Chapter 212: A New Goal?

For the editorial department of *April Youth*, obtaining dirt on a competitor is certainly a good thing, but the most important work remains inviting more talented writers to join and contribute works.

This work is proceeding very smoothly.

Through the serialization of Akiwara Yuto's works, the current sales of *April Youth* are growing steadily, and the trend of surpassing *Tokyo Literature and Art* to become the second in the industry is becoming increasingly apparent.

For the author himself, starting a serialization in *April Youth* allows him to gain more attention from readers and harvest greater fame.

Therefore, after multiple visits by Kawamoto Toshisuke and Awazu Hideki, a female writer named Takeuchi Ari was moved and agreed to open a serialized column in *April Youth*.

Takeuchi Ari is a veteran writer who debuted nearly 10 years ago and has won many literary awards in the industry. Her works are particularly adept at psychological descriptions and emotional portrayals of women.

And this has also gained *April Youth* a new group of readers.

……

Chiyoda Ward, Akiwara Yuto's home.

Asano Aiko took out a souvenir and handed it to Akiwara Yuto, saying.

"This is a gift Editor Ooshiro Rika asked me to pass on to you. She would like to invite you to that kaiseki restaurant in Minato Ward the night after tomorrow."

Akiwara Yuto reached out to take it, then placed it casually to the side.

Asano Aiko continued to ask: "Akiwara, what is your intention?"

"Help me accept it."

Asano Aiko still felt a bit strange; after all, the editorial department had just invited Akiwara Yuto after the New Year, and yet here they were inviting him again not long after.

Even if it is to build rapport with an author, this is a bit too frequent.

She thought for a moment and raised this doubt of hers.

Akiwara Yuto smiled and replied: "This is because they are worried I might have other ideas."

"Other ideas." Asano Aiko pondered the events that had occurred recently, then probed: "Takeuchi Ari?"

"That's right," Akiwara Yuto said, "Previously, only my work could hold up the facade of *April Youth*, but now with the addition of this Takeuchi-sensei, *April Youth* has one more choice."

He took a sip of tea, "In order to firmly bind this Takeuchi-sensei, the editorial department will inevitably allocate some promotional resources to her, and might even arrange a few covers for her works."

"So Editor-in-Chief Ooshiro is worried you might be dissatisfied, so she is coming to appease you?" Asano Aiko frowned, following Akiwara Yuto's words, "But won't this cause a loss to your interests?"

Akiwara Yuto nodded, then shook his head again.

"The loss isn't much. The promotion for the *Furuhata* series is already very much in place; any more promotion would just lead to reader and public fatigue. Rather than that, it is better to invest funds to push that Takeuchi-sensei's new work. From this perspective, *April Youth*'s move is very wise."

Asano Aiko looked at Akiwara Yuto with worried eyes, then said: "Akiwara, but this is being diverted from your resources after all. Won't you be dissatisfied?"

Akiwara Yuto held his tea and took a sip, then said in an indifferent tone: "Asano, don't you think my relationship with the *April Youth* editorial department is distorted?"

"Distorted?"

"That's right," Akiwara Yuto continued, "Right now, the sales of the entire magazine mostly rely on my works to support them, and basically all resources have been handed to me. Not only that, the editorial department's attitude toward me is respectful to an abnormal degree."

Akiwara Yuto still remembered that when he last went to the Kyougakukan to attend a meeting, an editor helping him pour tea accidentally spilled water on the side.

This was clearly a small matter, but the editor bowed deeply and sincerely begged for his forgiveness, leaving Akiwara Yuto speechless.

Asano Aiko said: "Isn't this very normal? After all, your works have brought great benefits to *April Youth*."

"Great benefits?" Akiwara Yuto sighed and asked in a questioning tone:

He looked at Asano Aiko and said: "Do you remember the agreement I signed when I first agreed to join *April Youth*? It's in the desk drawer; go get it."

Asano Aiko complied and quickly got up to retrieve the document. Akiwara Yuto took the document, spread it on the low table, and pointed to a page.

"According to the content of the agreement, the film and television adaptation rights, book publication rights, and other derivative rights of the works are all mine and have nothing to do with Kyougakukan. To be honest, if I were the upper management of Kyougakukan, I might not be able to tolerate this."

In his past life, the relationship between the editorial department and creators was often a community of interests. For series like *Dragon Ball* or *Slam Dunk*, the publisher often held the revenue from serialization, book publication, animation, merchandise, and many other aspects.

But this agreement of his only reserved the serialization.

To tell the truth, he eats the majority of the meat and only leaves a mouthful of soup for the other party.

Asano Aiko thought carefully for a while, then said: "But the other party already agreed to it at the time."

Akiwara Yuto replied: "At that time, the sales of *April Youth* were only 70, 00 copies. Not only was it looked down upon by Kyougakukan's upper management, but it also faced the crisis of being changed to a semi-monthly publication. But the current *April Youth* has sales far exceeding that time and has gained support from above."

He added: "The other party had no choice back then, but now it is different. And if I am not mistaken, that Takeuchi-sensei likely handed over all copyrights to the editorial department."

After hearing Akiwara Yuto's description, Asano Aiko found that it was indeed as he said.

For *April Youth*, while Akiwara Yuto's works can drive sales growth, they do not contribute much to the editorial department's net profit.

On the contrary, for that Takeuchi-sensei's works, the editorial department can increase its profit margins through various channels of operation.

"Akiwara, what are you thinking?" Asano Aiko looked at him carefully.

In her view, since Akiwara Yuto had already figured all this out, he naturally had made a decision.

Akiwara Yuto held his tea and took a sip, saying indifferently: "Let nature take its course."

He really didn't care. When he agreed to join *April Youth*, his goal was only to complete the task of building the industry's number one literary journal and fulfill his regrets from his time at *New*.

Therefore, even if the other party invited other veteran writers to join, it would not hinder him from achieving this goal.

To be honest, when he demanded that the book and film rights not belong to the editorial department, he had already anticipated that this would happen today.

Asano Aiko was speechless; she had just been worried and anxious on the side, but the person involved felt it didn't matter.

Seeing her expression, Akiwara Yuto smiled and said: "Don't worry, I still hold the initiative in my cooperation with *April Youth*. After all, if not for the fear that I would be dissatisfied, that Editor-in-Chief Ooshiro wouldn't have taken the initiative to come find me."

In his view, Takeuchi Ari had only just joined *April Youth*, and her works were too focused on female readers. Therefore, the possibility of being as welcomed by the masses and adapted into film and television like *Furuhata* was not very high.

Taking a step back, even if that possibility existed, it would require a massive amount of time.

Moreover, with himself and Takeuchi Ari splitting the vast majority of promotional resources, it is unlikely the editorial department will find other veteran writers to join; after all, no one is willing to come over to be a supporting leaf.

So for a long time to come, although the *April Youth* editorial department has other thoughts, they can only treat him like a feudal lord.

Just then, Satake Maki walked up the stairs, pushed open the door, and said: "Akiwara-sensei, Asano-senpai, the meal is ready, you can come down to eat."

Akiwara Yuto put aside his thoughts, stood up with Asano Aiko, and walked down.

He thought as he walked, and began to ponder a new question.

Once *April Youth* becomes the industry's number one, is there still a need for him to cooperate with them?

Perhaps, he should set a new goal?