The story we started

[“…But we have no choice.”]

[“Although there is no eyewitness intelligence of No. 25 continuing to commit crimes, according to the crime patterns of the unidentified life forms in the past, it will definitely commit crimes again by tomorrow at the latest... We are running out of time, and this is the only feasible plan at hand.”]

[“Or do you have other feasible strategies? I’d like to learn from you.”]

【“…”】

[Everyone was silent as if they had all become mute, expressing their thoughts by default.]

[“——Then, prepare as soon as possible.”]

[“No matter how much it costs, when the next No. 25 appears, we must completely solve this major problem that is plaguing all the citizens of Tokyo!”]

【"""--yes!!!"""】

[This time, the response was unanimous, and the powerful shouts expressed their determination.]

[“Then Wu Geng…distribute the suicide note.”]

[“I wish you all…good luck in martial arts.”]

【"……yes."】

[Ruri Gogen, who remained silent, picked up another box on the table, took out a blank envelope containing a letter and handed it down.]

【Everyone who took the envelope had a heavy expression on their faces. They knew that this time was different from the past. The chance of dying in battle was so high that they had to be prepared to die on the battlefield.】

[Amid the sound of the letter being unsealed and the tip of the book touching the paper, Kousaka Kyousuke took the suicide note handed to him by Gokou Ruri, his eyes were heavy with worry and uneasiness that could not be concealed.]

【Zaimokuza...】

【sough--】

【Thinking of Zaimokuza Yoshiki who is still in a coma in the hospital, Kousaka Kyosuke couldn't help but clench his own suicide note, wrinkling the white envelope.】

[Regarding Zaimokuza's serious injuries and hospitalization, he should have gotten used to it. After all, since he got the belt, the hospital has basically become his second home. It's not an exaggeration to say that the intensive care unit was booked by him and me.]

[And every time Zaimokuza was hospitalized, no matter how badly he was injured, he would basically appear alive and kicking in my eyes the next day after waking up, so there was no need to worry about him.]

【——But this time is different. 】

[Kousaka Kyosuke himself couldn't explain what was going on, but he had an extremely uneasy feeling in his heart. ]

[He felt that Zaimokuza might really die this time.]

【“——!?”】

[He came to his senses with a start and shook his head vigorously, forcing the thought out of his mind.]

[“What am I thinking… That idiot, how could he die unless the world ends?”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke smiled self-deprecatingly, opened the envelope and took out the paper inside, and at the same time took a pencil from the pen holder on the table and prepared to write.]

[Now he already knows what he wants to write. ]

[But the person who made him realize this is now seriously injured and his life or death is unknown. ]

【Thinking of this, Kousaka Kyosuke couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and even wrote with a little more force. 】

[Snap——]

【Kousaka Kyosuke suddenly stopped writing and stared at his pencil in a daze.】

[The tip of the pen broke because he used too much force and couldn't bear the pressure.]

[The broken part of the pen tip rotates along the arc of the table corner and eventually falls under the table.]

[Patter. 】

[The sound was faint, but it was like thunder exploding in Kousaka Kyousuke's ears.]

18. The Door of Memory: The Origin of the Story 8K

[Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, Service Club.]

[Patter! 】

[Driven by his survival instinct, Hikigaya Hachiman closed the manuscript in front of him with all his strength just before he completely lost consciousness, and then took a deep breath.]

[“This is… the ‘masterpiece’ you spent an entire night coming up with?”]

[He opened his eyes and looked at the fat white-haired man in front of him who was looking at him expectantly. His eyes twitched slightly and his voice was distorted in an uncontrollable way.]

[“That’s right! This is the revised draft of the 24th edition of this general’s novel. Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it the best? Isn’t it genius!?”]

【Zaimokuza patted his chest with pride and said complacently, and at the end he winked at Hikigaya, which made him feel cold all over.】

[“Ah… it’s really amazing. It’s really amazing. But I have a question for you.”]

【Hikigaya resisted the urge to slap the manuscript directly into Zaimokuza's face, and tried his best to force a smile on his face and asked.】

[“You said this is the 24th edition, so I would like to ask, where did the previous 23 editions go? Why did you revise so many versions?”]

[“I showed the version I wrote at the beginning to the director, and then she asked me to revise it for fifteen consecutive times. However, she suddenly stopped reading it after the fifteenth version, and asked me to show it to Yuigahama and ask her to give me some advice. Then the director said that she was not feeling well and ran to the health room.”]

【"……Then what?"】

【Hikigaya observed a three-second silence for Yukinoshita Yukino. 】

[“I showed Yuigahama the sixteenth version, and then revised it three more times based on her suggestions. But for some reason, after seeing the nineteenth version, Yuigahama said she was not feeling well and ran to the infirmary. It’s really strange. Why did both of them look so uncomfortable after reading the novel I wrote yesterday? Hmm… Could it be that they just happened to have relatives coming over?”]

【“…”】

[No wonder both of them asked for leave and didn't come to school today, Hikigaya complained in his heart, bowing his head and praying sincerely to the two girls who were lying on the bed at home with hot towels on their foreheads and groaning in pain.]

[“At that time, I couldn’t find you, Hachiman, so I was worried about who to ask for advice. I happened to run into Hayama-san when I was going up the stairs, so I asked him to help me.”]

[“He was such a nice guy! He gave me a lot of helpful suggestions after reading my manuscript. But after he read the previous version of the manuscript, he seemed to be in great pain. I had to help him go to the infirmary.”]

[Ye Shan, although I don't like you, I will mourn for you because of our friendship as classmates.]

[Hikigaya made the sign of the cross on his chest with a heavy expression, his eyes showing compassion and gloating for the victims.]

[“I’m very curious, in what mental state did you come up with this idea? What strange accident scene did you witness this time? An office worker who was drunk and laughed crazily in a pub after his wife cheated on him? Or a clown performing face-changing performances on the street?”]

[He shook the manuscript in his hand. The title of the story was written in the blank space on the first page.]

["Smiling Man". 】

[“Why do you say that my inspiration must be based on the suffering of others! Am I that kind of person!?”]

【Zaimokuza yelled in dissatisfaction, while Hikigaya just looked at him silently without saying anything. The concentration of DHA in his dead fish eyes was so strong that one could almost smell the stench of dead salted fish.】

【What do you think? 】

[His eyes revealed this meaning, and Zaimokuza was speechless.]

[“Actually, it’s because I saw a girl crying a few nights ago.”]

[“Wow? That’s interesting. Tell me about it.”]

[Hikigaya raised his eyebrows, crossed his legs, and listened attentively.]

[“Actually, it all started seven nights ago. On that day, I was just like usual, wearing my favorite windbreaker and wandering in the dark streets looking for inspiration—”]

【“stop!”】

[Hikigaya expressionlessly made a pause gesture with both hands and rolled his eyes.]

[“I’m not here to listen to your spiritual journey. You might as well just tell me which hospital you were born in. Then I might be more interested.”]

[“Well, I was born in Chiba Prefecture’s municipal hospital. I was a healthy baby weighing 6.3 kg—”]

【“I’m leaving. I’ll never see you again.”】

【“Wait! I’m wrong, please listen to me!”】

……

[“So, you met a crying little girl on the street. She ran away from home because she couldn’t accept her parents’ divorce and hid under a tree in the park crying. You saw that she was crying so miserably, so you ran over to comfort her. But when she saw you, she thought you were a human trafficker and cried even louder. As a result, you had no choice but to run away in shame? Right?”]

【Hikigaya concluded speechlessly, and Zaimokuza was very embarrassed but nodded.】

[“What happened to the child in the end?”]

[“She was picked up by her mother. She was crying when she left. I was hiding in the dark and watching her. I left only after they left.”]

[“…I suddenly feel like there’s a reason why people are afraid of you.”]

[A little girl crying under a tree, and a fat man with suspicious behavior hiding in the dark and watching... Hikigaya imagined the scene for a moment. If he wasn't familiar with Zaimokuza, he would probably have the urge to call the police.]

[“That’s not the point, okay!? What I want to say is that this is the inspiration for my novel.”]

[Zaimokuza said loudly in embarrassment, while Hikigaya silently put the phone he had pulled halfway out of his pants pocket back into his pocket and continued to ask calmly.]

[“So, you were moved by the sight of people crying, and then you got inspired to come up with this story?”]

[“A man who protects smiles… A man who protects smiles? A man who wants to protect other people’s smiles because he sees tears? I didn’t expect that you, who have always been committed to writing those weird and incombustible things, would have such a normal thought.”]

[“Hey, hey, hey…”]

[“Okay, no more jokes.”]

[Hikigaya shook his head, and his expression became a little more serious.]

[“I took a look at the story you wrote. The theme is good. Maybe there are some problems in the expression and writing style, but this is an old problem of yours. We can ignore it.”]

[“The real problem with your story is that it is so bland that it is totally unsympathetic to others.”]

[“Why is it that after the protagonist saw someone crying, he just ran over to say a few words to that person, and that person suddenly started laughing? This is too abrupt, and it confuses people, right?”]

[“But you have made some progress this time. At least there won’t be any weird plot twists, weird Japanese-style English or unfamiliar words. At least it’s not so embarrassing for me to read. Although the whole article is full of nonsense and extremely mediocre emotional expressions, it’s still barely acceptable overall. It can be used as a pastime when you can’t find toilet paper. It’s much better than the first novel you brought to the Service Club for people to appreciate.”]

[“Overall evaluation: barely acceptable. Keep working hard and there is hope for the future.”]

[——The premise is that the books written at that time are still within the range that humans can accept. ]

[Hikigaya silently added this sentence in his heart, and at the same time closed his eyes with reluctance, as if he had foreseen the people in the future who were poisoned by Zaimokuza's works, and their expressions of fear as if they had seen a demon before they died.]

[“Uh…are you praising me or insulting me?”]

[Zaimokuza scratched his hair with a troubled look on his face. He always felt uncomfortable with his best friend's comments.]

[“What are you talking about? Of course I am complimenting you. You know, there are very few literary works that are worthy of being read in the toilet. Some authors even wrote popular light novels that sold well because they got inspiration while reading in the toilet.”]

[“As long as you keep working hard, you will definitely be able to fulfill your dream and become a world-famous light novel master like that author!”]

[Hikigaya said this without blushing, his eyes were upright and his expression was sincere. He was a model of righteousness, and every word he said carried a kind of beauty of indifference to human life.]

[“In short, there is nothing wrong with the idea and general direction of your story. The main problem lies in the narrative method and the characterization of the protagonist. It is too flat and too empty, just like chewing dry bread. It is tasteless.”]

[“The essence of literature is actually empathy, especially novels. Well-written novels are those that can make readers empathize, and the object of empathy is often the protagonist in the book that readers are most accustomed to identifying with.”]

[“To put it more clearly, the story you wrote has no soul, because the protagonist you wrote is too bland and has no special characteristics. If the protagonist, who is the core of the whole story, has no soul, then the story also has no soul.”]

[“Once a story has no soul, it has no power, and therefore cannot arouse empathy from others.”]

[Hikigaya's words caused Zaimokuza to ponder for a while. He looked at the manuscript in his hand with a confused look in his eyes.]

[“The power of stories… Indeed, although I wanted to write a protagonist who could bring smiles to others’ faces, I didn’t know what kind of person he was, so I always felt uncomfortable when writing. I always felt that I couldn’t understand… Now it seems that this is what you said about not being able to immerse myself in the story, right?”]

[“As expected of Master Hachiman! He pointed out the problem directly and directly!”]

[“Ahem… Okay, stop praising me.”]

[Faced with Zaimokuza's praise, Hikigaya put his fist into his mouth and coughed a few times, his eyes wandering.]

[He really couldn't say it... He actually thought that the foreign teacher's comments on the college entrance examination essays of the neighboring country were very cool, so he just copied the classic quotes from the teacher, and now it just happened to be useful. ]

[By the way, what was the teacher's name? Was his last name Shenshan or something? ]

[Hikigaya shook his head, expelling these irrelevant thoughts from his mind, and looked up at Zaimokuza who was waiting for his response.]

[“Now you understand, right? The difference between you and the protagonist of your story is too great, and you don’t understand what kind of person can bring smiles to others, so naturally your writing is not good.”]

[“You set the protagonist up as someone who loves to laugh, so he protects other people’s smiles. This kind of character setting is too thin and cannot be three-dimensional.”]

[“If you want to tell a good story, you can make other characters vague, but the creation of the protagonist is always the most important thing and cannot be dealt with carelessly. There is no famous story in literary history whose protagonist has no beginning and no end. If there is a beginning, there will be a future. If there is a future, there will be a past, and naturally there will be a process that connects everything.”]

[“So you have to write it clearly. In addition to explaining why the protagonist likes to laugh, you also have to write why the protagonist wants to protect the smiles of others? Add stories to the settings of these two characters, give him reasons to do so, and rely on the weight of the story to support this character, so that this character has a soul.”]

【"soul……"】

[Zaimokuza lowered his head and chewed on the two characters, his eyes thoughtful, as if he had figured something out, but was also full of confusion.]

[“——No, I really can’t think of it!”]