Yae Publishing House
Official Website Opening
Celebratory Interview

Hello everyone, and welcome to our special website opening celebratory interview with someone who should need no introduction: the one and only Chief Editor herself, Lady Yae! I’m Kuroda, an editor for the Yae Publishing House, and I’ll be handling asking the questions, which have been submitted by loyal readers. Before we begin, Lady Yae, is there anything you would like to say?

No, that’s quite all right. I’m here today to answer questions from our dear readers, so it would be quite unseemly of me to waste time on idle chatter, don’t you think?

If you’re sure! In that case, let’s leap right into it. The names for all of these questions have been anonymized, and we won’t be able to get to all of them, but I hope we can cover enough to satisfy everyone. Our first question comes from ‘Boba Boy,’ and… oh dear… Um, Lady Yae, do you mind if I skip this one?

No, no, please do go on. I’m most curious as to what this ‘Boba Boy’ asked that has you as white as a sheet, hm?

W-Well then, um… “On the informational posting regarding your Publishing House’s new website, it makes the claim that the Yae Publishing House was founded 300 years ago. Despite this, I can find no reference to it dating back more than forty-three years — indeed, there are records that Kujou Takayuki was most put out when some of the funding for a joint festival between the Grand Narukami Shrine and the Tenryou Commission was claimed by the Shrine in order to fund the founding of the Publishing House. Are there any plans to correct this misinformation?”

‘Misinformation?’ My, my… ‘Boba Boy’ certainly seems to have quite the stick up his ass, don’t you think? It’s nothing but harmless puff, a simple form of marketing polish.

To explain, the Grand Narukami Shrine has long been a home to scribes, and the early texts that the website references were originally published by the Shrine in the form of handwritten copies. I don’t think it’s terribly inaccurate to call that the precursor to the modern Yae Publishing House, do you?

Unrelatedly, I do believe that anyone planning a trip to the Kamisato Estate in the coming weeks should make sure to dress for difficult weather… My fox’s intuition is telling me that there will be a rather impressive storm there for some time.

Luckily for me, I’m not much of a traveler… Well then, our next question is from ‘Beetle Champion.’ They write:

“YO THAT PRETTY PLEASE, MY KITSUNE GUUJI? WAS SOME REAL GOOD STUFF! Super cool of you all to make that bean-free version of Rainbow Aster after what happened too, that shit tasted great, even if there was a mixup and they gave me the original version again the second time, HAHAHA! Anyway uh I was wondering, can you hold another Ms. Hina handshake event? The first one was BEYOND AWESOME!!!!”

The Yae Publishing House always aims to please… I certainly enjoy hearing that a true masterwork like Pretty Please, My Kitsune Guuji? has been receiving the love that it deserves.

To answer ‘Beetle Champion’s’ question, another handshake event is certainly within the realm of possibility, should Ms. Hina’s remarkably busy schedule allow for it. I can’t promise anything at this time, but the fans have been quite vocal… so just give us a little time to iron out the details, and keep an eye on our public announcements.

I have to admit, I’d be looking forward to that one too! Ms. Hina’s quite the woman… Up next we’ve got a question from ‘Dark Wings:’

“While I must admit I have little interest in the Yae Publishing House’s more frivolous publications, the informational texts it publishes are of peerless quality. I was wondering if there were any plans to release a full biography of the Almighty Shogun that goes beyond the less-detailed portions of the Treasured Tales?”

‘Dark Wings’ sounds like she needs to learn how to have fun — our ‘frivolous publications’ provide countless hours of entertainment to people of all kinds in every corner of Teyvat. Such a dull attitude reflects a small mind and a boring life, if you ask me.

A detailed biography of my dear Ei is certainly a possibility, especially now that she’d be available to contribute to it… Hmm, writing a book together with her… Now there’s a marvelous idea…

Um, Lady Yae? I’m sorry to interrupt, but you’ve been muttering to yourself for the last few minutes and it’s too quiet for me to transcribe.

Oh dear, my apologies, I was lost in thought. At any rate, the answer is ‘perhaps.’ Please do continue on.

Um, sure. This one’s from ‘Sole of the Deep.’

Ah, some intelligence at last.

Lady Yae?

Oh, never mind me. Go on.

All right. Sole of the Deep asks… Oh. Uh. Um, is this…?

I can have you replaced if you don’t want to do your job, you know.

Okay, okay! Here goes:

“I’ve been wondering lately… Miko, your outfit shows off a lot of sideboob, but there’s no cleavage. Have you considered swapping it up every now and then? I’d love to see it!”

Several minutes of the Chief Editor laughing uncontrollably precede the following response:

I suppose I should have expected something like that from her… Oh, my ridiculous little fish. If you would please pass me the letter, Kuroda? Thank you.

Yes, as I thought. The true question is watermarked on the page, visible only if held to the light — a simple trick for her adorably cunning little brain, but one certain to fool most of those who wouldn’t expect it. What she actually asked was:

“Do you think that if I asked, Ei would be willing to write about her experiences during the Cataclysm and during the post-Vision Hunt Decree restructuring of Inazuma?”

As I expected, a very specific and interesting question… with an answer that should have been obvious. ‘Sole of the Deep,’ our silly little beloved… if you asked for it, Ei would tear Celestia from the sky and cast it into the depths of the sea. Of course she’ll write a book about her experiences for you… and I would be more than happy to publish it.

M-Moving on… ‘Not a Shrine Maiden’ asks:

“I’ve been thinking of writing a few how-to guides for things that are honestly a lot less complicated than people usually think they are, but I’ve been concerned about approaching the Publishing House because I’m uncertain as to whether contracting as an author would make me an employee of the Grand Narukami Shrine, which I would rather not be. Could I request some clarification on that point?”

A shame that such a minor point would result in such hesitation…

While it’s true that the Yae Publishing House is owned by the Grand Narukami Shrine and its staff are considered to be shrine staff, our authors aren’t registered as employees unless they choose to sign an exclusive contract with the Yae Publishing House. You’re more than welcome to retain an independent status, though I would encourage you to reconsider your hesitation, as the benefits of an exclusive contract are not small…

Speaking as a Yae Publishing House editor, I can confirm that. You really should give it a little more thought! Anyway, up next is a question from ‘Fluffy Ears,’ and I’ll just go ahead and read it:

“Lady Yae, while I do appreciate your help in breaking my shell, cruel though you were… I know you’re the one buying me all of these beauty magazine subscriptions, and it’s reaching the point that I can’t even fit all of them in my house. Could you please stop?”

No. Next question.

A-All right. ‘The Superior Kamisato…’ Um, is this anonymized properly? Who was anonymizing these anyway?

Don’t sweat the details, Kuroda. Continue.

Okay. The Superior Kamisato would like to know:

“I’ve found the Yae Publishing House’s cookbooks to be extremely useful, but every time I attempt to modify the recipes a little it seems to go awry… I had thought that the little cakes I bought would be a perfect addition to the ingredients recommended for a simple hot pot, but the result was… unfit for consumption, I fear, and rendered my friend’s stomach somewhat uneasy. Do you have any recommendations for books that would help me improve my creative cooking?”

As a matter of fact, I do. Not long ago I received a manuscript from… let’s call him ‘the perfect maid.’ It’s a rather excellently-handled work drawing from and expanding upon his experiences attempting to help his young mistress learn not to do such things as use salt in place of sugar or add hot sauce to fruit salad, and while some of it may be old news to you I do suspect that you’re exactly the target audience the author had in mind.

Keep an eye out for Cooking with Caution: A Guide to Avoiding Cake in Your Hot Pot, releasing at some point this winter!

I might have to check that one out myself! Next up is a question from, um, ‘The Tenryou Bomber:’

“The Irodori Festival was… I’m sorry, but it really wasn’t up to my standards for a festival. It didn’t have much in the way of events or attractions, and fireworks were banned across all of Inazuma even though the festival only occupied a small area… Will future Yae Publishing House festivals be returning to the previous, more festival-like style? I’m happy to consult if you’d like!”

Yes, I must admit that even I found the ultimate result of the Irodori Festival less than satisfying. It was my mistake to trust managing something so important to that stupid little boy, even if he supposedly was a ‘specialist.’ As it turns out, his taste in a literature festival is as boring as his taste in clothing, and his ability to create an entertaining atmosphere is about on par with his ability to satisfy his boyfriend.

I assure you that I will not be repeating the same mistake, and future Yae Publishing House events will be handled by more competent members of the Yashiro Commission like your wife rather than her inept brother. A slot will always be reserved for one of your fireworks shows — it’s simply not an Inazuman festival without them.

I see we’ve just given up on the anonymity thing, haven’t we… Well, I suppose that’s fine too. I’ve got a question here from ‘Wannabe Giant Mujina’ that reads as follows:

“I wanna be taller! Is there a book for that?”

A how-to book about growing taller… No, I’m afraid that we don’t stock anything quite like that, but we do have a number of books on nutrition that may be helpful for a growing child. I would recommend asking the staff of your favorite bookstore where they keep such things.

A book about growing taller… I have to admit, if something like that existed, I might be a little tempted. ‘Fist of Justice’ asked:

“The Yae Publishing House has produced many fantastic mystery novels, but recently I’ve gotten a little interested in the idea of a story that explores the way in which revealing the truth can sometimes be the wrong choice. Is that something that the Yae Publishing House might someday provide?”

Given what a fascinating idea that is, the answer is ‘yes.’ In point of fact, I do recall hearing something about a true story that might provide remarkable inspiration for something along those lines not long ago… I believe I’ll suggest it to some of our contracted authors and see what they make of it.

Keep an eye out!

I’d love to read that, too… or be the editor for it. You always know how to pick the best ideas, Lady Yae. Next is ‘Househusband With Terrible Taste In Men…’ wow that one’s a mouthful… anyway, he wrote:

“Hey, no question here, just wanted to send in my thanks for helping me get published! The whole process was super smooth and the editor I worked with was so supportive. To anyone on the fence about submitting a manuscript to the Yae Publishing House: go for it! The worst that can happen is getting turned down.”

Always nice to hear from a happy author… and I do agree, we encourage rookie authors to try out. I’m always looking for new perspectives in the writing we publish, and the goal is not always to suit my taste but rather to ensure a wide array of tastes are satisfied…

Which is not, of course, to say that I would ever approve the publishing of material that disgusts me. Submit such things at your own peril.

Please, please listen to that warning. You don’t want to know what happened to the last person who made an unwise submission… Uh, right, last but not least is a question submitted just before the interview started by… uh, well, ‘Pink Priestess Catnip.’ They want to know:

“Miko, do you think you could pick up some more dango milk on your way home? I’m out. Oh! And some sakura mochi, if you could, and if there are any fun new novels I’d love to see them!”

Oh, Ei… My silly, silly god. Of course I can do all of that. Kuroda, the interview is over, I’ve got some shopping to do.

Uh, right! Thank you for your time, Lady Yae!

On behalf of the Yae Publishing House, I hope everyone enjoyed this short interview with the Chief Editor, and will be looking forward to future features! Questions for Lady Yae can be placed in the box at the Yae Publishing House counter… though in the future they may undergo a somewhat more thorough vetting process.