What does it have to do with me if they hate vests?

Shirakawa Kyo walked into the Saizeriya carefully, went to the second floor and looked around, then he saw the person sitting in the booth next to the bed.

The other party had obviously undergone a simple disguise, wearing strange plain glasses and a knitted hat on his fiery red hair. At this moment, he was sucking hard on a straw, making a sizzling sound. Although he looked a little funny, it still could not conceal his rebellious temperament.

The girl tiptoed to sit opposite the other person. She looked out the window and found that she could clearly see the place where she had just been circling and barking like a dog. She felt a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, I'm late..."

"You're really slow." Natsume Makuryu glanced at her while holding a straw in his mouth.

Shirakawa Kyo: "..."

The girl felt a little aggrieved: I was just saying that out of courtesy.

However, the girl was actually quite happy to be able to see this legendary national treasure in real life.

"Well, I know the club's request might be a bit excessive, but if Mr. Natsume can discuss it with us, we will definitely be able to find a solution that satisfies everyone..."

She tried hard to express her kindness to the other party.

As soon as she finished speaking, the other party took out a brown paper bag and smashed it on the table, scaring the girl: "What, what is this?"

"Manuscript." Natsume Shonuryu continued to sip with a straw, and no one knew what he was drinking from the big beer glass full of ice cubes.

"Manuscript? But I just contacted you..."

Shirakawa Kyo looked confused.

Then she saw a sarcastic sneer on the other person's face.

"Do you think you, the scapegoat sent here, are more informed at Maple Leaf Technology, or am I more informed as I can even find Qiu Ling Wenping directly?"

"..."

Yes, although it is just a rumor, it is said that Qiu Lingwenping, the big boss of Maple Leaf Technology, actually likes Natsume Takura's novels very much - this is not really news, after all, there are so many people in the world who like Natsume's novels - even Maple Leaf Publishing House was founded by Qiu Lingwenping specifically for Natsume Takura, and its original main function was to distribute Natsume Takura's works all over the world, and publishing the works of other authors was just a by-product.

And Natsume Makura Ryu did not disappoint Qiu Ling Wenping. Currently, of all the revenues of Maple Leaf Publishing House since its establishment, the incomes from Natsume Makura Ryu's works, derivative products such as setting collections, and agency adaptation rights account for about 70%, which is the absolute backbone of the company. The remaining pure literature with profound intentions cannot even beat the revenues of Natsume Makura Ryu's works, which are truly rotten fish and shrimp.

This time, in order to successfully promote the consciousness linking device, Maple Leaf Technology deliberately chose to apply the setting of "Sword Online" under the guise of selling dog meat. Mr. Qiu Ling Wenping must have communicated with Mr. Natsume in letters, and maybe he had mentioned the extra story at that time.

Since Mr. Qiu Ling Wenping has endorsed it, although Mr. Natsume hates this matter, he will definitely do it for the sake of face - this is indeed the case. When I found Mr. Natsume, he had even written the manuscript.

Could it be that this job is not as difficult as I initially thought?

"So, Mr. Natsume has been waiting for me here from the beginning?" After sorting out the logic, Shirakawa Kyo asked with some surprise.

"After all, Maple Leaf Publishing House is also in the Maple Leaf Technology building. If you want to get to the address I left from there, you must pass through this road."

Natsume Makuryu said nonchalantly, "Whenever you see someone getting annoyed because no one answered the phone, he's probably the publisher's pawn."

"Excuse me, did I accidentally mishear the word 'editor' as an offensive word?"

"Yes, let me correct you, it's the publishing house's lackey."

"This is even worse in terms of meaning!... Never mind, if you don't mind, let me take a quick look at this."

Shirakawa Kyo took the brown paper bag, pulled out the manuscript inside, and began to read it page by page.

It's just that her expression was very strange at the beginning, as if she had seen something particularly surprising, and then it gradually stabilized. Her focused look showed that she was completely immersed in the story.

At this time, Natsume did not say anything to interrupt the other person's reading.

Because this is a side story, and considering that it may be published as a single volume, I can't write too few words, but too many words are not good either, so in the end the number of words in this volume is about 50,000, which is a relatively standard short or medium-length story.

If you are a handsome Maoke reader who likes to vote for monthly tickets and read blades, it will only take about ten minutes to finish reading. However, Shirakawa Kyo is an editor after all, so he reads more carefully. In addition, paper books themselves are slower to read than electronic versions, so in the end it took me almost half an hour to finish reading.

When the girl finally looked up, she found that the ice in Natsume Zhenliu's cup had already melted.

"I'm sorry, I got so caught up in it that it took me so long..."

"It doesn't matter. An author is happiest when his work attracts readers." This was the first time today that Natsume Makuryu didn't say anything to the girl. Instead, he nodded in appreciation. "If you use the quantum reading method and finish reading in just three to five minutes, I will stuff an ice cube down your neck instead."

“That was great to have survived.”

The girl showed a peaceful smile, which formed a strange contrast with her slightly fashionable and trendy college girl appearance.

"Tell me what you think." Natsume Shonuryu continued.

“Ahaha, how should I put it…” The girl laughed dryly, not knowing how to comment for a moment: “I should say that you are worthy of being called Natsume-sensei. Only you dare to write a sequel like this.”

As a person who was enlightened by light novels and gradually embarked on the path of literature, Shirakawa Kyo naturally had read the landmark light novel "Sword Online". This novel is a very heavyweight in the entire history of light novels. Some critics even said explicitly that if today's light novel writers could not write books, they could just copy "Sword Online" directly, and there would not be so much disgusting textual garbage.

What’s interesting is that this statement, which sounds quite outrageous, has won the approval of many people.

Therefore, Shirakawa Kyo believes that when reading this extra-book, he can also stand from the perspective of a reader of "Sword Art Online" and comment on it in a relatively objective manner.

Her first impression of the book can be described in one sentence.

"Is this Sword and Demon Realm?"

Chapter 128: Resurrection

The story of "Sword Online: Uprising" is set more than ten years after the completion of the original work. At that time, the consciousness-immersive virtual game had developed to a state of near blowout.

The consciousness network has also replaced the traditional Internet, forming a more magical virtual world. As the times progress, the game Sword and Demon Domain has also abandoned most of its past themes and become more sci-fi and super.

Against this backdrop, the male protagonist with a painful past accidentally triggered a "hidden mission" in a corner of the online world. He formed a team with three passers-by who also accidentally triggered the mission. They were teleported to a certain "copy" and began to try to clear the "copy" to get rewards.

But what they don't know is that the 'copy' is actually a real alien planet hundreds of thousands of light years away from Earth.

The huge consciousness network formed by the interconnected consciousness of countless human beings has formed an observer effect similar to the Alaya consciousness during years of evolution. This effect resonates with the will of aliens who are experiencing pain hundreds of thousands of light years away, and ultimately sends the protagonists of the game there in a quantum state.

The protagonists knew nothing about this. At first, they were just amazed at how vivid the NPC's AI was. The others just continued to advance according to the so-called "task process".

Until the enemy attacked and a city was destroyed due to the protagonist's mistake, they were awakened by the blood and tears of the native residents of that planet, and realized that this was not a game, but they were experiencing a real war.

Then, taking this as an opportunity, the four people began to grow, transform, and let go of everything in the past. Eventually, they revealed the truth of history, led the people of the alien planet to rise up and fight, and became heroes who saved the world. In the world hundreds of thousands of light years away, they also left behind the legend of the sword, the magic domain, and the brave...

For Shirakawa Kyo, after reading the entire extra story, the only thought in the girl's mind was, "As expected of Mr. Natsume."

The story itself is not new, and even if it is summarized into an outline, it feels a bit old-fashioned. But just like the plot of "The Adventures of a Boy Wizard" can be summarized as "the chosen one defeats the noseless devil", Natsume Makuru is able to turn decay into magic, making it all become incomparably exciting and interesting.

With less than 50,000 words, the book depicts a grand worldview. The four characters with distinct personalities are portrayed very well and likably in a group drama-like manner. Even the one who was ambitious, reckless, ignorant, and liked to show off at the beginning, who was somewhat similar to the character in the 'TV version of Fat Tiger + Suneo', eventually grew into a mature and reliable big brother like the 'movie version of Fat Tiger'.

Not only that, even Shirakawa Kyo can see that this story contains many things worth digging into - racial discrimination, war, self-salvation, choice, jealousy, growth...

In addition, the protagonist's emotional line is not described in detail, but is also fascinating. The protagonist's deep thoughts on future technology, and the weapons scattered in space by the protagonists have gone through billions of years, traveled hundreds of thousands of light years in the cold universe, and finally returned to the earth. There is a bit of space opera-like romance.

The girl could almost conclude that she had witnessed the birth of a masterpiece with her own eyes.

The only problem was her initial impression: this story didn't look like "Sword and Demon Realm" at first glance.

After all, the game with a bit of medieval atmosphere suddenly skipped ten years, and the knife became a ship-slashing sword, the sword was a laser sword, and the armor could be transformed into a giant robot at the end. Fans of the original sword game will definitely be shocked...

"Um, Mr. Natsume..." Shirakawa Kyo was trying hard to think about how to convey his feelings to the other party.

But Natsume Makuryu raised his hand to interrupt her.

"Just tell me, is this a good story?" he asked directly.

"It's definitely a good story!" Shirakawa Kyo concluded without any hesitation, "Before I saw "Resurrection", the last time I was so moved was..."

"Or was it the last time?" Natsume Shonuryu interrupted.

"It was in the fifth volume of The Adventures of a Young Wizard." The girl was stunned by his nonsense literature, and then looked at the old pigeon with resentment: "That was three months ago."

Natsume Makuryu skillfully looked away and sucked hard through the straw, pretending that the air tasted delicious.

"Although I think there is no problem with your book, Mr. Natsume, but considering the attitude of Maple Leaf Technology and the acceptance of "Sword Art Online" fans, should we make some minor changes..."

Shirakawa tried to reason with him.

"It doesn't matter. Maple Leaf Technology won't say anything. Just publish it."

Natsume Makuryu waved his hand dismissively.

Since the big boss said so, Shirakawa Jing could only stuff the manuscript back into the brown paper bag, and then solemnly held it in his arms: "Then I will definitely accept the manuscript!"

Then the girl said a little embarrassedly: "Well, I originally thought that Natsume-sensei would be more difficult to get along with... but now it seems that this is not the case. Natsume-sensei is quite a nice person. I always feel happy to see another side of my idol."

"You are too happy too early," and then Natsume Makuryuu looked stern, put the empty cup in front of her, and said angrily: "Go and pour me a drink!"

But at this time, Shirakawa Kyo was no longer so afraid. She seemed to think that Natsume Makuryu was just hiding her shyness, so she happily picked up the cup: "What would you like to drink? How about black tea?"

"Who drinks tea from a beer cup? Give me some happy water!"

"Okay, okay~"

The girl leisurely went to the beverage area and got him a cup of Coke.

After that, Natsume Makuryu started chatting with her from time to time.

"Speaking of which, Maple Leaf Publishing House is quite strict in recruiting people. You can get in just after graduating from college..."

"Actually, it was because of my friend's help." The girl answered honestly.

"friend?"

"Her name is Kanayuta, and she's a light novel author who recently moved to Maple Leaf."

"Oh, it's that guy..." Natsume Shonuryu suddenly realized.

"Teacher Natsume, do you know her?"

"I've read her scenery series, it's pretty good. I talked to her for a while at an author gathering before, and she pointed out some shortcomings in her writing." Natsume Makuryu's eyes were empty.

"Hey, Nayu didn't tell me? So you became friends with her?"

"No, at that point, she vomited all over me before I could even finish my sentence."

Natsume Makuryu said expressionlessly, "I have never attended a Maple Leaf Society gathering since then."

Shirakawa Kyo: "…Red bean paste Simi Masai"

Chapter 129: Hot Potato

"By the way, don't bother two people with the same thing. You can take this to Maple Leaf Club as well."

After the other party was eager to kneel down and admit his mistake, Natsume Muraru did not pursue the matter. He just drank a sip of happy water, took out another brown paper bag, and handed it to Shirakawa Kyo.

This made the girl very confused: Teacher Natsume didn't bring a bag either? Where did he get two such large brown paper bags from?

Although he felt quite confused, Shirakawa Kyo still took the paper bag obediently, took out the manuscript inside with some curiosity, and planned to read it carefully.

She originally thought that this was the manuscript for the sixth volume of "The Adventures of a Young Wizard", and was full of expectations and gratitude, thinking that Natsume Makuryu valued her and gave him such an important manuscript.

But when I took it out and looked at it, I found that it was not a text manuscript, but a series of grids and pictures.

Looking at the words "At least, like the snow" on the cover, the girl was stunned for a moment.

"Um, Mr. Natsume, what is this?"

"comics."

“……”The girl’s brain seemed to short-circuit.

No, I didn’t ask for the definition of this work!

"This is a work created by a friend of mine. I think it's great, so I'll give it to you for publication." Natsume Makuryu drank Coke and admired the girl's silly expression before saying leisurely.

"I see. But it seems that our Maple Leaf Publishing House has never published a comic before..."

Shirakawa Kyo said with some hesitation.

The works published by Maple Leaf Publishing House are mostly texts, and it has never published comics. The only things that can be considered comics are probably some children's picture books, and those picture books sell very poorly because the content is too difficult and not suitable for children to read.

Originally, Shiki had not planned to give the manga "That Snow" written by the pseudonym Fuyu Kishihisa to Shirakawa Kyo and let him take it to Maple Leaf Society.

Instead, it is planned that Qiu Ling Wenping will endorse "That Snow".

——After a while, Maple Leaf Publishing will be reorganized and will have two new studios. One is the "He Group" responsible for publishing text books, namely various magazines, light novels, pure literature and mystery novels, and the other is the "Snow Group" which focuses on the comics industry and will also be involved in the animation industry and audio books (including gals like "Fate") to a certain extent.

When the time comes, just send it directly to Maple Leaf Publishing House and let the Snow Group push for publication.

But now I think it's indeed inappropriate. It would be more normal to recommend Natsume Makuru instead. After all, Natsume Makuru's character is a super literary youth, and a comic like "That Snow" that is hard to let go of is exactly what this guy likes.

But after knowing that Karinayuta was Shirakawa Kyo's best friend, and that they were not just plastic sisters - if they were really plastic sisters and their relationship was superficial, then the other party would definitely cut ties quickly after Natsume Makuryu, an idol and big shot himself, said that he had suffered at the hands of Karinayuta. As a result, Shirakawa Kyo not only did not distance himself from the relationship, but also apologized on her behalf, which showed that they had a close relationship - after that, Shiki planned to give "That Snow" to her.

This is certainly not a reward for Shirakawa Kyo.

But don't forget that although "That Snow" has a high artistic content, after being revised by Shiki and Eriri, or Fuyuo Kishihisa and Kashiwagi Eri, it has long become an out-and-out book (and a particularly practical one at that). As the person who brought back the manuscript and most likely had to personally preside over the publication, Shirakawa Kyo was bound to be criticized and attacked by some people after the publication of "That Snow".

People who work in writing are more or less emotional, so how can they not care about other people's comments and attitudes? This situation will definitely make the girl feel sad.