Chapter 31: How to Slice the

"Akiwara-san, don't look so glum." The one speaking was Imamura Yuto, a friend Akiwara Yuto had met at the publishing house.

He was wearing a pink floral suit with a black bowtie and brogue leather shoes, looking incredibly flamboyant. He urged Akiwara Yuto, "We're here to have fun today, you can't wear that expression."

Akiwara Yuto stood beside him, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, looking just like an ordinary university student.

He replied irritably, "Weren't we supposed to talk about business? Why come to a place like this?"

He had received a call from Imamura Yuto the day before yesterday, and the latter had asked him to go out today to discuss something. He had thought about it and agreed.

He had expected to find a simple place to chat, but he hadn't expected to be led all the way to a high-end club called "Misaki."

High-end clubs in Japan were essentially high-end nightclubs, the favorite haunts of the powerful in Japanese politics and business, and even the cultural circle was no exception.

Cultural celebrities like writers Mishima Yukio, Kawabata Yasunari, and Shiba Ryotaro, and manga artists Tezuka Osamu, Akatsuka Fujio, and Fujiko F. Fujio were all frequent guests at such clubs.

Fujiko F. Fujio even jokingly claimed that the name Shizuka in *Doraemon* came from a certain mama-san, which gave him, upon learning this inside story at the time, a feeling of his childhood being ruined.

Akiwara Yuto felt a bit of a headache. Although he didn't like such places, he didn't have any moral squeamishness; after all, the purpose of coming was just to talk.

However, it seemed the fees here weren't cheap, and he had just donated two issues' worth of manuscript fees to charity, so he was a bit short on cash.

Imamura Yuto seemed to notice his embarrassment, patted him on the shoulder, and winked, saying, "Don't worry, it's my treat today."

Akiwara Yuto helplessly offered a suggestion: "Actually, we could have talked at my place."

Upon hearing this, although the expression on Imamura Yuto's face remained flippant, his tone became slightly more serious: "Akiwara-san, as a writer, if you want to keep moving up in the future, you must integrate into this circle."

Seeing Akiwara Yuto's confusion, he continued to explain: "The club I brought you to is one that many writers and executives from Mantanshe often frequent. You can meet a lot of useful connections here. Think about it, if you release a standalone volume or win an award in the future, wouldn't it sell better if you had a few friends to put in a good word for you in the newspapers?"

Akiwara Yuto hadn't expected Imamura Yuto to mean this, and he was momentarily surprised.

However, he didn't entirely agree in his heart. He believed that what a writer should really do is create a work to perfection, rather than spending all day making connections.

After all, if the quality of the work is limited, no amount of networking will help. Conversely, if the work is excellent to an extreme degree, those connections will actively attach themselves to you.

But the other party meant well, so he didn't refute him.

The two walked through the revolving door and were spotted from afar by a young woman wearing a white, tight-fitting camisole dress.

The young woman walked up quickly and greeted Imamura Yuto affectionately: "Imamura-sensei, it's been such a long time. I thought you had forgotten about Miyu."

Imamura Yuto immediately returned to his sleazy demeanor and said exaggeratedly: "How could that be? Even if Japan sank, I would never forget someone as cute as Miyu."

"You're annoying~ You only know how to say sweet things~"

Although the young woman said this, her expression didn't show the slightest impatience. She even walked up and took Imamura Yuto's arm. She looked at Akiwara Yuto and asked curiously: "Who is this handsome guy..."

Before Akiwara Yuto could answer, Imamura Yuto immediately introduced him: "This is Akiwara-sensei, who publishes serials in *New Novel*. Don't look at how young he is; he's definitely going to be a big shot in the literary world in the future~"

The young woman knew how to match the "atmosphere" and immediately opened her mouth slightly to praise him, saying, "That's amazing."

She was indeed a bit surprised. Seeing Akiwara Yuto dressed like a university student, she had thought he was Imamura Yuto's student or relative, not an already debuted writer.

Akiwara Yuto watched their "flirting" and regretted coming. If he had known, he would have been better off writing at home.

Fortunately, the two didn't chat for long before walking toward a booth inside. Akiwara Yuto walked to the side, also constantly observing the place—the decor was slightly luxurious and exaggerated, clearly designed to fit the aesthetic of the economic bubble era. However, the environment was generally quiet, making it a good place for a conversation.

The young woman arranged for them to sit in a corner booth, and she sat next to Imamura Yuto.

At this time, another mama-san came over, exchanged a few polite words with them, and then called over a hostess who looked a bit pure, arranging for her to sit next to Akiwara Yuto.

Akiwara Yuto intended to refuse, but he also knew the importance of "reading the air," so he had to pretend to be indifferent, though his butt subconsciously shifted a little further away.

The new hostess's expression stiffened for a moment, but she immediately revealed a "pure" smile, acting as if nothing had happened.

Akiwara Yuto didn't care about her thoughts and intended to get straight to the point.

He coughed lightly, looked at Imamura Yuto, who had just finished ordering drinks, and asked directly: "Imamura-san, tell me now, what was the content you wanted to tell me before?"

Imamura Yuto hadn't expected Akiwara Yuto to be so unromantic, so he shrugged helplessly and began to speak: "Akiwara-san, how much do you know about the Mantanshe Literary Award?"

"I generally understand it."

"Then do you know the selection rules?"

Akiwara Yuto was a bit confused upon hearing this: "Isn't it awarded to whoever has the best article and the highest popularity?"

Imamura Yuto's expression became a bit playful: "Akiwara-san, you really are too naive. If it were that simple, it would be great. You have to know that the judges are all human, and as long as they are human, they must be influenced by the interests and relationships behind them."

He took the drink handed to him by the young woman next to him, took a sip, and said to himself: "Although I am also a newcomer, my family has elders in this circle, so I know a fair amount of inside information. Let's do this, I'll explain it to you simply."

Seeing the other party's expression become slightly more serious, Akiwara Yuto listened carefully.

"The Mantanshe Literary Award is a big cake. Because of the difference in sales, this cake is mainly divided among *Tokyo Literature*, followed by *New Novel*. However, the way this cake is sliced is also very particular; it is often decided according to the wishes of the upper management, sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less."

Imamura Yuto finished the overview and sighed: "But this year is different."

"How is it different?"

"The person slicing the cake has different ideas."

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto didn't understand what he meant, Imamura Yuto smiled, then hugged the shoulder of his female companion next to him and said: "Akiwara-san, you should have read *The Footsteps of Searching* by now, right?"

Akiwara Yuto nodded; after all, they were in the same magazine, so of course he had been reading it.

Imamura Yuto revealed an inexplicable expression: "What do you think of this article?"

Although Akiwara Yuto didn't want to speak ill of others, he still spoke the truth: "To be honest, I think it's average, and there's nothing that attracts me."

Imamura Yuto laughed and poured himself a drink: "Akiwara-san, you really are too young. Didn't you notice that the scenes inside are very suitable for adaptation into film and television dramas? And what it depicts is all about Hokkaido, right?"

He took a sip of his drink and continued: "Mantanshe has been wanting to expand its business into other markets in recent years, and for this reason, it really wants to have a good relationship with the local government. And *The Footsteps of Searching* happens to describe the local customs of Hokkaido. Don't you think this is a coincidence?"

Akiwara Yuto pondered for a while, still confused: "But what does this have to do with the Mantanshe Literary Award?"

Imamura Yuto shook his head and analyzed it further for him: "Akiwara-san, this is all about interests! Mantanshe wants to have a good relationship with Hokkaido, so *The Footsteps of Searching* is undoubtedly a bargaining chip. Whether it's releasing a standalone volume or being adapted into a film or television drama, it can increase local popularity and bring a certain amount of traffic to the tourism industry. And these benefits can all be counted as the political achievements of those local politicians."

After listening to the analysis, Akiwara Yuto's heart couldn't help but sink, and his brow furrowed even more.

If this was the case, then the publishing house would definitely have to award at least a Gold Prize to *The Footsteps of Searching* to increase its status.

In other words, unless his work could bring higher benefits to the publishing house, it would be difficult to compete with it in terms of winning the award.

Seeing Akiwara Yuto's solemn expression, Imamura Yuto could only comfort him: "Akiwara-san, actually, you don't need to worry too much about awards. After all, you are still young, and you will have them if you wait a few more years."

He joked again: "Of course, if you could pull the circulation of *New Novel* to exceed *Tokyo Literature* with your own strength, then your editor-in-chief would probably kneel down to beg for a Gold Prize for you. No, even the Grand Prize might be possible!"

Akiwara Yuto heard that this was a joke and rolled his eyes at the other party, but he knew that this was the other party's way of comforting him. Although *New Novel* had been reprinted, its sales still had a huge gap compared to *Tokyo Literature*, and it wasn't something he could pull off in a short time with just a few works.

But if he were given a little more time, that might be a different story.

It was just that when he thought about how Asano Aiko had been working hard for his work to win an award, he couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy.

Just then, the club's mama-san brought over a man he didn't recognize... ===== CHAPTER 32 =====