Chapter 245: Changing the Future of Mystery Novels

Akiwara Yuto had his own considerations regarding his refusal of the proposal from Takada Tomohisa.

Unlike his initial relationship with Asano Aiko, his connection with Kawai Shinta and the others was more of a "transaction."

But this transaction was far from over; there were still many ways he could make use of the other party.

Besides, he did not see any benefit in joining the New Orthodox School.

After all, among the works in his mind, the New Orthodox School accounted for a very small proportion; most of the others were Social School or other genres, such as the mysteries of Keigo Higashino, Miyuki Miyabe, Agatha, and others.

Therefore, to focus solely on writing Orthodox and New Orthodox works just for the status of a "leader" of the New Orthodox School, which offered no practical benefits, was undoubtedly the most foolish decision possible.

Takada Tomohisa stared at Akiwara Yuto for a while, and finding no sign of wavering on his face, he could only let out a long sigh.

He had previously heard about how Akiwara Yuto had fallen out with the Manga Publishing House out of gratitude for a female editor who had recognized his talent.

So in his view, Akiwara Yuto's refusal this time might also be because he wanted to repay the kindness of Kawai Shinta's patronage.

Although he felt this approach was "foolish," he did not dislike it in his heart.

"Akiwara-sensei, although you did not win the Uemura Prize this time, I guarantee that as long as your entry is of the Orthodox School next time, you will never encounter any unfairness in the selection process."

Takada Tomohisa had his own motives for saying this.

The first point was to continue building a good relationship with Akiwara Yuto, hoping he could create more works similar to *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders*.

In fact, for the current New Orthodox School, this work was extremely important.

So he planned to nominate this work for the Uemura Prize in the second half of the year to achieve a promotional effect.

The second point was that as Akiwara Yuto's fame grew, setting barriers for him in award selections was becoming increasingly difficult.

After all, in the eyes of many readers, the fact that their favorite work didn't win an award would undoubtedly arouse their anger and even affect the credibility of the award.

Since that was the case, it was better to loosen the stance early to avoid ending up with that outcome.

Akiwara Yuto did not expect this unexpected joy, but he quickly understood the other party's intention to build rapport and politely expressed his gratitude.

The two did not talk about this topic further, just chatted a few words about daily life, and then ended the conversation.

……

After bidding farewell to Takada Tomohisa, a look of joy appeared on Akiwara Yuto's face.

Although his original intention to persuade some of the radical Orthodox members had failed, the book *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders* had indeed brought him other benefits.

Takada Tomohisa was, after all, the leader of the New Orthodox School, so his words still carried considerable weight.

So, he didn't have to worry about being made things difficult for when it came to winning awards!

Relying on the works in his mind, winning a grand slam of the famous literary awards in Japan was just a matter of time.

His steps suddenly became light, and then he walked to Kawai Shinta's office with a smile.

But before entering the office, he restrained his smile.

No matter what, he really hadn't provided much "substantial" help to the moderate faction's advocacy for promotion this time.

"Akiwara, you're here. Let's have lunch together."

Seeing Akiwara Yuto arrive, Kawai Shinta smiled and invited him to sit down, then called his secretary to bring two bento meals.

Akiwara Yuto did not stand on ceremony and picked up some sushi to eat, finding the taste very ordinary, even a bit unpalatable.

"The association has limited funds, please forgive me," Kawai Shinta said with a smile. "How was your chat with Takada-sensei?"

Akiwara Yuto thought for a moment and revealed everything he had discussed with Takada Tomohisa, including the fact that he would be given special consideration in award selections.

This kind of thing couldn't be hidden, so it was better to be honest about it.

Kawai Shinta nodded after hearing everything; he didn't seem too disappointed and just moved past the topic.

"Then, when do you plan to release this book?"

Akiwara Yuto didn't hesitate much and replied, "As soon as possible."

After buying a house and fighting a lawsuit, his savings had shrunk quite a bit, and the monthly royalty income from his previously released works was also constantly decreasing.

Besides, he had also gained a lot of public attention due to the "Onuki Masakazu" assassination case.

Since he still had a certain level of social heat, the faster he pushed this book to the market, the better!

Kawai Shinta smiled and said, "Have you thought about the blurb for the book band?"

Akiwara Yuto was a bit confused; after all, wasn't that kind of copy supposed to be thought of by the editor?

Could it be that Kawai Shinta wanted to provide him with a recommendation?

He replied, "Not yet."

Kawai Shinta stood up, tore a piece of paper from his notebook, wrote a sentence on it with a pen, and handed it to Akiwara Yuto.

Akiwara Yuto was initially puzzled, but he was surprised when he saw the sentence.

On the paper, it read: "Recommended by the Mystery Writers Association: This is a great work that can change the future of mystery!"

He hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, "Would this be inappropriate?"

Although Kawai Shinta was the vice-chairman of the Mystery Writers Association, the association was composed of all writers and had strict factional divisions.

And the words "great work" seemed a bit too exaggerated.

But to his surprise, Kawai Shinta laughed out loud instead, "Who would object?"

The Orthodox members who were most likely to object had already been persuaded, and the Social School members were on good terms with him.

As vice-chairman, he still had the authority to write a recommendation or something similar.

Looking at Kawai Shinta's smile, Akiwara Yuto knew he had taken things for granted, so he smiled and accepted the kindness.

With the "endorsement" of the Mystery Writers Association, it would be hard for this work of his not to be a bestseller!

……

After leaving the Mystery Writers Association, Akiwara Yuto immediately took the manuscript to the Anjiu Bookstore, met with Asano Aiko, Satake Maki, and others, and began arranging the release of the book.

After meeting and discussing, the corresponding work was arranged, including proofreading, cover design, and distribution through other channels.

Not only that, Akiwara Yuto also spent extra money as channel fees for promotion and kickbacks for cooperative bookstores.

During the time he collaborated with *April Youth*, he didn't just write; he also learned a lot of knowledge about marketing.

So this time, he put it directly to use!

Facing the importance placed on him by "big client" Akiwara Yuto, Anjiu Tsuyoshi naturally dared not neglect him; the other party's business volume now accounted for about 70% of all revenue for the Anjiu Bookstore.

If he offended him even slightly, he might be kicked out.

However, Akiwara Yuto actually didn't have such thoughts, because the cooperation with the Anjiu Bookstore was very smooth—he controlled the other party's profit at around 5-7% through the contract.

Even if he were to cut ties and go it alone, he might not necessarily have much more profit, and he would still have to worry about coordinating personnel work.

In short, under a series of intensive arrangements, the work for the book *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders* proceeded smoothly.

Regarding the book, the bookstore invited a specialized big-name designer to design a suitable cover and placed the sentence gifted by Kawai Shinta on the "book band."

Regarding channels, with the help of the name "Akiwara Yuto," they successfully reached further cooperation with major bookstores, including the posting of posters and lucky draws for gifts.

*April Youth* of the Kejiaoguan learned about the relevant situation and, through networking, arranged for five interested major bookstores to set up special autograph sessions.

Fuji TV had requests for Akiwara Yuto, so that went without saying.

The members of the *Furuhata Ninzaburo* production team also expressed one after another that after the book was officially released, they would express their love and praise for the work on television and other media.

Under such a series of arrangements, the book *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders* finally reached the day of its public release……