After escorting Kuze Ha to his destination, Machida Sonoko had just returned to the editorial department when she saw a flash of golden hair rushing into the break room.
"Where is Feather-sensei?"
"Did he already leave so quickly?!"
A girl's silver bell-like willful voice rang out, and Machida Sonoko helplessly followed her in.
In the middle of the break room stood a blonde girl with slightly curled hair, hands on her hips!
Yamada Elf!
Only 15 years old, still in middle school, a genius girl novelist!
Her debut work had accumulated sales close to three million copies, and after being adapted into an anime, it became hugely popular, making her a bestselling author!
She was another genius writer under Machida Sonoko, following Kuze Ha!
She called herself the strongest beautiful girl light novel author in history!
Her goal was to create the ultimate light novel and become a novel king with sales exceeding 100 million copies!
And Kuze Ha was precisely the novel king she aimed to surpass!
"Weren't you at home playing games? How did you end up coming here?"
Machida Sonoko walked up to Yamada Elf and asked.
Yamada Elf pulled out her phone and showed it to Machida Sonoko.
On her social media app, author updates were flooding the timeline.
And without exception, they were all showing off Kuze Ha's signed books!
"The mysterious boss-level novel king has appeared, so I definitely had to rush over to attempt this dungeon!"
Yamada Elf said matter-of-factly.
However, her expression quickly turned somewhat regretful.
"Unfortunately, I was still a step too late!"
After seeing her phone, Machida Sonoko was slightly stunned, then pulled out her own phone.
She had been too busy earlier to notice, but now when she opened the app, she discovered that the buzz about Kuze Ha appearing at the Immortal River Bunko editorial department had already exploded!
Under this topic, familiar author accounts were all showing off Kuze Ha's signatures!
[Super incredibly happy, I met Feather-sensei today... How should I put it, he wouldn't look out of place as an active celebrity!]
[I'm crying, my idol I've followed for ten years is actually younger than me!]
[Feather-sensei could clearly rely on his looks, but he insists on relying on talent!]
[Family, who understands, I actually met Feather-sensei in person ahhhhh! #tearful emoji#]
Machida Sonoko scrolled through a few posts and breathed a sigh of relief.
She found that while these authors were excited, none of them had secretly photographed Kuze Ha or released any photos.
At most, they had only captured Kuze Ha's hand while he was signing autographs.
However, just from these glimpses and the authors' amazed comments, speculation about Kuze Ha's appearance and age had already gone viral online.
"I heard them say the novel king is still in high school?"
Yamada Elf looked at Machida Sonoko and asked.
The latter nodded.
A flash of amazement crossed Yamada Elf's beautiful eyes.
"That means he wrote that hugely popular debut work in elementary school?"
Yamada Elf had considered herself a rare genius in the world for being able to publish a light novel with over a million sales while still in middle school.
But she never expected Kuze Ha to be even more extraordinary than her!
"Truly worthy of being the novel king... It seems he won't be so easily surpassed."
A serious expression appeared on Yamada Elf's small face.
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!"
She moved closer to Machida Sonoko, who was browsing online, and said:
"Miss Machida, please give me Feather-sensei's contact information!"
Machida Sonoko looked at her suspiciously and asked:
"What do you want to do?"
Yamada Elf put her hands on her hips and said in a chuunibyou manner:
"Of course, I want to learn from him!"
"I'll use the method of learning from others' strengths to absorb the essence of his writing as my nourishment!"
Although her words were somewhat strange, Machida Sonoko still understood.
This girl wanted to learn from Kuze Ha.
"I can only help you ask. Whether he agrees or not depends on Feather-sensei's own decision!"
Machida Sonoko said with relief.
At this moment, she suddenly noticed a familiar book title under a popular author's signature-showing post.
[Feather-sensei said this book "Love Metronome" is quite good, so he specifically bought a copy to study!]
Machida Sonoko was suddenly stunned.
Scrolling down, she found that several authors had mentioned "Love Metronome."
The netizens below were commenting: "Anything recommended by Feather-sensei must be excellent!"
You have to know, the various topics about Kuze Ha's appearance had all rushed to the trending list, with authors from all walks of life joining in to ride the wave of popularity. It was like the Spring Festival Gala of the light novel world!
The literary master who had been famous for years turned out to be a handsome high school student? This light novel-like plot appearing in reality had explosive popularity!
At this time, any topic related to Feather-sensei could potentially become a hot topic!
As Machida Sonoko expected, the hashtag #Feather-sensei recommends "Love Metronome"# began climbing the trending charts at a visibly rapid pace.
"This is a massive stroke of fortune!"
Machida Sonoko said with emotion, then immediately sent a message to Kasumigaoka Utaha.
On the train.
Kasumigaoka Utaha was resting with her eyes closed.
Today's experience had been too dreamlike. The shock that Kuze Ha brought her was more than the past ten-plus years combined.
Even after an hour had passed, her emotions were still in a relatively excited state.
At this moment, her phone vibrated gently in her arms.
Kasumigaoka Utaha took it out for a look, and after seeing Machida Sonoko's message clearly, her rose-red eyes suddenly froze.
The next moment, she hurriedly opened the social media app.
Sure enough, #Feather-sensei recommends "Love Metronome"# was hanging high on the trending list!
Moreover, there were already quite a few readers inside showing off copies of "Love Metronome" they had just bought at bookstores.
She scrolled through the online comments as if in a dream.
She carefully read each comment silently in her heart.
Her "Love Metronome" had just released two volumes, and sales were terrible!
Machida Sonoko had even told her to prepare for the series to be cancelled after the third volume.
Although Kasumigaoka Utaha was anxious, she couldn't think of any good solutions!
It wasn't a problem with how her work was written, but rather that not many people had read her work!
These days, even the finest wine fears deep alleys!
Whether online or offline, there were only a few scattered book reviews.
She didn't even know what kind of changes she should make to attract readers.
Every review was like a treasure to her!
So when she learned that Kuze Ha had also read her work, she desperately wanted to know Kuze Ha's thoughts!
But she never imagined that "Love Metronome" would be exposed to the public eye in this way!
The phone rang—Machida Sonoko was calling.
Kasumigaoka Utaha answered the phone, and Machida Sonoko's slightly excited voice came through the speaker directly into her ears.
"Incredible!"
"Many retail channels are already asking us to order 'Love Metronome'!"
"The inventory in their stores has almost completely sold out within these one or two hours!"
Upon hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha's rose-red beautiful eyes trembled slightly.
"All sold out?"
"Sold out!"
Machida Sonoko emphasized!
"Online sales are also increasing rapidly. At this rate, sales will probably exceed 100,000 before tomorrow!"
"One hundred thousand?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha exclaimed softly.
If she weren't on the subway right now, she probably would have stood up and cried out in surprise.
"One hundred thousand is just a conservative estimate for online sales. Adding offline sales, there will be at least 150,000 copies sold!"
The numbers from Machida Sonoko's mouth made Kasumigaoka Utaha's brain feel somewhat dizzy.
One-day sales reaching 150,000—even first-rate light novel authors couldn't achieve this level!
And this was merely the result of one sentence from Kuze Ha!
"I can only say that Kuze-sensei is too mysterious. Today's exposure has mobilized all the book fans who had been suppressed before."
"This is the true value of the most popular light novel author!"
Machida Sonoko said with endless emotion.
"Although this was probably Kuze-sensei's unintentional action, since it has brought you benefits beyond imagination, Kasumi-shiko-sensei should properly repay Kuze-sensei!"
Hearing Machida Sonoko's voice, Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her cherry lips lightly.
Unintentional action?
She didn't think so!
Perhaps Kuze Ha hadn't expected it would cause such huge buzz, but he definitely knew that with his status and position in the light novel world, personally praising a work would certainly generate some attention!
This was enough to show that he had intentionally helped her!
The image of Kuze Ha appeared in Kasumigaoka Utaha's mind, and she took a light breath.
"I understand..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha hung up the phone and pressed it against her chest, clearly feeling her heartbeat.
In one day, Kuze Ha had given her so much that she no longer knew how to repay him.
"A thank-you gift for the next meeting?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha pinched the black stockings covering her honey-colored thighs with her fingers, pulled up a little point, then released it with a snap against the soft flesh of her thigh.
She kept repeating this action, struggling in her heart about what kind of thank-you gift to prepare.
At the Suou residence.
Suou Genshige, dressed in formal attire, stood in the courtyard with a melancholy expression, staring at the artificial landscape in the garden.
Ever since learning from his daughter Suou Yumi that Kuze Ha was now the true master of the Yukinoshita family, he had been in a state of self-doubt for several days.
The grandson he had expelled from the family and severed ties with had become the master of what was currently the hottest, and would potentially become a world-class top family.
In contrast, although the Suou family had been steadily progressing these past few years, when viewed in the context of all of Japan, it still couldn't be considered a giant!
Moreover, the Suou family would have to curry favor with and depend on Kuze Ha's Yukinoshita conglomerate.
This really made the always stubborn Suou Genshige feel awful!
Not to mention that tonight he still had to attend the Yukinoshita family's auction...
Suou Genshige didn't dare imagine how he would face things if he encountered Kuze Ha.
People become more stubborn and pursue dignity more as they age!
A younger Suou Genshige might have lowered his head and shamelessly admitted his mistakes.
But now, at his advanced age, how could he possibly bow his head to the grandson he had once expelled from the Suou family?
"Grandfather."
At this moment, Suou Yuki's voice sounded from behind, and the gloom on Suou Genshige's face immediately disappeared, replaced by a serious expression.
"Yuki has returned!"
Suou Yuki walked to Suou Genshige's side and said softly:
"Grandfather, let me and mother go tonight!"
Upon hearing this, Suou Genshige immediately raised his eyebrows and looked at Suou Yuki.
"What are your thoughts?"
Suou Yuki raised her head, looked directly at her grandfather, and said without evasion:
"Given the relationship between grandfather and brother, going personally might be counterproductive!"
"On the contrary, I have been managing my relationship with brother all these years and can fully extract benefits from it!"
"Please rest assured, grandfather. Although Yuki's talent cannot compare to brother's, I can still bring the Suou family to a new peak through my own methods!"
Suou Genshige looked at his granddaughter before him, a flash of amazement in his eyes.
After being stunned for a moment, he burst into hearty laughter!
"Truly worthy of being my granddaughter!"
"Without Kuze Ha, the Suou family still has Suou Yuki!"
Suou Genshige's old face was full of gratification!
These past few days, Kuze Ha had almost become his heart disease.
But he never expected that his granddaughter would have such grand aspirations!
Moreover, he had to admit that Yuki's proposal was feasible!
If the Suou family wanted to develop rapidly in the future, borrowing Kuze Ha's momentum would be the best choice!
As someone who had severed ties with Kuze Ha, he couldn't achieve this.
But Suou Yuki could!
What made him most gratified was that Suou Yuki still cared about the Suou family, thinking first about the family's interests!
"With these words from you, Yuki, I can retire with peace of mind!"
Upon hearing this, a smile also appeared on Suou Yuki's pretty face!
Everything about her had long belonged to her older brother!
Once she officially took control of the Suou family, the Suou family would naturally belong to her brother too!
As long as it belonged to her brother, wouldn't the Suou family reach new heights in no time?
As for whether it would be surnamed Suou or Kuze by then, that was no longer important.
Belonging to her brother was what mattered!
"Grandfather, I will not disappoint your expectations!"
The grandfather and granddaughter smiled at each other, both anticipating the moment when the Suou family would ascend to new heights!
Read 30 advance chapters on: patre on.com/Bored_Mortal