"So, you want to collect the stories into a book and sell them separately?"
"Exactly," Mirai responded seriously.
Marechiyo Omaeda held his bag of snacks tighter. He used his free hand to start counting on his fingers.
"Right now, one printing press here makes a profit of about 1500 Kan a day."
"If we calculate 300,000 words per book, the materials and labor alone would cost 500 Kan per book. We can produce about 100 books a day."
"That means to make sure my factory doesn't lose money, the price from the factory must be at least 520 Kan."
"And that's not all. If you add the profit for the sellers and your own cut as the author, the lowest price for a book has to be 550 Kan."
"But!" He lifted his chubby face and looked at Mirai.
"Considering the risk and the other jobs my factory is missing out on, I need to receive at least 700 Kan per book. The final price in bookstores would probably be close to 1000 Kan."
"That price isn't something just anyone is willing to pay."
He analyzed the costs perfectly. After finishing, he calmly took out more snacks and continued munching on them.
Mirai was actually a bit surprised. He didn't expect this chubby kid to understand costs and the market so well. Was he more than just a family member of the manager?
"No," Mirai calmly disagreed with his pricing plan.
"The final price can be set at around 2000 Kan. We'll print ten thousand copies for the first batch."
"Once the price starts to rise because there aren't enough copies, we will release the second edition."
"Ten thousand copies? You have that much faith in your novel? You want to use hype and limit the supply?" Marechiyo Omaeda immediately understood Mirai's plan.
If they could really create hype, the profit would be huge. But all of this depended on whether Mirai's book would actually sell.
Mirai continued in his steady voice.
"It's simple to do. You just need to help by taking the finished books to the noble circles. If you promote it a bit and create some hype, this goal is possible."
"Tch, you've thought this through. Starting a trend in noble circles to create demand... it sounds like it could work," Marechiyo Omaeda nodded.
"However," his tone changed, "the risk is still very high."
Mirai looked at him and said a classic business line: "The higher the risk, the higher the profit."
"That makes sense!" Marechiyo Omaeda deeply agreed.
Just then, footsteps were heard.
3rd Seat Heizo Kasaki walked out of the factory. He still had that same unchanging "iron face," making it impossible to guess how the talk went.
An old man who looked like the manager followed him. The two of them came up to Mirai.
Heizo Kasaki said, "This is the person currently in charge of the printing factory."
The old man first took a quick, respectful look at the snack-eating Marechiyo Omaeda. Then he turned to Mirai with a difficult expression.
"Sir, opening a dedicated printing line for you is too risky. The expected profit is too low, so we probably..."
"Print it."
A sharp, direct voice interrupted the old man.
Marechiyo Omaeda wiped the snack crumbs off his hands and turned to Mirai.
"You definitely don't have the money to pay for the printing upfront. So, let's go with your plan. We set the price at 2000 Kan, and I take 1600. Any problem with that?"
Mirai looked at the chubby boy with a very slight smile and answered calmly.
"Deal."
They left the printing factory area and started walking back. Heizo Kasaki, who had been silent, suddenly spoke softly.
"Did you... know the master of the Omaeda family, Marechiyo Omaeda, before this?"
"Huh?" Mirai was stunned for a moment.
In his mind, he compared the chubby kid with the snacks who was so good at business to the future version of the character.
They were... completely different!
Time really does change people.
He shook his head and told the truth. "I didn't know him. He came over to talk to me. I thought he was a relative of a manager. He seemed smart, so I just shared some business ideas with him."
Heizo Kasaki nodded and didn't ask anything else.
He came from a lower-class noble family. He had seen Marechiyo Omaeda a few times at noble gatherings from a distance.
But the Omaeda family were wealthy merchants who controlled the economy of the Seireitei. Their status was so high that someone from a small family like his could never talk to them.
"However," Heizo Kasaki brought the conversation back to business. A rare look of worry appeared on his face.
"2000 Kan for one book is indeed too high. And the other side is taking 1600 Kan. After you pay for shipping and the sellers' cuts, you'll only make 10 or 20 Kan per book."
He analyzed it coldly. "Actually, even if we set the price lower and tried to sell more copies, you would probably make the same amount per book. So, a lower price would be the safer choice."
Mirai listened to his analysis with a calm face. He had clearly already thought about this.
"Heizo, you're right, but our strategy needs to be different," he explained slowly.
"The Genius Youth book has over 300,000 words. Most readers have already seen the main story in the magazine."
"We will make it look high-quality. We'll use the best paper and binding, and add a new poem at the start. By making it a 'Collector's Edition' for 2000 Kan, our target is the nobles and rich people who want quality."
His tone changed. "But our new book, The Murderer of Meteor Street, is different. It's only about 100,000 words. We will price it at around 600 Kan."
"When readers see it's a standalone book but costs only a third of the price of Genius Youth, they will feel like it's a great deal!"
"Even if the price per word isn't actually lower, that feeling will make it easier for them to spend money. Genius Youth will build our high-end image, which will make The Murderer sell even better."
Heizo Kasaki suddenly stopped walking. He looked up at Mirai with his calm eyes. He stayed silent for several seconds before sighing.
"As expected of a writer... you are truly skilled at understanding how people think."
He followed Mirai's logic and immediately understood the secret.
The Loneliness and Arrogance of a Genius Youth was essentially using its fame to upgrade the brand. Selling many copies wasn't the main goal.
Its real job was to be a price reference for the next book. It made readers feel like they were "getting a bargain," which would boost the sales of The Murderer.
Common Shinigami and residents of Junrinan who couldn't afford 2000 Kan for a collector's edition would want to buy the new book for "only" 600 Kan.
They wouldn't calculate the cost per word. They would just think, "This one is cheap."
"Alright, since everything is decided and you've thought about the details, I'll head back to the barracks."
Heizo Kasaki waved his hand and walked toward the Squad 9 area. After a few steps, he added one more thing.
"The Captain and the Lieutenant should be back from their outing tomorrow."
"Thanks, Heizo!" Mirai shouted at his back. "When the first payment comes in, I'll buy you a huge meal and give you a big bonus!"
After saying goodbye to Heizo Kasaki, Mirai didn't go back to Squad 9. Instead, he walked toward the Squad 2 barracks.
He was going to find Kisuke Urahara.