Hikigaya Hachiman is still in the dark

"I am haunted by the devil called deadline. I hope my best friend..."

"Okay, you don't need to say anything more. Just turn left and there's a bus that takes you home. If you don't have fare, I can provide it for free."

"My dear friend Hachiman." Zaimokuza cried and hugged my thighs, his voice full of pleading: "You can't not help me, otherwise I will be eaten by the editor-in-chief demon king."

Although the editor-in-chief is indeed scary, he is definitely not someone who would eat people. And please let go of my hands quickly, your tears and snot will stain my clothes.

"It is the most basic common sense in this society to do your own things. It is impossible for office workers to help each other. They may even fight for promotions and stab each other in the back."

"It was you, Hachiman, who led me down this road of no return. Now that I, the Sword Master General, am in trouble, you cannot abandon me."

"Who cares about you? And if I remember correctly, on this night three years ago, after you knew that I was a famous light novel writer, you also cried and asked me to introduce you to my editor like you are doing now. Because of this, you became a light novel writer. Please don't treat my well-intentioned help as a habit."

"My dear friend Hachiman, I have always been grateful for your kindness and always want to repay you..."

"Then get out of here right away and don't disturb my rest. This is the best way to repay me."

"My dear friend, the deadline is the day after tomorrow. I have no way to avoid it now. I can't retreat." Zaimokuza suddenly stood up with great momentum, opened his arms and said to me: "Come on, Hachiman, it's time to show the power of our friendship. Let's crush the deadline demon together."

"Do you think I will help you just by saying those powerful-looking lines?"

"Eh!" Zaimokuza seemed a little surprised: "Isn't that what's written in novels?"

This guy is really hopeless. Please, please send a Hell Girl from somewhere. I am willing to sign a contract with you. Please take this guy away as soon as possible.

"Anyway, you just hadn't submitted your manuscript yet and the deadline was approaching, so you came to my house late at night to ask for help?"

"You are worthy of being my best friend. You can immediately see through the essence of the crisis." No matter what, you must return to normal as soon as possible.

I really shouldn't have given you the editor's contact information. I just wanted to get rid of that annoying editor, but why did they replace you with another editor? A beautiful editor who looks super mature and makes my househusband heart restless. God, you are so unfair. Even now you won't let me go and send something of unknown species to trouble me.

"Then quickly explain to me in detail the origin of this crisis!" Hurry up and finish your explanation and get out of here. Don't disturb my rest. I am now shouldering the future of RB education, huh? You asked me how much, probably one ten-millionth of it.

"Anyway, I can't think of a plot for the next part, so I'm stuck there."

This kind of thing happens quite often, but my cruel editor urges me to submit my manuscripts every day. Sometimes I really wonder if I did something to owe him in my previous life, so I have to suffer such cruel revenge in this life.

"About how long has it been stuck?"

"Half a month." I suddenly had the urge to overturn the table.

"Are you kidding me? It's been half a month? What on earth have you been doing? Do you have any awareness of being a light novel writer?" My voice was filled with anger. After all, I had no memory of not writing for half a month and still living a leisurely life. All I had was the fear of editors.

"I also find inspiration in life, such as singing, watching movies, eating and shopping with Youqiong."

"You're obviously on a date, you're just being lazy, right? What the hell is your editor Miyanoi Youqiong doing?" I was almost shouting at the top of my lungs. Please, as a fellow editor, don't be so biased towards him. Doesn't it make me look stupid for being exploited by the editor?

Wait, I seem to have overlooked a detail. Who was the person Zaimokuza was dating? I remember he said his name was something like Yuuki. Wait, could it be...

"Well, she was helping me find inspiration."

World, how much hatred do you have for me to play such a joke on me!

Is this what they mean by "a man should be looked at with new eyes after three days of absence"? That Zaimokuza is actually in love? And he is dating his editor? First of all, let's put aside the false proposition that Zaimokuza would fall in love. A normal writer would never be with his editor? What is this? Is Zaimokuza a masochist? Automatically looking for abuse? Even if we don't consider these, why would a mature woman like Yuuko be interested in Zaimokuza? Could it be that without my knowledge, the tastes of modern people have become so heavy.

I temporarily suppressed my doubts and observed Zaimokuza carefully. Zaimokuza seemed to have grown a little taller in college, but because he did not lose weight, he still had the same "plump" figure. His clothes were much more normal compared to high school days. The loose black sweater cleverly concealed his figure, and the black pants and leather shoes also made him look a little more normal. Although he now looked like a thug from the underworld, it was much better than the windbreaker he wore before.

From what I understand, Zaimokuza's clothing taste should not have changed much. This must have been chosen for him by editor Youqiong. When I think about this, I really want him to explode on the spot.

"Hachiman, do I have any clues to defeat the enemy?" Maybe because I had been staring at him for too long, Zaimokuza asked me a little nervously.

The way you talk is still so childish!

Never mind, he is Zaimokuza after all, and it is not impossible for such an unreasonable person to be with the editor. It is better to say that neither the editor nor Zaimokuza can be considered normal people on this planet, and the two of them are quite compatible together.

Nothing is impossible in this world. Even if someone tells me that Chiba has become the capital, I will believe it. Eh, is it really going to become the capital? Chiba is the best city in RB. I love Chiba.

"Um, aren't you going to marry the voice actor?"

"Woo gah gah, this is in line with the ancient prophecy, love is as fast as a tornado, the chosen one cannot escape"

So what is this person talking about? Are you actually an alien? Can you please stop using such incomprehensible words? And what is the prefix "Ugaga"? Are you a robot that was made wrong?

"Let me see the novel you wrote first." He really couldn't stand it anymore, so he quickly dealt with it and drove this guy away. The Hachiman family did not need this kind of unknown organism.

"Hey." Zaimokuza answered with full of energy, and handed me the printed novel manuscript. I took it casually, thinking it would definitely be another article that would make people laugh and cry.

In general, it is a hot-blooded novel in the style of Zaimokuza. It is the kind of old-fashioned story of a hero saving a beautiful woman. The protagonist is an ordinary person. After being inexplicably involved in some strange human experiment, he gained superpowers similar to controlling steel. Then, he was sent to the battlefield and used as a human weapon or something... The protagonist gradually lost himself in the killing and was almost about to become a killing monster. On the battlefield, he met the heroine who was originally on the opposite side. As a result, the heroine was forced to fall off the cliff because she could not beat the hero. The hero finally found the heroine under the cliff, but the heroine lost her memory in an accident. When she saw the hero, she was no longer as fierce as she was on the battlefield. Instead, she bandaged the hero with concern. The hero's dusty heart was moved, and he took the heroine back to his base to live together.

It's just a machine, but it fell in love on its own initiative. You should also be more considerate of the troubles of boys who don't have love in real life. Then the following plot seems much simpler. The hero and the heroine fall in love with each other during their interactions, which leads to the hero questioning his lifestyle for many years and gradually becoming less cold-blooded. On the contrary, he extends a helping hand to those who surrender on the battlefield.

Then the plot got stuck there.

To be fair, the concept and plot of Zaimokuza's light novel are quite novel, and the description is also good, at least there are no low-level grammatical errors like in the past. The characters are well-shaped, and the plots are well connected. Although the plot is old-fashioned, it is still readable due to its strange setting.

"Tsk." When did this guy grow to this level? Why do I feel like a loser? Is this the legendary practice makes perfect?

"Hachiman, how is it? How is the article I put all my effort into?" Zaimokuza looked at me eagerly.

Chapter 10 How can there be such a weird thing in the world?

"Although I don't want to admit it." I respectfully returned the manuscript to Zaimokuza.

"I take back my previous contempt for you, and I pay tribute to your original manuscript."

"Hmm." Zaimokuza proudly put his hands on his waist and laughed triumphantly, "My dear friend, you are conquered by my literary talent."

Don’t get carried away. If you are so capable, please don’t come to me late at night to help you think of a text!

"If you keep saying something meaningless like that, I'm confident that I can dump you on the street and call the police to report that I've found a pervert." I exuded Hikigaya's corrupt aura that I hadn't emitted in a long time.

"Hachiman, no matter what, it shouldn't be that serious..." Zaimokuza said to me, looking at me with a little fear.

"So, what's the matter with your article being stuck here? Do you not know how to arrange the next plot to highlight the conflict? Or do you not know how to describe how the male protagonist gets along with others after the transformation? Or are you confused about the description and narration of the emotional drama between the male and female protagonists?"

"You are worthy of being my best friend. You told me all my confusion right away."

I held my forehead with my hand: "That means you don't know how to describe it, right? Can you be more unprofessional?" Although he can write such an article, he is still the same idiot as before?

"My path is always filled with enemies of justice..."

I silently took out my phone and quickly dialed the Chiba police number: "Hello, is this the police? Sorry to bother you, a pervert broke into my house."

"Hachiman, I was wrong, please put your phone away." Seeing me like this, Zaimokuza immediately knelt in front of me and lowered his head like a child being punished. Seeing him like this, I sighed.

How could there be such a weird thing in this world?

"Anyway, tell me how you plan to write it."

"Yes, as for the next plot, I want to portray some changes in the hero's personality, and also want to add new conflicts. Specifically, the hero and the surrounding team members with the same personality as before, as well as the conflicting guidance policies between him and his superiors."

"Zaimokuza." Because I suddenly raised my voice, Zaimokuza knelt down solemnly again. So why was he kneeling down?

"Rebelling against your boss is undoubtedly the stupidest thing to do. The male protagonist is obviously an idealist." How could it be possible to rebel against your boss? The relationship between me and Mr. Hiratsuka is the most vivid proof of this.

"Hachiman, if possible, please treat it as a passionate novel and don't confuse it with reality." Zaimokuza said to me in a low voice, as if giving me advice.

"Yeah, yeah, that's right." I forgot it was a hot-blooded novel. This won't do. If I associate everything with work in such a tense way, isn't that the symbol of a social animal? Cheer up, me!

"Then what we need to consider is the opportunity for conflict between the boss and the male protagonist?"

"Yes, I don't have much inspiration for this part. If I just wrote that the male protagonist couldn't stand his superior on the battlefield and confronted him, I always felt that it was a bit abnormal. After all, the male protagonist has a deep friendship with his superior."

"If you think about it carefully, you see, the hero is obviously a cyborg. But his boss is very gentle to him, but he is extremely cruel on the battlefield." How great it is, a gentle boss who is so reliable. I want that too.

"Eh? Now that I think about it, there is indeed a problem. When I was writing it, I just wanted to casually create a character that was both warm and cold, and I didn't think too deeply about it."

Apologize quickly. You just casually created such a gentle boss. How can I feel when I have high expectations of Mr. Hiratsuka?

"Then I think it would be best if this boss described a dark past, such as his entire family being killed by the enemy?"

"I feel like if that's the case, his gentle side won't be shown. How could someone be gentle to others when all his family members are dead?"

"What you said does make sense." I frowned. Although I had a direction to think about, I still felt bad that I couldn't think of a conclusion. I tried hard to read the encyclopedia of Hikigaya Hachiman's dark history in my mind, hoping to find similar dark history that I could use.

I remember when I was in elementary school, a cute girl suddenly showed me a lot of affection one day. I thought I had found a cute friend and was very happy for a few days. But later I found out that it was a bet between the girls. The bet was about who could stay with Hikigaya for more than a week.

When I heard this, I was holding the bread she asked me to buy. After hearing this, I took the bread home and fed it to my dog ​​in the spirit of not wasting it. But I felt really sad at the time, as I felt betrayed and my good intentions were wasted.

Wait, betrayal! This is undoubtedly the word that can change people the most. Being betrayed by someone you love deeply will definitely have a huge impact. I immediately told Zaimokuza about my idea.

"Zaimokuza, how about writing it like this? When the male protagonist's boss was young, he fell in love with a woman from the empire, but the empire woman betrayed him because of the country, so he has a deep hatred for the enemy country. What do you think?"

Zaimokuza touched his chin with his hand, thought seriously and said, "I don't think so."

"Why, if there's no reason, I'll kick you out right now."

"Because in the novel, the boss is a very gentle person. Such a person would not blame the woman he loves. Besides, the position cannot be changed after all. I don't think the boss would hold a grudge against others because of this."

"Well, now that you put it that way, it does make sense." After careful thought, I felt that what Zaimokuza said made sense. After all, it was not unforgivable to be in conflict due to different positions... But wait, something seemed to be wrong. Was I just convinced by Zaimokuza?

When he was in high school, he was just a person who was shouting chuunibyou language. When did he become so organized about novels? Wouldn't this person who only had anime, beautiful women, and marrying voice actors in his mind be the same as I thought, and never change?

"I think it should be changed like this. At the beginning, the boss was very kind to the enemy, so the empire took advantage of this and arranged for a female spy to be injured and rescued by the boss. Then by chance, the boss fell in love with the woman, but later ran into the woman to steal information, and had no choice but to kill the woman..."

"That's a good idea. If possible, I think the woman eventually falls in love with her boss. Her identity as a spy is not discovered by her boss, but by another person. That person then asks her boss to go with him to watch the woman stealing intelligence. Then, he forces her boss to kill the woman, but the boss can't let her go. In order to avoid embarrassing her boss, the woman runs into her boss's knife herself."

"Well, in this case, the boss can only vent his anger on the empire that exploits women. The deeper the love, the deeper the hatred. That's it."

“The person who discovered it can be portrayed as a character who does some small things behind the scenes, such as directing the boss’s hatred towards the enemy country after the boss witnessed the woman’s death.”

"Perfect, Hachiman, I knew I was right to come to you." Zaimokuza hugged me excitedly, and I reached out to push him away. There is heating at home, so I don't need you as a human electric heater. Please stay away from me.

"Then the boss part has been roughly solved, but did you have any idea about where the conflict between the boss and the male protagonist came from?"

"I've thought about this. For example, the hero sees a wounded soldier on the battlefield and wants to treat him, but he is killed by his superior. Then the hero and his superior have a quarrel. This kind of plot."

"It's a bit abrupt to suddenly have such a plot like this. You see, the hero has been taken care of by his boss after all, so there shouldn't be a direct conflict. If there is anything to say, it should be a disagreement."

It is true that in real life, many close people have conflicts because of differences over an issue, but the conflict must have existed before, and that incident was just a fuse.

"That is to say, it would be better to arrange some chapters in the beginning where they have conflicts. A sudden outbreak on the battlefield would give a feeling of, how should I put it, jumping. The character images are not very suitable either. It always feels out of place."

"It's indeed a bit inconsistent with the image. After all, the protagonist is a person with endurance." Zaimokuza frowned.

"But before that, how should we create the contradiction? I think if it weren't for the war, the contradiction between the two would be difficult to highlight."

This question is indeed difficult to think about, because I have never written a passionate novel before, so I don’t quite know how to write this type of novel.

Regarding the conflict between the protagonist and his boss, the best way to highlight it is indeed on the battlefield. If it were written somewhere else, it would not lead to the existence of differences.

My thoughts are stuck here, and I can't think of any follow-up.

"How about writing about a few more battleground confrontations? And finally a complete outbreak on a certain battlefield?"

"If this is done, aesthetic fatigue will occur." Readers definitely do not want the portrayal of contradictions to be limited to just one scene, and if it is written in this way, the contradiction cannot be fully demonstrated.

After Zaimokuza's proposal was rejected by me, he kept scratching his head in annoyance. Since I couldn't think of any valuable suggestions, I just looked at him quietly.

We just fell into silence.

As time passed, I gradually became anxious. It felt really bad to be urged by the editor to submit my manuscripts.

At this moment, my phone suddenly rang. Who was it? Calling me in the middle of the night?

There was no name on the call display. Was it a sales call? They really did their job well in the middle of the night. I was so touched that I was fooled.

"Hikigaya, you're still up so late at night. You really are living the rotten life I imagined!" As soon as I pressed the answer button, I heard such an infuriating voice.

I live a rotten life. I am really sorry for not sleeping so late at night. You know what I am doing, but why did you call me? Are you looking for trouble in the middle of the night? Do you have a lot of free time when you study abroad?

"Ah, I think the night is a symbol of loneliness. Look, aren't those who move around in the night powerful characters like ninjas, the cat-eye sisters, and Kaito Kidd?"

"Hikigaya, you should understand that in the dark, there are many rotten people doing many rotten things. Also, those you mentioned are characters in anime, so they don't constitute a reason."

Yes, Ninja, you should apologize to Ninja now!

"Are you here just to quarrel late at night?"

"In the evening? Are you sure? It's sunny here now." Yukinoshita's happy voice came from the phone. Even though she is abroad now, I can imagine her smug smile.

"Don't think you're great because you have jet lag in a foreign country. I'm living a proud Chiba time!"

"Hikigaya." The voice on the other end of the phone became somewhat helpless.

"You still say things like this that give people the illusion that you're awesome!"

"On the contrary, I'm really good. I'm a great man who can play baseball all by myself!"

"It sounds so sad that I don't know how to complain about it."

"You called me late at night. If you just want to quarrel with me, then I will hang up first."

"Hachiman, who's calling?"

"Hikigaya?" On the phone, Yukinoshita's voice suddenly became very shocked.