Tokyo Soft Rice King

So what is the result?

After taking the envelope from Shizumiya, Hei Yuming became a little nervous.

How long has it been since I felt this kind of tension?

It seems like the last time I felt nervous was when I was looking for a job after graduating from college and waiting for the interview results...

This feeling of leaving your fate in the hands of others...

It turns out that no matter how many times I go through it, I can never get used to it.

Hei Yuming took a deep breath, opened the envelope and read the short letter.

It did not indicate whether the submission was approved. It only said that an editor named Mori Keima hoped to invite him out for dinner, left his contact information, and said that the restaurant and dinner time could be chosen according to Kuroba Ming's arrangements and preferences.

This alone was enough to make Kuroba Akira smile.

Being invited out for dinner by the editor means you are halfway to success.

Seeing Kuroba Akira's smile, Shizumiya also smiled with empathy and said with his hands behind his back.

"Looks like good news?"

"Well, that's good news. I can have another meal."

……

The next evening, Kuroba Akira took the train to his restaurant.

He contacted Mori Keima and told him that he could arrange the dining location, but the time should preferably be after five o'clock because he had to go to school during the day.

Mori Keima didn't expect that Kuroba Akira was actually a high school student. He originally thought that the author who could write such a masterpiece as "Sister Yu" would be a middle-aged man in his thirties like himself.

In fact, he was not wrong in his guess. Kuroba Akira was a high school boy with the heart of an uncle.

The place for dinner was a long-established tonkatsu restaurant in Meguro Ward, Tokyo. After hearing that Kuroba Akira was a student, Mori Keima specially chose food that students would like to eat.

If the author is older, he will choose to meet him at an izakaya and have a couple of cold beers, which will help both parties communicate.

After entering the store, Hei Yuming was led to the reserved seat by the waiter, and finally met the editor-in-chief with whom he would have frequent dealings in the future.

Mori Keima was wearing a casual suit and had medium-length hair. He was a thin middle-aged man with an unshaved chin. He looked more like an artist or an actor than an editor.

When he saw Hei Yuming, he stood up and extended his hand to him enthusiastically.

"Oh! You're here! Although we've already exchanged names on the phone, please allow me to introduce myself to you again. My name is Mori Keima, and I'm the deputy editor-in-chief of Hurricane Bunko. This is my business card."

"Hello, hello, my name is Kuroba Akira... Sorry, I don't have a business card."

"It's okay, sit down first."

Hei Yuming took his business card and sat down at his gesture.

Originally, Mori Keima wanted to let Kuroba Akira place the order, but Kuroba Akira spoke as soon as he sat down.

"Then let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point. What does Editor Mori think of my work? Is it worthy of publication?"

Hei Yuming didn't waste any time and asked the most crucial question directly.

Mori Keima was stunned for a moment and swallowed all the words he had just prepared.

Are you so anxious... But judging from his expression, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry...

Is this a sign of confidence, or is he testing the editor's quality?

If you really can't even appreciate works of this level, then you are not worthy of being an editor.

Mori Keima was not offended by Kuroba Akira's unconventional approach. Instead, he felt that he had a strong personality, which is a characteristic that all young talented authors possess.

So he didn't waste any time and announced the results first.

"Yes, then. Let me tell you my conclusion first. In my opinion, your work has reached a publishable level."

Become!

Hei Yuming was overjoyed.

But he didn't show it.

In order to deal with the editor, he had specially copied Zi Zhigong's talent, S-level soul performance, before coming here to keep a poker face.

"However, as your editor-in-chief, I have a few questions for you... This may also be related to the future publishing arrangements. Could you please clarify this for me?"

"No problem, but you don't need to use honorifics with me. Editor Mori is older than me, right? You don't have to be so polite."

"Well, how about I call you Kuroba-kun?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Actually, what I want to ask most is, how long did it take you, Kuroba-kun, to create this work?"

"About a week."

"A week?! You mean the time it took to create the main text?"

So fast!

This is too fast!

Writing a chapter a week is considered fast, how could he actually finish a whole book in a week!

"No, I mean, the time it took to conceive the novel, create the outline, write the main text, and then format it all added up to about a week."

"what?!"

Mori Keima was so excited that he stood up and slammed the table. After realizing that this would affect other guests, he forced himself to suppress his excitement and sat down again, then asked in disbelief.

"Kuroba-kun, you're not lying to me, are you? You really created this work from scratch and it only took you a week!?"

Won the jackpot!

This is more than just a supernova, it's a small universe!

"Yeah… uh, was it too fast?"

"You're more than just fast! You're simply the Flash! I've been an editor for all my life and I've never seen an author as fast as you!"

Fast is not a good word for a man...but Hei Yuming also felt that he was indeed incredibly fast this time.

However, in order to prevent Mori Keima from thinking that he could be so fast every time, Kuroba Akira still gave an explanation.

"But don't get me wrong. I didn't write the novel after school. I also wrote during class. You could say that this whole week, except for eating and sleeping, I spent all my time working on this novel. That's why I was able to achieve this speed... Plus this burst of inspiration, I was able to work beyond my normal level, which is why I was able to finish this volume in a week. I probably won't be able to do this speed again in the future."

"That's fast! I mean... too fast! Kuroba-kun, don't you have any creative bottlenecks?"

"Of course there are. For example, after writing the prologue, I was worried about how to develop the story... But, how should I put it, as long as I think of an idea that can be used to develop the plot, the subsequent development will naturally come to my mind."

"I see... It seems like you read a lot of light novels, Kuroba-kun."

"Yes, a lot."

That's not surprising, as this young man didn't make a living by his talent, but entered the creative field after accumulating solid reading experience.

However, even if he reads a lot, it does not mean that he can write good works. How did he develop his control over the content of light novels?

Mori Keima became more and more curious about the young man in front of him.

"Is this your first work, Kuroba-kun? Have you submitted it to other publishers before?"

"This is my first book, and I didn't submit it to other publishers. I felt that other publishers might not accept a newbie like me with zero experience, so I decided to go with Hurricane Bunko from the beginning."

"I see... You're impressed by our company's emphasis on new talent, right?"

"Yes."

He even considered the choice of publishing house. It turned out that he was aiming for publication from the very beginning.

"Okay, then I only have one question left... Kuroba-kun, what do you think is the most important thing for an author?"

Chapter 116: The Victory Is Decided

This is actually the question that Mori Keima personally wants to ask.

Kuroba Akira's writing speed has made him certain that this is the author he must capture no matter what the cost.

As to whether there is any exaggeration in his words, it can be confirmed by looking at the speed of subsequent manuscript production.

Even if he can't publish one volume a week, even writing one volume in a month is considered super fast. On the contrary, the publishing house will not be able to keep up with his manuscript production speed.

He was just a little curious as to why such a young yet unusually sophisticated Kuroba Akira started writing light novels.

We can draw a conclusion from Kuroba Akira's next answer.

“It’s sales.”

Mori Keima's eyes lit up instantly and he continued to ask.

"Oh? Why do you think so, Kuroba-kun?"

"That's the basics, right? How can I write a novel if I can't even afford to eat?"

“…! Haha… That’s right! It’s basic! This is the basic!”

Mori Keima raised the corner of his mouth. He had asked many authors the same question so far, but the answers he got made him feel a little regretful, because they all revolved around the "inspiration", "character", "setting" and other "standard answers" related to creation.

Because those authors have never been able to get rid of the halo of "author", they regard creation as a sacred thing and have never considered such a "mundane" issue as livelihood.

However, in the modern literary world, sales are the first priority, followed by the author’s personal self-expression.

No matter how well a work is written, if it cannot be sold, the author will not be able to make a living.

Mori Keima believes that it is the responsibility and obligation of an editor to ensure that authors can make a living by writing.

There is nothing shameful about this. Well-known painters also promoted their works everywhere before they became famous, and they wanted to sell all their works together.

If you can’t sell it, you won’t have food to eat!

The value of a work is given by people!

Time will wash away mediocre works and leave behind those that stand the test of time.

Even if a work becomes mediocre, as long as it can bring temporary wealth to the author, it is valuable.

Because in this way, the author can proudly say: I earned enough money to support myself through my own works!

I don’t need to make a living through other means, being an author is my only profession!

Mori Keima felt that finally there had appeared an author who could recognize reality and be in sync with his own thoughts, but Kuroba Akira's next words shocked him even more.

"Hmm...but just talking about sales seems a bit vague. Let's put it another way. The most important thing should be 'increasing sales', and the means to increase sales is manga adaptation and animation."

"The value of light novels lies in IP development, from novels to comics and animation, and then radiating to physical peripherals. If it can be adapted into games, it will be even more amazing. This forms a top-down industrial chain, and finally feeds back to the original novel, so that this IP can be widely recognized."

"In this way, even a mediocre work, with the added bonus of super-high popularity, can be crowned with the glorious title of 'masterpiece'. For the author, isn't this the greatest success?"

In fact, the correct name should be "Wall of Masterpieces".

Although the plot, connotation and setting are all commonplace, the animation adapted from a certain light novel became a hot seller just because it is a harem mecha war film that sells erotic content, and it once became a yardstick for judging market popularity.

Mori Keima covered his eyes, and a sound of joy escaped from the corners of his mouth, which could no longer be suppressed.

"Haha... Kuroba-kun, I really... really like you so much."

Only someone with extensive experience can offer such a sophisticated and insightful view of the industry...

He really knows a lot. It's not that he knows a lot about creation, but that he knows a lot about what light novels are.

In front of him, readers are like being naked!

Completely controlled!

"I'm glad you're satisfied. It looks like we can continue our cooperation for a long time. This is just one of my ideas. I can come up with many more interesting works, right?"

"Based on your answer just now, I can confirm that what you said is completely trustworthy."

"Well, after all, I don't consider myself an author. I'm just a businessman selling interesting content. So, I do have some experience in how to sell products."

"Good! What a businessman!"

This consistency in values ​​is like a telepathy between the two New Types.