"I never expected to make this much money…"
As they left the editorial department and walked toward the parking area, Miyamizu Mitsuha couldn't help but voice her astonishment at the staggering amount she had just heard.
"That's just the serialization fee. The real earnings come later, from royalties on the standalone volumes," Kisaki Tetta explained.
"Royalties?" Mitsuha asked, unfamiliar with the publishing industry.
"It's not the same as government taxes. Royalties are payments made to the original creator or copyright holder when someone else uses their intellectual property."
Kisaki paused in his steps.
He figured it was best to explain things clearly now to avoid any future confusion.
After all, understanding this would also help this alternate personality grasp the original's career better.
"In simple terms, when a publisher prints your work to sell, they have to pay you a fee whether or not the books actually sell."
"So… I get paid before they even sell a single copy?" Mitsuha quickly caught on to the key point.
"Exactly. The publisher pays the royalties before printing. Even if not a single book sells, you don't have to refund them."
"That's way too good to be true…"
"Don't get too excited. Publishers have strict evaluation processes. They're not fools—they won't print a large number of copies unless they see real potential in a work."
"But in Hojou's case, there's nothing to worry about. The first print run will probably start at 200,000 copies."
"Two hundred thousand copies?! How much money is that?" Mitsuha gasped.
"Royalties vary depending on the contract, but after taxes, an author typically earns around 50 yen per book."
"Since the price of a single volume usually falls between 400 and 700 yen, we negotiated with Editor-in-Chief Shimomura, and Hojou will be making 50 yen per copy sold."
As they waited at a red light, Kisaki gave Mitsuha a serious crash course on the numbers.
"Fifty yen per copy… times two hundred thousand…" Mitsuha's eyes widened. "That's ten million yen!" If they weren't in public, she probably would've shouted in shock.
"Don't get too excited yet. Hojou already decided that half of that will go to his co-creator."
Kisaki glanced sideways at his 'older brother,' amused by the look of utter disbelief on Mitsuha's face.
No, wait… He had seen that expression before, back when he had announced his ridiculous childhood dream.
Hojou had been completely dumbfounded by his stupidity back then.
This isn't good.
This Mitsuha personality has way too small a worldview.
If she gets this shocked over a little money, merging personalities is going to be a long road…
"Oh, right. You mentioned back at the office that Hojou works with someone on his manga, didn't you?"
"Yeah. And honestly, that money is nothing compared to other things. I mean, the motorcycle you're riding right now cost four million yen."
"Wait, the Rocket-33 is worth that much?! Hojou is this rich?!"
Mitsuha had just straddled the motorcycle, but upon hearing that, she suddenly felt like she was sitting on a throne of gold.
"The bike was actually a gift from Makki, but Hojou's been saving up to buy something equally valuable in return. And seriously, what made you think Hojou was poor?"
"His family's ranch in Hokkaido sells white Wagyu cattle, and a single one of those is worth more than five million yen."
Kisaki casually threw out yet another bombshell, hoping to shift Mitsuha's financial perspective.
"…You mean the beef I use to make fried rice?"
As she spoke, Mitsuha suddenly recalled the exquisite taste of that meat. She swallowed hard.
"That's right…"
Kisaki had intended to educate Mitsuha, but now he just felt personally attacked.
Such premium beef, and they were using it for fried rice?!
First Hojou, now Mitsuha—these two were absolutely wasting culinary treasure.
"Anyway, it's almost time for school to let out. We need to head to the Kendo Club. The Kaikyuu branch is coming for a training session today. You'd better be ready."
"Training… against another branch?"
Mitsuha's eyes widened in surprise.
Before she could ask more, Kisaki had already revved up his bike and sped out of the parking lot.
By the time they arrived at school, classes had ended.
As Mitsuha walked toward the Kendo Club, she strategized ways to handle the situation.
She had no intention of avoiding it—this was a rare opportunity to hone her skills.
Back in Itomori, she had trained hard.
There was no reason to slack off now.
Even if she could only take fragmented memories back to her original self, she was certain, if she kept pushing forward, she would eventually catch up to Kyousuke!
When she entered the dojo, she immediately noticed that the number of students had doubled.
Fortunately, no one was shouting greetings this time. Instead, they all bowed in unison.
Mitsuha returned the bow with a smile before heading to the instructor's office to change into her kendo uniform.
Kyousuke had written this routine in his memo.
Once inside, she realized that even though this small room was only used for short periods each day, Kyousuke kept it impeccably tidy.
The futon on the bed was folded into a perfect square, the sheets were pulled tight without a single wrinkle, and the desk was completely free of clutter.
His kendo uniform was neatly folded in the closet, and even the bathroom was spotless.
His obsessive-compulsiveness is getting worse…
Mitsuha carefully avoided disturbing anything as she changed into her uniform.
"The tournament is approaching. Today, I'll be holding back to my lowest level. Each of you will spar with me one-on-one."
Yes. I'm not weak—I'm just suppressing my strength!
Makki Hojou, Satoshi Katagiri, and the others exchanged uneasy glances.
They had heard this line too many times before. And every time, it meant they were about to be utterly destroyed.
"Ahem. This time, it really will be the lowest level. Try your best and see if you can beat boss," Kisaki encouraged them.
Oh, Kisaki… You're the one who called Hojou 'The Demon Without Hands' today, right? That's definitely going into the memo for later.
Mitsuha nodded as if approving Kisaki's words, but in her heart, she was already plotting her revenge.
"I'll go first!"
Of course, it was Eikichi Onizuka who stepped forward without hesitation.
The rest of the club quickly formed a circle around them, sitting in the front and standing in the back.
Don't panic.
This is Kyousuke's body.
Just using brute strength, I could fling them across the room.
Besides, this guy is practically made of steel—even if they land a hit, it won't matter!
Mitsuha took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
This was it.
Time to fight.
That's right, because the difference in skill between Kyousuke and his subordinates was just too vast, he never wore protective gear during sparring.
The only exception was a helmet. Of course, his opponents were always fully armored otherwise, someone could actually die.
"Alright, am I taking the first move again, Boss?"
Despite usually acting like an idiot, Eikichi Onizuka—one half of the notorious "Demon Explosion Duo"—was undeniably strong.
Right now, standing there with a wooden sword in hand, looking unusually serious, he actually seemed pretty capable.
"Yeah, bring it on!" Mitsuha called out.
"Just to confirm, Boss… you're not planning to use this as an excuse to beat the crap out of me over Kasumi Utako-sensei, right?"
Suddenly, the once-serious Onizuka shuffled over to Mitsuha's side, whispering in a hushed voice.
"Huh? Of course not." She had no idea what he was talking about, but considering how Onizuka had been driving her around and even taking her to cafés, she did think pretty highly of him.
"Alright, that's a relief."
Returning to his stance, Eikichi Onizuka raised his shinai, took a step forward, and let out a loud kiai as he swung his blade in a straightforward strike aimed right at his boss's head.
In kendo, kiai isn't just about shouting to psych yourself up, release tension, or intimidate your opponent—it's also a technique for generating power.
It's similar to doing sit-ups: if you don't exhale while crunching, your core workout loses effectiveness.
Kiai follows the same principle, but it employs "reverse abdominal breathing"—contracting the abdominal muscles while inhaling and relaxing them while exhaling.
It might sound complicated, but kendo instructors have a simple way of teaching it:
They tell students to shout "One, two, three—heave!" when lifting a heavy bucket. That natural tightening of the core is exactly how kiai should feel.
Seeing the usually goofy Eikichi Onizuka charge at her with a fierce battle cry, Mitsuha felt a brief moment of panic—but she quickly regained her composure.
Her time slacking off in the kendo club had paid off. She could tell at a glance that Onizuka's attack had no follow-up.
It was a straightforward strike aimed right at her head. If she wanted to dodge, a simple step to the right would do the trick.
But this was a rare chance to train. Just dodging would be boring.
Raising her shinai, Mitsuha felt something different this time—a connection between her weapon and her body, as if it were an extension of her own arm.
She stepped forward, roared, and swung!
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