Chapter 12:"Average."
"Ni-san, let's go home..."
Beside him, Sagiri tugged on his sleeve.
Although her parents being alive meant his sister didn't fall into the predicament of being a shut-in, she still acted very introverted in front of outsiders.
"Alright."
Izumi Chihiro nodded.
"Takasago-douchi, see you tomorrow."
He also bid farewell to Takasago-douchi.
"Mhm, see you tomorrow."
After Takasago Tomoe watched them leave, her gaze fell upon the first volume of "demon slayer."
On the cover was a seemingly gentle young man, but his eyes were resolute, and he had fiery red hair, holding a black longblade in his hand.
At the same time, the young man carried a back basket, and a petite girl with a bamboo muzzle in her mouth peeked out, her eyes dazed and adorable.
"Let me see how Izumi's light novel really is. If it's good, then I'll put it on the 'Recommended' shelf."
Takasago Tomoe reached out with anticipation, took the book, and returned to her seat.
"Ah, so many people died right at the beginning? I didn't realize Izumi's writing could be so ruthless..."
The first scene immediately shocked her.
"Facing an insurmountable opponent, he still displayed a strong will to fight, changing the opponent's mind..."
The second scene made her praise Tanjiro's courage.
"Demons are too difficult to deal with, aren't they? No matter how you kill them, they won't die and can even recover... Oh, you need to decapitate them with a nichirin blade to defeat them."
The third scene made her feel indignant about the difference between humans and demons.
Next, they entered the formal training segment. Sabito and Makomo appeared before Tanjiro, and he underwent a long period of grueling training until he completely cleaved that giant boulder, earning Sakonji Urokodaki's approval.
However, Sabito and Makomo had already died, according to Sakonji Urokodaki.
"Damn it! Izumi, what are you writing? It's too cruel, there's even a demon setting..."
This sudden stab of a plot point made her curse out loud.
The interactions with Sabito and Makomo were written so well...!
Just as she continued to read, she was interrupted again.
"More customers... What a headache."
Takasago Tomoe sighed.
During her reading, she had been interrupted many times.
Normally, she would, of course, be very happy.
The more she sold, the more money she would make, right?
But today, her reading pleasure was interrupted multiple times, leaving her in an awkward state, which made her very uncomfortable.
Although the subject matter of "demon slayer" wasn't that appealing, and the plot was quite ordinary, she really liked the writing style.
This shouldn't be some kind of filter.
She wouldn't have a biased view of Izumi's work because of her relationship with the author himself.
She was a down-to-earth person.
Of course, based on the level she had seen so far, while she liked it a bit, it wasn't enough for her to put it on the 'Recommended' shelf.
"I'll take three copies of this, 'demon slayer'."
A girl's voice came from beside the bookshelf.
"Oh, that's three more sales for Izumi. He'd probably be very happy if he knew... But this voice, why does it sound so familiar to me?"
Takasago Tomoe walked out from the cash register to the nearby bookshelf and, seeing the blonde twin-tailed girl in front of her, immediately understood.
"Are you here to support Izumi, Sawamura Student?"
She said with a smile.
"Takasago, how do you know 'demon slayer' was written by Izumi?"
Eriri looked surprised and uncertain.
"That's none of your concern."
Takasago Tomoe didn't intend to explain to her.
"Hmph!"
Eriri snorted softly.
"Sawamura Student, you still haven't answered my question."
Takasago Tomoe's tone was teasing.
"Why would I support him? I just happened to see his work, and seeing how pitiful he was, in case it didn't sell, I just bought a few copies to help him save face, that's all."
Eriri pouted.
"So... it's still support, right?"
Takasago Tomoe stifled her laughter and said, "One for collection, one for reading, one for spreading the word... The three-book routine, isn't that quite thoughtful?"
"..."
Eriri was silent for a moment.
"Hurry up and bag the books, Miss Salesperson."
She changed the subject.
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Takasago Tomoe's smile didn't fade as she wrapped the three first volumes of "demon slayer" in a bag and handed them to her.
"Thank you for your patronage…"
"Here you go."
After Eriri handed over the money, she was about to leave but stopped.
"What's wrong, Sawamura Student?"
"Um… how are the sales?"
"What?"
"I mean demon slayer!"
"Average."
"Well… that's not bad then."