Chapter 19 The Sixth Day of Working

When I arrived at Yokohama Publishing House as Mimori, there was still some time before the late deadline.

I have already received Oda Sakunosuke's manuscript.

It's no wonder he's Oda Sakunosuke; he never needs to worry about anything.

I skimmed through it and, finding no major issues, forwarded it to the proofreading department for further review.

Oda Sakunosuke has always been a source of great comfort to me. Besides the fact that he never fails to submit his manuscripts, as I mentioned before, another thing is that his manuscripts are always very reliable. He is simply the legendary "writer that everyone else admires".

Moreover, I've met him privately a few times, and he struck me as quite steady and mature for his age.

He's a bit like Mr. Nanami, whom I know well; both are reliable adult men.

So when Sakura and Kosuke told me that Oda Sakunosuke was the one willing to take them in, I was quite relieved.

—Although I'm a little worried that Oda Sakunosuke's royalties might not be enough to support them.

Mr. Kobayashi, I don't know if you still remember him, he's the Mr. Kobayashi who was the head of our editorial department.

I was quite surprised that Mr. Kobayashi is not here for the time being.

It's important to understand that Mr. Kobayashi and Mr. Fitzgerald are quite different; they are roughly the two extremes. Compared to the latter, who was often nowhere to be seen, Mr. Kobayashi practically wanted to spend every single hour of the day in the editorial office.

I swear, I didn't mean to belittle Mr. Fitzgerald; I was just making a comparison.

My time at Yokohama Publishing House wasn't long, but it wasn't short either... it seemed a bit short, but almost every time I appeared at the publishing house, I was guaranteed to see Mr. Kobayashi.

So even though I'm just a temporary working-class persona, I still admire Mr. Kobayashi to some extent.

He definitely couldn't do this job without some passion.

The editorial office room has a long table, which we habitually divide into four parts, one of which belongs to me.

I'm sitting at my desk, logging onto Yokohama forums to collect feedback on past magazine sales.

Oda Sakunosuke's "Tomoko Zenzai" has received rave reviews since its early serialization, and readers have high expectations for it.

Because the editorial department had a precedent that was too unconventional, Mr. Kobayashi was worried that he might also quit while writing, and repeatedly instructed me to do some ideological work on Oda Sakunosuke.

I always replied to him, "Don't worry, Mr. Kobayashi, Mr. Oda will definitely be fine."

Fortunately, Oda Sakunosuke really lived up to my promise. He worked very hard and cooperated well, submitting all the required manuscripts on the first try.

Actually, when Oda Sakunosuke first submitted his manuscript, I was quite conflicted because I really couldn't figure out where it would go.

"Futo Zenzai" tells the story of the mundane life between a geisha and a dissolute young man.

It's not that there's anything wrong with the subject matter; it's just that it doesn't fit our publishing house's style.

Our publishing house has a strong preference for silly and absurd literature.

After reading the first draft of "Husband and Wife in Harmony", I specifically flipped through several previous issues of the journal, almost up to the year before last, but I couldn't find any similar topics.

However, Oda Sakunosuke's writing style is so unique, both calm and delicate, melancholic yet happy, and joyful amidst helplessness.

If we weren't the only publishing house in Yokohama, I would really suggest he submit his work to a more suitable publisher.

But then I thought about it again, and I guessed that Oda Sakunosuke only submitted his application to us because we were the only publishing house in Yokohama and he had no other choice.

Finally, after discussing it with the editor-in-chief, Mr. Kobayashi, and contacting Oda Sakunosuke to say that we might need to wait and see the response to the first issue, the draft of "Husband and Wife Zenzai" was finally published.

The result was exactly what you heard later: "The Couple Zenzai" was very well received, and Oda Sakunosuke's name suddenly entered the public eye, becoming our publishing house's most popular author for monthly submissions.

I misjudged our publisher's audience. I didn't expect that people not only like to read silly literature, but also like to read such unique, calm, yet delicate writing.

"Sansen."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, I immediately looked up and saw Kitamura standing at the entrance of the editorial department.

I nodded in acknowledgment: "Kitamura."

Kitamura strode over, and after a couple of steps, I realized there was someone following behind him.

I looked at her from a distance and felt that she wasn't from our editorial department, nor did she resemble anyone I knew.

The man looked older, probably around the same age as Mr. Kobayashi, with long silver hair tied up and coiled around his neck.

"Kitamura, who is this?" I asked.

"Mimori, I was just about to tell you something." Kitamura stopped opposite me, suddenly leaning closer with a mysterious look on his face.

"Hmm?" I asked, playing along perfectly.

"This is a new employee hired by the editorial department. She will be interning with us starting today."

? ? ?

To be honest, I didn't expect this development.

My gaze fell on the newcomer, and his eyes met mine. For some reason, I felt a sense of sternness from him.

It was as if he were the editor and I was the intern.

He said, "I am André Gide."

Goodness.

It's a shame they didn't go to Manhasset security company because of that name.

I smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Mimori. Mr. Gide...? Is that alright?"

“Hmm,” he said.

Kitamura added, "Mr. Kobayashi said that Mr. Gide mainly needs to learn about things from you, so you should mentor him more."

"Huh?" I was a little surprised. "Why me? Kitamura, you arrived much earlier than me and you're more experienced, aren't you?"

I'm not saying this to shirk responsibility; I'm just genuinely puzzled. I've only been at the publishing house for a month or so, and I can't compare to someone like Kitamura who's been there for years. There's no reason for me to be mentoring a newcomer.

“Because Mr. Gide wants to learn from you,” Kitamura said matter-of-factly.

I looked at André Gide with a puzzled expression: "Could you tell me the reason, Mr. Gide?"

It couldn't be because of my personal charm, could it?

I don't deny that I've always been quite popular with people, but it certainly wouldn't be the case on a first meeting.

He turned his head and said succinctly, "I read 'The Couple's Perfect Match' and really liked the author named Oda Sakunosuke."

Okay. I understand.

This is a fan of Oda Sakunosuke's books, and the first real fan I've ever met.

I can say that I benefited from Oda Sakunosuke's influence.

“I see.” I nodded to show my understanding. “I will do my best to help you get into the swing of things. But my shifts are relatively short, so you may need to ask other editors for help more often.”

“Hmm,” Gide said.

Something occurred to me, and I asked Kitamura, "By the way, where's Mr. Kobayashi?"

Kitamura replied, "He went to handle some paperwork for Mr. Gide's internship."

"oh."

Since I was just searching for journal-related content on the forum, I simply talked to André Gide about collecting, researching, and processing reader feedback and opinions in a timely manner.

Although Gide's appearance was not very approachable, he was still very cooperative during work.

Mr. Kobayashi returned to his office midway through, and I took the opportunity to tell him that Oda Sakunosuke had already submitted the manuscript, and then I handed the manuscript over to the proofreading department for careful checking.

He nodded to indicate that he understood, and I continued to talk to Gide about some editing-related matters.

This is my first time mentoring a new person, and it feels quite novel.

Because I was the newest one in the editorial department.

When I got off work, Kitamura and I walked together for a while.

He frowned, probably finding it strange, and asked me, "Mimori, why do you look so happy?"

I said, "I have someone to carry on my legacy."

Kitamura then asked, "Mr. Kido?"

I said, "Yes."

“I understand that you feel a sense of accomplishment when you mentor a newcomer for the first time, but why do you say it like you’re teaching someone a position? If Mr. Gide stays on after his internship, he will also be a member of our publishing house, and then we will be colleagues.”

Kitamura seemed to remember something and stroked his chin: "Speaking of which, now that he's officially staying on, the editorial department will need to add another desk, right?"

"Let's talk about that later." I pointed to a shop ahead. "Want to go buy some wagashi (Japanese sweets) together?"

Kitamura looked in the direction I was pointing and happily agreed, "Okay."