The lonely Hikigaya Hachiman wants to become the king of mystery novels

"Teacher Hachiman, I want to thank you today. Your "Clock Museum Incident" was chosen to be published by Literary Spring and Autumn. Thank you for your trust."

After the meal had been going on for a while, Hirao Takahiro started the main topic of his day.

"It's nothing. I am already familiar with the cooperation with Bunge Shunqiu. What's more, I gave some of the original manuscripts of "The Clock Museum Incident" to editor Imamura for reading. There is absolutely no reason not to cooperate with your company."

Hikigaya Hachiman replied.

"Haha, within our publishing house, many people are so worried that their hair is almost falling out."

President Hirao naturally said that it was the poor Suzuki Director.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Hachiman, since you are willing to continue to cooperate with us, we will definitely do our best to promote "The Clock Museum Incident". So far, there has never been a mystery novel that has sold more than 100 million copies in one year. Hachiman Teacher, I believe that your "Clock Museum Incident" can be done!"

Hirao Takahiro made it clear that he was going to do something big in the second half of the year.

"Since President Hirao said so, I have to complete this work properly. I am a minor and cannot drink alcohol. I will toast you with juice."

Hikigaya Hachiman raised his cup and drank the mango juice in one gulp.

"I'm looking forward to the completion of "The Clock Museum Incident". By the way, Mr. Hachiman, after you finish this novel, do you have any other "xx Museum Incident" works?"

Hirao Takahiro asked.

"Well, there are no such plans for the time being, President Hirao."

Hikigaya Hachiman denied.But in his heart, he was shocked by Hirao Takahiro's sensitivity in associating this series with just one book title. He was indeed a man of the hour in the publishing industry.

In fact, there were nine works in the original "Pavilion Series". However, except for the masterpiece "The Clock Pavilion Incident", most of their reputations were mediocre.Although there is no shortage of works with high historical status such as "The Jukkaukan Incident", its techniques are not new enough now.Based on the above considerations, Hikigaya Hachiman chose to carry only "The Clock Museum Incident".

"That's it...it's a pity. As you know, Mr. Yawata, the current entertainment industry is pursuing IP and serialization, pursuing a fixed fan group, and making stable money. Frankly speaking, Literary Spring and Autumn is in the direction of publishing. Kamiya has no choice but to move closer in this direction.”

Hirao Takahiro ate a piece of barbecue and continued.

"Fortunately, Mr. Hachiman, you showed up. For an excellent author like you, your name is the IP itself, and everyone is willing to pay for you. To be honest, this is a blessing for our literary and artistic age. Many other publishing houses , are all envious of us. Maybe they have also had contact with you, Mr. Hachiman."

Hirao Takahiro stopped here, seemingly waiting for Hikigaya Hachiman's confirmation.

"Yes, President Hirao. Many publishing houses, mainly Kodansha, have talked to me several times, but they did not bring the topic to cooperation, they just talked about literature."

Hikigaya Hachiman replied with a smile.

"Kodansha? They are indeed very powerful. To be honest, Bungeishunqiu Publishing House dare not say that there is any field that can completely surpass Kodansha. Of course, in terms of your royalty rate, Mr. Yawata, we have already given it to the industry Most importantly, I have thought about improving it for you. But unfortunately, some unwritten rules in the industry must not be broken. Otherwise, not only us, but you, Mr. Hachiman, will easily become the target of public criticism."

Hirao Takahiro took a sip of water to relieve the feeling of eating spicy food.

"In addition, Kodansha has a great advantage, that is, some of the public welfare groups that their publishing house cooperates with have hosted many heavyweight awards in the Japanese literary world. Although awards essentially depend on the quality of the work, the quality of the work If there is not much difference, the operation behind it will play a very important role, which is no secret in the publishing industry. Of course, if the work wins an award, the publishing house will also be the beneficiary, so they will definitely work hard for this."

"Our Literary Spring and Autumn Publishing House does not cooperate with other groups to organize as many awards as them. But there is one award, Literary Spring and Autumn is its birthplace. To this day, the sponsoring group of this award is still working within our publishing house. This group The representative is also a middle-level employee from our publishing house.”

When Hirao said this, Hikigaya Hachiman also made a guess.

"President Hirao, I think you are talking about Naoki Sho."

"That's right, Mr. Hachiman. It's Naoki Sho, the brightest pearl in the Japanese literary world."

Hirao Takahiro admitted,

"So, President Hirao, do you mean that Bungeishunqiu can let me win this award through operations?"

"That's wrong, Mr. Hachiman. Regardless of whether we operate or not, you can get this award based on your ability. However, even with this award, there will be a lot of unfair behaviors, such as giving priority to older people. Writers, priority will be given to writers with more seniority."

Hirao Takahiro did not shy away from revealing some of the hidden rules of the Naoki Award.

"Affected by this, there are many writers who created peak works at their peak, but were unable to win the Naoki Prize at the right time. Many years later, these writers won the Naoki Prize with a not-so-excellent work. Award, this is the jury making up for their regrets back then. However, a person’s best work cannot be recognized by the Naoki Award. This regret is simply irreparable.”

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"Teacher Hachiman, what we can do for you is to make your work the most worthy of the award, without being affected by these worldly influences or waiting for anything. There has never been a rule that minors cannot win the Naoki Prize. Teacher Hachiman , you are a writer who can make history.”

After Hirao Takahiro finished speaking, he continued to eat barbecue, leaving Hikigaya Hachiman enough time to think.

Hikigaya Hachiman had to admit that the other party's words were very convincing.The operation mentioned by Hirao Takahiro is not to let Hachiman take shortcuts to win awards, but to create a fair environment for Hachiman so that his best works can leave no regrets.

In other words, even if Hachiman does not win, it will only be because there are works that are better than his, not because he needs to make way for older writers.Creating a fair environment is Literary Spring and Autumn's biggest trump card.

"I think I understand what you said. I can't say against my will that I'm not interested in awards, especially at the level of the Naoki Prize. So, President Hirao, what do you mean?"

The other party had laid the groundwork for so long, so naturally he still wanted something from him.

"Me? I only hope that in the future, Mr. Hachiman, if you think you have written a very good work, perhaps the best work. Then please give this work to Bungeishunqiu Publishing House."

Hirao Takahiro revealed the ultimate goal.

"Is that so..."

Hikigaya Hachiman, who was already full, closed his eyes and leaned back on the chair.

"But, President Hirao. 'The best work' or something like that is something that can be encountered but cannot be sought. Sometimes, even I don't realize it."

Hikigu Hachiman said.

"Haha, Mr. Hachiman, this is normal. So I just said 'it's possible'. Who dares to say what the quality of the next book he writes will be? This is a very vague judgment, but a work is good enough and good enough. Shock, you can always feel it.”

Hirao Takahiro also finished the meal, and the three of them began to enjoy the coffee after the meal. The topic of discussion gradually changed to chatting about everything, no longer limited to literary creation.

Hikigaya Hachiman believed that this meeting with Hirao Takahiro was quite pleasant, and the promise mentioned by the other party was sincere enough, so he ended the meeting very happily.

"I didn't expect that the president actually made such a promise. It seems that they really want to keep you, Mr. Hachiman."

After bidding farewell to Hirao Takahiro.Hikigaya Hachiman and Imamura Naho were walking on the streets of Chiyoda together, and Imamura suddenly sighed.

"Yes, but it is still a bit too difficult to win the Naoki Prize for mystery novels. At least true reasoning is impossible."

Hikigaya Hachiman said with some regret.Although the Naoki Award is a popular literature award, the focus is on depicting characters' emotions, reflecting social reality, and displaying traditional culture, which are factors that have nothing to do with character reasoning.

"By the way, Mr. Hachiman. You should be taking the entrance exam soon, right? How about it? Is it okay to study in this area?"

Naho Imamura asked with concern.

"You don't have to worry about my studies, Editor Imamura. Even though my creed is just enough, I still rank first in my grade and am very stable."

Hikigaya Hachiman said very narcissistically.

"Okay, okay, I really envy your brain, Mr. Hachiman. You can write novels that can sell millions of copies, and you can also get the first place in the grade. I just wanted to get into Meiji University, so I I feel like I’m almost exhausted from studying.”

Naho Imamura said gloomily.In her eyes, even though Mr. Hachiman was just a boy who had not entered high school, he still made her feel the differences in the world.

After returning home, Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly missed the Yukinoshita sisters. As for whether he missed his elder sister or his younger sister more, he couldn't tell.Just when he was considering whether to call one of the two, Yangno's call came first.

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"Good afternoon, Yukinoshita-senpai."

Hikigaya Hachiman lay on the bed and said hello in a lazy voice.

"Junior, how come your voice doesn't sound like someone who will take the entrance exam next week?"

At this time, at Yukinoshita's house, Harano and Yukino were sitting in the same room, and the mobile phone they were talking to Hachiman on was placed on the table, with the speakerphone turned on.

"Today is the weekend. I have been studying hard for a week, so it's time to relax. By the way, senior sister, you should be taking the entrance exam soon, right?"

"Hmm, it's a few days earlier than your exam."

Yukinoshita Haruno replied.

"In that case, senior. On the day of my exam, would you like to see me off? Just like on the day of your central exam? Oh, by the way, Yukinoshita-san also took the exam with me on the same day. If the two of us The examination rooms are different, senior, will you accompany me or Yukinoshita-san?"

Hikigaya Hachiman asked in his lazy voice.On the other end of the phone, Yukino's face instantly became friendly.

"Hikigaya-kun, you'd better start praying from now on so that you won't be assigned to the same exam room as me on exam day."

Yukinoshita Yukino's voice came, and Hikigaya Hachiman felt frozen in place for an instant.

Chapter 94 Hikigaya Hachiman’s Entrance Examination

"I am leaving--"

Hikigaya Hachiman left the house after saying goodbye to his father, mother and Komachi as usual.However, today is February 27th, the day when Hikigaya Hachiman’s high school entrance exam begins.

For Hikigaya Hachiman, this high school entrance exam is really not something that worries him particularly. This is the confidence that his high deviation value of 74 gives him.

After arriving at the examination center, Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the bustling crowd. Many students were still taking advantage of the last ten minutes before entering the venue to flip through the booklets in their hands, as if there were exam questions on them.

Hikigaya Hachiman didn't think that such a short attack before the exam would have any effect. Likewise, he didn't like to completely empty his mind or take a nap before the exam.The former will add excessive tension to oneself, while the latter will easily fail to enter the best state at the beginning of the exam.

Hikigaya Hachiman believes that what he needs most now is to find someone to chat with and use the most ordinary way to pass the most difficult period before the exam.

However, looking around, Hikigaya didn't find anyone he knew. This was inevitable.After all, his usual circle of friends is extremely narrow, and there are many test centers in Chiba City, so it is not easy to meet acquaintances.

"That's fine, just be alone and quiet."

Hikigaya Hachiman comforted himself.He decided to take a stroll alone and unknowingly walked outside the test center.

"Hello, classmate. Is this the examination center for Yukimachi No. [-] Middle School?"

Hikigaya Hachiman heard a voice coming from his ear, it must be an examinee asking for directions.

"Ah, yes. It's just inside that road. Once you go in, you will find a lot of people waiting..."

Hikigaya Hachiman replied casually, and when he raised his head and looked at the candidate, he was stunned.

In front of him is a very handsome boy. His face has no makeup, but there is still no flaw. He is an absolutely naturally beautiful face.He has conspicuous blond hair, slightly styled, and formed into a three-quarter point on his forehead.His right eye has a rare star-shaped pupil.

The most important thing is that he has a melancholy, even gloomy temperament.With such a temperament and outstanding appearance, he must have been surrounded by other girls during the three years of junior high school.

"Understood, thank you very much."

The other party's tone was sincere and his attitude was very humble, but his gloomy temperament remained the same.

"This classmate, there is still some time before admission, how about you wait outside for a while? With your appearance, you will definitely attract attention when you go to a crowded place like the test center."

Hikigaya Hachiman invited.The other party glanced at him and didn't go any further.

"Introduce me, I am Hikigaya Hachiman, from Tsubakimori Middle School."

"Hello, Hikigaya-san. My name is a bit long, so everyone usually calls me Hoshino Aqua."

Hoshino-san nodded in response.

"I would like to ask, Hoshino-san, are you... a practitioner in the entertainment industry?"

Hikigaya Hachiman asked, considering his words.

"You're so sharp, Hikigaya-san. Should I say yes or no? I acted in a play more than ten years ago, but it was only that one time. Does this count as entering the entertainment industry?"

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Hoshino Aqua replied, his eyes seeming to recall the past.

"A child star? I understand. So Hoshino-san's goal is to apply for the Performing Arts High School?"

Hikigaya Hachiman was very happy that the other party had indeed had acting experience. He thought that Hoshino-san's gloomy temperament was exactly the same as Shuya in "Confession".

"Yes, the high school I want to apply for has a performing arts department, but I will choose the general department there. My goal is to be a behind-the-scenes person in the future."

Hoshino Aqua replied.

"Ah this..."

Hikigaya Hachiman was a little speechless. He had been a child star and was so naturally beautiful. In the end, he wanted to change his career behind the scenes?However, Hikigaya Hachiman has always been unwilling to explore other people's thoughts and respects other people's choices, so he will not persuade the Hoshino-classmate he just met.

"Although it's a bit sudden, Hoshino-san. From the first moment I saw you, I decided that you were very suitable for playing a role in a certain book, and you're even about the same age. But since that's not your ambition, I won't Nothing more to say."

Hikigaya Hachiman needs to play hard to get.

"But, Hoshino-san. That book is about to be adapted into a movie. Although the project has not yet been officially approved, it will be in the first half of this year. This movie will bring together many people who are similar to you or older than you. Some of the new generation of Japanese actors. Within three to five years after starring in this movie, they will appear in various movies, TV shows, and variety shows. They can even win Film Academy Awards. ."

"Hoshino-kun, I really think that your image is very suitable for an important character in the book. And by chance, I have the power to let you play him."

Hikigaya Hachiman said sincerely, his eyes fixed on the blond boy in front of him.

"What...what role?"

Hoshino-san did not question Hikigaya Hachiman's statement "I have this power" at the first time. Instead, he asked about the role, which made Hachiman feel very hopeful.

""Confession", Shuya Watanabe."

Hikigaya Hachiman briefly announced his name.

"...Understood, Hikigaya-san. How should I contact you if I change my mind?"

Hoshino Akua asked this most important question.

"You don't have to contact me, Hoshino-kun, and I won't contact you. When you see the "Confession" crew announces the open auditions, just go directly. If you go, the role will be yours."

Hikigu Hachiman said.