On the morning of January 14th, the latest issue of the light novel magazine Ascent of New Gods appeared on the shelves of every significant bookstore across Japan, from the bustling districts of Tokyo to the quietest suburban towns.
The magazine was a familiar sight to Japanese bookworms.
Released every two years, it featured the work of true rookies, authors who had debuted within the last twenty-four months, possessed exceptional talent and a proven track record, and were under the age of twenty-five. The organizers were strict about these rules, ensuring that famous veterans couldn't simply use a pseudonym to masquerade as newcomers and dominate the competition.
Historically, this biennial magazine enjoyed a stellar reputation among Japanese light novel fans.
Backed by the joint distribution and marketing power of the Big Seven publishers, the magazine usually maintained a steady circulation of over 3 million copies during its run.
Natsumi, a high school senior in Osaka, was a typical student with pretty features and average grades. Normally, someone in her position wouldn't bother buying a magazine dedicated to newcomers.
Between the mountain of homework and the endless backlog of works by famous Tokyo and Osaka authors, she had plenty to keep her busy.
Why waste time on rookies?
She usually preferred to wait until they became famous on their own before paying them any attention.
However, everything changed two months ago when her bad influence best friend from Minamijo practically harassed her into reading Anohana. From that day on, she had been hopelessly obsessed.
A promotional poster of Menma now hung directly over her headboard, and three days ago, when the Anohana anime premiered, she had rounded up a large group of friends to watch it together.
Her reason for waiting outside the bookstore so early this morning was simple: she was here for Shiori Takahashi's new novel. While she waited for the doors to open, a group of light novel fans nearby were already deep in discussion.
"So, who do you guys think is going to take the top spot in the Ascent of New Gods rankings this time?"
"It has to be Konning from Osaka, right? He's only been around for two years, but he's already produced two million-seller series. His last one nearly hit 2 million copies per volume. I heard through the grapevine that his new entry, Eye of the Eerie, is actually connected to his previous work. His old fans are already revved up and ready to support him."
"Wait, isn't that cheating? Can they actually do that?"
"Why not? The rankings are based on reader votes. Writing something in the same universe as a popular old series gives him a massive head start."
"I just feel like it's not exactly fair."
"Oh, please. If it's unfair, then the other authors should have done the same. The problem is their old books don't have enough fans to make a difference, so it wouldn't work for them anyway. There's no such thing as unfairness in this market."
"Konning might be taking a shortcut to get votes, but it might not even matter. Among the rookies from Osaka, the high school girl genius Aika has always been slightly more popular. Then you have Fujii and Yuma Kanda from Tokyo, who have similar stats. Over the last two years, their best-selling volumes reached 2.3 million, 2.27 million, and 2.17 million copies respectively. In terms of a built-in fan base, Konning is actually a step behind those three."
"Honestly, I think the winner is going to be one of three. Aika's cyberpunk sci-fi Cyberpunk: Sin Domain, Fujii's grotesque horror Bones in the Wilderness, or Yuma's isekai adventure The Great Scientist of Another World."
"Then why couldn't the one who reaches the top be Sensei Shiori Takahashi with To the Moon?"
The group of five or six guys had been talking animatedly when a girl's voice suddenly cut in. They turned to see Natsumi, who hadn't been able to hold back her protest.
"Shiori Takahashi?"
"Oh, you mean that author from Minamijo. Yeah, I looked into the contestants' backgrounds. Her Anohana reached 1.2 million copies per volume as of January. That's impressive, but..." One of the boys trailed off.
Natsumi didn't let it slide. "But what?"
"While the sales are decent and the fan base isn't small, she's still not on the same level as Aika, Fujii, or Yuma. Besides, I saw the first episode of the Anohana anime the other day, and it felt pretty mundane. I've heard people say it's a slow burn and gets better later, but I don't think that kind of style has any advantage in a high-stakes serialization like Ascent of New Gods."
Natsumi eventually returned home, clutching the thick Ascent of New Gods magazine. She felt like she was losing her mind a little. Why was she so worked up over an author from Minamijo whom she had never even met?
She had worried that To the Moon would rank poorly, and she had spent half an hour arguing with those boys until her face was red. Her final parting shot had been, "I hope you don't feel too embarrassed by your own stupidity today once To the Moon becomes the most popular work in the magazine."
Natsumi sighed. She finally understood how idol stans felt. She hadn't even read a single word of To the Moon yet, but she possessed an irrational belief that Shiori Takahashi wouldn't lose. Or rather, she simply didn't want to see her lose.
She opened the magazine and scanned the table of contents. She temporarily ignored the heavy hitters everyone was talking about.
Konning's Eye of the Eerie, Aika's Cyberpunk: Sin Domain, and Riku Shibata's Intelligence Crisis from Osaka, as well as the Tokyo favorites like Fujii's Bones in the Wilderness, Yuma Kanda's The Great Scientist of Another World, and Minami's Elves in the Clouds*.
Her eyes skipped past the six consensus favorites and went straight to page 356.
To the Moon. By: Shiori Takahashi.
The sight of those large letters made her heart race. She took a deep breath and began to read with intense focus. At first, her expression was one of pure excitement. By the middle of the chapter, she was lost in thought. By the time she finished, Natsumi looked up, her expression completely dazed.
Johnny, River, paper rabbits, the house, the lighthouse, the gravestone, the memory machine... and that ending where Neil asked Johnny why he wanted to go to the moon.
"I don't know. I just... I have to go."
The first chapter was packed with an incredible amount of detail, but every single one of those details was clearly a piece of foreshadowing. To be honest, Natsumi's impression after finishing it was that it felt... ordinary. She could tell the author was setting things up, but she worried that writing an entire chapter of nothing but setups would be a major disadvantage.
"Sensei Shiori Takahashi is doing the slow-burn thing again," Natsumi sighed.
Because she had read Anohana, a fan like Natsumi wouldn't judge To the Moon based on the first chapter alone. Whether this work was a masterpiece or just another story remained to be seen. The truth might not be revealed until the very last chapter. But the wait was going to be excruciating.
After thinking it over for a moment, Natsumi scanned the QR code on the magazine and, without a second thought, cast her vote for To the Moon on the official website. That vote wasn't necessarily for the content of the first chapter; it was a vote of confidence in the author who had written Anohana.
She believed that someone capable of writing a story like Anohana would never bring a boring work to a competition as vital to their career as the Ascent of New Gods selection.
The launch of the Ascent of New Gods magazine caused quite a stir in the literary world. A few days later, the reader voting data for all fifty-one entries was released.
Reader Voting Results (Issue 1)
1. Cyberpunk: Sin Domain, Aika Miyamoto (Osaka), 113,668 votes, Rating 8.3
2. The Great Scientist of Another World, Yuma Kanda (Tokyo), 102,260 votes, Rating 8.4
3. Bones in the Wildernes, Fujii (Tokyo), 94,621 votes, Rating 8.5
7. To the Moon, Shiori Takahashi (Minamijo), 62,260 votes, Rating 8.0
...….
29. Fate of the Rainbow, Airi (Minamijo), 8,965 votes, Rating 8.3
As expected, the top six spots were firmly held by the rookies from the Tokyo and Osaka regions.
However, the seventh-place caught everyone off guard. While Haruto's To the Moon sat at Rank 7, Airi's Fate of the Rainbow landed at Rank 29, though it maintained a solid Rating of 8.3 (Rank 8).
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