Chapter 63: The Laziness of Working Professionals
In the morning, Machida Sonoko was busy following up on Yuta's new work right after waking up. She immediately called him.
"Segawa, what's going on with your new book?"
Yuta, unsure of what Sonoko was referring to, replied with confusion, "What do you mean, what's going on?"
"Tell me in detail how many drafts you currently have for your new book," she said, glancing at the interface displaying his novel. The word count was already on par with what other authors would typically produce for an entire volume.
Compared to the other "lazy" authors under her supervision, Yuta's efficiency was astonishing!
Thanks to this high level of productivity, Sonoko had even higher expectations for Yuta.
Although only the prologue of Yuta's novel had been released so far, it was packed with highlights, and the character setting was exceptionally well done. Combined with over twenty exquisite illustrations, it was a surefire magnet for attracting fans!
With the promotional push leveraging the fact that this was the new book from the author of "KonoSuba," and given the preferential treatment for resources, this book was well-positioned to become a hit!
This kind of school-themed novel was exactly the type Sonoko excelled at. She had become Yuta's editor mainly because she was the one who initially received him, so it was natural to assign him to her team.
Currently, one of her subordinates was writing a romance novel, specifically Utako Kasumi, who previously authored "The Metronome in Love."
From the prologue alone, Sonoko realized that Yuta not only excelled at writing humorous adventure novels set in another world but was also skilled in crafting stories about youth and school life!
This was an all-around talented author, one that the entire library had high hopes for!
When Yuta heard Sonoko's question about his drafts, he said, "I wrote over a hundred thousand words in the past couple of days, but the total word count isn't as high as my last book. I designed it with adaptations into games and anime in mind, so the plot and length won't be too extensive."
In the novel Yuta was working on, aside from the prologue that served as the main narrative, the rest consisted of side plots developing around it.
Each branch featured a female protagonist, but the main focus would remain on the male lead from the prologue and his two female counterparts.
"Adapted into a game?" Sonoko frowned, not optimistic about this idea.
Typically, works are adapted from games into novels or anime/manga, while novels being turned into games is extremely rare. Aside from a few classic titles, most novels don't possess adaptation value.
After all, using a novel as a guide to play a game would definitely diminish much of the enjoyment.
Yuta wasn't a professional in the field, but he still held a positive outlook on the potential for his novel to transition into a game.
"Yes, let's discuss this more next time. I'm at work right now, and my break is about to end," Yuta said, not wishing to continue the conversation.
Sonoko was surprised. "You're still working? At a printing factory?"
"No, now I'm at a nail salon, dyeing people's nails." Yuta replied and then hung up the phone. After putting his phone away, he looked at his reflection in the nearby mirror and sighed, "So busy… so busy. Keeping busy is good…"
Yuta didn't worry much about the game adaptation; he just thought it would be great to do it if it turned out well. He had no idea that the game would become an exceptional work.
In his previous life, it was a top-ranking gal game in Japan, dominating the charts for a decade and still managing to snag third place seven years later!
After hanging up the phone, Sonoko furrowed her brows and looked down at her palm.
Turning her fingers to face herself, she thought that maybe she should go check on them as well.
"Hmm, it's time to go out for business!"
Having been working overtime lately, Sonoko found a perfect excuse to step out. Yuta's workplace was probably at the nail salon near where they last met.
Although the journey was a bit far, wasn't that exactly what she needed to sneak in some rest?
In a big company like this, even if there wasn't anything to do, you couldn't take a break. Everyone had to work overtime, even if they were just bored; they needed to create an atmosphere that made it seem like everyone was busy.
So going out to slack off seemed to be the best option.
"Editor-in-Chief, August-sensei just released a new book today; I'm going to check on its status," she said, trying to create an impression of being serious and responsible to her boss while covering for her excuse to slack off. "August-sensei's home is a bit far from here."
Overtime was out of the question; she had already been working late for several days in a row, and today she had to get home!
Upon hearing it was the author of "KonoSuba," the Editor-in-Chief nodded and said, "Go ahead, have a good chat with August-sensei. We are looking forward to his work."
Unbeknownst to him regarding Yuta's new release, the Editor-in-Chief planned to review the work later before deciding whether or not to promote it.
The library had not only many seasoned authors but also a number of new ones, and resources were limited; they could only select promising candidates for nurturing.
From the current situation, Yuta clearly displayed that potential!
Sonoko nodded seriously and then earnestly prepared to leave work early.
"At a nail salon? The company has a rule against dyeing nails; it would ruin my image." Sonoko sighed, feeling frustrated that those authors could do as they pleased while she, as an editor, had to adhere to certain restrictions.
She didn't rush to find Yuta but instead had a meal and then took a taxi to the nail salon—after all, it could be reimbursed!
Oh, and meal expenses were reimbursed too.
Why did everyone love to work overtime? One extra hour of work meant justifying an extra meal!
As a woman in her thirties, Sonoko was already regarded as a working professional.
However, even as a professional, she was still taken aback when she entered Aoi Kiriyama's nail salon.
Upon entering, she sensed an odd atmosphere; everyone's gaze was fixed on a particular table.
On either side of the table were two sofas; one sofa was occupied by an aunt, while across from her sat a young boy.
"What is going on here?"
The female staff members standing in the lobby had been quite idle lately since no customers, whether new or returning, seemed interested in them…
"Excuse me, are you here for a manicure? I can help you!" One of the staff members greeted Sonoko with a smiling facade, but it was clearly a half-hearted acknowledgment, as they knew the customer wouldn't ask anything of her.
Sonoko looked around and noticed that everyone else seemed to be waiting for Yuta at the other table, so she said, "I'll wait here as well."
"Feel free," the staff member replied with a forced smile as she stepped back, secretly thinking to herself: "Another nuisance showing up!"
Sonoko couldn't understand how Yuta could possess such an immense charm, and she found it even stranger how he had accumulated so many skills in his part-time job!
Yuta, on the other hand, noticed Sonoko's arrival and quickly realized that her lack of reaction to his charm meant she wasn't the type to be swayed merely by looks.
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