Chapter 824

"Our editorial department usually has to wait until the evening, or even the next morning, to get a relatively complete summary of the previous day's sales data."

"So at this point in time..."

"There is still some time before they close in the evening, so we cannot directly see today's real-time sales from the system."

Uda Ayaka nodded in agreement on the side, her voice soft and beautiful:

"Yes, Natsume-sensei."

"If we had to run to every bookstore every day to ask about the sales of every book, the workload would be too huge, it's simply not realistic~"

Niigaki Shoji also helped to add:

"And, Takahashi-senpai and I knew you were coming today, so we specially suppressed the urge to go to the bookstore to 'scout'."

"We didn't even dare to call the familiar clerks in advance to ask, for fear of 'spoilers'."

"We just thought we'd wait for you to come over, and we'd go see it together."

"At that time, we can also introduce you to some display rules and sales tricks of the bookstore on the spot."

Natsume Chikage listened and nodded clearly.

"So that's how it is."

"Thank you all."

His thanks made the three editors feel warm in their hearts.

Soon.

The vehicle stopped in front of a fairly large bookstore with modern decoration.

Shimizu Bookstore.

Takahashi Jun introduced:

"This is one of the large bookstores that cooperates very closely with our Midnight Publishing House, and it has multiple branches in Tokyo."

"This is the main store, with the largest foot traffic and the most complete range of books."

Uda Ayaka took the lead in pushing open the car door, landing in exquisite high heels, her voice pleasant:

"This store has our Midnight Publishing House's independent 'Suspense and Mystery Novel Zone', which has a good reputation, and many mystery fans will come here specifically to hunt for books."

"Let's go directly to the zone and take a look."

Natsume Chikage responded and followed the few people into the bookstore.

The light in the bookstore was bright.

Bookshelves stood in rows, and there were many customers.

The four passed through the literature, social science, and other areas, and went straight to the "Suspense and Mystery Zone" located in the middle and back of the bookstore.

Takahashi Jun, Niigaki Shoji, and even Uda Ayaka, were all excited and expectant at this moment.

They imagined that they would soon be able to see "The Devotion of Suspect X," which condensed Natsume-sensei's hard work and also carried their expectations, in a prominent position belonging to Midnight Publishing House.

Perhaps they could also see readers standing in front of the bookshelf flipping through it, or holding the book and walking toward the checkout counter...

That would be the best affirmation of their work.

However.

When their gazes eagerly swept over the book display positions here—

The specific book shadow they expected did not appear.

The smiles on several people's faces froze instantly.

They scanned it carefully and back and forth several more times.

They even uncertainly looked at the areas of other publishing houses nearby, and looked at the "New Book Express" display stand at the entrance.

No.

It was nowhere.

Let alone "The Devotion of Suspect X" placed in rows.

Even the "trial reading copies" that were usually placed at the very front of the bookshelf for readers to take and read at will when new books were put on the shelves...

There wasn't even one!

The position where "The Devotion of Suspect X" should have been placed was now filled with gaps by a few other authors' books that were not so new.

In the entire zone, there was no trace left of this new book that was officially released today!

As if it had never appeared here.

Witnessing this completely unexpected scene, the three editors were all dumbfounded.

They looked at each other, their faces filled with shock and confusion.

Natsume Chikage also frowned slightly, his gaze patrolling back and forth on the empty bookshelf.

Where is my book?

Uda Ayaka was the first to react from the astonishment.

A worst-case scenario poured over her heart like ice water.

She turned her head sharply and looked at Takahashi Jun, whose face had begun to turn white beside her.

In those beautiful eyes, it was instantly filled with unbelievable sharp scrutiny.

Her voice involuntarily rose a little, carrying questioning and a hint of imperceptible... perhaps it was "the opportunity has come" complex emotion:

"Editor Takahashi—!"

She deliberately asked clearly, word by word, in front of Natsume Chikage:

"Could it be that... you made a mistake when arranging the sales channels?"

"For example... missed this Shimizu Bookstore main store?!"

"This is one of the most important and high-traffic cooperative bookstores near our publishing house!"

"Could it be that... you really forgot to stock Natsume-sensei's books here?!"

"Otherwise, how could there not even be a trial copy?!"

Her questioning was like a knife, stabbing directly into the place Takahashi Jun was most worried about.

Takahashi Jun shook his head forcefully, crazily, almost like a conditioned reflex.

His voice trembled somewhat because of urgency and excitement, but his tone was unusually firm, even carrying a kind of desperate determination:

"No! Absolutely impossible!!"

He widened his eyes, looked at Uda Ayaka, and then turned urgently to Natsume Chikage, as if he wanted to swear to the whole world.

"I confirmed it many times! Very many times!!"

"The list of every cooperative bookstore, the quantity shipped, the time on the shelves... I checked them repeatedly!"

"Especially this Shimizu Bookstore main store! How could I possibly forget?!"

"Natsume-sensei's book absolutely, absolutely has been sent here! And it absolutely should have been put on the shelves!!"

Uda Ayaka's suspicion in her heart was not completely dispelled.

The impression Takahashi Jun left on her in the editorial department in the past—that image of the somewhat old-fashioned, somewhat out-of-step, always underperforming, and even scolded-by-readers senior—surfaced again at this moment.

She narrowed those beautiful eyes, and the distrust in her eyes was obvious.

She even deliberately did not immediately soothe or believe him.

Some thought in her heart was turning rapidly.

If... if it was really Takahashi Jun's mistake that caused Natsume-sensei's new book to "disappear" here...

The blow to him would be huge.

At that time, would I have a more sufficient reason to apply to the editor-in-chief to transfer Natsume-sensei to my hands?

After all, following an editor who could even make mistakes in stocking was too much of a hindrance to one's future...

This thought made her heart feel a little hot, and the light in her eyes looking at Natsume Chikage's side profile added a few more points of determination.

Niigaki Shoji stood on the side, his brows locked tightly.

He was also a participant in the work of putting this novel on the shelves.

Those scenes of staying up late with Takahashi-senpai to check the list and repeatedly confirm the details played back clearly at this moment.

He also firmly believed that such a low-level omission could not have occurred in the process.

At this time.

A flash of inspiration struck Niigaki Shoji's brain!

A more astonishing possibility that he had ignored struck through the fog like lightning!

He widened his eyes sharply and gasped!

Ignoring everything else, he rushed to a young female clerk not far away who looked very busy organizing the bookshelf. ===== CHAPTER 825 =====