On the first day the official website for the Ascent of New Gods magazine went live, the aggressive advertising by Shiori Takahashi's fans triggered a wave of complaints.
Admittedly, Shiori Takahashi was a unique case among the fifty-one contestants. She was the only author from outside the Tokyo and Osaka hubs who had managed to produce a series with average sales exceeding one million copies per volume. Over the past few days, this fact has circulated through various channels. Even those who had not read Anohana understood that a series with such numbers must have something special going for it.
However, that was a Minamijo author. No matter how strong she was, what did that have to do with readers in other regions? To them, she was merely an enemy and a rival to their own favorite writers.
"Who even is Shiori Takahashi? And what kind of title is Anohana?"
"Anohana? What on earth is that supposed to mean?"
"Why are there so many ads for this one book?"
"Seriously, all the participants in the Ascent of New Gods competition are rivals. How do Shiori Takahashi's fans have the nerve to spam ads here?"
"Are Minamijo readers always this hyperactive?"
"It's not just people from Minamijo. I'm from Tokyo, and I'm a huge fan of the series. To be honest, Anohana just lacked proper marketing. If it had a massive nationwide campaign, it would definitely be the biggest hit in Japan this year."
"Oh, please. If Blue Sky Publishing gave me those kinds of resources, I could sell a million copies of the kindergarten diary I wrote when I was three. If a book is actually good, how could it possibly stay obscure?"
"Exactly. Look, I know you Shiori Takahashi fans love her work, but taste is subjective. If you want to believe a niche regional novel is a masterpiece, that's fine. But acting this arrogant and pushing her old work on the official Ascent of New Gods site is going too far. Every one of the fifty-one contestants has a hit or two under their belt."
"Post all you want, I'm still not reading it. There are too many novels in Japan as it is. I can't even keep up with the top-tier stuff from Tokyo and Osaka. A Minamijo novel? Pass. My pocket money and my time aren't that limitless."
"I'm out here being a Good Samaritan and recommending an underrated masterpiece, and you guys just talk trash? You're going to regret this."
"Stop overhyping it. 'Underrated masterpiece' is a total oxymoron. I don't believe a true masterpiece could ever be underrated."
"Whatever. I'm going to buy the magazine when it comes out anyway. I'll check the quality of that To the Moon story first. If it's actually interesting, maybe I'll give that Anohana thing a look."
"Forget it, guys. We don't need to sell it to them. Buying a volume costs money, and most people are obsessed with the big names from the major cities. They won't spend a yen on anyone else. Let them look down on it for now. Just wait until the Anohana anime starts in January. By the time they actually want to buy the books, they might not even be able to find them in stock."
"Listen to these guys. 'Not in stock'? You're acting like the series is going to explode overnight just because of an anime."
As soon as the website launched, the forums became a battlefield.
Readers were naturally drawn to the competitive nature of this rookie selection event. However, with a month still to go before the magazine's release, there was no actual content to critique. Fans could argue all they wanted, but without the text in hand, the discussions eventually died down after a few days.
As the first half of December concluded, the middle of the month arrived.
Haruto and Reina found themselves once again at Yukino's apartment. The reason she had called them over was simple. For the Ascent of New Gods serialization, every participant was allowed to include one full-page illustration for a specific chapter of their choice.
During the serialization of Anohana in the regional magazine, Crimson Maple Literature had handled everything, including cover art, posters, and interior illustrations. But Ascent of New Gods was a massive publication featuring over fifty works.
They could not possibly provide that level of service for everyone without making the magazine ten inches thick.
Still, the organizers could not ignore the readers' desire for visuals. Therefore, the official rules allowed each author to design one poster and one interior illustration page. The authors could choose exactly which issue and which page they wanted these visuals to appear.
Haruto's interest piqued immediately. He had been agonizing over how to present the two most moving scenes from the original game to his readers.
First, there was the scene where young Johnny and young River sat on a fallen log, pointing toward the stars and the moon, describing the "constellations" they saw. Relying solely on the reader's imagination felt too vague for such a pivotal moment; having an illustration right next to the text would be far more impactful.
Second, there was the scene at the very end of the story involving the rocket launch into the starry night.
Since the organizers allowed a color illustration for a specific page and a poster to be included with a certain issue, it suited his needs perfectly.
"However, since this isn't a project directly serialized by Crimson Maple Literature, you'll have to find your own illustrators and cover the design fees for the posters. The company won't be providing those services for this event," Yukino explained, looking between the two of them.
"That makes sense," Haruto nodded. It was a reasonable policy.
"Are there any restrictions on the style of the illustration or the poster?" Reina asked.
"Not at all. It's essentially a small perk from the organizers to the contestants. They haven't set any specific requirements."
"I see. In that case, I'll just draw them myself," Reina said with a small nod. "I've always felt the illustrations for Star Sea and Yesterday's Starlight were lacking. The character designs were quite different from how I imagined them. For my new novel, Fate of the Rainbow, I'd actually prefer to design the characters myself."
Yukino stared at her in shock. "What?"
Haruto was equally stunned. "Wait, you can draw?"
"I wouldn't say I'm a professional," Reina replied calmly. "But if it's just character designs for anime or light novels, it shouldn't be a problem. My parents made me study fine arts when I was younger, but I secretly found a separate teacher to learn how to draw in the '2D' anime style."
Both Haruto and Yukino sighed inwardly. Is this girl even human?
"By the way, Haruto, do you have any friends who work as illustrators or in the arts?" Reina asked, a thought suddenly occurring to her as she looked at his contemplative expression.
"None."
As soon as Haruto answered, he noticed Reina looking at him with an uncharacteristically serious intensity. It took him a moment to catch on, but then he asked tentatively, "Are you saying... you could help me out and design the two images for my novel as well?"
"I certainly can. It's only two drawings; it won't take much time at all," Reina said, a faint smile gracing her lips.
Yukino watched the two of them with a strange, curious glint in her eyes. Based on what she knew of Reina, the girl was definitely not the "helpful neighbor" type. Why would she waste her precious time doing extra work for Haruto?
Haruto also felt that Reina was being unusually warm toward him.
"Last time, I really enjoyed working with you on the composition for Secret Base," Reina explained, noticing their looks. "You gave me a co-creator credit for that song. Think of the illustrations and posters as my way of making it up to you."
Of course, she left out the most important reason. Ever since their respective novels had ended, the twice-weekly meetings between the three of them had essentially ceased. To be honest, she had grown accustomed to coming to Yukino's place to discuss literature and play video games with Haruto. Now that she spent seven days a week at home studying, she found herself bored.
Yukino's apartment felt like a "secret base" to her. Both Haruto and Yukino knew her biggest secret, which made being there incredibly relaxing. If she helped Haruto with his art, the "office" would naturally be Yukino's living room. Rather than helping Haruto, she was simply finding an excuse not to go home so she could relax here.
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