"Is this really necessary?"
Kyousuke turned to look at the editor beside him is Akamatsu Yuuki dressed impeccably in a crisp suit.
"Huh? Sorry, Hojou-sensei, I didn't quite catch that," Akamatsu said, bowing slightly.
"I'm saying, can we actually sell all of this? No, more importantly… are there even that many people in Tokyo?"
Kyousuke pointed toward the towering pyramid-like stacks of books inside the store—three massive piles reaching almost to the ceiling.
And according to what the staff had just told him, there were two more storage rooms packed full of inventory.
No wonder the publisher had rushed him to sign another 300,000-copy contract just a few days ago.
"What are you even saying? With your reputation, Hojou-sensei, the real concern is whether the fans who come late will leave empty-handed!" Akamatsu grinned like he'd never failed a math class in his life.
"And Hojou-san, please rest assured! We absolutely will not run out of stock!" the store employee, wearing the uniform of a Tokyo's "Kinokuniya Bookstore," confidently pounded his chest with pride.
'Then why the hell are you making such a big deal about the 'record-breaking signing duration' gimmick?' Kyousuke rolled his eyes internally.
Once Kyousuke had finally agreed to do a signing event, the publisher had been ecstatic.
Even the editors over at Weekly Shounen High had tried to organize a joint event with him—but of course, he shut that idea down immediately.
He used a pen name specifically to separate his novel and manga identities. Holding a joint event would blow that whole cover wide open.
After much deliberation and consultation with Kyousuke, who turned out to be a total stamina monster—the publisher settled on a ridiculous promotional hook:
'A twelve-hour, no-break signing event—from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.!'
Compared to those feeble authors who tap out after two hours and need hand massages, this was next-level. Bold. Legendary!
As for whether anyone would actually stick around for all twelve hours? Neither Kyousuke nor the publisher was the least bit concerned.
Last month, in an online poll for "Japan's Most Popular Male Author," Kyousuke had crushed the competition with an overwhelming lead.
Sure, the poll wasn't exactly official, but it did speak volumes about his fanbase.
During the pre-event promotions, both his personal site and the publisher's forum posts racked up hundreds of thousands of comments.
Everyone was practically begging him to hold a signing.
Today's event would be filmed in its entirety and might even be submitted for record consideration—Longest Signing Session, Most Books Sold in One Event, and so on.
The store wasn't open yet.
Staff were still organizing the shelves, sliding handwritten review cards next to corresponding books, rearranging displays, swapping out old titles for new ones.
The venue was Kinokuniya's flagship store in Shinjuku—one of the largest bookstore chains in Japan.
Nine stories, both above and below ground. Complete with a concert hall and an exhibition space.
Unlike other signings shoved into a tiny room, Kinokuniya had offered up their concert hall for Kyousuke's debut signing event.
It was 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday—Shinjuku was still half-asleep, with exhausted office workers grumbling on crowded trains.
But in front of the Kinokuniya building, a massive line had already formed.
It started at the escalator signs and stretched all the way down the sidewalk, disappearing around the corner.
Akamatsu stepped outside to double-check that everything was going smoothly.
The last thing they needed was a noise complaint that might shut the whole thing down.
But of course, Kyousuke-sensei's event was going off without a hitch. Seeing the swelling crowd around the signs, Akamatsu couldn't help but smile smugly.
'Hojou-sensei really is too naïve—worrying whether his books would sell out...'
The promotional poster had been designed with full flair: HOJOUKYOUSUKE in huge letters at the top, followed by the slightly smaller title The Devotion of Suspect X.
At the bottom, an illustration of a dashing man in a silver suit—Kyousuke himself—holding the novel.
Even people who had never read the book would be drawn in just by the sheer charm of that impossibly handsome man on the poster.
Proof?
The shrieking girls who ditched their shopping plans the moment they saw the signs and rushed to join the line.
The longer the line, the more curious passersby joined.
It was Shinjuku—idle people looking for excitement were everywhere.
The first 100 people to arrive would get something extra: an exclusive meet-and-greet session with the author.
That's why fans were lining up so early.
Inside the concert hall, Kyousuke sat behind a desk, ready to receive guests.
The red curtains at the back of the stage had been replaced with a backdrop covered in the Kinokuniya logo, and a huge, dramatically-styled banner hung above him.
On the floor below the stage stood several life-size cutouts displaying awards Kyousuke had supposedly won.
Not that he knew anything about them—his editor claimed they were all legit.
In the front row sat four special guests: his personal voice actress Nishimiya Shouko, his fashion designer Ueno Naoka, his manga assistant—no, "illustrator" Sawamura Spencer Eriri, and finally, the one who hadn't been his official editor but had thoroughly proofread the entire novel—Kasumigaoka Utaha.
All four girls were seated in the front row.
Shouko and Naoka sat together.
The other two? Separated by a whole four seats.
On stage, Kyousuke maintained a flawless PR smile.
The cameras hadn't started rolling yet, but he kept his eyes locked straight ahead, careful not to glance down at the front row.
'Whose idea was it to host this signing event? Sakura—this is your fault, isn't it!? Get back here and help me! How the hell am I supposed to handle this situation!?'
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kasumigaoka Utaha, sitting nearest the exit.
Her silky black hair, neatly tucked back with a white headband, cascaded down her back.
She wore a striking red bodycon skirt, and her long, slender legs—wrapped in sheer black stockings—were pressed perfectly together.
She curled her legs slightly backward, maintaining a posture of perfect grace.
She had arrived with Kyousuke, Shouko, and Naoka.
Kyousuke had half-expected some sort of explosive reaction when Utaha saw the other two girls—maybe a dark expression, a hair-flipping tantrum, or even a dramatic exit.
But no. She had simply smiled—a flawless and terrifyingly perfect smile.
"Oh, these must be Nishimiya-san and Ueno-san? Aren't you two just adorable," she had said, gently taking both bewildered girls by the hand and launching into polite small talk.
On the surface, everything looked fine.
But since that initial bow… she hadn't said a single word to Kyousuke.
Then came Eriri—storming into the hall, all smiles… until she spotted the three girls around Kyousuke.
Her expression soured instantly.
Her bright, smiling face froze mid-step.
Her cute bangs bristled like they'd been struck by lightning.
Under Kyousuke's gaze, Eriri stomped her foot furiously.
But the action lost all its dramatic effect as the rich black leather of her elegant shoes couldn't make the satisfying thud she'd hoped for, thanks to the thick carpet beneath her.
The luxurious flooring absorbed all the impact, only fueling her frustration.
Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes as she spun around, her twin tails fluttering high with the motion.
Wearing a short, blue cocktail dress, the blonde girl stormed out of the concert hall just as dramatically as she had entered.
Kyousuke slapped his forehead, muttered a quick apology to the others, and hurried after her.
Despite her enviable proportions and legs that looked like they belonged in an art exhibit, Eriri was still rather petite—he caught up to her quickly.
After a round of persuasion, rejection, more persuasion, and more rejection, the manga assistant begrudgingly returned to the hall and sat in the audience.
But she stubbornly refused to speak to anyone.
Shouko and Naoka, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed.
Whether it was Eriri the artist or Utaha the novelist, they already knew what was going on.
Originally, the two girls had intended to help Kyousuke as assistants today, but he declined—ten straight hours of work, even if it was just flipping pages or organizing materials, would be exhausting.
So, their mission shifted to something simpler: filming and photographing the event to send to Sakura and Aunt Mikiko, who was all the way up in Hokkaido.
One small blessing that Kyousuke get was to be grateful for—Miyamizu Mitsuha that had returned to her hometown just like Sakura.
Otherwise, once the signing event ended, he might've had to survive an extra kendo training session.
With Akamatsu Yuuki returning to the hall, the book signing event officially kicked off.
The host for the day was a bubbly employee from Kinokuniya, easily recognizable by her cute bob haircut.
Fans lined up at the entrance.
To maintain order, Kyousuke waited in a side room.
Once everyone was seated, the host would call his name, and he would make a grand entrance.
Kyousuke had initially wanted to greet his readers personally at the door, but before Akamatsu Yuuki could even respond to the idea, both Utaha and Eriri shut it down instantly.
Not only would it throw off the schedule, but the crowd control would become a nightmare.
Though she was just a store clerk by title, the host clearly had experience emceeing events.
She kept the crowd engaged with ease, casually bringing up moments from The Devotion of Suspect X, which sparked a lively reaction.
Then, she dramatically called out his name.
Just like the standee by the door, Kyousuke appeared on stage in a sleek silver suit, flashing a smile of perfect white teeth as he waved to the audience and walked gracefully onto the platform.
"Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for coming to my book signing." He bowed deeply before taking his seat.
A wave of thunderous applause swept through the hall.
Fans were visibly thrilled to see their favorite author in person and even more stunned that he was somehow even more handsome than the promotional cutout.
The four girls seated in the front row beamed with pride as they watched Kyousuke stand under the spotlight, radiating confidence.
The venue was filled not only with fans but also with a surprising number of media outlets—not just publisher-sponsored literary magazines, but major names like TV Tokyo and Weekly Bunshun.
After all, this was Kyousuke's first public appearance since his debut three years ago—an exceptionally rare occasion.
"So, Hojou-sensei, what inspired you to write such a moving and powerful story?" the host asked, holding up a copy of The Devotion of Suspect X.
Kyousuke adjusted the microphone slightly, glanced at the girls in the front row, then looked out at the sea of expectant faces before him.
Meeting their gaze, he answered the question for the second time—the same way he had once explained it to Utaha.
"Strictly speaking, this story wasn't something I came up with on my own," he began, pausing.
"The Devotion of Suspect X feels more like a tale from another world. I simply captured it—and shared it with all of you."
The crowd burst into applause.
Even those who hadn't read the novel suddenly felt a burning curiosity about this story from another world.
"Wow, that gave me chills," the host laughed. "Hojou-sensei, you're quite the storyteller." She clapped along with the crowd before continuing.
"And what kind of environment did you write the novel in?"
This was one of the questions Japanese fans loved the most. If the answer were something like:
"I downed two bottles of sake and woke up to find the manuscript on my desk."
Or,
"After days of heavy snow, the skies cleared at sunset, casting golden light against a gray sky."
"Moved by the beauty, I warmed my hands by the heater, picked up a pen, and wrote the book…"
…fans would eat it up.
Even better—if he answered, "Just like in the story, a single mother and her daughter moved in next door…" —sales would probably skyrocket overnight.
"I wrote it in my apartment," Kyousuke said plainly.
"Eh!? Wait—don't tell me a single mother and daughter really did move in next door?" the host gasped, clearly excited. The audience is also stirred as well.
"No, no. It's just a student apartment—barely enough space for one, let alone a family," Kyousuke clarified with a chuckle.
"Then what made you choose to focus on such a deep social issue in your story?"
'I already said it came from another world…' Kyousuke sighed internally, though he had seen this question in the script beforehand.
People often say that serious literature exists to reflect and reshape society and there's some truth in that.
While The Devotion of Suspect X is, at its heart, a mystery built around a brilliant trick, its inciting incident—female-perpetrated crime—touches on a very real and disturbing social issue.
A single mother raising her daughter alone.
A relentless, abusive man who refuses to let go.
Suffering. Resistance. Powerlessness. Sadly, such women aren't uncommon in modern Japanese society.
"Maybe I just wanted to make men who treat their wives poorly stop and think about the consequences," Kyousuke said, his voice calm but firm.
That line made both the host and the editor visibly tense.
"Marriage is a choice between two people. It's not a chain, not a burden. It's meant to be a sincere expression of love."
"People marry because they fall in love—and they part ways because that love fades. That's also a choice. But after that, you should never behave like Shinji Togashi."
He didn't hold back, even naming the fictional ex-husband from the book—the one who oppressed his ex-wife until she finally killed him.
The hall went silent for a few moments.
Then came a few tentative claps—followed by a cascade of enthusiastic applause.
Kyousuke smiled and nodded toward the first few people to clap—Utaha, Eriri, Shouko, and Naoka.
Utaha, with her dark hair and crimson eyes, looked at him proudly.
Eriri, with her golden twin tails and blue eyes, huffed and turned her head away.
Shouko, ever calm, continued filming steadily with her phone.
Several more standard questions followed before the session moved into the fan Q&A segment.
Looking out over the sea of raised hands, Kyousuke didn't hesitate—he picked the one wearing black stockings.
Utaha Kasumigaoka stood up.
A staff member handed her the microphone.
"Hojou-sensei, would you give your life for someone you love, just like Ishigami did?"
"Of course!" Kyousuke answered without a moment's pause.
"Thank you, Sensei."
Despite having already chosen two people from the same row, which seemed a bit unfair, Kyousuke still followed the voice in his heart and pointed to Eriri next.
Arms crossed tightly over her chest, Eriri's petite face still wore a pout.
"Hoh-jou-sensei," she began, dragging out his name with deliberate emphasis.
"Everyone knows humans only get one life. So shouldn't we be a bit more careful about who we're willing to give it up for?"
"…I do believe we should treasure our lives," Kyousuke answered, pausing briefly. "Living a happy life together with the person you love is what truly matters."
"I completely agree. Thank you, Kyousuke-sensei."
As she handed the mic back and sat down, a subtle smile tugged at the corners of her lips—just enough to reveal her adorable little fang.
Now, even though calling on three people from the front row in a row might seem unfair to those seated behind, Kyousuke couldn't help it.
After all, her name was Nishimiya Shouko.
"Ky— Hojou-sensei," Shouko asked sweetly, "do you plan on writing a story with a more uplifting ending next time?"
That question warmed Kyousuke's heart.
"Yes, I do. I've already planned out a healing-type novel," he said, nodding to her.
Then his gaze flicked back to Eriri.
She gave a satisfied nod—only to immediately huff and turn her head away.
Hmph. It's just Kyousuke. No need to look so smug!
With the master plan of picking four people from each row already in mind, Kyousuke confidently called on Ueno Naoka next.
"Hojou-sensei, is it because you spend so much time writing novels that the One Punch Man updates are… well, kind of tragic?"
As a man wearing many hats, Kyousuke had braced himself for this.
He knew the manga readers would bring up the update delays today.
During the hiatus, people had even joked online about forming a search party to knock on his door and demand an update.
Even after resuming, his pace was nowhere near satisfying.
On his social's forums, the most common posts there besides those about plot discussions and cosplay costumes, were relentless update requests.
What he didn't expect was for Naoka to be the one to throw the first punch.
As that thought crossed his mind, he noticed Naoka cheekily stick out her tongue and wiggle her phone in front of her chest.
He squinted and instantly spotted the familiar avatar on her screen.
Of course.
It was Sakura.
Even though she wasn't here in person, she was still causing trouble from afar.
Before he could reply, the otaku-looking fans in the audience started to chime in.
"I promise to release more chapters next time!" Kyousuke declared, giving in with a wry smile.
Thanks to Naoka's bold opener, the questions that followed only got more bizarre.
Not that the first few had been normal to begin with.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Sorry, that's private."
"Would you consider finding one here?"
"Wait—were you hired by Sakura to stir things up? Can we drop the girlfriend topic, please?"
"Why hasn't the movie production started yet? Didn't you already announce the director?"
"To ensure a better-quality film, please be patient just a little longer."
"Have you considered playing Yukawa-sensei yourself? You totally give off that vibe."
"No way! I wouldn't even touch a coffee cup that dirty, let alone act like him."
After the questions, the event moved into the interactive segment—photos, prize drawings, and handing out small gifts to lucky fans.
It wasn't until a full hour later that the actual book signing began.
Following the seating order, the first in line is unsurprisingly was Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Her beautiful porcelain-like face was tinged with a soft blush.
She carefully flipped open her newly purchased copy and handed it over, her voice full of anticipation:
"Please write, 'To my favorite reader, Kasumigaoka Utaha.'"