Chapter 155: Please Correct Me

After the three of them introduced themselves, Akutsu Goichi added, "There is another important matter regarding Ms. Asano's visit: the work *Death by Negligence*, for which Akiwara-sensei won the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award, will be published in the near future."

After saying this, Akutsu Goichi turned around and said to Asano Aiko, "Ms. Asano, please explain the details."

"Certainly." Asano Aiko nodded, then took three photocopied manuscripts from the document bag she had brought and handed them to the other three people present.

"Due to recent news reports, the public is currently paying quite a bit of attention to Akiwara-sensei."

Asano Aiko bowed. "Therefore, I would like to ask everyone to please speed up the publishing progress a little, especially regarding the proofreading."

Hearing the implication of "overtime" in her words, Itakura Naka showed an impatient expression on his face, but Akutsu Goichi and Satake Maki did not express any opposition.

After all, in the publishing industry, overtime is nothing more than a matter of course.

Akutsu Goichi coughed and took the initiative to say, "Of course, no problem. We will speed up the progress and related arrangements here. As for the general personnel allocation, I will provide a document for you, Ms. Asano."

To him, Akiwara Yuto had already become a "golden apple." Therefore, he would naturally satisfy Asano Aiko's requests whenever he could.

"By the way," Akutsu Goichi thought for a moment and added, "Ms. Asano, our proofreading work here is mainly handled by me and Editor Satake, and the recent bestseller *Death of Mystery* had its main proofreading work handled by Editor Satake."

Asano Aiko glanced at Satake Maki, and Satake Maki, prompted by Akutsu Goichi's gesture, nodded.

Asano Aiko was silent for a moment, then said, "In that case, for the work *Death by Negligence*, I hope to cooperate with Ms. Satake to conduct cross-proofreading."

Hearing this request, Akutsu Goichi and Itakura Naka could not help but show surprised expressions.

Was this dissatisfaction with the proofreading work?

Otherwise, why would this Ms. Asano want to intervene in this aspect of the work?

Satake Maki gripped the hand holding the photocopied manuscript even tighter.

To be honest, she was very dissatisfied inside right now, and even suspected that the other party was here to deliberately pick faults.

Whether out of work or her own personal feelings, she had always been doing her best with the proofreading, even going over it two extra times on top of the three standard proofreading passes.

She could guarantee that there would absolutely be no problems with the writing, grammar, or typos in *Death of Mystery*!

However, since Asano Aiko was Akiwara Yuto's plenipotentiary representative, she could not say anything.

Asano Aiko looked around the office and then said with a smile, "President Akutsu, may I invite Ms. Satake out for a cup of coffee alone? There are some work matters I would like to discuss privately."

Akutsu Goichi was a bit surprised, but he agreed and signaled to Satake Maki, who was also slightly taken aback, to put down her work for now.

After briefly greeting the other two, Asano Aiko led Satake Maki down the stairs, one after the other.

After walking for 10 minutes, the two arrived at a nearby cafe called "Chavez," and under the guidance of a waiter, they sat face-to-face at a window seat.

After ordering coffee, Asano Aiko looked at Satake Maki and said with a smile, "I'm sorry, Ms. Satake. My words just now were not out of dissatisfaction with your work, so please don't mind them."

Satake Maki shook her head, indicating that she did not mind.

But she did not think so in her heart; after all, a major taboo in the workplace is having someone else interfere with one's own work.

If it wasn't dissatisfaction with her work, why would this Ms. Asano want to take the initiative to participate in the proofreading?

At this moment, the waiter brought over two cups of coffee on a tray.

Asano Aiko picked up her cup, took a light sip, and then looked at Satake Maki, who was sitting opposite her with an unnatural expression.

Judging by her appearance, this Editor Satake was only in her early 20s and had dyed her hair light brown. Her attire was very simple and clean.

However, according to what President Akutsu had revealed earlier, she had already worked at Akutsu Bookstore for several years and had accumulated considerable experience in proofreading and editing.

Asano Aiko did not find it strange; she assumed this Editor Satake had likely started working right after graduating from high school.

Was this very common in Japanese society? After all, if one was not aiming for a large company or a government position, a high school diploma was already sufficient.

However, in the proofreading of literary works, there was still a certain gap between a high school graduate and a university graduate with specialized training.

Asano Aiko thought for a moment and continued, "Ms. Satake, I have read *Death of Mystery*. You did a very good job with the writing, grammar, and typos."

Upon hearing this explanation, Satake Maki was half-believing and half-doubting.

After saying this, Asano Aiko smiled and added, "But there is a small problem in other aspects that I would like to point out."

"What problem?" Satake Maki's tone was slightly dissatisfied.

But despite her dissatisfaction, she sat up straight.

She knew that this Ms. Asano came from a large publishing house like the Man-dan Society, and she wanted to see if the other party really had the substance.

Asano Aiko nodded and said, "At the end of the work *Death of Mystery*, the detective mocks the grandson of the famous family, pointing out that their building was built on land forcibly acquired from the Burakumin by the government and then auctioned off. Here, there is a factual error."

Hearing this, Satake Maki frowned and began to recall.

But she thought for a long time and did not feel there was anything wrong with it.

After a while, she asked in an uncertain tone, "Could you please correct me?"

Asano Aiko said with a smile, "Excluding ethnic minorities, the occupations of the Burakumin were generally related to death and impurity, such as the funeral industry, leather industry, and butchery. Because these professions were shunned by other citizens, they often could only live on the outskirts or in villages. However, that mansion of the mystery writer was in a prosperous area of the city."

She paused and added, "Information regarding this can be found in the history section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Library."

On the other side, Satake Maki was completely stunned. She had just felt that she had done her work in great detail, but she did not expect to be immediately pointed out a relevant problem.

This kind of logical problem in a work is often more serious than text and grammar.

Although most readers would not notice it, in the eyes of some experts, it is a very serious problem.

For a moment, she didn't know what to say, and her face felt hot involuntarily.

Asano Aiko smiled and said, "Don't take it so hard. Just correct it in the next edition after this one sells out. However, I have a suggestion: when proofreading a work, try to look up relevant background information instead of just staring at grammar and typos."

Satake Maki felt even more ashamed.

Before accepting Akiwara Yuto's business, the books published by Akutsu Bookstore were mainly household and business-oriented, and they knew very little about the literary business.

So she had followed her original work habits and focused on sorting out the text and grammar.

But she hadn't expected to make such a slip-up.

She struggled for a moment, but decided to admit her mistake. She stood up and bowed deeply in front of other surprised customers, saying, "Ms. Asano, I'm sorry. I just thought..."

"It's no problem," Asano Aiko also stood up and interrupted her. "Everyone makes mistakes; as long as you can keep revising, it's fine. In any case, let's work hard together!"

Satake Maki straightened up. Seeing that Asano Aiko's expression of comfort did not seem fake, she felt a bit moved.

At this point, she also understood Asano Aiko's intention today.

Back at the publishing house, this Ms. Asano had not pointed out the problem directly, but instead, when she had misunderstood, called her out alone to explain the issue.

It seems this Ms. Asano is truly a gentle person.

Perhaps that is the kind of person Akiwara-sensei likes.

Then, do I still have a chance... sigh...

Asano Aiko looked at Satake Maki, who had a look of shame, and nodded with a smile.

From the other party's sincere attitude, she saw some of her own reflection.

This Ms. Satake is truly a serious girl!

Akiwara, the publishing house you found is actually not bad...

On the other side, Akiwara Yuto, sitting at his desk, "sneezed."

He took a tissue to wipe his nose, then lowered his head to look at the paper on the desk, and could not help but fall into deep thought.

What should I write for the next book?