(Junior High School Arc Complete)
In every respect, the first book signing event for Mr. Hachiman, held by Sakuraba, achieved results that were completely beyond expectations. In the words of President Hirao himself, "I thought it would be successful, but I never expected it to be this successful."
The main reason was that Mr. Hachiman had finally lifted his veil of mystery and presented himself honestly to his readers. Although no official photos were released, attendees posted hundreds of pictures of Hachiman to Twitter from various angles and in different resolutions, which were then repeatedly shared and admired by netizens.
Of course, Hachiman was a writer, not an idol or a singer. After satisfying their initial curiosity about his appearance, the public focus naturally returned to his work.
Thanks to the popularity generated by the signing event, the first-week sales for Disintegration of Various Causes were phenomenal. Bookstores from all over the country reported selling out and requested immediate replenishment, which completely disrupted Sakuraba's original, more conservative plan.
Since Disintegration of Various Causes was a collection of short mystery stories, a format that has always sold modestly, the publisher's initial projections had been cautious. Judging from questionnaire responses, readers' willingness to buy was not as strong as it had been for Confessions or Malice. Based on this, Sakuraba Publishing House had only issued 100,000 single-volume editions in the first printing and had decided to delay the paperback release.
However, the news of stock selling out in warehouses everywhere made Sakuraba realize its miscalculation. After receiving a scolding from President Hirao, the heads of the Intelligence and New Book Departments quickly returned to their teams, began to re-evaluate the book's market prospects, and prepared for an immediate reprint.
During the live broadcast after the book signing, the host first announced that Mr. Hachiman's latest social mystery masterpiece, The Newcomer, would begin its serialization in All Readings magazine the following month. It was stated that this new series would have a warm theme and feature the familiar protagonist, Detective Kaga.
"It's a new Detective Kaga series! It looks like Mr. Hachiman wants to make it a very long-running one."
"If it's made into a series, wouldn't that be a great deal for the actor who played Detective Kaga in Malice? He landed the lead role of a major IP for free, and now he has a long-term meal ticket."
"He really did a great job in that role. He fits my image of Kaga from the book perfectly."
"Wait, did you guys notice the host said this new series is about 'warmth'? That's a brand new style for him."
Hikigaya Hachiman's Confessions and Malice were both dark and heavy social novels, while Disintegration was a collection of orthodox mysteries with a more humorous style. The word "warmth," however, seemed out of tune with his previous themes. Moreover, in a literary genre like detective fiction, where murders are a constant, was it the right place to be looking for warmth?
The next part of the broadcast was the main event. Sakuraba announced that The Clockwork Museum Incident would be officially released on July 3rd of this year. This announcement was also a clear signal to other publishers: Sakuraba had officially won the publishing rights for the orthodox novel that mystery fans had been eagerly awaiting.
The host introduced The Clockwork Museum Incident as a large-scale architectural mystery and displayed an illustration showing a complex of buildings dominated by a massive clock tower—the setting for the case.
"Oh, I'm excited! Architectural mystery is my favorite subgenre!"
"Architectural mystery is a real test of an author's writing ability. I believe Mr. Hachiman can bring a powerful new touch to orthodox reasoning!" Many readers immediately began voicing their support on Twitter.
"First, take a look at this illustration. It's very strange. Why does the clock on the big clock tower have no hands?" some sharp-eyed mystery fans noticed, raising questions.
"The missing hands... that could be interpreted in many ways. Maybe they were used as a weapon, or maybe someone doesn't want others to know the current time. Also, what if the artist simply didn't finish the drawing? You can't analyze anything from just one picture."
In any case, with the release date set for a specific day, readers were confident the book was basically complete, and their expectations for The Clockwork Museum Incident naturally soared to a new level.
"This is truly... exquisite and magnificent! Hikigaya-kun, I really want to know what goes on inside your brain. Even if Shimada himself read this, I think he'd say this book is no less than his Astrology!" Arisugawa praised Hikigaya Hachiman loudly.
At that moment, Hachiman, several writers from the Mystery Writers Association, senior executives from Sakuraba, and various bookstore representatives were gathered in a conference room at Sakuraba headquarters, reading the first draft of The Clockwork Museum Incident. Since the novel was one of Sakuraba's most important projects for the year, they had organized this reading session to ensure its quality.
What made the Sakuraba team ecstatic was that everyone present gave the book extremely high praise, with Arisugawa even directly comparing it to the legendary The Astrology Murder Magic.
"An excellent work, Mr. Hachiman. I must applaud you," said the representative from the Mystery Writers Association, standing up and actually beginning to clap. Following his lead, the rest of the room joined in the applause.
"Thank you all for your support. I am truly honored," Hachiman said, having no choice but to stand and bow to the applauding crowd. "This is only the first version of the novel, and there are still many things that need your criticism and correction. Please feel free to give me your advice."
He had to remind them not to forget the main purpose of the reading session. For a large-scale mystery novel, it is very difficult to have no plot holes or flaws. An author is often unable to spot the loopholes in their own writing, so they need others to help review the first draft to minimize such issues.
"I'm sorry," Mr. Arisugawa said. "I was just enjoying the text the first time I read it. I'll go back and read it again to find any loopholes." The other participants expressed their agreement, and the reading session came to a temporary end.
It was worth noting that after everyone left, the desks were covered in draft papers filled with notes and hand-drawn maps. This was a common habit when reading complex orthodox detective novels, and it indirectly reflected the intricate tricks and storytelling in The Clockwork Museum Incident.
"I held a reading session to help me find problems, and now I'm being praised to the skies," Hikigaya Hachiman said to President Hirao in a teasing tone.
"At least I can rest assured now, Mr. Hachiman," the president replied. "You have indeed created a shocking work."
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