— — — — — —
Sure enough. Just as Oikawa had expected, Kagurazaka called him.
The moment he picked up, her voice exploded through the phone.
"Oikawa-kun, genius. You're absolutely a genius!"
"I take back what I said before. I shouldn't have doubted that you could finish the second volume of Your Lie in April quickly and well."
Oikawa froze. That opening caught him completely off guard.
"But, Oikawa-kun. Tell me honestly. From the moment you started writing Your Lie in April, were you aiming for a tragedy?"
"I just read the document you submitted. A lot of the modifiers you used clearly weren't mistakes. You were subtly hinting to readers that Your Lie in April was always meant to be tragic."
"… am I right?"
Oikawa went blank.
Since when did those "wrong" modifiers mean sadness?
He wanted to deny it, but Kagurazaka didn't give him the chance. She kept going.
"Oikawa-kun, I do think making Your Lie in April a tragedy elevates it to another level."
"But… have you considered the market?"
"If readers find out Your Lie in April is a tragedy, they'll definitely blow up. After all, the first volume was marketed as a healing story!"
"And Dengeki Bunko definitely won't do false advertising for you. At most they'll drop the tagline, cut back promotion, or even not promote it at all."
"Can you accept that?"
Oikawa thought it over.
The ending definitely wasn't changing.
But if there was no promotion, the sales of the second volume would absolutely take a hit.
Still, he understood Dengeki Bunko's position.
They couldn't destroy years of credibility over a single book.
If the second volume were still promoted as "healing," readers would buy it and discover it was depression fuel. At that point, the publisher would be cursed to death.
But if they marketed it as a tragedy…
Honestly, that was even worse than no promotion.
The backlash among fans would be huge. Most readers who originally planned to buy it might lose interest entirely.
"Alright. Then don't promote it."
He made the decision quickly. At worst, he'd just earn a bit less.
On the other end, Kagurazaka fell silent for a moment.
Then she said slowly, "Oikawa-kun… I respect your choice."
"No matter how things turn out, I want you to know this: being your editor is an honor."
Oikawa felt a little lightheaded hearing that.
Looks like Kagurazaka was the first reader conquered by Your Lie in April. And he was certain she wouldn't be the last.
He smiled and replied, "Editor Kagurazaka, thank you for the recognition. Having a responsible editor like you is my honor too."
Mutual flattery?
Please. He could do that as well as anyone.
Kagurazaka, clearly pleased, continued, "Oikawa-kun, I'll try to apply to the chief editor to raise your contract for the second volume to a 10% royalty."
"No matter how you look at it, you deserve first-rate author treatment."
After hanging up, Oikawa started thinking about what to do next.
Maybe he should apply for a Twitter account.
Dengeki Bunko couldn't promote the book because of credibility concerns. But he personally didn't have that restriction.
Besides, with a Twitter account he could interact with readers from time to time. He couldn't rely entirely on the publisher.
And Oikawa felt this was a solid direction for the future.
Even top-tier authors only got 20–30% royalties at most. But if he built his own reputation and self-published, even after expenses he could keep over 70%.
His eyes lit up.
He immediately opened Twitter and created a new account, naming it: {Copycat Transmigrator}
"Name already taken?"
Oikawa's face darkened. He changed one "o" to "ó."
This time it worked.
After creating the account, he quickly posted his first tweet: [Hello everyone, I'm 'Copy—]
After thinking it over, Oikawa decided to use his real name. He had already realized that many people knew it anyway, whether through the LINE author group or through word spreading locally. There was no real point in hiding it anymore.
Of course, just "Oikawa". Not his full name, and certainly not anything beyond that.
["Hello everyone, I'm 'Oikawa,' the author of Your Lie in April. I'm happy to share updates about Your Lie in April with you here on Twitter."]
["Also, I have good news. I've already completed the second volume and submitted the draft to my editor."]
["I believe it won't be long before the second volume of Your Lie in April meets everyone!"]
["Please continue supporting Your Lie in April!"]
After typing that, Oikawa added a screenshot of the second volume's manuscript.
Once everything was done, he tossed his phone aside, sat down at his computer, and opened Red Dead Redemption 2.
...
..
The night grew late.
Kentaro Koto, as usual, scrolled through Twitter before bed, mostly hunting for random "benefits girls."
Photo after photo slid past, and he practically drooled.
Then an intrusive friend recommendation suddenly popped up in the middle of his screen. Kentaro instantly cursed, "I'm enjoying my spicy pics here. What's wrong with your algorithm?!"
He was about to casually tap "not interested."
But then—
The name on the recommendation caught his eye.
"Copycat Transmigrator?"
"Fake, right?"
Kentaro glanced at the follower count. 6969.
Something felt off.
He tapped in. And there was only one tweet, and two lines stood out immediately.
"I also have some good news. I've already completed the second volume of Your Lie in April and submitted the draft to my editor."
"I believe it won't be long before the second volume of Your Lie in April meets everyone!"
"..."
"…wtf?"
"The second volume's already finished?"
It didn't feel real. But the screenshot attached to the tweet made it hard to tell whether it was fake or not.
After thinking for a moment, he took a screenshot, opened LINE, and posted it in the group chat.
Then he tagged "Copycat Transmigrator" and asked, "Is this your Twitter account?"
But messages in the group were flying by so fast, his post barely made a ripple.
He looked closer.
Only then did he realize everyone was already discussing Oikawa's Twitter account and the second volume of Your Lie in April.
"Holy crap, this is looking more and more legit. Dengeki Bunko's official Twitter already followed him."
"Dengeki Bunko's official account retweeted it. That's definitely Oikawa-sensei."
"My god, does that mean we're getting the second volume soon? Is this guy writing at light speed or what?"
"The Your Lie in April sequel I've been waiting for! Oikawa-sensei, you're amazing. I can finally find out whether Kousei overcame his psychological barrier and why Kaori didn't show up for the competition!!!"
"Anyone know when it'll release?"
"Winter break? If they hurry, maybe even autumn break. Dengeki Bunko really struck gold. Oikawa-sensei is basically a money tree."
"Newcomer King of the Year? Probably Oikawa-sensei."
"Absolutely cracked."
It wasn't just the fan group. The "Dengeki Bunko 12th Batch Authors" chat had exploded too.
"Oikawa-kun, you seriously finished the second volume already?!"
"Oikawa, you're dead to me. I still haven't finished revising my manuscript. My editor just called and said Oikawa-sensei's second light novel is about to release. If I still can't finish mine, I should stop hogging the toilet."
"Who understands the pain of a flop? I'm trash. I should just commit seppuku."
"Oikawa-kun, stop grinding! I don't even need that meal you promised anymore. Please, stop!"
That night, everyone in the authors' group felt the gap in the world.
How could the difference between people be bigger than the difference between a person and a dog?
---
The next day — Dengeki Bunko, Editor-in-Chief's Office
Kazuma Miki read through the second volume of Your Lie in April on his computer while listening to Kagurazaka's explanation.
"Chief, even though the second volume ends in a bad ending, I believe readers will still accept it after reading the full story. You can see how outstanding this book is."
"I think a writer like Oikawa deserves special treatment. For example, making an exception and signing him with first-tier author terms."
Just as she had promised, Kagurazaka was trying to secure a higher royalty for Oikawa.
But Miki said nothing for a long time.
He kept frowning at the screen, as if something was deeply troubling him.
"Can it be changed?"
"Have Oikawa change the ending of the second volume. Turn Your Lie in April into a healing story."
The editor-in-chief looked at Kagurazaka.
"…Probably not. Judging from Oikawa's attitude yesterday, he was very firm. It didn't seem like he'd compromise on something like this."
Miki fell silent again.
Sometimes he really didn't understand what went on in writers' heads.
Your Lie in April…
If they just tweaked Kaori Miyazono's ending a little, turning it from depressing to uplifting, the series could easily sell over a million copies.
But with things like this, breaking 300,000 would already be difficult.
Wouldn't it be better to just make money honestly? Why insist on pulling something like this?
"If it can't be changed, then sign him at an 8% royalty."
"But... but even the first volume of Your Lie in April will hit 500,000 sales, that's basically guaranteed. I still think we should give him first-tier treatment."
Kagurazaka kept trying to argue for Oikawa.
"The publisher won't give special treatment to a writer with problematic thinking. Besides, he hasn't even reached 200,000 yet."
"By the rules, debut authors from the Grand Prize get 8% royalties."
Miki clearly didn't have much faith in the second volume's sales.
In his view, even the first volume's performance might be dragged down by the second.
A writer who couldn't create profit for the publisher didn't deserve special treatment.
"But the second volume is still excellent," Kagurazaka insisted. "Maybe readers won't mind the shift from healing to tragic?"
Even as she said it, she lacked confidence. Still, she wanted to put in a few more good words for Oikawa. A genius writer deserved recognition from the publisher.
She didn't think Your Lie in April was just a one-hit wonder.
Kagurazaka firmly believed Oikawa Toru would write something even better in the future.
"There's no maybe."
"If he won't change the ending, we follow the rules. I already made an exception once. There won't be a second. I've seen plenty of genius writers. One more doesn't matter."
Miki's gaze was cold.
Truthfully, there was some personal emotion mixed in.
From his perspective, he was the editor-in-chief of Dengeki Bunko. He'd already lowered himself and called several times, trying to persuade him.
Yet Oikawa still refused, stubbornly sticking to his own ideas and not giving him any face.
In that case, there was no need to hold back anymore.
Kagurazaka said nothing more and left the editor-in-chief's office.
After returning to her seat, she felt troubled, unsure how to explain things to Oikawa.
An 8% royalty really was a bit insulting.
Soon enough, Oikawa learned from Kagurazaka that Dengeki Bunko was only willing to offer him 8%.
To be honest, he didn't feel particularly wronged.
Not trusting him was normal.
After all, the first volume of Your Lie in April was marketed as healing, while the second turned into a tragedy.
But when he heard that Miki had said he'd get 10% if he revised the story, and only 8% if he didn't…
That rubbed him the wrong way.
Distrust was fine.
But the condescending tone, the attitude that money alone could make him compromise, left Oikawa uncomfortable.
If that was the case… then he wanted that 10% royalty. No, not just 10%.
That same day, Oikawa sent Kagurazaka a message.
"I want to sign a bet agreement with Dengeki Bunko."
"If the second volume of Your Lie in April doesn't exceed one million copies, I'll take only 6% royalties. But if it surpasses one million copies, I want 25%."
If they were going to play, he might as well go all in.
It wasn't about the money. It was about pride. Oikawa didn't care about losing 2% either way.
And what if the second volume actually exceeded one million?
That would mean triple the return.
Oikawa trusted himself, and he trusted Your Lie in April.
That same evening, Kagurazaka sent him a reply. Editor-in-chief Miki agreed to the bet, but with a one-year time limit.
In other words—
The second volume of Your Lie in April had to reach one million copies within a year for Oikawa to receive the 25% royalty.
Oikawa had no reason to refuse.
Even in the worst case…
What if the second volume really didn't reach one million within a year?
As long as he could accept it himself, that was enough.
.
.
.