The café bell chimed softly as Akira pushed the door open.
Warm light spilled over polished wooden tables. The quiet murmur of conversations blended with the low hum of the espresso machine. The scent of roasted beans hung in the air, calm, comfortable… civilized.
Near the window at the far side, a woman raised her hand and waved.
"Sirius-kun, over here."
Akira looked at her.
Chin-length dark blue hair. Light blue eyes. Black blazer, white shirt, pencil skirt.
"Yep… She really does look just like her anime counterpart."
Machida Sonoko. Editor at Fujikawa Shoten.
Utaha Kasumigaoka's editor.
And now… unfortunately for her, his as well, for his light novel series Orion: At the End of Stars.
Back when he had been debating whether to turn his web novel into a light novel, an online friend had introduced them. Despite Akira being difficult to manage, she had handled him surprisingly well.
That alone earned his respect.
Erika leaned slightly closer and whispered, "Is that her?"
Akira nodded once. "Yep."
They approached the table.
"Good morning, Machida-san," Akira said.
Machida smiled lightly. "Good morning, Sirius-kun. Seems like we've finally met at long last."
Then she looked at Erika, then back at him, a knowing smile forming on her lips.
"So this is your new girlfriend who shook the internet yesterday?"
Akira nudged Erika forward. "Yes. She is my girlfriend," he said, for some reason pushing Erika slightly in front of him.
It was his first time introducing her like this.
For some reason, that made him feel slightly awkward.
Erika, suddenly pushed into the spotlight, straightened her posture.
"Hello. My name is Sendo Erika."
Machida nodded politely. "Hello. I'm Machida Sonoko, Sirius-kun's editor. Please, take a seat."
Erika pushed Akira toward the seat and sat beside him, facing Machida.
Then Akira cleared his throat.
"Since it's our first time meeting face to face, allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Hoshino Akira. My secret identity is the author Sirius Lucen Starlight."
Machida smiled. "Yes, it's our first time meeting… but I had a feeling it was you the moment you entered."
Akira tilted his head. "…You recognized us?"
Then he remembered how she had waved at them the instant they walked in.
"Wait, how did you recognize us anyway?"
He had never shown his face to her before. This was their first time meeting in person.
"Is it because of my unparalleled protagonist aura…?"
Machida rested her chin lightly on her hand.
"When two people walk in looking exactly like the Volume One cover illustration…" she said with a small smile, "…it saves me some guessing."
Akira froze.
Right. He had changed their names in the story… but kept their appearances the same.
He had even put them on the Volume One cover.
Which meant anyone who had read the novel could recognize them on sight.
Now he finally understood why Erika had been so mad earlier.
He slowly turned to look at her.
She returned his gaze with a sweet smile that clearly said:
"I will deal with you later. After we get back home."
Akira cleared his throat. "It's… just a coincidence."
Even he didn't sound convinced.
Machida smiled faintly. "It's perfectly normal for authors to draw inspiration from people close to them." She tilted her head slightly. "Though it's rare to see someone model the protagonist so openly after themselves."
Akira let out an awkward laugh.
He couldn't exactly tell her he had written the story after his own adventures.
He looked at Erika with a silent plea.
"Please save me."
Erika sighed, but decided to help him.
She looked at Machida. "You said you've never met him before, right? You didn't even know what he looked like. How does that even work?"
Akira looked at her gratefully.
"Good save."
Machida leaned back slightly in her seat.
"It's not that unusual anymore," she explained calmly. "Most of our communication was through email and phone calls. Manuscripts were sent digitally. Edits, revisions, approvals… all handled remotely."
Erika looked at Akira. "So you do all that?"
Akira shook his head. "No. I only wrote the story. Most of the legal and financial stuff is handled by my parents."
Erika nodded. "Yeah… that makes sense."
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"Wait. If you never met in person… how did you even get connected in the first place?"
Akira blinked.
"Oh. An online friend introduced us."
Erika slowly turned toward him.
"…You have online friends?"
Akira looked mildly offended. "Of course I do."
Machida smiled faintly at the exchange. "He's surprisingly well-connected in writing circles," she said. "Even before publishing, his web novel had significant traction."
Akira nodded. "She messaged me after reading it. She's my fan. She even said I motivated her or something."
Erika's eyes narrowed slightly. "She?"
Akira paused. "…Yes. She's a fellow author."
Machida added smoothly, saving him from further interrogation, "She had already debuted in light novels at that time. She recommended me as an editor when Sirius-kun was considering publication."
Erika looked between them. "So you were famous first… and she published first?"
Akira shrugged. "Yes. I was famous as a web novel author. I just didn't go for publishing it as a light novel immediately."
Machida took a sip of her coffee. "For some reason, he refused every major offer for quite a while. Even when multiple publishers approached him."
Akira looked away slightly. "I had standards."
Machida's smile sharpened. "You had conditions."
Erika stared at him.
"You never told me any of this. You never mentioned any of this."
"I told you I was a famous light novel author, though," Akira said with confusion.
"Yeah, but not to this detail," Erika said.
Akira looked confused. "Was that important?"
"When we get back, you tell me everything," Erika said, narrowing her eyes.
Akira, now looking more confused, said, "But how am I supposed to know what to say and what not to say?"
"Tell me everything. I'll decide what's important." Erika said.
Akira hesitated. "But there are… so many years' worth of memories there."
Erika paused.
That was true.
"What should I do then…?"
Machida looked at the two of them and said, "You two seem close."
Erika opened her mouth to respond, then coughed lightly.
"Anyway, what is today's meeting about?" she asked, clearly redirecting the conversation.
Machida nodded, accepting the shift. "The novel is approaching what feels like a final arc," she said. "At least, structurally. So, this interview will focus on that."
"Is the novel ending?" Erika asked.
Akira replied calmly, "Orion is coming back to his home planet. The journey that began in Volume One is closing."
Erika frowned slightly. "Does that mean it's ending?"
Machida's gaze shifted to Akira. "I would also like clarification on that," she said evenly. "You've built an expansive universe. Ending it there would be… wasteful."
Akira leaned back slightly. "Well, it's not over. If I had to say, Part One is over, I guess. Or should I say… boyhood is over? Now that Orion is a teenager, the story will take a different tone."
Machida exhaled softly, not dramatic relief, but professional satisfaction.
"That's good. Readers are deeply attached to the world. They won't be pleased if it disappears."
Erika looked between them.
She hadn't even read past Volume One yet.
And apparently, the scale was already this large.
She shifted slightly. "So, today is a mock interview for tomorrow?"
"Yes," Machida replied. "Today's meeting will help Sirius-kun answer the questions tomorrow and understand what kind of questions he'll be asked. I even asked someone to help him with it, actually."
Akira tilted his head. "So who exactly is conducting the mock interview?"
Machida glanced briefly at the clock on the wall.
"She should be here any moment."
Right on cue.
The café bell chimed again.