Chapter 33: General Manager?

Akiwara Yuto left the club with a flourish; he had vented his frustrations quite thoroughly today, and in his haste to leave, he hadn't even had time to properly bid farewell to Imamura Yuto.

But he assumed the other party would understand.

He went to the station nearest to Ginza, boarded the train to return home, and collapsed directly onto the sofa, attempting to soothe his still-agitated mood.

As it turned out, not long after, the sound of a telephone rang.

He walked downstairs again, picked up the receiver, and said, "This is Akiwara..."

"Akiwara-san, why did you just walk off and leave me behind?" Imamura Yuto’s voice came from the other end of the line, sounding slightly helpless.

"You have no idea, after you left, Kadowaki Yuma’s face looked terrible; you could tell just by looking at him that he was furious."

Akiwara Yuto, however, felt happy; now that he and Kadowaki Yuma had become outright "enemies," the more uncomfortable the other man was, the more satisfied he felt.

If it were possible, he would be willing to scold him a few more times, preferably until the man suffered a sudden spike in blood pressure and had to be hospitalized.

The voice in the receiver spoke again: "Akiwara-san, you must be careful; that man Kadowaki certainly won't let this go."

"I know, don't worry."

In truth, even if Imamura Yuto hadn't warned him, he could probably have guessed that the other party would want to retaliate.

However, he was currently writing manuscripts at home every day, and even the manuscripts were collected by Asano Aiko coming to his door, so the possibility of a direct conflict with the other party was slim.

Imamura Yuto sensed his nonchalance and sighed: "Akiwara-san, this matter is quite complicated; in any case, it would be best to communicate with your editor."

Akiwara Yuto was a bit puzzled; wasn't Kadowaki Yuma just an ordinary writer? Although his seniority was a bit higher, what could he really do?

If he truly had connections, would he need to come and snatch a cover for himself?

However, Imamura Yuto’s intentions were good, so he accepted the gesture and expressed his gratitude to him.

The two chatted briefly and then hung up the phone.

After pondering for a moment, he picked up the receiver again and dialed Asano Aiko’s home—it was quite late now, so he assumed she should have left the editorial department and returned home.

After a short while, he felt the line connect and immediately said: "Asano, this is Akiwara..."

"Is that Akiwara-kun?" A familiar voice came over the phone, and Akiwara Yuto immediately realized that the person holding the receiver now was Asano Aiko’s mother.

"It’s been such a long time since Akiwara-kun came to visit our home; is it because the food I cook doesn't suit your taste~?"

Akiwara Yuto hurriedly indicated that wasn't the case, excusing himself by saying he had been too busy lately and couldn't find the time.

After saying this, he praised the bento that Mrs. Asano had made previously, going so far as to claim it was the most delicious thing he had eaten since coming to this world (which, in a way, wasn't wrong).

Mrs. Asano was completely amused, and laughter could be heard continuously from the other end of the line.

But she also knew that he had business with her daughter, so after a few polite exchanges, she called for Asano Aiko and let her take the receiver.

"Akiwara, it’s so late, is something the matter?"

Seeing that the person he needed was on the line, Akiwara Yuto began to recount what had happened that evening, including how he went to the Ginza club, how Kadowaki Yuma had approached him, and how he had finally given the man a thorough scolding, informing her of everything one by one.

Asano Aiko listened intently, responding from time to time; she didn't know that Akiwara Yuto had actually encountered such a thing, and she certainly hadn't expected Kadowaki Yuma to directly make such an unreasonable demand.

But she felt that this matter wasn't that simple, and she kept wondering if there were others intervening behind the scenes. Once Akiwara Yuto finished speaking, she said in a tone of conviction: "Akiwara, you did nothing wrong in this matter."

After all, the other party had instigated the incident, so Akiwara Yuto’s actions were perfectly justifiable, and since he had already offended the man, there was no need to be hesitant or fearful.

She prepared to soothe Akiwara Yuto to ensure that this incident wouldn't affect his writing state.

Akiwara Yuto nodded; his thoughts were the same as Asano Aiko’s. The other party had been rude first, so his retaliation was reasonable and fair.

If he had just agreed to the other party’s demands, surely everyone would think that he, Akiwara Yuto, was a pushover, and everyone would come to trample on him.

Therefore, he felt no regret in his heart at all.

Seeing that Asano Aiko also supported him, Akiwara Yuto’s mood relaxed. After thinking carefully, he asked in a puzzled tone: "Asano, does Kadowaki Yuma have any unusual background?"

He still wanted to understand clearly what exactly gave the other party this confidence. If the other party had a backup plan, then he needed to make his own plans and prepare for a comprehensive counterattack.

"Let me think, I don't seem to have heard of anything..." Asano Aiko was also somewhat confused, but after a moment, she said in an uncertain tone: "I heard that he seems to be pursuing the General Manager’s daughter, but this is just a rumor, and its authenticity remains to be verified, so don't take it to heart..."

Akiwara Yuto took a deep breath; he hadn't expected such a rumor to exist. Thinking of the General Manager, he couldn't help but slightly furrow his brows.

The General Manager could already be considered high-level management at the publishing house, and the power he held was naturally not to be underestimated; even Kikuchi Tai and Takei Kohei had to bow their heads when facing him...

Asano Aiko worried that he was overthinking it and said in a persuasive tone: "Akiwara, you don't need to take this to heart for now; after all, it’s just hearsay. And even if it is the General Manager, he cannot directly intervene in the internal affairs of the editorial department without a valid reason."

She said this from the bottom of her heart; although Kadowaki Yuma had been the signature writer for *New Novel* for a long time, his appearance, er, didn't quite fit her aesthetic as a woman, so the thing about him and the General Manager’s daughter should just be a rumor, right?

Of course, even if Kadowaki Yuma were truly with the General Manager’s daughter, she didn't believe he could rely on that relationship to directly influence the internal affairs of the editorial department, because doing so would easily lead to gossip.

After all, in terms of results, the reader feedback for Akiwara Yuto’s two works had completely surpassed the works in the same period of *New Novel*, making him the undisputed number one.

Akiwara Yuto knew Asano Aiko’s good intentions, but he felt that this matter wasn't as simple as she thought; after all, if there really were no fishy business, such things wouldn't be spread around.

He thought for a moment, then told Asano Aiko that he understood and let the topic drop so as not to worry her.

Thinking that Akiwara Yuto no longer had any concerns, Asano Aiko breathed a sigh of relief. She then chatted about the recent sales statistics for *New Novel*, which made Akiwara Yuto’s slightly depressed mood brighten up.

After Yashiro Toshihiro’s half-page book review promotion, in addition to the initial 40,000 copies of *New Novel* selling out, the subsequent 20,000 reprinted copies had also sold nearly 5,000, with great momentum.

According to the calculations of the statistics department, although the growth trend in sales was slowing down, by the end of the month, it was estimated that nearly 50,000 copies would be sold, a full doubling of the sales from the same period previously!

The popularity of the second issue also drove the sales of the first issue. Many people, after finishing *Sofar*, wanted to see the earlier work *Little Ornament and Yoko* by Akiwara Yuto, so they went to bookstores to inquire and purchase it, causing some bookstores that were out of stock to call the publishing house again.

This situation was noticed by some small and medium-sized newspapers. After reading Akiwara Yuto’s works, the book reviewers from these media also gave high praise and simultaneously believed that he had a strong sense of social responsibility.

This series of good news made the entire editorial department feel energized. Kikuchi Tai held a meeting to analyze the situation as usual and found that the outlook was also very optimistic—relying on Akiwara Yuto’s series of works, *New Novel* was not only selling well in Tokyo but had also gained a certain number of new readers in Yokohama, which could be said to have opened up a new market.

After repeated confirmation, Kikuchi Tai made a new decision to use all monthly promotional resources primarily for promoting Akiwara Yuto’s works and would specifically invite relevant design companies to handle the covers in the future.

On the day of the meeting, Matsushima Kazuhiro didn't say a word, but it was evident that his expression was very ugly.

She finished relaying these messages one after another, and the time was nearly 11:30 PM. Seeing that it was getting late and worrying about affecting Asano Aiko’s rest, Akiwara Yuto said "Get some rest early" and took the initiative to end the call.

He was in a great mood now and couldn't quite fall asleep. So he returned to the living room, took out paper and pen, and began to think.

He was undoubtedly the writer most supported by the editorial department now, so Kadowaki Yuma must be jealous.

But shouldn't matters between writers be decided by their own pens and words?

Thinking of this, he felt even more disdain for the other party.

He drew on the paper with his pen, preparing to continue with his previous plan—after finishing the script as soon as possible, he would immediately write an article to submit to the Mystery Literature Newcomer Award to see if he could win.

Having made his decision, he immediately began to write furiously.

Just as he was working overtime through the night, the third Monday of July arrived quietly, the new issue of *New Novel* began to go on sale, and Akiwara Yuto’s *Seven Rooms* was about to face the readers...