All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Chapter 113: Dating the Passerby Heroine

Sunday.

9 AM.

The first day's sales data of 'Saekano' was publicly released online after careful examination by multiple parties.

The news began to spread rapidly.

Twitter was flooded with trending keywords.

Among them, one keyword stood out and far surpassed all others.

[The girl who makes millions fall for her, who is Megumi? What makes her so attractive?]

This was an article analyzing the elements that led to the success of Saekano.

The article mentioned market trends over the past few years, the dissatisfaction of readers with the fantasy battle genre.

And the character of the heroine, Megumi, and why she has such immense appeal.

The number of comments exceeded 100,000.

But hardly anyone cared about the article.

Everyone just focused on shouting:

"Megumi is my wife! Draw your swords, rivals!"

"First there were saints, now there's Megumi, she's as beautiful as a fairy in a painting!"

"White dress, long gown, the wind blowing her hat, I will love Megumi forever!"

"For Megumi, Shinzo wo Sasageyo!"

"Fateful encounter, a talisman of good fortune, Megumi is the best!"

"Throughout Heaven and Earth, Megumi Alone The Best Waifu!"

People didn't care about the article's analysis.

They just wanted to shout about how amazing Megumi is.

In the midst of the online frenzy.

The major publishers finally felt immense pressure.

A consensus began to form in everyone's mind.

That is, the market trend would definitely change.

Although the fantasy battle genre wouldn't disappear, it would become a secondary genre.

From now on.

The youth genre would sweep the entire light novel industry.

The second half of the year's plans for publishers would have to be canceled or revised.

Among them, the most worried was the Fujikawa publishing house.

...

At this moment, at the Fujikawa publishing office.

Even though the night before they had worked through the night, the lights had been on all night long.

By early morning, the office was still noisy and bustling.

The editor-in-chief of Fujikawa Publishing, who usually sat in his private office, was now pacing through the common workspace.

The market trend had been set.

Within the next month, if any publisher couldn't release a high-quality youth genre work.

They could almost declare bankruptcy immediately.

But the problem was.

Right now, Fujikawa Publishing didn't have any drafts ready for the youth genre.

Most of the youth genre works.

Had already been rejected by Fujikawa Publishing before.

A few excellent light novel works.

Had also been postponed to be released next year.

The authors of those postponed works, of course, wouldn't sign contracts now.

Meanwhile, Fujikawa's editors were calling each of those authors.

But most of them either got a busy signal or were outright rejected.

As authors, who doesn't pour all their heart into their works?

And who wouldn't feel more sensitive when they've been ignored for so long?

Previously, Fujikawa Publishing clearly looked down upon the youth genre.

Added to that their arrogant attitude, looking down on others.

The authors they had rejected, now returning on their own, would surely have something wrong with their heads.

Not to mention, right now other major publishers were fighting over youth genre works.

In such a situation, who would still want to come to Fujikawa?

The entire morning passed, and Fujikawa Publishing had made no progress at all.

When hearing the report from their subordinates.

The editor-in-chief of Fujikawa Publishing nearly went crazy, jumping up.

"Don't we have a bestselling youth love novel?"

"Contact that author, increase the benefits, demand the new volume by the end of this month!"

The editor-in-chief of Fujikawa Publishing shouted at his subordinates.

However, all he received was complete silence.

Finally, a newly hired editor spoke softly:

"The author of The Metronome in Love paid a breach of contract fee a few days ago and reclaimed the exclusive publishing rights."

"Perhaps the next volume of Kasumi-sensei's novel... won't be collaborating with us anymore."

Upon hearing this, the editor-in-chief almost went crazy and jumped up.

He immediately wanted to place the blame on the editor responsible for Kasumigaoka Utaha.

But then, he remembered.

The only editor in charge of the youth genre.

Had recently left the publishing house.

Since that person had resigned, the editor-in-chief had no one left to blame.

As he racked his brain for a solution.

The boss of Fujikawa Publishing burst into the office.

The boss, who had always been friendly and often patted him on the back with a smile, now rushed in and began yelling at him.

"What kind of decision is this? How could you let a light novel that should've been the new king of Fujikawa slip away from us?"

The editor-in-chief stood frozen in place.

Wasn't this decision made based on the boss's own wishes at the time?

As he tried to argue back.

"I don't care what excuse you give," the boss of Fujikawa pointed his finger at him. "Even if you have to kneel, you're going to go and invite... invite that sensei back for me!"

Hearing that the boss couldn't even remember the name of the currently famous author.

The editor-in-chief finally understood.

The years of focusing solely on profit and ignoring feelings had now come back like a boomerang.

The bullets that had ruined every author who had collaborated with Fujikawa.

After years, they had finally struck him square in the forehead.

The editor-in-chief had no choice but to bow deeply to the angry boss.

Then, he took out his phone, holding onto a faint glimmer of hope, and called Machida Sonoko.

Unfortunately, Machida Sonoko's phone was busy at the moment.

Because now, she was the editor-in-chief at Laplace Bunko and didn't have time to listen to that greedy man anymore.

....

While Machida Sonoko was extremely busy.

On the other side.

At the Yukima residence.

Kasumigaoka Utaha pushed Yukima Azuma down onto the sofa, her expression not very friendly, shaking the light novel in her hand.

The current position of the two was indeed a little awkward.

However, since this wasn't the first time, neither of them paid much attention.

It was likely that, someday in the future, when their feelings reached a naturally intimate level.

Kasumigaoka Utaha would also want to try being on top when they took the final step.

"You're quite impressive, Lonely-kun. Your light novel surpassed the total sales of my career on the very first day of release."

As a bestselling light novel author, the cumulative sales of The Metronome in Love were nearing the coveted 2 million mark.

In the industry, Kasumigaoka Utaha had been one of the few standing at the top.

But she still couldn't compare to Yukima Azuma.

This guy, upon debut, was already at the top, with his debut work crushing the entire industry.

The first day of release sold out, and they immediately went for a second printing.

Such a scene had never been seen before.

Not to mention, the first printing was a staggering number—one million copies.

Selling out on the first day, and being reprinted immediately after publication.

This was no longer just a bestseller.

This was a king crowned in the light novel industry, someone who could change the direction of the entire market with a flick of a finger.

So, what had this "king" written?

"Do you like 'Megumi' that much? I don't see any literary style in it. What I see are just your 600 pages of love confessions."

Kasumigaoka Utaha lowered her body, her nose almost touching Yukima Azuma's.

Her red eyes were now full of fighting spirit.

"Utaha-senpai, let me explain..."

Yukima Azuma parted his lips, trying to defend himself.

But Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately bent down, silencing him.

Thirty long seconds passed.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was about to sit up.

But was immediately pulled down by Yukima Azuma, her body tilting.

The positions of the two immediately reversed.

The battle continued.

When they separated again, Kasumigaoka Utaha's gaze had turned as red as blood.

Unlike the dreamy look after their previous encounters, now her eyes were full of fierce determination and an unyielding fire burning brightly.

"Intentionally choosing a light novel to surpass me, Lonely-kun, you're trying to provoke me, right?"

"This challenge, I accept. For my next work, I'll write something even more exceptional than this."

"I'll show Lonely-kun who the real heroine is!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's jealousy as a former girlfriend, combined with the dissatisfaction of a light novel writer, was now intertwined in her heart.

She didn't want to make things too difficult for Yukima Azuma.

Instead, she decided to use the same method to completely defeat him.

If the character "Utaha" in her writing could be even more alluring than Yukima Azuma's "Megumi," then that would be the best revenge.

Kasumigaoka Utaha wanted to make those "fox" feel ashamed and ensure that in Yukima Azuma's eyes, she would be the only one left.

With Saekano in hand, Kasumigaoka Utaha stood up from the sofa and walked toward her room.

As Kasumigaoka Utaha ascended the stairs, Yukima Azuma took a quiet breath.

What an incredible scent.

Like a freshly bloomed lotus flower, the fragrance filled the space, overwhelming with its allure.

It had to be said, Utaha-senpai truly lived up to her name.

Yukima Azuma had thought that after the release of this light novel, he would probably get scolded badly.

He remained on the sofa for a while.

Then, he sat up.

Yukima Azuma walked to the bathroom.

In front of the mirror, he adjusted his collar, carefully smoothing the folds, and for once, tidied up his messy hair.

Turning around in the mirror, he made sure everything was perfect.

Finally, Yukima Azuma left the apartment.

The food in the fridge was nearly depleted.

Kato Megumi had mentioned that she had to go to the supermarket soon since her sister was home.

So, the two of them had planned to meet this morning at the Hachiko statue, the loyal dog.

They would go shopping for ingredients and take a stroll afterward.

As Yukima Azuma stepped off the train, he immediately saw her waiting by the Hachiko statue.

"Megumi, have you been waiting long? Sorry about that!"

"Umu, I've been waiting for quite a while!"

The two exchanged jokes, and after the words, they both shared a smile.

"I almost thought I'd see a pigeon sitting on Megumi's head."

"Even if I waited a long time, no little animals would sit on my head."

"Why do I feel a little down now?"

"It's just your imagination, Azuma-san. Let's take a walk over there first."

Following the direction of her finger, Yukima Azuma looked over.

It was a clothing and hat store.

"That works, let's make the supermarket the last stop, or it'll be inconvenient to walk around with a bunch of groceries."

Yukima Azuma nodded in agreement.

So, the two of them entered the store.

Today, Kato Megumi wasn't wearing her usual white beret.

Yukima Azuma guessed it was probably being washed.

Anyway, since the summer break, Kato Megumi had worn that cute beret every time they went out.

She was dressed simply in sporty style.

A short-sleeved T-shirt on top, jeans below.

This was the first time Yukima Azuma had seen Kato Megumi dressed like this.

But just like with her light dress and beret,

No matter what she wore, everything on Kato Megumi suited her perfectly.

Wait, this style, this was the first time he had seen Megumi wear it.

Yukima Azuma absentmindedly raised his hand to his forehead and lightly tapped it.

He forgot to compliment her after seeing this.

....

Inside the clothing store,

Megumi had carefully selected from the hats on display.

Finally, her gaze stopped on a beige baseball cap.

She took the cap down, then looked toward Yukima Azuma.

Afterward, Kato Megumi turned around, lightly bowed her head, put the cap on, and adjusted it a little.

Yukima Azuma took two steps back, carefully observing and nodding seriously.

"Does this suit me?"

Kato Megumi didn't look at the full-length mirror across from her but instead turned to ask Yukima Azuma.

Compared to the mirror, his opinion was always what she looked forward to more.