Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Although Hijikata Isamu is much older than Kuroba Akira, there is no generation gap between them. Many internet memes from their previous lives are now only known to Kuroba Akira and Hijikata Isamu.

Although Ms. Tashiro was also a time traveler, she seemed to have never been online much in her previous life, so she was rarely seen, and even if she did, she wouldn't participate in their chat.

"Thanks, Hijikata-san. I'll treat you to a big meal when I make some money."

"Ha, then I'll wait and see. I've become a piece of trash in this world, so don't end up like me."

Hijikata Yu chuckled self-deprecatingly, then yawned, rubbed his face, and roused himself to return to his room to continue working.

Kuroba Akira knew that Hijikata Isamu was having a hard time, mainly due to financial problems, and seemed to owe a lot of money, but Kuroba Akira was also penniless and couldn't help him much.

Moreover, Kuroba Akira knows nothing about programming, and he has no intention of developing in this direction. After all, programmers are all like cultivators, and they start to go bald after the age of thirty. Hijikata-san's hairline is getting higher and higher.

Not every time traveler can have a cheat code and live a life like in a fantasy novel after they travel through time.

Does crossing over mean escaping the sea of ​​suffering? No, it just means falling into another sea of ​​suffering.

At least the three transmigrators in the Kobayashi family all have their own difficulties.

But now that I've been reborn, I absolutely cannot repeat the same mistakes. In this life, I must live a carefree and easy life!

The transmigrator, who has already died once, is not afraid of hardship!

After getting the laptop, Kuroba Akira returned to the living room, where Murasaki was reciting Ran's lines, already quite well.

Kuroba Akira didn't disturb her; he simply sat down at the table next to her, plugged in the power, and turned on the computer.

The familiar yet retro Windows 7 boot screen appears, but this is already the latest operating system in the world.

Kuroba Akira borrowed the computer not to play games, but to use Office.

In his previous life, he was a screenwriter and copywriter, spending most of his time working with keyboards and WPS.

I used to write novels in the library just to practice my handwriting and to recall those novels that were suitable for copying.

If we're really going to get serious, we'll have to use computers.

So... let's begin creating!

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Classic Themes of Light Novels

Before deciding what to write, the first thing to determine is 'which publisher to submit to'.

Becoming a light novel author isn't something that happens easily. Even if Akira Kuroba has professional experience, it doesn't necessarily mean he can easily dominate the field and get a publishing opportunity.

In this world, isekai (another world) novels haven't yet become widespread, mainly because smartphones haven't been invented yet, and most ordinary people don't have the habit of reading novels on their phones. Therefore, websites like 'Become a Novelist' that serialize online novels haven't yet entered their golden age of development.

There is no precedent for web novels to be converted into paperback publications. Most online serials are like forum posts or blog posts, driven purely by interest.

This also means that the chances of newcomers debuting are even slimmer.

To become a novelist, one must first win top prizes or awards for outstanding works in various newcomer competitions before making a debut, just like in traditional literature. In fact, the competition is even more intense due to the younger age of writers.

Alternatively, one could submit their work directly to a publisher, competing with a vast number of other light novels, hoping to be noticed by an editor and thus gain the opportunity for serialization. However, very few people get their debut by recommending themselves to the editorial department.

Shiori Shirai has already won awards and has publishing experience, so she will definitely submit her manuscript to a familiar publisher this time, since that would increase her chances of getting published.

It can be said that Kuroba Akira was at a disadvantage from the start.

The first orthodox route was immediately rejected by Kuroba Akira. Not to mention that there was no light novel competition being held recently, even if he had participated, the review process would have taken several months. Just waiting for the results would have already exceeded the month that he had agreed upon with Shirai Shiori.

Furthermore, these open call for submissions usually require review by many people, and there are too many uncertainties involved. You never know if your submission will be rejected because of an editor's personal preference.

Therefore, Akira Kuroba could only choose the second option: to recommend himself and submit his manuscript to a publishing house in hopes of getting a publication opportunity.

That's why choosing which publisher is such a crucial step.

But in fact, Akira Kuroba already had a plan in mind regarding which publisher to choose.

In his previous research on making money through book copying, Kuroba Akira had discovered a new publishing house called "Hurricane Library," which had unearthed a large number of new talents after its founding, with a higher rate of newcomers debuting than other publishing houses.

After all, as an emerging publishing house, if it wants to gain a foothold in this industry, it can only continuously seek out fresh talent, in addition to relying on the leftovers of established publishing houses.

Furthermore, Hurricane Library's flagship work in recent years, "Unfortunate Little Fortune Teller, Don't Cry," is just coming to an end, but there is no new flagship work to take its place. Therefore, submitting your work now will give you a better chance of being noticed.

Of course, Akira Kuroba didn't intend to become a mainstay, but the lack of a mainstay means that the editors are eager for interesting new works to appear, which will be more widely accepted and they are willing to give more opportunities to newcomers.

Kuroba Akira first found the publisher's address online and copied it into his notebook. After that, all he had to do was finish his work and mail it to that address.

You can submit your manuscript directly to the email address, but submitting the original manuscript will be given more attention, so you should also do a good job of this superficial work.

If Kuroba Akira hadn't been short of money to travel to the editorial department, he would have been willing to visit them in person with his work.

It's fair to say that submitting articles is still quite cumbersome in the current world. Once web-based writing becomes popular, you'll be able to participate in the writing contest simply by going online to the official homepage of Hurricane Library and leaving your name and phone number.

However, by then it will be much more difficult to stand out from the surge in the number of works...

Therefore, now is a rare and opportune time.

Next, I need to decide what to write.

This is actually the most difficult part. After all, everything is difficult at the beginning, and only by choosing the right subject matter can you lay the foundation for victory.

Akira Kuroba has a wealth of experience, but this ironically makes him suffer from decision-making difficulties.

He has seen so many great works, and the variety of his works is so extensive that they cover almost all genres.

However, every era has its corresponding works. Being too ahead of its time will only be regarded as an oddity and a freak, and people will only reject it instead of appreciating it.

Therefore, we need to write things that are in line with the times.

Half a year after Kuroba Akira transmigrated to this world, he also experienced the social atmosphere of this otherworldly neon.

The Japanese in this world are not living a particularly disheartening life. Perhaps it's because they haven't experienced the collapse of their bubble dreams due to a single agreement. Overall, the atmosphere is still positive and uplifting.

But to be honest, Akira Kuroba still doesn't quite understand what people like to watch.

The almost intuitive sense of trends and currents that I developed through long periods of reading in my previous life is completely useless in this world.

Kuroba Akira's concept of 'fun' differed from the public's understanding of 'fun,' making him, as a time traveler, 'out of touch with reality.'

This was also the biggest problem that Kuroba Akira faced when he wanted to carry out his plagiarism plan.

Should I write a power-up story? Or a fantasy/otherworld transmigration story?

They'll probably fail miserably.

These types of novels generally have weak storylines and rely entirely on illustrations and exciting moments; the content itself is not very good.

Moreover, without the support of 'popularity', such novels would probably be difficult to catch the eye of traditional editors.

So, are there any enduring themes in light novels...?

Have!

That's my younger sister!

That's right, stories about sister complex are bound to be a hit!

This kind of youth romance novel, which includes family disputes, melodramatic love stories, and focuses on character relationships, is sure to attract the public's attention!

Furthermore, the world hasn't yet seen the work that sparked the sister complex craze, "Oreimo," which means that Akira Kuroba can seize the initiative.

Because it was a work I watched during my student days, Akira Kuroba had almost forgotten how the plot unfolded, only remembering a few key characters, but he still remembered the opening gimmick very clearly.

The younger sister, who debuted as a gyaru (a type of Japanese adult film actress) in middle school, has a hidden hobby of making eroge (adult videos). After her older brother discovers this, they begin a secret relationship. The brother starts finding friends with similar otaku interests for his sister, and she gets to know many more people. She starts to get jealous when her brother gets closer to other women, and her personality changes from tsundere to spoiled...

Alas, what an intriguing opening to a story!

The tsundere archetype hasn't faded from the scene yet, and the feeling of slowly winning over a stubborn character makes it even more relatable. When you see the other person open up and show their shy side, you feel that all the previous efforts were worth it. So, people who like tsundere archetypes actually like this bittersweet feeling that makes them irresistible.

That's the essence!

Having read many works about siscon (sister complex), Akira Kuroba is now able to spot any 'trickery' in them at a glance.

The key is to capture that feeling of being neither too close nor too distant, ambiguous and vague, seemingly near yet far, so that the reader is left wanting more and wondering how things will unfold.

Great, then the theme is set.

Kuroba Akira typed 'Subject: Sister' into the document.

Next comes the creative outline.

But what follows is the beginning of hell...

Chapter Seventy: Creation is Hell

When an interest becomes work, all the joy is worn away, leaving only painful struggle.

Kuroba Akira's brain began to work at high speed. Fortunately, with the "Academic A" grade copied from the class president, his thinking became much more flexible.

The first thing to determine is the relationship between the protagonists, the brother and sister, because the opening is the most important. There is also the saying that online novels have three golden chapters. In an era where the reading pace is getting faster and faster, a good opening can determine the life or death of a novel.

There are relationships like the Kousaka siblings that start with negative affection levels, and there are sibling relationships like Blank's where they were lovers in a past life, so their affection levels are maxed out from the beginning.

Setting the initial affinity level is a very important step.

After much thought, Akira Kuroba decided to define their sibling relationship as "they used to have a very good relationship, but later became somewhat estranged due to various reasons."

This way, the younger sister's emotional shift will feel more natural, and later on, flashback scenes between the siblings can be added to create a climax in the plot.

Next, we need to determine the younger sister's attributes and charm points. What kind of younger sister would be lovable?

Anyway, it's definitely not being arrogant.

While the voice actors' shouts of "Baka! Hentai! Urusai!" are cute, when written into a novel, they sound too aggressive and not cute at all.

Furthermore, Akira Kuroba didn't want to write about tsundere characters, mainly because he himself didn't like tsundere characters.

It's difficult to capture the essence and charm of something you don't like.

Furthermore, the feeling of forcibly creating misunderstandings to advance the plot because of his sister's stubbornness also made Kuroba Akira very unhappy.

If I were to write a tsundere character, I would prefer to write a scene where the tsundere character suffers a setback and then regrets it, crying and begging the protagonist to change his mind. That would be much more satisfying.

However, since the goal is to highlight the subtle feelings between siblings, the younger sister, as the soul of the entire work, must have subjective initiative.

A proactive personality... maybe she's hiding a yandere side.

She seems indifferent to her brother, but she actually cares about him terribly. All her actions are aimed at cheering him up, which gives her a driving force and also lays the groundwork and foreshadows whether she will eventually take the orthopedic route.

Then there's the hype. Actually, Akira Kuroba thinks the erotic content in Oreimo is a great example. Fushimi Fushimi really knows how to find hype. The later Eromanga Sensei also features a sister who draws erotic pictures, full of suggestive elements that leave much to the imagination.

So what should I write about? My uncle's sister?

No, that won't work. If the protagonist finds out I'm writing a brother complex story, it'll immediately jump into a straightforward plot like "brother, lend me your dictionary," and then it'll become an R18 erotic novel.

So it's still about butter, but instead of playing with butter, it's about making butter, and that's how the beginning comes about.