Parallel World Light Novelist

Support me at patreon.com/CulturedOne and read 50 Advanced Chapters

_______________________

The calendar turned to the end of August. For Haruto, this month marked two milestones in the manga and light novel industries. Both Initial D and Sword Art Online had surpassed a staggering cumulative average of 22 million copies sold per volume.

Initial D was now a mere 500,000 copies away from becoming the number one selling manga.

Its primary rival, Twin Rings was pulling out all the stops as the month drew to a close. Its author was appearing at every commercial event and television program possible, while bookstores across the country were flooded with aggressive discount campaigns and buy-one-get-one offers for the series.

A work is only ever truly judged against its contemporaries.

No one in the industry would compare the sales of a current hit like Demon Slayer to a classic from decades ago like Slam Dunk just to claim one was ”greater.”

Setting aside the anomalies of the past, Twin Rings was the current king of the market. It was precisely because it held that number one spot that it commanded such an astronomical commercial valuation. The gap in sales might have looked small on paper, but if Twin Rings lost its throne, the market’s psychological confidence would crater. The projected revenue from its various spin-offs next year would drop by tens of millions of yen.

Furthermore, because of the massive boost provided by Initial D, the weekly sales for Prime Manga were now neck-and-neck with Squirrel Magazine’s flagship title. This was a war for the title of the number one manga magazine in Japan.

A year ago, Prime Manga was a distant third.

Today, it was fighting for the crown.

The light novel industry told a similar story.

The gap between Sword Art Online and its rival, The Otherworld Reformer, was now negligible.

Haruto and his partners at Prime Manga and Kiyozawa Library were riding a tidal wave of success, charging toward the absolute summit of the industry. However, at this moment of peak ambition, the leadership at Prime Manga was hit with a piece of news that felt like a bolt from the blue.

Haruto was planning to end Initial D.

To the editorial department, it felt as though they were in the middle of a decisive military campaign and their commanding general had suddenly announced he was retiring to a life of farming.

It was unthinkable. Early that morning, Ms. Hime and a group of high-ranking executives from Prime Manga arrived at his villa.

”Haruto, please! You have to reconsider this!”

Ms. Hime pleaded, her voice cracking with desperation. The executives flanking her added their own chorus of warnings and advice.

From their perspective, this was madness. The manga was selling 22 million copies per volume and the numbers were still climbing. Within a month, it was guaranteed to become the number one ongoing series.

Why would anyone end it now? Was he tired of being wealthy? Was he tired of being famous? Did a guaranteed annual income of hundreds of millions of yen mean nothing to him? Or was he simply so content with being in the top five that he had no desire to push for the top three or even the number one spot of all time?

Granted, this wasn’t the ”Golden Age” of the industry anymore.

There were millions fewer teenagers than there were twenty years ago, and the entertainment landscape was far more fragmented. Topping the historical sales records of the past was a difficult task, but with the momentum Initial D possessed, it wasn’t impossible.

Shizuru sat nearby, watching Haruto with a curious gaze.

She knew her place. While they were partners, their relationship was built on the foundation that she never interfered with his creative vision.

Their status as the ”Strongest Young Duo” in the manga world was a marketing goldmine. Initial D was the brand that defined her career. Yet, when Haruto first mentioned ending it, she had only hesitated for a single minute before backing his decision. She was a brilliant illustrator, but she knew her storytelling ability was nonexistent. If Haruto felt the story had reached its natural conclusion, she wasn’t going to offer any amateur advice.

The executives, however, were not so restrained. They began suggesting massive expansions to the world-building.

They wanted Takumi to conquer the domestic scene, then move on to dominate Asia, and eventually take the stage on a global level to face the fastest racers. They argued he could easily milk the series for another seven or eight years.

Shizuru looked at Haruto’s face and realized he was already losing his patience.

”With all due respect, gentlemen, what would be the point of that?” Haruto asked, his smile polite but cold as he cut them off. ”To hollow out a work until there is nothing left? To dig until the well is dry and the audience’s passion is exhausted? I refuse to let this series become a bloated corpse. I won’t do it.”

His tone was soft, but the underlying resolve was like iron. In the parallel world, Haruto knew exactly how many fans had dropped the series once Takumi joined Ryosuke’s team. The original manga had dragged on for a massive amount of time, and while the later arcs were animated, the viewership was a fraction of what it had been in the beginning. If Haruto forced those later arcs, he would only succeed in lowering the prestige of the work. Initial D was a massive money-maker, but Haruto wasn’t a one-trick pony. He had a vault full of masterpieces that were just as potent.

”I am ending Initial D, but I am not ending my career as a mangaka,” Haruto stated. ”Once this series concludes, I will immediately begin a new serialization.”

”A new one?” The executives looked at each other, their faces full of doubt.

In the history of the industry, many legendary creators had failed to produce a second hit after their masterpiece concluded. It was a common tragedy. They certainly believed in his talent, but the odds of a new work matching the cultural phenomenon of Initial D were statistically improbable.

They continued to argue, but Haruto had reached his limit.

”As the author of Initial D, I believe I have the right to conclude my own story,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. ”Or have I somehow lost that right without being informed?”

The room went dead silent.

No one wanted to provoke him. Haruto had never signed a long-term exclusive contract with Prime Manga; if they pushed him too far, he could take his future hits elsewhere.

”My mind is made up. There is no more room for discussion. I can no longer create content for this story that is more interesting than what I have already written. Therefore, I will let it end at its peak. If Prime Manga feels this makes our future cooperation impossible...”

”No, no! Not at all!”

They stammered, backpedaling as fast as they could. ”We are only here to offer suggestions, Sensei! We would never dream of pressuring you!”

Seeing that his message had been received, Haruto signaled that the meeting was over. The executives filed out of the villa, looking as though they had just aged a decade.

”Is that the arrogance of a once-in-a-century genius?” one of them muttered as they reached the gate. ”He’s really going to kill the golden goose.”

”He’s young. He doesn’t understand what a hit like this represents. Ten years from now, he’s going to wake up in a cold sweat regretting this.”

”Let’s be real. He isn’t relying on one manga to survive. It’s our magazine that needs him. We just have to report this to the board and hope for the best.”

”Young and reckless... but I’m jealous of him. To create a legend at that age and have the guts to kill it while it’s still at the top? If I were him, I’d be too afraid of losing that annual income to ever roll the dice on a new project.”

Inside the villa, Shizuru hesitated for a moment before speaking up. ”Haruto... do you really not feel any regret about ending it like this?”

”None,” Haruto replied. He had a great deal of respect for Shizuru. In the year and a half they had worked together, she had been a tireless partner, handling the PR tours and the autograph sessions that he often avoided. She was as much a part of the legend as he was.

”A work only needs to end at the right place,” he explained, giving her a small smile. ”Besides, by ending Initial D, I’m freeing up the time to create something even better. Why should that be a cause for regret? Time is the only finite resource we have. Why waste decades on a single story?”

”But human creativity is finite too!” Shizuru countered, her clear eyes searching his. ”What if the next one isn’t as good?”

”Trust me.” Haruto paused and tapped his temple. ”What I have in here is far greater than the length of my life. Even if I were to create twenty-four hours a day without sleep, I would never run out of inspiration. Twenty years from now, when you look back on this moment, you’ll realize that spending twenty years on one series would have been the greatest waste of all.”

Shizuru stared at his handsome face, her mind reeling. If anyone else had said that, she would have dismissed it as delusional grandstanding. But coming from Haruto, it sounded like a simple, undeniable truth. It was almost frighteningly charismatic.

”Fine. I’m on your side regardless,” she said, her heart rate picking up. ”If we’re ending it, then give me the storyboards for the final chapter as soon as possible. I’ll clear my schedule and pour every ounce of my passion into those pages. I want the finale to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever drawn.”

The weight of the decision had finally settled in, bringing with it a strange sense of excitement.

If Initial D ended now, it would never have the chance to decay or become a shadow of itself. It would be remembered for decades as a pure masterpiece.

”That goes without saying,” Haruto laughed. ”But don’t get too comfortable. When I hand you the storyboards for the finale, I’ll also be handing you the first chapter of our new series. We have to keep the momentum going.”

”You already have the new one ready?” she asked, stunned.

”Of course. We’re famous now; we have to strike while the iron is hot. I’m going to give Prime Manga a gift that’s even better than the one I’m taking away.”