouth a little.
Fortunately, though Editor Yamagami had known Sogo's personality for a long time, he'd still planned to turn down the invitation for him. But even editors had bosses above them.
The big shots had seen an opportunity in Sogo Doma.
People admired geniuses, always believing that geniuses would bring them greater profits.
Take Sogo Doma, for example. No matter how uncooperative he was, they had sales to think about. Just imagine: a twelve-year-old author challenging readers. It might upset plenty of people, but it was certainly a sensational hook...
Let's skim over that for now.
Whatever their displeasure, the publishing house had plenty of ways to put them together. As long as sales went up, that was all that mattered...
Of course, this wasn't about the book's impact, but the impact on sales.
But—the publishing house hadn't expected Sogo Doma to be so reckless, or perhaps so indifferent.
In Japan, where ideas of hierarchy and seniority ran incredibly deep, only a monster would ignore rank and atmosphere... After all, this was a country where even a princess could be bullied.
Wasn't it easier to just follow the crowd? What was the point of thinking about anything else? It only wasted your calories.
And yet this country took youthful geniuses to extremes. Perhaps because it had raised too many Heisei Otaku, every time a genius appeared, countless investors were willing to put money into them—until they surpassed ordinary people by too much and became geniuses who were bullied.
This phenomenon reminded Sogo Doma of something his elementary school deskmate had once said: "There's something wrong with this world. Exceptional people often have a harder time than ordinary people, but there are too few exceptional people and too many ordinary people."
Sogo Doma had no comment on that opinion. He remembered being bullied when he'd just transferred schools in elementary school. But—the bullies had blossomed into beautiful flowers, crying like a bunch of children beneath the sun.
He remembered someone saying to him then, "They're still just kids. Why..."
Sogo Doma's response was: Exactly. They were still young, so please don't go easy on them.
Unlike most people, Sogo Doma didn't believe that being weak made someone right. He had his own principles. Even if he was a slacker, as a monster, he was the one who used the most salt—the one most capable of making people taste the saltiness!
So he didn't care about unspoken rules in any social circle. If something bothered him, if people shut him out of the conversation, he wasn't afraid to break the rules.
But that was all. In truth, he really did look down on people who longed to enter the traditional literary world, but couldn't find a way in, and could only prove their literary credentials by praising traditional literature.
Still, he only looked down on them a little. How people chose to live was their own business. As a creator, if they genuinely believed their own circle was inferior to the traditional literary world, what could Sogo Doma do? Brainwash each and every one of them?
Of course, he was bound to feel some discontent. After all, he'd prepared for so long—it was like studying physics for an entire semester, only for someone to suddenly tell you that you'd actually been studying the humanities.
All that effort, wasted.
Ahem, it sounded like something a villain would think. Sogo Doma really was afraid some young man would suddenly show up and slap him twice across the face.
Still, he'd been so low-key already. Just think: in a seemingly two-dimensional slice-of-life world, he hadn't gone looking for monsters or tried to develop ACG culture. Yeah, he'd been very low-key! Surely nobody would notice him.
But now, it seemed Sogo Doma couldn't keep a low profile, especially after Teacher Kimura said those words. For some reason, Sogo Doma had a strong sense of déjà vu.
Would Teacher Kimura provoke him into a bet in a moment? Damn it, this was turning into a scene straight out of a novel-transcription story.
—
Just as Sogo Doma had expected, Teacher Kimura looked at him with bloodshot eyes, as if he'd lost his mind.
"The publishing house thinks that..."
No. He absolutely couldn't let this happen! Sogo Doma had already rejected the novel-transcription route for his development, and now he had to stop this from happening.
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