I really don't want to be reborn.

He suddenly turned around and pulled the girl who had been muttering to herself behind him to the front: "Little Black Cat, haven't you been wanting to ask about your submission? Ask her now."

The black cat clenched its little fists nervously, stared at Kyosuke, and murmured something.

I'm slightly nervous.

The cat's meow, muffled in its throat, sounded like someone singing inside a wooden barrel.

Meeting Kyosuke's teasing gaze, she suddenly made up her mind, turned her head forward, and timidly asked, "Excuse me... have you seen the doujinshi I sent you a few days ago? The one with the author's name, Kuroneko."

It seemed that he had heard that someone had an incurable disease and was about to feign grief when, just a few minutes later, he heard the news of a misdiagnosis—that's how strange Mr. Kumagai Ryunosuke's expression was.

"Doujinshi, Black Cat... did you send that?"

"um, yes."

Kumagai glanced at the smiling but silent Kousaka Kyosuke, then nodded with a complicated expression: "I've finished reading it... Of course, I've also finished reading that thick set of setting materials."

Old Pudding is awesome!

Even Kyosuke Kousaka couldn't last that long.

To him, if Kirino's novels were the ramblings of a female literary youth, then Kuroneko's setting collection was like the ancient texts of Onmyōdō, which seemed like the ramblings of an ancient person.

I don't understand, little black cat!

Kosaka watched them chat and discuss with a headache.

Kumagai's face speaks for itself, and his words were extremely brief.

The black cat is also a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) who speaks in a gloomy voice.

So, the conversation between these two is very similar to the scene where villains do bad things. Kyosuke rubbed his forehead and thought to himself that they were probably born to play bad guys.

"These are copies of the original manuscript and setup information."

Kumagai took out a large stack of A4 papers and placed them on the table. Kousaka Kyosuke admired his patience once again. It was this kind of patience that made this Akuma-like figure an excellent editor.

"Does Miss Black Cat aspire to become a novelist?"

Upon hearing this question, the black cat suddenly turned to look at Kyosuke Kousaka, but remained silent.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You tell me what you want to do in the future."

"……snort."

The girl clutched her skirt tightly and lowered her head: "Whether it's writing novels or drawing comics, I enjoy both very much."

The scholar Black Cat began her speech: "I am happy writing novels, I am happy drawing comics, and these two kinds of happiness intertwine, bringing me a great deal of joy..."

Miss Black Cat, do you know the difference between a dog that gets hit and a white scholar who gets hit?

The difference is that there were obvious skid marks in front of the dog that was hit and killed.

Don't make trouble.

"I know Dengeki Bunko also accepts manga, but... I still want to write novels."

She glanced at Kyosuke again, leaving him completely bewildered.

"Okay, then... I'll discuss this with you under these circumstances."

Kumagai's tone was just like a doctor in a hospital.

It was filled with compassion.

"Please tell me about your experience submitting your work to the Newcomer Award."

“Every year, we receive a new author award from your publishing house.”

Have you tried submitting your work to other publishers' new author awards?

“I submit my work to the MF and SD Newcomer Awards every year, but I’ve never made it to the final selection.”

Ryunosuke Kumagai gave a positive assessment: "Although he is still very young, he is truly remarkable."

He also looked at Kyosuke Kosaka, his tone complicated: "May I ask about your initial motivation, or rather, your wish, for submitting your novel?"

The question was clearly directed at the black cat, but he was looking at Kyosuke Kousaka instead.

Kyosuke was becoming increasingly confused.

What's wrong with these two? Weren't they discussing Kuro Neko's doujinshi? What's with them staring at me like that?

The black cat girl pondered, "To be honest, the main reason is that I want to make money. The royalties are much better than what I earn from my current job."

It's rare to see a black cat speaking seriously.

"If I can successfully debut, it will also provide my family with a considerable source of income."

Kyosuke interjected, stroking her smooth hair: "This child is very sensible. She often works outside without telling her family. Sometimes I feel sorry for her."

Kumagai looked at him strangely again, with the kind of look one would give a scumbag: "You feel sorry for him?"

"What are you saying? Why not? Sometimes I think how wonderful it would be if she were my sister."

The sensible and thrifty black cat lowered its head.

I couldn't see her expression.

Ignoring the hand stroking her head, she suddenly looked up, her face already as red as an apple: "Of course, there are other reasons..."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"..."

She didn't say anything, just kept her head down.

Ryunosuke Kumagai sighed, stood up, and walked out.

As they passed each other, he patted Kyosuke on the shoulder, his tone strange: "Little brother, take care."

"What do you mean?! What happened to her doujinshi?"

A rough, deep voice slowly drifted over: "The result is that it's utterly unacceptable! I personally absolutely despise the womanizing male protagonist in it, so this doujinshi is rejected..."

The stack of setting materials lay on the table, silent and timid.

Tucked inside that stack of art books was a group photo from a summer comic.

Poor thing, it never sees the light of day.

------

Chapter Twenty-Three: Getting to Know Each Other Again

While most of Kumagai Ryunosuke's evaluations of her doujinshi were negative, some were positive.

For example, the production team was very meticulous and attentive; some of the dialogue between the characters was quite interesting; and there was an original character...

She is an original character named Kirino who does not appear in the main Massera story...

According to Ryunosuke Kumagai, "After watching it, I became completely obsessed with Kirino. She's just sooooo cute..."

Such praise greatly surprised Kyosuke Kousaka, who was astonished that the famous Pudding-chan's face and voice would utter something like "sooooo cute"...

"The editor, Pudding, felt that all the characters except Kirino were unwatchable, saying that too many settings had been added."

"Of course, you have to add your own settings to your doujinshi."

“He said I still can’t use this technique skillfully. To put it bluntly, it has become a typical 'wa-na-bi' (inefficient and unproductive) novel.”

Kuroko relayed Gouki's evaluation of her novel, her tone still low and calm: "In short—it's still a long way from being good enough to be published and sold."

It seems they were hurt by such comments.

The cat's face became even paler than usual.

With a hand stroking her head, Kyosuke Kosaka began to soothe her: "Don't be discouraged, you can improve slowly. You're still just a middle school student, it's already quite good that you've reached this level."

The black cat was obviously not satisfied with this consolation: "But Kirino..."

Kirino's level is even worse than hers, yet she's already publishing a book!

What makes that clumsy guy, who's like the factory manager of a prosthetics factory, so special?

As the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison. Obviously, the little black cat still holds a grudge about this. Presumably, every time Kirino shows off to her, she will grit her teeth and endure the anger just like she is now.

Why do you always want to compare yourself to Kirino?

Kyosuke asked curiously, "I think you two don't need to compare at all. Look at you, you can write, draw, make music and games. You're way ahead of her in Akihabara."

"That's not how it works."

The black cat suddenly stopped.

They were in the corridor when it started raining again. The raindrops were so fine you could almost count them all; it was like God's incomplete urination when he got up at night in winter.

"That's not how it works!"

She repeated it, emphasizing her words.

"When I saw that woman looking so dejected and unwilling, I actually thought of myself and felt a similar sense of empathy."

She was still recalling the defeated expression on Miss Fate's face.

That expression was so ugly that even a fly would twist its ankle if it landed on it.

"My novel was criticized as being worse than dog shit, so why are those trashy mobile phone novels praised like this? I just can't understand it at all."

"The things I hate most are accepted by the general public, but my own writing is completely unacceptable. If I'm just indulging myself, then Kirino is also writing whatever she wants, so why am I the only one being completely rejected?"

Black Cat also expressed similar sentiments and dissatisfaction at this summer's Comic.

That's true. People like Kyosuke Kousaka and Utaha Kasumigaoka are one thing, but why is Kirino, who has absolutely no writing talent, more successful than her?

Kyosuke looked at her silently for a while: "Perhaps, this is reality."

"A hateful reality."

"From the perspective of the reader market, this is not surprising at all."

It seemed as if he was also recalling his early self, during that dark period when he suffered a publishing Waterloo. Kyosuke Kosaka stood by the corridor watching the rain fall.

"Many people start writing because of their love and passion for certain things. In other words, the writing they produce best reflects their own aesthetic sense."

"However, people are different."