Hikigaya wants to be a novelist

On January 22, the much-anticipated fourth volume of "All Magazine" was released. Long before the release, a source reported that "Confessions" would be published after the completion of the fourth chapter. Upon receiving the magazine and turning to the section where "Confessions" was serialized, readers confirmed the authenticity of the news.

"This Friday, January 26, the single volume of 'Confessions' will be available in bookstores nationwide, and online sales channels will also open," read a notice on the magazine's official website, understated yet informative.

"The debut work, 'Confessions,' by the 15-year-old genius writer Hachiman, is about to be released! It contains the fifth and sixth chapters that were not serialized in the magazine, and the final twist is coming soon!" 

Although it was exaggerated, this slogan, featured on the magazine cover and in its columns, contained substantial information.

"This is a masterpiece by the talented junior high school writer Hachiman, a representative of the new era in social mystery writing! He uses his books to elevate societal awareness regarding the healthy growth of minors."

Hikigaya disliked such flattering publicity, fearing it could tarnish his reputation. He considered advising the publisher to tone down the promotional slogans.

Meanwhile, fans on Twitter were buzzing with excitement. They no longer had to wait a month to read the 20,000-word magazine article, as the standalone volume of "Confessions" was finally arriving, featuring two complete chapters. Users enthusiastically speculated about possible endings for the last two chapters.

On Tuesday, the text version of an interview with Mr. Hachiman, regarding the release of the standalone volume of "Confessions," was published. This sparked renewed interest, primarily due to readers' curiosity about this enigmatic young author. However, viewers left the interview feeling somewhat disappointed because, aside from introducing himself, Hachiman mainly discussed the plot and creation of "Confessions."

"Does the reporter know how to ask questions? She keeps asking pointless questions," expressed a Twitter user, who received considerable support for this sentiment. An overseas account even liked this comment.

Nevertheless, the interview wasn't entirely without merit. Mr. Hachiman highlighted that "the only twist in this book is in chapters five and six, which were not serialized; it's absolutely brilliant." This comment heightened everyone's expectations for the published book.

Naturally, Yukinoshita Yukino also learned about this information from the electronic version of the magazine. She promptly emailed her sister, asking her to mail a copy after its release. Haruno teased her about it before she finally relented.

"It's such a waste of money to mail it overseas. How about this, Yukino? After I buy the physical book, we can do a voice chat, and I'll read it to you, how about that?"

Upon receiving her sister's message, Yukino, well aware of her weaker position and needing to ask for help, tightly grasped her phone and silently accepted her bad-tempered sister's teasing.

Finally, Friday arrived. Hikigaya left for school as usual, but today he was particularly attentive to the situation at the bookstores along his route. Typically, no one visited the bookstore on a weekday morning, but today was different. Numerous people were visiting the two bookstores along the way, seemingly office workers heading to work. They stopped by the bookstores, likely for "Confessions," released on that very day. These people might spend their workday slipping in reading sessions instead.

Just like when a popular game is released, there are always people who like to grab the concept of " first release " . The same is true for novels. Starting from around 9 o'clock in the morning, people on Twitter gradually began to show off their purchases of "Confessions", which gave the novel a social attribute and even made it to the daily trend for a long time.

Hikigaya walked into a bookstore and saw the book "Confessions" displayed prominently, and some of them had been sold. Although today was Friday, many people did not want to be spoiled by those who bought the book first, and were unwilling to risk waiting until Saturday even if it was only one day late.

Due to various reasons, the sales of "Confessions" on Friday were very gratifying, and there will be an explosion in the weekend. Moreover, the sales of paperback books, which are the main sales, have not been fully laid out in stores. Paperback books are cheap and portable, so they should not only be sold in bookstores, but also in station stores and various convenience stores. Once paperback book sales points across the country are laid out, the sales of "Confessions" will start to enter the real fast lane, which will not take long.

After the initial craze ended, people began to really read the book. In order to recall the previous plot and enhance the reading experience, most readers started reading from the beginning again. When the first wave of readers read the reversal on the last page, they were shocked and had a fanatical desire to express themselves. They were eager to let others know how shocking the ending of the book was, but they could not spoil the plot for their own self-cultivation.

" Great! Finally, I gave this kid who didn't know the value of life a good lesson. It was so satisfying to watch. "

" By the way, what Moriguchi-sensei did is a little too dark. "

" Hahata- sensei said it all, Moriguchi-sensei is just a character used to push the story forward. In a sense, she is the only character in the book who follows a set of behaviors throughout. "

" This ending is really too shocking. Mr. Hachiman perfectly left the suspense until the last page, even the last few lines. "

Twitter timeline like a fountain, but without exception, they were all positive.

At this time, Yukino Yukinoshita, who was thousands of miles away, was very conflicted. She wanted to block all social software and wait for "Confession" to be mailed to her, but she couldn't resist her curiosity and continued to check Twitter, and was itching to hear a lot of praise without spoilers.

" You actually have such magical power, Mr. Hachiman . "

Yukinoshita Yukino fell on the bed and sighed.

Her elder sister Haruno had just returned home from school. She bought three copies of Confessions, not for the purpose of reading one, keeping one as a treasure, or preaching one. She sent one of the copies to her younger sister by expedited international express at the post office, and took the other two home to show them to her parents and herself.

" What a cruel ending, Mr. Hachiman ..."

After finishing reading, Yukinoshita Haruno sighed. While she was surprised by the plot twist at the end, she also sighed at this story where everyone fell into darkness and could not see a ray of light. The writer Hachiman I met that day was a boy as warm as the spring breeze. Wearing glasses added a touch of the literary atmosphere unique to writers. How could he write such ruthless words? Haruno closed the book and fell into thought.

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