“Eh?” Kousaka Kirino blinked.
What kind of outrageous thing was that to say?
It was just a secret — that hardly warranted going as far as murder, did it?
Sure, she disliked Kyousuke, but it was nowhere near that level.
She didn’t even have the faintest trace of such a thought.
“Just kidding.”
Aragaki Ayase flashed a sweet smile and made a playful expression.
“Geez, don’t say such terrifying things.
I thought you were being serious.
You scared me to death.”
Kirino let out a relieved breath and patted her chest.
“Why not try having a heart-to-heart with your dear brother?
He might actually understand you, you know.”
“No way, not a chance.
That guy gets amazing grades — a total bookworm.
There’s no way he’d understand my hobby.”
Kirino waved her hands dismissively.
The kind of thing that the older generation would label as “frivolous distractions” was the last thing she’d expect that cheap brother of hers to understand.
That guy…
was the model child in the eyes of parents.
…..
The girls were wandering through the department store, discussing how to protect her secret, when Kirino’s phone vibrated.
“Huh?”
She pulled the phone from her bag.
The caller ID read — Kadokawa Editorial Department.
This was a number she’d saved in her contacts long ago, and only one person knew her phone number.
“Is that a call from that editor?” Ayase leaned over and caught a glimpse of the information on Kirino’s phone.
“Probably.
Nobody else has my number.”
“Are you going to answer?”
Kirino hesitated.
Memories of what she’d endured back in the editorial department sent a fresh surge of still-unresolved anger flaring up, and for a moment she genuinely didn’t want to press the answer button.
Just then, a slender finger reached over from beside her and lightly pressed the green answer key.
“Hey, Ayase, what are you doing?!”
Before Kirino could stop her, a voice had already come through from the other end.
It belonged to Iori Setsuna.
“Hello, is this Kousaka-sensei?”
Ayase blinked at Kirino and made an encouraging gesture, signaling her to respond quickly.
“Yes.
What is it, Editor Iori?
If this is about rushing my manuscript, I’m hanging up.”
Kirino’s attitude was brusque, her tone thoroughly unfriendly, and she kept her finger poised over the hang-up button.
She swore that if this woman dared say a single nasty or threatening word over the phone, she would end the call immediately.
She’d clearly told her to give her time to think.
What was she calling for now?
Was she that determined to force her to cave in immediately and bow her head?
Damn it!
“No, no, Kousaka-sensei.”
Iori’s voice came through the receiver, exceedingly gentle — practically a different person from the one in the conference room earlier.
“I wanted to discuss the matter of compensation with you.
Whatever happens, please, do not go on hiatus!”
“Eh?”
A look of bewilderment spread across Kirino’s face.
Since when had she ever said she was going on hiatus?
“Lunar Witch Transformation” was a work born of her blood and tears.
No matter what, she couldn’t let it end badly.
She owed a proper conclusion to herself just as much as to her fans.
This conversation left her momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
“Hello?
Kousaka-sensei, are you still there?”
Standing beside her, Ayase glanced at the bewildered Kirino, then took the phone from her hand and pressed the speaker button.
“Hello, Editor Iori.
I’m Kirino’s close friend, Aragaki Ayase.
Whatever compensation terms you can offer, please state them directly.”
“I was thoughtless before and caused problems for Kousaka-sensei.
I will submit a request to the editorial department to provide compensation at three times the original per-page manuscript rate.
This is the greatest concession I can make.
I ask for your understanding…”
Iori Setsuna’s near-frantic rambling spilled from the receiver, and Ayase looked over at Kirino with some surprise, only to find an expression of pure disbelief on her friend’s face.
The apology this editor was expressing — even over the phone, Ayase could tell it wasn’t genuine remorse.
It sounded far more like someone begging for mercy after having their weak point poked.
A hiatus.
That truly was the only leverage Kirino, as a manga artist, had to threaten an editor after signing a solicited manuscript contract.
But it was also a move that hurt the enemy less than it did oneself.
Knowing Kirino, there was no way she would ever do something like threaten someone with a hiatus.
Even if she brought it up face-to-face, any adult editor would probably see through it instantly — she had no real intention of going on hiatus at all.
She knew all too well just how guileless this precious friend of hers was.
Joy, anger, sorrow— they all showed on her face.
Anything she cared about was something she could never keep buried in her heart.
‘Was it that elder brother who did this?’ Ayase wondered to herself.
Over the phone, Editor Iori’s speech had grown somewhat incoherent, as if she’d been driven to the end of her rope and was now clutching at this one last straw.
“It seems this is the maximum compensation we can get.
There’s no need to push any further.”
Ayase answered on Kirino’s behalf.
“The compensation payment must be settled before the next manuscript submission.
If that can be done, Kirino will not go on hiatus.”
“A thousand thanks!”
Ayase didn’t listen any further and pressed the hang-up button.
Kirino still hadn’t shaken off her bewilderment. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Barely two hours had passed since she’d left the editorial department.
Why had the other party been the one to fold first and apologize?
This was nothing like the phone call she’d been expecting.
“Satisfied?
With the compensation that editor offered?”
“It’s passable, I suppose.
If she’s willing to apologize, I’m not a petty person.”
Kirino placed her hands on her hips, her lips set in a slight pout.
It seemed her anger had subsided.
“Still, it’s so strange.
Why did she suddenly change her attitude?”
“Maybe her conscience caught up with her, or maybe she got reprimanded by her superiors.
After all, she was the one who did something wrong, right?”
Ayase offered an angelic smile and slipped the phone back into Kirino’s bag.
“That’s right!
Lucky!
I knew being with you would turn my luck around.”
Kirino laughed without a care in the world, her enthusiasm for browsing the shops suddenly reignited.
Ayase watched Kirino flit from counter to counter throughout the department store.
Though a smile graced her face, something seemed to weigh on her mind.
‘Perhaps I should find some time to meet this elder brother and confirm whether he poses a threat…’
‘He stole my chance to stand up for Kirino, and now he knows a secret that belongs only to me and her…’
‘This man…
is dangerous!’
The one silver lining was that Kirino seemed utterly unaware of who had truly avenged her grievance.
“Ayase, what are you spacing out for?
Hurry up!”
Kirino had already gotten quite far ahead.
Seeing Ayase still rooted in place, she waved her over.
“Coming!”
…
Kousaka Kyousuke found himself lingering in front of a store counter.
Shinjuku certainly lived up to its name as one of Tokyo’s core districts.
The interior of the department store in this area was lavishly decorated — not in the least inferior to the styles he remembered from thirty years later.
In this era, electronics still fell squarely under the category of luxury goods.
Dressed in his school uniform, he stood out sharply amidst the crowd.
Without parents at his side, the general assumption was that a boy his age could not possibly possess this level of purchasing power.
So even though he’d been browsing for a while, no sales staff had approached him.
“Excuse me…
I’d like to take a look at this phone.
Could you get it out for me?”
Left with no choice, Kyousuke took the initiative and waved over a staff member behind the counter, pointing toward a flip phone priced at one hundred eighty thousand yen inside the glass case.