Even before the ninth installment of Blue Spring Ride was released in the magazine, Crimson Maple Literature had already begun preparing for the release of the novel's standalone volume.
Naturally, the scale of the promotion was not especially large. Crimson Maple Literature handled many serialized works at the same time, and its overall resources were limited.
Still, within the Minamijo Prefecture, the momentum was undeniable. Thanks to Blue Spring Ride's explosive popularity during its serialization in Fleeting Blossoms, combined with the publisher's measured promotional push and nearly a full week of organic buzz generated by fans online, anticipation for the standalone release steadily built. Not every reader enjoyed following novels through weekly or biweekly magazine serialization.
After all, a single magazine carried more than a dozen titles at once, and most readers were only interested in one or two of them. Buying a full magazine every issue for a single story felt inefficient to many people.
Because of this, a sizable group of light novel fans in Japan preferred to buy tankōbon editions only. From their perspective, truly good works would always be collected into volumes sooner or later, allowing them to avoid the frustration of fragmented weekly reading.
Through word of mouth surrounding Blue Spring Ride, many of these readers gradually became curious.
Light novel discussion groups began buzzing.
"Is this novel really as good as everyone says?"
"I heard Chapter Eight is what made it blow up."
"The first volume comes out on the 25th, right? How far does the story go?"
"For a debut author to top both popularity and rating charts in Fleeting Blossoms is already insane, but a 9.5 rating? That's hard to ignore."
"9.5? The series I've been following, The Day We Said Goodbye, is only at 8.7. Now I'm actually getting interested."
News spread quickly among readers throughout Minamijo. Even people who had never followed Fleeting Blossoms were now waiting specifically for the standalone release, eager to see whether Blue Spring Ride truly lived up to its reputation.
Outside the region, however, the situation was very different.
While Crimson Maple Publishing did have a functional nationwide distribution network, its overall influence, advertising budget, and promotional reach were still limited.
Beyond Minamijo, Blue Spring Ride barely registered in fan discussions. Bookstores stocked a few copies out of courtesy. If they sold, great. If they did not, the unsold stock would simply be returned to the publisher under standard agreements.
Friday arrived.
It was the day before the release of both Blue Spring Ride and Yesterday's Starlight as standalone volumes. It was also the day when Chapter Ten of both novels was serialized.
And, as usual, it was manuscript submission day.
Haruto and Reina arrived at Yukino's place together.
Yukino was wearing a deep red dress, her long hair loose over her shoulders. She greeted them with a gentle smile.
After carefully reviewing both manuscripts, she leaned back and let out a slow breath.
"Very good," she said sincerely. "Both of these are extremely well written."
Her gaze lingered on Reina for a moment before shifting to Haruto.
"Yesterday's Starlight is clearly entering its final phase," she continued. "But Haruto… no matter how I look at it, Blue Spring Ride still feels like it has room to grow. The later arc has so much potential. Why are you so determined to end it here?"
Haruto paused.
Then he answered calmly.
"Because… if I keep writing it longer, the work itself won't be as good."
As he spoke, fragments of Shiori's memories surfaced in his mind. They showed him the later developments of the original manga version of Blue Spring Tide.
To be honest, the early part of the story was excellent. The first dozen or so episodes of the anime adaptation in that other world were widely praised.
But what followed afterward?
In Haruto's eyes, the story shifted from youthful romance to prolonged emotional suffering. The male lead, Kou, was emotionally cornered and manipulated by a scheming secondary heroine.
The female lead, Futaba, even entered a relationship with the second male lead, Toma, only for it to fall apart, dragging everyone back into an exhausting cycle with Kou.
Haruto could only conclude that fans in that other world were astonishingly tolerant.
He had no intention of recreating that.
For him, Blue Spring Ride was about youth itself. Once the heart of that story had been told, it was better to stop. The later entanglements and emotional torture were unnecessary.
"I understand," Yukino said softly after a moment. "Then, after this week's submission, next week will be the final one."
There was a hint of reluctance in her voice.
Her relationships with most authors were purely professional. But the past two months working with Haruto and Reina felt different. It was closer to friendship. Once the series ended, she did not know when they would sit together like this again.
"Time really flies," she said.
"It really does," Reina replied quietly. "It's already been two months since the new semester started."
Her eyes drifted toward Haruto.
Even now, her novel had still not surpassed his in performance.
"By the way," Yukino added, changing the topic, "have either of you started seriously planning your next work?"
Reina frowned slightly.
"I thought about more than ten different stories," she said. "But none of them feel strong enough yet. Progress is… slow."
Her gaze flicked toward Haruto again.
"And you?" Yukino asked him directly.
"Me?" Haruto blinked. "Honestly, I haven't had any inspiration at all. So I've made zero progress."
Without new memories from Shiori surfacing, there was nothing he could draw from.
Yukino fell silent for a moment.
Then she spoke with a more serious tone.
"You need to accelerate. Between mid-May and early June, Crimson Maple is expected to open one or two serialization slots. Two existing works are likely to conclude around that time."
The meaning was immediately clear to both of them.
Crimson Maple Journal did not always have open slots. When one appeared, it was a rare opportunity that countless authors competed for.
Reina felt a surge of pressure.
Haruto, on the other hand, felt oddly calm.
Inspiration was not something he could force. If the memories came, they came. At the moment, what truly concerned him was something else entirely.
"By the way, Yukino," he asked, "the first volume of Blue Spring Ride only goes up to Chapter Eight, right?"
"That's right," she replied. "The total word count wasn't enough for three volumes, so the publisher decided on two. Also, Chapter Eight ends at a perfect stopping point. They want to use that cliffhanger to drive buzz and boost sales."
Although Chapters Seven and Eight had only just been serialized that week, Haruto had actually submitted them nearly three weeks earlier. That was why the volume could include them.
After hesitating for a moment, Haruto asked the question he had been holding back.
"Based on the publisher's past experience… Yukino, what kind of results do you think our two novels might achieve as standalone volumes?"
The room fell quiet.
Reina straightened slightly. Yukino's expression also became focused.
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