Even though many users on the official Ascent of New Gods website claimed that To the Moon was uninteresting, Haruto's long-standing fanbase continued to place great expectations on the work. They had already begun deconstructing the plot within the To the Moon sub-forum.
"Why do you think River is always folding those paper rabbits for Johnny? There has to be some kind of special meaning behind them, right?"
"Isn't that obvious? If it didn't have a special meaning, Sensei Shiori Takahashi wouldn't keep highlighting that specific detail."
"The novel is called To the Moon, and the two chapters we've read so far follow the protagonists, Neil and Eva, as they search for the origin of Johnny's dream within his dying memories. You don't have to be a genius to wonder if the paper rabbits are the link to that lunar dream."
"Rabbits? The moon? Is there even a connection there?"
"Don't say that. I once saw a movie that managed to link basketball and chickens. It's perfectly possible for Sensei to connect a rabbit to a trip to the moon."
"Well, rabbits and the moon actually have a historical connection in folklore, you know, the rabbit in the moon pounding mochi. Maybe the later chapters will reveal a celestial maiden living up there."
"Alright, let's be serious for a second. Now that we've had two chapters, how does everyone feel about the plot of To the Moon?"
"I think it's pretty good. It feels very similar to when I was following Anohana last year."
"I have no idea what genre this will end up being. At this point, I feel like it could turn into sci-fi, mystery, or even a horror novel."
"Horror?"
"Don't you think River is a bit creepy? According to the text, she never shared her thoughts with Johnny while she was alive. She just stayed silent and folded those rabbits. Then she'd make him describe them. If my wife did that in real life, I'd be genuinely terrified."
"That's a fair point. Imagine your wife hands you a paper rabbit every few days and asks you to describe it. You tell her the ears are pretty or the head looks nice, but she's never satisfied. She won't tell you why she's unhappy, she just brings a new one a few days later and stares at you with those intense eyes without saying a word. I definitely couldn't handle that."
"Is this some kind of cold violence? Is River gaslighting Johnny?"
"I can't tell. Honestly, I just hope Sensei writes a touching story like Anohana."
"Please, no. Anohana practically killed me with all the crying. I'd prefer if To the Moon stayed lighthearted and cheerful."
"Don't be so demanding. A masterpiece like Anohana doesn't just happen every day. I just hope Sensei maintains her standard. If this is even half as good as Anohana, that's enough for me."
"The serialization for Ascent of New Gods is so slow! We have to wait ten whole days for a new issue."
"You could always go watch the Anohana anime to pass the time. The adaptation is actually quite decent."
Outside of these circles, the negative opinions regarding To the Moon didn't dampen the enthusiasm of Shiori Takahashi's core fans. In reality, most people following the Ascent of New Gods competition were only focused on the six authors from Tokyo and Osaka.
As for To the Moon, since the plot was a slow burn with no immediate hooks, most people stopped hating on it after two weeks once they realized their complaints weren't changing anything.
After a few days, the discussions on the official website settled on the few works considered the "cream of the crop." Among them, the Osaka author Aika Miyamoto's Cyberpunk: Sin Domain held a clear advantage. While cyberpunk was common in video games, the recent success of several high-budget cyberpunk films had sparked a massive trend in the literary world. Aika's prose was compelling, and by the second issue, her vote count had climbed to one hundred and thirty thousand. As for the Tokyo author Yuma Kanda's The Great Scientist of Another World, it held the second-place spot for the second issue in a row.
There wasn't much to say about it. Just like in other world, "Isekai trash" had become incredibly popular in Japan over the last few years.
Readers complained about it, but they couldn't stop reading. Heroes, demon kings, harems, and beautiful girls remained timeless themes. Even if the critical rating for the work was lower, Yuma Kanda didn't mind as long as the reader votes kept coming in.
The battle for third place was a fierce competition between the Tokyo author Fujii's Bones in the Wilderness and the Osaka author Konning's Eye of the Eerie. Their vote counts had both reached the eighty-thousand mark.
Out of the top ten rankings, Haruto and the six authors from the two major metropolitan regions occupied seven spots. The top authors from the other prefectures were left to fight over the tenth to thirtieth positions.
It was worth mentioning that Nanzawa, the third member of the Minamijo trio alongside Haruto and Reina, was performing quite poorly. By the second issue, he had slid down to forty-fifth place. His vote count was under two thousand, consisting almost entirely of "friendship votes" from his old fans in Minamijo.
This didn't mean only two thousand people were reading his novel. The Ascent of New Gods magazine had a circulation of about 3.6 million copies per issue across seventeen prefectures. With such a massive reader base, every story was being read by hundreds of thousands of people. However, even if a few hundred thousand people read Nanzawa's new work, it didn't matter if they didn't think it was worth a vote. In this industry, the winner took all. Readers only cast their limited votes for the works they considered the absolute best.
Early February arrived, and the final semester of Haruto's high school career began.
The atmosphere at school had shifted noticeably. There were exactly four months left until the university entrance exams in June.
However, this tension didn't affect Haruto. His path was already set in the ACG industry. The money he had earned from his two novels allowed him to stop worrying about making a living for a long time. His only academic dilemma now was whether he wanted to attend university in Tokyo or Osaka.
Meanwhile, in a high-end residential complex in Osaka...
"I have a feeling that Sensei Shiori Takahashi's To the Moon isn't as simple as it looks. There's probably a development coming that will catch everyone off guard. To be honest, I'm a little nervous!"
"What are you nervous about?"
"Would you believe me if I said that even though I'm a rival in the Ascent of New Gods competition, I'm actually afraid her work will overtake mine in the rankings?"
A young girl stopped typing and stretched her arms, revealing a graceful silhouette. She gently set down the silver shaded shorthair cat that had been resting on her lap.
Aika Miyamoto, the genius high school author of the Osaka region, turned her gaze toward the two volumes of Anohana sitting on her desk. She had lost count of how many times she had picked up those books. She flipped to chapter fourteen once again. After a few minutes, she suppressed the surge of sadness in her heart.
"Sigh, I feel so uncertain," Aika muttered, a look of frustration appearing on her pale, pretty face.
"Konning's level is predictable, and Riku Shibata debuted with me. He's never beaten me, so I'm not worried about him. As for the three in Tokyo, Yuma Kanda is just writing Isekai trash. Those stories always end up with terrible reviews; they only rely on the initial gimmick to draw people in. Logically, my Cyberpunk: Sin Domain has the best chance of winning this competition. But... why does Shiori Takahashi have to be here too?"
Many readers in Japan only paid attention to magazines from the Big Seven publishers. While many knew that Anohana had sold a million copies per volume, they didn't feel like going back to catch up on it.
There were plenty of million-sellers in Tokyo and Osaka to keep them occupied. But Aika was different. She didn't care about publisher prestige.
She had noticed Anohana months ago and bought the volumes immediately. She had been a devoted fan ever since.
For months, she had looked forward to Shiori Takahashi's next release. Who would have thought that the new work would end up being her direct competition?
She felt some pressure from the works of Konning and Yuma, but it was manageable.
They had all competed in the metropolitan literary scenes for two years; they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses perfectly.
Shiori was the only wild card. Aika was certain that if Anohana had been serialized in a top-tier Tokyo magazine instead of a regional Minamijo one, it would have been a nationwide sensation long ago.
"What is she writing about? Rabbits, the moon, memory machines... I just feel like this story is going to be something huge."
Aika thought about it until she felt a headache coming on. She checked the time and realized it was almost time to leave. She got up, got dressed, and left her luxury apartment for the Kiyozawa Library headquarters in the heart of Osaka's bustling downtown.
In a high-rise office building, amidst the hustle and bustle of the lobby, a group of reporters had been waiting in a conference room for a long time. As a top-tier rookie in the Osaka region, the publisher had arranged an interview for her. It wouldn't be long, but portions of it would be broadcast on Osaka TV-5.
Aika was already a pro at handling these interviews.
She navigated the reporters' questions with ease, giving them little to work with until the very end when a reporter asked a direct question.
"Sensei Aika, we know that in addition to your regular serialization at Kiyozawa, you are also participating in the Ascent of New Gods competition. Your novel Cyberpunk: Sin Domain is currently the most popular novel."
"In the remaining eight issues, do you see any work as a significant threat, one that might actually take the top spot from you?"
Aika blinked, then a sweet smile spread across her face. "Yes, there is one. It's..."
"Wait, let me guess!" The reporter tried to build some suspense for the sake of the broadcast.
"You don't need to guess," Aika said, not wanting to waste time. "At this stage, I don't believe the other five contestants from Tokyo and Osaka pose a substantial threat. Even though we've only seen two chapters, certain things are already clear. When it comes to the late-game plot, I believe I'm stronger than them."
"Then the threat you're feeling... is it from a contestant in another region?" The reporter's eyes lit up. This was the headline they needed.
"Yes," Aika paused for a beat before speaking. "To the Moon."
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