Chapter 210: Awazu Hideki's Unexpected Surprise

"Are those Director Yamashita's exact words?"

In the editor-in-chief's office of *April Youth*, Daishiro Rika sat in her chair, questioning Kawamoto Shunyu, who stood beside her; the latter had just finished a board meeting and had rushed over without even a sip of water.

Kawamoto Shunyu looked at Daishiro Rika and said in a serious voice, "Yes, Director Yamashita said that *April Youth* is not Akiwara Yuto's magazine, and he hopes you will keep that in mind."

Daishiro Rika pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kawamoto, what do you think he means by that?"

Kawamoto Shunyu frowned and replied, "Isn't it because the copyrights for the film adaptations and the collected volumes all belong to Akiwara-sensei, which is why Director Yamashita said that?"

"Then what do you think the editorial department should do next?"

"Talk to Akiwara-sensei about the copyrights again?"

Daishiro Rika laughed and said in a calm tone, "Do you think Director Yamashita is that stupid?"

Seeing that Kawamoto Shunyu was still confused, Daishiro Rika had no choice but to continue explaining.

"Regardless of whether the agreement is appropriate, it is now an established fact. If we demand changes now, it will only make the outside world think we are going back on our word."

"Besides that, Akiwara Yuto's contribution to *April Youth* is incomparable to anyone else's. If we anger him at this time, and he stops serialization or makes a public statement, we will be the ones most affected."

She paused and emphasized, "Have you forgotten the lesson Mantansha learned at such a painful cost?"

After hearing this, Kawamoto Shunyu nodded; he realized that Daishiro Rika was indeed right. No matter how you look at it, *April Youth* cannot do without Akiwara Yuto right now.

"Then what exactly did Director Yamashita mean?" Kawamoto Shunyu pressed.

Daishiro Rika did not answer immediately, but instead asked, "Have you been keeping an eye on the current sales of *New*?"

Kawamoto Shunyu thought for a while and replied hesitantly, "After the layoffs, the current sales are less than 30, 00 copies. It might become a semi-monthly magazine before long."

"Then what do you think is the reason for their failure?"

"Akiwara-sensei? Because of the conflict between that general manager and Akiwara-sensei?"

"That's right, the reason for *New*'s failure is Akiwara-sensei!"

Daishiro Rika continued.

"The fact that *New*'s sales went from 30, 00 to over 200, 00 copies, and then fell back to 30, 00, all happened after Akiwara-sensei ended his cooperation with Mantansha. If Akiwara-sensei ever ends his cooperation with Kyoukan, will *April Youth* suffer the same fate?"

She sighed and expressed her own opinion.

"Although Director Yamashita cares a lot about copyrights, he also knows that modifying the treaty is unrealistic, so he just meant 'let this be a warning.' His real opinion is that *April Youth* cannot rely solely on Akiwara-sensei."

Kawamoto Shunyu finally understood the underlying meaning, but after pondering for a while, he asked in an uncertain tone, "Then should we shift our promotional resources to other writers?"

Daishiro Rika rolled her eyes at him; she didn't know how her subordinate's brain worked—he was quite good at political maneuvering, but when it came to magazine operations, he was as stupid as a pig.

*April Youth* is currently in a growth phase, and the *Furuhata* series has just been adapted into a drama; it needs to continue relying on Akiwara Yuto's works to compete with rivals.

Reducing resource allocation at this time would undoubtedly be cutting off one's own arm, putting the magazine at a competitive disadvantage.

She sighed, did not answer the question, but took a document out of her drawer and handed it to Kawamoto Shunyu, saying, "This is the editorial department's next plan."

Kawamoto Shunyu lowered his head to look at it and found a list of names; he asked in confusion, "This is?"

Daishiro Rika said, "The cooperation between the editorial department and Akiwara-sensei is in a honeymoon period, but we cannot guarantee what will happen in the future. Therefore, during this time, the editorial department should speed up the search for other outstanding writers and invite them to join *April Youth*."

Kawamoto Shunyu immediately understood: they needed to acquire another star writer besides Akiwara Yuto.

"Editor-in-Chief Daishiro, I understand your point, but didn't we try to invite some veteran writers before and fail? That's why we invited Akiwara Yuto."

Daishiro Rika nodded, "When we invited those veteran writers back then, the sales of *April Youth* were only 70, 00 copies, but now they are three times that. I think they will reconsider. Besides, I don't intend to only invite veteran writers."

"Then who are we inviting?"

"Didn't Akiwara-sensei win the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award before? But according to my sources, he was only selected by a one-vote margin. Looking at it this way, the other two new writers who were also shortlisted for the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award are targets we can consider."

She actually had other plans; compared to a writer who had already made a name for himself like Akiwara Yuto, the other two, as newcomers, should be easier to control, and even if it failed, the editorial department wouldn't have to pay a high cost.

Kawamoto Shunyu looked at the document for a while and asked, "Is there any work you need me to do?"

In his view, since Daishiro Rika handed this list to him, she must want him to do something; otherwise, she could have just explained it briefly.

Daishiro Rika replied, "For the veteran writers on this list, I'll trouble Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kawamoto to visit them in the near future to build rapport and test their intentions."

"What about these two new writers?" Kawamoto Shunyu asked confusedly.

Daishiro Rika replied, "I have already entrusted those two to Editor Awazu."

After saying this, she looked down at her watch, thinking that he should have visited at least one household by now.

While Daishiro Rika was checking her watch, Awazu Hideki was walking on the streets of Adachi Ward, unable to help but sigh.

He felt he already knew the quirks of many writers, but he hadn't expected one this bizarre.

Just a moment ago, following Editor-in-Chief Daishiro's request, he went to visit Murata Anka, a candidate shortlisted for the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award. But when he arrived at her home, her parents told him she was working at a convenience store.

A writer working at a convenience store? Is she planning to quit the literary world?

Harboring this doubt, he took the train to the Takasago convenience store where she worked and saw Murata Anka herself.

He had wanted to talk to her directly about joining *April Youth*, but he didn't expect Murata Anka to refuse on the grounds that she was "at work and it's inconvenient to handle private matters."

With no other choice, he had to schedule a visit for the weekend.

The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt; he had come to her door hoping she would serialize, but he didn't expect her to push him away because of a convenience store job and even reschedule the talk.

These writers' thought processes are just not normal!

While thinking, Awazu Hideki walked up to a dilapidated "detached house" and subconsciously looked at the residence of the writer he was visiting next, named Oonuki Masakazu.

He looked around at the surroundings, then briefly checked the sanitation on the roadside, and came to a conclusion in his heart.

In the 23 wards of Tokyo, Adachi Ward is the most remote, and the rent, housing prices, and public safety are the lowest in Tokyo. But even in the ward with the lowest rent, the other party could only live in this kind of house.

It seems this writer's situation is even worse than he had imagined!

Looking at it this way, the probability of his success in inviting the other party to join *April Youth* would also greatly increase!

He stood at the door, looked at the gift he was holding, tidied his clothes, and then pressed the doorbell.

Soon, the door was pushed open, and a woman of about 60 years old came out, looking at him with confusion.

"Hello, are you an editor from *Tokyo Youth*?"

Awazu Hideki was about to state his identity and was stunned when he heard this, but just as he was about to say he was from *April Youth*, the woman added.

"Isn't the manuscript fee settled once a month? Didn't you just give it last time? Is there something the matter?"

After hearing this, Awazu Hideki immediately realized something was wrong.

Manuscript fee? Settled once a month?

No, he had been following *Tokyo Youth*, and he knew every writer who had published works in it; Oonuki Masakazu was not among them.

Could there be some other unknown cooperation?

It seems this matter is getting interesting!