Eromanga-Sensei Volume 10: Chapter 4
- Ayumi Miku
- Oct 9, 2021
- 33 min read
Chapter 4:
Our tour of the Nanohana School cultural festival began.
The group consisted of Sagiri, Muramasa-senpai, Elf, Megumi, Shidou-kun, and myself.
It seemed like Kusanagi-senpai, and Aya-chan’s group had moved ahead of us and went to high school.
So, our group went to the fortune reading room first.
There were several booths set up in the hall, and in each of them, a girl was sitting in a black robe. They looked like fortune-tellers, with only their eyes visible. The fortune-tellers used a crystal ball, which appeared to be authentic.
“Even if it’s only fortune-telling! Sagiri, Muramasa, Megumi, Kunimitsu, let’s test our compatibility with Masamune!”
“W...We all?”
Muramasa-senpai said. In front of everyone, Elf walked around, dancing, looking delightful.
“Of course. Everyone, let’s see who is more compatible with Masamune... let’s do this!”
“Well, me, I’ll give my best effort to be the best for Onii-san. ♪”
[Mwu... I will not lose.]
“Fuh...interesting. Let’s do it.”
Sagiri and Muramasa-senpai were utterly motivated.
...... But why Megumi too?
The only one who was confused was Shidou-kun.
“This...... Why would I have good fortune with Izumi-kun?”
“Fufu, don’t be surprised, Kunimitsu! You’re still a great member of Masamune’s harem!”
“Of course not!”
Shidou-kun denied it with all his might.
The misunderstanding of my homosexuality should be resolved, but I could still feel it at a distance.
I mean, I wish you would stop naming our group ‘Masamune’s Harem’.
Then Megumi hit Shidou-kun’s back.
“Now, now, calm down, Kunimitsu-sensei ☆ It will be good to know our compatibility with everyone. I want all of us to get along better.”
“...... It’s like that.”
So that was the case.
We all went into the booth designed by the students at the entrance. They were slightly narrow.
When we all settled in, the female student sat in front of us and broke the ice:
“I’ll tell you your story... Divination, is your compatibility good?”
Huh? This mysterious voice... did I hear it somewhere else?
“‘Friend compatibility diagnosis’... And, ask the crystal ball about love compatibility with that little man over there.”
“‘Little man?”
This fortune teller said something without any hesitation!?
“Now, please write your names on this paper. It doesn’t matter where you write it.”
The fortune-teller did her job without caring about anything.
Then she recites a spell.
“Yes, I have all the results.”
In the meantime, we swallowed saliva, waiting for the results.
Fortune-telling is mysterious in many ways, but it’s nothing to worry about.
“Well, first, those who have the best romance are...”
“Shidou Kunimitsu-sensei and Izumi Masamune-sensei!
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Shidou-kun shouted with a terrifying expression of caricature. On the other hand, I caught her.
“Y...You! You’re Suzune! Right!?”
“Ara, you got me really well.”
Suzune took off the cloth she was wearing and revealed her face.
“I could tell by your voice!”
“My mistake. On the other hand, the result of fortune-telling is real.”
“Would you please stop making scary jokes?”
“It was a joke.”
“It was a joke! Yes! Topic closed! So? Why are you here? How’s your maid coffee?”
I had just met her, but her tone was already unpleasant.
“I’m in the middle of completing a mission I took from the class. I play a more important role than acting as a Bunny Maid at the ‘Cafe Cosplay’ ♡.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“It’s okay. I don’t want you to know.”
And Suzune laughed. Damn... she’s a sneaky girl.
Behind me, an unexpected person spoke to Suzune.
“Suzune-chan! Hello...”
Megumi. Suzune also smiled and waved.
“Good morning, Megumi-chan. I am forever in your debt.”
“Ahem.”
“Same to you.”
Suzune’s voice was like a princess, while Megumi’s voice seemed amusing.
Muramasa-senpai asked behind us.
“Megumi and Suzune... do you know each other?”
“Yes, we do.”
“She is one of my friends.”
It seemed so trivial. Oh, the world is so... I thought about it for a moment, but I changed my mind.
...No, it’s Megumi... probably because of that.
“I’m more surprised to see that Hana-chan and Megumi-chan are friends. Hana-chan, I’m glad you can make friends on the outside.”
“Wh...what a rude thing to say!”
Muramasa-senpai got angry and laid eyes like this >.<
Elf gave a mocking smile and teased:
“Suzune ~ Looks like you just made the same mistake we did, huh? Muramasa is also popular outside the school!”
“It’s, it’s like this... also outside...”
Certainly, Muramasa-senpai is a famous person among us. Especially for Eromanga-sensei.
But Elf, she was using her to compete against Suzune.
“Mmm... surprising. Hana-chan was able to socialize for the first time without making a bad impression.”
[No, our first meeting made the worst possible impression.]
“I thought she was the worst enemy of my life.”
Sagiri and I said in unison...
Elf followed us with a “Me too, me too!”
“...... You didn’t have to say that... I’m, I’m reflecting on that, you know?”
Even though Muramasa-senpai had changed, I still think it was not a good impression.
She didn’t even remember Elf’s name.
“But there were many things about Muramasa-senpai...we knew about her later. And we became friends through good and bad things.”
“...Ma...Masamune-kun... you’re embarrassing me.”
Naturally, Muramasa-senpai was embarrassed as she covered her mouth with her hand.
Upon seeing this, Suzune opened her mouth with a hidden meaning, “Huh?”
“For the moment...approved.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s about the mission I was given by the others.”
With her index finger raised, Suzune said.
“The first thing to do was to see what kind of person is ‘Hana-chan’s beloved person’. If necessary, I would interrupt the relationship.”
“What?” *2
Senpai and I were surprised at the same time. Both Elf and Megumi didn’t. It was expected.
“The rest is secret, fufu. I know, hey, Megumi-chan.”
“...?”
“May I ask you what kind of person Masamune onii-sama is?”
“He’s a super friendly siscon bastard. He has a fiancée who feels the same way.”
“Kufu, as I expected from Megumi. You have explained everything completely.”
Hey!
Suzune said,
“I see, I get it.”
And so...
“Well, I’ll tell you the next fortune-telling...everyone is a friend, it seems they’re compatible enough to be best friends. And, lovers of...Masamune onii-sama?”
“Ooooh.”
“If they join with your juniors...they will become a beautiful couple, and in the future, she will become the best writer of this century.”
...A fortune teller using a crystal ball.
In the end, it was like a real fortune teller.
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After a while, we enjoyed our tour of the high school building.
I bought gifts for Sagiri at the horticulture club. I bought souvenirs for Sagiri at the accessory store, and I purchased commemorative photos at the photography studio.
“You’re really enjoying it, yourself”
Muramasa-senpai was half shocked and half smiling.
“No, it’s just... you can really get to see everything; I wanted to know if Sagiri could know what it feels like to be at a cultural festival...”
The pictures of foreign style buildings taken by the Ojou-sama could be a good reference material.
[...Nii-san, everything here is costly. Wouldn’t it be nice to restrain.]
I was also scolded by Sagiri herself.
Leaving the high school building, we headed for the home economics club to take a break.
It was the most beautiful café I had ever seen. There was also a separate room for confectionery, where the culinary contest of Shidou Kunimitsu VS Yamada Elf took place.
“Let’s have a cooking contest, Kunimitsu! Hey, how about the “Sweets Matching with Tea” theme?”
“Let’s do it! Even though I have no competition on my own terrain, I won’t lose!”
Speaking of which, the two of them had already fought over who would make the best candy.
Both Yamada Elf and Shidou Kunimitsu had a hobby of making sweets.
At that time, Shidou-kun, who was devoted to only one hobby, had better confectionery skills than Elf. She was always looking for opportunities to get even. Now the judges will be the Ojou-sama of the home economics club and us.
The result was a victory for Elf, who made an apple pie.
“Muahahaha! Eat that one, Kunimitsu! This is Yamada Elf! It’s my special skill! I’ll never lose twice to the same enemy!”
“Kuh...! The sweet and sour taste of the apples perfectly complements the aroma of the tea... the taste is like...like being caressed by the hand of a little girl!”
His description of the taste was terrible. Too terrible.
Looking at a grown man squirming like that was not very descriptive.
“Ma...Masamune-kun...me too, I baked some homemade cookies.”
Muramasa-senpai, who was judging by my side, handed me a plate.
“Will you eat them...? Although they are not as elegant as those sweets...”
“Of course, I’ll eat them.”
Muramasa-senpai has many Japanese skills, but foreign food is not her speciality. They were straightforward cookies.
“Mm, they are good.”
“It’s... it’s like this... I’m glad.”
It tasted so sweet, and it was made with heart.
“Fuahahahahaha! I am Miss Nanohana School!”
As soon as she came back to us, Elf posed with the first place trophy.
She was wearing a diagonal ribbon from her shoulder that said ‘Miss Nanohana School’. At this point, we were standing next to the stage in the schoolyard.
“I am the Queen! Praise me!”
Well, as everyone can see, there’s no need for an explanation.
Elf, who entered the Nanohana School Ojou-sama’ contest, has won the first place trophy.
As expected from an Ojou-sama school, the ladies’ contest was about appearance and other things such as manners and practical skills.
She actually won the contest.
Many beautiful Ojou-sama had special skills, such as playing the violin, preparing the tea ceremony, and dancing. Many dazzling beauties were gathered here, and the ladies’ contest was exhilarating.
At that time, the last contestant was our Grand Master Yamada Elf.
She was the loudest, the most versatile, the one who most yearned for victory among the contestants... sometimes even surpassing the others in her own field.
And of course, the most beautiful one.
If I had to describe the whole ladies’ contest, I would use approximately one hundred pages. Sorry I couldn’t show you the details, but the result was a landslide victory for Elf.
It seems she can even surpass the Ojou-sama of this upper-class school.
Well, it may be because she has been trying so much harder than the others. I think the result was natural.
That’s what I thought.
“Congratulations, Elf-chan!”
“It’s a little suspicious... Well, it’s you.”
Megumi and Muramasa-senpai congratulated Elf. Sagiri’s Tablet was in Senpai’s hands. But Shidou-kun touched my back.
“Izumi-kun, aren’t you going to say anything to her?”
“Well...”
I couldn’t say a damn word.
So I walked in front of Elf while scratching my head:
“Hey... uh...congratulations.”
“Hmm!”
She replied with a bright smile, which was strangely embarrassing.
Elf was happy.
“You said, ‘Elf, you can win easily, so I took it seriously. Did I meet your expectations?”
“Ah, ahhh......”
As I loosened my cheeks, I heard the sound of a fake cough from the Tablet [Cof, cof!]
“Heehee!”
I instantly straightened my back. It was no longer an involuntary reflex.
At that moment, Megumi looked at Muramasa-senpai’s face.
“Muramasa-sensei, you should have participated in the ladies’ contest as well.”
“Why would I do that? It’s not my cup of tea.”
“Eh... but, if you beat Elf-chan in the contest, it would have been a plus point for Onii-san, wouldn’t it?”
“Na! It wouldn’t attract him that way...! ...would it, Masamune-kun?”
“Huh? This......”
Don’t ask me something so tricky!
I mean, what would have happened if senpai had participated? It would have been perfect!
“Wait, Megumi, Muramasa~? Were you planning to beat this Queen of Nanohana... Elf-sama? Even if you would have participated, wouldn’t I have won anyway?”
“Ehehe... Who knows ~? I am charming...♪”
“If Masamune-kun sees me, I would be invincible. I would not lose.”
“Ha~? Do you want to end it here? We’ll ask the referee, Masamune!”
“I don’t know! If I respond, I’ll probably regret it!”
That’s how the ladies contest ended.
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“Oh, I’m going to go say hi to some of my high school friends.”
“Me too. I just got an email from work. I’ll call you later. You guys go ahead. See you.”
From here, Megumi and Shidou-kun had left. Now only Sagiri, Elf, Muramasa-senpai, and I was left.
“Okay, now let’s go to the culture club! As a professional person, I’m a little bit interested~~.”
Elf walked ahead with her championship trophy in her hands. On to the clubhouse.
It was located in the middle of the middle and high school buildings. Although it wasn’t as big as the school buildings, it was still a prominent place. As we walked into the building...we could see the importance of its temple-like appearance.
There were works of art such as sculptures and paintings lined up like those you would see in a museum.
[Muramasa-chan, I’ve seen this before!]
“Mm? Ahh...this building looks like it was used to film movies, doesn’t it?”
[Yes, regarding] an Ojou-sama school that is now fashionable! It used this stage!]
“There’s a drama like this? ......Well, I’ve been swamped recently and haven’t been able to follow the fashions beyond light novels and manga.”
I think it’s a good idea to be a bit away from the main work. Even though I’ve been swamped, I have to keep working on my studies, on my thoughts. I must reflect...
“It is clear that this school puts a lot of effort into its cultural club.”
“You can see it. Well, to be honest, if you ask me, it’s a little annoying.”
A little embarrassed, Senpai said. It doesn’t matter to me what the school I attended is doing.
Yes, this is the Muramasa-senpai, I know.
To annoy her, Elf said:
“Damn, what a bad guide we have. Well, what can we do? Let me show you ‘something interesting about this club.”
“You? Well, what are you going to show us?”
“Here.”
She pointed out a large painting placed in a prominent position in the room.
When viewed from above, it was the entire school’s painting and was entitled ‘A Bird’s Eye View of the School’.
... That’s what I think, this painting...
While I was sighing, Muramasa-senpai’s reaction was deplorable.
“What is wrong with this painting?”
“Huh? You don’t know? Is the genius writer, Senjyu Muramasa, unable to understand this painting?”
“Mm, I don’t know. If it is a significant painting, please explain it.”
“Certainly. It’s a little disappointing... as always.”
Yamada Elf and Senjyu Muramasa hardly agree with each other. The same applies to the assessment of this painting.
“That painting...Fufu, Sagiri, please tell her.”
[Did Army-chan paint it?]
Is that so? The touch is a little different...but somehow, it was a painting that ‘looked dazzling’.
Amelia Armeria Army.
She is referred to in her work as a ‘universal artist’.
“This school seems to be a ‘client’ of Amelia’s paintings. Since we came here, I wanted to show it to you, so how about it?”
[As I expected from my older sister.]
Both Elf and Sagiri were proud of the Army.
They seemed happy to talk about her.
I walked around the corner where Army-chan’s works were on display. After walking for a moment, I reached my destination.
“This is the hall of the literature club.”
Although it was a school festival, nothing was decorating the outside of the club, which remained untouched.
They only decorated the interior?
“Hello!”
As soon as I thought about it, Elf opened the door.
I had a solid mental image of the literature club, like the light novels’ scenarios in the ‘Literary Girl’ series. A ‘literature-eating monster’ in a sailor’s suit, sitting on a folding chair.
A place crowded with columns of books and cardboard boxes, a picturesque spot for book lovers.
What was the Nanohana School Literature Club really like?
As I expected, there were no such books piled up. All were stored in the high bookcases.
There were folding chairs next to a long white table. Girls wore black sailor suits.
Some faces were familiar, but I will leave them aside for the moment. One of the girls read a paperback book in silence; others read a magazine next to it.
And yet another, at the table, was writing on a piece of paper.
I remembered the romantic feeling that it gave off on my skin.
[Waaaaa! This is the literature club! The literature club where the beautiful literature maidens meet!]
By the way, it wasn’t me who raised my voice.
I don’t want to explain it either... Eromanga-Sensei was rejoicing, jumping up and down from one side to the other on the screen.
And Elf said very firmly:
“Sagiri, you are destroying the atmosphere.”
[......Damn...I was very excited.]
“I’m sorry about the noise.”
When I apologized for Sagiri, the girls in the literature club nodded in surprise.
One of them got up and asked for help.
“Ara, you came here to join us. Welcome to the Literature Club, Onii-sama.”
“Ah!”
It was Suzune.
“First at the maid cafe, then at the fortune house... don’t show up everywhere. That’s an outrageous statement, Onii-sama. You are the one who has appeared before me all the time.
Besides the maid café, the time at the fortune house was an open-and-shut ambush.”
“So why are you here?”
“I am the president of the second literature club.”
“Huh, really?”
Really?
Suzune shook her head.
[Apart from that... the others are surprised.]
“Hey, Eromanga-sensei raised her voice suspiciously. What should I do...”
When I turned to the screen, she let out her typical “I don’t know anyone by that name” line.
[Well...I will draw an illustration as an apology].
Again, a word from Eromanga-sensei.
She’s my fiancée, but I swear I won’t let her say stupid things.
“As a member of the literature club, I would like to see the skills of a professional illustrator. Come on, Muramasa-chan. Put the dark Onee-sama in an angle where we can see her.”
“Sealed!”
Bam, Muramasa-senpai quickly closed the Tablet, sealing the demon.
“Sorry for the inconvenience. Don’t worry about the idiot now.”
“Muramasa-sensei!”
All the members of the club got up at once.
“Were you worried?”
“Sorry, I didn’t notice at the time...”
“I’m surprised you screamed something amazing all of a sudden...”
“Goddess... ahhh... the Goddess has descended......”
“Please sit here.”
Muramasa-senpai was in a panic over such a welcome.
“Ah, no, this...Senpai...really doesn’t mind...”
She was like an idol entering the club.
It seemed like they had gone too far, but I think only my ears heard wrong.
When Elf heard it, she turned pale.
“......Hey, Muramasa, did you tell your high school friends to call you ‘Goddess’?”
“Of course not! Don’t blame me! ......!”
Muramasa-senpai quickly outstretched her hands.
So Elf looked at the beautiful Onee-sama who was wearing a black suit at the time and said:
“Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
“No, Senjyu Muramasa-sensei is the Goddess of the Literature Club.”
Her eyes were serious, and she put her hands together to start praying.
Predictably, Elf made a “Wow” face...
“......To think that the God of the Catholic school would be so bad...”
Really, I wanted to pretend like I didn’t listen for a moment.
“Kujou-senpai!” She called the believer who began to pray Muramasa-senpai.”
“You always tell me to stop praying!”
“But, but, what is desecrated towards God...”
“But I’m not a Goddess! Really stop! I have friends who came...”
It was probably the first time Muramasa-senpai saw this, as she was pretty surprised.
She was furious about the prayer to God, but the girl finished praying and finally raised her head.
“If you say that...... I will call you Umezono-san.”
“Yes.........”
Muramasa-senpai stroked her chest while she was breathless.
After that, she introduced us to the girl who was praying.
“This...... guys, she is Tomoyo Kujou, a high school student.”
“I am Tomoyo Kujou, a high school second-year student and president of the first literature club.”
Is she about the same age as me?
No, she has a good style, different from Suzune, but until she does nothing weird, then she is an Ojou-sama. No, more like an Onee-sama.
“Ah, ahh...nice to meet you. I am the Kouhai of Muramasa-senpai, Izumi Masamune.”
“I am Yamada Elf. Nice to meet you.”
After introducing ourselves, we went back a little bit.
“—————”
A moment later, Tomoyo-san looked at us.
Perhaps it was because she had heard our names more because of the name of Elf.
But we were not revered as with Muramasa-senpai.
“Pleased to meet you, Masters.”
A calm response.
So I looked at Muramasa-senpai.
“Perhaps, Muramasa-senpai, are you in the literature club?”
“No. I am not. I have been invited repeatedly by Kujou-senpai and Suzune, but I have always refused them. It would be useless to have someone who is not interested in the activities within the club.”
“You are right.”
“I’m not a member of the club, but I give them advice occasionally. Instead of writing at school, I use the club room.”
“Mu...Muramasa-senpai is...”
“Teaching to write novels?”
Elf and I said in surprise at the same time.
“Is it surprising?”
“No, but... you’re not that kind of person, are you?”
“Haha, certainly.”
Muramasa-senpai smiled oddly.
“I think so too; I don’t think I’ll give you a good guide. I can only read their novels and give them my immediate impression, which can make them cry. ... It’s not a good thing. I can’t tell lies about a novel, but if a close friend or a senpai asks me, I’ll listen.”
“…………………”
Really...
I’m glad I came to the school festival. My impression of Muramasa-senpai was changing at the time.
My previous perception was not wrong, but it is showing us a new dimension of her.
Muramasa-senpai at school is not an unemotional one, nor a demon that ignores novels... but she also listens to her friends’ requests even if they go against her principles...
It was that kind, ‘Umezono Hana-chan’.
Well, although if I said it, I would be so ashamed that I would deny it.
“I see......”
I nodded with a warm feeling.
“Talking about it.”
Next to me, Elf asked Tomoyo-san.
“What is the First and Second Literature Club?”
“The high school literature club is the First Literature Club, while the middle school literature club is the Second Literature Club. The club room is upstairs, but during the cultural festival, the two literature clubs come together...although we only publish a magazine.”
Indeed, the magazines of the literature club were piled up on the table.
They seemed to be the ‘presentation’ of the first and second literature club.
“It’s an amateur job, it’s embarrassing...but it’s something we do every year.”
“Well, I’ll take one of those.”
Then we take the magazine and flip through it. Apparently, I had published a light novel written by the members of the club.
“Ara, the high school club’s light novel is written vertically, but the middle school club is written horizontally?”
“Ehh, that’s because we all in the high school club were writing on the internet.”
“Uh... internet, web novels?”
As Elf asked Tomoyo-san about this, but Suzune was the one who answered.
“Yes, I’m working mostly on ‘Narou’ and ‘Kakuyomu’ (*8).”
(TL Note: *8 Shousetsuka ni Narou and Kadokawa Kakuyomu are two web novel publishing sites. If a novel is famous enough, it can get an official publication as a light novel and even adaptations to manga and/or anime.)
“Hey, literature club, really!?”
“I’m serious. We’re publishing novels and sharing them on Twitter. All the published works are written on paper, but they’re all used to be written horizontally...so it ended up that way.”
“Huh... It’s like this. A book written in a landscape is unusual...it looks like a story meant for the telephone.”
A parable, I said.
But, yes...the modern style of the literature club is based on the Internet.
I was surprised to hear the name of a website I know in a place like this.
...On the other hand, talking about web novels.
It’s time to talk about the ‘postponed’ topic from before.
The Ojou-sama were gathered in a black uniform in the club room, but some familiar faces were seen in the background. There were two of them, one of whom we met at the reception earlier.
“Kusanagi-senpai, Aya-chan.”
Aya-chan seemed to be focused on her conversation in the distance, so she responded with surprise.
“Ah, Izumi-sensei, uh...”
“Oh, it’s Izumi.”
At her side, Kusanagi-senpai also noticed me.
“Why are you guys here? Didn’t you go to the high school building?”
“Uh, um, yes. Sensei said, ‘I changed my mind, let’s go to your favourite place’...”
Oh, Kusanagi-senpai is a kind man.
“What is this wind blowing around?”
“You see, Izumi...... I realized I couldn’t get away fulfilling my ‘original purpose’. Instead, I ended up as a nanny... Well, that’s how it ended up.”
So Aya-chan brought you to the literature club, which she was interested in.
Now I understand the reason why you are here.
The thing I don’t understand is...why Aya-chan is the one you’re talking to mainly.
“Um, it’s been a while, Izumi-kun.”
“Umezono-san......”
Indeed, Muramasa-senpai’s father... Umezono Rintarou was talking to some high school girls; among them was Aya-chan.
She was a bit desirable.
Since he is the father of Muramasa-senpai, it is understandable for him to be at the school festival.
“Why is he in the literature club?”
With a serious face, Rintarou-san said:
“Now we are having an offline ‘Narou’ meeting while enjoying the school festival.”
“Offline meeting? With high school girls?”
What do you mean by ‘for the school festival’?
“Um, you know, I’m publishing a web novel as a hobby.”
“Oh, yeah.”
I remember him being a great writer, but he couldn’t score much, so he got angry and tried to figure out a way to fix it.
“What happened afterwards?”
“First, I tried using my real name as a pseudonym on the page, but there were always comments from people claiming to be ‘A big fan of Umezono Rintarou’. Delete this fake account’, and ‘You’re just trying to look like the Master.”
“Ah...”
They did not know that it was actually the real Umezono Rintarou who was publishing at that time.
So you were treated as a fake and scolded by your own fans...really, what was this great Master doing?
“So then I changed my pseudonym to ‘Rin-chan’.”
Rin-chan doesn’t suit you at all!
Rintarou-san continued in a low, slow voice, obviously remembering what was coming next.
“I started writing on Twitter and Facebook under Rin-chan’s name, and I was actively interacting with the other writers with a feminine way of writing.”
“It’s too bad!”
It was the first time I heard it.
A Nekama (*9) with that face and age. It was tough to imagine. Besides, he has a daughter...
(TL Note: *9 A man who uses a woman’s identity on the Internet)
“To keep up with young people’s trends and be able to capture them in my stories, I had to watch all the anime and other popular stuff.”
Is this the key to becoming one of the best professionals of the decade?
I wouldn’t want to follow his lead.
“And then everyone was very kind and gave me tips to become a better writer. I had a lot of work to do.”
A new ‘woman’ writer spoke on otaku issues in a ‘feminine’ tone. He would undoubtedly become very popular.
“As a result of applying all these measures, my recent publications have been seen more frequently in the daily rankings.”
“It’s incredible...I mean...it was to be expected.”
It was tough to express here; I really didn’t want to flatter him.
“But, it’s going to be over very soon. I can’t keep it up. As you follow the trends and the actions that accumulate in the book, I don’t understand it. Top writers are outstanding. They’re something completely different from me, who’s just imitating them. It’s frustrating, but I have to admit it.”
For the moment... I have a lot to say...
This person is really aiming to be the best.
He’s probably the type of person who doesn’t let go of something after he’s hooked on it.
In a way... he’s similar to his daughter.
Rintarou-san kept up the “offline meeting”.
“To get more advice, I decided to meet with the writers I had befriended online. I was hoping to be able to absorb from them what I lacked to reach the Top. However, after listening to them, they all went to the same school as Hana-chan! Izumi-kun, you should remember this... all the Tops are high school girls!”
“Really!?”
I was starting to change the way I saw them on Twitter.
“When I invited ‘Rin-chan’ to the culture festival, he told me he had a daughter who went to the same school as me! I was so surprised!”
A high school Ojou-sama (Top Writer) near Rintarou-san said in a pleasant tone.
I was surprised.
The person they were interacting with on the Internet (who used a feminine tone) was the father of a student from her same school. What’s up with these, Ojou-sama!
“That’s why they were able to meet ‘Rin-chan’ at the school festival...I was invited to the club room. Since I’m not very busy with my work right now, I could come and talk.”
“It’s really a coincidence that ‘Rin-chan’ was actually a man and also the father of Senjyu Muramasa-sensei!”
The other young Ojou-sama said, and Aya-chan agreed with her.
.........Eh?
In this situation, those girls... don’t they know the great writer ‘Umezono Rintarou’...?
Do they only know him as... the father of Senjyu Muramasa-sensei?
Is it a joke...? It’s Umezono Rintarou, isn’t it? His books are also essential...
Is this literature club really okay?
Suzune, who was standing next to me, whispered in my ear in a sweet voice.
“You don’t seem to know him.”
“...I see.”
Even though he is the lord of contemporary novels.
In this literature club, Umezono Rintarou is only the novice web writer ‘Rin-chan’, father of Umezono Hana.
“That’s why those Ojou-sama is teaching him how to write novels.”
However, he seemed to be enjoying the situation.
“Your daughter is looking at you with a blank stare. Is it okay?”
“Mister! This is the continuation of the one I told you about!”
It was Aya-chan who spoke to Rintarou-san with enthusiasm.
From what I heard, Aya-chan was not a member of the offline meeting, but she got into the forum and had been talking to ‘Rin-chan’ for a while.
“I don’t think it’s good to just gather all the elements that are interesting to the reader, but I think you can write a wonderful novel with those little hands!.”
“Hahaha, this is difficult. Maybe it’s true.”
“Mou! Don’t laugh. Take the novel more seriously! Rather than writing about fashion and measurement, write ‘Here’ and ‘Now’, I think that’s the right thing to do for a novelist who aspires to write ‘the most interesting novel anyone can read’.”
“I’m sorry, Ojou-chan, I...I can’t write like that. I don’t have the talent.”
“You have low aspirations! Don’t do it, ‘Rin-chan’ Oji-sama! You’ve been taking your job lightly... I mean, for a newcomer, I think you have a lot of potentials.”
“Oh... That’s right.”
“Yes, of course not yet, but if you try hard and get writing skills...”
“If I make an effort?”
“You might be able to make your professional debut! I’ll give you some tips too, so please try hard!”
“If you say it like that, you make me feel a little more confident.”
It was a terrible conversation.
But I didn’t really need to do much about it.
Sometimes Suzune communicated through smiles. It was too bad for the heart...
Well.
Let’s confirm the situation Kusanagi-senpai was in.
My apprentice is teaching Umezono Rintarou ‘how to write a novel’.
Like a novelist, he just stared at the scene with a deep blue face.
“No, I shouldn’t have been here...... Today has been my worst day......”
On the other hand...
“Well, today was a lot of fun...... I’m glad I came.”
Umezono Rintarou, ‘Rin-chan’-sensei, had a face that said he was enjoying the school festival.
After that, his head was shaken violently.
That was the work of Muramasa-senpai. She looked upset.
“......Pap... Father. What are you doing, for God’s sake......?”
“A...Ah, Hana-chan, I came. Thank you for the invitation.”
“Don’t thank me for the invitation! You’re embarrassing me! Go home instead!”
She was all red and angry.
Somehow...she looked like a ‘maiden ashamed that her father had come to see her in class’.
“Don’t be so angry. I’ve heard a lot of things about Hana-chan from everyone, not just writing tips.”
“‘I want to have true love. I want to make ‘youthful memories’ at this cultural festival, right?”
“Wh...wh...what...?”
Muramasa-senpai was upset.
My senpai told me her motivation the other day, and when I heard it, I imagined it with Sagiri.
They were almost identical. Although I was new to the poetic phrase ‘True love’.
“But what do you think, Izumi-kun?”
“Huh?”
It took me by surprise.
“What do you think?”
It seemed like I was being tested.
I was lost for a moment, but that didn’t change what I was going to say.
“Muramasa-senpai. I, myself, felt it seeing him in Senpai’s classroom and in this literature club.”
“What, what? Masamune-kun.”
“Senpai is, um, he’s young enough.”
Muramasa-senpai was silent for a moment...
“Is that so?”
She seemed to be embarrassed to keep her head down.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The second day of the cultural festival ended at the end of the day.
The front door of the school was dyed the colour of the sunset.
“Thank you all for coming today.”
Muramasa-senpai kindly thanked all her guests.
“Thank you very much... Muramasa-san.”
Shidou-kun said.
“Fufufu, it was fun!”
Elf said after Shidou-kun.
“I feel like I’ve become more friendly with everyone!”
After that, Megumi gave her thanks to Muramasa-senpai for inviting her to a cultural festival.
“...It was a little difficult, but it was a wonderful experience.”
“Senjyu Muramasa-sensei! It was... it was an honour to talk to you!”
At last, Katsuragi-senpai and Aya-chan show their gratitude.
Everyone responded positively to her. There was happiness on every face.
[Today, my impression of Muramasa-chan...changed a little...we became more friendly than before...you have become a strong enemy with whom I cannot lose.]
Sagiri said I’m sure she’s smiling behind her mask.
Of course, so am I.
“It was a good cultural festival, senpai. I’m glad I came.”
“I see, so it was good that I invited you.”
Looking around slowly, Muramasa-senpai said:
“Thank you all. My wish was fulfilled. I invited my friends from outside the school...and we had fun. I had fun too. I was able to introduce my school friends to you guys... At one point, I seemed to be a normal student...Masamune-kun told me that I was young enough...but this kind of thing was new to me.”
[...Mm...Also, for me.]
Sagiri looked up and agreed.
For the Hikikomori girl and the literature girl who walks away from everything. It was a new experience. Slowly the twilight was fading.
“This...guys...this...eh. Maybe, if it’s okay with you.”
Muramasa-senpai did not seem confident and was confused.
But, she said a few words that changed that impression.
She raised her head and:
“Let’s have fun again some other day.”
And what was everyone’s response?
It is not necessary to say.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Cultural Festival, Third Day.
I was alone at the entrance of the Nanohana School.
- Could you wait for me at the school at the end of the third day?
- I want you to read my novel there. That’s all I ask.
- You don’t have to tell me what you think of it; you don’t have to say to me that you love me.
- Just read my story in front of me.
To fulfil my promise with Muramasa-senpai on this day.
Senpai told me: ‘Come in the evening to the school entrance at the end of the festival’.
I arrived too early.
“………………………”
I showed my invitation to the reception and entered the school just like yesterday.
It was cold. I looked at the sky and thought it was already cold. There were no clouds in the sky.
Probably this person’s heart was clear too.
So let’s not waste any time on it. Let’s go directly.
“Come on, wake up.”
I exhaled and moved again. I went to the club building, the literature club room. When I knocked on the door, I was greeted by a: “You can come in.”
So the door opened quietly.
A girl in black hair and a uniform was sitting on a folding chair, just waiting for me.
That’s right...yesterday I promised to meet ‘someone else’ who was not Muramasa-senpai.
It was Usami Suzune.
She was sitting on her knees in a beautiful posture.
“Thank you for coming, Onii-sama.”
...Onii-sama, come to the hall of the literature club one hour before you meet with Hana-chan.
That’s what she whispered to me when we left the club room yesterday. It was a charming word as if it were a temptation to infidelity.
“Come closer.”
Suzune directed me with her finger. It was an impolite gesture, but her elegance was not broken. Instead...there was even an illusion of becoming her slave if I followed her orders.
No, that’s not it. I don’t have that kind of taste!
I shook my head and walked to the front of Suzune. She smiled and looked up.
I pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.
The sunlight coming through the vertical windows gave the club room the appearance of a sacred place.
“What did you call me for?”
“Hana-chan is writing her novel...before I tell you about her feelings...I want you to do something for me.”
“I see.”
“On the other hand...it is not a confession of love.”
“I know.
“Ara, I thought you’d be expecting it. Since it’s a basic element in light novels... with a girl like me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t know.”
Suzune was smiling like a bit of a demon, putting a hand on her chest.
“You met a new local ‘Guest Heroine’ wife.”
“I wouldn’t dare!”
“It is said that you have been dumping many ‘local heroin guest wives’.”
“You’re about to cross the line to really piss me off... So? Did you call me to tell me that?
“No way. I want to show you something.”
“Do you want to show me something?”
“Fufu... here it is.”
Suzune pointed to a corner of the room with her index finger.
There she was...
“......Ah.”
Muramasa-senpai was wearing a black uniform, writing a novel. She was using a pencil and notebook.
Her back was extended, and her eyes shone like those of a goddess.
She had no idea when I entered the room, perhaps because she was entirely focused.
“………………………………”
Her face, which was writing with the concentration of a goddess, slowly formed a smile. Her cheeks were slightly red as the pencil moved.
It was as if she was pouring sweet love drop by drop onto the paper.
It was completely different from the times I had seen her write before.
I saw a Senjyu Muramasa that I did not know.
“This is a special occasion.”
Suzune said.
“Only today I will show you, Onii-sama.”
“……………………”
I couldn’t respond for a moment. I just stood there and watched as Senpai wrote.
The cheerful expression quickly distorted, and her breathing changed to a dirty, harsh one.
She was changing her expressions as she poured out her love on the paper.
Every time she did, my heart trembled.
Still, I stood there and watched.
“You didn’t know, did you?”
“Ah.”
I responded with a weak voice. Then I asked:
“Why are you doing this? Is it ‘another mission’?”
“It’s not about supporting your love. In fact, I don’t think everyone, including me, wants to enforce Hana-chan’s first love. But she is striving to do so, which is why I think it would be better to support her without her permission. I just...”
Suzune’s voice contained some anger.
It sounded like that.
“I don’t know, it wouldn’t be good for you to say ‘I like other girls better than Hana-chan’. Even if it doesn’t help much, I wanted to let you know.”
My mission, Suzune, seemed to suggest.
...It was too bad...because of the situation.
Maybe it’s because of this clean place, but these girls here seemed to be like angels and demons.
“So that’s why you called me before Senpai finished her novel.”
“Yes.”
“Did you girls get in our way to make us know Muramasa-senpai better?”
“Yes. And thanks to that... yesterday and today, you could see Hana-chan’s charm that you didn’t know, right?”
“Something like that...”
Yesterday, at the cultural festival, I was able to see a side of Umezono Hana that I did not know.
And today, in the club room, I saw a rare side of Senjyu Muramasa.
“I just wanted to let you know more about Hana-chan. Her bad, good, beautiful, strange, serious, even silly things... I wanted you to know them before saying that you ‘like Hana-chan’.”
Suzune stood there and gave a mysterious smile.
“Ahh...this could also help you to make you fall in love with her.”
“But, we are not going to lose our Hana-chan.”
Suzune said those last words and left the club room in silence. She left me alone.
Only the sound of the pencil echoed in the silent room.
...When I met her, Senpai came into my house and started writing a novel for some reason.
...Senpai was excited about the novel I gave her to read at summer camp.
...When she came to play, she suddenly started writing a novel.
Senpai in kimono, senpai in uniform, senpai in yukata, senpai in regular clothes, senpai in a bikini.
Anger, shame, joy, sadness.
I’ve spent a year getting to know her and have seen many sides of her, but...
This is definitely a special moment.
This picture was much more beautiful than ever.
I was fascinated by it until she finished her novel.
“.........Well, I’m done.”
She was writing for an hour.
Senpai lifted the notebook with both hands from the table and looked at the last page.
Perhaps she was checking the end of her novel; she didn’t move for a moment.
Then, with both hands, she hugged the notebook.
“.........Masamune-kun.........”
It was as if the novel she wrote was me.
The situation was so loving that it was embarrassing.
Uhhh...my face is burning up.
I hesitated to talk to her and kept looking at her until she noticed me.
It was a shame to look away from such a scene, but that time had come.
“...? Ah... Masamune-kun?”
“Hello, Senpai.”
As I waved to her, Muramasa-senpai stopped at her place, clearly in a panic.
“Huh? Huh? Huh? Are you for real?”
“Yes, what else could it be?”
“...... A dream.”
She was very embarrassed and coughed and held her body with one arm while her voice faded away.
“I...I...now, I was thinking about you the whole time...as I was writing my novel...I thought I was in a dream….”
“A...Ah... it was that...”
I felt like my back was being stroked by feathers.
I wonder if this person who said these things was also embarrassed, but Senpai is very embarrassing!
She came up to me and touched my cheek.
“You are the real one, aren’t you?”
“This... I am the real one, Izumi Masamune.”
“I see...ah, I... I’m sorry! I touched you without asking...this, for, for...why?”
Why are you here? That’s what I was trying to say.
I’m used to having conversations like this.
But, if I tell her ‘I was watching you’, she would understand, and she would be ashamed of death.
“I got here early. So I just came here.”
“I see, I see….”
I was relieved. This was the best possible route.
“What about your novel?”
“Oh, I just finished writing it. But you’ll have to wait a little longer. I need to review it.
“Sure, I’ll wait.”
If it’s to read your novel, I could wait here for days.
“Thank you. Well, could you... wait in the cafeteria room?”
“Can’t I wait for you here?”
“...... It’s embarrassing to be seen.”
“You don’t usually care about your surroundings.”
“Today, today is different! Why this is... a novel about you and me.”
“That’s right, my mistake.”
How dangerous...if I had made a joke, I would have received a strong counterattack.
“Fine! I’ll wait there...!”
My heart was pounding as I left.
I left the literature club room and walked towards the meeting place.
I enjoyed that outdoor café we visited yesterday.
The sun was already setting, the sky was red. It was the end of the festival.
The students seemed to be wrapping up their stalls and getting ready for the bonfire in the courtyard.
Speaking of the school festival, a bonfire...
It was impressive, but where did it come from? I didn’t think it was real.
Because that was something I had never seen before, but only in my creations.
The brilliant ‘end of the festival’ is something you could only find in stories.
The ideal of youth that everyone hopes for but no one experiences.
Because what I saw seemed to come from another world.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Masamune-kun.”
When I finished the second cup of coffee, I heard her trembling voice.
“Senpai, you should relax a little more.”
“No, that’s enough. I finished reviewing it. It's finished.”
“I see.”
“...Will you read it as you promised?”
She offered me a notebook.
Senjyu Muramasa’s handwritten manuscript.
This is the long and dense confession and love of Umezono Hana.
“Yes.”
I nodded and took the novel. Then I began to read.
The ‘Most Interesting Novel in the World’ by Senjyu Muramasa.
A love story that describes Umezono Hana’s, first love.
………………………………
………………………………
………………………………
While I was reading it, I didn’t say a word.
I just turned the pages as if I were a thorn in the side of the book.
It was a tough job that described a forbidden love.
A novel intended to brainwash and change the point of view of her love.
It was an entirely different interpretation of the first part.
The first half felt like a sophisticated read, but as it progressed, the intensity increased.
It was the story of a girl’s first love, which was forged in crimson fire.
I had forgotten about the time as I read.
The climax passed, and she came to a confession.
I could see that the heat in my body was not just an illusion. I could see some light with my peripheral vision.
The festival fire.
...It was the beginning of the end of the festival.
Some noise was heard, the voices of boys and girls mixed together.
I guess everyone was enjoying their youthful moments.
Just like us.
“Masamune-kun.”
“…………………”
I could not respond, even though I had heard it. I couldn’t take my eyes off the text.
But she spoke with the voice of a leading heroine and said to me.
“Listen to this.”
“……………………………”
“I wrote a love novel... with only one thought in mind. I always thought it was the right thing to do. And I don’t think I was wrong. But...”
Yesterday was entertaining...
She said suddenly.
“Really fun. You know, playing with everybody at the festival...talking about a lot of things...laughing at the silly things, getting mad sometimes, fighting. ...But, after saying goodbye to everyone, I thought. What wasn’t normal. I just don’t know what you do in that kind of everyday life. The world of youth is not just about ‘you’ and ‘me,’ it includes all the noises from the outside.”
My eyes were far away because of the nature of that phrase.
Her dialogue was mixed with the novel, which permeated my inner self.
“That’s exactly what you said. The days of my youth had already passed... Especially after I met you. Do you remember? The first time we met.”
“Yes.”
Muramasa-senpai put her hands together, seemed to be looking into the distance.
“It was a wonderful meeting.”
“Liar, it was one of the worst first encounters.”
“For me, it was one of the best.”
I will destroy your dreams right here!
Call me, Muramasa-senpai.
How nostalgic.
Actually, it’s only been a year, but it’s been a long time.
I told senpai that it was ‘the worst encounter’. But when I look back, it’s a good memory.
I will never forget it.
“This...the first time I saw you, you were talking to Elf at the entrance of the editorial department.”
“I remember you had dropped your novel...”
“And you picked it up.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right.”
“To tell you the truth, from the first time I saw you... I thought you were a little bit nice.”
“Hey! Is that so?”
First time I’ve heard that.
“It was...love at first sight?”
“Er, yeah. I don’t know! But, somehow... I mean, it was good.”
“Ah, I see.”
What is this?
I was ready for senpai to confess to me.
B...b...but I didn’t think I’d have such a sweet and bitter conversation! It was completely unexpected! I’m panicking!
“At the time... those kinds of nice things... I ignored it... but then I noticed it. It was love at first sight. Before I knew you were ‘Izumi Masamune’...I was falling...in love.”
Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
“...I...I have to tell you one more thing.”
Never again will I be surprised.
“It’s my first love.”
“..........!”
“That’s what I believe now...”
Muramasa-senpai was talking about her childhood love with a distant look.
“I discovered Izumi Masamune’s novels when I was a child...on your personal website. They weren’t published in the correct format, something like what my father is trying to do now, a blog? Anyway...I thought it was fine...to be running a personal website.”
“Ahhh, that...that I did when I was in elementary school.”
I didn’t want to remember it too much because that was a childhood hobby for elementary school kids.
At that time, Izumi Masamune published his novels on the website where he interacted with Sagiri and a personal website.
My first fan, ‘That person’ (Sagiri), suggested: ‘your writing speed is too fast.
Personally, I didn’t understand it at the time. Still, I wondered if she was right, so I created the personal website to use it as a temporary place to store the novels being born every day’.
Only strangers who wanted to read all my novels visited the site...
“The daily accesses were two, three people...two of whom were Sagiri and I...”
“I was that third person.”
“Could it be that we all knew each other before?”
I just let out a laugh.
My first fan was Sagiri... does that mean that my second fan was Muramasa-senpai?
What a coincidence...
“How did it end up like this? Masamune-kun.”
“.........No idea.”
We met for the first time in the Internet’s wilderness. It is not a coincidence that we have met again in real life.
Sagiri and I met again because we promised each other, said goodbye and shared the same dream...
I met with senpai because we work hard in the same profession.
“At that time, I was starting to use the internet...and I had the weak expectation that ‘maybe I can find something here that I find interesting’. I don’t enjoy manga, movies, games, sports, novels...like everyone else, I was looking for a treasure I could keep in my heart. But the result was a little disappointing.”
The bookstores do not sell novels, which Muramasa-senpai can enjoy as much. She said that once.
This was probably a story before that.
In short, this was a story of Umezono Hana before she became Senjyu Muramasa.
“Wasn’t it time you decided to write a novel yet?”
“I did. My father taught me the basics, although with a reluctant attitude. But I didn’t find it interesting. To which my father said, ‘I feel relieved’.”
He once said he was against his daughter becoming a novelist.
At the same time, though, he was probably worried that his daughter wouldn’t be able to find something he thought was ‘fun.
He did those inconsistent things, teaching her how to write a novel but against becoming a novelist.
“But that’s when I found out about it. Your novel.”
Muramasa-senpai said and chuckled.
“It was interesting. It was exciting.”
Her impression was straightforward.
Which made me very happy. More than being famous in the rankings, more than receiving recommendations from a renowned writer, short comments from people are much more valuable than jewels.
“Thank you.”
I thanked her without hesitation.
Indeed my face was red. I was like, ‘what do I do now,’ I continued, “At that time, I was an elementary school student, a beginner...I think it was terrible. I think those were bad. But, even so, it touched Senpai’s heart. It was fun...so maybe that’s why you liked them.
“When I asked you, you said, ‘I like what I like. I don’t know why.”
Senpai said that as she laughed and laughed.
...Well, I like that. I like the jobs and people.
If you ask me why I like Sagiri...I could explain to you as much as possible, but I couldn’t explain everything thoroughly.
Eventually, I’d have to go back to that phrase... I like what I like.
“Is that so? But we are writers. Let’s put it into words… We’ll be strong, we’ll be able to work well together. Umezono Hana and Izumi Masamune are very similar. We are interested in the same things, get angry about the same things, laugh about the same things, and get sad about the same things. We are very similar.” Senpai said.
“And yet we are different people. Fufu, don’t you think that’s the best thing? A person who ‘isn’t yourself’ who can do work that you find interesting. It’s fun.”
“When I read Senjyu Muramasa’s works, I didn’t feel like she was a different person.”
I may have said that during our first confrontation.
Let’s repeat it again.
“It seemed like I was reading a novel written by myself, only with the memories erased.”
“So did I. The stories you wrote before, especially because of your strong self-insertion...I felt I was a courageous adventurer in myself.”
“Could you stop talking about my old works? It’s embarrassing.”
When I first decided to write a novel, I was Hero Masamune!
“That’s not all. Your feelings for your family were extreme in your novel...the feelings you had for your late mother. I’m sure... that’s what touched my heart.”
“……………………………”
I didn’t answer anything.
I hadn’t noticed it before but never saw Muramasa-senpai’s mother. Although I didn’t say it, I was utterly convinced.
The reason why all these feelings are so similar.
Father and son.
Father and daughter.
...... I see we have......
“I felt that you were me. The other me was doing something fun, so I decided to make an effort too.
Anyway.
Umezono Hana laughed with a face I had never seen before.
“So, I decided to write a novel too.”
It was a terrible story.
Despite Umezono Rintarou’s objections, Kagurazaka-san accidentally found her manuscript...and made her debut before me, and it was a great success...
I was waiting for Izumi Masamune on the professional stage.
She was like a supreme nemesis, who wrote the same things, but in a better way.
“It was the beginning of Senjyu Muramasa.”
And then, as you know, many things happened which made me write a romantic comedy...
Now I was facing her. It was really ridiculous.
“This is my first love.”
Senpai looked down with flushed cheeks.
“When I was in elementary school, even though I never saw him...I fell in love with...Izumi Masamune-sensei. And after a few years, when I entered high school...I found you again, and I fell in love again.”
She noticed it and then gave an excuse.
“Ah, don’t think I was in love with someone else...it was you... is what happened.”
“…………………………”
Indeed my face was as red as an apple.
Even though it was a cold day, the fire and herself were warming me up.
“I have fallen in love twice in my life... and both times I have fallen in love with you.”
“…………………………”
We look at each other.
A black uniform.
The hair is black, the skin is white.
“Let me tell you again.”
Beneath the fire of the campfire and the sunset.
Everyone was dyed red.
Their watery eyes were looking straight at me.
“I love you, Masamune-kun.”
The magical temptation which captivates any man.
Her second confession was mixed with the effects of her masterpiece.
I received her feelings and told her my honest feelings.
“I love you too, senpai.”
“But there is one person I love so much stronger.”
I can’t shake those feelings.
“…………………………………”
“I promised to make her happy, so I can’t love you back.”
“.................. I see.”
Our conversation was very similar to the last scene of your novel.
The difference was the end of the confession and its expression.
“I knew you would say that. But I didn’t write it.”
Muramasa-senpai was smiling, with the flames behind her, immersed in a red world.
The girl in front of me was much more elegant than the one written in this genius novelist’s last scene.
“......Well, I finally finished it.”
Muramasa-senpai exhaled deeply and became weak. Then she said in a voice as loud as a bang:
“So this is youth.”
Right now, we are both younger than anyone else in the world.
Undoubtedly in the future, very much in the future, when I become an old man.
I will remember these things nostalgically.
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