As the storm containing Edgerunners' final chapter swept across America, the countdown to the Federation's first standalone volume release and autograph session ticked down to zero.
"Aoyama-sensei, are you ready?"
Ayumi explicitly made it the point to arrive at Aoyama's flat early this morning.
She wanted to prevent any spontaneous gaps or "accidents" from repeating.
"All good!"
Aoyama stepped out of his bedroom having swapped into his gear, raising a thumbs-up.
Today he wore a strictly artistic setup: a layered knit sweater over a crisp white collared shirt, paired with straight-cut, relaxed black trousers and white canvas sneakers.
Combined with his slightly tousled, layered haircut, he genuinely looked the part of a romance manga protagonist!
This was a specialized "Signing Session Edition" outfit, modeled after ahead-of-time fashion trends from his previous life.
There was zero risk of it failing to impress!
It was Ayumi's first timeframe seeing Aoyama looking so polished and well-assembled, causing her cheeks to flush slightly.
Just then, Akane arrived as well.
Reading Aoyama's outfit, her eyes immediately lit up.
Indeed... Aoyama always carried a handsome baseline.
And with a bit of deliberate tailoring, the metric shot upwards significantly.
"How is it, Akane? Does this setup work?" Aoyama immediately asked with a grin.
"You look... incredibly good!" Akane praised him warmly.
"I was worried your choice of fit might be... but it seems your eye for style is exceptional."
'Naturally, this approach is forward-thinking by almost a decade.'
'That is the confidence of Hayashi Aoyama as a transmigrator!'
"Alright, let's get moving! We shouldn't keep my beloved fans waiting!"
After confirming all supplies sat ready, Aoyama was ready to launch toward the session venue.
"Got it!" Akane and Ayumi chorused without objection.
"Pochita, you have to stay behind and guard the flat today. Be a good boy, okay?" Aoyama gave the dog a gentle pat on the head.
"Woof, woof..."
Pochita, being an exceptionally intelligent dog, understood the instruction fully, offering two quiet barks of response instead of causing a fit.
Aoyama nodded with satisfaction.
Dogs were superior for that exact reason,unlike cats that held high and mighty attitudes and refused commands.
In his previous life, the kitten he raised, "Greenwater," was incredibly willful.
It either ran off to places unknown, or demanded to tag along every single time he stepped out of the door.
If you refused, you could expect your trousers to be ripped to shreds by its claws.
Still, Greenwater was smart enough to recognize its owner, never crossing extreme thresholds.
But compared to Pochita, it satisfied a lower tier.
The only metric where it won... was if it could mutate into a catgirl...
'Hehe... hehe...'
---
"Let's take a taxi; I'll hail one right now," Ayumi volunteered as they stepped onto the street for departure.
It was a special occasion, and taking a cab would speed up their arrival metrics.
However, Aoyama checked the time displayed on his smartphone, smiling.
"We still have time if we take the subway. No need to rush that fast..."
"Well... alright."
Akane and Ayumi found the logic sound.
Regular commuters of the subway system themselves, they didn't raise any refusal.
---
During non-peak weekend hours, the Metropolis subway didn't feel crowded at all.
When riding without dense packing, the speed easily outperformed regular cab travel.
Once seated, Aoyama began chatting comfortably with Akane and Ayumi.
"This is Aoyama-sensei's first timeframe appearing in front of the public. Are you feeling anxious?" Ayumi asked, feeling a bit of anxiety herself.
"Zero reason to be anxious. Though I do estimate several fans will probably yell at me." Aoyama blinked innocently.
"You still have the nerve to say that?" Akane rolled her eyes.
"Drawing an ending with that much pain... generally, mangaka making those choices are hated by readers."
She was one of them.
After reading the final chapter of Edgerunners, it had taken her a long time to recover her mental intervals.
Specifically during Lucy's final trip to the Moon, when David's silhouette appeared in the sun, she couldn't suppress her emotions.
Women generally leaned into the emotional spectrum, and seeing that scene, Akane had broken into tears that left her sobbing for hours.
She even recalled Aoyama's earlier promise: "Lucy definitely won't die."
In absolute framing, that promise was true,Lucy didn't die.
But watching that ending, any reader could see that surviving felt more painful than death.
That fact placed Akane in a silent anger with Aoyama for several consecutive days.
"There was zero alternative. Can you really blame me for that?" Aoyama replied, looking helpless.
He was just a copy-machine that replicated art.
The tragic ending wasn't his creation at all.
He was just an emotionless printer.
"If we don't blame you, who do we blame?" Akane said with a huff.
"Blame that guy named Hiroyuki Imaishi then," Aoyama muttered.
"He's the one who engineered this entire thing!"
But Akane and Ayumi didn't take that comment seriously.
They both knew Aoyama's mental state wasn't always coherent.
Presumably, to avoid responsibility, he just invented another fictional figure to take the fall.
---
"The standalone volume print is expected to launch with an initial set of one million copies," Ayumi added with a slight trace of regret.
"But it's a medium-length manga, so the total set only spans across six volumes..."
"Otherwise, the revenue multipliers would be even higher."
Since tankōbon revenue sat divided between the author and the publisher, more volumes naturally yielded heavier payouts.
And consequently, more points for Aoyama.
But Edgerunners was restricted by its pacing, holding only six volumes.
Technically, squeezing the 38 chapters into four volumes was doable, targeting roughly 10 chapters per volume.
But Manga World, looking to maximize profits, selected a 6-volume rollout.
Naturally, the pages would include Edgerunners lore data, character stats dashboards, and cybermod data files, filling up space while maintaining standard pricing metrics.
"That is adequate surplus," Aoyama smiled.
Having inherited the estate left by his biological parents, along with a stipend provided by his uncle, his current balance sheet sat extremely healthy.
In fact, he was currently inspecting listings to rent a larger flat closer to the downtown core area.
Speaking with Uncle Dong regarding this listing previously, it turned out Uncle Dong owned a building downtown with two vacant, premium flats.
After closing details with Uncle Dong, Aoyama was scheduled to execute another move next week.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]