Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Then the Goto family's exclamations were heard in the living room, drowning out the already noisy TV.

A replay of the horse racing was playing on the TV.

In fact, earlier, Goto Ichiri was worried that her father would go bankrupt because of his addiction to horse racing, and she would have no money to eat, and would end up on the streets and starve to death.

Of course, the fact that such a fantasy actually ended with Hibiki Iruma is another matter.

but--

When the cheers from the horse racing replay sounded again after the exclamation, Goto Ichiri naturally thought of this matter.

The delusion in the closet is actually her means of survival.

It's like a Guitar Hero account.

Is she heartbroken?

Goto Ichiri thought about what Goto Jiri said.

Does she like Hibiki Iruma?

In order to avoid the sight of Goto Jiri and his parents, Goto Ichiri retreated into the closet and made up his mind not to go out even until tomorrow morning.

If you are in class——

Please ask for leave.

Just say you're sick.

Actually, this is not a lie.

For Goto Ichiri, this is indeed the case. She has been feeling uncomfortable and stuffy in her chest for a long time.

The sound of the laptop's fan echoed in the small, dark closet. On the screen, under Iruma Rengen's account, there was actually a figure of Nagasaki Suyo.

She was the first fan to comment on Iruma Rengen's work.

He also attached a long blessing and mentioned that the heroine in the book was very similar to himself and had the same daily habits.

Then came Machida Sonoko's question.

After all, it is not surprising that the author's novels have prototypes, just like the senior schoolmate that a certain old thief can't forget even if he becomes a dog in his next life. However, if it causes trouble to the person concerned, it will easily cause a public relations accident.

So at first, Machida Sonoko was a little nervous.

until--

Bah! Current charge!

In fact, Machida Sonoko couldn't understand why Iruma Hibiki looked so haggard. She thought that calling him a cucumber hit by frost was probably a compliment to him.

Of course, the same is true to some extent for Goto Ichiri on the other side.

Because below, Nagasaki Suyo’s account has a public reply——

"Actually, we're in a relationship in real life, so it's okay. I was actually surprised because I was the one who confessed in the beginning."

If Goto Ichiri still had any illusions before.

Well, at this moment, this fantasy is over.

The so-called curse that if you make friends at Christmas, you will fight, fortune teller, is it just a joke?

is it?

Even at this moment, Goto Ichiri was still denying it in his heart and didn't want to believe it.

Of course, this wasn't some passionate story of determination, trust, and a promise to a superhero, but rather a so-called sunk cost. For Goto Ichiri, whose high school career was already ruined at the beginning, all she had left was that promise.

After struggling and hesitating for a long time, she finally opened the official website of the Busei Bunko as if she had made up her mind.

The time and location for Iruma Renjian's book signing event had already been confirmed. It would take place on Sunday afternoon, the first week after the novel's release. The venue was a lecture hall near Akihabara that was often rented out for press conferences. A search for the address yielded the first result: Dr. Chubachi's lecture on the time machine from last week.

It will actually be held on Sunday next week.

The novel will probably go on sale on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

There are no designated tickets or admission requirements for the book signing event, so you may need to queue.

This is natural for newcomers. Only very popular old authors may sell a limited number of tickets when holding a book signing event to avoid being overwhelmed.

Generally, for an author, especially a new author, it is considered a great success if dozens of people come to his book signing event in a day.

The estimated time for meeting, shaking hands, signing autographs, and asking questions is 5 minutes per person. The earliest waiting time is 8:9 am, and the estimated start time is from 11:1 to 4: am, and then from : to : pm.

Standard book signing session duration schedule.

The rules for the afternoon session are not yet determined, and may be slightly changed depending on the popularity of the morning session.

Goto Ichiri looked at every word on the screen carefully, forcing himself to recite it as if he were engraving it on his bones.

She then downloaded map software and used navigation following online tutorials.

Of course, her house is not very close to Akihabara.

If she stayed in such a crowded place for even a second, she would feel dizzy and immediately melt into Goto Slime.

but--

Goto Ichiri wants to change.

She is going to meet Ruma Renjian.

That is her classmate Iruma.

"Speaking of prototypes, Iruma-sensei really surprised me. Your description of the prototype of the heroine in your novel is so detailed that I can even recognize it in the heroine herself. Although from the beginning, I wondered if such detailed descriptions were because she herself had a prototype."

"Fortunately, this didn't cause a PR incident. Next time, it's better not to write something so obvious that people can see it at a glance. Just change it up a bit."

Machida Sonoko spoke in a businesslike manner, hiding her jealousy, envy and dissatisfaction.

He even showed a gnashing teeth expression.

"Yeah, okay, I know."

And Iruma Hibiki agreed.

Indeed, when he first started writing the book, he never thought that Nagasaki Suyo would exist in this world and that the two would meet.

After all, becoming lovers now is a reality that seems like a dream.

Although what happened yesterday still bothered him a little.

Also, will she come to his book signing event?

Hibiki Iruma suddenly thought of Ichiri Goto.

If she comes, what should I say to her, or should I say nothing?

Iruma Hibiki was thinking that the long-awaited reunion might come sooner than expected.

53 What I Like and What is Right

After all, does he really miss Goto Ichiri?

When this question arose, Iruma Hibiki was actually shocked by himself.

He had never thought that he would become a person who would think like this in the past few days, but in the end, he was very concerned about Goto Ichiri——

If I were to talk about nostalgia, that's probably the case.

At least his junior high school life, although he always said it was bad, unsatisfactory, and far from the so-called story, but when everything was over, Iruma Hibiki began to miss it.

"Editor Machida, I have a personal question I'd like to ask you."

"Hmm? Please?"

Machida Enko looked at Iruma Hibiki in surprise.

In fact, for Machida Sonoko, Iruma Hibiki has changed a lot. She still vaguely remembers Iruma Hibiki during spring break. At that time, how should I put it? He was like a dead child——

He has a different pursuit for novels, and he has the momentum that his life will be over if he doesn't publish. He has grown from a new light novel author to a person who can finally stand on the stage although he still has flaws, even at a level that can be said to be harassing.

Of course, this does not mean that Machida Sonoko thought that Hibiki Iruma was immature at that time. On the contrary, during the spring break, Machida Sonoko actually had a little admiration for Hibiki Iruma, because no matter what, that kind of willpower, efficiency, and eyes that were almost fully devoted to the work could not deceive people and were absolutely worthy of respect.

After the spring break, this is the first time the two of them have met.

She also knew that Iruma Hibiki did not go to school at the beginning of the semester, and she even had a little worry that he would be excluded if he arrived at school late.

However, Machida Sonoko had not expected that Iruma Hibiki would change so much.

Let’s not talk about the sudden appearance of girlfriends——

Yes, Hibiki Iruma was once a single man that anyone could see, but now at least he has a loving girlfriend online.

Now sitting in front of her, if Hibiki Iruma was a lion before, then now he is a capybara.

It was so gentle that Machida Sonoko didn't feel any pressure.

Just like the question that Iruma Hibiki suddenly asked at this moment, Machida Sonoko didn't think it would be a particularly surprising topic.

So she didn't refuse at all.

“Do you miss your school days?”

"That's actually the question..."

Machida Sonoko sighed.

Then she thought for a while before giving her answer:

"Yes, because no matter what, my school days were always the time when I shone the brightest. But what's wrong? I didn't realize you were such a sentimental person during spring break, Iruma-sensei."

Machida Sonoko smiled slightly. In fact, it is a good thing to maintain a good communication atmosphere with the author in private. It is also one of the editor's responsibilities. It is even said that some editors have taken on the responsibility of taking care of talented authors who are completely unable to take care of themselves.

After all, as mentioned before, the editor and the author are actually on the same side.

"Nothing, I just suddenly felt nostalgic for the past, and then I was shocked by myself, because actually, I quite hated my life in junior high school."

"When people usually reminisce about something, it's because they haven't had a good time recently. How was your high school life, Iruma-sensei?"

……

Not having a good time lately?

These words were repeated in Hibiki Iruma's heart.

Hasn't he been doing well lately?

really?

"It's been pretty smooth. I joined a band I'd only ever admired from seeing posters, made some good friends, and got a girlfriend. Even though I didn't join any clubs like I did in junior high, I found a good part-time job that allowed me to help people around me, and my life suddenly became more fulfilling—"

Yes, no matter how you look at it, life now is what Hibiki Iruma once expected.

"That sounds really enviable."

"Ok?"

Machida Sonoko's tone was a little strange.

It's like a good read, with some sourness, but more emotion - about the remaining 9% is a hint of seeing through everything and wanting to say something.

In other words, before saying anything bad, first coax the person you are talking to and make him willing to listen.

Machida Sonoko is, after all, a mature career woman.

In this respect, he is often much more mature than Hibiki Iruma.

"I remember during spring break, Iruma-sensei, you always said things like 'I only have writing left to do.'"

Machida Yonko paused for a moment before continuing:

"For you, Mr. Iruma, at that time, at least during spring break, you had a reason to write something, right?"

"So, you tried your best. Even though I rejected your manuscript time and time again, you still refused to give up. In the end, you even chose to ask for leave from school and gave up the very important first week of school. You were determined to finish the new book, right?"

"Although I know this may be a bit presumptuous, but since you've brought it up, Iruma-sensei, you naturally want to discuss it with me, right? So, Iruma-sensei, what was your reason for writing at that time?"

Machida Enko asked Iruma Hibiki.

She felt that it was very rare for her to chat with someone so seriously.

In a sense, Iruma Hibiki "enjoyed" her rare serious mood.

"I……"

Iruma Hibiki wanted to answer, but paused.