Midnight arrived.
The first-day ranking for Natsume's Book of Friends was in—eleventh place.
At most Japanese publishing houses, reader votes submitted on release day serve as the earliest benchmark of popularity. These votes—typically from the most dedicated readers—often shape how editors allocate promotion moving forward.
Natsume had pulled in roughly 310,000 votes on Echo Shroud's official site.
Just twenty thousand shy of tenth place.
Shroud Line's circulation was 8.9 million per issue, and its reader base was intensely active. Total votes per release ranged from 1.7 to 2.2 million.
By that measure, Natsume had done remarkably well.
Roughly one in six readers had backed the debut.
For Haruka, a seasoned editor with years of hit series behind her, the numbers were impressive—but not surprising.
After all, she'd seen something similar when Airi launched her debut.
Haruka allowed herself a brief moment of quiet satisfaction. A strong start was hard enough; sustaining it in Tokyo's brutal serialization cycle was another matter entirely.
Fortunately, she'd already read the full storyboard through chapter ten.
If readers connected with the next chapter the way she had... this momentum wouldn't just hold—it could build.
Still, she stayed grounded. Within Echo Shroud, editors and rival publishers were already buzzing. Behind closed doors, a few had begun muttering.
Had Haruka done it again?
First Airi. Now this new author—Mizushiro—who might just be her next breakout.
On Daily Ember, one of the industry's most-watched livestreams, the comment feed was overflowing:
"Yo, knock knock!"
"Daigo, you still around?"
"Didn't you say Natsume would tank? Want me to send over some paper cups?"
"Haha, karma hits quick. If it had done average numbers, maybe you could spin it. But top-eleven on day one? Oof."
"Sensei Mizushiro is unreal. I got choked up just reading the opening. Hishigaki didn't feel like a monster—he felt like me. Chubby, awkward, lonely... and that one classmate who showed me kindness? I still remember her face."
"I thought Ryougaki would be terrifying, but the way his arc ended—man. Quiet but powerful. I'm locked in. This might be my new favorite character."
"Hold on—favorite? I love Natsume too, but Kenshin's still king. That final hug between Kenshin and Tomoe in the Remembrance Arc? Chills, man."
"Wish Mizushiro still did action series. If Natsume gets animated with this kind of emotional depth? Could rival Remembrance in impact."
As the comments snowballed, the host of Daily Ember—who'd previously joked about eating paper cups if Natsume succeeded—quietly faded into the background.
He'd overstepped, this time with help from a "tip" sent by Rika, who'd aimed to kneecap Echo Shroud's latest rising star.
Instead, the backlash had arrived faster than expected.
Daigo hadn't even been paid much for the hit piece, and now he'd made himself a punchline.
---
In a dim Tokyo apartment, Rika stared at his phone.
The eleventh-place result glowed on the screen—a leak from one of his contacts.
He was silent.
Over the past few weeks, he'd nudged a handful of mid-tier reviewers and washed-up manga artists into taking jabs at Natsume online. It was usually enough to dent a debut—cut launch hype by 20–30%, drag early votes, and kill a series quietly before chapter ten.
It had worked before.
If Haruki's first Tokyo release flopped, he'd be untouchable. No publisher would touch him. Plenty of careers had died like that.
But this?
This was the opposite of a flop.
Top-eleven. Buzz climbing fast.
Rika clenched his phone tighter.
"…It's just the first week," he muttered. "It could still crash."
But he remembered Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance—which had debuted in same way. And how fast that series had soared.
No. This wasn't the same.
This was Tokyo. This was Shroud Line. Haruki wasn't going to pull off a second miracle.
…Right?
The next day, at Haruki's apartment, he and his two assistants—Naoya and Kenta—were finalizing chapter five of Natsume's Book of Friends.
The pace was different today.
When the series got picked up by Shroud Line, both assistants were ecstatic. But when they met Haruki—a younger guy with no published credits—they were skeptical.
Even after learning he'd won the Aurora Manga Award, they chalked it up to luck.
But this?
This was no fluke.
Winning a debut award was one thing. Following it up with a successful serialization in Tokyo? That was something else.
"Haruki! Kenta!" Naoya suddenly called out, eyes still on his phone. "You guys need to see this—something just dropped!"
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 50+ advanced chapters)