Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World
Chapter 281: That Story Is What I Bought

Chapter 281 - 281: That Story Is What I Bought

"What if you were careful and didn't get caught?"

Sonoko asked, a touch of curiosity in her voice.

"It wouldn't matter."

Chikako Ikeda gave a bitter smile and shook her head slightly.

"Once a published story is accused of plagiarism, the author's credibility is put under scrutiny. If the person you stole from can't produce a better story, you might get away with it. But if they can... then it's confirmed plagiarism."

"Once that label is attached to you, it sticks for life."

"If I had taken Atsuko story and published it, and she got the media involved, especially those gossip tabloids, I'd be completely ruined. Sure, the publisher might help me keep it under wraps, but if my next submission didn't live up to the standard, I'd be done for."

As she spoke, Chikako lowered her head helplessly.

"Actually, I've already been accused like that for the past two years."

"I've been working hard on my writing all this time, trying to surpass Blue Kingdom, the story Atsuko wrote. But I'm only really good at drama and stage scripts, not fantasy novels."

"So the books I submitted over the past two years didn't perform well—actually, they did very poorly."

Chikako's words snapped Suzuki Ayako back to awareness.

Now that she thought about it, their college drama club had been fairly well-known. She remembered that Chikako had written all the club's stage scripts, while Atsuko's stories had never made it to the stage.

"Come to think of it, Chikako, you were always good at writing for theater and stage plays."

Ayako looked at Chikako helplessly as the memory returned.

"So if you knew fantasy wasn't your strength, why did you want to buy Atsuko's story in the first place?"

Chikako looked a little embarrassed as she explained.

"Honestly... I was thinking about building up my reputation first. That way, my scripts would get more bookings in theaters. I thought if I used Atsuko's story to gain some recognition, I could push my real strengths afterward. I didn't expect that after I submitted the story to the publishing house, the news of Atsuko's suicide came out not long after..."

Chikako had understood early on that fame was valuable. Sometimes, leveraging a well-timed opportunity could bring tremendous convenience.

But she never expected Atsuko to take her own life shortly afterward.

Sonoko grew even more curious and asked,

"Chikako, did you actually buy that story from her? If you did, why would she commit suicide?"

"Right. If it was a proper transaction, Atsuko shouldn't have had a reason to do that. Did she really agree to sell the story?"

Ayako looked at Chikako as well, surprised by the implication.

"No. When I first read Atsuko's story and wanted to buy it, she refused. She told me, 'This is my story, I'll never sell it to anyone.' I didn't think much of it at the time and just returned the manuscript."

"Honestly, it was a spur-of-the-moment idea. If I could buy it, great. If not, it didn't matter. I already had several drama scripts ready, and a few well-known theaters were in talks with me about them."

"But two days later, Atsuko's mother came to my house with the same manuscript I'd seen before. I asked her why Atsuko was suddenly selling it, and she just said something had happened in the family and they urgently needed money. She asked me if I was still interested in the story."

"At that time, I'd just finished several commissions and had some extra funds, so I was willing to buy it. But her asking price was really high—300,000 yen for a single story."

That was indeed a steep price.

Both Sonoko and Ayako nodded in agreement.

No matter how well-written a story seemed, its market value couldn't be confirmed until after publication. Many factors go into making a story successful, including luck.

Paying 300,000 for a single, untested story really was too much.

"I had a good feeling about it. I thought the story had commercial value. Despite the high price, I still bought it. I went to a lawyer with Atsuko's mother, drafted a purchase contract, and we signed it."

"You hired a lawyer too?"

Ayako was a little stunned.

"I'd considered the legal risks. The lawyer helped draft a contract that covered all the bases. It was to protect myself in case Atsuko's mother came back to cause trouble later. You know how tricky publishing rights can be, especially since I also bought the title of the story."

Chikako wasn't reckless. She had foreseen many possible problems and had the contract professionally prepared from the start.

"What I wanted was to gain some fame from the story. I bought the name and the rights, and any profit from publishing would be mine. At the very least, I needed to recoup the cost of buying it."

"Atsuko's mother signed the sales contract as her legal guardian."

"But the day after I submitted the story to the publishing house and it got published, I heard the news of Atsuko's suicide."

Chikako's expression darkened at the memory.

What frustrated her most was that all she did was buy a story—yet in the public eye, she became the villain who drove Atsuko to her death.

"And then... yeah, Blue Kingdom exploded in popularity at the time."

Ayako had been about to ask why Chikako didn't clarify things publicly, but then remembered how popular Blue Kingdom had become.

For Chikako, who had purchased the rights, it would've been impossible to come forward. Even if she wanted to, the publishing house would've done everything in its power to stop her.

"I only wanted to use Atsuko's story to build my reputation and bring more attention to my stage plays. I never expected things to go so wrong."

"In the past two years, I've been studying different genres, trying to improve. But I really don't have the kind of imagination Atsuko had. I can't create the type of fantasy worlds she did. So the doubts just kept growing louder."

Thinking about the past two years made Chikako feel even more frustrated.

Still, she hadn't been completely stagnant. Her failures in the fantasy genre had pushed her to explore other types of stories.

Through all of that, she had finally managed to construct a story she felt was promising.

As she spoke, Chikako opened her backpack and pulled out a manuscript she had prepared in advance.

"This time, I didn't try to write fantasy like Atsuko. I focused on the direction I'm good at. Ayako, please take a look."

"Alright."

Ayako accepted the manuscript with a much more serious attitude than before.

(To be continued.)

***

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