Chapter 70

After two days, Senkawa Koji, the editor, still hadn't called, which made Nagayama Naoki a bit puzzled. Could there be some unexpected issue?

At noon, when going out for lunch, Naoki deliberately paused downstairs and picked up the materials sent by Fujita Keiko from the mailbox.

The postal service is indeed slow these days; it took two days even within the city.

There were over a dozen property options, which seemed quite a lot. Fujita Keiko's materials included the location, layout, price, and even the pros and cons of each property.

Clearly, she had prepared meticulously. The service level was impressive, far more considerate than real estate agents in the future.

He casually flipped through the materials, which included residences in Shinjuku, Nakano, and Bunkyo, as well as shops in Shinjuku, Shibuya, and even Minato, mostly in convenient locations. Of course, the prices were all in the tens of millions of yen...

Fujita Keiko had already become quite familiar with Naoki's preferences.

Suddenly, he saw the word "Akihabara," and his interest was immediately piqued.

Akihabara?

Akihabara is still a street of electronics stores, mostly selling electrical and electronic products.

However, Naoki knew that it would become a holy land for anime in the future!

Moreover, the shops here were not expensive, at least much cheaper than in Ginza or Shibuya. With his current assets, he could buy at least two.

With the saved funds, he could perhaps buy a better residence...

Looking at a residence in Chiyoda in the materials, Naoki felt a bit excited.

After visiting the editorial office in Chiyoda last time, he really liked the environment and atmosphere there. If possible, buying a residence there wouldn't be a bad idea.

Having made up his mind, Naoki didn't hesitate and immediately called Fujita Keiko.

"Hello, is this Fujita Keiko-san?" The new phone number was listed in the materials, indicating she had been transferred to the headquarters.

"Hi, Naoki-san, good afternoon~" She sounded quite energetic, suggesting her new job was going well.

"Keiko-san, I've looked over the materials you sent." Without beating around the bush, he got straight to the point, "I've found a few properties I'm interested in and would like to see them in person."

"Sure, could you tell me which ones you're interested in, Naoki-san?"

"The shop in Akihabara and the residence in Chiyoda."

"Ah? I thought Naoki-san would choose a shop in the core commercial district~"

Indeed, she was very perceptive, having figured out Naoki's preferences after just two meetings. However, she didn't know about the future trends~

"Ha ha, Keiko-san will surely become an excellent real estate agent."

"Hi, thank you." Fujita Keiko was delighted, "Shall I pick you up, Naoki-san?"

The last time they met, Naoki hadn't bought a car yet, but this time he could drive himself.

"No need, I'll drive there myself. We can meet at the shop in Akihabara."

"Ah~ Okay~" She sounded a bit disappointed.

They agreed to meet the next morning at 6:30, to avoid the heat and the morning rush hour.

...

Just after Naoki hung up, another call came in.

"Hello, this is the Nagayama household."

"Good afternoon, Naoki-san, this is Senkawa Koji from Shogakukan."

"Oh? Senkawa-san, good afternoon."

"Naoki-san, I'm calling to inform you about the status of your novel." Senkawa Koji continued, "After discussing with the director, we are willing to offer a 10% royalty split."

"Naoki-san's novel is, of course, excellent, but for a debut author, this is already the highest split in the industry."

"Additionally, we have decided to print an initial run of 100,000 copies and promote it in relevant bookstores and other channels."

Senkawa Koji spoke a lot, and his eagerness for the novel to be published by their company was evident in his voice.

Naoki was a bit surprised, "100,000 copies?"

For a debut author in RB, an initial print run of 10,000 copies would be considered good, and 50,000 copies would be excellent. An initial run of 100,000 copies treated "Natsu no Niwa" like a new work from a famous author.

This level of favoritism in a highly competitive publishing industry was quite bold.

After all, publishers can only release so many books each month, and many veteran contracted authors are waiting for their turn.

"Senkawa-san, you've really worked hard. This print run is quite challenging."

"Hi, indeed, we discussed it with the director for a long time."

Senkawa Koji recalled how he had followed the director even to the bathroom yesterday, almost prostrating himself in the office for this book.

"Our sincerity is clear, and we hope Naoki-san will choose our publishing company."

Naoki didn't have many requirements for the publishing company. This book was bound to be a bestseller, and Shogakukan's sincerity meant he didn't need to consider further.

"Hi, Senkawa-san, I have no objections to the split and the initial print run. Let's set a time to sign the contract formally."

"Hi! Thank you!" Senkawa Koji breathed a sigh of relief and immediately wanted to finalize it, "If Naoki-san is available, we can sign the contract tomorrow."

Ah? This is like all the good things are piling up~

Even the locations are close.

"Senkawa-san, I happen to have some business in Chiyoda tomorrow morning. I'll come over to sign the contract after I finish my business." Naoki estimated, "Around 10 to 11 AM."

"Hi, I'll be waiting for Naoki-san's arrival tomorrow morning!"

In RB, book royalties are paid in advance. Once the book is published, the publisher pays the money, and the sales performance is irrelevant to the author.

A children's novel typically costs around 500-1000 yen. With 100,000 copies and a 10% split, Naoki would receive up to 10 million yen this time.

The future potential was immeasurable.

Buying a house in the morning, emptying his wallet; signing a contract in the afternoon, and receiving another payment.

Thinking about this, Naoki couldn't help but feel happy. Money really does grow the more you earn~

Thanks to "Natsu no Niwa"!

...

Thinking about this, Naoki walked to the balcony again.

For the past few days, he had occasionally seen three kids playing in the old house downstairs, apparently using it as their summer playground.

As long as it wasn't during nap time, the elderly man, Nagai Masahiro, didn't stop them. After all, living alone can be a bit lonely.

Seeing their energetic play, Naoki felt that "Natsu no Niwa" might have been born out of such a connection.

However, the yard, now cleared of weeds, was just a patch of bare yellow earth, making the courtyard seem too empty.

Naoki had a mischievous idea. Should he plant cosmos flowers like in the book?

It's late August now; they should bloom in the fall, right?

It would be quite interesting to bring the scenes from the book to life~

Hmm... let's skip the ending part,

After all, we can't curse the elderly...

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