For the next two days, Kotomi spent most of her time secretly observing how many people were buying Sword Art Online Volume 1 at various bookstores nearby.
Every morning, after finishing breakfast, she would head out to the local bookstores. If she arrived too early and the store hadn't opened yet, she would hide behind a streetlamp or in an alley, secretly waiting for the bookstore owner to open shop.
Once inside, she would observe from morning until noon. After heading home for lunch, she would return in the afternoon and continue watching until the store closed in the evening.
Whenever someone approached the display where Sword Art Online was placed, Kotomi would raise an eyebrow in anticipation. If a customer picked up the book, a pleased smile would creep onto her face.
If they took it to the counter to buy it, she would nod approvingly from her hiding spot, mentally praising them: A person of fine taste!
But if they simply picked up the book, flipped through it, and then put it back before walking away, Kotomi's expression would immediately drop into a deep frown.
And just like that, Kotomi spent her entire weekend monitoring book sales in person. In reality, there was no need for her to do this. Every morning at 8 AM, Haruno Yukinoshita would send her the previous day's sales report, which clearly detailed both online and offline sales figures.
A simple addition of the two numbers would give her the total daily sales.
Friday: 12,172 copies.
Saturday: 25,768 copies.
Sunday: 33,546 copies.
In just three days, Sword Art Online Volume 1 had already sold over 70,000 copies!
At first, because of Sword Art Online's uncertain potential, some editors at Dengeki Bunko were cautiously optimistic. While they saw promise in the series, they were all seasoned veterans who had learned to be careful. Unless a book was written by an already-established bestseller author, they wouldn't dare print too many copies right away.
Thus, the initial print run of Sword Art Online, combining both the standard and limited editions, was only 30,000 copies.
Their caution was understandable. Even though Dengeki Bunko was a wealthy publishing house, the recent surge in anime adaptations had stretched their budget thin.
Anime adaptations have long return cycles. Even if an adaptation is successfully produced and begins airing on TV, it still takes time for the anime's popularity to translate into book sales, let alone recoup production costs.
Blu-ray (BD) sales offer another revenue stream, but those only begin after a few episodes have aired and proven popular. From production to release, even at the fastest pace, it still takes several months.
Before they knew it, a year could easily pass. Massive funds are poured into an adaptation, only for the studio to wait months or even a year before they might see profits.
—Many light novels get anime adaptations.
It sounds prestigious, but for a publishing house, it's also a heavy financial burden. Dengeki Bunko was currently facing this exact pressure. Worse yet, they were investing significant sums into each anime adaptation. One particular series, a fantasy light novel about swords and magic, had an adaptation budget so high that just hearing the amount would make anyone gasp.
They were betting everything on making it the dominant anime of the season.
With that in mind, it was no wonder many editors at Dengeki Bunko believed Sword Art Online's release timing was less than ideal.
This month, multiple light novels had seen surges in popularity due to their anime adaptations, driving up their sales. Naturally, the publishing house's promotional focus was on these established titles.
With the high costs of anime production eating into the budget, there wasn't much left to gamble on a new author's debut. The safest approach was to print a conservative number—just two or three thousand copies—to test the waters and see how the book performed.
Meanwhile, one of Dengeki Bunko's most well-established authors, Toki Renmu, had released Volume 10 of his bestselling series in mid-October, coinciding with Kotomi's debut.
One of the perks of being a veteran author was guaranteed promotional materials. Naturally, Toki Renmu's new release received an official promotional video (PV). As a result, Sword Art Online lost the chance to have its own PV as part of the publisher's marketing campaign.
This was yet another disadvantage for Kotomi's book.
With all these obstacles in the way, even Chief Editor Hiratsuka was beginning to feel uneasy. Could Sword Art Online Volume 1 even break the 10,000 sales threshold—a figure considered excellent for a debut?
The novel was undeniably high-quality. Anyone with an eye for literature could see that if it succeeded, it had the potential to become a landmark work in the light novel industry.
But the timing of its release was simply too unfavorable.
One of the veteran editors even sighed in frustration:
"Launching it now? If it sells 10,000 copies, we'll be counting our blessings!"
At that moment, Haruno didn't just sit back and hope for the best. She didn't simply pray that Sword Art Online would scrape by, avoiding cancellation and gradually growing over time.
Instead, she stood up in the middle of a meeting and boldly declared to Chief Editor Hiratsuka:
"Chief, I want to increase the initial print run of Sword Art Online Volume 1 to 100,000 copies!"
The entire room thought she had lost her mind.
Even Hiratsuka wasn't convinced. However, because of her long-standing friendship with Haruno's mother, she decided to cut her some slack. She approved the request, allowing Sword Art Online's initial print run to increase from 30,000 to 100,000 copies—a staggering jump of 70,000 additional copies.
With that, however, came an immense financial burden.
Of course, nothing in the world comes for free. Hiratsuka gave Haruno a warning:
"Because of your mother, I'm agreeing to this. But if Sword Art Online Volume 1 fails to break 10,000 sales in its debut month, you're done here. You'll resign and go home to do whatever your mother tells you."
Haruno had no intention of returning to the Yukinoshita household.
She desperately wanted Kotomi to succeed. She didn't need Sword Art Online to shatter the bestseller charts—selling 40,000 copies would be enough!
If she could reach that number, even if there were still 60,000 unsold copies, she could argue that increasing the print run had been necessary. If they had stuck to the initial 30,000, they would have run out of stock and missed potential sales. That would have been an unforgivable waste of Kotomi's hard work!
Haruno did not want to return home.
Being at home meant dealing with her overbearing mother.
...
Dengeki Bunko Headquarters.
On Monday morning, after seeing Sunday's staggering sales figures, Haruno strutted into the office with an air of absolute confidence.
With the weekend's numbers in, she had every reason to be proud.
She even dressed for the occasion, donning high heels she rarely wore. The crisp click of her heels against the floor echoed through the building as she walked with the poise of an ice queen entering her domain.
For the past few weeks, every day Haruno Yukinoshita had come to work with a heavy weight on her shoulders. She would keep her head down, glued to her phone, eager to reach her desk as quickly as possible. The mantra in her head was simple: Minimize my presence. Make myself as small as possible.
But today?
Today, she was brimming with confidence. Today, she had finally emerged victorious.
She greeted her colleagues cheerfully, regardless of how familiar they were. And, for the most part, her coworkers responded with equal enthusiasm.
At Dengeki Bunko, sales data was openly shared among editors. Transparency fostered healthy competition.
And after this weekend's shocking sales figures, news of Sword Art Online's explosive success had spread like wildfire through the entire editorial department.
When an author thrives, so does their editor. This principle applied to Haruno as well—especially since she had boldly pushed Sword Art Online's initial print run from 30,000 to 100,000 copies.
Before the sales reports came in, her decision had been considered reckless, impulsive, and borderline self-destructive. She was seen as a loose cannon, destined for dismissal.
But now? Now, her actions were being framed in an entirely different light.
People spoke of her foresight, her boldness, her willingness to take risks. They called her a visionary, a fearless strategist who had taken an unprecedented gamble alongside Itsuki Ki—one that had paid off spectacularly.
A genius move that flipped the board and secured a legendary comeback!
With this level of skill, some were even murmuring that Haruno had the makings of a future chief editor.
Haruno, of course, was enjoying the attention. She allowed herself a satisfied smile but didn't let the praise go to her head. She knew the truth—her success hinged entirely on Kotomi's talent.
Even for a bestselling author, selling 70,000 copies in just three days was unheard of.
Her own role in this? At best, she had been lucky. Lucky that her mother's reputation held sway. Lucky that she had the guts to take a massive gamble, fully prepared to run away and become Kotomi's unpaid assistant if it all went south.
Now, looking at these skyrocketing sales numbers, she couldn't help but wonder—maybe she had a talent for gambling after all.
A bet worth 100,000 copies.
In the entire history of Dengeki Bunko, no editor had ever dared something like this.
Not even the chief editor.
But she did it. And she won.
...
Arriving at her desk, Haruno let out a long breath. If it weren't for the upcoming meeting, she might have rushed over to Sobu High School, scooped Kotomi up in her arms, and spun her around in celebration.
And maybe, just maybe, she would have stolen a few kisses from Kotomi's adorable little face.
Without Kotomi, she would have lost the bet against Chief Editor Hiratsuka.
Then again, if it weren't for Kotomi, she wouldn't have made such a reckless bet in the first place. Wouldn't it have been easier to just keep her head down, collect her paycheck, and cruise through life?
"Editor Yukinoshita, how does it feel to rise to fame in a single battle?" Ai Kagami teased as she approached, carrying two cups of coffee. She placed one on Haruno's desk with a grin.
Haruno smirked. "I've made up my mind—I'm going to cling to Izumi-sensei's leg for life."
"Why don't you just marry her at this point? Oh, wait, Izumi-sensei is still a high school girl."
Not impossible…
That thought flashed across Haruno's mind before she quickly shook it off, her face heating up. Half-jokingly, she replied:
"Ai, you better watch how you speak to me. Chief Editor positions rotate, and next year, it'll be my turn! You will address me as—"
"As what?"
A cold voice cut through the conversation.
Haruno stiffened, her face going pale. Slowly, she turned around to see Chief Editor Hiratsuka standing behind her, tablet in hand, ready to start the meeting.
After that 100,000-copy gamble and her reckless bet, Haruno Yukinoshita had once again made history at Dengeki Bunko.
And with that, a new nickname was born—
Mad Haruno.
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