After deciding on the name, Tsushima Kagami didn't wait for the three girls to ask questions. He simply took a blank sheet of drawing paper from the side of the table and used a pencil to sketch a simple line drawing of a little duck.
The duck's image was round and bouncy, like a chibi character. The duck's tail was intentionally turned toward the front of the 'camera,' while its left wing made a gesture like a backhand covering its eyes. The long arc of its beak outlined a curve that looked somewhat like a shy smile, with the tip of the beak slightly upturned like pouted lips.
Once the simple sketch was finished, Tsushima Kagami turned it around and displayed it directly to the group.
"Kawaii sune~"
The three girls applauded after seeing it.
"From now on, this will be my image in the underground world!"
...
After the Manga Research Club was dismissed, Tsushima Kagami arrived at a convenience store near the school.
Since the part-time job Yukinoshita Shizuku had recently found was right here, he generally settled his dinner nearby after the club activities ended, and then came to this store to wait for Shizuku to finish her shift so they could go home together.
However, he didn't seem to see Shimizu-san at that ramen shop he went to today.
Thinking about this, Tsushima Kagami walked into the convenience store.
"Welcome."
A crisp, pleasant, yet incredibly familiar voice reached Tsushima Kagami's ears.
He looked toward the cashier counter. Yukinoshita Shizuku merely nodded to him as usual. Beside her, another female employee wearing the convenience store uniform was facing away, organizing goods.
A few days ago, he had even lamented that it felt like unlocking different CGs of Yukinoshita Shizuku, such as her 'Convenience Store Uniform Form' and 'Special Voice Lines.'
However, after these few days, that initial sense of novelty had long since faded.
Tsushima Kagami skillfully walked to the nearby magazine section. Acting very naturally, he picked up a magazine that a previous customer seemed to have already unsealed and began to read.
While flipping through various gravure magazines, he waited for time to pass.
"Little sister, are you a student working part-time? Do you want to exchange email addresses?"
A frivolous male voice drifted into Tsushima Kagami's ears.
It seemed to be a pickup attempt? Tsushima Kagami had long heard of the Japanese pickup culture. Many Japanese men liked to hit on girls randomly on the street, casting a wide net as if trying to complete a company KPI. If they happened to succeed with one they liked, they considered it a profit.
Those with better 'models'—looks and status—would ask for contact information directly. Men with neither looks nor money, but who still wanted to pick up girls, would try to think of more romantic ways to move a girl's heart.
They claim they dislike causing trouble for others, but when it comes to hitting on women, they stick like dog skin plasters. He didn't expect to encounter this personally so soon.
"The total is 1345 yen. Do you have our store's point card?"
"Hey! Did you not hear me?"
"The total is 1345 yen. Do you have our store's point card?"
The cashier repeated herself.
Tsushima Kagami, who was just about to close the magazine and go help, suddenly realized that the person speaking wasn't Yukinoshita Shizuku. It was likely that other female employee from earlier.
"Is this how you treat customers? Watch out or I'll file a complaint against you!"
Failed to pick her up, so instead of giving up immediately, he flew into a rage out of humiliation?
Tsushima Kagami put down the magazine in his hand and walked over to the cashier counter. Only then did he discover a salaryman in a suit, looking like a human but acting like a dog, glaring at the cashier. And the cashier turned out to be Shimizu Nayotake.
He looked around and saw that Yukinoshita Shizuku wasn't present at the moment; she was likely organizing stock in the small warehouse room nearby.
At this moment, Shimizu Nayotake asked again with her usual indifferent expression, "The total is 1345 yen. Do you have our store's point card?"
Just as the corporate drone was preparing to explode in anger again, Tsushima Kagami stepped up to the counter.
"Excuse me, is this uncle committing sexual harassment?"
The salaryman froze for a moment. He was just about to turn his head and yell at the meddler to mind his own business, but when he saw Tsushima Kagami standing beside him, towering over him by two heads, he immediately lowered his head and choked back his words.
"Do we need to call the police? The closed-circuit camera in the store should have recorded it."
After speaking, Tsushima Kagami pointed to the camera in the corner.
Tsushima Kagami then asked Shimizu Nayotake at the register.
Before Shimizu Nayotake could speak, the salaryman unleashed a combo of apologies and bows, hurriedly pulling out his wallet to pay.
Standing to the side, Tsushima Kagami happened to see a business card inside the man's wallet.
When the man finished paying and was about to grab his things and leave quickly, Tsushima Kagami grabbed him by the collar.
"W-What do you want to do? There are surveillance cameras here!"
"Mr. Ito, if I hear from my friend that you've come to harass her again, I will have no choice but to go to the Sato Trading Company where you work and have a chat with you."
"You wouldn't want to lose your job over this, would you?"
The salaryman named Ito immediately understood that the other party might have seen his business card just now. He quickly slapped himself and bowed incessantly. "I'm sorry! Please have mercy! I will never appear in this convenience store again!"
Tsushima Kagami pointed at Shimizu Nayotake. "The one you should apologize to is this young lady."
The man hurriedly apologized to Shimizu Nayotake again. "I was wrong just now. I am truly very sorry. I will never let you see me again."
"Get lost."
Hearing Tsushima Kagami's words, Ito ran out as if he were fleeing for his life.
At this moment, Tsushima Kagami heard the sound of hurried footsteps running out from the small warehouse.
"What happened? Shimizu-san, are you alright?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku trotted to Shimizu Nayotake's side with a face full of anxiety and concern.
Shimizu Nayotake merely shook her head faintly, then looked at Tsushima Kagami. "Thank you, Yukinoshita-kun."
Yukinoshita Shizuku looked at Tsushima Kagami in surprise. "Kagami, you know Shimizu-san?"
Tsushima Kagami nodded. "Classmates."
...
Shinchosha, Editorial Department Conference Room.
"Editor-in-Chief, are you saying you plan to move the judging for the Newcomer Award, originally scheduled for the second half of the year, to the first half?"
Seeing the Editor-in-Chief at the head of the table nod slightly, the various chief editors present sighed in surprise.
Among the five major literary magazines, only Kodansha's Gunzo announced its award winners in the first half of the year. The other four announced their winners in the second half.
The Akutagawa Prize, on the other hand, was divided into two sessions a year, with award selections in both the first and second halves.
"Why is it so sudden this year?"
Kobayashi Tomoaki also asked curiously of the Editor-in-Chief, who had shown him great favor.
Upon a signal from the Editor-in-Chief, a subordinate beside him moved several whiteboards pinned with various sales data to a spot where all the editors could see.
"Although we have been impacted by the internet and the continued economic downturn, we have still strived to keep the sales of Shincho above 600,000 copies. However, since the second half of last year, it has gradually declined, until last month when it nearly fell below 600,000 copies."
"But our sales for Shincho this month are conservatively estimated to reach around 800,000 copies."
A chief editor to the side chimed in.
The Editor-in-Chief nodded after hearing this. "Correct. Because of the internet, as well as reports from the Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, and Sankei Shimbun, our sales have indeed surged this time. But what about next month?"
"We can't expect such good fortune every month, can we?"
"So, what does the Editor-in-Chief mean?"
"My intention is that perhaps we can try to take advantage of this media exposure and the public's reignited passion for purchasing Shincho. If we release the call for manuscripts early and complete the selection in the first half of the year, we should be able to sustain this heat for a while longer. Perhaps it can reverse the continuing downward trend."
"Wouldn't opening the call for manuscripts now be too rushed?" another chief editor suddenly asked.
"It may indeed be a bit rushed. Therefore, if anyone has any good works in hand, you can proceed with an internal recommendation for selection first."
"Then, I decide to internally recommend Master of Tassaiya's Cheesecake!"
Everyone looked simultaneously at Kobayashi Tomoaki.
"Editor Kobayashi, although it is true that the sales of this issue of Shincho are gratifying because of Cheesecake, that is mostly due to the netizen who shared his experience, as well as the internet and media reports," said an editor with similar seniority.
"Moreover, this is an author with a blank slate. Even if you push him up, he has no popularity and no other works. Other readers don't know him, so who will pay the bill?"
Kobayashi Tomoaki smiled faintly. "Although exposure is important, if the quality of the text cannot retain people and cannot resonate with readers, then readers won't pay for it either, right?"
"For example, the two teachers you strongly pushed last year and the year before, Editor Oshima—the company spent so many resources promoting and building hype for them, but how many copies did their tankobon sell in the end?"
"Sorry, I can't seem to recall~"
"As for readers not knowing him, even people who aren't Shincho readers should know Master of Tassaiya from the internet and newspapers by now."
"By the way, isn't this exactly the kind of 'author tested by the market' that you often speak of?"
"Furthermore, Cheesecake is written much better than the works on your shortlist from the past few years. Why can't it be internally recommended for the shortlist?"
"After all, I am using my own internal recommendation quota. Rather than teaching me what to do, you'd better worry about your own bonus this year."
After speaking, Kobayashi Tomoaki straightened his collar.
"You!"
The man called Editor Oshima stood up immediately in anger. Seeing that the Editor-in-Chief didn't say anything, he sat back down resentfully.
After a period of silence in the conference room, the Editor-in-Chief finally spoke.
"Let's do it like this then. Have the Human Resources Department contact the selection professors from the Literature Departments of the University of Tokyo and Waseda University as soon as possible."
"Meeting adjourned!"
"Yes!"
After the Editor-in-Chief left, the rest of the chief editors began to get busy.
____
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