Chapter 124: Reprint! Reprint!!

The effect of this book review in *Mystery Literature* was significantly better than what Akutsu Goichi and Akiwara Yuto had imagined.

According to their original estimates, it should have taken another week to clear the remaining 5, 00 copies.

Unexpectedly, less than two days after the review was published, all the inventory had been cleared out.

On the day they sold out, bookstores from every district in Tokyo called in: Yamazaki Bookstore requested a restock of 800 copies, Fujiwara Bookstore requested 500 copies, and Flagwood Bookstore requested 400 copies.

One after another, the total orders from various bookstores reached 20, 00 copies, far exceeding the 8, 00 copies sold directly during the preview event.

Moreover, the number of direct-sales bookstore partners had also grown from the initial 30 to over 120.

Besides this, after discovering that the books had sold out, a section chief from the Tokyo Sales Zhushihuishe also made a special trip to visit, delivered the remaining balance, and requested to increase the order for *The Devotion of Suspect X*.

The other party promised that in addition to placing an order for 40, 00 copies, they would also begin distributing the books to more regional markets, not just Tokyo and its surrounding areas.

This meant that after the initial 30, 00 copies of *The Devotion of Suspect X* sold out, the number of copies for the reprint would reach 60, 00—a full doubling!

Upon receiving this series of good news, Akutsu Goichi's face was glowing, and he couldn't stop smiling. Although Akiwara Yuto was not quite as exuberant, a look of joy also appeared on his face.

Immediately after, Akutsu Goichi took Akiwara Yuto to a nearby bank to complete the transfer procedures.

For the initial 30, 00 copies, the actual price sold to bookstores was 2, 00 yen per copy, with a total sales volume of 75 million yen.

After deducting the 6 million yen in plate-making fees and 5 million yen in channel fees paid to the Anjiu Bookstore, the remaining total profit was 64 million yen.

Of this, Anjiu Bookstore took 8%, which was 5. 2 million yen, while Akiwara Yuto received the remaining nearly 59 million yen.

Akiwara Yuto picked up his bankbook and looked at the string of zeros on the back; he finally felt a great deal of emotion in his heart!

With this money, at least he wouldn't have to worry about being unable to pay Asano Aiko's salary. Beyond that, many other things now had room for maneuver!

Akiwara Yuto placed the bankbook in his inner jacket pocket, then turned to Akutsu Goichi and bowed deeply, "Thank you for your hard work during this time, President Anjiu!"

To him, Akutsu Goichi had indeed helped a great deal.

In addition to accepting his proposal for a 6 million yen payment deferral at the beginning, he had also taken the initiative to help find book reviewers and coordinated the preview event and various other tasks.

This was what allowed the initial 30, 00 copies to sell out in just over two months, much faster than expected.

Otherwise, relying solely on the traffic brought by his own online posts, he didn't know how much longer he would have had to wait for a reprint...

Facing Akiwara Yuto's bow, Akutsu Goichi stepped aside and did not accept it.

He waved his hand and said, "Akiwara, I am the one who should be saying thank you."

He meant this sincerely.

Before meeting Akiwara Yuto, Anjiu Bookstore had been reduced to relying on self-publishing services to make a living, but he hadn't expected that after cooperating with Akiwara, the bookstore would gain such great benefits.

Financially, even after deducting the extra expenses, the net profit for Anjiu Bookstore was over 10 million yen, equivalent to a year's profit before the economic downturn.

In terms of business, they had established cooperative relationships with more bookstores and attracted some clients planning to self-publish.

And more importantly, if he continued to cooperate with Akiwara Yuto, Anjiu Bookstore would still receive the profit share from *The Devotion of Suspect X*, which could amount to several tens of millions of yen over the year!

Faced with such significant benefits, he truly didn't feel he had helped the other party much, believing that he was the one who should be saying thank you.

Seeing that the other party would not accept his gratitude, Akiwara Yuto could only straighten up. He thought for a moment and suggested, "If you don't mind, let me treat everyone at Anjiu Bookstore to a kaiseki meal tonight."

Upon hearing this, Akutsu Goichi thought for a moment before smiling and agreeing.

After all, although kaiseki cuisine was expensive, it was nothing compared to Akiwara Yuto's current net worth.

The two of them laughed together, left the bank, and walked in the direction of Anjiu Bookstore.

Chiyoda Ward, Mantan Society Headquarters, *Tokyo Literature* Editorial Department.

With a "bang," a metal thermos was thrown onto the office desk, but the thermos was of good quality and didn't deform; only the tea that splashed out soaked a magazine lying open nearby.

On the open page of this magazine, the headline read: "'A Perfect Deception?', by author Kawada Keiji."

In the text below the headline, one could see the words *The Devotion of Suspect X* and Akiwara Yuto.

The thermos rolled on the desk twice before falling to the floor.

Takei Kohei looked at the soaked magazine and fell into silence.

Previously, after he and Kihara Daigo proposed blacklisting Akiwara Yuto, he had used Kihara Daigo's name to coordinate with the Public Relations Bureau, demanding that all media and newspapers cooperating with Mantan Society must not report on Akiwara Yuto's works.

After that, it was indeed as he had expected; all media and newspapers, out of concern for Mantan Society, had placed restrictions on their affiliated book reviewers, and no relevant reviews had appeared.

After all, to these media outlets, Akiwara Yuto was just a newcomer who hadn't won any major awards and had few connections. He wasn't worth offending Mantan Society over.

Just when Takei Kohei was feeling smug, his assistant Misaki Sawako brought him this journal and informed him that it contained a book review of *The Devotion of Suspect X*, which sent Takei Kohei into a rage.

Standing to the side, Misaki Sawako saw this scene and trembled with fear, not daring to take a single step forward.

Her superior usually wore a fake smile when outside, but within the editorial department, he was often temperamental, making people terrified.

If she were to step forward rashly, she might even get hit.

After venting his anger, Takei Kohei thought for a moment, then picked up the receiver and made a call: "Is this Hayakawa from the Public Relations Bureau? This is Takei Kohei, I want to ask about something."

"It's about the journal *Mystery Literature*. Didn't you reach out to them before?"

"You reached out, but they refused?"

"Fine, I understand."

Hanging up the phone, Takei Kohei couldn't suppress his anger and kicked the desk.

Damn it, that unappreciative *Mystery Literature*!

Just like that Akiwara Yuto!

Why hasn't that kind of thing gone bankrupt yet!

After fuming for a while, he began to ponder, wanting to see if he could retaliate.

But after careful consideration, he found himself powerless.

The magazine *Mystery Literature* was an academic journal that only accepted funding from the government and private sources, without the performance pressure of general media.

Therefore, they could often decide which articles to publish based on their own ideas.

On this point, even though Mantan Society was one of the "Big Four," there was nothing they could do about the other party. Unless they could get a lawmaker to attack them, but that was not something Takei Kohei could push for.

He sighed, then crouched down to pick up the thermos, trying to console himself.

Forget it, it's just a mere academic journal; if no one else helps, newspapers still won't review Akiwara Yuto's book!

He gazed at the night scene outside the window and couldn't help but consider another question.

Could the development of events really continue to go as he expected?