They don't actually think I like them, do they?

As expected, light novel readers are all a bit masochistic!

The more you torture them, the more they love it here!

At the end of the second volume of Re:Zero, Lin Han stopped at the point where Subaru Natsuki was killed by Rem to the point of questioning his existence, and all the information was still "0", leaving readers confused.

The ending here not only makes readers eager to see what happens next, but also sparks discussions about the plot, making it even more popular.

After all, Lin Han isn't some kind of devil. Everyone's so eager, he can't just keep withholding the goods forever.

However, Lin Han didn't want to spend too much energy on this all the time. So, Lin Han decided to take a one-time solution: as long as he wrote more at once, he could slowly wait for sales to increase.

He took a free weekend and finished writing volumes three, four, and five of Re:Zero, up to the White Whale Conquest, and then sent them to the editorial department.

036. If true love had a color

In the JC Light Novel Editorial Department, there's a popular meme circulating:

Receiving manuscripts for coffee sauce is like opening a blind box.

Because you never know how much he actually wrote this time!

Sometimes, you can't even be sure if he's written the book you're thinking of. You can always find something quite surprising in the manuscripts that Coffee Sauce sends you.

However, despite already knowing so much about coffee sauce.

When Zhu Yeqing took the printed manuscript out of the package and found that the stack of papers was as thick as a dictionary, her hands still trembled uncontrollably.

I guess I can never get used to this kind of thing!

The snow rabbit at the next table only glanced at it casually, but its eyes widened in surprise.

　"Holy crap, whose manuscript is this? Coffee Sauce?!"

"Correct."

"How much did you write?!"

Zhu Ye Qing nodded, turned his head, and tremblingly held up three fingers.

"Three volumes."

......

The scriptwriting team even held a small meeting to discuss how to handle the manuscripts for these three volumes, led by the chief editor, Qinggua.

"Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-" has now become one of JC Light Novel's flagship novels, with cumulative sales of three million copies, forcing the editorial department to treat these precious manuscripts with utmost care.

According to the message conveyed by Coffee Sauce and editor Zhu Yeqing, they should have been released together, with the main purpose of letting readers see it all at once and shutting them up, so as to avoid a bunch of people urging and calling him "Coffee the Old Thief" online every day, which would have a bad influence!

From Coffee Sauce's impatient tone, the editorial team even gleaned the possibility that "writing novels might just be a side job for him." However, this idea was quickly dismissed.

At this update speed, the scriptwriting team has reason to suspect he works 25 hours a day! A side job? Impossible!

"But if we really release them together or right next to each other, as Coffee Sauce said, wouldn't that result in significantly fewer sales?" Editor Niu Niu raised this question.

All the editors nodded.

Because the majority of Re:Zero readers are students.

For most students, a week's allowance is so small that they can barely afford one book by saving every penny. If they want to buy two books, they need to ask their dads for money. If they want to buy three books, they find that they can never save enough. Seeing other rich kids buying whatever they want makes them feel resentful. Then they should consider having a meeting on a small boat on a lake.

The consequences would be dire!

Students who had no other choice would form groups of two or three, one would buy the third book and the other would buy the fourth book, and then they would exchange books after they finished reading them.

This back-and-forth has had a huge impact on the sales of a phenomenal novel like Re:Zero.

Previously, Saekano also released three volumes, but at that time it was a necessary move by Coffee Sauce to win the "Best of the Best" award. It was equivalent to sacrificing some sales to improve the reputation of winning the award. Now that there is no such concern, there is no need to lose those sales.

After much discussion, Qinggua made the final decision.

"Let's distribute them over three weeks, one roll per week!"

"What if the readers can't wait and want to see what happens next?" Zhu Yeqing asked anxiously, raising her hand.

"It doesn't matter," Snow Rabbit said.

"Anyway, as long as we can take a look first, that's fine."

Upon hearing this, the editors' eyes lit up.

That makes sense!

What business is it of ours if they can't see it? As long as we can see it ourselves, that's all that matters!

The meeting then moved on to the topic of who should be chosen between Emilia and Rem...

Soon after, the third volume of "Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-" was officially released, quickly attracting the attention of light novel readers.

In the second volume, Natsuki Subaru had just successfully overcome the first obstacle, but not long after, towards the end of the novel, Natsuki Subaru was deeply entangled in the Rem mystery and was brutally tortured several times, leaving readers both confused and bewildered.

It was like being tortured for two hours, and only enjoying it for less than five minutes!

However, true to Re:Zero's usual pattern of starting with "torture" and then "satisfaction," readers weren't discouraged.

By the third book, it's time to really get the action!

The suffering we endured in the second volume must be released in the third volume!

It was precisely because readers had such confidence in the coffee sauce that the third volume quickly garnered 800,000 copies sold on its first day of release!

These 800,000 readers, with hearts full of trepidation, finally opened the third volume—

After being inexplicably killed several times in a row, the third time, when Subaru Natsuki saw with his own eyes that the person who killed him was Rem, his mental state had reached the brink of collapse.

In his fourth death rewind, Subaru Natsuki asks Beatrice for help to protect him, and this time, he actually survives until the morning of the fifth day.

Despite narrowly escaping death, Subaru Natsuki's mental state has deteriorated even further.

To avoid death and gain the trust of Roswaal and his ilk, he began to greet everyone with a 100% smile, worked tirelessly, and desperately wanted to win the favor of those important to him.

Just as Subaru Natsuki was gritting his teeth, trying to maintain his smile that was about to crumble, Emilia finally couldn't stand it anymore.

She came to Subaru's side and gently told him that he didn't have to bear everything alone.

At that moment, Subaru Natsuki finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears!

All the grievances, resentment, and pain in my heart were released at this moment!

Then, Emilia had Subaru Natsuki lie down on her lap.

The forum comments also reached their peak with this period!

"Waaah, I'm so touched! Emilia is so kind and gentle!"

"Although she doesn't know about the death reversal, she can feel Subaru Natsuki's pain!"

"Emilia, waaaaaah, my Emilia!!"

"Thinking about it carefully, isn't Natsuki Subaru just an ordinary high school student? He doesn't have many abilities, yet he tries his best to protect everyone he cares about..."

On that day, even though every light novel reader had read Re:Zero.

However, the name Emilia spread throughout the entire light novel world!

Everyone knows that he has the world's gentlest white-haired wife, named Emilia!

After crying, it's time to wake up.

After enjoying the lap pillow, Natsuki Subaru went completely overpowered!

He discovered that Ram's previous death was caused by a curse from a magical beast. He came to the village to investigate, and after learning of the danger, he resolved to eliminate these magical beasts.

During this process, Natsuki Subaru willingly lured away the monsters alone to protect Rem. Rem couldn't understand why Natsuki Subaru would go to such lengths for her.

Finally, Rem went to the forest alone to save Subaru Natsuki.

Rem, the girl who had repeatedly tormented the male protagonist, was the subject of thousands of online insults before the release of the third volume.

This time, to save Subaru Natsuki, he faces a powerful monster alone...

Unexpectedly, she was once again redeemed by Subaru Natsuki.

In the end, it all came to an end.

Natsuki Subaru, who had survived the ordeal, opened his eyes and found himself lying on his bed in the mansion.

He thought it was another death rewind, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that gentle blue-haired girl.

And his hand was always clasped together with Rem's.

After Subaru Natsuki's barrage of words, Rem, who had been crying her eyes out, finally broke into a smile.

A world-famous painting was born!

A day later, all the "Emilia" messages on the forum disappeared.

Instead, a deluge of messages like "Rem, I'm sorry!!!" flooded the internet.

037. Coffee Sauce ovo

When Lin Han woke up, he found that his Collapse Index had increased by 80,000.

What is this concept?

When his new album, "A Song Not Written for Anyone," infuriated his CP fans to the point of near-hysteria, to the point that they almost hired hitmen to ambush Lin Han at the company entrance, his sales increased by 14.

The recent news about "Jusheng Media being suspected of abusing trainees" has increased by 20 views.

Moreover, those accounts were using the "Orange Jam" brand.

As a newly emerging novelist, Lin Han couldn't understand why "Coffee Sauce" had gained so much popularity until he took out his phone and logged onto Weibo.

The hashtag 【Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- Rem】appeared prominently on the trending search list!

Lin Han sat up with a "snap"—very quickly.

It's worth noting that when Lin Han's novels were at their peak of popularity, they only dominated various novel forums and online communities for a few days, but they never made it onto Weibo's trending topics!

This time, they actually went ahead and did it for the first time ever!

Although she only ranked sixteenth, this already means that Rem has successfully become a hit beyond her usual circle!

It's no wonder she's Rem! She's so popular everywhere she goes!

Lin Han clicked on the trending topic, and a flood of comments came rushing in:

"I'm so sad, Rem is so kind!!"

"This novel is truly amazing! Emilia, Rem, every character is so well-developed!"

"Absolutely! Don't you even know who the author is? She wrote 'Coffee Sauce' by Kato Megumi!"

"Ahhhh, why can't such a perfect anime girl exist in real life!"

"I really love Rem! I just wish I was born in the world of anime. Hey, if I jump off this cliff now, will I be able to see Rem...?"

At the same time, as the discussion surrounding "Rem" grew, problems arising from its wider appeal also emerged.

More and more people started asking about it online.

Who is Rem?

"And who is Coffee Sauce?"

Seeing other people online acting like they're dying, the "normies" (people who are successful in real life) are very curious!

As a result, many curious people looked up information and found the novel's illustrations.

The illustrations for Re:Zero were supervised by Lin Han and are almost identical to those in the previous game.

When the people who are currently in a relationship saw the illustration, they were all puzzled.

One netizen commented:

"Well... blue hair, maid outfit, while she is indeed quite cute, it's not to the point of being crazy, is it? Besides, she's a twin, with an older sister who looks exactly like her."

"The white-haired elf on the cover is clearly much prettier than this one! Why don't they like that elf? I really don't understand today's otaku..."

As soon as this comment was posted, the netizen refreshed Weibo and saw 66 replies.