"Good day, sir, if I may interrupt you."
"Do you enjoy this light novel?"
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Kasumigaoka Utaha was an ordinary high school student.
Her family lived in Q City, known for its safety, thanks to the hero Watchdog Man, which kept monster activity to a minimum. However, this safety had driven the cost of living and housing prices in the city to rise dramatically.
Her parents worked tirelessly to keep up with the soaring mortgage payments, a burden that weighed heavily on the family.
Utaha, being a sensible and observant girl, understood the financial strain on her family and wanted to help. However, being a student, her opportunities to contribute were limited to part-time jobs, which provided only pocket money — a mere drop in the ocean compared to their debts.
Frustrated by her inability to make a real difference, Utaha scoured the internet, searching for ways to help. Then one day, as she was browsing a blog, she stumbled upon a light novel writing contest.
The contest offered a substantial cash prize to the winners, along with a potential publishing contract. For Utaha, this was a glimmer of hope. If she could win or even place well in the competition, not only could she earn money, but her work might also get published.
Driven by a sense of determination, Utaha decided to participate in the contest.
As a top student with a talent for literature, she was confident in her ability to write. She refined her manuscript and submitted it.
Her entry was a success.
Although she didn't win the top prize, her work caught the eye of an editor from the Undead River Publishing House, and she was offered a contract to become an official light novel author.
A few days ago, her first novel, 'Love Metronome', was released.
For Utaha, this was both exciting and nerve-wracking. She was eager to see how well her book would sell, but also terrified of the possibility that it might fail.
Unable to sit still, she left home and headed to a nearby bookstore to secretly check on the sales of her book.
Q City was as peaceful as ever, a fact Utaha never took for granted. Though she'd never left the city, she'd often heard of the dangers plaguing other regions through news reports. The sense of security in Q City was something she cherished deeply.
But today, her mind was elsewhere.
She jogged all the way to the bookstore, where the staff greeted her warmly. They recognized her — this wasn't the first time she had come by. As an aspiring light novel author, Utaha had spent many hours reading the works of other writers to learn from them.
She quickly made her way to the light novel section.
"The 'Love Metronome' sales display..."
"Ah, there it is!" she whispered to herself excitedly.
After a brief search, Utaha spotted the counter where her novel was being sold. However, instead of approaching it immediately, she lingered at a distance, wanting to observe how customers reacted to her work.
In most bookstores, sample copies were available for potential buyers to browse before making a purchase. Of course, there were also those who would read the sample but never buy the book — a practice commonly referred to as browsing without buying. Both writers and bookstore staff disliked this behavior.
Utaha stood in place for what felt like an eternity, her legs beginning to ache from the strain. Yet, she refused to leave. Her heart sank as time passed and no one seemed interested in her novel.
People would glance at the sample, flip through a few pages, and then toss it aside, completely uninterested.
This crushed Utaha's spirits.
As a new author, she understood that her book's sales directly determined its future. And from what she had observed over the past ten minutes, things weren't looking good. Not a single copy had been sold.
"Is it going to flop?" Utaha thought, panic starting to rise.
Undead River Publishing wouldn't continue to publish a book if it showed no signs of success. If sales didn't improve, 'Love Metronome' would be pulled from shelves, and Utaha's budding career would be over before it even began.
"Where did I go wrong?"
"Even the editor, Machida-san, said my work was good for a debut author, so why are sales so poor?"
Her thoughts swirled in confusion, but no clear answers came to mind. Utaha was about to leave the store, intending to contact her editor and ask for advice on how to salvage the situation.
But just as she turned to go, a figure caught her eye.
A young man had stopped in front of her book display.
Utaha froze, her heart racing. "Is he a celebrity?" she wondered, admiring his good looking appearance.
"He's looking at my book... Could he actually want to read it?"
"Please," she silently pleaded, "don't let him lose interest like the others."
Despite her normally aloof and composed demeanor, Utaha was still just a 16 or 17-year-old girl, and her emotions were easily stirred in moments like this.
To her relief, the young man didn't leave. He picked up a copy of her book and began reading.
For the first time that day, Utaha felt a flicker of hope. Out of all the people who had passed by, he was the only one who had taken the time to stop and read.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided.
"Should I go up and ask him?"
"If I could hear what he thinks, it would be invaluable feedback."
Summoning her courage, Utaha slowly approached him.
"Good day, sir, if I may interrupt you."
"Do you enjoy this light novel?"