Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

【Guitar Hero is not dead.】

After downvoting and blocking those nasty comments, Hibiki Iruma flipped through the updated Guitar Hero covers.

He didn't know that Goto Ichiri had such an account before, but now through this account, he seemed to have suddenly understood another side of his "friend" who he had been with for three years.

Did that guy make any good friends in high school?

With a glimmer of hope, Iruma Hibiki was a little worried about Goto Ichiri. In fact, he suddenly felt that it might be better to make the appointment during Golden Week instead of Christmas.

41 Iruma Hibiki's Weekend

Saturday morning was a normal day for Hibiki Iruma. He didn't have the habit of sleeping in. Or perhaps, because he had been brooding over the matter of time travel for many years, he actually had some kind of sleep disorder.

He woke up from his sleep at 7 o'clock in the morning.

He came back a little late last night. After leaving Ijichi Hongxia, he had a midnight snack on the way home.

Minamikasai was quiet at night, with few shops open. He was not old enough to enter places like izakayas yet, and if he went into an izakaya in his school uniform, he would definitely be kicked out by the manager.

So last night's supper was at the supermarket.

Although the two small cakes for less than 400 yen were not very delicious, they were very filling and he enjoyed them very much. It was also good for his poor wallet which had been dry recently.

After sorting out the things he had neglected last night, Iruma Hibiki realized that his schedule for this weekend was completely packed and he had no free time at all.

He will go to Fanxing soon to meet Ijichi Hongka, whom he just parted ways with, and then start his part-time job for the day. Then they will have lunch together at noon, and then he will go to meet Nagasaki Suyo, and then meet Chihaya Aine, who contacted them online.

Basically, I will spend the whole day today in the livehouse and with the band.

Then on Sunday, I will discuss the book signing event with Machida Sonoko.

[Editor Machida, can we discuss the book signing event arrangements tomorrow?]

Using honorifics, Hibiki Iruma chatted earnestly with Machida Sonoko. Although he often teased the editor, he also knew that in the Fuzugawa Bunko, the editors always stood on the same side as the authors.

In other words, sometimes, the editor's desire to accept the author's manuscript may be stronger than the author himself.

[That's right, Mr. Iruma, would you like to meet at a cafe outside, or in the library?]

【Editor Machida, it's up to you to decide.】

Hibiki Iruma responded casually.

For him, there is no difference between the two, it all depends on Machida Sonoko's mood.

"How about meeting at the Fuzuigawa Bunko headquarters at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning? Iruma-sensei's house isn't far from here, right? By the way, as a regular author, please keep your travel stubs; the editorial department will reimburse you."

[Is your company some decades old? Do you still have such a good system?]

Iruma Hibiki made a slight complaint.

[Not everyone gets this, only official authors do. By the way, if you choose to meet outside, the editorial department can reimburse the expenses. Of course, the premise is that, Iruma-sensei, you can complete the upcoming book signing event and the subsequent work contract renewal.]

Even at this time, Machida Sonoko did not forget her job - to urge for updates.

There are many authors who only write one book, right? What if I don't have a new work by then?

Iruma Hibiki asked with a hint of seriousness.

In fact, he still has no idea about his new work. Although there are some fragments in his mind, they are fragmented. He only decided that the new work will be about youth love.

When talking about youth romance, we have to mention the works of Sanqiu Suzuki.

For Iruma Hibiki, Miaki Uzumaki is one of the few authors who has had a profound influence on him, perhaps second only to Iruma Rengen and Nishino Isin. Of course, above these three mythical gods, there is also the god among gods, Mitsuki Nomura.

But these are all later stories.

In this world where there are no favorite authors, Iruma Hibiki is the "Iruma Human World" of this world.

Perhaps he actually has some ambitions in his works, but unfortunately, his current inspiration and level have prevented Hibiki Iruma from having such ambitions and fantasies.

The editorial department will reduce the allocation of promotional resources to you, Mr. Iruma, until you complete your new work.

【I see. 】

[Iruma-sensei, are you serious? ]

It was obvious that Iruma Hibiki's words made Machida Sonoko feel uneasy, and she confirmed it again.

[No, at least I don't have any intention of giving up just yet. I'm just asking.]

Iruma Hibiki sighed, then responded seriously to Machida Sonoko.

He remembered that Iruma Rengen was an author who was extremely good at writing in multiple styles. He had published good works on themes such as sister control, yuri, fantasy, and dark otaku.

Among them, there are also many films of excellent quality and well-written plots.

For example, the last period of time in "Sister's Life" is exactly the same as the passage of time in the book, which allows Iruma Hibiki to still recall the shock he felt when he first turned those pages.

If Hibiki Iruma has any ambitions in novels.

That is, he who uses the name Iruma Renjian wants to become an author like "Iruma Renjian".

But in this matter, Iruma Hibiki clearly felt the pain of powerlessness.

At this moment, let alone becoming an author like Iruma Rengen, it would be an incredible feat for him to write a new work that could be approved.

I hope so. If you encounter any problems with your writing, please feel free to ask me. Helping authors complete their work is part of my job. Of course, in some special cases, I may choose other ways to intervene in your writing.

Iruma Hibiki had heard of what Machida Sonoko mentioned as the other method.

The so-called editor's trick is to lock the author in a hotel room near the Fushigawa Bunko library and supervise him 24 hours a day to complete his work.

Not many authors can enjoy such treatment.

But most of them said they were emotionally stable.

Most of them completed their works before the deadline.

But Iruma Hibiki had no plans to stay in those hotels.

【I see. 】

He responded to Machida Sonoko carefully using honorifics, then sighed and closed the dialog box with Machida Sonoko.

Next, I will almost prepare for today's part-time job——

[Preparing breakfast, about to go to Fanxing for my part-time job.]

Iruma Hibiki edited a series of messages on her mobile phone and sent them to Nagasaki Motoyo.

According to the neighbor's sleeping and resting habits of Nagasaki Suyo, she should have woken up by now, but this morning, Iruma Hibiki did not see Nagasaki Suyo.

【Good morning. 】

A few minutes later, a reply came.

[Which outfit do you think looks good?]

For Hibiki Iruma, being addressed by name was actually a bit unfamiliar.

After all, his parents liked to call him by nicknames with some cute extensions, and before, he didn't have any friends who could call him by his first name.

So at this moment, the way Nagasaki Suyo addressed him was enough to overwhelm Iruma Hibiki's composure.

Later, Iruma Hibiki saw the photo that Nagasaki Suyo sent later. On a clean white double bed, a blue dress and a white one were placed on the slightly wrinkled white sheets.

【Blue would be better.】

After imagining what Nagasaki Suyo would look like wearing it, Iruma Hibiki gave his answer.

"That's it, then. Thank you, Xiang. I'm actually a little nervous about meeting Chihaya-san today. After all, Chihaya-san is the student council president—"

42 Chihaya Aine's thoughts on abandoning her wife

In fact, Iruma Xiang had a big misjudgment about people's feelings.

That is, people whose so-called sixth sense is not accurate.

However, since she is not a girl, it is natural that she does not have a mysterious but always useful ability like the sixth sense. However, Iruma Hibiki always finds his misjudgment in this matter, which occasionally troubles him.

Just like when he and Ijichi Nikka met again after a night apart, and the two of them gradually began to work together tacitly, Iruma Hibiki saw a girl who looked a bit like the girl in the photos online coming to the entrance of Fanxing and looking around -

As for why I say they are somewhat similar.

The top photo that Chihaya Aine posted on her Moments, which was the photo of the student council president giving a speech, was obviously not recent, because the girl who appeared at the door at that moment, in Iruma Hibiki's opinion, was at least a bit taller than the girl in the photo and had a better figure.

So that would have been a year or two ago.

"Hello, are you Chihaya-san?"

Ijichi Nijika was preparing the drum set in the rehearsal room, and Nagasaki Soyo was probably on the way. Iruma Hibiki, who didn't expect Chihaya Aine to come to Fanxing so early, took the initiative to go up and say hello.

"Ah, hello. Yes, I'm Chihaya Aine, and you're... Iruma-san, right?"

To Hibiki Iruma, Chihaya Aine's voice is both strange and not strange.

Why do you say that?

Because Chihaya Aion's voice doesn't sound like her real voice at all, but Iruma Hibiki has become accustomed to the way Nagasaki Soyo usually speaks, so when he faced Chihaya Aion, he accepted this setting in an instant.

Chihaya Aine is a girl who is used to speaking in a cute voice.

Hibiki Iruma labeled her like this.

"Yes, I'm Hibiki Iruma, currently the lead guitarist in the band, tentatively."

"Tentative?"

Chihaya Aine asked back with some curiosity.

"Because I'm a complete newcomer, it's tentative."

Iruma Hibiki did not try to hide anything but directly stated his situation.

Chihaya Aine tightened the guitar bag she was carrying. Inside was her newly bought guitar, which was completely unopened, but it seemed like she had bought it more than a year ago.

Yes, about a year ago, Chihaya Aine discovered that everyone was beginning to be interested in girl bands, so she bought this guitar for her own purposes, and then got along with everyone by adopting the persona of a girl in a band.

"As for me, I can play the guitar a little..."

Chihaya Aine was embarrassed to say that she was a complete newcomer, so she used ambiguous words like "a little bit".

After all, she had seen many performances by high school girl bands.

Now she roughly knows how to distinguish between a bass and a guitar. Although she still makes mistakes occasionally, her success rate is at least 8%. She also roughly knows how to hold a guitar.

That's all.

"That's amazing, Chihaya-kun. I remember when we were chatting you said you were the student council president."

"Yes, I am currently the president of the Fukuro High School Student Council."

A smile appeared on Chihaya Aine's face. Being praised by others was very important to Chihaya Aine. She chose to be the student council president and play in a band just because she wanted to be praised.

"Iruma-san?"

At this moment, Ijichi Hongxia also walked out of the performance hall. She was busy finishing up the performance of the previous band.

"This is Chihaya, the classmate I contacted online before."

Iruma Hibiki made room so that Ijichi Nikka and Chihaya Aine could look each other in the eye.

"Hey! You're Chihaya-san! You're so much prettier than in the photo! I didn't even recognize you."

"Eh?!"

Ijichi Kouka's straightforward praise made Chihaya Aine stunned. After all, it was a little sudden, but Chihaya Aine was still very pleased with it, and a smile appeared on her face almost instantly.

"Thank you for the compliment. Ijichi-san is also very beautiful."

After the initial surprise, Chihaya Aine also responded.

A few minutes later, in the rehearsal room that Ijichi Hongxia had booked in advance, the three of them sat on both sides of a round table.

"Our band is probably still missing one member."

When Ijichi Hongka wanted to get the topic dice, Chihaya Aine took the initiative to start the topic and took the initiative of this meeting into her own hands.

As for Hibiki Iruma, he was not surprised by Chihaya Aine's behavior.

After all, he had a rough idea of Chihaya Aine's personality before.

"Nagasaki-san will arrive in about an hour or two as agreed. Chihaya-san is too early."

Ijichi Hongka smiled gently, supporting her chin with both hands, and looked in the direction of Chihaya Aine.

"Then let's talk about the band after everyone is here."