Chapter 408: Volume Release
Under the eager anticipation of the masses, the manga's collected volume was finally released.
The release day was Saturday. Kaede, still deep in sleep that morning, was shaken awake by Eriri.
"Kaede-kun, Kaede-kun, wake up!"
Opening his eyes, Kaede saw Eriri, who was already sitting up, shaking him.
He turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window; it looked very early. Kaede immediately pulled Eriri into his arms and closed his eyes again.
"It's still early. Let me sleep a little longer. I was very tired last night."
As he spoke, his hand slipped under Eriri's pajamas and gently stroked her back.
"Kaede-kun!"
Eriri looked at Kaede, who was holding her, and angrily raised her hand to pinch his cheek, saying, "Get up! We agreed yesterday that you'd go with me to see the volume release situation!"
"...Oh, right!"
Only then did Kaede realize he had promised Eriri last night that they would go out today to check the sales situation.
Opening his eyes again, Kaede looked at Eriri in front of him, leaned over, and rubbed his cheek against hers, saying, "But I'm so sleepy. What time is it?"
"Six-thirty."
"...I don't usually wake up this early. We don't need to be this early today, do we?"
"I couldn't sleep. As soon as I thought about the volume releasing today, I woke up early."
Eriri knew she had woken up too early; normally, getting up around the usual time would have been fine. She had already learned from the publisher that the volume's initial distribution was plentiful, so even if they went a little later, the bookstores wouldn't sell out.
However, after waking up, Eriri lay in bed for a while but couldn't fall back asleep. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, so she had no choice but to wake Kaede up too.
Looking at the still sleepy Kaede, Eriri said, "Then Kaede-kun, why don't you sleep a little longer? I'll get up and prepare breakfast first."
Shaking his head, Kaede said, "No, I'd better get up. I can't sleep comfortably alone anyway. It's much more reassuring to sleep while holding Eriri."
"Hehehe."
Watching Kaede yawn as he prepared to get up, Eriri smiled, leaned in to give him a morning kiss, and then got out of bed herself.
After washing up and eating breakfast, the two changed clothes, put on sunglasses, and headed out.
After all, they were going to check on the manga volume's release status, and the people buying it were fans and readers. Since both Kaede and Eriri were extremely familiar to these readers, going without any disguise would certainly result in them being immediately spotted.
Sitting on the train heading toward Akihabara, Eriri observed the many passengers and whispered, "Kaede-kun, how many people on this train do you think are going to buy our collected volume?"
"I can't tell that, unless I ask them one by one."
Kaede shrugged and said, "But I can guarantee that there are already quite a few people lining up in Akihabara."
Calculating the time, the bookstore should be opening now, and by the time they arrived, sales would definitely have already begun.
"That much is certain."
Saying that, Eriri took out her phone, searched for a bit, and found photos uploaded by netizens showing the queue in Akihabara.
The line was very long, similar to the endless queues she had seen before for the launch of a new game or game console.
Looking at the photos, Kaede said, "Extrapolating from this, we don't have to worry about the first day's sales."
"Hehe, but I'll feel better once I see the actual numbers."
Although she wasn't short on money, Eriri still hoped the volume would sell as much as possible. For this volume, Eriri had even re-edited all the content from the first serialization run, adding details and refining it completely.
Kaede and Eriri had both received their copies of the volume a few days ago and had posted about it on Twitter. The quality certainly lived up to Eriri's prior revisions; it was better than the serialized version, and even those who followed the serialization wouldn't regret buying it for collection.
Estimating the sales of the first volume, Eriri's mood became increasingly excited.
When the train stopped midway, Utaha, who had agreed to meet them to check the situation, also boarded. She was also wearing sunglasses, but her tall figure always drew attention the moment she stood up.
Entering the train and finding Eriri and Kaede, Utaha went over and sat down, whispering, "Are you two always this early? You made me leave half an hour early."
"I couldn't help it. Eriri woke up super early because she was excited, and she woke me up too."
Kaede smiled and said, "I didn't even see her this excited when the manga was being serialized."
"Hmph, isn't it normal for me to be excited? I've worked hard for so long," Eriri said, patting Kaede's arm. "Kaede-kun, weren't you too excited to sleep when your novel was first released?"
"Actually, no."
Kaede said without hesitation, "My routine was very stable during that period. Although I did go to the bookstore on the release day, I didn't wake up at the crack of dawn like you. I went after I had slept enough."
"Hmm~~~ Really?"
Eriri looked completely unconvinced. Could he really be that calm?
Utaha was also slightly skeptical, but considering Kaede's usual personality, it was indeed possible. She nodded and said, "I'm not as nervous now as I was in the beginning. It's released when it's released. People who want to buy it will naturally buy it, and those who want to criticize me will still criticize me, no matter how much better my new volume is than the last. As long as you have confidence in yourself, that's enough."
"Exactly, confidence is the most important thing."
Stroking Eriri's head, Kaede said, "I've seen all your hard work, Eriri, and your progress this past year is undeniable. Just wait for the sales data compilation; the sales figures will definitely shock everyone."
"Mhm, I know."
Soon, the three arrived in Akihabara. As soon as they got off, they saw that Akihabara was already very lively, even though it was still early Saturday morning.
As many people passed by them, they could hear the pedestrians discussing going to buy the nurarihyon volume, which further reassured Eriri.
Holding Eriri's hand, Kaede smiled and said, "Wasn't I right? There's no need to worry too much."
Arriving near the bookstore, they saw the queue that had been posted online earlier.
However, compared to the static photo taken earlier, the line was now moving forward at an extremely slow pace since the bookstore had opened.
Then, Eriri's phone rang. It was her editor calling.