Chapter 104: The Day Nobody Cared

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: The Day Nobody Cared

Haruki’s worst Chapter wasn’t hated.

It was ignored.

---

That realization followed him for three days.

---

Criticism hurt.

---

Arguments hurt.

---

Controversy hurt.

---

But indifference?

---

Indifference terrified creators.

---

Because criticism meant people still cared.

---

Silence meant they might stop.

---

Chapter Twenty-Six continued performing below expectations.

---

Not catastrophically.

---

Just enough.

---

The trend line sloped downward.

---

Steady.

Persistent.

---

The sort of decline that killed momentum.

---

Not instantly.

---

Slowly.

---

At 8:07 AM, Haruki refreshed the analytics again.

---

Bad idea.

---

A very bad idea.

---

The numbers hadn’t changed meaningfully.

---

His mood had.

---

The system appeared.

---

Workflow Analysis

Current Problem:

Monitoring Instead of Creating

---

Productivity Loss:

22%

---

Suggested Action:

Close analytics.

---

Haruki immediately ignored it.

---

Then refreshed again.

---

Which probably proved the system’s point.

---

At 10 AM, Mizuno called.

---

No greeting.

---

Expected.

---

"Stop checking."

---

Haruki blinked.

---

"You can’t know that."

---

"I can."

---

A pause.

---

"Your messages become shorter."

---

The explanation annoyed him.

---

Mostly because it made sense.

---

The editor continued.

---

"Meet me at the office."

---

Then hung up.

---

Naturally.

---

No explanation.

---

No context.

---

Just orders.

---

At noon, Haruki arrived at Yamashita Publishing.

---

The office felt different from creator gatherings.

---

Less chaotic.

More focused.

---

People moved quickly.

Phones rang constantly.

Deadlines existed everywhere.

---

Work.

---

Actual work.

---

Mizuno handed him a visitor badge.

---

Then immediately dragged him into a conference room.

---

Three editors sat inside.

---

Two men.

One woman.

---

Haruki recognized none of them.

---

Good.

---

Very good.

---

Unknown people were usually safer.

---

Usually.

---

Mizuno dropped several printed pages onto the table.

---

"Read."

---

The command sounded dangerous.

---

The pages contained editor reports.

---

Not about him.

---

About dozens of different manga.

---

Successful series.

Failed series.

Cancelled series.

---

Haruki frowned.

---

Then noticed something strange.

---

Many of the failed projects shared the same pattern.

---

Good launch.

---

Strong reaction.

---

Then decline.

---

Not because quality collapsed.

---

Because creators started chasing audience reactions.

---

Trend after trend.

Comment after comment.

---

Direction disappeared.

---

Identity disappeared.

---

Eventually readers left.

---

One editor leaned forward.

---

"You know the most common cancellation reason?"

---

Haruki shook his head.

---

The woman answered.

---

"Loss of confidence."

---

Not poor art.

---

Not weak concepts.

---

Confidence.

---

The room became thoughtful.

---

Not quiet.

---

Thoughtful.

---

The distinction mattered.

---

Damn it.

---

Still there.

---

The cursed phrase survived again.

---

The editor continued.

---

"Readers can tell."

---

A pause.

---

"When creators stop trusting themselves."

---

Nobody looked at Haruki directly.

---

Nobody needed to.

---

The point already landed.

---

The meeting lasted another hour.

---

Stories.

Publishing.

Audience psychology.

---

No lectures.

---

No grand speeches.

---

Just professionals discussing work.

---

The atmosphere felt refreshing.

---

Because nobody treated Haruki like a prodigy.

---

Or a problem.

---

Just another creator.

---

Exactly what he needed.

---

When the meeting ended, Mizuno handed him another folder.

---

This one thinner.

---

More dangerous.

---

The cover page contained a single title.

---

Reputation Damage Case Studies

---

Wonderful.

---

Absolutely wonderful.

---

Apparently his homework had escalated.

---

At four o’clock, Haruki finally visited Yui’s community center.

---

For the first time in weeks.

---

The building looked exactly the same.

---

Children.

Volunteers.

Activity.

---

Life.

---

Normal life.

---

The thing he kept forgetting existed.

---

Inside, someone accidentally knocked over a stack of supplies.

---

A volunteer laughed.

---

Another groaned dramatically.

---

Nobody cared about publishers.

---

Nobody cared about leaks.

---

Nobody cared about creator rankings.

---

The realization felt strange.

---

Comforting.

---

Strange.

---

Yui spotted him almost immediately.

---

Then stopped walking.

---

Actually stopped.

---

The reaction confused him.

---

"What?"

---

Yui narrowed her eyes.

---

"You came."

---

A pause.

---

"You actually came."

---

The accusation felt unfair.

---

Accurate.

---

But unfair.

---

Before Haruki could respond, a child sprinted through the hallway.

---

Directly into him.

---

At maximum speed.

---

The impact nearly killed both parties.

---

The child bounced backward.

---

Haruki stumbled.

---

Several volunteers burst into laughter.

---

Yui included.

---

Traitor.

---

Complete traitor.

---

The child immediately recovered.

---

Then pointed.

---

"You’re the manga guy."

---

Silence.

---

Actual silence.

---

Because Haruki definitely hadn’t expected that.

---

"What?"

---

The child nodded confidently.

---

"We saw your picture."

---

Several nearby children joined immediately.

---

Chaos followed.

---

Questions.

Confusion.

Random observations.

---

One child asked whether manga creators lived inside bookstores.

---

Another wanted to know if editors carried swords.

---

Neither question had a satisfying answer.

---

The conversation dissolved completely.

---

Messy.

---

Unstructured.

---

Human.

---

For nearly an hour, Haruki forgot about analytics.

Forgot about leaks.

Forgot about publishers.

---

The world continued anyway.

---

Interesting.

---

No.

---

Absolutely not.

---

The word was banned.

---

At sunset, Yui walked him toward the station.

---

The city glowed orange.

The air felt cooler.

---

Neither rushed the conversation.

---

Eventually Yui asked:

---

"Did the Chapter fail?"

---

Not:

Did the numbers drop?

---

Not:

Are readers angry?

---

Fail.

---

The real question.

---

Haruki thought.

---

Longer than expected.

---

Then:

---

"I don’t know."

---

The answer surprised him.

---

Because it was true.

---

The Chapter might fail.

---

The arc might struggle.

---

The consequences might worsen.

---

None of that was decided yet.

---

Yui nodded.

---

Satisfied.

---

Then:

---

"Good."

---

Not again.

---

Please not again.

---

Yui smiled.

---

"You finally said you don’t know."

---

The train arrived before Haruki could argue.

---

Doors opened.

People moved.

---

Life interrupted the conversation.

---

Perfect timing.

---

Very perfect timing.

---

As Haruki stepped onto the train, his phone buzzed.

---

New Email.

---

Sender:

Unknown.

---

Subject:

The Wrong Employee

---

The message contained one sentence.

---

You are looking at the wrong suspect.

---

Nothing else.

---

No signature.

No explanation.

---

Just a warning.

---

Or a threat.

---

Or bait.

---

The train doors closed.

---

The city began moving again.

---

And somewhere inside the leak investigation, somebody had just taken the first direct step toward Haruki.

---

Which probably meant things were about to become much worse.