038. Kirino at Dawn (Part One)

"Kugure! Could you please take these documents to Editor-in-Chief Ishida?"

"Ah—yes, of course."

"Kugure! This article has passed. Please proofread it for typos and get it back to me before this afternoon, all right?"

"No problem, senpai!"

"Kugure! Sort through this pile of submissions and leave them with Editor-in-Chief Machida afterward!"

"Yes!"

"Kugure! ..."

"No problem! ..."

Such was a day in the life of Kurone Kugure, a young woman working in the editorial department of the Immortal River Literary Press.

Naturally, her seniors sometimes showed concern for her, especially her direct superior, the newly promoted editor-in-chief of Immortal River Literary Press—Sonoko Machida.

"Kurone-chan, don’t push yourself too hard just because there’s a lot of work, all right?"

"I’m fine, Editor-in-Chief Machida!"

To be honest, Sonoko Machida was something of a legend at Immortal River, the goal all rookie editors strove for. Though she had spent three or four unremarkable years in the world of light novel publishing, her discovery of the writer Shiko Kasumi had catapulted her into the limelight as the new star of Immortal River.

As long as Sonoko Machida maintained a good working relationship with Shiko Kasumi, and Kasumi’s works continued to sell in droves, Machida’s position at Immortal River would only rise higher.

As a recent graduate, a newcomer to the workforce, and a fledgling editor, Kurone Kugure couldn’t help but envy Machida’s good fortune.

Even though she was still in her probation period, Kugure had already come to appreciate how exhausting editorial work could be; just reading manuscripts every day was nearly overwhelming.

Not to mention the frustration caused by the sheer volume of crude, poorly written submissions—it was a rare treat to find even a single standout work among them, barely a drop in the ocean, and immediately she’d be thrust back into the mechanical monotony of sifting through more.

Though new to the industry, once the initial excitement faded, Kurone Kugure quickly began to feel the fatigue her job brought.

But in any field, for someone with no connections, even if they were exceptionally capable, what could they do? Kugure could only grit her teeth and persevere, hoping that someday she would find her own “Shiko Kasumi” and her own “Love Metronome.”

“Hey—Kugure, could you go call Editor-in-Chief Machida to the conference room for the meeting?” Just as Kurone Kugure was lost in thought, a voice called out nearby.

She quickly stood and replied, “Understood!” then hurried off toward Sonoko Machida’s office.

Machida seemed to be on the phone with someone, her face bearing that teasing, mischievous smile unique to her. Even though Kugure had only just started her internship, she had already seen that look on Machida’s face plenty of times.

Not wanting to interrupt directly, Kugure waited at the door, knocking softly and calling, “Editor-in-Chief Machida! The president has asked you to attend the meeting!”

Machida ended the call after a few words, stretched languidly, muttered something to herself, and went straight to the conference room.

Kugure watched Machida’s departing figure with evident envy. For now, her goal was simply to reach such a height—even if it wasn’t the very heart of the publishing house, at least she wouldn’t have to spend every day digging for publishable works among heaps of poorly written manuscripts, would she?

Shaking her head, Kugure banished these idle thoughts and plunged back into her work, focusing her gaze on line after line of mind-numbing prose.

After roughly the length of a class period, the editors-in-chief began to file out of the conference room, summoning their respective editors and issuing instructions.

As Machida’s assistant, Kugure noticed her boss hadn’t emerged, and curiously glanced toward the conference room, but the heavy door concealed everything inside—even sound.

Meanwhile, inside the conference room, Sonoko Machida felt a flutter of unease. After President Yasuno Kawashima declared the meeting over, Machida was unexpectedly asked to stay behind.

After reflecting that she hadn’t made any recent mistakes, Machida composed herself and greeted Kawashima with her professional smile.

Kawashima nodded to her, then said, “Editor-in-Chief Machida, how is Shiko Kasumi’s new book coming along? If I recall, the final volume of her previous work, ‘Love Metronome,’ was released about a month ago? Though I had some questions about her ending, it was still an excellent piece.”

Realizing why Kawashima had kept her behind, Machida gathered her thoughts and replied, “Kasumi-sensei’s new work is still in preparation. When we last spoke, she said the first volume was nearly finished. As for publication timing, I haven’t given it much detailed thought yet.”

Kawashima pondered for a moment, then said, “Let’s release it alongside the winners of this year’s Newcomer Award. A coordinated marketing effort might yield excellent results. After all, last year’s standout new author was none other than Kasumi-sensei.”

Machida felt a surge of pride for Kasumi, as if watching a junior be recognized by a respected elder—a pure, uncomplicated joy.

Nevertheless, as a veteran of many years, Machida kept her composure, even managing a hint of humility. “You flatter us, President Kawashima. Kasumi-sensei still has much to improve and must continue striving to write even better works.”

Kawashima nodded in agreement, then seemed to remember something. “By the way, I’d like you to be in charge of this year’s Newcomer Award. I hope you’ll make it a great event!”

Machida was momentarily stunned, but her experience kept her from showing much surprise. With just a touch of excitement in her voice, she replied, “Thank you, President Kawashima. I’ll ensure this year’s Newcomer Award is a resounding success!”

At the same time, Machida silently wondered, “Isn’t this usually Hiroshi Yamaguchi’s responsibility?”

Hiroshi Yamaguchi, the middle-aged man who had given the detailed briefing earlier, was a renowned editor in the industry and, before switching to editorial work, had been a celebrated short story writer.

Previously, almost every major award at Immortal River Literary Press had been handled solely by Yamaguchi. She couldn’t help but wonder why Kawashima was assigning the task to her this time.

Kawashima nodded his satisfaction, sipped his tea, and Machida took the hint to excuse herself.

After leaving the conference room, Machida gathered her team of editors and relayed the new requirements Yamaguchi had outlined for the Newcomer Award selection process.

In summary, it boiled down to twelve words: stricter, fairer, grander, and more innovative.

Once the editors had departed with understanding expressions, Machida considered for a moment, then called over her probationary assistant, Kurone Kugure, who had yet to become an official employee.