# 054. I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress

## 01. Volume 1 - Time to Play - First Half ( PDF )

### 001. Afterword

Hello everyone. This is the author Keiichi Sigsawa. Thank you for purchasing this new published work—

"I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress I — Time to Play, First Half'.

The title of this book is so long a single line can't contain it. Well, since it's already so long, i should have crammed it all into two lines. Can I cram it into 2 lines instead? (Editorial branch note: Please start with the afterword already).

"I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress I — Time to Play, First Half'. (This title is long, so I'll simply shorten it to 'this story' from now on)

This is a new series I released after a long time.

Speaking of which, I've been an author for 14 years, but in terms of novels, I only managed to write two series that include 'Kino's Journey' (and 'Kino's School'. No objections allowed', 'Allison' (including the sequels 'Lillia and Treize', 'Meg and Seron', 'All the stories in the Story of A Large Continent series'. Even I was surprised by that. The first volume of 'Allison' was published in 2002, while the first volume of "I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, (etc)' is actually a completely new series released 12 years later. It's surprising that it's been 12 years. An entire zodiac has already passed!

And thus, as per usual, it's okay to read the 'afterword' of this volume as usual since it doesn't reveal any plot. However, is it okay that the plot's already revealed that much in the title...? Well, it can't be helped.

Now then, it's time for the afterword, so please allow me to be a little more passionate in discussing this story. Since I'm an author, I'm very familiar with this work.

The original idea of this story was formed about 4 years ago from now, in other words, from 2010. That was when I first came up with the plotline for this story, and it was March 30th.

Of course, I came up with the plot file because 'I thought of it', and it originated from a 'dream' (The dream here naturally refers to the one everyone sees when they sleep)

There was a dream I had ever since I became an author.

How it felt to me was,

"I'm in a high school (or college) classmate, and I couldn't get along with my classmates as I haven't been to school for a long time, so I could only feel isolated and lonely. However (for some reason), as I'm an author,

"It's fine. I'm an author after all!"

That was what I would always mutter to pass off my loneliness.

I suppose everyone can tell from this heartwarming, fleeting episode how distant I was from being a 'Winner in Life' during my student days, and there was nothing I could brag about myself until I became an author. I'm definitely not crying here.

However, it was only on this day (March 30th, 2010) that this dream was a little different. Nobody knew that I'm an author, but there's one female student who suddenly talked to me.

I forgot what were the exact lines, but she did say,

"I'm a voice actress, and I know your true identity!"

Once my jaw dropped (speechless) in shock, I opened my eyes.

I got up, and sent myself a message using the phone placed by my pillow.

"A story of a high school boy as an author having his secret known by his female classmate who works as a voice actress!"

Yes, that was the moment when the story was born.

Once I got to my work room, I immediately sat in front of the computer.

The file I created was titled 'A high schooler author (basic file)', and it was created at 12.36pm, 23 seconds, on March 30th, 2010 (well, the computer's clock will differ by a few minutes or so.).

Typically, I'll sleep till noon...so I really was just awake back then. Please do not imitate the lifestyle of a professional author. It may damage your body.

And then, using that dream as the basis, I continued to add on to the ideas I thought of. I revisited the diary that day. (I'll typically enter my diary entry into the computer every day), and I found out that I did have such a thing recorded. The following's what I copied from the entry:

It's a dream of me as a high school student, a distant dream of walking towards my high school.

I often had this dream, but it's different this time; there appeared a girl who works in the voice acting industry.

And so I thought of a story, and recorded it.

Also, I did leave this message on twitter. That was when I copied it too.

I quickly glossed over the idea of the dream I saw, and though I didn't know how to write, I thought it was interesting (or that was what I thought). Such occurrences were common, so I often had some sort of a recording device placed beside my pillow. Once I woke up, I would send a message to myself immediately.

If I had not seen the dream back then and recorded it down—

This story would not have happened. The majority of those who know the contents of the story and read the title would probably think,

"Hey, hey, Sigsawa! You just want to write your 'dream' as a story here, right?"

In fact, yes, the inspiration came from my dream! It's because this is based on my dream that I'm able to write such a dream-like story! If there's a category in wikipedia called 'a work the author conceived in a dream', please add this work to the category! Yes, I'll leave it to you!

For added precaution, I'll state beforehand that the basis of the protagonist isn't me. I couldn't write a single novel in high school. This protagonist's just my aspiration, a 'dream-like' setting. To be blatant, I'll say that the story itself is a fantasy, more fantastical than 'Kino's School'.

However, whenever i mention the profession of an author or Dengeki Bunko in this work, I'll use my various experiences.

"Eh! So a light novel author will collude secretly with the Dengeki Bunko editorial staff!"

I'll be very pleased if everyone's able to think this way after reading this story (Editorial branch: can't you please use another, amicable way of stating this?)

I have to clarify further that the basis of the heroine doesn't exist. I did search through the internet when deciding her name so as to avoid involving any actual voice actresses, and this is the reason why I chose this rare, unpronounceable name. If there's really a voice actor or actress rookie with the same names, I do apologize deeply! Please allow me to use this chance to apologize to you! I'm say!

The story was actually written starting from August 2013. In other words, I had this idea brewing for more than 3 years,

The plot I first thought of back then is completely different from this one here! It's really completely different here.

I can't really remember when it was (I didn't record this down in a note), but the story just so happened to change. To avoid revealing the plot, I really can't say what sort of change happened in the story...and the story so happened to end up like this after I concocted this for so long.

Now then, as for why I actually started to write this story so suddenly—

I once had a premonition that light novels with protagonists being light novelists would continue to increase. And then, though I'm not stating any examples, there is an increase in such works, and it has becoming a recent trend.

Looking at this, it'll become a new genre by itself, like 'schools with unique abilities', 'demon kings' and 'little sisters'.

Tragically, I thought of this three years ago, but it's likely that people thought I only caught onto this fad later on! Now's the time to publish it! No time to waste!

That was how it was—and so I suddenly made up my mind to write it at a very fast pace. The last time I wrote so much and so long was probably when I submitted my entry for 'Kino's Journey'. How wonderful.

Finally, when I was done, I found out that the number of pages far exceeded my expectations, so what was supposed to be summarized in one volume ended up divided into two. I do apologize for not planning this thoroughly beforehand.

The next publication date will probably be the day when the Earth rotated 60 times from now (editorial branch note: Can't you just express it in 'two months later'?). There is still some time, so please sit with your abdomens raised and wait (Editorial branch's note: your body balance will be off if you do not train your back muscles at the same time),

The afterword of this First Part thus ends here. Sorry that I'm being 32% more serious than usual (compared to myself). Allow me to state beforehand that there is no continuation of the afterword inside the cover; do check around to see if there really is any.

See you in the next volume, when the Second half is published in March!

January 2014, Keiichi Sigsawa.

### 002. Part 1

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

I'm lying on the floor, my back stuck to the hard floor, and there're slight quivering and sounds felt on the icy floor.

This girl, who's my classmate, a year younger than me, and also acting as a voice actress, is seated on my belly, crouched over.

She's dressed in a thin blue sailor uniform as she reaches her hands out at my neck. Her slender fingers are wrapped around my carotid pulse, seemingly stopping the blood flow.

Her hands are extremely cold.

They feel like a muffler locked around my neck.

Within my sights are black curtains on both left and right sides.

That's because her long, black hair is draped straight down. It's like a flower from the Southern countries, probably because of the conditioner. It's a nice smell.

And then, what I see in the middle of the curtains is her face, slightly dimmed due to the backlight.

She's crying. Her tears are dripping to the inside of the cell frame glasses lens. Her white, pretty teeth can be seen from her tight lips.

“Why!?”

She yells as she grabs me by the throat, choking me hard.

I heard that humans are able to exert more strength when they're shouting. I never tried it before, but I can say that that's the truth after experiencing this for myself.

My throat's being strangled from left and right, but I don't feel any pain.

And in contrast, ringing inside my head--

A drip of black ink lands silently. That black stain begins to spread gradually.

“Why!?”

She yells again.

Why did it end up like this?

That's what I want to know.

### 003. Part 1

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

The black dye forming in my mind spreading quickly and quietly.

At the same time, rain began to fall in the middle of my sights.

This is because, the moment Nitadori yelled, the tears gathered on the inside of the lens fell out.

Inexplicably however, the tears never fell no matter how long it too.

They seemed to linger in the air.

On a closer glance, I found they expanding slowly, very slowly.

But they never fell.

The tears never fell.

That was what I realized in my darkened mind.

At this moment, the flow of time seem to be very slow.

### 004. Part 1

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

My neck was still choked by Nitadori's icy hands.

My mind was dyed a complete black.

I did not feel any suffering. No pain at all.

That one single Nitadori's tear finally landed on my cheek.

However, another 7 of them remained in mid-air as time slowly trekked back.

From a moment back, the times and memories I had knowing Nitadori raced by in my mind at a blinding speed. I recalled what we did and what we said, and they were so clear it was terrifying.

I understood.

This was the so-called 'near-death experience'.

The first time I saw one.

### 005. Part 2

The first time I met that girl was--

About a month and a half ago.

It's April 7th , the first Monday of this month, and the first day of the new High School year.

It has been a year since I went to school.

During that prior year, I took leave from school. I should be in the second year of high school from my 16th to 17th spring, but I was unable to attend school the entire time.

Now, I'm finally in my second year of high school.

And with the return to school, I transferred schools, from the Public High School where I studied in year 1, to a private High School.

In this new school, the school won't question me on the lack of attendance as long as I've an appropriate reason and pass the exams.

And from this moment onward, I have to take leave from school once every week.

On that morning.

I stepped into the school for the second time ever since I completed the transfer. I found my name on the large class allocation board, and entered the classroom for the first time.

Naturally, I don't know anyone in this classroom.

This school's a co-ed, with an equal percentage of boys and girls. I heard that there'll only be a rearrangement of classes when entering our second year, so it's not a rarity to see people unfamiliar with others, sitting alone, like me here.

Soon after, the form teacher who's going to take care of us for 2 years entered. He's a middle-aged male teacher.

The opening ceremony's viewed from the television installed in the classroom.

And the principal conveyed his message through the footage. I think that this method of not requiring students to move to the gym really is comfortable and good.

Following this, my classmates begin with their self-introductions, which is not to be omitted.

I'm seated at the right side of the blackboard, the row closer to the corridor, and the second seat from the back. After waiting for a long time, it's finally my turn.

Once the girl sitting in front of me finished her line, she sat down.

I stand up, state my name, and the foods I like, something I definitely had to say.

There are a lot of foods I like, and I chose coffee in this case. It's ordinary, but the other students did mention stuff like Ramen or Sushi, and the girls mention sweets. It's really ordinary.

Most of the students would add on, saying some things about their club activities or hobbies to spice up the atmosphere in class. It seems everyone has a hidden understanding that they could not let it end up this.

As for me, there's nothing much I could say. Once it's my turn to speak up, I ponder seriously for a brief moment, but was still unable to think of anything to talk about.

And so, I accidentally,

Blurted out what I should not have said.

“Well...I transferred into this school during this semester, and it's my second time wearing the uniform and entering the school. It feels like everything seems so new, like a new student.”

It's still fine till this point.

I feel that my classmates are starting to show concern for me, and I think I hear some voices of the heart, like I see , so you're a transfer student , that's rare .

And what I said next was inappropriate,

“I took leave from school for a year before this, so I'm very happy to be able to return back to a high school life.”

These were my true thoughts.

However—

My classmates start to rumble.

“Eh? Older than us?”

“A retainee?”

This time, what I heard was not the voices of the heart, but actual whispers I could hear from my ears.

Even though I realized it was a bad situation, it was all too late.

The atmosphere in class changed from the understanding of there's a transfer student' to a 'so there's a senior who's supposed to be our upperclassman'.

It was only a while later did I realize that there were no retained students in this school, that there were as many goldfish that could speak as there were classmates older than them.

I've left school for a year, and during this time, I was always in contact with people older than me--

I have already lost the natural feeling of 'a year difference' for a high school student.

I felt that I said something I should not have.

This was the wish I set for myself when I arrived at this school, and the promise I made with my mother.

That I have to handle my studies well, make good friends even if they are few, and enjoy the high school life I will only have once.

In other words, being a 'high school student'.

But—

I ended up grounding myself regarding this matter. I made a miscue right from the first day.

“...That's how things are. Please take care of me...”

What's with that ' That's how things are. Please take care of me' line? That's ridiculous.

I was the one who said 'I'm a year older than you!'. Wasn't I the one hiding this fact until a while ago?

After ending this greatest failure in my life, I slump weakly on the chair, feeling myself to be so foolish that I don't have the strength to sigh.

“Hm, well, next. You must be the last one, I suppose?”

The teacher did not follow up with this, but this was probably to prevent the wound from expanding any further.

“Yes!”

And then, I hear a cheerful voice from the girl seated behind me, coupled with both the sound of her pulling her chair back and standing up. At this moment, I realized that she's a girl.

I didn't have the strength to look back, so I continued to maintain this position, despite it being rude to her.

“Eri Nitadori. My given name and family name both rhyme with 'ri'.”

Her voice was intriguing.

She surely wasn't loud, but I can hear her clearly. The voice seems to pass through my ears and reach the brain directly.

“I transferred into this school last Autumn, and I was in the second class. My favorite foods are basically all kinds of them, but the one I really want to eat for all 3 meals a day is—”

I begin to guess her answer.

Is it a sweet befitting a girl? Cake or parfait? Or was it some ordinary curry or ramen? Maybe some unexpected katsudon with sauce on it?

I started to challenge her.

And I began thinking all sorts of possible dishes she could mention before she answered.

What she said next was,

“Horse sashimi!”

She said.

I lost.

This was overwhelmingly, or I should say, something not many would say to be a favorite food, and so my classmates laughed heartily. Even the teacher laughed.

It's splendid.

She was able to blow aside the unnecessary heavy atmosphere caused by the carelessness of the student right before her.

Even though this prefecture is the producer of horse sashimi, I really couldn't fathom a second year high school girl eating horse sashimi for every meal.

“I'm not good at sports, so I'm not in any club activity. However, I do bring my dog out every single day. Our dog's called 'Gonsuke' (TN: Basically means 'manservant'), 3 years old—”

I continued to hear her chat happily about her pet dog, curious as to how this 'horse sashimi girl' looked like, and so, I slowly turned my head around.

And then, I look up.

I saw a bespectacled girl who's rather tall, and had quite long hair.

She's probably about 1.7m tall, I guess? For a girl, she's really rather tall.

She's definitely not plump, but for some reason, she doesn't seem delicate either. She said that she's not good at sports, but I thought she should be a talent heavily recruited by the volleyball or basketball club.

The evenly long black hair of hers is so long it passes her chest and reaches her abdomen. Her bangs are in evenly straight, and to summarize, it's a long bob haircut, and on both left and right side of her hair are button-like hairpins, probably made of felt?

Her skin's white, her facial features are distinct, the face lines and nose bridge are rather straight, and she has quite the pretty face.

She's wearing cell-framed glasses, colored pale blue-green like the haoris of the Shinsengumi. The face lines behind the lens were not contorted in any way, so maybe it's either a decoration or that the spectacles degree isn't that much. The irises in those large eyes were a thick brown.

If she's a character in a novel, this is probably how I would describe her.

She's blessed with a fine body figure and face, a plain Yamato Nadeshiko hairstyle, one who looked so unbalanced, and yet befitting of her.

That was what I thought.

She was a beauty.

One of these days, I'll take that saying and 'make use of it'.

This classmate of mine called Nitadori adjusted her sights moderately as she continued to chatter about her pet dog Gonsuke. It is clear that everyone in class is paying attention to the cute episodes.

If it were me, I probably won't end up doing such stupid miscues. I wondered as I heard her words. We're seated rather close, so Nitadori wasn't looking at me. If she's looking at me, I probably will be looking away.

Nitadori ended her proud introduction of her dog at the opportune time, and then said that anyone who wished to see the photos could check out her smartphone. This really is a wonderful appeal.

And looking at this—

Anyone who likes dogs, no matter whether boy or girl, can talk to her regarding that. From there, she would be able to converse with others. Her self introduction's a stark contrast to a certain somebody before her, a classic sample.

And in the end, she adds on, “Please take care of me for the next two years”.

She lets her long hair dangle to a side of the chair's backrest, and slowly sat down.

At that moment, she was right in front of my sights, and our eyes met for the first time.

I intended to look away, but I couldn't.

“Eh!”

For the earnest face she showed till this past suddenly froze, and she let out a soft shriek. She turned her face to the corridor, seemingly evading my sights.

This action was ostensibly one of somebody who saw something she should not have. It felt to me that she would not be this petrified even if she saw a ghost.

After seeing her actions, I slowly turned to the front, and sighed in my heart.

I wondered that if my first day was going to be like this, I might as well not repeat my year after all.

That was why—

“Can I sit beside you?”

I was really shocked when that Nitadori suddenly spoke to me so earnestly.

It was April 10, a Thursday, 3 days after the opening ceremony.

I was seated on the Limited Express back then.

From the town where I live in, this train ride allows me to reach the metropolis in about 3 hours. I was seated at the last row of the free seating carriage car, at the left side, leaning by the window.

It's the evening, and the train carriage is still empty after having left the station, so there shouldn't be a need for anyone to sit beside me. Even if the reason of wanting to sit at the back row is 'my luggage's too big for the rack', or 'I want to adjust my reclining chair', there is still the right side of the aisle that's empty.

That's why I was surprised to hear the meaning of those words, despite not knowing who it was. I lift my head up from the printouts of the drafts, and when I found it to be Nitadori, who's seated behind me every day, I was further taken aback.

“Hi! Good afternoon.”

“...”

I remained silent as I stared blankly at this taller girl standing on the aisle.

Naturally, Nitadori's not dressed in a uniform, and I'm not really sure of the details, but I could clearly see that it's a posh looking one-piece dress.

Nitadori seemed to have assumed that I may have forgotten about her,

“Erm, we're in the same class. I'm Eri Nitadori, seated right at the back.”

And so, she introduced herself again.

“Ah...y-yes—”

I barely managed to force out a reply somehow. And then, I slowly spoke,

“I knew that, actually.”

I knew about all those till this point. What I didn't know what why she would talk with me.

Nitadori then gave an amused snicker,

“Hm? Honorific language? Even though you're an upperclassman?”

“Ah, no...it's nothing, Miss Nitadori.”

“Adding a 'Miss'? Even though you're older?”

“...”

I took a breath to calm my heart down.

“No...erm, is 'Nitadori' fine?”

And then, I pretended to remain as calm as possible while conversing with her normally. I wondered how many years it had been since I talked to a girl of a similar age, but having realized that I may need a long time to derive that answer, I gave up.

“Of course. Can I sit beside you then?”

At that time, I had my backpack on the seat beside me. Inside it were my favorite laptop, books and a change of clothes.

My backpack was wide open inside, so while reaching out to zip it with one arm, I blurted my honest opinion,

“Well, I'm fine with that...but why here? Aren't there empty seats everywhere?”

It might had been rude of me to say that, but that was what I truly thought. I had no idea at all why Nitadori insisted on sitting beside me.

It had been 4 days since school started, but I never conversed with her in class. Rather, I never spoke to anyone in class.

Everyone in class viewed me as 'an older classmate', and treated me with caution, so naturally, there wasn't any who would speak to me. I guess they were all wondering if they should be using honorifics with me. If one were to do so, so would the rest, and vice versa. However, nobody dared to be the first one up to the challenge.

I too was worried if my classmates would shun me if I tried to approach them, and never did so in the end. The gap of a year was too large for me, who's already ineffectual at communicating.

I felt it is merciless of me to be saying 'there are still other seats' to a person wanting to sit beside me. While pondering that it was expected of her to be angry, I awaited her answer.

“I want to talk with you.”

And then, she said this. She was not smiling, but it did not seem like she was angry.

“Erm...talk about what?”

I place my backpack on my thighs as I asked this, dumping the rolled-up manuscript into my back. It was just information I printed from home, so it was fine for me even if it was wrecked.

“Thanks.”

Nitadori tied her long hair to the back of her neck in a polite manner, and let it drape from her right shoulder to her chest, quickly sitting down beside me.

She turned to the left, and with our shoulders practically touching each other, she stared at me right in the eyes, and answered my question with a hushed voice,

“I want to talk about work.”

“Huh? Whose?”

“Whose? Ours.”

“...?”

I did not understand what she meant at all. What work was there for two high school students to talk about? I placed my bag at my feet.

And then,

“Sorry but I don't understand what you're saying here.”

I answered honestly.

Nitadori then showed a serious look immediately.

“I see...I thought you would have realized it already.”

“...Realized what?”

“About me.”

“...”

“I seem to be mistaken about something. Sorry."

I stare at Nitadori, who looked to be a little disappointed.

“...”

I started to wonder if she was an ill-natured girl after all.

Perhaps she wanted to tease this 'older' classmate she coincidentally met, and would leave the seat with a cackle.

I had that image flashing through my mind at that instant, and I even had the image of her saying some harsh, sharp words at the end.

Even if that were the case,

“Hey, hold it there! What do you mean by that? Explain to me!”

I probably would not be raging and chasing after her with such amazing manliness.

I probably would feel a little hurt, and would probably end up being 'used' by her

“But I'm not trying to tease you here, you know?”

Nitadori said, completely denying my thoughts. I wonder if she's an esper.

And so, what she said next,

Caused my heart to stop in shock.

“Are you going for the After Record for 'Vice Versa' tomorrow, sensei?”

Normally, the slight quiver and tremors on the fast moving Limited Express feel comfortable. I did at times treat the carriage car as a cradle and slept soundly on it.

But at this point, I felt that the sounds and tremors were akin to a massive earthquake.

It was rumbling away, and I felt it was trying to throw me out of my seat.

This was the first time in my life that I wondered why there was no safety belts on the train. My hands were grabbing onto the armrest.

“Wh-why...ho-ho-how...?”

I stared right into Nitadori's eyes as I barely eke out these words, and the rest ended up as gibberish.

I actually wanted to say,

“How did you know about this?”

“Ah, I guess from your expression that you want to ask 'how did you know', right?”

I was unable to say anything, dumbfounded for 5 seconds like a doll, and Nitadori took the initiative to speak up.

I nodded.

“How, did you know...?”

And then, since it did not matter at this point, I said this line.

“Pfft!”

Nitadori let out a little chuckle, and I forgot my current predicament as I saw the smile of the pretty girl up close. However, there was no way I could forget about that. I immediately got up from my seat, and surveyed the carriage.

There were 5 heads I could see.

Two of them were seated at the front-most, side by side. They definitely must be the middle-aged couple waiting for the train behind me a while back, and from their hiking getup, I suppose they went to the hills visible from my room, and were on their way back. There was a lot of snow on the hilltops as the weather was still cold.

A young man, probably a salaryman, was seated a few seats behind them at the window side. Seated at the row behind him at the right window side was a college male who seemed to be traveling. I did see them on the platform.

Closest to me was a young female seated alone near the aisle in the middle of the carriage car, dressed in gray pants and suit. I did not see her on the platform, and she seemed to be of the working class who just finished a dispatch job.

Since there was no one else nearby, I did not have to worry about others eavesdrop if I were to speak at with a normal audible voice. It seemed Nitadori realized my thoughts as she said,

“You're really worried about other people noticing it? Don't worry. I'll make sure that nobody else will overhear us.”

“Thanks...”

I sit down as I listen to her slightly hushed voice, and turn my face to the right, seeing Nitadori's face that was extremely close to me, and asked,

“How did you know?”

“Well then, what do you think?”

She answered my question with a question.

“It's easy for me to tell you the answer, but that's no fun now, isn't it? You'll soon know, so think about it.”

That definitely was what she meant.

And so, I began to ponder, carefully listing out all the possibilities I could eliminate, and the possibilities I could consider.

I spent 2 minutes on that. I didn't know whether that was too long or too short.

And during this time, I continued to stare at the back of the seat in front of me, not knowing what sort of expression Nitadori was showing. Perhaps she was enjoying herself, maybe she was bored, or maybe she was surprised.

“I see...”

After staring at the back of the seat in front of me for two minutes, I let out these words,

“So that's what it means by 'our work'."

“What do you mean?”

Nitadori asked. Clearly, what she meant was,

“Please look at others in the eyes when talking to someone.”

I slowly turn my face to Nitadori.

And so, I stared at Nitadori, the bespectacled girl—

Giving me a victorious smile.

I spoke up,

“Nitadori...you're a voice actress, participating in the animation of my light novel.”

### 006. Part 2

It was the evening of April 17th, the 3rd Thursday of the month.

I entered the Limited Express car.

Passing through the doors, I went towards the exact same seat I took the previous week.

The free-seating carriage was as empty as before, and there were fewer passengers.

I arrived at the platform 20 minutes earlier than before, hoping not to miss the ride, and also to take my favorite seat. While waiting at the platform, I looked left and right, but did not see Nitadori.

But even so, I placed my backpack on the rack the moment I got on; once she came by, I would not have to worry about moving my stuff aside. The carriage was so empty, and I didn't think anyone else would come.

After that, I sat down at the windowside seat.

I then looked at the watch wrapped around my left wrist.

When I received my first royalty, I thought 'Maybe I should buy something to commemorate', and so, I spent 30,000 Yen on this digital watch, and ever since then, I had been wearing this. Or rather, I had been wearing this watch all this time.

The last time I stared at the display so intently was when I first bought this watch.

The train departed punctually from the station, and nobody came to my side.

On this day, a cold downpour occurred since morning, and so the windowpanes were drenched as it began moving, causing the scenery to look contorted.

On this week, from Monday till Thursday, Nitadori, didn't speak to me at school, just as we promised.

It was me who always entered the classroom earlier, and Nitadori would proceed to the seat behind me unwittingly while I was reading or in my delusions.

Once it was class break, I would not turn my head around to speak to her, and she too wouldn't talk to me either..

Speaking of which, I was hardly in the classroom during class break. I would either head to the toilet,or I would find a place to stroll nonchalantly for no particular reason.

During lunch, I would have my own meal in the school cafeteria, and then stay in the library until class ended.

After school, I would head home immediately, as quickly as possible to read books, watch anime and movies, or write my novel.

The train got faster, and the raindrops flowed down the window.

The seat beside me remained empty.

“Maybe I should get to work...”

I muttered. I couldn't recall when was it that I first described my actions as 'work'. Though I had no experience in working part-time, I was already spouting the word work like others.

I stood up to pick up my bag, intending to retrieve the items from within.

And at that moment, the automatic doors behind me opened.

“Yo! Sensei!”

Someone spoke up to me from behind.

Despite hearing only the voice, I knew who it was before I even turned around.

And so, I moved my hands away from my bag.

Nitadori had a bag with her on this day.

It was brown, an old looking travel bag with wheels attached to it. Nitadori pulled it as she let it roll, and placed it horizontally at the seat behind me.

She was holding a bag of goods purchased from the convenience store.

I could see through the bag. It contained two bags of potato chips and two 500ml PET bottles of tea.

“Here!”

She said as she handed it to me, and so, I did not take my backpack, picking the plastic bag instead. Trying my best not to touch her hands, I managed to grab the bag skilfully, a rarity at that.

I sat down beside the window. Like the previous week, Nitadori had her hair tidied in a bundle, letting it drape down her right shoulder as she sat down.

“It's been a week, sensei, though I've been seeing your back every day.”

This greeting certainly was weird, but it was fact.

“It's been a week. Though...I do sense your stare every day.”

I put the plastic bag on my thighs and did my best to answer.

“Did you feel my hot, passionate stare?”

And that reply came with a smile.

Seeing her act like that, I continued to try my best,

“Yeah, I do. I felt...a burning feeling on my back.”

“Oh? You're good. Do you then understand what's it about?”

“What do you mean? 'Hey! Add more appearances for Meek!'”

“Correct!”

Meek is a supporting character in 'Vice Versa'.

She's a 'homonculus' created by an alchemist; in other words, an artificial human.

Since it is a fictitious story, the characters are typically very pretty, and the homonculus in particular is designed to have 'extraordinary bueaty'.

And so, the unique characteristic the homonculus have is heterochromia; in other words, they have different colored eyes.

The colors differ amongst the homonculus, and in Meek's case, her right eyes is wine red, while her left's yellow. Her hair's blond and short.

Her exotic clothes are such that it bares lesser skin, and there's a green muffler wrapped around her neck.

Nitadori Eri, the girl with long black hair sitting beside me now, was voicing her character.

I wanted to ask her about something.

And after 3 seconds of choosing my words,

“Nitadori, about 'Vice Versa'...how much have you read?”

I asked tentatively.

I didn't go straight to the point and ask her 'did you read it?' Instead, I said 'how much have you read'. Even I found myself pathetic here.

I did hear from somewhere that when acting in an anime that has original work, some would read the entire work, and some wouldn't read the work at all.

The former group wanted to understand the world setting and the characters they're portraying, even if it's a little, and understand the parts that were omitted from the script (however, there are some characters that were completely different from how they were in the original work as compared to the anime script).

The latter group were the opposite, thinking that the script (screenplay) they have is everything for the anime, and deliberately chose not to touch the original work so that they would not sense any difference from the original work.

Of course, there are those who feel that it's time-taxing to read all of the original work. A manga would be one thing, but reading 9 volumes of a light novel series is not that easy.

“Well, I didn't read all of the original work, you know?”

If Nitadori were to answer like that, I would probably feel nothing but heartfelt disappointment, and I wouldn't have confidence in continuing the conversation.

But even so, the reason why I deliberately asked that question was,

I wanted to know how much we knew in common when I talk to her If she did read the original work, there's something we can both talk about.

In conclusion, her response was,

“I read all 9 volumes! They're interesting!”

She answered without a moment's hesitation, in a matter-of-fact manner, continuing by saying the words an author would be most delighted with.

“Th—”

I was unable to continue on,

“Th?”

Nitadori tilted her head slightly as she listened to me.

Taking a steady breath, I blurted out what was on my mind,

“Thanks.”

Nitadori let a little gasp, and expressed her thoughts,

“Likewise, sensei.”

'Vice Versa'.

Typically, this term would be used at the end of a sentence, with an 'and' added in front. The meaning of this is 'the opposite of the preceding statement holds true'.

For example,

“I hate him and vice versa.”

The meaning of this English line would be,

“I hate him, and he too hates me.”

This is a very colloquial mainly used in conversations, so normally, it goes like this,

“I hate that guy, and I guess we both hate each other.”

“I hate that guy, but I guess that guy feels the same towards me.”

Well, that seems to be how it goes.

This lines didn't seem like it was English to begin with, and actually, it wasn't; it was originally from Latin, it seemed.

I learned of this English expression when I was a Middle School student. It was not taught in English class, and neither did it appear in the textbooks; I saw it in the library, on the title of a slightly old American movie.

If I have to describe 'Vice Versa' in one line, it would be 'the story of one summoned to a foreign world .

The submitted work, which ended up as the summary of the first volume, is as followed,

The protagonist's a boy born in modern Japan.

His name is 'Shin Tsumizono 摘園真'. Naturally, the name's derived from the meaning of 'Vice Versa', 'the opposite of the preceding statement holds true'. (TN: 真means truth.)

Shin's a docile high school boy, and lived in a certain town of a certain prefecture where the mountains could be viewed. He grew up with a girl called 'Yui', and lived a very peaceful high school life with a few good friends amicably.”

But on a certain day, he felt a mysterious music seemingly ringing in his mind, and he was suddenly transported to a different world.

This world, certainly not Earth, was called 'Reputation'. There were 5 moons in the sky, and a belt of light surrounding the planet.

Magic naturally existed in this world, and there were also all sorts of creatures, including species like elves and dwarves.

Shin, not knowing what was going on, met a boy who resembled him greatly.

That boy was the other protagonist, 'Sin'. (TN: Original has it as シン, using Sin here to distinguish between the two.)

Sin was so similar to Shin that they were practically twins, but he had such a contrasting personality, for he's feisty, and had an amazing amount of combat ability.

Sin is a prince of one of the kingdoms existing in the chaos roaming this world. His father had recently passed away, and he inherited the throne at a young age.

For the survival of his country, Sin fought on, at the same time harboring a dream of finally uniting the world and allowing all to live in peace.

In the history of Reputation, the 'two great kings' once fought a battle for supremacy. The winner of the war 'true king (self-proclaimed)' ruled his world. Several hundred years passed, and the true king (self-proclaimed) had vanished somewhere. His authority lost its luster, and the world was in chaos again.

Unfortunately for him, Shin arrived in this warring era that was filled with bloodshed. In his very first battle, he died easily.

And then, he revived.

In this world, Shin had immortality, and was able to revive over and over again.

No matter what sort of damage his body took, in other words, his head lopped off, his body burned, or blown into gibs by bombs, his flesh and blood would gather again, and he would revive.

Sin was particularly interested in Shin, and thought of using the latter.

Shin had no intention of getting involved in such fights and getting himself killed, but upon realizing that there were no other ways to live on or return to his world, he colluded with Sin.

Sin's little sister was a pretty girl called Ema with a similar face to the duo, and Shin, working together with their gathering of beautiful maids cum bodyguards and macho looking warrior subordinates, spent his days dying over and over again in these turbulent times.

Soon after, they took on a powerful enemy country.

The young general of the neighboring country, Pluto, led his forces to attack Sin's country.

In this battle that concerned the survival of the country, Shin learned of Sin's thoughts and determination, understanding that the latter's a kind person in nature who hated war more than anyone else. And so, he decided to summon all his courage and work together with Sin.

It was the final battle.

Shin acted as Sin's decoy, and deliberately led himself to be caught.

The former was easily revealed to be an impostor, and was killed. As according to plan, he revived, escaped, caused chaos on the battlefield, and at the very end, Shin took on Pluto himself.

No matter how many times he died, Shin continued to fight and pester Pluto. Once Shin realized that the handsome Pluto was actually a pretty girl dressed as a male, he seized the opportunity and won.

And so, Shin and Sin managed to fight back the enemy forces, saving the country.

While Sin, the leader of the country, and Ema were wondering about how they should repay Shin, Shin heard the music that led him to this world, and realized that he could return to his own world.

When leaving Reputation, Shin suavely left these words to the boy who resembled him,

“You owe me a favor, Sin!”

When he returned back to modern Japan, he found that nary a second had passed.

Having returned safely from the vanished world and time, Shin wondered if that was just a dream,

But even so, he was able to feel proud about being able to summon his courage.

And then, he ran off to the friends calling him name.

The end.

Or so it seemed, but it didn't end here.

After flipping a few pages, there's the stinger,

A few days later, after school, Shin was on his way to play with Yui and his friends,

“Where's this place!?”

Only to find a fully armed Sin suddenly appearing in front of him in modern Japan.

And then, he saw Shin's face.

The 1st volume ended here, and the story was to be continued the 2nd volume.

'Vice Versa has sold 9 volumes'.

The odd numbered volumes are called 'Side Shin', and the even numbered volumes are called 'Side Sin'.

These terms was originally used by the editor-in-charge and me for convenience sake, and soon after, it's used in the introductory synopsis. Right now, these terms are widely used by the readers themselves.

A little off-topic, but since both of them didn't sound different, we would call 'Side Shin' as 'Side Makoto' instead.

In the odd numbered volumes, Shin would be brought over to Regulation to fight, and the story's serious and bloody.

In the even numbered volumes, Sin would be brought over to modern Japan, causing all sorts of ruckus, and the story's comedic.

In the second volume, once Sin, who arrived in Japan, was spotted by Shin's friends, the latter had a brainwave, and came up with a setting of him 'being a guy who likes to cosplay as Middle Ages era characters, and being a long estranged cousin who has such uncanny resemblance both of them were often thought of as twins'.

And so, Sin was nearly arrested by the police for violating the firearms control law, and was completely astounded by all sorts of things in modern Japan like cars, buildings and trains. He tried to look into the distance, and climbed up the high voltage electrical poles quickly, only to be electrocuted and fell to his death.

And then, he revived.

If this were to keep up, Sin would probably end up committing a robbery to survive, and so Shin decided to bring him home.

Though they met Shin's mother very quickly,

“Since we're cousins, I guess I have no choice here.”

His open-minded mother, for some reason, agreed to allow Sin to live with them.

And so, Sin lived together with Shin in Japan, not knowing what to do to get back to Japan.

In conclusion, he solved the problems surrounding Shin through some relatively forceful methods.

And at the end of the 2nd volume, when Shin bid farewell to a vanishing Sin,

“You owe me a favor, Shin!”

And so, the volume ended in a completely different situation from the 1st volume.

In the 3rd volume, Shin again returned to Regulation.

In the 4th volume, Sin again returned to Japan. This time, he had Ema with him, who just so happened to hold his hand.

And the story of seriousness and comedy repeated over and over again.

It may be a little too much for me to say this,

No, I understand this better than anyone else, for I'm the one who wrote this.

'Vice Versa's an over-the-top story.

It includes a Middle Age era fantasy, all sorts of monsters, flashy magic, mysterious science and mecha, battles and wars, journeys, friendship, cute moe girls, characters with many aspects of personalities, the burning friendship between guys, Machiavellian schemes of politicians, mystery plots involving identical looks, immortality, sexy situations, gags, tear-jerking episodes, tragic farewells, peaceful school life, cynical irrationality, otaku episodes,

I basically crammed all the interesting elements I saw in the novels, manga, anime and movies I saw into this work.

The idea of letting the protagonists switch between Reputation and Japan was an answer I derived when thinking about how to convey all these aspects.

Upon hearing those words,

“Now that's cunning of you.”

The editor-in-charge gave me such praise.

We're inside the Limited Express.

And after I expressed my thanks because she read my work,

“Likewise, sensei.”

Nitadori gave me this answer, and then continued on,

“Anyway, that's how it is. Do you want some snacks?”

I didn't know what she meant by 'that's how it is', but Nitadori gently lifted the plastic bag that was on my lap.

“Please prepare a table.”

I did as I was told, and pulled the table from the seat handrail.

I would usually place my stuff on my lap when checking the scripts and using the laptop, so this is the first time I'm using the table.

Nitadori placed the two bottles of tea and the salted seaweed potato chips on my table.

“It's a token of thanks from me.”

“Ah...thanks. I was feeling a little hungry, so thanks for helping me with that...I guess?”

“Don't worry about it. I want to have some too, and it's thanks for being willing to continue talking with me. Just think of it as katusdon in the interrogation room.

“I see. You said that you got a lot of questions to ask me, right?”

Even if there's no katsudon , I'm still willing to answer all your questions (Off topic, but in fact, the police won't give any katsudon when interrogating others, and if orders were placed, if seems the suspects will have to pay for themselves).

Even so, since Nitadori provided me with a gift, I'll just accept it without thinking too much.

With this, I guess the excuse of answering lots of questions because I accepted sweets is established.

I held the ends to open the bag of potato chips, "I really like salted Seaweed.”

And expressed my honest thoughts.

Even since I was young, salted seaweed flavor's my favorite for potato chips, and I like it to the point of being unwilling to take other flavors.

“I I like it too.”

Nitadori's brief words really shocked me, and I nearly dropped the bag.

Wait. Don't be mistaken. That's definitely not what she meant. I tried convincing myself this.

I crisply open this bag of potato chips that's slightly bloated due to the atmospheric pressure of this town.

And then, I thought of something.

“What about horse sashimi flavor?”

There's a souvenir shop located next to the departure platform selling such flavored chips, though they aren't potato chips. As they're souvenirs, they're a little more pricey.

Having asked this question, I look over at Nitadori, and she turned her glasses towards me with a serious look.

“I did hear of the rumors before, and I did try it. It's nice, but I must say that it's different from real horse sashimi. I don't want to dabble in such trivial stuff of whether such a thing can be considered as such, and I don't think I'm the one to decide this. Now then—who can it be?”

In response to this overly serious and pretentious declaration, I ponder seriously, and say,

“...Erm. The horse sashimi god?”

“Understood. When I take Gonsuke out for a walk the next time, I'll ask him if I meet him.”

“Meet him, really? While walking?”

“No, I haven't met him yet. But well, it doesn't matter what my mystery experience is like. More importantly, please tell me more about being a writer like what I said last week, and help me level up here.”

“Understood...but your Japanese's a little weird.”

“You're really particular like an author.”

“I'm an author.”

After eating 4 pieces of potato chips and drinking two gulps of tea that was provided,

“Now then, do you mind explaining?”

My interrogation began in this Limited Express carriage.

I don't know whether Nitadori was adjusting her glasses as an act, or something else altogether.

“Understood. I'll answer all of your questions.”

And so, I told her as manly as I could. If I can do it, I'll do it.

“But I don't really have a clear answer other than the overly private stuff, so except for the private matters regarding other people and what I definitely can't reveal in my work...”

And then, I answered in a wimpy manner. If I can't do it, I won't do it.

“Understood.”

The glasses girl who loved horse sashimi smiled as she said this,

“Now then, as for what I wanna ask today,”

“Eh? Today?”

“But we only have 2 and a half hours, right? That's why I decided on a theme every week. There are other things I want to ask next week.”

“...”

“You ate some of my potato chips, right? Actually, a chip's worth a week of questions.”

“...”

I silently reached my hand out for the 5th piece.

I continued to crunch the 6th and 7th piece of chips.

“Ah, do you want some?”

But after realizing that I can't be the only one eating all these, I turn the bag of chips over to Nitadori.

“Thanks. I don't need it now. I'll wait till I'm hungry later. You can finish it all yourself.”

Even if she said so, I didn't intend to finish it myself, and sealed the bag tightly to avoid letting the chips sog, and placed it in the plastic bag.

I wiped my hands with a handkerchief, took a gulp of tea, and said,

“Now then...go ahead.”

“I apologize...if the question's too rude, and please remind me of that.”

Nitadori started off with these words,

“What kind of lifestyle do you have?”

And asked the first question.

I can't see it, but it seemed I showed quite the shocked look.

“Ah, sorry, it's too crude...”

Nitadori frantically added on,

“Well, when I first did the After Record, I was really, really shocked there! 'Vice Versa's really interesting, and it's my first time voicing a named character, so I always wondered what sort of person the author is. But when I searched through the internet, I found the author's real face to be a complete mystery, and some think that the author may be a female...”

Well, it's normal for her to be shocked. I thought. Till this point, I've been shocking the people I met at work.

There was once when I went with the editor-in-charge to meet the anime personnel.

“Oh? You brought your son along?”

And that was what they said to the editor-in-charge.

“And well, I was really shocked to find that person seated in front of me in the classroom during the new semester, so much that my heart and lungs practically stopped...I didn't know how I would end up if the self-introduction continued...”

“Ah...well, I see. I understand since I was shocked too.”

It's only till this point that I realized it was a good thing for me not to turn my head around immediately.

“So first, I want to ask, what sort of childhood did you have, sensei? When did you start reading books? When did you start writing books? How did you think of so many stories and characters.”

I understood what she wanted to. Basically, she wanted to know about me up till this point.

“Understood. Those questions are fine.”

Once I said that, I felt the brown eyes behind those glasses glowing.

As for the first memories I had in my life, I didn't answer them because I didn't want to.

I didn't think there's a need for that.

That's why I answered Nitadori using the next impression I had in life.

“I've...been reading books ever since I was young.”

“When did it start?”

“Hm, well, I got to tell you something before this...I only have a single parent, raised by my mother. If mum didn't tell me about it, I wouldn't have known who my dad is, and whether he's alive or not.”

“...”

After seeing Nitadori suddenly scowl and quiet down,

“But it's to be expected for me. The people around me, including my classmates knew of this, so it's nothing to hide. Don't worry about it.”

I then continued on as per normal, and she nodded slightly,

“I understand...were you always reading books alone since young, sensei?”

I nodded.

I only have a single mother in my family.

I never knew why I was born, as my mother never told me so.

Of course, I never thought of myself as a child of God.

At this point, it's pointless for me to know, and so I never ask; never will I intend to ask.

I heard that my mother's mother, my maternal grandmother, died when I was 2, and my maternal grandfather died earlier. In other words, my mother and I—

Have no relatives at all.

My mother has been working as a nurse for a long time, and because of this, she never once got retrenched. Our family's not rich, but it's not to a point where we can't survive without relying on others.

But as mom's always deployed at different hospitals, we'll move to apartments located near them. I lived in a few places in this prefecture.

I like reading books. I can't think of when it began, and what started it, but what I can remember in my childhood was that I spent all the time reading books by myself.

I was either reading books at home, or at the childcare centers, or at the libraries in my elementary school.

I started reading picture books, and then went on to children books, and then to children literature. I suppose that when I was in 4th grade, I read through all the books in my school's library.

I really like to read books, and anything goes as long as I have books. I never thought of doing anything else.

And because of that, I practically had no friends.

There are classmates I sometimes interact with in school, but there aren't any friends who would ask me out to play after school or invite me to their houses.

This is because I kept transferring schools, coupled with my introverted personality, and more important—

“I felt happier reading books, treating them as toys...”

“Treating them as toys?”

Nitadori tilted her head, as the term implied.

This was to be expected.

There's a definite need to explain this.

“What I mean by 'treating them as toys' is...”

To play with the books.

To play with my delusions.

There was no way the young me could imagine characters, settings and conversations right from scratch.

And so, after reading a book, I'll read it again.

When reading it again, I'll understand the scenes in the book, imagining the images in my mind. I'll then destroy them as I please and reset them accordingly to what I like.

For example, I'll turn a tragedy into a complete opposite, a comedy.

And I'll turn all the characters that appeared in a comedy to die unnatural deaths in a tragedy.

That was how I started off playing with the characters.

Once I got proficient at it, I started to increase the number of characters. That would be myself.

I would immerse myself in the world of the book, beat all the characters that debuted inside it, and prove my strength.

I could play with this up till 10 times in a book. I would rewrite the setting every single time, until I got addicted to it.

That's the 'role play' kind of game. Every kid had done it.

I'll use dolls for girls, and for boys, I would insert myself as a hero.

However, I used books for this case.

“I see...”

After hearing the explanation, Nitadori seemed impressed, saying,

“In other words, you've always been reading books and having imaginations since young, sensei.”

“Yeah. I prefer the term 'delusions' however, so I'll express it as 'delusions'. That's about the same meaning.”

I feel that 'imaginations' give a more elegant vibe, while 'delusions' give a vibe of 'doing foolish things', and I prefer this nuance.

“How were your grades in elementary school?”

“I think I did decent other than P.E. I like reading books, so this includes textbooks. From the start of the new school semester, I read through the textbooks over and over again. On a side note, I do like reading dictionaries too.”

“I see.”

“And then, during 5th grade, there's something that undoubtedly changed my life. Without that incident, I'll never have the current me.”

That really did affect my life greatly, and I blurted it honestly.

“Wh-what exactly is it?”

Nitadori asked with a serious face. She's like a journalist here, just without a notepad in her hands.

Just when I intended to answer, the train conductor came by. It's a middle aged man this time, and after briskly checking the Limited Express tickets Nitadori and I had, he departed.

“Erm—”

I continued on,

“My mom decided to move houses. For my sake.”

It happened during Spring, when I was promoting from 4th grade to 5th grade.

My mother suddenly decided to move houses.

There was no change in her workplace location, she just wanted to move houses for my sake.

She wanted to move to a place 20km away from our original house.

The new apartment was located right beside the largest library in the area.

If I could be right beside a large library, that might that—

I could read all the books to my heart's content from henceforth. The collection of books in the school library far pales in comparison to it.

I was really happy when I heard about it. Though I had to transfer school again, it really didn't matter to me.

Mom had a lot more overtime work as a result, and that in turn caused me to be really troubled—

Actually, I was too happy to even think about that.

“Ever since then, I was always at 3 places, my apartment room, the elementary school, and the library. The library really was great, because, to put it, I didn't have to buy books!'

I just hope that all the readers would buy my books ever since I became an author however. I never expressed this thought to Nitadori, especially since even I thought it was selfish.

“Your mother's really amazing! You've been reading non-stop ever since then, right, sensei...?”

“I was reading, playing.”

Feeling parched after saying all this, I dowsed myself with some tea.

The library contained books many elementary school libraries did not contain. Or I would say, they contained those kinds of books.

In other words, there were a lot more adult oriented books, and my choice of books increased instantly.

The typical detective novels prior to this were mostly about Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes, but at that point, I could obtain detective novels that were more adult oriented.

I hungrily devoured the detective-themed books written by famous Japanese authors.

These books were typically written for adults, so there were some rather erotic scenes written within.

Unable to understand the prose, I read them with my heart pounding. I would wonder if anyone would have noticed what I was reading if they approached me from behind.

The library had mangas which the school library didn't have.

Of course, they were those famous works, and it really was an opportunity for me, who had no chance to read them. With the chance to obtain these classic works, I understood the joy of reading manga.

There were also many of the so called light novels in the library, and I had the chance to be introduced to them.

At first, I did not particularly notice the differences between a light novel and other kinds of books. I didn't remember how it was back then, but it's not a rarity nowadays to see a light novel with a cover illustration.

But as light novels occupied one entire bookstore, I merely assumed them to be another type of book, and started looking from the catchy looking titles.

After browsing through, I found that light novels could be said to be novels similar to manga; There were lots of illustrations, and the plotlines were similar.

At this age, I, like other people, started off attracted by the 'cute female character drawing' at first. Thus, I started reading them happily, and played with them.

I could also watch movies in the library.

The library had DVDs for borrowing, and I could either bring them home to watch, or to watch in the library.

I feel that in terms of 'enjoying a story', both books and movies are the same. I got addicted to movies after watching a few of them. Like mangas, I did check out a few classic works on the shelves.

And ever since I began watching movies, I started watching television, which I watched infrequently back then, just to watch the movies.

Of course, it wasn't to a point of reducing my reading time, but watching movies inspired me to watch anime often.

The me right now really like watching anime, and this includes all genres. It was only near the end of my 6th grade that I began to watch them religiously (or record them to avoid missing out). I even rewatched the recordings and watch anime to enjoy the stories.

After hearing my explanation till this point, Nitadori looked very impressed.

“Hm.”

Looking solemn, she mused,

“In other words...your mother moved houses to give you gifted education?”

“Ahaha, I guess.”

I gave an honest smile, and continued,

“The types of books I could read and marvel at increased, and as a result, I had more time playing with those works. I forgot when it started, but I was able to come up with delusions even if I've yet to finish a book, like before I sleep, when I shower, or when I'm in class.”

“You can't do that in class!?”

Nitadori chortled, her tone clearly the opposite of what she said, and she continued,

“I got a question, sensei. Do you play video games?”

“Practically not. The first time I tried it was during early elementary school. I borrowed a game from someone at the childcare center, and it was interesting, but—”

“But?”

“I was horrible at it. Very. I just couldn't play well no matter how I tried, and I couldn't play to the point where it got interesting, which really puts a dampener on me. I was rather interested in role-play games or adventure games with interesting stories...but I just felt that games were still inferior to books.”

“I see, I see.”

The Limited Express raced through a few stations in the rain.

The passengers increased in the number, but the tour group passengers were having a commotion, so we could continue with our conversation as normal.

“So sensei, it's because you had such a childhood that you were able to have all sorts of imaginations.”

After learning of my past, Nitadori asked me about a question, 'the major decision I made in my life'.

“When did you decide to begin writing a novel?”

The editor-in-charge did ask the same question Nitadori did. My answer wouldn't change with time, and I just had to answer her.

“I decided to do so in 8th grade.”

I managed to graduate successfully from 8th grade.

I suppose I transferred schools 5 times in those 6 years. Of course, I had no friends at all.

I became a middle school student, studying at the middle school near the library.

With the school nearby, it meant that I had a shorter travel distance. This really helped me out in Middle School.

If anyone were to ask me if there were any changes upon entering middle school, I would say none, at first.

Just a little growth spurt, and a change of voice.

Nothing else changed however. I couldn't make any friends, and I was just living my life reading books, watching movies, anime, and having delusions.

“Ah, I studied too!”

“Very good.”

At this point, the stories I had in my delusions ended up forming in the real world.

In other words, a delusion of me being active in the book's world ends up with me being some amazing guy in the real world, able to do anything. (I can't really remember when exactly I became like that though.)

For example,

A terrorist attacked my Middle school, killed the teachers, and took the students hostage. I managed to deal with it easily though, and I had the fantasy of such a story appearing in Hollywood.

When I look outside the window during class—

“The terrorists are hiding in that milk truck! We can't let those guys enter the school!”

I had such grandeur delusions countless times.

And when I shared these delusions as a joke with other authors at the end-of-year party,

“I once had such things too, ahaha.”

And they looked surprised, answering,

“Eh? —there are people who don't do that?”

That was when I learned that everyone did that sort of thing.

But the delusions of 'making myself a cool and amazing protagonist'—

Suddenly stopped once I got to 8th grade.

“Why—did something happen at that time?”

The interviewer Nitadori asked me.

The bespectacled face immediately approached me, and I retreated my body back.

“Well...to put it simply, I learned of my own limit.”

“Ah?”

“Actually, I realized that if I'm to keep it up...I won't be able to be the protagonist.”

“Hm? I still don't understand.”

My delusions till this point are all centered around 'myself'.

No matter which story is it, I'll appear and show off in them.

I can do whatever I want within the story, beat any enemy, escape any crisis, solve any mysterys, and become friends with pretty girls (though I was just thinking about pleasant things, not to the point of lovers).

Once I got to 8th grade however, I realized my limits, the limits I have in the real world.

I'm not good at sports, and my grades in school weren't excellent.

Furthermore, I'm not good at making friends. I never made any in the past, so this is to be expected.

I can't try to make any girl happy even if I tried talking to me. In any case, I was unable to converse with someone of the opposite gender normally.

I never had quarrels with others, and I don't want to; if that were to happen, I guess I'll definitely lose.

After looking at myself in the real world objectively—

I couldn't find myself becoming any kind of hero even in my free delusions.

I could no longer let myself be the protagonist. It's depressing and down-heartening, but that was what I had to recognize.

So, did the delusions end?

Not at all. The opposite, in fact,

“My delusions escalated further from then on.”

“Escalate...?”

Nitadori repeated what I just said.

And then, she went silent.

The train went around a curb, causing a large jolt. The forces were pressing at me from the side and below.

Looking outside the window, I could see the deformed green leaves pass by in the rain,

“I can somewhat understand, but...”

Nitadori said, and I turn my face back to hers.

This pretty bespectacled girl who loves horse sashimi and is a year younger than me stared at me earnestly,

“You started creating 'characters that aren't yourself, right?”

And she mentioned the correct answer so concisely.

In 8th grade, I gave up on myself in my delusions, gave up on being the me that would most probably be just a pathetic character.

Instead, I chose to let others take the roles.

That was the turning point.

I no longer thought 'I can't do this'.

Instead, I decided, 'this character's able to do these'.

Using that example of 'terrorists invading school vs the students',

I'll no longer be in the school.

Instead, I'll be high above, like the heavens, creating a character created by the god,

“A Middle School boy who was raised and trained by an old man in the neighborhood who was an ex-JSDF special forces commander, and ended up having combat training every day'.

And then I'll dump this character to the school.

He, living a plain, normal life, sprang to action the moment he heard gunshots, and unleashed the hidden power—this setting will make for a great convenience.

I decided to use 'the him who's able to jump up to the second floor' and replace 'the me who can't even jump onto a box. No matter how much the terrorists will change their plans or even take hostages, they'll definitely be wiped out.

And so, once I created 'a character capable of being a protagonist', my delusions increased exponentially.

I became adept at creating all sorts of scenarios to fit the characters.

For example, when a pursued protagonist finds a motorbike in front of him and a subway station, if it's me, I'll check to see if I have enough spare change to buy a ticket as I head down.

As the protagonist will be riding on a bike however (as it was written), he'll leap onto a bike gallantly, and start the engines. As for why the key's on the bike, I have no idea.

Once I 'fired myself' like this, there was a sudden change in the situation, like a creature living in the sea migrating to the land—

This world of delusions that will continue to grow just keeps growing (though in fact, the seas encompasses more area as compared to the land.)

"I see…! That's really interesting!"

Nitadori was truly impressed, stretching her white tender hands to clap for me.

"Th-thank, you."

I thanked her, and added on,

"During this time...since I fired myself, there's a need for another important change."

Her eyes peering through the glasses, she stared back at me,

"What kind of change?"

In 8th grade, I began creating characters while giving up on 'making myself the protagonist', and the number of characters I could create increased exponentially.

It would be an awkward matter to have a modern Japanese middle student and terrorist fighter be the same character as a prince using swordsmanship and magic in a fantasy world.

Even the enemies, allies and other side characters increased in numbers.

And I created more heroines and protagonists (or else there wasn't any way to make the protagonist popular, and a 'harem setting' can't be established).

In that case, it'll be difficult for me to keep remembering the number of characters I created through my brain alone.

I found that even if I continued to make the same delusions, there are still some things I'll forget.

That'll be a waste of the characters I created with much work. It's fun creating new characters, but I still do wish to preserve the characters I like.

And so, I decided to record them down outside my brain.

Where?

There weren't many options. Back then, I decided to write them down in my notebook, handwritten.

I bought a college notebook at the convenience store diagonally opposite my middle school, and within it, I wrote down—

I wrote down the names of the characters I created, their personalities, their weapons and the names, their favorite foods, and their signature quotes.

And so, my 'delusion notebook' was born

That was the first time I converted the world of delusions, in my head till that point, into words.

Till this day, I still remember the moment when I wrote down the words on the notebook cover,

"My Warld the number first"

That was the moment of me taking a small step towards being a future prospective author.

It was two weeks later when I realized that the word 'world' was written wrongly, and I didn't know what 'number first' meant.

The next day, I bought a second notebook, and wrote in hiragana, 'my world, 2nd volume',

Nitadori was laughing so hard she was breathless,

She continued to laugh, trying her best not to disturb the other passengers,

"Ah, so nice."

And I slowly drank some tea. Soon, the bottle of tea offered to me was empty.

There's a bottle of water in my backpack, but that's a drink I can't buy from anywhere, and it's water I need for medication. In other words, that's my emergency supply of water, so I decided not to open it.

Once the commotion caused by Nitadori finally calmed down, the cart selling goods in the train arrived, so I bought some tea.

The train entered the tunnel, and the carriage car became really noisy,

"Ah...so interesting...I never laughed this hard in so many dozen years! Thanks!"

Nitadori said emotionally.

I retorted in my mind how old are you anyway? , and answered,

"Sure, I guess."

"Ahh, I'm crying. I thought my contacts were about to slip out…"

"Eh?"

I tilted my head, and Nitadori gave a wry smile, saying,

"Ah, oh wait! I forgot that I switched to glasses already…"

She frantically tapped the sides of her glasses with her fingertips.

"Is your head alright…?"

"Wh-whose fault do you think it is?"

I was about to immediately answer 'it's me', but I changed my mind a little.

I thought she could at least take a little joke. I was originally inapt at saying such things to girls, but I decided to give it a try,

"I guess...it's probably 'my world'."

"Pfft!!"

And while waiting for Nitadori to recover, I continued to guzzle down potato chips and tea.

The Limited Express continued to stop at a few stations.

After about midway through the ride, the passengers didn't increase as much as I thought it would. It was already dark outside the window, and the rain continued to pour,

Nitadori said,

"I understand the process that you started off enjoying your own imaginations, and then you gave yourself up, added the characters, and recorded all your imaginations. You're really good at explaining, sensei."

"Th-thanks."

This was the first time someone praised me like this.

"You told me about this because I wanted to know, so I should be the one thanking, thanks—now then, how did you start from this opportunity to begin writing light novels? When did you begin? Since you submitted a script for a contest and published books, you did finish the work; were you able to write it so fluently right from the beginning, or did you have difficulty? How many times did you submit entries for the newcomer award? Why did you choose Dengeki Bunko?"

And after the thanks, it was a rapid-fire of questions,

It's not difficult for me to answer, but I probably won't be able to remember all the questions.

I have to answer them all properly, in order.

First off—

Why did I actually convert my imaginations into words and write a novel? And when did it began?

To answer these questions,

"Erm, I just feel that no matter how many delusions there are, and how many settings I create and record in the notebook, those can't form a novel."

I first started off with these. It was to be expected; Nitadori nodded,

"And also, I feel that a lot of people simply end things off at this phase...I just feel that there are many more people who 'want to be authors, but simply stopped at the imagination', than those who 'aimed to be authors', and actually created some form of work."

Nitadori remained silent as she gave a frighteningly serious look, nodding slightly a few times.

"There are some who actually didn't write anything, just thinking 'I hope to be an author in the future'. I don't intend to say however that these guys are really useless, that they're just wasting their time."

Till this point, I still chose my words properly.

"This is because I can't belittle the past me now that I become an author. I feel that any person will have an egg within them, just that the time they will hatch differ."

I felt that I was being too pretentious, but I really can't think of any other good examples, so I was left without any other option.

"But to be an author, it is a necessary step to 'actually write your own story. Using that example from just now, it's basically trying to break an egg open from the inside."

I said as I looked back at myself, 4 years ago.

"I feel that the opportunity and time to begin writing novels differ amongst people. To be honest, I really don't know how others do it, but I do clearly remember my situation back then…"

After ending off with this opening, I proceed to answer Nitadori's very first question,

"I began converting my delusion notebook into writing, and worked hard in actually trying to create a work. It was—4 months after I first used the delusion notebook, and I remember very well that it was during my summer vacation in 8th grade."

Nitadori brought her face forward. This girl really has the habit of bringing her face forward whenever she's asking the questions.

"And that opportunity?"

I answered,

"When I obtained my weapons."

To be an author, there were 2 weapons I needed.

Of course, the first would be the imaginations I managed to develop from reading since young and my delusions.

The other would be the weapon for writing, the computer.

During summer 3 years ago, when I was 14 years old, my mother wanted to buy something for me.

It was only during my birthday and Christmas that I could ask for something a little more exorbitant.

"Back then, I merely asked mom for books that were a little more pricey than normal…"

But that was the only year that was different. I told mom that I wanted a notebook computer, just the cheapest kind would do.

Mom rejected my request, probably thinking that I just wanted to surf the internet alone at home.

Prior to that moment, I learned how to use the computers in the neighboring library since 6th grade, as they had internet access, and I could check for books online and read the reviews.

However, there was a child lock in the library computers, and there's a time limit for use.

I guess mom was worried that I would get engrossed to the internet, that I would lock myself in the room, addicted to it or online games, and not go to school.

At first, mom said that a computer was expensive, and wouldn't buy one for me. Back then, I didn't have a cellphone.

Thus, I stated my actual thoughts.

I didn't need a network. The proof was that I agreed not to request for internet access. If I really needed it no matter what, I would head to the library next door like before.

I want to write a novel, I want to write one through a computer and a software that could manage my folders.

Having read through so many books, that was the point where I wanted to try writing for myself.

"And then...your mother's reaction was?"

Nitadori clearly knew the result, but she asked with a tentative look.

"She brooded over the issue for a few days, before finally agreeing to it."

"Ohh! Congratulations!"

"I really was happy about it. Of course, I thought that since people in the past wrote their novels on writing paper, I could do it too if I put in the effort."

While still respecting those who composed their stories hand written, I still wanted to continue on,

"But I feel that there's a difference in efficiency between handwriting and typing on the computer, and I'm not wrong to think this way. Ever since I became an author, I heard a lot of things about other authors, but I have never heard anyone say that they composed novels handwritten till this point."

"I see. So the opportunity that came for you wasn't a psychological one, sensei, but a physical one, huh…"

Nitadori succinctly summarized everything for me, and so I nodded firmly.

After I earnestly stated all the ideas I had about the computer, my mom finally agreed to it.

Thinking about it, I guess it was a good thing I said,

"I want to write a novel."

If, instead, I had said,

"I intend to be an author."

I suppose my mom's reaction would be a lot different.

My birthday came, and mom agreed to it, so we went off to buy one.

In any case, mom and I weren't very familiar with the functions, so she personally drove me to a major electronics wholesale store.

To summarize, I just needed to write a story fluidly.

As for the other functions, like being unable to watch television, use the wireless LAN, edit videos or play games—

I didn't need them at all.

Having made up my mind, I said this to the shop attendant.

And then, the middle-aged attendant asked my mother,

"Are you intending to write a novel in the future?"

Unabashedly, I answered from the side,

"Yes!"

"Wow! Now that's really amazing!"

The attendant was suddenly enthusiastic as he explained all sorts of various details to us discreetly.

"That attendant back then was really passionately...and he really helped me out a lot."

I began to keenly discuss the savior whose name and face I couldn't remember.

"Do you intend to use him as the protagonist of a novel?"

Nitadori chimed in such a suggestion.

"...Do you mind letting me jot this down in the notebook first?"

That attendant taught me a lot of things.

"Now then, it's your turn to teach me about them, sensei."

"Understood...do you have any intention to write a novel?"

"Currently not at the moment, but I want to know about it."

"Got it. First, the attendant told me—"

I didn't have to necessarily buy a new computer (that shop also runs a second-hand department).

He told me that if I was worried about the price, I could choose to pick up a second-hand computer that was certainly maintained.

"Well, that makes sense since the budget's more important. Did he tell you which computers are more suited for writing novels?"

"He did. There aren't any special models that are extremely suitable...but I guess you'll know that computers are generally classified as those desktop computers fixed to the table, and the notepad computers that can be flipped open. The attendant did tell me that the notepad computers are very convenient, that even if I don't bring it out of the house, it's easier for me to take it to any room."

"I see. I got a desktop computer at home and a personalized laptop. Most of the time, I do use that personalized laptop."

The attendant also told me that most laptops had internal batteries installed, and if there was a power outage, the damage caused will be minimal.

For those office workers who often had to bring their chargers along and use those in cafes, a light laptop would be of great benefit to them; for those that would typically use their computers at home only, it would be more suitable to choose one with a large screen and a wide keyboard instead of a thin, short one. Furthermore, external keyboards could be connected to it, and I could choose them according to my preferences.

"Oh, so a notepad computer can be connected to an external keyboard. I didn't know that."

"I did see an author actually do that, saying that he wanted a unique fan-shaped keyboard. Personally, I'm fine with the original equipment alone.

The attendant then told me that the computer operating systems could generally be classified as Macintosh and Windows, and that for beginners, Windows would be the way to go. (perhaps the Macintosh users will get up and shout 'I protest'!)

There was no need to be particular about the latest operating system. Naturally however, it's not a good thing to use a particularly old one till a point where the software compare had stopped providing services for it.

"I see. What about the key word processing systems?"

"He told me of two well known ones."

These two systems were 'Microsoft Word' and 'Just Systems — Ichitaro'.

The attendant did say that it was merely a question of preference, but many companies did have Word pre-installed in them.

"But in Japanese input, the attendant strongly recommended the 'ATOK'."

"A tok?"

I drew the letters out with my finger as I answered Nitadori,

"4 capital letters, A, T, O, K."

"I see. So what is the Japanese input system about? Though I do have a rough gist of things."

"To put it simply, it's an input system that can switch all the typed letters into hiragana, katakana and kanji. The computers sold in Japan would all have such a system installed."

However, Word itself did not have ATOK included, for ATOk was a software developed by the makers of 'Ichitaro', 'Just Systems'.

The attendant also told me ATOK is currently the smartest way of inputting Japanese, and literary writers had high praises for it. ATOK also had an electronic dictionary attached to it, and would show the meaning of the word when typing. If my budget would allow, this software would certainly be more convenient.

"Actually, most of the authors I know of are ATOK users. Of course, I don't understand anything about this, so he really helped me a lot out there."

Also, the attendant did tell me that the basic software wasn't very big (it didn't take up a lot of storage space), so I could save it in a hard disk, a memory card, or a USB drive.

However, any saved system may suddenly malfunction, so I need to have a spare backup every time.

"And just like that, I bought a computer for writing while following the advice from that shop attendant."

It was a second hand laptop produced by a Japanese manufacturer, and cost about 30,000 Yen.

The word processing unit I chose was a pre-installed microsoft word, and the additional ATOK electronic dictionary was purchased separately.

On top of that, I also bought a USB memory stick for storage.

To deal with any problems I may had, I also bought a manual for the computer and Word (I can borrow it from the library, but I still wish to have something like this with me around).

Also, I bought a game software, the only one I have.

It's a typing game, enabling me to input the words quickly and correctly.

"When I laid out every single thing I bought onto the table, I was really moved."

And from then on, I began to write.

I equipped myself with the weapons necessary for battle.

"In other words, you're like a delinquent who just got a bike, huh?"

"That's really a terrible example—but, yeah, I guess."

"How about the way to use it? Did you learn it immediately?"

"Well, of course. I was using it from morning till night during my summer vacations."

In any case, I read the books I had—

In the meantime, I began to actually use the computer and learn how to use the two common softwares, Word and ATOK.

And then, I began to play the typing game.

When entering the search terms in the library, I would type them with my two index fingers, slowly.

If I want to write a novel, how I typed would definitely would not be a match to my thinking speed. Even when I was writing out my thoughts, it was not as fast as the speed of my delusions, and I got increasingly irate.

When playing this typing game, I was serious no matter how many times I failed. From there, I learned the importance of the Home position and the correct way to place my fingers.

For the input methods, there was the 'romaji' input method which uses alphabets and the direct 'kana input'; I chose the former.

As for why that's the case, it's because I have less to remember about the position of the keys (but in contrast, the number of keys I have to type will increase).

After typing to a certain level of familiarity, I began to input the content of my delusions notebook into the computer, and began typing.

"Characters, main', 'heroine', 'sub characters', 'world setting', 'conversations'.

I proceeded to name my files, and entered them into Word.

Just as how it was writing the delusion notebook, I entered the words in a horizontal manner. I was already used to writing in a horizontal format, so till this point, I continued to write in a horizontal manner.

A computer's really a wonderful tool, but there are two points to pay particular mind to.

The first thing is not to let the computer malfunction.

A computer's just an important machine. It's a laptop, but I'll only use it in either my room or the living room, and never will I bring out out of the house.

The second is not to cause my vision to worsen.

Extraordinarily, this bookworm here had yet to worsen his vision.

Perhaps it was because I did abide by the rule 'to not read books in the dark'. Furthermore, the scenery on the streets was wide whenever I head home, and I typically look far away, I guess. On a side note, my mother's vision is rather good too.

My eyes really got tired (and my hands too) before I got used to using the computer.

I learned how to adjust the screen brightness and the font size according to my own preferences, and the situation improved somewhat; however, I did make sure not to stay in front of the computer for that long.

The scenery outside the house window's wonderful, and when I'm finally able to rest, I'll look out of the windows, coming up with all sorts of delusional settings.

I wonder how long did I look at that mountain altogether?

Once I got used to it, using the computer itself was really an enjoyable thing.

Once my typing speed increased, I was able to convert what I thought into words.

The computer's really a magical machine that converts my delusions into beautiful words. This tool has changed my life.

With that sort of attitude I had—

"So you managed it?"

Nitadori asked,

"Yeah, that's what I think now."

I answered.

And after I entered all 5 books of my delusions into the laptop, I again created another 2 books worth of delusions, and saved them.

After that, I decided on writing a novel.

"Now then, I'll try writing a novel. Time to write, write!"

My 8th grade summer vacation was about to end.

I already answered the question 'why did I choose to write, and when',

"Were you able to write it all out at first? Or was it really difficult?"

If I remember correctly, that was the next next question.

"Now then, I'll answer the question 'was I able to write it out at first'—"

"Yes, yes."

Nitadori, seated on my right, had her eyes under the glasses staring straight at me.

I didn't know what she was hoping for, but I could only answer honestly,

"I couldn't write at all."

"What?"

In my life till this point, the toughest point for me was the second semester of my 8th grade.

Perhaps there will be more trying periods in the future, good if it doesn't happen.

There wasn't any issue with my school life.

I'll still attend school every day. Though I'll lapse into delusions at times, I would attend classes obediently, and I would study obediently before the exams.

I still had no friends, but as it was the case normally, I didn't really mind.

The problem was writing the novel.

I learned how to use the computer, and did not suffer for that.

The delusions file accumulated quite a bit.

I did think of some characters I thought to be cool.

The settings database continued to accumulate and refined. I once created a history calendar for characters I created based on months, like 'he stood in front of the wet nurse at this year and month'. Thinking back about it, it really was rather hilarious.

However—

"I couldn't write a novel. Nothing at all."

"I see, how..."

Nitadori peered back at me with a worried look.

Well, it's not like I can't write right now. You don't have to give me such a look here.

I probably thought that I could write a novel as long as I had the setting.

I thought that if I imported the created characters, they would move on their own.

Since the characters popping out from the notebook would move and interact on their own, I just had to observe them and record their actions.

I may be boasting here, but I did think all the characters had their own charms, and they certainly would do things with much charisma.

That however was not the case.

In my eyes, they did seem to pop out from the words, standing there.

But they would not move. They were standing still, like puppets lined in a row.

It felt like I was writing an observation diary of a puppy, only to find that it was a puppy plushie.

It really was weird.

Till this point, was I not thinking of all sorts of delusions in my mind, how the characters' conversations go, how they look in their actions? They were fluent in their words, fluid in their actions.

However, even after inputting the character names as the pronouns on the blank white screen, I couldn't write the words behind. I couldn't think of what the characters would do next, so the characters still wouldn't move.

I once thought of lines I thought were interesting, and wrote a conversation.

And then I wrote a few of them.

However, a conversation between characters was just a single scene, and even if I did link them all together, that would not form a novel.

In the proceeding 1 month or so, I was brainstorming, racking my head hard in front of the computer screen.

I had the setting information, I could see the scene, and I could write the conversations.

However, I didn't know how to convert them all into a novel. I didn't know where I should begin.

The problem wasn't that I couldn't write a story.

The precedent problem was that, 'I didn't know what sort of a story I should be writing'.

I was unable to do what I wanted to do—

To say that it was arduous, well, it certainly was.

But even so, I won't die because of that.

Back then, I didn't intend to register for the newcomer award, and so there was no pressure in meeting the submission date.

Thinking back about it, I guess I'm really relieved that I didn't frustrate myself into getting dejected and thinking that I couldn't do it.

Summer passed, September went by, and it was the first Saturday of October.

"I can't think of anything yesterday. Let's not touch the computer for today."

Having such a notion, I escaped to a bookshop cum DVD rental shop that morning.

I intended to rent some movies I had yet to watch and bring them home.

Over there, I found a hint as to why I couldn't write a light novel.

"What is it?"

While Nitadori asked me with a shrill voice, I continued to sip the tea. My voice wasn't exceptionally loud, but my throat was parched after talking for that long.

Did I ever talk this much before? Probably not.

Did I ever talk this much to a girl before? Definitely not.

The second bottle's empty too. The train went through at least half the distance, and the now many street lights were passing towards the back outside the drenched windows.

Staring back at Nitadori's face, I answered nonchalantly,

"Erm, can we continue next week?"

"Ehhhh? There's still time, right?"

She glared back at me.

"Now then, let's continue. I'll start off with a question—if you want to rent a DVD, have no particular idea of what you want to watch, and intend to pick something that looks interesting, what will you do at this point?

"Erm...I'll look at the packaging."

"Yeah, that's what I'll do too. I'll look at the movie title, cover photo, have a rough gist of what the movie's about, and develop an interest. But if that alone still isn't enough to judge, what will you do next?"

"I'll...look at the back of the cover."

"Why?"

"Because the 'synopsis' is there, isn't it?"

"That's the clue I'm talking about."

The synopsis.

A simple paragraph that succinctly describes the plot of the story.

While looking for the synopsis of interesting stories that day, I was looking at the back of the cover.

Most of them would contain a brief summary of the movie plot, approximately 200 words in length.

For example, if there was a movie titled 'Kindergarten of the Dead',

"A rabbit with a zombie virus residing in it inadvertently entered into kindergarten○×, causing the unwittingly kindergarten kids to become zombies one after another. The only escapee, the kindergarten teacher Linda, began a lonely battle to prevent the zombies, still doing the same actions, from escaping the kindergarten. She tried to make them tired by preparing snacks and letting them play games that would distract them, and make them take naps like usual. However, she didn't know that her boyfriend Robert, working at the donut shiop, did a kind, unnecessary act of bringing some snacks in..."

The story would probably go like this. On a side note, that was what I just came up with.

"What's that about? I want to see."

Nitadori's eyes were blazing. I really don't understand her at all, but it doesn't seem like she hates zombie movies.

"No, this, really is impossible. That's just what I just spoke on the fly."

I'm really glad that she found it really interesting, but who exactly would come up with funding for this movie? I probably will develop this point into a point. Wait, there are so many zombie movies out there; maybe someone did film something similar, just that I didn't know.

"Leaving that aside—"

I divert my conversation back on topic,

"Back then, I read through the story synopsis of several DVDs, and to my great surprise, I found that I never paid any particular mind to the synopsis of the story."

I had many delusions in the past.

Whenever I remained awake, perhaps one-fifth of the time remained in delusions.

But those delusions were all settings, scenes and conversations.

None of those were things that were introduced in the synopsis, the 'plot'.

Even after repeating this scene in my mind regarding the story of 'the terrorist attack assaulting the Middle School'—

All I had been thinking about how the terrorists disguised themselves as milk sellers, the setting of the terrorists, the reason for attacks, all sorts of action scenes, and the various ways of death the physical education teacher would suffer no matter how hard he tried (I'm sorry), the decisive trap in the blackboard duster used for the last battle, and also the last scene with the protagonist returning home, saying "I'm back. Really tired here. What's for tea?"

These delusions only would only be mere parts.

They did not link at all.

Without being able to link, I wouldn't be able to complete the story.

And inside that empty DVD rental shop, I muttered,

"So I never thought about the story before..."

After that, I read through the back of the DVD packages.

I suppose I would be deemed as a weird middle school student who entered the shop the first thing in the morning, looking at the back of the packaging one after one. Till this day, I'm still grateful that the shop attendant didn't chase me out.

And I continued to read the 'synopsis'.

After being there for more than 2 hours, I didn't rent a single copy.

"I-I see...that's really amazing! So touching! Dramatic!"

"Ah, no, that's not really..."

I felt really flustered to have Nitadori hail me like this.

And then,

"Why didn't you figure out something like this in the first place?"

I figured that what she said then really was appropriate.

"Amazing..."

Nitadori looked very impressed, So, what's next? and then she prompted me with those looks.

"Ah, yes...I finally began to think of a plot, and recorded it down."

However, that itself wasn't a simple matter either.

First, the characters I thought of before had many settings to them.

These settings would obstruct me from thinking of the plot.

Whenever I thought of the plot, I would include those characters and add more parameters to them. I went through such setbacks countless times.

Finally, I decided not to include the characters in the plot.

I prevented them from appearing in my mind, ostensibly telling them, Go sleep for now , and I didn't open the file I had at that moment.

I continued to recall the many story synopsis I thought of, trying my best not to think of the characters I had—

The protagonist, heroines, rivals, last boss.

I tried writing the plot of the story through such a simple expression.

While pondering so hard about it, I suddenly had a story appear in my mind,

"The protagonist is a Middle School student, and on a certain day, he found a girl sitting at an empty seat in his class.

Nobody tried talking to the girl, and she appeared lonely. The protagonist decided to talk to her after school, and made friends with her. However, she only chose to talk to the protagonist after school in the empty classroom.

On a certain rainy day, after they both ended their conversations, the protagonist went home alone. Just when he was walking down the National Highway hillpath passing by the pedestrian pathway, he was suddenly pushed to the side from behind.

He looked back, saw the heroine, and a truck headed towards her while ignoring the traffic signals.

I deliberately ended my synopsis at this point.

"And then?"

As expected, Nitadori got baited. She leaned her glasses forward, giving a terrifying look.

"Erm…"

"You're teasing me now, right? —Ah, is that something you're intending to publish in the future or something…? Erm, sorry about that…"

I was hoping to give Nitadori time to guess the ending, but it seemed I caused her unnecessary misunderstandings and made her worry, so I frantically shook my head, saying,

"No, that's not it! Sorry! I'll explain it later—the truck veered off just like that. The protagonist thought that she would have been knocked away just like that, but he never saw her. She never attended school beginning from the next day. The protagonist found her photo in the library, and learned that she committed suicide on an incoming truck a long time ago at that pedestrian crossing."

"Ohh!!"

Nitadori began to clap,

"Hey, stop it!"

I hushed my voice, stopping her. And then,

"This story wasn't actually really that complete...but it was the first time I actually thought of an ending, so I couldn't forget about it...the ghost ending however was rather old-fashioned, and I really couldn't understand why the protagonist would be saved. In any case, if the protagonist wasn't talking to the heroine after school, he wouldn't be appearing at that time and place, right? What were the heroine's intentions?"

I pointed out the flaws in my created story as an example, and Nitadori said,

"That's true now that you mention it. When I was listening to it however, I didn't notice those flaws at all. It really was a touching story, you know?"

"I see. Thanks…"

"Since you did manage to complete a story of that level, I guess you definitely have talent! You'll definitely be an author in the future."

"Well...I'm already one."

On that day, I was still unable to finish answering all the questions.

The train entered the city, and was about to reach the terminal.

"See you next week."

Nitadori said, and I nodded my head,

"Sorry for keep you busy for that long. Do you still want those snacks?"

She continued, pointing at the other bag of potato chips.

There was no reason for me to reason. Since it was the sea salt potato chips, I would gladly accept them no matter how many they were.

I thought of eating the potato chips while watching anime in the hotel at night. I could watch anime than those in my hometown, and that was an added perk I was grateful for.

The announcement indicating the arrival of the train rang. Many passengers got off midway through; there were only a few passengers left, and they too got ready.

I suddenly wondered about something.

Where exactly was Nitadori staying at? Was it fine for me to ask such a private question however? She's a girl. Would I not annoy her in that case? Would I be frowned upon?

While feeling frustrated over this,

"I'll be staying at my relative's house."

Nitadori got up from her seat, saying this as she took her bag along. Does this girl have esper powers, I wondered again. She then continued,

"My relative stays at Mejiro, and well...to tell you the truth, that relative will be picking me up at the station…"

After seeing her give an unspoken apologetic look, I finally managed to interpret this atmosphere, a rarity at that.

I never been to Mejiro before, and I'm not particularly sure as to where it was in Tokyo, but I did hear that it's an upscale residential area.

It seemed Nitadori's family's really well off. Perhaps there were strict limits imposed on her, either in terms of curfew or friends.

And I then proceeded to mention the question i just thought of,

"In other words, if you continue to remain with me, and be spotted with me, things will get bad, right?"

"Yes."

Nitadori answered, giving a perfect English pronunciation.

"Understood. Now...do I get off first? Or—"

"Please do get off first. I really hope that even if we do pass by each other on a certain platform, you'll help by pretending not to notice me! Please do that!"

She raised a hand to beg.

Well, it wasn't some big deal, just similar to how it was at school.

"Understood."

I got up from my seat, took the backpack and shopping pack to the corridor, and then said,

"I'll be going then."

"Thanks. See you next week."

And so, I deliberately moved forward in this still moving train carriage.

### 007. Part 2

"Now then, can we continue on from the previous week, sensei?"

April 25th, the evening of the 4th Thursday this month. (TN: I guess it should be 24th.)

The weather was clear since early morning. I took the Limited Express as usual, and secured that familiar seat.

It was approximately 2 minutes till the train departed punctually when Nitadori came over from the back of the carriage.

I didn't see her on the platform on this day, so I started to worry if she was going to reach the station later.

But even so, her hand was not holding any luggage, instead holding a convenience store bag.

On this day, she again bought two bags of the sea salt potato chips that I like (and her too), with many more PET bottles as compared to normal.

Whenever I ate any of those, I would have to answer her questions.

On the prior Friday,

The After Record of 'Vice Versa' ended without a hitch.

And Meek, whom Nitadori voiced, still had no speaking lines—

Nitadori arrived at the booth before I did, and greeted the senior voice actors countless times.

School life beginning from Monday was no different from usual.

Neither of us would talk to each other at school.

Or rather, I would say that I was unable to communicate with any of my classmates.

Everyone viewed me as an upperclassman (though that certainly is the case), and for quite some time, whenever they had to talk to me, they would naturally use formal language.

I was the only one isolated in class—

That would be what I had assumed, but that wasn't the case.

There were another two who never spoke to anyone else in the class.

And with that, were the three of us, known as 'the lonely trio' (such a strange term), able to be good friends? Actually, that didn't happen, and probably will never happen.

In contrast, Nitadori's a perfectly normal student with no issues at all.

She's a rookie, but it seemed nobody knew about the fact that she's a voice actress. Perhaps this is because she never had any named characters, so her fame was rather low, I suppose. This situation might change once 'Vice Versa' airs in July.

But I again learned something about her.

Nitadori would never take physical education lessons.

It happened two days ago, on Tuesday,

There was a sudden rain, and the boys' PE class had to be changed to the gym.

The girls were playing volleyball over there (and they were furious when the boys came to join them), yet Nitadori was sitting in a corner of the gym, dressed in uniform.

I thought it would be just that she didn't take part in PE classes on that day, but I was mistaken.

During the later 4th period, we were seated in the classroom, waiting for the teacher, only to be notified that it was a self-study period.

I decided to head to the library to read some books alone, but just when I intended to stand up, several girls, who were probably on good terms with Nitadori, started chatting about the gym class from before,

"I really hate having to go to PE. Ahh, I'm really envious of you here, Eri..."

And one of them grumbled,

"It's good, right? But even I want to do some swimming in the pool during the summer!"

Nitadori cheerfully answered.

"Hm, you're right. There are certain situations when I like it."

And that girl easily retracted what she just said.

I immediately left the classroom upon hearing that, so I wasn't certain as to what they were talking about afterwards. However, I did ascertain that Nitadori never attended any PE classes.

I didn't know the reason.

I wanted to ask her this question on the train, and I hoped she would introduce me to more of the voice acting industry.

"Last week, I learned that you learned 'how to create stories' when you were younger! Please tell me what's next."

I thought that once Nitadori was satisfied with my answers, I would ask her.

It was probably 3 and a half years ago.

During the Autumn of 8th grade, I understood that the one imperative element in writing a story was not the setting, but the story.

And from then on, I focused on constructing stories every day, writing them down.

For the first time, I had a Word document file called 'story ideas' in my computer. Soon afterwards, I continued to accumulate works and added many more files, like,

"A romance story of an alien college student hitchhiking a ride."

"Serial murders in a summer village. The culprit's the grandmother."

"My classmate's a helicopter."

"The story of survival after a luxury cruise was shipwrecked."

"My grandfather's actually my little sister."

And so, I created more files.

Afterwards, a folder to store these files was born,

"Story ideas folder"

I felt that the technical issues of how to create a story, how to enrich a story—

And also, how to continue writing or did I continue to write did not fit what the question was asking for. It would have taken me a long time to answer too, so I chose not to answer them.

Thus, I neglected the explanations of those parts, and told her that a certain file was created at the end of November, right when Winter was about to start.

That file was known as—

"Someone becoming an immortal after heading into another world."

"Ohh! It's 'Vice Versa'!"

Nitadori squealed with an extremely excited voice.

It's a good thing that the train just departed, and there were only a few characters, but the situation was really dangerous.

"Sorry...sorry..."

Nitadori lowered her shoulders slightly.

And then, she immediately puffed her chest,

"Well, you actually came up with such a story quite a while back! Now it's becoming an anime that's going to be aired in July! That's really amazing!"

I'm really happy that she's praising me like this, and really grateful that she actually made a recap of my journey.

Because when I thought of that story—

Various things happened—

It's really because a lot of things happened that I became this current me.

However, I'm not the type to say "wahaha! How about that? I'm amazing here, right?" or something, so I tweaked the topic a little at this moment.

"But I only finished my contest entry during April the following year, so I had about 6 months to write everything from top to bottom."

"Well...you registered your entry during April...so if you started from back then, was that the first novel you actually completed in your life, sensei? The first one you used to participate in the contest?"

"Yeah."

"You're really amazing after all...now then, please tell me your history till the following April, sensei."

On a certain day, the story that would form the basis of 'Vice Versa' later on was born, and was growing exponentially.

Amongst all the story ideas that I came up with, that was the one that expanded fastest.

The protagonist was transported to the other world, gained an immortal body, and provided quite the contribution, only to return back to his original world in the end.

That was the story at first, but I continued to add in all kinds of elements.

Some of them were added in later on when I actually began to write—

As for the ploy for the two protagonists with similar looks and names to be body doubles, and that the enemy general was a girl, and that the other guy to pass through when the original returned back to his world, I remember it just came out continually once I established my file. I was so amped up that I was tapping furiously at the keyboard.

I managed to come up with the flow of the story successfully, and thinking about it, the twists were very obvious, but I didn't think too much about it back then. I continued to write all sorts of plots with the protagonist Shin as the center.

I didn't have a habit of writing diary entries (and only began to do so once my debut was confirmed), so unfortunately, I couldn't remember exactly when I thought of which elements.

Finally—

The story of 'Vice Versa' was completed.

"That's amazing! And from then? Were you able to write?"

"..."

"Sensei?"

"About that—"

Once the story of 'Vice Versa' was completed, I thought.

I can write this! I 'just' have to get down writing!

The story didn't have to be long, I can finish it off within 2 weeks or so, right?

That was what I estimated.

If I could write 20 pages of a pocket book format, I would be able to write 280 pages in 14 days.

What, I can finish it within this year!

No, by the end of the first half of this month?

Maybe I can write something else in the latter half of the month?

"Thinking back about it...I guess I really was foolish back then..."

I really was very regretful when I recalled the situation back then.

"Anyone would have some unforgivable past, and they will continue to grow with such a past. Even bitter food will become part of flesh and blood, no?"

Nitadori came up with an impressively dramatic line in her impressively dramatic act.

A pro voice actor's acting really amazing. I get to hear this performance for free! I thought.

And so, Nitadori said,

"You couldn't write?"

"Yeah."

I couldn't write at all.

There was once when I couldn't think of the story.

And I barely managed to overcome that issue.

There were some differences in the details of the original story and what was published, but I did manage to finish the story.

Now then, what exactly could I not write?

I couldn't write the story itself.

"You couldn't write the story, so in other words...you couldn't write the entire novel, right?"

I nodded firmly, and answered,

"The story was completed, and I managed the settings of the protagonists. However, I just couldn't write. I didn't know how to express the content into words."

"Is this what they call the 'writing bottleneck'?"

After hearing this question, I shook my head, answering,

"I think that's a term used when someone usually capable of writing is not in an ideal state when writing."

"Oh, I see."

"My situation's that I couldn't write anything at all—for example, when I'm writing a story, and I don't know what to write, I'm like a person standing on the soccer field without knowing the rules for soccer."

"Ah, yeah, I can vividly imagine that sort of situation. I don't know soccer rules at all, so I'll be left at a loss wondering what I'm to do. The only thing I know is that I can't use my hands."

"But you probably know that you can score by kicking the ball into the net, right? I didn't know about such a thing at all. And then, I finally understood."

"Yes yes."

"I remembered all the soccer rules, and understood that I have to play the ball with my feet and work together with my teammates, prevent the ball from being taken by the opponent, and kick the ball into the net. 'Okay, now let's just kick the ball into the net! I can play soccer now!' That was exactly what I thought, but in fact, I could only stand still there, unable to move at all. I didn't know how to dribble the ball at all."

"In other words—'you didn't know how to kick the ball, right?"

"Yeah. Even if I did understand all the rules—I still can't play soccer if I can't kick the ball. I felt that the me unable to write an essay was like a player who couldn't kick a ball."

"I see. I can imagine such a situation...then...how did the situation change afterwards? You did submit for competition before it got published, so you did write it out after all, right? You were able to write it all out, am I correct?"

I continued to sip the tea as I nodded,

"So did anyone teach you that?"

I sealed the PET bottle, and shook my head,

"Then?"

Nitadori gave me a skeptical look, and I in response quickly inhaled,

"I just kept on struggling."

This was the reason why I said I suffered most in the second trimester of my 8th grade.

I couldn't write an essay at all, yet I just continued to write—I could say that every single day was literally a 'struggle'.

It was to be expected that I couldn't write a novel at all, for I never did write a novel before.

Then, there was no other choice but to keep practicing.

How was I to practice?

I wondered. Since I had the story, I just had to get down to writing it.

In other words,

"I can't write a novel essay."

↓

"I got no choice but to keep practicing."

↓

"How about I continue to practice by writing novel essays?"

Theoretically, that was truly a grave mistake.

However, I accepted the challenge.

While the word 'challenge' sounded cool, I in fact was beaten, battered and bruised all over, aching everywhere.

I kept writing and erasing, and repeating it; advancing when I felt I could write something, only to sink into a mire again.

I merely managed to write a half-baked story, yet the lack of progress left me very angsty.

There were a few times when I really thought of giving up.

"I guess it's impossible for me to write a novel."

I often had this notion. If I had admitted that, I would have been relieved.

"So why didn't you give up in the end?"

Nitadori asked with the gentlest tone and expression till this point.

Why was that?

First,

"I finally managed to get this laptop here, you know?"

I probably had such a feeling here.

Mom bought a laptop, and I could use it freely.

I managed to obtain a weapon, and yet I wanted to run away from a battle?

However, I felt that was definitely not the primary reason.

I had a languid personality. It would not be out of character of me if I were to slowly wave my hands,

"Now's not the time to panic."

And say such words, convincing myself to write the story before I grew up to escape the pain and struggles.

"I want to change the past me! I want to live my life anew!"

I did certainly have such feelings. I didn't feel any dissatisfaction with regards to my Middle School life.

"I've already began! I'll regret it if I'm going to run away now!"

And surely there was no way I had such feelings.

I really was not a feisty, competitive person.

To answer Nitadori's question, I tried to focus and recall the situation back then.

"Sorry, I don't know."

But that was all I could only answer. I then added on,

"Though I'm thinking about it now...back then, I just thought that I was really suffering, but I guess I was really happy...? No, I guess now. 'Recalling that I was really happy' here is completely different from being 'really happy'..."

I didn't manage to answer Nitadori's question,

"..."

But she nodded on wordlessly.

I began to write.

I continued to write 'Vice Versa' with my pathetic writing.

I thought that since it was repeated practice, it was fine for me to just keep writing a jumble out of the mess.

Time-wise, I began writing from the beginning of December, and devoted all my non-studying time on this. Thanks to that, I had my reading time drastically reduced.

After that, it came to a certain day in Winter vacation,

"Eh? Did my writing speed increase?"

I thought.

That was something that happened when I spent the entire day writing during the vacations.

I gathered my concentration and tapped at the keyboard for approximately 2 hours; I was taken aback once I counted the number of pages I wrote during this time. I didn't expect myself to have written so many pages unwittingly.

"That happened a long time back, so this is the only conclusion I could make...anyway, thanks to me practicing how to write, I felt that my writing ability improved exponentially. No, wait—"

At this moment, I corrected myself.

"I'm not too sure of the meaning of the words 'writing ability'. I don't know how to appraise the quality of an essay. Is it better for me to write a story with beautiful prose? Or to write a story that's easy to understand?"

Nitadori continue to listen silently.

"So I hope that you'll understand what I mean by 'improved writing ability' as 'writing ability has reached a decent stage'. However, I'm not too certain as to consider how 'decent' is like..."

My thoughts lacked concisely, and the more I talked, the more I felt I was mired in a swamp.

"Erm, well, in other words...I just ended up being increasingly able to write essays."

That was the one I firmly decided.

To be honest, I really felt that my explanation was crude and lacking explanatory,

"It's really easy to understand though."

But Nitadori told me this. Is that so? I wondered, but I didn't voice my thoughts out.

"Isn't it the same for acting? There isn't anyone who'll have their acting skills improve so suddenly. If there are people who think that my acting skills have improved, it's probably just because I haven't met that person for a long time. It's a skill that requires continual practice every day, accumulation and gradual improvement. Isn't it the same with learning musical instruments?"

"Ah...if only I did come up with such an example. Yes, it's like learning musical instruments."

"Ahaha. I guess it's like 'learning how to speak a foreign language because you're abandoned in a foreign country, right?"

"Yes yes yes."

"And also like 'learning how to swim when you're drowning', right?"

"Please let me use this one the next time."

I hydrated my throat by drinking some tea.

Before continuing on, I decided to head to the toilet first.

I had to ask Nitadori to stand up to get to the aisle, as she was seated next to it. Though apologetic, I was left with no other choice, for I was already terrified thinking about letting a girl pull her knees in to let me through.

And I nodded slightly at her, who stood up for me,

"Thanks."

"Don't mind."

My bespectacled classmate stood up, saying,

"I still have lots of things to ask when you come back. Don't run away."

"From the inside of a still moving train?"

"You'll definitely be able to do it, sensei. Be confident in yourself!"

I originally wanted to retort her, what do you think authors are? but if I were to respond, I got the feeling that she would continue on, and so I gave up.

The toilet was at the entrance of the next carriage car, right behind the automatic doors behind me.

Once I was done, I washed my hands, wondering where did I stop at, and returned to my seat.

"Sorry."

"It's fine! You didn't run away."

And then, I troubled Nitadori again by asking her to stand up and let me through.

"So you found that your writing ability became rather decent during winter break in your 8th grade. What kind of story happened during the 4 months until the registration.

Nitadori asked with an outstanding voice of intonation, like the narration of a TV commentator. I guess this is to be expected of a professional voice actress.

Moved by such an excitable tone, I began to delude, hoping that I could write a story of a high school girl like Nitadori debutting as a voice actress. What kind of a story will that be?

"Hello, sensei?"

I was dragged back to reality.

"Ah, yes. Erm, we're starting from the winter break in 8th grade, right?"

I was writing 'Vice Versa' the entire time during winter break.

Of course, I did do my homework and eat my meals. Other than that, I spent most of my time locked at home, sitting in front of the laptop.

Once New Year passed, and the Winter break was about to end, how much of 'Vice Versa' did I managed to complete after 1 month of working?

"Did you complete all of it?"

"Impossible."

"Half of it?"

"No."

"...One quarter?"

"About there. That's the part when Sin saved Shin and brought him to the palace, right at the moment when Shin saw Ema and was surprised the little sister resembled him too."

"..."

In terms of plot twists in 'Vice Versa', this would be where the developing ended, and the changing began.

Nitadori was quietly surprised by it, but I felt back then that such progress was a lot.

When the 3rd trimester began in 8th grade, I naturally didn't have as much time to write as the vacation, but I just continued to write.

I continued to revise my initial manuscript as I edited them. For a new work, the writing speed was rather ideal.

At that moment, I started to feel vexed.

What do I do after I'm done writing the novel?

"'What do I do', as in submitting an entry for the contest?"

"Yes."

"Eh? You didn't write it because you wanted to participate in the Dengeki Novel Prize?"

Nitadori again exclaimed in surprise,

"No, not at all."

I shook my head.

"To be honest—"

I never intended to submit the story as an entry.

Despite only completing a quarter of 'Vice Versa' till that point, I intended to do my best and complete the work since I was able to write it out.

I had yet to decide what I wanted to do later on.

"You should take part in the contest! —Hey, wait? It's over already, isn't it...?"

Nitadori was a little amusing.

"Now then, why did you take part? And why did you choose Dengeki?"

Finally, I was about to face the final question of the many questions she posed me the previous week.

"First, regarding the issue of whether I was to register for a Newcomer award...to be honest, I really wasn't very interested in it.:"

"Why?"

"I probably was a little timid. Submitting an entry for the entry would have meant I would be aiming to be an author."

I answered. I glanced to the right, and found Nitadori giving me a mystified look.

"Well, that was really the case. I don't suppose there aren't many people who'll think 'I don't want to publish a book' after winning an award. But I don't think you have any need to be timid there...? Why were you?"

"Back then, I really considered the issue of 'can a Middle School student really take part in the contest'? I was thinking if a brat like me could take part in this contest where people from all walks of life would aim to be professional authors and do their best to complete their masterpieces. Such a contest should be for people 'more mature' to take part in, right?"

I answered honestly. That was what I sincerely thought back then.

Nitadori probably wasn't able to understand these words.

"Hm..."

And she let out a groan.

I heard that voice actors could only get jobs based on a strict selection, and no matter the age, they would have to go through such a competitive environment. It was to be expected that she couldn't understand.

"Thinking back, I understand very well now that there wasn't any need for me to think that way. I was still a brat more than 3 years ago however..."

Even till now, I don't think that I've become an adult.

And Nitadori asked with a sharp look, ostensibly probing into my heart.

"You liked books so much, and worked hard to learn how to write a novel, but you never thought 'I want to be an author in the future', did you?"

"If it's whether I did have such thoughts, I'll say that I did have such thoughts. If it's whether I didn't have such thoughts, I'll say that I didn't have such thoughts."

"Okay sensei."

Nitadori raised her right hand, asking,

"I don't understand what you mean at all."

"Erm...that was what I thought, 'I really admire novelists, but it's impossible for me to be like them!'."

"..."

"I read many books in the past, and I was moved by them...but till now, I still feel that the authors who could write such works were really amazing! Well, that was what I thought."

"I understand that very well. Right now, I do think that you're really amazing, sensei."

"T-thanks...anyway, as a Middle School student, I didn't think I could be such an amazing person at all, and I thought that registering for the Newcomer award and aiming for a prize was way above my head."

"I see..."

Nitadori answered. I suppose she really couldn't understand how I felt exactly back then."

"But you did change your mind at a certain time, right? if not—"

"I wouldn't be here."

Once I answered this, Nitadori smiled, saying,

"Same here."

And,

"Then...did anyone convince you to take part in the contest? Or did someone see your novel and encourage you by saying 'this is really interesting! You should be an author!'?"

After hearing this question, I shook my head affirmatively, saying,

"I never did show anyone 'Vice Versa' before it was submitted for the contest. In fact, mom was the only one in this world who knew that I was writing a novel, but even she never read it."

"But...I don't understand! Why exactly did you submit it to Dengeki Bunko?"

Nitadori gave up.

To answer her, I inhaled and pondered. Ahh, she'll probably be shocked to hear these words

"Because the deadline was in April."

"What?"

"The annual submission deadline for the Dengeki Novel Prize is April 10th. After looking at the calendar, I started to think, Maybe I should complete 'Vice Versa' before then, and if I can finish it before then, let's try submitting it for a contest. You see, it really was a great opportunity for me to see if I could complete my work, and there was the entire Spring break before the submission deadline when I could spend entire days writing.

"..."

Nitadori again went silent.

I personally felt this was awkward too, but I had no other choice as that was the real reason.

"Erm, then...you never thought that 'Dengeki Bunko is the largest light novel publisher' or something?"

"I knew that, and to be precise, 'the submission deadline for Dengeki Bunko just so happened to fit my aims'. I had the thought that the readers of 'Vice Versa' should be light novel readers when I worked on it."

"So, to summarize, you had the delusional dreams of an author, and the time of completion just so happened to be the deadline of a Newcomer award—"

I nodded on. Nitadori continued,

"You tried submitting an entry to test your abilities, and sent it to the largest, probably the most competitive publishing company in the industry."

I nodded on.

"And the outcome's that you debuted with a work you created in 8th grade, and now a high school student and an author, your work so successful it can be made into an anime."

I nodded on.

"..."

While looking back at a stunned Nitadori, I pondered,

The wheel of fate turns so unexpectedly

Getting back to the time when I decided on submitting an entry.

It really was a great opportunity, no matter the reason, to have a deadline.

My passion for writing became stronger than ever.

The essays were a little easier to write, but there were often times where I would pause and ponder about the plot, write and stop, rinse and repeat.

My aim was not to be an author, but to complete the first ever novel I wrote in my life 'Vice Versa'.

And then I would submit it to the Dengeki Novel Prize.

To soothe my parched throat, I opened a new bottle of tea.

"You did manage to meet the deadline, but it was still really tough on you, wasn't it?"

Of course!

I nodded while drinking. It's really hard to drink like this.

Once I move my mouth away, I again answered,

"Of course! I was writing during the entire 3rd trimester in 8th grade, except for the period before the exams."

I was really busy back then, but I sealed my computer right before the exams, like how club activities were suspended for a week. Mom would most probably have forbade me from writing if my grades were to slip dramatically.

"I see...you were able to make it after all..."

"Yeah. My progress was about half when I entered Spring Break...and I only managed to write half the story after 2 and a half months. I had to finish the rest of it in the following 1 month."

"But you managed it."

"I really was spending the entire time writing from morning to night. But inexplicably, the second half was easier than the first half. No, I guess this isn't something strange. I did get used to writing after all."

I quipped,

"Also, with the entire story completed, I was looking forward to the climax in the second half. I really wanted to quickly get to the part where Shin kept escaping and finally decided to fight, and also the part where Pluto's gender was revealed!"

"..."

Nitadori merely started back at me.

"Ah, sorry. I got too excited there, I guess..."

I then apologized, but it seemed I was mistaken,

"No."

Nitadori smiled, shaking her head slightly. And then,

"When did you finish writing 'Vice Versa'?"

I really remembered what happened back then clearly.

"First off, I finished the last scene on April 2nd. No matter the result, I added the word 'end' at the end. I continued to revise the script on the screen over and over again, especially the end. I was really rushing things through, so the words became rather weird, and there were many times I had to correct. I then finished the editing work on the 6th, at midnight. Actually, the word 'finished' should only be used at such a moment."

"It happened in the past, but congratulations!"

"Thanks..."

I never thought that someone would congratulate me over something that happened 3 years ago, but I was really happy.

"What did you feel after finishing the first ever novel? Satisfied, I supposed? Or moved to bits."

"No, I didn't have time for that. I really was busy after that."

"Really? But didn't you just have to print the novel out and send it through mail?"

Nitadori gave me a startled look, and I answered by telling her the one reason that caused me much headache.

"I didn't have a printer at home."

"Ah..."

"I heard that anyone can submit their entries in the Newcomer award through e-mails now, but to register for the Dengeki Novel Prize, whether it was back then or now, one had to print the original script. Back then, I didn't have anything like an email address. On a side note, the 'original script' here would refer to a novel written on novel white paper, and there's no need to print it on actual white paper."

"Then, what did you do?"

"I went searching around on the internet at the library...but there wasn't a shop that's willing to print more than a hundred pieces of paper near my house. There were some business convenience shops near the town center offering such services however. My only option left was to buy a printer, and the day before the Graduation Ceremony, I went about transferring a few public buses to obtain a new weapon quickly."

"Isn't it very expensive?"

"It's not cheap, but not as expensive as I thought it would be. I spent a little more than 10,000 yen buying a black and white laserjet printer. Thank goodness I saved my pocket money..."

"What if...you didn't have that much money to use...?"

"The Dengeki Novel Prize would surely be impossible for me. I guess I would have registered for other awards."

"Then...you probably would have debuted there instead?"

"That's a possibility...but there's also a chance I would have failed to make the cut..."

"The most reliable thing in emergencies is still money after all..."

"No, well...maybe."

"Sometimes, love or friendship alone would have left you helpless..."

"I guess...so."

"Ah, please continue."

"Eh? Ah, yes. I brought from the shop a printer, some spare toner, and lots of A4 sized printer paper. Also, I bought some ordinary envelopes used to store scripts, a large fixed envelope meant for mailing, a hole-puncher and a shoelace from a 100 yen shop.

"How did you use the last two?"

"The registration regulations state that the entry has to have a hole in the right corner of the script, and it has to be tied together with a string. There are thin strings specially meant to fixed them together, but I bought shoelaces because I wasn't sure."

"I see. Not a binder, huh?"

"I did ask the editor-in-charge before, and he said that it would be terrible if the binder was to slip off. There are page numbers on the submitted scripts, but if many pages are to slip off, or even mix with other works..."

"That really is...scary to think about."

"Yeah, it really is. That's why a string had to be used to bind them. I also heard that as the judging proceeds, they'll need to print a few copies for the editors to see, and only then will they undo it."

"I see."

"Once I got back from the shop, I immediately installed the printer and did a test. I was really relieved once I knew that the printer could work normally. The following day was the 8th, the Graduation Ceremony for the 3rd years, and I began work once I got home."

"That really was a pressing moment."

"I was so anxious. The restrictions for the script was that there was to be 42 words per line and 34 lines for every paper. I was checking through the Word's 'page layout' to see if there was any mistake, whether it was a portrait layout. Also, I had to check whether the page numbers were included in there afterwards."

It seemed Nitadori was skeptical to the first half of my words, and she asked,

"Why's the format so inconvenient? Can't they accept 40 words and 30 lines...for example?"

"That Dengeki Bunko's format. A single page has 42 words per line, and 17 lines, so by copying over to the other side, that'll be 34 pages."

"I see...so it's to let the number of pages match the publisher's standard formatting."

"Yes. And after I printed it out, I realized that there was something important I forgot. I had to submit the plotline along with it."

"Pollution (TN: both can be read as Kougai)...like air pollution?"

"I'll like to ask you how you're going to send air pollution over later on...the plotline here refers to the 'summary'. The entry regulations state that the contestant's work has to have 2 other pieces of paper attached. One of them is the particulars form, like the title of the work, the actual name, pen name, address, age...phone number, and what else, I wonder? Sorry, I forgot about it. Remember to check it properly if you're looking to register."

"But I don't intend to submit an entry."

Nitadori answered with a laugh.

"So you need to write a summary of the story on the other piece of paper. How did you go about doing that?"

"I suppose any Newcomer award would require a clear outline of the contents of the story. There's a word limit to that that. Dengeki Bunko limits it to 800 words, and since I forgot about writing that thing, I was frantically typing it out while the laser jet printer was buzzing away beside me."

"But you just have to summarize the main points, right? This word count should be a cinch—"

For you, sensei? Nitadori was intending to say that, but was cut off by me.

"I didn't know the correct way of writing it."

"The correct way of writing."

"Yeah. I didn't know at all. I was wondering if I was supposed to write out the final ending in the story summary, or that I should do it like the story synopsis on the back of the DVD cover, and write some vague words like 'what exactly awaits the protagonist—'"

"Ahh...so which one was it?"

"I hurried off to the library, and found many similar questions and answers, so it's probable that everyone had the same issues as I did. The correct answer is 'to actually write the ending'."

I was in a panic—

But I managed to gather all the documents required for submission at midnight, on the 8th.

I arranged the printed script together, placed the particulars form and the story summary on it, and punctured a hole on the top right corner, binding the script together.

And just in case, since I had another shoelace, I duplicated another exactly similar document. The other document still rests in my desk.

Once I got back from school the next day, I checked the contents in the envelop.

"Alright..."

And I went off to the post office.

I remembered very well that when I was looking at the receipt in my hands, I felt that there was a drastic change in my thinking.

"An author? if only I can be one. I probably can't do so however."

My prior thinking was so pessimistic.

"An author? I'll be glad if anyone told me that I should be one. I guess it's fine for me to be one if that time comes."

And my thinking now is quite optimistic.

"Ah...that's amazing. You really worked hard completing this story and submitting it...it's amazing, really amazing. You really did your best, really. Yes yes."

Nitadori murmured as she hailed me.

I'm really glad to be receiving such praise now, but it's because of now that I found it to be a wonderful memory—

Back then, I didn't have such feelings at all.

Of course, I felt confident after finishing a long novel. That itself was hard work.

But the registration was not the end.

And neither was it the start.

To me, that was just the feeling of 'being someone with the right to stand on the starting line'.

The actual moment of me standing on the 'starting line' was—

When I learned that I entered high school.

That was approximately a year since I registered.

I have to clarify what happened during a certain period.

The period from when i failed to make the cut till to when I was to debut.

I ate a few of the sea salt potato chips I really liked, and took a little break; after that, I told Nitadori what happened afterwards.

First, I managed to get through the 3rd judging panel, but I lost out in the 4th round because of age reasons.

"My! You lost because of such a reason!"

"I did fail. But the editorial branch did clarify a little, and allowed me to debut as a nominee. Right now, I do feel that was the best decision, and I'm really grateful that the editorial branch put in so much thought for my sake."

And then, I told her of the promise I made with the editor-in-charge, that I would make my debut once I entered high school.

Nitadori did know that I did debut after I failed to make the cut (it was written in the afterword of the first volume of 'Vice Versa'), but she was really surprised to know that there was a 'hidden deal'.

"Now then...assuming that you didn't make it to high school, sensei, what would have happened to you? If you couldn't debut or go into high school."

"I was afraid things would end up like that."

"if that were to happen, what will you become like now?"

"How will I be now, huh...?"

I wondered a little, but it was too scary, so I gave up.

And then, I talked about how I took a break from school.

Once the work was decided to be adapted into an anime, I decided to take a break from school for a year to assist with the production of the anime and the continuation of the later volumes. I also told her the reason why I made this decision.

"I see...so that's what happened..."

Nitadori was really impressed.

"Speaking of which, how many people know about this?"

"Erm...my mom, the editorial branch, including the editor-in-charge, the authors I met at the End-of-year party...there's a lot of them. It really wasn't some classified secret."

This was how I ended the process before I resumed schooling again.

"Well...I guess I'm glad that you weren't expelled as a result, sensei? I think that it's not a waste for you to take a break from school for a year as you had something you had to do. I think that was the best choice you could have made."

Nitadori said with much passion.

I wasn't certain as to why she would say that so earnestly, but I was glad that she would approve of this decision I made after much pondering alone.

And I was completely relaxed.

"Thanks. Well, I wanted to go back to being an ordinary high school student, but I did something stupid on the first day..."

After I grumbled about what I shouldn't have said to my classmates, Nitadori laughed, saying,

"It's okay! The school year has just begun! We aren't going to change classes in this school, so you have another 2 years to work hard in the same class! There's also the school trip!"

And she so plainly stated such damaging words to me when I'm completely isolated in class.

Is this girl a sadist? Or is she able to see the future of living with many friends around me, living the refreshing high school life, when even I couldn't see myself doing?

Well, the school term did just start after all.

"Hm, well...I don't know what'll happen later on. I'll try enjoying whatever I can."

And so I answered with reluctance and delusion.

The train continued to race straight forward through the night streets.

There was the working class packed in crowds at the stations I passed by, waiting to get home quickly.

I, or we, again arrived at the city, and we would be reaching the station soon. It was the same the previous week; it felt that 2 hours and 30 minutes passed by quickly with just Nitadori and me chatting with each other.

"I'm getting off first today then."

I said.

"Thanks. Please do so."

And Nitadori answered, before continuing,

"May I...ask something else from you."

Her face's different from the usual expression she showed when she would ask me something.

She would give me the expression of a real interviewer when she asked me of my history.

But at this point, she had the face of a kid visiting relatives in January.

"It's not something really big."

That definitely was a lie. I had a premonition, but I asked,

"Anyway...let's hear you out..."

"Thanks. Erm, it's really not something big. I really have no intention of causing you trouble, sensei, but I do want to get permission from you."

She started off delightedly with with a long introduction.

I really couldn't imagine what she would saw. To be honest, I was scared.

No, no matter how scared I was, she probably wouldn't be saying 'I want to kill you! Now please die!' or something like that.

Whatever she said couldn't be any scarier than death itself.

While I prepared myself, Nitadori said

"It's my turn for recitation next Thursday."

The 'recitation' we're talking about here—

Would be the class routine arranged at the beginning of the language class by our teacher, twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday.

That was probably something our aged language teacher came up with on a whim (or so I think).

"Anything is fine here. Just bring your favorite novel and recite in front of the class"

That was what we had to do. We had to do it in 3 minutes minimum, 10 minutes maximum.

I never did the statistics, but I feel that more than 90% of us hate this period.

The order was decided through lots, so I didn't know Nitadori was to do it next Thursday.

To avoid anyone forgetting the order once someone finished with the recitation, the teacher will definitely mentioned who would be doing the next two sessions. I suppose my consciousness was dressed to Reputation during the session today.

Speaking of which, I guess it's my turn soon after.

I remember it's also on Thursday, probably 3 or 4 weeks later. Got to check the notebook.

I really like books. However, I really am bad, and I really hate, reciting in front of others.

Of course, I probably will be reciting the same things as the other students if it's my turn, and cautiously choose works from famous authors,

'How many times does K have to die?'

Or

'Cat again?'

Or

'Hasn't Melos been running too much!?'

And give them 3 minutes to think about it.

As for which books they are, I'll just have to decide it on the day prior to it. No matter what sort of joke it was, even if the world was to end the next day, or even if someone was to point a gun at my head,

I had no intention of reciting 'Vice Versa'.

I never thought of that before.

And I didn't intend to think of such a terrifying thing—

W-wait...

Eh?

No...

Don't tell me...

Perhaps...

Nitadori...

I guess anyone could have seen that my face was completely frozen.

"So I say,"

The one person closest to me threw a megaton bomb at me with a smile,

"It's fine for me to recite 'Vice Versa', right?"

The broadcast indicating the train's arrival at the terminal buzzed in my mind.

I had to clearly state my rejection at this moment.

This girl, Eri Nitadori, would do it.

She would recite my novel right behind me.

And with the clear, beautiful voice, she would recite it so fluently, with so much emotions.

She would definitely do that.

I could tell.

I understood from the eyes. Those eyes.

That was the expression Nitadori was showing. On first glance, she seemed to be smiling really delightedly, and that was the same deep within her heart.

Thus, I had to tell her decisively at this point.

I had to state my refusal.

Of course, she would be reading the lines I created with vigor during the after record, and I would be listening by the side. This and that would be two different matters altogether however.

The answer I had to give Nitadori was 'no'.

I had to answer that.

To answer that as an upperclassman, and as a man.

"Nitadori..."

"What is it, sensei?"

To answer this bespectacled girl who's tilting her head cutely, I took a large breath,

"I'm willing to do anything you ask me, so please spare me on this already."

The words I then said naturally became respectful.

## ‎Chapter 4 - May 1, I taught her

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

The 'near-death experience' referred to the swirling lights that could cause movie film to move.

Modern people would use such an expression 'a fatal near-death experience', and some would even shorten it to describe the moment 'when people continued to recall the past before they died'.

I once read it in the books.

People would quickly see their past memories before they died.

It was said to be because the mind was searching for a certain something at full speed.

Seeking for a clue to escape the crisis from their past experiences.

Thus, I vividly recalled the past.

Recalling everything that happened from the first time I met her, till this point.

May had arrived.

The first week was commonly dubbed as 'Golden Week', but this day and the day after were still normal days. I had to attend classes today and visit the After Record tomorrow.

After school, I changed from my uniform into plain clothes, and got on the same Limited Express train as usual.

The passengers on this day were a lot more than the previous week. It's Golden Week, and there are many dressed up for hiking.

Having already anticipated this, I queued earlier than usual, and managed to secure the usual seat right at the back, placing the luggage right beside it.

There was still some time until the train departed. I wondered if Nitadori would wait till the train departed before coming over as per usual, so I continued to wait leisurely, without any worry.

A few days ago, I realized,

Did Nitadori deliberately wait until the last moment to arrive at the platform, and came in from the other carriages?

This station was a little distant from school, but there were still students who would head to school from there. If any particular person was to see Nitadori and me walking side by side with each other at the platform,

"What are these two doing?"

There surely would be such rumors. As both of us would take leaves every Friday, I didn't have belief that I could fool others if I was to be questioned.

And if she really did put in such thought—

I surely would have to thank Nitadori here.

I suppose it was because of my manly plea that she did not choose 'Vice Versa'.

What did she choose then? Surely there wasn't anyone who didn't know what it was. The answer's 'Momotaro'.

She brought a picture book directed for children,

"A long, long time ago, at a certain place (in a galaxy far, far away)—"

And recited from the beginning.

It really was a 'professional prank'.

With much poise and care, she narrated the text. Her voice was ostensibly a textbook example, each word spoken with such clarity there was no way any word could have been mistaken.

The lines themselves were really exciting. Nitadori showcased all her acting talents, not withholding anything at all, using different voices for the old granny, the old grandpa, Momotaro, the dog, monkey, pheasant and the demons.

I was looking forward, so I really couldn't see her, but she probably was acting with her entire body like what professional voice actors will do. I could see my classmates look on, completely flabbergasted.

"Congratulations, congratulations."

Eri Nitadori's solo performance ended after 6 minutes and 34 seconds.

For us, who did not pay a single cent hearing this, we were first stunned momentarily, and then we applauded.

The teacher praised her exuberantly with grandeur words, and simply continued,

"Now then, the next one will be Suzuki, and after that Hisakawa."

That Suzuki who'll be following up after Nitadori really is very pitiful here. As for who that Suzuki, I don't even remember how he looks like now.

After class, the girls were gathered around Nitadori; some boys joined in too.

I decided to get up a little later for a stroll.

Many of my classmates were hailing Nitadori for how amazing she was,

"Have you acted before?"

Someone posed Nitadori this question, and she answered,

"Actually, I did join the drama club in my previous school, and I really put in a lot of effort practicing my recital acting. The teacher was strict, but I did recite the story very well today, so I wonder if he'll praise me."

"Eh?" "Oo" I heard such voices. Now that she mentioned it, I recalled her specifically stating in her self-introduction that she transferred in from the previous year. I had no idea exactly where she was prior to that.

"Aren't you going to join the drama club?"

A certain male classmate asked that.

Anyone would have thought about that—if they didn't know about her job at that moment.

"I decided not to join a club due to various reasons."

Nitadori replied with an answer that could barely be considered one.

While I intended to stop eavesdropping and get up,

"Why aren't you around on Fridays? Is it related to the various reasons you mentioned?"

A certain girl, poor in comprehending the mood, asked without holding back. Hearing her tone, I suppose there was no malice at all.

"No, that's not it."

Nitadori responded curtly,

"Then what it is?"

And that girl pressed on with the question.

"Erm..."

She let out a slightly perturbed voice.

There's another classmate who's definitely never around on Friday here, but it seemed that classmate wasn't being noticed in any way. My presence is so small it's shocking, and only in this situation did it help me out here.

But I was still worried if I would end up distracting her. I missed the opportunity to leave while pondering if I should quickly leave my seat.

At this moment, it'll be worse for us if I'm to slip off here. While pondering over what I should be doing at this moment, Nitadori said,

"My dad's currently living alone in Japan, due to busy work, and not because my parents are talking about divorce here, you know?"

That was the first time I heard of such matters.

But even so, I practically knew nothing about her.

"But I can only meet him in Tokyo on Friday, so I have to do so even if I have to take leaves from school. That's how it is."

Of course, all that has to be a lie. Her tone however was so overly natural and fluent, even I was about to blurt out, I see, so that's how it is , and believe her here.

As for the other classmates' reactions.

"Eh?"

"So that's why!"

"I see."

Hearing their reactions, I knew that they bought the story,

The acting skills of a professional voice actor's really amazing.

Feeling relieved, I went out for a stroll.

While strolling, I wondered.

Nitadori lied saying that she would head to Tokyo to spend Fridays with her family, and in fact, she went for her after record. She could have met her father after the after record was done, but that definitely was not the main reason.

Now then, what was that 'my parents are living separately' thing she just mentioned here?

I believed her completely when she said that. What happened on Friday however made me feel that she could be lying for the sake of it.

Nitadori's acting skills differed from any ordinary person. I couldn't determine the validity from her words.

In other words,

I knew nothing about Eri Nitadori other than she's 'the voice actress portraying Meek, and my classmate who's a year younger than me'.

Once I thought that much, my bad habit would kick in.

This bad habit here would refer to the 'delusional' habit, which I'm using as my money tree.

Who exactly was Nitadori?

Her relatives live in Japan, and she coincidentally takes the same ride as me because she wants to know about an author, and thought of all the questions to ask me. Was it all a lie?

Perhaps—

Perhaps Nitadori's a professional killer?

She has her sights on me, ready to kill me with a given chance. She plotted behind the scenes and became a voice actress, obtained a role, learned of my true identity, and joined my class?

That was not a coincidence, but something to be expected, right?

The reason why she asked me all these questions is that she wanted to know more about her target before taking action, right?

In that case, isn't it dangerous for me to turn my back on her?

“Wahahaha!”

A single boy suddenly began to laugh at himself, and two girls standing nearby, probably 1st years, immediately scampered helter-skelter.

Sorry to terrify both of you like that.

But that utterly foolish delusion I had was so interesting it made me laugh.

She intends to kill me if there's a chance?

I ate so much of the sea salt potato chips she provided, and even drank some tea.

If she really intended to kill me, I would have been dead 2, 3 times.

It's dangerous for me to turn my back on her?

I spent hours with my back facing her from Monday to Thursday.

The time she spent seeing my back was a lot longer than when I saw her.

The train began to rush.

The carriage became somewhat packed as the passengers were either headed out or home, and it became bustling.

During this situation, Nitadori came from the carriage behind, saying,

“It's been a week, sensei. There's a lot of people today. Thanks for reserving a seat for me.”

With one hand, she held onto the handle of the luggage bag she always used; in the other, she held out the bait meant for me, as usual.

“Here. This is the thanks for today.”

I took in the bag from the convenience store,

“Sorry for always,”

And answered in an old-fashioned manner.

Nitadori placed her bag behind her seat, tidied her hair, and sat down.

“Didn't we say not to mention that?”

And again, she showed me a pretty smiling face on this day.

These snacks were really a relief to me, typically hungry at this time.

Actually, I would eat 2 pieces of toast before heading out every week. But as I'm in my puberty, I would gladly accept any food that appeared in front of him.

After guzzling down a third of the potato chips, I drank some tea.

“What shall I talk about today?”

I then turn to the seat on the right to ask. Even I too was a little surprised that I ended up initiating the topic so easily.

Nitadori immediately answered,

“I want to know how to write a novel?”

“What do you mean?”

This question's a little too vague, so I asked.

“Well...sensei, didn't you say 'I'll tell you about writing a novel next time'? I want to know how to do that, the specifics of writing a novel. For someone who never wrote a novel like me, I didn't know how to write such a novel.”

“I see...so we're going upstate in such a state?”

I muttered out my true thoughts.

“What?”

Nitadori tilted her head, asking,

“Ah, sorry. Just a simple word pun. Maybe you'll understand looking at the words.”

“...Oh!! You're like an author to be able to come up with such words on the fly.”

“Because I am an author.”

I ended up saying these words again this week.

Nitadori quickly adjusted her glasses with her right hand,

“Now then, please explain how a professional author begins to write.”

“Okay then...”

To be honest, I only entered the profession for 2 years, and the term 'professional author' really was very discomforting to me. But even so, since I'm in this job for a living, that should be a term I should be using for myself, even if I'm a professional.

But even so, I did have a thought about Nitadori 'a professional voice actor's really amazing!'. I guess this applies to both of us.

I decided to tell her how I wrote a novel,

“There's something I have to be clear with you first.”

“What is it?”

“No matter the number of authors, there's at least that number of methods to write. Right now, I'm pretty much just going to talk about 'the method I use'.”

“Understood.”

How does one write a novel?

As I had just mentioned, the method differs accordingly per person—

The one I used was the one I mastered while creating 'Vice Versa'.

Based on the order, that should be the most suitable.

First, I had to come up with the plot.

Plot.

This word in English can mean a conspiracy, a plan, but beyond that, there is the meaning of a structure, a scenario. Of course, when I (and the other authors) use this term, we would be talking about the latter.

I once searched up the definition of the term 'plot' on the internet. Strictly put, the definition seemed very complex.

Leaving that definition aside, I would typically think of it as 'a summary of the story' when coming up with this term.

In 8th grade,

“I see! So I need to think of a story!”

That was what I realized, but nowadays, I would not use the term 'story'.

I didn't know when I started, but I started using the term 'plot' instead.

“A plot, I think, is a framework, a blueprint of a novel.”

“Okay.”

“I don't think there's a definitive correct answer in the amount of plot. The file 'Vice Versa' was called 'a story of one transported to the other world, becoming an immortal', and that can be said to be the simplest summary of the plot. In any case, just understand that as 'the protagonist heads to the other world and becomes an immortal.”

“I see. But the construction of the plot isn't always that simple, right?”

“Of course. There are times where I have to be clearer in explaining the plot, especially when explaining to the editor-in-charge.”

The first step of writing a novel is to propose a plot, and I do think there's 2 ways to go about doing it

One of them is,

“Propose a plot for something that is to be written next time.”

This would be what can be considered a storage, and I can go about writing it a little simpler as it's just something only I need to understand. It's fine to keep it simple even if I only have a few major points. That was the plan for the file called 'Vice Versa'.

Soon after, the contents of the novel gradually existed, and there was no need for me to keep expanding on the ideas I thought of (if there are ideas I can think of, naturally, I'll record them first)

“A story of people living underwater, and venturing the land.”

“A futuristic crime story.”

“Human dolls begin to move and started attacking humans.”

I'll simply record such ideas down once I think about them, even if it's just a simple concept of a single line or sorts, and it's an asset I may be able to use in the future. My computer contains many of such ideas

Another method of composing plots would be,

“The author comes up with ideas to the editor-in-charge, telling him what the author intends to write.”

In this situation, the idea's the blueprint, a proposal to a business partner that conveys 'I want to write this. What do you think?'

The writing would also different accordingly based on the authors. Of course, I understood this well, having asked other authors myself.

Some will basically come up with short ideas comprising of one liners.

In contrast, others will come up with long ideas, as long as a novel itself.

Some will come up with a document that's like a report, clearly and concisely stating various factors like 'what happened? How will the characters act?' (like me)

In contrast, others will start writing the characters' emotions in this plotting phase, and edit their works.

“In that case...the author won't start writing without obtain the editor-in-charge's permission, right?”

Nitadori asked.

This is just my own experience, and also what I heard from the editors of other light novelists. I prefaced with this, and,

“Typically yes. But there are exceptions.”

In my case—

Leaving aside the submitted entry that was completed, what happened afterwards, beyond the second volume of 'Vice Versa' was,

“Typically, I'll begin writing after all the ideas I proposed have been approved. I'll send a message over through email conveying my ideas 'I intend to write the next volume like this. The characters will act like this,new characters will debut, these are the parts to shock the readers, and this is the ending'”

My house was connected to the internet, and I began to make contact with the editor-in-charge through email. I didn't think this answered the questions though, so I didn't mention it.

“The amount of plot I need to write differs per volume...but they aren't very long. A short one's about a dozen lines or so, and even if it is a little longer, it's not more than one pocket book spread page, or 2 pages.”

“That's considered short, right?”

“I really don't know. I think this is the only thing that differs...”

"There's something I'm a little curious about. You just said that you'll 'typically come up with plots. Does this mean that you didn't do that for a certain volume/"

I nodded.

"That was the case for the 7th volume."

Nitadori, whom I'm really grateful to for reading all my published works, immediately thought,

“It's the story of the 'Moving Country', right?”

The 7th volume of 'Vice Versa', the 4th volume of 'Side Shin', describes the story of a large moving country.

The stage was set in the most advanced country in Reputation. The country is 3km long, 1km wide, and moves on numerous caterpillars.

This country is equipped with massive mechanical arms, and spinning drills in the front; it can grind and level any land, obtaining all the resources. Once it arrives at a place, even the mountains will be leveled, and all that's left would be a barren land.

Typically, the country would only excavate minerals from areas with few people, and certainly would not cause trouble for other countries. Once a coup d'etat occurred however, the country harbored an ambition to rule over Reputation given the scientific power they possessed.

And Sin took action to stop that country's ambition.

Shin's mission was to infiltrate the country, die over and over again, and approach the central area of the country.

“Yeah, this is the only story I wrote without actually thinking of the plot.”

“Erm...why's that? And how did you do it?”

I tried recalling that certain day, answering,

“After having my meal, I just spent the time watching TV, and then I saw a large German excavation machine. That gigantic machine was called a 'Bucket Wheel Excavator', more than 200m long. I know such a thing exists, but it was the first time I actually saw that thing in action. Have you seen one before, Nitadori?”

Nitadori shook her head as her eyes stared at me. The sight of the glasses moving was a little amusing.

“This monster gigantic, long-necked dragon-like machine moves on caterpillars, yet the shape's very complicated. It's like a mesh of factories jammed together.”

Once I said this, I felt it was better for her to see a photo. It really is difficult imagining the appearance just from describing it.

I fish out my smartphone from my pocket, and begin searching for pictures using the search term bucket wheel'.

“This is it.”

I handed the smartphone to Nitadori so that she could see.

Once she took it, she scrolled through the phone a little.

“Hm...”

She probably didn't have much interest in the machine (well, it's normal, since she's a girl), so her reactions' lukewarm as she returns me the phone.

Keeping the phone, I said,

“Once I saw that gigantic machine just grind and level the ground, I had an idea 'the enemy's going to invade in the next volume', and then I began work. Immediately.”

“So, 'immediately', as in?”

“It's as the term implies. The show wasn't finished, but once I saw the part introducing that machine, I immediately shut the TV, and added a new file in the computer called 'a story about a massive country', beginning to write the story out. I didn't think of the structure at all; at first, I started to describe a massive country that's very hostile, where Sin and his ministers were glaring at it, and then Shin came...after that, as for what happened later, I just typed out what I thought. I didn't think of the structure even at the very end, just writing and thinking 'the story will develop this way, and then that way'. I didn't care about how much I wrote, I just wrote.”

“...”

Nitadori frowned a little, remaining silent.

Is she terrified by this unreasonable, illogical method of writing. I wondered worriedly.

“You managed to write a novel so suddenly...what do you have to do to do such a thing...?”

Contrary to my expectations, she's very impressed.

But even so, I could only answer,

“Well...I just had an inspiration.”

I did pause to think of the plot midway through, but I kept writing for another 2 weeks and 3 days before I finally finished it.

“Really unbelievable...”

Nitadori looked like she saw magic as she stared at me.

I suppose I can take that as praise, but this is all what I did, and what I could do, so I really can't feel proud about it.

I can't act at all (and I never acted), and I feel that Nitadori's powerful recitation was much better than what I can ever do.

“Erm...the 7th volume's just an exception. Normally, I'll think of a plot, and once the plot's all smooth flowing, I'll begin to write.”

I said, and decided to proceed with the topic.

Regarding the process of writing a story, I only touched upon the first step.

The train conductor today's still a woman, and she came to check our tickets a lot later than usual. Once it's done, I began eating the potato chips, and gulped some tea.

“Now then, leaving the exception aside...assuming that I finished a volume's worth of concepts and submit it to the editor-in-charge, and that the editor-in-charge finds it interesting and asks me to write.”

“Uh huh.”

“I'll have to begin writing, to actually get down to composing the story.”

After coming up with the manuscript, the next step will be to write the story.

But even so, the step's as the term implied, to actually focus on writing the story with determination.

Plotting is just deciding the main points, so there are a lot of issues I have to write and decide.

“No, I have to correct that. There's a need to decide on certain aspects while writing, and that'll be a lot more than what's already decided in the plot. For example, when manuscripting, I haven't decided on stuff like 'the guest characters' names.”

“Why? I thought you'll decide on the characters that'll appear in a story before writing them in.”

“I suppose some authors will do that, but that's not me. It's a different case for me though. While important characters are different...I'll prefer to wait until a character debut and pause to think of a name rather than to decide the names of all the characters that are to appear before writing. As for why—”

“Why?”

“Once the plot's basically decided, I'll begin to write. If I have to begin writing after confirming everything else...I feel that I won't be able to start writing.”

If I've to compare it to a plan for a trip.

Some may plan this way,

“I'll try spending a week visiting Kyoto this time, venture around all the shrines. I want to go to this temple and that shrine, I want to eat that. If there's still time, I want to do something. At latest, I need to be back before a certain time.”

And some may plan this way,

“Take the Shinkansen on Monday, reach Kyoto station at noon. First, we'll head to a certain temple, and stay until 3. At 4, we'll head to a certain hotel, take a shower a 5, have dinner a 7. The next day—”

My style of planning would probably be the former. I guess I won't be able to leave house if I have to come up with the perfect plan before going on a trip. I suppose I have to stop at a certain point rather than to just come up with the plan, say 'I'm leaving', and open the door.

“Speaking of which, I won't exactly follow the plot while writing.”

I curtly stated.

'Eh?”

Nitadori's again taken aback.

“Wah!”

I too was startled by her as both of us exclaimed loudly. Luckily, it's loud inside the carriage.

“Is there a need to be so shocked?”

I whispered. Nitadori herself voiced out softly, but her voice's still audible,

“Of course! The plot's a blueprint and a plan, right? In other words, you don't complete your work based on the plan at all?”

I nodded firmly.

“Is it alright to do that...?”

“Currently, there's no problems.”

I simply replied.

Surely I had to assemble the story according to the blueprint.

And that I had to write based on the plot.

If I kept worrying about that—

If I kept being restrained to be honest.

To put it bluntly, I really can't imagine myself being some author.

I don't know what others think, but even though I only have 2 years of experience as an author, I do write with the thinking 'the completed work is what I wanted to write'.

Assuming that the blueprint was 'a blue, light, small, streamlined sports car'.

Even if the completed car is 'the weight's still acceptable, the inside's wide, and it's an egg-shaped black wagon car', I don't think it's a failure (though the example itself is a little extreme).

“Ah, I completed this work.”

That would be what I would think, and I would repeat it again. As long as I found the story to be interesting, I would submit the work to the editor-in-charge. ('interesting' is always the most important aspect. This alone is the one thing I will not budge on).

It's not uncommon for the plot to continually change when writing.

“How does it change?”

“For example...when I'm unhappy with my initial concept, or when I thought of a new plot development when writing. It's very common; I never counted the number of times it happened, but this is the most common.”

“I see. What else?”

“The next one's an adjustment if the plot's too long. For example, I'm supposed to write a plot's worth of content, but after finding the story to be too story, I had to add some parts. Or maybe the opposite happened, and I wrote too much, so I had to cut off a few scenes. Using my experience, the latter's more common.”

“In that case...don't you feel regret about 'being unable to write what you originally planned'?'

“I answered that question already, and I don't feel regret at all. I rather have a completed manuscript work than an idealistic idea. I'll try my best to edit to improve it though, of course.”

“...I see.”

“And also, I'll often change the character profiles.”

“How?”

“I'll add new characters to cook up the atmosphere. In contrast, if I can't finish with the characterization, I'll think of reducing the number of characters. There are few female characters, so I need to change the gender for a few characters. The twist that 'this certain person's actually female' is always king, so I include this very often. Before then, when writing halfway through, I'll have thoughts of 'eh? It's probably more interesting to change this guy into a girl', and so I change what was supposed to be a guy into a girl.”

“...”

I didn't know whether Nitadori's speechless because she's amazed or dumbfounded.

But this was how I completed my novel.

I wanted to avoid following a fixed path (plot concept) when writing and end up 'unable to reach the final destination', 'spending too much time', 'kept making myself tired'.

“And because of this...I can't keep sticking to the plot that can be changed midway through.”

I felt I said some very ordinary things.

“Till now, I thought all authors would have a clear goal and write according to it.”

I learned how amazed Nitadori was from the large eyes under the glasses and how shrill her voice became as a result.

“I too think...such people exist. But...I don't think all authors will do that.”

“Haa...I'm shocked.”

Writing is a tough, yet wonderful thing—

And there's still tough parts later. The actual writing itself is always the longest part.

I had to actually think through a large part of the story, and convert it into words.

At this point, I only knew how to write using a word processing software, so in fact, it should have been 'kept typing',

But to make things convenient, I'll continue to use the term 'write'.

“I suppose you know that the content of a story can be divided into the 'descriptions' and 'dialogue'. The descriptions refer to the narrations and the explanations, or in other words, anything other than dialogue.”

I too found my own explanation to be very crude.

Nitadori nodded, and asked,

“Then, sensei, which do you find harder to write, the description or the dialogue?”

I answered,

“Hm, about that, it's definitely the description.”

I did mention before that I could not write back when I was in 8th grade.

And the description was the part I couldn't write.

I feel that those aiming to be authors will reach the hardest hurdle, how to think (formulate) a story , and also,

How to do the descriptions for a novel.

“As I said before, I struggled over and over again, and barely managed to write it...but I was really suffering back then.”

Looking at the back of the seat in front of it, I lamented.

It's interesting thinking of the times as a hammer after learning how to swim. The efforts put in back then definitely won't be for naught.

But even so, this isn't the time to be thinking back about what happened back then. I have to explain to Nitadori why the description is hard to write.

“Well, first...the aim of description is to explain to the readers what happens, so the author has to convey the intent to the reader.”

“Okay..”

"And so, it's best to have a story that's simple yet easy to understand. In other words, there's no need for text that's extremely complicated. The ideal should be when the topics and the narratives are very clear, and there's no misunderstanding whenever any reads it."

Now then, if there's a question 'is the description all that simple in all the stories to be found in the world', the answer will be, of course not.

In fact, authors will added interesting similes, outstanding metaphors, correct grammar, and so on. In other words, authors will do all kinds of 'cosmetics' to present the text as more splendid, wonderful.

"I do feel this way. The decorating of a text is like an illustrator's fine strokes, the parts that'll emphasize the unique traits of each other. For example, just as 'some illustrators have delicate drawing styles', there are some authors who have delicate styles when writing. Also, some authors will include a large amount of metaphors, and some will keep it simple, yet refine it to be much prettier later on."

And thus—

Those wanting to write novels will think,

"I have to write that kind of story too."

And so, they end up unable to write it out.

For example, someone watched an Olympic event on TV, and was impressed by a participant's performance.

He thought of trying to start with that sport, and began to do so.

Is he however about to immediately perform as well as an Olympic representative? Of course not. Anyone will understand this.

"Why can't I run 100m in 10 seconds?"

"Why can't I hit bullseye all the time?"

"Why can't I leap elegantly between the uneven bars?"

I don't really think anyone will have such troubles.

In terms of novels however, I do feel that many people begin off, but have the frustration of 'why can't I write like this particular author'.

"Speaking of which...I was like that when I first started writing. Back then, I think I was seriously thinking 'I did read so many books, but why can't I write that kind of a story'…"

And saying that, I turn my eyes to the distant past.

"..."

Nitadori remained silent,

"Well, I guess, that's impossible…"

And amicably agreed with me.

"Yes, it's impossible. There are amazing geniuses who exist in this world however, and there are exceptions to be seen everywhere, so I don't dare to say it's absolute. Anyway, most of the people probably can't do it."

The main difference between the sportsmen in the example and writing is—

Basically, 'writing stories in Japanese' is something any Japanese can do.

Anyone can come up with a half-baked story, so they probably can imagine themselves writing a story like a novelist.

And then they got frustrated over being unable to write.

Before they gave up in the end.

"Then, as for 'what do I do in this situation'...or I should say 'how did I do it'..."

"Hm, how?"

"I started writing from those parts I could. That was back when I was in 8th grade, so I'll skip on the explanation—"

I realized.

Though I read a lot of novels till this point, I had yet to actually write a story myself. I could write a story in Japanese, but it was stupid of me to think that I could actually successfully write a 'Japanese novel' right from the beginning.

“So I'm saying isn't that 'if there's no bread, have some cake'. I feel that if I can't write a story that's more difficult, try writing something simpler.”

“I see. Start improving on what you can do, huh?”

'Yeah. I feel that a simple text will do, so the one thing I focus most on is 'comprehensiveness', and I decided that I had to begin writing first.

It's impossible to just imagine and write a story like a certain professional author. Thus, I'll start from 'a simple story that's easy to understand'.

And then, I completed the story first, before revising what I wrote over and over again.

I continue to spice up the simple text, like 'a little additional narratives', 'slight changes in terms', and so on. If I feel there's no need to do so, I'll naturally let the text remain as such.

Soon after, I ended up being able to write better than how I did when I first started off.

“And then, when writing, you're able to write better text...is that it?”

“Well, it can barely be considered as such if you're calling a text that can be called a novel.”

“You're being humble again. Do you still find writing the description very difficult.”

“Yeah, even now, I do think this way. I'll feel really frustrated writing the descriptions. I can do it, but I'll still ask myself, is this enough? Is there a more obvious way of showing this? And assuming that it's easy to understand, is there a better way of spicing this up in a way readers will find amusing? It's not difficult to edit a text when writing a novel.”

“I see.”

“But of course, I still have to meet the deadlines, so there's a certain time when I had to tell myself 'this is enough'. Till now, my method is still to reread the story 3 times, and if I don't find the story to be awkward in any way, I'll submit the script.”

After explaining till this point, I drank some tea, and Nitadori asked,

“Then, what about the dialogue? It's easier, but is it really that easy thinking about it?”

And I honestly answer,

“It's far easier than the descriptions. I'm always able to think of conversations easily..”

I always had delusions ever since young,

And in my delusions, the conversations took a large chunk of it.

I kept thinking back on the characters (myself included back then) having such cool, boisterous, or interesting conversations.

I myself am introverted and timid, and I'll be so tense whenever I faced anyone, wondering what to talk about. In my delusions however, I'm able to actually chat with others without holding back.

In an actual conversation, the other party actually exists. I didn't know what he'll say (though I had some guesses).

After hearing the conversation, I'll think of how to answer him, and continue to listen to him. This continuous process definitely isn't easy (and at this moment, I'll be much more fatigued than usual thinking about 'not wanting to hurt the other party', or 'not wanting to say anything rude'.)

For example, it's like 2 people having a serious Shogi match.

In my delusional conversations, I'm proceeding with all this myself, so I know what the other party will be saying.

For example, I'm playing Shogi by myself. I could cook up the atmosphere of the match and determine the victory. All the moves are dictated by my brain, so it's much easier than having an actual, serious match.

The reason why I'm bad at actually conversing with people in reality is probably because I'm too used to playing Shogi by myself. While under the misunderstanding that 'the conversation will probably go just as I think', whenever they say something unexpected, I'll end up not knowing what to say at all.

“But to me, you look like you're able to converse normally with ordinary people, and you are able to actually do it.”

“That's because I'm basically answering questions...I think answering questions about myself is the simplest form of dialogue.”

“Then, isn't that it!?”

“What?”

“What you talked about when describing the descriptions. Start from the simplest conversation, and then you'll soon improve!”

“Ah, that.”

“Yes, that.”

Though the conversation's full of relative pronouns, I'm glad to be able to talk to her without any concerns. As she had said, I probably never had any talent of talking with people right from the beginning.

Start slowly from the simplest part, and soon after—

“Erm, the conversations the characters in the novel have...is completely different from an actual conversation. I think this is the case not only for a novel, but also for anime or a drama script.”

I racked my brain furiously, and said.

“Yes! I understand that!”

Nitadori agreed for the time being.

I'm glad. There's probably no one unhappy about being acknowledged by others. I once read in a certain book that the basic skill of getting on someone's good side through words is not to deny others.

“It's much more complete and easier to understand than an actual conversation, right?”

Nitadori gave the correct answer. I guess this is to be expected of a professional voice actress that's staring at the script all the time.

In fact, the conversation here is different from a conversation in a novel.

If one's to actually record an actual conversation and fill it out (or write it out), it's obvious that an actual conversation has a lot of colloquial and mistakes. It's really difficult to read text where every line's recorded.

It's after I searched through the internet that I learned that there are 3 methods to record dialogue and convert them into the words. 'transcribe', 'fluffing' and 'editing'.

'Transcribe' will mean adding all the sounds, including 'well', ahh', and all kinds of onomatopoeia, and they're all recorded into words. This is used when there's a need to accurately record the conversation.

'Fluffing' will be to remove those meaningless sounds, or make the bare minimum edits at the parts that are overly strange.

'Editing' will be as the term implies, to reconstruct the text into easy to understand sentences.

“I do feel that this also has something to do with the author's own preferences...but novels basically are 'edited manuscripts'. If I want to give a stammering feeling, I'll add terms like 'well'. If it's a text, I'll add ellipsis.”

“'Ellipsis', as in?”

“The punctuation used to contain sentences...used to describe silence.”

“Eh! I didn't know that.”

“It has 3 dots. Accurately put, there's a rule of thumb to put at least 2 or 4 of these. This punctuation however is based on the author's own preference, and it's the case too in publications other than light novels.”

“What about yourself, sensei?”

“For me, I'll still follow the rule, to add two of these, 6 dots altogether. If there's a need to emphasize silence, I'll double that; in other words, I'll use 12 dots.”

Speaking of ellipsis, I had a little urge to talk about how to write a story, the rules, and all sorts of stuff.

But it'll be way off topic in that case, so I held back.

“Is there anything to take note of with regards to other parts, like dialogue or anything? I want to know more about conversations.”

Nitadori said. I guess this it to be expected of a voice actress.

“Now then, let's talk about a conversation in a novel. I do think there's a very big difference, other than the fact that 'the characters conversation are a lot more polished than an actual conversation'. That is—”

“That is?”

“Character conversations are not exactly meant for each other.”

“Hm? Then, who are they for?”

Nitadori tilted her head, asking, and so I answered,

“For the readers.”

“Ah...I see, so that's how it is...”

“For example, right now, I'm having a conversation with you on the train...”

“Yes.”

Nitadori chimed in, seemingly happy about it. Is this my imagination? But even so, I can't understand what's there to be happy about. It's useless to worry about such things however, so I continued,

“If I'm a character in a novel...I won't be talking to you, Nitadori>'

“...Hm, now that's definitely the case.”

And now she's looking unhappy. I really can't understand her.

“The one I'm talking to is the reader. I'll be portraying this character, and convey to the readers what the author wants to express. That's the kind of impression. Ah, I think I'm getting a little obnoxious here. Sorry.”

“No no. Then, am I talking to the readers too?”

I nodded firmly.

Nitadori then turned her stare to the top right corner of the carriage ceiling,

“Dear readers, hello there. If you find this book to be very interesting, please recommend it to your classmates!”

Her speaking voice was completely different from before, very cute. It can be described as the 'anime voice'.

I couldn't see from this angle—

So I didn't know what sort of expression Nitadori was showing on her face.

The carriage on May 1st is far more packed than how it normally was.

Many people got off midway through the trip, but there were also a lot of commuters on this trip. The free-seating carriage became lively.

There's still no seat in the one seated in front of us, but there's finally a young woman seated at the right side of the aisle, near the window.

In that case, we couldn't converse as we normally did.

And once I wondered that, the woman immediately put on her earphones to listen to music, and closed her eyes.

“Looks like...my sleep magic worked.”

Nitadori said with a serious face,

“Impressive.”

Sleep magic's the most basic of spells in 'Vice Versa', able to cause the inflicted party to be overwhelmed with a great urge to sleep, and prompt them to do so.

And this was a common spell Sin would use in the real world whenever he encountered a tough situation.

Nitadori asked me how I write, and at this point, I only answered the concept planning and a small part of writing itself.

“Well, in the process of writing, what's the next step?”

“Well...”

I start to ponder, and I had little thought,

“I'll digress a little. Is that okay?”

“Go ahead.”

“Now then, when I first started out, I would obviously following a rough outline of the concept or the ideas I thought, and continue to write enthusiastically.”

“Okay.”

“I feel that writing is a job is something that can conceive all kinds of possibilities if you think hard, and yet continue to throw it away.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Well...the novel I had was conceived in my mind. At first, what developed was the ideas, and then, the concept will be formed. At that phase, my story's yet to take shape. That's because, as I had said, I'm not limited by the concepts when writing.”

“Uhum.”

“But once I continue to write, I'll decide on which parts I want to keep. Of course, there are times when I'll rewrite it, or I'll abandon certain scenes...but if I'm happy with the parts I've written, I'll keep that part.”

“Ah, I think I get what you're saying here, sensei.”

“Once I'm done writing a novel, the content will take care, and won't become another story altogether. At this moment, I'll give up other possibilities. The possibilities I give up on will be far more than the possibilities I chose. It's tough giving up on them, but I got no choice. If I don't give up on them, I won't be able to make choices.”

“Just like life.”

Nitadori said with a grim look.

I didn't intend to give such a massive impression; all I wanted was to describe 'how hard it is to give up'.

“Just like life.”

However, I decided to play along.

“Now then, we mentioned the plot, began written, and later...”

I wondered what I was to say next, muttering.

“Can I ask? When did you decide the title of the work? Who decides it?'

Nitadori took a gulp of tea, and reached her hand out to me.

“Ah, thanks. Now then, I'll explain this part first.”

“No problem. Go ahead please.”

I feel that the title's very important.

Either way, the first thing the reader wants to see first is the title and the author (in the world of light novels, the cover is as important too, but I'll leave that for another time). When picking a light novel title, I'm very particular about the readers' impression on the title.

When coming up with a title, it has to be impactful, and also easy to understand.

“Leaving aside the impact first, let's consider the ease of understanding the title. Assuming that there's a book titled 'a Certain murder ', we'll be able to tell what kind of a story it is.”

“Yes, it's a detective novel, right?”

“Yes. This is a classic example, but I feel that all kinds of novels will have similar names, so in that way, the best way is to determine the title of the book. If I want to write a detective novel, I'll do that unless there's a situation where I can't compromise.”

“So, sensei, how did you decide on this light novel title?”

“Hm. In the world of light novels, the title—”

Can only be described as chaotic.

There are all kinds of titles, an entire variety of them.

Some titles are simple enough, including the protagonist's name.

Some titles are formed using the protagonist's name with another noun. 'OO's XX (OO no XX)' is quite common.”

There are also short phrases used to describe the world setting.

At a certain period, there were titles of four hiragana words with exclamation marks added at the back, including anime and manga.

And also, there's one that's often seen currently—

The extremely long titles that can be said to be sentences.

“Ah, yes, those extremely long names are really scary. If they need to be made into anime, when the news for auditions get circulated, everyone would be thinking in surprise, 'Woah, another long one!'”

"I feel that such titles are very popular due to the impactfulness that will leave a great impression. Also, they can add additional 'selling points' into the title, like little sisters, demon lord, class reps, maids, and so on, so I guess it's for convenience sake."

"Ohh...I guess this is a calm analysis only authors can do."

"But stories with extremely long titles isn't just for long titles. Such titles aren't really uncommon in sci-fi. Do you know the original title of the movie 'Blade Runner'?"

"No."

"'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' The Japanese version uses the direct translation, and the English title is this long. There are also some titles that are really long in movies, so I think the trend of titles being so long they're sentences don't simply appear in light novels."

"Hmm...then, sensei, will you use that kind of title?"

After pondering for 3 seconds, I concluded that no, I won't do that. Currently, there's an oversaturation of extremely long titles, so the impact has weakened, and it gets a little stale."

"No, I won't."

Nitadori chuckled, saying,

"I knew you'll say that. I do think that 'Vice Versa' is a wonderful title. It's short, but it conveys the setting well. When I first saw the cover, I was thinking 'wow'."

I wanted to thank her, but instead, I asked her,

"Nitadori...is your English fluent?"

I, who was supposed to be the one answering the questions all this time, actually took the initiative to ask her a personal question. Even I was shocked by this.

"Why...do you think that way?"

She asked.

It seemed she was more startled that 'I got it right', rather than me asking the question. And so, I honestly answered what I thought of,

"Hm, when I was looking for this English term, I realized that a lot of Japanese don't know this at all, and I heard that even the textbooks don't have it. It's commonly used in English conversations however. You knew what it meant the moment you saw the title...and I guess your English conversation skills might be decent."

Nitadori blinked the eyes under the glasses.

"...Amazing work, Sherlock."

Is her English fluent after all? Again I learned something about Nitadori.

"My English's decent, but it's nothing to be proud of, and I never mentioned it to others."

"Understood, I'll keep it a secret at school. Normally, I won't be to talking to anyone anyway.

"You'll have an increase in number of friends soon! Hey...aren't you decent at English yourself? Do I try talking to you in English?"

"Did you forget the 'My Warld The Number First'?"

And while Nitadori was reining in her laughter, I informed her of the origin of the title 'Vice Versa'.

Once I had my world setting, and recorded down the plot—

“Ah, 'Vice Versa' does sound good.”

I just had this feeling, and went along with using it.

As I said before, it's a term I learned from a certain movie. Ever since then, I kept remembering it..

As I said, I suppose most of the Japanese don't know this term, and that's why I named it as such.

In other words, I had it as a selling point,

“I don't know the meaning of the mysterious term, but it sounds cool.”

If the word 'vice' is looked at as an ordinary word, it'll mean 'evil' in English. To a German reader, 'Weiß' would mean 'White'.

When I first started the content of the first volume, I had the English teacher teach Shin the meaning of the term Vice Versa.

I hoped that after the readers read the meaning of the book, they would have a 'I see, the title represents the setting of the world'.

“Ohh...so that means you actually thought hard about it before coming up with the name, right?”

Nitadori looked impressed at first, and then said,

“And you did that to actually reveal one of my secrets so discreetly...I never thought you had such intention.”

I answered,

“Of course. When naming the title, I already expected that we'll be seated on this train 3 years later, on May 1st.”

“As to be expected of you, sensei. You really have a way with things...”

Why however?

I suppose I'm not really good at the Manzai routine, but I could easily handle it if my partner's Nitadori.

I continue to explain about the book title, answering her the question of 'who names the book'.

“First off, the contest entry is obviously titled by the author.”

“Okay.”

“But after winning the award, it seems there's often a change in title.”

I didn't change the title of the work before, so most of these is hearsay. To change the title of a work, there's 3 methods to this. 'the editor-in-charge does it', 'the author comes up with a new name', or 'both people do it'. (Also, there's an example, when the ideas are revealed for a public voting).

What will a modern author do?

It seems it'll be one of the three.

I heard the timeframe for naming a book isn't fixed, and it's decided based on the situation.

As for me, the title of my current work (series), 'Vice Versa' was conceived when I was coming up with the story, as I had said.

And this is what I heard from the editor-in-charge and other authors—

Some will want to think of a cool title, and then expand their thinking from there.

Some will come up with the name when plotting the story (that's me).

Some can't think of the title at all, so they'll first try to come up with a placeholder title. Once the manuscript's done however, they'll decide on the actual title.

Sometimes, the placeholder titles will become the actual title because there aren't any other ideas.

And after hearing this,

“Hey, sensei...”

Nitadori gave a somewhat bemused yet serious look.

“Wh-what is it...?”

And while I answered so timidly, Nitadori asked,

“Sensei, if you have to write such a situation into a novel and give a title to it, what will you do?”

“Huuh!?”

This extremely gaudy question caused me to let out an awkward cry.

“In other words, if you have to come up with a story where you're a protagonist, what'll you call it?”

“...Me—?”

“'Me'?”

“I already fired myself...”

“I know you said it already! If you're to think about it again, what'll you do? In fact, at this age, you're already a light novel author, and your work's adapted into an anime. That's just like a light novel protagonist, isn't it?”

“...I never thought of that before.”

“How about it? If you try thinking about it, what will you title your book?”

“...”

I began to think.

After thinking over and over again, letting Nitadori wait for about a minute, I muttered,

“Erm, 'No Longer Human'?”

Nitadori was a little peeved to hear such an answer, saying,

“Isn't that blatant copying?”

“Then, 'No Longer Protagonist'?”

“Like it has changed much!”

The train moved into the city.

It's already dark outside, and the carriage's starting to buzz.

I already explained the concept planning, writing, and the title. What's next?

Do I start from the part after writing the script?

“Is there anything you'll pay particular note to when writing? Like something you have to pay attention to?”

Nitadori asked.

“Other than the deadline?”

“Other than the deadline.”

“Hm...there are a few things.”

It's trivial, but since she asked, I thought of it, so I decided to ask her.

When writing, I'll follow the 2 pages, 34 lines, 42 characters per line 'Dengeki Bunko format', horizontally.

I'll occasionally write the text in vertical manner, and then use the 'print preview' function in Word to view the publication layout when converted into Dengeki Bunko format.

Some may think, in that case, why don't I simply do it in vertical format instead. As I had explained it long ago however, I'm already used to landscape, so I don't intend to change that.

When checking through the layout, if I find the words to be too crammed,

I'll increase the name of lines.

“Eh? Why do you do that?”

“Because the priority is 'readability'.

A light novel's the first novel most people would have read in their lives.

That was the impression I had through the fan letters I got and the online book reviews. To me, who grew up living with books, I really was surprised that 'many read books for the first time after entering Middle or High School'.

But any point is a starting point.

And after saying this, I realized I got many things 'I have yet to start on'.

Once I realized that light novels are 'an entrance that conveys the interesting aspects of novels', and bore the mission to guide people to interact with books, I started to have an idea.

For the sake of those who have yet to touch books, I want to try my best to make my work easy to read.

For those who have yet to have the habit of reading books, what kind of books are easy to read?

I feel,

First off, the sentences; it's best if I abstain from using too many difficult sentences. As I said before, i actually fulfilled this, unexpectedly.

The next one should be the impression the pages give a reader.

Rather than cram pages with words,

I suppose it's better to leave some spaces when at certain intervals.

When writing, I'll occasionally end up in situations where 'I'm in a groove'.

That's a wonderful moment where my thoughts simply flow.

During that situation, I don't have time to think of aligning the text, and the words will often be cramped.

Thus, I'll look at the text calmly, and then add in more spaces.

When writing, I typically don't adhere to a certain amount of text per chapter. At most, I'm guessing a certain number of pages per part, (for 'Vice Versa', I'll divide each chapter as around 30 to 50 pages).

And so, the amount of spacing to increase the number of pages won't be much of an issue.

If it's like a magazine or a newspaper, the column size does have a limit, and I most probably can't do it as I please.

“I see. So you prioritize readability, and not let the words be too crammed. Anything else you take particular note for?”

After thinking for a few seconds, I answered,

“The names of the characters, I guess. I'm always bothered by it.”

“Really? Bothered about what?”

“The one thing I really have to take note is to make sure the names don't clash with any real life celebrities or characters in other works.”

“It's still tough having to come up with names for so many people, right? How do you come up with names for your own characters?”

“It seems like some will name characters according to certain rules. For example...I know that a certain manga has all its names based on prefectures.”

“Then what about 'Vice Versa'? How do you go about naming it?”

“Other than Shin and Sin, there's basically no rules for most of the characters, especially the characters in Reputation. I'll just use names that I think are cool. Characters like Pluto are as such. As for 'Side Shin', the characters with Japanese names are actually, randomly named...just as long as they don't clash.”

“So...how do you check on that?”

“It's easy to do so now. Just search through the internet for any names you think of.”

“I see!”

“I'll use it if it's not a name or family name that clashes with characters from other works, or any name that clashes with any celebrities in real life.”

“Then...what about Meek?”

The eyes under Nitadori's glasses were as serious as she showed during the After Record.

At this point, a strong impulse arose in my heart.

Ah, I see.

This person in front of me is the voice actress portraying Meek.

“Homunculi like Meek are the only exceptions. There's a rule to their naming.”

I answered, and Nitadori suddenly leaned her body and face towards me.

“What rules?”

Too close. The glasses are too close to me.

I tilted my body slightly back, and Nitadori too reverted back to her original position.

“What rules?”

She asked a second time. Looks like she really wants to know.

Well, it's to be expected. It's the character she's going to portray in the future, and it's the first official named character she's acting the role of.

Tomorrow, Meek will be appearing for the first time in the After Record for the 5th episode.

She'll debut for a few minutes, and actually talk to Shin.

I've been wondering, have I actually told anyone how I got Meek's name.

I didn't remember if I actually said this to the editor-in-charge.

I also didn't remember if I actually mentioned it during the anime script meeting.

If I've yet to tell anyone,

Nitadori will be the first one to know.

Well, I guess it's fine to tell her this.

I immediately had an answer.

She's a colleague, and someone who'll keep secrets. There won't be problems even if I do tell her.

It's noisy inside the carriage, but for added safety, I hushed my voice as much as possible to answer her.

“The names of the Homunculi actually originate from Russian.”

“Eh...Russian...?”

“Before that, do you know of the 'Naming Dictionary'?”

“No.”

She shook her head slightly, and I explained to her.

As the term implied, the naming dictionary is a dictionary for names.

It records all sorts of terms in languages of more than 10 countries, marketed as 'Convenient for naming products, companies and shops'.

The first column's basically English, followed by French, German, Italian, Spanish, and so on. The number of languages recorded in each book's different.

I too have such a naming dictionary. When coming up with names for 'Vice Versa', I'll find a good katakana name for characters.

And as this is really convenient.

I do feel that for authors, or anyone aspiring to be authors, it's not a bad thing to have a naming dictionary with them at all times. The naming dictionary can also be classified for ordinary types, fantasy worlds, or even military.

The name Миг was what I found when I was flipping through the book. It sounded cute, so I memorized it.

Readers would often mention this name in their review, but I want to say, the name Миг wasn't meant to imitate that famous voice synthesis software cum popular character.

“Then what does the name mean in Russian?”

Nitadori's stare was intense. I could feel the rage from the anxiety she had after I explained the naming dictionary to her.

I didn't want to get bitten to death, so I answered,

“It means 'instance'.”

“Instance...”

Nitadori muttered softly..

“Instance...”

And again she did.

Once she understood the meaning of the name of the character she's portraying.

I don't know what this voice actress is actually thinking.

But what I'm thinking inside is, 'Good thing I didn't come up with an indecent name for this character'.

The other homunculi are also named based on Russian, and currently, there's more than 10 of them.

Свет (Svet) means visible light, and that's still decent.

Лес (Les) means forest. Speaking of which, this particular homunculus is in the country of the deserts, so the setting's different from the name, at least.

Доска (Doska) means blackboard. He's a handsome young man, but his name is a blackboard.

Складки (Skladki) means folds. She's a pretty girl

Гриб (Grib) actually means mushroom.

Пугало (Pugalo) actually means scarecrow...

That was close.

I nearly ended up in a situation where I'll be saying,

“The name of the character you're portraying actually means 'mushroom' (or 'scarecrow')!”

That really was close.

“Instance...”

Nitadori kept her head lowered, and I added on with the explanation,

“In English terms, it'll mean 'moment'. I think it's a similar pronunciation in Russian, and the reason I actually remembered it well is because before I actually confirmed the name, I did check for info on the internet. Meek sounds cuter though, so I decided to use it.”

This really is off topic, which I never said to Nitadori,

'In Russian pronunciation, 'Миг' can be read as 'MiG'.

As for 'MiG', that'll be the famous fighter jet manufacturer. The company manufactured lots of fighter jets, like the MiG-25 or the MiG-29.

Anyway, the company has nothing to do with this 'Meek'.

Some fans will submit their illustrations onto the internet, and one of them has Meek standing in front of a MiG-21. I really like that illustration, so I had it saved.

There's another thing I haven't told Nitadori.

Meek actually means 'Instance', so I had a thought that sooner or later, it'll become a topic somewhere.

It's rare to get a meaningful name, so when I talked about 'Instance', I'll add the name 'Meek' in furigana by the side, coolly emphasizing this point.

I thought of that, but I haven't used that.

If I don't hurry with it, I guess I won't be able to use it even if I want to.

Thinking about that, I reached my hand towards the tea by the windowsill.

“Thanks for telling me all of this. I had been wondering about it all this time.”

“Eh?”

The formal language from the seat on the right side really shocked me.

Turning my head aside, I found Nitadori there, staring at me.

“?”

Once she saw my surprised look, she too was taken aback. Looking at her expression, it looks like she hadn't realized she used formal language.

I was thinking that it wasn't good to pursue the matter, so I did my best to say in an earnest voice,

“Erm...don't mind me. I'm looking forward...to the After Record tomorrow.”

“Yes! Please allow me to do that! I will do my best tomorrow!”

Again, she spoke in formal language.

I felt a shock in face of the sudden bombardment of formal language. This conversation's too impactful, so I'll occasionally add such a writing style in my work. I never thought I'll actually get this experience however.

Nitadori,

Probably got into 'work mode'.

To me, I really wish she would stop with the formal language as before.

While thinking about it for a little while, she suddenly stood up, saying,

“Please excuse me for a while.”

And then, she immediately went through the automatic doors behind us.

The train passes through some tunnels that are rather long, moving through smoothly. It's a pretty, lush mountainous area around here, but it has become rather dim outside the window, so there's not much scenery to be seen even after leaving the tunnel.

It's still noisy inside the carriage. Looks like Nitadori had cast a really powerful spell, for that woman's still affected by it. I hope that she's getting off at the terminal however.

Nitadori has yet to return. I'm not really picky about her taking too long; it's useless to be picky about it if she's headed to the toilet.

I was only thinking,

“Ah, so nice.”

Potato chips go best with sea salt after all.

“Ah, kept you waiting.”

Once I was done finishing the potato chips, Nitadori managed to recover, and returned. Did she wash off her 'work mode' with water? Or did she hand it off to someone else?

As usual, she had her hair tidied, let her hair drape in front and behind her chest, before sitting down quickly.

“Now that we mentioned 'concept, writing, title, character naming'—”

Nitadori said,

“Can I conclude this as 'this is a volume done' for the time being'?”

“No problems.”

“Then, what will an author do next? Is there anything to take note?”

Listening to the question, I pondered.

Nitadori's asking some really detailed questions. Is she planning to write a novel herself?

But I did remember her saying not long before 'I don't intend to register'.

In that case, I guess a certain acquaintance of hers want to be an author for some reason.

Or maybe that she's already an author, and I don't know? Is she a voice actress and an author? Is she planning to get intel beneficial to her from a rival?

Once I had my delusions till that point, I decided to return to reality.

“Now then, assuming that I've completed a volume worth of manuscript, it's now the work to check through it, and then complete the elaboration (or bump and knock).”

“Bump and knock?” (TN Non-snark: 推敲)

Nitadori asked.

It's a term taught in elementary language classes, and I thought everyone knew this.

Perhaps Nitadori was on leave that day, so I explained.

Elaboration would be to read through the text over and over again, and add on.

There is a origin to this term. A certain Chinese poet was wondering,

“Which one do I use? Bump or knock?”

While walking, he bumped into an official and his men.

That official, a man of literature himself, said,

“'Knock' is better.”

And having said that, the poet decided.

So, by connecting the two words, that term came about.

“Eh, it's the first time I knew about this. Thanks.”

“Erm, do mind it. Assuming that I'm done with writing a novel, the bump and knock's done for the moment.”

So what will I do next? I'll send the manuscript to the editor-in-charge, get him to read through, an check through it.

For practically all the authors, including me,

When we talk about 'sending the manuscript', we're talking about email.

I'll attach the Word document to the email, and press the send button.

Thus, there's no need for the editor-in-charge to come over and get the manuscript, and I don't have to send the actual physical copy over.

I can send the file from anywhere in the world. With a computer and internet around, I can work anywhere in the world.

“You aren't in Tokyo at the moment anyway, sensei. Are there many authors working outside the capital?”

“Amongst the authors I see at the end of year party, most of the authors are living in Kanto, including Tokyo, followed by Kansai. There are a few living far away. The end-of-year party is a rare chance to get all these people gathered.”

“I see.”

I'll get back to talking about email attachments.

Before adding the word document to the email, I'll add '111' to the back of the file, before sending it out.

This refers to the '1st manuscript'. A single '1' is enough, to avoid mixing up the volume numbers, I'll add three repeated numbers before sending it out.

“And once the editor-in-charge's done checking, and you edit it, it'll become the 2nd manuscript'?”

“That's the case. I'll add '222' at the back of the file.”

“Then, how many manuscripts do you have to do?”

“Well, before this...I think it's better to explain to you the discussion meeting and the review. What do you think?”

“In that case, go ahead with it, sensei.”

The editor-in-charge will be in charge of checking through the manuscript, and review it.

Writing's difficult, but so is review. Sometimes, reviewing the work's worse than writing it.

After I send the manuscript, the editor-in-charge will have to spend days, or even a week to check through it. If he can't get the time to do it, this period will be lengthened.

And then, the editor-in-charge will notify me of a meeting time and date. There are mainly two methods to this,

One of them is to hold a meeting through the phone, and the other's to meet face to face.

“I can understand a meeting through the phone...but meeting directly will mean, that the editor-in-charge will be looking for you?”

I shook my head,

“I think that some authors and editors-in-charge will do this, but I haven't done that. I've always been going to Tokyo. I'll hold meetings through the phone sometimes, but to be honest, I think a face to face meeting's better. There are some parts in particular that need editing, and a face-to-face meeting right from the get go will do.”

I'll head to Tokyo according to the date.

2 years ago, when I was in 10th grade, all the meetings will be held on Friday nights. For me however, I'll ask the editor-in-charge to spare time for me.

After school, I would hurry towards the station, take the Rapid Express before this one, which leaves at around 3pm.

And so, I'll be able to reach the editorial branch at Idabashi before 7pm.

We would use the conference table beside the editorial branch. I heard that some will hold meetings in restaurants or cafe, but to be honest, I really don't want to do this, for I'm worried that the people will eavesdrop on what we're talking about, or things get leaked. Anyway, I can't hold the meetings with a peace of mind.

The meeting's typically around 2 hours long, and if longer, about 3 hours.

“That's rather long...so in detail, how do you proceed with the meeting?”

“First, erm, the meeting basically starts with the editor-in-charge saying 'this is very interesting', or something, I guess? That'll let me feel relieved, since it's not a situation where, 'I can't use this story at all'.”

“Can't use at all? That means—”

“Yeah, that's how it is. It's scary if I can't use the story at all. Anyway, it means 'this story's meaningless, so I can't use it'.”

“In that case...what'll happen next?”

“Of course, I'll have to rewrite.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

“Have you encountered a situation where you can't use the story at all...?”

Actually I haven't got this at all.

So when I said that, it's just me imagining things.

As I had said before, once I submit my concept, once the editor-in-charge agrees with my ideas, I'll begin writing.

But even so, it's as what I said before. It's very rare to have the original concept being exactly the same as the manuscript.

No matter how interesting the concept is, if the novel isn't interesting, or if the completion's too little, or if any of these two occur, the editor-in-charge might not use this at all.

After chatting with other authors, I learned that there are actually many authors who had stories that were scrapped.

Will this happen to me some day?

I felt terrified every time.

“How interesting—”

Even though such a reply will give me relief, I still can't let my guard down.

Every single time, the editor-in-charge will pose me lots of issues.

“So, how does the editor-in-charge raise them?”

“I feel that at first, they'll start from the entire plot process. This is the part with the most need for change. Both the editor-in-charge and I will use the term 'Drastic changes'; this is the part that really needs a lot of changes, so even if all the trivial parts are pointed out, it's meaningless.”

“I see. Are there examples where you need drastic changes?”

“For example, 'the entire story flow feels a little unnatural', or 'a certain scene is too long', or 'the story development needs to be changed completely', or something...”

Once there are parts that require drastic changes, the situation gets really tiring. It's not as bad as being unable to use it, but the editing part really is important.

Okay, leaving aside the 1st volume where I needed 3 revisions, there was one time in my experience when I needed a drastic change in the 3rd volume.

The editor-in-charge pointed out that the final battle was too long.

The battle against Pluto in the first volume was really long, and I thought I did good for that, so I got cocky and said that I wanted to get a high, but the results weren't as good.

The editor-in-charge pointed out that the battle part was too long, so I made heavy cuts on the battle scenes in the 3rd volume.

It's like a woman who had a breakup, and had a haircut. I'm not a woman though, and I never had a breakup.

“Eh! Then, did your first love succeed?”

The moment I mentioned the haircut example, Nitadori responded very enthusiastically. Really I found her to be girlish given how interested she was in regards to 'love topics'.

“So, sensei...how's your girlfriend like?”

I knew this Nitadori was asking a rhetorical question.

“I have yet to receive a confession from anyone till this point...”

“Why the formal language?'

“Why exactly...?”

I guess a person with neither friends nor girlfriend is probably an alien.

And I'm not an alien. Inductive reasoning complete.

Back on point,

I revert the topic back to the cutting of the manuscript.

Because of this, I cut a lot of parts from the original fight scene.

And the number of enemies that originally appeared in battle was reduced in half. A few would have appeared in other scenes, but even though there were some named characters, I scrapped them.

Looking at the results however, I felt this correction was really appropriate.

The battle description was simple, short, and compact, and I could add on the relaxing scenes later. Those scenes would become plot points later on.

“When there's no need for drastic changes, the editor-in-charge will typically say 'I'll explain it from the beginning'. In other words, he'll list all all the issues from the beginning, in chronological order. He'll then specify the problem, like maybe the story structure's shoddy, the meaning hard to convey, or basic mistakes like typing errors or wrong kanji.”

“At this moment, will you be looking at the printed manuscript?”

“That was how it went at first. The editor-in-charge will use the printer in the branch to print two copies, one of them for me. He'll also mark out the issues in red pen, which I call 'red marks'. After that, I'll follow the red marks and edit the manuscript on the computer.”

“I see. But you just said 'that was how it went at first', right? What about now?”

Nitadori asked the obvious question.

And I answered,

“I'll bring my laptop to the meeting.”

At the end of the year when I made my debut as an author, I received the publication fees for the 2nd volume that was released that October.

About money, I'll leave that for later (if I'm asked)—

Anyway, I used that money to buy a little laptop.

It's thin and small, not troublesome even if I put it in a bag and bring it around. Also, I actually bought a brand new model, and managed to pay it off in one go.

And using this laptop, I could work on my way to and fro, or in the hotel. This really helped me out.

The large laptop I first bought was old, but it wasn't faulty, so even after 4 years, I'll continue to use it. When connecting to the internet at home, I'll use the large one. If I have to be picky about it, the operating speed's a little slow, but this won't cause me any problems.

It's very helpful to have 2 computers for work. In case one breaks down, I can continue to work.

I once read in a certain book that professionals always have a spare just in case, but the one stating it in the book was a cameraman.

I'll typically bring that laptop, which I bought with my own money, to meetings.

At first, I would edit the red marks that night in the hotel in a handwritten manner, but,

“Actually...my handwriting...not nice at all...”

“Eh? —Really!?”

“Yes...that's right.”

I never thought Nitadori would be that surprised.

I suppose she never did see my handwriting; no, actually, I did write something on the blackboard during class. Back then, I did my best trying to write.”

“Erm...and then?”

“Hm, there are times when I can't read my own handwriting...”

“...”

This really isn't something to be proud of.

But I really couldn't do anything about it.

At first, after having my meeting with the editor-in-charge, I'll write words on the script in red pen. My handwriting's so atrocious however that there are times when I don't know what I'm writing.

When writing, I still remember the points he pointed out. If I think of how to edit it, I'll record it down.

But there's naturally a lot of parts I need to edit.

After 3 hours, I couldn't remember the parts the editor-in-charge asked me to edit.

And in that situation, there are times when I'm troubled because I can't read my own red words.

“Ahh! What did he say is the problem here!”

And such situations just kept increasing (at this moment, I'm left at my wits' end and have to call the editor-in-charge.)

So I decided to bring a laptop to the meetings.

So in other words, at the conference table—

The editor-in-charge will have the printed manuscript, while I'll be looking at the laptop screen.

Of course, I wouldn't forget to first add a '222' at the back of the file name.

Once he points out the errors, I'll immediately move the mouse. If it's skipping lots of pages, I'll use the search function to move to that page.

And when he mentions the issue,

I'll edit it immediately if it can be done easily. A mistype or a wrong word can be classified as such.

The advantage of this is that the editor-in-charge can make the corrections immediately.

If the issue requires a longer time to explain, I'll leave a few spaces and add what's the need, like,

“I need more lines here.”

“I need to cut a lot here.”

“I need to make this scene match the last one”

Or things like that.

“As for the time required to edit the manuscript...if there's a need to edit a lot of it, it'll take about a week. If there's ample time until the next deadline, I can spend a few more days. I'll then complete the second manuscript and send it to the editor-in-charge again.”

“And the editor-in-charge will check through it again?”

“Yeah. He'll check if the parts are edited, and find mistakes. Of course, there'll be far fewer mistakes in the second one than in the first one—or I'll cry.”

“Haha.”

“If there's no need for me to head down to the editorial branch again, the second and third draft review will be done through the phone. When calling through the phone, I'll put my cellphone in hands-free mode and put it in front of my laptop, holding my meeting this way. He'll call me, and since it'll typically be a long talk, 30 minutes will be considered quite short. There was once when we talked for 2 hours.”

“I see...there's something I'll like to ask first.”

“Go ahead.”

“When the editor-in-charge tells you 'this part needs correction', do you feel hurt about it? This novel conveys all your ideas, right? Even if it's a small part, you won't feel angry or hurt to hear 'please edit this part' will you?”

“No, practically not.”

I simply replied.

As a professional author.

In other words, since a publisher's willing to publish my books, and I can obtain a publishing fee—

The work I write has to be checked by the editor-in-charge.

If I think I'm completely rejected because my work's denied, and I sink into depression,

I can't be a professional author.

A long time before I became an author, probably 5th grade, I once saw a prose with such content.

I don't know who the author was, probably a bestselling author.

Back then, I only thought 'I see'. When I had the potential to be a professional author myself however, I suddenly thought of it, and I couldn't forget about it.

Of course, if I encountered a situation I can't back down on no matter what, I'll insist until the very end.

To insist until the very end...in fact, such a situation's very rare.

When our opinions clash, I'll typically back down and edit the parts.

I've been doing that till this point, and the books were a hit, so I felt I should simply do that.

After emphasizing this part clearly, I added on,

“I haven't ended up in a situation where the story doesn't get picked up at all...maybe I'll be really sad if I do end up encountering that. At the end-of-year party, I think a senior writer I met said 'if your work doesn't get picked up many times, it'll get really depressing'.”

I can only imagine it in reality, but that definitely hurts.

“That's...tough.”

Nitadori probably felt the same too as she lamented.

“Now then, I'll get to the part 'how many versions must I do'.”

“Okay.”

“Typically, I'll finalize things at the 3rd manuscript.”

“Finalize, as in?”

“It simply means completing the manuscript. I'll think of it as 'sending the completed, edited manuscript out' though. That part basically means the job is done. The deadline will typically mean that the story's to be finalized on a certain month, certain day.”

“I see. So that means you're done with your best.”

“Yeah, but even though the writing's done, I still have a lot of things to do before the novel gets published.”

I've explained things to the 'finalized' part, but an author's work doesn't end here. It's easier than writing, but there's a lot of things to do.

I look at the watch, and find that we'll reach the destination in an hour. I leave the seat again, washed my hands in the toilet, and returned to my seat.

I've taken this trip several times, and it'll take about 3 hours from the station nearest to my house to the terminal. Back then, I would read books, listen to music, space out, record down the ideas I thought of, or work on my laptop.

I never thought that I would be seated side by side with my female classmate (though she's a year younger), chatting non stop.

And she's a voice actress, to boot.

And she's actually acting in the anime adaptation of my novel.

“Kept you waiting!”

“I waited for you! Now then, please go through the process after the finalization!”

“I'll feel very relaxed after the finalization's done, freedom, a sense of liberty, like 'Great! It's over!' Some authors will say stuff like 'feels like I just broke out from hell'. Well, but my thinking's more like 'okay, time to write the next work'.”

“...Eh? You aren't going out to play?”

“Right now, I feel that I'm enjoying myself writing. When I first finalized my script, I had a sense of accomplishment over having finished something, so I think such a feeling will prompt me to work on the next story.”

“A-a workaholic? Are you a workaholic, sensei?”

“I guess...but as I said before, the work doesn't end here.

Now then, what'll happen to the manuscript after it's finalized?

After the editor-in-charge does the final checks, there's a need to do a cross check.

The manuscript will be printed in the exact layout as the print book, and they are then handed to the reviewers.

“Reviewers...what are they?”

Nitadori asked. It's not commonly heard, so I guess it's not strange for her not to know.

“Reviewers means that they check whether there's a mistake in the work. That's what they do.”

“Oo...”

“There's also the term proofreaders. Have you heard of it?”

“I think I heard of it. Is there a difference?”

“I got curious once and checked on it. There's actually a major difference between them. Simply put, proofreaders check that the original manuscript is the same as the printed work.”

“Eh? What about reviewers? Is there another work?”

“Reviewers check if there are mistakes in the Japanese, whether the plot is logical, whether there are factual inaccuracies, all kinds of checks, actually.”

“What are factual inaccuracies...any examples?”

“For example—”

I spent three seconds thinking of a good example, and said,

“Assuming that I have a line in the text 'I'm head to the capitol of USA, New York City.”

“So the reviewer will point it out to you, saying, 'the capitol's actually Washington D.C.. You made a mistake'. Right?”

“That's right. But...this line may be correct.”

“Yeah. It'll be correct, if it had just gained independence, that is.”

Nitadori answered without thinking, and I was really surprised by it.

I read through many books, and accumulated lots of useless trivia, but I never expected Nitadori to actually give the correct answer immediately.

“Correct...back then, the capitol was New York City. If the story's set in that era, it's correct not to edit it in that situation. The reviewers have to be particular about that. Of course, if there's a mistake in the information the author found, and wrote it as 'Capitol, Philadelphia', the reviewer too has to say 'looking at the year and date, the capitol's still in New York City' and point out the error.”

“Wow. This job's tough—I see. So that's why the original manuscript has to be handed for a professional check.”

“That's the case. On a side note, the term required is review, but some authors can understand if you use the term proofread.”

When I debuted, I too didn't know the difference between review and proofread, and of course, I couldn't differentiate between the two.

In the following explanation, there'll be certain professional terms. For experienced authors and editors, those might be common terminologies, but they might be foreign to most ordinary people. In other words, most people who just became authors won't be familiar with those terms.

“Erm...what does that mean?”

A rookie will keep asking the editor-in-charge this question as they create their won work.

I too couldn't explain what I was doing when I was doing the first 4 volumes or so. The editor-in-charge was just telling me 'edit it like this. Then this.” and I would follow.

“Erm, there'll be some professional terms used later on...”

I prefaced with those words, and explained,

“The book and the manuscript printouts are both called 'Galley proof', or simply 'gally'. More people will use the term 'galley', and I've been using the same term too.”

“Galley...what does that mean?”

“Well, I too was curious as to why it's called 'galley', so I did my research through the internet.”

“The internet's really convenient. And so?”

“After that, I found that the term originated from a Galley ship. It's an old type of ship, with many oars on the flanks, and the slaves or soldiers will keeping rowing. That's called a Galley.”

“Galley, is it? Such a term can refer to a kitchen on a boat or a plane.”

“You really know your stuff, Nitadori.”

“Eh? I'm glad that you're praising me, but there's no benefit of that, you know?”

“I'm just stating my honest thoughts. Not really praising you there, actually?”

“Besides, I got lots of things I don't know of. Not as impressive as the internet, at least.”

“You're being humble again.”

“Okay, keep on talking.”

“Okay, continuing on, why is a galley ship involved with printing—”

Back then, when talking about printing, it'll refer to the movable type printing.

“What's that?”

“Eh? That's...”

She's not acting humble now, is she?

Movable type printing refers to the use of metal word molds, line them up, and then use that to print. It's a lot easier than to 'copy' or 'woodblock printing', where the printing can't work if a part of the mold can't be used.

This was one of the three great inventions that prompted the European Renaissance (the other two being the compass and gunpowder). Humans were able to provide books for more people using such a cheap, quick manner.

“I see...”

“You never attended history class in middle school?”

“Well...I guess I probably fell asleep back then? Anyway, please continue with the Galley ships.”

A single word required movable type blocks, so there's a need for many of these to print out an entire page. Once the words are chosen, people will put the words on the platter. That platter has something to do with the ship, so people call the ship Galley.

I don't know who said it, but someone from somewhere once said,

“It's really crammed and packed inside, like the oars of an old Galley ship haha.”

Anyway, that's what happened.

The term galley ended up being a term used to check if there is an error printing the words.

And people began to call it galley proofing, a review of the manuscript.

Galley printing soon became used for reviewing script, and then it became a 'reviewed manuscript'.

In this example, people in modern society no longer use printing techniques, and they're all printed from a computer, but the term used in the past still lives on.

“Eh...I learned something.”

“Well, that doesn't really involve an author's work actually...”

“I know what's reviewing now. Will this come out in the test, sensei?”

We're off-topic, so back to the point.

“Erm, which part did I explain to...?”

“To the part where your manuscript becomes a basis for comparison, and handed to the reviewer'.”

“I see, thanks.”

“Don't mind.”

Once the review script's printed, it'll be handed to the reviewers.

This action is called 'first check'. It's the first check (or review), so that's the term.

The next one's called the 'second check'.

The first and second checks refer to the actions,

But sometimes, it can also refer to the review script, so it gets a little complicated.

From here on, I wouldn't omit the 'script' part when talking about it.

So when the reviewers print the first review script and do all kinds of checks—

I'll receive a 'duplicate'. To be precise, it's a duplicate copy.

Anyway, it's the exact same printed copy as the one sent to the reviewers.

As the author, I'll have to reread this manuscript and check through it.

This action's called the 'author's corrections', or simply put 'author's review'.

Basically, at this step, I just need to 'check for missing, or incorrect words, check if there's anything else wrong.

“But then, the more I look at the paragraphs or text, the more I'll take note about them. I've reread it many times when writing, but I'll keep finding parts where the text, or pacing is worse off.”

“What will you do in such situations?”

“I'll try to correct it as best as I can.”

It's a printed story, so I need to mark out the parts that need correction in red pen, and note down how I'm supposed to go about doing it.

On a side note, correcting the manuscript with a red pen is also called 'red correction'.

When editing the manuscript, the editor-in-charge will use what's called a 'correction symbol'.

These are symbols designed to accurately convey how to correct the text. For example, if there's a need to swap the top and bottom lines, he'll use a reverse S shape symbol. The top lines will be on the top of the lines, and the bottom line at the bottom.

I didn't know that at all, so I wrote down a rather complicated, unique method of correction.

And the editor-in-charge kept asking me.

“So, what does this mean?”

Leaving aside the correction symbols,

If I'm holding a first review duplicate copy, and I want to make major changes to it no matter what,

And my biggest thought is “I want to rewrite this page!”

“Can you do that?”

Nitadori asked.

The answer is yes, I can.

“It's actually not that impressive...there's a method called 'swapping entire pages'.”

As the term implies, I'll rewrite what I want to rewrite, and send an email saying 'please use this for page OOO). Sometimes, I'll end up swapping out many pages.

“But...I do think it's best to avoid major changes like 'swapping pages'.”

That's because that if I'm to make full page changes at this phase, the page will end up not passing the first review.

I thought the act that if time allows, I hope to improve the manuscript.

But if I don't tell myself,

“That's enough. It's complete.”

From time to time, I'll end up correcting it over and over again.

It's ideal to finish the work at the finalized part.

“Though I think this way...”

“But life isn't that easy, huh?”

“Now then—once the reviewers finish the first review, the review copy will be returned back to the editorial branch. Thus, I'll finish the author's review before the deadline.”

I divert my topic back to the process.

“I have to do two things. First is to hand the manuscripts with my red marks to the editor-in-charge, and second, to check through the first review the reviewers did.”

Nitadori titled her head, asking,

“Hm? I get the first one...but why the second?”

When reviewers find out an extremely obvious error during the checks—

For example, like 'there's no period at the end of the paragraph', 'the furigana's completely wrong', they'll correct it with red pen.

But there are times when the reviewers end up 'unable to tell if it's wrong', and they'll mark the questionable parts with pencil.

Basically, only the authors can edit the text.

The editor-in-charge and reviewers won't make changes at will.

I have to be in charge of the red marks, and also answer all the issues marked in pencil.

“Then, what kind of issues will the reviewers point out?”

“All kinds of them—”

In fact, every reviewer has their own style of pointing out issues, and the frequency of them.

The reviewers of Dengeki Bunko are basically outsourced, so I can't tell if they're all done by the same people.

I don't know the reviewers names, and I don't know what kind of people they are.

But if I have to say something—

Thank you for everything you did.

“The most common issue here is probably the difference between the words displayed, and the furigana. In other words 'mismatched terms'.”

“Mismatched terms...for example?”

“At a certain point, the term 'produced' can be read in three different ways, and the terms used my be different elsewhere, or the katakana for bodyguard isn't consistent. In katakana terms, some add the black 'middle dot', and some don't.”

(TN: Bodyguard can be read as 'ボディーガード' or 'ボディガード'. Just a lengthened middle for the first. Produced can be read as '生みだす', '生みだす' or '产み出す'. All three are read as Umidasu)

“I see.”

“Also, there are often cases of people pointing out the strange use of 'Teniwoha'.”

“Teniwoha'?”

“That's...basically the usage of particles.”

“Women? Girls?” (TN: 助詞 and 女子 have the same pronunciation, Joshi, じょし)

“No, how am I supposed to use girls?”

“Erm...for bad things?”

“I'll get arrested by the police, so don't say it. The particle here refers to the Japanese particles used to help convey the meaning.”

“Ah, ahh...I know that.”

“You should be knowing that, right?”

“I-I guess? So in other words, the use of particles is called 'Teniwoha', and some people will point your mistakes in them, right?”

“Right. When I'm too engrossed, the particles gets weird, like I can't differentiate between the use of 'ga' and 'ha', and that's still okay. Sometimes, there are lines that don't look Japanese at all...most of the problems will be pointed out by the editor-in-charge, and the missed parts will be corrected by the reviewers.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“Anything else...like a basic, stupid mistake...it's embarrassing talking about it...but I did mess up on the characters back then.”

Even I didn't know why I would be making such mistakes.

When writing the 5th volume of Vice Versa, I kept mistaking the names of two characters, and it lasted for 20 pages.

The bearded old man's using female pronouns, and the beautiful lady's saying things like

“I'd say that I don't understand.”

Once the editor-in-charge pointed it out, my face paled. I really wonder what'll happen if the book's published like that…

“Also, I did make such mistakes before...8 people fall into a hole. 3 died. How many people escaped?”

“If we're not considering that Shin died, 5.”

“Yeah, this is elementary math. In the original manuscript however, it ended up as 4...”

“Wow...”

“It's fine for you to laugh out loud, you know?”

“No need for that. Anyone can make mistakes.”

“Thanks. Sigh, I got such mistakes pointed out several times. Also, when 'the author does the author check', I'll definitely use a pencil or a mechanical pencil.”

“Why?”

“Because the editor-in-charge will be making corrections in red pen at the top, indicating 'this problem appeared before, and I corrected it'. I heard that this stuff will be kept.”

“Eh!?”

“So I typically use a multipen with red and black ballpoint inks and a mechanical pencil function. I keep it with me at all times.”

“Ohh! You brought it along today too? What does it look like?”

“Wait.”

I stood up to show her the real thing, turned my body around, and reached for the rack.

There's a pen pouch attached outside the bag, and I had two of them stuffed in there; one of them's a spare. I took a pen, sat down, and handed it to Nitadori.

“Oh, so this is your good partner, sensei? Looks classy!”

Nitadori marveled in an ostentatious tone. Actually, this is cheap stuff, nothing too fancy. I guess they do sell them in convenience stores too.

“So in the future, when your memorium is built, this pen will be used for display, right?”

No, that's not the case.

Speaking of which, I never thought about building a memorium or something. If someone has that much money, please use it for aid relief.

I stick that pen into the chest pocket, and continue explaining,

“I'll hold my mechanical pencil and check through the first review that went through checking. Sometimes, I'll add some stickies if there are problems, but I'll typically flip through the entire manuscript page by page.”

And then, assuming that I can see the parts from the reviewers,

and if I agree to them, and hope to make such changes in the text,

I'll use the mechanical pencil to mark the part with a large circle, writing 'please do this'.

In contrast, if I feel there's no need to correct it,

I'll mark it with a cross.

Sometimes, I'll write down 'please leave it as this'

“Please leave it as this?”

“It has nothing to do with mothers.”

(TN: Text has it as Mama de. You know what Mama is.)

“Ah, I see.”

I'm really grateful to the corrections by the reviewers, but there are a lot of parts I wish to maintain. Looking at my situation, there are some moments where I'll leave strange Japanese in the conversations, so I'll mark all those suggestions with crosses.

And so, I continue to flip through about 150 pages per volume, (around 300 pages per book), checking through them.

Sometimes, there are moments where even I can't decide.

For example, the reviewer points out a kanji similar in meaning, but I don't know which one's appropriate.

In that situation, I won't make a decision for the time being, place a sticky there, and first crumple up the edges of the review manuscript.

Once all the checks are done, “About this—” I'll ask the editor-in-charge, and leave it to him to decide.

And at this point, I remember there's something I forgot to mention.

“Ah, about the location where the first review check is done—”

“It's not at the editorial branch?”

“Hm, it's basically there the prior year. I typically head to Tokyo for meetings, so I'll make time to do the author checks. During 10th grade however, I couldn't head to Tokyo because of this work, so I could only do this through mail. Once the first checks are done and sent to me, I'll send it back along with the author checks.”

“I see.”

“And if there are parts the editor-in-charge can't get, he'll give me a call, and I'll tell him directly on the phone. Over there, the first review will be done, and another step before publication is completed.”

“ But there's still a need for another review, right?”

“Yeah, there's still a second review.”

In the second review, I'll have to repeat the process.

Once the parts pointed out by the first review are edited, it'll become the second review.

The reviewers get the second review, and I'll get the duplicate.

In the second duplicate, I'll have to check if the edited parts are completely okay. This will be called the second author check.

And to check the second review manuscript the reviewers checked, as an author, I'll head to the editorial branch (or contact through mail again).

In the second check, there's a high chance of new issues pointed out. This includes the parts missed the first time, parts I chose to maintain from the first review, and so on.

I'll again use the mechanical pencil to mark circles or crosses.

“The two review jobs all collectively called Galley checks.”

“Hearing you say that, it sounds really troublesome.”

“In fact, it is.” I grumbled.

“I had to widen my eyes and look for mistakes. It's very tiring.”

“I know.”

“But...such work's unavoidable if I want to publish a book without errors.”

“I see. Good work.”

“Th-thanks...”

“Is it finally over?”

“No, there's still something the author has to do.”

“There's still more? Erm, what is it?”

“What's left for the author is to write the afterword, put a recent photo of the author, write an author introduction, and check the illustrations.”

Writing the afterword.

The afterword's basically a necessity in any light novel. It's imperative to write it.

In terms of content, typically, it's about 2 to 4 pages. Some have it at 1.

Basically, the author's free to write whatever he wants in the afterword, anything as long as it doesn't taunt society or the masses.

In this world, there are authors who get the stage to show off their talents, and they'll work hard on writing it—

But to be honest, I'm bad at writing afterword.

At first, I was still decent. I debuted, and was grateful to everyone, really grateful.

With that emotion, I wrote out all my emotions, spending 2 pages of it.

After that, I ended up not knowing what I should write.

Even if I wanted to write about myself like other authors, I couldn't be saying that I'm a high school kid, or that I'm taking a break from school.

To be honest, I really found it difficult writing afterword, “This isn't good! That isn't good!” always groaning and writing. If I'm past 20, and there's a bill passed stating 'afterword are forbidden', I might give it a vote.

“I see...I never thought it would be that difficult...”

“It's so difficult it's annoying. It's said that an essay allows room to showcase an author's personality, so I'm rather curious as to how the readers will view it...”

“Looking at it, I'll guess you're a college student...”

“That's not too bad, I guess. On a side note, the 10th volume's to be published at the same time the anime's air—the afterword for that volume contains thanksgiving to all those involved in the anime production.”

“So when's the deadline for the afterword?”

“Actually, the ideal is that it's sent to the publisher along with the finalized manuscript, and that it can be checked together...if I can't make it, I'll send it during the first review, and at latest, the second review.”

“I see.”

“I did hear from senior authors that there's another way to submit it later, after the second review.”

“I can't imagine it...how?”

“First off, leave a few spaces for the parts meant for the afterword. It's said that the afterword finished later won't be deemed an essay, but an illustration, a picture, and it'll be inserted. Those authors that want to change, play with the playout and add some flavor will use this method.”

“So...in other words, it's fine even if you're either using pictures or written manuscript?”

“Sorta, I guess...?”

“Then, how?”

“How? As in?”

“Don't you want to try writing your afterword handwritten?”

“Erm...nobody will be able to decipher it, you know?”

Once the afterword's done, there's a need for the author's recent photo and introduction.

For Dengeki Bunko, such content will be contained at the flap under the cover (reverse side).

The author photo is to follow a 30 x 32 format, and any photo or illustration can be put there.

Actually, the author's actual photo should be there, as it's called the author's recent photo.

But in Dengeki Bunko, or rather, in the world of light novels—

Few authors will actually put their own photos, for obvious reasons.

There are all kinds of patterns, and most of them are basically photos of pet, things, or illustrations.

For illustrations, some might get the novel illustrator to do one for the author, or that the author may ask an acquaintance to chip in.

There are those who have artistic ability, and draw their own illustration.

“But sensei, aren't you using a photo of a 'keyboard'?”

“Yeah.”

In the author's recent photo from the 1st to 9th volume, I've been using the photo of the keyboard I first bought. Some authors will do the same thing, so I think this is rather overdone.

These photos were taken from the smart phone I bought back then, and the photo for the 1st to 3rd volumes are all the same. After that, I wanted to make some changes, so starting from the 4th volume, there were some minor changes every time. Even so, the keyboard's the only thing I took photos of.

Nitadori then reached her hand into her handbag.

“Wait here.”

She took out a light novel.

And once she did, I could tell what it was. Unmistakably, it's the first volume of 'Vice Versa'.

I could see many little stickies inside the book. Nitadori probably read through it thoroughly for the After Record, and it's really delightful.

She looked at the first volume's photo, and stared at me, saying,

“To be honest, you don't look alike.”

Of course.

I answered.

“I'm older now.”

It's really delightful to humor someone.

And publishing a book that moved a reader will certainly elevate this happiness.

Placing the first volume on her thighs, Nitadori asked,

“Leaving aside whether it's the author closeup or not, what about the introduction at the bottom?”

“That too is for the author to do whatever he wants.”

Dengeki Bunko's column is to have the large author name right below the closeup, and below that one's the author introduction.

This part uses the horizontal format, and (typically) ends in 5 lines, 24 letters per line.

It's an author's introduction, and I'm supposed to write some age (or year I was born in), a brief summary, and so on—

Amongst the works in Dengeki Bunko, this column is where authors get to do whatever they want.

Most authors will report on recent events over here, so the content will change in every volume.

“It's really tough having to write this...why do I have to change the content for every volume...no, it's not that there's a need to change, but everyone just seem to do this...”

And I ended up in full grumbling mode.

I really don't want anyone else seeing this 'author complaining to a girl younger than he is'.

“Tough, isn't it? Okay, okay.”

Argh, now she's actually comforting me. This is embarrassing. Good thing she didn't pat my head.

“But I have to keep my personal particulars a secret. There's nothing recent I can report on.”

“You're right.”

The forest outside really is filled with autumn , or,

I really love snow, because the world becomes peaceful , or,

The cherry blossoms have bloomed. I really want some dango , or,

I'll write these thoughts based on the seasons, but I'm running out of ideas.

“And so I thought, I might as well wing it.”

“Wing what?”

“'The 3rd child's born, and it's a girl'. Or, 'it's been a week since I moved to Germany. The beer's nice'. Or stuff like that.”

“HAHAHA!”

I guess I struck a laughter chord in her, as she's laughing out loud.

“Sensei, sensei. What about this? A girl younger than me caught my secret, and is blackmailing me .”

“Alright, using that for the 10th volume.”

“HAHAHAHA!”

After laughing for quite a while, Nitadori then said,

“The next part...is to check on the illustrations.”

“This part isn't that difficult, or rather, I'll say it's a delight.”

The illustrator did his best to draw pictures for me.

No matter whether it's CG or hand-made, the editor-in-charge will send it to me in a compressed folder, or get me a download link.

In terms of order, the illustrator will first finish the colored cover illustration, since it can't be published without a cover. Next, the opening color illustrations, followed by the black and white illustrations in the text.

After checking through the illustrations, I'll immediately approve it if there aren't any mistakes.

“Are there situations where it's NG?”

“Yes. Just a little.”

The rare situation refers to,

Mistakes on the specific character in the color illustration.

Where the position of the name tag is incorrect.

Where the text has it as right side, but it appears as left side on the text.

It's this kind of mistakes.

I get to enjoy the illustrations earlier than others, so I'm always looking forward to it.

“Wait, sensei! You say it like it's nothing, but if that's a mistake, isn't that serious? If the right and left side are reversed...”

“It's not that bad.”

“Wh-what do you intend to do? What did you do back then?”

“Change the text.”

“Ehhh?”

“I didn't explain this part before. After sending out the second manuscript, I'll print out a 'white copy' to compare it to the manuscript. The illustrations will be done before the electronic preview's done, so I can fix the parts where the sides are reversed.

“...Really can't imagine that. But if you can't fix it in any way, what will you do?”

“In that situation, I'll let it slip. It's common for illustrations to differ from the text in novels.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“The illustration check's done...I guess this should be over.”

I said a lot on this day.

I've been explaining for more than 2 and a half hours.

The train entered the city, headed straight down the straight. Many have got off the train midway through, and the carriage's empty now.

The woman, whom Nitadori cast the spell on, managed to successfully get off the train through the anti-magic installation called the 'cellphone alarm'.

“Thanks for today...no, it's interesting today too.”

She said as she placed the first volume into her bag, nodded to thank me. She'll hit me if she nodded towards me, so she nodded forward.

“No need, no need.”

I too nodded forward towards the seat in front of me.

But even so, there's still another 20 minutes until we reach the terminal.

I'm finding it unbearable not talking out of a sudden.

I can't do idle chat, let alone be bad at it.

And so, I said,

“Well, I guess you'll have to wait till next week for the more complicated questions. I still have time to answer some simple stuff, so is there anything?”

“Really? Then, I want to ask something that's unrelated to today!”

“What is it?”

“Do you receive a lot of fan letters?”

“I do receive a few, but I'm not sure if that's a lot.”

I state my honest thoughts.

What can be considered more? I never discussed this with other authors, so I don't know.

But I'll accept most of them gratefully.

“Then, what do you think.”

“Hm...I got more female fan letters.”

It's said that the main demographic for light novels is men. Leaving aside books targeted at women, that is definitely the case for Dengeki Bunko.

But even so, there are works that are very popular with girls.

Based on the fan letters, the readers for 'Vice Versa' is basically 50:50 between male and female.

I originally wrote what I wanted to see, so I never actually wrote anything that would pander to either side.

But I typically won't write erotic scenes that are obviously targeted at boys, and this obviously doesn't have anything to do with me being unable to do it.

As for why it's popular with females, I suppose it's due to the two protagonists, Shin and Sin.

“This party story's brimming with passion!”

Another editor-in-charge, not mine, used to say that to me.

Leaving that aside, I analyzed,

“I guess it's because, girls really aren't bashful writing letters to me?”

“Then, what's written on the letters...?”

Nitadori asked courteously, but I still can't answer it honestly.

I do think that letters are something the recipient should personally receive, and only the sender and I can know of its contents.

But even if I do say so, in fact...others would have already read the fan letters.

Because the editorial branch will check through them.

At the end of the pocket book, there'll be a line 'you're welcome to provide your valuable feedback and thoughts on this book'. The readers will then see the official homepage, and the lines 'please click on the 'reader questionnaire'.

Right below it are the columns 'Please send the letter to', which is the editorial branch location. As for the 'for OOOO', there's a need to fill in either 'my name', or the 'illustrator's'.

The readers will send letters to the editorial branch, so the editors will first check through.

And so, by the time the letters reach me, the letters are all open.

Why, you ask?

The editors are to check if there's anything dangerous inside, but the main aim is to remove any letters that'll obviously demotivate the author or the illustrator.

There are all kinds of people in the world, so I guess this is something that had to be done.

While wondering how I'm supposed to answer Nitadori's question—

I ended up with the conclusion that, 'I can only tell her'.

“I won't tell anyone about the content of the letter. It's a secret between the sender and me'.”

“Is that so? I see. Sorry.”

Nitadori easily gave me leeway.

To be honest, it's great that she's saying this. After heaving a sigh of relief, I guess it's fine for me to talk about some trivial stuff.

“But the readers are sending me letters, so the contents are basically cheering me on. As an author, I really feel gracious and delighted. Before I read each letter, I'll put my palms together, and then I'll open it.”

It's true. I treat every single letter as a small household altar.

“I suppose the senders are happy that you're doing that.”

Nitadori giggled. She's not looking down on me, but actually delighted for me.

There are fan letters that left quite an impression of me within these two years.

And there were two of these that shocked me so much, I'll never forget about them. (Of course, I can't tell Nitadori this)

The first letter's the one I received soon after I took leave from school, last April.

However, I didn't know if I could call this a fan letter.

"Actually, I'm wondering if I should be sending this letter to you...looking at your personality however, I suppose you'll like this one."

The editor-in-charge said this to me, and handed me the letter in the editorial branch.

Feeling tentative, I was wondering 'what kind of letter is it' as I kept reading, and I found it to be rather shocking.

There were several pieces of paper in it. The words are very neat and pretty, and it started off,

“Hello for the first time. I am Shin. I don't know how you knew that I was in Reputation when I was young...I'm shocked.”

In other words, that's a letter from Shin.

And then, there's a lot of these stuff continued on.

At first, he said about how shocked he was when he first read 'Vice Versa'—

And then he said that he's very old now, but he really did miss the times back then—

Many of his classmates had already departed for the afterlife—

Till this day, he would continue to talk on the phone with Shin, who conquered the entire Reputation.

That he understood very well some parts were different from his memories, because the author respected the privacy of him and his friends, and he really thanked them earnestly, and so on—

Anyway, this letter's pretty interesting from top to bottom.

The sender's a 74 year old male from Hokkaido.

Till now, I don't know if that man actually wrote that letter for real, or was he writing such a massive prank to make the author laugh.

But I guess the letter's so interesting it doesn't matter, and I read it again a few times.

Till this day, I'm wondering if he'll send a 'continuation', but it never came.

“Now that I'm advanced in age, I can see the end of my life. I'm going to head to Reputation and live an immortal life there.'

Based on what was written there, I supposed he's already over there.

The other letter,

Was rather grim in content.

This letter was earlier than the one aforementioned.

It was during October, 2 years ago, 2 months after I debuted.

Back then, I received some fan letters about the first volume. I was delighted, and read through it a few times.

A certain day, the editor-in-charge contacted me.

"I sent a few fan letters to you, and one of them has a sticky on it; it's fine for you not to read if if you're scared of being uncomfortable. I do think you'll be happy to read it until the very end however, so I'm sending it to you."

That was what he informed me on the phone.

Soon after, I received those fan letters.

One of them had a sticky attached to them.

First off,

I was surprised that it was a letter sent through air mail.

The sender's in a foreign country, and the name's completely Western.

There's a katakana name attached to the letter, and I learned that the sender's a woman called 'Stella Hamilton'.

The letter's completely in Japanese, and I was completely stunned. It's not as nice as the real Mr Shin afterwards, but her words are rather pretty.

The content.

Really was grim.

I feel, that amongst all the fan letters I received, this one's the heaviest.

In the letter, this girl called Stella's studying in 11th grade.

And she got bullied at school.

Her appearance naturally attracted the attention of many, and she was bullied since Elementary school.

She did live in Japan before because of her parents' work. In Japan, she was bullied for 'being a foreigner'. Even though she currently resides in her parents' native country, she still remained bullied.

Her parents never thought that this daughter of theirs would end up like this, and she did not dare discuss this with her parents, so she was anguished within.

She had several instances of wanting to commit suicide.

She wondered, since life was so full of pain, what's the point of continuing to live.

That was the content of the letter.

Having read this, I felt my gut sink.

"Why's such a person sending such a letter to me?"

I was skeptical.

Back then, I was still in my first year of high school. I wanted to say 'what hopes does she have for a 16 year old boy wearing a school uniform?' At the same time however, I thought 'ah, but this Miss Stella doesn't know about it', and so, I flipped the letter over.

And then, I found it to be a fan letter after all.

Starting from the 4th page, the text became lively, and it recorded the situation as to how she bought the first volume of 'Vice Versa', and her personal book review of it.

She came to Japan in the summer, and bought 'Vice Versa' and other mangas at an anime shop in Akihabara.

She really liked Japanese manga and anime, but it was the first time she tried reading light novels. It really was a coincidence that she would reach out for 'Vice Versa'.

And then, she really enjoyed herself. She was able to forget all the time and pain everyday.

She was really able to find some semblance of joy in her arduous life.

Thank goodness I didn't die. As long as I live, I'll be able to find happiness, so I'll continue to work hard from now on.

I'm really looking forward to your exciting works. I'll definitely buy it when there's any continuation. I'll ask for acquaintances in Japan to purchase this for me.

That was the content of the latter.

And added in the postscript was,

Shin and Sin are cool, but I prefer the strong, suave Pluto and the courageous Meek.

I hope that they'll be more active.

I'm a guy who won't cry even after reading a book or watching a movie, and till now, I've yet to cry.

But once I read this fan letter, I nearly broke into tears.

I was touched.

"After seeing your book, I'm glad that I've yet to die."

There's a foreign woman, older than me, actually saying such things to me.

I once decided never to respond to any reader fan mail.

At first, I was wondering if I should reply to all the readers, or not at all, and I chose the latter.

2 months later, I broke the oath. I sent an illustration to this Stella Hamilton.

To promote sales, Dengeki Bunko will create postcards every month and put them in the shops for sale.

Back then, the 2nd volume was being sold, and luckily, 'Vice Versa' was nominated as one of the works with postcards made.

I received a sample from the editorial branch, and there's the cover illustration of the 2nd volume on it.

The cover back then was a scene of Shin in his school uniform and Sin in his battle armor, glaring at each other. There's two volumes of 'Vice Versa' then, but only these two appeared on the cover. In Dengeki Bunko, it's rare to see the covers with only male characters on them.

Well, it's to be expected that the cover isn't Pluto or Meek, but I did sign on that postcard. It's the signature the editor-in-charge asked me to practice, and this was the first time I did it in a non-practice situation, the first time for a reader.

To avoid making a mistake, I cautiously wrote down the name Miss Stella Hamilton in English, and checked it a few times.

I didn't know what to say at all, and there wasn't much space, so I just wrote the words 'thanks on it!'. I suppose these are the prettiest words I've ever written in my entire life.

It was the first time I actually sent a mail by air, but since the postcard wasn't returned to the sender address, the editorial branch, I suppose this Miss Stella Hamilton did receive it.

And then, she never sent me a letter again.

However, to me, this one reply to a fan letter was unforgettable to me.

At the very least, there's another letter in the 'fan letter security case'.

"Now then, can i ask you something? Have you responded to a fan letter till this day?"

I was thinking about those things, so when Nitadori suddenly asked me, I was taken aback.

"..."

I remained speechless, and after a while, I realized I had no need to tell the truth.

I only did reply to Miss Stella Hamilton.

But even the editorial branch didn't know about it.

I'm not good at lying,

And neither am I good at acting.

But,

"N-no, not at all."

I showcased my worst act at this moment.

Clearly, I looked like I was acting no matter how it seemed.

Nitadori seemed a little startled upon hearing this reply, and then, she beamed in delight,

"Really~? You never replied to anyone else? Like for example...a young girl?"

Is this girl an esper!? A magician!?

I do think this should be a coincidence, but my heart still raced with Nitadori stating that.

"No no no...not at all…? Because, I decided, not to reply to any letters. If there's any reply to the letters, I'll be very, very troubled, I guess."

I felt that the response I gave before was already so terrible, but this was worse. The records for the worst just kept getting broken.

But I could only pass this through with lies.

No matter how bad my acting was, Nitadori had no proof.

"Anyway, I guess I probably won't be sending any replies. It'll affect my work anyway."

Finally, I was able to speak Japanese. It sounded really haughty however. What kind of person do I think I am?

"Hm...I see."

Having finally stopped Nitadori's interrogation, I was soaked in cold sweat, leaning my entire body on the back rest, and I heaved a deep sigh.

I really couldn't act.

And I'll never act again.

I decided that if I have to act again,

I'll flee the scene immediately.

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

She—

Eri Nitadori continued to strangle my carotid pulses with her icy hands.

Her hands were really cold, and I could feel it from both sides of my head.

I laid on the ground, and she was sitting on me. The only thing appearing in my eyes was her upper body.

That would be the arms outstretched for my neck, her face, and the black hair reaching down the sides like curtains.

Her sobbing face was facing away from the light, and it looked a little dim, very tragic.

The tears, excessive as they piled within the inside of the glasses, continued to slowly fall and drip on my cheeks.

She slowly spoke up, probably to say something. After gasping, she said,

"W—"

It sounded really long.

"H—"

But it probably was very fast, in fact.

"Y—"

I guess It was extremely slow after all.

Why?

Why did it end up like this?

The final lights before death continued to flicker by my eyes.

To be continued…

### 008. Part 3

I'm a professional author.

I wrote a novel titled 'Vice Versa'—

Currently, it's lined in the Pocket Book (Bunko) section of the bookstore.

This work is the first work I published in my life, and currently, I'm continuing this work.

'Vice Versa' is classified as a 'light novel'.

Now, what is a light novel? What kind of novel is considered a light novel?

There are some who say that it's a novel with a large number of anime-styled illustrations on the cover, color illustrations, and insert illustrations.

Most of the light novels I see in a bookstore are the same, and I do think that this definition explains a characteristic, appearance-wise; however, there are light novels without any illustrations.

There are some who say that any books sold under (apparent) light novel publishers can be considered as light novels.

I do think this viewpoint is easy to understand. However, there are cases of books printed under a light novel imprint before, only to have their illustrations removed and sold as contemporary literature works.

There are some who say that the age group of light novel readers is higher than children literature, that the main viewership derive from high school students.

As a purchasing consumer, this is what I think. However, despite the advancement in age, many will continue to read light novels, including the many numbers of college students and adult readers. Thus, light novels need not necessarily be limited to 'a work targeted at high school students'.

Then, do we classify the story according to the genre? Not necessarily.

Light novels practically encompass all kinds of genres, like fantasy, comedies, action, mystery, history, romance, youth, Of course, there is an exceptional number of works like fantasy and romcom.

In the end, there is still not a single person able to give a clear definition for light novels.

I feel that most of us, including me—

Are already calling it 'light novels', or a portmanteau 'ranobe', a term that is defined incompletely, and will continue on like this.

'Vice Versa' is published and sold by 'Dengeki Bunko'.

Currently, there are more than 10 light novel publishers in the market, and the largest of them is Dengeki Bunko.

The company 'ASCII Media Works' (Used to be called 'Media Works') established the company 'Dengeki Bunko' in 1993. That was before I was born.

Strictly speaking, the company 'ASCII Media Works' no longer exists, for it is bought and absorbed into the mega corporation Kadokawa Group. The name sticks however because the name 'Brand Company' is too vague to define a purpose, so with this nostalgic feeling, I continue to use the term 'ASCII Media Works'.

In over 20 years of history, Dengeki Bunko has published big-selling works from my colleagues. Whenever there is a bestseller made, sales revenue will increase, and the brand will gradually expand in the shop.

What this 'gradually expand in the shop' means is basically increasing the capacity taken up in the shop, allowing customers to see the works of this company more easily.

The following year since its inception, this Dengeki Bunko brand holds an annual 'Dengeki Novel Prize'. (Before 2003, it was titled the 'Dengeki Game Novel Prize')

Any author can debut with Dengeki Bunko as long as they win this Newcomer Novel award (there's an illustration award held at the same time.)

It was said this is the driving force behind Dengeki Bunko's rapid development, discovering authors through the contest, and promoting popular works.

It is a very popular imprint, so there were increases in participation every year. At this point, there are thousands of them.

It was about 3 years ago when I took part in this, hoping to enter the gateway to success.

Back then, I was just a 9th grader.

The annual Dengeki Novel Prize deadline was April 10th (In other words, this day).

It was the previous day 3 years ago, April 9th, right after the new school semester started.

I submitted the long novel I wrote to the post office on the day right before the deadline.

And then, I failed.

There were too many people registering for the Dengeki Novel Prize, and so, the judging was long as a result.

After the submissions before the deadline, there was a first judging to pick out hundreds out of the thousands of entries. At the second judging, there would be approximately one-third left. At the third judging, dozens of them.

And so, at the fourth judging, there would be 10 or so picked for the final judging.

Once the final selections are read by the judging committee, the grand prize, gold prize, silver prizes and so on would be decided at the end of September, and the results would be announced on October 10.

The award-winning prizes would be published in February the following year. At that instance, the participating authors from the prior year would be recruited as professionals. Dengeki Bunko would release its books on the 10th, and the brand 'Mediaworks Bunko', under the some editorial group but released as a contemporary label, releases its books on the 25th.

If it were an ordinary newcomer contest, there would be any debuts for those that failed to make the cut. This would mean “Too bad. Try again next year, okay?”

However, in this Dengeki Novel Prize, there are chances for those who did not make the cut to become an author.

First off, most of the entries that can make it to the final selections can make debuts starting March.

Also, even if there were entries that failed to make it to the final selections, they can be put under an editor-in-charge as long as their works are recognized, before they finally become authors (naturally, there aren't many of these people).

These people will continue to hold meetings with the editor-in-charge, either to fine-tune the works to improve its completion, or to rewrite the work into something completely different.

My entry failed to make the cut.

But right now, it's being published.

Now then, did my work make it into the final selections and had a chance to be published? That wasn't it.

My journey was a little complicated.

First off, my entry failed to make the cut at the fourth selection, not even one of the final selections.

I learned that I failed to make the cut through the announcement on the official website.

I was really delighted when I saw my name appearing on the third selection results. If I could make it to the final selections, I would basically be able to debut as a professional. Thus, I was waiting anxiously for the results.

However, my work failed to get to the end.

Finding it regretful, I felt that it was a proud accomplishment for me to be able to make it all the way there.

Feeling encouraged, I intended to continue registering the following year, or take part in another newcomer contest.

The editorial branch would write some feedback to those that made the second round, so I would take reference and encourage myself.

While I was thinking about these and preparing for my examinations in October—

The phone in my house rang. It was a number from Tokyo.

Harboring some hope, I picked up the phone, and found that it was from the editorial department of Dengeki Bunko. The one calling was the editor-in-charge who really took care of me later on.

While I was extremely tense in my response, the editor-in-charge spoke,

“Are you really a 9th grader? There is something I wish to talk to you about. If possible, do you mind asking your parents along to the Tokyo editorial branch? Otherwise, I would be fine with paying you a visit instead.”

On that day, one week after the phone call.

My mother and I arrived at the editorial branch of ASCII Mediaworks, and there, I learned of the facts.

The reason why my novel did not make the final selections was due to my age.

The delightful thing was that my entry was highly rated. All the committee members felt that the story was really interesting, and that alone would have undoubtedly ranked me as one of the final selections. On a side note, all the editors at Dengeki Bunko took part in the fourth selections.

But if this work was to be part of the final selections—

I would have to wait for my book to be released in the earlier half of the next year, no matter whether I won or not.

If I did, the work would be released on the following February. If I did not, it would be during March or April earliest. The author has to first consider this, and 'edit' the entry manuscript.

While I know of this very well, I didn't know back then that the entry manuscripts would never be released directly. There had to be editorial work where the author and the editor-in-charge vet through the novel to varying extents.

Light novels will typically continue to form a series, and this would help increase sales figures (unless the ending of the story is done splendidly). Thus, it would be highly beneficial for me to write continuations and establish the story before I can officially debut. Thus, it is necessary to continue writing.

If I was stuck in such a predicament, it would not be hard to imagine how much it would affect my preparations for the exams.

“If I'm going to debut as an author the next year, I'm not going to high school!”

I might say such a thing.

This newcomer award is held to recruit outstanding authors. For an enterprise, it is upright to publish interesting and popular books, but this should not compromise a person's future.

Thus, the editorial branch judged this with caution, causing me to fail at the fourth selections.

Upon hearing those words, my mother was really worried.

As for me, my heart was basically swinging by the scale.

“No! I'll write this even if I have to prepare for the exams at the same time!”

I was feeling frustrated.

“Thank you for thinking so much about me.”

And at the same time, feeling gracious. Even the me back then understood that being an author only meant that the publisher would promise to publish a book for me, and would not guarantee that the earnings would be enough to continue maintaining my livelihood.

No matter what I thought, it was an established fact that could not be overturned. I tried my best to change my thinking and harbor grateful thoughts.

But the story did not end like that.

The editor-in-charge gave a proposal on the spot.

The work itself was really amazing, and if I was willing, they would publish this in a paperback a little later on.

However, there was no need for me to be anxious. For that purpose, the work would definitely start only after I was done with my examinations.

And so, we would contact each other once my high school entry examinations were ended.

Lastly, they assured that they would not reveal about this.

Naturally, it was a given that I devoted myself wholeheartedly to preparing for the examinations.

I intended to high school, but in this situation, there is a large carrot dangling in front of me,

'Once I enter high school, I can debut as an author at Dengeki Bunko. In other words, the bookstores will sell my created work, and people will read it'.

This carrot was glowing brightly, like the sun out of a sunrise.

Either way, I could not mess up on the examinations. I devoted my entire time to studying, while secretly writing some manuscripts. This was easily exposed however.

The following Spring, or in other words, 2 years ago.

I was eligible to enroll for my first choice public school.

On the day I learned that I passed, I gave a call to the editorial branch.

“I passed! Can I go over to you the following Monday?”

Now that I think about it, I really was rude and forceful.

I really am grateful for the editor-in-charge who could only smile wryly and make time for an appointment with me.

And so, I decided to become an author.

I devoted most of my Spring break on meetings, finishing my edits, and finally managed to finish my manuscript in mid-April.

The first volume of 'Vice Versa' was released on August 10.

That was approximately 2 years ago, and I was just 16 years old, a 10th grader.

The award-winning works were released on February, and those that failed to win awards but made the final selections had their works published between Aprill and July.

As aforementioned, it is not a rarity in the Dengeki Novel Prize contest to see entries published even though they failed to make the final selections.

In other words, my works were of that type, but a release date in August during the same year was really too early.

'Vice Versa' was published to the world as a result, becoming a major hit.

The delightful fact is that the comments for the first volume were good, and there were decent sales. With the second volume released in October spurring things, there was a record high in sales when the 3rd volume was released the following January.

The editor-in-charge did say that I was one of the faster writers under the Dengeki Bunko flagship. Of course, I was not the fastest.

I continued to attend high school as I continued writing the manuscripts, editing—

When the 3rd volume was released, I completed the manuscripts for the 5th volume.

At the same time, it was 3 months before the first year of high school ended, and there was talk about 'Vice Versa' becoming an anime.

This really was a delightful proposal, but I knew that if it becomes an anime, the original author would have a lot of work to do. If I have to assist in the anime, I will have to help with the settings and scenarios, and check the scripts, so whatever I have to do will increase dramatically.

I can choose to provide the bare minimal inspection, but I really wanted to help out as much as I could.

At the same time, I wanted to continue writing this series. My passion for writing became more intense than before.

With this sudden spike in workload being anticipated, I began to brood.

I'll just drop out of high school.

The moment I proposed this, the editor-in-charge immediately answered me,

“No can do.”

The editorial branch would only permit me to provide the bare minimum in assistance, even if it was against my wishes.

Of course, my mother had the same view, even though she did not tell me off.

And then, like a three-way talk, I again discussed matters with my mother and the editor-in-charge—

And thus, the idea of 'absence from school for a year' was born.

There was no doubt I would be busy throughout the entire year, so I might as well take leave from school.

And during this time, I could work any much as I wanted.

And then, we agreed that I would definitely repeat my year at a private school, where attendances was not so strict. I would then study for 2 years, and I had to graduate from high school no matter what. If there was nothing stopping me, I was to also aim for college.

And so, I worked hard as accordingly to plan,

From the previous April to March this year, which was last month.

I continued to write continuations for 'Vice Versa'.

During the previous year when I took leave, there were 5 volumes released, and they were released in April (fourth volume), June (fifth volume), August (sixth volume), October (seventh volume), and December (eighth volume).

The ninth volume was released this January, and the manuscripts for the tenth and eleventh volume, expected to be sold in July and September, were already completed. At this point, the twelfth volume, planned for release in November, is in the editing phase.

At the same time, I provided assistance to the animation team, taking part in every single script meeting, and checked through a massive amount of setting information.

I really enjoyed myself. After ending this one tumultuous year, I transferred to a private high school as planned.

I never revealed any personal information, and there were few who knew my true identity.

And thus, I intended to hide my identity as an author in the new school. I felt that this would not be revealed unless I said so myself.

And then—

All these were exposed within a few days.

“Nitadori...you're a voice actress, participating in the animation of my light novel.”

“That's correct!”

Nitadori raised her right index finger in response to my words.

Right, it's almost impossible to think of any other possibilities.

I guess it was too long spending two minutes thinking about this.

The anime 'Vice Versa' is planned to be aired on broadcast television this July. This news was already announced before.

And the audio recording for this anime, the so called 'after record', first began last week.

It was Friday, April 4th.

The editor-in-charge and I were headed to the recording studio in the city for the first time. As the author, I intended to attend all the after records every Friday.

'Vice Versa' is a story with lots of characters, and there were some differences in the story's timeframe when adapted to the anime, so there ended up being lots of characters appearing in the first episode.

And thus, there were so many voice actors in the recording studio that there weren't enough chairs to sit. There were also famous voice actors any fan worth their salt would know of.

And so, before the recording began,

“Now then, I will like to introduce the original author here! His real identity isn't revealed however, so please treat what you see and hear as a secret! Okay, now sensei, come in!”

The producer suddenly said these words, and dragged me into the recording booth.

I assumed I was to sit at the control room where the recording instruments were, and I was so nervous it would be one of my top 3 anxious moments in my life. To be honest, I really wanted to run away.

After I tottered into the room like a captured rabbit, the producer began to introduce me to the voice actors.

I was on hiatus from school, but the voice actors had all kinds of reactions when they learned that I was a 17-year-old high school student.

“Wow! So such people exist...?” (A veteran male voice actor with a rough voice)

“So young!” (A young handsome voice actor who's very popular with the ladies.)

“Amazing, isn't it?” (A pretty voice actress who acted as many heroines and released many CDs).

I was never this embarrassed upon hearing these words.

And the producer demanded that I record some 'original author's greetings'.

I don't remember what I did say back then, but I guess it's probably Japanese, since I don't know of any other languages.

After the recording, I asked the editor-in-charge of his opinion regarding my words,

“Well...hm...it's fine...I guess?”

As he ended his reply with a question, I didn't dare to ask any further about that.

It was that kind of situation during the previous after record—

And naturally, there was no way I could have remembered the faces of so many voice actors.

“Sorry, I didn't remember your face.”

But even so, I apologized to Nitadori.

“There's no need to.”

And she answered so simply.

“Only a superhuman can remember that many faces in that kind of situation.”

And she even excused me.

“But that greeting was interesting.”

I really hoped that she forgot about it. And while I look up at the heavens,

“Hey, were you shocked by all these things?”

Nitadori asked, seemingly enjoying herself here.

“Of course I am!”

I let out a voice louder than I assumed, probably because of relief. And then, I lowered my voice immediately,

“...I was nearly shocked to death.”

“Is there really anyone who died due to shock?”

“Eh? Erm...I guess?”

Since it's a logical question, I thought I had to investigate it afterwards.

And so, I was first shocked by her, and then relieved after clarifying the reason—

I felt the difficulty of talking with her has lowered somewhat, and it's not like I'm conversing with someone I'm unfamiliar with.

“I see...so you're a voice actress, Nitadori...did you deliberately keep it a secret at school?”

Even I, unused to conversing with others, felt at ease when talking with her. Maybe it's because of that that I took the initiative to ask her.

Nitadori smiled, and nodded,

“Yeah, I don't feel the need to brag about it. But since this is the name I'm using, it'll be revealed as long as anyone wants to check up on me. Well, we'll just see how it goes when it happens though.”

“I see.”

It's a little weird to hear the words 'this is the name I'm using', but I didn't mind since I knew what she was trying to say. More importantly, I feel that 'I have to protect her secret no matter what'.”

“Hey, sensei—”

“Wait! ...Are you going to call me that?”

I interrupted Nitadori's words in surprise, and she simply answered as a matter of fact,

“But you're the original author, aren't you? And you're a year older than me. Logically, I should be addressing you with proper honorifics.”

“No, just call me normally...if possible, please don't use honorifics with me. Also, I don't mind you calling me by my real name.”

I requested as I asked, but Nitadori immediately replied,

“But it's not a good thing if I'm to call you at at the studio, right? It'll be bad...for me too.”

“Ahh, I guess...”

With that, my real name will be revealed to everyone who only knows of my pen name. It's not a particularly damaging thing to me, but it's really improper for Nitadori. She probably doesn't intend to say that we're classmates, I guess.

“It's fine. I'll pay attention to the situation. I promise that I won't call you sensei at school, and I definitely won't reveal your real identity. I swear.”

“Thanks. It's really great that you're willing to do that.”

“Or rather—I won't say anything to you in school!”

Nitadori said some words that appeared really harsh on first glance with a smile on her face.

“Erm...well, I guess that's good enough...”

And this time, I quickly realized that if I was to casually talk with Nitadori at school, our secrets will be revealed.

Since I couldn't think of any situations where there wouldn't be any people around us, or when only the both of us would be alone, it would be wise to not say anything at school.

“I understand. I'll do the same too to avoid letting slip.”

I agreed, and inadvertently blurted out my true thoughts,

“You're amazing, Nitadori.”

“Amazing? How?”

I then said to the startled her,

“You're already a professional voice actress at such a young age.”

And she immediately answered,

“There are many young people in both the acting world and the voice acting world. Besides, aren't you the same too, sensei?”

The Limited Express dashed on smoothly.

Entering April, the sunset felt later than usual, and it was still bright outside the window.

“Sensei, are you going to continue riding this train?”

In response to Nitadori's question,

“I plan to.”

I nodded hard.

The after record that I, no, we would be attending begins every Friday morning at 10am. This schedule would not change unless there were exceptional circumstances.

Thus, I have to take this Limited Express to Tokyo every Thursday and spend the night in the hotel, or in other words, spending the night there. There are 13 episodes for the anime in total, so the after record would take 3 months.

From this moment forth, I would continue to request absence from school on Fridays. Of course, I did explain the reasons to the school, and obtained permission to do so. Or rather, it was the opposite. I did transfer to this school because I would be allowed to do this.

“I can take the night bus...but to be honest, I don't think I'll be able to sleep.”

And once I said this, Nitadori nodded,

“Right right! I think this is the case too! It's hard at 10A, right? If the Shinkansen's (bullet train) still available, we could have made it in time if we leave early.”

The 10A Nitadori spoke of is the simplified term of the after record that begins at 10am (though I only knew of this recently).

This is the earliest time slot possible, but many of the voice actors are nocturnal folks, so this seems to be tough for them, and really unmotivating as a result.

“It's true. But I—”

I really like to take the Limited Express of the non-Shikansen train lines. The cars are mostly empty, and since the I always start my rides at the first stop of each line, there's definitely seats for me to take. The train ride is long, and I can do what I want to do; the scenery is beautiful too when the weather's fine.

When I expressed my true thoughts, Nitadori answered,

“Maybe I might like this train after this.”

Back then, I didn't notice the meaning behind these words.

While conversing, the train conductor came to check the Limited Express tickets.

Sometimes, the train conductor of this train was a young woman, and this is the case here.

I don't know what sort of ideas this conductor lady would have after seeing us seated side by side in the empty carriage.

But surprisingly, after inspecting my ticket, her face showed a flash of surprise when she continued on with Nitadori. I didn't know why that was so.

After the conductor left, Nitadori asked,

“Sensei, where do you plan to stay once you reach Tokyo?”

And then, she said,

“Maybe...the editorial branch? Are you going to...sleep under the table with a sleeping bag...?”

“No, that's not it.”

I said while giving a slight smile.

Nitadori doesn't seem familiar with the editorial branch and the publishing industry., and while thinking that this is an ordinary person's response, I answer,

“When I have to spend the night in Tokyo due to work, the Dengeki Bunko editorial branch will book me a hotel room near Idabashi station.”

“Heh? Where?”

Thinking that this wasn't something that needed secrecy, I answered by telling her the name.”

That beautiful hotel's located between Idabashi and Suidoubashi stations, and I'm rather satisfied with the hotel, which has the option of a late checkout time at 12pm, and was a walking distance away from the editorial branch. Certain rooms were positioned such that the 'Kadokawa 3rd Tower Building' could be seen.

“Hm....”

Nitadori didn't react in any way, showing an expression that showed she did not hear of this before.

And so, thinking that she would have known about it somehow, I quipped,

“But during the end-of-year party the previous two years—”

At that time, I was living at a hotel that was named the same as a large dome stadium.

It was a round stadium akin to a large balloon. People will normally use it as an example of large, but most who had yet to see the real thing themselves would not have an exact idea to that (maybe it's easier to understand by comparing it to the Blue Whale or the Yamato battleship).

That 43 storey tall hotel is located right beside the dome.

“Ahh!”

This time, Nitadori exclaimed in happiness,

“If it's that hotel, I've been there a few times! That one's amazing, right! The high-rise view's really great!”

“Yeah, it was the mid-winter, so it's a nice scene.”

The scenery back then was really great.

Looking down at the white dome roof, I could see the theme park beside it and the streets that continued on. I could see Mount Tsukuba far away, and the lighting decorations which would only appear at that time were really pretty.

I can also see the tallest electrical tower from the glass elevators facing the east, standing tall as if it is the resting place of a final boss in a roleplaying game.

I wondered about the scenery I saw as I answered her, and wondered if Nitadori's family was rich if she was able to stay there a few times.

That hotel was located in the middle of Tokyo, but the flair varied from the usual business hotels. The guest rooms were spacious and luxurious, there were speakers installed in the bathroom, and I could hear the sounds from the television. Speaking of which, it felt more like a resort hotel instead (though I never lived in on).

Was it really fine of me to live there without paying a single cent? This apprehension and excitement rendered me sleepless.

“What about tomorrow? Are you going back after the after record's done?”

Nitadori continued to fire questions at rapid-fire.

To be honest, she really helped me out here. I really was bad at conversing, but simple questions would help me to relax somewhat, and help me out.

“Yeah, the Limited Express and normal tickets come with a return trip, so when there's a trip back, I'll take the free-seating ride back. There are times when I have to hold meetings after the after record's done. During those moments I'll go to the editorial branch at Idabashi with the editor-in-charge, and then I'll stay there for another night.”

“I see.”

While conversing, the Limited Express stopped at the next stop. 2 passengers entered, one seated rather upfront, while another was seated 5 rows in front of us.

Leaving aside the quiet moments when the train has stopped, I supposed we didn't have to worry about being eavesdropped on once the train began to move.

Once it started moving, Nitadori asked the next question,

“You were staring at some printed materials there. Is it the manuscript of the novel?”

Nitadori's next question was not a difficult one for me to answer.

“Yeah. That's the manuscript for the next volume of 'Vice Versa' that's to be published, though I can't say when.”

“Wow...amazing...like an author.”

Nitadori clenched her little fists as she said this.

“Well...I am an author though.”

It's rather embarrassing, but I couldn't say that wasn't the case, so I could only answer that way. This definitely is the only time I would describe myself using the 'I'm an author'.

“I can't disturb you then, sensei...”

“It's fine. This isn't that important.”

This manuscript doesn't need to be inspected by today.

I had taken this Limited Express countless times, and I did all sorts of things while on the ride. Sometimes, I would check the manuscript like I did on this day. Other times, I would be writing on the laptop, or reading a book I brought along.

There were also moments where I would listen to music while viewing the scenery, thinking of new ideas, or emptying my mind.

Either that, or I would do all of these together, or sleep throughout the ride and not do anything.

“Thanks.”

For some reason, Nitadori thanked me quietly.

And then,

“Actually, I got some things to do too. I want to read the script thoroughly.”

“Oh, I see.”

The script obviously referred to the one used for the next day, the second episode of 'Vice Versa'.

“So...I'm going back to another seat later. See you at the studio tomorrow.”

Nitadori spoke with a very normal voice. She doesn't seem to feel pity about this, and doesn't seem very happy either.

“Of course, I won't talk to you in the studio, since I'm just a rookie in the voice acting world who's finally able to get a named role. You're the original author of this anime too! How can I be that haughty?”

She then said that. I didn't know whether she was joking or being serious.

I didn't feel that Nitadori and I had that sort of senior-junior relationship, but thinking how it might be serious if anyone's to overhear our conversation at such a close distance, and how difficult it would be to cover up, I said,

“Got it. I won't talk to you in the studio either. There will probably be trouble for us if our secret's discovered, and I'm bad at talking, so I can't hide this.”

After hearing this, Nitadori smiled as she narrowed the eyes under the glasses.

“Got it. Are you taking this train next week, sensei?”

I nodded.

“Can I sit beside you if I'm not going to disturb you? I never seen an author before, so I'm very interested in you...I got lots of questions to ask. Can I?”

I had no reason to refuse.

To me, it's a rare experience for me to talk with a girl like Nitadori, even if I'm just answering questions.

I suppose that in the near future, I'll be 'using this experience' for my novel.

But at that moment, do I write it out plainly and get her to agree being the basis of the character, or do I hide her completely?

“Yeah sure. I'm always sitting at this seat in this car.”

“Great! Now I can level up and improve my acting!”

“Improve by 'level up'?”

“You're really particular like an author, huh?”

“But...I'm an author.”

This was the second time in my life that I said this. Was this exchange going to be a cliché?

“Alright, see you next week then!”

Nitadori's eyes were staring at my face when she said this, but I felt that she was not saying this to me, but to herself instead.

She got up from the seat, pulled her long hair behind, and nodded slightly at me.

“Bye then.”

I waved my hand slightly as I watched the black hair of Nitadori's back walk down aisle.

It was embarrassing to watch a girl's back without looking away, so I averted my eyes out of the window when she was halfway past the car.

And then, when I placed the bag that was leaning at my calf onto the seat Nitadori sat on,

“Ah...”

I was suddenly intrigued by something. I didn't ask what sort of role Eri Nitadori was acting as.

Once I knew I missed the chance to hear that, I was suddenly curious about it.

“...”

If Nitadori was still seated in this car, I thought I would want to ask about this. And so, I stood up immediately.

My eyes continued to search hard, but there was no sight of her. I couldn't be chasing her down to the car in front either.

And I sat down.

That night, I found out 3 things at the hotel.

First, the laptop contained the information I got from the producer previously, with the character names and the voice actors listed inside.

Second, Nitadori said that she'll be staying overnight like me, and that she'll be checking the script, but she wasn't carrying any baggage.

Third, the gray suit woman too was nowhere to be seen at her seat when I stood up to look for Nitadori.

The next day was a Friday, April 11th.

I saw Nitadori at the after record of the second episode of the anime 'Vice Versa'.

Not that I 'met Nitadori', but 'saw her' as the words implied.

It was at a certain recording studio in Japan.

The editor-in-charge and I entered the control room at 9.40 A.M., and by then, Nitadori was already inside.

She was dressed in plain clothes that were easy to move it. I heard that voice actors would choose to wear clothes that would not make much sounds if possible.

She tied her long black hair in a bundle to prevent it from being an obstruction.

She continued to greet the senior voice actors that came in as her hair swayed about, her bow akin to a sports club member.

The recording began.

Nitadori practically didn't have a chance to appear.

It was to be expressed. Looking at the time frame, the second episode of the anime was just the beginning of the story, and took up about 30 pages of the original first volume.

The ones with lines were mostly the main characters of 'Vice Versa'. Nitadori's character would not appear at all until the 5th episode.

So why did Nitadori appear?

Could she not appear at the studio like those famous voice actors who didn't have any roles on this day?

After pondering about it, I finally got an answer.

She was present to help act out one or two lines from the unnamed characters, like the protagonist's female classmate, a passer-by woman, and so on. Also, she would be taking part in 'background' scenes where many people would talk.

She was being very attentive no matter whether she was at the chair furthest from the microphone, or during the short scenes she had, never relaxing a little as she gave a serious look.

Her expression was as sharp as a blade, like a 'real Japanese sword'.

Luckily, I didn't have a chance to talk to her. I didn't know how I was supposed to converse with her during that situation.

After the 4 hour long recording ended, I had no reason to stay behind.

I greeted the anime supervisor, sound supervisor and producer, and informed them that I intended to depart.

The voice actors too left the studio booth in a single file, greeted the control room briefly, and left.

Before I left, I glanced at the booth, and saw Nitadori greet the departing voice actors, with her hair swaying again.

### 009. Prologue: Memories

## ‎Prologue - Memories

Those warm hands,

Feel,

Very comfortable.

My head's,

Becoming

Very blurry.

I'm starting,

To feel tired.

But,

I can see,

The scene in front very well.

Very well.

What happened?

Why did it end up like this?

I,

Always remembered very clearly,

Very clearly.

I still,

Remember very well.

I will never forget.

Probably.

Never ever forget.

In my entire life.

### 010. Chapter 1 - April 10, I met her

## ‎Chapter 1 - April 10, I met her

### Part 1

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

I'm lying on the floor, my back stuck to the hard floor, and there're slight quivering and sounds felt on the icy floor.

This girl, who's my classmate, a year younger than me, and also acting as a voice actress, is seated on my belly, crouched over.

She's dressed in a thin blue sailor uniform as she reaches her hands out at my neck. Her slender fingers are wrapped around my carotid pulse, seemingly stopping the blood flow.

Her hands are extremely cold.

They feel like a muffler locked around my neck.

Within my sights are black curtains on both left and right sides.

That's because her long, black hair is draped straight down. It's like a flower from the Southern countries, probably because of the conditioner. It's a nice smell.

And then, what I see in the middle of the curtains is her face, slightly dimmed due to the backlight.

She's crying. Her tears are dripping to the inside of the cell frame glasses lens. Her white, pretty teeth can be seen from her tight lips.

“Why!?”

She yells as she grabs me by the throat, choking me hard.

I heard that humans are able to exert more strength when they're shouting. I never tried it before, but I can say that that's the truth after experiencing this for myself.

My throat's being strangled from left and right, but I don't feel any pain.

And in contrast, ringing inside my head--

A drip of black ink lands silently. That black stain begins to spread gradually.

“Why!?”

She yells again.

Why did it end up like this?

That's what I want to know.

### Part 2

The first time I met that girl was--

About a month and a half ago.

It's April 7th , the first Monday of this month, and the first day of the new High School year.

It has been a year since I went to school.

During that prior year, I took leave from school. I should be in the second year of high school from my 16th to 17th spring, but I was unable to attend school the entire time.

Now, I'm finally in my second year of high school.

And with the return to school, I transferred schools, from the Public High School where I studied in year 1, to a private High School.

In this new school, the school won't question me on the lack of attendance as long as I've an appropriate reason and pass the exams.

And from this moment onward, I have to take leave from school once every week.

On that morning.

I stepped into the school for the second time ever since I completed the transfer. I found my name on the large class allocation board, and entered the classroom for the first time.

Naturally, I don't know anyone in this classroom.

This school's a co-ed, with an equal percentage of boys and girls. I heard that there'll only be a rearrangement of classes when entering our second year, so it's not a rarity to see people unfamiliar with others, sitting alone, like me here.

Soon after, the form teacher who's going to take care of us for 2 years entered. He's a middle-aged male teacher.

The opening ceremony's viewed from the television installed in the classroom.

And the principal conveyed his message through the footage. I think that this method of not requiring students to move to the gym really is comfortable and good.

Following this, my classmates begin with their self-introductions, which is not to be omitted.

I'm seated at the right side of the blackboard, the row closer to the corridor, and the second seat from the back. After waiting for a long time, it's finally my turn.

Once the girl sitting in front of me finished her line, she sat down.

I stand up, state my name, and the foods I like, something I definitely had to say.

There are a lot of foods I like, and I chose coffee in this case. It's ordinary, but the other students did mention stuff like Ramen or Sushi, and the girls mention sweets. It's really ordinary.

Most of the students would add on, saying some things about their club activities or hobbies to spice up the atmosphere in class. It seems everyone has a hidden understanding that they could not let it end up this.

As for me, there's nothing much I could say. Once it's my turn to speak up, I ponder seriously for a brief moment, but was still unable to think of anything to talk about.

And so, I accidentally,

Blurted out what I should not have said.

“Well...I transferred into this school during this semester, and it's my second time wearing the uniform and entering the school. It feels like everything seems so new, like a new student.”

It's still fine till this point.

I feel that my classmates are starting to show concern for me, and I think I hear some voices of the heart, like I see , so you're a transfer student , that's rare .

And what I said next was inappropriate,

“I took leave from school for a year before this, so I'm very happy to be able to return back to a high school life.”

These were my true thoughts.

However—

My classmates start to rumble.

“Eh? Older than us?”

“A retainee?”

This time, what I heard was not the voices of the heart, but actual whispers I could hear from my ears.

Even though I realized it was a bad situation, it was all too late.

The atmosphere in class changed from the understanding of there's a transfer student' to a 'so there's a senior who's supposed to be our upperclassman'.

It was only a while later did I realize that there were no retained students in this school, that there were as many goldfish that could speak as there were classmates older than them.

I've left school for a year, and during this time, I was always in contact with people older than me--

I have already lost the natural feeling of 'a year difference' for a high school student.

I felt that I said something I should not have.

This was the wish I set for myself when I arrived at this school, and the promise I made with my mother.

That I have to handle my studies well, make good friends even if they are few, and enjoy the high school life I will only have once.

In other words, being a 'high school student'.

But—

I ended up grounding myself regarding this matter. I made a miscue right from the first day.

“...That's how things are. Please take care of me...”

What's with that ' That's how things are. Please take care of me' line? That's ridiculous.

I was the one who said 'I'm a year older than you!'. Wasn't I the one hiding this fact until a while ago?

After ending this greatest failure in my life, I slump weakly on the chair, feeling myself to be so foolish that I don't have the strength to sigh.

“Hm, well, next. You must be the last one, I suppose?”

The teacher did not follow up with this, but this was probably to prevent the wound from expanding any further.

“Yes!”

And then, I hear a cheerful voice from the girl seated behind me, coupled with both the sound of her pulling her chair back and standing up. At this moment, I realized that she's a girl.

I didn't have the strength to look back, so I continued to maintain this position, despite it being rude to her.

“Eri Nitadori. My given name and family name both rhyme with 'ri'.”

Her voice was intriguing.

She surely wasn't loud, but I can hear her clearly. The voice seems to pass through my ears and reach the brain directly.

“I transferred into this school last Autumn, and I was in the second class. My favorite foods are basically all kinds of them, but the one I really want to eat for all 3 meals a day is—”

I begin to guess her answer.

Is it a sweet befitting a girl? Cake or parfait? Or was it some ordinary curry or ramen? Maybe some unexpected katsudon with sauce on it?

I started to challenge her.

And I began thinking all sorts of possible dishes she could mention before she answered.

What she said next was,

“Horse sashimi!”

She said.

I lost.

This was overwhelmingly, or I should say, something not many would say to be a favorite food, and so my classmates laughed heartily. Even the teacher laughed.

It's splendid.

She was able to blow aside the unnecessary heavy atmosphere caused by the carelessness of the student right before her.

Even though this prefecture is the producer of horse sashimi, I really couldn't fathom a second year high school girl eating horse sashimi for every meal.

“I'm not good at sports, so I'm not in any club activity. However, I do bring my dog out every single day. Our dog's called 'Gonsuke' (TN: Basically means 'manservant'), 3 years old—”

I continued to hear her chat happily about her pet dog, curious as to how this 'horse sashimi girl' looked like, and so, I slowly turned my head around.

And then, I look up.

I saw a bespectacled girl who's rather tall, and had quite long hair.

She's probably about 1.7m tall, I guess? For a girl, she's really rather tall.

She's definitely not plump, but for some reason, she doesn't seem delicate either. She said that she's not good at sports, but I thought she should be a talent heavily recruited by the volleyball or basketball club.

The evenly long black hair of hers is so long it passes her chest and reaches her abdomen. Her bangs are in evenly straight, and to summarize, it's a long bob haircut, and on both left and right side of her hair are button-like hairpins, probably made of felt?

Her skin's white, her facial features are distinct, the face lines and nose bridge are rather straight, and she has quite the pretty face.

She's wearing cell-framed glasses, colored pale blue-green like the haoris of the Shinsengumi. The face lines behind the lens were not contorted in any way, so maybe it's either a decoration or that the spectacles degree isn't that much. The irises in those large eyes were a thick brown.

If she's a character in a novel, this is probably how I would describe her.

She's blessed with a fine body figure and face, a plain Yamato Nadeshiko hairstyle, one who looked so unbalanced, and yet befitting of her.

That was what I thought.

She was a beauty.

One of these days, I'll take that saying and 'make use of it'.

This classmate of mine called Nitadori adjusted her sights moderately as she continued to chatter about her pet dog Gonsuke. It is clear that everyone in class is paying attention to the cute episodes.

If it were me, I probably won't end up doing such stupid miscues. I wondered as I heard her words. We're seated rather close, so Nitadori wasn't looking at me. If she's looking at me, I probably will be looking away.

Nitadori ended her proud introduction of her dog at the opportune time, and then said that anyone who wished to see the photos could check out her smartphone. This really is a wonderful appeal.

And looking at this—

Anyone who likes dogs, no matter whether boy or girl, can talk to her regarding that. From there, she would be able to converse with others. Her self introduction's a stark contrast to a certain somebody before her, a classic sample.

And in the end, she adds on, “Please take care of me for the next two years”.

She lets her long hair dangle to a side of the chair's backrest, and slowly sat down.

At that moment, she was right in front of my sights, and our eyes met for the first time.

I intended to look away, but I couldn't.

“Eh!”

For the earnest face she showed till this past suddenly froze, and she let out a soft shriek. She turned her face to the corridor, seemingly evading my sights.

This action was ostensibly one of somebody who saw something she should not have. It felt to me that she would not be this petrified even if she saw a ghost.

After seeing her actions, I slowly turned to the front, and sighed in my heart.

I wondered that if my first day was going to be like this, I might as well not repeat my year after all.

That was why—

“Can I sit beside you?”

I was really shocked when that Nitadori suddenly spoke to me so earnestly.

It was April 10, a Thursday, 3 days after the opening ceremony.

I was seated on the Limited Express back then.

From the town where I live in, this train ride allows me to reach the metropolis in about 3 hours. I was seated at the last row of the free seating carriage car, at the left side, leaning by the window.

It's the evening, and the train carriage is still empty after having left the station, so there shouldn't be a need for anyone to sit beside me. Even if the reason of wanting to sit at the back row is 'my luggage's too big for the rack', or 'I want to adjust my reclining chair', there is still the right side of the aisle that's empty.

That's why I was surprised to hear the meaning of those words, despite not knowing who it was. I lift my head up from the printouts of the drafts, and when I found it to be Nitadori, who's seated behind me every day, I was further taken aback.

“Hi! Good afternoon.”

“...”

I remained silent as I stared blankly at this taller girl standing on the aisle.

Naturally, Nitadori's not dressed in a uniform, and I'm not really sure of the details, but I could clearly see that it's a posh looking one-piece dress.

Nitadori seemed to have assumed that I may have forgotten about her,

“Erm, we're in the same class. I'm Eri Nitadori, seated right at the back.”

And so, she introduced herself again.

“Ah...y-yes—”

I barely managed to force out a reply somehow. And then, I slowly spoke,

“I knew that, actually.”

I knew about all those till this point. What I didn't know what why she would talk with me.

Nitadori then gave an amused snicker,

“Hm? Honorific language? Even though you're an upperclassman?”

“Ah, no...it's nothing, Miss Nitadori.”

“Adding a 'Miss'? Even though you're older?”

“...”

I took a breath to calm my heart down.

“No...erm, is 'Nitadori' fine?”

And then, I pretended to remain as calm as possible while conversing with her normally. I wondered how many years it had been since I talked to a girl of a similar age, but having realized that I may need a long time to derive that answer, I gave up.

“Of course. Can I sit beside you then?”

At that time, I had my backpack on the seat beside me. Inside it were my favorite laptop, books and a change of clothes.

My backpack was wide open inside, so while reaching out to zip it with one arm, I blurted my honest opinion,

“Well, I'm fine with that...but why here? Aren't there empty seats everywhere?”

It might had been rude of me to say that, but that was what I truly thought. I had no idea at all why Nitadori insisted on sitting beside me.

It had been 4 days since school started, but I never conversed with her in class. Rather, I never spoke to anyone in class.

Everyone in class viewed me as 'an older classmate', and treated me with caution, so naturally, there wasn't any who would speak to me. I guess they were all wondering if they should be using honorifics with me. If one were to do so, so would the rest, and vice versa. However, nobody dared to be the first one up to the challenge.

I too was worried if my classmates would shun me if I tried to approach them, and never did so in the end. The gap of a year was too large for me, who's already ineffectual at communicating.

I felt it is merciless of me to be saying 'there are still other seats' to a person wanting to sit beside me. While pondering that it was expected of her to be angry, I awaited her answer.

“I want to talk with you.”

And then, she said this. She was not smiling, but it did not seem like she was angry.

“Erm...talk about what?”

I place my backpack on my thighs as I asked this, dumping the rolled-up manuscript into my back. It was just information I printed from home, so it was fine for me even if it was wrecked.

“Thanks.”

Nitadori tied her long hair to the back of her neck in a polite manner, and let it drape from her right shoulder to her chest, quickly sitting down beside me.

She turned to the left, and with our shoulders practically touching each other, she stared at me right in the eyes, and answered my question with a hushed voice,

“I want to talk about work.”

“Huh? Whose?”

“Whose? Ours.”

“...?”

I did not understand what she meant at all. What work was there for two high school students to talk about? I placed my bag at my feet.

And then,

“Sorry but I don't understand what you're saying here.”

I answered honestly.

Nitadori then showed a serious look immediately.

“I see...I thought you would have realized it already.”

“...Realized what?”

“About me.”

“...”

“I seem to be mistaken about something. Sorry."

I stare at Nitadori, who looked to be a little disappointed.

“...”

I started to wonder if she was an ill-natured girl after all.

Perhaps she wanted to tease this 'older' classmate she coincidentally met, and would leave the seat with a cackle.

I had that image flashing through my mind at that instant, and I even had the image of her saying some harsh, sharp words at the end.

Even if that were the case,

“Hey, hold it there! What do you mean by that? Explain to me!”

I probably would not be raging and chasing after her with such amazing manliness.

I probably would feel a little hurt, and would probably end up being 'used' by her

“But I'm not trying to tease you here, you know?”

Nitadori said, completely denying my thoughts. I wonder if she's an esper.

And so, what she said next,

Caused my heart to stop in shock.

“Are you going for the After Record for 'Vice Versa' tomorrow, sensei?”

Normally, the slight quiver and tremors on the fast moving Limited Express feel comfortable. I did at times treat the carriage car as a cradle and slept soundly on it.

But at this point, I felt that the sounds and tremors were akin to a massive earthquake.

It was rumbling away, and I felt it was trying to throw me out of my seat.

This was the first time in my life that I wondered why there was no safety belts on the train. My hands were grabbing onto the armrest.

“Wh-why...ho-ho-how...?”

I stared right into Nitadori's eyes as I barely eke out these words, and the rest ended up as gibberish.

I actually wanted to say,

“How did you know about this?”

“Ah, I guess from your expression that you want to ask 'how did you know', right?”

I was unable to say anything, dumbfounded for 5 seconds like a doll, and Nitadori took the initiative to speak up.

I nodded.

“How, did you know...?”

And then, since it did not matter at this point, I said this line.

“Pfft!”

Nitadori let out a little chuckle, and I forgot my current predicament as I saw the smile of the pretty girl up close. However, there was no way I could forget about that. I immediately got up from my seat, and surveyed the carriage.

There were 5 heads I could see.

Two of them were seated at the front-most, side by side. They definitely must be the middle-aged couple waiting for the train behind me a while back, and from their hiking getup, I suppose they went to the hills visible from my room, and were on their way back. There was a lot of snow on the hilltops as the weather was still cold.

A young man, probably a salaryman, was seated a few seats behind them at the window side. Seated at the row behind him at the right window side was a college male who seemed to be traveling. I did see them on the platform.

Closest to me was a young female seated alone near the aisle in the middle of the carriage car, dressed in gray pants and suit. I did not see her on the platform, and she seemed to be of the working class who just finished a dispatch job.

Since there was no one else nearby, I did not have to worry about others eavesdrop if I were to speak at with a normal audible voice. It seemed Nitadori realized my thoughts as she said,

“You're really worried about other people noticing it? Don't worry. I'll make sure that nobody else will overhear us.”

“Thanks...”

I sit down as I listen to her slightly hushed voice, and turn my face to the right, seeing Nitadori's face that was extremely close to me, and asked,

“How did you know?”

“Well then, what do you think?”

She answered my question with a question.

“It's easy for me to tell you the answer, but that's no fun now, isn't it? You'll soon know, so think about it.”

That definitely was what she meant.

And so, I began to ponder, carefully listing out all the possibilities I could eliminate, and the possibilities I could consider.

I spent 2 minutes on that. I didn't know whether that was too long or too short.

And during this time, I continued to stare at the back of the seat in front of me, not knowing what sort of expression Nitadori was showing. Perhaps she was enjoying herself, maybe she was bored, or maybe she was surprised.

“I see...”

After staring at the back of the seat in front of me for two minutes, I let out these words,

“So that's what it means by 'our work'."

“What do you mean?”

Nitadori asked. Clearly, what she meant was,

“Please look at others in the eyes when talking to someone.”

I slowly turn my face to Nitadori.

And so, I stared at Nitadori, the bespectacled girl—

Giving me a victorious smile.

I spoke up,

“Nitadori...you're a voice actress, participating in the animation of my light novel.”

### Part 3

I'm a professional author.

I wrote a novel titled 'Vice Versa'—

Currently, it's lined in the Pocket Book (Bunko) section of the bookstore.

This work is the first work I published in my life, and currently, I'm continuing this work.

'Vice Versa' is classified as a 'light novel'.

Now, what is a light novel? What kind of novel is considered a light novel?

There are some who say that it's a novel with a large number of anime-styled illustrations on the cover, color illustrations, and insert illustrations.

Most of the light novels I see in a bookstore are the same, and I do think that this definition explains a characteristic, appearance-wise; however, there are light novels without any illustrations.

There are some who say that any books sold under (apparent) light novel publishers can be considered as light novels.

I do think this viewpoint is easy to understand. However, there are cases of books printed under a light novel imprint before, only to have their illustrations removed and sold as contemporary literature works.

There are some who say that the age group of light novel readers is higher than children literature, that the main viewership derive from high school students.

As a purchasing consumer, this is what I think. However, despite the advancement in age, many will continue to read light novels, including the many numbers of college students and adult readers. Thus, light novels need not necessarily be limited to 'a work targeted at high school students'.

Then, do we classify the story according to the genre? Not necessarily.

Light novels practically encompass all kinds of genres, like fantasy, comedies, action, mystery, history, romance, youth, Of course, there is an exceptional number of works like fantasy and romcom.

In the end, there is still not a single person able to give a clear definition for light novels.

I feel that most of us, including me—

Are already calling it 'light novels', or a portmanteau 'ranobe', a term that is defined incompletely, and will continue on like this.

'Vice Versa' is published and sold by 'Dengeki Bunko'.

Currently, there are more than 10 light novel publishers in the market, and the largest of them is Dengeki Bunko.

The company 'ASCII Media Works' (Used to be called 'Media Works') established the company 'Dengeki Bunko' in 1993. That was before I was born.

Strictly speaking, the company 'ASCII Media Works' no longer exists, for it is bought and absorbed into the mega corporation Kadokawa Group. The name sticks however because the name 'Brand Company' is too vague to define a purpose, so with this nostalgic feeling, I continue to use the term 'ASCII Media Works'.

In over 20 years of history, Dengeki Bunko has published big-selling works from my colleagues. Whenever there is a bestseller made, sales revenue will increase, and the brand will gradually expand in the shop.

What this 'gradually expand in the shop' means is basically increasing the capacity taken up in the shop, allowing customers to see the works of this company more easily.

The following year since its inception, this Dengeki Bunko brand holds an annual 'Dengeki Novel Prize'. (Before 2003, it was titled the 'Dengeki Game Novel Prize')

Any author can debut with Dengeki Bunko as long as they win this Newcomer Novel award (there's an illustration award held at the same time.)

It was said this is the driving force behind Dengeki Bunko's rapid development, discovering authors through the contest, and promoting popular works.

It is a very popular imprint, so there were increases in participation every year. At this point, there are thousands of them.

It was about 3 years ago when I took part in this, hoping to enter the gateway to success.

Back then, I was just a 9th grader.

The annual Dengeki Novel Prize deadline was April 10th (In other words, this day).

It was the previous day 3 years ago, April 9th, right after the new school semester started.

I submitted the long novel I wrote to the post office on the day right before the deadline.

And then, I failed.

There were too many people registering for the Dengeki Novel Prize, and so, the judging was long as a result.

After the submissions before the deadline, there was a first judging to pick out hundreds out of the thousands of entries. At the second judging, there would be approximately one-third left. At the third judging, dozens of them.

And so, at the fourth judging, there would be 10 or so picked for the final judging.

Once the final selections are read by the judging committee, the grand prize, gold prize, silver prizes and so on would be decided at the end of September, and the results would be announced on October 10.

The award-winning prizes would be published in February the following year. At that instance, the participating authors from the prior year would be recruited as professionals. Dengeki Bunko would release its books on the 10th, and the brand 'Mediaworks Bunko', under the some editorial group but released as a contemporary label, releases its books on the 25th.

If it were an ordinary newcomer contest, there would be any debuts for those that failed to make the cut. This would mean “Too bad. Try again next year, okay?”

However, in this Dengeki Novel Prize, there are chances for those who did not make the cut to become an author.

First off, most of the entries that can make it to the final selections can make debuts starting March.

Also, even if there were entries that failed to make it to the final selections, they can be put under an editor-in-charge as long as their works are recognized, before they finally become authors (naturally, there aren't many of these people).

These people will continue to hold meetings with the editor-in-charge, either to fine-tune the works to improve its completion, or to rewrite the work into something completely different.

My entry failed to make the cut.

But right now, it's being published.

Now then, did my work make it into the final selections and had a chance to be published? That wasn't it.

My journey was a little complicated.

First off, my entry failed to make the cut at the fourth selection, not even one of the final selections.

I learned that I failed to make the cut through the announcement on the official website.

I was really delighted when I saw my name appearing on the third selection results. If I could make it to the final selections, I would basically be able to debut as a professional. Thus, I was waiting anxiously for the results.

However, my work failed to get to the end.

Finding it regretful, I felt that it was a proud accomplishment for me to be able to make it all the way there.

Feeling encouraged, I intended to continue registering the following year, or take part in another newcomer contest.

The editorial branch would write some feedback to those that made the second round, so I would take reference and encourage myself.

While I was thinking about these and preparing for my examinations in October—

The phone in my house rang. It was a number from Tokyo.

Harboring some hope, I picked up the phone, and found that it was from the editorial department of Dengeki Bunko. The one calling was the editor-in-charge who really took care of me later on.

While I was extremely tense in my response, the editor-in-charge spoke,

“Are you really a 9th grader? There is something I wish to talk to you about. If possible, do you mind asking your parents along to the Tokyo editorial branch? Otherwise, I would be fine with paying you a visit instead.”

On that day, one week after the phone call.

My mother and I arrived at the editorial branch of ASCII Mediaworks, and there, I learned of the facts.

The reason why my novel did not make the final selections was due to my age.

The delightful thing was that my entry was highly rated. All the committee members felt that the story was really interesting, and that alone would have undoubtedly ranked me as one of the final selections. On a side note, all the editors at Dengeki Bunko took part in the fourth selections.

But if this work was to be part of the final selections—

I would have to wait for my book to be released in the earlier half of the next year, no matter whether I won or not.

If I did, the work would be released on the following February. If I did not, it would be during March or April earliest. The author has to first consider this, and 'edit' the entry manuscript.

While I know of this very well, I didn't know back then that the entry manuscripts would never be released directly. There had to be editorial work where the author and the editor-in-charge vet through the novel to varying extents.

Light novels will typically continue to form a series, and this would help increase sales figures (unless the ending of the story is done splendidly). Thus, it would be highly beneficial for me to write continuations and establish the story before I can officially debut. Thus, it is necessary to continue writing.

If I was stuck in such a predicament, it would not be hard to imagine how much it would affect my preparations for the exams.

“If I'm going to debut as an author the next year, I'm not going to high school!”

I might say such a thing.

This newcomer award is held to recruit outstanding authors. For an enterprise, it is upright to publish interesting and popular books, but this should not compromise a person's future.

Thus, the editorial branch judged this with caution, causing me to fail at the fourth selections.

Upon hearing those words, my mother was really worried.

As for me, my heart was basically swinging by the scale.

“No! I'll write this even if I have to prepare for the exams at the same time!”

I was feeling frustrated.

“Thank you for thinking so much about me.”

And at the same time, feeling gracious. Even the me back then understood that being an author only meant that the publisher would promise to publish a book for me, and would not guarantee that the earnings would be enough to continue maintaining my livelihood.

No matter what I thought, it was an established fact that could not be overturned. I tried my best to change my thinking and harbor grateful thoughts.

But the story did not end like that.

The editor-in-charge gave a proposal on the spot.

The work itself was really amazing, and if I was willing, they would publish this in a paperback a little later on.

However, there was no need for me to be anxious. For that purpose, the work would definitely start only after I was done with my examinations.

And so, we would contact each other once my high school entry examinations were ended.

Lastly, they assured that they would not reveal about this.

Naturally, it was a given that I devoted myself wholeheartedly to preparing for the examinations.

I intended to high school, but in this situation, there is a large carrot dangling in front of me,

'Once I enter high school, I can debut as an author at Dengeki Bunko. In other words, the bookstores will sell my created work, and people will read it'.

This carrot was glowing brightly, like the sun out of a sunrise.

Either way, I could not mess up on the examinations. I devoted my entire time to studying, while secretly writing some manuscripts. This was easily exposed however.

The following Spring, or in other words, 2 years ago.

I was eligible to enroll for my first choice public school.

On the day I learned that I passed, I gave a call to the editorial branch.

“I passed! Can I go over to you the following Monday?”

Now that I think about it, I really was rude and forceful.

I really am grateful for the editor-in-charge who could only smile wryly and make time for an appointment with me.

And so, I decided to become an author.

I devoted most of my Spring break on meetings, finishing my edits, and finally managed to finish my manuscript in mid-April.

The first volume of 'Vice Versa' was released on August 10.

That was approximately 2 years ago, and I was just 16 years old, a 10th grader.

The award-winning works were released on February, and those that failed to win awards but made the final selections had their works published between Aprill and July.

As aforementioned, it is not a rarity in the Dengeki Novel Prize contest to see entries published even though they failed to make the final selections.

In other words, my works were of that type, but a release date in August during the same year was really too early.

'Vice Versa' was published to the world as a result, becoming a major hit.

The delightful fact is that the comments for the first volume were good, and there were decent sales. With the second volume released in October spurring things, there was a record high in sales when the 3rd volume was released the following January.

The editor-in-charge did say that I was one of the faster writers under the Dengeki Bunko flagship. Of course, I was not the fastest.

I continued to attend high school as I continued writing the manuscripts, editing—

When the 3rd volume was released, I completed the manuscripts for the 5th volume.

At the same time, it was 3 months before the first year of high school ended, and there was talk about 'Vice Versa' becoming an anime.

This really was a delightful proposal, but I knew that if it becomes an anime, the original author would have a lot of work to do. If I have to assist in the anime, I will have to help with the settings and scenarios, and check the scripts, so whatever I have to do will increase dramatically.

I can choose to provide the bare minimal inspection, but I really wanted to help out as much as I could.

At the same time, I wanted to continue writing this series. My passion for writing became more intense than before.

With this sudden spike in workload being anticipated, I began to brood.

I'll just drop out of high school.

The moment I proposed this, the editor-in-charge immediately answered me,

“No can do.”

The editorial branch would only permit me to provide the bare minimum in assistance, even if it was against my wishes.

Of course, my mother had the same view, even though she did not tell me off.

And then, like a three-way talk, I again discussed matters with my mother and the editor-in-charge—

And thus, the idea of 'absence from school for a year' was born.

There was no doubt I would be busy throughout the entire year, so I might as well take leave from school.

And during this time, I could work any much as I wanted.

And then, we agreed that I would definitely repeat my year at a private school, where attendances was not so strict. I would then study for 2 years, and I had to graduate from high school no matter what. If there was nothing stopping me, I was to also aim for college.

And so, I worked hard as accordingly to plan,

From the previous April to March this year, which was last month.

I continued to write continuations for 'Vice Versa'.

During the previous year when I took leave, there were 5 volumes released, and they were released in April (fourth volume), June (fifth volume), August (sixth volume), October (seventh volume), and December (eighth volume).

The ninth volume was released this January, and the manuscripts for the tenth and eleventh volume, expected to be sold in July and September, were already completed. At this point, the twelfth volume, planned for release in November, is in the editing phase.

At the same time, I provided assistance to the animation team, taking part in every single script meeting, and checked through a massive amount of setting information.

I really enjoyed myself. After ending this one tumultuous year, I transferred to a private high school as planned.

I never revealed any personal information, and there were few who knew my true identity.

And thus, I intended to hide my identity as an author in the new school. I felt that this would not be revealed unless I said so myself.

And then—

All these were exposed within a few days.

“Nitadori...you're a voice actress, participating in the animation of my light novel.”

“That's correct!”

Nitadori raised her right index finger in response to my words.

Right, it's almost impossible to think of any other possibilities.

I guess it was too long spending two minutes thinking about this.

The anime 'Vice Versa' is planned to be aired on broadcast television this July. This news was already announced before.

And the audio recording for this anime, the so called 'after record', first began last week.

It was Friday, April 4th.

The editor-in-charge and I were headed to the recording studio in the city for the first time. As the author, I intended to attend all the after records every Friday.

'Vice Versa' is a story with lots of characters, and there were some differences in the story's timeframe when adapted to the anime, so there ended up being lots of characters appearing in the first episode.

And thus, there were so many voice actors in the recording studio that there weren't enough chairs to sit. There were also famous voice actors any fan worth their salt would know of.

And so, before the recording began,

“Now then, I will like to introduce the original author here! His real identity isn't revealed however, so please treat what you see and hear as a secret! Okay, now sensei, come in!”

The producer suddenly said these words, and dragged me into the recording booth.

I assumed I was to sit at the control room where the recording instruments were, and I was so nervous it would be one of my top 3 anxious moments in my life. To be honest, I really wanted to run away.

After I tottered into the room like a captured rabbit, the producer began to introduce me to the voice actors.

I was on hiatus from school, but the voice actors had all kinds of reactions when they learned that I was a 17-year-old high school student.

“Wow! So such people exist...?” (A veteran male voice actor with a rough voice)

“So young!” (A young handsome voice actor who's very popular with the ladies.)

“Amazing, isn't it?” (A pretty voice actress who acted as many heroines and released many CDs).

I was never this embarrassed upon hearing these words.

And the producer demanded that I record some 'original author's greetings'.

I don't remember what I did say back then, but I guess it's probably Japanese, since I don't know of any other languages.

After the recording, I asked the editor-in-charge of his opinion regarding my words,

“Well...hm...it's fine...I guess?”

As he ended his reply with a question, I didn't dare to ask any further about that.

It was that kind of situation during the previous after record—

And naturally, there was no way I could have remembered the faces of so many voice actors.

“Sorry, I didn't remember your face.”

But even so, I apologized to Nitadori.

“There's no need to.”

And she answered so simply.

“Only a superhuman can remember that many faces in that kind of situation.”

And she even excused me.

“But that greeting was interesting.”

I really hoped that she forgot about it. And while I look up at the heavens,

“Hey, were you shocked by all these things?”

Nitadori asked, seemingly enjoying herself here.

“Of course I am!”

I let out a voice louder than I assumed, probably because of relief. And then, I lowered my voice immediately,

“...I was nearly shocked to death.”

“Is there really anyone who died due to shock?”

“Eh? Erm...I guess?”

Since it's a logical question, I thought I had to investigate it afterwards.

And so, I was first shocked by her, and then relieved after clarifying the reason—

I felt the difficulty of talking with her has lowered somewhat, and it's not like I'm conversing with someone I'm unfamiliar with.

“I see...so you're a voice actress, Nitadori...did you deliberately keep it a secret at school?”

Even I, unused to conversing with others, felt at ease when talking with her. Maybe it's because of that that I took the initiative to ask her.

Nitadori smiled, and nodded,

“Yeah, I don't feel the need to brag about it. But since this is the name I'm using, it'll be revealed as long as anyone wants to check up on me. Well, we'll just see how it goes when it happens though.”

“I see.”

It's a little weird to hear the words 'this is the name I'm using', but I didn't mind since I knew what she was trying to say. More importantly, I feel that 'I have to protect her secret no matter what'.”

“Hey, sensei—”

“Wait! ...Are you going to call me that?”

I interrupted Nitadori's words in surprise, and she simply answered as a matter of fact,

“But you're the original author, aren't you? And you're a year older than me. Logically, I should be addressing you with proper honorifics.”

“No, just call me normally...if possible, please don't use honorifics with me. Also, I don't mind you calling me by my real name.”

I requested as I asked, but Nitadori immediately replied,

“But it's not a good thing if I'm to call you at at the studio, right? It'll be bad...for me too.”

“Ahh, I guess...”

With that, my real name will be revealed to everyone who only knows of my pen name. It's not a particularly damaging thing to me, but it's really improper for Nitadori. She probably doesn't intend to say that we're classmates, I guess.

“It's fine. I'll pay attention to the situation. I promise that I won't call you sensei at school, and I definitely won't reveal your real identity. I swear.”

“Thanks. It's really great that you're willing to do that.”

“Or rather—I won't say anything to you in school!”

Nitadori said some words that appeared really harsh on first glance with a smile on her face.

“Erm...well, I guess that's good enough...”

And this time, I quickly realized that if I was to casually talk with Nitadori at school, our secrets will be revealed.

Since I couldn't think of any situations where there wouldn't be any people around us, or when only the both of us would be alone, it would be wise to not say anything at school.

“I understand. I'll do the same too to avoid letting slip.”

I agreed, and inadvertently blurted out my true thoughts,

“You're amazing, Nitadori.”

“Amazing? How?”

I then said to the startled her,

“You're already a professional voice actress at such a young age.”

And she immediately answered,

“There are many young people in both the acting world and the voice acting world. Besides, aren't you the same too, sensei?”

The Limited Express dashed on smoothly.

Entering April, the sunset felt later than usual, and it was still bright outside the window.

“Sensei, are you going to continue riding this train?”

In response to Nitadori's question,

“I plan to.”

I nodded hard.

The after record that I, no, we would be attending begins every Friday morning at 10am. This schedule would not change unless there were exceptional circumstances.

Thus, I have to take this Limited Express to Tokyo every Thursday and spend the night in the hotel, or in other words, spending the night there. There are 13 episodes for the anime in total, so the after record would take 3 months.

From this moment forth, I would continue to request absence from school on Fridays. Of course, I did explain the reasons to the school, and obtained permission to do so. Or rather, it was the opposite. I did transfer to this school because I would be allowed to do this.

“I can take the night bus...but to be honest, I don't think I'll be able to sleep.”

And once I said this, Nitadori nodded,

“Right right! I think this is the case too! It's hard at 10A, right? If the Shinkansen's (bullet train) still available, we could have made it in time if we leave early.”

The 10A Nitadori spoke of is the simplified term of the after record that begins at 10am (though I only knew of this recently).

This is the earliest time slot possible, but many of the voice actors are nocturnal folks, so this seems to be tough for them, and really unmotivating as a result.

“It's true. But I—”

I really like to take the Limited Express of the non-Shikansen train lines. The cars are mostly empty, and since the I always start my rides at the first stop of each line, there's definitely seats for me to take. The train ride is long, and I can do what I want to do; the scenery is beautiful too when the weather's fine.

When I expressed my true thoughts, Nitadori answered,

“Maybe I might like this train after this.”

Back then, I didn't notice the meaning behind these words.

While conversing, the train conductor came to check the Limited Express tickets.

Sometimes, the train conductor of this train was a young woman, and this is the case here.

I don't know what sort of ideas this conductor lady would have after seeing us seated side by side in the empty carriage.

But surprisingly, after inspecting my ticket, her face showed a flash of surprise when she continued on with Nitadori. I didn't know why that was so.

After the conductor left, Nitadori asked,

“Sensei, where do you plan to stay once you reach Tokyo?”

And then, she said,

“Maybe...the editorial branch? Are you going to...sleep under the table with a sleeping bag...?”

“No, that's not it.”

I said while giving a slight smile.

Nitadori doesn't seem familiar with the editorial branch and the publishing industry., and while thinking that this is an ordinary person's response, I answer,

“When I have to spend the night in Tokyo due to work, the Dengeki Bunko editorial branch will book me a hotel room near Idabashi station.”

“Heh? Where?”

Thinking that this wasn't something that needed secrecy, I answered by telling her the name.”

That beautiful hotel's located between Idabashi and Suidoubashi stations, and I'm rather satisfied with the hotel, which has the option of a late checkout time at 12pm, and was a walking distance away from the editorial branch. Certain rooms were positioned such that the 'Kadokawa 3rd Tower Building' could be seen.

“Hm....”

Nitadori didn't react in any way, showing an expression that showed she did not hear of this before.

And so, thinking that she would have known about it somehow, I quipped,

“But during the end-of-year party the previous two years—”

At that time, I was living at a hotel that was named the same as a large dome stadium.

It was a round stadium akin to a large balloon. People will normally use it as an example of large, but most who had yet to see the real thing themselves would not have an exact idea to that (maybe it's easier to understand by comparing it to the Blue Whale or the Yamato battleship).

That 43 storey tall hotel is located right beside the dome.

“Ahh!”

This time, Nitadori exclaimed in happiness,

“If it's that hotel, I've been there a few times! That one's amazing, right! The high-rise view's really great!”

“Yeah, it was the mid-winter, so it's a nice scene.”

The scenery back then was really great.

Looking down at the white dome roof, I could see the theme park beside it and the streets that continued on. I could see Mount Tsukuba far away, and the lighting decorations which would only appear at that time were really pretty.

I can also see the tallest electrical tower from the glass elevators facing the east, standing tall as if it is the resting place of a final boss in a roleplaying game.

I wondered about the scenery I saw as I answered her, and wondered if Nitadori's family was rich if she was able to stay there a few times.

That hotel was located in the middle of Tokyo, but the flair varied from the usual business hotels. The guest rooms were spacious and luxurious, there were speakers installed in the bathroom, and I could hear the sounds from the television. Speaking of which, it felt more like a resort hotel instead (though I never lived in on).

Was it really fine of me to live there without paying a single cent? This apprehension and excitement rendered me sleepless.

“What about tomorrow? Are you going back after the after record's done?”

Nitadori continued to fire questions at rapid-fire.

To be honest, she really helped me out here. I really was bad at conversing, but simple questions would help me to relax somewhat, and help me out.

“Yeah, the Limited Express and normal tickets come with a return trip, so when there's a trip back, I'll take the free-seating ride back. There are times when I have to hold meetings after the after record's done. During those moments I'll go to the editorial branch at Idabashi with the editor-in-charge, and then I'll stay there for another night.”

“I see.”

While conversing, the Limited Express stopped at the next stop. 2 passengers entered, one seated rather upfront, while another was seated 5 rows in front of us.

Leaving aside the quiet moments when the train has stopped, I supposed we didn't have to worry about being eavesdropped on once the train began to move.

Once it started moving, Nitadori asked the next question,

“You were staring at some printed materials there. Is it the manuscript of the novel?”

Nitadori's next question was not a difficult one for me to answer.

“Yeah. That's the manuscript for the next volume of 'Vice Versa' that's to be published, though I can't say when.”

“Wow...amazing...like an author.”

Nitadori clenched her little fists as she said this.

“Well...I am an author though.”

It's rather embarrassing, but I couldn't say that wasn't the case, so I could only answer that way. This definitely is the only time I would describe myself using the 'I'm an author'.

“I can't disturb you then, sensei...”

“It's fine. This isn't that important.”

This manuscript doesn't need to be inspected by today.

I had taken this Limited Express countless times, and I did all sorts of things while on the ride. Sometimes, I would check the manuscript like I did on this day. Other times, I would be writing on the laptop, or reading a book I brought along.

There were also moments where I would listen to music while viewing the scenery, thinking of new ideas, or emptying my mind.

Either that, or I would do all of these together, or sleep throughout the ride and not do anything.

“Thanks.”

For some reason, Nitadori thanked me quietly.

And then,

“Actually, I got some things to do too. I want to read the script thoroughly.”

“Oh, I see.”

The script obviously referred to the one used for the next day, the second episode of 'Vice Versa'.

“So...I'm going back to another seat later. See you at the studio tomorrow.”

Nitadori spoke with a very normal voice. She doesn't seem to feel pity about this, and doesn't seem very happy either.

“Of course, I won't talk to you in the studio, since I'm just a rookie in the voice acting world who's finally able to get a named role. You're the original author of this anime too! How can I be that haughty?”

She then said that. I didn't know whether she was joking or being serious.

I didn't feel that Nitadori and I had that sort of senior-junior relationship, but thinking how it might be serious if anyone's to overhear our conversation at such a close distance, and how difficult it would be to cover up, I said,

“Got it. I won't talk to you in the studio either. There will probably be trouble for us if our secret's discovered, and I'm bad at talking, so I can't hide this.”

After hearing this, Nitadori smiled as she narrowed the eyes under the glasses.

“Got it. Are you taking this train next week, sensei?”

I nodded.

“Can I sit beside you if I'm not going to disturb you? I never seen an author before, so I'm very interested in you...I got lots of questions to ask. Can I?”

I had no reason to refuse.

To me, it's a rare experience for me to talk with a girl like Nitadori, even if I'm just answering questions.

I suppose that in the near future, I'll be 'using this experience' for my novel.

But at that moment, do I write it out plainly and get her to agree being the basis of the character, or do I hide her completely?

“Yeah sure. I'm always sitting at this seat in this car.”

“Great! Now I can level up and improve my acting!”

“Improve by 'level up'?”

“You're really particular like an author, huh?”

“But...I'm an author.”

This was the second time in my life that I said this. Was this exchange going to be a cliché?

“Alright, see you next week then!”

Nitadori's eyes were staring at my face when she said this, but I felt that she was not saying this to me, but to herself instead.

She got up from the seat, pulled her long hair behind, and nodded slightly at me.

“Bye then.”

I waved my hand slightly as I watched the black hair of Nitadori's back walk down aisle.

It was embarrassing to watch a girl's back without looking away, so I averted my eyes out of the window when she was halfway past the car.

And then, when I placed the bag that was leaning at my calf onto the seat Nitadori sat on,

“Ah...”

I was suddenly intrigued by something. I didn't ask what sort of role Eri Nitadori was acting as.

Once I knew I missed the chance to hear that, I was suddenly curious about it.

“...”

If Nitadori was still seated in this car, I thought I would want to ask about this. And so, I stood up immediately.

My eyes continued to search hard, but there was no sight of her. I couldn't be chasing her down to the car in front either.

And I sat down.

That night, I found out 3 things at the hotel.

First, the laptop contained the information I got from the producer previously, with the character names and the voice actors listed inside.

Second, Nitadori said that she'll be staying overnight like me, and that she'll be checking the script, but she wasn't carrying any baggage.

Third, the gray suit woman too was nowhere to be seen at her seat when I stood up to look for Nitadori.

The next day was a Friday, April 11th.

I saw Nitadori at the after record of the second episode of the anime 'Vice Versa'.

Not that I 'met Nitadori', but 'saw her' as the words implied.

It was at a certain recording studio in Japan.

The editor-in-charge and I entered the control room at 9.40 A.M., and by then, Nitadori was already inside.

She was dressed in plain clothes that were easy to move it. I heard that voice actors would choose to wear clothes that would not make much sounds if possible.

She tied her long black hair in a bundle to prevent it from being an obstruction.

She continued to greet the senior voice actors that came in as her hair swayed about, her bow akin to a sports club member.

The recording began.

Nitadori practically didn't have a chance to appear.

It was to be expressed. Looking at the time frame, the second episode of the anime was just the beginning of the story, and took up about 30 pages of the original first volume.

The ones with lines were mostly the main characters of 'Vice Versa'. Nitadori's character would not appear at all until the 5th episode.

So why did Nitadori appear?

Could she not appear at the studio like those famous voice actors who didn't have any roles on this day?

After pondering about it, I finally got an answer.

She was present to help act out one or two lines from the unnamed characters, like the protagonist's female classmate, a passer-by woman, and so on. Also, she would be taking part in 'background' scenes where many people would talk.

She was being very attentive no matter whether she was at the chair furthest from the microphone, or during the short scenes she had, never relaxing a little as she gave a serious look.

Her expression was as sharp as a blade, like a 'real Japanese sword'.

Luckily, I didn't have a chance to talk to her. I didn't know how I was supposed to converse with her during that situation.

After the 4 hour long recording ended, I had no reason to stay behind.

I greeted the anime supervisor, sound supervisor and producer, and informed them that I intended to depart.

The voice actors too left the studio booth in a single file, greeted the control room briefly, and left.

Before I left, I glanced at the booth, and saw Nitadori greet the departing voice actors, with her hair swaying again.

### 011. Chapter 2 - April 17, She asked me

### Part 1

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

The black dye forming in my mind spreading quickly and quietly.

At the same time, rain began to fall in the middle of my sights.

This is because, the moment Nitadori yelled, the tears gathered on the inside of the lens fell out.

Inexplicably however, the tears never fell no matter how long it too.

They seemed to linger in the air.

On a closer glance, I found they expanding slowly, very slowly.

But they never fell.

The tears never fell.

That was what I realized in my darkened mind.

At this moment, the flow of time seem to be very slow.

### Part 2

It was the evening of April 17th, the 3rd Thursday of the month.

I entered the Limited Express car.

Passing through the doors, I went towards the exact same seat I took the previous week.

The free-seating carriage was as empty as before, and there were fewer passengers.

I arrived at the platform 20 minutes earlier than before, hoping not to miss the ride, and also to take my favorite seat. While waiting at the platform, I looked left and right, but did not see Nitadori.

But even so, I placed my backpack on the rack the moment I got on; once she came by, I would not have to worry about moving my stuff aside. The carriage was so empty, and I didn't think anyone else would come.

After that, I sat down at the windowside seat.

I then looked at the watch wrapped around my left wrist.

When I received my first royalty, I thought 'Maybe I should buy something to commemorate', and so, I spent 30,000 Yen on this digital watch, and ever since then, I had been wearing this. Or rather, I had been wearing this watch all this time.

The last time I stared at the display so intently was when I first bought this watch.

The train departed punctually from the station, and nobody came to my side.

On this day, a cold downpour occurred since morning, and so the windowpanes were drenched as it began moving, causing the scenery to look contorted.

On this week, from Monday till Thursday, Nitadori, didn't speak to me at school, just as we promised.

It was me who always entered the classroom earlier, and Nitadori would proceed to the seat behind me unwittingly while I was reading or in my delusions.

Once it was class break, I would not turn my head around to speak to her, and she too wouldn't talk to me either..

Speaking of which, I was hardly in the classroom during class break. I would either head to the toilet,or I would find a place to stroll nonchalantly for no particular reason.

During lunch, I would have my own meal in the school cafeteria, and then stay in the library until class ended.

After school, I would head home immediately, as quickly as possible to read books, watch anime and movies, or write my novel.

The train got faster, and the raindrops flowed down the window.

The seat beside me remained empty.

“Maybe I should get to work...”

I muttered. I couldn't recall when was it that I first described my actions as 'work'. Though I had no experience in working part-time, I was already spouting the word work like others.

I stood up to pick up my bag, intending to retrieve the items from within.

And at that moment, the automatic doors behind me opened.

“Yo! Sensei!”

Someone spoke up to me from behind.

Despite hearing only the voice, I knew who it was before I even turned around.

And so, I moved my hands away from my bag.

Nitadori had a bag with her on this day.

It was brown, an old looking travel bag with wheels attached to it. Nitadori pulled it as she let it roll, and placed it horizontally at the seat behind me.

She was holding a bag of goods purchased from the convenience store.

I could see through the bag. It contained two bags of potato chips and two 500ml PET bottles of tea.

“Here!”

She said as she handed it to me, and so, I did not take my backpack, picking the plastic bag instead. Trying my best not to touch her hands, I managed to grab the bag skilfully, a rarity at that.

I sat down beside the window. Like the previous week, Nitadori had her hair tidied in a bundle, letting it drape down her right shoulder as she sat down.

“It's been a week, sensei, though I've been seeing your back every day.”

This greeting certainly was weird, but it was fact.

“It's been a week. Though...I do sense your stare every day.”

I put the plastic bag on my thighs and did my best to answer.

“Did you feel my hot, passionate stare?”

And that reply came with a smile.

Seeing her act like that, I continued to try my best,

“Yeah, I do. I felt...a burning feeling on my back.”

“Oh? You're good. Do you then understand what's it about?”

“What do you mean? 'Hey! Add more appearances for Meek!'”

“Correct!”

Meek is a supporting character in 'Vice Versa'.

She's a 'homonculus' created by an alchemist; in other words, an artificial human.

Since it is a fictitious story, the characters are typically very pretty, and the homonculus in particular is designed to have 'extraordinary bueaty'.

And so, the unique characteristic the homonculus have is heterochromia; in other words, they have different colored eyes.

The colors differ amongst the homonculus, and in Meek's case, her right eyes is wine red, while her left's yellow. Her hair's blond and short.

Her exotic clothes are such that it bares lesser skin, and there's a green muffler wrapped around her neck.

Nitadori Eri, the girl with long black hair sitting beside me now, was voicing her character.

I wanted to ask her about something.

And after 3 seconds of choosing my words,

“Nitadori, about 'Vice Versa'...how much have you read?”

I asked tentatively.

I didn't go straight to the point and ask her 'did you read it?' Instead, I said 'how much have you read'. Even I found myself pathetic here.

I did hear from somewhere that when acting in an anime that has original work, some would read the entire work, and some wouldn't read the work at all.

The former group wanted to understand the world setting and the characters they're portraying, even if it's a little, and understand the parts that were omitted from the script (however, there are some characters that were completely different from how they were in the original work as compared to the anime script).

The latter group were the opposite, thinking that the script (screenplay) they have is everything for the anime, and deliberately chose not to touch the original work so that they would not sense any difference from the original work.

Of course, there are those who feel that it's time-taxing to read all of the original work. A manga would be one thing, but reading 9 volumes of a light novel series is not that easy.

“Well, I didn't read all of the original work, you know?”

If Nitadori were to answer like that, I would probably feel nothing but heartfelt disappointment, and I wouldn't have confidence in continuing the conversation.

But even so, the reason why I deliberately asked that question was,

I wanted to know how much we knew in common when I talk to her If she did read the original work, there's something we can both talk about.

In conclusion, her response was,

“I read all 9 volumes! They're interesting!”

She answered without a moment's hesitation, in a matter-of-fact manner, continuing by saying the words an author would be most delighted with.

“Th—”

I was unable to continue on,

“Th?”

Nitadori tilted her head slightly as she listened to me.

Taking a steady breath, I blurted out what was on my mind,

“Thanks.”

Nitadori let a little gasp, and expressed her thoughts,

“Likewise, sensei.”

'Vice Versa'.

Typically, this term would be used at the end of a sentence, with an 'and' added in front. The meaning of this is 'the opposite of the preceding statement holds true'.

For example,

“I hate him and vice versa.”

The meaning of this English line would be,

“I hate him, and he too hates me.”

This is a very colloquial mainly used in conversations, so normally, it goes like this,

“I hate that guy, and I guess we both hate each other.”

“I hate that guy, but I guess that guy feels the same towards me.”

Well, that seems to be how it goes.

This lines didn't seem like it was English to begin with, and actually, it wasn't; it was originally from Latin, it seemed.

I learned of this English expression when I was a Middle School student. It was not taught in English class, and neither did it appear in the textbooks; I saw it in the library, on the title of a slightly old American movie.

If I have to describe 'Vice Versa' in one line, it would be 'the story of one summoned to a foreign world .

The submitted work, which ended up as the summary of the first volume, is as followed,

The protagonist's a boy born in modern Japan.

His name is 'Shin Tsumizono 摘園真'. Naturally, the name's derived from the meaning of 'Vice Versa', 'the opposite of the preceding statement holds true'. (TN: 真means truth.)

Shin's a docile high school boy, and lived in a certain town of a certain prefecture where the mountains could be viewed. He grew up with a girl called 'Yui', and lived a very peaceful high school life with a few good friends amicably.”

But on a certain day, he felt a mysterious music seemingly ringing in his mind, and he was suddenly transported to a different world.

This world, certainly not Earth, was called 'Reputation'. There were 5 moons in the sky, and a belt of light surrounding the planet.

Magic naturally existed in this world, and there were also all sorts of creatures, including species like elves and dwarves.

Shin, not knowing what was going on, met a boy who resembled him greatly.

That boy was the other protagonist, 'Sin'. (TN: Original has it as シン, using Sin here to distinguish between the two.)

Sin was so similar to Shin that they were practically twins, but he had such a contrasting personality, for he's feisty, and had an amazing amount of combat ability.

Sin is a prince of one of the kingdoms existing in the chaos roaming this world. His father had recently passed away, and he inherited the throne at a young age.

For the survival of his country, Sin fought on, at the same time harboring a dream of finally uniting the world and allowing all to live in peace.

In the history of Reputation, the 'two great kings' once fought a battle for supremacy. The winner of the war 'true king (self-proclaimed)' ruled his world. Several hundred years passed, and the true king (self-proclaimed) had vanished somewhere. His authority lost its luster, and the world was in chaos again.

Unfortunately for him, Shin arrived in this warring era that was filled with bloodshed. In his very first battle, he died easily.

And then, he revived.

In this world, Shin had immortality, and was able to revive over and over again.

No matter what sort of damage his body took, in other words, his head lopped off, his body burned, or blown into gibs by bombs, his flesh and blood would gather again, and he would revive.

Sin was particularly interested in Shin, and thought of using the latter.

Shin had no intention of getting involved in such fights and getting himself killed, but upon realizing that there were no other ways to live on or return to his world, he colluded with Sin.

Sin's little sister was a pretty girl called Ema with a similar face to the duo, and Shin, working together with their gathering of beautiful maids cum bodyguards and macho looking warrior subordinates, spent his days dying over and over again in these turbulent times.

Soon after, they took on a powerful enemy country.

The young general of the neighboring country, Pluto, led his forces to attack Sin's country.

In this battle that concerned the survival of the country, Shin learned of Sin's thoughts and determination, understanding that the latter's a kind person in nature who hated war more than anyone else. And so, he decided to summon all his courage and work together with Sin.

It was the final battle.

Shin acted as Sin's decoy, and deliberately led himself to be caught.

The former was easily revealed to be an impostor, and was killed. As according to plan, he revived, escaped, caused chaos on the battlefield, and at the very end, Shin took on Pluto himself.

No matter how many times he died, Shin continued to fight and pester Pluto. Once Shin realized that the handsome Pluto was actually a pretty girl dressed as a male, he seized the opportunity and won.

And so, Shin and Sin managed to fight back the enemy forces, saving the country.

While Sin, the leader of the country, and Ema were wondering about how they should repay Shin, Shin heard the music that led him to this world, and realized that he could return to his own world.

When leaving Reputation, Shin suavely left these words to the boy who resembled him,

“You owe me a favor, Sin!”

When he returned back to modern Japan, he found that nary a second had passed.

Having returned safely from the vanished world and time, Shin wondered if that was just a dream,

But even so, he was able to feel proud about being able to summon his courage.

And then, he ran off to the friends calling him name.

The end.

Or so it seemed, but it didn't end here.

After flipping a few pages, there's the stinger,

A few days later, after school, Shin was on his way to play with Yui and his friends,

“Where's this place!?”

Only to find a fully armed Sin suddenly appearing in front of him in modern Japan.

And then, he saw Shin's face.

The 1st volume ended here, and the story was to be continued the 2nd volume.

'Vice Versa has sold 9 volumes'.

The odd numbered volumes are called 'Side Shin', and the even numbered volumes are called 'Side Sin'.

These terms was originally used by the editor-in-charge and me for convenience sake, and soon after, it's used in the introductory synopsis. Right now, these terms are widely used by the readers themselves.

A little off-topic, but since both of them didn't sound different, we would call 'Side Shin' as 'Side Makoto' instead.

In the odd numbered volumes, Shin would be brought over to Regulation to fight, and the story's serious and bloody.

In the even numbered volumes, Sin would be brought over to modern Japan, causing all sorts of ruckus, and the story's comedic.

In the second volume, once Sin, who arrived in Japan, was spotted by Shin's friends, the latter had a brainwave, and came up with a setting of him 'being a guy who likes to cosplay as Middle Ages era characters, and being a long estranged cousin who has such uncanny resemblance both of them were often thought of as twins'.

And so, Sin was nearly arrested by the police for violating the firearms control law, and was completely astounded by all sorts of things in modern Japan like cars, buildings and trains. He tried to look into the distance, and climbed up the high voltage electrical poles quickly, only to be electrocuted and fell to his death.

And then, he revived.

If this were to keep up, Sin would probably end up committing a robbery to survive, and so Shin decided to bring him home.

Though they met Shin's mother very quickly,

“Since we're cousins, I guess I have no choice here.”

His open-minded mother, for some reason, agreed to allow Sin to live with them.

And so, Sin lived together with Shin in Japan, not knowing what to do to get back to Japan.

In conclusion, he solved the problems surrounding Shin through some relatively forceful methods.

And at the end of the 2nd volume, when Shin bid farewell to a vanishing Sin,

“You owe me a favor, Shin!”

And so, the volume ended in a completely different situation from the 1st volume.

In the 3rd volume, Shin again returned to Regulation.

In the 4th volume, Sin again returned to Japan. This time, he had Ema with him, who just so happened to hold his hand.

And the story of seriousness and comedy repeated over and over again.

It may be a little too much for me to say this,

No, I understand this better than anyone else, for I'm the one who wrote this.

'Vice Versa's an over-the-top story.

It includes a Middle Age era fantasy, all sorts of monsters, flashy magic, mysterious science and mecha, battles and wars, journeys, friendship, cute moe girls, characters with many aspects of personalities, the burning friendship between guys, Machiavellian schemes of politicians, mystery plots involving identical looks, immortality, sexy situations, gags, tear-jerking episodes, tragic farewells, peaceful school life, cynical irrationality, otaku episodes,

I basically crammed all the interesting elements I saw in the novels, manga, anime and movies I saw into this work.

The idea of letting the protagonists switch between Reputation and Japan was an answer I derived when thinking about how to convey all these aspects.

Upon hearing those words,

“Now that's cunning of you.”

The editor-in-charge gave me such praise.

We're inside the Limited Express.

And after I expressed my thanks because she read my work,

“Likewise, sensei.”

Nitadori gave me this answer, and then continued on,

“Anyway, that's how it is. Do you want some snacks?”

I didn't know what she meant by 'that's how it is', but Nitadori gently lifted the plastic bag that was on my lap.

“Please prepare a table.”

I did as I was told, and pulled the table from the seat handrail.

I would usually place my stuff on my lap when checking the scripts and using the laptop, so this is the first time I'm using the table.

Nitadori placed the two bottles of tea and the salted seaweed potato chips on my table.

“It's a token of thanks from me.”

“Ah...thanks. I was feeling a little hungry, so thanks for helping me with that...I guess?”

“Don't worry about it. I want to have some too, and it's thanks for being willing to continue talking with me. Just think of it as katusdon in the interrogation room.

“I see. You said that you got a lot of questions to ask me, right?”

Even if there's no katsudon , I'm still willing to answer all your questions (Off topic, but in fact, the police won't give any katsudon when interrogating others, and if orders were placed, if seems the suspects will have to pay for themselves).

Even so, since Nitadori provided me with a gift, I'll just accept it without thinking too much.

With this, I guess the excuse of answering lots of questions because I accepted sweets is established.

I held the ends to open the bag of potato chips, "I really like salted Seaweed.”

And expressed my honest thoughts.

Even since I was young, salted seaweed flavor's my favorite for potato chips, and I like it to the point of being unwilling to take other flavors.

“I I like it too.”

Nitadori's brief words really shocked me, and I nearly dropped the bag.

Wait. Don't be mistaken. That's definitely not what she meant. I tried convincing myself this.

I crisply open this bag of potato chips that's slightly bloated due to the atmospheric pressure of this town.

And then, I thought of something.

“What about horse sashimi flavor?”

There's a souvenir shop located next to the departure platform selling such flavored chips, though they aren't potato chips. As they're souvenirs, they're a little more pricey.

Having asked this question, I look over at Nitadori, and she turned her glasses towards me with a serious look.

“I did hear of the rumors before, and I did try it. It's nice, but I must say that it's different from real horse sashimi. I don't want to dabble in such trivial stuff of whether such a thing can be considered as such, and I don't think I'm the one to decide this. Now then—who can it be?”

In response to this overly serious and pretentious declaration, I ponder seriously, and say,

“...Erm. The horse sashimi god?”

“Understood. When I take Gonsuke out for a walk the next time, I'll ask him if I meet him.”

“Meet him, really? While walking?”

“No, I haven't met him yet. But well, it doesn't matter what my mystery experience is like. More importantly, please tell me more about being a writer like what I said last week, and help me level up here.”

“Understood...but your Japanese's a little weird.”

“You're really particular like an author.”

“I'm an author.”

After eating 4 pieces of potato chips and drinking two gulps of tea that was provided,

“Now then, do you mind explaining?”

My interrogation began in this Limited Express carriage.

I don't know whether Nitadori was adjusting her glasses as an act, or something else altogether.

“Understood. I'll answer all of your questions.”

And so, I told her as manly as I could. If I can do it, I'll do it.

“But I don't really have a clear answer other than the overly private stuff, so except for the private matters regarding other people and what I definitely can't reveal in my work...”

And then, I answered in a wimpy manner. If I can't do it, I won't do it.

“Understood.”

The glasses girl who loved horse sashimi smiled as she said this,

“Now then, as for what I wanna ask today,”

“Eh? Today?”

“But we only have 2 and a half hours, right? That's why I decided on a theme every week. There are other things I want to ask next week.”

“...”

“You ate some of my potato chips, right? Actually, a chip's worth a week of questions.”

“...”

I silently reached my hand out for the 5th piece.

I continued to crunch the 6th and 7th piece of chips.

“Ah, do you want some?”

But after realizing that I can't be the only one eating all these, I turn the bag of chips over to Nitadori.

“Thanks. I don't need it now. I'll wait till I'm hungry later. You can finish it all yourself.”

Even if she said so, I didn't intend to finish it myself, and sealed the bag tightly to avoid letting the chips sog, and placed it in the plastic bag.

I wiped my hands with a handkerchief, took a gulp of tea, and said,

“Now then...go ahead.”

“I apologize...if the question's too rude, and please remind me of that.”

Nitadori started off with these words,

“What kind of lifestyle do you have?”

And asked the first question.

I can't see it, but it seemed I showed quite the shocked look.

“Ah, sorry, it's too crude...”

Nitadori frantically added on,

“Well, when I first did the After Record, I was really, really shocked there! 'Vice Versa's really interesting, and it's my first time voicing a named character, so I always wondered what sort of person the author is. But when I searched through the internet, I found the author's real face to be a complete mystery, and some think that the author may be a female...”

Well, it's normal for her to be shocked. I thought. Till this point, I've been shocking the people I met at work.

There was once when I went with the editor-in-charge to meet the anime personnel.

“Oh? You brought your son along?”

And that was what they said to the editor-in-charge.

“And well, I was really shocked to find that person seated in front of me in the classroom during the new semester, so much that my heart and lungs practically stopped...I didn't know how I would end up if the self-introduction continued...”

“Ah...well, I see. I understand since I was shocked too.”

It's only till this point that I realized it was a good thing for me not to turn my head around immediately.

“So first, I want to ask, what sort of childhood did you have, sensei? When did you start reading books? When did you start writing books? How did you think of so many stories and characters.”

I understood what she wanted to. Basically, she wanted to know about me up till this point.

“Understood. Those questions are fine.”

Once I said that, I felt the brown eyes behind those glasses glowing.

As for the first memories I had in my life, I didn't answer them because I didn't want to.

I didn't think there's a need for that.

That's why I answered Nitadori using the next impression I had in life.

“I've...been reading books ever since I was young.”

“When did it start?”

“Hm, well, I got to tell you something before this...I only have a single parent, raised by my mother. If mum didn't tell me about it, I wouldn't have known who my dad is, and whether he's alive or not.”

“...”

After seeing Nitadori suddenly scowl and quiet down,

“But it's to be expected for me. The people around me, including my classmates knew of this, so it's nothing to hide. Don't worry about it.”

I then continued on as per normal, and she nodded slightly,

“I understand...were you always reading books alone since young, sensei?”

I nodded.

I only have a single mother in my family.

I never knew why I was born, as my mother never told me so.

Of course, I never thought of myself as a child of God.

At this point, it's pointless for me to know, and so I never ask; never will I intend to ask.

I heard that my mother's mother, my maternal grandmother, died when I was 2, and my maternal grandfather died earlier. In other words, my mother and I—

Have no relatives at all.

My mother has been working as a nurse for a long time, and because of this, she never once got retrenched. Our family's not rich, but it's not to a point where we can't survive without relying on others.

But as mom's always deployed at different hospitals, we'll move to apartments located near them. I lived in a few places in this prefecture.

I like reading books. I can't think of when it began, and what started it, but what I can remember in my childhood was that I spent all the time reading books by myself.

I was either reading books at home, or at the childcare centers, or at the libraries in my elementary school.

I started reading picture books, and then went on to children books, and then to children literature. I suppose that when I was in 4th grade, I read through all the books in my school's library.

I really like to read books, and anything goes as long as I have books. I never thought of doing anything else.

And because of that, I practically had no friends.

There are classmates I sometimes interact with in school, but there aren't any friends who would ask me out to play after school or invite me to their houses.

This is because I kept transferring schools, coupled with my introverted personality, and more important—

“I felt happier reading books, treating them as toys...”

“Treating them as toys?”

Nitadori tilted her head, as the term implied.

This was to be expected.

There's a definite need to explain this.

“What I mean by 'treating them as toys' is...”

To play with the books.

To play with my delusions.

There was no way the young me could imagine characters, settings and conversations right from scratch.

And so, after reading a book, I'll read it again.

When reading it again, I'll understand the scenes in the book, imagining the images in my mind. I'll then destroy them as I please and reset them accordingly to what I like.

For example, I'll turn a tragedy into a complete opposite, a comedy.

And I'll turn all the characters that appeared in a comedy to die unnatural deaths in a tragedy.

That was how I started off playing with the characters.

Once I got proficient at it, I started to increase the number of characters. That would be myself.

I would immerse myself in the world of the book, beat all the characters that debuted inside it, and prove my strength.

I could play with this up till 10 times in a book. I would rewrite the setting every single time, until I got addicted to it.

That's the 'role play' kind of game. Every kid had done it.

I'll use dolls for girls, and for boys, I would insert myself as a hero.

However, I used books for this case.

“I see...”

After hearing the explanation, Nitadori seemed impressed, saying,

“In other words, you've always been reading books and having imaginations since young, sensei.”

“Yeah. I prefer the term 'delusions' however, so I'll express it as 'delusions'. That's about the same meaning.”

I feel that 'imaginations' give a more elegant vibe, while 'delusions' give a vibe of 'doing foolish things', and I prefer this nuance.

“How were your grades in elementary school?”

“I think I did decent other than P.E. I like reading books, so this includes textbooks. From the start of the new school semester, I read through the textbooks over and over again. On a side note, I do like reading dictionaries too.”

“I see.”

“And then, during 5th grade, there's something that undoubtedly changed my life. Without that incident, I'll never have the current me.”

That really did affect my life greatly, and I blurted it honestly.

“Wh-what exactly is it?”

Nitadori asked with a serious face. She's like a journalist here, just without a notepad in her hands.

Just when I intended to answer, the train conductor came by. It's a middle aged man this time, and after briskly checking the Limited Express tickets Nitadori and I had, he departed.

“Erm—”

I continued on,

“My mom decided to move houses. For my sake.”

It happened during Spring, when I was promoting from 4th grade to 5th grade.

My mother suddenly decided to move houses.

There was no change in her workplace location, she just wanted to move houses for my sake.

She wanted to move to a place 20km away from our original house.

The new apartment was located right beside the largest library in the area.

If I could be right beside a large library, that might that—

I could read all the books to my heart's content from henceforth. The collection of books in the school library far pales in comparison to it.

I was really happy when I heard about it. Though I had to transfer school again, it really didn't matter to me.

Mom had a lot more overtime work as a result, and that in turn caused me to be really troubled—

Actually, I was too happy to even think about that.

“Ever since then, I was always at 3 places, my apartment room, the elementary school, and the library. The library really was great, because, to put it, I didn't have to buy books!'

I just hope that all the readers would buy my books ever since I became an author however. I never expressed this thought to Nitadori, especially since even I thought it was selfish.

“Your mother's really amazing! You've been reading non-stop ever since then, right, sensei...?”

“I was reading, playing.”

Feeling parched after saying all this, I dowsed myself with some tea.

The library contained books many elementary school libraries did not contain. Or I would say, they contained those kinds of books.

In other words, there were a lot more adult oriented books, and my choice of books increased instantly.

The typical detective novels prior to this were mostly about Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes, but at that point, I could obtain detective novels that were more adult oriented.

I hungrily devoured the detective-themed books written by famous Japanese authors.

These books were typically written for adults, so there were some rather erotic scenes written within.

Unable to understand the prose, I read them with my heart pounding. I would wonder if anyone would have noticed what I was reading if they approached me from behind.

The library had mangas which the school library didn't have.

Of course, they were those famous works, and it really was an opportunity for me, who had no chance to read them. With the chance to obtain these classic works, I understood the joy of reading manga.

There were also many of the so called light novels in the library, and I had the chance to be introduced to them.

At first, I did not particularly notice the differences between a light novel and other kinds of books. I didn't remember how it was back then, but it's not a rarity nowadays to see a light novel with a cover illustration.

But as light novels occupied one entire bookstore, I merely assumed them to be another type of book, and started looking from the catchy looking titles.

After browsing through, I found that light novels could be said to be novels similar to manga; There were lots of illustrations, and the plotlines were similar.

At this age, I, like other people, started off attracted by the 'cute female character drawing' at first. Thus, I started reading them happily, and played with them.

I could also watch movies in the library.

The library had DVDs for borrowing, and I could either bring them home to watch, or to watch in the library.

I feel that in terms of 'enjoying a story', both books and movies are the same. I got addicted to movies after watching a few of them. Like mangas, I did check out a few classic works on the shelves.

And ever since I began watching movies, I started watching television, which I watched infrequently back then, just to watch the movies.

Of course, it wasn't to a point of reducing my reading time, but watching movies inspired me to watch anime often.

The me right now really like watching anime, and this includes all genres. It was only near the end of my 6th grade that I began to watch them religiously (or record them to avoid missing out). I even rewatched the recordings and watch anime to enjoy the stories.

After hearing my explanation till this point, Nitadori looked very impressed.

“Hm.”

Looking solemn, she mused,

“In other words...your mother moved houses to give you gifted education?”

“Ahaha, I guess.”

I gave an honest smile, and continued,

“The types of books I could read and marvel at increased, and as a result, I had more time playing with those works. I forgot when it started, but I was able to come up with delusions even if I've yet to finish a book, like before I sleep, when I shower, or when I'm in class.”

“You can't do that in class!?”

Nitadori chortled, her tone clearly the opposite of what she said, and she continued,

“I got a question, sensei. Do you play video games?”

“Practically not. The first time I tried it was during early elementary school. I borrowed a game from someone at the childcare center, and it was interesting, but—”

“But?”

“I was horrible at it. Very. I just couldn't play well no matter how I tried, and I couldn't play to the point where it got interesting, which really puts a dampener on me. I was rather interested in role-play games or adventure games with interesting stories...but I just felt that games were still inferior to books.”

“I see, I see.”

The Limited Express raced through a few stations in the rain.

The passengers increased in the number, but the tour group passengers were having a commotion, so we could continue with our conversation as normal.

“So sensei, it's because you had such a childhood that you were able to have all sorts of imaginations.”

After learning of my past, Nitadori asked me about a question, 'the major decision I made in my life'.

“When did you decide to begin writing a novel?”

The editor-in-charge did ask the same question Nitadori did. My answer wouldn't change with time, and I just had to answer her.

“I decided to do so in 8th grade.”

I managed to graduate successfully from 8th grade.

I suppose I transferred schools 5 times in those 6 years. Of course, I had no friends at all.

I became a middle school student, studying at the middle school near the library.

With the school nearby, it meant that I had a shorter travel distance. This really helped me out in Middle School.

If anyone were to ask me if there were any changes upon entering middle school, I would say none, at first.

Just a little growth spurt, and a change of voice.

Nothing else changed however. I couldn't make any friends, and I was just living my life reading books, watching movies, anime, and having delusions.

“Ah, I studied too!”

“Very good.”

At this point, the stories I had in my delusions ended up forming in the real world.

In other words, a delusion of me being active in the book's world ends up with me being some amazing guy in the real world, able to do anything. (I can't really remember when exactly I became like that though.)

For example,

A terrorist attacked my Middle school, killed the teachers, and took the students hostage. I managed to deal with it easily though, and I had the fantasy of such a story appearing in Hollywood.

When I look outside the window during class—

“The terrorists are hiding in that milk truck! We can't let those guys enter the school!”

I had such grandeur delusions countless times.

And when I shared these delusions as a joke with other authors at the end-of-year party,

“I once had such things too, ahaha.”

And they looked surprised, answering,

“Eh? —there are people who don't do that?”

That was when I learned that everyone did that sort of thing.

But the delusions of 'making myself a cool and amazing protagonist'—

Suddenly stopped once I got to 8th grade.

“Why—did something happen at that time?”

The interviewer Nitadori asked me.

The bespectacled face immediately approached me, and I retreated my body back.

“Well...to put it simply, I learned of my own limit.”

“Ah?”

“Actually, I realized that if I'm to keep it up...I won't be able to be the protagonist.”

“Hm? I still don't understand.”

My delusions till this point are all centered around 'myself'.

No matter which story is it, I'll appear and show off in them.

I can do whatever I want within the story, beat any enemy, escape any crisis, solve any mysterys, and become friends with pretty girls (though I was just thinking about pleasant things, not to the point of lovers).

Once I got to 8th grade however, I realized my limits, the limits I have in the real world.

I'm not good at sports, and my grades in school weren't excellent.

Furthermore, I'm not good at making friends. I never made any in the past, so this is to be expected.

I can't try to make any girl happy even if I tried talking to me. In any case, I was unable to converse with someone of the opposite gender normally.

I never had quarrels with others, and I don't want to; if that were to happen, I guess I'll definitely lose.

After looking at myself in the real world objectively—

I couldn't find myself becoming any kind of hero even in my free delusions.

I could no longer let myself be the protagonist. It's depressing and down-heartening, but that was what I had to recognize.

So, did the delusions end?

Not at all. The opposite, in fact,

“My delusions escalated further from then on.”

“Escalate...?”

Nitadori repeated what I just said.

And then, she went silent.

The train went around a curb, causing a large jolt. The forces were pressing at me from the side and below.

Looking outside the window, I could see the deformed green leaves pass by in the rain,

“I can somewhat understand, but...”

Nitadori said, and I turn my face back to hers.

This pretty bespectacled girl who loves horse sashimi and is a year younger than me stared at me earnestly,

“You started creating 'characters that aren't yourself, right?”

And she mentioned the correct answer so concisely.

In 8th grade, I gave up on myself in my delusions, gave up on being the me that would most probably be just a pathetic character.

Instead, I chose to let others take the roles.

That was the turning point.

I no longer thought 'I can't do this'.

Instead, I decided, 'this character's able to do these'.

Using that example of 'terrorists invading school vs the students',

I'll no longer be in the school.

Instead, I'll be high above, like the heavens, creating a character created by the god,

“A Middle School boy who was raised and trained by an old man in the neighborhood who was an ex-JSDF special forces commander, and ended up having combat training every day'.

And then I'll dump this character to the school.

He, living a plain, normal life, sprang to action the moment he heard gunshots, and unleashed the hidden power—this setting will make for a great convenience.

I decided to use 'the him who's able to jump up to the second floor' and replace 'the me who can't even jump onto a box. No matter how much the terrorists will change their plans or even take hostages, they'll definitely be wiped out.

And so, once I created 'a character capable of being a protagonist', my delusions increased exponentially.

I became adept at creating all sorts of scenarios to fit the characters.

For example, when a pursued protagonist finds a motorbike in front of him and a subway station, if it's me, I'll check to see if I have enough spare change to buy a ticket as I head down.

As the protagonist will be riding on a bike however (as it was written), he'll leap onto a bike gallantly, and start the engines. As for why the key's on the bike, I have no idea.

Once I 'fired myself' like this, there was a sudden change in the situation, like a creature living in the sea migrating to the land—

This world of delusions that will continue to grow just keeps growing (though in fact, the seas encompasses more area as compared to the land.)

"I see…! That's really interesting!"

Nitadori was truly impressed, stretching her white tender hands to clap for me.

"Th-thank, you."

I thanked her, and added on,

"During this time...since I fired myself, there's a need for another important change."

Her eyes peering through the glasses, she stared back at me,

"What kind of change?"

In 8th grade, I began creating characters while giving up on 'making myself the protagonist', and the number of characters I could create increased exponentially.

It would be an awkward matter to have a modern Japanese middle student and terrorist fighter be the same character as a prince using swordsmanship and magic in a fantasy world.

Even the enemies, allies and other side characters increased in numbers.

And I created more heroines and protagonists (or else there wasn't any way to make the protagonist popular, and a 'harem setting' can't be established).

In that case, it'll be difficult for me to keep remembering the number of characters I created through my brain alone.

I found that even if I continued to make the same delusions, there are still some things I'll forget.

That'll be a waste of the characters I created with much work. It's fun creating new characters, but I still do wish to preserve the characters I like.

And so, I decided to record them down outside my brain.

Where?

There weren't many options. Back then, I decided to write them down in my notebook, handwritten.

I bought a college notebook at the convenience store diagonally opposite my middle school, and within it, I wrote down—

I wrote down the names of the characters I created, their personalities, their weapons and the names, their favorite foods, and their signature quotes.

And so, my 'delusion notebook' was born

That was the first time I converted the world of delusions, in my head till that point, into words.

Till this day, I still remember the moment when I wrote down the words on the notebook cover,

"My Warld the number first"

That was the moment of me taking a small step towards being a future prospective author.

It was two weeks later when I realized that the word 'world' was written wrongly, and I didn't know what 'number first' meant.

The next day, I bought a second notebook, and wrote in hiragana, 'my world, 2nd volume',

Nitadori was laughing so hard she was breathless,

She continued to laugh, trying her best not to disturb the other passengers,

"Ah, so nice."

And I slowly drank some tea. Soon, the bottle of tea offered to me was empty.

There's a bottle of water in my backpack, but that's a drink I can't buy from anywhere, and it's water I need for medication. In other words, that's my emergency supply of water, so I decided not to open it.

Once the commotion caused by Nitadori finally calmed down, the cart selling goods in the train arrived, so I bought some tea.

The train entered the tunnel, and the carriage car became really noisy,

"Ah...so interesting...I never laughed this hard in so many dozen years! Thanks!"

Nitadori said emotionally.

I retorted in my mind how old are you anyway? , and answered,

"Sure, I guess."

"Ahh, I'm crying. I thought my contacts were about to slip out…"

"Eh?"

I tilted my head, and Nitadori gave a wry smile, saying,

"Ah, oh wait! I forgot that I switched to glasses already…"

She frantically tapped the sides of her glasses with her fingertips.

"Is your head alright…?"

"Wh-whose fault do you think it is?"

I was about to immediately answer 'it's me', but I changed my mind a little.

I thought she could at least take a little joke. I was originally inapt at saying such things to girls, but I decided to give it a try,

"I guess...it's probably 'my world'."

"Pfft!!"

And while waiting for Nitadori to recover, I continued to guzzle down potato chips and tea.

The Limited Express continued to stop at a few stations.

After about midway through the ride, the passengers didn't increase as much as I thought it would. It was already dark outside the window, and the rain continued to pour,

Nitadori said,

"I understand the process that you started off enjoying your own imaginations, and then you gave yourself up, added the characters, and recorded all your imaginations. You're really good at explaining, sensei."

"Th-thanks."

This was the first time someone praised me like this.

"You told me about this because I wanted to know, so I should be the one thanking, thanks—now then, how did you start from this opportunity to begin writing light novels? When did you begin? Since you submitted a script for a contest and published books, you did finish the work; were you able to write it so fluently right from the beginning, or did you have difficulty? How many times did you submit entries for the newcomer award? Why did you choose Dengeki Bunko?"

And after the thanks, it was a rapid-fire of questions,

It's not difficult for me to answer, but I probably won't be able to remember all the questions.

I have to answer them all properly, in order.

First off—

Why did I actually convert my imaginations into words and write a novel? And when did it began?

To answer these questions,

"Erm, I just feel that no matter how many delusions there are, and how many settings I create and record in the notebook, those can't form a novel."

I first started off with these. It was to be expected; Nitadori nodded,

"And also, I feel that a lot of people simply end things off at this phase...I just feel that there are many more people who 'want to be authors, but simply stopped at the imagination', than those who 'aimed to be authors', and actually created some form of work."

Nitadori remained silent as she gave a frighteningly serious look, nodding slightly a few times.

"There are some who actually didn't write anything, just thinking 'I hope to be an author in the future'. I don't intend to say however that these guys are really useless, that they're just wasting their time."

Till this point, I still chose my words properly.

"This is because I can't belittle the past me now that I become an author. I feel that any person will have an egg within them, just that the time they will hatch differ."

I felt that I was being too pretentious, but I really can't think of any other good examples, so I was left without any other option.

"But to be an author, it is a necessary step to 'actually write your own story. Using that example from just now, it's basically trying to break an egg open from the inside."

I said as I looked back at myself, 4 years ago.

"I feel that the opportunity and time to begin writing novels differ amongst people. To be honest, I really don't know how others do it, but I do clearly remember my situation back then…"

After ending off with this opening, I proceed to answer Nitadori's very first question,

"I began converting my delusion notebook into writing, and worked hard in actually trying to create a work. It was—4 months after I first used the delusion notebook, and I remember very well that it was during my summer vacation in 8th grade."

Nitadori brought her face forward. This girl really has the habit of bringing her face forward whenever she's asking the questions.

"And that opportunity?"

I answered,

"When I obtained my weapons."

To be an author, there were 2 weapons I needed.

Of course, the first would be the imaginations I managed to develop from reading since young and my delusions.

The other would be the weapon for writing, the computer.

During summer 3 years ago, when I was 14 years old, my mother wanted to buy something for me.

It was only during my birthday and Christmas that I could ask for something a little more exorbitant.

"Back then, I merely asked mom for books that were a little more pricey than normal…"

But that was the only year that was different. I told mom that I wanted a notebook computer, just the cheapest kind would do.

Mom rejected my request, probably thinking that I just wanted to surf the internet alone at home.

Prior to that moment, I learned how to use the computers in the neighboring library since 6th grade, as they had internet access, and I could check for books online and read the reviews.

However, there was a child lock in the library computers, and there's a time limit for use.

I guess mom was worried that I would get engrossed to the internet, that I would lock myself in the room, addicted to it or online games, and not go to school.

At first, mom said that a computer was expensive, and wouldn't buy one for me. Back then, I didn't have a cellphone.

Thus, I stated my actual thoughts.

I didn't need a network. The proof was that I agreed not to request for internet access. If I really needed it no matter what, I would head to the library next door like before.

I want to write a novel, I want to write one through a computer and a software that could manage my folders.

Having read through so many books, that was the point where I wanted to try writing for myself.

"And then...your mother's reaction was?"

Nitadori clearly knew the result, but she asked with a tentative look.

"She brooded over the issue for a few days, before finally agreeing to it."

"Ohh! Congratulations!"

"I really was happy about it. Of course, I thought that since people in the past wrote their novels on writing paper, I could do it too if I put in the effort."

While still respecting those who composed their stories hand written, I still wanted to continue on,

"But I feel that there's a difference in efficiency between handwriting and typing on the computer, and I'm not wrong to think this way. Ever since I became an author, I heard a lot of things about other authors, but I have never heard anyone say that they composed novels handwritten till this point."

"I see. So the opportunity that came for you wasn't a psychological one, sensei, but a physical one, huh…"

Nitadori succinctly summarized everything for me, and so I nodded firmly.

After I earnestly stated all the ideas I had about the computer, my mom finally agreed to it.

Thinking about it, I guess it was a good thing I said,

"I want to write a novel."

If, instead, I had said,

"I intend to be an author."

I suppose my mom's reaction would be a lot different.

My birthday came, and mom agreed to it, so we went off to buy one.

In any case, mom and I weren't very familiar with the functions, so she personally drove me to a major electronics wholesale store.

To summarize, I just needed to write a story fluidly.

As for the other functions, like being unable to watch television, use the wireless LAN, edit videos or play games—

I didn't need them at all.

Having made up my mind, I said this to the shop attendant.

And then, the middle-aged attendant asked my mother,

"Are you intending to write a novel in the future?"

Unabashedly, I answered from the side,

"Yes!"

"Wow! Now that's really amazing!"

The attendant was suddenly enthusiastic as he explained all sorts of various details to us discreetly.

"That attendant back then was really passionately...and he really helped me out a lot."

I began to keenly discuss the savior whose name and face I couldn't remember.

"Do you intend to use him as the protagonist of a novel?"

Nitadori chimed in such a suggestion.

"...Do you mind letting me jot this down in the notebook first?"

That attendant taught me a lot of things.

"Now then, it's your turn to teach me about them, sensei."

"Understood...do you have any intention to write a novel?"

"Currently not at the moment, but I want to know about it."

"Got it. First, the attendant told me—"

I didn't have to necessarily buy a new computer (that shop also runs a second-hand department).

He told me that if I was worried about the price, I could choose to pick up a second-hand computer that was certainly maintained.

"Well, that makes sense since the budget's more important. Did he tell you which computers are more suited for writing novels?"

"He did. There aren't any special models that are extremely suitable...but I guess you'll know that computers are generally classified as those desktop computers fixed to the table, and the notepad computers that can be flipped open. The attendant did tell me that the notepad computers are very convenient, that even if I don't bring it out of the house, it's easier for me to take it to any room."

"I see. I got a desktop computer at home and a personalized laptop. Most of the time, I do use that personalized laptop."

The attendant also told me that most laptops had internal batteries installed, and if there was a power outage, the damage caused will be minimal.

For those office workers who often had to bring their chargers along and use those in cafes, a light laptop would be of great benefit to them; for those that would typically use their computers at home only, it would be more suitable to choose one with a large screen and a wide keyboard instead of a thin, short one. Furthermore, external keyboards could be connected to it, and I could choose them according to my preferences.

"Oh, so a notepad computer can be connected to an external keyboard. I didn't know that."

"I did see an author actually do that, saying that he wanted a unique fan-shaped keyboard. Personally, I'm fine with the original equipment alone.

The attendant then told me that the computer operating systems could generally be classified as Macintosh and Windows, and that for beginners, Windows would be the way to go. (perhaps the Macintosh users will get up and shout 'I protest'!)

There was no need to be particular about the latest operating system. Naturally however, it's not a good thing to use a particularly old one till a point where the software compare had stopped providing services for it.

"I see. What about the key word processing systems?"

"He told me of two well known ones."

These two systems were 'Microsoft Word' and 'Just Systems — Ichitaro'.

The attendant did say that it was merely a question of preference, but many companies did have Word pre-installed in them.

"But in Japanese input, the attendant strongly recommended the 'ATOK'."

"A tok?"

I drew the letters out with my finger as I answered Nitadori,

"4 capital letters, A, T, O, K."

"I see. So what is the Japanese input system about? Though I do have a rough gist of things."

"To put it simply, it's an input system that can switch all the typed letters into hiragana, katakana and kanji. The computers sold in Japan would all have such a system installed."

However, Word itself did not have ATOK included, for ATOk was a software developed by the makers of 'Ichitaro', 'Just Systems'.

The attendant also told me ATOK is currently the smartest way of inputting Japanese, and literary writers had high praises for it. ATOK also had an electronic dictionary attached to it, and would show the meaning of the word when typing. If my budget would allow, this software would certainly be more convenient.

"Actually, most of the authors I know of are ATOK users. Of course, I don't understand anything about this, so he really helped me a lot out there."

Also, the attendant did tell me that the basic software wasn't very big (it didn't take up a lot of storage space), so I could save it in a hard disk, a memory card, or a USB drive.

However, any saved system may suddenly malfunction, so I need to have a spare backup every time.

"And just like that, I bought a computer for writing while following the advice from that shop attendant."

It was a second hand laptop produced by a Japanese manufacturer, and cost about 30,000 Yen.

The word processing unit I chose was a pre-installed microsoft word, and the additional ATOK electronic dictionary was purchased separately.

On top of that, I also bought a USB memory stick for storage.

To deal with any problems I may had, I also bought a manual for the computer and Word (I can borrow it from the library, but I still wish to have something like this with me around).

Also, I bought a game software, the only one I have.

It's a typing game, enabling me to input the words quickly and correctly.

"When I laid out every single thing I bought onto the table, I was really moved."

And from then on, I began to write.

I equipped myself with the weapons necessary for battle.

"In other words, you're like a delinquent who just got a bike, huh?"

"That's really a terrible example—but, yeah, I guess."

"How about the way to use it? Did you learn it immediately?"

"Well, of course. I was using it from morning till night during my summer vacations."

In any case, I read the books I had—

In the meantime, I began to actually use the computer and learn how to use the two common softwares, Word and ATOK.

And then, I began to play the typing game.

When entering the search terms in the library, I would type them with my two index fingers, slowly.

If I want to write a novel, how I typed would definitely would not be a match to my thinking speed. Even when I was writing out my thoughts, it was not as fast as the speed of my delusions, and I got increasingly irate.

When playing this typing game, I was serious no matter how many times I failed. From there, I learned the importance of the Home position and the correct way to place my fingers.

For the input methods, there was the 'romaji' input method which uses alphabets and the direct 'kana input'; I chose the former.

As for why that's the case, it's because I have less to remember about the position of the keys (but in contrast, the number of keys I have to type will increase).

After typing to a certain level of familiarity, I began to input the content of my delusions notebook into the computer, and began typing.

"Characters, main', 'heroine', 'sub characters', 'world setting', 'conversations'.

I proceeded to name my files, and entered them into Word.

Just as how it was writing the delusion notebook, I entered the words in a horizontal manner. I was already used to writing in a horizontal format, so till this point, I continued to write in a horizontal manner.

A computer's really a wonderful tool, but there are two points to pay particular mind to.

The first thing is not to let the computer malfunction.

A computer's just an important machine. It's a laptop, but I'll only use it in either my room or the living room, and never will I bring out out of the house.

The second is not to cause my vision to worsen.

Extraordinarily, this bookworm here had yet to worsen his vision.

Perhaps it was because I did abide by the rule 'to not read books in the dark'. Furthermore, the scenery on the streets was wide whenever I head home, and I typically look far away, I guess. On a side note, my mother's vision is rather good too.

My eyes really got tired (and my hands too) before I got used to using the computer.

I learned how to adjust the screen brightness and the font size according to my own preferences, and the situation improved somewhat; however, I did make sure not to stay in front of the computer for that long.

The scenery outside the house window's wonderful, and when I'm finally able to rest, I'll look out of the windows, coming up with all sorts of delusional settings.

I wonder how long did I look at that mountain altogether?

Once I got used to it, using the computer itself was really an enjoyable thing.

Once my typing speed increased, I was able to convert what I thought into words.

The computer's really a magical machine that converts my delusions into beautiful words. This tool has changed my life.

With that sort of attitude I had—

"So you managed it?"

Nitadori asked,

"Yeah, that's what I think now."

I answered.

And after I entered all 5 books of my delusions into the laptop, I again created another 2 books worth of delusions, and saved them.

After that, I decided on writing a novel.

"Now then, I'll try writing a novel. Time to write, write!"

My 8th grade summer vacation was about to end.

I already answered the question 'why did I choose to write, and when',

"Were you able to write it all out at first? Or was it really difficult?"

If I remember correctly, that was the next next question.

"Now then, I'll answer the question 'was I able to write it out at first'—"

"Yes, yes."

Nitadori, seated on my right, had her eyes under the glasses staring straight at me.

I didn't know what she was hoping for, but I could only answer honestly,

"I couldn't write at all."

"What?"

In my life till this point, the toughest point for me was the second semester of my 8th grade.

Perhaps there will be more trying periods in the future, good if it doesn't happen.

There wasn't any issue with my school life.

I'll still attend school every day. Though I'll lapse into delusions at times, I would attend classes obediently, and I would study obediently before the exams.

I still had no friends, but as it was the case normally, I didn't really mind.

The problem was writing the novel.

I learned how to use the computer, and did not suffer for that.

The delusions file accumulated quite a bit.

I did think of some characters I thought to be cool.

The settings database continued to accumulate and refined. I once created a history calendar for characters I created based on months, like 'he stood in front of the wet nurse at this year and month'. Thinking back about it, it really was rather hilarious.

However—

"I couldn't write a novel. Nothing at all."

"I see, how..."

Nitadori peered back at me with a worried look.

Well, it's not like I can't write right now. You don't have to give me such a look here.

I probably thought that I could write a novel as long as I had the setting.

I thought that if I imported the created characters, they would move on their own.

Since the characters popping out from the notebook would move and interact on their own, I just had to observe them and record their actions.

I may be boasting here, but I did think all the characters had their own charms, and they certainly would do things with much charisma.

That however was not the case.

In my eyes, they did seem to pop out from the words, standing there.

But they would not move. They were standing still, like puppets lined in a row.

It felt like I was writing an observation diary of a puppy, only to find that it was a puppy plushie.

It really was weird.

Till this point, was I not thinking of all sorts of delusions in my mind, how the characters' conversations go, how they look in their actions? They were fluent in their words, fluid in their actions.

However, even after inputting the character names as the pronouns on the blank white screen, I couldn't write the words behind. I couldn't think of what the characters would do next, so the characters still wouldn't move.

I once thought of lines I thought were interesting, and wrote a conversation.

And then I wrote a few of them.

However, a conversation between characters was just a single scene, and even if I did link them all together, that would not form a novel.

In the proceeding 1 month or so, I was brainstorming, racking my head hard in front of the computer screen.

I had the setting information, I could see the scene, and I could write the conversations.

However, I didn't know how to convert them all into a novel. I didn't know where I should begin.

The problem wasn't that I couldn't write a story.

The precedent problem was that, 'I didn't know what sort of a story I should be writing'.

I was unable to do what I wanted to do—

To say that it was arduous, well, it certainly was.

But even so, I won't die because of that.

Back then, I didn't intend to register for the newcomer award, and so there was no pressure in meeting the submission date.

Thinking back about it, I guess I'm really relieved that I didn't frustrate myself into getting dejected and thinking that I couldn't do it.

Summer passed, September went by, and it was the first Saturday of October.

"I can't think of anything yesterday. Let's not touch the computer for today."

Having such a notion, I escaped to a bookshop cum DVD rental shop that morning.

I intended to rent some movies I had yet to watch and bring them home.

Over there, I found a hint as to why I couldn't write a light novel.

"What is it?"

While Nitadori asked me with a shrill voice, I continued to sip the tea. My voice wasn't exceptionally loud, but my throat was parched after talking for that long.

Did I ever talk this much before? Probably not.

Did I ever talk this much to a girl before? Definitely not.

The second bottle's empty too. The train went through at least half the distance, and the now many street lights were passing towards the back outside the drenched windows.

Staring back at Nitadori's face, I answered nonchalantly,

"Erm, can we continue next week?"

"Ehhhh? There's still time, right?"

She glared back at me.

"Now then, let's continue. I'll start off with a question—if you want to rent a DVD, have no particular idea of what you want to watch, and intend to pick something that looks interesting, what will you do at this point?

"Erm...I'll look at the packaging."

"Yeah, that's what I'll do too. I'll look at the movie title, cover photo, have a rough gist of what the movie's about, and develop an interest. But if that alone still isn't enough to judge, what will you do next?"

"I'll...look at the back of the cover."

"Why?"

"Because the 'synopsis' is there, isn't it?"

"That's the clue I'm talking about."

The synopsis.

A simple paragraph that succinctly describes the plot of the story.

While looking for the synopsis of interesting stories that day, I was looking at the back of the cover.

Most of them would contain a brief summary of the movie plot, approximately 200 words in length.

For example, if there was a movie titled 'Kindergarten of the Dead',

"A rabbit with a zombie virus residing in it inadvertently entered into kindergarten○×, causing the unwittingly kindergarten kids to become zombies one after another. The only escapee, the kindergarten teacher Linda, began a lonely battle to prevent the zombies, still doing the same actions, from escaping the kindergarten. She tried to make them tired by preparing snacks and letting them play games that would distract them, and make them take naps like usual. However, she didn't know that her boyfriend Robert, working at the donut shiop, did a kind, unnecessary act of bringing some snacks in..."

The story would probably go like this. On a side note, that was what I just came up with.

"What's that about? I want to see."

Nitadori's eyes were blazing. I really don't understand her at all, but it doesn't seem like she hates zombie movies.

"No, this, really is impossible. That's just what I just spoke on the fly."

I'm really glad that she found it really interesting, but who exactly would come up with funding for this movie? I probably will develop this point into a point. Wait, there are so many zombie movies out there; maybe someone did film something similar, just that I didn't know.

"Leaving that aside—"

I divert my conversation back on topic,

"Back then, I read through the story synopsis of several DVDs, and to my great surprise, I found that I never paid any particular mind to the synopsis of the story."

I had many delusions in the past.

Whenever I remained awake, perhaps one-fifth of the time remained in delusions.

But those delusions were all settings, scenes and conversations.

None of those were things that were introduced in the synopsis, the 'plot'.

Even after repeating this scene in my mind regarding the story of 'the terrorist attack assaulting the Middle School'—

All I had been thinking about how the terrorists disguised themselves as milk sellers, the setting of the terrorists, the reason for attacks, all sorts of action scenes, and the various ways of death the physical education teacher would suffer no matter how hard he tried (I'm sorry), the decisive trap in the blackboard duster used for the last battle, and also the last scene with the protagonist returning home, saying "I'm back. Really tired here. What's for tea?"

These delusions only would only be mere parts.

They did not link at all.

Without being able to link, I wouldn't be able to complete the story.

And inside that empty DVD rental shop, I muttered,

"So I never thought about the story before..."

After that, I read through the back of the DVD packages.

I suppose I would be deemed as a weird middle school student who entered the shop the first thing in the morning, looking at the back of the packaging one after one. Till this day, I'm still grateful that the shop attendant didn't chase me out.

And I continued to read the 'synopsis'.

After being there for more than 2 hours, I didn't rent a single copy.

"I-I see...that's really amazing! So touching! Dramatic!"

"Ah, no, that's not really..."

I felt really flustered to have Nitadori hail me like this.

And then,

"Why didn't you figure out something like this in the first place?"

I figured that what she said then really was appropriate.

"Amazing..."

Nitadori looked very impressed, So, what's next? and then she prompted me with those looks.

"Ah, yes...I finally began to think of a plot, and recorded it down."

However, that itself wasn't a simple matter either.

First, the characters I thought of before had many settings to them.

These settings would obstruct me from thinking of the plot.

Whenever I thought of the plot, I would include those characters and add more parameters to them. I went through such setbacks countless times.

Finally, I decided not to include the characters in the plot.

I prevented them from appearing in my mind, ostensibly telling them, Go sleep for now , and I didn't open the file I had at that moment.

I continued to recall the many story synopsis I thought of, trying my best not to think of the characters I had—

The protagonist, heroines, rivals, last boss.

I tried writing the plot of the story through such a simple expression.

While pondering so hard about it, I suddenly had a story appear in my mind,

"The protagonist is a Middle School student, and on a certain day, he found a girl sitting at an empty seat in his class.

Nobody tried talking to the girl, and she appeared lonely. The protagonist decided to talk to her after school, and made friends with her. However, she only chose to talk to the protagonist after school in the empty classroom.

On a certain rainy day, after they both ended their conversations, the protagonist went home alone. Just when he was walking down the National Highway hillpath passing by the pedestrian pathway, he was suddenly pushed to the side from behind.

He looked back, saw the heroine, and a truck headed towards her while ignoring the traffic signals.

I deliberately ended my synopsis at this point.

"And then?"

As expected, Nitadori got baited. She leaned her glasses forward, giving a terrifying look.

"Erm…"

"You're teasing me now, right? —Ah, is that something you're intending to publish in the future or something…? Erm, sorry about that…"

I was hoping to give Nitadori time to guess the ending, but it seemed I caused her unnecessary misunderstandings and made her worry, so I frantically shook my head, saying,

"No, that's not it! Sorry! I'll explain it later—the truck veered off just like that. The protagonist thought that she would have been knocked away just like that, but he never saw her. She never attended school beginning from the next day. The protagonist found her photo in the library, and learned that she committed suicide on an incoming truck a long time ago at that pedestrian crossing."

"Ohh!!"

Nitadori began to clap,

"Hey, stop it!"

I hushed my voice, stopping her. And then,

"This story wasn't actually really that complete...but it was the first time I actually thought of an ending, so I couldn't forget about it...the ghost ending however was rather old-fashioned, and I really couldn't understand why the protagonist would be saved. In any case, if the protagonist wasn't talking to the heroine after school, he wouldn't be appearing at that time and place, right? What were the heroine's intentions?"

I pointed out the flaws in my created story as an example, and Nitadori said,

"That's true now that you mention it. When I was listening to it however, I didn't notice those flaws at all. It really was a touching story, you know?"

"I see. Thanks…"

"Since you did manage to complete a story of that level, I guess you definitely have talent! You'll definitely be an author in the future."

"Well...I'm already one."

On that day, I was still unable to finish answering all the questions.

The train entered the city, and was about to reach the terminal.

"See you next week."

Nitadori said, and I nodded my head,

"Sorry for keep you busy for that long. Do you still want those snacks?"

She continued, pointing at the other bag of potato chips.

There was no reason for me to reason. Since it was the sea salt potato chips, I would gladly accept them no matter how many they were.

I thought of eating the potato chips while watching anime in the hotel at night. I could watch anime than those in my hometown, and that was an added perk I was grateful for.

The announcement indicating the arrival of the train rang. Many passengers got off midway through; there were only a few passengers left, and they too got ready.

I suddenly wondered about something.

Where exactly was Nitadori staying at? Was it fine for me to ask such a private question however? She's a girl. Would I not annoy her in that case? Would I be frowned upon?

While feeling frustrated over this,

"I'll be staying at my relative's house."

Nitadori got up from her seat, saying this as she took her bag along. Does this girl have esper powers, I wondered again. She then continued,

"My relative stays at Mejiro, and well...to tell you the truth, that relative will be picking me up at the station…"

After seeing her give an unspoken apologetic look, I finally managed to interpret this atmosphere, a rarity at that.

I never been to Mejiro before, and I'm not particularly sure as to where it was in Tokyo, but I did hear that it's an upscale residential area.

It seemed Nitadori's family's really well off. Perhaps there were strict limits imposed on her, either in terms of curfew or friends.

And I then proceeded to mention the question i just thought of,

"In other words, if you continue to remain with me, and be spotted with me, things will get bad, right?"

"Yes."

Nitadori answered, giving a perfect English pronunciation.

"Understood. Now...do I get off first? Or—"

"Please do get off first. I really hope that even if we do pass by each other on a certain platform, you'll help by pretending not to notice me! Please do that!"

She raised a hand to beg.

Well, it wasn't some big deal, just similar to how it was at school.

"Understood."

I got up from my seat, took the backpack and shopping pack to the corridor, and then said,

"I'll be going then."

"Thanks. See you next week."

And so, I deliberately moved forward in this still moving train carriage.

### 012. Chapter 3 - April 24, I told her

### Part 1

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

My neck was still choked by Nitadori's icy hands.

My mind was dyed a complete black.

I did not feel any suffering. No pain at all.

That one single Nitadori's tear finally landed on my cheek.

However, another 7 of them remained in mid-air as time slowly trekked back.

From a moment back, the times and memories I had knowing Nitadori raced by in my mind at a blinding speed. I recalled what we did and what we said, and they were so clear it was terrifying.

I understood.

This was the so-called 'near-death experience'.

The first time I saw one.

### Part 2

"Now then, can we continue on from the previous week, sensei?"

April 25th, the evening of the 4th Thursday this month. (TN: I guess it should be 24th.)

The weather was clear since early morning. I took the Limited Express as usual, and secured that familiar seat.

It was approximately 2 minutes till the train departed punctually when Nitadori came over from the back of the carriage.

I didn't see her on the platform on this day, so I started to worry if she was going to reach the station later.

But even so, her hand was not holding any luggage, instead holding a convenience store bag.

On this day, she again bought two bags of the sea salt potato chips that I like (and her too), with many more PET bottles as compared to normal.

Whenever I ate any of those, I would have to answer her questions.

On the prior Friday,

The After Record of 'Vice Versa' ended without a hitch.

And Meek, whom Nitadori voiced, still had no speaking lines—

Nitadori arrived at the booth before I did, and greeted the senior voice actors countless times.

School life beginning from Monday was no different from usual.

Neither of us would talk to each other at school.

Or rather, I would say that I was unable to communicate with any of my classmates.

Everyone viewed me as an upperclassman (though that certainly is the case), and for quite some time, whenever they had to talk to me, they would naturally use formal language.

I was the only one isolated in class—

That would be what I had assumed, but that wasn't the case.

There were another two who never spoke to anyone else in the class.

And with that, were the three of us, known as 'the lonely trio' (such a strange term), able to be good friends? Actually, that didn't happen, and probably will never happen.

In contrast, Nitadori's a perfectly normal student with no issues at all.

She's a rookie, but it seemed nobody knew about the fact that she's a voice actress. Perhaps this is because she never had any named characters, so her fame was rather low, I suppose. This situation might change once 'Vice Versa' airs in July.

But I again learned something about her.

Nitadori would never take physical education lessons.

It happened two days ago, on Tuesday,

There was a sudden rain, and the boys' PE class had to be changed to the gym.

The girls were playing volleyball over there (and they were furious when the boys came to join them), yet Nitadori was sitting in a corner of the gym, dressed in uniform.

I thought it would be just that she didn't take part in PE classes on that day, but I was mistaken.

During the later 4th period, we were seated in the classroom, waiting for the teacher, only to be notified that it was a self-study period.

I decided to head to the library to read some books alone, but just when I intended to stand up, several girls, who were probably on good terms with Nitadori, started chatting about the gym class from before,

"I really hate having to go to PE. Ahh, I'm really envious of you here, Eri..."

And one of them grumbled,

"It's good, right? But even I want to do some swimming in the pool during the summer!"

Nitadori cheerfully answered.

"Hm, you're right. There are certain situations when I like it."

And that girl easily retracted what she just said.

I immediately left the classroom upon hearing that, so I wasn't certain as to what they were talking about afterwards. However, I did ascertain that Nitadori never attended any PE classes.

I didn't know the reason.

I wanted to ask her this question on the train, and I hoped she would introduce me to more of the voice acting industry.

"Last week, I learned that you learned 'how to create stories' when you were younger! Please tell me what's next."

I thought that once Nitadori was satisfied with my answers, I would ask her.

It was probably 3 and a half years ago.

During the Autumn of 8th grade, I understood that the one imperative element in writing a story was not the setting, but the story.

And from then on, I focused on constructing stories every day, writing them down.

For the first time, I had a Word document file called 'story ideas' in my computer. Soon afterwards, I continued to accumulate works and added many more files, like,

"A romance story of an alien college student hitchhiking a ride."

"Serial murders in a summer village. The culprit's the grandmother."

"My classmate's a helicopter."

"The story of survival after a luxury cruise was shipwrecked."

"My grandfather's actually my little sister."

And so, I created more files.

Afterwards, a folder to store these files was born,

"Story ideas folder"

I felt that the technical issues of how to create a story, how to enrich a story—

And also, how to continue writing or did I continue to write did not fit what the question was asking for. It would have taken me a long time to answer too, so I chose not to answer them.

Thus, I neglected the explanations of those parts, and told her that a certain file was created at the end of November, right when Winter was about to start.

That file was known as—

"Someone becoming an immortal after heading into another world."

"Ohh! It's 'Vice Versa'!"

Nitadori squealed with an extremely excited voice.

It's a good thing that the train just departed, and there were only a few characters, but the situation was really dangerous.

"Sorry...sorry..."

Nitadori lowered her shoulders slightly.

And then, she immediately puffed her chest,

"Well, you actually came up with such a story quite a while back! Now it's becoming an anime that's going to be aired in July! That's really amazing!"

I'm really happy that she's praising me like this, and really grateful that she actually made a recap of my journey.

Because when I thought of that story—

Various things happened—

It's really because a lot of things happened that I became this current me.

However, I'm not the type to say "wahaha! How about that? I'm amazing here, right?" or something, so I tweaked the topic a little at this moment.

"But I only finished my contest entry during April the following year, so I had about 6 months to write everything from top to bottom."

"Well...you registered your entry during April...so if you started from back then, was that the first novel you actually completed in your life, sensei? The first one you used to participate in the contest?"

"Yeah."

"You're really amazing after all...now then, please tell me your history till the following April, sensei."

On a certain day, the story that would form the basis of 'Vice Versa' later on was born, and was growing exponentially.

Amongst all the story ideas that I came up with, that was the one that expanded fastest.

The protagonist was transported to the other world, gained an immortal body, and provided quite the contribution, only to return back to his original world in the end.

That was the story at first, but I continued to add in all kinds of elements.

Some of them were added in later on when I actually began to write—

As for the ploy for the two protagonists with similar looks and names to be body doubles, and that the enemy general was a girl, and that the other guy to pass through when the original returned back to his world, I remember it just came out continually once I established my file. I was so amped up that I was tapping furiously at the keyboard.

I managed to come up with the flow of the story successfully, and thinking about it, the twists were very obvious, but I didn't think too much about it back then. I continued to write all sorts of plots with the protagonist Shin as the center.

I didn't have a habit of writing diary entries (and only began to do so once my debut was confirmed), so unfortunately, I couldn't remember exactly when I thought of which elements.

Finally—

The story of 'Vice Versa' was completed.

"That's amazing! And from then? Were you able to write?"

"..."

"Sensei?"

"About that—"

Once the story of 'Vice Versa' was completed, I thought.

I can write this! I 'just' have to get down writing!

The story didn't have to be long, I can finish it off within 2 weeks or so, right?

That was what I estimated.

If I could write 20 pages of a pocket book format, I would be able to write 280 pages in 14 days.

What, I can finish it within this year!

No, by the end of the first half of this month?

Maybe I can write something else in the latter half of the month?

"Thinking back about it...I guess I really was foolish back then..."

I really was very regretful when I recalled the situation back then.

"Anyone would have some unforgivable past, and they will continue to grow with such a past. Even bitter food will become part of flesh and blood, no?"

Nitadori came up with an impressively dramatic line in her impressively dramatic act.

A pro voice actor's acting really amazing. I get to hear this performance for free! I thought.

And so, Nitadori said,

"You couldn't write?"

"Yeah."

I couldn't write at all.

There was once when I couldn't think of the story.

And I barely managed to overcome that issue.

There were some differences in the details of the original story and what was published, but I did manage to finish the story.

Now then, what exactly could I not write?

I couldn't write the story itself.

"You couldn't write the story, so in other words...you couldn't write the entire novel, right?"

I nodded firmly, and answered,

"The story was completed, and I managed the settings of the protagonists. However, I just couldn't write. I didn't know how to express the content into words."

"Is this what they call the 'writing bottleneck'?"

After hearing this question, I shook my head, answering,

"I think that's a term used when someone usually capable of writing is not in an ideal state when writing."

"Oh, I see."

"My situation's that I couldn't write anything at all—for example, when I'm writing a story, and I don't know what to write, I'm like a person standing on the soccer field without knowing the rules for soccer."

"Ah, yeah, I can vividly imagine that sort of situation. I don't know soccer rules at all, so I'll be left at a loss wondering what I'm to do. The only thing I know is that I can't use my hands."

"But you probably know that you can score by kicking the ball into the net, right? I didn't know about such a thing at all. And then, I finally understood."

"Yes yes."

"I remembered all the soccer rules, and understood that I have to play the ball with my feet and work together with my teammates, prevent the ball from being taken by the opponent, and kick the ball into the net. 'Okay, now let's just kick the ball into the net! I can play soccer now!' That was exactly what I thought, but in fact, I could only stand still there, unable to move at all. I didn't know how to dribble the ball at all."

"In other words—'you didn't know how to kick the ball, right?"

"Yeah. Even if I did understand all the rules—I still can't play soccer if I can't kick the ball. I felt that the me unable to write an essay was like a player who couldn't kick a ball."

"I see. I can imagine such a situation...then...how did the situation change afterwards? You did submit for competition before it got published, so you did write it out after all, right? You were able to write it all out, am I correct?"

I continued to sip the tea as I nodded,

"So did anyone teach you that?"

I sealed the PET bottle, and shook my head,

"Then?"

Nitadori gave me a skeptical look, and I in response quickly inhaled,

"I just kept on struggling."

This was the reason why I said I suffered most in the second trimester of my 8th grade.

I couldn't write an essay at all, yet I just continued to write—I could say that every single day was literally a 'struggle'.

It was to be expected that I couldn't write a novel at all, for I never did write a novel before.

Then, there was no other choice but to keep practicing.

How was I to practice?

I wondered. Since I had the story, I just had to get down to writing it.

In other words,

"I can't write a novel essay."

↓

"I got no choice but to keep practicing."

↓

"How about I continue to practice by writing novel essays?"

Theoretically, that was truly a grave mistake.

However, I accepted the challenge.

While the word 'challenge' sounded cool, I in fact was beaten, battered and bruised all over, aching everywhere.

I kept writing and erasing, and repeating it; advancing when I felt I could write something, only to sink into a mire again.

I merely managed to write a half-baked story, yet the lack of progress left me very angsty.

There were a few times when I really thought of giving up.

"I guess it's impossible for me to write a novel."

I often had this notion. If I had admitted that, I would have been relieved.

"So why didn't you give up in the end?"

Nitadori asked with the gentlest tone and expression till this point.

Why was that?

First,

"I finally managed to get this laptop here, you know?"

I probably had such a feeling here.

Mom bought a laptop, and I could use it freely.

I managed to obtain a weapon, and yet I wanted to run away from a battle?

However, I felt that was definitely not the primary reason.

I had a languid personality. It would not be out of character of me if I were to slowly wave my hands,

"Now's not the time to panic."

And say such words, convincing myself to write the story before I grew up to escape the pain and struggles.

"I want to change the past me! I want to live my life anew!"

I did certainly have such feelings. I didn't feel any dissatisfaction with regards to my Middle School life.

"I've already began! I'll regret it if I'm going to run away now!"

And surely there was no way I had such feelings.

I really was not a feisty, competitive person.

To answer Nitadori's question, I tried to focus and recall the situation back then.

"Sorry, I don't know."

But that was all I could only answer. I then added on,

"Though I'm thinking about it now...back then, I just thought that I was really suffering, but I guess I was really happy...? No, I guess now. 'Recalling that I was really happy' here is completely different from being 'really happy'..."

I didn't manage to answer Nitadori's question,

"..."

But she nodded on wordlessly.

I began to write.

I continued to write 'Vice Versa' with my pathetic writing.

I thought that since it was repeated practice, it was fine for me to just keep writing a jumble out of the mess.

Time-wise, I began writing from the beginning of December, and devoted all my non-studying time on this. Thanks to that, I had my reading time drastically reduced.

After that, it came to a certain day in Winter vacation,

"Eh? Did my writing speed increase?"

I thought.

That was something that happened when I spent the entire day writing during the vacations.

I gathered my concentration and tapped at the keyboard for approximately 2 hours; I was taken aback once I counted the number of pages I wrote during this time. I didn't expect myself to have written so many pages unwittingly.

"That happened a long time back, so this is the only conclusion I could make...anyway, thanks to me practicing how to write, I felt that my writing ability improved exponentially. No, wait—"

At this moment, I corrected myself.

"I'm not too sure of the meaning of the words 'writing ability'. I don't know how to appraise the quality of an essay. Is it better for me to write a story with beautiful prose? Or to write a story that's easy to understand?"

Nitadori continue to listen silently.

"So I hope that you'll understand what I mean by 'improved writing ability' as 'writing ability has reached a decent stage'. However, I'm not too certain as to consider how 'decent' is like..."

My thoughts lacked concisely, and the more I talked, the more I felt I was mired in a swamp.

"Erm, well, in other words...I just ended up being increasingly able to write essays."

That was the one I firmly decided.

To be honest, I really felt that my explanation was crude and lacking explanatory,

"It's really easy to understand though."

But Nitadori told me this. Is that so? I wondered, but I didn't voice my thoughts out.

"Isn't it the same for acting? There isn't anyone who'll have their acting skills improve so suddenly. If there are people who think that my acting skills have improved, it's probably just because I haven't met that person for a long time. It's a skill that requires continual practice every day, accumulation and gradual improvement. Isn't it the same with learning musical instruments?"

"Ah...if only I did come up with such an example. Yes, it's like learning musical instruments."

"Ahaha. I guess it's like 'learning how to speak a foreign language because you're abandoned in a foreign country, right?"

"Yes yes yes."

"And also like 'learning how to swim when you're drowning', right?"

"Please let me use this one the next time."

I hydrated my throat by drinking some tea.

Before continuing on, I decided to head to the toilet first.

I had to ask Nitadori to stand up to get to the aisle, as she was seated next to it. Though apologetic, I was left with no other choice, for I was already terrified thinking about letting a girl pull her knees in to let me through.

And I nodded slightly at her, who stood up for me,

"Thanks."

"Don't mind."

My bespectacled classmate stood up, saying,

"I still have lots of things to ask when you come back. Don't run away."

"From the inside of a still moving train?"

"You'll definitely be able to do it, sensei. Be confident in yourself!"

I originally wanted to retort her, what do you think authors are? but if I were to respond, I got the feeling that she would continue on, and so I gave up.

The toilet was at the entrance of the next carriage car, right behind the automatic doors behind me.

Once I was done, I washed my hands, wondering where did I stop at, and returned to my seat.

"Sorry."

"It's fine! You didn't run away."

And then, I troubled Nitadori again by asking her to stand up and let me through.

"So you found that your writing ability became rather decent during winter break in your 8th grade. What kind of story happened during the 4 months until the registration.

Nitadori asked with an outstanding voice of intonation, like the narration of a TV commentator. I guess this is to be expected of a professional voice actress.

Moved by such an excitable tone, I began to delude, hoping that I could write a story of a high school girl like Nitadori debutting as a voice actress. What kind of a story will that be?

"Hello, sensei?"

I was dragged back to reality.

"Ah, yes. Erm, we're starting from the winter break in 8th grade, right?"

I was writing 'Vice Versa' the entire time during winter break.

Of course, I did do my homework and eat my meals. Other than that, I spent most of my time locked at home, sitting in front of the laptop.

Once New Year passed, and the Winter break was about to end, how much of 'Vice Versa' did I managed to complete after 1 month of working?

"Did you complete all of it?"

"Impossible."

"Half of it?"

"No."

"...One quarter?"

"About there. That's the part when Sin saved Shin and brought him to the palace, right at the moment when Shin saw Ema and was surprised the little sister resembled him too."

"..."

In terms of plot twists in 'Vice Versa', this would be where the developing ended, and the changing began.

Nitadori was quietly surprised by it, but I felt back then that such progress was a lot.

When the 3rd trimester began in 8th grade, I naturally didn't have as much time to write as the vacation, but I just continued to write.

I continued to revise my initial manuscript as I edited them. For a new work, the writing speed was rather ideal.

At that moment, I started to feel vexed.

What do I do after I'm done writing the novel?

"'What do I do', as in submitting an entry for the contest?"

"Yes."

"Eh? You didn't write it because you wanted to participate in the Dengeki Novel Prize?"

Nitadori again exclaimed in surprise,

"No, not at all."

I shook my head.

"To be honest—"

I never intended to submit the story as an entry.

Despite only completing a quarter of 'Vice Versa' till that point, I intended to do my best and complete the work since I was able to write it out.

I had yet to decide what I wanted to do later on.

"You should take part in the contest! —Hey, wait? It's over already, isn't it...?"

Nitadori was a little amusing.

"Now then, why did you take part? And why did you choose Dengeki?"

Finally, I was about to face the final question of the many questions she posed me the previous week.

"First, regarding the issue of whether I was to register for a Newcomer award...to be honest, I really wasn't very interested in it.:"

"Why?"

"I probably was a little timid. Submitting an entry for the entry would have meant I would be aiming to be an author."

I answered. I glanced to the right, and found Nitadori giving me a mystified look.

"Well, that was really the case. I don't suppose there aren't many people who'll think 'I don't want to publish a book' after winning an award. But I don't think you have any need to be timid there...? Why were you?"

"Back then, I really considered the issue of 'can a Middle School student really take part in the contest'? I was thinking if a brat like me could take part in this contest where people from all walks of life would aim to be professional authors and do their best to complete their masterpieces. Such a contest should be for people 'more mature' to take part in, right?"

I answered honestly. That was what I sincerely thought back then.

Nitadori probably wasn't able to understand these words.

"Hm..."

And she let out a groan.

I heard that voice actors could only get jobs based on a strict selection, and no matter the age, they would have to go through such a competitive environment. It was to be expected that she couldn't understand.

"Thinking back, I understand very well now that there wasn't any need for me to think that way. I was still a brat more than 3 years ago however..."

Even till now, I don't think that I've become an adult.

And Nitadori asked with a sharp look, ostensibly probing into my heart.

"You liked books so much, and worked hard to learn how to write a novel, but you never thought 'I want to be an author in the future', did you?"

"If it's whether I did have such thoughts, I'll say that I did have such thoughts. If it's whether I didn't have such thoughts, I'll say that I didn't have such thoughts."

"Okay sensei."

Nitadori raised her right hand, asking,

"I don't understand what you mean at all."

"Erm...that was what I thought, 'I really admire novelists, but it's impossible for me to be like them!'."

"..."

"I read many books in the past, and I was moved by them...but till now, I still feel that the authors who could write such works were really amazing! Well, that was what I thought."

"I understand that very well. Right now, I do think that you're really amazing, sensei."

"T-thanks...anyway, as a Middle School student, I didn't think I could be such an amazing person at all, and I thought that registering for the Newcomer award and aiming for a prize was way above my head."

"I see..."

Nitadori answered. I suppose she really couldn't understand how I felt exactly back then."

"But you did change your mind at a certain time, right? if not—"

"I wouldn't be here."

Once I answered this, Nitadori smiled, saying,

"Same here."

And,

"Then...did anyone convince you to take part in the contest? Or did someone see your novel and encourage you by saying 'this is really interesting! You should be an author!'?"

After hearing this question, I shook my head affirmatively, saying,

"I never did show anyone 'Vice Versa' before it was submitted for the contest. In fact, mom was the only one in this world who knew that I was writing a novel, but even she never read it."

"But...I don't understand! Why exactly did you submit it to Dengeki Bunko?"

Nitadori gave up.

To answer her, I inhaled and pondered. Ahh, she'll probably be shocked to hear these words

"Because the deadline was in April."

"What?"

"The annual submission deadline for the Dengeki Novel Prize is April 10th. After looking at the calendar, I started to think, Maybe I should complete 'Vice Versa' before then, and if I can finish it before then, let's try submitting it for a contest. You see, it really was a great opportunity for me to see if I could complete my work, and there was the entire Spring break before the submission deadline when I could spend entire days writing.

"..."

Nitadori again went silent.

I personally felt this was awkward too, but I had no other choice as that was the real reason.

"Erm, then...you never thought that 'Dengeki Bunko is the largest light novel publisher' or something?"

"I knew that, and to be precise, 'the submission deadline for Dengeki Bunko just so happened to fit my aims'. I had the thought that the readers of 'Vice Versa' should be light novel readers when I worked on it."

"So, to summarize, you had the delusional dreams of an author, and the time of completion just so happened to be the deadline of a Newcomer award—"

I nodded on. Nitadori continued,

"You tried submitting an entry to test your abilities, and sent it to the largest, probably the most competitive publishing company in the industry."

I nodded on.

"And the outcome's that you debuted with a work you created in 8th grade, and now a high school student and an author, your work so successful it can be made into an anime."

I nodded on.

"..."

While looking back at a stunned Nitadori, I pondered,

The wheel of fate turns so unexpectedly

Getting back to the time when I decided on submitting an entry.

It really was a great opportunity, no matter the reason, to have a deadline.

My passion for writing became stronger than ever.

The essays were a little easier to write, but there were often times where I would pause and ponder about the plot, write and stop, rinse and repeat.

My aim was not to be an author, but to complete the first ever novel I wrote in my life 'Vice Versa'.

And then I would submit it to the Dengeki Novel Prize.

To soothe my parched throat, I opened a new bottle of tea.

"You did manage to meet the deadline, but it was still really tough on you, wasn't it?"

Of course!

I nodded while drinking. It's really hard to drink like this.

Once I move my mouth away, I again answered,

"Of course! I was writing during the entire 3rd trimester in 8th grade, except for the period before the exams."

I was really busy back then, but I sealed my computer right before the exams, like how club activities were suspended for a week. Mom would most probably have forbade me from writing if my grades were to slip dramatically.

"I see...you were able to make it after all..."

"Yeah. My progress was about half when I entered Spring Break...and I only managed to write half the story after 2 and a half months. I had to finish the rest of it in the following 1 month."

"But you managed it."

"I really was spending the entire time writing from morning to night. But inexplicably, the second half was easier than the first half. No, I guess this isn't something strange. I did get used to writing after all."

I quipped,

"Also, with the entire story completed, I was looking forward to the climax in the second half. I really wanted to quickly get to the part where Shin kept escaping and finally decided to fight, and also the part where Pluto's gender was revealed!"

"..."

Nitadori merely started back at me.

"Ah, sorry. I got too excited there, I guess..."

I then apologized, but it seemed I was mistaken,

"No."

Nitadori smiled, shaking her head slightly. And then,

"When did you finish writing 'Vice Versa'?"

I really remembered what happened back then clearly.

"First off, I finished the last scene on April 2nd. No matter the result, I added the word 'end' at the end. I continued to revise the script on the screen over and over again, especially the end. I was really rushing things through, so the words became rather weird, and there were many times I had to correct. I then finished the editing work on the 6th, at midnight. Actually, the word 'finished' should only be used at such a moment."

"It happened in the past, but congratulations!"

"Thanks..."

I never thought that someone would congratulate me over something that happened 3 years ago, but I was really happy.

"What did you feel after finishing the first ever novel? Satisfied, I supposed? Or moved to bits."

"No, I didn't have time for that. I really was busy after that."

"Really? But didn't you just have to print the novel out and send it through mail?"

Nitadori gave me a startled look, and I answered by telling her the one reason that caused me much headache.

"I didn't have a printer at home."

"Ah..."

"I heard that anyone can submit their entries in the Newcomer award through e-mails now, but to register for the Dengeki Novel Prize, whether it was back then or now, one had to print the original script. Back then, I didn't have anything like an email address. On a side note, the 'original script' here would refer to a novel written on novel white paper, and there's no need to print it on actual white paper."

"Then, what did you do?"

"I went searching around on the internet at the library...but there wasn't a shop that's willing to print more than a hundred pieces of paper near my house. There were some business convenience shops near the town center offering such services however. My only option left was to buy a printer, and the day before the Graduation Ceremony, I went about transferring a few public buses to obtain a new weapon quickly."

"Isn't it very expensive?"

"It's not cheap, but not as expensive as I thought it would be. I spent a little more than 10,000 yen buying a black and white laserjet printer. Thank goodness I saved my pocket money..."

"What if...you didn't have that much money to use...?"

"The Dengeki Novel Prize would surely be impossible for me. I guess I would have registered for other awards."

"Then...you probably would have debuted there instead?"

"That's a possibility...but there's also a chance I would have failed to make the cut..."

"The most reliable thing in emergencies is still money after all..."

"No, well...maybe."

"Sometimes, love or friendship alone would have left you helpless..."

"I guess...so."

"Ah, please continue."

"Eh? Ah, yes. I brought from the shop a printer, some spare toner, and lots of A4 sized printer paper. Also, I bought some ordinary envelopes used to store scripts, a large fixed envelope meant for mailing, a hole-puncher and a shoelace from a 100 yen shop.

"How did you use the last two?"

"The registration regulations state that the entry has to have a hole in the right corner of the script, and it has to be tied together with a string. There are thin strings specially meant to fixed them together, but I bought shoelaces because I wasn't sure."

"I see. Not a binder, huh?"

"I did ask the editor-in-charge before, and he said that it would be terrible if the binder was to slip off. There are page numbers on the submitted scripts, but if many pages are to slip off, or even mix with other works..."

"That really is...scary to think about."

"Yeah, it really is. That's why a string had to be used to bind them. I also heard that as the judging proceeds, they'll need to print a few copies for the editors to see, and only then will they undo it."

"I see."

"Once I got back from the shop, I immediately installed the printer and did a test. I was really relieved once I knew that the printer could work normally. The following day was the 8th, the Graduation Ceremony for the 3rd years, and I began work once I got home."

"That really was a pressing moment."

"I was so anxious. The restrictions for the script was that there was to be 42 words per line and 34 lines for every paper. I was checking through the Word's 'page layout' to see if there was any mistake, whether it was a portrait layout. Also, I had to check whether the page numbers were included in there afterwards."

It seemed Nitadori was skeptical to the first half of my words, and she asked,

"Why's the format so inconvenient? Can't they accept 40 words and 30 lines...for example?"

"That Dengeki Bunko's format. A single page has 42 words per line, and 17 lines, so by copying over to the other side, that'll be 34 pages."

"I see...so it's to let the number of pages match the publisher's standard formatting."

"Yes. And after I printed it out, I realized that there was something important I forgot. I had to submit the plotline along with it."

"Pollution (TN: both can be read as Kougai)...like air pollution?"

"I'll like to ask you how you're going to send air pollution over later on...the plotline here refers to the 'summary'. The entry regulations state that the contestant's work has to have 2 other pieces of paper attached. One of them is the particulars form, like the title of the work, the actual name, pen name, address, age...phone number, and what else, I wonder? Sorry, I forgot about it. Remember to check it properly if you're looking to register."

"But I don't intend to submit an entry."

Nitadori answered with a laugh.

"So you need to write a summary of the story on the other piece of paper. How did you go about doing that?"

"I suppose any Newcomer award would require a clear outline of the contents of the story. There's a word limit to that that. Dengeki Bunko limits it to 800 words, and since I forgot about writing that thing, I was frantically typing it out while the laser jet printer was buzzing away beside me."

"But you just have to summarize the main points, right? This word count should be a cinch—"

For you, sensei? Nitadori was intending to say that, but was cut off by me.

"I didn't know the correct way of writing it."

"The correct way of writing."

"Yeah. I didn't know at all. I was wondering if I was supposed to write out the final ending in the story summary, or that I should do it like the story synopsis on the back of the DVD cover, and write some vague words like 'what exactly awaits the protagonist—'"

"Ahh...so which one was it?"

"I hurried off to the library, and found many similar questions and answers, so it's probable that everyone had the same issues as I did. The correct answer is 'to actually write the ending'."

I was in a panic—

But I managed to gather all the documents required for submission at midnight, on the 8th.

I arranged the printed script together, placed the particulars form and the story summary on it, and punctured a hole on the top right corner, binding the script together.

And just in case, since I had another shoelace, I duplicated another exactly similar document. The other document still rests in my desk.

Once I got back from school the next day, I checked the contents in the envelop.

"Alright..."

And I went off to the post office.

I remembered very well that when I was looking at the receipt in my hands, I felt that there was a drastic change in my thinking.

"An author? if only I can be one. I probably can't do so however."

My prior thinking was so pessimistic.

"An author? I'll be glad if anyone told me that I should be one. I guess it's fine for me to be one if that time comes."

And my thinking now is quite optimistic.

"Ah...that's amazing. You really worked hard completing this story and submitting it...it's amazing, really amazing. You really did your best, really. Yes yes."

Nitadori murmured as she hailed me.

I'm really glad to be receiving such praise now, but it's because of now that I found it to be a wonderful memory—

Back then, I didn't have such feelings at all.

Of course, I felt confident after finishing a long novel. That itself was hard work.

But the registration was not the end.

And neither was it the start.

To me, that was just the feeling of 'being someone with the right to stand on the starting line'.

The actual moment of me standing on the 'starting line' was—

When I learned that I entered high school.

That was approximately a year since I registered.

I have to clarify what happened during a certain period.

The period from when i failed to make the cut till to when I was to debut.

I ate a few of the sea salt potato chips I really liked, and took a little break; after that, I told Nitadori what happened afterwards.

First, I managed to get through the 3rd judging panel, but I lost out in the 4th round because of age reasons.

"My! You lost because of such a reason!"

"I did fail. But the editorial branch did clarify a little, and allowed me to debut as a nominee. Right now, I do feel that was the best decision, and I'm really grateful that the editorial branch put in so much thought for my sake."

And then, I told her of the promise I made with the editor-in-charge, that I would make my debut once I entered high school.

Nitadori did know that I did debut after I failed to make the cut (it was written in the afterword of the first volume of 'Vice Versa'), but she was really surprised to know that there was a 'hidden deal'.

"Now then...assuming that you didn't make it to high school, sensei, what would have happened to you? If you couldn't debut or go into high school."

"I was afraid things would end up like that."

"if that were to happen, what will you become like now?"

"How will I be now, huh...?"

I wondered a little, but it was too scary, so I gave up.

And then, I talked about how I took a break from school.

Once the work was decided to be adapted into an anime, I decided to take a break from school for a year to assist with the production of the anime and the continuation of the later volumes. I also told her the reason why I made this decision.

"I see...so that's what happened..."

Nitadori was really impressed.

"Speaking of which, how many people know about this?"

"Erm...my mom, the editorial branch, including the editor-in-charge, the authors I met at the End-of-year party...there's a lot of them. It really wasn't some classified secret."

This was how I ended the process before I resumed schooling again.

"Well...I guess I'm glad that you weren't expelled as a result, sensei? I think that it's not a waste for you to take a break from school for a year as you had something you had to do. I think that was the best choice you could have made."

Nitadori said with much passion.

I wasn't certain as to why she would say that so earnestly, but I was glad that she would approve of this decision I made after much pondering alone.

And I was completely relaxed.

"Thanks. Well, I wanted to go back to being an ordinary high school student, but I did something stupid on the first day..."

After I grumbled about what I shouldn't have said to my classmates, Nitadori laughed, saying,

"It's okay! The school year has just begun! We aren't going to change classes in this school, so you have another 2 years to work hard in the same class! There's also the school trip!"

And she so plainly stated such damaging words to me when I'm completely isolated in class.

Is this girl a sadist? Or is she able to see the future of living with many friends around me, living the refreshing high school life, when even I couldn't see myself doing?

Well, the school term did just start after all.

"Hm, well...I don't know what'll happen later on. I'll try enjoying whatever I can."

And so I answered with reluctance and delusion.

The train continued to race straight forward through the night streets.

There was the working class packed in crowds at the stations I passed by, waiting to get home quickly.

I, or we, again arrived at the city, and we would be reaching the station soon. It was the same the previous week; it felt that 2 hours and 30 minutes passed by quickly with just Nitadori and me chatting with each other.

"I'm getting off first today then."

I said.

"Thanks. Please do so."

And Nitadori answered, before continuing,

"May I...ask something else from you."

Her face's different from the usual expression she showed when she would ask me something.

She would give me the expression of a real interviewer when she asked me of my history.

But at this point, she had the face of a kid visiting relatives in January.

"It's not something really big."

That definitely was a lie. I had a premonition, but I asked,

"Anyway...let's hear you out..."

"Thanks. Erm, it's really not something big. I really have no intention of causing you trouble, sensei, but I do want to get permission from you."

She started off delightedly with with a long introduction.

I really couldn't imagine what she would saw. To be honest, I was scared.

No, no matter how scared I was, she probably wouldn't be saying 'I want to kill you! Now please die!' or something like that.

Whatever she said couldn't be any scarier than death itself.

While I prepared myself, Nitadori said

"It's my turn for recitation next Thursday."

The 'recitation' we're talking about here—

Would be the class routine arranged at the beginning of the language class by our teacher, twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday.

That was probably something our aged language teacher came up with on a whim (or so I think).

"Anything is fine here. Just bring your favorite novel and recite in front of the class"

That was what we had to do. We had to do it in 3 minutes minimum, 10 minutes maximum.

I never did the statistics, but I feel that more than 90% of us hate this period.

The order was decided through lots, so I didn't know Nitadori was to do it next Thursday.

To avoid anyone forgetting the order once someone finished with the recitation, the teacher will definitely mentioned who would be doing the next two sessions. I suppose my consciousness was dressed to Reputation during the session today.

Speaking of which, I guess it's my turn soon after.

I remember it's also on Thursday, probably 3 or 4 weeks later. Got to check the notebook.

I really like books. However, I really am bad, and I really hate, reciting in front of others.

Of course, I probably will be reciting the same things as the other students if it's my turn, and cautiously choose works from famous authors,

'How many times does K have to die?'

Or

'Cat again?'

Or

'Hasn't Melos been running too much!?'

And give them 3 minutes to think about it.

As for which books they are, I'll just have to decide it on the day prior to it. No matter what sort of joke it was, even if the world was to end the next day, or even if someone was to point a gun at my head,

I had no intention of reciting 'Vice Versa'.

I never thought of that before.

And I didn't intend to think of such a terrifying thing—

W-wait...

Eh?

No...

Don't tell me...

Perhaps...

Nitadori...

I guess anyone could have seen that my face was completely frozen.

"So I say,"

The one person closest to me threw a megaton bomb at me with a smile,

"It's fine for me to recite 'Vice Versa', right?"

The broadcast indicating the train's arrival at the terminal buzzed in my mind.

I had to clearly state my rejection at this moment.

This girl, Eri Nitadori, would do it.

She would recite my novel right behind me.

And with the clear, beautiful voice, she would recite it so fluently, with so much emotions.

She would definitely do that.

I could tell.

I understood from the eyes. Those eyes.

That was the expression Nitadori was showing. On first glance, she seemed to be smiling really delightedly, and that was the same deep within her heart.

Thus, I had to tell her decisively at this point.

I had to state my refusal.

Of course, she would be reading the lines I created with vigor during the after record, and I would be listening by the side. This and that would be two different matters altogether however.

The answer I had to give Nitadori was 'no'.

I had to answer that.

To answer that as an upperclassman, and as a man.

"Nitadori..."

"What is it, sensei?"

To answer this bespectacled girl who's tilting her head cutely, I took a large breath,

"I'm willing to do anything you ask me, so please spare me on this already."

The words I then said naturally became respectful.

### 013. Chapter 4 - May 1, I taught her

## ‎Chapter 4 - May 1, I taught her

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

The 'near-death experience' referred to the swirling lights that could cause movie film to move.

Modern people would use such an expression 'a fatal near-death experience', and some would even shorten it to describe the moment 'when people continued to recall the past before they died'.

I once read it in the books.

People would quickly see their past memories before they died.

It was said to be because the mind was searching for a certain something at full speed.

Seeking for a clue to escape the crisis from their past experiences.

Thus, I vividly recalled the past.

Recalling everything that happened from the first time I met her, till this point.

May had arrived.

The first week was commonly dubbed as 'Golden Week', but this day and the day after were still normal days. I had to attend classes today and visit the After Record tomorrow.

After school, I changed from my uniform into plain clothes, and got on the same Limited Express train as usual.

The passengers on this day were a lot more than the previous week. It's Golden Week, and there are many dressed up for hiking.

Having already anticipated this, I queued earlier than usual, and managed to secure the usual seat right at the back, placing the luggage right beside it.

There was still some time until the train departed. I wondered if Nitadori would wait till the train departed before coming over as per usual, so I continued to wait leisurely, without any worry.

A few days ago, I realized,

Did Nitadori deliberately wait until the last moment to arrive at the platform, and came in from the other carriages?

This station was a little distant from school, but there were still students who would head to school from there. If any particular person was to see Nitadori and me walking side by side with each other at the platform,

"What are these two doing?"

There surely would be such rumors. As both of us would take leaves every Friday, I didn't have belief that I could fool others if I was to be questioned.

And if she really did put in such thought—

I surely would have to thank Nitadori here.

I suppose it was because of my manly plea that she did not choose 'Vice Versa'.

What did she choose then? Surely there wasn't anyone who didn't know what it was. The answer's 'Momotaro'.

She brought a picture book directed for children,

"A long, long time ago, at a certain place (in a galaxy far, far away)—"

And recited from the beginning.

It really was a 'professional prank'.

With much poise and care, she narrated the text. Her voice was ostensibly a textbook example, each word spoken with such clarity there was no way any word could have been mistaken.

The lines themselves were really exciting. Nitadori showcased all her acting talents, not withholding anything at all, using different voices for the old granny, the old grandpa, Momotaro, the dog, monkey, pheasant and the demons.

I was looking forward, so I really couldn't see her, but she probably was acting with her entire body like what professional voice actors will do. I could see my classmates look on, completely flabbergasted.

"Congratulations, congratulations."

Eri Nitadori's solo performance ended after 6 minutes and 34 seconds.

For us, who did not pay a single cent hearing this, we were first stunned momentarily, and then we applauded.

The teacher praised her exuberantly with grandeur words, and simply continued,

"Now then, the next one will be Suzuki, and after that Hisakawa."

That Suzuki who'll be following up after Nitadori really is very pitiful here. As for who that Suzuki, I don't even remember how he looks like now.

After class, the girls were gathered around Nitadori; some boys joined in too.

I decided to get up a little later for a stroll.

Many of my classmates were hailing Nitadori for how amazing she was,

"Have you acted before?"

Someone posed Nitadori this question, and she answered,

"Actually, I did join the drama club in my previous school, and I really put in a lot of effort practicing my recital acting. The teacher was strict, but I did recite the story very well today, so I wonder if he'll praise me."

"Eh?" "Oo" I heard such voices. Now that she mentioned it, I recalled her specifically stating in her self-introduction that she transferred in from the previous year. I had no idea exactly where she was prior to that.

"Aren't you going to join the drama club?"

A certain male classmate asked that.

Anyone would have thought about that—if they didn't know about her job at that moment.

"I decided not to join a club due to various reasons."

Nitadori replied with an answer that could barely be considered one.

While I intended to stop eavesdropping and get up,

"Why aren't you around on Fridays? Is it related to the various reasons you mentioned?"

A certain girl, poor in comprehending the mood, asked without holding back. Hearing her tone, I suppose there was no malice at all.

"No, that's not it."

Nitadori responded curtly,

"Then what it is?"

And that girl pressed on with the question.

"Erm..."

She let out a slightly perturbed voice.

There's another classmate who's definitely never around on Friday here, but it seemed that classmate wasn't being noticed in any way. My presence is so small it's shocking, and only in this situation did it help me out here.

But I was still worried if I would end up distracting her. I missed the opportunity to leave while pondering if I should quickly leave my seat.

At this moment, it'll be worse for us if I'm to slip off here. While pondering over what I should be doing at this moment, Nitadori said,

"My dad's currently living alone in Japan, due to busy work, and not because my parents are talking about divorce here, you know?"

That was the first time I heard of such matters.

But even so, I practically knew nothing about her.

"But I can only meet him in Tokyo on Friday, so I have to do so even if I have to take leaves from school. That's how it is."

Of course, all that has to be a lie. Her tone however was so overly natural and fluent, even I was about to blurt out, I see, so that's how it is , and believe her here.

As for the other classmates' reactions.

"Eh?"

"So that's why!"

"I see."

Hearing their reactions, I knew that they bought the story,

The acting skills of a professional voice actor's really amazing.

Feeling relieved, I went out for a stroll.

While strolling, I wondered.

Nitadori lied saying that she would head to Tokyo to spend Fridays with her family, and in fact, she went for her after record. She could have met her father after the after record was done, but that definitely was not the main reason.

Now then, what was that 'my parents are living separately' thing she just mentioned here?

I believed her completely when she said that. What happened on Friday however made me feel that she could be lying for the sake of it.

Nitadori's acting skills differed from any ordinary person. I couldn't determine the validity from her words.

In other words,

I knew nothing about Eri Nitadori other than she's 'the voice actress portraying Meek, and my classmate who's a year younger than me'.

Once I thought that much, my bad habit would kick in.

This bad habit here would refer to the 'delusional' habit, which I'm using as my money tree.

Who exactly was Nitadori?

Her relatives live in Japan, and she coincidentally takes the same ride as me because she wants to know about an author, and thought of all the questions to ask me. Was it all a lie?

Perhaps—

Perhaps Nitadori's a professional killer?

She has her sights on me, ready to kill me with a given chance. She plotted behind the scenes and became a voice actress, obtained a role, learned of my true identity, and joined my class?

That was not a coincidence, but something to be expected, right?

The reason why she asked me all these questions is that she wanted to know more about her target before taking action, right?

In that case, isn't it dangerous for me to turn my back on her?

“Wahahaha!”

A single boy suddenly began to laugh at himself, and two girls standing nearby, probably 1st years, immediately scampered helter-skelter.

Sorry to terrify both of you like that.

But that utterly foolish delusion I had was so interesting it made me laugh.

She intends to kill me if there's a chance?

I ate so much of the sea salt potato chips she provided, and even drank some tea.

If she really intended to kill me, I would have been dead 2, 3 times.

It's dangerous for me to turn my back on her?

I spent hours with my back facing her from Monday to Thursday.

The time she spent seeing my back was a lot longer than when I saw her.

The train began to rush.

The carriage became somewhat packed as the passengers were either headed out or home, and it became bustling.

During this situation, Nitadori came from the carriage behind, saying,

“It's been a week, sensei. There's a lot of people today. Thanks for reserving a seat for me.”

With one hand, she held onto the handle of the luggage bag she always used; in the other, she held out the bait meant for me, as usual.

“Here. This is the thanks for today.”

I took in the bag from the convenience store,

“Sorry for always,”

And answered in an old-fashioned manner.

Nitadori placed her bag behind her seat, tidied her hair, and sat down.

“Didn't we say not to mention that?”

And again, she showed me a pretty smiling face on this day.

These snacks were really a relief to me, typically hungry at this time.

Actually, I would eat 2 pieces of toast before heading out every week. But as I'm in my puberty, I would gladly accept any food that appeared in front of him.

After guzzling down a third of the potato chips, I drank some tea.

“What shall I talk about today?”

I then turn to the seat on the right to ask. Even I too was a little surprised that I ended up initiating the topic so easily.

Nitadori immediately answered,

“I want to know how to write a novel?”

“What do you mean?”

This question's a little too vague, so I asked.

“Well...sensei, didn't you say 'I'll tell you about writing a novel next time'? I want to know how to do that, the specifics of writing a novel. For someone who never wrote a novel like me, I didn't know how to write such a novel.”

“I see...so we're going upstate in such a state?”

I muttered out my true thoughts.

“What?”

Nitadori tilted her head, asking,

“Ah, sorry. Just a simple word pun. Maybe you'll understand looking at the words.”

“...Oh!! You're like an author to be able to come up with such words on the fly.”

“Because I am an author.”

I ended up saying these words again this week.

Nitadori quickly adjusted her glasses with her right hand,

“Now then, please explain how a professional author begins to write.”

“Okay then...”

To be honest, I only entered the profession for 2 years, and the term 'professional author' really was very discomforting to me. But even so, since I'm in this job for a living, that should be a term I should be using for myself, even if I'm a professional.

But even so, I did have a thought about Nitadori 'a professional voice actor's really amazing!'. I guess this applies to both of us.

I decided to tell her how I wrote a novel,

“There's something I have to be clear with you first.”

“What is it?”

“No matter the number of authors, there's at least that number of methods to write. Right now, I'm pretty much just going to talk about 'the method I use'.”

“Understood.”

How does one write a novel?

As I had just mentioned, the method differs accordingly per person—

The one I used was the one I mastered while creating 'Vice Versa'.

Based on the order, that should be the most suitable.

First, I had to come up with the plot.

Plot.

This word in English can mean a conspiracy, a plan, but beyond that, there is the meaning of a structure, a scenario. Of course, when I (and the other authors) use this term, we would be talking about the latter.

I once searched up the definition of the term 'plot' on the internet. Strictly put, the definition seemed very complex.

Leaving that definition aside, I would typically think of it as 'a summary of the story' when coming up with this term.

In 8th grade,

“I see! So I need to think of a story!”

That was what I realized, but nowadays, I would not use the term 'story'.

I didn't know when I started, but I started using the term 'plot' instead.

“A plot, I think, is a framework, a blueprint of a novel.”

“Okay.”

“I don't think there's a definitive correct answer in the amount of plot. The file 'Vice Versa' was called 'a story of one transported to the other world, becoming an immortal', and that can be said to be the simplest summary of the plot. In any case, just understand that as 'the protagonist heads to the other world and becomes an immortal.”

“I see. But the construction of the plot isn't always that simple, right?”

“Of course. There are times where I have to be clearer in explaining the plot, especially when explaining to the editor-in-charge.”

The first step of writing a novel is to propose a plot, and I do think there's 2 ways to go about doing it

One of them is,

“Propose a plot for something that is to be written next time.”

This would be what can be considered a storage, and I can go about writing it a little simpler as it's just something only I need to understand. It's fine to keep it simple even if I only have a few major points. That was the plan for the file called 'Vice Versa'.

Soon after, the contents of the novel gradually existed, and there was no need for me to keep expanding on the ideas I thought of (if there are ideas I can think of, naturally, I'll record them first)

“A story of people living underwater, and venturing the land.”

“A futuristic crime story.”

“Human dolls begin to move and started attacking humans.”

I'll simply record such ideas down once I think about them, even if it's just a simple concept of a single line or sorts, and it's an asset I may be able to use in the future. My computer contains many of such ideas

Another method of composing plots would be,

“The author comes up with ideas to the editor-in-charge, telling him what the author intends to write.”

In this situation, the idea's the blueprint, a proposal to a business partner that conveys 'I want to write this. What do you think?'

The writing would also different accordingly based on the authors. Of course, I understood this well, having asked other authors myself.

Some will basically come up with short ideas comprising of one liners.

In contrast, others will come up with long ideas, as long as a novel itself.

Some will come up with a document that's like a report, clearly and concisely stating various factors like 'what happened? How will the characters act?' (like me)

In contrast, others will start writing the characters' emotions in this plotting phase, and edit their works.

“In that case...the author won't start writing without obtain the editor-in-charge's permission, right?”

Nitadori asked.

This is just my own experience, and also what I heard from the editors of other light novelists. I prefaced with this, and,

“Typically yes. But there are exceptions.”

In my case—

Leaving aside the submitted entry that was completed, what happened afterwards, beyond the second volume of 'Vice Versa' was,

“Typically, I'll begin writing after all the ideas I proposed have been approved. I'll send a message over through email conveying my ideas 'I intend to write the next volume like this. The characters will act like this,new characters will debut, these are the parts to shock the readers, and this is the ending'”

My house was connected to the internet, and I began to make contact with the editor-in-charge through email. I didn't think this answered the questions though, so I didn't mention it.

“The amount of plot I need to write differs per volume...but they aren't very long. A short one's about a dozen lines or so, and even if it is a little longer, it's not more than one pocket book spread page, or 2 pages.”

“That's considered short, right?”

“I really don't know. I think this is the only thing that differs...”

"There's something I'm a little curious about. You just said that you'll 'typically come up with plots. Does this mean that you didn't do that for a certain volume/"

I nodded.

"That was the case for the 7th volume."

Nitadori, whom I'm really grateful to for reading all my published works, immediately thought,

“It's the story of the 'Moving Country', right?”

The 7th volume of 'Vice Versa', the 4th volume of 'Side Shin', describes the story of a large moving country.

The stage was set in the most advanced country in Reputation. The country is 3km long, 1km wide, and moves on numerous caterpillars.

This country is equipped with massive mechanical arms, and spinning drills in the front; it can grind and level any land, obtaining all the resources. Once it arrives at a place, even the mountains will be leveled, and all that's left would be a barren land.

Typically, the country would only excavate minerals from areas with few people, and certainly would not cause trouble for other countries. Once a coup d'etat occurred however, the country harbored an ambition to rule over Reputation given the scientific power they possessed.

And Sin took action to stop that country's ambition.

Shin's mission was to infiltrate the country, die over and over again, and approach the central area of the country.

“Yeah, this is the only story I wrote without actually thinking of the plot.”

“Erm...why's that? And how did you do it?”

I tried recalling that certain day, answering,

“After having my meal, I just spent the time watching TV, and then I saw a large German excavation machine. That gigantic machine was called a 'Bucket Wheel Excavator', more than 200m long. I know such a thing exists, but it was the first time I actually saw that thing in action. Have you seen one before, Nitadori?”

Nitadori shook her head as her eyes stared at me. The sight of the glasses moving was a little amusing.

“This monster gigantic, long-necked dragon-like machine moves on caterpillars, yet the shape's very complicated. It's like a mesh of factories jammed together.”

Once I said this, I felt it was better for her to see a photo. It really is difficult imagining the appearance just from describing it.

I fish out my smartphone from my pocket, and begin searching for pictures using the search term bucket wheel'.

“This is it.”

I handed the smartphone to Nitadori so that she could see.

Once she took it, she scrolled through the phone a little.

“Hm...”

She probably didn't have much interest in the machine (well, it's normal, since she's a girl), so her reactions' lukewarm as she returns me the phone.

Keeping the phone, I said,

“Once I saw that gigantic machine just grind and level the ground, I had an idea 'the enemy's going to invade in the next volume', and then I began work. Immediately.”

“So, 'immediately', as in?”

“It's as the term implies. The show wasn't finished, but once I saw the part introducing that machine, I immediately shut the TV, and added a new file in the computer called 'a story about a massive country', beginning to write the story out. I didn't think of the structure at all; at first, I started to describe a massive country that's very hostile, where Sin and his ministers were glaring at it, and then Shin came...after that, as for what happened later, I just typed out what I thought. I didn't think of the structure even at the very end, just writing and thinking 'the story will develop this way, and then that way'. I didn't care about how much I wrote, I just wrote.”

“...”

Nitadori frowned a little, remaining silent.

Is she terrified by this unreasonable, illogical method of writing. I wondered worriedly.

“You managed to write a novel so suddenly...what do you have to do to do such a thing...?”

Contrary to my expectations, she's very impressed.

But even so, I could only answer,

“Well...I just had an inspiration.”

I did pause to think of the plot midway through, but I kept writing for another 2 weeks and 3 days before I finally finished it.

“Really unbelievable...”

Nitadori looked like she saw magic as she stared at me.

I suppose I can take that as praise, but this is all what I did, and what I could do, so I really can't feel proud about it.

I can't act at all (and I never acted), and I feel that Nitadori's powerful recitation was much better than what I can ever do.

“Erm...the 7th volume's just an exception. Normally, I'll think of a plot, and once the plot's all smooth flowing, I'll begin to write.”

I said, and decided to proceed with the topic.

Regarding the process of writing a story, I only touched upon the first step.

The train conductor today's still a woman, and she came to check our tickets a lot later than usual. Once it's done, I began eating the potato chips, and gulped some tea.

“Now then, leaving the exception aside...assuming that I finished a volume's worth of concepts and submit it to the editor-in-charge, and that the editor-in-charge finds it interesting and asks me to write.”

“Uh huh.”

“I'll have to begin writing, to actually get down to composing the story.”

After coming up with the manuscript, the next step will be to write the story.

But even so, the step's as the term implied, to actually focus on writing the story with determination.

Plotting is just deciding the main points, so there are a lot of issues I have to write and decide.

“No, I have to correct that. There's a need to decide on certain aspects while writing, and that'll be a lot more than what's already decided in the plot. For example, when manuscripting, I haven't decided on stuff like 'the guest characters' names.”

“Why? I thought you'll decide on the characters that'll appear in a story before writing them in.”

“I suppose some authors will do that, but that's not me. It's a different case for me though. While important characters are different...I'll prefer to wait until a character debut and pause to think of a name rather than to decide the names of all the characters that are to appear before writing. As for why—”

“Why?”

“Once the plot's basically decided, I'll begin to write. If I have to begin writing after confirming everything else...I feel that I won't be able to start writing.”

If I've to compare it to a plan for a trip.

Some may plan this way,

“I'll try spending a week visiting Kyoto this time, venture around all the shrines. I want to go to this temple and that shrine, I want to eat that. If there's still time, I want to do something. At latest, I need to be back before a certain time.”

And some may plan this way,

“Take the Shinkansen on Monday, reach Kyoto station at noon. First, we'll head to a certain temple, and stay until 3. At 4, we'll head to a certain hotel, take a shower a 5, have dinner a 7. The next day—”

My style of planning would probably be the former. I guess I won't be able to leave house if I have to come up with the perfect plan before going on a trip. I suppose I have to stop at a certain point rather than to just come up with the plan, say 'I'm leaving', and open the door.

“Speaking of which, I won't exactly follow the plot while writing.”

I curtly stated.

'Eh?”

Nitadori's again taken aback.

“Wah!”

I too was startled by her as both of us exclaimed loudly. Luckily, it's loud inside the carriage.

“Is there a need to be so shocked?”

I whispered. Nitadori herself voiced out softly, but her voice's still audible,

“Of course! The plot's a blueprint and a plan, right? In other words, you don't complete your work based on the plan at all?”

I nodded firmly.

“Is it alright to do that...?”

“Currently, there's no problems.”

I simply replied.

Surely I had to assemble the story according to the blueprint.

And that I had to write based on the plot.

If I kept worrying about that—

If I kept being restrained to be honest.

To put it bluntly, I really can't imagine myself being some author.

I don't know what others think, but even though I only have 2 years of experience as an author, I do write with the thinking 'the completed work is what I wanted to write'.

Assuming that the blueprint was 'a blue, light, small, streamlined sports car'.

Even if the completed car is 'the weight's still acceptable, the inside's wide, and it's an egg-shaped black wagon car', I don't think it's a failure (though the example itself is a little extreme).

“Ah, I completed this work.”

That would be what I would think, and I would repeat it again. As long as I found the story to be interesting, I would submit the work to the editor-in-charge. ('interesting' is always the most important aspect. This alone is the one thing I will not budge on).

It's not uncommon for the plot to continually change when writing.

“How does it change?”

“For example...when I'm unhappy with my initial concept, or when I thought of a new plot development when writing. It's very common; I never counted the number of times it happened, but this is the most common.”

“I see. What else?”

“The next one's an adjustment if the plot's too long. For example, I'm supposed to write a plot's worth of content, but after finding the story to be too story, I had to add some parts. Or maybe the opposite happened, and I wrote too much, so I had to cut off a few scenes. Using my experience, the latter's more common.”

“In that case...don't you feel regret about 'being unable to write what you originally planned'?'

“I answered that question already, and I don't feel regret at all. I rather have a completed manuscript work than an idealistic idea. I'll try my best to edit to improve it though, of course.”

“...I see.”

“And also, I'll often change the character profiles.”

“How?”

“I'll add new characters to cook up the atmosphere. In contrast, if I can't finish with the characterization, I'll think of reducing the number of characters. There are few female characters, so I need to change the gender for a few characters. The twist that 'this certain person's actually female' is always king, so I include this very often. Before then, when writing halfway through, I'll have thoughts of 'eh? It's probably more interesting to change this guy into a girl', and so I change what was supposed to be a guy into a girl.”

“...”

I didn't know whether Nitadori's speechless because she's amazed or dumbfounded.

But this was how I completed my novel.

I wanted to avoid following a fixed path (plot concept) when writing and end up 'unable to reach the final destination', 'spending too much time', 'kept making myself tired'.

“And because of this...I can't keep sticking to the plot that can be changed midway through.”

I felt I said some very ordinary things.

“Till now, I thought all authors would have a clear goal and write according to it.”

I learned how amazed Nitadori was from the large eyes under the glasses and how shrill her voice became as a result.

“I too think...such people exist. But...I don't think all authors will do that.”

“Haa...I'm shocked.”

Writing is a tough, yet wonderful thing—

And there's still tough parts later. The actual writing itself is always the longest part.

I had to actually think through a large part of the story, and convert it into words.

At this point, I only knew how to write using a word processing software, so in fact, it should have been 'kept typing',

But to make things convenient, I'll continue to use the term 'write'.

“I suppose you know that the content of a story can be divided into the 'descriptions' and 'dialogue'. The descriptions refer to the narrations and the explanations, or in other words, anything other than dialogue.”

I too found my own explanation to be very crude.

Nitadori nodded, and asked,

“Then, sensei, which do you find harder to write, the description or the dialogue?”

I answered,

“Hm, about that, it's definitely the description.”

I did mention before that I could not write back when I was in 8th grade.

And the description was the part I couldn't write.

I feel that those aiming to be authors will reach the hardest hurdle, how to think (formulate) a story , and also,

How to do the descriptions for a novel.

“As I said before, I struggled over and over again, and barely managed to write it...but I was really suffering back then.”

Looking at the back of the seat in front of it, I lamented.

It's interesting thinking of the times as a hammer after learning how to swim. The efforts put in back then definitely won't be for naught.

But even so, this isn't the time to be thinking back about what happened back then. I have to explain to Nitadori why the description is hard to write.

“Well, first...the aim of description is to explain to the readers what happens, so the author has to convey the intent to the reader.”

“Okay..”

"And so, it's best to have a story that's simple yet easy to understand. In other words, there's no need for text that's extremely complicated. The ideal should be when the topics and the narratives are very clear, and there's no misunderstanding whenever any reads it."

Now then, if there's a question 'is the description all that simple in all the stories to be found in the world', the answer will be, of course not.

In fact, authors will added interesting similes, outstanding metaphors, correct grammar, and so on. In other words, authors will do all kinds of 'cosmetics' to present the text as more splendid, wonderful.

"I do feel this way. The decorating of a text is like an illustrator's fine strokes, the parts that'll emphasize the unique traits of each other. For example, just as 'some illustrators have delicate drawing styles', there are some authors who have delicate styles when writing. Also, some authors will include a large amount of metaphors, and some will keep it simple, yet refine it to be much prettier later on."

And thus—

Those wanting to write novels will think,

"I have to write that kind of story too."

And so, they end up unable to write it out.

For example, someone watched an Olympic event on TV, and was impressed by a participant's performance.

He thought of trying to start with that sport, and began to do so.

Is he however about to immediately perform as well as an Olympic representative? Of course not. Anyone will understand this.

"Why can't I run 100m in 10 seconds?"

"Why can't I hit bullseye all the time?"

"Why can't I leap elegantly between the uneven bars?"

I don't really think anyone will have such troubles.

In terms of novels however, I do feel that many people begin off, but have the frustration of 'why can't I write like this particular author'.

"Speaking of which...I was like that when I first started writing. Back then, I think I was seriously thinking 'I did read so many books, but why can't I write that kind of a story'…"

And saying that, I turn my eyes to the distant past.

"..."

Nitadori remained silent,

"Well, I guess, that's impossible…"

And amicably agreed with me.

"Yes, it's impossible. There are amazing geniuses who exist in this world however, and there are exceptions to be seen everywhere, so I don't dare to say it's absolute. Anyway, most of the people probably can't do it."

The main difference between the sportsmen in the example and writing is—

Basically, 'writing stories in Japanese' is something any Japanese can do.

Anyone can come up with a half-baked story, so they probably can imagine themselves writing a story like a novelist.

And then they got frustrated over being unable to write.

Before they gave up in the end.

"Then, as for 'what do I do in this situation'...or I should say 'how did I do it'..."

"Hm, how?"

"I started writing from those parts I could. That was back when I was in 8th grade, so I'll skip on the explanation—"

I realized.

Though I read a lot of novels till this point, I had yet to actually write a story myself. I could write a story in Japanese, but it was stupid of me to think that I could actually successfully write a 'Japanese novel' right from the beginning.

“So I'm saying isn't that 'if there's no bread, have some cake'. I feel that if I can't write a story that's more difficult, try writing something simpler.”

“I see. Start improving on what you can do, huh?”

'Yeah. I feel that a simple text will do, so the one thing I focus most on is 'comprehensiveness', and I decided that I had to begin writing first.

It's impossible to just imagine and write a story like a certain professional author. Thus, I'll start from 'a simple story that's easy to understand'.

And then, I completed the story first, before revising what I wrote over and over again.

I continue to spice up the simple text, like 'a little additional narratives', 'slight changes in terms', and so on. If I feel there's no need to do so, I'll naturally let the text remain as such.

Soon after, I ended up being able to write better than how I did when I first started off.

“And then, when writing, you're able to write better text...is that it?”

“Well, it can barely be considered as such if you're calling a text that can be called a novel.”

“You're being humble again. Do you still find writing the description very difficult.”

“Yeah, even now, I do think this way. I'll feel really frustrated writing the descriptions. I can do it, but I'll still ask myself, is this enough? Is there a more obvious way of showing this? And assuming that it's easy to understand, is there a better way of spicing this up in a way readers will find amusing? It's not difficult to edit a text when writing a novel.”

“I see.”

“But of course, I still have to meet the deadlines, so there's a certain time when I had to tell myself 'this is enough'. Till now, my method is still to reread the story 3 times, and if I don't find the story to be awkward in any way, I'll submit the script.”

After explaining till this point, I drank some tea, and Nitadori asked,

“Then, what about the dialogue? It's easier, but is it really that easy thinking about it?”

And I honestly answer,

“It's far easier than the descriptions. I'm always able to think of conversations easily..”

I always had delusions ever since young,

And in my delusions, the conversations took a large chunk of it.

I kept thinking back on the characters (myself included back then) having such cool, boisterous, or interesting conversations.

I myself am introverted and timid, and I'll be so tense whenever I faced anyone, wondering what to talk about. In my delusions however, I'm able to actually chat with others without holding back.

In an actual conversation, the other party actually exists. I didn't know what he'll say (though I had some guesses).

After hearing the conversation, I'll think of how to answer him, and continue to listen to him. This continuous process definitely isn't easy (and at this moment, I'll be much more fatigued than usual thinking about 'not wanting to hurt the other party', or 'not wanting to say anything rude'.)

For example, it's like 2 people having a serious Shogi match.

In my delusional conversations, I'm proceeding with all this myself, so I know what the other party will be saying.

For example, I'm playing Shogi by myself. I could cook up the atmosphere of the match and determine the victory. All the moves are dictated by my brain, so it's much easier than having an actual, serious match.

The reason why I'm bad at actually conversing with people in reality is probably because I'm too used to playing Shogi by myself. While under the misunderstanding that 'the conversation will probably go just as I think', whenever they say something unexpected, I'll end up not knowing what to say at all.

“But to me, you look like you're able to converse normally with ordinary people, and you are able to actually do it.”

“That's because I'm basically answering questions...I think answering questions about myself is the simplest form of dialogue.”

“Then, isn't that it!?”

“What?”

“What you talked about when describing the descriptions. Start from the simplest conversation, and then you'll soon improve!”

“Ah, that.”

“Yes, that.”

Though the conversation's full of relative pronouns, I'm glad to be able to talk to her without any concerns. As she had said, I probably never had any talent of talking with people right from the beginning.

Start slowly from the simplest part, and soon after—

“Erm, the conversations the characters in the novel have...is completely different from an actual conversation. I think this is the case not only for a novel, but also for anime or a drama script.”

I racked my brain furiously, and said.

“Yes! I understand that!”

Nitadori agreed for the time being.

I'm glad. There's probably no one unhappy about being acknowledged by others. I once read in a certain book that the basic skill of getting on someone's good side through words is not to deny others.

“It's much more complete and easier to understand than an actual conversation, right?”

Nitadori gave the correct answer. I guess this is to be expected of a professional voice actress that's staring at the script all the time.

In fact, the conversation here is different from a conversation in a novel.

If one's to actually record an actual conversation and fill it out (or write it out), it's obvious that an actual conversation has a lot of colloquial and mistakes. It's really difficult to read text where every line's recorded.

It's after I searched through the internet that I learned that there are 3 methods to record dialogue and convert them into the words. 'transcribe', 'fluffing' and 'editing'.

'Transcribe' will mean adding all the sounds, including 'well', ahh', and all kinds of onomatopoeia, and they're all recorded into words. This is used when there's a need to accurately record the conversation.

'Fluffing' will be to remove those meaningless sounds, or make the bare minimum edits at the parts that are overly strange.

'Editing' will be as the term implies, to reconstruct the text into easy to understand sentences.

“I do feel that this also has something to do with the author's own preferences...but novels basically are 'edited manuscripts'. If I want to give a stammering feeling, I'll add terms like 'well'. If it's a text, I'll add ellipsis.”

“'Ellipsis', as in?”

“The punctuation used to contain sentences...used to describe silence.”

“Eh! I didn't know that.”

“It has 3 dots. Accurately put, there's a rule of thumb to put at least 2 or 4 of these. This punctuation however is based on the author's own preference, and it's the case too in publications other than light novels.”

“What about yourself, sensei?”

“For me, I'll still follow the rule, to add two of these, 6 dots altogether. If there's a need to emphasize silence, I'll double that; in other words, I'll use 12 dots.”

Speaking of ellipsis, I had a little urge to talk about how to write a story, the rules, and all sorts of stuff.

But it'll be way off topic in that case, so I held back.

“Is there anything to take note of with regards to other parts, like dialogue or anything? I want to know more about conversations.”

Nitadori said. I guess this it to be expected of a voice actress.

“Now then, let's talk about a conversation in a novel. I do think there's a very big difference, other than the fact that 'the characters conversation are a lot more polished than an actual conversation'. That is—”

“That is?”

“Character conversations are not exactly meant for each other.”

“Hm? Then, who are they for?”

Nitadori tilted her head, asking, and so I answered,

“For the readers.”

“Ah...I see, so that's how it is...”

“For example, right now, I'm having a conversation with you on the train...”

“Yes.”

Nitadori chimed in, seemingly happy about it. Is this my imagination? But even so, I can't understand what's there to be happy about. It's useless to worry about such things however, so I continued,

“If I'm a character in a novel...I won't be talking to you, Nitadori>'

“...Hm, now that's definitely the case.”

And now she's looking unhappy. I really can't understand her.

“The one I'm talking to is the reader. I'll be portraying this character, and convey to the readers what the author wants to express. That's the kind of impression. Ah, I think I'm getting a little obnoxious here. Sorry.”

“No no. Then, am I talking to the readers too?”

I nodded firmly.

Nitadori then turned her stare to the top right corner of the carriage ceiling,

“Dear readers, hello there. If you find this book to be very interesting, please recommend it to your classmates!”

Her speaking voice was completely different from before, very cute. It can be described as the 'anime voice'.

I couldn't see from this angle—

So I didn't know what sort of expression Nitadori was showing on her face.

The carriage on May 1st is far more packed than how it normally was.

Many people got off midway through the trip, but there were also a lot of commuters on this trip. The free-seating carriage became lively.

There's still no seat in the one seated in front of us, but there's finally a young woman seated at the right side of the aisle, near the window.

In that case, we couldn't converse as we normally did.

And once I wondered that, the woman immediately put on her earphones to listen to music, and closed her eyes.

“Looks like...my sleep magic worked.”

Nitadori said with a serious face,

“Impressive.”

Sleep magic's the most basic of spells in 'Vice Versa', able to cause the inflicted party to be overwhelmed with a great urge to sleep, and prompt them to do so.

And this was a common spell Sin would use in the real world whenever he encountered a tough situation.

Nitadori asked me how I write, and at this point, I only answered the concept planning and a small part of writing itself.

“Well, in the process of writing, what's the next step?”

“Well...”

I start to ponder, and I had little thought,

“I'll digress a little. Is that okay?”

“Go ahead.”

“Now then, when I first started out, I would obviously following a rough outline of the concept or the ideas I thought, and continue to write enthusiastically.”

“Okay.”

“I feel that writing is a job is something that can conceive all kinds of possibilities if you think hard, and yet continue to throw it away.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Well...the novel I had was conceived in my mind. At first, what developed was the ideas, and then, the concept will be formed. At that phase, my story's yet to take shape. That's because, as I had said, I'm not limited by the concepts when writing.”

“Uhum.”

“But once I continue to write, I'll decide on which parts I want to keep. Of course, there are times when I'll rewrite it, or I'll abandon certain scenes...but if I'm happy with the parts I've written, I'll keep that part.”

“Ah, I think I get what you're saying here, sensei.”

“Once I'm done writing a novel, the content will take care, and won't become another story altogether. At this moment, I'll give up other possibilities. The possibilities I give up on will be far more than the possibilities I chose. It's tough giving up on them, but I got no choice. If I don't give up on them, I won't be able to make choices.”

“Just like life.”

Nitadori said with a grim look.

I didn't intend to give such a massive impression; all I wanted was to describe 'how hard it is to give up'.

“Just like life.”

However, I decided to play along.

“Now then, we mentioned the plot, began written, and later...”

I wondered what I was to say next, muttering.

“Can I ask? When did you decide the title of the work? Who decides it?'

Nitadori took a gulp of tea, and reached her hand out to me.

“Ah, thanks. Now then, I'll explain this part first.”

“No problem. Go ahead please.”

I feel that the title's very important.

Either way, the first thing the reader wants to see first is the title and the author (in the world of light novels, the cover is as important too, but I'll leave that for another time). When picking a light novel title, I'm very particular about the readers' impression on the title.

When coming up with a title, it has to be impactful, and also easy to understand.

“Leaving aside the impact first, let's consider the ease of understanding the title. Assuming that there's a book titled 'a Certain murder ', we'll be able to tell what kind of a story it is.”

“Yes, it's a detective novel, right?”

“Yes. This is a classic example, but I feel that all kinds of novels will have similar names, so in that way, the best way is to determine the title of the book. If I want to write a detective novel, I'll do that unless there's a situation where I can't compromise.”

“So, sensei, how did you decide on this light novel title?”

“Hm. In the world of light novels, the title—”

Can only be described as chaotic.

There are all kinds of titles, an entire variety of them.

Some titles are simple enough, including the protagonist's name.

Some titles are formed using the protagonist's name with another noun. 'OO's XX (OO no XX)' is quite common.”

There are also short phrases used to describe the world setting.

At a certain period, there were titles of four hiragana words with exclamation marks added at the back, including anime and manga.

And also, there's one that's often seen currently—

The extremely long titles that can be said to be sentences.

“Ah, yes, those extremely long names are really scary. If they need to be made into anime, when the news for auditions get circulated, everyone would be thinking in surprise, 'Woah, another long one!'”

"I feel that such titles are very popular due to the impactfulness that will leave a great impression. Also, they can add additional 'selling points' into the title, like little sisters, demon lord, class reps, maids, and so on, so I guess it's for convenience sake."

"Ohh...I guess this is a calm analysis only authors can do."

"But stories with extremely long titles isn't just for long titles. Such titles aren't really uncommon in sci-fi. Do you know the original title of the movie 'Blade Runner'?"

"No."

"'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' The Japanese version uses the direct translation, and the English title is this long. There are also some titles that are really long in movies, so I think the trend of titles being so long they're sentences don't simply appear in light novels."

"Hmm...then, sensei, will you use that kind of title?"

After pondering for 3 seconds, I concluded that no, I won't do that. Currently, there's an oversaturation of extremely long titles, so the impact has weakened, and it gets a little stale."

"No, I won't."

Nitadori chuckled, saying,

"I knew you'll say that. I do think that 'Vice Versa' is a wonderful title. It's short, but it conveys the setting well. When I first saw the cover, I was thinking 'wow'."

I wanted to thank her, but instead, I asked her,

"Nitadori...is your English fluent?"

I, who was supposed to be the one answering the questions all this time, actually took the initiative to ask her a personal question. Even I was shocked by this.

"Why...do you think that way?"

She asked.

It seemed she was more startled that 'I got it right', rather than me asking the question. And so, I honestly answered what I thought of,

"Hm, when I was looking for this English term, I realized that a lot of Japanese don't know this at all, and I heard that even the textbooks don't have it. It's commonly used in English conversations however. You knew what it meant the moment you saw the title...and I guess your English conversation skills might be decent."

Nitadori blinked the eyes under the glasses.

"...Amazing work, Sherlock."

Is her English fluent after all? Again I learned something about Nitadori.

"My English's decent, but it's nothing to be proud of, and I never mentioned it to others."

"Understood, I'll keep it a secret at school. Normally, I won't be to talking to anyone anyway.

"You'll have an increase in number of friends soon! Hey...aren't you decent at English yourself? Do I try talking to you in English?"

"Did you forget the 'My Warld The Number First'?"

And while Nitadori was reining in her laughter, I informed her of the origin of the title 'Vice Versa'.

Once I had my world setting, and recorded down the plot—

“Ah, 'Vice Versa' does sound good.”

I just had this feeling, and went along with using it.

As I said before, it's a term I learned from a certain movie. Ever since then, I kept remembering it..

As I said, I suppose most of the Japanese don't know this term, and that's why I named it as such.

In other words, I had it as a selling point,

“I don't know the meaning of the mysterious term, but it sounds cool.”

If the word 'vice' is looked at as an ordinary word, it'll mean 'evil' in English. To a German reader, 'Weiß' would mean 'White'.

When I first started the content of the first volume, I had the English teacher teach Shin the meaning of the term Vice Versa.

I hoped that after the readers read the meaning of the book, they would have a 'I see, the title represents the setting of the world'.

“Ohh...so that means you actually thought hard about it before coming up with the name, right?”

Nitadori looked impressed at first, and then said,

“And you did that to actually reveal one of my secrets so discreetly...I never thought you had such intention.”

I answered,

“Of course. When naming the title, I already expected that we'll be seated on this train 3 years later, on May 1st.”

“As to be expected of you, sensei. You really have a way with things...”

Why however?

I suppose I'm not really good at the Manzai routine, but I could easily handle it if my partner's Nitadori.

I continue to explain about the book title, answering her the question of 'who names the book'.

“First off, the contest entry is obviously titled by the author.”

“Okay.”

“But after winning the award, it seems there's often a change in title.”

I didn't change the title of the work before, so most of these is hearsay. To change the title of a work, there's 3 methods to this. 'the editor-in-charge does it', 'the author comes up with a new name', or 'both people do it'. (Also, there's an example, when the ideas are revealed for a public voting).

What will a modern author do?

It seems it'll be one of the three.

I heard the timeframe for naming a book isn't fixed, and it's decided based on the situation.

As for me, the title of my current work (series), 'Vice Versa' was conceived when I was coming up with the story, as I had said.

And this is what I heard from the editor-in-charge and other authors—

Some will want to think of a cool title, and then expand their thinking from there.

Some will come up with the name when plotting the story (that's me).

Some can't think of the title at all, so they'll first try to come up with a placeholder title. Once the manuscript's done however, they'll decide on the actual title.

Sometimes, the placeholder titles will become the actual title because there aren't any other ideas.

And after hearing this,

“Hey, sensei...”

Nitadori gave a somewhat bemused yet serious look.

“Wh-what is it...?”

And while I answered so timidly, Nitadori asked,

“Sensei, if you have to write such a situation into a novel and give a title to it, what will you do?”

“Huuh!?”

This extremely gaudy question caused me to let out an awkward cry.

“In other words, if you have to come up with a story where you're a protagonist, what'll you call it?”

“...Me—?”

“'Me'?”

“I already fired myself...”

“I know you said it already! If you're to think about it again, what'll you do? In fact, at this age, you're already a light novel author, and your work's adapted into an anime. That's just like a light novel protagonist, isn't it?”

“...I never thought of that before.”

“How about it? If you try thinking about it, what will you title your book?”

“...”

I began to think.

After thinking over and over again, letting Nitadori wait for about a minute, I muttered,

“Erm, 'No Longer Human'?”

Nitadori was a little peeved to hear such an answer, saying,

“Isn't that blatant copying?”

“Then, 'No Longer Protagonist'?”

“Like it has changed much!”

The train moved into the city.

It's already dark outside, and the carriage's starting to buzz.

I already explained the concept planning, writing, and the title. What's next?

Do I start from the part after writing the script?

“Is there anything you'll pay particular note to when writing? Like something you have to pay attention to?”

Nitadori asked.

“Other than the deadline?”

“Other than the deadline.”

“Hm...there are a few things.”

It's trivial, but since she asked, I thought of it, so I decided to ask her.

When writing, I'll follow the 2 pages, 34 lines, 42 characters per line 'Dengeki Bunko format', horizontally.

I'll occasionally write the text in vertical manner, and then use the 'print preview' function in Word to view the publication layout when converted into Dengeki Bunko format.

Some may think, in that case, why don't I simply do it in vertical format instead. As I had explained it long ago however, I'm already used to landscape, so I don't intend to change that.

When checking through the layout, if I find the words to be too crammed,

I'll increase the name of lines.

“Eh? Why do you do that?”

“Because the priority is 'readability'.

A light novel's the first novel most people would have read in their lives.

That was the impression I had through the fan letters I got and the online book reviews. To me, who grew up living with books, I really was surprised that 'many read books for the first time after entering Middle or High School'.

But any point is a starting point.

And after saying this, I realized I got many things 'I have yet to start on'.

Once I realized that light novels are 'an entrance that conveys the interesting aspects of novels', and bore the mission to guide people to interact with books, I started to have an idea.

For the sake of those who have yet to touch books, I want to try my best to make my work easy to read.

For those who have yet to have the habit of reading books, what kind of books are easy to read?

I feel,

First off, the sentences; it's best if I abstain from using too many difficult sentences. As I said before, i actually fulfilled this, unexpectedly.

The next one should be the impression the pages give a reader.

Rather than cram pages with words,

I suppose it's better to leave some spaces when at certain intervals.

When writing, I'll occasionally end up in situations where 'I'm in a groove'.

That's a wonderful moment where my thoughts simply flow.

During that situation, I don't have time to think of aligning the text, and the words will often be cramped.

Thus, I'll look at the text calmly, and then add in more spaces.

When writing, I typically don't adhere to a certain amount of text per chapter. At most, I'm guessing a certain number of pages per part, (for 'Vice Versa', I'll divide each chapter as around 30 to 50 pages).

And so, the amount of spacing to increase the number of pages won't be much of an issue.

If it's like a magazine or a newspaper, the column size does have a limit, and I most probably can't do it as I please.

“I see. So you prioritize readability, and not let the words be too crammed. Anything else you take particular note for?”

After thinking for a few seconds, I answered,

“The names of the characters, I guess. I'm always bothered by it.”

“Really? Bothered about what?”

“The one thing I really have to take note is to make sure the names don't clash with any real life celebrities or characters in other works.”

“It's still tough having to come up with names for so many people, right? How do you come up with names for your own characters?”

“It seems like some will name characters according to certain rules. For example...I know that a certain manga has all its names based on prefectures.”

“Then what about 'Vice Versa'? How do you go about naming it?”

“Other than Shin and Sin, there's basically no rules for most of the characters, especially the characters in Reputation. I'll just use names that I think are cool. Characters like Pluto are as such. As for 'Side Shin', the characters with Japanese names are actually, randomly named...just as long as they don't clash.”

“So...how do you check on that?”

“It's easy to do so now. Just search through the internet for any names you think of.”

“I see!”

“I'll use it if it's not a name or family name that clashes with characters from other works, or any name that clashes with any celebrities in real life.”

“Then...what about Meek?”

The eyes under Nitadori's glasses were as serious as she showed during the After Record.

At this point, a strong impulse arose in my heart.

Ah, I see.

This person in front of me is the voice actress portraying Meek.

“Homunculi like Meek are the only exceptions. There's a rule to their naming.”

I answered, and Nitadori suddenly leaned her body and face towards me.

“What rules?”

Too close. The glasses are too close to me.

I tilted my body slightly back, and Nitadori too reverted back to her original position.

“What rules?”

She asked a second time. Looks like she really wants to know.

Well, it's to be expected. It's the character she's going to portray in the future, and it's the first official named character she's acting the role of.

Tomorrow, Meek will be appearing for the first time in the After Record for the 5th episode.

She'll debut for a few minutes, and actually talk to Shin.

I've been wondering, have I actually told anyone how I got Meek's name.

I didn't remember if I actually said this to the editor-in-charge.

I also didn't remember if I actually mentioned it during the anime script meeting.

If I've yet to tell anyone,

Nitadori will be the first one to know.

Well, I guess it's fine to tell her this.

I immediately had an answer.

She's a colleague, and someone who'll keep secrets. There won't be problems even if I do tell her.

It's noisy inside the carriage, but for added safety, I hushed my voice as much as possible to answer her.

“The names of the Homunculi actually originate from Russian.”

“Eh...Russian...?”

“Before that, do you know of the 'Naming Dictionary'?”

“No.”

She shook her head slightly, and I explained to her.

As the term implied, the naming dictionary is a dictionary for names.

It records all sorts of terms in languages of more than 10 countries, marketed as 'Convenient for naming products, companies and shops'.

The first column's basically English, followed by French, German, Italian, Spanish, and so on. The number of languages recorded in each book's different.

I too have such a naming dictionary. When coming up with names for 'Vice Versa', I'll find a good katakana name for characters.

And as this is really convenient.

I do feel that for authors, or anyone aspiring to be authors, it's not a bad thing to have a naming dictionary with them at all times. The naming dictionary can also be classified for ordinary types, fantasy worlds, or even military.

The name Миг was what I found when I was flipping through the book. It sounded cute, so I memorized it.

Readers would often mention this name in their review, but I want to say, the name Миг wasn't meant to imitate that famous voice synthesis software cum popular character.

“Then what does the name mean in Russian?”

Nitadori's stare was intense. I could feel the rage from the anxiety she had after I explained the naming dictionary to her.

I didn't want to get bitten to death, so I answered,

“It means 'instance'.”

“Instance...”

Nitadori muttered softly..

“Instance...”

And again she did.

Once she understood the meaning of the name of the character she's portraying.

I don't know what this voice actress is actually thinking.

But what I'm thinking inside is, 'Good thing I didn't come up with an indecent name for this character'.

The other homunculi are also named based on Russian, and currently, there's more than 10 of them.

Свет (Svet) means visible light, and that's still decent.

Лес (Les) means forest. Speaking of which, this particular homunculus is in the country of the deserts, so the setting's different from the name, at least.

Доска (Doska) means blackboard. He's a handsome young man, but his name is a blackboard.

Складки (Skladki) means folds. She's a pretty girl

Гриб (Grib) actually means mushroom.

Пугало (Pugalo) actually means scarecrow...

That was close.

I nearly ended up in a situation where I'll be saying,

“The name of the character you're portraying actually means 'mushroom' (or 'scarecrow')!”

That really was close.

“Instance...”

Nitadori kept her head lowered, and I added on with the explanation,

“In English terms, it'll mean 'moment'. I think it's a similar pronunciation in Russian, and the reason I actually remembered it well is because before I actually confirmed the name, I did check for info on the internet. Meek sounds cuter though, so I decided to use it.”

This really is off topic, which I never said to Nitadori,

'In Russian pronunciation, 'Миг' can be read as 'MiG'.

As for 'MiG', that'll be the famous fighter jet manufacturer. The company manufactured lots of fighter jets, like the MiG-25 or the MiG-29.

Anyway, the company has nothing to do with this 'Meek'.

Some fans will submit their illustrations onto the internet, and one of them has Meek standing in front of a MiG-21. I really like that illustration, so I had it saved.

There's another thing I haven't told Nitadori.

Meek actually means 'Instance', so I had a thought that sooner or later, it'll become a topic somewhere.

It's rare to get a meaningful name, so when I talked about 'Instance', I'll add the name 'Meek' in furigana by the side, coolly emphasizing this point.

I thought of that, but I haven't used that.

If I don't hurry with it, I guess I won't be able to use it even if I want to.

Thinking about that, I reached my hand towards the tea by the windowsill.

“Thanks for telling me all of this. I had been wondering about it all this time.”

“Eh?”

The formal language from the seat on the right side really shocked me.

Turning my head aside, I found Nitadori there, staring at me.

“?”

Once she saw my surprised look, she too was taken aback. Looking at her expression, it looks like she hadn't realized she used formal language.

I was thinking that it wasn't good to pursue the matter, so I did my best to say in an earnest voice,

“Erm...don't mind me. I'm looking forward...to the After Record tomorrow.”

“Yes! Please allow me to do that! I will do my best tomorrow!”

Again, she spoke in formal language.

I felt a shock in face of the sudden bombardment of formal language. This conversation's too impactful, so I'll occasionally add such a writing style in my work. I never thought I'll actually get this experience however.

Nitadori,

Probably got into 'work mode'.

To me, I really wish she would stop with the formal language as before.

While thinking about it for a little while, she suddenly stood up, saying,

“Please excuse me for a while.”

And then, she immediately went through the automatic doors behind us.

The train passes through some tunnels that are rather long, moving through smoothly. It's a pretty, lush mountainous area around here, but it has become rather dim outside the window, so there's not much scenery to be seen even after leaving the tunnel.

It's still noisy inside the carriage. Looks like Nitadori had cast a really powerful spell, for that woman's still affected by it. I hope that she's getting off at the terminal however.

Nitadori has yet to return. I'm not really picky about her taking too long; it's useless to be picky about it if she's headed to the toilet.

I was only thinking,

“Ah, so nice.”

Potato chips go best with sea salt after all.

“Ah, kept you waiting.”

Once I was done finishing the potato chips, Nitadori managed to recover, and returned. Did she wash off her 'work mode' with water? Or did she hand it off to someone else?

As usual, she had her hair tidied, let her hair drape in front and behind her chest, before sitting down quickly.

“Now that we mentioned 'concept, writing, title, character naming'—”

Nitadori said,

“Can I conclude this as 'this is a volume done' for the time being'?”

“No problems.”

“Then, what will an author do next? Is there anything to take note?”

Listening to the question, I pondered.

Nitadori's asking some really detailed questions. Is she planning to write a novel herself?

But I did remember her saying not long before 'I don't intend to register'.

In that case, I guess a certain acquaintance of hers want to be an author for some reason.

Or maybe that she's already an author, and I don't know? Is she a voice actress and an author? Is she planning to get intel beneficial to her from a rival?

Once I had my delusions till that point, I decided to return to reality.

“Now then, assuming that I've completed a volume worth of manuscript, it's now the work to check through it, and then complete the elaboration (or bump and knock).”

“Bump and knock?” (TN Non-snark: 推敲)

Nitadori asked.

It's a term taught in elementary language classes, and I thought everyone knew this.

Perhaps Nitadori was on leave that day, so I explained.

Elaboration would be to read through the text over and over again, and add on.

There is a origin to this term. A certain Chinese poet was wondering,

“Which one do I use? Bump or knock?”

While walking, he bumped into an official and his men.

That official, a man of literature himself, said,

“'Knock' is better.”

And having said that, the poet decided.

So, by connecting the two words, that term came about.

“Eh, it's the first time I knew about this. Thanks.”

“Erm, do mind it. Assuming that I'm done with writing a novel, the bump and knock's done for the moment.”

So what will I do next? I'll send the manuscript to the editor-in-charge, get him to read through, an check through it.

For practically all the authors, including me,

When we talk about 'sending the manuscript', we're talking about email.

I'll attach the Word document to the email, and press the send button.

Thus, there's no need for the editor-in-charge to come over and get the manuscript, and I don't have to send the actual physical copy over.

I can send the file from anywhere in the world. With a computer and internet around, I can work anywhere in the world.

“You aren't in Tokyo at the moment anyway, sensei. Are there many authors working outside the capital?”

“Amongst the authors I see at the end of year party, most of the authors are living in Kanto, including Tokyo, followed by Kansai. There are a few living far away. The end-of-year party is a rare chance to get all these people gathered.”

“I see.”

I'll get back to talking about email attachments.

Before adding the word document to the email, I'll add '111' to the back of the file, before sending it out.

This refers to the '1st manuscript'. A single '1' is enough, to avoid mixing up the volume numbers, I'll add three repeated numbers before sending it out.

“And once the editor-in-charge's done checking, and you edit it, it'll become the 2nd manuscript'?”

“That's the case. I'll add '222' at the back of the file.”

“Then, how many manuscripts do you have to do?”

“Well, before this...I think it's better to explain to you the discussion meeting and the review. What do you think?”

“In that case, go ahead with it, sensei.”

The editor-in-charge will be in charge of checking through the manuscript, and review it.

Writing's difficult, but so is review. Sometimes, reviewing the work's worse than writing it.

After I send the manuscript, the editor-in-charge will have to spend days, or even a week to check through it. If he can't get the time to do it, this period will be lengthened.

And then, the editor-in-charge will notify me of a meeting time and date. There are mainly two methods to this,

One of them is to hold a meeting through the phone, and the other's to meet face to face.

“I can understand a meeting through the phone...but meeting directly will mean, that the editor-in-charge will be looking for you?”

I shook my head,

“I think that some authors and editors-in-charge will do this, but I haven't done that. I've always been going to Tokyo. I'll hold meetings through the phone sometimes, but to be honest, I think a face to face meeting's better. There are some parts in particular that need editing, and a face-to-face meeting right from the get go will do.”

I'll head to Tokyo according to the date.

2 years ago, when I was in 10th grade, all the meetings will be held on Friday nights. For me however, I'll ask the editor-in-charge to spare time for me.

After school, I would hurry towards the station, take the Rapid Express before this one, which leaves at around 3pm.

And so, I'll be able to reach the editorial branch at Idabashi before 7pm.

We would use the conference table beside the editorial branch. I heard that some will hold meetings in restaurants or cafe, but to be honest, I really don't want to do this, for I'm worried that the people will eavesdrop on what we're talking about, or things get leaked. Anyway, I can't hold the meetings with a peace of mind.

The meeting's typically around 2 hours long, and if longer, about 3 hours.

“That's rather long...so in detail, how do you proceed with the meeting?”

“First, erm, the meeting basically starts with the editor-in-charge saying 'this is very interesting', or something, I guess? That'll let me feel relieved, since it's not a situation where, 'I can't use this story at all'.”

“Can't use at all? That means—”

“Yeah, that's how it is. It's scary if I can't use the story at all. Anyway, it means 'this story's meaningless, so I can't use it'.”

“In that case...what'll happen next?”

“Of course, I'll have to rewrite.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

“Have you encountered a situation where you can't use the story at all...?”

Actually I haven't got this at all.

So when I said that, it's just me imagining things.

As I had said before, once I submit my concept, once the editor-in-charge agrees with my ideas, I'll begin writing.

But even so, it's as what I said before. It's very rare to have the original concept being exactly the same as the manuscript.

No matter how interesting the concept is, if the novel isn't interesting, or if the completion's too little, or if any of these two occur, the editor-in-charge might not use this at all.

After chatting with other authors, I learned that there are actually many authors who had stories that were scrapped.

Will this happen to me some day?

I felt terrified every time.

“How interesting—”

Even though such a reply will give me relief, I still can't let my guard down.

Every single time, the editor-in-charge will pose me lots of issues.

“So, how does the editor-in-charge raise them?”

“I feel that at first, they'll start from the entire plot process. This is the part with the most need for change. Both the editor-in-charge and I will use the term 'Drastic changes'; this is the part that really needs a lot of changes, so even if all the trivial parts are pointed out, it's meaningless.”

“I see. Are there examples where you need drastic changes?”

“For example, 'the entire story flow feels a little unnatural', or 'a certain scene is too long', or 'the story development needs to be changed completely', or something...”

Once there are parts that require drastic changes, the situation gets really tiring. It's not as bad as being unable to use it, but the editing part really is important.

Okay, leaving aside the 1st volume where I needed 3 revisions, there was one time in my experience when I needed a drastic change in the 3rd volume.

The editor-in-charge pointed out that the final battle was too long.

The battle against Pluto in the first volume was really long, and I thought I did good for that, so I got cocky and said that I wanted to get a high, but the results weren't as good.

The editor-in-charge pointed out that the battle part was too long, so I made heavy cuts on the battle scenes in the 3rd volume.

It's like a woman who had a breakup, and had a haircut. I'm not a woman though, and I never had a breakup.

“Eh! Then, did your first love succeed?”

The moment I mentioned the haircut example, Nitadori responded very enthusiastically. Really I found her to be girlish given how interested she was in regards to 'love topics'.

“So, sensei...how's your girlfriend like?”

I knew this Nitadori was asking a rhetorical question.

“I have yet to receive a confession from anyone till this point...”

“Why the formal language?'

“Why exactly...?”

I guess a person with neither friends nor girlfriend is probably an alien.

And I'm not an alien. Inductive reasoning complete.

Back on point,

I revert the topic back to the cutting of the manuscript.

Because of this, I cut a lot of parts from the original fight scene.

And the number of enemies that originally appeared in battle was reduced in half. A few would have appeared in other scenes, but even though there were some named characters, I scrapped them.

Looking at the results however, I felt this correction was really appropriate.

The battle description was simple, short, and compact, and I could add on the relaxing scenes later. Those scenes would become plot points later on.

“When there's no need for drastic changes, the editor-in-charge will typically say 'I'll explain it from the beginning'. In other words, he'll list all all the issues from the beginning, in chronological order. He'll then specify the problem, like maybe the story structure's shoddy, the meaning hard to convey, or basic mistakes like typing errors or wrong kanji.”

“At this moment, will you be looking at the printed manuscript?”

“That was how it went at first. The editor-in-charge will use the printer in the branch to print two copies, one of them for me. He'll also mark out the issues in red pen, which I call 'red marks'. After that, I'll follow the red marks and edit the manuscript on the computer.”

“I see. But you just said 'that was how it went at first', right? What about now?”

Nitadori asked the obvious question.

And I answered,

“I'll bring my laptop to the meeting.”

At the end of the year when I made my debut as an author, I received the publication fees for the 2nd volume that was released that October.

About money, I'll leave that for later (if I'm asked)—

Anyway, I used that money to buy a little laptop.

It's thin and small, not troublesome even if I put it in a bag and bring it around. Also, I actually bought a brand new model, and managed to pay it off in one go.

And using this laptop, I could work on my way to and fro, or in the hotel. This really helped me out.

The large laptop I first bought was old, but it wasn't faulty, so even after 4 years, I'll continue to use it. When connecting to the internet at home, I'll use the large one. If I have to be picky about it, the operating speed's a little slow, but this won't cause me any problems.

It's very helpful to have 2 computers for work. In case one breaks down, I can continue to work.

I once read in a certain book that professionals always have a spare just in case, but the one stating it in the book was a cameraman.

I'll typically bring that laptop, which I bought with my own money, to meetings.

At first, I would edit the red marks that night in the hotel in a handwritten manner, but,

“Actually...my handwriting...not nice at all...”

“Eh? —Really!?”

“Yes...that's right.”

I never thought Nitadori would be that surprised.

I suppose she never did see my handwriting; no, actually, I did write something on the blackboard during class. Back then, I did my best trying to write.”

“Erm...and then?”

“Hm, there are times when I can't read my own handwriting...”

“...”

This really isn't something to be proud of.

But I really couldn't do anything about it.

At first, after having my meeting with the editor-in-charge, I'll write words on the script in red pen. My handwriting's so atrocious however that there are times when I don't know what I'm writing.

When writing, I still remember the points he pointed out. If I think of how to edit it, I'll record it down.

But there's naturally a lot of parts I need to edit.

After 3 hours, I couldn't remember the parts the editor-in-charge asked me to edit.

And in that situation, there are times when I'm troubled because I can't read my own red words.

“Ahh! What did he say is the problem here!”

And such situations just kept increasing (at this moment, I'm left at my wits' end and have to call the editor-in-charge.)

So I decided to bring a laptop to the meetings.

So in other words, at the conference table—

The editor-in-charge will have the printed manuscript, while I'll be looking at the laptop screen.

Of course, I wouldn't forget to first add a '222' at the back of the file name.

Once he points out the errors, I'll immediately move the mouse. If it's skipping lots of pages, I'll use the search function to move to that page.

And when he mentions the issue,

I'll edit it immediately if it can be done easily. A mistype or a wrong word can be classified as such.

The advantage of this is that the editor-in-charge can make the corrections immediately.

If the issue requires a longer time to explain, I'll leave a few spaces and add what's the need, like,

“I need more lines here.”

“I need to cut a lot here.”

“I need to make this scene match the last one”

Or things like that.

“As for the time required to edit the manuscript...if there's a need to edit a lot of it, it'll take about a week. If there's ample time until the next deadline, I can spend a few more days. I'll then complete the second manuscript and send it to the editor-in-charge again.”

“And the editor-in-charge will check through it again?”

“Yeah. He'll check if the parts are edited, and find mistakes. Of course, there'll be far fewer mistakes in the second one than in the first one—or I'll cry.”

“Haha.”

“If there's no need for me to head down to the editorial branch again, the second and third draft review will be done through the phone. When calling through the phone, I'll put my cellphone in hands-free mode and put it in front of my laptop, holding my meeting this way. He'll call me, and since it'll typically be a long talk, 30 minutes will be considered quite short. There was once when we talked for 2 hours.”

“I see...there's something I'll like to ask first.”

“Go ahead.”

“When the editor-in-charge tells you 'this part needs correction', do you feel hurt about it? This novel conveys all your ideas, right? Even if it's a small part, you won't feel angry or hurt to hear 'please edit this part' will you?”

“No, practically not.”

I simply replied.

As a professional author.

In other words, since a publisher's willing to publish my books, and I can obtain a publishing fee—

The work I write has to be checked by the editor-in-charge.

If I think I'm completely rejected because my work's denied, and I sink into depression,

I can't be a professional author.

A long time before I became an author, probably 5th grade, I once saw a prose with such content.

I don't know who the author was, probably a bestselling author.

Back then, I only thought 'I see'. When I had the potential to be a professional author myself however, I suddenly thought of it, and I couldn't forget about it.

Of course, if I encountered a situation I can't back down on no matter what, I'll insist until the very end.

To insist until the very end...in fact, such a situation's very rare.

When our opinions clash, I'll typically back down and edit the parts.

I've been doing that till this point, and the books were a hit, so I felt I should simply do that.

After emphasizing this part clearly, I added on,

“I haven't ended up in a situation where the story doesn't get picked up at all...maybe I'll be really sad if I do end up encountering that. At the end-of-year party, I think a senior writer I met said 'if your work doesn't get picked up many times, it'll get really depressing'.”

I can only imagine it in reality, but that definitely hurts.

“That's...tough.”

Nitadori probably felt the same too as she lamented.

“Now then, I'll get to the part 'how many versions must I do'.”

“Okay.”

“Typically, I'll finalize things at the 3rd manuscript.”

“Finalize, as in?”

“It simply means completing the manuscript. I'll think of it as 'sending the completed, edited manuscript out' though. That part basically means the job is done. The deadline will typically mean that the story's to be finalized on a certain month, certain day.”

“I see. So that means you're done with your best.”

“Yeah, but even though the writing's done, I still have a lot of things to do before the novel gets published.”

I've explained things to the 'finalized' part, but an author's work doesn't end here. It's easier than writing, but there's a lot of things to do.

I look at the watch, and find that we'll reach the destination in an hour. I leave the seat again, washed my hands in the toilet, and returned to my seat.

I've taken this trip several times, and it'll take about 3 hours from the station nearest to my house to the terminal. Back then, I would read books, listen to music, space out, record down the ideas I thought of, or work on my laptop.

I never thought that I would be seated side by side with my female classmate (though she's a year younger), chatting non stop.

And she's a voice actress, to boot.

And she's actually acting in the anime adaptation of my novel.

“Kept you waiting!”

“I waited for you! Now then, please go through the process after the finalization!”

“I'll feel very relaxed after the finalization's done, freedom, a sense of liberty, like 'Great! It's over!' Some authors will say stuff like 'feels like I just broke out from hell'. Well, but my thinking's more like 'okay, time to write the next work'.”

“...Eh? You aren't going out to play?”

“Right now, I feel that I'm enjoying myself writing. When I first finalized my script, I had a sense of accomplishment over having finished something, so I think such a feeling will prompt me to work on the next story.”

“A-a workaholic? Are you a workaholic, sensei?”

“I guess...but as I said before, the work doesn't end here.

Now then, what'll happen to the manuscript after it's finalized?

After the editor-in-charge does the final checks, there's a need to do a cross check.

The manuscript will be printed in the exact layout as the print book, and they are then handed to the reviewers.

“Reviewers...what are they?”

Nitadori asked. It's not commonly heard, so I guess it's not strange for her not to know.

“Reviewers means that they check whether there's a mistake in the work. That's what they do.”

“Oo...”

“There's also the term proofreaders. Have you heard of it?”

“I think I heard of it. Is there a difference?”

“I got curious once and checked on it. There's actually a major difference between them. Simply put, proofreaders check that the original manuscript is the same as the printed work.”

“Eh? What about reviewers? Is there another work?”

“Reviewers check if there are mistakes in the Japanese, whether the plot is logical, whether there are factual inaccuracies, all kinds of checks, actually.”

“What are factual inaccuracies...any examples?”

“For example—”

I spent three seconds thinking of a good example, and said,

“Assuming that I have a line in the text 'I'm head to the capitol of USA, New York City.”

“So the reviewer will point it out to you, saying, 'the capitol's actually Washington D.C.. You made a mistake'. Right?”

“That's right. But...this line may be correct.”

“Yeah. It'll be correct, if it had just gained independence, that is.”

Nitadori answered without thinking, and I was really surprised by it.

I read through many books, and accumulated lots of useless trivia, but I never expected Nitadori to actually give the correct answer immediately.

“Correct...back then, the capitol was New York City. If the story's set in that era, it's correct not to edit it in that situation. The reviewers have to be particular about that. Of course, if there's a mistake in the information the author found, and wrote it as 'Capitol, Philadelphia', the reviewer too has to say 'looking at the year and date, the capitol's still in New York City' and point out the error.”

“Wow. This job's tough—I see. So that's why the original manuscript has to be handed for a professional check.”

“That's the case. On a side note, the term required is review, but some authors can understand if you use the term proofread.”

When I debuted, I too didn't know the difference between review and proofread, and of course, I couldn't differentiate between the two.

In the following explanation, there'll be certain professional terms. For experienced authors and editors, those might be common terminologies, but they might be foreign to most ordinary people. In other words, most people who just became authors won't be familiar with those terms.

“Erm...what does that mean?”

A rookie will keep asking the editor-in-charge this question as they create their won work.

I too couldn't explain what I was doing when I was doing the first 4 volumes or so. The editor-in-charge was just telling me 'edit it like this. Then this.” and I would follow.

“Erm, there'll be some professional terms used later on...”

I prefaced with those words, and explained,

“The book and the manuscript printouts are both called 'Galley proof', or simply 'gally'. More people will use the term 'galley', and I've been using the same term too.”

“Galley...what does that mean?”

“Well, I too was curious as to why it's called 'galley', so I did my research through the internet.”

“The internet's really convenient. And so?”

“After that, I found that the term originated from a Galley ship. It's an old type of ship, with many oars on the flanks, and the slaves or soldiers will keeping rowing. That's called a Galley.”

“Galley, is it? Such a term can refer to a kitchen on a boat or a plane.”

“You really know your stuff, Nitadori.”

“Eh? I'm glad that you're praising me, but there's no benefit of that, you know?”

“I'm just stating my honest thoughts. Not really praising you there, actually?”

“Besides, I got lots of things I don't know of. Not as impressive as the internet, at least.”

“You're being humble again.”

“Okay, keep on talking.”

“Okay, continuing on, why is a galley ship involved with printing—”

Back then, when talking about printing, it'll refer to the movable type printing.

“What's that?”

“Eh? That's...”

She's not acting humble now, is she?

Movable type printing refers to the use of metal word molds, line them up, and then use that to print. It's a lot easier than to 'copy' or 'woodblock printing', where the printing can't work if a part of the mold can't be used.

This was one of the three great inventions that prompted the European Renaissance (the other two being the compass and gunpowder). Humans were able to provide books for more people using such a cheap, quick manner.

“I see...”

“You never attended history class in middle school?”

“Well...I guess I probably fell asleep back then? Anyway, please continue with the Galley ships.”

A single word required movable type blocks, so there's a need for many of these to print out an entire page. Once the words are chosen, people will put the words on the platter. That platter has something to do with the ship, so people call the ship Galley.

I don't know who said it, but someone from somewhere once said,

“It's really crammed and packed inside, like the oars of an old Galley ship haha.”

Anyway, that's what happened.

The term galley ended up being a term used to check if there is an error printing the words.

And people began to call it galley proofing, a review of the manuscript.

Galley printing soon became used for reviewing script, and then it became a 'reviewed manuscript'.

In this example, people in modern society no longer use printing techniques, and they're all printed from a computer, but the term used in the past still lives on.

“Eh...I learned something.”

“Well, that doesn't really involve an author's work actually...”

“I know what's reviewing now. Will this come out in the test, sensei?”

We're off-topic, so back to the point.

“Erm, which part did I explain to...?”

“To the part where your manuscript becomes a basis for comparison, and handed to the reviewer'.”

“I see, thanks.”

“Don't mind.”

Once the review script's printed, it'll be handed to the reviewers.

This action is called 'first check'. It's the first check (or review), so that's the term.

The next one's called the 'second check'.

The first and second checks refer to the actions,

But sometimes, it can also refer to the review script, so it gets a little complicated.

From here on, I wouldn't omit the 'script' part when talking about it.

So when the reviewers print the first review script and do all kinds of checks—

I'll receive a 'duplicate'. To be precise, it's a duplicate copy.

Anyway, it's the exact same printed copy as the one sent to the reviewers.

As the author, I'll have to reread this manuscript and check through it.

This action's called the 'author's corrections', or simply put 'author's review'.

Basically, at this step, I just need to 'check for missing, or incorrect words, check if there's anything else wrong.

“But then, the more I look at the paragraphs or text, the more I'll take note about them. I've reread it many times when writing, but I'll keep finding parts where the text, or pacing is worse off.”

“What will you do in such situations?”

“I'll try to correct it as best as I can.”

It's a printed story, so I need to mark out the parts that need correction in red pen, and note down how I'm supposed to go about doing it.

On a side note, correcting the manuscript with a red pen is also called 'red correction'.

When editing the manuscript, the editor-in-charge will use what's called a 'correction symbol'.

These are symbols designed to accurately convey how to correct the text. For example, if there's a need to swap the top and bottom lines, he'll use a reverse S shape symbol. The top lines will be on the top of the lines, and the bottom line at the bottom.

I didn't know that at all, so I wrote down a rather complicated, unique method of correction.

And the editor-in-charge kept asking me.

“So, what does this mean?”

Leaving aside the correction symbols,

If I'm holding a first review duplicate copy, and I want to make major changes to it no matter what,

And my biggest thought is “I want to rewrite this page!”

“Can you do that?”

Nitadori asked.

The answer is yes, I can.

“It's actually not that impressive...there's a method called 'swapping entire pages'.”

As the term implies, I'll rewrite what I want to rewrite, and send an email saying 'please use this for page OOO). Sometimes, I'll end up swapping out many pages.

“But...I do think it's best to avoid major changes like 'swapping pages'.”

That's because that if I'm to make full page changes at this phase, the page will end up not passing the first review.

I thought the act that if time allows, I hope to improve the manuscript.

But if I don't tell myself,

“That's enough. It's complete.”

From time to time, I'll end up correcting it over and over again.

It's ideal to finish the work at the finalized part.

“Though I think this way...”

“But life isn't that easy, huh?”

“Now then—once the reviewers finish the first review, the review copy will be returned back to the editorial branch. Thus, I'll finish the author's review before the deadline.”

I divert my topic back to the process.

“I have to do two things. First is to hand the manuscripts with my red marks to the editor-in-charge, and second, to check through the first review the reviewers did.”

Nitadori titled her head, asking,

“Hm? I get the first one...but why the second?”

When reviewers find out an extremely obvious error during the checks—

For example, like 'there's no period at the end of the paragraph', 'the furigana's completely wrong', they'll correct it with red pen.

But there are times when the reviewers end up 'unable to tell if it's wrong', and they'll mark the questionable parts with pencil.

Basically, only the authors can edit the text.

The editor-in-charge and reviewers won't make changes at will.

I have to be in charge of the red marks, and also answer all the issues marked in pencil.

“Then, what kind of issues will the reviewers point out?”

“All kinds of them—”

In fact, every reviewer has their own style of pointing out issues, and the frequency of them.

The reviewers of Dengeki Bunko are basically outsourced, so I can't tell if they're all done by the same people.

I don't know the reviewers names, and I don't know what kind of people they are.

But if I have to say something—

Thank you for everything you did.

“The most common issue here is probably the difference between the words displayed, and the furigana. In other words 'mismatched terms'.”

“Mismatched terms...for example?”

“At a certain point, the term 'produced' can be read in three different ways, and the terms used my be different elsewhere, or the katakana for bodyguard isn't consistent. In katakana terms, some add the black 'middle dot', and some don't.”

(TN: Bodyguard can be read as 'ボディーガード' or 'ボディガード'. Just a lengthened middle for the first. Produced can be read as '生みだす', '生みだす' or '产み出す'. All three are read as Umidasu)

“I see.”

“Also, there are often cases of people pointing out the strange use of 'Teniwoha'.”

“Teniwoha'?”

“That's...basically the usage of particles.”

“Women? Girls?” (TN: 助詞 and 女子 have the same pronunciation, Joshi, じょし)

“No, how am I supposed to use girls?”

“Erm...for bad things?”

“I'll get arrested by the police, so don't say it. The particle here refers to the Japanese particles used to help convey the meaning.”

“Ah, ahh...I know that.”

“You should be knowing that, right?”

“I-I guess? So in other words, the use of particles is called 'Teniwoha', and some people will point your mistakes in them, right?”

“Right. When I'm too engrossed, the particles gets weird, like I can't differentiate between the use of 'ga' and 'ha', and that's still okay. Sometimes, there are lines that don't look Japanese at all...most of the problems will be pointed out by the editor-in-charge, and the missed parts will be corrected by the reviewers.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“Anything else...like a basic, stupid mistake...it's embarrassing talking about it...but I did mess up on the characters back then.”

Even I didn't know why I would be making such mistakes.

When writing the 5th volume of Vice Versa, I kept mistaking the names of two characters, and it lasted for 20 pages.

The bearded old man's using female pronouns, and the beautiful lady's saying things like

“I'd say that I don't understand.”

Once the editor-in-charge pointed it out, my face paled. I really wonder what'll happen if the book's published like that…

“Also, I did make such mistakes before...8 people fall into a hole. 3 died. How many people escaped?”

“If we're not considering that Shin died, 5.”

“Yeah, this is elementary math. In the original manuscript however, it ended up as 4...”

“Wow...”

“It's fine for you to laugh out loud, you know?”

“No need for that. Anyone can make mistakes.”

“Thanks. Sigh, I got such mistakes pointed out several times. Also, when 'the author does the author check', I'll definitely use a pencil or a mechanical pencil.”

“Why?”

“Because the editor-in-charge will be making corrections in red pen at the top, indicating 'this problem appeared before, and I corrected it'. I heard that this stuff will be kept.”

“Eh!?”

“So I typically use a multipen with red and black ballpoint inks and a mechanical pencil function. I keep it with me at all times.”

“Ohh! You brought it along today too? What does it look like?”

“Wait.”

I stood up to show her the real thing, turned my body around, and reached for the rack.

There's a pen pouch attached outside the bag, and I had two of them stuffed in there; one of them's a spare. I took a pen, sat down, and handed it to Nitadori.

“Oh, so this is your good partner, sensei? Looks classy!”

Nitadori marveled in an ostentatious tone. Actually, this is cheap stuff, nothing too fancy. I guess they do sell them in convenience stores too.

“So in the future, when your memorium is built, this pen will be used for display, right?”

No, that's not the case.

Speaking of which, I never thought about building a memorium or something. If someone has that much money, please use it for aid relief.

I stick that pen into the chest pocket, and continue explaining,

“I'll hold my mechanical pencil and check through the first review that went through checking. Sometimes, I'll add some stickies if there are problems, but I'll typically flip through the entire manuscript page by page.”

And then, assuming that I can see the parts from the reviewers,

and if I agree to them, and hope to make such changes in the text,

I'll use the mechanical pencil to mark the part with a large circle, writing 'please do this'.

In contrast, if I feel there's no need to correct it,

I'll mark it with a cross.

Sometimes, I'll write down 'please leave it as this'

“Please leave it as this?”

“It has nothing to do with mothers.”

(TN: Text has it as Mama de. You know what Mama is.)

“Ah, I see.”

I'm really grateful to the corrections by the reviewers, but there are a lot of parts I wish to maintain. Looking at my situation, there are some moments where I'll leave strange Japanese in the conversations, so I'll mark all those suggestions with crosses.

And so, I continue to flip through about 150 pages per volume, (around 300 pages per book), checking through them.

Sometimes, there are moments where even I can't decide.

For example, the reviewer points out a kanji similar in meaning, but I don't know which one's appropriate.

In that situation, I won't make a decision for the time being, place a sticky there, and first crumple up the edges of the review manuscript.

Once all the checks are done, “About this—” I'll ask the editor-in-charge, and leave it to him to decide.

And at this point, I remember there's something I forgot to mention.

“Ah, about the location where the first review check is done—”

“It's not at the editorial branch?”

“Hm, it's basically there the prior year. I typically head to Tokyo for meetings, so I'll make time to do the author checks. During 10th grade however, I couldn't head to Tokyo because of this work, so I could only do this through mail. Once the first checks are done and sent to me, I'll send it back along with the author checks.”

“I see.”

“And if there are parts the editor-in-charge can't get, he'll give me a call, and I'll tell him directly on the phone. Over there, the first review will be done, and another step before publication is completed.”

“ But there's still a need for another review, right?”

“Yeah, there's still a second review.”

In the second review, I'll have to repeat the process.

Once the parts pointed out by the first review are edited, it'll become the second review.

The reviewers get the second review, and I'll get the duplicate.

In the second duplicate, I'll have to check if the edited parts are completely okay. This will be called the second author check.

And to check the second review manuscript the reviewers checked, as an author, I'll head to the editorial branch (or contact through mail again).

In the second check, there's a high chance of new issues pointed out. This includes the parts missed the first time, parts I chose to maintain from the first review, and so on.

I'll again use the mechanical pencil to mark circles or crosses.

“The two review jobs all collectively called Galley checks.”

“Hearing you say that, it sounds really troublesome.”

“In fact, it is.” I grumbled.

“I had to widen my eyes and look for mistakes. It's very tiring.”

“I know.”

“But...such work's unavoidable if I want to publish a book without errors.”

“I see. Good work.”

“Th-thanks...”

“Is it finally over?”

“No, there's still something the author has to do.”

“There's still more? Erm, what is it?”

“What's left for the author is to write the afterword, put a recent photo of the author, write an author introduction, and check the illustrations.”

Writing the afterword.

The afterword's basically a necessity in any light novel. It's imperative to write it.

In terms of content, typically, it's about 2 to 4 pages. Some have it at 1.

Basically, the author's free to write whatever he wants in the afterword, anything as long as it doesn't taunt society or the masses.

In this world, there are authors who get the stage to show off their talents, and they'll work hard on writing it—

But to be honest, I'm bad at writing afterword.

At first, I was still decent. I debuted, and was grateful to everyone, really grateful.

With that emotion, I wrote out all my emotions, spending 2 pages of it.

After that, I ended up not knowing what I should write.

Even if I wanted to write about myself like other authors, I couldn't be saying that I'm a high school kid, or that I'm taking a break from school.

To be honest, I really found it difficult writing afterword, “This isn't good! That isn't good!” always groaning and writing. If I'm past 20, and there's a bill passed stating 'afterword are forbidden', I might give it a vote.

“I see...I never thought it would be that difficult...”

“It's so difficult it's annoying. It's said that an essay allows room to showcase an author's personality, so I'm rather curious as to how the readers will view it...”

“Looking at it, I'll guess you're a college student...”

“That's not too bad, I guess. On a side note, the 10th volume's to be published at the same time the anime's air—the afterword for that volume contains thanksgiving to all those involved in the anime production.”

“So when's the deadline for the afterword?”

“Actually, the ideal is that it's sent to the publisher along with the finalized manuscript, and that it can be checked together...if I can't make it, I'll send it during the first review, and at latest, the second review.”

“I see.”

“I did hear from senior authors that there's another way to submit it later, after the second review.”

“I can't imagine it...how?”

“First off, leave a few spaces for the parts meant for the afterword. It's said that the afterword finished later won't be deemed an essay, but an illustration, a picture, and it'll be inserted. Those authors that want to change, play with the playout and add some flavor will use this method.”

“So...in other words, it's fine even if you're either using pictures or written manuscript?”

“Sorta, I guess...?”

“Then, how?”

“How? As in?”

“Don't you want to try writing your afterword handwritten?”

“Erm...nobody will be able to decipher it, you know?”

Once the afterword's done, there's a need for the author's recent photo and introduction.

For Dengeki Bunko, such content will be contained at the flap under the cover (reverse side).

The author photo is to follow a 30 x 32 format, and any photo or illustration can be put there.

Actually, the author's actual photo should be there, as it's called the author's recent photo.

But in Dengeki Bunko, or rather, in the world of light novels—

Few authors will actually put their own photos, for obvious reasons.

There are all kinds of patterns, and most of them are basically photos of pet, things, or illustrations.

For illustrations, some might get the novel illustrator to do one for the author, or that the author may ask an acquaintance to chip in.

There are those who have artistic ability, and draw their own illustration.

“But sensei, aren't you using a photo of a 'keyboard'?”

“Yeah.”

In the author's recent photo from the 1st to 9th volume, I've been using the photo of the keyboard I first bought. Some authors will do the same thing, so I think this is rather overdone.

These photos were taken from the smart phone I bought back then, and the photo for the 1st to 3rd volumes are all the same. After that, I wanted to make some changes, so starting from the 4th volume, there were some minor changes every time. Even so, the keyboard's the only thing I took photos of.

Nitadori then reached her hand into her handbag.

“Wait here.”

She took out a light novel.

And once she did, I could tell what it was. Unmistakably, it's the first volume of 'Vice Versa'.

I could see many little stickies inside the book. Nitadori probably read through it thoroughly for the After Record, and it's really delightful.

She looked at the first volume's photo, and stared at me, saying,

“To be honest, you don't look alike.”

Of course.

I answered.

“I'm older now.”

It's really delightful to humor someone.

And publishing a book that moved a reader will certainly elevate this happiness.

Placing the first volume on her thighs, Nitadori asked,

“Leaving aside whether it's the author closeup or not, what about the introduction at the bottom?”

“That too is for the author to do whatever he wants.”

Dengeki Bunko's column is to have the large author name right below the closeup, and below that one's the author introduction.

This part uses the horizontal format, and (typically) ends in 5 lines, 24 letters per line.

It's an author's introduction, and I'm supposed to write some age (or year I was born in), a brief summary, and so on—

Amongst the works in Dengeki Bunko, this column is where authors get to do whatever they want.

Most authors will report on recent events over here, so the content will change in every volume.

“It's really tough having to write this...why do I have to change the content for every volume...no, it's not that there's a need to change, but everyone just seem to do this...”

And I ended up in full grumbling mode.

I really don't want anyone else seeing this 'author complaining to a girl younger than he is'.

“Tough, isn't it? Okay, okay.”

Argh, now she's actually comforting me. This is embarrassing. Good thing she didn't pat my head.

“But I have to keep my personal particulars a secret. There's nothing recent I can report on.”

“You're right.”

The forest outside really is filled with autumn , or,

I really love snow, because the world becomes peaceful , or,

The cherry blossoms have bloomed. I really want some dango , or,

I'll write these thoughts based on the seasons, but I'm running out of ideas.

“And so I thought, I might as well wing it.”

“Wing what?”

“'The 3rd child's born, and it's a girl'. Or, 'it's been a week since I moved to Germany. The beer's nice'. Or stuff like that.”

“HAHAHA!”

I guess I struck a laughter chord in her, as she's laughing out loud.

“Sensei, sensei. What about this? A girl younger than me caught my secret, and is blackmailing me .”

“Alright, using that for the 10th volume.”

“HAHAHAHA!”

After laughing for quite a while, Nitadori then said,

“The next part...is to check on the illustrations.”

“This part isn't that difficult, or rather, I'll say it's a delight.”

The illustrator did his best to draw pictures for me.

No matter whether it's CG or hand-made, the editor-in-charge will send it to me in a compressed folder, or get me a download link.

In terms of order, the illustrator will first finish the colored cover illustration, since it can't be published without a cover. Next, the opening color illustrations, followed by the black and white illustrations in the text.

After checking through the illustrations, I'll immediately approve it if there aren't any mistakes.

“Are there situations where it's NG?”

“Yes. Just a little.”

The rare situation refers to,

Mistakes on the specific character in the color illustration.

Where the position of the name tag is incorrect.

Where the text has it as right side, but it appears as left side on the text.

It's this kind of mistakes.

I get to enjoy the illustrations earlier than others, so I'm always looking forward to it.

“Wait, sensei! You say it like it's nothing, but if that's a mistake, isn't that serious? If the right and left side are reversed...”

“It's not that bad.”

“Wh-what do you intend to do? What did you do back then?”

“Change the text.”

“Ehhh?”

“I didn't explain this part before. After sending out the second manuscript, I'll print out a 'white copy' to compare it to the manuscript. The illustrations will be done before the electronic preview's done, so I can fix the parts where the sides are reversed.

“...Really can't imagine that. But if you can't fix it in any way, what will you do?”

“In that situation, I'll let it slip. It's common for illustrations to differ from the text in novels.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“The illustration check's done...I guess this should be over.”

I said a lot on this day.

I've been explaining for more than 2 and a half hours.

The train entered the city, headed straight down the straight. Many have got off the train midway through, and the carriage's empty now.

The woman, whom Nitadori cast the spell on, managed to successfully get off the train through the anti-magic installation called the 'cellphone alarm'.

“Thanks for today...no, it's interesting today too.”

She said as she placed the first volume into her bag, nodded to thank me. She'll hit me if she nodded towards me, so she nodded forward.

“No need, no need.”

I too nodded forward towards the seat in front of me.

But even so, there's still another 20 minutes until we reach the terminal.

I'm finding it unbearable not talking out of a sudden.

I can't do idle chat, let alone be bad at it.

And so, I said,

“Well, I guess you'll have to wait till next week for the more complicated questions. I still have time to answer some simple stuff, so is there anything?”

“Really? Then, I want to ask something that's unrelated to today!”

“What is it?”

“Do you receive a lot of fan letters?”

“I do receive a few, but I'm not sure if that's a lot.”

I state my honest thoughts.

What can be considered more? I never discussed this with other authors, so I don't know.

But I'll accept most of them gratefully.

“Then, what do you think.”

“Hm...I got more female fan letters.”

It's said that the main demographic for light novels is men. Leaving aside books targeted at women, that is definitely the case for Dengeki Bunko.

But even so, there are works that are very popular with girls.

Based on the fan letters, the readers for 'Vice Versa' is basically 50:50 between male and female.

I originally wrote what I wanted to see, so I never actually wrote anything that would pander to either side.

But I typically won't write erotic scenes that are obviously targeted at boys, and this obviously doesn't have anything to do with me being unable to do it.

As for why it's popular with females, I suppose it's due to the two protagonists, Shin and Sin.

“This party story's brimming with passion!”

Another editor-in-charge, not mine, used to say that to me.

Leaving that aside, I analyzed,

“I guess it's because, girls really aren't bashful writing letters to me?”

“Then, what's written on the letters...?”

Nitadori asked courteously, but I still can't answer it honestly.

I do think that letters are something the recipient should personally receive, and only the sender and I can know of its contents.

But even if I do say so, in fact...others would have already read the fan letters.

Because the editorial branch will check through them.

At the end of the pocket book, there'll be a line 'you're welcome to provide your valuable feedback and thoughts on this book'. The readers will then see the official homepage, and the lines 'please click on the 'reader questionnaire'.

Right below it are the columns 'Please send the letter to', which is the editorial branch location. As for the 'for OOOO', there's a need to fill in either 'my name', or the 'illustrator's'.

The readers will send letters to the editorial branch, so the editors will first check through.

And so, by the time the letters reach me, the letters are all open.

Why, you ask?

The editors are to check if there's anything dangerous inside, but the main aim is to remove any letters that'll obviously demotivate the author or the illustrator.

There are all kinds of people in the world, so I guess this is something that had to be done.

While wondering how I'm supposed to answer Nitadori's question—

I ended up with the conclusion that, 'I can only tell her'.

“I won't tell anyone about the content of the letter. It's a secret between the sender and me'.”

“Is that so? I see. Sorry.”

Nitadori easily gave me leeway.

To be honest, it's great that she's saying this. After heaving a sigh of relief, I guess it's fine for me to talk about some trivial stuff.

“But the readers are sending me letters, so the contents are basically cheering me on. As an author, I really feel gracious and delighted. Before I read each letter, I'll put my palms together, and then I'll open it.”

It's true. I treat every single letter as a small household altar.

“I suppose the senders are happy that you're doing that.”

Nitadori giggled. She's not looking down on me, but actually delighted for me.

There are fan letters that left quite an impression of me within these two years.

And there were two of these that shocked me so much, I'll never forget about them. (Of course, I can't tell Nitadori this)

The first letter's the one I received soon after I took leave from school, last April.

However, I didn't know if I could call this a fan letter.

"Actually, I'm wondering if I should be sending this letter to you...looking at your personality however, I suppose you'll like this one."

The editor-in-charge said this to me, and handed me the letter in the editorial branch.

Feeling tentative, I was wondering 'what kind of letter is it' as I kept reading, and I found it to be rather shocking.

There were several pieces of paper in it. The words are very neat and pretty, and it started off,

“Hello for the first time. I am Shin. I don't know how you knew that I was in Reputation when I was young...I'm shocked.”

In other words, that's a letter from Shin.

And then, there's a lot of these stuff continued on.

At first, he said about how shocked he was when he first read 'Vice Versa'—

And then he said that he's very old now, but he really did miss the times back then—

Many of his classmates had already departed for the afterlife—

Till this day, he would continue to talk on the phone with Shin, who conquered the entire Reputation.

That he understood very well some parts were different from his memories, because the author respected the privacy of him and his friends, and he really thanked them earnestly, and so on—

Anyway, this letter's pretty interesting from top to bottom.

The sender's a 74 year old male from Hokkaido.

Till now, I don't know if that man actually wrote that letter for real, or was he writing such a massive prank to make the author laugh.

But I guess the letter's so interesting it doesn't matter, and I read it again a few times.

Till this day, I'm wondering if he'll send a 'continuation', but it never came.

“Now that I'm advanced in age, I can see the end of my life. I'm going to head to Reputation and live an immortal life there.'

Based on what was written there, I supposed he's already over there.

The other letter,

Was rather grim in content.

This letter was earlier than the one aforementioned.

It was during October, 2 years ago, 2 months after I debuted.

Back then, I received some fan letters about the first volume. I was delighted, and read through it a few times.

A certain day, the editor-in-charge contacted me.

"I sent a few fan letters to you, and one of them has a sticky on it; it's fine for you not to read if if you're scared of being uncomfortable. I do think you'll be happy to read it until the very end however, so I'm sending it to you."

That was what he informed me on the phone.

Soon after, I received those fan letters.

One of them had a sticky attached to them.

First off,

I was surprised that it was a letter sent through air mail.

The sender's in a foreign country, and the name's completely Western.

There's a katakana name attached to the letter, and I learned that the sender's a woman called 'Stella Hamilton'.

The letter's completely in Japanese, and I was completely stunned. It's not as nice as the real Mr Shin afterwards, but her words are rather pretty.

The content.

Really was grim.

I feel, that amongst all the fan letters I received, this one's the heaviest.

In the letter, this girl called Stella's studying in 11th grade.

And she got bullied at school.

Her appearance naturally attracted the attention of many, and she was bullied since Elementary school.

She did live in Japan before because of her parents' work. In Japan, she was bullied for 'being a foreigner'. Even though she currently resides in her parents' native country, she still remained bullied.

Her parents never thought that this daughter of theirs would end up like this, and she did not dare discuss this with her parents, so she was anguished within.

She had several instances of wanting to commit suicide.

She wondered, since life was so full of pain, what's the point of continuing to live.

That was the content of the letter.

Having read this, I felt my gut sink.

"Why's such a person sending such a letter to me?"

I was skeptical.

Back then, I was still in my first year of high school. I wanted to say 'what hopes does she have for a 16 year old boy wearing a school uniform?' At the same time however, I thought 'ah, but this Miss Stella doesn't know about it', and so, I flipped the letter over.

And then, I found it to be a fan letter after all.

Starting from the 4th page, the text became lively, and it recorded the situation as to how she bought the first volume of 'Vice Versa', and her personal book review of it.

She came to Japan in the summer, and bought 'Vice Versa' and other mangas at an anime shop in Akihabara.

She really liked Japanese manga and anime, but it was the first time she tried reading light novels. It really was a coincidence that she would reach out for 'Vice Versa'.

And then, she really enjoyed herself. She was able to forget all the time and pain everyday.

She was really able to find some semblance of joy in her arduous life.

Thank goodness I didn't die. As long as I live, I'll be able to find happiness, so I'll continue to work hard from now on.

I'm really looking forward to your exciting works. I'll definitely buy it when there's any continuation. I'll ask for acquaintances in Japan to purchase this for me.

That was the content of the latter.

And added in the postscript was,

Shin and Sin are cool, but I prefer the strong, suave Pluto and the courageous Meek.

I hope that they'll be more active.

I'm a guy who won't cry even after reading a book or watching a movie, and till now, I've yet to cry.

But once I read this fan letter, I nearly broke into tears.

I was touched.

"After seeing your book, I'm glad that I've yet to die."

There's a foreign woman, older than me, actually saying such things to me.

I once decided never to respond to any reader fan mail.

At first, I was wondering if I should reply to all the readers, or not at all, and I chose the latter.

2 months later, I broke the oath. I sent an illustration to this Stella Hamilton.

To promote sales, Dengeki Bunko will create postcards every month and put them in the shops for sale.

Back then, the 2nd volume was being sold, and luckily, 'Vice Versa' was nominated as one of the works with postcards made.

I received a sample from the editorial branch, and there's the cover illustration of the 2nd volume on it.

The cover back then was a scene of Shin in his school uniform and Sin in his battle armor, glaring at each other. There's two volumes of 'Vice Versa' then, but only these two appeared on the cover. In Dengeki Bunko, it's rare to see the covers with only male characters on them.

Well, it's to be expected that the cover isn't Pluto or Meek, but I did sign on that postcard. It's the signature the editor-in-charge asked me to practice, and this was the first time I did it in a non-practice situation, the first time for a reader.

To avoid making a mistake, I cautiously wrote down the name Miss Stella Hamilton in English, and checked it a few times.

I didn't know what to say at all, and there wasn't much space, so I just wrote the words 'thanks on it!'. I suppose these are the prettiest words I've ever written in my entire life.

It was the first time I actually sent a mail by air, but since the postcard wasn't returned to the sender address, the editorial branch, I suppose this Miss Stella Hamilton did receive it.

And then, she never sent me a letter again.

However, to me, this one reply to a fan letter was unforgettable to me.

At the very least, there's another letter in the 'fan letter security case'.

"Now then, can i ask you something? Have you responded to a fan letter till this day?"

I was thinking about those things, so when Nitadori suddenly asked me, I was taken aback.

"..."

I remained speechless, and after a while, I realized I had no need to tell the truth.

I only did reply to Miss Stella Hamilton.

But even the editorial branch didn't know about it.

I'm not good at lying,

And neither am I good at acting.

But,

"N-no, not at all."

I showcased my worst act at this moment.

Clearly, I looked like I was acting no matter how it seemed.

Nitadori seemed a little startled upon hearing this reply, and then, she beamed in delight,

"Really~? You never replied to anyone else? Like for example...a young girl?"

Is this girl an esper!? A magician!?

I do think this should be a coincidence, but my heart still raced with Nitadori stating that.

"No no no...not at all…? Because, I decided, not to reply to any letters. If there's any reply to the letters, I'll be very, very troubled, I guess."

I felt that the response I gave before was already so terrible, but this was worse. The records for the worst just kept getting broken.

But I could only pass this through with lies.

No matter how bad my acting was, Nitadori had no proof.

"Anyway, I guess I probably won't be sending any replies. It'll affect my work anyway."

Finally, I was able to speak Japanese. It sounded really haughty however. What kind of person do I think I am?

"Hm...I see."

Having finally stopped Nitadori's interrogation, I was soaked in cold sweat, leaning my entire body on the back rest, and I heaved a deep sigh.

I really couldn't act.

And I'll never act again.

I decided that if I have to act again,

I'll flee the scene immediately.

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

She—

Eri Nitadori continued to strangle my carotid pulses with her icy hands.

Her hands were really cold, and I could feel it from both sides of my head.

I laid on the ground, and she was sitting on me. The only thing appearing in my eyes was her upper body.

That would be the arms outstretched for my neck, her face, and the black hair reaching down the sides like curtains.

Her sobbing face was facing away from the light, and it looked a little dim, very tragic.

The tears, excessive as they piled within the inside of the glasses, continued to slowly fall and drip on my cheeks.

She slowly spoke up, probably to say something. After gasping, she said,

"W—"

It sounded really long.

"H—"

But it probably was very fast, in fact.

"Y—"

I guess It was extremely slow after all.

Why?

Why did it end up like this?

The final lights before death continued to flicker by my eyes.

To be continued…

## 02. Volume 2 - Time to Play - Second Half ( PDF )

### 001. Afterword

Notice!

The following 'afterword' is different from the norm. It is a 'spoiler filled afterword'.

For those who have yet to read the main story, please do not read this afterword.

If you do, you will regret it for the next 3 days! In other words--you won't be regretting it for 4 days and more.

Once this afterword ends, there will be a 'normal afterword that is spoiler-free like usual', so everyone can read that first.

"Since it's Sigsawa, this afterword is probably the same as the others in being spoiler-free, so let's have a look!"

For those who had such thoughts at this point, I did space out a few lines, so please, escape immediately. It's dangerous here.

Run away!

Run away right now!

Really, run away!

Have you escaped?

Well, that's how it is--can I start now? Has everyone else evacuated?

I assume that you, who didn't run away, did read the main text, right? Am I wrong?

Now then, I'm beginning.

I rarely write such 'spoiler filled afterword'.

This afterword will involve the content of the story, and it's really in depth. It's basically a normal explanation. Yes, I had an urge to try this for a long time.

This work was announced very early, the name was so unique, and it was already serialized on the niconico serialized novels', so the readers asked all kinds of questions (mainly on twitter).

I suppose I have to answer these questions here, and at the same time, talk about the story creation. It feels like an audio commentary of a movie. Yes, I had an urge to try this for a long time.

●The plot of this story I initially thought of.

I did mention in my previous afterword that I came up with this story in my dreams. However, when plotting this story, the plot had a drastic change.

Then, what exactly was the initial story?

To avoid revealing the story in the last volume's afterword, I could not explain back then. Now that I'm going to reveal this to everyone who completed this story--

The initial story was 'a rather passionate love comedy'.

The beginning was the same, that the protagonist, a high school student and an author, had his real identity known by his classmate, who works as a voice actress. However, there wasn't anything like the Limited Express showing up or anything. The protagonist was summoned to the library, and then, it was,

"Hey, sensei, please join the Drama Club!"

"Why?"

"Please write a scenario where I'll be the main character. I think you'll definitely be able to write a brilliant story."

"I'm a professional author though. If you ask me to write, I'll write...but how much are you going to pay me?"

"Aren't you scared of me spilling the beans?"

"Please allow me to write for free!"

Well, I felt writing this scenario out was a little too messy.

A school was the main setting, and there would be many other characters debuting, all kinds of tense situations revolving around the protagonist's secret, and the protagonist and heroine playing hide and seek with each other--

This story was a unique love graffiti, and was originally planned to be a light-hearted, cute, trendy love comedy series.

However…

Why did it end up like that?

I did mention in my previous 'afterword' that even I don't remember, since I didn't record that.

First, the plot changed, and the protagonist began to talk about the profession of an author in the train ride to Tokyo. As for the 'neck play', it was only added later on, but I can't remember when exactly did I add it.

Based on my records, it had been at least 3 years back (in 2011), that I began editing the file name based on the plot.

No no, seriously, how did it end up like that? --But I don't regret it.

I suppose it is my DNA to fully refuse writing an ordinary love comedy. Yes.

● About the story in the story, 'Vice Versa'.

The story in the story 'Vice Versa', plays a huge role in the story. As before, there was a huge difference in the initial conceptual phase.

In the first plot, I wrote a completely different story. The story had the main character transported to a different world (Well, it's the same till this point), pilots a huge robot in that world, and ended up with a Battle Royale that could be seen as a proxy war.

And again, during the conceptual phase, I had such a thought,

"Ah, in that case, it'll end in one volume. Even if the story's edited into an anime, I guess it's hard to make a second one."

So I didn't use that as the story in the story. This plot is such that even the ending was completed, and became 'a story I want to write in the future'. However, I don't know whether I'll be able to write it out at all, so I don't know whether that story is an upgrade or a downgrade. If I'm to write a story of a Robot Battle Royale,

"That's just as I thought!"

I hope that I'll be able to think this.

Now then--

"What a hassle. Now I need to think of another story as a story inside a story!"

And because of this, 'Vice Versa' was born.

As introduced in the story, in this story, I prioritized the advantageous concept of 'letting the protagonist be able to travel between two worlds and show off all kinds of settings'.when I came up with this story. I did write a simple setting, but after that, I really thought hard for a lot of ideas.

However, I hope that everyone can enjoy 'Vice Versa' as well as the actual text. Mr Kuroboshi even helped me with the character setting, and my heartfelt thanks really are hard to put in words.

Besides the story mentioned in the actual story, I did think of many scenarios...as for whether this story will be published as a spinoff, this is a little, well, please don't have too much hope on this.

Rather than have it as a novel, maybe I'll propose an 'original script', and have some air it as an anime? Is anyone interested? I see, guess not.

● Regarding the protagonist's name.

I suppose everyone who read the main text has realized--the protagonist in the main work never had his name shown, neither the real nor pen name. He's basically anonymous.

First off, I never intended to have a pen name for this one.

The reason is that I don't want a pen name similar to an author working in real life, even if it's just a little similar, so I thought, in that case, let's not have the pen name appear. I'll just have Nitadori and the other characters call the protagonist 'sensei', so in the writing process, this wouldn't cause any problem.

And then, regarding the real name--in the end, it didn't appear either.

Why, you ask? That's because, based on my final judgement, I felt that 'I could write a story even if the protagonist doesn't have a name', just like the absence of a pen name. However, I did have actual thoughts on coming up with a name.

I did try to think...but I couldn't.

I decided not to have a protagonist name, so I couldn't begin writing. I was really troubled by this for a long time, and I came up with a brilliant way to handle this,

"So what if I can't come up with a name! I'll write a novel with an anonymous protagonist! I'll show you!"

And so, I began writing this work that is without 'a named protagonist'.

I did try this method in a third person perspective, but this is the first time I'm using this in a first person perspective from the protagonist, and it was an adventure.

As expected, the editor-in-charge was initially opposed to me having a protagonist without a name. I was overruled, but this usually obedient me just wouldn't let this one point slide.

From here on, I hope that when you introduce and explain this work--please put the protagonist name as 'me', or just call him the 'protagonist'. On a side note, I always call him the protagonist.

●The town's Limited Express train that forms the setting on this story.

Once I decided to have this work written as a 'train-themed story', I began to think of towns, cities and the Limited Express that could be used for the story setting. The places I immediately thought of were the Annaka-Haruna Station and the Nagano Shinkansen."

However, I doubt any reader would know unless they are a local or a train enthusiast.

Let me explain...the Nagano Shinkansen starts off from Tokyo, and runs down the same track as the Joetsu Shinkansen, moving north to the Kanto flatlands. It'll then turn west at the Takasaki Station in Gunma, towards the Nagano Prefecture. Once it enters the Nagano Prefecture, it'll reach the renowned resort in Karuizawa. Annaka-Haruna is the station right before it.

It's a Shinkansen station...but the number of passengers per day was really less than 300, and there was basically no shopping facilities, so it does leave a deep impression. Right in front of the station is an empty land and parking lots, and further down are resorts and residences that were divided neatly and spread all around.

The Shinkansen only arrives once per hour, and there was no other train that would stop at this station, so this station was a 'secret realm station' that was not easily reached.

I knew of this station beforehand, and when conceptualizing, I really wanted to use it as the story setting. The protagonists would read the Shinkansen to Tokyo, and converse inside.

I had this idea for more than 3 years, but when I actually began to write, I found something really ridiculous, and that is--

"If I take the Shinkasen, I can make it to the 10am After Record on the day itself!"

That was the fact I realized. I could reach Tokyo within an hour and so...in that case, the basis of the story won't be formed, right!?

So, left with no choice, I abandoned the idea of Annaka-Haruna station, which I actually drove down to get material…

So I again checked the time schedules and transfers, and after some hard work, I found a potential place, the current train station and train in this work.

Anyone familiar with trains might have realized it. I deliberately chose not to write any specific terms, but I'm going to announce that the setting in this story is the town of Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture.

The protagonists rode the Limited Express ride 'Super Azusa 28' operated by the JR East Japan Company, from Matsumoto station to Shinjuku.

I arranged for myself to spend a round trip riding this train for material gathering. I was busy with writing, so I could only spend one day gathering material.

First, I rode on the Super Azusa from Shinjuku to Matsumoto in the day, obtained some materials in the station and around there, spent about 2 hours or so, and returned to Tokyo. It was a tough trip. I spent more than 5 hours on the train.

But thanks to that, I managed to observe the layout of Matsumoto station (especially the location of the platform staircase), whether the nearby convenience stores sold 'sea salt flavor' potato chips, whether the local gift shop had horse sashimi chips, and all kinds of this.

This is an afterword where I can reveal the plot, so I can tell everyone that there's a huge 'lie' in this work, regarding this train.

I feel that anyone who rode on this train would realize--the Limited Express Super Azusa 28 isn't that empty!

When I went to have a seat, there were already a lot of people at Matsumoto station waiting for a ride, and the free seating was immediately filled up. After the 3rd station, I could no longer find any empty seats. Seated right beside me was a working class adult who probably weighed more than 100kg. It was squeezy.

As for whether the number of passengers decreased once I entered Tokyo, the fact is that it wasn't. This time, it was the commuters who boarded it for a short trip.

Furthermore, before reaching Shinjuku, the ones preparing to get off would be queuing at the exit or the aisles, so I think the situations in the story is hard to establish.

Once I was done gathering material, I began to think of potential places in my mind, but I couldn't think of any matching lines that would fit the timeframe. Thus, I had a discussion with my editor-n-charge, before we finally decided on using the idea of 'riding the Super Azusa 28 from Matsumoto station'. Though I knew it wasn't true, I still lied to have the plot match the concept.

If anyone intends to have a 'Pilgrimage', please be careful that the train is really crowded. Maybe someone else will hear you if you start talking about something serious on the train.

And finally--

●Strangle play.

This is the one point where I'll like to seriously remind everyone, please do not imitate what the heroine did this time.

Please do not have any ideas thinking of trying out 'being choked on the collarbone until you pass out' after reading this book.

Leaving aside those martial artists like judo practitioners who have 'choke holds'--it's really dangerous to deliberately have some experience a 'fainting game' where they pass out!

Humans won't die immediately (technically) even when the blood stops flowing...but when you pass out, there is a chance of you hitting your head, or not waking up ever again! Such games will easily lead to death (or I'll say, this isn't a 'game' anymore).

--I really wanted to write this down in the main text as knowledge for the protagonist. However, it didn't mesh with the story flow no matter what, so I deleted it.

You really can't do such a thing. Curiosity is the source of knowledge and experience, but it is fine to not do a lot of things. Of course, I never experienced that.

This novel I wrote is a fiction.

And so, this normal, spoiler-filled afterword ends.

After flipping the pages, you may find some ordinary, spoiler-free afterword, so please continue to have a look.

March 2014. Keiichi Sigsawa.

### 002. Chapter 5 - May 8, I was touched by her

I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

She—

Eri Nitadori continued to choke the sides of my carotid pulse with her icy hands.

Her hands were really, really cold. I could feel time from the sides of my neck.

I remained prone on the floor, and Nitadori was crouched on me. The only thing appearing in my sights was her upper body.

That would mean her hands reaching at my neck, her face, and the long black hair draped down the sides like curtains.

The backlight dimmed her teary face. It look really tragic.

Having cried so much, the tears gathered on the inside of her glasses, and slowly rained upon my cheeks. The tears fell gently, wetting my face little by little.

Nitadori opened her mouth, probably trying to say something. Once she was done inhaling, she uttered,

"W—"

It's long,

"h—"

In fact, it's probably rather fast.

"y—"

But I guess it's rather slow to my ears.

Why?

Why did things end up like this?

The ghost lights continued to linger in front of my eyes.

May 8, Thursday.

I took the usual Limited Express train from the local station, and sat at the usual seat.

It was the week after Golden Week ended, and the number of passengers riding were obviously fewer than the prior week. I might say it was back to normal.

The weather was clear, but the gusts were strong since morning.

My body shook violently along with the gusts as I waited for the train on the platform. It was said that there were strong winds in Kanto, where I am going to, but I hope the train won't delay because of this.

I hear the announcement in the train before it departed--

I recalled the After Record during the prior week.

Last Friday, at the After Record of the 'Vice Versa'.

Nitadori was dressed in plain clothing easy for moving in, and arrived earlier than the editor-in-charge and me, greeting her seniors over and over again.

Then, the recording began.

The 5th episode of the anime--

The last battle in the first volume of 'Vice Versa' was about to begin.

The first half of the anime episode was dubbed as 'part A', and Shin knew of Sin's struggles.

Sin would only show his tender side to his little sister Ema. In fact, Sin hated war, but understood that only a crusade could save his country.

And so Shin, who unwittingly knew of this, decided to take Sin's place so that Shin's country would not be 'defeated' in battle.

Shin disguised himself as Sin, and deliberately allowed himself to be captured by Pluto's forces.

In the ancient city where the enemy's main army was stationed, Shin was dragged to Pluto--and easily revealed to be an imposter.

We caught Sin! The subordinates were exuberant, but Pluto retorted,

"You fools! He's just an imposter who really looks alike! Does this guy's eyes look like one of a King?"

Shin nodded,

"I suppose."

And Pluto stood in front of Shin, smiling amicably,

"Well, I do praise you for having the guts to sneak in alone."

"Th-thank you very much! Can I head back now?"

"Sure, I shall send you on your way."

And with that, Pluto personally drew the sword, and sliced Shin apart.

His corpse broke apart.

After that was the commercial.

The anime After Record--

Before recording every main segment, they would have rehearsals, (Typically, it would be twice, but if the recording time they arranged for at the studio was insufficient, they would go through with once), actual recording, checks for mistakes, and preview records.

I don't know how it goes for other anime, but this is the case for 'Vice Versa'.

The break after Part A's recording was about to end.

They were about to start recording 'Part B'.

At the beginning of part B, Meek finally spoke for the first time.

This pretty glasses girl who sits behind me in class, who sat beside me in the train the day prior, and loves horse sashimi--

Had the script in hand, facing the thick soundproof glass, standing in front of the microphone.

Right beside her is a famous male voice actor playing the role of Shin. He's rather handsome, has amazing acting skills, and practically had no NGs in the recording of part A.

I--

And most of the people there realized it.

Nitadori's script was shaking terribly.

Of course, the script of paper and ink wouldn't shake on its own.

Nitadori's left hand was shaking slightly.

The left hand wasn't shaking much, but the front end of the script was shaking rather hard.

Nitadori's mouth was opened slightly, and she appeared to be muttering something.

Even the powerful microphone could not pick up on the voice, so I guess she probably was just muttering in her mind. This continued on for a while.

Her hands were shivering, her mouth moving as though she was chanting a spell.

I wondered how nervous Nitadori really was--

I was in a safe zone buffered by a layer of class, and I couldn't comprehend that at all.

It was the first time she was voicing a named character.

The first scene where her character would speak.

And inside this studio, the one who really 'wanted to run away at this moment'--

Was me.

But no matter my thoughts, the monitors everywhere aired the animation.

The production of the anime 'Vice Versa' appeared to have gone really well, and most of the animation was already comparable to the quality of the actual broadcast (though without the voices).

I heard from the editor-in-charge that this was a rare occurrence.

It was said that during the After Record of most anime, the visuals showed--

Would typically be the moments of the characters, uncolored, or hand-drawn manga styled straight from the storyboard.

In such moments, they would use the character names and marks to indicate the moments the voice actors are to speak.

According to an editorial I saw on a magazine, if the anime is complete, it would be much easier for the participating voice actors to follow the expressions of the characters.

### 003. Chapter 6 - May 15, I was strangled by Her

I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

I don't feel pain or unbearable, but I'm about to die.

"Save!"

The one yelling that was not me, but Nitadori, strangling me by the neck. This line is terse, yet it sounded so slow and long to me.

However, I can't comprehend what she meant at all.

It was probably 5 seconds since the moment when she choked me. And then, in another 2 seconds, I probably won't be able to think of anything else.

I think the ghost lights are just a self-defense system in the brain now? It probably can help me look for clues in my past experiences to save me, I guess.

I can clearly remember what Nitadori said, but I had no idea.

Anyway, why did Nitadori want to kill me?

I did not know.

I didn't know the reason.

Thursday, May 15th.

Time flew by fast, and it has been more than a month since the After Records and the new Semester started.

I was riding that usual Limited Express train, seated at my old seat, the left side seat on the last row in the free seating carriage.

The sky at home is really bright, but the weather report stated that it would be raining in Tokyo, so I had a foldable umbrella in the side pocket of my backpack.

The train departed on time.

After sitting on the same train ride for more than a month, I realized very well that the day got longer. When I stood on the platform on this day, I felt that the sun was rather high up.

There were 13 After Records in all, so tomorrow, it will be the 7th, halfway through.

During the first session, I probably did see Nitadori in the recording room, but I couldn't remember.

During the second session, I met Nitadori on this train for the first time.

From the third to sixth session, we went to Tokyo together for 4 consecutive trips, and I answered a lot of questions.

They included everything, from the delusions I had since young, till the intention I had to write novels.

The struggles before submitting the work to Dengeki Bunko.

The method of writing novels.

Publishing fees and taxes.

So, what will she be asking about today?

I guess I can say everything I can talk about now, right

Thinking about this, I continued to space out, and then, I saw swaying black hair.

"Hello, sensei, doing well?"

"I'm fine, thanks. What about you?"

"I'm fine too, thanks."

First, we started off with a conversation even an elementary school kid can translate into English.

"For you, enjoy."

Nitadori, who handed me the shopping bag, is not wearing a skirt, but jeans this time, with a green military jacket and a blue sweater.

Nitadori placed the bag behind her, and placed her jacket on it. Then, she ties her usual long hair carefully behind her, letting the hair drape down her right shoulder to her chest before sitting down.

I accept the convenience store bag.

"I'm tucking in. Thanks."

With a rippling sound, I take out the sea salt flavored potato chips and the bottle of tea.

"Thinking about it, I'm seeing your back every day at school, so I know you're pretty lively. I'll probably be seeing the blackboard a little better if you're lethargic."

"I guess."

Nitadori's always sitting behind me every day during class. No matter whether it's the classroom, or anywhere in school, we'll definitely not talk to each other.

There are times when I pass by Nitadori on the corridor, but even after finding her, I won't talk to her.

Thinking about it, I do find this kind of relationship very strange. While I'm thinking about that, Nitadori said the same thing as she sat beside me.

"It's strange...we're seated in front and behind each other, so close together. During the After Record, there's a thick soundproof glass between us, and right now, we're côte à côte..."

She seemed to be rather incredulous too.

And it's a mystery as to why she wouldn't use the common term 'side by side' instead.

The train continues to move forward.

While I'm still chomping on the potato chips, the train conductor arrived early to check the tickets.

The conductor today is the woman I met several times before. She probably has an impression on us taking these sets every Thursday.

After checking the tickets, Miss Conductor proceeded to leave.

"You two are always together--what kind of relationship do you have?"

Miss Conductor never asked such questions. I wonder what should I do if she was to ask, but a conductor wouldn't ask anything regarding a passenger's privacy."

"Now then…"

And then, as before, Nitadori's questioning time was about to begin--

Or so I thought, but I was still hungry, so Nitadori started talking about some harmless weather issues.

According to the weather report, she said, Tokyo's weather was bad, and that when heading to the recording studio the next day, I should be careful not to fall down.

"Erm...can't I skip it?"

I asked as I rolled up the bag of potato chips.

"We're not going to school!"

Nitadori chuckled heartily.

Of course, both of us were merely joking. After Records was not fun and games. We were not having lessons at school, but doing work. We cannot skip work without unless it is a valid reason (some will ask if skipping classes is okay).

In the past, whenever a voice actor isn't around due to illness, the others would act it out and assume he was around. I do find such a scene really intriguing, I do find that it's not conducive.

And during the next week, the voice actor on leave would act alone with a pre-recording.

I do find it tough, and at the same time, I'm moved by their outstanding acting.

"Now then, I'll be using this notebook today."

Nitadori's holding the notebook that appeared last week.

I remember what I last talked about last week being about income and taxes. Nitadori didn't open her notebook at all during then.

"You got a lot of questions to ask, I guess?"

I asked.

"Yep. About a certain theme, or I'll say, all kinds of questions. If you want to explain more however, sensei, please go ahead. Also, please forgive me if a question offends you in any way. If it's a question you can't answer due to your work, please tell me straight away 'you shouldn't be asking this question'."

"Got it."

"Now then--"

This time, Nitadori actually opened the notebook.

However, she cautiously made sure not to let me see the words on it, pointing her finger on the pages.

"Erm…"

Does she really need to worry about having so many questions?

I was starting to worry what would have happened if I was to reject the first question? Would it ruin Nitadori's mood? Or would it cause the opposite effect and guilt trip her such that she will shrink back?

What exactly is the problem Nitadori is referring to--

"Erm, this--when publishing a book, you'll sign a contract with the publisher, right? If you have to do so, how will you do it?"

"Phew."

"Why are you relieved?"

"No, well, I'm wondering what should I do if I can't answer the question."

"Ahaha. I guess this question is fine, right?"

"No problems."

"The answer is?"

"Yes."

For my situation--I'll sign a 'publishing contract'.

There is a kind of publishing where 4 pieces of A4 size printed paper are stapled on the left side. Of course, this is the style Dengeki Bunko goes with. I don't know what style does the other companies or editorial branches go by.

I showed her a copy of the contract, saying,

"There are all kinds of clauses on it...I did spend all my effort to read them, barely, though I can no longer remember the specifics.--"

I did say during the previous week that 'the first 50 copies printed would be used for promotion, so it is not counted as publishing fee'. This clause itself is clearly written in the contract.

Interestingly, the contract also stated 'when the author buys a book, he gets to enjoy a 20% discount privilege'. Whenever a work was published, I would receive 10 copies, and for every reprint, I would receive another, so I did not use this clause to buy a book.

"Also, you need to fill in your address and name on the actual contract. In this situation, you need to write your actual name, put a stamp on it, and the contract is complete. Of course, the company's name and stamp are on it before then."

The contract included my work of the same series title, so I only did sign one contract.

Before 'Vice Versa' was published, I stamped at the editorial branch. There were 2 copies of the contract, and one of them is left for me to keep.

"I see...the publisher is very thorough in what they do."

Nitadori said, sounding impressed. Thus, I feel that I have to say something.

"Yeah. Also--nobody did sign a contract."

"What?"

"I did sign a contract before I published my work, but--"

It was something a senior of mine told me at the end of year party.

We were chatting on this back then, and once I said that I signed a contract before I published my book, that person simply told me.

"Ah, I did sign a contract for my debut work at this time too."

"Eh?"

The reason why I was shocked was that this person had been writing under the Dengeki Bunko brand for a few years.

He had been publishing books for more than 10 years, and that work had been adapted into an anime.

"Eh? In that case, erm...what did that author do over the past 10 years?"

Nitadori asked a sensible question.

"I asked a similar question."

"And then."

"He answered, 'oh, it's always been a verbal agreement'."

"..."

It's no wonder that Nitadori's stunned.

To be honest, I was stunned too, so shocked myself.

It's fine that there's no problems if the money was sent to me, but I really was shocked by such a strange thing done by the publisher since I assumed I had to sign a contract.

There's more to this.

After hearing our conversation, another senior near me agreed, saying,

"Ah, now that you mentioned it, I just signed it recently. I didn't know anything about a publishing contract before this."

And then, another senior author refuted,

"No, wait. I signed it before I debuted though?"

"Me too…"

In other words, there are those who 'signed before they debuted', and 'those that didn't get to sign'. Right when I was wondering why that was the case...I knew my answer.

Those that won prizes with Dengeki Bunko would have signed contracts.

Those that debuted without signing contracts were the ones who did not win prizes, and were nominated instead.

But anyway, since I did sign, I suppose everyone else would have signed as well.

"That's how it goes, I think."

I answered the first question, but I don't know if that is good enough for her reference.

"Now then, the next question is--"

Nitadori opened her notebook.

"What does an author 'confidentiality' include? Voice actors can't reveal things like the work, script and so on, so I guess authors are the same in this sense?"

"Hm."

Luckily, it's another question I can answer.

Perhaps Nitadori chose the easiest questions for me to answer.

Confidentiality--

Strictly put, it seems to refer to 'legal obligation', so I didn't know if there's such a law in the world of authorship.

I'll treat this term as 'until the work is officially published, nobody can reveal what they knower in work to those not involved'.

"The easiest way to understand this is the release date. For example, even when Dengeki Bunko decides on a publication date, nobody can talk about it until the official release. Dengeki Bunko's mail magazine will be the earliest to release the news, about 2 months before the official release date. There are some exceptions though, like an event announcement."

"Then, if you announce on your blog or twitter before then--"

"Of course not."

"Anything else?"

"Like events, signing meets information...ah, and there's something more important."

"What is it?"

"News like an anime or a cross-media work, especially the animation of the work. Most of the announcements will be made at such events, so there is a need for secrecy until then no matter what."

For myself, I had been handling the news of 'Vice Versa' getting animated cautiously. This is because the staff numbers and money involved in such a large planning is much more than the sales of the light novels. If I did not take leave from school, I suppose I would be terrified of letting slip of the news, to a point where I won't tell my mum either.

"I see...so it's kind of similar to being a voice actor too."

Nitadori said, but I feel that voice actors would always have it tougher than authors.

Once they hear the news for auditioning, they would know that the work was to be animated. They would know of it earlier, and also, there isn't just one work for them. Of course, they can't leak the news, so they'll be very cautious to avoid news of it leaking.

Leaving that aside, I continued,

"If I know of another person's information, I can't talk about it either. During the end-of-year party last year, I learned of some things when I was chatting with the senior authors...it's said that those authors with good contacts will know that a certain person's work is going to be animated."

"I see...they're of the same line of work after all."

"No matter whether it's news about others or oneself, we have to deal with it using the usual attitude. Leaving aside my own news, I can't leak anything about the plot of another author's latest volume."

This is also what I heard--

It's said that in the past, the author or illustrator could go to the editorial branch and obtain a new book from Dengeki Bunko before the official release.

The books are released on the 10th every month, but they would be sent to the editorial branch at the end of the previous month. The editorial branch will give 10 copies to the author. It depends on the holiday dates, but they typically send it out on the 29th or the 30th.

So during this time, from the beginning of the month to the 10th, one can see stacks of new books in the editorial branch. Anyone that shows up early for a meeting can pick it up to read.

In the past, as long as anyone requested for it, he can take the book back (it's not considered part of publishing fees, so it's kind of inconvenient for the author). We can't take them now though, as it's a measure to prevent the plot from being leaked.

"Personal information is like work information; there's a need to keep it a secret."

I added on.

"Amongst the authors I met at the end-of-year meetings, there's someone who completely hid his identity. There's one who openly revealed his personal information, but never revealed a photo of himself."

"Oh, they're just like you, sensei."

"They're like me. Thus, I have to use the information of others as my own and be thoroughly careful with it. I don't have much chance to reveal about myself, so I'm having it easy."

"You don't manage a blog, Facebook, Twitter or anything like that after all."

I nodded.

I couldn't possibly do such things when I have to keep my identity a secret. No, some people might be able to handle this well, but I can't. I'll definitely mess up somewhere.

Thinking about this, I asked Nitadori about something I was really curious about.

"Speaking of which...Nitadori, do you write a blog or something?"

"Ah, erm...I guess..."

Nitadori seemed a little off from her usual, stammering away.

"I did...think that I should open a blog. Especially since I'm taking the role of a named character for the first time."

"But you haven't?"

"Hm, well...I'm a little scared. But not that I'm scared of writing…it's that I'm scared of those hateful comments."

"Ah, I see."

I understood that feeling very well.

The internet is filled with kind and hateful comments.

And also, the hateful comments are the ones more likely to leave an impression.

"Sensei, will you actually care about the thoughts and ratings on the internet? --Actually, this is something I really want to ask."

"Yes, and no."

"In what sense?"

There isn't really any author who doesn't care about the readers' thoughts.

If there is, that person's rather strong.

Including me, authors with published works will care about the thoughts and criticism, very concerned with them, in fact. (Of course, they'll care about their sales volumes.)

In the past, feedback was practically through letters from the readers. Once the works are published, the readers will write to the authors and tell them how they feel.

Thanks to the internet, we're able to know about their thoughts faster than before.

I feel that with the internet community, from anonymous imageboards, personal blogs to Twitter, facebook and other prominent social websites, I'm able to know of the readers' thoughts on the day the books are released.

However, there are good and bad to this.

I never told Nitadori about this. The editorial branch will filter the reader letters, and those slandering letters that would affect an author's confidence will not be sent to the author.

It's different on the internet.

As long as an author looks for it, he'll be able to find unfiltered, belittling remarks.

"Sensei, have you looked at the thoughts regarding your own works?"

The answer is yes. Yeah , I answered briefly.

"Amongst all the works that were released till this point...has anyone said anything bad about your works?"

"Of course. I guess."

Huh? Nitdadori muttered as she tilted her head.

"'I guess'...what do you mean?"

I answered.

"I chose to forget about it."

As for who taught me this--

To be honest, I forgot.

Was this something I thought of? Or was it what the editor-in-charge or other editors taught me? Was it a suggestion from another author I met somewhere? Or did I learn it from a book.

But when I looked at the reviews on the internet, surely I would do this.

This was the Just read the good comments, forget the bad ones."

Method.

"So basically...how do you go about doing this?"

Nitadori asked as she brought her face closer.

I answered as I looked aside.

"It's not that hard. First--"

I read all the comments I found on the internet until the very end.

There is kindness on the internet.

No, I feel that there's a lot more cases of kindness compared to malice. This is what I think.

If I look for it, I can find,

"It's interesting."

"Looks fun."

"I want to continue reading."

"The characters are really amazing.."

And so on. These are the kind of comments that praise the work, 'nice work'.

And I'll earnestly accept such praises.

While looking, I would express my thanks, and use this praise as motivation.

Also, I would remember the title of that site.

If however,

"What's this? It's so boring."

"Refund me."

"Terrible novel."

Such criticism is written--

If I'm to read such thoughts--

"What will you do?"

"I'll go back immediately."

"Back? Where?"

"To the site praising me."

"Ah!"

Whenever I read the feedback on the internet, I'll always read the ones praising my work.

I'll use that moment to forget all about the comments that belittle and slander my work. I'll alway have the thought that someone is willing to praise my work, and end my collection of feedback.

Even if there are those who feel that I'm despicable, I don't intend to give up on this method.

"I see…"

"I did read this line in a book 'someone may belittle a work, but the author should never apologize'."

"Oh?"

"And on the other hand, I have to say without a care 'it is a pity that it doesn't fit your tastes'. When I first read these words, I really couldn't understand, until I became an author...where I really understood this thinking."

"In other words--"

Nitadori gave me a serious look as she told me,

"You cooked up a 'delicious meal', so you don't have to care about those who didn't like it?"

I nodded firmly.

"Right. That's because I had no choice other than to do that. When I write my work, I find it interesting. I don't intend to submit a meaningless work to the editor-in-charge. Also, I'll listen to the editor-in-charge, and edit the work to make it more interesting."

"Yeah."

"That's how a work is born...so no matter what kind of comments there are, I can't do anything about it. If everyone praises it and say that 'it's nice', I'll be happy. However, I know that things aren't going to be like that. I strongly believe that I can't ignore the thoughts of my supporters just because of the negative criticism. Thus, I won't care about it."

Of course, I do believe that there is 'harsh criticism born out of kindness'.

Like for example 'It'll be better if this part is changed like this'. 'This part isn't well written. Better to rewrite it'. I do feel a few times that 'yeah, this guy's right'.

But even so--

An author can't let himself be dragged along by the views of an outsider.

No matter what anyone else says (except for the editor-in-charge), I'll write based on my own thoughts.

If it sells well, it'll be my victory along with the editor-in-charge, and we'll work hard to create the next work.

If it doesn't sell well, it means that we lost. I'll work hard to make sure the next work sells.

"When seeing and hearing reviews about my work--I always think of the Aesop of 'The Miller, the Boy and the Donkey'."

When was the first time I read that story?

I couldn't recall when it was, but I probably won't ever forget about this in my entire life.

"Erm...what kind of a story is it? I think I heard of it somewhere."

Nitadori asked.

"Well, one day, a Miller and his son went out to sell a donkey--"

There was a passer-by who told them, wouldn't it be easier to ride on a donkey? So the Miller let his son sit on the donkey.

Another person they met then said, the son shouldn't relax, the father should ride on it. So, the father got the son off, and rode on the donkey instead.

And then, they met someone else, who said that the duo could ride. So, they did.

Then, they met another person, who told them the donkey was pitiful to have two people riding on it.

"Ah! Now I remember!-- They then carried the donkey to ease its burden, so they carried it. But the donkey started moving and fell into the river. That's how the story ends, right?"

"Yep yep."

"So it's an Aesop...I didn't know. This story is saying that without any objective viewpoint, you'll be toyed around by everyone, and end up with misfortune, right?"

"Yeah. Also, an author's predicament can be summarized as this story...there's no novel that can satisfy every reader, so as long as someone praises it, the author will stick to the formula--that's a lesson I can go with."

I saw this story somewhere before.

Whenever an author writes, there's a need for something, something other than a computer, pen and research materials.

That's 'self-confidence'.

The self-confidence to believe that I can write.

The self-confidence to believe that I can write interesting novels.

Thus, I'll borrow the power of my supporters.

In other words, I don't need the power of those who don't support me

"The saying goes that humans will improve as long as they're praised. This definitely goes too for authors."

"Not that 'authors are humans too'?"

"Ah...yeah, that too."

"I did think of how blessed I am as an author."

I suddenly mentioned something Nitadori never asked about.

And having said that, I thought she would be stunned.

"Well...why's that?"

But Nitadori asked. I answered,

"That's because when I write, I'm able to begin writing, and in writing, i can write novels. I don't have to think of myself as an author, but I was happy to learn that I was able to debut, happy that I was able to get a reprint. Once the work started to sell, and the editor-in-charge told me to write continuations, I was happy. The animation of the story also made me happy."

"...Sensei, looking at you, I understand very well that it's your real emotion, not faked, right?"

"Erm, yeah."

I had no acting skills.

"So tell me--sensei, do you think you're special in any sense?"

Unlike before, it was a sharp, piercing question.

I shook my head.

"No, I think I'm someone with a lot of experience, a rare thing in that."

"Then what kind of person do you think is special?"

"I don't know."

"..."

"I don't think such a person exists, right? Ah, if you say that there's a 'very special' person to anyone, I do know about that, like a lover, a family member, and something like that. In other words--"

Nitadori's giving me an intense stare. She looked serious, but it's a little different from the look she showed during the After Record. Then, she continued to ask, seemingly interrupting me,

"It goes by what that person think, is it?"

Overwhelmed by the pressure,

"Sorta...I guess."

I timidly answered.

I looked over at the flowing scenery outside the window, drinking my tea--

I felt that we were going off-topic. What was the question we were talking about anyway?

I wondered.

I capped the plastic bottle as I turned my head to the right, and found Nitadori pondering with a very serious look on her face.

I was worried if I did say something wrong, but in any case, I can't take back what I said. Even if she does ask a similar question again, that's the only way I can answer.

Nitadori turned her face towards me.

She gave a tender look, but the glare behind the glasses was sharp.

"For an author, for every sensei who made their debut till this point, have you encountered any difficulty?"

"Difficulty…"

I heard this question, and muttered to myself as I pondered. I had to think of it separately.

"I guess 'difficulties an author would face' is different from 'difficulties I encountered after becoming an author'."

"Then, sensei, please answer according to your decision."

"In that case...I'll first start with difficulties I encountered…"

"Right."

If it's this question, I'm confident enought to conclude.

I answer briefly, without any concern,

"None."

"Huh?"

"I didn't really have any particular difficulty."

"Erm...is that true?"

"Erm, well, I did say that I'm a fortunate author. Even if I have to mention any issues I faced, I can't think of any."

"..."

Nitadori remained silent, looking stunned.

"I'm really unfortunate to meet such a frivolous guy. Anyone would have met one or two difficulties at least. Hardships allow a person to grow. You won't grow if you don't face any."

I really hoped that she wouldn't have such thoughts.

But even so, I didn't have any. I got nothing.

"The biggest difficulty I had till this point was in Middle School, the tough process I had until I was able to write. I mentioned it before, and that was before I became an author. I did say that I never had a situation an author fears most, that 'the story isn't used at all'...and I did say that I restrain myself to ignore the harsh reviews on the internet...the volumes I had are selling well...and they're getting adapted into an anime…"

Maybe there are things I can find tough to deal with in such trivial stuff.

For example, like I was harassed by a mean-spirited drunkard on my way to the hotel, or that I spent some time last year focusing on writing novels, and I end up having hip pains at such a young age, and so on.

Even if I wasn't an author, I would be harassed by a drunkard. It'll be another story altogether if there's a special drunkard who specialized in harassing authors (looks like such a story is interesting too).

I adjusted by sitting posture to adapt to the waist pains, and did some sports as well. On mom's recommendation, I went for acupuncture, and for the time being, it's cured.

Thinking about it, I guess there's none.

"E-erm...what kind of difficulties do you think an author would have?"

Nitadori narrowed the focus of her question. This question is within my expectations however.

The biggest issue an author would face--

That would be, if I can't write, or that I don't want to write, my life as an author would die.

Without a job, I wouldn't have income, unable to maintain my lifestyle. It's common for an author to lose his job no matter what.

Authors are irreplaceable. Even if there are few exceptions, the works of that author is such that he's the only one capable of writing it.

This was something I saw in a certain essay, and I could already understand that feeling.

"Is that so...it's not strange to be out of a job at any given moment...I guess voice actors are the same in this sense. They're scared because 'there are as many as they want when it comes to replacing them'."

Nitadori lamented.

I once heard that there are many who aimed to be voice actors, and that it's difficult to actually debut, or break from the intense competition.

Compared to the authors who were able to survive, which one is harder?

I don't know, and of course, Nitadori doesn't. I guess nobody knows.

"So you came to high school to study because of this reason, sensei?"

I nodded.

Of course, this was partly due to the objection I had from the people around me, but in the end, I decided to go along with my will. I did once think that 'I might as well not study', but now, I felt great that I didn't give up on my studies.

'Vice Versa' is selling very well now, and I can continue to write, but I don't know when will it stop being a bestseller. Also, I don't know when I won't be able to write.

In that case, I don't think an experience of 'I wrote novels in my teens, and my work was adapted into an anime' would come in handy.

In comparison, I guess scholastic experience of graduating from high school and college, together with what I learned in school would probably be more useful.

Both looked similar, but in fact, they're different. The 'academic history' and 'life experience as a student' is different. If I could only choose one, it'd be the latter, but I wanted both.

"After graduating from high school, I want to study in college, and at the same time, continue writing...finally, I'll choose to work, try looking for other work."

"Then, assuming that your works become more popular, and you write a lot of them, and for example, you earn a few billion Yen, equivalent to the career earnings of a working adult...will you give up on writing?"

"If that...ends up being the case...I guess I won't be able to give up on writing. I'll be relieved that I won't have to worry about my life expenses, able to write the novels I like, so I'll feel really happy, just like I am now."

"I see."

Was it just me? Nitadori looked relieved when she answered. I really couldn't understand what others are thinking.

"I feel that it'll be an idealistic lifestyle for me to be able to live out my life just by writing--nobody knows what is in store in the future. I feel that I have to first seriously consider the situation when I can't write, or don't feel like writing. Because of this, I need to do what I can do right now, and I guess that will be writing and studying."

"I guess--I'll probably do that too."

Nitadori finally chimed in.

The atmosphere just feels depressing for some reason.

Normally, a 17 year old boy and a 16 year old girl wouldn't be talking about such matters, right?

Shouldn't we be talking about topics where we feel hope for the future, happily discussing our future dreams? Not brood over here, wondering what'll happen if we lose our jobs? How do we prepare for our lives? And stuff like that.

No matter good or bad, I do find that we aren't ordinary.

Of course, we aren't special either.

"Now then, I'm going to change the direction of the topic a little with regards to 'the next question I want to ask an author'!"

Nitadori spoke with a cheerful tone, probably intending to eliminate the depressing mood.

I was about to ask her what kind of question she would be asking, but she asked something really ordinary.

"Sensei, where do you live?"

This had nothing to do with being an author.

It's easy to answer this question.

"West side of the school. You're able to see a new white building opposite, right?"

"Eh? Is it over there?"

Nitadori blinked her eyes, and I nodded, "Yeah."

"It's near school…"

"That's why I chose to study there…"

There's a somewhat large building less than 100m away from our school. It's only 3 years old, somewhat new.

Mom and I moved there last December, and before that, we were living next to that library.

The reason why we chose to move houses was because this place was close to school. It would take me 5 minutes to get home from the school back gate.

"I see. The shorter the return time is--"

"The more time I'll be able to use to write, and mom's working time is a little shorter."

"Well, both aunty and you were able to make this decision without hesitation."

"It's a little far from the library, but we got no choice for that. I have enough money to buy my own books, and able to check information on the internet."

"Did you...buy the house?"

Nitadori's eyes below the glasses widened as she asked.

"Impossible, it's rented."

Besides, I don't earn that much.

But even so, renting a house was expensive. The real estate agent told me when we rented the house that it was probably the most expensive in the area.

Mom was aghast by the high rental, but was against me paying for the rent until the very end. However, I insisted that this was a 'must'.

"The reason for that...well...there's 4--no, 3 of them."

I nearly blurted out my true thoughts, and corrected myself.

Nitadori did not appear to mind about such a mistake, and instead, asked me.

"Assuming that the most important reason is that it's very close to school...the other reason is that the rent's considered as your expense?"

I nodded.

We rented a 4LDK in the building. The 4 rooms include my mom's room, mine, and a storage room used to put a library of bookcases. The last room is for standby just in case something happens, and currently used as a standby storage for books, since I don't know when I'll be using it.

Amongst them, I classified my room and the two storerooms as 'workroom'. They take up about 40% of the place, so I can classify 40% of the rent and utilities bill within my expenses.

The expenses is a lot, but the tax rebate is also rather big.

Also, I'll be staying here for at least two years in high school until I graduate. Luckily for me, I have enough to pay it it.

"And after that?"

"For college, I want to aim for Tokyo."

I answered.

"Oh! You decided on it already?"

Nitadori asked happily.

"Right now, I only decided on 'Tokyo with its literature branch'. Also, the thing about the location is that it's about an hours ride from the editorial branch."

"I see! You want to write and study at the same time? I'm thinking of going to college too if I'm not too busy with my work! I'll choose a school near Tokyo."

"We're going to be entrance students next year...but let's hope we can get in."

"Yep. But let's start working hard from now on!"

Ah, this really feels like a conversation any ordinary high school student will talk about. I'm happy about this.

Nitadori asked,

"So, two years later, if you decide to move to Tokyo, sensei, what about your mother?"

I replied that it that was the case, mom said that she would move to an apartment near the hospital, one with enough space just for herself.

"I see--so, what's the last of the three reasons?"

Nitadori managed to guess two of the reasons, and asked me the final one.

"Because I wanted mom to stay in a better house. When I lived in that old apartment, I would hear noises from my neighbors. Mom moved houses next to the library for my sake initially, so I wish to use this opportunity now to repay her. Go to be prompt with it."

Once she heard my answer,

"Ah! I see… sorry…"

Nitadori frowned once she heard my reply. She looked disappointed in herself, and seemed to be telling herself, "I shouldn't have done that!". There isn't a need for her to do that.

"A-Also, I want to live in a fancy rich house too! That makes it four reasons!"

"Ahaha. Thanks."

My concern was so obvious, and since she thanked me again, I really can't calm down.

"E-erm...I chose the highest floor so that I get a nice view! Well, you see, when writing, I need to rest my eyes, and it'll be great if I can see the hills outside the window!"

"You can see a rather pretty view from the school, but I guess you'll be able to see something better from the roof of that building."

Nitadori seemingly recovered a little as she said so. Thank goodness. We continued our conversation.

"Yeah. The view's really amazing when it's bright out there. My house is very near school. You can visit whenever you want to."

"Eh--!? Really?"

Nitadori looked rather surprised, and I answered,

"It's fine. I don't have anything to hide anyway."

In any case, this probably is the first time in my life that I invited someone to my house; it's a good thing that I rented out an apartment. Also, even though it's not something I may say, but the apartment my mom rented was really old."

"R-really? Ca-ca-can I really g-go-go look at a professional author's workplace? R-really?"

I saw Nitadori's delighted face, and in my heart, I was feeling confused.

Was there really a need to be so frantic and affirm this over and over again?

My room isn't located in some famous theme park located on the Tokyo Bay anyway.

It's definitely a new, pretty room with a nice view--

Nitadori herself appeared to be some rich person.

I gave up on thinking on whatever I didn't know, and intended to tell her the main points,

"But I can't allow it when mom's sleeping, especially when she's working on night shift...I guess the best time will be...on days when she's working?"

"Wh-when she's not at home! R-ri-right! I-I get it!"

"...?"

I looked away from her, thinking carelessly. Mom's duty schedule changes rather often, so I need to be sure first.

"Ra…"

Suddenly, there was a trail of raindrop appearing outside the glass window, and it multipled quickly.

"Is that the rain..."?"

The rain instantly got heavy, and the train continued to race through the rain.

There was still some time until sunset, but it was dark outside the window,probably because the thick clouds covered the sky. There were times when rumblings could be heard, and the rain drenched the windows.

The weather forecast was accurate. If the rain is so big now, what about when we reached Tokyo?

I had to travel a bit from the Iidabashi to the hotel, and my legs might be drenched as a result. However, it's not too far away, and I can call for a taxi.

I felt that it would be easier for me to take this train until the very end and ride on a taxi afterwards, but I decided. 'As long as this train can get me to wherver I need to, I won't need a taxi', so I thought.

I am earning some money, and after deducting some of my life expenses, I will be left with some money. Even if I do occasionally take a taxi in Tokyo itself, I won't end up spending all my money.

However, I won't say 'scrimping is a scourge', but I do try to save wheneve I can. It's only when I'm feeling unwell that I take a taxi.

The train passed a few stops, and the carriage was not as packed as before. I had been to Tokyo a few times till this point, but I guess this should be the fewest number of passengers on board.

There's still an hour and a hour to the terminal.

I was wondering what she would be asking next. That interviewer was currently in the washroom.

While spacing out, I found this time to be really boring.

And so, I tood up, and took out the 'Vice Versa' draft I printed from my backpack.

If this is printed as a book, this will become the 11th volume. The 6th chapter of Side 'Shin' is planned to be released on September.

It's already written, but as long as I have the time, I'll read through it again, checking through the chapters and thinking of potential plot developments.

With the increase in number of volumes, the plot of 'Vice Versa' began to change drastically.

In Side Shin, many countries ended up being subjugated or allies of Sin as he aimed to conquer Reputation. The 7th volume had the Country of Movement providing resources and weapons to Sin as thanks for him saving them.

Of course, Yui, who had a crush on Shin in Side Sin, started to have feelings for the serious yet kind Sin, started to falter.

Pluto and Sin crossed swords again in volume 9. However, the country that betrayed Pluto sent an assassin onto the battlefield, hoping to kill them. With Sin and Meek's huge contributions, the assassination plot never happened.

Pluto decided to ally herself with Sin and work together. The war expanded on a larger scale in volume 11, and the two countries fought together.

And so, in this volume, Meek died.

I had planned on Meek's death for a long time.

Speaking of which, in the plot I thought of, basically almost all the homunculus would die.

Some of these homunculus would obediently follow their masters and die in battlefield. Some were executed by their Masters for partaking in treacherous acts and assisting rebel leaders.

I too felt that the plot was too dark, but I really created these artificially created beings based on this concept, so I got no choice with this. In contrast, I'll try my best to avoid letting the other characters die.

After seeing that Meek would die in the draft, the editor-in-charge said,

"Meek and Doska are pretty and popular homunculus. Isn't it better not to let them die?"

I had the opposite thinking though. I feel that since they're pretty and popular, their deaths will cause an impactful, tragic element to the plot, cooking up the atmosphere of the story.

I guess if fans of Meek and the others are to hear of this, they'll be enraged.

"Who died and made you king?"

They might even say this.

But in my novel--I'm the God.

I created the world, the characters and their fates. The voice actors inject life into them, but the author can kill them.

If I hear that,

"I'm God, so what?"

I guess I might try replying that.

But currently, I don't have the chance to do that.

I checked through the part in the draft where Meek was to die.

At the end of this volume, there would be a massive battle on a wide grassy field between armies of many countries. It would end with Sin, Shin and Pluto's camps winning.

After they returned to the main camp, Pluto said to Sin, who lost many of his subordinates and two family aides,

"My side lost Meek."

And upon hearing that, Shin responded,

"I see."

Shin in turn,

"..."

Stood there without a word (it wasn't winter, so he didn't have his usual muffler on)

Pluto never did mention of Meek's final moments.

When we discussed this volume,

"Is this really okay?"

The editor-in-charge noted; it seemed he was more taken aback then he was during the plot.

Shouldn't an important character's death be more vividly described? In a certain sense, this was an expected response.

Then, I mentioned what was in my mind.

Of course, I did think of a valiant, beautiful death, like shielding her master from an arrow, and dying while standing straight up like Musashibo Benkei.

However, I depicted such a death scene for another homunculus.

That was how Dasko would die in the plot later of. When the master was pursued to a narrow corridor, Dasko blocked the enemy's thrown spear with his abdomen, and laid by the side, blocking the enemy's pursuit. He continued to fight on until the very end.

Meek's dead was the complete opposite.

Anyone who read war biographies would know that the deaths on a real battlefield is so merciless, so brief.

Turn a head around, and a comrade's head was gone. Moving forward, the fellow soldiers begin to disappear. Fly in the air, after the military plans pass through the clouds, one is gone. Think that a buddy's not hurt externally, and the next day, he's lying icy cold on the bed.

I feel like I'm writing 'I dropped quite a bit of pocket change, and I tried to pick it up, but I found that there's several thousand yen gone, not just a thousand or two.' What I'm trying to depict is a battlefield where human lives are easily lost.

"Ah, if that's the case…"

The editor-in-charge agreed with this begrudgingly, and then said,

"But it's fine if you rewrite that entire part now. Yep, no problems at all."

I knew very well that he was implying "can you please rewrite this part~?"

But as long as nothing special actually happens, I won't change it.

As for what that 'special' is--

I didn't know at all.

Nitadori returned, and I finished checking through my script.

I put the draft into the large brown draft bag with the words ASCII Media Works, and slipped that bag into my backpack. Before Nitadori sat down, I put the backpack onto the rack.

Nitadori continued to tidy her hair for a while, before sitting down, and said,

"What that...the draft?"

"Yeah. That's the draft of the 11th volume to be sold in September."

"Wow! I want to read it!"

Nitadori lifted her head to look at the rack.

"No can do. Not when I'm watching."

"This means...it's fine as long as you aren't around, right? Hey, sensei, there's a trillion Yen at the washroom."

Of course, I knew that she was joking.

"I see. It'll take you a long time to hand it over to the police, is it? If you take 10% of that money--please treat me to a beef bowl."

"I really have to hand it to you--well, I won't just go around peeking into your stuff, sensei. But if the draft's stolen before the work's published, that will be really troublesome, right…"

Nitadori said, and drank the tea.

She's right I thought.

If the bag itself was stolen or snatched away, the situation would be serious.

A laptop contained data, but at the very least, it contained a password. This isn't the case for a draft though.

If someone with ill intent is to pick up a draft of the 'Vice Versa' continuation, what would happen?

"I tried writing a sequel. Everyone, please look at my second work!"

That person would probably post something like this on the internet, I guess?

In that case, what'll happen to the real draft of mine.

If I release the light novel without changing the work--

"A professional author just copied a work from the internet!"

The readers would probably think this way.

If that's the case, I'll probably show the date of the file and sue him in court, maybe? Shall I fill in the report form first? How do I report? With which agency?

"Sensei?"

If I have to go for a court case, ASCII Media Works will probably do something, right? The company will pay for what seems to be some extremely expensive lawyer fees, right?

I'll appear in court in a suit, right? I really want the judge's gavel that's used whenever he hits it and shouts 'silence!'. But Japanese judges don't actually use gavels, so I don't know where to get one.

Or maybe the editorial branch won't want to context (what they think is) a very troublesome court case, and have a change of attitude, and told me 'too troublesome to fight a court case! Rewrite this! It's a chance to make the story more interesting', I guess?

"Sensei?"

However, a plot I had been writing for quite a while isn't something that's easy to change, right? Won't I lose the direction if I change it drastically? If the series is to be ruined because of this, what'll happen to all the hard work I put in till this point?

"Hey, sensei?"

But in that case, I might as well change directions and write 'Side Sin' into one endless barrage of comedy, and continue to quietly write 5 volumes of developments that'll shock the readers. After a while, I'll switch back to 'Side Shin' and continue writing one serious story after another--

"Hey!"

Twack! I felt a light hit on my shoulder.

"Hm?"

I turn to the rest, and saw Nitadori seated there, rubbing her right hand with her left. She then muttered,

"Your shoulders...are stiff…"

"Beef?"

"I'm saying that your shoulders are stiff! I've called you a few times!"

Ah, I see. I guess my thoughts went far away because of my delusions. For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

"I'm an author…"

I'm getting a little confused.

"You're not recovered yet?"

"No, I'm fine, yep."

"Great! I guess your shoulders are different from a girl's!"

"Eh? Erm, yeah--no, that's not it."

I don't know how soft are a girl's shoulders, so I corrected myself.

And then, I said,

"Erm, where were we at?"

"We talked about the part where 'what if the draft's stolen'--forget about this part. Let's talk about the next question!"

Nitadori said as she regained her smile,

"Sensei, what do you think 'is important for an author to do'? I think it's difficult to ask 'what's the thing 'you pay attention to most'. You can say anything you want, as long as you find it important."

Luckily, she didn't ask me what's the most important thing, or else I would have spent a long time thinking about it.

But if it's 'important', I can think of a few.

"First--"

"First?"

"I think I should be studious and make notes. Jot down everything I think of."

The job of an author is to put everything together, and write it all down into a story. Any point always start with a moment of inspiration.

"When do you get an inspiration?"

"Hm, the answer to that is…'I don't know'."

I answered honestly,

"Hm?"

Nitadori tilted her head.

"To be honest, I really don't know. There's always a random moment when I have an inspiration, and when I think about it, that's the moment of inspiration."

"I see--so what about when you say 'right, let's get down to writing' and sit in front of the computer?"

"Of course I do...in fact, it's tougher for me to think of sentences and plot. I feel that most of my inspiration don't show up at those times though. When an inspiration shows itself, that's the time to take notes."

"Then, up till now, when do you start to have 'inspiration'?"

I can answer that question.

"For example--"

The easiest example would be when I'm enjoying other works. As long as I'm moved by something, I'll have the desire to directly connect that inspiration with my delusions. This can be said to be my act of 'taking books as toys' which I had been doing since young. Right now, I can also turn manga and anime into toys, though recently, I do feel that it's an act of 'taking inspirations'.

At the same time, when I'm listening to music, whenever the lyrics or melody gets me excited, my mind will suddenly think of images. I'll use it as the background music, develop all kinds of delusions, and gain inspiration from it.

Another situation is the complete opposite to this, when I'm spacing out. Like when I'm having a shower, using the bathroom, and, though it's not a good thing, even during lessons. When I relax, my mind will suddenly come up with ideas. In the past, I would often end up in plot lines where I don't know how to write, and I'm troubled by it. Most of the inspiration for such plot lines would suddenly appear in my mind when it's emptied.

Also, it happens when I'm focused on doing other things. For me, I do often come up with inspirations when I'm riding a bicycle steadily on a flat road.

"I see...there really is a variety of them."

"Hm, so as long as I have an inspiration, I'll definitely jot it down. I won't note it down with a pen unless it's during class; I'll use my computer or my smartphone and record my inspiration as words. I'll always tell myself 'I can't complain about it being a hassle'."

"So I guess you'll forget after all?"

I nodded firmly in response to that.

"Right, because I'll forget--man's memory really is unreliable, and everything we think of, we'll forget. We'll even forget the points we thought of. The proof of that is that for a certain scene in a certain story, I thought of it 3 times in all."

"Eh? Why's that?"

"Back then, I had the idea 'I thought of a very touching scene! This character had such an experience, so let's use this!' and then, I'll record it in my smartphone. When I'm in my room, ready to enter the same scene into my Word file on the computer, when i open the file--"

"You find that the same scene is there?"

"Yes. That scene exists already. And then, I also mentioned in the file 'this is the second time I thought of this iea'."

Ideas do appear suddenly.

And then, they'll vanish immediately.

It'll be a waste if I don't record it down properly.

As I said, I might repeat the same plot point a few times--and there are probably quite a few points I forgot.

Thus, whenever I have an inspiration, no matter how stupid it is, I'll record it down. I'll record it completely, and keep it safe somewhere so that I can use it in the future.

The senior authors too did say the same thing.

I heard that one senior author would often have ideas whenever he's driving. He'll then record it down through voice. He'll often bring a voice recorder into his car, and have it placed right next to the driver's seat. It's said that even without looking, he can tap the record button with one hand.

And as I heard, whenever he's driving at night or on long distance, listening to music he likes, the moments of inspiration appear more often. This is similar to me riding on my bicycle.

It appears that person does drive around often to change his mood. He would race however he wanted to on a nearby highway in the middle of the night.

I do think it's kind of cool to drive on the highway in the middle of the night looking for inspiration.

When I'm at the age where I can obtain a license, I do plan to go for driving classes. Thus, I set as expenses for that part.

"I see...taking notes…"

Nitadori muttered as she wrote down something on the opened notebook with a little pen she took out. She's taking notes.

I'm just staring at her, not leaning over to peek.

"Oops."

But she covered the notebook, and glared at me from beneath the glasses.

She slammed the notebook shut, and asked,

"Anything else? Is there anything that's important?"

"Well...hm, there is."

"What is it?'

"It's a little repeat on what I said before 'it's important to be confident in myself'--don't look down on myself, and whatever I'm writing."

This was when I was editing the draft of 'Vice Versa'.

Back then, I was a first year in high school, 15 years old.

When I was working so hard to edit the draft, I suddenly had a thought.

Was this novel really worth publishing?

"So...it's something like being uneasy?"

Nitadori asked. Looking at her expression, I seemed to see a doctor who's very worried for her patient.

"Right. I really had a thought in my head, whether the novel that appears in my eyes is really suited for selling and earning money. The life experiences I gained in life isn't enough, so can I really release this novel I wrote based on my reading experiences as a commercial product? Thoughts like that."

"But...the one who decides on that is the editor-in-charge, right?"

"Yes. But back then, I was so scared that I couldn't think calmly. Thus, I gave the editor-in-charge a call, begging him tearfully."

I find it embarrassing, but it was a fact, so I was left with no choice on this matter. Also, when explain this, there's something else regarding the past I have to mention.

"In the end?"

"In the end--"

The editor-in-charge,

"In other words, you're wondering if your novel is shallow?"

Right right. I said this while holding onto the receiver firmly.

"It's fine to think that way. Just write a novel only you can write at this moment."

The editor-in-charge was blunt in his response.

For an author, life experiences are very important. I feel that many creative works are born as a result for that.

However, the saying that 'I can't write because I never experienced it' does not necessarily hold true.

No author would create a murder experience for the sake of narrating a killer's mental state (that's what I think, and I hope to be the case).

So don't look down on yourself, and write your own work.

I understood very well the meaning of those words said to me as I continued with my work.

Soon after, when I become an adult and read through 'Vice Versa' again, I might think,

"So this is the novel I wrote when I was younger."

But as long as I could think,

"This is a novel I could only write when I was younger."

It'll be fine,

"This is an entertainment novel, so if you find it interesting, anything goes. If it's interesting, the readers will be happy. You're young, but you're able to write a fun story--so no matter what, you have to abandon your troubles and continue writing. That will bear fruit."

The editor-in-charge mentioned this over the phone.

And I too repeated the same words to Nitadori.

"I see...it's really amazing, I feel. For example, if 10 years passed since you started, when you're 27, sensei, what kind of novel will you write?"

I started to imagine my future in response to Nitadori's question, an ideal future where I'm successful in anything I do.

My dream is to continue writing 'Vice Versa' and focus on the series as much as possible. Based on the current plan, I feel that it'll end at 20 volumes or so.

I had already decided on the final developments. When I wrote the first volume, I had a vague idea on what I was going to write for the ending, and after discussing it with the editor-in-charge, the ending was decided.

I don't know how fast I can continue to maintain my volume releases this year as I repeat it, and next year when I take the Entrance Exams, but in these 3-4 years, I simply want to continue focus on writing 'Vice Versa'.

If the anime sells out well, I'll be delighted. If there's a second season, or even a continuation thereafter, I'll be even more delighted.

I want to enter college, and study while writing a new series. Right now, I still don't know which of the inspirations I have that I should suse.

And then, after I graduate, I'll find work--

This is the ideal future I can think of, but of course, the future may not be be that successful for me.

I may end up failing my exams, and if the anime doesn't gain much discussion, the discs not selling well, and the popularity of 'Vice Versa' declining heavily, the series gets aborted before it reaches volume 20, I felt dejected, unable to write the next work.

Or I may end up with some mental or physical disease that made me unable to continue writing or attend school. Worse, I might end up in a fatal accident. I can't be sure that such things won't happen to me.

Thinking about this, I don't want to continue thinking.

What kind of novel? I thought of what Nitadori asked me again, and answered,

"Well...I'll probably use my past experiences and write a story about college students? Or a story about people working in society? A novel about authors?"

"What about a story about voice actors?"

I saw Nitadori say this with a somewhat expectant look on her face, and I had an idea,

"Not bad. The protagonist is a high school girl who works as a voice actress, with long hair, bespectacled--"

"Yeah yeah."

Nitadori chimed in happily,

"When she brought her dog out for a walk, she picked up a mysterious mushroom, and became a giant. She went around destroying cities while looking for horse sashimi. A giant machine of the JSDF went over--"

"Right right! I'll take half of that model appearance fee. Get down to work1'

Nitadori threatened me happily,

"I-I'll try writing this soon…"

Saying that, I reached my hand out for my smartphone, intending to record this idea.

"Also, is there anything else important for an author?"

"Yep."

"And that is?"

"'Stick to the deadline "

"It's here! The 'deadline'--speaking of which, I never exactly asked about the deadline before."

I nodded. Now that she mentioned it, I didn't explain it properly either.

"Now then, let's explain about the deadline."

"Please do!"

Deadlines--

Of course, it refers to the latest day the novel has to be completed.

Magazines have deadlines. Books have deadlines.

In my case of writing a pocket book--when publishing a book under Dengeki Bunko, when exactly is the deadline?

Most likely, only those involved would know. At that moment, I was frustrated as to whether I should tell Nitadori.

But though I was frustrated, as before, she was someone 'involved with this work',

"Please keep whatever I say now as a secret."

"Got it."

I believed her, and continued on,

"The deadline for Dengeki Bunko works would be typically set as '4 months before the official release'."

"Hm...in that case, if the volume is to be released on the 10th next month--"

"In June, that means that I have to finish my manuscript at the end of February."

"That's rather early…"

Nitadori muttered.

I too felt this way when I first heard of this. Assuming that the books are to be printed at the end of May, what will they be doing for 3 months?

I only knew of the entire process in the end, so I told Nitadori.

"Well, assuming that I finish the work at the end of February, finish my manuscript."

"Yes?"

Nitadori opened the notebook, and began to write something. She probably intends to convert the process into a flow chart or something.

"The original draft will become the first manuscript, and as mentioned before, it'll be sent to the reviewers. They will take about 2 weeks to do that before sending it back to the editorial branch."

"Oh--that's long."

"Yes, it's very long. A certain author once said that he would plan a very long vacation during that time. If there's no other work during that time, he'll be really free."

"I see. So after 2 weeks...you'll receive the draft from the reviewers...then your own checks…"

"Author review."

"Right. You'll send the author review back to the editorial branch for the second manuscript review, right? How long will it take until it returns to the editorial branch?"

"Typically about a week and a half until 2 weeks. Once the second manuscript is settled, the original will be sent to the printers along with the illustrations. There's still another 2 months left, so I suppose they could easily print the books with much ease."

"I see…"

The sound of Nitadori's pen reaching stopped.

And this would be the end of the explanation about the deadline--as if.

"Now that'll be the schedule for the abnormally 'obedient kid'."

"Huh?"

Nitadori's glasses turned to me.

"This thing that's commonly called the 'obedient kid schedule'."

I said.

Of course, this term wasn't coined by me. I heard a senior author say it before, and this is a term that somehow popped up between authors and editors.

"..."

Nitadori thought for a few seconds.

"In other words...4 months before the release is basically the ideal deadline?"

I nodded.

"That's the case. And there are quite a lot of authors who won't follow that deadline. They'll do what we call 'delaying the deadline'."

"In that case...how does the schedule go?"

Nitadori flipped the notebook open, and it appeared she intended to take notes again, but I feel that it's a little waste of effort.

"I can't really explain in detail. The schedule will differ according to the author's progress at that point."

"..."

Nitadori tucked the pen into her notebook, and slammed it shut.

I continued to explain.

I said that the deadline was 4 months before the release.

Those that could abide were obedient kids.

There were really a lot of people who wouldn't abide by it. If I have to ask which one is more common--according to what I hear, it's undoubtedly the latter.

I hear that Dengeki Bunko would first decide on the release schedules within the next half year to one year.

Of course, the plan isn't really set in stone, but during this time, the editors and authors would have conversations like 'which volume will be released this month'.

The release schedules is made, partially based on the decision to make promotions, like,

"It's going to be animated, so let's publish this book on this month".

"This series has been providing releases every March, so again, let's set it to March."

"There'll be works of awardees published in February, so we'll release the works of those that won awards in the past"

(Because of this, in every February, the new books would be put together with the winners of that year, and the book collar on it would have the works 'UU Winner of the XXth OO Awards." also, there won't be works of authors like me who did not win any award.)

"In this promotion fair, we shall bundle all the popular works together."

Of course, authors know of the 'obedient kid deadline'--

But though they knew, they might not be able to do it.

Sometimes, there was absolutely no chance to make it based on the writer's speed and the other work at hand. Or I should say, it's very common.

Amongst them, there's those that finish the 'previous work' on the day before. In other words, they were warriors who would begin writing after the obedient kid deadline.

"Can they make it?"

"Those are the ones who would 'make sure to make it'. Because they're able to make sure the manuscript makes it, even if they don't rush it, the authors and editors are rather calm, I think."

Every author's writing speed to complete a light novel volume will differ. Some require 3 months, some require 3 weeks.

However, the common point between most authors is that 'the closer it is to the deadline, the faster the writing speed'.

A senior author I met at the end-of-year party said before,

"Right! The energy hidden within the body will be released. I can feel the burning flames within my body. I want to pass on this passion to the readers."

It sounded cool, but I just felt that it was fire lit on his bum. Of course, I did not say that though.

"Even if they do delay, I guess...there's still a limit to it, right?"

What Nitadori asked really made sense.

"Of course there is. In other words, I think that's the real deadline."

"So...when exactly is that?"

Nitadori leaned over to me, probing as she asked.

"I don't know...till now, I never had a problem with the deadlines."

I never tried to test the limits, so I didn't know.

"You're a good kid!"

"Th-thanks."

"Want me to pat your head?"

Nitadori chirped happily, quickly raising the left hand that's near me.

"No-no need for that."

I panicked, and refused her.

It'll be awkward for me if my hair's oily. It's embarrassing to let a girl pat my head after all.

"Really?"

Nitadori looked a little displeased as she moved her hand back to her thighs.

I continued to explain the deadlines.

"According to what I heard at the end-of-year party, it is very common to see authors who are late by two weeks."

"Are there later ones?"

"There are those cases of dragging on by a month or longer."

"So in other words, a book that's to be published in June--"

"It's not done at the end of February, March passed, still writing in April, that kind of feeling."

"And they can still make it…"

"To be precise, I think it's the hard work of the editors that allowed for the books to make it on time."

"I see."

"But if in the meantime, there's the end of year or the Golden Week, there wouldn't be enough time, so we got to be careful. Many companies will take leaves. This period is commonly called the 'end of year catchup' or the 'Golden Week catchup'."

When an author abides by the obedient kid's deadline, the editorial branch will have more than enough time to go through first reviews and second reviews--

The longer an author's manuscript drags on, the more pressing the situation will be. The illustrator, checkers, printers and editorial branch would all be affected.

What I'm going to say next is what I heard from the editorial branch and other authors. Currently, I haven't done so, and I don't ever intend to do it.

"It's said that if the draft drags on for too long...they'll have no choice but to cut off the second review to make it in time for the progress. Of course, there'll be a higher chance of errors."

"What's supposed to be two checks ended up becoming one check anyway."

"Yeah. If it drags on so long until it gets serious, they'll pick up the method of 'submitting in parts'.

Submitting in parts would refer to a relay of submitting the manuscript.

After an author is done with the draft, he'll send it to the editorial branch, which is the submitting part. The editorial branch would also hand the files over to the checkers and the printers, and that act itself is also submitting.

Thus, partial submission to refer to,

"It refers to sending over the completed parts because the manuscript is not fully completed (because that bastard of an author just wouldn't finish it)."

That would be the last resort.

"I see...in other words, try to make sure the manuscript makes it on time, right?"

"If they don't do it, the volume really won't be able to be published...but I don't want you to misunderstand. When they really can't make it, a professional author will inform the editor-in-charge before hand, asking him to delay the projected release date. Thus, for those that don't do that, they'll definitely finish the draft even if they have to stay up for a few days."

"Oh, just like an author."

"I'm an author."

So it's used in this particular part this week, though it's a little different somewhere.

Feeling somewhat strange, I continued on,

"I feel that since the editor-in-charge understands this logic, he'll trust the author. All the matters is that there's an interesting work written at the end."

"Phew, hearing that makes me really tense! It's like 'there's still three days! No time to sleep!' that kind of feeling."

Nitadori smiled as though she had nothing to do with this,

"I'll...definitely make sure not to end up in such a situation…"

I muttered.

I don't want to stay up late to work, and I have no confidence that I can complete my work while staying up all night.

If someone asks me to finish writing a hundred pages in the next 3 days, I'll probably be crushed by the pressure rising up my head. I'll think of running away.

And thus, this is one place that shows an author's actual personality.

Some would stick to the obedient kid's deadline as a target and abide by it.

Some would give up on abiding by the deadline right from the beginning, and would often delay their work by 2-3 weeks.

Some would delay the manuscript such that they'll submit it a month later.

There is also the possibility of those who would start writing after the obedient kid's deadline, engage in a skirmish with the editorial branch, and barely manage to make it until 2 months later.

I drank my tea, and realized something.

And thus, I capped the bottle, asking Nitadori,

"This deadline thing reminds me of something...I never told you anything about the illustrators, right?"

"No! Sorry--I mean yes, you haven't."

And while Nitadori blurted out this strange mistake, I said,

"Alright, how about we talk about this?"

"Please do!"

The reason why I would link from the deadlines to the illustrators is that there is also a deadline of an illustrator's work. If it passes the deadline, the book won't be released.

I heard that there are cases of the author finishing the work early, but the book was unable to be published because of the illustrator--

Such cases are quite common. When that happens, even authors can't do anything about it.

This isn't my personal experience, so let's leave that aside for now.

The illustrator for 'Vice Versa' is someone with outstanding art skills, and works really fast.

That illustrator's able to match the release dates of mine that are considered quite fast, and whenever it is done, the illustrator would read through the story before providing illustrations of high quality.

That illustrator really helped me out greatly--my heartfelt thanks truly are hard to express.

In light novels, illustrations are important.

It is said that,

"For a work to sell out very well from the beginning, illustrations are key. For a work to sell for a long time, story is key."

When someone enters a bookstore and sees the cover, assuming that the cover illustrations are really attractive, 'how active will this character be?' they'll be curious and start to read.

But after almost two years as a light novel author, I have a slightly different thinking to this.

"For a work to sell out very well from the beginning, illustrations are key. For a work to sell for a long time, story is key, but the influence of illustrations are also very important."

That is what I think.

"I see...speaking of which, how do you choose an illustrator? Do they go by an author's wishes and choose one?"

Nitadori asked.

That was also one thing I wanted to know about before I became an author.

"Sometimes, they will go by the author's wishes. I do know of some authors who are like that. Those authors noticed a certain illustrator on some doujinshi or website, and requested to work with that illustrator, and the editorial branch agreed to it. However, typically--"

"Typically?"

"The editor-in-charge would choose one, and that's the case for me."

"I see. So how was it chosen for you case, sensei?"

That was during Spring Break two years ago, before I entered high school.

I was desperately correcting the manuscript for the 1st volume of 'Vice Versa', and writing the draft for the 2nd volume--

"I think this one's suitable. What do you think?"

The editor-in-charge sent me some doujinshi released by a certain illustrator, and the web address.

I had a look at the doujins immediately, and back then, I didn't have internet at home, so i went to look at the website from a cafe.

The first thoughts I had back then was--

"Your thoughts were?"

"To be honest...I didn't really have much feeling about it."

Nitadori widened her eyes beneath the glasses, and leaned forward enthusiastically.

"Is that so? --I really like the illustrations of 'Vice Versa'. I feel that the visuals of the anime are pretty, and has the key features pat down, but I prefer the illustrations in the novel. Ah...please keep this a secret from the anime personnel…"

"Ahaha, I know--now that I think back about it, I'm able to feel that, yeah, it's great."

"Erm...when you saw the illustrations for the first time, how did you answer the editor-in-charge?"

"I honestly told what I was thinking to the editor-in-charge, and then I said, 'but about the illustrations, I don't really know. Please decide'."

"Then...maybe you wanted to say 'this person can't do, please switch to someone else', right?"

"Well, the chances of that isn't zero."

And Nitadori said,

"Huh...I'm surprised."

She leaned her back on the backrest.

"But back then, I didn't have the time to propose an alternative."

Back then, I was correcting the manuscript. I ended up correcting the first volume until the 6th manuscript, and after doing so until the end, I was thinking, How is it possible to have so many changes?

"Finally, the editor-in-charge chose that person. That person did provide some illustrations for some single volume financial magazines, but never had experience drawing light novel characters. However, I heard that the illustrator was really enthusiastic, and according to what I heard, the reply to the editor-in-charge was 'please let me do this!'""

"Ohh!"

"And so, we met once."

That was in the middle of April, when I was in my first year. Back then, I was finally done editing 'Vice Versa'.

This illustrator read through the draft of the first volume that was yet to be completed carefully.

And then, the illustrator brought a few rough sketches of the main characters, and basically all the appearing characters too, drawing them to fine detail.

Looking at the illustrations, I thought.

Ah, so Shin and Sin look like this.

"Was it perfect?"

"It was a little different--for me, perfect would mean that the illustration fits the imagination in my mind completely."

"Then…?"

Nitadori looked surprised. Well, I can't fault her for this. I should have explained beforehand."

"I didn't have any character visualization in my mind. All my mind could see were 'Shin', 'Sin' and words, no clear image."

"Then...is it the same now? Is it the same now that you're writing with available illustrations?"

I nodded firmly.

"It's the same now too. While I'm writing, Shin is Shin'--in kanji, it can be written as makoto. In my mind, Shin isn't converted into an image, but directly extracted as a word. It has been the case ever since I started writing light novels."

"Ah…"

Nitadori let out a voice with a stunned look.

It was to be expected. Even I didn't know why I didn't have an image of the characters in my mind.

Also, the illustrator helped me out in another way.

And that would be designing the characters' costumes and equipment design.

"I'm unfamiliar with costumes, so leaving aside the Middle Ages style fashion Reputation had, I just don't understand...the current trendy clothing. I did buy some trendy magazines for reference...but I still didn't know. When I was introducing the clothing in those paragraphs, the strange rhythm really was interesting."

"Hmm, like 'something's is a must', 'matching of this soft material', 'A cute style needed', and something, like that, right?"

'Yep yep. That's it."

"Then when writing 'Vice Versa', the illustrator's very familiar with current fashion, and designed them for you, right?"

"Right. I'll write in the draft '(clothing design is unconfirmed, leave it to the illustrator)'. Of course, if it's something related to the plot...for example, the clothing is used for some plot or some foreshadowing, I'll try my best to think about it. Basically however, I'll leave it all to the illustrator."

"And then?"

"The illustrator reads through the first draft, and sends me proposals for the design of the characters' clothing, either a rough sketch or some information. And then, I'll edit my draft based on the suggestion."

"I see…"

I drank some tea to soothe my throat.

"What kind of person is the illustrator? All I know is the name."

Nitadori took out the first volume of 'Vice Versa' from her bag,looked at the cover, and asked me.

And then, she looked at the illustrator introduction on the cover flap.

Horizontal words were written on it, the pen name, 'I live in Tokyo, I love kotatsu and cats', a 'I'll do my best' to show the enthusiasm, and the web address.

I recalled about the illustrator, wondering how much I could divulge.

The information an illustrator would reveal would differ based on different people. Many would only reveal their names.

I heard that there was a myriad of reasons. They include ordinary working adults, designers, game company staff, animators, and so on.

There were also those with famous pen names, only to deliberately work with another pen name in light novels. In this situation, some would declare it openly, and some would not, but one could tell who they were through the art style. There were those who were unrecognized, and so at the end of year lucky draw, they would admit 'it's me'.

As for the 'Vice Versa' illustrator--

That illustrator did reveal some brief personal information on the site, and as far as I knew, would attend doujinshi sales platforms.

Thus, I decided to tell Nitadori about some brief information people would have found out if they really looked into it.

"Of course, the illustrator's older than me. 20 years old back then, 5 years older than me, so I'm guessing the illustrator is 22 years old now. I heard of this from the editor-in-charge. Typically, an illustrator would be younger than an author, and there many in their twenties."

"So what kind of person is this illustrator?"

"Hm, simply put, it's a 'pretty older sister'. Like--"

"It's a female!?"

Nitadori's reaction was rather exaggerated. This wasn't a hyperbole; her face was leaning towards me, and she grabbed onto me, ostensibly not letting go.

I retreated as I said,

"Re-really? You didn't know? --Ah, I see. I guess you really won't know if you didn't go to a doujinshi exhibition and meet her…"

"What kind of person is she?"

'Well....if I have to say, a pretty lady."

The illustrator's a beauty, one of a different mold from Nitadori.

The impression she gives is that of a diminutive person, with a slender figure. When she first met me at the editorial branch and got up to greet me, I was taken aback by how low her eyes were.

The hair dyed chestnut brown was at shoulder length, and I wasn't sure about the clothing, but in any case, it gave a plain vibe.

My impression of it was basically 'a new arts teacher'.

Nitadori said as she leaned her body back,

"I-I didn't know...I thought...it would have been a man."

"Well, you probably wouldn't know if nobody actually mention it. She's able to draw some very cute female characters, and the male characters muscles are ripped too."

Actually, this illustrator is a muscle enthusiast, but I never told Nitadori about this.

Because of that, Sin's subordinates were all machos.

The characters had no elaborately designed clothes, and based on her preferences, they would show off their biceps, or their calves while wearing shorts (all I wrote in the story was 'just some ugly men').

The generals had to be muscular men, and it seemed that was the only part she would not concede on. She once said "there's nothing prettier than a toned tricep surae!" Just to note, she's referring to the calves.

"Erm...sensei...it's very rude, but I want to ask something…"

"Hm. What is it?"

"Do you...have to meet that illustrator during meetings?"

That's not the case. In fact, the authors and illustrators hardly meet.

I shook my head, saying,

"No, the discussions with the illustrator is done by the editor-in-charge over the phone. The editor-in-charge deals with the cover, the color illustrations, and where the illustrations are to be. I'll only request when I have vivid images in my mind."

"So after you're done with your meetings, you two would have a meal with the editor-in-charge...or something like that?"

"We only had it once in the beginning. Back then, we're so tense that we hardly talked."

"Do you have her mail address or contact…?"

"I do know--"

"Will you send messages to her?"

"No, of course not. That's because it's pointless for me even if I do know her mail address. The editor-in-charge would be CCing the files to her and me anyway."

"I-I see…"

In fact, the number of times I met the illustrator can be counted with one hand. However, we did talk a lot.

"Two years ago, when I first attended the end of year party, we had a long chat. Neither of us knew of anyone else at the place, so we were at a corner, shivering away."

"To-together?"

"That's because when we saw the namecards of the people walking in front of us, we realized that those were really big names. Of course we'll be terrified. Both of us were going 'ohh! I found this sensei!', 'that sensei's walking in front of me!" and so on, and that's how we somehow established the conversation."

At the end of my first year in high school, I attended my first ever Dengeki end of year party. I was really delighted.

As I said before, both of us were nervous right from the start, and intended to stay in the corner the entire time. Let us just watch those authors and illustrators happily.

"Found you!"

The editor-in-charge however dragged us out, and brought us everywhere to greet.

"It's him! The High School Boy author!"

And then, I was going around greeting everyone.

Us rookies, the illustrators and me, went around greeting everyone.

The illustrator's a beauty, so she's very popular (amongst the guys, at least).

As for me, I was viewed like an exotic animal, and somewhat popular. Back then, I was so scared that I was frozen stiff, so I couldn't remember what I said.

During the lucky draw, the illustrator won a portable game console, and for her speech, she said,

"It's my 4th one, and I think I might break it again, but I'm really happy! Thank you everyone! I'll try to make sure it lasts until Spring!"

That triggered a massive laughter from the crowd (I heard from the editor-in-charge that she really destroyed it last March. He said that it was not a good thing to use it while having a bath.)

"Can I talk a little more about Dengeki's end of year party?"

I asked.

"Of course you can. Please continue to say what you did with that illustrator in detail."

Nitadori agreed, speaking with such harsh stare and strange words.

Dengeki Bunko's end of year party invites all the authors and illustrators to participate. Basically, anyone who worked under Dengeki Bunko or the Dengeki Bunko magazine flagship are invited to participated.

The date was on a certain Friday in December, and the location was at a massive plaza located close to the editorial branch in Tokyo.

I, a first year in High School when I debuted, was invited as well.

It was nerve wrecking, but I was looking forward to meeting many of the senior authors (not meeting them face to face though), so I decided to participate.

Dengeki Bunko organizes two gathering events for authors to meet.

The first would be the 'Dengeki Awards Ceremony' and the after party. The other would be the end of year.

I did not receive any awards, so I was not invited to receive any prizes. Thus, I was not sure how the award ceremony went.

I heard that there were a lot of people gathered in the hall--including the Chairman and the CEO, and there was a rather solemn ceremony held. It seemed the winners would walk up the stage, receive the trophy, and state their thanksgiving.

I had already debuted by the time I knew of this, and I felt it was a good thing that I did not try to force myself to win an award. I did not tell Nitadori about this.

However, it was said that the winners in that batch would meet and get to know each other, exchanging numbers.

Knowing acquaintances right from the beginning might help one build courage. Those are all my competitors however, so if I can feel the distance between us, I might feel very despondent.

In any case--

I won't be able to experience such a feeling in my life again.

Back to the end of year party.

As I said a while back, the editorial branch would pay and book a room in a luxurious hotel for me. I would first proceed with the check-in, put my luggage, and then head to the place.

Then, I met the illustrator. As I said, we were shaking in a corner like a borrowed cat, only to have the editor-in-charge grab us by our necks.

After we did our introductions and chatted with the senior authors, I realized that everyone was very cordial.

Those that knew that I debuted at 16 would continue talking about this. Those that did not know would be rather surprised.

The first end of year party I had in my life ended in greetings and tensions. On a side note, i did not win any prizes in the lucky draw.

The Dengeki Bunko End of Year party would have a first meeting and a second meeting. The whole thing starts from 6pm, and ends at 10pm.

There would be pamphlets for a 'third meeting' distributed in the venue, which some authors and illustrators would attend.

This activity was not organized by the editorial branch, but by the authors themselves.

The participants would ride a bus or taxi to a place a little distant, and have it at a KTV place. It would start from 11pm, and if anyone stayed on, it would last until the morning.

I was interested in it, but I still had reservations participating as a 16 year old. It was a pity, but I gave up on it.

So the alternative was that I decided to head to the hotel cafe for tea with the illustrator.

"J-just the two of you?"

"Uh? Yeah. There were a lot of people who couldn't make it to the third meeting, so a few authors and illustrators came to the same cafe as us...we were the only two at our table."

"A-and...then? Wh-what did you talk about? Please tell me in detail!"

Nitadori seemed exceptionally enthusiastic when the topic was about the illustrator. I said a lot, so I guess I had no choice in the matter.

"We had been talking about the characters in 'Vice Versa'. Serious topics, I'll say. I mentioned the image of the characters that would appear later on, and the illustrator drew on her sketchbook…"

"Phew."

Nitadori was (or appeared to be) relieved. I did not know why she was relaxed at all, but it was pointless for me to talk about it, so I continued,

"Well, the illustrator had to take the last bus ride back home, so we bade farewell. I went back to enjoy the luxurious hotel, and the next day, after a visit to Akihabara, I returned home."

There was something I did not tell Nitadori. Or rather, I could not possibly tell her--

Back then, the illustrator was passionately talking about 'BL'

BL was an acronym for many things, but over here, it refers to 'Boys' Love'.

I don't fully understand what 'Boys' Love' is about--but I guess it refers to a genre that describes 'love between boys'.

There are many kinds of BL works, including manga, novels and games. I also heard that doujinshis of pairing beloved male characters together and 'fostering their love' further were very popular.

My illustrator really loves BL. Well, you can tell from her doujins that she draws those kinds of things, and she continues to draw such things even now.

Also, she really loves Shin and Sin. Her eyes were blazing as she rattled on about this topic in front of the author without restraint, saying that she's really elated to be able to draw them.

It's rare in light novels to see covers with only male characters. It appeared that she's very enthusiastic to be able to draw such covers.

"But I can't draw doujins of Shin and Sin now. It's so sad…"

It was said that the editor-in-charge warned her sternly when they first met.

"Looks like I can only buy them. This is so sad…"

I heard that as long as there's doujinshi of 'Vice Versa', she would desperately ask her acquaintances to buy them for her. Apparently, she would pray to the stars, hoping for the actual work to be popular, to increase in reputation, and result in an increase in doujins. Recently, I also heard that she was dancing in joy when she heard news of an upcoming anime.

"Even if my arms are snapped, I'm going to draw them with my mouth! Please keep writing!"

Well, she's requesting me because of such reasons.

To be honest, I don't understand that realm. She was really scary when she was passionately talking about BL--

But there was no doubt that she really had 'love' for the work, and was able to finish it in an outstanding manner.

"Of course, I attended the Dengeki end of year party last year."

I couldn't say the real identity of the illustrator, but I talked about what happened the previous year to Nitadori.

Same as before, I went to the end of year party in Tokyo, stayed there, and returned home.

"Last year, the illustrator and I went to the third meeting together. That had something to with me taking a break from school back then, and I personally felt that it was fine for me to stay out until morning. I had fun."

That was 5 months back. There were a lot of things that left quite a deep impression on me, so I really remembered them well.

The first and second parties were the same, and this time, I did not win anything in the lucky draw.

The difference was that for the first time, I met the authors who debuted the previous year.

Of course, everyone else was older than me, but as an author, experience wise, I was of an earlier batch. There were some who read 'Vice Versa' before they won awards. They were all shocked to know of my age.

And then, when I participated in the third party--

It was really messy, and at the same time, interesting.

The location was a wide dining room in a massive karaoke room.

The senior authors led the rest by dividing into different groups, and we took the bus to the location. Some also took the taxi there.

There were approximately 50 authors and illustrators who took part, and it was a blast.

At first, everyone would introduce themselves and say a few words, and the organizers would collect the entry fee, and toast to everyone. The editorial branch prepared namecards during the first party, so at the third one, everyone continued to use the same one. If not, we wouldn't be sure who was who.

Those that wanted to go sing would visit the karaoke room, while those who wanted to talk could continue to talk there.

I waited in the dining room until the first bus arrived, so I spent quite a long time with a few senior authors.

I talked a lot about being an author, and I heard--a lot of gossip I really shouldn't mention here.

On a side note, a few authors appeared to have assumed that I was a female before the end of year party last year.

Also, only my age was revealed, so a few of them thought of me to be some 'pretty high school girl author' or something. Where did the 'pretty high school girl' come from?

I learned of the experiences of the other authors, the details they did not divulge in their personal information.

Everyone had different experiences. We're all professional authors, but some were of the working class, some debuted in college, some graduated successfully, some chose to drop out, some had to write and hide this fact from their company (so they could not appear in public at all), and some were public servants who worked after having been granted approval from their superiors.

I was moved. Authors too had their means to survive.

And so, I honestly said that everyone had unique experiences.

"You have a unique experience yourself too!"

Everyone retorted.

I'll explain beforehand that 'those things I heard from the other authors' and told Nitadori afterward were basically all from the conversations back then.

At the third party, not all would be here to chat. Some would have a toast, and then head to the karaoke room, never to return.

It seemed that they would start singing from 11pm or so, until past 7am the next day. How much do they like to sing?

Some authors too would toast, and after that was done, bring out their game consoles to play a monster hunting game or something. They were yelling happily, giving serious looks as they pursued the enemies.

I found a few authors gathered around the dining table, distributing cards. They then lowered their heads suddenly, closed their eyes, and patted their thigh with one hand.

I was surprised, and wanted to ask if there was a strange ritual about to begin. Only then did I realize that it's a card game where the participants are to determine who's not the alien amongst them.

All I knew was the name of the game. Patting the thighs consecutively was to bluff the other players by masking the sounds when raising hands.

We could stay until morning, or not to do so.

Including my illustrator, a few of them took the last ride home. Those that came from afar gathered in droves and took a taxi back to the hotel. They would then hand over their namecards to the organizers.

I got along with a certain senior author I met at the editorial branch, so I participated in all kinds of conversations, getting to know more authors and illustrators.

At midnight, everyone was feeling hungry, since the dinner from the first two parties was long over.

And on the tables,

"Right, let's eat something!"

There would be large plates of food and sweets served, along with juices and alcohol for anyone to drink to their hearts content. (Even so, there won't be any situations of a savage drunkard looking for trouble, or anyone coercing a non drinker to drink).

After 3am or so, a certain author was completely drunk and collapsed on the sofa, sleeping blissfully.

And another author saw this, giving a serious look, saying,

"Hey...you got to be kidding...he's just...sleeping."

Another author said,

"He'll murder his characters in his work without mercy. Only when he's sleeping does his face look like an angel's."

"Yeah...don't write the word 'meat' on his forehead? Don't do it, okay? Don't do it."

"We won't. Aren't we authors? If we want to write, we'll write novels."

"You're right. Anyone brought a pen?"

"Are you going to write?"

"Writing on the body...I think I'll write a really short prose, maybe? Everyone, let's work together."

"So the ending is that the editor says 'Well written, let's submit this draft', and whisk that guy away?"

"No--we'll just forget to write on the ears and spare them."

"Then it should be the other way around."

In fact, for precaution sake, nobody wrote anything.

I took the first bus back to the hotel. Of course, this was the first time I took the first Tokyo bus ride on a Saturday.

Once I got back to the hotel, I spent till it was past 11am. I quickly had a shower, checked out at noon, and left the hotel.

Having heard everything, Nitadori sounded amazed, saying,

"It seems like you enjoyed yourself a lot…"

She really seemed envious.

"I really did. I'm looking forward to the end of year party this year too. Those that debuted this February will probably be participating too."

"By then, you'll be 'an author with an animated work'."

"Ah, well...that kind of gathering isn't discriminated based on age and experience. The authors with animated works aren't those that would put up a front."

At the very least, I felt that nobody would act boastful in front of everyone. Looking at the current phase, it's a little delusional of me, but I hope to become that kind of person.

The train continued to rush forward in the rain.

This track would often pass by mountainous areas and tunnels, so if the rain was too big, it would stop to avoid any potential rockslides--currently, there was no problem or error to be seen.

I had a look at the watch; there was still an hour to the terminal.

I told Nitadori that there was still enough time to answer some questions.

"Then--please talk about the animation."

Nitadori chose this question out of her notebook, probably to add on from what we were talking about. She then continued,

"Being an author is already a rare thing, but I guess an author whose works are made into an anime is rarer, right?"

"Well..I guess."

It's not an uncommon sight recently for light novels to be adapted into an anime. Even so, for all the light novel authors, such authors were a minority.

"So please state everything that happened, from when you learned that an anime was to be made till this point. Ah, before that...for an author, how important is it for his work to be animated?"

I feel that for a light novel author, it is a dream to have one's work adapted into an anime.

First off, I'll simply be delighted that my work is adapted into a video. It's impossible not to be happy about seeing my own created characters being able to move and talk.

Speaking of which, I have the feeling that light novel authors aren't the type that would hate anime, had no interest in it, or never did watch a single one (there are always exceptions, so I can't be sure).

Also, the work's popularity would surge instantly because of an anime airing, boosting the sales of the books. This obviously will cause the author to be delighted.

Once it is decided to be animated, what 'benefit' is there to an author?

I shall summarize what I heard from the senior authors.

"First off, the published works will be reprinted at an unprecedented rate, and they'll be attached with 'anime confirmed'!' book collars."

Nitadori nodded.

"I see. The sales volume will create, right?"

Yep. In the anime shops, they'll be placed under the 'to be animated corner'. Ah, placed here would mean that the book covers will be shown up. The cover illustrations would leave a deep impression, and it'll be a big boost for the light novel sales."

"There'll be an increase in the number of new readers, right?"

"Yeah. Also, once the anime airs, there'll be a massive reprint if it becomes a hot topic. The original work itself has to sell well, but even so, it seems that those who know of the work through the anime is far more than the original readers. The print volume can increase by 2, 3 times...I heard that if the anime is a runaway success, the sales volume of the original work will skyrocket further."

"That's amazing!"

"What I said is the dazzling advantages to it though...of course, I heard of the disadvantages."

"Oh?...what are they?"

First off, the workload required would increase drastically.

There would be script and setting checks right from the beginning, and then there's a need to watch the After Records, a need to attend some events sometimes, and also, create a special edition noel that is bundled with the DVD or a similar kind of media.

The publisher wants to make sure the volumes are released along with the airing of the anime, so the author has to write new volumes in the meantime, which means the actual workload would increase so much, it can be rather suffocating.

"Of course, I do find it interesting at times, and I feel that some authors won't feel troubled by it. What's more scary for an author is…"

"'Scared of', as in?"

"I heard that there are cases of the anime ending without being highly discussed."

I watched all kinds of anime, so I understood.

As for what kind of anime would be famous, runaway success, or not at all--

Nobody would know until the results were out (the official airing).

For example, even if an outstanding production team and famous voice actors are gathered, and massive promotions are made, there is no guarantee that it would be popular once it aired.

The anime that was adapted from my own novel might end up buried amongst the many anime aired every season without showing much of a success. I would say that most anime would be of such a case.

When the anime adaptation of the light novel an author writes isn't popular, and when the DVD and BD sales are low, it's hard to hope for a massive leap in print volume.

But this was still okay.

"The most worrying is when...an anime is complete just like this, the popularity will decline--this is what they call 'Owakon'."

I noted with a tragic tone.

Nitadori tilted her head, asking,

"What is 'Owakon'?"

"Well, it is a shortened form of 'Owatta Contents', which basically means 'Content that is over'. It means something that's no longer popular, that nobody actually paid attention to. It seems it was used as an internet lingo, and for those in the authorship industry, it's a vexing term, to say the least."

"I see...so, well...it's not a nice thing to say, but for an author, making an anime is a massive 'gamble', right?"

I nodded firmly.

I heard the same thing from the other authors. Now that I'm in this situation myself, I too felt the same.

Once the anime gets popular, the work would increase, and the harvest would return massively, so much that it's enough for anyone to not think of the increased workload as anything much.

But if it doesn't--

"Thus, an author can choose not to put in bets at all. In other words, a decision to refuse making 'an anime'. This is an important series I'm making, so rather than being an anime that's not popular like many, I might as well reject it outright."

"Really...I guess such people do exist, right?"

"I do hear of such people too, but I don't know who they are. However…"

"However?"

"That's undoubtedly the minority."

I too was jumping up in joy when I heard news of an anime.

Of course, after all kinds of investigations, and having heard of many things, I understood very well that it was a kind of betting.

But even so, I decided to call.

"Hm, good job!"

The one beside me now praised me.

"Th-thanks."

"Thanks to you, I'm able to look forward to working like this!"

"Ahaha, now that you mention it, that's the case."

"And now I heard some really precious things from you, sensei! Now then, please explain everything that's to be done after agreeing to make an anime--when did the anime news come, and how did they reach you?"

When does an author know of an anime to be made, and how? I don't really understand how it goes normally. I'm starting to wonder if there's a fixed format to this myself.

As I said before, I heard of this news last March. In other words, 1 year and 4 months before the official airing.

On a certain Friday in March, I was summoned to the editorial branch.

There was no other meeting to be held, and no need to revise through the draft, so I was worried, wondering what it was about as I went to the editorial branch. After I got there, the editor-in-charge said,

"We received a proposal to adapt 'Vice Versa' into an anime."

And then, as I said, I gave the okay.

A week later, on a certain day.

I went back to Tokyo, and in the editorial branch, I met the people who would take care of me for the first time. Currently, I do feel taken care of.

On a side note, it was snowing on that day.

I felt that there would be an incident as long as there was a huge snowfall in Tokyo, like the '47 Ronin', 'Sakuradamon Incident', and 'February 26 Incident .

Of course, this was a coincidence, but I was feeling uneasy yet hopeful when I went to the editorial branch--

I nearly slipped at the entrance. The tiles there were slippery when wet.

There were three men discussing with the editor-in-charge in the editorial branch.

They were the producer in charge of planning, the supervisor (tentative at that time) who was in charge of anime production back then, and the writer in charge of series composition who decided upon the framework of the series.

Everyone is older than I am, and they produced many anime work I am familiar with. I was very nervous.

And it seemed they were surprised when they met me for the first time.

The discussion during this meeting was on how to produce 'Vice Versa' as an anime.

The length of the anime was decided by the number of episodes, and also, the number of cours that was indicated by seasons.

Each cour is a quarter of the year, in other words, 3 months. When an anime airs for a cour, the number of episodes would be from 12 to 13. If there is a need to air 2 cours, the number of episodes will double.

The anime 'Vice Versa' was expected to air for one cour, 13 episodes in total.

The series composition writer told me that the plan was to end the anime at the second volume.

In other words--

First half would be Side Shin.

The second half would be Side Sin.

"After hearing that plan...I was really, really happy about it!"

I expressed my excitement.

"Why?"

"That's because if they could convey a volume of work in 6-7 episodes, there is no need to rush."

"How do?"

"Till this point, I've seen a few light novels adapted into anime...anyone who watched the original work would have a feeling that 'yeah, the anime's running too fast'."

It appears that I'm not the only one with such thoughts; it's said that the other authors had similar thoughts. Some would feel that the anime was too rushed, and in contrast, some would say that they're lucky their work was slowly and carefully made. Of course, I can't say who they are.

"In other words...there are many plot points that will be omitted in the anime?"

"Right. I do often feel that 'the plot's moving too fast'. I found that there were many unique interludes in the original work, but they were all cut out. Of course, I can understand that in terms of production, it was something that had to be done...even so, I felt that the progress was too fast. Too quick to digest."

Of course, I felt that the production team would argue back.

"That's not compression, that's distillation."

Or,

"Tempo is the most important thing in an anime. Without plot progression in a show, the viewers will be sick of it."

And the authors would be speechless.

I did not know which side was better.

But when I heard that the anime 'Vice Versa' would be carefully made till the second volume of the original work, I was really happy.

Of course, they asked me the planned release schedule.

The editor-in-charge had decided that the fourth volume would be released in April, and the fifth to be released in June.

After that, we didn't know--

And the producer said,

"Currently, it is hard for us to say, but as long as the anime becomes a hit, we'll naturally consider making a second season, or a 'second cour'. We hope that the original work will continue to sell well, for with more copies so, we can think of the second cour as a two season production."

Bam.

"What's that sound?"

Nitadori tilted her head.

"That's...the sound of the 'switch to quit high school' in my mind."

"You can't do that! --speaking of which, you never did."

"Well yeah...as history proved."

"Ahaha!"

The changes in Nitadori's facial expression was really interesting.

"Men will tell the truth from the background."

"Ahaha!"

After that, it's as what everyone knew.

I had a discussion with my mom and the editor-in-charge, and decided to take leave from school.

From the middle of March onwards, I was able to make use of entire days, and I began to write the continuation of 'Vice Versa' enthusiastically. In fact, at this time, the plans for an anime might go bust.

"Really?"

"It's said that plans for an anime often stall. Reason wise, if it's not because an author is suddenly angered and rejected it, or that it's an issue on the production side...I'm not too sure on the details myself."

"But the anime 'Vice Versa' is already made to such an extent."

Nitadori smile, saying this

"I'm really...glad. I heard that if there's something major that shocked society, an anime that would remind people of that particular incident would be delayed...but I guess 'Vice Versa' is fine."

"There's probably no one in reality who visited another world anyway--now then, next question. How much assistance have you provided for the anime production till this point?"

How much does an author need to assist when participating in the anime production? I feel that this question will depend on the work and the author.

For participation, it can be classified as two ways,

"Do the bare minimum of checks."

"Help as much as my time allows."

I chose the latter.

I had a lot of time due to my leave from school, and the writing of the continuation was going well, so chose to do that.

Most of the animation companies seemed to be located in Tokyo.

It was said that currently, anime is made digitally, and the data can be exchanged through the computers, so the company need not necessarily be in Tokyo. But even so, many companies were located there.

Thus, the production meetings of the anime 'Vice Versa' were also held in Tokyo. To attend the script meeting, I did visit their production office that was located somewhere in Tokyo.

As the words implied, the meeting was a discussion on the script.

Everyone read through the original work, and would look through the script written by the main scriptwriter, giving suggestions to improve.

Such meetings would be held once a week, so I would visit Tokyo every week, on the same day. It was around this time, last year when I first went to such a meeting, and I felt nostalgic thinking about it. I don't know how about it goes for the other anime, but I heard that the entire production speed for 'Vice Versa' itself was one of the faster ones.

During the script meeting, what I had to do was to make requests from the viewpoint of an author. However--

"To be honest, there's practically nothing to be picky about."

"That's because...the lines weren't really omitted, right? I checked the script and the original work, and found that the dialogue was hardly cut off. There was a change in scene order though."

"That's right."

As expected of Nitadori, who read through the original work and the script.

"All I did at most was some minor tweaks, like 'a little mistake in the terms' used, and also 'I hope this character won't do this thing, since I'm planning to use this as a foreshadowing in future volumes'. Unlike the original work, the first episode of the anime had the scene of Shin and Sin in a battle against Pluto. This edit was really exciting...and I was really impressed."

"Yeah."

"So I attended all of the script meetings. All I can say is that this is a really precious experience that allowed me to truly experience the talents of the series composition writer, the scriptwriters and the anime producers. I was really looking forward to every single week, and I learned a lot of things too."

"I see--besides that, have you provided assistance in some way?"

"Hm, after checking the script, I need to check the settings and design."

The editor-in-charge would attach pictures in the mail messages, or tell me the download website. Some were character or weapon designs, and some were background design."

I would look through those pictures and check. There were a lot of characters appearing in 'Vice Versa', so the data was massive.

But I was happy.

Shin and the other characters retained the flair of the illustrator, refined into linear art. Also, there are characters who did not appear in any of the illustrations.

"In that case...what happens?"

"Actually, the illustrator would come up with a few sketch images based on my words. Leaving aside the very unimpressive side characters, she drew all the characters that appeared a few times in the story! I'm really grateful!"

"Heh! That's amazing!"

Nitadori's eyes were blazing. I know it's an expression, but in my eyes, the brown eyes beyond the lens were really dazzling with light.

"The illustrator is also in charge of checking the character designs. If there are disagreement in opinions, I guess I'll back off, but we haven't had any disagreements in opinion."

And so, the residents of the world of 'Vice Versa' were dyed vibrantly in a similar artistic flair, refreshed as they entered the world of animation.

Meek in the anime did look really different, and two daggers were added for her design.

The two daggers had an elegant design, like an Athame. The blades had large handguards with lumps over them so that they could be used to beat enemies up and damage them.

They looked pretty, and yet savage, a really amazing design.

"I'll also participate in assisting one of the work 'locahun'. This work is to be done before checking the script, so actually, the order's reversed, sorry."

"Locahun refers to 'Location hunting', right? That's like looking at filming locations for a movie."

"Right. But I heard that it's English localized into japanese."

I learned of this term in the book, so when I asked, Nitadori nodded,

"In English, it is 'location scouting', right?"

"I see…"

The 'scout' here would refer to the 'scout' in 'boys scout'. I checked on it before, so I remembered. It meant 'investigating' or 'inspection'. I felt that rather than 'hunting for a location', 'checking out the location would be a more appropriate term in conveying the meaning. I think the portmanteau should be 'LocaSca'.

"But the anime won't be using locations that were actually taken, right? Or?"

Nitadori made a valid question. That's basically it, I answered.

"Of course, the anime is different from a live action movie, and we won't necessarily be filming there--"

I heard that recently, a lot of anime productions would head to the location that forms a model, and take a large number of photos and videos. That data would be used mostly for background art. Sometimes, the DVD or BD would have a special video involving those places.

When scouting the location with the producer, directors, art supervisor and the artists, I would lead the way. The setting in 'Side Sin' was directly based on the town and area I lived in.

When writing the light novel, I would change the terminology completely, so the name of the town was completely fictional.

However, there are those that would recognize the place through the various descriptions. Looking at the readers' thoughts on the light novel, some are able to say the correct answer 'this is definitely the place. The reason being...'.

The basis of the high school Shin and Yui studied at was--not the high school I studied at in my first year, but a private high school I could see from the library. I was a middle school student when I first started out as an author after all.

The staff did not enter the school, merely taking pictures of the scenery they could see, of those who were headed to school, and so on. The artists would not follow exactly when they draw the background, but would modify the scenery greatly.

As for how the inside of the school looked in the second volume, I did use my middle school as reference.

In the anime, the layout of the school was similar to the high school I studied in, but my middle school wasn't taken as a reference. It was said that the interior of the high school was simply ordinary.

Shin's house was designated at a certain high class residential area in the same town.

Closest to that place was many beautiful residential houses that were just built up from farm land, and Shin's house was one of them. We went there on a rental minivan, and took photos and videos of that place without disturbing anyone else.

Shin and Yui's houses were located near a park. Even though we went to that area, we couldn't find such houses.

Of course, the ancient castle that is the symbol of my hometown appeared too.

"This castle is great! I'm going to set camp here one day!"

The location where Sin lifted his head to look at the castle and yell that with emotion was established beforehand too. Through videos and photos, we recorded the Tenshu from the position Sin stood at.

"Sensei, please try shouting from there like Sin did."

The director told me, the guide to do so. Just standing there was fine, but I would pass on the shouting. Speaking of which, the difference in height between me and Sin is too great.

The train station we took our rides from would also become a scene in the anime.

There was a description of the platform and the inside of the train in the novel, and of course, there were large posters of female characters from the original story placed on both right and sides of the train carriage. I heard that the production team had obtained permission from the transportation company to do so.

If the anime became a great hit, would there be colored wrappings of of Shin and Sin on the trains…? Would a voice actor take over as announcer on the train broadcast? If that became the case, I'll be really happy, but I'll feel awkward when it comes to riding on the train.

"Then! When the anime reaches 'Side Sin'..."

Nitadori noted happily, and I followed up on her words.

"There'll be a lot of scenes that we saw before."

"Wow! I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Something worth being happy about is that once the anime becomes a hit, there'll probably be an increase in number of people going on 'Pilgrimage'."

"'Pilgrimage'?"

"Well...that refers to the fans happily visiting the places where the anime is set."

"Ah, it means visiting the locations? That's such a grand way of calling it!"

This term really is that exaggerated. I guess it's because the religious knowledge the Japanese have is a little weaker, so anywhere can be considered 'Sacred Grounds'. Some might even think 'well, it's not just the Japanese who might feel this way'.

Leaving that aside,

"There's a lot of 'Sacred Ground' all over Japan. The number of visitors will increase because of an anime, and some might use them to develop the towns."

"Then when the anime becomes a hit, will you be appointed as a tourist ambassador and be hailed by the town council, sensei?"

Nitadori asked happily. I never thought of such things before.

The possibility...might not be zero--

"If that's the case, I'll definitely refuse...I'm going to escape, even if it means moving houses…"

"Eh--that's a pity!"

No no, not at all.

"Instead of me..how about you be it, Nitadori?"

"Eh? What do I do?"

Looks like Nitadori's a no go too.

Back then, besides sleeping, I was checking on the anime and related information, writing future volumes without stopping.

From Summer to Autumn last year, as far as I remembered, I hardly went out, besides heading to Tokyo.

Since I was basically cooking for myself, I could do some simple dishes, so at most, I merely went to the nearby supermarkets for ingredients, or cycle to the shopping mall that was slightly further (there is a bookshop inside too).

Maybe the people living nearby would gossip,

"There's a tall son living in that house, right? If he's not going to school, I wonder what he's doing…?"

"That's a 'shut-in' that's common nowadays, right? That's disgusting. I hope he doesn't start killing animals or something."

Or have similar discussions. (But it's just my delusion, I guess)

"Actually, I did kill…"

"Ehh!"

"Shin and Sin in the story."

"What the...that shocked me…"

"Sorry."

The assistance work in producing the anime included attending script meetings, LocaHun, and design checks.

"Speaking of which, how are we going to handle the image content checks?"

The editor-in-charge asked me when I was done with the above described work.

That referred to the grids that explained how the produced visuals would be displayed through illustrations and script. Basically, the images would be aligned vertically, and there would be the explanation and timeframe designated on the right side. It is commonly known as storyboard.

This storyboard can be said to be the layout of the anime scenes and actions. The pictures would be drawn based on the storyboard.

"I don't think I'll reject any of it, but I want to have a look."

I answered. As there time was constrained, the editor-in-charge agreed on the condition that I had to 'reply immediately'.

I was really happy seeing the storyboard the director drew in data format.

Just being able to see a real storyboard alone was exhilarating for me, but there was no way I couldn't be delighted with the storyboard having my own work drawn on it.

Starting from Shin, Sin, Pluto, Meek to the other characters, it was amazing how they could move like this, and thinking about it

The only nitpick I had was that a certain warrior's master hand was often mistaken.

During the process of the anime production, the storyboard would be made into a layout, and then made into an anime. THere was nothing left for me to check, so I suppose this would be the end of the explanation.

"Would you pick the voice actors...or visit the auditions, sensei?"

Nitadori asked, sounding a little terrified,

Hearing her say this, I believe such situations do occur. I answered.

"No, I didn't. When the editor-in-charge asked me what I intended to do, I stopped at that point. I like anime, and I have beloved voice actors--but I feel that I'm unable to choose someone appropriate."

"I see...so you never nominated for anyone you hoped to voice?"

An actor say indicate his hopes to some extent, and voice out the impressions he hopes to have from some people. I was asked on that matter too, but--

"I gave no opinion at all. This is the only part where I feel that I can trust the director and sound supervisor. It would be better for them to have full authority."

"So...when you visited the After Record yourself, what did you feel…?"

Nitadori's involved in this, so she sounded a little pessimistic as she asked that.

"Those who believe shall be saved."

I answered clearly.

And then, I saw Nitadori smile.

I did reject another work too.

That's composing lyrics.

The company would create image songs for the anime characters to sing, character songs. They would seek my agreement, and of course, I agreed immediately.

Once a certain script meeting was done, the producer asked me,

"Sensei, are you willing to compose lyrics for the character songs?"

And then,

"If you want to do so, you can."

The editor-in-charge answered.

And then,

"No, I'm not doing it! I can write novels, but not lyrics!"

I answered immediately.

"I see. Well, we have no choice. Guess we shall give up on producing character image songs. However, what about the ending?"

"Erm...has the difficulty increased?"

I rejected the proposal to compose lyrics for the Opening (OP) and Ending (E).

As for the OP and ED for the 'Vice Versa' anime--

The titles and singers were announced.

The one in charge of singing the OP is a veteran female singer who sang many OP anime songs, or anisongs for short.

Of course, i knew about her; I did buy a few CDs from her. When I heard that she could possibly be singing for this anime, I was shivering in excitement. I heard that there's a chance for me to meet her, so I thought that when I get to do so, I'll have a CD for her to sign on.

The one singing the ED is the voice actress of Emma. She has an amazing talent in singing too, and her identity as a singer might be more famous than her identity a voice actor. She did sing all kinds of songs, including Anisongs and other songs.

These two songs are great. When I first heard them, I was so moved I was about to cry.

"Eh! --You heard them! Do you...have them with you?"

I saw that Nitadori had a strong reaction.

"Ah, it may be a secret...but I have the data with me...don't tell anyone that I have them."

I shrank back as I said.

"Got it...how nice…"

"Well...this is my right as an author."

"How nice…"

Nitadori gave me a really spiteful look, and as I looked back at her,

"The songs are in my laptop..."

I said something I shouldn't have.

"Oho!"

The brown eyes under Nitadori's glasses glowed. Right, they're really glowing.

"Ah, no...that was a lie. Nothing...at all."

Nitadori in turn,

"..."

Glared at me from beyond the glasses. I turned my face to the window that was washed by the rain.

"Hey...sensei...just a little question…"

I never thought that Nitadori would let out such a scary voice. That's to be expected of a voice actress, I guess. I was really scared, and my back shivered slightly.

"W-what is it…?"

Nitadori then reverted to her usual voice, grinning as she said,

"There's a trillion Yen at the basin."

"It multiplied by ten!?"

"If you want it, now's the time."

"No, it's fine...I can survive on the money I earn…"

"I see...that's impressively…"

"That's how it is."

"I won't be touching your laptop so carelessly, sensei."

"That's because...there's a password, I can't do that."

"I won't be touching your laptop so carelessly, sensei."

"Well, I say."

"I won't be touching your laptop so carelessly, sensei."

"......"

Nitadori's a voice actress. It's fine to think of her as someone related to the anime. Or I should say, since she's involved, she knows of my secret which only a few people know of. I feel that she's determined, and she kept interrogating me, so I'm helpless. It's raining today, no other passengers on board, and there's still power in the laptop. It's great if her hearing the OP and ED will get her more into the role of Meek.

While Nitadori inserted her earphones into my laptop and heard the music, I began to think of many excuses.

"Amazing...I'm moved."

Once she heard the ending theme, Nitadori removed the two earphones, saying that.

Was it my imagination? Her eyes seemed to be a little teary.

I guess I probably showed a similar expression back then.

I slipped my laptop back into my backpack, and looked at the watch.

There was another 10 minutes until the terminal.

The rain was strong, and the train continued to race on, as if saying I won't lose to this . Looking at this, I guess the train should arrive at the terminal on time.

I did not put my backpack on the rack, but at my feet.

"Eh, sensei."

I heard this call, and turned to the right, seeing Nitadori give a serious smile.

"This will be the last question of the day--how will the original plot of 'Vice Versa' carry on in the future?"

This question was obviously different from the questions about the authors I answered before. Or I should say, she's basically begging me to spoil the plot for her.

Her expression differed from usual, probably because she understood that well. Her face was stiff, and she bit her lips.

I know the feeling of wanting to know the later plot of a story. I too would feel frustrated whenever I'm done with the latest volume of a series I'm following.

Based on my imagination, I'm getting that she wants to know more of what happened to Meek.

"How is it?"

Again, she asked.

At this moment, i thought of 2 things.

First, Nitadori's pretty face was too close to me, so close that I'm almost unable to hold myself back.

Second, my back's leaning against the wall, so if I want to run, I can only break the glass, but I don't have that much strength.

Third, I told Nitadori so much till this point, and even played the opening and ending themes to her. In that case, I guess it's fine to tell her, right?

Let me correct myself. It should be three things. Well, the first two can be combined to one.

My heart faltered for an instant,

"That's--"

And I immediately corrected myself.

Even if it's Nitadori, I can't answer this question. I said,

"I can't answer it now. I hope that you'll read the book once it's published."

Since now that we're talking about plot in the future, we can't possibly not mention Meek.

Nitadori's probably shocked, and maybe depressed.

Of course, as an author, I write for the sake of shocking the readers. I hope that the readers will be really shocked by the developments, that they'll lament.

However, I still hope that the readers would feel shocked after they read the story.

Right, now, I shouldn't be revealing the future plot.

"I see…"

Nitadori answered, probably because she was somewhat mentally prepared.

"I guess it was impossible...to ask for such an unreasonable request. Sorry."

The sealed lips curled up slightly.

That anguished smile caused me to recall of Meek whom Shin met for the first time--

I felt that for a moment, my consciousness was dragged to Reputation.

The train continued to move on in the city.

We'll arrive at the terminal soon. It was raining outside.

I decided to make a trip to the toilet before we arrived. There was still some time. The toilets at the station were normally packed, and the ones on the train was more comfortable.

I had Nitadori get up to leave the seat, and moved to the aisle. I would soon return to my seat before I arrived at the station, so i did not take away the backpack by my feet.

I slipped through the automatic doors at the back of the car.

I finished washing my hands at the basin next to the toilet, put my handkerchief back into my pocket, and quickly went back to the corridor.

At this moment, I was about to knock into someone.

There wasn't usually anyone around, so I didn't pay attention at all. I was taken aback when I saw a shadow appear in the corner of my eye, and hurriedly turned aside--

Only to know into that person.

I didn't know how urgent that person was, probably ran here. I couldn't dodge, and was knocked down really hard.

I really lost balance, my waist falling directly onto the corridor. It hit the floor, and my back hit the wall, causing me to fall with limbs in the air, so it really hurt. Luckily, I didn't hit my head as I immediately pulled my chin back in.

After I fell, I thought.

It's really my fault for not looking around before I walked out, but the person I knocked into didn't have to be that anxious. Didn't the teacher say not to run on the corridor?

Whose fault is it anyway?

But I guess I should apologize first.

Since I should be the one with a bigger body.

Or I should be asking, is that person alright after knocking into me?

Even I was taken aback, so there's probably no way that person should be completely unscathed.

Is that person hurt?

If there's a fracture or an injury, how do I compensate?

What if it's a doctor with a high yearly salary?

What if it's a lady who's about to give birth?

While I was wildly thinking about the worst case scenarios--

The ceiling I could see was covered by a black figure, and I was strangled.

It was Nitadori.

### 004. Chapter 7 - Time to Play

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

Nitadori, who knocked into me--

Was crouched on me, with my limbs in the air--

Choking my neck.

And still continuing to choke.

I can vividly remember everything that had happened till this point--

But in the end, I still have no idea why Nitadori wanted to kill me.

Why's so Nitadori desperate?

Why did Nitadori become so desperate out of a sudden?

Well, if I don't know, I guess anything's fine.

Because of that, I gave up on searching for the answer.

More importantly, let's think about other things with the little bit of remaining time I have left.

If I die here, what will happen?

If I'm to bid farewell to this world in this comforting shaking, what will unfold?

All sorts of thoughts became quick electronic signals that twirled about in my pitch black mind.

The answer easily appeared in my mind.

First off, 'Vice Versa' would end at the eleventh volume's draft that was completed.

I won't be able to convey the ideas I thought of, like Shin's future, the secrets of Reputation that were related to such, the world viewpoint that was created.

In other words, there is no ending to this work.

The readers might be feeling pissed at how the work ends, and I'm really sorry about that.

But for me--

It's not that bad thinking about how I managed to create the first novel in my last year of middle school, and have it last until the eleventh volume. Of course, this isn't a good thing either.

An author's death before an anime airing would probably cause much discussion.

Before it airs, there might be words like 'this is dedicated to the original author, who died prematurely."

I really want to see what kind of visuals would go with that OP theme, but well, I guess I got no say in this.

What will mom think about this?

I don't know.

This is the one thing I don't know.

And I won't be able to know.

Which year was I born in?

How many years passed after that?

I definitely lived for more than 10 years.

It's a long time. A lot of things happened.

I read a lot of books.

I worked hard to become an author.

I even became an author.

My books sold well.

I have a good life.

I'm really happy.

What I'll really miss is--

Miss is--

Huh?

Wait a moment.

Just in case, if I'm to die here--

Will Eri Nitadori be taken for a murderer?

Nitadori will probably be able to escape, I guess?

But the Japanese police are pretty good, so I guess she'll be caught quickly.

Will she be convicted for homicide?

Isn't that really bad?

Won't this really cause her much trouble?

What about the After Record tomorrow?

Who's going to take over as Meek?

No, more importantly than that--

What'll happen to the 16 year old Nitadori?

Ah, no good.

This isn't good.

I can't die here.

Let me correct myself.

I don't care when exactly I'll die--

But I can't die here now.

Absolutely not.

I must stop her.

I must stop Nitadori.

No matter what.

My mind began to move.

How's my body now?

Can I still move?

No, got to move.

Move it.

My hands--

Reacted to my weak will.

I slowly lift my hands. In fact, I might have moved very fast, but the actions I saw were very slow.

My right hand moved faster, by about 30cm. My left hand continues to rise lazily, currently 10cm away from the floor.

My right hand grabs the long, pretty black hair dangling from Nitadori's head.

In fact, I wanted to grab her arm or body, but even so, it didn't matter.

According to what the books record, human hair is very firm. If I'm to grab a large handful of hair and tug at it, her body will probably lose balance.

It's a terrible act to pull a girl's hair.

As a male, this is the worst action possible. I shouldn't do this after all.

But just this once, please forgive me.

I'll apologize to Nitadori later, so please forgive me.

I command my right arm to 'pull'.

I know that the electronic signals were flickering in my pitch dark mind, flowing through.

The arm's willing to listening to my command. I tug hard at Nitadori's hair--

Something slipped off.

The hair falls from Nitadori's head.

The long, black hair falls completely from Nitadori's head.

And while the hair's being pulled down, the black hair covering the head shakes, lifting up the other end of the hand.

My right arm let out a loud thud, hitting the floor.

In other words, my arm reached the lowest possible position.

As I am still holding onto the hair, Nitadori's black hair fell off, and landed on my fist, arm and right flank.

Did I just pull off Nitadori's hair along with her scalp!?

Such delusions entered my mind.

I imagined Nitadori giving off a blood curdling scream as blood splattered from her head, and was about to let out a voiceless shout of shock.

At the next moment, I saw it.

On the head where Nitadori lost her hair, within my vision that was suddenly brightened, something seemed to flying from the center to the right.

I merely saw it for just an instant, but I know very well what it was.

It's a net. A thin black net, draped upon Nitadori's head

The black hair fell after it was pulled, and the net slipped off. The net then flung off like a rubberband, vanishing from my sights.

Gently--

Nitadori's hair flutters.

It's not the black hair that falls upon me. I know very well that the black hair is a wig.

What's left on Nitadori's head is her real hair.

It's held down firmly by the wig, but now that it's unraveled, the hair falls towards me due to gravity.

The hair color is a light brown, close to grey; short hair that isn't enough to cover the face.

Her fringe touches my left hand, dropping towards the left hand that manages to rise to the height of the right hand, albeit later.

The left arm rises later than the right arm, but it's now higher than the latter.

Even I'm not sure as to what I'm doing.

My left hand approaches Nitadori's face, like a biological creature that won't obey my instructions.

I pat it down.

My hand brushes from Nitadori's right side to the left side.

I did not hit her face, but from her temples to the top of her eyes.

To my eyes, all the actions appeared so slow, so the left hand seemed to caress past the face so fluidly.

But in fact, that might have been a fast slap.

I pulled at a girl's hair, and gave her a lashing…

Ah, I'm really a terrible guy for committing such atrocities one after another.

But it's too late.

I knocked Nitadori down.

The glasses I usually see on Nitadori, the glasses with the lens soaked with tears--

Dropped to my right.

He heard the glasses land far away, and within my vision, my left hand had reached the right.

Nitadori's tears too flew slowly at the instant.

The tears slowly progressed in the air, dripping on my face and nose bridge.

I then saw Nitadori's eyes, and the pupils in those eyes.

There were three of those pupils.

There's no doubt that there were 3 pupils.

The pupil in the center of the girl's left eye was brown.

The right eye had a brown pupil, and a faint grey pupil that was hard to discover due to the backlight.

I see three pupils.

They are cuter, as compared to when her hair shifted.

I--

"Even if I'm going to die, I'm able to feel fear in something other than death."

Had such a precious experience.

Who?

Who is she?

I thought the one wanting to kill me is Nitadori.

I see, I understand that I'm about to die here.

However, that'll cause her so much trouble, so I changed my mindset, wanting to stop her.

And after some panic.

In the end--

The one strangling me is someone else.

Who?

Who is this person?

Who's this person with short brown hair and 3 pupils?

An alien?

In that case, which planet did she come from?

How did she arrive?

Speaking of which--

Does she understand Japanese?

No, that's not it.

Calm down.

She's not an alien.

She's Eri Nitadori, not anybody else.

The long black hair is a wig, her real hair is light brown, and--

Her color contact lense is shifted.

There were two pupils in Nitadori's right eye, and the dark brown pupil is shifted far to the left side. The center of the pupil became white, so I know.

The color contact is meant to hide the color of her right. Her actual pupil color is a light grey--or to be precise, she has a 'grey iris'.

Is the left eye the same?

I tried my best to gather my consciousness, but it did not seem to be the same. If she was wearing contacts, there should be a clear line there.

If that's the case--

If the right eye is the one with the color contact lense--

All sort of thoughts quickly flowed through my head, swirling along with the final lights before that.

I know of such a person.

I know of some who's born with heterochromia.

I read a letter from someone who's born with heterochromia.

The backpack left at my seat.

The draft of the eleventh volume that's left inside.

I see.

So that's how it is.

Ahh, I get it.

I get--

The final lights gave me a hint after all.

I'm being choked on the neck.

In other words, Nitadori's holding down the sides of my carotid arteries--

And less than 10 seconds passed.

However, my mind's about to reach its limit.

The scenery in front of me suddenly got down.

My mind, working so hard until the very end, is starting to lose strength.

This isn't good.

I'll be losing consciousness, and I won't be able to see anything.

I know that despite that, humans won't die immediately.

However, I won't be able to stop Nitadori.

If my blood supply continues to remain cut off like this, I won't be able to wake up after a few minutes. I'll probably die for sure.

My head feel very heavy.

Really, I can't see anything in the darkness.

But, somebody--

Please save.

Somebody, please save.

Please save her.

And before I lose consciousness completely.

I can hear a woman's shriek.

Those warm hands,

Just feel so--

So comforting.

When my eyes open--

I see the lights on the ceiling, and police officers in uniform.

I'm not dead yet?

"Hey! You alright?"

The owner of the voice is a middle-aged police officer in uniform. I'm lying face up, and he's standing to my right. The left side's the wall.

I really want to answer that I'm fine.

"I'mmmm…"

I answer. In this situation, I can't say that I'm fine.

But I understand.

I know that I'm about to recover soon. My mind's becoming completely clear.

The pitch black darkness is no longer.

"You alright? Hey!"

Faced with another question,

"I'm fine. I'm awake."

I answer as such,

"Do you know your name?"

"Of course--"

And I say my name.

"Do you know the date today?"

"May 15th, Thursday."

I answer. He never asked me what day is it, but I add on just in case.

"Does your head hurt?"

"No, feels good now."

"Do you feel hurting in your body somewhere?"

"No, it doesn't hurt at all."

"Need an ambulance?"

"No, no need for that. Can I get up now?"

"Please, take it easily though."

I exert strength in my abdomen, and slowly lift my upper body.

Then, I turn my body to the right, and put my feet down. No problems with this action at all.

I look around the room I'm in.

It's about 8 tatamis wide, with the tables, chairs side by side. It appears to be an officer, but it's a little messy. The tables and chairs designs look simple, plain.

I turn my eyes aside, and see simple beds leaning on the wall, forming two Ls.

Of course, I'm on one of the beds, and I can smell the stinging disinfectant. He can hear a slow rumbling of the trains from afar.

I know without asking where I am. It's the sick bay in the station. I'm in it now.

I can see the clock on the wall to my left.

I see the digital display. Less than 2 minutes passed since the Limited Express arrived.

And without asking, I know what happened.

I lost consciousness, but I wasn't choked to death. She probably let go just a few moments afterwards.

The train then reached this station.

I don't know if I'm stretchered here or carried here, but I manage to regain consciousness immediately.

I'm not dead.

Thank goodness.

Really, thank goodness.

Anyway, really, thank goodness. However, there's something more important now.

How's Nitadori doing?

I immediately got my answer. That's because there's a girl with her head lowered, sitting on another bed under the clock.

It's a bright brown short hair. She's looking down, and I can't see her, but from the jeans and the light blue sweater attire, I can tell that it's definitely Nitadori.

She's sobbing.

"Uu...uuu...uuu…"

I can hear a feeble sobbing voice.

There are two women seated beside Nitadori.

They seem to be cuddling Nitadori, and seem to be holding her down, preventing her from running away.

Without any explanation, I know that the one to the left of Nitadori is Miss Conductor. The conductor on the Limited Express we were on.

Then, I start to deduce..

The shriek I hear before I lose consciousness was from her. She's my savior.

Miss Conductor must have arrived at the scene right on time, and tried to stop Nitadori who would have strangled me to death if she kept it up, before notifying the attendant on the platform.

Another woman was seated opposite Miss Conductor, and she too appears to be in her late twenties. She has short, black hair, and is wearing a navy blue suit with pants.

She's touching Nitadori on the back with her right arm, appearing to be comforting the sobbing Nitadori desperately. Nitadori's luggage was placed by her side.

I don't know who she is, but I can deduce. I guess that should be the case.

There's also a middle aged male staffer who's looking perturbed her being dragged into in trouble, and another young police officer who appears to be 20. There are 7 people in this room.

I slowly look around the room, and finally, at the basket beside my bed, looking at the thing inside.

It's my backpack.

The zip that should have been sealed up is open, and I can see my laptop inside. The draft that should have been inside the bag is stuffed messily into my bag.

It's really as I expected.

Everything is as what I thought.

I guess he could tell that I'm being rather nonchalant about it.

"Now then--what happened, exactly?"

The middle aged police officer standing beside me asks me with a gentle yet firm voice.

I see. This is a precious hint. Nitadori hasn't said anything.

For caution sake, I ask back,

"Erm...you haven't heard from her?"

The police officer shakes his head.

"Nope. She's been crying all the time. Of course, once she calms down a little, I intend to question her."

Good.

I feel that I'm a shallow person.

I read a lot of books for a long time, and due to the influence of books, I tried to write a novel, managed to debut successfully, and my work's successful enough to be adapted into an anime. However, I'm just a shallow person who's just that much.

Even so, since I found what I have to do, I should be working hard, aiming for that goal.

No matter how arduous it is, if there's only one way to do that, I should do it courageously.

What I'm going to do next isn't something that allows for failure.

If I ask myself if I'm able to do it, I suppose I probably won't be able to.

If not for this situation, I definitely won't try such a thing, let alone do it.

To be honest, I really want to run away. Run to a hiding place.

Shouldn't I have made that kind of determination?

But if I don't do this, right now--

I won't be able to help Nitadori.

This is the first and last chance.

All I can only do is to go all in now.

And so, I--

While I sit up on the bed--

I shout loudly in my heart.

Time to Play.

I suddenly stand up, causing those looking at me to be taken aback.

There's a mirror hanging on the wall behind me. I already saw the mirror when I was lying down.

So I quickly turn around.

And look at the mirror.

There are some clear long fingerprints on the sides of my throat. Those are the marks left behind by Nitadori, and I guess they won't be gone for quite a while. I feel that her strangling skills aren't great.

I lift my chin, and shake my head around.

"Oh--oh! There are some obvious marks there!"

I declared loudly.

At the same time, Nitadori continued to sob weakly,

"Hii--?"

But she stops the moment she let out this funny voice.

"Erm...what about that?"

The middle aged police officer asked.

I turned my eyes from myself in the mirror to the police officer who's very close to me.

And then, I notice--

That person's eyes are really sharp, like a dagger. To be honest, I'm really scared.

But right now, I don't have the time to be scared.

I inhale.

"There's nothing to say! --erm, I guess I have to say something , right?"

"If you don't, I'll ask her."

"I got it! I'll say! I--told her to strangle me!"

The police officer's eyes are now as sharp as an eagle. It's really scary. I'm sorry for lying, I'm really sorry. But please forgive me for today.

"Why's that?"

The police officer's questioning voice becomes so deep it's really scary. My legs are shaking, my thighs unable to exert strength. I really want to sit down, I really want to run away.

But to hide my shivering, I continue to move my body, making exaggerated actions.

"Because it's a nice feeling to be knocked out by a collar choke."

"Oh…?"

"Do you know judo, Mr Police Officer?"

"I suppose."

'I know a little about 'Yawara'--"

This isn't a lie. I read an entire collection of a girl's judo manga of the same time, Yawara!. That manga's really interesting.

"It's rather comfortable to be almost knocked out when being held down by a collar choke."

"Hm, so?"

"So, I asked her to do that."

"'Her', as in?"

The girl with the ridiculously dyed hair there--my girlfriend."

Nitadori stops sobbing, her head remains lowered,

"Huh!?"

Only to quickly lift it, so fast that her head of hair flutters gently along with it.

The hair's really pretty as it danced, probably because her real hair's thin and light.

I look at Nitadori's face.

She's been crying, so her face is all riddled with tears and snot.

Her scleras are completely red. The iris within the balls are of a different color. The right eye is slightly grey, and the left eye a deep brown.

Anyone can tell that it's obvious heterochromia.

The light brown hair is coupled with the white tender skin and an upright nose bright. Her looks alone would have people doubting if she was Japanese.

My eyes met Nitadori's.

Several minutes ago, our eyes did meet, but the situation now is completely different from before.

Miss Conductor, standing beside Nitadori, is looking at me uneasily, skeptically.

And the woman shielding Nitadori from the other side is looking at me.

She's clearly glaring at me now.

"In other words, you--"

The police officer with eagle eyes says to me.

I turn my sights unwillingly to that terrifying person.

If I have to lie, I have to look at him right in the eyes. I understand this well. Nitadori has been doing this all this while.

"So you're saying that you weren't really killed by that girl?"

I want to run away, but right now, I have to hang on,

"Kill? Ack? What are you saying?"

I feel that my legs are still shaking.

But I can't admit defeat. I can't run away. I can't give up.

Didn't her script tremble a lot once? Didn't she perform better afterwards?

She chanted a spell. Even I can do that.

"Sorry...but why exactly did things turn out as it is?"

"That isn't right? But that Conductor there said she saved you from being killed."

I guess so.

Again, I look over to Miss Conductor.

It'll be great if I can use telepathy now. But I don't have such skill.

Miss Conductor, I'm sorry.

Your judgment was correct.

I was nearly killed by Nitadori.

It's very likely that I would have died if you didn't happen to pass by.

You're my savior.

From this outcome, you saved Nitadori too.

I'll never forget this grace.

I'm so grateful that I'll write a book with you as the protagonist one day.

And then, I'll give half of the publishing fees to you.

But--

Please act as the antagonist now. There's no other choice here.

I'm really, really sorry.

One day in the future, soon after, I hope to tell you the truth.

I'm really sorry.

"What are you saying? That's not it!"

I shout with all my might.

"There wasn't anyone down there, so I thought I just wanted to do a little on the corridor...erm...flirt around a bit! I said that before, right! That the feeling of being strangled is really comfortable! It's just the misunderstanding of Miss Conductor, so she shrieked out loud, then Nitadori exerted strength due to her shock, I thought it was bad, but I got knocked out before I can give up!"

After hearing my words, Miss Conductor's face paled.

"...I-I...ah, no…"

Miss Conductor's face is so pale she stopped what she's saying.

"Erm…"

And then, she's unable to say anything.

It's probably because she's pointed out that she's mistaken, and couldn't give up on that possibility.

Considering the possibilities of 'a girl wanting to strangle a boy' and 'a girl making out with a boy'--

The latter was more probable.

"Speaking of which, I was seated next to her before this. Miss Conductor should know that best. We rode the same ride to Tokyo so many times already!"

I told the police officer, and he turned his sharp stare towards Miss Conductor,

"Hm? Is that so?"

The young police officer and the attendant too look at her.

"Er-erm…"

With everyone watching her, the poor Miss Conductor answers sheepishly,

"I did...see them...together a few times…"

Due to the wig, color contacts and glasses, Nitadori's appearance now differs greatly from before--but because of the similar clothing, Miss Conductor's able to recognize her as Nitadori. She's saved.

"Uu…"

The police officer then continues to think about it--

And then, he asks the woman beside the dumbfounded Nitadori,

"Miss Kamishiro."

"Hm, is anything the matter?"

So she's called Miss Kamishiro. I don't know how the kanji goes, but it does sound cool, matches her sharp, perfect attitude. One day, I'll use that as a character name.

I've already guessed who Miss Kamishiro is, as she continues to answer with a dignified voice.

The police officer asks Miss Kamishiro.

"Do you know him?"

"Yes, kind of…"

Miss Kamishiro notes vaguely.

Now's the time. If there's a chance to interrupt, this is it.

I quickly take a little breath, and start to lie,

"Miss Kamishiro knows about me and her, and keeps it a secret between us! Of course, she probably doesn't like me or anything, I guess!"

The police officer looks at me. Eh? That's why he probably never noticed the stunned look on Miss Kamishiro's face.

"Do you know Miss Kamishiro?"

The police officer said. I replied.

"Of course! She's my girlfriend's bodyguard after all!"

I don't know proof, but I'm guessing that to be the case.

I feel that Nitadori's family is rich, and to watch over their precious daughter, they hired a bodyguard to follow her.

There's enough clues for me to make this guess.

A month back, Nitadori spoke to me for the first time on the train.

Back then, she didn't have any luggage. Ever since the next week however, she brought her luggage along.

Why's that?

I guess that the first time, Nitadori left her luggage to Miss Kamishiro. She'll board the train along with Nitadori, as long as there aren't any other bodyguards around. There's no doubt about this.

Back then, Miss Conductor, who's looking a little pale now (I'm sorry!) didn't say anything, but immediately showed a skeptical look.

I guess that's probably because Nitadori's ticket is the green train carriage or a designated seat.

Then, Nitadori would have Miss Kamishiro sit in another carriage, or a front seat in the same carriage, before sitting beside me alone.

Once we arrive at the terminal, Nitadori will ask me to alight first, and then wait on the train for Miss Kamishiro to pick up her. They'll then head towards the relative's house in Mejiro--I don't know whether it's real or not, but in any case, they'll be heard towards the lodging for that day.

"..."

Miss Kamishiro gives a grim look, thinking about what to say.

Please go along with my words so that we can help Nitadori.

"To be honest--"

Miss Kamishiro speaks up, and the police officer looks at her.

Nitadori, who's been dumbfounded the entire time, turns her head slowly towards her bodyguard.

"I have no idea of Milady's preferences. I do think there is a more suitable boyfriend for her, but well--from my viewpoint, I can't nitpick anything about it.

She went along with it. Miss Kamishiro just went along with my acting.

Thank you! Miss Kamishiro! I won't forget about this kindness!

I shout in my heart.

"But I never imagined that he would ask Milady to do such a thing. This caused such a huge commotion. What do you think about this?"

Miss Kamishiro then proceeds to glare at me.

I'm really sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

"Please don't glare at me! I wasn't the one choking her neck!"

"Of course! If you did that, I would have choked you instead!"

"You're as scary as ever, Miss Kamishiro!"

"Milady asked me to let both of you chat alone on the train at least. I thought that you wouldn't do anything indecent since it's a public place, so I agreed to it unwillingly."

"Ah...erm, understood. No, sorry. I--no, this guy here is reflecting on it."

I nearly let out a humble 'I'. That was close.

"..."

Nitadori remains dumbfounded there, giving a dazed look as she appears to have forgotten how to blink.

This is good. Please don't say anything.

I desperately try to convey this message to Nitadori through telepathy.

It's a sudden action, but I understand you really wanted to kill me.

It's only until the very end did I understand the reason for your actions.

But don't say anything. Please don't say anything.

"Uu…"

The police officer asks Nitadori and me,

"So in other words, this isn't a crime, right? Both of you?"

I immediately answer,

"Of course! But--"

"But?"

I continue to buy some time,

"Well...erm...however...that...well.."

"What is it?"

I couldn't drag on anymore.

"Erm...I'm really sorry for causing such a great commotion that shocked everyone. Especially to Miss Conductor there--I'm really sorry."

I lower my head in apology.

I bend down to give a 90 degrees bow. Actually, I want to get on my knees.

"Ah? Eh? No…"

I can't see Miss Conductor's face, but I can hear her perturbed voice.

I lift my head, and see Nitadori speak to Miss Conductor with teary eyes, and a lifeless voice.

"I'm...really sorry...to cause you, such trouble…"

This is the first time I heard Nitadori give such an inaudible voice. This is a precious experience. If it's inside a recording studio, this definitely will be an NG.

But now's OK.

You don't have to say anything now.

Right now, you--

Don't have to act.

"Erm...Mr Inspector?"

I look at the police officer.

I get the feeling that his eyes are as sharp as before, but just a little tender compared to it.

If I have to say that the previous expression is like eagle eyes that spotted a prey, the current expression is that of an eagle's eyes that want to rip its prey apart.

""What is it?"

"I'll explain the rest myself. Can I let her leave first? I heard that her family's rather strict."

"Hm…"

"So do I. We shall take a ride back."

Miss Kamishiro too stands up, lowering her head.

"It is not a crime, so I can't say anything either."

The police officer says so. Again, Miss Kamishiro bows to her, and gentle lifts her up,

"Now then, Milady--shall we go? Let's wash your face before we leave."

It appears that Nitadori's able to stand up normally. I heave a sigh of relief.

Has Nitadori taken her wig and glasses back? I don't know. Miss Kamishiro holds Nitadori hand with her own, and the other holding onto the luggage bag, before she bids farewell to everyone present.

"Now then, everyone, we shall take our leave."

"..."

Nitadori too lowers her head in appreciation.

"There's a huge downpour out there. Be careful."

The police officer said.

The station attendant doesn't have a chance to say anything, and ushers the duo to the door.

I watch them leave.

"I shall be returning to my work then."

The conductor lady took her cap and got up, and bent her waist down, saying,

"My own fault--caused everyone to be really troubled. I'm really sorry about it."

This is a sportsman-like flair of apologizing.

Please apologize to those two policemen instead. Don't apologize to me. That'll bother me.

I couldn't say anything.

"Well, it's fine that nothing happened." Hearing the policemen say this, the train conductor lifted her head, and put the cap on before leaving the room.

"..."

Pam, I sat on the floor.

"Ha, hahaha…"

My knees are laughing. My face are laughing.

Having seen this, a police officer turns to his younger counterpart who's lazing away at the back,

"I'm fine here. I'll get there soon. So back first."

He gave such an order.

"Yes."

The young police officer answers with this brief reply, and turns to leave the infirmary.

Now then, it's just the police officer and me left.

"Hahaha…"

I'm laughing despite everything that happened. I feel that I'm having a terrible look on my face, but I'm still living.

I never thought that I'll be encountering such a thing in my life. I recollect the past.

"I say."

Unlike before, the police officer starts to talk to me with an earnest tone. He then seats on the floor with a thus, sitting side by side with me. I shiver.

"...Wh-what is it?"

"Is this really okay?"

That's all he merely asks.

"It's fine."

And this is all I answer.

"I see. Now then, be careful on your way back."

"I will. Thanks."

"But I guess you better cover up that thing on your neck."

"Ah? Ahh, I guess…"

There are clear fingerprint marks on my neck, showing that I was strangled. Looking at this, I'm guessing that the fact I nearly got killed will be leaked.

Even in a major city like Tokyo, I guess there aren't that many people who were nearly choked to death. I'll attract a lot of attention.

I get onto my feet, look at the mirror, and try to pull my collar up. It manages to cover for the time being, but I have to hold it down with my hands. It'll be rather troublesome to continue maintaining this situation.

The police officer too gets to his feet, taking a face towel from the side of my bed, and hands it over to me.

"Hey, use this to over."

"Eh? --I can take this?"

"Just one, so it's fine, I suppose. I just need to say 'I threw it away after wiping off the nosebleed'."

Is this really alright, Mr Police Officer? But to be honest, he really helped me out a lot.

I put the towel over my neck.

It's a little weird, but no weirder than having a choke mark on my neck.

"Thanks. I'll buy a muffler from the shops in the station."

"That's good. I'll be heading back then. Don't forget your bag."

"Yes."

I take my bag out of the basket, pull the zipper, and sling it over my right shoulder.

"Thank you very much."

I then lower my head in thanks. The police officer then says to me,

"In your next meeting, pull yourself through."

I tilt my head, answering,

"I'm intending not to cause as much of an uproar as possible…"

The police officer then teased me.

"You idiot! I'm referring to when you meet her the next time!"

## Final Chapter - May 22, I touched her

May 22nd.

On this day, I'm taking the Limited Express to Tokyo, seated at the usual seat by the window.

The train's already moving under the clear blue skies of May. The scenery of the platform slowly departs.

The seat beside me remains empty.

Will Nitadori arrive here?

She will.

I know that.

On the prior week, May 15th.

As for what happened to me after I left the sick bay--

First, I had the towel wrapped around my neck, and in the station that was packed with people who were headed home, I went through the gentry.

Then, I hurried to the station building, looking for a muffler. Given that it's May, I can't find a shop that sells one.

But I found an Afghan scarf sold in a sundry shop, called a 'Shemagh'.

It's a large, thin piece of fabric worn by the residents of the dry area. Recently, this scarf has become a trendy fashion item.

I did investigate on ways to wrap this when I debuted the desert tribe in 'Vice Versa'. This scarf is very convenient; it can be wrapped on the head to block out the sun, and wrapped around the face when there is a sandstorm.

This is it! I thought, and hurriedly bought it.

I bought two, just in case I needed an extra one. The color's a dark yellow, and there's patterns on it in light ink.

I then ran to the washroom.

There are various ways to wrap the Shemagh, and I chose to use the common triangular method. It's a poor example, but it does look like a drool bib.

It's a waste to throw away the towel, so I decided to use it, and kept it in my bag.

On that day, I did not pass through the gantry again. I did not take the bus, and instead, took a taxi directly to the hotel.

The scenario of 'me not feeling well' did not happen.

I was choked until I was unconscious, but it's fine that I managed to wake up. Strictly speaking, it appears that my brain cells took quite a bit of damage, but I'm unable to realize that.

The reasons why I chose to take a taxi were because there was a huge downpour--

And I needed some time to myself to think.

Of course, it was about Nitadori.

There was something I had to tell her no matter what.

If only I had a cellphone number or a mail address to contact her, but right now, I can only regret. Speaking of which, it's too difficult for me to ask something like that from a girl in my class.

Would Nitadori show up for the After Record the next day? Even if she did, I would hardly have the chance to talk to her.

Would Nitadori show up at school starting Monday? Even if she did, I would hardly have the chance to talk to her…

And so, on Friday morning.

I had been feeling frustrated before I slept, but I did manage to sleep well. After I woke up, I felt refreshed.

I checked myself in the hotel's mirror, and found the clear marks on the neck.

Those were the imprints left by Nitadori's icy, slender fingers. The color got darker, and I don't suppose they'll vanish these few days, I put on the Afghan Scarf, and head off to the After Record.

I entered the Control Room,

"Oh! Sensei, you're being trendy here. It does suit you!"

The productor greeted me, saying that.

In any case, being praised is something to be always being happy about. Feeling optimistic, I looked at the voice actors behind the soundproof glass, and realized that Nitadori wasn't there.

Before recording began, the sound director told everyone in the recording booth.

"Ehh--Miss Nitadori today won't be here as she's feeling unwell. The voice actor portraying villager A will be--"

The After Record of the seventh episode ended successfully.

The story is adapted until the end of the first volume. In other words, after the battle in Reputation ended, Sin went to Japan, and found Yui and Shin, who returned to his original world.

The visuals and everyone's acting were impeccable.

The editor-in-charge and I were headed to the lobby,

"Yaho! Sensei!"

The voice actor portraying as Shin earnestly spoke to me.

I guess he has a fondness of me? On a side note, he brought in rookie voice actresses today, two of them, in fact.

"That Shemagh's pretty cool, isn't it? --Did your girlfriend give you that?"

"Well...sort of."

I answered. I couldn't tell the truth, but I didn't want to lie either. This is basically a lie, but the one who necessitated me to wrap this shawl on myself was her'.

"Whw--! Hey hey, come here for a while."

The voice actor left the two rookie actresses and went to me. He patted me on the shoulder with a genial action that wouldn't annoy anyone, and brought his face to my ear.

He then spoke with a voice similar to Shin's.

"You can't do that, sensei...little Nitadori will cry, you know? Good thing she's on leave today."

"What? ...Why?"

"Because when we shook hands the last time, Nitadori was watching you leave the entire time. She couldn't respond no matter what I said, you know?"

"..."

"Don't you understand? She's fallen for you for you, sensei."

"...How exactly has she fallen for me?"

"Hmm, I suppose it's because of your personality?"

I returned home on Sunday night.

I had been staying in the hotel on Friday and Saturday nights, with all expenses paid by myself.

That was because I wanted to let the scar on my neck fade as much as possible before I went home. I couldn't let mom see this.

I called mom beforehand, telling her that I would be gathering research material before I returned.

As it was the weekend, I was worried if there was no room available, but I managed to stay in. I was relieved.

I spent most of the time in the hotel, writing, and only on Saturday afternoon did I go touring around in Tokyo, all in the name of gathering materials.

I had already thought of Shin and Yui heading to Tokyo because of extra curriculum lessons in Tokyo (and Sin would show up there), so I surveyed Asakusa and the Sensoji there, and then visited the Tokyo Skytree that was located there, thinking of using these locations as stages of the story. I also rode a boat alone down the Sumida River, and took a lot of pictures.

I would worry whenever I thought about Nitadori, but I won't do anything the next time we meet. I can't continue to worry, and after such consideration, I arranged this tour.

I returned home, and luckily, mom starting taking the night shift from this week onwards.

We practically won't be meeting, and I'm able to easily hide the marks on my neck.

On Monday, I went to school as normal.

I wore the Afghan scarf to school, and never took it off, even during class.

I said I had a flu during gym class, so my homeroom teacher and my classmates did not really say anything.

Well, I hardly talk to my classmates even if there was nothing anyway.

And so, Nitadori--

Did not come to school.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

She probably did contact the school,

"Nitadori will be absent today too."

For the homeroom teacher simply recorded it down in the attendance book.

Thurday.

That's today.

I didn't know if Nitadori would come to school, but I had prepared this beforehand. I had the printed draft in my bag before I went to school.

The marks on my neck seemed to have vanished completely, so I did not put on the Afghan carf.

I went to school slightly earlier than usual, and was reading books in the classroom.

"Eri! It's been a while! How are you?"

I didn't know whose voice it was, but I knew that Nitadori came to school.

And then, I understood that she came to school without having changed much, with the color contact lense and the glasses on.

"Hm...I got a weird, little flu. I'm fine now though."

I heard the voice from behind, and it's the same as usual.

And then, I heard the sound of the chair being pulled out, and the sound of her sitting down.

I heard those sounds for quite a few times already, but I gave a little smile.

I didn't know what kind of expression Nitadori was showing.

And so, same as before, I left my seat once it was break time, only to return when at the last minute.

When I leave the classroom, I would go by the front door, and return from the back door. Thus, I would only see her back.

Following this would be language class.

The recital today would be done by--me.

Classes began.

The teacher called my name.

"Yes."

I answered.

'Nobody's pointing a gun at my head though'.

I thought as I stood up. Nitadori was seated behind me.

I did not have a book in hand.

I was merely holding a few pages off the draft prints.

"Erm...what I'm going to recite today...eh...it's not a book."

I said."

My classmates let out a little murmur. What's with that? . However, the shock doesn't seem to be as big as it was with 'Momotaro'.

"It's a novel--"

I felt that there was still some time to look back, but I didn't.

"The title is 'Vice Versa'."

There's the sound of the table and chair shaking behind me. I continue,

"It's what people call a light novel, and I like it. There are a few volumes of the pocket books out--but what I want to recite is the unpublished part."

This isn't a lie.

"This part is from the work the author uploaded onto the internet when he's free, and after he debuted, he deleted this part. It wasn't popular back then, so I feel that most people didn't know of its existence either."

This part is a barefaced lie. This isn't the truth. Ever since that incident, I felt that my acting got better.

This time, I really heard a chair being pulled greatly from behind me.

Please, don't run away.

I prayed earnestly as I quickly explained the situation,

"This story describes the scenes of a character's death. Eh, this girl called Meek is a Homunculus, a man-made character. She died suddenly in a huge battle, and so her corpse was brought to the main character. It's a rather shocking scene, actually."

Then, before Nitadori could run,

"I'll begin."

I began reading,

"Meek died…?

Sin asked a rhetorical question. This were not question a prince who won a massive battle would say.

Kind, weak, unreliable. These were the attributes he should never show in front of his subordinates. Sin understood this well, and till this point, he never showed off that kind of attitude.

"Yes. Is there anything strange about soldiers dying on a battlefield?

Pluto's attitude was a stark contrast, brave and courageous, never losing any of the dignity any warrior would have. She was blunt in her attitude, as if to say that the death of a mere subordinate was to be expected.

(These two are really stupid.)

Shin thought.

Sin showcased the kind side he tried so hard to hide in the past, and Pluto was the complete opposite. Both Sin and Pluto should be showing opposite attitudes.

It was just reciting, but I merely read it flatly.

I didn't put in any emotions, my lines sounded forced, my voice was soft, and I liked fluency.

To add on, there's no way to know who's Shin or Sin in this recitation, and I didn't explain who Pluto is. This recitation was probably hard to understand for those who never read 'Vice Versa'.

But I didn't mind.

This recitation was meant for the one person in the world I want to say it to.

I continued,

(Then...what do I do?)

Shin asked himself, brooding over it. He could not obtain the answer.

In Reputation, he's an immortal. Like a game character, he could revive countless times. Because of that, Shin was able to keep fighting 'without giving his best'.He watched the people around him die from afar.

But even so, perhaps he should be giving a similar attitude, knowing that the Homunculus who treated him so kindly in the past died? Should he not feel anguished? Even if he merely intended to treat this as a game, that was a real death which he could never retract back on.

He couldn't find the answer. Was it because he could not think? Or that his brain was resisting, thinking that there was no need to think? Or--

"Come here."

Hearing Pluto order him with a harsh tone, Shin recovered,

Is...there something?

Never once did she summon Shin before. The only one who could talk to her face to face was Sin, leader of his own country.

Shin turned his head around in shock, only to see the warrior dressed in armor stained by enemy blood commanded him with a harsh stare,

"Come here--ah, Prince, I'm borrowing this immortal body for the time being."

"Make sure he returns. He's an important fighting strength.

Leaving those words behind, Sin left the place, wanting to establish the casualties suffered and his remaining fighting strength.

Shin understood well. At this point, Sin had no time to grieve over Meek's death.

Shin quietly walked down the tense several hundred meters. He was brought to a simple tent used by Pluto's forces.

Shin heard before that when setting camp on such an open plain, the commander protect himself by setting up a plain, simple tent, just as the soldiers would, and hide amongst them. But though it was plain, and though they were allied forces, this area was her headquarters, and not a place for Sin's subordinates to actually enter.

Shin silently entered Pluto's tent. It was unexpectedly bright, for inside this tent that was no more than 3m in diameter, the sun shone in through the gaps on the top, so it was unexpectedly bright. There was a simple, easily assembled bed.

The subordinates entered 20 seconds later, moving a corpse onto the bed.

It was Meek's body, a large patch of blood on her abdomen.

There was no custom on Reputation to close the deceased's eyes. The wine red right eye and the yellow left eye were glittering due to the sunlight shining in.

Shin's ind recalled the incident when he first met Meek in the basement, and the few conversations they had thereafter.

Should he cry? Should he feel sad? Or should be vomit? --He could do neither of them.

That was all he could only think. In this world, he was merely a powerless outsider, unable to feel death.

Shin didn't understand why Pluto wanted to show him Meek's corpse, and asked,

"Wha... are you...?"

"Watch."

Pluto told her men to back down, and replied shouting. She removed the leather gloves from her hands, and drew a dagger from her waist.

And then, she stabbed into Meek's large right eye.

"..."

Shin could not stop her, and could not look away.

He heard the soft sound of flesh being ripped apart, and the sound of fluids dripping it. Pluto was gorging out Meek's eye.

Pluto gorged the right eye out with the dagger, and placed it on her right hand.

"Hm!"

She then crushed the eye gently. Thinking about it, her slender fingers were really feminine. The white liquid oozed out from her slender fingers.

Some of the liquid dripped onto the left eye of Meek's corpse, and the cheek below the right eye socket that was hollowed out.

She opened the clenched left fist, and there appeared a gemstone. The ball-shaped gem showed a radiant wine red.

The eyes of a Homunculus were the gemstones infused by their masters--Shin recalled what Meek said.

And so, Pluto's left hand grabbed the back of Shin's head, her right hand holding down his forehead that had nowhere to escape.

"Guh!"

Shin immediately understood the reason why his forehead was hurting; the gemstone was forcefully pressed against him, almost sinking into his flesh.

"..."

However, Shin could understand why Meek's face appeared in front of him.

Meek was standing in front of Shin, so close it appeared she was about to kiss him.

They were so close together, so Shin could not see her entire body, but he knew that she was not wearing any clothes, for in the corner of his vision, he saw the frame of the white skin collarbone.

Meek's face had eyes on them, as before. The right was wine red, and the left was yellow.

She slowly gave a smile, smiling benevolently,

"Ah, Shin…"

While Shin heard Meek call for his name, her smile suddenly vanished. Following that, appearing in front of Shin's eyes was Pluto, who pulled her right hand back. Her expression was as intimidating as a demon's.

"Did you see it?"

"Wha--?"

"Did you see it? Did you hear the voice?"

"..."

Shin affirmed wordlessly,

"I guessed so...your immortal body isn't due to magic, but a relic that surpasses human intelligence in this world, I suppose...

Pluto muttered, moving her right hand down. Shin had never seen Pluto give such a tragic look on the fact, and then, he understood that he would never see it again.

"I suppose you don't know, so I'll tell you now. The gemstone used to activate any Homunculus aren't created by us. They are dug out. That is a relic created by the 'Great Ancient Civilization'. We can't create them, and we can't repair them. All we can do is grant them one life. These artificial beings are living creatures after all. As long as the body dies, the gemstone will ultimately lose strength."

"...And then?"

"I'm the ruler of a country. Be respectful, kid. However, today's an exception--Meek's dead. The power of this gemstone will vanish in the end."

"..."

"As long as it's not replenished with the power that's beyond human understanding."

"Thenn…"

"I shall craft this into a pendant for you to carry."

And so, Shin saw it,

He saw Pluto crouch on the floor, opening a small wooden box, and several thin chains placed inside. Then, he saw Pluto continue on with fluid actions, using the hand holding the dagger till this point to embed the gem into a metal ring, fastening the chain.

"You…"

"I was born in a town of jewellery factories, boy from the other world."

Shin suddenly heard the voice of a kind woman.

"..."

Who's that?

Shin nearly blurted out these words, only to swallow them back in.

"Thus, I always wanted to do this. I want to live a life of making jewellery, pendants for those girls attending weddings so that they can smile. However, my bloodline doesn't allow for that. Do you believe this? I'm born out of wedlock to the king."

"Pluto...

"When I was connecting chains, I was Janet. No matter how old I am, how many people I killed, I'll never forget my name--look, it's done. Reach your hands out."

Shin reached his hands out as told he was scooping water, and accepted these words and the pendant from the woman called Janet who was looking up at him, giving a gentle look.

"Don't lose it, okay?"

In response, Shin received the pendant.

"As long as this gemstone touches your body, it will never lose strength. It can leave for a while. Oh yes, you can't have it leave your skin for more than a day. When you receive a Homunculus, put that eyeball in, and Meek will revive. It doesn't matter whether you want to do it tomorrow or after the war ends, that is your right as the master. Do you understand?"

Shin put the ends of the chain around the back of the neck. He did not know the theory behind it, but whenever the ends of the chain were about to touch, there was a faint metallic sound, latching together. Shin placed the front of the pendant on his chest. He felt the weight of it, and answered,

"I understand now, Miss Janet."

"No need for the respectful courtesy now. People know that Janet of the jewellery workshop is the beloved, earnest craftswoman when you mention her. Remember that.

"......Yes!"

"That's all I have to say. I'm going to bury the dead. Get out now."

"Thanks, Pluto."

"Be courteous now, kid.

"Thanks."

"..."

"I'll definitely find out the reason why I'm transported to this world. I'll do all I can. So don't die, at least until that moment."

Don't worry, I'm not going to die that easily."

Pluto slowly opened the tent.

And Shin continued on under the bright sun.

Thus, Meek became a bracelet. The girl called 'Instant'--would continue to glow as long as she was with Shin.

"No matter how cold it is...I guess it's fine."

Shin muttered. That pendant would forever remain warm on his chest.

I'll be waiting...until the day we meet again.

He could vaguely hear her voice.

"--That's all."

I read until the end, and sat down immediately.

This part didn't sound very fluid when I read it. I paused several times, and repeated the parts I misread. I was sweating all over, and it was annoying.

Halfway through, I knew very well that most of my classmates were annoyed with it.

Of course. I was reading a novel with such atrocious presentation, and the context unknown. If I have to say, this part's written pretty messily. If the editor-in-charge is to see this, he'll probably point out issues without holding back.

Looking at the clock, I felt that I probably managed to meet the minimum time required, or exceeded it. I was desperate as I read, and I couldn't afford to notice the time.

Luckily, the teacher never stopped me by saying 'alright, that is enough'. If I was stopped without reading out the ending, everything I did would be futile.

I did what I wanted to do. I have no regrets.

"Now, the next one--"

The teacher mentioned the next name, but I did not pay heed to it.

The one seated behind me never said anything.

There's another chance today.

This chance was so miraculous that I was further convinced that there's a God.

I finished my lunch at the cafeteria, and was on the way to the library, passing by the corridor.

I found Eri Nitadori.

She, and two other girls, were walking down the corridor towards me.

As usual, she was wearing those glasses, had that long hair,, and the usual hair clips--used to hold down her wig.

The trio would have pass by me if they did not enter the Audio-Visual room on the way here.

I knew Nitadori saw me. She lowered her head stiffly, slowed down, and passed by the entrance of the audio visual room.

Once I knew that we would pass each other--

An idea sprouted within me.

I did not need to make notes.

I just needed to do it.

Luckily, back then, I--

Couldn't be bothered to wonder if I could do it. All I needed to do next was to make full use of the God-given chance.

First, I passed by the two girls.

And two seconds later, I passed by Nitadori.

And so, I reached my left arm out.

For the first time, Ii touched Nitadori's, no, a girl's shoulder--

I see. It's so soft.

Nitadori shivered in shock, stopping in her tracks, and then turned her glasses and brown eyes at me.

I then said with a voice only Nitadori can hear,

"You owe me one! Stella!"

As for what happened to Nitadori thereafter.

I hurried to the library, never looking back, and so I did not know what happened to her thereafter.

I even wondered if she actually heard my words.

The only time I realized the outcome--

Was after school.

I was cleaning the classroom.

In this school, the students would be grouped based on their register number, and each group would take turns to clean the classroom.

Surprisingly, the other places, like the corridors and gym would be left to a hired cleaning company at night. The students just need to clean the classroom.

Of course, Nitadori was of a different group from me, and she had long left the classroom.

I moved the tables and chairs aside, sweeping one half of the classroom. I then moved them to the other side, sweeping the other half.

I don't hate such a simple job. I like thinking about all kinds of things, piling up the rubbish and dust together. It's interesting seeing the rubbish and dust in the classroom slowly gather as a hill.

Even so, as it'll be 20 minutes later before I return home, I don't really like to participate in cleaning other than the week itself.

Once the cleaning ended, I put the cleaning tools in the shed, and a certain girl came to talk to me from behind,

"Erm...mind a moment?"

Nobody in class would talk to me unless there was an important reason. In this situation, I assumed that she wanted me to put the broom into the closet.

I thought I was the last one, no? But it's nothing major--thinking about it, I turned around, and found two girls glaring at me.

The girls were not holding anything.

They were staring at me. Both of them were standing closely, side by side, and they looked scared.

There were only a few people left in the classroom, and they were holding their bags, preparing to leave. As expected, I was the last one using the tools.

"..."

I remained silent, and one of them asked heinously,

"What did you say to Eri during noon?"

I understood.

They were the girls walking alongside Nitadori on the corridor back then.

The good luck continued on, something to be grateful for. These two proved that Nitadori did hear what I said.

I was really grateful for those two--

But I couldn't answer this question.

"Erm...I didn't really say...anything important."

It's tough for me to talk with people I don't know (even though they're my classmates). I stammered.

And immediately, the other one lashed out at me,

"Eri immediately went to the toilet after that, and cried out loud!"

Ah, I see.

Nitadori--

Once she knew the meaning behind Meek's name, I suppose she cried in the train toilet too?

Back then, it was May1st.

I did not know what Nitadori was so emotional after she learned of the meaning as 'instant'.

Thus, while reciting the manuscript yesterday, I again checked the word Meek.

And then, for the first time, I found the existence of the English word 'meek'.

The meanings were--

"Honest, compliant, docile, obedient."

I understood.

So that was how it was.

Looking at the meaning of this word--

It was not strange for the Homunculus' name to be misunderstood as something bad.

What intent did I have when I named Meek? I suppose she had been worrying about this.

"Are you listening?"

Hearing that, my consciousness returned to the classroom.

"What did you say? Did you go overboard?"

"Say something, please! I'll report to the teacher accordingly!"

I continued to be verbally assaulted by the duo, thinking.

I'm really grateful for these two

But right now, I don't have a way to express my thanks.

All I could do was to play dumb and not lie.

"Erm...well...I didn't really...say anything. Actually...I didn't think she would cry."

I forced out this answer, and both of them got even infuriated.

"Enough already! You're terrible!"

"Next time, if we see you get close to Eri again, we'll sue you for being a stalker!"

Both of them unleashed slap-like attacks, and turned away. They went to their tables, grabbed their bags, and left the classroom; I was the only one left.

As for me,

"Both of you--thank you."

I muttered these thanks to the classmates whose names I did not know.

On that evening, after all that happened--

The train begins to move.

It accelerates successfully, continuously tossing the world outside the window to the back.

I stare blankly at the scenery outside.

Soon after, the automatic doors near the back open, letting out a soothing sound.

I see the black hair of the person entering the carriage, and immediately realize who it is.

She stands beside my seat, asking,

"Is the seat beside you empty? May I have a seat?"

I lift my head and look at her,

"No."

I answer.

"The seat beside me isn't empty. Please don't sit here."

My words are a little harsh, very cold, but those are my true feelings, so I have no choice on this matter.

"Really, no?"

She asks again. I knew what she's thinking, but I certainly can't agree to this.

"I said no, and that means no. How about the window seat on the other side? The view of the mountains today is very pretty."

I say, and,

"Hmph!"

Miss Kamishiro, wearing a deep blue business suit and skirt, looked displeased as she snorts. She then places Nitadori's luggage to the back of the seat, and follows my suggestion by sitting at the seat on the other side.

Then, I say to the girl standing beside Miss Kamishiro.

"I left a place for you."

I intended to force a smile, but I don't know if I managed to make one.

She, who had lowered her head for a while, lowers it further, and then, she hands over the convenience store bag to me.

"..."

And I accept it wordlessly.

And as usual, Nitadori--

Had her black hair carefully tied in a knot, draping it over her right shoulder, down to her chest before sitting down.

"Sensei…"

I can hear a barely audible voice.

I place the convenience store bag, slightly larger than usual, on my thighs, and looked at Nitadori who was seated on my right.

Nitadori isn't looking at me. Opposite her sidelong, lowered face, I can see Miss Kamishiro glaring at me, and I look away.

"I..lied...to...you, sensei…"

Hearing Nitadori continue to stammer, I close my eyes.

Nitadori's willing to sit next to me. Now then, what we can talk about now? What will she say? What kind of attitude will she show.

I don't know at all.

To be honest, i'm scared of it.

But I can't run away. This is because, if she isn't willing to stand up, I won't be able to leave my seat. I coaxed her into sitting here, having realized this fact.

Once I calm myself down, I again open my eyes. Nitadori still isn't looking at me.

"What kind of lie?"

I ask.

Finally, Nitadori lifts her head, and turns to the left to look at me. Her face remains rigid, the pupils beneath her glasses showing the same colors.

"I--"

Nitadori says,

"Only eat consommé flavored potato chips. I hate everything else. Especially sea salt flavor."

I look at the bag placed on my thighs.

Inside it are the salt flavored ones, together with the consommé flavor.

I quickly inhale to say what I want.

"Eh? I think that consommé doesn't feel right in some way. Isn't consommé some kind of soup flavor in the first place? Is there significance in using this to make snacks?"

I think the word 'dumbfounded' can aptly describe Nitadori now.

I can see such pearly white teeth from her agape mouth. The rich brown eyes behind the light grassy glasses are looking at me.

"N-no…"

Nitadori's mouth then mouths slightly, and then, she starts to twitch agitatedly,

"That's not it! I feel that saying 'we shouldn't replicate consommé flavor on potato chips' is being disrespectful to the who initially made that flavor! That person must have tried all kinds of possibilities before deriving the answer! To be honest, I don't understand the reason for sea salt flavor! Can they can make it 'salt' flavored instead? And there'll be a lot of salt on the teeth!"

So I proceed to retort,

"That's an unavoidable ritual for a sea salt flavor supremacist. It's destiny. If you have to care about that, you won't be able to swallow! Just look in the mirror and brush. Speaking of which, the consommé flavor is too strong; it'll linger."

"Strong? The sea salt flavor doesn't lose out in that, right? Those that like it says it's an aroma, but those that hates it says that it's a strong stench. I think this logic can be used for all kinds of food! Anyway, which flavor do you think the supermarkets provide more of? Consommé or sea salt? It's definitely consommé. There's no way to find sea salt unless you really look for that."

"I agree, but we can't discuss this world based on sales numbers itself. I believe that one day, the sea salt side will be the majority and be the ruling party."

"That day will never come! Anyway, I'm starting to wonder if there's any country other than Japan that accepts sea salt flavor!"

We continue with our argument without stopping until the conductor arrives.

Neither of us held back in this conversation.

Not a single respectful word occurs.

Soon after, Miss Kamishiro sharply tells us,

"Both of you, your tickets need to be checked."

We stop our argument, and fish out the tickets from our wallet and coat respectively. Then, we exchange looks with Miss Conductor, who arrive on the aisle.

"..."

I remain silent.

"..."

Nitadori too remain silent.

"...Please show your tickets…"

Miss Conductor continues to work hard as she has to do her job.

The one I want to apologize to is there. Miss Conductor's professional smile looks obviously rigid. I cautiously hand over the ticket, and then receive it.

Nitadori too looks aside as she does likewise.

Miss Conductor checks Miss Kamishio's ticket, put my hand on the beak of her cap.

"Th-thank you very much."

I say to her in a less than fluid manner. Actually, I really do want to say a lot to her.

Miss Conductor intends to pass through the opened automatic doors, only to stop,

"Please do get along well."

She says with a timid look.

"Get along? Of course we are. So good that we're bickering away."

I answer, and Miss Conductor gives a grimace.

"It's fine, we'll watch ourselves."

Hearing Nitadori says this, I feel something on my right cheek.

I don't know what it is, but it feels soft.

Looking at the glasses that appears and disappears from the edge of my right eye, and the widened eyes of Miss Conductor, I realize that it's Nitadori's lips.

Miss Conductor shakes her head, practically saying 'I don't want to get involved with you'.

"Thank you for taking this ride."

Saying that, she passes through the automatic doors, leaving. The doors quickly close.

I turn to the right.

First, I see Miss Kamishiro bare her fangs as she looks as though she wants to kill me with her eyes.

"Fufu."

And then, I see the sidelong face of Eri Nitadori giving a chuckle--

Or perhaps that is Stella Hamilton.

I don't know which is the actual name.

No, both of them should be the actual name.

In Japan, she'll call herself 'Eri Nitadori'--

When overseas, she'll probably use 'Stella Hamilton'.

This is the reason why Nitadori once said something strange, 'this is the name I use'. She meant 'just use my Japanese name'.

I'm guessing that Nitadori is of mixed ancestry from Japan and a foreign country (or maybe one quarter). Looking at the hair color, she might look like a Japanese, oe a foreigner.

By using the name of that particular country, nobody would bear too much curiosity. With a name in the local language, there's an advantage of it being easy to remember.

A few days ago, I investigated something on the internet. I learned that the name 'Stella' can be nicknamed as 'Ellie'.

I'm unfamiliar with English, and I've no idea how Stella becomes Ellie--

But the name Eri is derived from Ellie.

Eri can be called Ellie no matter which country she goes to. I know that her parents did think through this properly.

From what I can deduce, the reason why she's studying in eleventh grade while I'm in tenth grade is because she skipped years. The reader's letter only stated school years, so I thought she's older than me.

I'm thinking that Stella Hamilton, so outstanding at mental calculations, should probably be adept at studying, and started skipping grades since her third year of middle school. That kind of thing isn't rare at all in foreign countries.

That reader wrote on the letter that she's born with different colored eyes..

And no matter whether she likes it or not, it's obvious that her right eye's a faint grey, and her left is a deep brown.

Thus, no matter whether it's Japan or overseas, she's always been mocked, envied, and sometimes even bullied.

So now--

Nitadori probably began using color contact lense to hide the color of her right eye ever since she transferred to this school. I heard that color contact lenses were tools developed to treat 'heterochromia'.

Also, she wears a wig, and she doesn't attend gym classes at all just in case her wig falls off. She'll be careful when seated on chairs that are slightly higher--

And to avoid going through the bullying that made her contemplate suicide again, Nitadori portrays an ordinary high school girl.

Nitadori just so happened to read my novel when she's in ninth grade.

And then, she empathized with meek, who went through similar circumstances and appearance.

She sent me a highly emotional letter, and received the one reply I currently sent.

She was shocked when I said 'my handwriting's terrible', and that's because she read the words I wrote so deliberately.

And so, after a year and a half--

Nitadori received a chance to portray Meek.

I don't know exactly how hard she worked for this.

Maybe...she used her parents money or some unique bypass without me knowing. Even if that's the case, I don't mind. It's fine not to know the truth somtimes.

Us studying in the same school is just a mere coincidence.

There's no way she could have realized where I live. The replies to fan letters are all sent from Tokyo where I had meetings, so she wouldn't be able to know my residence through the mailing.

And speaking of which--she probably doesn't know that I'm a year older than her.

It's just a coincidence, but in this area, this is the only private high school that doesn't particularly pay that much detail on attendance.

We're in similar circumstances and we enrolled in the same school.

Nitadori has been acting in front of me.

Showing me the 'I'm not that devoted fan called Stella'.

I suppose the reason why she looked so uneasy that day when she heard me ask 'when did you start acting', but probably because I saw through her.

But well, I'm not that sharp.

Nitadori, as a devoted fan of 'Vice Versa',

Sent a letter to the author,

Received the only reply from the author,

Read the entire series,

And even won the opportunity to voice her favorite character--

I don't intend to blame her for peeking into the manuscript in my bag.

I was really careless for leaving the bag behind and going to the toilet.

Of course, I never imagined that Eri would be Stella.

Once she knew that the character she likes so much she put herself in the character, and finally had a chance to voice--

Would just die like that, and never to appear again--

I feel that 'she might want to strangle the author once or twice'.

Of course, back then, when I was strangled, I thought,

I was really going to be strangled by her.

It's not strange for me to die.

I could have died if not for Miss Conductor passing by coincidentally.

But I don't begrudge Nitadori.

I didn't die. Even if I really died, it's nothing much. I'll just die.

There's only one that I hope for now. That is that she doesn't feel overly remorseful on what she did, causing inner trauma.

So one day--

I have to talk to Nitadori properly about this.

But it doesn't have to be today.

If possible, from now on, we'll continue to chat as we want on this train.

I ask my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress, who just kissed me,

"Boss that--"

I wanted to say, that was,

Unable to do so, I repeat myself again,

"Was dab--"

Too bad.

"Was, that."

Finally, I said it.

"Was that...an act?"

"Well, who knows …? Even I do not know…"

Nitadori continues to lower her head slightly, answering in respectful language.

I decide on my own to see her as being in 'Nitadori mode' when she not using respectful language, and 'Stella mode' when she's in cautious, respectful mode as a fan. I just decided on this.

I feel that her face is a little red as she lowers her head. Maybe I'm the same too.

"Or--are you trying to repay me?"

I ask without thinking too much, and she immediately lifts her head with fiery eyes, staring right at me.

"No! There's still a lot more--how much favor do you think I owe you?"

The expression she answers that so seriously is so pretty, fleeting and beautiful.

I think.

I hope to use her.

I want to use her as the basis of a light novel character.

If possible, I don't want to care about 'Vice Versa' (to all the fans, I'm sorry.) I want to start writing a novel with her as the heroine.

I--

I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, my heart occupied by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

May 29th.

It was Thursday noon, when the midterms finally ended after starting from Monday.

Like usual, I'll be riding the Limited Express to Tokyo in the evening--

But unlike before, I have more than enough time today. There's no need for me to hurry up.

I'll first have lunch in the cafeteria, and then I'll slowly walk home.

"Erm…"

A girl starts to talk to me.

Of course, it's not Nitadori."

"From now on, we won't be talking to each other in school after all."

That's the promise both of us made last Thursday.

Nitadori is still seated behind me. I heard her putting her stuff into her bag all this while, only to stop because of the girl who came to talk to me for some reason.

"Y-yes?"

I remained seated as I turned to the one asking the question.

Naturally, the one standing there is my classmate. This girl has short black hair, a petite figure, and gives an obedient vibe.

We have been attending classes together for almost 2 months, but I don't remember her name. I never spoke to her before. I guess she's...probably not one of the girls who questioned me about Nitadori.

She looks at my face nervously. I've no idea what she wants to say at all.

I'm worried that she'll have the other classmates giving strange looks to her because she's talking to me, who never talked to anyone else in class, and so I look around, but it appears I worried too much.

Then,

"Erm, about last week, that recitation."

She continued with respectful language.

Huh?

I get the feeling that something bad's about to happen.

The insensitive danger sensor inside my head starts to run.

"About the 'Vice Versa' part you recited in class--"

I better run away.

"If you can see it on the website, do you mind telling me the site address? If it can't be seen, I hope that you'll at least show me a copy of that printed script."

I better run away immediately, I guess?

This timid girl seems to have shaken off all her qualms once she reaches this point, and her expression suddenly changes,

"To be honest!"

Her face brightens immediately as she says,

"I'm really a devoted fan of the 'Vice Versa' book series! I read through all the works! I'm really looking forward to the anime that's going to begin airing in July!"

Wow! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Ah...ahem, I-I see."

I fake a cough, covering my mouth as I say this. It'll be bad if I'm seen giggling to myself.

"I discovered this work ever since the first volume was sold, but I didn't know that it's originally a web novel!"

Yeah, that's a lie.

"If there's a chance to look at the latest plot developments, I want to see it! Especially the part you read! I want to know the result!"

No, that's impossible.

That's because I only rewrote the parts I read, and the editor-in-charge told me 'the plot's good, but the essay's a little messy', so I have to edit it. Also, I need to make sure the plot developments thereafter makes sense, so I'm currently editing the manuscript of the eleventh volume.

I can't mention these unspeakable matters to her. This girl continues to grin and blurt out,

"Erm...if possible...as a fellow 'Vice Versa' fan, can I have a chat with you? Can we go talk about this in the cafeteria? Actually...I had been intending to chat with you on this ever since exams ended!"

Blam!

The sound of the chair shaking could be heard from the seat behind me.

To be continued...

### 005. Part B--

At the beginning of that scene was Meek, pushing a wheelbarrow that contained the severed parts of Shin.

The location was the dark basement of the castle, where nobody else was at.

Meek was obeying her master's orders, silently pushing the wheelbarrow to dump the corpse.

She threw Shin's corpse into an underground drain that acted as the waterway, and there were several ploops heard.

Meek was about to return after she was done with her mission, but she turned around upon hearing water, and found Shin revived--

"KYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Meek's first line was a shrill, long, long, long scream.

In the novel's narration, I wrote,

"Her scream shook all the stones forming the tunnel"

I liked seeing all kinds of animation, and viewed the voice actors as stars.

So, during the 5 weeks I observed the After Record, I was so happy that I forgot I was working, and I enjoyed the actors' performances as much as I could.

The performance of these famous voice actors is really amazing, and I feel really moved every week to be able to personally witness their performance.

And then--

As for that rookie voice actress who is younger than I am, the girl was so nervous, her hand was shivering all this time.

"KYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Her performance did not move the underground rocks, but instead, moved something deep within my heart.

I didn't remember exactly when Nitadori's hand stopped shaking.

The shaking of a script couldn't be recorded, so she probably regained her composure before the recording began.

I was completely mesmerized by her vocal performance that was displayed before my eyes.

Shin, who was supposed to be a corpse in pieces, revived after his body dipped in the water, and he emerged from it.

Why did he take so long to revive? The readers would often comment when it came to this point. My main focus back then was to express, and back then, I didn't notice this part at all.

Also, since Shin was chopped up, the clothes on his body fell off, so in this scene, Shin was naked.

Stark naked as he stood in front of her.

"..."

Meek shrieked, and fell limp on the floor, remaining silently.

Normally, in a novel, this will be passed off as an ellipsis--

But in an anime, a voice actor will use a breath to indicate the reason why a character is remaining silent. In this situation, all Meek felt was fear.

I heard Nitadori's breathing as she shivered due to fear.

"Arghh! It's cold! I'm freezing!"

And Shin deliberately said such exaggerated words so that this girl (though she's a homunculus) who's timidly looking up at him wouldn't feel scared.

"Erm, sorry for scaring you--eh, woah!"

Then, Shin realized that he was naked, but there was nothing that he could use to cover his body.

"It's cold!"

Shin had his back turned on Meek, rubbing his body with both arms.

Till this point, I saw that Shin's crotch was nicely covered by Meek's body or the torch on the wall--

Looks like a little bare butt is okay.

Then, Meek asked,

"A-are...you not going to kill me?"

Instead, Shin turned back, asking with a dumbfounded look.

"Hm? Why?"

"I'm your enemy...I intend to kill you."

Meek slowly stood up, and finished her words.

"Ah...well, but...I guess that's fine. Go ahead if you want to kill me. That'll be useless though, so I don't really recommend that you do that..."

"...?"

"Well, I'm immortal...in this world...you can tell, right?"

Meek stared at Shin for quite a while. The color of the beautiful eyes are different, one wine red, and one yellow, and they are emphasized.

And then, Meek was on the verge of tears saying,

"If only I can't die...if that happens, I can continue to fight on and protect my master..."

"Humans are born, and fated to die. This goes for me too, but my presence here is just an exception...I just came to this world for a little while...I don't have any idea as to how I'm to head back to my own world..."

And upon hearing Shin's sad reply, Meek's voice became harsher.

"But I'm not human!"

"...?"

Shin tilted his head.

From here on, Meek let out a long spiel of words.

Meek was smiling, but it was not one of happiness, instead being one born of anguish.

“I'm a Homunculus, a created being—not a human!”

“...”

“Please look at these eyes! The left and right eyes are different in color! This is the proof of a homunculus...you probably don't know that, do you? The materials used to create us are gathered from corpses. When we are created, we are granted with only one eye. We are then brought to our masters...and we have a gemstone put inside. That is the other eye. The gem eye is a proof of loyalty, and a symbol of one not being a human!”

When she rattled off with this long line of words, shown on the screen is a terrifying scene of the 'eye embedding moment'.

It probably would be too grotesque to be shown directly, so the anime displayed it through silhouettes.

“I'm a homunculus, only to live for my master...”

Meek's monologue.

She muttered as she slowly put her hands at the back of her waist. Over there were her favorite daggers that were cross sheathed.

A flashback aired, showing Meek's past.

In the visuals, the others showed her some curious stares, looking at her as though she was a monster. In the town, she was scorned mercilessly by the people around her, and occasionally, brutalized without reason.

About this part—

Even I thought it was 'too dark'.

The homunculus in 'Vice Versa' were typically unfortunate.

They were born to be slaves, and had to obey their master's orders. Due to their unique eyes, anyone around them would be able to determine who they were, and not think of them as human.

Homunculus had far superior athletic abilities than humans, and if they had that intent, they could easily kill any master who was careless, but they could not do so. That is because their hearts were infused with the order 'to absolutely serve their masters'.

Because of such characteristics, the people who became the masters of the homunculus would typically think of them as 'puppets with a conscience'.

Well, I did write the relationship between Pluto and Meek (This has to do with the fact that Pluto's actually female) as a beautiful relationship between master and servant.

Pluto's personality was that of cruelty and lack of mercy. She viewed all subordinates as equal, be they homunculus or human.

In other words, she would call out to her subordinates however she wanted, and they would do their best to fulfill her orders.

Shin heard Meek's words with his butt facing her, and turned around.

Shin really wanted to tell her something, so he forgot that he was completely naked, saying with utter seriousness.

“Please don't be so frustrated about comparing yourself with other people.You—are you after all.”

Meek's hands were weakly slumped, not holding anything.

“...”

She was viewed as a 'human' for the first time in her life, and widened her heterochromia eyes.

“Ugh, it's cold...”

To settle a showdown with Pluto, Shin walked off while feeling really cold.

In the strategy both Shin and Sin came up with, Shin was to create a ruckus, die, and revive, and then die again, causing chaos in the enemy camp. He's the main character, but his actions feels like some zombie or some demon king in a horror flick.

Shin moved on to completely his mission.

“Wait!”

Meek called out with a serious voice. It was sudden, and Meek was different from before, not using any formalities. This was the first time Meek spoke like that.

“...”

So a fight is inevitable? Shin turned around sadly, but saw Meek take off the muffler on her neck, handing it to him, saying,

“Please...use this...”

“Eh?”

Shin hesitated for a while, and then smiled,

“Oh!”

He immediately beamed, and took the muffler with both hands, but right when he was about to put it on his waist—

“I guess it has to be like this after all.”

He wrapped it around his neck.

The protagonist—

Was naked, wearing only a muffler.

Of course, I actually wrote the story with this in mind.

In fact, after it was animated, it did look rather hilarious. He really looked like an unabashed pervert there.

Laughter could be heard from the control room.

“Thanks, it's warm.”

Shin beamed at Meek.

“Next, I want some pants...”

Shin muttered as he began running.

“...”

I let go of Master's enemy. But I've completed the mission of 'dumping off the corpse, and Master never commanded me on what to do after that. But that man's Master's enemy, but he treats me as a person, but—

“...”

Meek was starting to feel conflicted, and she let out some white breath, watching him leave.

Right in front of her eyes was a shaking butt.

Nitadori made no mistakes in her lines during the rehearsal.

The sound director gave all kinds of instructors, but as an amateur, I did not know what was the problem.

After some instructions, the sound director asked me,

“Sensei, is there any problem with Meek's parts?”

“None!”

I immediately answered.

After that, everyone made a rehearsal, and the official voice work began—

As for me, all I did was watch and just let myself be moved, shouting in my heart 'wow, it's amazing'.

I suppose that if I had turned around during Nitadori's recital, I would be able to see Nitadori as she was. However, work was different from class after all—

Wondering that, I observed the performance of these professional voice actors.

Something else also happened on that day.

It was when the recording ended.

I chatted with the anime makers and the editor-in-charge for a little while, so I left the control room a few minutes later.

I exit the studio lobby, and found the voice actor portraying Shin talking with Nitadori by the wall.

It was a scene of a senior talking to a junior, but Nitadori had her head slightly lowered, and she did not look right.

It might not be an appropriate choice of words, but I had the mental image of 'a handsome voice actor flirting with a female high school girl'.

When this voice actor was confirmed to be playing as Shin, I searched through the internet—

'A handsome guy who has scandals with many voice actress'.

I managed to find a website that contained such rumors, and looked through all of them.

There were many exploits on the website, but I did not know how truthful they might be. Besides, I decided not to believe in internet rumors that easily (if I do, my real identity will probably be 'an experienced female author in her 30s who writes with a different pen name and loves BL works.)

Personally, I don't hate this voice actor.

I think that his voice and acting skills are brilliant, really suited to act as Shin, who starts off timid, only to gradually get stronger.

But when I see him talk with Nitadori happily—

This voice actor just feels like some evil wizard aiming to bring Nitadori to another world I don't know of.

But even so, this isn't something I could gossip about, so it was fine.

I told the editor-in-charge,

“I'll be going first then.”

This was a line that could be used at any given situation, and right when I was about to pass by them,

“Ah, sensei! Please wait!”

The voice actor spoke to me directly. The voice was exactly the same as Shin's, so I thought I entered the world of 'Vice Versa'.

I stopped, turned around, and he asked,

“Yo, what do you think of her performance?”

Her, in this case, would refer to Nitadori. As for performance, it would refer to her acting.

I was surprised, but Nitadori appeared to be more surprised.

“...”

Her eyes were widened more than before, and it felt as though her eyes were about to pop out from her glasses frame.

I merely glanced aside at Nitadori, and immediately turned my glance to the handsome, pristine face of the voice actor.

“Really amazing.”

I answered earnestly, with no sense of pretense at all.

That voice actor isn't a mirror, so I can't tell what sort of face I made back then.

And I don't understand why that voice actor would suddenly smile like that.

“Of course, isn't it? I was telling Nitadori about this.”

But the voice actor then said,

“I do remember that you're 17, sensei?”

I nodded, and he then pointed his palm at Nitadori, saying,

“I heard that she's 16. It's really unbelievable. Both of you are way too young.”

And then, he lamented,

“From now one...it'll be the era of you youngsters...”

No wait. This guy should be 25.

Before I can understand his words while I remain rooted, this voice actor said,

“Nitadori. This sensei will be writing stories that will get animated. I know sensei has that kind of foresight from his scent. All I have are sharp ears, and a decent appearance. In other words, you might be in sensei's care from now on, so you should take the opportunity to shake hands with sensei now, and increase your chances of interacting.”

He said some words I couldn't coment on, and prompted Nitadori to reach her right hand.

Nitadori slowly reached her slender right arm.

“I'm a rookie, and I'll continue to work hard to play as Meek. Please continue to take care of me.”

“...”

After much struggle, I manage to reach out and hold her hand.

Besides, in this life of mine, I have never held a girl's hand before.

“Th-thank you.”

Saying that, I touched Nitadori's hand.

It was really, really—

Cold.

And while I was immersed in my thoughts.

"Yahoo!"

Nitadori was seated beside me before I knew it, and we were so close that I could feel her breathing when she greeted me, startling me.

"Woah!"

I let out a strange squeal, twitching my body, and ended up hitting my back against the wall. Nitadori laughed, and asked,

"What language is that?"

"..."

While the train accelerated gradually....

I recalled the sight of that Nitadori last week, and compared it to the her this week. This difference between them really confused me.

No. I do know both of them are Eri Nitadori.

I do understand that the one wandering between different worlds is me.

"Sensei, you're giving a distant look. After you think about anything? Is it about the next work?"

"Well, I guess."

I immediately replied. It was a lie, but the reply was smooth. No, this can't really be considered a lie after all; I can insist that everything I'm thinking is about the plot of my next work. It'll be fine if the topic of my next light novel is 'my classmate is a voice actress'.

"Wow, so cool; just like an author."

"..."

"Eh? Where's the usual reply?"

"...I'm an author after all."

"Good good."

Rather than Nitadori who's using formal language out of respect,

"Hello. Over here! It's Katsudon for today!"

I prefer the Nitadori who hands me the plastic bag filled with potato chips with a smile on her face.

Well, I suppose the term like is mostly a matter of contrast.

I pulled out a bag of salt flavored potato chips and tea groin the bag, and Nitadori said,

"I got a list of questions. Stone I have lots of things to ask, I went ahead to remember."

"It's like a magazine interview, isn't it? To be honest, you really helped me out here. I've been wondering about what I should talk about today?"

"Wow. Thanks for that."

Nitadori took out a little notebook, and opened it.

I had a little glance, and those are some nice words.

"Ah!"

Nitadori hides the questions from me, probably because she doesn't want me to know beforehand.

I guess anyone will be hungry at this moment, and I graciously munch on the chips and drank the tea.

I did ask Nitadori if she wanted to have some, but as before, she didn't take one.

I guess it's because it's a gesture to treat me? Or that she's refusing politely because she's worried about looking bad if she's to eat on the train? Or that--she already ate a packet before she boarded?

I don't know her actual intent (I guess I don't have to think about that last guess), but I can't force her to eat. I indulge myself in a third of the packet, tied it up, and drank some tea.

"Now then--fire away with the questions."

And I say this inside this train that's moving on against strong headwinds.

There's about 3 hours till our destination, and I guess we can have a really long conversation here.

"First off, I don't know...actually, I don't know whether I can ask this question…"

It's rare for Nitadori to stammer like this.

"Eh? Erm…"

In case of whatever question it may be, I prepare myself.

Nitadori sounds a little apologetic as she continues,

"Eh, I thought...I shouldn't be asking such questions. But I'm still curious about it no matter how I tell myself this."

What exactly does Nitadori want to know about me? Feeling terrified, I shivered a little--

"Ah."

I immediately thought of a few possibilities. If that's it, I heave a sigh of relief inside.

And then, I asked, just in case,

"Maybe--it's about my earnings?"

"Are you an esper…?"

Nitadori answered in surprise.

"No, I'm an author."

First, I answer that, and then, Am I wrong? I quipped.

Nitadori looked a little embarrassed as she answered,

"That's right...it's about money...I know it's rude manners to ask this question."

And then, she showed me a determined look,

"But since I finally managed to find someone who knows about this, I want to ask if he agrees to it. I feel that in my future life, I won't be able to find anyone willing to answer me such questions."

And while Nitadori's showing such an intense will,

"Yeah, sure."

I promptly answered.

The matter of asking someone else about his earnings was truly rude, and even I, a high school boy, know about this.

The following is all off-topic--

In the country of New Zealand, famous for their sheep, one simply does not ask a farm owner how many sheeps they had. That is because it appeared that people could estimate the earnings through the number of sheep they have.

That was a trivia I read in a miscellaneous magazine, and I don't know if it's real or not. However, if I'm to go travelling there, I might try asking such questions, so I think it's better for me to pay attention to this.

Back to the point.

I do know it's rude to ask others of their earnings.

But I also know that there are those driven by curiosity to understand the earnings of the unique jobs.

Since I was young, I too wanted to know about an author's earnings. What did it mean to 'live on royalties', and how much tax to pay.

When I became an author myself, earned the publishing fees and the experiences of declaring my earnings, I gradually began to understand them.

About my income--

Obviously, I can't talk about this with people who don't know that I'm an author; if the other party knows that I'm an author, I do feel that I can treat it as a normal conversation.

Leaving aside my mother, till this point, I often discussed this topic bluntly with the senior authors during the refreshments after meetings at the editorial branch, and the end-of-year parties over the past two years.

Of course, we weren't just doing this to satisfy our curiosity.

When my books started to sell well, the senior authors began to tell me about tax reductions.

Some of them blatantly told me of their yearly earnings (as what the words implied, the top selling authors' earnings are really on a different scale from the rest.)

I won't tell anyone of their yearly earnings. At the same time, I don't think Nitadori will let slip whatever I told her.

And besides, I don't think that Nitadori's approaching me for the sake of money.

Or I should say, though it's just a guess--

I get the feeling that Nitadori's family is really rich.

Upon hearing my answer,

"Really? About that money…"

The bespectacled Nitadori asked with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, sure. Well, basically, keep this--"

"I won't say it out! I promise!"

She answered before I can finish my sentence.

Having decided to tell Nitadori, I scanned the train carriage as a precaution.

The train today is rather empty, and only two people are seated at the seats right at the front.

An author's earnings.

As anyone would know, an author's earnings is mainly derived by the publication fees of a book.

Also, there appears to be a 'manuscript fee' for publications in a magazine or a newspaper, a 'speaking fee' for speeches, 'source fee' and 'copyright fee' for an anime or movie adaptation, but I never received them.

The anime is yet to be completely made, so I've yet to receive the fees regarding this.

"Because of that, the scale of this will be the publishing fees in this company. Or to be precise, I'll only talk about publishing fees."

"Yep."

"Now then, before I talk about how much the publishing fee is--I'll like to talk about the definition."

"It's a Royalty, no? The publisher will be printing your work in books, sensei, so this money is a 'copyright fee' for you."

"Yep. That's impressive."

"Actually, I did research through the internet when I designed the questions. I did check on why it's called 'publishing fee'! It's not a tax, is it?"

As Nitadori had mentioned, the publishing fee isn't a tax.

Back when a publisher printed volumes, they would stick some kind of an author's stamp on the last page called a 'colophon', something called an 'inspection stamp'. (Some do stamp it directly on the book). The publisher will use the number of inspection stamps, and pay the money to authors directly.

This system is similar to 'printing fees', (like giving tax to the author), it is also called 'publication printing fee', and then simplified as 'publication fee'.

On a side note, this 'publication printing fee'--refers to the amount of money to be be paid when producing books. Authors with works in book form are paid according to the 'publication fee' pro-rata to the price plastered on the book.

In the end, people gave up on such a troublesome method, and chose not to go with inspection printing, so the method was scrapped.

In books that are slightly older, their back ends will contain the words 'inspection stamp is scrapped'. I did see them in an antiquarian bookshop.

"Well, even if I don't know that kind of history...anyway, the publisher will give the author a royalty known as 'publishing fee'--and the money is pro-rated "

"Uh huh, so how much is it, roughly?"

"Normally, the fee is around 10% or so. My situation is the same, and excluding the sales tax, 10% of the book price will be the publishing fee."

"Always?"

"I don't know if it'll change in the future. Of course, I do hope that it'll increase. I did hear that the rates for those extremely popular authors do increase, but I'm not sure what the actual situation is."

"I get it. Then, I'll use this 10%. In other words, if the book's sold, the fixed rate of 10% will be your earnings, right, sensei?"

Nitadori asked to confirm, but I shook my head.

"No, that's not it."

"Eh?"

It was not about 'once the book was sold'.

It was about 'once the book was printed'.

The book would first be printed, and the meaning of that would be equivalent to 'being made into a commercial product'.

And,

"The number of volumes printed will determine the revenue."

"Then, for an extreme example--"

I knew what Nitadori was trying to get at, so I continued from her words, saying,

"Assuming that a book has 100,000 copies printed. The publisher estimates that the book can sell about that much--however, the book couldn't sell after it was printed, and in fact, only 5 copies were sold."

"That's really drastic! That means that he and his family were the only ones who bought that book, right?"

Nitadori giddily grinned as she said that, but after saying those words, I felt a little heartbroken within. How would that author feel? There's a chance that even I may end up like that.

Well, my books are selling well, so I won't mention it for now. I continue on,

"But the author is able to get the publishing fee of 100,000 copies. Assuming that a book is sold for 500 Yen, 10% of that would be 50 Yen, and multiply that by 100,000, that'll be 5,000,000 Yen."

"Eh...I never knew that before. I always thought it was counted based on sales amount."

"Allow me to say that I heard that such a system actually exists. Dengeki Bunko however counts this through printed volumes."

Then, assuming that I get the publication fee that's 10% of the book price.

As the name implied, Dengeki Bunko is a paperback publisher. As for what a paperback is, it'll drag on, so I decided to omit it--anyway, it's a really small book.

The price of a paperback light novel ranges from 500 to 700 Yen. The prices is dependent on several factors, and the easiest to understand will be--

"The book thickness? Number of pages?"

"Of course, I won't know the actual numbers of the prices, pages and volumes. That was what the editor-in-charge told me when I asked him on the pricing."

"So the pricing isn't done by you, the author, sensei?"

I shook my head, saying,

"It's decided by the editorial branch...or rather, the publisher. But as I said, the thinner the book, the cheaper it is. Using the series 'Vice Versa' as an example, the price is typically around 600 pages. Actually, I wanted to make the book cheaper…"

"Eh--why!?"

Nitadori was really surprised.

It's not unreasonable for her to be so shocked. If the book is pricer when sold, the author's income will increase accrordingly.

But even so, I state my actual thoughts.

"Well...it's because the main demographic of light novels are Middle schoolers and high school students, and there are younger kids in elementary school who will read them. I feel that readers do buy the books using their pocket change, so even if it's cheaper by 10 Yen, it'll make them happy."

"Ah...now that you mention it, that's true. The more I like such books, the more I want to look at other works."

A thicker book would have more ample content. Even as an author, I do find it worth it to write it,

However,

"I saved up, and I'm finally able to buy a new volume!"

Even so, when I do receive such comments from a fan younger than me--

I do feel that it's a good thing, even if it's 10 Yen cheaper.

Of course, I hope to attract more people to buy the books with a lower price, and increase the final sales volume (and earnings).

I said before that I do increase the number of paragraphs to improve the readability. Because of that, I do often feel a dilemma.

I continue on with the publishing fee.

"The book price is determined by all kinds of factors. The publishing fee is set at 10% pro-rata, and to calculate the earnings, there is one factor left--"

"The volume!"

"Yep."

"But how is the number of volumes set…?"

When talking about printing volumes, we'll be talking about income.

For an author, the total income = all the publishing fees receive. It's the same case as with the sheep in New Zealand.

While I intend to explain this, the Train Conductor arrived. It's a man today.

As usual, we show our tickets for him to stamp.

The explanation was paused, and I took a little breather, drinking some tea.

The conductor left, and there were no new passengers sitting next to us.

I begin to wonder, how exactly do I begin explaining the printing volumes--

And then, I realized that I had yet to explain what is the printing volume.

"Erm...I've been mentioning this 'printing' volume for a while…"

"Yes."

"The printing volumes can be classified as 'initial printing', 'reprints', and 'total prints'."

"Hmmm?"

Nitadori frowned, looking perplexed.

"I'll explain in order--"

The initial print refers to the number of volumes printed for the first time. If it is a profitable work, like a serialized sequel, there will be more volumes printed in initial print.

The reprint refers to the additional printed volumes due to the printed book being popular.

And as the name implied, the total volumes referred to the total of the initial print and the reprints till this point. However, the total volumes will be classified as 'total volumes for this particular volume, 'total volumes for this particular series', and 'total volumes for this particular author'.

"I see. I often hear reports in the news of 'a certain bestselling novel reaching a million copies, yet the initial print was a few thousands', and such."

"Such books weren't much of a topic, and once they got hot, they were printed over and over again, and it ended up like that. The reprint volumes might even reach a few thousands in an instant."

"So in other words, there's no fixed figures for the initial print volumes and reprint volumes?"

"Right. The initial print is determined by several factors. If it's a popular series by a renowned author, the number of printed volumes will increase."

For an author, the more volumes in the initial print, the happier they will be.

There are two reasons for it. First off--

"The more volumes printed, the more copies that can be displayed in the bookshop in one go, and the book will be bought easily."

"A book that's easily bought will be much more likely to be popular."

Another reason was that the publication fee will increase (Of course, this refers to the number of printed volumes.)

"Thus, authors do work hard every day, praying for the initial print numbers to increase."

"Praying is important, since wishes do come true--so, sensei, how many copies of the first volume of 'Vice Versa' was printed?"

Leaving aside the number of reprints--

I'll talk about the first printing of volumes.

"The first volume of 'Vice Versa', the initial number of copies was 27,000."

"Is that...a lot? Little, right?"

Nitadori asked. It's a question to be expected.

Anyone unfamiliar with the industry won't have an idea of context with regards to this number. Speaking of which, when the editor-in-charge told me of this figure at first, I too timidly asked the same question.

And the editor-in-charge answered,

"It's about the same as the works of those who won awards in the Dengeki Novel Prize award! You didn't get an award, but the starting speed is the same!"

Nitadori exclaimed happily,

"Amazing! That's decent!"

"Yeah. To be honest, I'm rather happy."

I casually mention about this--but I heard from authors working under other publishers that the number of 27,000 is 'quite a lot'. It's Dengeki Bunko, so they can sell this much.

That author said that his debut work had less than 20,000 copies, and also said that the difference is due to the power of Dengeki Bunko, who had the largest stake in the industry. Of course, I never told Nitadori about any of this.

The factors leading to improved sales after a volume is published is of course down to an author's own ability. He taught me the important logic 'that if a really interesting story is written, it'll be popular'.

Leaving that aside, i continue with my own words.

"And then, 27,000 copies worth of publishing fee entered my pockets. The price of the first volume is 590 Yen."

"In other words…"

Nitadori began to ponder beside me, while I went the old fashioned way of relying on a tool of civilization. I don't have the mental capability to be able to calculate such numbers.

I took out the smartphone from my pocket, unlocked the screen, and activated the calculator.

Then, I quickly tapped in the numbers.

590 * 0.1 * 27,000, so the answer is 1,593,000 (in Yen).

The moment I intended to say this number.

"It's 1,593,000 Yen, isn't it?"

Nitadori simply said.

"Eh?"

I let out a surprised voice, and turned my head to the right.

"Hm? That isn't it?"

Nitadori nonchalantly asked.

"No...that's right."

Nitadori's hands were not holding a cellphone, and her notebook was closed.

Even if she wanted to peek into my smartphone screen, she couldn't. I often had inspiration of creation on the train, so I had a protective film on the screen to prevent people from peeking.

In that case, there's only one possibility.

"Did you just…do a mental sum?"

"Yep?"

"How…?"

"Multiply by 30,000, and I'll get 1,770,000, and then take 10% off."

"Ah, yes, I see…"

Hearing her say this, it seemed calculation wasn't that tough--

No, it's still not easy.

The time she spent doing mental sum is the same as me using a smartphone? How smart is Nitadori exactly?

"Amazing…"

I marvel earnestly, muttering,

"Yep, I feel the same too."

Nitadori then nodded her face and glasses, beaming as she answered,

"Huh?"

"1.5 million is a huge sum."

"Ah, you're referring to that…?"

"Hm?"

The train raced forth against the headwinds

Other than the noise outside the train, there was the occasional howling of the winds. Till this point, there were no stalling on the train ride.

Well, I guess that's better than the train flipping around. I just need to reach Tokyo tonight.

"I guess...1.5 million is a large sum…"

I forgot about the 'huge misunderstanding' both Nitadori and I had, and blurted out my real thoughts.

For me, a first year in high school, 1.5 million is really a large sum. Speaking of which, I remembered that when I did the calculations back then, I found the number to be so surreal, I nearly fainted from shock.

"I can buy a car with that!"

I yelled alone in that room.

Even though I did not have a license.

Before I continued with the explanation, I thought of something I forgot. It's something pretty minor, but I decided to talk about it for the time being.

"Sorry. There's something I made a mistake about. In fact, I didn't get the publishing fee for 27,000 volumes."

"Eh?"

Nitadori looked more surprised than I thought, so I panicked,

"Ah, no...it's not some serious mistake. It's about 27,000 copies worth! To be precise...I got '26,950 copies' worth of the publication fee."

"Then...where did the 50 copies go to? For the Angels?"

"No...it's not wine."

I didn't know if Nitadori was serious or just joking around, and it didn't matter, but I made a little retort. This 'Angel offering' refers to the evaporated portion of wine when brewing wine using a wooden barrel.

"But both of them might be the same."

"How so?"

"Those 50 books are used as samples. You can think of them as books that can't be sold, so they won't count as part of a publication fee. Of course, I don't know if the other editorial branches do use the same standard."

"I see. So the Angels are the editorial branch!?"

"But, well...it's tough to calculate, so I thought I'll explain this with the 1.5 million Yen calculated from the 27,000 copies."

"Got it!"

And thus, that was the first sum of publishing fee I obtained in my life. As for when, and how I obtained this money--

"Of course, it's through a banking transaction. The editor-in-charge asked me for my bank account, and I told him that I didn't have one, so he told me, 'go open one then'. So, I went to a major bank branch to open a bank account. The big sister at the counter taught me a lot of things back then, and asked me 'have you started working part-time'?"

The moment I mentioned this, Nitadori's eyes got sharp, and she quickly changed her tone.

"Hey~that's not some part-time work. This is a professional author debuting at Dengeki Bunko, you know? A respected sensei at work, you know?"

If Nitadori was to accompany me to open the bank account, would she really say such a thing? Just imagining such a scene alone is interesting to me.

"Ahaha--no no, how can I divulge my identity?"

"Ahaha--so, what next?"

The first time an unnatural amount of money was suddenly deposited into this account that only had 1,000 Yen was--

The following month after the first volume was sold, the end of September.

Just a little moment before then, I received a postcard from ASCII Media Works.

I flipped the attached part, and found that there was a 'payment slip'.

Recorded on it was the 'title', 'number of revisions', 'account items (publishing fees or draft fees, and so on)', 'summary (number of volumes, money, printing rates),' and all kinds of information.

Of course, it included the sum of money.

"It's the amount just now, right?"

"No, less than that."

"Why?"

"Because there's a need to deduct tax."

Once I start getting into details on this, this will get really long, so I simply told her the amount of money I received.

Before the money (publication fee) enters my account, the 'income tax' will be deducted first. This is called 'tax withholding', a tax system the country does to prevent taxpayers from evading tax.

The deductible would differ based on earnings, so I can't generalize this.

That's because the 'tax' will increase based on earnings. The higher the earnings, the higher the tax rates. This is the system they call 'cumulative tax rates'.

"I'll leave aside the difficult part. The income tax will be deducted from the publication fee before it's given to me.So, I have to work hard and report the amount of tax I have to the government...I'll talk about that later."

I think that there's still 'this thing' I have to explain--

For the time being, I continue to explain the earnings of an author.

"Once the tax is deducted, part of the first volume publication fee was transacted into my account successfully, and I felt really happy."

"Congratulations!"

"Th-thank you. But thanks to you, 'Vice Versa' is selling really well, and there was already a reprint at that moment."

"If it's as what you said, it refers to printing more copies, right?"

"Right. The readers will read the books displayed in the shop. When the book is selling well, the bookshop will tell the 'distributor', 'please provide more of this book'."

"'Distributor', as in?"

"Erm...the official name is 'publishing distributor', and it refers to the dealers who provide the flow between the publisher and the bookshop."

"I see."

"Once the distributor receives the orders from the bookshop, it'll request for volumes from the publisher. The publisher will then provide some from its warehouse, and the distributors deliver them to the bookstore."

"I see...so publishers have some level of stock, right? I guess so. It's impossible to print so many books at one go."

"Right. When the orders increase, and the warehouse stock drops, the publisher will then say, 'right, let's print'."

"Righto."

"Of course, the one who decides whether to reprint or not isn't the author, and it's probably not the editorial branch. I'm guessing that it's probably the sales branch."

"I see, I see."

"As for reprint volumes--it'll typically be between 2,000 to 3,000 volumes. That's my personal experience, and from what I hear from the other authors, it's the same."

"2,000 to 3,000. In that case, the amount of publication fee you get--you be from 118,000 to 177,000 Yen."

Mental sums again. This was when I really understood that my brain was wired differently from Nitadori's.

I feel that even if I'm to praise her now, we won't come to a common agreement, so I continue,

"I'm really grateful to be able to get that much money without being able to do anything."

"Yeah. Your commission increase after you finished a job."

I nodded. After earning that money, I really felt that 'reaping without sowing' really fit this situation.

"If the popularity increases, the sales volume will grow, and if the supply isn't enough, they'll print thousands of volumes, no tens of thousands. Erm, well, I…"

"Wow!"

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be 'talking about the future'--"

I used both hands to gesture moving my belongings from my thighs to the outside of the window,

"We'll leave this aside for now..bye bye…"

And Nitadori waved outside, saying that.

The first reprint of my first volume of 'Vice Versa' was 3,000 copies.

It was a certain day in August, during what is commonly known as the obon

Mom was working as a nurse, and never had any breaks during obon and the end of year. I was alone at home, writing all day long during the school holidays.

And it was then that the editor-in-charge called me.

"There's a second print ! Congrats!"

The first reprint would be specially denoted as 'second print'.

As for whether it was considered fast or slow, I didn't know

"Thank you very much!"

All I could be confident of was that I was really happy (later, the editor-in-charge told me that there are works who had quicker second prints, mine was rather fast).

And while I was indulging in my delight and intending to hang up,

"So if there are 'any parts that require typographical corrections', please contact me by tomorrow, latest."

The editor-in-charge said.

And so I asked,

"Erm? What is that?"

Typographical errors--

"It's a little off from the earnings, but looking at how this is going, I think this is the most suitable moment to do this...can I explain?"

"Of course. Please do."

Typographical errors typically refers to the errors when 'transplanting words'.

In other words, if there are any errors the block aligning workers in charge of typography (the people in charge of aligning blocks, arranging the words), checking on the miscues will be to correct them.

Of course, people nowadays don't use moveable type of printing. Thus, in current situation, mistransplants would refer to the typical 'wrong words'. That is what I mean.

Last week, I mentioned that as an author, I had to check through what I write, and hand them over for the editors and proofreaders to check, and I had to check them again--

But even so, there would still be mistakes.

Basically, this was my own mistake (and nobody else realized it).

There are rare occurrences of the editors making mistakes (and nobody else realizing it). The typos on the content page and the story synopsis would be categorized under this.

"The typos that managed to evade a few eyes and show themselves to the public--will be corrected during the second print, the first reprint. Thus, the editor-in-charge told me that when the second print is decided, he'll ask me to hurry and send over the corrected parts. This is because the publisher wants to hurry with the rerelease and avoid a stockout of goods, missing out on the selling opportunity."

"I see...now I know that book correcting is such a case."

Nitadori looked impressed as she nodded away. I too only knew of such a thing back then.

"After that, what about you, sensei?"

"I was really happy about publishing my first work, and I reread the first volume so that I could write the next volume, but I didn't find any typo errors. So, when I checked each word and sentence---"

"There was none?"

"I found 5 cases of them…"

During the first print of the first volume of 'Vice Versa', I found 5 instances of errors.

There was one case when I missed out a period.

There was once when the furigana of the word 'hem', suso, was written as 'sode' instead.

Ema, who typically addressed herself as 'watashi' in hiragana, addressed herself as 'watashi' in kanji in a certain area.

What was supposed to be typed as 'conquer the world', (seifuku), ended up as 'school uniform the world' (seifuku)

And there was once when Shin and Sin's denotation was completely reversed.

"About that last mistake...I thought to myself 'I can't make such a mistake no matter what'...so when I found out about the error, I was really devastated."

The names of Shin and Sin were so similar, it was common to have mistakes in changing text. Speaking of which, it's really troublesome to have to change the text.

Ever since I discovered that mistake, I started activating the function to 'record Japanese characters in the dictionary'. If I type the hiragana 'shi' (し), it'll come out as 'Sin' (シン). In other words,

しんはいつた。

Change→ Shin said.

しはいつた。

Change→ Sin said.

しんはしのむなぐらをつかんだが、しは、だまつてしんをにらみかえすだけだつた。

Change→ Shin grabbed Sin by the collar, but Sin merely looked back at Shin silently.

This isn't an error unique to 'Vice Versa'. It was said that the initial print for all volumes will have some form of typo. The reason why people would buy the initial print of the topselling works probably has something to do with this little trivia.

But even so, I want to write a story with no mistakes as much as I can, so the initial print volumes always scare me.

In the 8 volumes that came out later, I did my best to check--but once the official volumes came out, I do find some errors.

"But I've never had the legendary level of typos."

"'Legendary level'? Is there such a thing?"

Nitadori asked in surprise.

"Yeah. There are quite a lot of infamous typo mistakes in history."

I honestly answered.

"Wh-what kind?"

I do think that we'll be off topic again--

But I really like the topic of typos, so I'll talk about it. There's still some time until the terminal.

The history of publishing can also be called the history of typos, no doubt about that. I'm still too weak, and right now, I'm working hard to etch out this history.

Amongst them, the one most catchy and deemed to be the world's first typo error is the Bible called the 'Adulterous Bible'.

In this Bible, the one line in Moses' Ten Commandments, 'thou shall not commit adultery, and because of a typo, missed out on the word 'not' that would have a negative connotation.

In other words, the meaning became 'thou shall commit adultery'.

I guess the chances of a typo more ridiculous than this in human history--

I suppose that should be zero.

"..."

Nitadori heard my words, and widened her eyes, her mouth slightly ajar. In other words, she was completely taken aback.

She was looking skeptical as to how could there possibly be such a thing happening in this world, but the fact was that it happened, and I couldn't do anything about it.

There also a appeared a legendary level of typo in Japanese history.

It was due to several errors, but that bug's name has probably been changed forever.

Of course, the name of that bug is called cockroach (Gokiburi).

It was said that its actual name was 'Gokikaburi', but in the first biology encyclopaedia released in the 17th year of the Meiji Era, the name was transcribed as 'Gokiburi' instead.

The book only had a first edition, and no corrections could be made. The later books used this encyclopaedia as a reference, and the name 'gokiburi' became widespread, before it was set stone.

"Hey...I don't think it's really possible, but...you aren't just making up a story now, are you? Is this an episode of your creation?"

Nitadori showed a skeptical look from beneath her glasses.

"I'm not making this up."

I waved my hand as I answered.

"Well, let's leave this topic on typos aside for now--"

I used both hands to gesture moving my belongings from my thighs to the outside of the window, throwing out the topic of typos.

"Now that it ends--where have I stopped exactly?"

So many off-topic stuff caused me to wonder where did I stop in my main point.

"About the first volume of 'Vice Versa' having 27,000 copies for the initial print, and another 3,000 immediately afterwards...this part."

Nitadori corrected me.

'Vice Versa' really sold well.

By the time the second volume was published in October, the first volume had 3 reprints, and the total sales was more than 40,000.

The initial print volume for the second volume is 27,000 just like before. I heard it's rather amazing that the figures aren't any lesser than the previous volume. Of course, the second volume had a reprint in the month it was sold. The first volume was still reprinting back then.

By the time November came, the total number of distributed volumes, including the first and second volumes, was about 80,000 volumes.

And so, at the end of the year, the amount of money I had in my bank account--

Was about 4 million Yen.

"4 million Yen...amazing…"

Nitadori widened her eyes as she said that. I was about as surprised as she was, probably more.

"I never dreamt that my work would sell that well the year I debuted, that I would earn so much money…"

This was in no way a humble brag, but my own honest thoughts.

I'm ashamed of it, but when the first volume was released, I once predicted the sales figures, thinking it would happen.

Assuming that the earnings for the first volume was 1,500,000 Yen, and the initial print of the second volume will be reduced, so I'll calculate it with 1,000,000 Yen. I could earn about 2.5 million yen that year, and to me, that was a lot of money.

"But you're too naive, aren't you?"

Nitadori gave a mischievous snicker. I know that it's an act, but I was still taken aback.

"I-I guess…"

If I actually had a huge sum of 4 million Yen in hand, I'll feel really terrified. Luckily, the money is transacted into the bank account. If a large stack of cash is shown suddenly appears in front of me, I think I might lose it..

"Of course I'm scared, really scared...to be able to use such a large sum of money. I was happy, but that happiness always comes with fear. I get the money, but I do tell myself not to spend it wildly."

"In fact, you never used that money, right? After the tax deducted, you practically saved them all."

"To be honest, I don't need to spend a lot."

"Hey, if you can, do tell me, sensei, what did your mom think of you earning that much. Well...did she say anything?"

Well, I'm able to answer that, so I reply,

"Mom only told me two things."

"What are they?"

"First, 'use the money for yourself'. In other words, I don't need to worry about the house rent, food, and family expenditure. I intended to pay though…"

"So you were rejected by your mother? I think I can understand that. That's a parent's responsibility."

"Hm, maybe…"

About this, the situation might change a little in the future--but I guess it isn't bad to talk about this now.

"And the other?"

"Hm--'don't spend like crazy!'"

"Ahaha, anyone would be told that."

"Yep. Thus, I thought of a few spending rules, printed them out, and stuck it in front of my desk."

"Really? What are they?"

They're simple.

'I can buy the basic stuff for work (stationery, materials)'

'Before buying, I have to consider. Don't buy impulsively. Check the price before buying'.

'With savings, I won't have to worry about the future!'

'Don't carry large sums of cash around!'

'Don't tell anyone else that I'm rich!'

That's basically it.

"I see. Disciplining yourself. That's impressive."

"Even so, I bought a lot of stuff."

I showed off the watch on my left wrist to Nitadori.

"This is the thing I bought with my first paycheck, my memories about 'Vice Versa'. In October, on the year I debuted, I made up the mind to buy it when I returned home from the editorial branch, and I spent 30,000 Yen."

I guess a 30,000 Yen watch might be considered cheap.

But I was wearing a watch I got from my Middle School days, and that's worth 3,000 Yen. The price shot up to 10 times here. On a side note, the scrap on that old watch was about to break, and I was scared of losing it, so I had it as a pocket watch that is hanging in the bathroom.

"No matter how expensive of a watch I'll get in the future, I don't intend to throw this one. Even if it's broken and I can't repair it, I'll put it up in the room."

"Like Meek's muffler…"

Nitadori noted happily. Yep, that's right, I do find it similar.

Shin really treasured the muffler Meek gave him in the first volume, and would always wear it on his neck when the weather was cold.

"Also, I bought that little notebook computer I mentioned before."

I pointed at the rack above me.

My backpack contained the most practical work tool. In fact, the backpack used to hold the stuff was bought using the publication fee too.

"Also, there's also this, though mom was the one who provided the money first."

I took out the smartphone I just used for calculating from my pocket.

"The editor-in-charge told me 'I can't really force you, but you really helped me out by having a smartphone. I can't force you, but you really helped me out'."

"You said it twice!"

"Well, since I had to spend the night in a hotel in Tokyo, it was better for me to have a cellphone...when I was in my first year of High School, I had to head to Tokyo because of many meetings, and I felt a phone was a must, so I got it. The first phone I had was the latest smartphone. I hesitated due to how expensive it was, but with it, I could see maps, check information, and use the tethering function so that my laptop can be connected to the internet anywhere. It's really convenient!"

I excitedly chatted about the cellphone I finally got in my first year of high school.

"Well, but I never actually thought of getting a cellphone before then."

That was a fact.

It seemed mom wanted to buy one for me when I entered high school. To be honest, I didn't really have such a want, and that's because--

"Basically, I didn't think a cellphone is a must. I don't have any friends I can call, and with an internet function, I don't need to have a call function!"

I heartily finished off my words.

"Ahaha…"

In any case, Nitadori laughed.

"Then, are you using it properly as a phone?"

I glance at the smartphone in my hand, answering,

"I am. The numbers in the phone book are increasing."

"Who are they?"

"Other than my mom, everyone related to work."

"You're a high school student!"

Nitadori said happily.

I too do think that this isn't normal, but I don't mind. I do think that adding so many numbers in the phone book is something wonderful.

"Then am I considered 'work related'?"

Nitadori asked, and I nodded, answering,

"Of course."

In any case, she is Meek's voice actress.

Unlike a novel, an anime needs the collective work of many to be completed. They're people involved with the important work, and in a certain sense, 'partners'.

"Then--"

Nitadori spoke up.

"That's why--"

But it was wiped out by my words.

"Ah, please continue."

Nitadori allowed me to go first, so I was feeling embarrassed as I continued.

But even so, it's too difficult for me to talk while looking at Nitadori's face all the time. Thus, I look at the backrest of the front seat, saying my true thoughts.

"I really want to thank all the people involved in the production of the anime, and the voice actors."

"..."

"As long as I can help, I'll do so."

"..."

"If everyone involved in the anime can feel blessed, I'll be really happy."

Having said what I wanted to say, I glanced to the right.

"..."

What was that?

Nitadori looked a little forlorn.

I didn't know the reason at all, but I knew this topic was inappropriate.

I slipped the smartphone into my pocket.

"Now then, where did I end at…?"

From the topic that was way off point, I proceeded to drag us back to the main point.

"Right! SInce we talked about earnings, we'll have to talk about 'tax reporting."

The moment I said this, Nitadori raised her right index finger, practically saying I know'!

"I think I heard of it! Like a blue form, red form or something."

"Right--but there's no red form actually. There's only a blue form and a white form."

"Is ? Is that so? I thought there'll be a red form when the figures are in a deficit?"

Nitadori said with a serious look.

I didn't know if she was really mistaken, or just joking around.

In other words, I didn't know whether it was an ominous omen, or an act--

I guess I shouldn't mention this to Nitadori.

I continued to explain.

"I earned 4 million Yen in my first year as an author, and I had to file my tax in the following year, from February to March."

"I did hear of the term tax filing, but basically, what do I do? Speaking of which, what does it mean?"

"Basically, it means 'determining how much money you earned, and reporting it to the country'."

"I see, so tax filing...but for what purpose?"

"There are two answers to this. Why does the country need people to file their tax, and why I have to file my taxes."

"Then...the country part first."

"That's because the country needs to collect taxes. If the people don't report honestly, the country won't know how much to deduct, how much tax to collect."

"I see...then, what about you, sensei?"

"To get some tax rebates."

"Hm?

I didn't explain it before. As the term implied, the income tax had something to do with the word 'income'.

The income would refer to the earned money ('sales money') deducted by the necessary fees ('expenses').

"I did mention that the publisher would deduct the income tax before sending it to me, right?"

"Yep."

"That's directly deducted from the sales amount, and has nothing to do with the expenses."

"Ah, I see…"

"Thus, I'll report to the country saying that 'I spent this much, so this is my actual income, and I had too much income tax deducted', and ask the country to return me some of the income tax I paid. Well, this is the reason for me to report tax."

"I see...then, what do your expenses contain?"

"FIrst off, the necessities needed for writing. Back then, it'll be pens and composition paper, but right now, it's computer and printer and so on."

"And the rest?"

"I think the more well known ones are probably information, book fees. Movies are considered information too, so I have to include DVD fees. I I want something actual when referencing a work, that thing will become information too. Also...there's the fees for phone and internet, the transportation fees to head to and back from the editorial branch, and if there are travel fees for material gathering--"

I raised each point I thought of, and Nitadori continued to nod in response.

"House rent and utilities are to be considered, but they're used for daily living, I can't get a full rebate. I need to explain how much was used for work, and report that part. And so I did."

There are many other examples, but I decided to state to this point.

"When filing my taxes, I'll fill in anything I think of as expenses in the form, and submit it."

Nitadori showed a serious look as she heard my explanation. I once read in a book that 'if a student is very outstanding, the teacher will be very motivated to teach'. Right now, I'm really feeling it.

This outstanding student asked,

"But sensei, when calculating and explaining how much tax to pay, you have to prepare some 'receipts', right?"

"Right. Thus, when I buy something, I'll ask for a receipt no matter what, and keep it."

'Anyone working in the book industry has to keep receipts!'--having learned of this in a essay from the past, from the day I first submitted my draft I would keep receipts whenever I bought anything. I would first keep my receipts in my wallet, and once I got home, throw them all into a large transparent box.

But when doing that, once I started to actually account, I had to sort out a large number of receipts.

In other words, I had to sort them out by material information, transport fees, and so on. This work is really tedious.

Thus, nowadays, I'll use a multi-layered document case. I'll write out the accounting item on every drawer, and after drawing out my receipts from my wallet, I could sort them out into the respective drawers.

I did check on the internet on ways to file taxes,

And I learned that there was two of them.

One of them was the very simple process 'white form'.

The other was the 'bue form'. The process was a little more complicated, but there would be more privileges to be enjoyed, tax rebates to be obtained.

I heard that when the sum was not too big, simply taking the white form would be good enough, so i did so.

The information to be prepared would be the accounting items, and separately calculate the receipts in a statement. In other words,

"This is how much money I used."

A form to explain this. I used a calculating software on the computer to come up with this. It sounds simple, but sorting out the receipts and entering the numbers take quite a lot of time.

I took this information, complied the receipts, the pay slips provided by ASCII Media Works (at this moment, I'll receive a statement for the entire year), and a stamp, and head to the tax department.

"Is it hard to do?"

"In fact, it wasn't that hard. I just needed to follow the instructions of the uncle, fill in the particulars, and it was done quickly."

"And then...what happens next?"

"They thought that 'I paid too much income tax', and gave me my money in the form of 'tax rebate'. A few days later, that sum of money, not small in itself, would be transacted to my account."

"I see."

"I can put it so lightly right now. But in fact, I had to search everything out by myself, so I really went through a lot of trouble...to be honest, this is the most troublesome thing to me after I became an author."

"But if that's last February, you reported your tax this year, didn't you? Your earnings this year."

I nodded.

"I won't ask about the income...but it's probably increasing, isn't it?"

That's right.

The income I had last year--was shocking over 18 million Yen.

The reprint of the 1st and 2nd volumes, combined with the initial prints and reprints of the 3rd to 7th volume, brings the total to 300,000 Yen.

I started to wondered the meaning of the words Nitadori said 'I won't ask about the money'.

Would that refer to 'it's rude to continue asking, so I won't ask, and you don't have to answer'? Or 'I won't ask, so please tell me'?

I gulped the tea, pondering.

I could tell her, but I didn't hope that she thinks I'm bragging.

But even so, I've already mentioned my earnings for the first year, and she probably can imagine that the next earning will be far more than the first year.

What do I do? What do I do?

Just when I was feeling frustrated,

"Well, for example, if the earnings are about 18 million Yen...."

I could hear Nitadori's voie.

"Eh?"

"So how much will the tax be? The tax rates will increase greatly, right?"

"...How do you know?"

"Eh? How what?"

"Eh? Yearly earnings…"

"Ah, ahh, I got it correct!?"

Nitadori looked delighted yet embarrassed.

"Right on point. I'm wondering how did you get the figure…."

"Well...the anime announcement was made this January, right?"

I nodded.

"Back then, there was a lot of news on the media saying 'a popular work that has sold more than 450,000 books', right?"

I nodded.

"The first year has 80,000 copies, and at that moment, it was 450,000 copies, so deducting that will give me 370,000 copies. In the world of advertisements however, such a number--"

"Right, they'll make a 'rough estimate' (Kiriyoku)."

" Kiriyoku'?"

"Yeah, it means that they'll use a slightly big number during release to get people to easily understand--"

"Yeah, that's it! So I used 350,000 copies to count, and got 18,000,000 Yen."

"I see…"

This little deduction really surprised me, but it removed any of my troubles. She really helped me out.

"Right. I earned that much money, and I had to handle a second tax."

That happened just 3 months ago.

It was the second time I had to do my taxes, but I don't want to spend an entire day doing so. If I have that sort of time, I want to use it to write a novel.

I was about to start school again, and my time to spend entire days writing was about to come to an end.

So I left it to a pro.

"A pro?"

"Accountant."

"Ahh."

"Actually, there are two differences between the first time last year and the second time this year."

"One of them is that you hired an accountant. What is the other?"

"Well, I switched to a blue form."

"It's here! The blue form!"

Nitadori squealed excitedly, and then tilted her head, saying,

"--erm, what does that mean? What is the difference from the white form?"

"Well, when using the blue form to report, you need documents that are more detailed. Thus, it's hard to hide the money flow, and of course, harder to evade tax."

But even so, everyone will choose the white form if I say this, so there are many privileges earned when reporting with a blue form.

That would be the unique privilege of 'tax reduction'. This reduction would be 'cutting off'. The blue form reporting had privilege function to deduct the sum of money to be taxed, and of course, the tax will be lesser.

Also, another important thing is that if anyone wished to report using the blue form, there is a need to request 'I'm using a blue form' a year prior. I did so when I was reporting using the white form.

Having talked for so long, I felt thirsty, and Nitadori too was the same, so we drank our bottles of tea.

Both of us lifted our bottles in unison, let the tea flow in, and put down the bottles in unison, it looked as though we were doing ballet.

Because of this, Nitadori was smiling at me--

I was stunned. I did not know what sort of face to show.

I should not be simply answering questions, even if it is a lie or an act, I should at least say something empathetic.

My face sullened, and Nitadori beamed, asking me,

"Is it nice?"

I honestly answered,

"Really nice."

"Great."

Having decided on blue form report, and to ask an accountant to handle it--

"Now then, I'll explain what I had to do in detail."

"Yep."

"I submitted a lot of documents. That's all. I submitted all my paypals, a photocopy of my passbook, and as proof that I paid, I had to prepare a whole list of receipts for all categories."

"So, will the accountant be in charge of counting the receipts, filing the documents, and everything?"

"Right. It's really easy...of course, I'll pay appropriate. It'll be more expensive to just throw everything to him and let him handle. If I'm to sort out the accounting items and calculate before sending the data over, the fees will be cheaper."

"I see."

"However, the fees here can be counted as 'expense'. Comparing the money I pay to get the accountant to handle this, and the time I spend...I guess looking at the results, I think it'll be cheaper to leave it to him. Of course, that goes different for those 'I have time, I know what to do, so I'll handle this myself!'."

Authors earn through the publication fees.

The publication fees will first be taxed before it enters the account.

And through reporting tax, tax rebates on excessive tax is earned.

This is where my explanation ends.

"I said a few times before that the me back then wasn't very familiar with this. I was practically wandering around in the darkness, dealing with everything."

"But the editorial branch tell you anything about this?"

Nitadori said it as a matter of fact--

"Nope, they didn't."

I shook my head.

"Really?"

"The editorial branch has no duty to explain that much to me...speaking of which, they probably don't know that much either."

"Then?"

"Authors can only increase their own knowledge. The only ones capable of helping me out at this point...are the senior authors."

Looking my situation, I practically had no assistance before I submitted the white form. That was because I did not know any other authors. Even the request for a blue form was something I found out for myself.

However, it was a certain senior author who told me 'just hire an accountant'.

I had the same meeting times as him, so we do meet at the editorial branch from time to time. I practically read through all his works, and I was really honored to meet him.

After that, the editor-in-charge brought me out to eat.

Whenever the editor-in-charge had time and arranged for other authors to meet, he'll invite parties to gather in a mea organized by the editorial branch, a party.

The location was at 'Kagurazaka' near the editorial branch. I think I heard of this place before. This place had some of the old houses from before, and also a lot of posh restaurants.

I'm really happy that the editorial branch is willing to allow us to enjoy such delicious food in such a posh restaurant. Of course, I don't drink.

While we gather, I talked in depth about my things with that senior author.

That author knew that my work was selling well, and he told me in depth about the blue form reporting. He also introduced me to an accountant him and his author friends really trusted, and really helped me.

Now, having finished everything about tax filing--

There was almost 15 minutes till the terminal.

Nitadori asked me the time, and I answered as I showed my watch.

"Now then, the remaining time is short, so I'll ask anything else next week. Thanks for this week too. It's really interesting."

"No problems."

I recalled that she did say something like that the previous week.

Back then, I talked about reading the fan letters to pass time back then. Will she ask about it this one? I think answering questions would be easier for me.

While I thought of that, Nitadori said,

"Sensei...I got a question."

"Go ahead."

Thinking that it was easier for me, I answered,

"Erm...what do you think of my performance last week?"

She asked something I could not answer easily.

She asked me that seriously, staring at me intently.

Obviously, I looked flustered.

"Ah...it's fine, you don't have to force yourself…"

Nitadori said dejectedly.

"Erm, if I have to say my personal thoughts--"

Hearing my words, Nitadori turned her glasses towards me.

In such situations, I won't lie. I'll just say my actual thoughts honestly.

"Wh-what is it?"

"The participating voice actors really performed marvellously before my eyes. Shin, Sin, Ema, Pluto, Meek and the others, it felt like they came to life."

I did my best to answer.

"...Tha-thank--thank you very much!"

Nitadori thanked me. Again, I honestly stated my points.

"But...actually, I did say that once the After Record ended."

"Erm, but, well...the others are there, so I thought that it was that occasion…"

Nitadori said, looking somewhat bashful.

"I'm not that good at faking it."

Personally, I can't act. The moment I finished, I realized something I was curious with, and took the initiative to ask Nitadori,

"Oh yeah, can I ask you a question…"

"Go ahead, go ahead!"

She beamed happily in agreement, and so, I raised my doubt.

"Nitadori--when did you start acting?"

"..."

Seeing her look so flabbergasted, I was wondering if I asked something I should not have.

After thinking about it 3 times, I did not think there was anything strange about it.

Soon after, I thought that she did not know what I was referring to,

"Erm...after you read' Momotarou', when you heard the questions from everyone in class, I think I overheard a conversation--that you were participating in a drama club in your previous school…"

"Ah! Ahh! Erm! Right! That's it, you mean?"

I didn't know--what was Nitadori mistaken about, but it appeared to be settled. The blank look she showed started to move.

"Right! I was in a drama club. I thought what you meant when you mentioned 'acting'."

I see, so that's how it is. I asked the wrong question. Should have asked 'when did she start acting'.

"Sorry...I might have phrased it wrongly. Also, I overheard your conversation, it seems. Sorry."

"It's fine! I understand! About that drama club, isn't it? Well, please don't think that you're eavesdropping. You're seated in front of me, and it's weird if you can't hear. I was answering to everyone else after all."

Nitadori spoke with her usual tone, and then answered my initial question,

"I did learn a little when I was in elementary school, and I began studying it for real in middle school, for 3 straight years, until I transferred to this high school."

In that case, she studied this for at least 4 years. No wonder the acting's really good. Of course, I don't think that alone would make her a good voice actress however; I'm guessing that she had all kinds of other training too.

"I've been studying in an international school all this while."

Nitadori informed me of this, and I thoroughly understood why she was so proficient in English.

"The drama teacher back then--"

She continued to chirp happily,

"Would say to us happily before teaching us, "Everyone, transform yourself into someone else! You can be anyone!'"

"Was that in English?"

"Of course."

I started to have a mental image of a foreigner teacher called Mister John or a Miss Jeanne happily chatting in front of everyone. I don't know English, so when the teacher's speaking in English, there was subtitles.

Nitadori in 7th grade was among the students, and her appearance is the same as she is now, other than her being a little shorter. She has long black hair, and spectacles on.

"She's a nice teacher...she said 'alright, time for acting'--"

So it's Miss Jeanne.

"To me, that's like a transformation spell…"

I felt that something was amiss.

And then, I immediately realized the reason.

When speaking to me, Nitadori would look at me in the eyes.

This probably was because she was the one raising the questions, that she would abide by the etiquette when talking with people, and look at me in the eyes.

I would be flustered by it, unable to stare at a cute girl throughout as I continue talking with her.

Thus, I avoided it many times. I kept feeling Nitadori's eyes as I either looked at the backrest of the seat in front of me, or at my knees.

But this Nitadori was different.

Nitadori did not look at me.

Feeling amiss, I stared at Nitadori, but she wasn't looking at me.

Her eyes were looking at her intertwined fingertips.

"It was the same during the After Record. I would mutter this quietly in my heart."

I recalled her trembling lips that shivered with the script.

"Ah! That was!"

I could not help but blurt out."

"Eh?"

Nitadori finally looked at me, her eyes looking over her shoulder.

"That moment...as in?"

She looked at me skeptically. Imprisoned by this stare, I answered.

"It was during the After Record last week...when you were to appear on the B scene, I saw you muttering something, Nitadori."

"Wah! It's embarrassing...I'm found out!"

There was no pretense in her words, but her face really went red, and she cupped her head.

"I always did such a thing before recording...wahh, it's really embarrassing…"

I see. So she did so every time, and nobody realized it?

"Hii…"

She continued to groan. This might be the first time I found Nitadori to be a year younger than me.

Seeing her look so cute, I asked

"That was in English, right? What were you muttering about?"

Nitadori suddenly lifted her head at me,

"It's time to play!"

She answered with fluency. Her enunciation and accent was just like a foreigner.

"It's, time--to, play…"

I quietly repeated in Japanese enunciation.

I was not proficient in English, but I would pay attention to class.

So, I think I can understand that level of English, anyway.

Of course, the 'play' here isn't about 'playing games', but 'play acting'.

"I cut off the 'it's', so the little spell I mutter is--'time to play'.

"Time to play…"

"Alright, it's time to act! Come on, everyone, break away from yourself and be someone else. I'm going to become someone else now. Time to play, time to play."

"I see, so you can transform into anyone else when acting?"

"Yep. You can become anyone. Anyone can do it, and so can you, sensei. Want to try?"

"Me? Erm…"

Time to play.

I muttered these words in my head.

I guess it's impossible for me, I immediately thought.

I'm an author, I write novels.

I can think of fake worlds, write fake conversations.

But I can't act. I can't handle fake conversation.

Right when I was wondering how to explain this to Nitadori--

The train began to broadcast an announcement indicating the impending arrival at the terminal.

So in the end, I missed out on the chance to tell her.

### 006. Chapter 5 - May 8, I was touched by her

I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

She—

Eri Nitadori continued to choke the sides of my carotid pulse with her icy hands.

Her hands were really, really cold. I could feel time from the sides of my neck.

I remained prone on the floor, and Nitadori was crouched on me. The only thing appearing in my sights was her upper body.

That would mean her hands reaching at my neck, her face, and the long black hair draped down the sides like curtains.

The backlight dimmed her teary face. It look really tragic.

Having cried so much, the tears gathered on the inside of her glasses, and slowly rained upon my cheeks. The tears fell gently, wetting my face little by little.

Nitadori opened her mouth, probably trying to say something. Once she was done inhaling, she uttered,

"W—"

It's long,

"h—"

In fact, it's probably rather fast.

"y—"

But I guess it's rather slow to my ears.

Why?

Why did things end up like this?

The ghost lights continued to linger in front of my eyes.

May 8, Thursday.

I took the usual Limited Express train from the local station, and sat at the usual seat.

It was the week after Golden Week ended, and the number of passengers riding were obviously fewer than the prior week. I might say it was back to normal.

The weather was clear, but the gusts were strong since morning.

My body shook violently along with the gusts as I waited for the train on the platform. It was said that there were strong winds in Kanto, where I am going to, but I hope the train won't delay because of this.

I hear the announcement in the train before it departed--

I recalled the After Record during the prior week.

Last Friday, at the After Record of the 'Vice Versa'.

Nitadori was dressed in plain clothing easy for moving in, and arrived earlier than the editor-in-charge and me, greeting her seniors over and over again.

Then, the recording began.

The 5th episode of the anime--

The last battle in the first volume of 'Vice Versa' was about to begin.

The first half of the anime episode was dubbed as 'part A', and Shin knew of Sin's struggles.

Sin would only show his tender side to his little sister Ema. In fact, Sin hated war, but understood that only a crusade could save his country.

And so Shin, who unwittingly knew of this, decided to take Sin's place so that Shin's country would not be 'defeated' in battle.

Shin disguised himself as Sin, and deliberately allowed himself to be captured by Pluto's forces.

In the ancient city where the enemy's main army was stationed, Shin was dragged to Pluto--and easily revealed to be an imposter.

We caught Sin! The subordinates were exuberant, but Pluto retorted,

"You fools! He's just an imposter who really looks alike! Does this guy's eyes look like one of a King?"

Shin nodded,

"I suppose."

And Pluto stood in front of Shin, smiling amicably,

"Well, I do praise you for having the guts to sneak in alone."

"Th-thank you very much! Can I head back now?"

"Sure, I shall send you on your way."

And with that, Pluto personally drew the sword, and sliced Shin apart.

His corpse broke apart.

After that was the commercial.

The anime After Record--

Before recording every main segment, they would have rehearsals, (Typically, it would be twice, but if the recording time they arranged for at the studio was insufficient, they would go through with once), actual recording, checks for mistakes, and preview records.

I don't know how it goes for other anime, but this is the case for 'Vice Versa'.

The break after Part A's recording was about to end.

They were about to start recording 'Part B'.

At the beginning of part B, Meek finally spoke for the first time.

This pretty glasses girl who sits behind me in class, who sat beside me in the train the day prior, and loves horse sashimi--

Had the script in hand, facing the thick soundproof glass, standing in front of the microphone.

Right beside her is a famous male voice actor playing the role of Shin. He's rather handsome, has amazing acting skills, and practically had no NGs in the recording of part A.

I--

And most of the people there realized it.

Nitadori's script was shaking terribly.

Of course, the script of paper and ink wouldn't shake on its own.

Nitadori's left hand was shaking slightly.

The left hand wasn't shaking much, but the front end of the script was shaking rather hard.

Nitadori's mouth was opened slightly, and she appeared to be muttering something.

Even the powerful microphone could not pick up on the voice, so I guess she probably was just muttering in her mind. This continued on for a while.

Her hands were shivering, her mouth moving as though she was chanting a spell.

I wondered how nervous Nitadori really was--

I was in a safe zone buffered by a layer of class, and I couldn't comprehend that at all.

It was the first time she was voicing a named character.

The first scene where her character would speak.

And inside this studio, the one who really 'wanted to run away at this moment'--

Was me.

But no matter my thoughts, the monitors everywhere aired the animation.

The production of the anime 'Vice Versa' appeared to have gone really well, and most of the animation was already comparable to the quality of the actual broadcast (though without the voices).

I heard from the editor-in-charge that this was a rare occurrence.

It was said that during the After Record of most anime, the visuals showed--

Would typically be the moments of the characters, uncolored, or hand-drawn manga styled straight from the storyboard.

In such moments, they would use the character names and marks to indicate the moments the voice actors are to speak.

According to an editorial I saw on a magazine, if the anime is complete, it would be much easier for the participating voice actors to follow the expressions of the characters.

Part B--

At the beginning of that scene was Meek, pushing a wheelbarrow that contained the severed parts of Shin.

The location was the dark basement of the castle, where nobody else was at.

Meek was obeying her master's orders, silently pushing the wheelbarrow to dump the corpse.

She threw Shin's corpse into an underground drain that acted as the waterway, and there were several ploops heard.

Meek was about to return after she was done with her mission, but she turned around upon hearing water, and found Shin revived--

"KYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Meek's first line was a shrill, long, long, long scream.

In the novel's narration, I wrote,

"Her scream shook all the stones forming the tunnel"

I liked seeing all kinds of animation, and viewed the voice actors as stars.

So, during the 5 weeks I observed the After Record, I was so happy that I forgot I was working, and I enjoyed the actors' performances as much as I could.

The performance of these famous voice actors is really amazing, and I feel really moved every week to be able to personally witness their performance.

And then--

As for that rookie voice actress who is younger than I am, the girl was so nervous, her hand was shivering all this time.

"KYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Her performance did not move the underground rocks, but instead, moved something deep within my heart.

I didn't remember exactly when Nitadori's hand stopped shaking.

The shaking of a script couldn't be recorded, so she probably regained her composure before the recording began.

I was completely mesmerized by her vocal performance that was displayed before my eyes.

Shin, who was supposed to be a corpse in pieces, revived after his body dipped in the water, and he emerged from it.

Why did he take so long to revive? The readers would often comment when it came to this point. My main focus back then was to express, and back then, I didn't notice this part at all.

Also, since Shin was chopped up, the clothes on his body fell off, so in this scene, Shin was naked.

Stark naked as he stood in front of her.

"..."

Meek shrieked, and fell limp on the floor, remaining silently.

Normally, in a novel, this will be passed off as an ellipsis--

But in an anime, a voice actor will use a breath to indicate the reason why a character is remaining silent. In this situation, all Meek felt was fear.

I heard Nitadori's breathing as she shivered due to fear.

"Arghh! It's cold! I'm freezing!"

And Shin deliberately said such exaggerated words so that this girl (though she's a homunculus) who's timidly looking up at him wouldn't feel scared.

"Erm, sorry for scaring you--eh, woah!"

Then, Shin realized that he was naked, but there was nothing that he could use to cover his body.

"It's cold!"

Shin had his back turned on Meek, rubbing his body with both arms.

Till this point, I saw that Shin's crotch was nicely covered by Meek's body or the torch on the wall--

Looks like a little bare butt is okay.

Then, Meek asked,

"A-are...you not going to kill me?"

Instead, Shin turned back, asking with a dumbfounded look.

"Hm? Why?"

"I'm your enemy...I intend to kill you."

Meek slowly stood up, and finished her words.

"Ah...well, but...I guess that's fine. Go ahead if you want to kill me. That'll be useless though, so I don't really recommend that you do that..."

"...?"

"Well, I'm immortal...in this world...you can tell, right?"

Meek stared at Shin for quite a while. The color of the beautiful eyes are different, one wine red, and one yellow, and they are emphasized.

And then, Meek was on the verge of tears saying,

"If only I can't die...if that happens, I can continue to fight on and protect my master..."

"Humans are born, and fated to die. This goes for me too, but my presence here is just an exception...I just came to this world for a little while...I don't have any idea as to how I'm to head back to my own world..."

And upon hearing Shin's sad reply, Meek's voice became harsher.

"But I'm not human!"

"...?"

Shin tilted his head.

From here on, Meek let out a long spiel of words.

Meek was smiling, but it was not one of happiness, instead being one born of anguish.

“I'm a Homunculus, a created being—not a human!”

“...”

“Please look at these eyes! The left and right eyes are different in color! This is the proof of a homunculus...you probably don't know that, do you? The materials used to create us are gathered from corpses. When we are created, we are granted with only one eye. We are then brought to our masters...and we have a gemstone put inside. That is the other eye. The gem eye is a proof of loyalty, and a symbol of one not being a human!”

When she rattled off with this long line of words, shown on the screen is a terrifying scene of the 'eye embedding moment'.

It probably would be too grotesque to be shown directly, so the anime displayed it through silhouettes.

“I'm a homunculus, only to live for my master...”

Meek's monologue.

She muttered as she slowly put her hands at the back of her waist. Over there were her favorite daggers that were cross sheathed.

A flashback aired, showing Meek's past.

In the visuals, the others showed her some curious stares, looking at her as though she was a monster. In the town, she was scorned mercilessly by the people around her, and occasionally, brutalized without reason.

About this part—

Even I thought it was 'too dark'.

The homunculus in 'Vice Versa' were typically unfortunate.

They were born to be slaves, and had to obey their master's orders. Due to their unique eyes, anyone around them would be able to determine who they were, and not think of them as human.

Homunculus had far superior athletic abilities than humans, and if they had that intent, they could easily kill any master who was careless, but they could not do so. That is because their hearts were infused with the order 'to absolutely serve their masters'.

Because of such characteristics, the people who became the masters of the homunculus would typically think of them as 'puppets with a conscience'.

Well, I did write the relationship between Pluto and Meek (This has to do with the fact that Pluto's actually female) as a beautiful relationship between master and servant.

Pluto's personality was that of cruelty and lack of mercy. She viewed all subordinates as equal, be they homunculus or human.

In other words, she would call out to her subordinates however she wanted, and they would do their best to fulfill her orders.

Shin heard Meek's words with his butt facing her, and turned around.

Shin really wanted to tell her something, so he forgot that he was completely naked, saying with utter seriousness.

“Please don't be so frustrated about comparing yourself with other people.You—are you after all.”

Meek's hands were weakly slumped, not holding anything.

“...”

She was viewed as a 'human' for the first time in her life, and widened her heterochromia eyes.

“Ugh, it's cold...”

To settle a showdown with Pluto, Shin walked off while feeling really cold.

In the strategy both Shin and Sin came up with, Shin was to create a ruckus, die, and revive, and then die again, causing chaos in the enemy camp. He's the main character, but his actions feels like some zombie or some demon king in a horror flick.

Shin moved on to completely his mission.

“Wait!”

Meek called out with a serious voice. It was sudden, and Meek was different from before, not using any formalities. This was the first time Meek spoke like that.

“...”

So a fight is inevitable? Shin turned around sadly, but saw Meek take off the muffler on her neck, handing it to him, saying,

“Please...use this...”

“Eh?”

Shin hesitated for a while, and then smiled,

“Oh!”

He immediately beamed, and took the muffler with both hands, but right when he was about to put it on his waist—

“I guess it has to be like this after all.”

He wrapped it around his neck.

The protagonist—

Was naked, wearing only a muffler.

Of course, I actually wrote the story with this in mind.

In fact, after it was animated, it did look rather hilarious. He really looked like an unabashed pervert there.

Laughter could be heard from the control room.

“Thanks, it's warm.”

Shin beamed at Meek.

“Next, I want some pants...”

Shin muttered as he began running.

“...”

I let go of Master's enemy. But I've completed the mission of 'dumping off the corpse, and Master never commanded me on what to do after that. But that man's Master's enemy, but he treats me as a person, but—

“...”

Meek was starting to feel conflicted, and she let out some white breath, watching him leave.

Right in front of her eyes was a shaking butt.

Nitadori made no mistakes in her lines during the rehearsal.

The sound director gave all kinds of instructors, but as an amateur, I did not know what was the problem.

After some instructions, the sound director asked me,

“Sensei, is there any problem with Meek's parts?”

“None!”

I immediately answered.

After that, everyone made a rehearsal, and the official voice work began—

As for me, all I did was watch and just let myself be moved, shouting in my heart 'wow, it's amazing'.

I suppose that if I had turned around during Nitadori's recital, I would be able to see Nitadori as she was. However, work was different from class after all—

Wondering that, I observed the performance of these professional voice actors.

Something else also happened on that day.

It was when the recording ended.

I chatted with the anime makers and the editor-in-charge for a little while, so I left the control room a few minutes later.

I exit the studio lobby, and found the voice actor portraying Shin talking with Nitadori by the wall.

It was a scene of a senior talking to a junior, but Nitadori had her head slightly lowered, and she did not look right.

It might not be an appropriate choice of words, but I had the mental image of 'a handsome voice actor flirting with a female high school girl'.

When this voice actor was confirmed to be playing as Shin, I searched through the internet—

'A handsome guy who has scandals with many voice actress'.

I managed to find a website that contained such rumors, and looked through all of them.

There were many exploits on the website, but I did not know how truthful they might be. Besides, I decided not to believe in internet rumors that easily (if I do, my real identity will probably be 'an experienced female author in her 30s who writes with a different pen name and loves BL works.)

Personally, I don't hate this voice actor.

I think that his voice and acting skills are brilliant, really suited to act as Shin, who starts off timid, only to gradually get stronger.

But when I see him talk with Nitadori happily—

This voice actor just feels like some evil wizard aiming to bring Nitadori to another world I don't know of.

But even so, this isn't something I could gossip about, so it was fine.

I told the editor-in-charge,

“I'll be going first then.”

This was a line that could be used at any given situation, and right when I was about to pass by them,

“Ah, sensei! Please wait!”

The voice actor spoke to me directly. The voice was exactly the same as Shin's, so I thought I entered the world of 'Vice Versa'.

I stopped, turned around, and he asked,

“Yo, what do you think of her performance?”

Her, in this case, would refer to Nitadori. As for performance, it would refer to her acting.

I was surprised, but Nitadori appeared to be more surprised.

“...”

Her eyes were widened more than before, and it felt as though her eyes were about to pop out from her glasses frame.

I merely glanced aside at Nitadori, and immediately turned my glance to the handsome, pristine face of the voice actor.

“Really amazing.”

I answered earnestly, with no sense of pretense at all.

That voice actor isn't a mirror, so I can't tell what sort of face I made back then.

And I don't understand why that voice actor would suddenly smile like that.

“Of course, isn't it? I was telling Nitadori about this.”

But the voice actor then said,

“I do remember that you're 17, sensei?”

I nodded, and he then pointed his palm at Nitadori, saying,

“I heard that she's 16. It's really unbelievable. Both of you are way too young.”

And then, he lamented,

“From now one...it'll be the era of you youngsters...”

No wait. This guy should be 25.

Before I can understand his words while I remain rooted, this voice actor said,

“Nitadori. This sensei will be writing stories that will get animated. I know sensei has that kind of foresight from his scent. All I have are sharp ears, and a decent appearance. In other words, you might be in sensei's care from now on, so you should take the opportunity to shake hands with sensei now, and increase your chances of interacting.”

He said some words I couldn't coment on, and prompted Nitadori to reach her right hand.

Nitadori slowly reached her slender right arm.

“I'm a rookie, and I'll continue to work hard to play as Meek. Please continue to take care of me.”

“...”

After much struggle, I manage to reach out and hold her hand.

Besides, in this life of mine, I have never held a girl's hand before.

“Th-thank you.”

Saying that, I touched Nitadori's hand.

It was really, really—

Cold.

And while I was immersed in my thoughts.

"Yahoo!"

Nitadori was seated beside me before I knew it, and we were so close that I could feel her breathing when she greeted me, startling me.

"Woah!"

I let out a strange squeal, twitching my body, and ended up hitting my back against the wall. Nitadori laughed, and asked,

"What language is that?"

"..."

While the train accelerated gradually....

I recalled the sight of that Nitadori last week, and compared it to the her this week. This difference between them really confused me.

No. I do know both of them are Eri Nitadori.

I do understand that the one wandering between different worlds is me.

"Sensei, you're giving a distant look. After you think about anything? Is it about the next work?"

"Well, I guess."

I immediately replied. It was a lie, but the reply was smooth. No, this can't really be considered a lie after all; I can insist that everything I'm thinking is about the plot of my next work. It'll be fine if the topic of my next light novel is 'my classmate is a voice actress'.

"Wow, so cool; just like an author."

"..."

"Eh? Where's the usual reply?"

"...I'm an author after all."

"Good good."

Rather than Nitadori who's using formal language out of respect,

"Hello. Over here! It's Katsudon for today!"

I prefer the Nitadori who hands me the plastic bag filled with potato chips with a smile on her face.

Well, I suppose the term like is mostly a matter of contrast.

I pulled out a bag of salt flavored potato chips and tea groin the bag, and Nitadori said,

"I got a list of questions. Stone I have lots of things to ask, I went ahead to remember."

"It's like a magazine interview, isn't it? To be honest, you really helped me out here. I've been wondering about what I should talk about today?"

"Wow. Thanks for that."

Nitadori took out a little notebook, and opened it.

I had a little glance, and those are some nice words.

"Ah!"

Nitadori hides the questions from me, probably because she doesn't want me to know beforehand.

I guess anyone will be hungry at this moment, and I graciously munch on the chips and drank the tea.

I did ask Nitadori if she wanted to have some, but as before, she didn't take one.

I guess it's because it's a gesture to treat me? Or that she's refusing politely because she's worried about looking bad if she's to eat on the train? Or that--she already ate a packet before she boarded?

I don't know her actual intent (I guess I don't have to think about that last guess), but I can't force her to eat. I indulge myself in a third of the packet, tied it up, and drank some tea.

"Now then--fire away with the questions."

And I say this inside this train that's moving on against strong headwinds.

There's about 3 hours till our destination, and I guess we can have a really long conversation here.

"First off, I don't know...actually, I don't know whether I can ask this question…"

It's rare for Nitadori to stammer like this.

"Eh? Erm…"

In case of whatever question it may be, I prepare myself.

Nitadori sounds a little apologetic as she continues,

"Eh, I thought...I shouldn't be asking such questions. But I'm still curious about it no matter how I tell myself this."

What exactly does Nitadori want to know about me? Feeling terrified, I shivered a little--

"Ah."

I immediately thought of a few possibilities. If that's it, I heave a sigh of relief inside.

And then, I asked, just in case,

"Maybe--it's about my earnings?"

"Are you an esper…?"

Nitadori answered in surprise.

"No, I'm an author."

First, I answer that, and then, Am I wrong? I quipped.

Nitadori looked a little embarrassed as she answered,

"That's right...it's about money...I know it's rude manners to ask this question."

And then, she showed me a determined look,

"But since I finally managed to find someone who knows about this, I want to ask if he agrees to it. I feel that in my future life, I won't be able to find anyone willing to answer me such questions."

And while Nitadori's showing such an intense will,

"Yeah, sure."

I promptly answered.

The matter of asking someone else about his earnings was truly rude, and even I, a high school boy, know about this.

The following is all off-topic--

In the country of New Zealand, famous for their sheep, one simply does not ask a farm owner how many sheeps they had. That is because it appeared that people could estimate the earnings through the number of sheep they have.

That was a trivia I read in a miscellaneous magazine, and I don't know if it's real or not. However, if I'm to go travelling there, I might try asking such questions, so I think it's better for me to pay attention to this.

Back to the point.

I do know it's rude to ask others of their earnings.

But I also know that there are those driven by curiosity to understand the earnings of the unique jobs.

Since I was young, I too wanted to know about an author's earnings. What did it mean to 'live on royalties', and how much tax to pay.

When I became an author myself, earned the publishing fees and the experiences of declaring my earnings, I gradually began to understand them.

About my income--

Obviously, I can't talk about this with people who don't know that I'm an author; if the other party knows that I'm an author, I do feel that I can treat it as a normal conversation.

Leaving aside my mother, till this point, I often discussed this topic bluntly with the senior authors during the refreshments after meetings at the editorial branch, and the end-of-year parties over the past two years.

Of course, we weren't just doing this to satisfy our curiosity.

When my books started to sell well, the senior authors began to tell me about tax reductions.

Some of them blatantly told me of their yearly earnings (as what the words implied, the top selling authors' earnings are really on a different scale from the rest.)

I won't tell anyone of their yearly earnings. At the same time, I don't think Nitadori will let slip whatever I told her.

And besides, I don't think that Nitadori's approaching me for the sake of money.

Or I should say, though it's just a guess--

I get the feeling that Nitadori's family is really rich.

Upon hearing my answer,

"Really? About that money…"

The bespectacled Nitadori asked with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, sure. Well, basically, keep this--"

"I won't say it out! I promise!"

She answered before I can finish my sentence.

Having decided to tell Nitadori, I scanned the train carriage as a precaution.

The train today is rather empty, and only two people are seated at the seats right at the front.

An author's earnings.

As anyone would know, an author's earnings is mainly derived by the publication fees of a book.

Also, there appears to be a 'manuscript fee' for publications in a magazine or a newspaper, a 'speaking fee' for speeches, 'source fee' and 'copyright fee' for an anime or movie adaptation, but I never received them.

The anime is yet to be completely made, so I've yet to receive the fees regarding this.

"Because of that, the scale of this will be the publishing fees in this company. Or to be precise, I'll only talk about publishing fees."

"Yep."

"Now then, before I talk about how much the publishing fee is--I'll like to talk about the definition."

"It's a Royalty, no? The publisher will be printing your work in books, sensei, so this money is a 'copyright fee' for you."

"Yep. That's impressive."

"Actually, I did research through the internet when I designed the questions. I did check on why it's called 'publishing fee'! It's not a tax, is it?"

As Nitadori had mentioned, the publishing fee isn't a tax.

Back when a publisher printed volumes, they would stick some kind of an author's stamp on the last page called a 'colophon', something called an 'inspection stamp'. (Some do stamp it directly on the book). The publisher will use the number of inspection stamps, and pay the money to authors directly.

This system is similar to 'printing fees', (like giving tax to the author), it is also called 'publication printing fee', and then simplified as 'publication fee'.

On a side note, this 'publication printing fee'--refers to the amount of money to be be paid when producing books. Authors with works in book form are paid according to the 'publication fee' pro-rata to the price plastered on the book.

In the end, people gave up on such a troublesome method, and chose not to go with inspection printing, so the method was scrapped.

In books that are slightly older, their back ends will contain the words 'inspection stamp is scrapped'. I did see them in an antiquarian bookshop.

"Well, even if I don't know that kind of history...anyway, the publisher will give the author a royalty known as 'publishing fee'--and the money is pro-rated "

"Uh huh, so how much is it, roughly?"

"Normally, the fee is around 10% or so. My situation is the same, and excluding the sales tax, 10% of the book price will be the publishing fee."

"Always?"

"I don't know if it'll change in the future. Of course, I do hope that it'll increase. I did hear that the rates for those extremely popular authors do increase, but I'm not sure what the actual situation is."

"I get it. Then, I'll use this 10%. In other words, if the book's sold, the fixed rate of 10% will be your earnings, right, sensei?"

Nitadori asked to confirm, but I shook my head.

"No, that's not it."

"Eh?"

It was not about 'once the book was sold'.

It was about 'once the book was printed'.

The book would first be printed, and the meaning of that would be equivalent to 'being made into a commercial product'.

And,

"The number of volumes printed will determine the revenue."

"Then, for an extreme example--"

I knew what Nitadori was trying to get at, so I continued from her words, saying,

"Assuming that a book has 100,000 copies printed. The publisher estimates that the book can sell about that much--however, the book couldn't sell after it was printed, and in fact, only 5 copies were sold."

"That's really drastic! That means that he and his family were the only ones who bought that book, right?"

Nitadori giddily grinned as she said that, but after saying those words, I felt a little heartbroken within. How would that author feel? There's a chance that even I may end up like that.

Well, my books are selling well, so I won't mention it for now. I continue on,

"But the author is able to get the publishing fee of 100,000 copies. Assuming that a book is sold for 500 Yen, 10% of that would be 50 Yen, and multiply that by 100,000, that'll be 5,000,000 Yen."

"Eh...I never knew that before. I always thought it was counted based on sales amount."

"Allow me to say that I heard that such a system actually exists. Dengeki Bunko however counts this through printed volumes."

Then, assuming that I get the publication fee that's 10% of the book price.

As the name implied, Dengeki Bunko is a paperback publisher. As for what a paperback is, it'll drag on, so I decided to omit it--anyway, it's a really small book.

The price of a paperback light novel ranges from 500 to 700 Yen. The prices is dependent on several factors, and the easiest to understand will be--

"The book thickness? Number of pages?"

"Of course, I won't know the actual numbers of the prices, pages and volumes. That was what the editor-in-charge told me when I asked him on the pricing."

"So the pricing isn't done by you, the author, sensei?"

I shook my head, saying,

"It's decided by the editorial branch...or rather, the publisher. But as I said, the thinner the book, the cheaper it is. Using the series 'Vice Versa' as an example, the price is typically around 600 pages. Actually, I wanted to make the book cheaper…"

"Eh--why!?"

Nitadori was really surprised.

It's not unreasonable for her to be so shocked. If the book is pricer when sold, the author's income will increase accrordingly.

But even so, I state my actual thoughts.

"Well...it's because the main demographic of light novels are Middle schoolers and high school students, and there are younger kids in elementary school who will read them. I feel that readers do buy the books using their pocket change, so even if it's cheaper by 10 Yen, it'll make them happy."

"Ah...now that you mention it, that's true. The more I like such books, the more I want to look at other works."

A thicker book would have more ample content. Even as an author, I do find it worth it to write it,

However,

"I saved up, and I'm finally able to buy a new volume!"

Even so, when I do receive such comments from a fan younger than me--

I do feel that it's a good thing, even if it's 10 Yen cheaper.

Of course, I hope to attract more people to buy the books with a lower price, and increase the final sales volume (and earnings).

I said before that I do increase the number of paragraphs to improve the readability. Because of that, I do often feel a dilemma.

I continue on with the publishing fee.

"The book price is determined by all kinds of factors. The publishing fee is set at 10% pro-rata, and to calculate the earnings, there is one factor left--"

"The volume!"

"Yep."

"But how is the number of volumes set…?"

When talking about printing volumes, we'll be talking about income.

For an author, the total income = all the publishing fees receive. It's the same case as with the sheep in New Zealand.

While I intend to explain this, the Train Conductor arrived. It's a man today.

As usual, we show our tickets for him to stamp.

The explanation was paused, and I took a little breather, drinking some tea.

The conductor left, and there were no new passengers sitting next to us.

I begin to wonder, how exactly do I begin explaining the printing volumes--

And then, I realized that I had yet to explain what is the printing volume.

"Erm...I've been mentioning this 'printing' volume for a while…"

"Yes."

"The printing volumes can be classified as 'initial printing', 'reprints', and 'total prints'."

"Hmmm?"

Nitadori frowned, looking perplexed.

"I'll explain in order--"

The initial print refers to the number of volumes printed for the first time. If it is a profitable work, like a serialized sequel, there will be more volumes printed in initial print.

The reprint refers to the additional printed volumes due to the printed book being popular.

And as the name implied, the total volumes referred to the total of the initial print and the reprints till this point. However, the total volumes will be classified as 'total volumes for this particular volume, 'total volumes for this particular series', and 'total volumes for this particular author'.

"I see. I often hear reports in the news of 'a certain bestselling novel reaching a million copies, yet the initial print was a few thousands', and such."

"Such books weren't much of a topic, and once they got hot, they were printed over and over again, and it ended up like that. The reprint volumes might even reach a few thousands in an instant."

"So in other words, there's no fixed figures for the initial print volumes and reprint volumes?"

"Right. The initial print is determined by several factors. If it's a popular series by a renowned author, the number of printed volumes will increase."

For an author, the more volumes in the initial print, the happier they will be.

There are two reasons for it. First off--

"The more volumes printed, the more copies that can be displayed in the bookshop in one go, and the book will be bought easily."

"A book that's easily bought will be much more likely to be popular."

Another reason was that the publication fee will increase (Of course, this refers to the number of printed volumes.)

"Thus, authors do work hard every day, praying for the initial print numbers to increase."

"Praying is important, since wishes do come true--so, sensei, how many copies of the first volume of 'Vice Versa' was printed?"

Leaving aside the number of reprints--

I'll talk about the first printing of volumes.

"The first volume of 'Vice Versa', the initial number of copies was 27,000."

"Is that...a lot? Little, right?"

Nitadori asked. It's a question to be expected.

Anyone unfamiliar with the industry won't have an idea of context with regards to this number. Speaking of which, when the editor-in-charge told me of this figure at first, I too timidly asked the same question.

And the editor-in-charge answered,

"It's about the same as the works of those who won awards in the Dengeki Novel Prize award! You didn't get an award, but the starting speed is the same!"

Nitadori exclaimed happily,

"Amazing! That's decent!"

"Yeah. To be honest, I'm rather happy."

I casually mention about this--but I heard from authors working under other publishers that the number of 27,000 is 'quite a lot'. It's Dengeki Bunko, so they can sell this much.

That author said that his debut work had less than 20,000 copies, and also said that the difference is due to the power of Dengeki Bunko, who had the largest stake in the industry. Of course, I never told Nitadori about any of this.

The factors leading to improved sales after a volume is published is of course down to an author's own ability. He taught me the important logic 'that if a really interesting story is written, it'll be popular'.

Leaving that aside, i continue with my own words.

"And then, 27,000 copies worth of publishing fee entered my pockets. The price of the first volume is 590 Yen."

"In other words…"

Nitadori began to ponder beside me, while I went the old fashioned way of relying on a tool of civilization. I don't have the mental capability to be able to calculate such numbers.

I took out the smartphone from my pocket, unlocked the screen, and activated the calculator.

Then, I quickly tapped in the numbers.

590 * 0.1 * 27,000, so the answer is 1,593,000 (in Yen).

The moment I intended to say this number.

"It's 1,593,000 Yen, isn't it?"

Nitadori simply said.

"Eh?"

I let out a surprised voice, and turned my head to the right.

"Hm? That isn't it?"

Nitadori nonchalantly asked.

"No...that's right."

Nitadori's hands were not holding a cellphone, and her notebook was closed.

Even if she wanted to peek into my smartphone screen, she couldn't. I often had inspiration of creation on the train, so I had a protective film on the screen to prevent people from peeking.

In that case, there's only one possibility.

"Did you just…do a mental sum?"

"Yep?"

"How…?"

"Multiply by 30,000, and I'll get 1,770,000, and then take 10% off."

"Ah, yes, I see…"

Hearing her say this, it seemed calculation wasn't that tough--

No, it's still not easy.

The time she spent doing mental sum is the same as me using a smartphone? How smart is Nitadori exactly?

"Amazing…"

I marvel earnestly, muttering,

"Yep, I feel the same too."

Nitadori then nodded her face and glasses, beaming as she answered,

"Huh?"

"1.5 million is a huge sum."

"Ah, you're referring to that…?"

"Hm?"

The train raced forth against the headwinds

Other than the noise outside the train, there was the occasional howling of the winds. Till this point, there were no stalling on the train ride.

Well, I guess that's better than the train flipping around. I just need to reach Tokyo tonight.

"I guess...1.5 million is a large sum…"

I forgot about the 'huge misunderstanding' both Nitadori and I had, and blurted out my real thoughts.

For me, a first year in high school, 1.5 million is really a large sum. Speaking of which, I remembered that when I did the calculations back then, I found the number to be so surreal, I nearly fainted from shock.

"I can buy a car with that!"

I yelled alone in that room.

Even though I did not have a license.

Before I continued with the explanation, I thought of something I forgot. It's something pretty minor, but I decided to talk about it for the time being.

"Sorry. There's something I made a mistake about. In fact, I didn't get the publishing fee for 27,000 volumes."

"Eh?"

Nitadori looked more surprised than I thought, so I panicked,

"Ah, no...it's not some serious mistake. It's about 27,000 copies worth! To be precise...I got '26,950 copies' worth of the publication fee."

"Then...where did the 50 copies go to? For the Angels?"

"No...it's not wine."

I didn't know if Nitadori was serious or just joking around, and it didn't matter, but I made a little retort. This 'Angel offering' refers to the evaporated portion of wine when brewing wine using a wooden barrel.

"But both of them might be the same."

"How so?"

"Those 50 books are used as samples. You can think of them as books that can't be sold, so they won't count as part of a publication fee. Of course, I don't know if the other editorial branches do use the same standard."

"I see. So the Angels are the editorial branch!?"

"But, well...it's tough to calculate, so I thought I'll explain this with the 1.5 million Yen calculated from the 27,000 copies."

"Got it!"

And thus, that was the first sum of publishing fee I obtained in my life. As for when, and how I obtained this money--

"Of course, it's through a banking transaction. The editor-in-charge asked me for my bank account, and I told him that I didn't have one, so he told me, 'go open one then'. So, I went to a major bank branch to open a bank account. The big sister at the counter taught me a lot of things back then, and asked me 'have you started working part-time'?"

The moment I mentioned this, Nitadori's eyes got sharp, and she quickly changed her tone.

"Hey~that's not some part-time work. This is a professional author debuting at Dengeki Bunko, you know? A respected sensei at work, you know?"

If Nitadori was to accompany me to open the bank account, would she really say such a thing? Just imagining such a scene alone is interesting to me.

"Ahaha--no no, how can I divulge my identity?"

"Ahaha--so, what next?"

The first time an unnatural amount of money was suddenly deposited into this account that only had 1,000 Yen was--

The following month after the first volume was sold, the end of September.

Just a little moment before then, I received a postcard from ASCII Media Works.

I flipped the attached part, and found that there was a 'payment slip'.

Recorded on it was the 'title', 'number of revisions', 'account items (publishing fees or draft fees, and so on)', 'summary (number of volumes, money, printing rates),' and all kinds of information.

Of course, it included the sum of money.

"It's the amount just now, right?"

"No, less than that."

"Why?"

"Because there's a need to deduct tax."

Once I start getting into details on this, this will get really long, so I simply told her the amount of money I received.

Before the money (publication fee) enters my account, the 'income tax' will be deducted first. This is called 'tax withholding', a tax system the country does to prevent taxpayers from evading tax.

The deductible would differ based on earnings, so I can't generalize this.

That's because the 'tax' will increase based on earnings. The higher the earnings, the higher the tax rates. This is the system they call 'cumulative tax rates'.

"I'll leave aside the difficult part. The income tax will be deducted from the publication fee before it's given to me.So, I have to work hard and report the amount of tax I have to the government...I'll talk about that later."

I think that there's still 'this thing' I have to explain--

For the time being, I continue to explain the earnings of an author.

"Once the tax is deducted, part of the first volume publication fee was transacted into my account successfully, and I felt really happy."

"Congratulations!"

"Th-thank you. But thanks to you, 'Vice Versa' is selling really well, and there was already a reprint at that moment."

"If it's as what you said, it refers to printing more copies, right?"

"Right. The readers will read the books displayed in the shop. When the book is selling well, the bookshop will tell the 'distributor', 'please provide more of this book'."

"'Distributor', as in?"

"Erm...the official name is 'publishing distributor', and it refers to the dealers who provide the flow between the publisher and the bookshop."

"I see."

"Once the distributor receives the orders from the bookshop, it'll request for volumes from the publisher. The publisher will then provide some from its warehouse, and the distributors deliver them to the bookstore."

"I see...so publishers have some level of stock, right? I guess so. It's impossible to print so many books at one go."

"Right. When the orders increase, and the warehouse stock drops, the publisher will then say, 'right, let's print'."

"Righto."

"Of course, the one who decides whether to reprint or not isn't the author, and it's probably not the editorial branch. I'm guessing that it's probably the sales branch."

"I see, I see."

"As for reprint volumes--it'll typically be between 2,000 to 3,000 volumes. That's my personal experience, and from what I hear from the other authors, it's the same."

"2,000 to 3,000. In that case, the amount of publication fee you get--you be from 118,000 to 177,000 Yen."

Mental sums again. This was when I really understood that my brain was wired differently from Nitadori's.

I feel that even if I'm to praise her now, we won't come to a common agreement, so I continue,

"I'm really grateful to be able to get that much money without being able to do anything."

"Yeah. Your commission increase after you finished a job."

I nodded. After earning that money, I really felt that 'reaping without sowing' really fit this situation.

"If the popularity increases, the sales volume will grow, and if the supply isn't enough, they'll print thousands of volumes, no tens of thousands. Erm, well, I…"

"Wow!"

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be 'talking about the future'--"

I used both hands to gesture moving my belongings from my thighs to the outside of the window,

"We'll leave this aside for now..bye bye…"

And Nitadori waved outside, saying that.

The first reprint of my first volume of 'Vice Versa' was 3,000 copies.

It was a certain day in August, during what is commonly known as the obon

Mom was working as a nurse, and never had any breaks during obon and the end of year. I was alone at home, writing all day long during the school holidays.

And it was then that the editor-in-charge called me.

"There's a second print ! Congrats!"

The first reprint would be specially denoted as 'second print'.

As for whether it was considered fast or slow, I didn't know

"Thank you very much!"

All I could be confident of was that I was really happy (later, the editor-in-charge told me that there are works who had quicker second prints, mine was rather fast).

And while I was indulging in my delight and intending to hang up,

"So if there are 'any parts that require typographical corrections', please contact me by tomorrow, latest."

The editor-in-charge said.

And so I asked,

"Erm? What is that?"

Typographical errors--

"It's a little off from the earnings, but looking at how this is going, I think this is the most suitable moment to do this...can I explain?"

"Of course. Please do."

Typographical errors typically refers to the errors when 'transplanting words'.

In other words, if there are any errors the block aligning workers in charge of typography (the people in charge of aligning blocks, arranging the words), checking on the miscues will be to correct them.

Of course, people nowadays don't use moveable type of printing. Thus, in current situation, mistransplants would refer to the typical 'wrong words'. That is what I mean.

Last week, I mentioned that as an author, I had to check through what I write, and hand them over for the editors and proofreaders to check, and I had to check them again--

But even so, there would still be mistakes.

Basically, this was my own mistake (and nobody else realized it).

There are rare occurrences of the editors making mistakes (and nobody else realizing it). The typos on the content page and the story synopsis would be categorized under this.

"The typos that managed to evade a few eyes and show themselves to the public--will be corrected during the second print, the first reprint. Thus, the editor-in-charge told me that when the second print is decided, he'll ask me to hurry and send over the corrected parts. This is because the publisher wants to hurry with the rerelease and avoid a stockout of goods, missing out on the selling opportunity."

"I see...now I know that book correcting is such a case."

Nitadori looked impressed as she nodded away. I too only knew of such a thing back then.

"After that, what about you, sensei?"

"I was really happy about publishing my first work, and I reread the first volume so that I could write the next volume, but I didn't find any typo errors. So, when I checked each word and sentence---"

"There was none?"

"I found 5 cases of them…"

During the first print of the first volume of 'Vice Versa', I found 5 instances of errors.

There was one case when I missed out a period.

There was once when the furigana of the word 'hem', suso, was written as 'sode' instead.

Ema, who typically addressed herself as 'watashi' in hiragana, addressed herself as 'watashi' in kanji in a certain area.

What was supposed to be typed as 'conquer the world', (seifuku), ended up as 'school uniform the world' (seifuku)

And there was once when Shin and Sin's denotation was completely reversed.

"About that last mistake...I thought to myself 'I can't make such a mistake no matter what'...so when I found out about the error, I was really devastated."

The names of Shin and Sin were so similar, it was common to have mistakes in changing text. Speaking of which, it's really troublesome to have to change the text.

Ever since I discovered that mistake, I started activating the function to 'record Japanese characters in the dictionary'. If I type the hiragana 'shi' (し), it'll come out as 'Sin' (シン). In other words,

しんはいつた。

Change→ Shin said.

しはいつた。

Change→ Sin said.

しんはしのむなぐらをつかんだが、しは、だまつてしんをにらみかえすだけだつた。

Change→ Shin grabbed Sin by the collar, but Sin merely looked back at Shin silently.

This isn't an error unique to 'Vice Versa'. It was said that the initial print for all volumes will have some form of typo. The reason why people would buy the initial print of the topselling works probably has something to do with this little trivia.

But even so, I want to write a story with no mistakes as much as I can, so the initial print volumes always scare me.

In the 8 volumes that came out later, I did my best to check--but once the official volumes came out, I do find some errors.

"But I've never had the legendary level of typos."

"'Legendary level'? Is there such a thing?"

Nitadori asked in surprise.

"Yeah. There are quite a lot of infamous typo mistakes in history."

I honestly answered.

"Wh-what kind?"

I do think that we'll be off topic again--

But I really like the topic of typos, so I'll talk about it. There's still some time until the terminal.

The history of publishing can also be called the history of typos, no doubt about that. I'm still too weak, and right now, I'm working hard to etch out this history.

Amongst them, the one most catchy and deemed to be the world's first typo error is the Bible called the 'Adulterous Bible'.

In this Bible, the one line in Moses' Ten Commandments, 'thou shall not commit adultery, and because of a typo, missed out on the word 'not' that would have a negative connotation.

In other words, the meaning became 'thou shall commit adultery'.

I guess the chances of a typo more ridiculous than this in human history--

I suppose that should be zero.

"..."

Nitadori heard my words, and widened her eyes, her mouth slightly ajar. In other words, she was completely taken aback.

She was looking skeptical as to how could there possibly be such a thing happening in this world, but the fact was that it happened, and I couldn't do anything about it.

There also a appeared a legendary level of typo in Japanese history.

It was due to several errors, but that bug's name has probably been changed forever.

Of course, the name of that bug is called cockroach (Gokiburi).

It was said that its actual name was 'Gokikaburi', but in the first biology encyclopaedia released in the 17th year of the Meiji Era, the name was transcribed as 'Gokiburi' instead.

The book only had a first edition, and no corrections could be made. The later books used this encyclopaedia as a reference, and the name 'gokiburi' became widespread, before it was set stone.

"Hey...I don't think it's really possible, but...you aren't just making up a story now, are you? Is this an episode of your creation?"

Nitadori showed a skeptical look from beneath her glasses.

"I'm not making this up."

I waved my hand as I answered.

"Well, let's leave this topic on typos aside for now--"

I used both hands to gesture moving my belongings from my thighs to the outside of the window, throwing out the topic of typos.

"Now that it ends--where have I stopped exactly?"

So many off-topic stuff caused me to wonder where did I stop in my main point.

"About the first volume of 'Vice Versa' having 27,000 copies for the initial print, and another 3,000 immediately afterwards...this part."

Nitadori corrected me.

'Vice Versa' really sold well.

By the time the second volume was published in October, the first volume had 3 reprints, and the total sales was more than 40,000.

The initial print volume for the second volume is 27,000 just like before. I heard it's rather amazing that the figures aren't any lesser than the previous volume. Of course, the second volume had a reprint in the month it was sold. The first volume was still reprinting back then.

By the time November came, the total number of distributed volumes, including the first and second volumes, was about 80,000 volumes.

And so, at the end of the year, the amount of money I had in my bank account--

Was about 4 million Yen.

"4 million Yen...amazing…"

Nitadori widened her eyes as she said that. I was about as surprised as she was, probably more.

"I never dreamt that my work would sell that well the year I debuted, that I would earn so much money…"

This was in no way a humble brag, but my own honest thoughts.

I'm ashamed of it, but when the first volume was released, I once predicted the sales figures, thinking it would happen.

Assuming that the earnings for the first volume was 1,500,000 Yen, and the initial print of the second volume will be reduced, so I'll calculate it with 1,000,000 Yen. I could earn about 2.5 million yen that year, and to me, that was a lot of money.

"But you're too naive, aren't you?"

Nitadori gave a mischievous snicker. I know that it's an act, but I was still taken aback.

"I-I guess…"

If I actually had a huge sum of 4 million Yen in hand, I'll feel really terrified. Luckily, the money is transacted into the bank account. If a large stack of cash is shown suddenly appears in front of me, I think I might lose it..

"Of course I'm scared, really scared...to be able to use such a large sum of money. I was happy, but that happiness always comes with fear. I get the money, but I do tell myself not to spend it wildly."

"In fact, you never used that money, right? After the tax deducted, you practically saved them all."

"To be honest, I don't need to spend a lot."

"Hey, if you can, do tell me, sensei, what did your mom think of you earning that much. Well...did she say anything?"

Well, I'm able to answer that, so I reply,

"Mom only told me two things."

"What are they?"

"First, 'use the money for yourself'. In other words, I don't need to worry about the house rent, food, and family expenditure. I intended to pay though…"

"So you were rejected by your mother? I think I can understand that. That's a parent's responsibility."

"Hm, maybe…"

About this, the situation might change a little in the future--but I guess it isn't bad to talk about this now.

"And the other?"

"Hm--'don't spend like crazy!'"

"Ahaha, anyone would be told that."

"Yep. Thus, I thought of a few spending rules, printed them out, and stuck it in front of my desk."

"Really? What are they?"

They're simple.

'I can buy the basic stuff for work (stationery, materials)'

'Before buying, I have to consider. Don't buy impulsively. Check the price before buying'.

'With savings, I won't have to worry about the future!'

'Don't carry large sums of cash around!'

'Don't tell anyone else that I'm rich!'

That's basically it.

"I see. Disciplining yourself. That's impressive."

"Even so, I bought a lot of stuff."

I showed off the watch on my left wrist to Nitadori.

"This is the thing I bought with my first paycheck, my memories about 'Vice Versa'. In October, on the year I debuted, I made up the mind to buy it when I returned home from the editorial branch, and I spent 30,000 Yen."

I guess a 30,000 Yen watch might be considered cheap.

But I was wearing a watch I got from my Middle School days, and that's worth 3,000 Yen. The price shot up to 10 times here. On a side note, the scrap on that old watch was about to break, and I was scared of losing it, so I had it as a pocket watch that is hanging in the bathroom.

"No matter how expensive of a watch I'll get in the future, I don't intend to throw this one. Even if it's broken and I can't repair it, I'll put it up in the room."

"Like Meek's muffler…"

Nitadori noted happily. Yep, that's right, I do find it similar.

Shin really treasured the muffler Meek gave him in the first volume, and would always wear it on his neck when the weather was cold.

"Also, I bought that little notebook computer I mentioned before."

I pointed at the rack above me.

My backpack contained the most practical work tool. In fact, the backpack used to hold the stuff was bought using the publication fee too.

"Also, there's also this, though mom was the one who provided the money first."

I took out the smartphone I just used for calculating from my pocket.

"The editor-in-charge told me 'I can't really force you, but you really helped me out by having a smartphone. I can't force you, but you really helped me out'."

"You said it twice!"

"Well, since I had to spend the night in a hotel in Tokyo, it was better for me to have a cellphone...when I was in my first year of High School, I had to head to Tokyo because of many meetings, and I felt a phone was a must, so I got it. The first phone I had was the latest smartphone. I hesitated due to how expensive it was, but with it, I could see maps, check information, and use the tethering function so that my laptop can be connected to the internet anywhere. It's really convenient!"

I excitedly chatted about the cellphone I finally got in my first year of high school.

"Well, but I never actually thought of getting a cellphone before then."

That was a fact.

It seemed mom wanted to buy one for me when I entered high school. To be honest, I didn't really have such a want, and that's because--

"Basically, I didn't think a cellphone is a must. I don't have any friends I can call, and with an internet function, I don't need to have a call function!"

I heartily finished off my words.

"Ahaha…"

In any case, Nitadori laughed.

"Then, are you using it properly as a phone?"

I glance at the smartphone in my hand, answering,

"I am. The numbers in the phone book are increasing."

"Who are they?"

"Other than my mom, everyone related to work."

"You're a high school student!"

Nitadori said happily.

I too do think that this isn't normal, but I don't mind. I do think that adding so many numbers in the phone book is something wonderful.

"Then am I considered 'work related'?"

Nitadori asked, and I nodded, answering,

"Of course."

In any case, she is Meek's voice actress.

Unlike a novel, an anime needs the collective work of many to be completed. They're people involved with the important work, and in a certain sense, 'partners'.

"Then--"

Nitadori spoke up.

"That's why--"

But it was wiped out by my words.

"Ah, please continue."

Nitadori allowed me to go first, so I was feeling embarrassed as I continued.

But even so, it's too difficult for me to talk while looking at Nitadori's face all the time. Thus, I look at the backrest of the front seat, saying my true thoughts.

"I really want to thank all the people involved in the production of the anime, and the voice actors."

"..."

"As long as I can help, I'll do so."

"..."

"If everyone involved in the anime can feel blessed, I'll be really happy."

Having said what I wanted to say, I glanced to the right.

"..."

What was that?

Nitadori looked a little forlorn.

I didn't know the reason at all, but I knew this topic was inappropriate.

I slipped the smartphone into my pocket.

"Now then, where did I end at…?"

From the topic that was way off point, I proceeded to drag us back to the main point.

"Right! SInce we talked about earnings, we'll have to talk about 'tax reporting."

The moment I said this, Nitadori raised her right index finger, practically saying I know'!

"I think I heard of it! Like a blue form, red form or something."

"Right--but there's no red form actually. There's only a blue form and a white form."

"Is ? Is that so? I thought there'll be a red form when the figures are in a deficit?"

Nitadori said with a serious look.

I didn't know if she was really mistaken, or just joking around.

In other words, I didn't know whether it was an ominous omen, or an act--

I guess I shouldn't mention this to Nitadori.

I continued to explain.

"I earned 4 million Yen in my first year as an author, and I had to file my tax in the following year, from February to March."

"I did hear of the term tax filing, but basically, what do I do? Speaking of which, what does it mean?"

"Basically, it means 'determining how much money you earned, and reporting it to the country'."

"I see, so tax filing...but for what purpose?"

"There are two answers to this. Why does the country need people to file their tax, and why I have to file my taxes."

"Then...the country part first."

"That's because the country needs to collect taxes. If the people don't report honestly, the country won't know how much to deduct, how much tax to collect."

"I see...then, what about you, sensei?"

"To get some tax rebates."

"Hm?

I didn't explain it before. As the term implied, the income tax had something to do with the word 'income'.

The income would refer to the earned money ('sales money') deducted by the necessary fees ('expenses').

"I did mention that the publisher would deduct the income tax before sending it to me, right?"

"Yep."

"That's directly deducted from the sales amount, and has nothing to do with the expenses."

"Ah, I see…"

"Thus, I'll report to the country saying that 'I spent this much, so this is my actual income, and I had too much income tax deducted', and ask the country to return me some of the income tax I paid. Well, this is the reason for me to report tax."

"I see...then, what do your expenses contain?"

"FIrst off, the necessities needed for writing. Back then, it'll be pens and composition paper, but right now, it's computer and printer and so on."

"And the rest?"

"I think the more well known ones are probably information, book fees. Movies are considered information too, so I have to include DVD fees. I I want something actual when referencing a work, that thing will become information too. Also...there's the fees for phone and internet, the transportation fees to head to and back from the editorial branch, and if there are travel fees for material gathering--"

I raised each point I thought of, and Nitadori continued to nod in response.

"House rent and utilities are to be considered, but they're used for daily living, I can't get a full rebate. I need to explain how much was used for work, and report that part. And so I did."

There are many other examples, but I decided to state to this point.

"When filing my taxes, I'll fill in anything I think of as expenses in the form, and submit it."

Nitadori showed a serious look as she heard my explanation. I once read in a book that 'if a student is very outstanding, the teacher will be very motivated to teach'. Right now, I'm really feeling it.

This outstanding student asked,

"But sensei, when calculating and explaining how much tax to pay, you have to prepare some 'receipts', right?"

"Right. Thus, when I buy something, I'll ask for a receipt no matter what, and keep it."

'Anyone working in the book industry has to keep receipts!'--having learned of this in a essay from the past, from the day I first submitted my draft I would keep receipts whenever I bought anything. I would first keep my receipts in my wallet, and once I got home, throw them all into a large transparent box.

But when doing that, once I started to actually account, I had to sort out a large number of receipts.

In other words, I had to sort them out by material information, transport fees, and so on. This work is really tedious.

Thus, nowadays, I'll use a multi-layered document case. I'll write out the accounting item on every drawer, and after drawing out my receipts from my wallet, I could sort them out into the respective drawers.

I did check on the internet on ways to file taxes,

And I learned that there was two of them.

One of them was the very simple process 'white form'.

The other was the 'bue form'. The process was a little more complicated, but there would be more privileges to be enjoyed, tax rebates to be obtained.

I heard that when the sum was not too big, simply taking the white form would be good enough, so i did so.

The information to be prepared would be the accounting items, and separately calculate the receipts in a statement. In other words,

"This is how much money I used."

A form to explain this. I used a calculating software on the computer to come up with this. It sounds simple, but sorting out the receipts and entering the numbers take quite a lot of time.

I took this information, complied the receipts, the pay slips provided by ASCII Media Works (at this moment, I'll receive a statement for the entire year), and a stamp, and head to the tax department.

"Is it hard to do?"

"In fact, it wasn't that hard. I just needed to follow the instructions of the uncle, fill in the particulars, and it was done quickly."

"And then...what happens next?"

"They thought that 'I paid too much income tax', and gave me my money in the form of 'tax rebate'. A few days later, that sum of money, not small in itself, would be transacted to my account."

"I see."

"I can put it so lightly right now. But in fact, I had to search everything out by myself, so I really went through a lot of trouble...to be honest, this is the most troublesome thing to me after I became an author."

"But if that's last February, you reported your tax this year, didn't you? Your earnings this year."

I nodded.

"I won't ask about the income...but it's probably increasing, isn't it?"

That's right.

The income I had last year--was shocking over 18 million Yen.

The reprint of the 1st and 2nd volumes, combined with the initial prints and reprints of the 3rd to 7th volume, brings the total to 300,000 Yen.

I started to wondered the meaning of the words Nitadori said 'I won't ask about the money'.

Would that refer to 'it's rude to continue asking, so I won't ask, and you don't have to answer'? Or 'I won't ask, so please tell me'?

I gulped the tea, pondering.

I could tell her, but I didn't hope that she thinks I'm bragging.

But even so, I've already mentioned my earnings for the first year, and she probably can imagine that the next earning will be far more than the first year.

What do I do? What do I do?

Just when I was feeling frustrated,

"Well, for example, if the earnings are about 18 million Yen...."

I could hear Nitadori's voie.

"Eh?"

"So how much will the tax be? The tax rates will increase greatly, right?"

"...How do you know?"

"Eh? How what?"

"Eh? Yearly earnings…"

"Ah, ahh, I got it correct!?"

Nitadori looked delighted yet embarrassed.

"Right on point. I'm wondering how did you get the figure…."

"Well...the anime announcement was made this January, right?"

I nodded.

"Back then, there was a lot of news on the media saying 'a popular work that has sold more than 450,000 books', right?"

I nodded.

"The first year has 80,000 copies, and at that moment, it was 450,000 copies, so deducting that will give me 370,000 copies. In the world of advertisements however, such a number--"

"Right, they'll make a 'rough estimate' (Kiriyoku)."

" Kiriyoku'?"

"Yeah, it means that they'll use a slightly big number during release to get people to easily understand--"

"Yeah, that's it! So I used 350,000 copies to count, and got 18,000,000 Yen."

"I see…"

This little deduction really surprised me, but it removed any of my troubles. She really helped me out.

"Right. I earned that much money, and I had to handle a second tax."

That happened just 3 months ago.

It was the second time I had to do my taxes, but I don't want to spend an entire day doing so. If I have that sort of time, I want to use it to write a novel.

I was about to start school again, and my time to spend entire days writing was about to come to an end.

So I left it to a pro.

"A pro?"

"Accountant."

"Ahh."

"Actually, there are two differences between the first time last year and the second time this year."

"One of them is that you hired an accountant. What is the other?"

"Well, I switched to a blue form."

"It's here! The blue form!"

Nitadori squealed excitedly, and then tilted her head, saying,

"--erm, what does that mean? What is the difference from the white form?"

"Well, when using the blue form to report, you need documents that are more detailed. Thus, it's hard to hide the money flow, and of course, harder to evade tax."

But even so, everyone will choose the white form if I say this, so there are many privileges earned when reporting with a blue form.

That would be the unique privilege of 'tax reduction'. This reduction would be 'cutting off'. The blue form reporting had privilege function to deduct the sum of money to be taxed, and of course, the tax will be lesser.

Also, another important thing is that if anyone wished to report using the blue form, there is a need to request 'I'm using a blue form' a year prior. I did so when I was reporting using the white form.

Having talked for so long, I felt thirsty, and Nitadori too was the same, so we drank our bottles of tea.

Both of us lifted our bottles in unison, let the tea flow in, and put down the bottles in unison, it looked as though we were doing ballet.

Because of this, Nitadori was smiling at me--

I was stunned. I did not know what sort of face to show.

I should not be simply answering questions, even if it is a lie or an act, I should at least say something empathetic.

My face sullened, and Nitadori beamed, asking me,

"Is it nice?"

I honestly answered,

"Really nice."

"Great."

Having decided on blue form report, and to ask an accountant to handle it--

"Now then, I'll explain what I had to do in detail."

"Yep."

"I submitted a lot of documents. That's all. I submitted all my paypals, a photocopy of my passbook, and as proof that I paid, I had to prepare a whole list of receipts for all categories."

"So, will the accountant be in charge of counting the receipts, filing the documents, and everything?"

"Right. It's really easy...of course, I'll pay appropriate. It'll be more expensive to just throw everything to him and let him handle. If I'm to sort out the accounting items and calculate before sending the data over, the fees will be cheaper."

"I see."

"However, the fees here can be counted as 'expense'. Comparing the money I pay to get the accountant to handle this, and the time I spend...I guess looking at the results, I think it'll be cheaper to leave it to him. Of course, that goes different for those 'I have time, I know what to do, so I'll handle this myself!'."

Authors earn through the publication fees.

The publication fees will first be taxed before it enters the account.

And through reporting tax, tax rebates on excessive tax is earned.

This is where my explanation ends.

"I said a few times before that the me back then wasn't very familiar with this. I was practically wandering around in the darkness, dealing with everything."

"But the editorial branch tell you anything about this?"

Nitadori said it as a matter of fact--

"Nope, they didn't."

I shook my head.

"Really?"

"The editorial branch has no duty to explain that much to me...speaking of which, they probably don't know that much either."

"Then?"

"Authors can only increase their own knowledge. The only ones capable of helping me out at this point...are the senior authors."

Looking my situation, I practically had no assistance before I submitted the white form. That was because I did not know any other authors. Even the request for a blue form was something I found out for myself.

However, it was a certain senior author who told me 'just hire an accountant'.

I had the same meeting times as him, so we do meet at the editorial branch from time to time. I practically read through all his works, and I was really honored to meet him.

After that, the editor-in-charge brought me out to eat.

Whenever the editor-in-charge had time and arranged for other authors to meet, he'll invite parties to gather in a mea organized by the editorial branch, a party.

The location was at 'Kagurazaka' near the editorial branch. I think I heard of this place before. This place had some of the old houses from before, and also a lot of posh restaurants.

I'm really happy that the editorial branch is willing to allow us to enjoy such delicious food in such a posh restaurant. Of course, I don't drink.

While we gather, I talked in depth about my things with that senior author.

That author knew that my work was selling well, and he told me in depth about the blue form reporting. He also introduced me to an accountant him and his author friends really trusted, and really helped me.

Now, having finished everything about tax filing--

There was almost 15 minutes till the terminal.

Nitadori asked me the time, and I answered as I showed my watch.

"Now then, the remaining time is short, so I'll ask anything else next week. Thanks for this week too. It's really interesting."

"No problems."

I recalled that she did say something like that the previous week.

Back then, I talked about reading the fan letters to pass time back then. Will she ask about it this one? I think answering questions would be easier for me.

While I thought of that, Nitadori said,

"Sensei...I got a question."

"Go ahead."

Thinking that it was easier for me, I answered,

"Erm...what do you think of my performance last week?"

She asked something I could not answer easily.

She asked me that seriously, staring at me intently.

Obviously, I looked flustered.

"Ah...it's fine, you don't have to force yourself…"

Nitadori said dejectedly.

"Erm, if I have to say my personal thoughts--"

Hearing my words, Nitadori turned her glasses towards me.

In such situations, I won't lie. I'll just say my actual thoughts honestly.

"Wh-what is it?"

"The participating voice actors really performed marvellously before my eyes. Shin, Sin, Ema, Pluto, Meek and the others, it felt like they came to life."

I did my best to answer.

"...Tha-thank--thank you very much!"

Nitadori thanked me. Again, I honestly stated my points.

"But...actually, I did say that once the After Record ended."

"Erm, but, well...the others are there, so I thought that it was that occasion…"

Nitadori said, looking somewhat bashful.

"I'm not that good at faking it."

Personally, I can't act. The moment I finished, I realized something I was curious with, and took the initiative to ask Nitadori,

"Oh yeah, can I ask you a question…"

"Go ahead, go ahead!"

She beamed happily in agreement, and so, I raised my doubt.

"Nitadori--when did you start acting?"

"..."

Seeing her look so flabbergasted, I was wondering if I asked something I should not have.

After thinking about it 3 times, I did not think there was anything strange about it.

Soon after, I thought that she did not know what I was referring to,

"Erm...after you read' Momotarou', when you heard the questions from everyone in class, I think I overheard a conversation--that you were participating in a drama club in your previous school…"

"Ah! Ahh! Erm! Right! That's it, you mean?"

I didn't know--what was Nitadori mistaken about, but it appeared to be settled. The blank look she showed started to move.

"Right! I was in a drama club. I thought what you meant when you mentioned 'acting'."

I see, so that's how it is. I asked the wrong question. Should have asked 'when did she start acting'.

"Sorry...I might have phrased it wrongly. Also, I overheard your conversation, it seems. Sorry."

"It's fine! I understand! About that drama club, isn't it? Well, please don't think that you're eavesdropping. You're seated in front of me, and it's weird if you can't hear. I was answering to everyone else after all."

Nitadori spoke with her usual tone, and then answered my initial question,

"I did learn a little when I was in elementary school, and I began studying it for real in middle school, for 3 straight years, until I transferred to this high school."

In that case, she studied this for at least 4 years. No wonder the acting's really good. Of course, I don't think that alone would make her a good voice actress however; I'm guessing that she had all kinds of other training too.

"I've been studying in an international school all this while."

Nitadori informed me of this, and I thoroughly understood why she was so proficient in English.

"The drama teacher back then--"

She continued to chirp happily,

"Would say to us happily before teaching us, "Everyone, transform yourself into someone else! You can be anyone!'"

"Was that in English?"

"Of course."

I started to have a mental image of a foreigner teacher called Mister John or a Miss Jeanne happily chatting in front of everyone. I don't know English, so when the teacher's speaking in English, there was subtitles.

Nitadori in 7th grade was among the students, and her appearance is the same as she is now, other than her being a little shorter. She has long black hair, and spectacles on.

"She's a nice teacher...she said 'alright, time for acting'--"

So it's Miss Jeanne.

"To me, that's like a transformation spell…"

I felt that something was amiss.

And then, I immediately realized the reason.

When speaking to me, Nitadori would look at me in the eyes.

This probably was because she was the one raising the questions, that she would abide by the etiquette when talking with people, and look at me in the eyes.

I would be flustered by it, unable to stare at a cute girl throughout as I continue talking with her.

Thus, I avoided it many times. I kept feeling Nitadori's eyes as I either looked at the backrest of the seat in front of me, or at my knees.

But this Nitadori was different.

Nitadori did not look at me.

Feeling amiss, I stared at Nitadori, but she wasn't looking at me.

Her eyes were looking at her intertwined fingertips.

"It was the same during the After Record. I would mutter this quietly in my heart."

I recalled her trembling lips that shivered with the script.

"Ah! That was!"

I could not help but blurt out."

"Eh?"

Nitadori finally looked at me, her eyes looking over her shoulder.

"That moment...as in?"

She looked at me skeptically. Imprisoned by this stare, I answered.

"It was during the After Record last week...when you were to appear on the B scene, I saw you muttering something, Nitadori."

"Wah! It's embarrassing...I'm found out!"

There was no pretense in her words, but her face really went red, and she cupped her head.

"I always did such a thing before recording...wahh, it's really embarrassing…"

I see. So she did so every time, and nobody realized it?

"Hii…"

She continued to groan. This might be the first time I found Nitadori to be a year younger than me.

Seeing her look so cute, I asked

"That was in English, right? What were you muttering about?"

Nitadori suddenly lifted her head at me,

"It's time to play!"

She answered with fluency. Her enunciation and accent was just like a foreigner.

"It's, time--to, play…"

I quietly repeated in Japanese enunciation.

I was not proficient in English, but I would pay attention to class.

So, I think I can understand that level of English, anyway.

Of course, the 'play' here isn't about 'playing games', but 'play acting'.

"I cut off the 'it's', so the little spell I mutter is--'time to play'.

"Time to play…"

"Alright, it's time to act! Come on, everyone, break away from yourself and be someone else. I'm going to become someone else now. Time to play, time to play."

"I see, so you can transform into anyone else when acting?"

"Yep. You can become anyone. Anyone can do it, and so can you, sensei. Want to try?"

"Me? Erm…"

Time to play.

I muttered these words in my head.

I guess it's impossible for me, I immediately thought.

I'm an author, I write novels.

I can think of fake worlds, write fake conversations.

But I can't act. I can't handle fake conversation.

Right when I was wondering how to explain this to Nitadori--

The train began to broadcast an announcement indicating the impending arrival at the terminal.

So in the end, I missed out on the chance to tell her.

### 007. Chapter 6 - May 15, I was strangled by her

## Chapter 6 - May 15, I was strangled by Her

I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

I don't feel pain or unbearable, but I'm about to die.

"Save!"

The one yelling that was not me, but Nitadori, strangling me by the neck. This line is terse, yet it sounded so slow and long to me.

However, I can't comprehend what she meant at all.

It was probably 5 seconds since the moment when she choked me. And then, in another 2 seconds, I probably won't be able to think of anything else.

I think the ghost lights are just a self-defense system in the brain now? It probably can help me look for clues in my past experiences to save me, I guess.

I can clearly remember what Nitadori said, but I had no idea.

Anyway, why did Nitadori want to kill me?

I did not know.

I didn't know the reason.

Thursday, May 15th.

Time flew by fast, and it has been more than a month since the After Records and the new Semester started.

I was riding that usual Limited Express train, seated at my old seat, the left side seat on the last row in the free seating carriage.

The sky at home is really bright, but the weather report stated that it would be raining in Tokyo, so I had a foldable umbrella in the side pocket of my backpack.

The train departed on time.

After sitting on the same train ride for more than a month, I realized very well that the day got longer. When I stood on the platform on this day, I felt that the sun was rather high up.

There were 13 After Records in all, so tomorrow, it will be the 7th, halfway through.

During the first session, I probably did see Nitadori in the recording room, but I couldn't remember.

During the second session, I met Nitadori on this train for the first time.

From the third to sixth session, we went to Tokyo together for 4 consecutive trips, and I answered a lot of questions.

They included everything, from the delusions I had since young, till the intention I had to write novels.

The struggles before submitting the work to Dengeki Bunko.

The method of writing novels.

Publishing fees and taxes.

So, what will she be asking about today?

I guess I can say everything I can talk about now, right

Thinking about this, I continued to space out, and then, I saw swaying black hair.

"Hello, sensei, doing well?"

"I'm fine, thanks. What about you?"

"I'm fine too, thanks."

First, we started off with a conversation even an elementary school kid can translate into English.

"For you, enjoy."

Nitadori, who handed me the shopping bag, is not wearing a skirt, but jeans this time, with a green military jacket and a blue sweater.

Nitadori placed the bag behind her, and placed her jacket on it. Then, she ties her usual long hair carefully behind her, letting the hair drape down her right shoulder to her chest before sitting down.

I accept the convenience store bag.

"I'm tucking in. Thanks."

With a rippling sound, I take out the sea salt flavored potato chips and the bottle of tea.

"Thinking about it, I'm seeing your back every day at school, so I know you're pretty lively. I'll probably be seeing the blackboard a little better if you're lethargic."

"I guess."

Nitadori's always sitting behind me every day during class. No matter whether it's the classroom, or anywhere in school, we'll definitely not talk to each other.

There are times when I pass by Nitadori on the corridor, but even after finding her, I won't talk to her.

Thinking about it, I do find this kind of relationship very strange. While I'm thinking about that, Nitadori said the same thing as she sat beside me.

"It's strange...we're seated in front and behind each other, so close together. During the After Record, there's a thick soundproof glass between us, and right now, we're côte à côte..."

She seemed to be rather incredulous too.

And it's a mystery as to why she wouldn't use the common term 'side by side' instead.

The train continues to move forward.

While I'm still chomping on the potato chips, the train conductor arrived early to check the tickets.

The conductor today is the woman I met several times before. She probably has an impression on us taking these sets every Thursday.

After checking the tickets, Miss Conductor proceeded to leave.

"You two are always together--what kind of relationship do you have?"

Miss Conductor never asked such questions. I wonder what should I do if she was to ask, but a conductor wouldn't ask anything regarding a passenger's privacy."

"Now then…"

And then, as before, Nitadori's questioning time was about to begin--

Or so I thought, but I was still hungry, so Nitadori started talking about some harmless weather issues.

According to the weather report, she said, Tokyo's weather was bad, and that when heading to the recording studio the next day, I should be careful not to fall down.

"Erm...can't I skip it?"

I asked as I rolled up the bag of potato chips.

"We're not going to school!"

Nitadori chuckled heartily.

Of course, both of us were merely joking. After Records was not fun and games. We were not having lessons at school, but doing work. We cannot skip work without unless it is a valid reason (some will ask if skipping classes is okay).

In the past, whenever a voice actor isn't around due to illness, the others would act it out and assume he was around. I do find such a scene really intriguing, I do find that it's not conducive.

And during the next week, the voice actor on leave would act alone with a pre-recording.

I do find it tough, and at the same time, I'm moved by their outstanding acting.

"Now then, I'll be using this notebook today."

Nitadori's holding the notebook that appeared last week.

I remember what I last talked about last week being about income and taxes. Nitadori didn't open her notebook at all during then.

"You got a lot of questions to ask, I guess?"

I asked.

"Yep. About a certain theme, or I'll say, all kinds of questions. If you want to explain more however, sensei, please go ahead. Also, please forgive me if a question offends you in any way. If it's a question you can't answer due to your work, please tell me straight away 'you shouldn't be asking this question'."

"Got it."

"Now then--"

This time, Nitadori actually opened the notebook.

However, she cautiously made sure not to let me see the words on it, pointing her finger on the pages.

"Erm…"

Does she really need to worry about having so many questions?

I was starting to worry what would have happened if I was to reject the first question? Would it ruin Nitadori's mood? Or would it cause the opposite effect and guilt trip her such that she will shrink back?

What exactly is the problem Nitadori is referring to--

"Erm, this--when publishing a book, you'll sign a contract with the publisher, right? If you have to do so, how will you do it?"

"Phew."

"Why are you relieved?"

"No, well, I'm wondering what should I do if I can't answer the question."

"Ahaha. I guess this question is fine, right?"

"No problems."

"The answer is?"

"Yes."

For my situation--I'll sign a 'publishing contract'.

There is a kind of publishing where 4 pieces of A4 size printed paper are stapled on the left side. Of course, this is the style Dengeki Bunko goes with. I don't know what style does the other companies or editorial branches go by.

I showed her a copy of the contract, saying,

"There are all kinds of clauses on it...I did spend all my effort to read them, barely, though I can no longer remember the specifics.--"

I did say during the previous week that 'the first 50 copies printed would be used for promotion, so it is not counted as publishing fee'. This clause itself is clearly written in the contract.

Interestingly, the contract also stated 'when the author buys a book, he gets to enjoy a 20% discount privilege'. Whenever a work was published, I would receive 10 copies, and for every reprint, I would receive another, so I did not use this clause to buy a book.

"Also, you need to fill in your address and name on the actual contract. In this situation, you need to write your actual name, put a stamp on it, and the contract is complete. Of course, the company's name and stamp are on it before then."

The contract included my work of the same series title, so I only did sign one contract.

Before 'Vice Versa' was published, I stamped at the editorial branch. There were 2 copies of the contract, and one of them is left for me to keep.

"I see...the publisher is very thorough in what they do."

Nitadori said, sounding impressed. Thus, I feel that I have to say something.

"Yeah. Also--nobody did sign a contract."

"What?"

"I did sign a contract before I published my work, but--"

It was something a senior of mine told me at the end of year party.

We were chatting on this back then, and once I said that I signed a contract before I published my book, that person simply told me.

"Ah, I did sign a contract for my debut work at this time too."

"Eh?"

The reason why I was shocked was that this person had been writing under the Dengeki Bunko brand for a few years.

He had been publishing books for more than 10 years, and that work had been adapted into an anime.

"Eh? In that case, erm...what did that author do over the past 10 years?"

Nitadori asked a sensible question.

"I asked a similar question."

"And then."

"He answered, 'oh, it's always been a verbal agreement'."

"..."

It's no wonder that Nitadori's stunned.

To be honest, I was stunned too, so shocked myself.

It's fine that there's no problems if the money was sent to me, but I really was shocked by such a strange thing done by the publisher since I assumed I had to sign a contract.

There's more to this.

After hearing our conversation, another senior near me agreed, saying,

"Ah, now that you mentioned it, I just signed it recently. I didn't know anything about a publishing contract before this."

And then, another senior author refuted,

"No, wait. I signed it before I debuted though?"

"Me too…"

In other words, there are those who 'signed before they debuted', and 'those that didn't get to sign'. Right when I was wondering why that was the case...I knew my answer.

Those that won prizes with Dengeki Bunko would have signed contracts.

Those that debuted without signing contracts were the ones who did not win prizes, and were nominated instead.

But anyway, since I did sign, I suppose everyone else would have signed as well.

"That's how it goes, I think."

I answered the first question, but I don't know if that is good enough for her reference.

"Now then, the next question is--"

Nitadori opened her notebook.

"What does an author 'confidentiality' include? Voice actors can't reveal things like the work, script and so on, so I guess authors are the same in this sense?"

"Hm."

Luckily, it's another question I can answer.

Perhaps Nitadori chose the easiest questions for me to answer.

Confidentiality--

Strictly put, it seems to refer to 'legal obligation', so I didn't know if there's such a law in the world of authorship.

I'll treat this term as 'until the work is officially published, nobody can reveal what they knower in work to those not involved'.

"The easiest way to understand this is the release date. For example, even when Dengeki Bunko decides on a publication date, nobody can talk about it until the official release. Dengeki Bunko's mail magazine will be the earliest to release the news, about 2 months before the official release date. There are some exceptions though, like an event announcement."

"Then, if you announce on your blog or twitter before then--"

"Of course not."

"Anything else?"

"Like events, signing meets information...ah, and there's something more important."

"What is it?"

"News like an anime or a cross-media work, especially the animation of the work. Most of the announcements will be made at such events, so there is a need for secrecy until then no matter what."

For myself, I had been handling the news of 'Vice Versa' getting animated cautiously. This is because the staff numbers and money involved in such a large planning is much more than the sales of the light novels. If I did not take leave from school, I suppose I would be terrified of letting slip of the news, to a point where I won't tell my mum either.

"I see...so it's kind of similar to being a voice actor too."

Nitadori said, but I feel that voice actors would always have it tougher than authors.

Once they hear the news for auditioning, they would know that the work was to be animated. They would know of it earlier, and also, there isn't just one work for them. Of course, they can't leak the news, so they'll be very cautious to avoid news of it leaking.

Leaving that aside, I continued,

"If I know of another person's information, I can't talk about it either. During the end-of-year party last year, I learned of some things when I was chatting with the senior authors...it's said that those authors with good contacts will know that a certain person's work is going to be animated."

"I see...they're of the same line of work after all."

"No matter whether it's news about others or oneself, we have to deal with it using the usual attitude. Leaving aside my own news, I can't leak anything about the plot of another author's latest volume."

This is also what I heard--

It's said that in the past, the author or illustrator could go to the editorial branch and obtain a new book from Dengeki Bunko before the official release.

The books are released on the 10th every month, but they would be sent to the editorial branch at the end of the previous month. The editorial branch will give 10 copies to the author. It depends on the holiday dates, but they typically send it out on the 29th or the 30th.

So during this time, from the beginning of the month to the 10th, one can see stacks of new books in the editorial branch. Anyone that shows up early for a meeting can pick it up to read.

In the past, as long as anyone requested for it, he can take the book back (it's not considered part of publishing fees, so it's kind of inconvenient for the author). We can't take them now though, as it's a measure to prevent the plot from being leaked.

"Personal information is like work information; there's a need to keep it a secret."

I added on.

"Amongst the authors I met at the end-of-year meetings, there's someone who completely hid his identity. There's one who openly revealed his personal information, but never revealed a photo of himself."

"Oh, they're just like you, sensei."

"They're like me. Thus, I have to use the information of others as my own and be thoroughly careful with it. I don't have much chance to reveal about myself, so I'm having it easy."

"You don't manage a blog, Facebook, Twitter or anything like that after all."

I nodded.

I couldn't possibly do such things when I have to keep my identity a secret. No, some people might be able to handle this well, but I can't. I'll definitely mess up somewhere.

Thinking about this, I asked Nitadori about something I was really curious about.

"Speaking of which...Nitadori, do you write a blog or something?"

"Ah, erm...I guess..."

Nitadori seemed a little off from her usual, stammering away.

"I did...think that I should open a blog. Especially since I'm taking the role of a named character for the first time."

"But you haven't?"

"Hm, well...I'm a little scared. But not that I'm scared of writing…it's that I'm scared of those hateful comments."

"Ah, I see."

I understood that feeling very well.

The internet is filled with kind and hateful comments.

And also, the hateful comments are the ones more likely to leave an impression.

"Sensei, will you actually care about the thoughts and ratings on the internet? --Actually, this is something I really want to ask."

"Yes, and no."

"In what sense?"

There isn't really any author who doesn't care about the readers' thoughts.

If there is, that person's rather strong.

Including me, authors with published works will care about the thoughts and criticism, very concerned with them, in fact. (Of course, they'll care about their sales volumes.)

In the past, feedback was practically through letters from the readers. Once the works are published, the readers will write to the authors and tell them how they feel.

Thanks to the internet, we're able to know about their thoughts faster than before.

I feel that with the internet community, from anonymous imageboards, personal blogs to Twitter, facebook and other prominent social websites, I'm able to know of the readers' thoughts on the day the books are released.

However, there are good and bad to this.

I never told Nitadori about this. The editorial branch will filter the reader letters, and those slandering letters that would affect an author's confidence will not be sent to the author.

It's different on the internet.

As long as an author looks for it, he'll be able to find unfiltered, belittling remarks.

"Sensei, have you looked at the thoughts regarding your own works?"

The answer is yes. Yeah , I answered briefly.

"Amongst all the works that were released till this point...has anyone said anything bad about your works?"

"Of course. I guess."

Huh? Nitdadori muttered as she tilted her head.

"'I guess'...what do you mean?"

I answered.

"I chose to forget about it."

As for who taught me this--

To be honest, I forgot.

Was this something I thought of? Or was it what the editor-in-charge or other editors taught me? Was it a suggestion from another author I met somewhere? Or did I learn it from a book.

But when I looked at the reviews on the internet, surely I would do this.

This was the Just read the good comments, forget the bad ones."

Method.

"So basically...how do you go about doing this?"

Nitadori asked as she brought her face closer.

I answered as I looked aside.

"It's not that hard. First--"

I read all the comments I found on the internet until the very end.

There is kindness on the internet.

No, I feel that there's a lot more cases of kindness compared to malice. This is what I think.

If I look for it, I can find,

"It's interesting."

"Looks fun."

"I want to continue reading."

"The characters are really amazing.."

And so on. These are the kind of comments that praise the work, 'nice work'.

And I'll earnestly accept such praises.

While looking, I would express my thanks, and use this praise as motivation.

Also, I would remember the title of that site.

If however,

"What's this? It's so boring."

"Refund me."

"Terrible novel."

Such criticism is written--

If I'm to read such thoughts--

"What will you do?"

"I'll go back immediately."

"Back? Where?"

"To the site praising me."

"Ah!"

Whenever I read the feedback on the internet, I'll always read the ones praising my work.

I'll use that moment to forget all about the comments that belittle and slander my work. I'll alway have the thought that someone is willing to praise my work, and end my collection of feedback.

Even if there are those who feel that I'm despicable, I don't intend to give up on this method.

"I see…"

"I did read this line in a book 'someone may belittle a work, but the author should never apologize'."

"Oh?"

"And on the other hand, I have to say without a care 'it is a pity that it doesn't fit your tastes'. When I first read these words, I really couldn't understand, until I became an author...where I really understood this thinking."

"In other words--"

Nitadori gave me a serious look as she told me,

"You cooked up a 'delicious meal', so you don't have to care about those who didn't like it?"

I nodded firmly.

"Right. That's because I had no choice other than to do that. When I write my work, I find it interesting. I don't intend to submit a meaningless work to the editor-in-charge. Also, I'll listen to the editor-in-charge, and edit the work to make it more interesting."

"Yeah."

"That's how a work is born...so no matter what kind of comments there are, I can't do anything about it. If everyone praises it and say that 'it's nice', I'll be happy. However, I know that things aren't going to be like that. I strongly believe that I can't ignore the thoughts of my supporters just because of the negative criticism. Thus, I won't care about it."

Of course, I do believe that there is 'harsh criticism born out of kindness'.

Like for example 'It'll be better if this part is changed like this'. 'This part isn't well written. Better to rewrite it'. I do feel a few times that 'yeah, this guy's right'.

But even so--

An author can't let himself be dragged along by the views of an outsider.

No matter what anyone else says (except for the editor-in-charge), I'll write based on my own thoughts.

If it sells well, it'll be my victory along with the editor-in-charge, and we'll work hard to create the next work.

If it doesn't sell well, it means that we lost. I'll work hard to make sure the next work sells.

"When seeing and hearing reviews about my work--I always think of the Aesop of 'The Miller, the Boy and the Donkey'."

When was the first time I read that story?

I couldn't recall when it was, but I probably won't ever forget about this in my entire life.

"Erm...what kind of a story is it? I think I heard of it somewhere."

Nitadori asked.

"Well, one day, a Miller and his son went out to sell a donkey--"

There was a passer-by who told them, wouldn't it be easier to ride on a donkey? So the Miller let his son sit on the donkey.

Another person they met then said, the son shouldn't relax, the father should ride on it. So, the father got the son off, and rode on the donkey instead.

And then, they met someone else, who said that the duo could ride. So, they did.

Then, they met another person, who told them the donkey was pitiful to have two people riding on it.

"Ah! Now I remember!-- They then carried the donkey to ease its burden, so they carried it. But the donkey started moving and fell into the river. That's how the story ends, right?"

"Yep yep."

"So it's an Aesop...I didn't know. This story is saying that without any objective viewpoint, you'll be toyed around by everyone, and end up with misfortune, right?"

"Yeah. Also, an author's predicament can be summarized as this story...there's no novel that can satisfy every reader, so as long as someone praises it, the author will stick to the formula--that's a lesson I can go with."

I saw this story somewhere before.

Whenever an author writes, there's a need for something, something other than a computer, pen and research materials.

That's 'self-confidence'.

The self-confidence to believe that I can write.

The self-confidence to believe that I can write interesting novels.

Thus, I'll borrow the power of my supporters.

In other words, I don't need the power of those who don't support me

"The saying goes that humans will improve as long as they're praised. This definitely goes too for authors."

"Not that 'authors are humans too'?"

"Ah...yeah, that too."

"I did think of how blessed I am as an author."

I suddenly mentioned something Nitadori never asked about.

And having said that, I thought she would be stunned.

"Well...why's that?"

But Nitadori asked. I answered,

"That's because when I write, I'm able to begin writing, and in writing, i can write novels. I don't have to think of myself as an author, but I was happy to learn that I was able to debut, happy that I was able to get a reprint. Once the work started to sell, and the editor-in-charge told me to write continuations, I was happy. The animation of the story also made me happy."

"...Sensei, looking at you, I understand very well that it's your real emotion, not faked, right?"

"Erm, yeah."

I had no acting skills.

"So tell me--sensei, do you think you're special in any sense?"

Unlike before, it was a sharp, piercing question.

I shook my head.

"No, I think I'm someone with a lot of experience, a rare thing in that."

"Then what kind of person do you think is special?"

"I don't know."

"..."

"I don't think such a person exists, right? Ah, if you say that there's a 'very special' person to anyone, I do know about that, like a lover, a family member, and something like that. In other words--"

Nitadori's giving me an intense stare. She looked serious, but it's a little different from the look she showed during the After Record. Then, she continued to ask, seemingly interrupting me,

"It goes by what that person think, is it?"

Overwhelmed by the pressure,

"Sorta...I guess."

I timidly answered.

I looked over at the flowing scenery outside the window, drinking my tea--

I felt that we were going off-topic. What was the question we were talking about anyway?

I wondered.

I capped the plastic bottle as I turned my head to the right, and found Nitadori pondering with a very serious look on her face.

I was worried if I did say something wrong, but in any case, I can't take back what I said. Even if she does ask a similar question again, that's the only way I can answer.

Nitadori turned her face towards me.

She gave a tender look, but the glare behind the glasses was sharp.

"For an author, for every sensei who made their debut till this point, have you encountered any difficulty?"

"Difficulty…"

I heard this question, and muttered to myself as I pondered. I had to think of it separately.

"I guess 'difficulties an author would face' is different from 'difficulties I encountered after becoming an author'."

"Then, sensei, please answer according to your decision."

"In that case...I'll first start with difficulties I encountered…"

"Right."

If it's this question, I'm confident enought to conclude.

I answer briefly, without any concern,

"None."

"Huh?"

"I didn't really have any particular difficulty."

"Erm...is that true?"

"Erm, well, I did say that I'm a fortunate author. Even if I have to mention any issues I faced, I can't think of any."

"..."

Nitadori remained silent, looking stunned.

"I'm really unfortunate to meet such a frivolous guy. Anyone would have met one or two difficulties at least. Hardships allow a person to grow. You won't grow if you don't face any."

I really hoped that she wouldn't have such thoughts.

But even so, I didn't have any. I got nothing.

"The biggest difficulty I had till this point was in Middle School, the tough process I had until I was able to write. I mentioned it before, and that was before I became an author. I did say that I never had a situation an author fears most, that 'the story isn't used at all'...and I did say that I restrain myself to ignore the harsh reviews on the internet...the volumes I had are selling well...and they're getting adapted into an anime…"

Maybe there are things I can find tough to deal with in such trivial stuff.

For example, like I was harassed by a mean-spirited drunkard on my way to the hotel, or that I spent some time last year focusing on writing novels, and I end up having hip pains at such a young age, and so on.

Even if I wasn't an author, I would be harassed by a drunkard. It'll be another story altogether if there's a special drunkard who specialized in harassing authors (looks like such a story is interesting too).

I adjusted by sitting posture to adapt to the waist pains, and did some sports as well. On mom's recommendation, I went for acupuncture, and for the time being, it's cured.

Thinking about it, I guess there's none.

"E-erm...what kind of difficulties do you think an author would have?"

Nitadori narrowed the focus of her question. This question is within my expectations however.

The biggest issue an author would face--

That would be, if I can't write, or that I don't want to write, my life as an author would die.

Without a job, I wouldn't have income, unable to maintain my lifestyle. It's common for an author to lose his job no matter what.

Authors are irreplaceable. Even if there are few exceptions, the works of that author is such that he's the only one capable of writing it.

This was something I saw in a certain essay, and I could already understand that feeling.

"Is that so...it's not strange to be out of a job at any given moment...I guess voice actors are the same in this sense. They're scared because 'there are as many as they want when it comes to replacing them'."

Nitadori lamented.

I once heard that there are many who aimed to be voice actors, and that it's difficult to actually debut, or break from the intense competition.

Compared to the authors who were able to survive, which one is harder?

I don't know, and of course, Nitadori doesn't. I guess nobody knows.

"So you came to high school to study because of this reason, sensei?"

I nodded.

Of course, this was partly due to the objection I had from the people around me, but in the end, I decided to go along with my will. I did once think that 'I might as well not study', but now, I felt great that I didn't give up on my studies.

'Vice Versa' is selling very well now, and I can continue to write, but I don't know when will it stop being a bestseller. Also, I don't know when I won't be able to write.

In that case, I don't think an experience of 'I wrote novels in my teens, and my work was adapted into an anime' would come in handy.

In comparison, I guess scholastic experience of graduating from high school and college, together with what I learned in school would probably be more useful.

Both looked similar, but in fact, they're different. The 'academic history' and 'life experience as a student' is different. If I could only choose one, it'd be the latter, but I wanted both.

"After graduating from high school, I want to study in college, and at the same time, continue writing...finally, I'll choose to work, try looking for other work."

"Then, assuming that your works become more popular, and you write a lot of them, and for example, you earn a few billion Yen, equivalent to the career earnings of a working adult...will you give up on writing?"

"If that...ends up being the case...I guess I won't be able to give up on writing. I'll be relieved that I won't have to worry about my life expenses, able to write the novels I like, so I'll feel really happy, just like I am now."

"I see."

Was it just me? Nitadori looked relieved when she answered. I really couldn't understand what others are thinking.

"I feel that it'll be an idealistic lifestyle for me to be able to live out my life just by writing--nobody knows what is in store in the future. I feel that I have to first seriously consider the situation when I can't write, or don't feel like writing. Because of this, I need to do what I can do right now, and I guess that will be writing and studying."

"I guess--I'll probably do that too."

Nitadori finally chimed in.

The atmosphere just feels depressing for some reason.

Normally, a 17 year old boy and a 16 year old girl wouldn't be talking about such matters, right?

Shouldn't we be talking about topics where we feel hope for the future, happily discussing our future dreams? Not brood over here, wondering what'll happen if we lose our jobs? How do we prepare for our lives? And stuff like that.

No matter good or bad, I do find that we aren't ordinary.

Of course, we aren't special either.

"Now then, I'm going to change the direction of the topic a little with regards to 'the next question I want to ask an author'!"

Nitadori spoke with a cheerful tone, probably intending to eliminate the depressing mood.

I was about to ask her what kind of question she would be asking, but she asked something really ordinary.

"Sensei, where do you live?"

This had nothing to do with being an author.

It's easy to answer this question.

"West side of the school. You're able to see a new white building opposite, right?"

"Eh? Is it over there?"

Nitadori blinked her eyes, and I nodded, "Yeah."

"It's near school…"

"That's why I chose to study there…"

There's a somewhat large building less than 100m away from our school. It's only 3 years old, somewhat new.

Mom and I moved there last December, and before that, we were living next to that library.

The reason why we chose to move houses was because this place was close to school. It would take me 5 minutes to get home from the school back gate.

"I see. The shorter the return time is--"

"The more time I'll be able to use to write, and mom's working time is a little shorter."

"Well, both aunty and you were able to make this decision without hesitation."

"It's a little far from the library, but we got no choice for that. I have enough money to buy my own books, and able to check information on the internet."

"Did you...buy the house?"

Nitadori's eyes below the glasses widened as she asked.

"Impossible, it's rented."

Besides, I don't earn that much.

But even so, renting a house was expensive. The real estate agent told me when we rented the house that it was probably the most expensive in the area.

Mom was aghast by the high rental, but was against me paying for the rent until the very end. However, I insisted that this was a 'must'.

"The reason for that...well...there's 4--no, 3 of them."

I nearly blurted out my true thoughts, and corrected myself.

Nitadori did not appear to mind about such a mistake, and instead, asked me.

"Assuming that the most important reason is that it's very close to school...the other reason is that the rent's considered as your expense?"

I nodded.

We rented a 4LDK in the building. The 4 rooms include my mom's room, mine, and a storage room used to put a library of bookcases. The last room is for standby just in case something happens, and currently used as a standby storage for books, since I don't know when I'll be using it.

Amongst them, I classified my room and the two storerooms as 'workroom'. They take up about 40% of the place, so I can classify 40% of the rent and utilities bill within my expenses.

The expenses is a lot, but the tax rebate is also rather big.

Also, I'll be staying here for at least two years in high school until I graduate. Luckily for me, I have enough to pay it it.

"And after that?"

"For college, I want to aim for Tokyo."

I answered.

"Oh! You decided on it already?"

Nitadori asked happily.

"Right now, I only decided on 'Tokyo with its literature branch'. Also, the thing about the location is that it's about an hours ride from the editorial branch."

"I see! You want to write and study at the same time? I'm thinking of going to college too if I'm not too busy with my work! I'll choose a school near Tokyo."

"We're going to be entrance students next year...but let's hope we can get in."

"Yep. But let's start working hard from now on!"

Ah, this really feels like a conversation any ordinary high school student will talk about. I'm happy about this.

Nitadori asked,

"So, two years later, if you decide to move to Tokyo, sensei, what about your mother?"

I replied that it that was the case, mom said that she would move to an apartment near the hospital, one with enough space just for herself.

"I see--so, what's the last of the three reasons?"

Nitadori managed to guess two of the reasons, and asked me the final one.

"Because I wanted mom to stay in a better house. When I lived in that old apartment, I would hear noises from my neighbors. Mom moved houses next to the library for my sake initially, so I wish to use this opportunity now to repay her. Go to be prompt with it."

Once she heard my answer,

"Ah! I see… sorry…"

Nitadori frowned once she heard my reply. She looked disappointed in herself, and seemed to be telling herself, "I shouldn't have done that!". There isn't a need for her to do that.

"A-Also, I want to live in a fancy rich house too! That makes it four reasons!"

"Ahaha. Thanks."

My concern was so obvious, and since she thanked me again, I really can't calm down.

"E-erm...I chose the highest floor so that I get a nice view! Well, you see, when writing, I need to rest my eyes, and it'll be great if I can see the hills outside the window!"

"You can see a rather pretty view from the school, but I guess you'll be able to see something better from the roof of that building."

Nitadori seemingly recovered a little as she said so. Thank goodness. We continued our conversation.

"Yeah. The view's really amazing when it's bright out there. My house is very near school. You can visit whenever you want to."

"Eh--!? Really?"

Nitadori looked rather surprised, and I answered,

"It's fine. I don't have anything to hide anyway."

In any case, this probably is the first time in my life that I invited someone to my house; it's a good thing that I rented out an apartment. Also, even though it's not something I may say, but the apartment my mom rented was really old."

"R-really? Ca-ca-can I really g-go-go look at a professional author's workplace? R-really?"

I saw Nitadori's delighted face, and in my heart, I was feeling confused.

Was there really a need to be so frantic and affirm this over and over again?

My room isn't located in some famous theme park located on the Tokyo Bay anyway.

It's definitely a new, pretty room with a nice view--

Nitadori herself appeared to be some rich person.

I gave up on thinking on whatever I didn't know, and intended to tell her the main points,

"But I can't allow it when mom's sleeping, especially when she's working on night shift...I guess the best time will be...on days when she's working?"

"Wh-when she's not at home! R-ri-right! I-I get it!"

"...?"

I looked away from her, thinking carelessly. Mom's duty schedule changes rather often, so I need to be sure first.

"Ra…"

Suddenly, there was a trail of raindrop appearing outside the glass window, and it multipled quickly.

"Is that the rain..."?"

The rain instantly got heavy, and the train continued to race through the rain.

There was still some time until sunset, but it was dark outside the window,probably because the thick clouds covered the sky. There were times when rumblings could be heard, and the rain drenched the windows.

The weather forecast was accurate. If the rain is so big now, what about when we reached Tokyo?

I had to travel a bit from the Iidabashi to the hotel, and my legs might be drenched as a result. However, it's not too far away, and I can call for a taxi.

I felt that it would be easier for me to take this train until the very end and ride on a taxi afterwards, but I decided. 'As long as this train can get me to wherver I need to, I won't need a taxi', so I thought.

I am earning some money, and after deducting some of my life expenses, I will be left with some money. Even if I do occasionally take a taxi in Tokyo itself, I won't end up spending all my money.

However, I won't say 'scrimping is a scourge', but I do try to save wheneve I can. It's only when I'm feeling unwell that I take a taxi.

The train passed a few stops, and the carriage was not as packed as before. I had been to Tokyo a few times till this point, but I guess this should be the fewest number of passengers on board.

There's still an hour and a hour to the terminal.

I was wondering what she would be asking next. That interviewer was currently in the washroom.

While spacing out, I found this time to be really boring.

And so, I tood up, and took out the 'Vice Versa' draft I printed from my backpack.

If this is printed as a book, this will become the 11th volume. The 6th chapter of Side 'Shin' is planned to be released on September.

It's already written, but as long as I have the time, I'll read through it again, checking through the chapters and thinking of potential plot developments.

With the increase in number of volumes, the plot of 'Vice Versa' began to change drastically.

In Side Shin, many countries ended up being subjugated or allies of Sin as he aimed to conquer Reputation. The 7th volume had the Country of Movement providing resources and weapons to Sin as thanks for him saving them.

Of course, Yui, who had a crush on Shin in Side Sin, started to have feelings for the serious yet kind Sin, started to falter.

Pluto and Sin crossed swords again in volume 9. However, the country that betrayed Pluto sent an assassin onto the battlefield, hoping to kill them. With Sin and Meek's huge contributions, the assassination plot never happened.

Pluto decided to ally herself with Sin and work together. The war expanded on a larger scale in volume 11, and the two countries fought together.

And so, in this volume, Meek died.

I had planned on Meek's death for a long time.

Speaking of which, in the plot I thought of, basically almost all the homunculus would die.

Some of these homunculus would obediently follow their masters and die in battlefield. Some were executed by their Masters for partaking in treacherous acts and assisting rebel leaders.

I too felt that the plot was too dark, but I really created these artificially created beings based on this concept, so I got no choice with this. In contrast, I'll try my best to avoid letting the other characters die.

After seeing that Meek would die in the draft, the editor-in-charge said,

"Meek and Doska are pretty and popular homunculus. Isn't it better not to let them die?"

I had the opposite thinking though. I feel that since they're pretty and popular, their deaths will cause an impactful, tragic element to the plot, cooking up the atmosphere of the story.

I guess if fans of Meek and the others are to hear of this, they'll be enraged.

"Who died and made you king?"

They might even say this.

But in my novel--I'm the God.

I created the world, the characters and their fates. The voice actors inject life into them, but the author can kill them.

If I hear that,

"I'm God, so what?"

I guess I might try replying that.

But currently, I don't have the chance to do that.

I checked through the part in the draft where Meek was to die.

At the end of this volume, there would be a massive battle on a wide grassy field between armies of many countries. It would end with Sin, Shin and Pluto's camps winning.

After they returned to the main camp, Pluto said to Sin, who lost many of his subordinates and two family aides,

"My side lost Meek."

And upon hearing that, Shin responded,

"I see."

Shin in turn,

"..."

Stood there without a word (it wasn't winter, so he didn't have his usual muffler on)

Pluto never did mention of Meek's final moments.

When we discussed this volume,

"Is this really okay?"

The editor-in-charge noted; it seemed he was more taken aback then he was during the plot.

Shouldn't an important character's death be more vividly described? In a certain sense, this was an expected response.

Then, I mentioned what was in my mind.

Of course, I did think of a valiant, beautiful death, like shielding her master from an arrow, and dying while standing straight up like Musashibo Benkei.

However, I depicted such a death scene for another homunculus.

That was how Dasko would die in the plot later of. When the master was pursued to a narrow corridor, Dasko blocked the enemy's thrown spear with his abdomen, and laid by the side, blocking the enemy's pursuit. He continued to fight on until the very end.

Meek's dead was the complete opposite.

Anyone who read war biographies would know that the deaths on a real battlefield is so merciless, so brief.

Turn a head around, and a comrade's head was gone. Moving forward, the fellow soldiers begin to disappear. Fly in the air, after the military plans pass through the clouds, one is gone. Think that a buddy's not hurt externally, and the next day, he's lying icy cold on the bed.

I feel like I'm writing 'I dropped quite a bit of pocket change, and I tried to pick it up, but I found that there's several thousand yen gone, not just a thousand or two.' What I'm trying to depict is a battlefield where human lives are easily lost.

"Ah, if that's the case…"

The editor-in-charge agreed with this begrudgingly, and then said,

"But it's fine if you rewrite that entire part now. Yep, no problems at all."

I knew very well that he was implying "can you please rewrite this part~?"

But as long as nothing special actually happens, I won't change it.

As for what that 'special' is--

I didn't know at all.

Nitadori returned, and I finished checking through my script.

I put the draft into the large brown draft bag with the words ASCII Media Works, and slipped that bag into my backpack. Before Nitadori sat down, I put the backpack onto the rack.

Nitadori continued to tidy her hair for a while, before sitting down, and said,

"What that...the draft?"

"Yeah. That's the draft of the 11th volume to be sold in September."

"Wow! I want to read it!"

Nitadori lifted her head to look at the rack.

"No can do. Not when I'm watching."

"This means...it's fine as long as you aren't around, right? Hey, sensei, there's a trillion Yen at the washroom."

Of course, I knew that she was joking.

"I see. It'll take you a long time to hand it over to the police, is it? If you take 10% of that money--please treat me to a beef bowl."

"I really have to hand it to you--well, I won't just go around peeking into your stuff, sensei. But if the draft's stolen before the work's published, that will be really troublesome, right…"

Nitadori said, and drank the tea.

She's right I thought.

If the bag itself was stolen or snatched away, the situation would be serious.

A laptop contained data, but at the very least, it contained a password. This isn't the case for a draft though.

If someone with ill intent is to pick up a draft of the 'Vice Versa' continuation, what would happen?

"I tried writing a sequel. Everyone, please look at my second work!"

That person would probably post something like this on the internet, I guess?

In that case, what'll happen to the real draft of mine.

If I release the light novel without changing the work--

"A professional author just copied a work from the internet!"

The readers would probably think this way.

If that's the case, I'll probably show the date of the file and sue him in court, maybe? Shall I fill in the report form first? How do I report? With which agency?

"Sensei?"

If I have to go for a court case, ASCII Media Works will probably do something, right? The company will pay for what seems to be some extremely expensive lawyer fees, right?

I'll appear in court in a suit, right? I really want the judge's gavel that's used whenever he hits it and shouts 'silence!'. But Japanese judges don't actually use gavels, so I don't know where to get one.

Or maybe the editorial branch won't want to context (what they think is) a very troublesome court case, and have a change of attitude, and told me 'too troublesome to fight a court case! Rewrite this! It's a chance to make the story more interesting', I guess?

"Sensei?"

However, a plot I had been writing for quite a while isn't something that's easy to change, right? Won't I lose the direction if I change it drastically? If the series is to be ruined because of this, what'll happen to all the hard work I put in till this point?

"Hey, sensei?"

But in that case, I might as well change directions and write 'Side Sin' into one endless barrage of comedy, and continue to quietly write 5 volumes of developments that'll shock the readers. After a while, I'll switch back to 'Side Shin' and continue writing one serious story after another--

"Hey!"

Twack! I felt a light hit on my shoulder.

"Hm?"

I turn to the rest, and saw Nitadori seated there, rubbing her right hand with her left. She then muttered,

"Your shoulders...are stiff…"

"Beef?"

"I'm saying that your shoulders are stiff! I've called you a few times!"

Ah, I see. I guess my thoughts went far away because of my delusions. For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

"I'm an author…"

I'm getting a little confused.

"You're not recovered yet?"

"No, I'm fine, yep."

"Great! I guess your shoulders are different from a girl's!"

"Eh? Erm, yeah--no, that's not it."

I don't know how soft are a girl's shoulders, so I corrected myself.

And then, I said,

"Erm, where were we at?"

"We talked about the part where 'what if the draft's stolen'--forget about this part. Let's talk about the next question!"

Nitadori said as she regained her smile,

"Sensei, what do you think 'is important for an author to do'? I think it's difficult to ask 'what's the thing 'you pay attention to most'. You can say anything you want, as long as you find it important."

Luckily, she didn't ask me what's the most important thing, or else I would have spent a long time thinking about it.

But if it's 'important', I can think of a few.

"First--"

"First?"

"I think I should be studious and make notes. Jot down everything I think of."

The job of an author is to put everything together, and write it all down into a story. Any point always start with a moment of inspiration.

"When do you get an inspiration?"

"Hm, the answer to that is…'I don't know'."

I answered honestly,

"Hm?"

Nitadori tilted her head.

"To be honest, I really don't know. There's always a random moment when I have an inspiration, and when I think about it, that's the moment of inspiration."

"I see--so what about when you say 'right, let's get down to writing' and sit in front of the computer?"

"Of course I do...in fact, it's tougher for me to think of sentences and plot. I feel that most of my inspiration don't show up at those times though. When an inspiration shows itself, that's the time to take notes."

"Then, up till now, when do you start to have 'inspiration'?"

I can answer that question.

"For example--"

The easiest example would be when I'm enjoying other works. As long as I'm moved by something, I'll have the desire to directly connect that inspiration with my delusions. This can be said to be my act of 'taking books as toys' which I had been doing since young. Right now, I can also turn manga and anime into toys, though recently, I do feel that it's an act of 'taking inspirations'.

At the same time, when I'm listening to music, whenever the lyrics or melody gets me excited, my mind will suddenly think of images. I'll use it as the background music, develop all kinds of delusions, and gain inspiration from it.

Another situation is the complete opposite to this, when I'm spacing out. Like when I'm having a shower, using the bathroom, and, though it's not a good thing, even during lessons. When I relax, my mind will suddenly come up with ideas. In the past, I would often end up in plot lines where I don't know how to write, and I'm troubled by it. Most of the inspiration for such plot lines would suddenly appear in my mind when it's emptied.

Also, it happens when I'm focused on doing other things. For me, I do often come up with inspirations when I'm riding a bicycle steadily on a flat road.

"I see...there really is a variety of them."

"Hm, so as long as I have an inspiration, I'll definitely jot it down. I won't note it down with a pen unless it's during class; I'll use my computer or my smartphone and record my inspiration as words. I'll always tell myself 'I can't complain about it being a hassle'."

"So I guess you'll forget after all?"

I nodded firmly in response to that.

"Right, because I'll forget--man's memory really is unreliable, and everything we think of, we'll forget. We'll even forget the points we thought of. The proof of that is that for a certain scene in a certain story, I thought of it 3 times in all."

"Eh? Why's that?"

"Back then, I had the idea 'I thought of a very touching scene! This character had such an experience, so let's use this!' and then, I'll record it in my smartphone. When I'm in my room, ready to enter the same scene into my Word file on the computer, when i open the file--"

"You find that the same scene is there?"

"Yes. That scene exists already. And then, I also mentioned in the file 'this is the second time I thought of this iea'."

Ideas do appear suddenly.

And then, they'll vanish immediately.

It'll be a waste if I don't record it down properly.

As I said, I might repeat the same plot point a few times--and there are probably quite a few points I forgot.

Thus, whenever I have an inspiration, no matter how stupid it is, I'll record it down. I'll record it completely, and keep it safe somewhere so that I can use it in the future.

The senior authors too did say the same thing.

I heard that one senior author would often have ideas whenever he's driving. He'll then record it down through voice. He'll often bring a voice recorder into his car, and have it placed right next to the driver's seat. It's said that even without looking, he can tap the record button with one hand.

And as I heard, whenever he's driving at night or on long distance, listening to music he likes, the moments of inspiration appear more often. This is similar to me riding on my bicycle.

It appears that person does drive around often to change his mood. He would race however he wanted to on a nearby highway in the middle of the night.

I do think it's kind of cool to drive on the highway in the middle of the night looking for inspiration.

When I'm at the age where I can obtain a license, I do plan to go for driving classes. Thus, I set as expenses for that part.

"I see...taking notes…"

Nitadori muttered as she wrote down something on the opened notebook with a little pen she took out. She's taking notes.

I'm just staring at her, not leaning over to peek.

"Oops."

But she covered the notebook, and glared at me from beneath the glasses.

She slammed the notebook shut, and asked,

"Anything else? Is there anything that's important?"

"Well...hm, there is."

"What is it?'

"It's a little repeat on what I said before 'it's important to be confident in myself'--don't look down on myself, and whatever I'm writing."

This was when I was editing the draft of 'Vice Versa'.

Back then, I was a first year in high school, 15 years old.

When I was working so hard to edit the draft, I suddenly had a thought.

Was this novel really worth publishing?

"So...it's something like being uneasy?"

Nitadori asked. Looking at her expression, I seemed to see a doctor who's very worried for her patient.

"Right. I really had a thought in my head, whether the novel that appears in my eyes is really suited for selling and earning money. The life experiences I gained in life isn't enough, so can I really release this novel I wrote based on my reading experiences as a commercial product? Thoughts like that."

"But...the one who decides on that is the editor-in-charge, right?"

"Yes. But back then, I was so scared that I couldn't think calmly. Thus, I gave the editor-in-charge a call, begging him tearfully."

I find it embarrassing, but it was a fact, so I was left with no choice on this matter. Also, when explain this, there's something else regarding the past I have to mention.

"In the end?"

"In the end--"

The editor-in-charge,

"In other words, you're wondering if your novel is shallow?"

Right right. I said this while holding onto the receiver firmly.

"It's fine to think that way. Just write a novel only you can write at this moment."

The editor-in-charge was blunt in his response.

For an author, life experiences are very important. I feel that many creative works are born as a result for that.

However, the saying that 'I can't write because I never experienced it' does not necessarily hold true.

No author would create a murder experience for the sake of narrating a killer's mental state (that's what I think, and I hope to be the case).

So don't look down on yourself, and write your own work.

I understood very well the meaning of those words said to me as I continued with my work.

Soon after, when I become an adult and read through 'Vice Versa' again, I might think,

"So this is the novel I wrote when I was younger."

But as long as I could think,

"This is a novel I could only write when I was younger."

It'll be fine,

"This is an entertainment novel, so if you find it interesting, anything goes. If it's interesting, the readers will be happy. You're young, but you're able to write a fun story--so no matter what, you have to abandon your troubles and continue writing. That will bear fruit."

The editor-in-charge mentioned this over the phone.

And I too repeated the same words to Nitadori.

"I see...it's really amazing, I feel. For example, if 10 years passed since you started, when you're 27, sensei, what kind of novel will you write?"

I started to imagine my future in response to Nitadori's question, an ideal future where I'm successful in anything I do.

My dream is to continue writing 'Vice Versa' and focus on the series as much as possible. Based on the current plan, I feel that it'll end at 20 volumes or so.

I had already decided on the final developments. When I wrote the first volume, I had a vague idea on what I was going to write for the ending, and after discussing it with the editor-in-charge, the ending was decided.

I don't know how fast I can continue to maintain my volume releases this year as I repeat it, and next year when I take the Entrance Exams, but in these 3-4 years, I simply want to continue focus on writing 'Vice Versa'.

If the anime sells out well, I'll be delighted. If there's a second season, or even a continuation thereafter, I'll be even more delighted.

I want to enter college, and study while writing a new series. Right now, I still don't know which of the inspirations I have that I should suse.

And then, after I graduate, I'll find work--

This is the ideal future I can think of, but of course, the future may not be be that successful for me.

I may end up failing my exams, and if the anime doesn't gain much discussion, the discs not selling well, and the popularity of 'Vice Versa' declining heavily, the series gets aborted before it reaches volume 20, I felt dejected, unable to write the next work.

Or I may end up with some mental or physical disease that made me unable to continue writing or attend school. Worse, I might end up in a fatal accident. I can't be sure that such things won't happen to me.

Thinking about this, I don't want to continue thinking.

What kind of novel? I thought of what Nitadori asked me again, and answered,

"Well...I'll probably use my past experiences and write a story about college students? Or a story about people working in society? A novel about authors?"

"What about a story about voice actors?"

I saw Nitadori say this with a somewhat expectant look on her face, and I had an idea,

"Not bad. The protagonist is a high school girl who works as a voice actress, with long hair, bespectacled--"

"Yeah yeah."

Nitadori chimed in happily,

"When she brought her dog out for a walk, she picked up a mysterious mushroom, and became a giant. She went around destroying cities while looking for horse sashimi. A giant machine of the JSDF went over--"

"Right right! I'll take half of that model appearance fee. Get down to work1'

Nitadori threatened me happily,

"I-I'll try writing this soon…"

Saying that, I reached my hand out for my smartphone, intending to record this idea.

"Also, is there anything else important for an author?"

"Yep."

"And that is?"

"'Stick to the deadline "

"It's here! The 'deadline'--speaking of which, I never exactly asked about the deadline before."

I nodded. Now that she mentioned it, I didn't explain it properly either.

"Now then, let's explain about the deadline."

"Please do!"

Deadlines--

Of course, it refers to the latest day the novel has to be completed.

Magazines have deadlines. Books have deadlines.

In my case of writing a pocket book--when publishing a book under Dengeki Bunko, when exactly is the deadline?

Most likely, only those involved would know. At that moment, I was frustrated as to whether I should tell Nitadori.

But though I was frustrated, as before, she was someone 'involved with this work',

"Please keep whatever I say now as a secret."

"Got it."

I believed her, and continued on,

"The deadline for Dengeki Bunko works would be typically set as '4 months before the official release'."

"Hm...in that case, if the volume is to be released on the 10th next month--"

"In June, that means that I have to finish my manuscript at the end of February."

"That's rather early…"

Nitadori muttered.

I too felt this way when I first heard of this. Assuming that the books are to be printed at the end of May, what will they be doing for 3 months?

I only knew of the entire process in the end, so I told Nitadori.

"Well, assuming that I finish the work at the end of February, finish my manuscript."

"Yes?"

Nitadori opened the notebook, and began to write something. She probably intends to convert the process into a flow chart or something.

"The original draft will become the first manuscript, and as mentioned before, it'll be sent to the reviewers. They will take about 2 weeks to do that before sending it back to the editorial branch."

"Oh--that's long."

"Yes, it's very long. A certain author once said that he would plan a very long vacation during that time. If there's no other work during that time, he'll be really free."

"I see. So after 2 weeks...you'll receive the draft from the reviewers...then your own checks…"

"Author review."

"Right. You'll send the author review back to the editorial branch for the second manuscript review, right? How long will it take until it returns to the editorial branch?"

"Typically about a week and a half until 2 weeks. Once the second manuscript is settled, the original will be sent to the printers along with the illustrations. There's still another 2 months left, so I suppose they could easily print the books with much ease."

"I see…"

The sound of Nitadori's pen reaching stopped.

And this would be the end of the explanation about the deadline--as if.

"Now that'll be the schedule for the abnormally 'obedient kid'."

"Huh?"

Nitadori's glasses turned to me.

"This thing that's commonly called the 'obedient kid schedule'."

I said.

Of course, this term wasn't coined by me. I heard a senior author say it before, and this is a term that somehow popped up between authors and editors.

"..."

Nitadori thought for a few seconds.

"In other words...4 months before the release is basically the ideal deadline?"

I nodded.

"That's the case. And there are quite a lot of authors who won't follow that deadline. They'll do what we call 'delaying the deadline'."

"In that case...how does the schedule go?"

Nitadori flipped the notebook open, and it appeared she intended to take notes again, but I feel that it's a little waste of effort.

"I can't really explain in detail. The schedule will differ according to the author's progress at that point."

"..."

Nitadori tucked the pen into her notebook, and slammed it shut.

I continued to explain.

I said that the deadline was 4 months before the release.

Those that could abide were obedient kids.

There were really a lot of people who wouldn't abide by it. If I have to ask which one is more common--according to what I hear, it's undoubtedly the latter.

I hear that Dengeki Bunko would first decide on the release schedules within the next half year to one year.

Of course, the plan isn't really set in stone, but during this time, the editors and authors would have conversations like 'which volume will be released this month'.

The release schedules is made, partially based on the decision to make promotions, like,

"It's going to be animated, so let's publish this book on this month".

"This series has been providing releases every March, so again, let's set it to March."

"There'll be works of awardees published in February, so we'll release the works of those that won awards in the past"

(Because of this, in every February, the new books would be put together with the winners of that year, and the book collar on it would have the works 'UU Winner of the XXth OO Awards." also, there won't be works of authors like me who did not win any award.)

"In this promotion fair, we shall bundle all the popular works together."

Of course, authors know of the 'obedient kid deadline'--

But though they knew, they might not be able to do it.

Sometimes, there was absolutely no chance to make it based on the writer's speed and the other work at hand. Or I should say, it's very common.

Amongst them, there's those that finish the 'previous work' on the day before. In other words, they were warriors who would begin writing after the obedient kid deadline.

"Can they make it?"

"Those are the ones who would 'make sure to make it'. Because they're able to make sure the manuscript makes it, even if they don't rush it, the authors and editors are rather calm, I think."

Every author's writing speed to complete a light novel volume will differ. Some require 3 months, some require 3 weeks.

However, the common point between most authors is that 'the closer it is to the deadline, the faster the writing speed'.

A senior author I met at the end-of-year party said before,

"Right! The energy hidden within the body will be released. I can feel the burning flames within my body. I want to pass on this passion to the readers."

It sounded cool, but I just felt that it was fire lit on his bum. Of course, I did not say that though.

"Even if they do delay, I guess...there's still a limit to it, right?"

What Nitadori asked really made sense.

"Of course there is. In other words, I think that's the real deadline."

"So...when exactly is that?"

Nitadori leaned over to me, probing as she asked.

"I don't know...till now, I never had a problem with the deadlines."

I never tried to test the limits, so I didn't know.

"You're a good kid!"

"Th-thanks."

"Want me to pat your head?"

Nitadori chirped happily, quickly raising the left hand that's near me.

"No-no need for that."

I panicked, and refused her.

It'll be awkward for me if my hair's oily. It's embarrassing to let a girl pat my head after all.

"Really?"

Nitadori looked a little displeased as she moved her hand back to her thighs.

I continued to explain the deadlines.

"According to what I heard at the end-of-year party, it is very common to see authors who are late by two weeks."

"Are there later ones?"

"There are those cases of dragging on by a month or longer."

"So in other words, a book that's to be published in June--"

"It's not done at the end of February, March passed, still writing in April, that kind of feeling."

"And they can still make it…"

"To be precise, I think it's the hard work of the editors that allowed for the books to make it on time."

"I see."

"But if in the meantime, there's the end of year or the Golden Week, there wouldn't be enough time, so we got to be careful. Many companies will take leaves. This period is commonly called the 'end of year catchup' or the 'Golden Week catchup'."

When an author abides by the obedient kid's deadline, the editorial branch will have more than enough time to go through first reviews and second reviews--

The longer an author's manuscript drags on, the more pressing the situation will be. The illustrator, checkers, printers and editorial branch would all be affected.

What I'm going to say next is what I heard from the editorial branch and other authors. Currently, I haven't done so, and I don't ever intend to do it.

"It's said that if the draft drags on for too long...they'll have no choice but to cut off the second review to make it in time for the progress. Of course, there'll be a higher chance of errors."

"What's supposed to be two checks ended up becoming one check anyway."

"Yeah. If it drags on so long until it gets serious, they'll pick up the method of 'submitting in parts'.

Submitting in parts would refer to a relay of submitting the manuscript.

After an author is done with the draft, he'll send it to the editorial branch, which is the submitting part. The editorial branch would also hand the files over to the checkers and the printers, and that act itself is also submitting.

Thus, partial submission to refer to,

"It refers to sending over the completed parts because the manuscript is not fully completed (because that bastard of an author just wouldn't finish it)."

That would be the last resort.

"I see...in other words, try to make sure the manuscript makes it on time, right?"

"If they don't do it, the volume really won't be able to be published...but I don't want you to misunderstand. When they really can't make it, a professional author will inform the editor-in-charge before hand, asking him to delay the projected release date. Thus, for those that don't do that, they'll definitely finish the draft even if they have to stay up for a few days."

"Oh, just like an author."

"I'm an author."

So it's used in this particular part this week, though it's a little different somewhere.

Feeling somewhat strange, I continued on,

"I feel that since the editor-in-charge understands this logic, he'll trust the author. All the matters is that there's an interesting work written at the end."

"Phew, hearing that makes me really tense! It's like 'there's still three days! No time to sleep!' that kind of feeling."

Nitadori smiled as though she had nothing to do with this,

"I'll...definitely make sure not to end up in such a situation…"

I muttered.

I don't want to stay up late to work, and I have no confidence that I can complete my work while staying up all night.

If someone asks me to finish writing a hundred pages in the next 3 days, I'll probably be crushed by the pressure rising up my head. I'll think of running away.

And thus, this is one place that shows an author's actual personality.

Some would stick to the obedient kid's deadline as a target and abide by it.

Some would give up on abiding by the deadline right from the beginning, and would often delay their work by 2-3 weeks.

Some would delay the manuscript such that they'll submit it a month later.

There is also the possibility of those who would start writing after the obedient kid's deadline, engage in a skirmish with the editorial branch, and barely manage to make it until 2 months later.

I drank my tea, and realized something.

And thus, I capped the bottle, asking Nitadori,

"This deadline thing reminds me of something...I never told you anything about the illustrators, right?"

"No! Sorry--I mean yes, you haven't."

And while Nitadori blurted out this strange mistake, I said,

"Alright, how about we talk about this?"

"Please do!"

The reason why I would link from the deadlines to the illustrators is that there is also a deadline of an illustrator's work. If it passes the deadline, the book won't be released.

I heard that there are cases of the author finishing the work early, but the book was unable to be published because of the illustrator--

Such cases are quite common. When that happens, even authors can't do anything about it.

This isn't my personal experience, so let's leave that aside for now.

The illustrator for 'Vice Versa' is someone with outstanding art skills, and works really fast.

That illustrator's able to match the release dates of mine that are considered quite fast, and whenever it is done, the illustrator would read through the story before providing illustrations of high quality.

That illustrator really helped me out greatly--my heartfelt thanks truly are hard to express.

In light novels, illustrations are important.

It is said that,

"For a work to sell out very well from the beginning, illustrations are key. For a work to sell for a long time, story is key."

When someone enters a bookstore and sees the cover, assuming that the cover illustrations are really attractive, 'how active will this character be?' they'll be curious and start to read.

But after almost two years as a light novel author, I have a slightly different thinking to this.

"For a work to sell out very well from the beginning, illustrations are key. For a work to sell for a long time, story is key, but the influence of illustrations are also very important."

That is what I think.

"I see...speaking of which, how do you choose an illustrator? Do they go by an author's wishes and choose one?"

Nitadori asked.

That was also one thing I wanted to know about before I became an author.

"Sometimes, they will go by the author's wishes. I do know of some authors who are like that. Those authors noticed a certain illustrator on some doujinshi or website, and requested to work with that illustrator, and the editorial branch agreed to it. However, typically--"

"Typically?"

"The editor-in-charge would choose one, and that's the case for me."

"I see. So how was it chosen for you case, sensei?"

That was during Spring Break two years ago, before I entered high school.

I was desperately correcting the manuscript for the 1st volume of 'Vice Versa', and writing the draft for the 2nd volume--

"I think this one's suitable. What do you think?"

The editor-in-charge sent me some doujinshi released by a certain illustrator, and the web address.

I had a look at the doujins immediately, and back then, I didn't have internet at home, so i went to look at the website from a cafe.

The first thoughts I had back then was--

"Your thoughts were?"

"To be honest...I didn't really have much feeling about it."

Nitadori widened her eyes beneath the glasses, and leaned forward enthusiastically.

"Is that so? --I really like the illustrations of 'Vice Versa'. I feel that the visuals of the anime are pretty, and has the key features pat down, but I prefer the illustrations in the novel. Ah...please keep this a secret from the anime personnel…"

"Ahaha, I know--now that I think back about it, I'm able to feel that, yeah, it's great."

"Erm...when you saw the illustrations for the first time, how did you answer the editor-in-charge?"

"I honestly told what I was thinking to the editor-in-charge, and then I said, 'but about the illustrations, I don't really know. Please decide'."

"Then...maybe you wanted to say 'this person can't do, please switch to someone else', right?"

"Well, the chances of that isn't zero."

And Nitadori said,

"Huh...I'm surprised."

She leaned her back on the backrest.

"But back then, I didn't have the time to propose an alternative."

Back then, I was correcting the manuscript. I ended up correcting the first volume until the 6th manuscript, and after doing so until the end, I was thinking, How is it possible to have so many changes?

"Finally, the editor-in-charge chose that person. That person did provide some illustrations for some single volume financial magazines, but never had experience drawing light novel characters. However, I heard that the illustrator was really enthusiastic, and according to what I heard, the reply to the editor-in-charge was 'please let me do this!'""

"Ohh!"

"And so, we met once."

That was in the middle of April, when I was in my first year. Back then, I was finally done editing 'Vice Versa'.

This illustrator read through the draft of the first volume that was yet to be completed carefully.

And then, the illustrator brought a few rough sketches of the main characters, and basically all the appearing characters too, drawing them to fine detail.

Looking at the illustrations, I thought.

Ah, so Shin and Sin look like this.

"Was it perfect?"

"It was a little different--for me, perfect would mean that the illustration fits the imagination in my mind completely."

"Then…?"

Nitadori looked surprised. Well, I can't fault her for this. I should have explained beforehand."

"I didn't have any character visualization in my mind. All my mind could see were 'Shin', 'Sin' and words, no clear image."

"Then...is it the same now? Is it the same now that you're writing with available illustrations?"

I nodded firmly.

"It's the same now too. While I'm writing, Shin is Shin'--in kanji, it can be written as makoto. In my mind, Shin isn't converted into an image, but directly extracted as a word. It has been the case ever since I started writing light novels."

"Ah…"

Nitadori let out a voice with a stunned look.

It was to be expected. Even I didn't know why I didn't have an image of the characters in my mind.

Also, the illustrator helped me out in another way.

And that would be designing the characters' costumes and equipment design.

"I'm unfamiliar with costumes, so leaving aside the Middle Ages style fashion Reputation had, I just don't understand...the current trendy clothing. I did buy some trendy magazines for reference...but I still didn't know. When I was introducing the clothing in those paragraphs, the strange rhythm really was interesting."

"Hmm, like 'something's is a must', 'matching of this soft material', 'A cute style needed', and something, like that, right?"

'Yep yep. That's it."

"Then when writing 'Vice Versa', the illustrator's very familiar with current fashion, and designed them for you, right?"

"Right. I'll write in the draft '(clothing design is unconfirmed, leave it to the illustrator)'. Of course, if it's something related to the plot...for example, the clothing is used for some plot or some foreshadowing, I'll try my best to think about it. Basically however, I'll leave it all to the illustrator."

"And then?"

"The illustrator reads through the first draft, and sends me proposals for the design of the characters' clothing, either a rough sketch or some information. And then, I'll edit my draft based on the suggestion."

"I see…"

I drank some tea to soothe my throat.

"What kind of person is the illustrator? All I know is the name."

Nitadori took out the first volume of 'Vice Versa' from her bag,looked at the cover, and asked me.

And then, she looked at the illustrator introduction on the cover flap.

Horizontal words were written on it, the pen name, 'I live in Tokyo, I love kotatsu and cats', a 'I'll do my best' to show the enthusiasm, and the web address.

I recalled about the illustrator, wondering how much I could divulge.

The information an illustrator would reveal would differ based on different people. Many would only reveal their names.

I heard that there was a myriad of reasons. They include ordinary working adults, designers, game company staff, animators, and so on.

There were also those with famous pen names, only to deliberately work with another pen name in light novels. In this situation, some would declare it openly, and some would not, but one could tell who they were through the art style. There were those who were unrecognized, and so at the end of year lucky draw, they would admit 'it's me'.

As for the 'Vice Versa' illustrator--

That illustrator did reveal some brief personal information on the site, and as far as I knew, would attend doujinshi sales platforms.

Thus, I decided to tell Nitadori about some brief information people would have found out if they really looked into it.

"Of course, the illustrator's older than me. 20 years old back then, 5 years older than me, so I'm guessing the illustrator is 22 years old now. I heard of this from the editor-in-charge. Typically, an illustrator would be younger than an author, and there many in their twenties."

"So what kind of person is this illustrator?"

"Hm, simply put, it's a 'pretty older sister'. Like--"

"It's a female!?"

Nitadori's reaction was rather exaggerated. This wasn't a hyperbole; her face was leaning towards me, and she grabbed onto me, ostensibly not letting go.

I retreated as I said,

"Re-really? You didn't know? --Ah, I see. I guess you really won't know if you didn't go to a doujinshi exhibition and meet her…"

"What kind of person is she?"

'Well....if I have to say, a pretty lady."

The illustrator's a beauty, one of a different mold from Nitadori.

The impression she gives is that of a diminutive person, with a slender figure. When she first met me at the editorial branch and got up to greet me, I was taken aback by how low her eyes were.

The hair dyed chestnut brown was at shoulder length, and I wasn't sure about the clothing, but in any case, it gave a plain vibe.

My impression of it was basically 'a new arts teacher'.

Nitadori said as she leaned her body back,

"I-I didn't know...I thought...it would have been a man."

"Well, you probably wouldn't know if nobody actually mention it. She's able to draw some very cute female characters, and the male characters muscles are ripped too."

Actually, this illustrator is a muscle enthusiast, but I never told Nitadori about this.

Because of that, Sin's subordinates were all machos.

The characters had no elaborately designed clothes, and based on her preferences, they would show off their biceps, or their calves while wearing shorts (all I wrote in the story was 'just some ugly men').

The generals had to be muscular men, and it seemed that was the only part she would not concede on. She once said "there's nothing prettier than a toned tricep surae!" Just to note, she's referring to the calves.

"Erm...sensei...it's very rude, but I want to ask something…"

"Hm. What is it?"

"Do you...have to meet that illustrator during meetings?"

That's not the case. In fact, the authors and illustrators hardly meet.

I shook my head, saying,

"No, the discussions with the illustrator is done by the editor-in-charge over the phone. The editor-in-charge deals with the cover, the color illustrations, and where the illustrations are to be. I'll only request when I have vivid images in my mind."

"So after you're done with your meetings, you two would have a meal with the editor-in-charge...or something like that?"

"We only had it once in the beginning. Back then, we're so tense that we hardly talked."

"Do you have her mail address or contact…?"

"I do know--"

"Will you send messages to her?"

"No, of course not. That's because it's pointless for me even if I do know her mail address. The editor-in-charge would be CCing the files to her and me anyway."

"I-I see…"

In fact, the number of times I met the illustrator can be counted with one hand. However, we did talk a lot.

"Two years ago, when I first attended the end of year party, we had a long chat. Neither of us knew of anyone else at the place, so we were at a corner, shivering away."

"To-together?"

"That's because when we saw the namecards of the people walking in front of us, we realized that those were really big names. Of course we'll be terrified. Both of us were going 'ohh! I found this sensei!', 'that sensei's walking in front of me!" and so on, and that's how we somehow established the conversation."

At the end of my first year in high school, I attended my first ever Dengeki end of year party. I was really delighted.

As I said before, both of us were nervous right from the start, and intended to stay in the corner the entire time. Let us just watch those authors and illustrators happily.

"Found you!"

The editor-in-charge however dragged us out, and brought us everywhere to greet.

"It's him! The High School Boy author!"

And then, I was going around greeting everyone.

Us rookies, the illustrators and me, went around greeting everyone.

The illustrator's a beauty, so she's very popular (amongst the guys, at least).

As for me, I was viewed like an exotic animal, and somewhat popular. Back then, I was so scared that I was frozen stiff, so I couldn't remember what I said.

During the lucky draw, the illustrator won a portable game console, and for her speech, she said,

"It's my 4th one, and I think I might break it again, but I'm really happy! Thank you everyone! I'll try to make sure it lasts until Spring!"

That triggered a massive laughter from the crowd (I heard from the editor-in-charge that she really destroyed it last March. He said that it was not a good thing to use it while having a bath.)

"Can I talk a little more about Dengeki's end of year party?"

I asked.

"Of course you can. Please continue to say what you did with that illustrator in detail."

Nitadori agreed, speaking with such harsh stare and strange words.

Dengeki Bunko's end of year party invites all the authors and illustrators to participate. Basically, anyone who worked under Dengeki Bunko or the Dengeki Bunko magazine flagship are invited to participated.

The date was on a certain Friday in December, and the location was at a massive plaza located close to the editorial branch in Tokyo.

I, a first year in High School when I debuted, was invited as well.

It was nerve wrecking, but I was looking forward to meeting many of the senior authors (not meeting them face to face though), so I decided to participate.

Dengeki Bunko organizes two gathering events for authors to meet.

The first would be the 'Dengeki Awards Ceremony' and the after party. The other would be the end of year.

I did not receive any awards, so I was not invited to receive any prizes. Thus, I was not sure how the award ceremony went.

I heard that there were a lot of people gathered in the hall--including the Chairman and the CEO, and there was a rather solemn ceremony held. It seemed the winners would walk up the stage, receive the trophy, and state their thanksgiving.

I had already debuted by the time I knew of this, and I felt it was a good thing that I did not try to force myself to win an award. I did not tell Nitadori about this.

However, it was said that the winners in that batch would meet and get to know each other, exchanging numbers.

Knowing acquaintances right from the beginning might help one build courage. Those are all my competitors however, so if I can feel the distance between us, I might feel very despondent.

In any case--

I won't be able to experience such a feeling in my life again.

Back to the end of year party.

As I said a while back, the editorial branch would pay and book a room in a luxurious hotel for me. I would first proceed with the check-in, put my luggage, and then head to the place.

Then, I met the illustrator. As I said, we were shaking in a corner like a borrowed cat, only to have the editor-in-charge grab us by our necks.

After we did our introductions and chatted with the senior authors, I realized that everyone was very cordial.

Those that knew that I debuted at 16 would continue talking about this. Those that did not know would be rather surprised.

The first end of year party I had in my life ended in greetings and tensions. On a side note, i did not win any prizes in the lucky draw.

The Dengeki Bunko End of Year party would have a first meeting and a second meeting. The whole thing starts from 6pm, and ends at 10pm.

There would be pamphlets for a 'third meeting' distributed in the venue, which some authors and illustrators would attend.

This activity was not organized by the editorial branch, but by the authors themselves.

The participants would ride a bus or taxi to a place a little distant, and have it at a KTV place. It would start from 11pm, and if anyone stayed on, it would last until the morning.

I was interested in it, but I still had reservations participating as a 16 year old. It was a pity, but I gave up on it.

So the alternative was that I decided to head to the hotel cafe for tea with the illustrator.

"J-just the two of you?"

"Uh? Yeah. There were a lot of people who couldn't make it to the third meeting, so a few authors and illustrators came to the same cafe as us...we were the only two at our table."

"A-and...then? Wh-what did you talk about? Please tell me in detail!"

Nitadori seemed exceptionally enthusiastic when the topic was about the illustrator. I said a lot, so I guess I had no choice in the matter.

"We had been talking about the characters in 'Vice Versa'. Serious topics, I'll say. I mentioned the image of the characters that would appear later on, and the illustrator drew on her sketchbook…"

"Phew."

Nitadori was (or appeared to be) relieved. I did not know why she was relaxed at all, but it was pointless for me to talk about it, so I continued,

"Well, the illustrator had to take the last bus ride back home, so we bade farewell. I went back to enjoy the luxurious hotel, and the next day, after a visit to Akihabara, I returned home."

There was something I did not tell Nitadori. Or rather, I could not possibly tell her--

Back then, the illustrator was passionately talking about 'BL'

BL was an acronym for many things, but over here, it refers to 'Boys' Love'.

I don't fully understand what 'Boys' Love' is about--but I guess it refers to a genre that describes 'love between boys'.

There are many kinds of BL works, including manga, novels and games. I also heard that doujinshis of pairing beloved male characters together and 'fostering their love' further were very popular.

My illustrator really loves BL. Well, you can tell from her doujins that she draws those kinds of things, and she continues to draw such things even now.

Also, she really loves Shin and Sin. Her eyes were blazing as she rattled on about this topic in front of the author without restraint, saying that she's really elated to be able to draw them.

It's rare in light novels to see covers with only male characters. It appeared that she's very enthusiastic to be able to draw such covers.

"But I can't draw doujins of Shin and Sin now. It's so sad…"

It was said that the editor-in-charge warned her sternly when they first met.

"Looks like I can only buy them. This is so sad…"

I heard that as long as there's doujinshi of 'Vice Versa', she would desperately ask her acquaintances to buy them for her. Apparently, she would pray to the stars, hoping for the actual work to be popular, to increase in reputation, and result in an increase in doujins. Recently, I also heard that she was dancing in joy when she heard news of an upcoming anime.

"Even if my arms are snapped, I'm going to draw them with my mouth! Please keep writing!"

Well, she's requesting me because of such reasons.

To be honest, I don't understand that realm. She was really scary when she was passionately talking about BL--

But there was no doubt that she really had 'love' for the work, and was able to finish it in an outstanding manner.

"Of course, I attended the Dengeki end of year party last year."

I couldn't say the real identity of the illustrator, but I talked about what happened the previous year to Nitadori.

Same as before, I went to the end of year party in Tokyo, stayed there, and returned home.

"Last year, the illustrator and I went to the third meeting together. That had something to with me taking a break from school back then, and I personally felt that it was fine for me to stay out until morning. I had fun."

That was 5 months back. There were a lot of things that left quite a deep impression on me, so I really remembered them well.

The first and second parties were the same, and this time, I did not win anything in the lucky draw.

The difference was that for the first time, I met the authors who debuted the previous year.

Of course, everyone else was older than me, but as an author, experience wise, I was of an earlier batch. There were some who read 'Vice Versa' before they won awards. They were all shocked to know of my age.

And then, when I participated in the third party--

It was really messy, and at the same time, interesting.

The location was a wide dining room in a massive karaoke room.

The senior authors led the rest by dividing into different groups, and we took the bus to the location. Some also took the taxi there.

There were approximately 50 authors and illustrators who took part, and it was a blast.

At first, everyone would introduce themselves and say a few words, and the organizers would collect the entry fee, and toast to everyone. The editorial branch prepared namecards during the first party, so at the third one, everyone continued to use the same one. If not, we wouldn't be sure who was who.

Those that wanted to go sing would visit the karaoke room, while those who wanted to talk could continue to talk there.

I waited in the dining room until the first bus arrived, so I spent quite a long time with a few senior authors.

I talked a lot about being an author, and I heard--a lot of gossip I really shouldn't mention here.

On a side note, a few authors appeared to have assumed that I was a female before the end of year party last year.

Also, only my age was revealed, so a few of them thought of me to be some 'pretty high school girl author' or something. Where did the 'pretty high school girl' come from?

I learned of the experiences of the other authors, the details they did not divulge in their personal information.

Everyone had different experiences. We're all professional authors, but some were of the working class, some debuted in college, some graduated successfully, some chose to drop out, some had to write and hide this fact from their company (so they could not appear in public at all), and some were public servants who worked after having been granted approval from their superiors.

I was moved. Authors too had their means to survive.

And so, I honestly said that everyone had unique experiences.

"You have a unique experience yourself too!"

Everyone retorted.

I'll explain beforehand that 'those things I heard from the other authors' and told Nitadori afterward were basically all from the conversations back then.

At the third party, not all would be here to chat. Some would have a toast, and then head to the karaoke room, never to return.

It seemed that they would start singing from 11pm or so, until past 7am the next day. How much do they like to sing?

Some authors too would toast, and after that was done, bring out their game consoles to play a monster hunting game or something. They were yelling happily, giving serious looks as they pursued the enemies.

I found a few authors gathered around the dining table, distributing cards. They then lowered their heads suddenly, closed their eyes, and patted their thigh with one hand.

I was surprised, and wanted to ask if there was a strange ritual about to begin. Only then did I realize that it's a card game where the participants are to determine who's not the alien amongst them.

All I knew was the name of the game. Patting the thighs consecutively was to bluff the other players by masking the sounds when raising hands.

We could stay until morning, or not to do so.

Including my illustrator, a few of them took the last ride home. Those that came from afar gathered in droves and took a taxi back to the hotel. They would then hand over their namecards to the organizers.

I got along with a certain senior author I met at the editorial branch, so I participated in all kinds of conversations, getting to know more authors and illustrators.

At midnight, everyone was feeling hungry, since the dinner from the first two parties was long over.

And on the tables,

"Right, let's eat something!"

There would be large plates of food and sweets served, along with juices and alcohol for anyone to drink to their hearts content. (Even so, there won't be any situations of a savage drunkard looking for trouble, or anyone coercing a non drinker to drink).

After 3am or so, a certain author was completely drunk and collapsed on the sofa, sleeping blissfully.

And another author saw this, giving a serious look, saying,

"Hey...you got to be kidding...he's just...sleeping."

Another author said,

"He'll murder his characters in his work without mercy. Only when he's sleeping does his face look like an angel's."

"Yeah...don't write the word 'meat' on his forehead? Don't do it, okay? Don't do it."

"We won't. Aren't we authors? If we want to write, we'll write novels."

"You're right. Anyone brought a pen?"

"Are you going to write?"

"Writing on the body...I think I'll write a really short prose, maybe? Everyone, let's work together."

"So the ending is that the editor says 'Well written, let's submit this draft', and whisk that guy away?"

"No--we'll just forget to write on the ears and spare them."

"Then it should be the other way around."

In fact, for precaution sake, nobody wrote anything.

I took the first bus back to the hotel. Of course, this was the first time I took the first Tokyo bus ride on a Saturday.

Once I got back to the hotel, I spent till it was past 11am. I quickly had a shower, checked out at noon, and left the hotel.

Having heard everything, Nitadori sounded amazed, saying,

"It seems like you enjoyed yourself a lot…"

She really seemed envious.

"I really did. I'm looking forward to the end of year party this year too. Those that debuted this February will probably be participating too."

"By then, you'll be 'an author with an animated work'."

"Ah, well...that kind of gathering isn't discriminated based on age and experience. The authors with animated works aren't those that would put up a front."

At the very least, I felt that nobody would act boastful in front of everyone. Looking at the current phase, it's a little delusional of me, but I hope to become that kind of person.

The train continued to rush forward in the rain.

This track would often pass by mountainous areas and tunnels, so if the rain was too big, it would stop to avoid any potential rockslides--currently, there was no problem or error to be seen.

I had a look at the watch; there was still an hour to the terminal.

I told Nitadori that there was still enough time to answer some questions.

"Then--please talk about the animation."

Nitadori chose this question out of her notebook, probably to add on from what we were talking about. She then continued,

"Being an author is already a rare thing, but I guess an author whose works are made into an anime is rarer, right?"

"Well..I guess."

It's not an uncommon sight recently for light novels to be adapted into an anime. Even so, for all the light novel authors, such authors were a minority.

"So please state everything that happened, from when you learned that an anime was to be made till this point. Ah, before that...for an author, how important is it for his work to be animated?"

I feel that for a light novel author, it is a dream to have one's work adapted into an anime.

First off, I'll simply be delighted that my work is adapted into a video. It's impossible not to be happy about seeing my own created characters being able to move and talk.

Speaking of which, I have the feeling that light novel authors aren't the type that would hate anime, had no interest in it, or never did watch a single one (there are always exceptions, so I can't be sure).

Also, the work's popularity would surge instantly because of an anime airing, boosting the sales of the books. This obviously will cause the author to be delighted.

Once it is decided to be animated, what 'benefit' is there to an author?

I shall summarize what I heard from the senior authors.

"First off, the published works will be reprinted at an unprecedented rate, and they'll be attached with 'anime confirmed'!' book collars."

Nitadori nodded.

"I see. The sales volume will create, right?"

Yep. In the anime shops, they'll be placed under the 'to be animated corner'. Ah, placed here would mean that the book covers will be shown up. The cover illustrations would leave a deep impression, and it'll be a big boost for the light novel sales."

"There'll be an increase in the number of new readers, right?"

"Yeah. Also, once the anime airs, there'll be a massive reprint if it becomes a hot topic. The original work itself has to sell well, but even so, it seems that those who know of the work through the anime is far more than the original readers. The print volume can increase by 2, 3 times...I heard that if the anime is a runaway success, the sales volume of the original work will skyrocket further."

"That's amazing!"

"What I said is the dazzling advantages to it though...of course, I heard of the disadvantages."

"Oh?...what are they?"

First off, the workload required would increase drastically.

There would be script and setting checks right from the beginning, and then there's a need to watch the After Records, a need to attend some events sometimes, and also, create a special edition noel that is bundled with the DVD or a similar kind of media.

The publisher wants to make sure the volumes are released along with the airing of the anime, so the author has to write new volumes in the meantime, which means the actual workload would increase so much, it can be rather suffocating.

"Of course, I do find it interesting at times, and I feel that some authors won't feel troubled by it. What's more scary for an author is…"

"'Scared of', as in?"

"I heard that there are cases of the anime ending without being highly discussed."

I watched all kinds of anime, so I understood.

As for what kind of anime would be famous, runaway success, or not at all--

Nobody would know until the results were out (the official airing).

For example, even if an outstanding production team and famous voice actors are gathered, and massive promotions are made, there is no guarantee that it would be popular once it aired.

The anime that was adapted from my own novel might end up buried amongst the many anime aired every season without showing much of a success. I would say that most anime would be of such a case.

When the anime adaptation of the light novel an author writes isn't popular, and when the DVD and BD sales are low, it's hard to hope for a massive leap in print volume.

But this was still okay.

"The most worrying is when...an anime is complete just like this, the popularity will decline--this is what they call 'Owakon'."

I noted with a tragic tone.

Nitadori tilted her head, asking,

"What is 'Owakon'?"

"Well, it is a shortened form of 'Owatta Contents', which basically means 'Content that is over'. It means something that's no longer popular, that nobody actually paid attention to. It seems it was used as an internet lingo, and for those in the authorship industry, it's a vexing term, to say the least."

"I see...so, well...it's not a nice thing to say, but for an author, making an anime is a massive 'gamble', right?"

I nodded firmly.

I heard the same thing from the other authors. Now that I'm in this situation myself, I too felt the same.

Once the anime gets popular, the work would increase, and the harvest would return massively, so much that it's enough for anyone to not think of the increased workload as anything much.

But if it doesn't--

"Thus, an author can choose not to put in bets at all. In other words, a decision to refuse making 'an anime'. This is an important series I'm making, so rather than being an anime that's not popular like many, I might as well reject it outright."

"Really...I guess such people do exist, right?"

"I do hear of such people too, but I don't know who they are. However…"

"However?"

"That's undoubtedly the minority."

I too was jumping up in joy when I heard news of an anime.

Of course, after all kinds of investigations, and having heard of many things, I understood very well that it was a kind of betting.

But even so, I decided to call.

"Hm, good job!"

The one beside me now praised me.

"Th-thanks."

"Thanks to you, I'm able to look forward to working like this!"

"Ahaha, now that you mention it, that's the case."

"And now I heard some really precious things from you, sensei! Now then, please explain everything that's to be done after agreeing to make an anime--when did the anime news come, and how did they reach you?"

When does an author know of an anime to be made, and how? I don't really understand how it goes normally. I'm starting to wonder if there's a fixed format to this myself.

As I said before, I heard of this news last March. In other words, 1 year and 4 months before the official airing.

On a certain Friday in March, I was summoned to the editorial branch.

There was no other meeting to be held, and no need to revise through the draft, so I was worried, wondering what it was about as I went to the editorial branch. After I got there, the editor-in-charge said,

"We received a proposal to adapt 'Vice Versa' into an anime."

And then, as I said, I gave the okay.

A week later, on a certain day.

I went back to Tokyo, and in the editorial branch, I met the people who would take care of me for the first time. Currently, I do feel taken care of.

On a side note, it was snowing on that day.

I felt that there would be an incident as long as there was a huge snowfall in Tokyo, like the '47 Ronin', 'Sakuradamon Incident', and 'February 26 Incident .

Of course, this was a coincidence, but I was feeling uneasy yet hopeful when I went to the editorial branch--

I nearly slipped at the entrance. The tiles there were slippery when wet.

There were three men discussing with the editor-in-charge in the editorial branch.

They were the producer in charge of planning, the supervisor (tentative at that time) who was in charge of anime production back then, and the writer in charge of series composition who decided upon the framework of the series.

Everyone is older than I am, and they produced many anime work I am familiar with. I was very nervous.

And it seemed they were surprised when they met me for the first time.

The discussion during this meeting was on how to produce 'Vice Versa' as an anime.

The length of the anime was decided by the number of episodes, and also, the number of cours that was indicated by seasons.

Each cour is a quarter of the year, in other words, 3 months. When an anime airs for a cour, the number of episodes would be from 12 to 13. If there is a need to air 2 cours, the number of episodes will double.

The anime 'Vice Versa' was expected to air for one cour, 13 episodes in total.

The series composition writer told me that the plan was to end the anime at the second volume.

In other words--

First half would be Side Shin.

The second half would be Side Sin.

"After hearing that plan...I was really, really happy about it!"

I expressed my excitement.

"Why?"

"That's because if they could convey a volume of work in 6-7 episodes, there is no need to rush."

"How do?"

"Till this point, I've seen a few light novels adapted into anime...anyone who watched the original work would have a feeling that 'yeah, the anime's running too fast'."

It appears that I'm not the only one with such thoughts; it's said that the other authors had similar thoughts. Some would feel that the anime was too rushed, and in contrast, some would say that they're lucky their work was slowly and carefully made. Of course, I can't say who they are.

"In other words...there are many plot points that will be omitted in the anime?"

"Right. I do often feel that 'the plot's moving too fast'. I found that there were many unique interludes in the original work, but they were all cut out. Of course, I can understand that in terms of production, it was something that had to be done...even so, I felt that the progress was too fast. Too quick to digest."

Of course, I felt that the production team would argue back.

"That's not compression, that's distillation."

Or,

"Tempo is the most important thing in an anime. Without plot progression in a show, the viewers will be sick of it."

And the authors would be speechless.

I did not know which side was better.

But when I heard that the anime 'Vice Versa' would be carefully made till the second volume of the original work, I was really happy.

Of course, they asked me the planned release schedule.

The editor-in-charge had decided that the fourth volume would be released in April, and the fifth to be released in June.

After that, we didn't know--

And the producer said,

"Currently, it is hard for us to say, but as long as the anime becomes a hit, we'll naturally consider making a second season, or a 'second cour'. We hope that the original work will continue to sell well, for with more copies so, we can think of the second cour as a two season production."

Bam.

"What's that sound?"

Nitadori tilted her head.

"That's...the sound of the 'switch to quit high school' in my mind."

"You can't do that! --speaking of which, you never did."

"Well yeah...as history proved."

"Ahaha!"

The changes in Nitadori's facial expression was really interesting.

"Men will tell the truth from the background."

"Ahaha!"

After that, it's as what everyone knew.

I had a discussion with my mom and the editor-in-charge, and decided to take leave from school.

From the middle of March onwards, I was able to make use of entire days, and I began to write the continuation of 'Vice Versa' enthusiastically. In fact, at this time, the plans for an anime might go bust.

"Really?"

"It's said that plans for an anime often stall. Reason wise, if it's not because an author is suddenly angered and rejected it, or that it's an issue on the production side...I'm not too sure on the details myself."

"But the anime 'Vice Versa' is already made to such an extent."

Nitadori smile, saying this

"I'm really...glad. I heard that if there's something major that shocked society, an anime that would remind people of that particular incident would be delayed...but I guess 'Vice Versa' is fine."

"There's probably no one in reality who visited another world anyway--now then, next question. How much assistance have you provided for the anime production till this point?"

How much does an author need to assist when participating in the anime production? I feel that this question will depend on the work and the author.

For participation, it can be classified as two ways,

"Do the bare minimum of checks."

"Help as much as my time allows."

I chose the latter.

I had a lot of time due to my leave from school, and the writing of the continuation was going well, so chose to do that.

Most of the animation companies seemed to be located in Tokyo.

It was said that currently, anime is made digitally, and the data can be exchanged through the computers, so the company need not necessarily be in Tokyo. But even so, many companies were located there.

Thus, the production meetings of the anime 'Vice Versa' were also held in Tokyo. To attend the script meeting, I did visit their production office that was located somewhere in Tokyo.

As the words implied, the meeting was a discussion on the script.

Everyone read through the original work, and would look through the script written by the main scriptwriter, giving suggestions to improve.

Such meetings would be held once a week, so I would visit Tokyo every week, on the same day. It was around this time, last year when I first went to such a meeting, and I felt nostalgic thinking about it. I don't know how about it goes for the other anime, but I heard that the entire production speed for 'Vice Versa' itself was one of the faster ones.

During the script meeting, what I had to do was to make requests from the viewpoint of an author. However--

"To be honest, there's practically nothing to be picky about."

"That's because...the lines weren't really omitted, right? I checked the script and the original work, and found that the dialogue was hardly cut off. There was a change in scene order though."

"That's right."

As expected of Nitadori, who read through the original work and the script.

"All I did at most was some minor tweaks, like 'a little mistake in the terms' used, and also 'I hope this character won't do this thing, since I'm planning to use this as a foreshadowing in future volumes'. Unlike the original work, the first episode of the anime had the scene of Shin and Sin in a battle against Pluto. This edit was really exciting...and I was really impressed."

"Yeah."

"So I attended all of the script meetings. All I can say is that this is a really precious experience that allowed me to truly experience the talents of the series composition writer, the scriptwriters and the anime producers. I was really looking forward to every single week, and I learned a lot of things too."

"I see--besides that, have you provided assistance in some way?"

"Hm, after checking the script, I need to check the settings and design."

The editor-in-charge would attach pictures in the mail messages, or tell me the download website. Some were character or weapon designs, and some were background design."

I would look through those pictures and check. There were a lot of characters appearing in 'Vice Versa', so the data was massive.

But I was happy.

Shin and the other characters retained the flair of the illustrator, refined into linear art. Also, there are characters who did not appear in any of the illustrations.

"In that case...what happens?"

"Actually, the illustrator would come up with a few sketch images based on my words. Leaving aside the very unimpressive side characters, she drew all the characters that appeared a few times in the story! I'm really grateful!"

"Heh! That's amazing!"

Nitadori's eyes were blazing. I know it's an expression, but in my eyes, the brown eyes beyond the lens were really dazzling with light.

"The illustrator is also in charge of checking the character designs. If there are disagreement in opinions, I guess I'll back off, but we haven't had any disagreements in opinion."

And so, the residents of the world of 'Vice Versa' were dyed vibrantly in a similar artistic flair, refreshed as they entered the world of animation.

Meek in the anime did look really different, and two daggers were added for her design.

The two daggers had an elegant design, like an Athame. The blades had large handguards with lumps over them so that they could be used to beat enemies up and damage them.

They looked pretty, and yet savage, a really amazing design.

"I'll also participate in assisting one of the work 'locahun'. This work is to be done before checking the script, so actually, the order's reversed, sorry."

"Locahun refers to 'Location hunting', right? That's like looking at filming locations for a movie."

"Right. But I heard that it's English localized into japanese."

I learned of this term in the book, so when I asked, Nitadori nodded,

"In English, it is 'location scouting', right?"

"I see…"

The 'scout' here would refer to the 'scout' in 'boys scout'. I checked on it before, so I remembered. It meant 'investigating' or 'inspection'. I felt that rather than 'hunting for a location', 'checking out the location would be a more appropriate term in conveying the meaning. I think the portmanteau should be 'LocaSca'.

"But the anime won't be using locations that were actually taken, right? Or?"

Nitadori made a valid question. That's basically it, I answered.

"Of course, the anime is different from a live action movie, and we won't necessarily be filming there--"

I heard that recently, a lot of anime productions would head to the location that forms a model, and take a large number of photos and videos. That data would be used mostly for background art. Sometimes, the DVD or BD would have a special video involving those places.

When scouting the location with the producer, directors, art supervisor and the artists, I would lead the way. The setting in 'Side Sin' was directly based on the town and area I lived in.

When writing the light novel, I would change the terminology completely, so the name of the town was completely fictional.

However, there are those that would recognize the place through the various descriptions. Looking at the readers' thoughts on the light novel, some are able to say the correct answer 'this is definitely the place. The reason being...'.

The basis of the high school Shin and Yui studied at was--not the high school I studied at in my first year, but a private high school I could see from the library. I was a middle school student when I first started out as an author after all.

The staff did not enter the school, merely taking pictures of the scenery they could see, of those who were headed to school, and so on. The artists would not follow exactly when they draw the background, but would modify the scenery greatly.

As for how the inside of the school looked in the second volume, I did use my middle school as reference.

In the anime, the layout of the school was similar to the high school I studied in, but my middle school wasn't taken as a reference. It was said that the interior of the high school was simply ordinary.

Shin's house was designated at a certain high class residential area in the same town.

Closest to that place was many beautiful residential houses that were just built up from farm land, and Shin's house was one of them. We went there on a rental minivan, and took photos and videos of that place without disturbing anyone else.

Shin and Yui's houses were located near a park. Even though we went to that area, we couldn't find such houses.

Of course, the ancient castle that is the symbol of my hometown appeared too.

"This castle is great! I'm going to set camp here one day!"

The location where Sin lifted his head to look at the castle and yell that with emotion was established beforehand too. Through videos and photos, we recorded the Tenshu from the position Sin stood at.

"Sensei, please try shouting from there like Sin did."

The director told me, the guide to do so. Just standing there was fine, but I would pass on the shouting. Speaking of which, the difference in height between me and Sin is too great.

The train station we took our rides from would also become a scene in the anime.

There was a description of the platform and the inside of the train in the novel, and of course, there were large posters of female characters from the original story placed on both right and sides of the train carriage. I heard that the production team had obtained permission from the transportation company to do so.

If the anime became a great hit, would there be colored wrappings of of Shin and Sin on the trains…? Would a voice actor take over as announcer on the train broadcast? If that became the case, I'll be really happy, but I'll feel awkward when it comes to riding on the train.

"Then! When the anime reaches 'Side Sin'..."

Nitadori noted happily, and I followed up on her words.

"There'll be a lot of scenes that we saw before."

"Wow! I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Something worth being happy about is that once the anime becomes a hit, there'll probably be an increase in number of people going on 'Pilgrimage'."

"'Pilgrimage'?"

"Well...that refers to the fans happily visiting the places where the anime is set."

"Ah, it means visiting the locations? That's such a grand way of calling it!"

This term really is that exaggerated. I guess it's because the religious knowledge the Japanese have is a little weaker, so anywhere can be considered 'Sacred Grounds'. Some might even think 'well, it's not just the Japanese who might feel this way'.

Leaving that aside,

"There's a lot of 'Sacred Ground' all over Japan. The number of visitors will increase because of an anime, and some might use them to develop the towns."

"Then when the anime becomes a hit, will you be appointed as a tourist ambassador and be hailed by the town council, sensei?"

Nitadori asked happily. I never thought of such things before.

The possibility...might not be zero--

"If that's the case, I'll definitely refuse...I'm going to escape, even if it means moving houses…"

"Eh--that's a pity!"

No no, not at all.

"Instead of me..how about you be it, Nitadori?"

"Eh? What do I do?"

Looks like Nitadori's a no go too.

Back then, besides sleeping, I was checking on the anime and related information, writing future volumes without stopping.

From Summer to Autumn last year, as far as I remembered, I hardly went out, besides heading to Tokyo.

Since I was basically cooking for myself, I could do some simple dishes, so at most, I merely went to the nearby supermarkets for ingredients, or cycle to the shopping mall that was slightly further (there is a bookshop inside too).

Maybe the people living nearby would gossip,

"There's a tall son living in that house, right? If he's not going to school, I wonder what he's doing…?"

"That's a 'shut-in' that's common nowadays, right? That's disgusting. I hope he doesn't start killing animals or something."

Or have similar discussions. (But it's just my delusion, I guess)

"Actually, I did kill…"

"Ehh!"

"Shin and Sin in the story."

"What the...that shocked me…"

"Sorry."

The assistance work in producing the anime included attending script meetings, LocaHun, and design checks.

"Speaking of which, how are we going to handle the image content checks?"

The editor-in-charge asked me when I was done with the above described work.

That referred to the grids that explained how the produced visuals would be displayed through illustrations and script. Basically, the images would be aligned vertically, and there would be the explanation and timeframe designated on the right side. It is commonly known as storyboard.

This storyboard can be said to be the layout of the anime scenes and actions. The pictures would be drawn based on the storyboard.

"I don't think I'll reject any of it, but I want to have a look."

I answered. As there time was constrained, the editor-in-charge agreed on the condition that I had to 'reply immediately'.

I was really happy seeing the storyboard the director drew in data format.

Just being able to see a real storyboard alone was exhilarating for me, but there was no way I couldn't be delighted with the storyboard having my own work drawn on it.

Starting from Shin, Sin, Pluto, Meek to the other characters, it was amazing how they could move like this, and thinking about it

The only nitpick I had was that a certain warrior's master hand was often mistaken.

During the process of the anime production, the storyboard would be made into a layout, and then made into an anime. THere was nothing left for me to check, so I suppose this would be the end of the explanation.

"Would you pick the voice actors...or visit the auditions, sensei?"

Nitadori asked, sounding a little terrified,

Hearing her say this, I believe such situations do occur. I answered.

"No, I didn't. When the editor-in-charge asked me what I intended to do, I stopped at that point. I like anime, and I have beloved voice actors--but I feel that I'm unable to choose someone appropriate."

"I see...so you never nominated for anyone you hoped to voice?"

An actor say indicate his hopes to some extent, and voice out the impressions he hopes to have from some people. I was asked on that matter too, but--

"I gave no opinion at all. This is the only part where I feel that I can trust the director and sound supervisor. It would be better for them to have full authority."

"So...when you visited the After Record yourself, what did you feel…?"

Nitadori's involved in this, so she sounded a little pessimistic as she asked that.

"Those who believe shall be saved."

I answered clearly.

And then, I saw Nitadori smile.

I did reject another work too.

That's composing lyrics.

The company would create image songs for the anime characters to sing, character songs. They would seek my agreement, and of course, I agreed immediately.

Once a certain script meeting was done, the producer asked me,

"Sensei, are you willing to compose lyrics for the character songs?"

And then,

"If you want to do so, you can."

The editor-in-charge answered.

And then,

"No, I'm not doing it! I can write novels, but not lyrics!"

I answered immediately.

"I see. Well, we have no choice. Guess we shall give up on producing character image songs. However, what about the ending?"

"Erm...has the difficulty increased?"

I rejected the proposal to compose lyrics for the Opening (OP) and Ending (E).

As for the OP and ED for the 'Vice Versa' anime--

The titles and singers were announced.

The one in charge of singing the OP is a veteran female singer who sang many OP anime songs, or anisongs for short.

Of course, i knew about her; I did buy a few CDs from her. When I heard that she could possibly be singing for this anime, I was shivering in excitement. I heard that there's a chance for me to meet her, so I thought that when I get to do so, I'll have a CD for her to sign on.

The one singing the ED is the voice actress of Emma. She has an amazing talent in singing too, and her identity as a singer might be more famous than her identity a voice actor. She did sing all kinds of songs, including Anisongs and other songs.

These two songs are great. When I first heard them, I was so moved I was about to cry.

"Eh! --You heard them! Do you...have them with you?"

I saw that Nitadori had a strong reaction.

"Ah, it may be a secret...but I have the data with me...don't tell anyone that I have them."

I shrank back as I said.

"Got it...how nice…"

"Well...this is my right as an author."

"How nice…"

Nitadori gave me a really spiteful look, and as I looked back at her,

"The songs are in my laptop..."

I said something I shouldn't have.

"Oho!"

The brown eyes under Nitadori's glasses glowed. Right, they're really glowing.

"Ah, no...that was a lie. Nothing...at all."

Nitadori in turn,

"..."

Glared at me from beyond the glasses. I turned my face to the window that was washed by the rain.

"Hey...sensei...just a little question…"

I never thought that Nitadori would let out such a scary voice. That's to be expected of a voice actress, I guess. I was really scared, and my back shivered slightly.

"W-what is it…?"

Nitadori then reverted to her usual voice, grinning as she said,

"There's a trillion Yen at the basin."

"It multiplied by ten!?"

"If you want it, now's the time."

"No, it's fine...I can survive on the money I earn…"

"I see...that's impressively…"

"That's how it is."

"I won't be touching your laptop so carelessly, sensei."

"That's because...there's a password, I can't do that."

"I won't be touching your laptop so carelessly, sensei."

"Well, I say."

"I won't be touching your laptop so carelessly, sensei."

"......"

Nitadori's a voice actress. It's fine to think of her as someone related to the anime. Or I should say, since she's involved, she knows of my secret which only a few people know of. I feel that she's determined, and she kept interrogating me, so I'm helpless. It's raining today, no other passengers on board, and there's still power in the laptop. It's great if her hearing the OP and ED will get her more into the role of Meek.

While Nitadori inserted her earphones into my laptop and heard the music, I began to think of many excuses.

"Amazing...I'm moved."

Once she heard the ending theme, Nitadori removed the two earphones, saying that.

Was it my imagination? Her eyes seemed to be a little teary.

I guess I probably showed a similar expression back then.

I slipped my laptop back into my backpack, and looked at the watch.

There was another 10 minutes until the terminal.

The rain was strong, and the train continued to race on, as if saying I won't lose to this . Looking at this, I guess the train should arrive at the terminal on time.

I did not put my backpack on the rack, but at my feet.

"Eh, sensei."

I heard this call, and turned to the right, seeing Nitadori give a serious smile.

"This will be the last question of the day--how will the original plot of 'Vice Versa' carry on in the future?"

This question was obviously different from the questions about the authors I answered before. Or I should say, she's basically begging me to spoil the plot for her.

Her expression differed from usual, probably because she understood that well. Her face was stiff, and she bit her lips.

I know the feeling of wanting to know the later plot of a story. I too would feel frustrated whenever I'm done with the latest volume of a series I'm following.

Based on my imagination, I'm getting that she wants to know more of what happened to Meek.

"How is it?"

Again, she asked.

At this moment, i thought of 2 things.

First, Nitadori's pretty face was too close to me, so close that I'm almost unable to hold myself back.

Second, my back's leaning against the wall, so if I want to run, I can only break the glass, but I don't have that much strength.

Third, I told Nitadori so much till this point, and even played the opening and ending themes to her. In that case, I guess it's fine to tell her, right?

Let me correct myself. It should be three things. Well, the first two can be combined to one.

My heart faltered for an instant,

"That's--"

And I immediately corrected myself.

Even if it's Nitadori, I can't answer this question. I said,

"I can't answer it now. I hope that you'll read the book once it's published."

Since now that we're talking about plot in the future, we can't possibly not mention Meek.

Nitadori's probably shocked, and maybe depressed.

Of course, as an author, I write for the sake of shocking the readers. I hope that the readers will be really shocked by the developments, that they'll lament.

However, I still hope that the readers would feel shocked after they read the story.

Right, now, I shouldn't be revealing the future plot.

"I see…"

Nitadori answered, probably because she was somewhat mentally prepared.

"I guess it was impossible...to ask for such an unreasonable request. Sorry."

The sealed lips curled up slightly.

That anguished smile caused me to recall of Meek whom Shin met for the first time--

I felt that for a moment, my consciousness was dragged to Reputation.

The train continued to move on in the city.

We'll arrive at the terminal soon. It was raining outside.

I decided to make a trip to the toilet before we arrived. There was still some time. The toilets at the station were normally packed, and the ones on the train was more comfortable.

I had Nitadori get up to leave the seat, and moved to the aisle. I would soon return to my seat before I arrived at the station, so i did not take away the backpack by my feet.

I slipped through the automatic doors at the back of the car.

I finished washing my hands at the basin next to the toilet, put my handkerchief back into my pocket, and quickly went back to the corridor.

At this moment, I was about to knock into someone.

There wasn't usually anyone around, so I didn't pay attention at all. I was taken aback when I saw a shadow appear in the corner of my eye, and hurriedly turned aside--

Only to know into that person.

I didn't know how urgent that person was, probably ran here. I couldn't dodge, and was knocked down really hard.

I really lost balance, my waist falling directly onto the corridor. It hit the floor, and my back hit the wall, causing me to fall with limbs in the air, so it really hurt. Luckily, I didn't hit my head as I immediately pulled my chin back in.

After I fell, I thought.

It's really my fault for not looking around before I walked out, but the person I knocked into didn't have to be that anxious. Didn't the teacher say not to run on the corridor?

Whose fault is it anyway?

But I guess I should apologize first.

Since I should be the one with a bigger body.

Or I should be asking, is that person alright after knocking into me?

Even I was taken aback, so there's probably no way that person should be completely unscathed.

Is that person hurt?

If there's a fracture or an injury, how do I compensate?

What if it's a doctor with a high yearly salary?

What if it's a lady who's about to give birth?

While I was wildly thinking about the worst case scenarios--

The ceiling I could see was covered by a black figure, and I was strangled.

It was Nitadori.

### 008. Chapter 7 - Time to Play

‎I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

Nitadori, who knocked into me--

Was crouched on me, with my limbs in the air--

Choking my neck.

And still continuing to choke.

I can vividly remember everything that had happened till this point--

But in the end, I still have no idea why Nitadori wanted to kill me.

Why's so Nitadori desperate?

Why did Nitadori become so desperate out of a sudden?

Well, if I don't know, I guess anything's fine.

Because of that, I gave up on searching for the answer.

More importantly, let's think about other things with the little bit of remaining time I have left.

If I die here, what will happen?

If I'm to bid farewell to this world in this comforting shaking, what will unfold?

All sorts of thoughts became quick electronic signals that twirled about in my pitch black mind.

The answer easily appeared in my mind.

First off, 'Vice Versa' would end at the eleventh volume's draft that was completed.

I won't be able to convey the ideas I thought of, like Shin's future, the secrets of Reputation that were related to such, the world viewpoint that was created.

In other words, there is no ending to this work.

The readers might be feeling pissed at how the work ends, and I'm really sorry about that.

But for me--

It's not that bad thinking about how I managed to create the first novel in my last year of middle school, and have it last until the eleventh volume. Of course, this isn't a good thing either.

An author's death before an anime airing would probably cause much discussion.

Before it airs, there might be words like 'this is dedicated to the original author, who died prematurely."

I really want to see what kind of visuals would go with that OP theme, but well, I guess I got no say in this.

What will mom think about this?

I don't know.

This is the one thing I don't know.

And I won't be able to know.

Which year was I born in?

How many years passed after that?

I definitely lived for more than 10 years.

It's a long time. A lot of things happened.

I read a lot of books.

I worked hard to become an author.

I even became an author.

My books sold well.

I have a good life.

I'm really happy.

What I'll really miss is--

Miss is--

Huh?

Wait a moment.

Just in case, if I'm to die here--

Will Eri Nitadori be taken for a murderer?

Nitadori will probably be able to escape, I guess?

But the Japanese police are pretty good, so I guess she'll be caught quickly.

Will she be convicted for homicide?

Isn't that really bad?

Won't this really cause her much trouble?

What about the After Record tomorrow?

Who's going to take over as Meek?

No, more importantly than that--

What'll happen to the 16 year old Nitadori?

Ah, no good.

This isn't good.

I can't die here.

Let me correct myself.

I don't care when exactly I'll die--

But I can't die here now.

Absolutely not.

I must stop her.

I must stop Nitadori.

No matter what.

My mind began to move.

How's my body now?

Can I still move?

No, got to move.

Move it.

My hands--

Reacted to my weak will.

I slowly lift my hands. In fact, I might have moved very fast, but the actions I saw were very slow.

My right hand moved faster, by about 30cm. My left hand continues to rise lazily, currently 10cm away from the floor.

My right hand grabs the long, pretty black hair dangling from Nitadori's head.

In fact, I wanted to grab her arm or body, but even so, it didn't matter.

According to what the books record, human hair is very firm. If I'm to grab a large handful of hair and tug at it, her body will probably lose balance.

It's a terrible act to pull a girl's hair.

As a male, this is the worst action possible. I shouldn't do this after all.

But just this once, please forgive me.

I'll apologize to Nitadori later, so please forgive me.

I command my right arm to 'pull'.

I know that the electronic signals were flickering in my pitch dark mind, flowing through.

The arm's willing to listening to my command. I tug hard at Nitadori's hair--

Something slipped off.

The hair falls from Nitadori's head.

The long, black hair falls completely from Nitadori's head.

And while the hair's being pulled down, the black hair covering the head shakes, lifting up the other end of the hand.

My right arm let out a loud thud, hitting the floor.

In other words, my arm reached the lowest possible position.

As I am still holding onto the hair, Nitadori's black hair fell off, and landed on my fist, arm and right flank.

Did I just pull off Nitadori's hair along with her scalp!?

Such delusions entered my mind.

I imagined Nitadori giving off a blood curdling scream as blood splattered from her head, and was about to let out a voiceless shout of shock.

At the next moment, I saw it.

On the head where Nitadori lost her hair, within my vision that was suddenly brightened, something seemed to flying from the center to the right.

I merely saw it for just an instant, but I know very well what it was.

It's a net. A thin black net, draped upon Nitadori's head

The black hair fell after it was pulled, and the net slipped off. The net then flung off like a rubberband, vanishing from my sights.

Gently--

Nitadori's hair flutters.

It's not the black hair that falls upon me. I know very well that the black hair is a wig.

What's left on Nitadori's head is her real hair.

It's held down firmly by the wig, but now that it's unraveled, the hair falls towards me due to gravity.

The hair color is a light brown, close to grey; short hair that isn't enough to cover the face.

Her fringe touches my left hand, dropping towards the left hand that manages to rise to the height of the right hand, albeit later.

The left arm rises later than the right arm, but it's now higher than the latter.

Even I'm not sure as to what I'm doing.

My left hand approaches Nitadori's face, like a biological creature that won't obey my instructions.

I pat it down.

My hand brushes from Nitadori's right side to the left side.

I did not hit her face, but from her temples to the top of her eyes.

To my eyes, all the actions appeared so slow, so the left hand seemed to caress past the face so fluidly.

But in fact, that might have been a fast slap.

I pulled at a girl's hair, and gave her a lashing…

Ah, I'm really a terrible guy for committing such atrocities one after another.

But it's too late.

I knocked Nitadori down.

The glasses I usually see on Nitadori, the glasses with the lens soaked with tears--

Dropped to my right.

He heard the glasses land far away, and within my vision, my left hand had reached the right.

Nitadori's tears too flew slowly at the instant.

The tears slowly progressed in the air, dripping on my face and nose bridge.

I then saw Nitadori's eyes, and the pupils in those eyes.

There were three of those pupils.

There's no doubt that there were 3 pupils.

The pupil in the center of the girl's left eye was brown.

The right eye had a brown pupil, and a faint grey pupil that was hard to discover due to the backlight.

I see three pupils.

They are cuter, as compared to when her hair shifted.

I--

"Even if I'm going to die, I'm able to feel fear in something other than death."

Had such a precious experience.

Who?

Who is she?

I thought the one wanting to kill me is Nitadori.

I see, I understand that I'm about to die here.

However, that'll cause her so much trouble, so I changed my mindset, wanting to stop her.

And after some panic.

In the end--

The one strangling me is someone else.

Who?

Who is this person?

Who's this person with short brown hair and 3 pupils?

An alien?

In that case, which planet did she come from?

How did she arrive?

Speaking of which--

Does she understand Japanese?

No, that's not it.

Calm down.

She's not an alien.

She's Eri Nitadori, not anybody else.

The long black hair is a wig, her real hair is light brown, and--

Her color contact lense is shifted.

There were two pupils in Nitadori's right eye, and the dark brown pupil is shifted far to the left side. The center of the pupil became white, so I know.

The color contact is meant to hide the color of her right. Her actual pupil color is a light grey--or to be precise, she has a 'grey iris'.

Is the left eye the same?

I tried my best to gather my consciousness, but it did not seem to be the same. If she was wearing contacts, there should be a clear line there.

If that's the case--

If the right eye is the one with the color contact lense--

All sort of thoughts quickly flowed through my head, swirling along with the final lights before that.

I know of such a person.

I know of some who's born with heterochromia.

I read a letter from someone who's born with heterochromia.

The backpack left at my seat.

The draft of the eleventh volume that's left inside.

I see.

So that's how it is.

Ahh, I get it.

I get--

The final lights gave me a hint after all.

I'm being choked on the neck.

In other words, Nitadori's holding down the sides of my carotid arteries--

And less than 10 seconds passed.

However, my mind's about to reach its limit.

The scenery in front of me suddenly got down.

My mind, working so hard until the very end, is starting to lose strength.

This isn't good.

I'll be losing consciousness, and I won't be able to see anything.

I know that despite that, humans won't die immediately.

However, I won't be able to stop Nitadori.

If my blood supply continues to remain cut off like this, I won't be able to wake up after a few minutes. I'll probably die for sure.

My head feel very heavy.

Really, I can't see anything in the darkness.

But, somebody--

Please save.

Somebody, please save.

Please save her.

And before I lose consciousness completely.

I can hear a woman's shriek.

Those warm hands,

Just feel so--

So comforting.

When my eyes open--

I see the lights on the ceiling, and police officers in uniform.

I'm not dead yet?

"Hey! You alright?"

The owner of the voice is a middle-aged police officer in uniform. I'm lying face up, and he's standing to my right. The left side's the wall.

I really want to answer that I'm fine.

"I'mmmm…"

I answer. In this situation, I can't say that I'm fine.

But I understand.

I know that I'm about to recover soon. My mind's becoming completely clear.

The pitch black darkness is no longer.

"You alright? Hey!"

Faced with another question,

"I'm fine. I'm awake."

I answer as such,

"Do you know your name?"

"Of course--"

And I say my name.

"Do you know the date today?"

"May 15th, Thursday."

I answer. He never asked me what day is it, but I add on just in case.

"Does your head hurt?"

"No, feels good now."

"Do you feel hurting in your body somewhere?"

"No, it doesn't hurt at all."

"Need an ambulance?"

"No, no need for that. Can I get up now?"

"Please, take it easily though."

I exert strength in my abdomen, and slowly lift my upper body.

Then, I turn my body to the right, and put my feet down. No problems with this action at all.

I look around the room I'm in.

It's about 8 tatamis wide, with the tables, chairs side by side. It appears to be an officer, but it's a little messy. The tables and chairs designs look simple, plain.

I turn my eyes aside, and see simple beds leaning on the wall, forming two Ls.

Of course, I'm on one of the beds, and I can smell the stinging disinfectant. He can hear a slow rumbling of the trains from afar.

I know without asking where I am. It's the sick bay in the station. I'm in it now.

I can see the clock on the wall to my left.

I see the digital display. Less than 2 minutes passed since the Limited Express arrived.

And without asking, I know what happened.

I lost consciousness, but I wasn't choked to death. She probably let go just a few moments afterwards.

The train then reached this station.

I don't know if I'm stretchered here or carried here, but I manage to regain consciousness immediately.

I'm not dead.

Thank goodness.

Really, thank goodness.

Anyway, really, thank goodness. However, there's something more important now.

How's Nitadori doing?

I immediately got my answer. That's because there's a girl with her head lowered, sitting on another bed under the clock.

It's a bright brown short hair. She's looking down, and I can't see her, but from the jeans and the light blue sweater attire, I can tell that it's definitely Nitadori.

She's sobbing.

"Uu...uuu...uuu…"

I can hear a feeble sobbing voice.

There are two women seated beside Nitadori.

They seem to be cuddling Nitadori, and seem to be holding her down, preventing her from running away.

Without any explanation, I know that the one to the left of Nitadori is Miss Conductor. The conductor on the Limited Express we were on.

Then, I start to deduce..

The shriek I hear before I lose consciousness was from her. She's my savior.

Miss Conductor must have arrived at the scene right on time, and tried to stop Nitadori who would have strangled me to death if she kept it up, before notifying the attendant on the platform.

Another woman was seated opposite Miss Conductor, and she too appears to be in her late twenties. She has short, black hair, and is wearing a navy blue suit with pants.

She's touching Nitadori on the back with her right arm, appearing to be comforting the sobbing Nitadori desperately. Nitadori's luggage was placed by her side.

I don't know who she is, but I can deduce. I guess that should be the case.

There's also a middle aged male staffer who's looking perturbed her being dragged into in trouble, and another young police officer who appears to be 20. There are 7 people in this room.

I slowly look around the room, and finally, at the basket beside my bed, looking at the thing inside.

It's my backpack.

The zip that should have been sealed up is open, and I can see my laptop inside. The draft that should have been inside the bag is stuffed messily into my bag.

It's really as I expected.

Everything is as what I thought.

I guess he could tell that I'm being rather nonchalant about it.

"Now then--what happened, exactly?"

The middle aged police officer standing beside me asks me with a gentle yet firm voice.

I see. This is a precious hint. Nitadori hasn't said anything.

For caution sake, I ask back,

"Erm...you haven't heard from her?"

The police officer shakes his head.

"Nope. She's been crying all the time. Of course, once she calms down a little, I intend to question her."

Good.

I feel that I'm a shallow person.

I read a lot of books for a long time, and due to the influence of books, I tried to write a novel, managed to debut successfully, and my work's successful enough to be adapted into an anime. However, I'm just a shallow person who's just that much.

Even so, since I found what I have to do, I should be working hard, aiming for that goal.

No matter how arduous it is, if there's only one way to do that, I should do it courageously.

What I'm going to do next isn't something that allows for failure.

If I ask myself if I'm able to do it, I suppose I probably won't be able to.

If not for this situation, I definitely won't try such a thing, let alone do it.

To be honest, I really want to run away. Run to a hiding place.

Shouldn't I have made that kind of determination?

But if I don't do this, right now--

I won't be able to help Nitadori.

This is the first and last chance.

All I can only do is to go all in now.

And so, I--

While I sit up on the bed--

I shout loudly in my heart.

Time to Play.

I suddenly stand up, causing those looking at me to be taken aback.

There's a mirror hanging on the wall behind me. I already saw the mirror when I was lying down.

So I quickly turn around.

And look at the mirror.

There are some clear long fingerprints on the sides of my throat. Those are the marks left behind by Nitadori, and I guess they won't be gone for quite a while. I feel that her strangling skills aren't great.

I lift my chin, and shake my head around.

"Oh--oh! There are some obvious marks there!"

I declared loudly.

At the same time, Nitadori continued to sob weakly,

"Hii--?"

But she stops the moment she let out this funny voice.

"Erm...what about that?"

The middle aged police officer asked.

I turned my eyes from myself in the mirror to the police officer who's very close to me.

And then, I notice--

That person's eyes are really sharp, like a dagger. To be honest, I'm really scared.

But right now, I don't have the time to be scared.

I inhale.

"There's nothing to say! --erm, I guess I have to say something , right?"

"If you don't, I'll ask her."

"I got it! I'll say! I--told her to strangle me!"

The police officer's eyes are now as sharp as an eagle. It's really scary. I'm sorry for lying, I'm really sorry. But please forgive me for today.

"Why's that?"

The police officer's questioning voice becomes so deep it's really scary. My legs are shaking, my thighs unable to exert strength. I really want to sit down, I really want to run away.

But to hide my shivering, I continue to move my body, making exaggerated actions.

"Because it's a nice feeling to be knocked out by a collar choke."

"Oh…?"

"Do you know judo, Mr Police Officer?"

"I suppose."

'I know a little about 'Yawara'--"

This isn't a lie. I read an entire collection of a girl's judo manga of the same time, Yawara!. That manga's really interesting.

"It's rather comfortable to be almost knocked out when being held down by a collar choke."

"Hm, so?"

"So, I asked her to do that."

"'Her', as in?"

The girl with the ridiculously dyed hair there--my girlfriend."

Nitadori stops sobbing, her head remains lowered,

"Huh!?"

Only to quickly lift it, so fast that her head of hair flutters gently along with it.

The hair's really pretty as it danced, probably because her real hair's thin and light.

I look at Nitadori's face.

She's been crying, so her face is all riddled with tears and snot.

Her scleras are completely red. The iris within the balls are of a different color. The right eye is slightly grey, and the left eye a deep brown.

Anyone can tell that it's obvious heterochromia.

The light brown hair is coupled with the white tender skin and an upright nose bright. Her looks alone would have people doubting if she was Japanese.

My eyes met Nitadori's.

Several minutes ago, our eyes did meet, but the situation now is completely different from before.

Miss Conductor, standing beside Nitadori, is looking at me uneasily, skeptically.

And the woman shielding Nitadori from the other side is looking at me.

She's clearly glaring at me now.

"In other words, you--"

The police officer with eagle eyes says to me.

I turn my sights unwillingly to that terrifying person.

If I have to lie, I have to look at him right in the eyes. I understand this well. Nitadori has been doing this all this while.

"So you're saying that you weren't really killed by that girl?"

I want to run away, but right now, I have to hang on,

"Kill? Ack? What are you saying?"

I feel that my legs are still shaking.

But I can't admit defeat. I can't run away. I can't give up.

Didn't her script tremble a lot once? Didn't she perform better afterwards?

She chanted a spell. Even I can do that.

"Sorry...but why exactly did things turn out as it is?"

"That isn't right? But that Conductor there said she saved you from being killed."

I guess so.

Again, I look over to Miss Conductor.

It'll be great if I can use telepathy now. But I don't have such skill.

Miss Conductor, I'm sorry.

Your judgment was correct.

I was nearly killed by Nitadori.

It's very likely that I would have died if you didn't happen to pass by.

You're my savior.

From this outcome, you saved Nitadori too.

I'll never forget this grace.

I'm so grateful that I'll write a book with you as the protagonist one day.

And then, I'll give half of the publishing fees to you.

But--

Please act as the antagonist now. There's no other choice here.

I'm really, really sorry.

One day in the future, soon after, I hope to tell you the truth.

I'm really sorry.

"What are you saying? That's not it!"

I shout with all my might.

"There wasn't anyone down there, so I thought I just wanted to do a little on the corridor...erm...flirt around a bit! I said that before, right! That the feeling of being strangled is really comfortable! It's just the misunderstanding of Miss Conductor, so she shrieked out loud, then Nitadori exerted strength due to her shock, I thought it was bad, but I got knocked out before I can give up!"

After hearing my words, Miss Conductor's face paled.

"...I-I...ah, no…"

Miss Conductor's face is so pale she stopped what she's saying.

"Erm…"

And then, she's unable to say anything.

It's probably because she's pointed out that she's mistaken, and couldn't give up on that possibility.

Considering the possibilities of 'a girl wanting to strangle a boy' and 'a girl making out with a boy'--

The latter was more probable.

"Speaking of which, I was seated next to her before this. Miss Conductor should know that best. We rode the same ride to Tokyo so many times already!"

I told the police officer, and he turned his sharp stare towards Miss Conductor,

"Hm? Is that so?"

The young police officer and the attendant too look at her.

"Er-erm…"

With everyone watching her, the poor Miss Conductor answers sheepishly,

"I did...see them...together a few times…"

Due to the wig, color contacts and glasses, Nitadori's appearance now differs greatly from before--but because of the similar clothing, Miss Conductor's able to recognize her as Nitadori. She's saved.

"Uu…"

The police officer then continues to think about it--

And then, he asks the woman beside the dumbfounded Nitadori,

"Miss Kamishiro."

"Hm, is anything the matter?"

So she's called Miss Kamishiro. I don't know how the kanji goes, but it does sound cool, matches her sharp, perfect attitude. One day, I'll use that as a character name.

I've already guessed who Miss Kamishiro is, as she continues to answer with a dignified voice.

The police officer asks Miss Kamishiro.

"Do you know him?"

"Yes, kind of…"

Miss Kamishiro notes vaguely.

Now's the time. If there's a chance to interrupt, this is it.

I quickly take a little breath, and start to lie,

"Miss Kamishiro knows about me and her, and keeps it a secret between us! Of course, she probably doesn't like me or anything, I guess!"

The police officer looks at me. Eh? That's why he probably never noticed the stunned look on Miss Kamishiro's face.

"Do you know Miss Kamishiro?"

The police officer said. I replied.

"Of course! She's my girlfriend's bodyguard after all!"

I don't know proof, but I'm guessing that to be the case.

I feel that Nitadori's family is rich, and to watch over their precious daughter, they hired a bodyguard to follow her.

There's enough clues for me to make this guess.

A month back, Nitadori spoke to me for the first time on the train.

Back then, she didn't have any luggage. Ever since the next week however, she brought her luggage along.

Why's that?

I guess that the first time, Nitadori left her luggage to Miss Kamishiro. She'll board the train along with Nitadori, as long as there aren't any other bodyguards around. There's no doubt about this.

Back then, Miss Conductor, who's looking a little pale now (I'm sorry!) didn't say anything, but immediately showed a skeptical look.

I guess that's probably because Nitadori's ticket is the green train carriage or a designated seat.

Then, Nitadori would have Miss Kamishiro sit in another carriage, or a front seat in the same carriage, before sitting beside me alone.

Once we arrive at the terminal, Nitadori will ask me to alight first, and then wait on the train for Miss Kamishiro to pick up her. They'll then head towards the relative's house in Mejiro--I don't know whether it's real or not, but in any case, they'll be heard towards the lodging for that day.

"..."

Miss Kamishiro gives a grim look, thinking about what to say.

Please go along with my words so that we can help Nitadori.

"To be honest--"

Miss Kamishiro speaks up, and the police officer looks at her.

Nitadori, who's been dumbfounded the entire time, turns her head slowly towards her bodyguard.

"I have no idea of Milady's preferences. I do think there is a more suitable boyfriend for her, but well--from my viewpoint, I can't nitpick anything about it.

She went along with it. Miss Kamishiro just went along with my acting.

Thank you! Miss Kamishiro! I won't forget about this kindness!

I shout in my heart.

"But I never imagined that he would ask Milady to do such a thing. This caused such a huge commotion. What do you think about this?"

Miss Kamishiro then proceeds to glare at me.

I'm really sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

"Please don't glare at me! I wasn't the one choking her neck!"

"Of course! If you did that, I would have choked you instead!"

"You're as scary as ever, Miss Kamishiro!"

"Milady asked me to let both of you chat alone on the train at least. I thought that you wouldn't do anything indecent since it's a public place, so I agreed to it unwillingly."

"Ah...erm, understood. No, sorry. I--no, this guy here is reflecting on it."

I nearly let out a humble 'I'. That was close.

"..."

Nitadori remains dumbfounded there, giving a dazed look as she appears to have forgotten how to blink.

This is good. Please don't say anything.

I desperately try to convey this message to Nitadori through telepathy.

It's a sudden action, but I understand you really wanted to kill me.

It's only until the very end did I understand the reason for your actions.

But don't say anything. Please don't say anything.

"Uu…"

The police officer asks Nitadori and me,

"So in other words, this isn't a crime, right? Both of you?"

I immediately answer,

"Of course! But--"

"But?"

I continue to buy some time,

"Well...erm...however...that...well.."

"What is it?"

I couldn't drag on anymore.

"Erm...I'm really sorry for causing such a great commotion that shocked everyone. Especially to Miss Conductor there--I'm really sorry."

I lower my head in apology.

I bend down to give a 90 degrees bow. Actually, I want to get on my knees.

"Ah? Eh? No…"

I can't see Miss Conductor's face, but I can hear her perturbed voice.

I lift my head, and see Nitadori speak to Miss Conductor with teary eyes, and a lifeless voice.

"I'm...really sorry...to cause you, such trouble…"

This is the first time I heard Nitadori give such an inaudible voice. This is a precious experience. If it's inside a recording studio, this definitely will be an NG.

But now's OK.

You don't have to say anything now.

Right now, you--

Don't have to act.

"Erm...Mr Inspector?"

I look at the police officer.

I get the feeling that his eyes are as sharp as before, but just a little tender compared to it.

If I have to say that the previous expression is like eagle eyes that spotted a prey, the current expression is that of an eagle's eyes that want to rip its prey apart.

""What is it?"

"I'll explain the rest myself. Can I let her leave first? I heard that her family's rather strict."

"Hm…"

"So do I. We shall take a ride back."

Miss Kamishiro too stands up, lowering her head.

"It is not a crime, so I can't say anything either."

The police officer says so. Again, Miss Kamishiro bows to her, and gentle lifts her up,

"Now then, Milady--shall we go? Let's wash your face before we leave."

It appears that Nitadori's able to stand up normally. I heave a sigh of relief.

Has Nitadori taken her wig and glasses back? I don't know. Miss Kamishiro holds Nitadori hand with her own, and the other holding onto the luggage bag, before she bids farewell to everyone present.

"Now then, everyone, we shall take our leave."

"..."

Nitadori too lowers her head in appreciation.

"There's a huge downpour out there. Be careful."

The police officer said.

The station attendant doesn't have a chance to say anything, and ushers the duo to the door.

I watch them leave.

"I shall be returning to my work then."

The conductor lady took her cap and got up, and bent her waist down, saying,

"My own fault--caused everyone to be really troubled. I'm really sorry about it."

This is a sportsman-like flair of apologizing.

Please apologize to those two policemen instead. Don't apologize to me. That'll bother me.

I couldn't say anything.

"Well, it's fine that nothing happened." Hearing the policemen say this, the train conductor lifted her head, and put the cap on before leaving the room.

"..."

Pam, I sat on the floor.

"Ha, hahaha…"

My knees are laughing. My face are laughing.

Having seen this, a police officer turns to his younger counterpart who's lazing away at the back,

"I'm fine here. I'll get there soon. So back first."

He gave such an order.

"Yes."

The young police officer answers with this brief reply, and turns to leave the infirmary.

Now then, it's just the police officer and me left.

"Hahaha…"

I'm laughing despite everything that happened. I feel that I'm having a terrible look on my face, but I'm still living.

I never thought that I'll be encountering such a thing in my life. I recollect the past.

"I say."

Unlike before, the police officer starts to talk to me with an earnest tone. He then seats on the floor with a thus, sitting side by side with me. I shiver.

"...Wh-what is it?"

"Is this really okay?"

That's all he merely asks.

"It's fine."

And this is all I answer.

"I see. Now then, be careful on your way back."

"I will. Thanks."

"But I guess you better cover up that thing on your neck."

"Ah? Ahh, I guess…"

There are clear fingerprint marks on my neck, showing that I was strangled. Looking at this, I'm guessing that the fact I nearly got killed will be leaked.

Even in a major city like Tokyo, I guess there aren't that many people who were nearly choked to death. I'll attract a lot of attention.

I get onto my feet, look at the mirror, and try to pull my collar up. It manages to cover for the time being, but I have to hold it down with my hands. It'll be rather troublesome to continue maintaining this situation.

The police officer too gets to his feet, taking a face towel from the side of my bed, and hands it over to me.

"Hey, use this to over."

"Eh? --I can take this?"

"Just one, so it's fine, I suppose. I just need to say 'I threw it away after wiping off the nosebleed'."

Is this really alright, Mr Police Officer? But to be honest, he really helped me out a lot.

I put the towel over my neck.

It's a little weird, but no weirder than having a choke mark on my neck.

"Thanks. I'll buy a muffler from the shops in the station."

"That's good. I'll be heading back then. Don't forget your bag."

"Yes."

I take my bag out of the basket, pull the zipper, and sling it over my right shoulder.

"Thank you very much."

I then lower my head in thanks. The police officer then says to me,

"In your next meeting, pull yourself through."

I tilt my head, answering,

"I'm intending not to cause as much of an uproar as possible…"

The police officer then teased me.

"You idiot! I'm referring to when you meet her the next time!"

### 009. Final Chapter - May 22, I touched her

May 22nd.

On this day, I'm taking the Limited Express to Tokyo, seated at the usual seat by the window.

The train's already moving under the clear blue skies of May. The scenery of the platform slowly departs.

The seat beside me remains empty.

Will Nitadori arrive here?

She will.

I know that.

On the prior week, May 15th.

As for what happened to me after I left the sick bay--

First, I had the towel wrapped around my neck, and in the station that was packed with people who were headed home, I went through the gentry.

Then, I hurried to the station building, looking for a muffler. Given that it's May, I can't find a shop that sells one.

But I found an Afghan scarf sold in a sundry shop, called a 'Shemagh'.

It's a large, thin piece of fabric worn by the residents of the dry area. Recently, this scarf has become a trendy fashion item.

I did investigate on ways to wrap this when I debuted the desert tribe in 'Vice Versa'. This scarf is very convenient; it can be wrapped on the head to block out the sun, and wrapped around the face when there is a sandstorm.

This is it! I thought, and hurriedly bought it.

I bought two, just in case I needed an extra one. The color's a dark yellow, and there's patterns on it in light ink.

I then ran to the washroom.

There are various ways to wrap the Shemagh, and I chose to use the common triangular method. It's a poor example, but it does look like a drool bib.

It's a waste to throw away the towel, so I decided to use it, and kept it in my bag.

On that day, I did not pass through the gantry again. I did not take the bus, and instead, took a taxi directly to the hotel.

The scenario of 'me not feeling well' did not happen.

I was choked until I was unconscious, but it's fine that I managed to wake up. Strictly speaking, it appears that my brain cells took quite a bit of damage, but I'm unable to realize that.

The reasons why I chose to take a taxi were because there was a huge downpour--

And I needed some time to myself to think.

Of course, it was about Nitadori.

There was something I had to tell her no matter what.

If only I had a cellphone number or a mail address to contact her, but right now, I can only regret. Speaking of which, it's too difficult for me to ask something like that from a girl in my class.

Would Nitadori show up for the After Record the next day? Even if she did, I would hardly have the chance to talk to her.

Would Nitadori show up at school starting Monday? Even if she did, I would hardly have the chance to talk to her…

And so, on Friday morning.

I had been feeling frustrated before I slept, but I did manage to sleep well. After I woke up, I felt refreshed.

I checked myself in the hotel's mirror, and found the clear marks on the neck.

Those were the imprints left by Nitadori's icy, slender fingers. The color got darker, and I don't suppose they'll vanish these few days, I put on the Afghan Scarf, and head off to the After Record.

I entered the Control Room,

"Oh! Sensei, you're being trendy here. It does suit you!"

The productor greeted me, saying that.

In any case, being praised is something to be always being happy about. Feeling optimistic, I looked at the voice actors behind the soundproof glass, and realized that Nitadori wasn't there.

Before recording began, the sound director told everyone in the recording booth.

"Ehh--Miss Nitadori today won't be here as she's feeling unwell. The voice actor portraying villager A will be--"

The After Record of the seventh episode ended successfully.

The story is adapted until the end of the first volume. In other words, after the battle in Reputation ended, Sin went to Japan, and found Yui and Shin, who returned to his original world.

The visuals and everyone's acting were impeccable.

The editor-in-charge and I were headed to the lobby,

"Yaho! Sensei!"

The voice actor portraying as Shin earnestly spoke to me.

I guess he has a fondness of me? On a side note, he brought in rookie voice actresses today, two of them, in fact.

"That Shemagh's pretty cool, isn't it? --Did your girlfriend give you that?"

"Well...sort of."

I answered. I couldn't tell the truth, but I didn't want to lie either. This is basically a lie, but the one who necessitated me to wrap this shawl on myself was her'.

"Whw--! Hey hey, come here for a while."

The voice actor left the two rookie actresses and went to me. He patted me on the shoulder with a genial action that wouldn't annoy anyone, and brought his face to my ear.

He then spoke with a voice similar to Shin's.

"You can't do that, sensei...little Nitadori will cry, you know? Good thing she's on leave today."

"What? ...Why?"

"Because when we shook hands the last time, Nitadori was watching you leave the entire time. She couldn't respond no matter what I said, you know?"

"..."

"Don't you understand? She's fallen for you for you, sensei."

"...How exactly has she fallen for me?"

"Hmm, I suppose it's because of your personality?"

I returned home on Sunday night.

I had been staying in the hotel on Friday and Saturday nights, with all expenses paid by myself.

That was because I wanted to let the scar on my neck fade as much as possible before I went home. I couldn't let mom see this.

I called mom beforehand, telling her that I would be gathering research material before I returned.

As it was the weekend, I was worried if there was no room available, but I managed to stay in. I was relieved.

I spent most of the time in the hotel, writing, and only on Saturday afternoon did I go touring around in Tokyo, all in the name of gathering materials.

I had already thought of Shin and Yui heading to Tokyo because of extra curriculum lessons in Tokyo (and Sin would show up there), so I surveyed Asakusa and the Sensoji there, and then visited the Tokyo Skytree that was located there, thinking of using these locations as stages of the story. I also rode a boat alone down the Sumida River, and took a lot of pictures.

I would worry whenever I thought about Nitadori, but I won't do anything the next time we meet. I can't continue to worry, and after such consideration, I arranged this tour.

I returned home, and luckily, mom starting taking the night shift from this week onwards.

We practically won't be meeting, and I'm able to easily hide the marks on my neck.

On Monday, I went to school as normal.

I wore the Afghan scarf to school, and never took it off, even during class.

I said I had a flu during gym class, so my homeroom teacher and my classmates did not really say anything.

Well, I hardly talk to my classmates even if there was nothing anyway.

And so, Nitadori--

Did not come to school.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

She probably did contact the school,

"Nitadori will be absent today too."

For the homeroom teacher simply recorded it down in the attendance book.

Thurday.

That's today.

I didn't know if Nitadori would come to school, but I had prepared this beforehand. I had the printed draft in my bag before I went to school.

The marks on my neck seemed to have vanished completely, so I did not put on the Afghan carf.

I went to school slightly earlier than usual, and was reading books in the classroom.

"Eri! It's been a while! How are you?"

I didn't know whose voice it was, but I knew that Nitadori came to school.

And then, I understood that she came to school without having changed much, with the color contact lense and the glasses on.

"Hm...I got a weird, little flu. I'm fine now though."

I heard the voice from behind, and it's the same as usual.

And then, I heard the sound of the chair being pulled out, and the sound of her sitting down.

I heard those sounds for quite a few times already, but I gave a little smile.

I didn't know what kind of expression Nitadori was showing.

And so, same as before, I left my seat once it was break time, only to return when at the last minute.

When I leave the classroom, I would go by the front door, and return from the back door. Thus, I would only see her back.

Following this would be language class.

The recital today would be done by--me.

Classes began.

The teacher called my name.

"Yes."

I answered.

'Nobody's pointing a gun at my head though'.

I thought as I stood up. Nitadori was seated behind me.

I did not have a book in hand.

I was merely holding a few pages off the draft prints.

"Erm...what I'm going to recite today...eh...it's not a book."

I said."

My classmates let out a little murmur. What's with that? . However, the shock doesn't seem to be as big as it was with 'Momotaro'.

"It's a novel--"

I felt that there was still some time to look back, but I didn't.

"The title is 'Vice Versa'."

There's the sound of the table and chair shaking behind me. I continue,

"It's what people call a light novel, and I like it. There are a few volumes of the pocket books out--but what I want to recite is the unpublished part."

This isn't a lie.

"This part is from the work the author uploaded onto the internet when he's free, and after he debuted, he deleted this part. It wasn't popular back then, so I feel that most people didn't know of its existence either."

This part is a barefaced lie. This isn't the truth. Ever since that incident, I felt that my acting got better.

This time, I really heard a chair being pulled greatly from behind me.

Please, don't run away.

I prayed earnestly as I quickly explained the situation,

"This story describes the scenes of a character's death. Eh, this girl called Meek is a Homunculus, a man-made character. She died suddenly in a huge battle, and so her corpse was brought to the main character. It's a rather shocking scene, actually."

Then, before Nitadori could run,

"I'll begin."

I began reading,

"Meek died…?

Sin asked a rhetorical question. This were not question a prince who won a massive battle would say.

Kind, weak, unreliable. These were the attributes he should never show in front of his subordinates. Sin understood this well, and till this point, he never showed off that kind of attitude.

"Yes. Is there anything strange about soldiers dying on a battlefield?

Pluto's attitude was a stark contrast, brave and courageous, never losing any of the dignity any warrior would have. She was blunt in her attitude, as if to say that the death of a mere subordinate was to be expected.

(These two are really stupid.)

Shin thought.

Sin showcased the kind side he tried so hard to hide in the past, and Pluto was the complete opposite. Both Sin and Pluto should be showing opposite attitudes.

It was just reciting, but I merely read it flatly.

I didn't put in any emotions, my lines sounded forced, my voice was soft, and I liked fluency.

To add on, there's no way to know who's Shin or Sin in this recitation, and I didn't explain who Pluto is. This recitation was probably hard to understand for those who never read 'Vice Versa'.

But I didn't mind.

This recitation was meant for the one person in the world I want to say it to.

I continued,

(Then...what do I do?)

Shin asked himself, brooding over it. He could not obtain the answer.

In Reputation, he's an immortal. Like a game character, he could revive countless times. Because of that, Shin was able to keep fighting 'without giving his best'.He watched the people around him die from afar.

But even so, perhaps he should be giving a similar attitude, knowing that the Homunculus who treated him so kindly in the past died? Should he not feel anguished? Even if he merely intended to treat this as a game, that was a real death which he could never retract back on.

He couldn't find the answer. Was it because he could not think? Or that his brain was resisting, thinking that there was no need to think? Or--

"Come here."

Hearing Pluto order him with a harsh tone, Shin recovered,

Is...there something?

Never once did she summon Shin before. The only one who could talk to her face to face was Sin, leader of his own country.

Shin turned his head around in shock, only to see the warrior dressed in armor stained by enemy blood commanded him with a harsh stare,

"Come here--ah, Prince, I'm borrowing this immortal body for the time being."

"Make sure he returns. He's an important fighting strength.

Leaving those words behind, Sin left the place, wanting to establish the casualties suffered and his remaining fighting strength.

Shin understood well. At this point, Sin had no time to grieve over Meek's death.

Shin quietly walked down the tense several hundred meters. He was brought to a simple tent used by Pluto's forces.

Shin heard before that when setting camp on such an open plain, the commander protect himself by setting up a plain, simple tent, just as the soldiers would, and hide amongst them. But though it was plain, and though they were allied forces, this area was her headquarters, and not a place for Sin's subordinates to actually enter.

Shin silently entered Pluto's tent. It was unexpectedly bright, for inside this tent that was no more than 3m in diameter, the sun shone in through the gaps on the top, so it was unexpectedly bright. There was a simple, easily assembled bed.

The subordinates entered 20 seconds later, moving a corpse onto the bed.

It was Meek's body, a large patch of blood on her abdomen.

There was no custom on Reputation to close the deceased's eyes. The wine red right eye and the yellow left eye were glittering due to the sunlight shining in.

Shin's ind recalled the incident when he first met Meek in the basement, and the few conversations they had thereafter.

Should he cry? Should he feel sad? Or should be vomit? --He could do neither of them.

That was all he could only think. In this world, he was merely a powerless outsider, unable to feel death.

Shin didn't understand why Pluto wanted to show him Meek's corpse, and asked,

"Wha... are you...?"

"Watch."

Pluto told her men to back down, and replied shouting. She removed the leather gloves from her hands, and drew a dagger from her waist.

And then, she stabbed into Meek's large right eye.

"..."

Shin could not stop her, and could not look away.

He heard the soft sound of flesh being ripped apart, and the sound of fluids dripping it. Pluto was gorging out Meek's eye.

Pluto gorged the right eye out with the dagger, and placed it on her right hand.

"Hm!"

She then crushed the eye gently. Thinking about it, her slender fingers were really feminine. The white liquid oozed out from her slender fingers.

Some of the liquid dripped onto the left eye of Meek's corpse, and the cheek below the right eye socket that was hollowed out.

She opened the clenched left fist, and there appeared a gemstone. The ball-shaped gem showed a radiant wine red.

The eyes of a Homunculus were the gemstones infused by their masters--Shin recalled what Meek said.

And so, Pluto's left hand grabbed the back of Shin's head, her right hand holding down his forehead that had nowhere to escape.

"Guh!"

Shin immediately understood the reason why his forehead was hurting; the gemstone was forcefully pressed against him, almost sinking into his flesh.

"..."

However, Shin could understand why Meek's face appeared in front of him.

Meek was standing in front of Shin, so close it appeared she was about to kiss him.

They were so close together, so Shin could not see her entire body, but he knew that she was not wearing any clothes, for in the corner of his vision, he saw the frame of the white skin collarbone.

Meek's face had eyes on them, as before. The right was wine red, and the left was yellow.

She slowly gave a smile, smiling benevolently,

"Ah, Shin…"

While Shin heard Meek call for his name, her smile suddenly vanished. Following that, appearing in front of Shin's eyes was Pluto, who pulled her right hand back. Her expression was as intimidating as a demon's.

"Did you see it?"

"Wha--?"

"Did you see it? Did you hear the voice?"

"..."

Shin affirmed wordlessly,

"I guessed so...your immortal body isn't due to magic, but a relic that surpasses human intelligence in this world, I suppose...

Pluto muttered, moving her right hand down. Shin had never seen Pluto give such a tragic look on the fact, and then, he understood that he would never see it again.

"I suppose you don't know, so I'll tell you now. The gemstone used to activate any Homunculus aren't created by us. They are dug out. That is a relic created by the 'Great Ancient Civilization'. We can't create them, and we can't repair them. All we can do is grant them one life. These artificial beings are living creatures after all. As long as the body dies, the gemstone will ultimately lose strength."

"...And then?"

"I'm the ruler of a country. Be respectful, kid. However, today's an exception--Meek's dead. The power of this gemstone will vanish in the end."

"..."

"As long as it's not replenished with the power that's beyond human understanding."

"Thenn…"

"I shall craft this into a pendant for you to carry."

And so, Shin saw it,

He saw Pluto crouch on the floor, opening a small wooden box, and several thin chains placed inside. Then, he saw Pluto continue on with fluid actions, using the hand holding the dagger till this point to embed the gem into a metal ring, fastening the chain.

"You…"

"I was born in a town of jewellery factories, boy from the other world."

Shin suddenly heard the voice of a kind woman.

"..."

Who's that?

Shin nearly blurted out these words, only to swallow them back in.

"Thus, I always wanted to do this. I want to live a life of making jewellery, pendants for those girls attending weddings so that they can smile. However, my bloodline doesn't allow for that. Do you believe this? I'm born out of wedlock to the king."

"Pluto...

"When I was connecting chains, I was Janet. No matter how old I am, how many people I killed, I'll never forget my name--look, it's done. Reach your hands out."

Shin reached his hands out as told he was scooping water, and accepted these words and the pendant from the woman called Janet who was looking up at him, giving a gentle look.

"Don't lose it, okay?"

In response, Shin received the pendant.

"As long as this gemstone touches your body, it will never lose strength. It can leave for a while. Oh yes, you can't have it leave your skin for more than a day. When you receive a Homunculus, put that eyeball in, and Meek will revive. It doesn't matter whether you want to do it tomorrow or after the war ends, that is your right as the master. Do you understand?"

Shin put the ends of the chain around the back of the neck. He did not know the theory behind it, but whenever the ends of the chain were about to touch, there was a faint metallic sound, latching together. Shin placed the front of the pendant on his chest. He felt the weight of it, and answered,

"I understand now, Miss Janet."

"No need for the respectful courtesy now. People know that Janet of the jewellery workshop is the beloved, earnest craftswoman when you mention her. Remember that.

"......Yes!"

"That's all I have to say. I'm going to bury the dead. Get out now."

"Thanks, Pluto."

"Be courteous now, kid.

"Thanks."

"..."

"I'll definitely find out the reason why I'm transported to this world. I'll do all I can. So don't die, at least until that moment."

Don't worry, I'm not going to die that easily."

Pluto slowly opened the tent.

And Shin continued on under the bright sun.

Thus, Meek became a bracelet. The girl called 'Instant'--would continue to glow as long as she was with Shin.

"No matter how cold it is...I guess it's fine."

Shin muttered. That pendant would forever remain warm on his chest.

I'll be waiting...until the day we meet again.

He could vaguely hear her voice.

"--That's all."

I read until the end, and sat down immediately.

This part didn't sound very fluid when I read it. I paused several times, and repeated the parts I misread. I was sweating all over, and it was annoying.

Halfway through, I knew very well that most of my classmates were annoyed with it.

Of course. I was reading a novel with such atrocious presentation, and the context unknown. If I have to say, this part's written pretty messily. If the editor-in-charge is to see this, he'll probably point out issues without holding back.

Looking at the clock, I felt that I probably managed to meet the minimum time required, or exceeded it. I was desperate as I read, and I couldn't afford to notice the time.

Luckily, the teacher never stopped me by saying 'alright, that is enough'. If I was stopped without reading out the ending, everything I did would be futile.

I did what I wanted to do. I have no regrets.

"Now, the next one--"

The teacher mentioned the next name, but I did not pay heed to it.

The one seated behind me never said anything.

There's another chance today.

This chance was so miraculous that I was further convinced that there's a God.

I finished my lunch at the cafeteria, and was on the way to the library, passing by the corridor.

I found Eri Nitadori.

She, and two other girls, were walking down the corridor towards me.

As usual, she was wearing those glasses, had that long hair,, and the usual hair clips--used to hold down her wig.

The trio would have pass by me if they did not enter the Audio-Visual room on the way here.

I knew Nitadori saw me. She lowered her head stiffly, slowed down, and passed by the entrance of the audio visual room.

Once I knew that we would pass each other--

An idea sprouted within me.

I did not need to make notes.

I just needed to do it.

Luckily, back then, I--

Couldn't be bothered to wonder if I could do it. All I needed to do next was to make full use of the God-given chance.

First, I passed by the two girls.

And two seconds later, I passed by Nitadori.

And so, I reached my left arm out.

For the first time, Ii touched Nitadori's, no, a girl's shoulder--

I see. It's so soft.

Nitadori shivered in shock, stopping in her tracks, and then turned her glasses and brown eyes at me.

I then said with a voice only Nitadori can hear,

"You owe me one! Stella!"

As for what happened to Nitadori thereafter.

I hurried to the library, never looking back, and so I did not know what happened to her thereafter.

I even wondered if she actually heard my words.

The only time I realized the outcome--

Was after school.

I was cleaning the classroom.

In this school, the students would be grouped based on their register number, and each group would take turns to clean the classroom.

Surprisingly, the other places, like the corridors and gym would be left to a hired cleaning company at night. The students just need to clean the classroom.

Of course, Nitadori was of a different group from me, and she had long left the classroom.

I moved the tables and chairs aside, sweeping one half of the classroom. I then moved them to the other side, sweeping the other half.

I don't hate such a simple job. I like thinking about all kinds of things, piling up the rubbish and dust together. It's interesting seeing the rubbish and dust in the classroom slowly gather as a hill.

Even so, as it'll be 20 minutes later before I return home, I don't really like to participate in cleaning other than the week itself.

Once the cleaning ended, I put the cleaning tools in the shed, and a certain girl came to talk to me from behind,

"Erm...mind a moment?"

Nobody in class would talk to me unless there was an important reason. In this situation, I assumed that she wanted me to put the broom into the closet.

I thought I was the last one, no? But it's nothing major--thinking about it, I turned around, and found two girls glaring at me.

The girls were not holding anything.

They were staring at me. Both of them were standing closely, side by side, and they looked scared.

There were only a few people left in the classroom, and they were holding their bags, preparing to leave. As expected, I was the last one using the tools.

"..."

I remained silent, and one of them asked heinously,

"What did you say to Eri during noon?"

I understood.

They were the girls walking alongside Nitadori on the corridor back then.

The good luck continued on, something to be grateful for. These two proved that Nitadori did hear what I said.

I was really grateful for those two--

But I couldn't answer this question.

"Erm...I didn't really say...anything important."

It's tough for me to talk with people I don't know (even though they're my classmates). I stammered.

And immediately, the other one lashed out at me,

"Eri immediately went to the toilet after that, and cried out loud!"

Ah, I see.

Nitadori--

Once she knew the meaning behind Meek's name, I suppose she cried in the train toilet too?

Back then, it was May1st.

I did not know what Nitadori was so emotional after she learned of the meaning as 'instant'.

Thus, while reciting the manuscript yesterday, I again checked the word Meek.

And then, for the first time, I found the existence of the English word 'meek'.

The meanings were--

"Honest, compliant, docile, obedient."

I understood.

So that was how it was.

Looking at the meaning of this word--

It was not strange for the Homunculus' name to be misunderstood as something bad.

What intent did I have when I named Meek? I suppose she had been worrying about this.

"Are you listening?"

Hearing that, my consciousness returned to the classroom.

"What did you say? Did you go overboard?"

"Say something, please! I'll report to the teacher accordingly!"

I continued to be verbally assaulted by the duo, thinking.

I'm really grateful for these two

But right now, I don't have a way to express my thanks.

All I could do was to play dumb and not lie.

"Erm...well...I didn't really...say anything. Actually...I didn't think she would cry."

I forced out this answer, and both of them got even infuriated.

"Enough already! You're terrible!"

"Next time, if we see you get close to Eri again, we'll sue you for being a stalker!"

Both of them unleashed slap-like attacks, and turned away. They went to their tables, grabbed their bags, and left the classroom; I was the only one left.

As for me,

"Both of you--thank you."

I muttered these thanks to the classmates whose names I did not know.

On that evening, after all that happened--

The train begins to move.

It accelerates successfully, continuously tossing the world outside the window to the back.

I stare blankly at the scenery outside.

Soon after, the automatic doors near the back open, letting out a soothing sound.

I see the black hair of the person entering the carriage, and immediately realize who it is.

She stands beside my seat, asking,

"Is the seat beside you empty? May I have a seat?"

I lift my head and look at her,

"No."

I answer.

"The seat beside me isn't empty. Please don't sit here."

My words are a little harsh, very cold, but those are my true feelings, so I have no choice on this matter.

"Really, no?"

She asks again. I knew what she's thinking, but I certainly can't agree to this.

"I said no, and that means no. How about the window seat on the other side? The view of the mountains today is very pretty."

I say, and,

"Hmph!"

Miss Kamishiro, wearing a deep blue business suit and skirt, looked displeased as she snorts. She then places Nitadori's luggage to the back of the seat, and follows my suggestion by sitting at the seat on the other side.

Then, I say to the girl standing beside Miss Kamishiro.

"I left a place for you."

I intended to force a smile, but I don't know if I managed to make one.

She, who had lowered her head for a while, lowers it further, and then, she hands over the convenience store bag to me.

"..."

And I accept it wordlessly.

And as usual, Nitadori--

Had her black hair carefully tied in a knot, draping it over her right shoulder, down to her chest before sitting down.

"Sensei…"

I can hear a barely audible voice.

I place the convenience store bag, slightly larger than usual, on my thighs, and looked at Nitadori who was seated on my right.

Nitadori isn't looking at me. Opposite her sidelong, lowered face, I can see Miss Kamishiro glaring at me, and I look away.

"I..lied...to...you, sensei…"

Hearing Nitadori continue to stammer, I close my eyes.

Nitadori's willing to sit next to me. Now then, what we can talk about now? What will she say? What kind of attitude will she show.

I don't know at all.

To be honest, i'm scared of it.

But I can't run away. This is because, if she isn't willing to stand up, I won't be able to leave my seat. I coaxed her into sitting here, having realized this fact.

Once I calm myself down, I again open my eyes. Nitadori still isn't looking at me.

"What kind of lie?"

I ask.

Finally, Nitadori lifts her head, and turns to the left to look at me. Her face remains rigid, the pupils beneath her glasses showing the same colors.

"I--"

Nitadori says,

"Only eat consommé flavored potato chips. I hate everything else. Especially sea salt flavor."

I look at the bag placed on my thighs.

Inside it are the salt flavored ones, together with the consommé flavor.

I quickly inhale to say what I want.

"Eh? I think that consommé doesn't feel right in some way. Isn't consommé some kind of soup flavor in the first place? Is there significance in using this to make snacks?"

I think the word 'dumbfounded' can aptly describe Nitadori now.

I can see such pearly white teeth from her agape mouth. The rich brown eyes behind the light grassy glasses are looking at me.

"N-no…"

Nitadori's mouth then mouths slightly, and then, she starts to twitch agitatedly,

"That's not it! I feel that saying 'we shouldn't replicate consommé flavor on potato chips' is being disrespectful to the who initially made that flavor! That person must have tried all kinds of possibilities before deriving the answer! To be honest, I don't understand the reason for sea salt flavor! Can they can make it 'salt' flavored instead? And there'll be a lot of salt on the teeth!"

So I proceed to retort,

"That's an unavoidable ritual for a sea salt flavor supremacist. It's destiny. If you have to care about that, you won't be able to swallow! Just look in the mirror and brush. Speaking of which, the consommé flavor is too strong; it'll linger."

"Strong? The sea salt flavor doesn't lose out in that, right? Those that like it says it's an aroma, but those that hates it says that it's a strong stench. I think this logic can be used for all kinds of food! Anyway, which flavor do you think the supermarkets provide more of? Consommé or sea salt? It's definitely consommé. There's no way to find sea salt unless you really look for that."

"I agree, but we can't discuss this world based on sales numbers itself. I believe that one day, the sea salt side will be the majority and be the ruling party."

"That day will never come! Anyway, I'm starting to wonder if there's any country other than Japan that accepts sea salt flavor!"

We continue with our argument without stopping until the conductor arrives.

Neither of us held back in this conversation.

Not a single respectful word occurs.

Soon after, Miss Kamishiro sharply tells us,

"Both of you, your tickets need to be checked."

We stop our argument, and fish out the tickets from our wallet and coat respectively. Then, we exchange looks with Miss Conductor, who arrive on the aisle.

"..."

I remain silent.

"..."

Nitadori too remain silent.

"...Please show your tickets…"

Miss Conductor continues to work hard as she has to do her job.

The one I want to apologize to is there. Miss Conductor's professional smile looks obviously rigid. I cautiously hand over the ticket, and then receive it.

Nitadori too looks aside as she does likewise.

Miss Conductor checks Miss Kamishio's ticket, put my hand on the beak of her cap.

"Th-thank you very much."

I say to her in a less than fluid manner. Actually, I really do want to say a lot to her.

Miss Conductor intends to pass through the opened automatic doors, only to stop,

"Please do get along well."

She says with a timid look.

"Get along? Of course we are. So good that we're bickering away."

I answer, and Miss Conductor gives a grimace.

"It's fine, we'll watch ourselves."

Hearing Nitadori says this, I feel something on my right cheek.

I don't know what it is, but it feels soft.

Looking at the glasses that appears and disappears from the edge of my right eye, and the widened eyes of Miss Conductor, I realize that it's Nitadori's lips.

Miss Conductor shakes her head, practically saying 'I don't want to get involved with you'.

"Thank you for taking this ride."

Saying that, she passes through the automatic doors, leaving. The doors quickly close.

I turn to the right.

First, I see Miss Kamishiro bare her fangs as she looks as though she wants to kill me with her eyes.

"Fufu."

And then, I see the sidelong face of Eri Nitadori giving a chuckle--

Or perhaps that is Stella Hamilton.

I don't know which is the actual name.

No, both of them should be the actual name.

In Japan, she'll call herself 'Eri Nitadori'--

When overseas, she'll probably use 'Stella Hamilton'.

This is the reason why Nitadori once said something strange, 'this is the name I use'. She meant 'just use my Japanese name'.

I'm guessing that Nitadori is of mixed ancestry from Japan and a foreign country (or maybe one quarter). Looking at the hair color, she might look like a Japanese, oe a foreigner.

By using the name of that particular country, nobody would bear too much curiosity. With a name in the local language, there's an advantage of it being easy to remember.

A few days ago, I investigated something on the internet. I learned that the name 'Stella' can be nicknamed as 'Ellie'.

I'm unfamiliar with English, and I've no idea how Stella becomes Ellie--

But the name Eri is derived from Ellie.

Eri can be called Ellie no matter which country she goes to. I know that her parents did think through this properly.

From what I can deduce, the reason why she's studying in eleventh grade while I'm in tenth grade is because she skipped years. The reader's letter only stated school years, so I thought she's older than me.

I'm thinking that Stella Hamilton, so outstanding at mental calculations, should probably be adept at studying, and started skipping grades since her third year of middle school. That kind of thing isn't rare at all in foreign countries.

That reader wrote on the letter that she's born with different colored eyes..

And no matter whether she likes it or not, it's obvious that her right eye's a faint grey, and her left is a deep brown.

Thus, no matter whether it's Japan or overseas, she's always been mocked, envied, and sometimes even bullied.

So now--

Nitadori probably began using color contact lense to hide the color of her right eye ever since she transferred to this school. I heard that color contact lenses were tools developed to treat 'heterochromia'.

Also, she wears a wig, and she doesn't attend gym classes at all just in case her wig falls off. She'll be careful when seated on chairs that are slightly higher--

And to avoid going through the bullying that made her contemplate suicide again, Nitadori portrays an ordinary high school girl.

Nitadori just so happened to read my novel when she's in ninth grade.

And then, she empathized with meek, who went through similar circumstances and appearance.

She sent me a highly emotional letter, and received the one reply I currently sent.

She was shocked when I said 'my handwriting's terrible', and that's because she read the words I wrote so deliberately.

And so, after a year and a half--

Nitadori received a chance to portray Meek.

I don't know exactly how hard she worked for this.

Maybe...she used her parents money or some unique bypass without me knowing. Even if that's the case, I don't mind. It's fine not to know the truth somtimes.

Us studying in the same school is just a mere coincidence.

There's no way she could have realized where I live. The replies to fan letters are all sent from Tokyo where I had meetings, so she wouldn't be able to know my residence through the mailing.

And speaking of which--she probably doesn't know that I'm a year older than her.

It's just a coincidence, but in this area, this is the only private high school that doesn't particularly pay that much detail on attendance.

We're in similar circumstances and we enrolled in the same school.

Nitadori has been acting in front of me.

Showing me the 'I'm not that devoted fan called Stella'.

I suppose the reason why she looked so uneasy that day when she heard me ask 'when did you start acting', but probably because I saw through her.

But well, I'm not that sharp.

Nitadori, as a devoted fan of 'Vice Versa',

Sent a letter to the author,

Received the only reply from the author,

Read the entire series,

And even won the opportunity to voice her favorite character--

I don't intend to blame her for peeking into the manuscript in my bag.

I was really careless for leaving the bag behind and going to the toilet.

Of course, I never imagined that Eri would be Stella.

Once she knew that the character she likes so much she put herself in the character, and finally had a chance to voice--

Would just die like that, and never to appear again--

I feel that 'she might want to strangle the author once or twice'.

Of course, back then, when I was strangled, I thought,

I was really going to be strangled by her.

It's not strange for me to die.

I could have died if not for Miss Conductor passing by coincidentally.

But I don't begrudge Nitadori.

I didn't die. Even if I really died, it's nothing much. I'll just die.

There's only one that I hope for now. That is that she doesn't feel overly remorseful on what she did, causing inner trauma.

So one day--

I have to talk to Nitadori properly about this.

But it doesn't have to be today.

If possible, from now on, we'll continue to chat as we want on this train.

I ask my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress, who just kissed me,

"Boss that--"

I wanted to say, that was,

Unable to do so, I repeat myself again,

"Was dab--"

Too bad.

"Was, that."

Finally, I said it.

"Was that...an act?"

"Well, who knows …? Even I do not know…"

Nitadori continues to lower her head slightly, answering in respectful language.

I decide on my own to see her as being in 'Nitadori mode' when she not using respectful language, and 'Stella mode' when she's in cautious, respectful mode as a fan. I just decided on this.

I feel that her face is a little red as she lowers her head. Maybe I'm the same too.

"Or--are you trying to repay me?"

I ask without thinking too much, and she immediately lifts her head with fiery eyes, staring right at me.

"No! There's still a lot more--how much favor do you think I owe you?"

The expression she answers that so seriously is so pretty, fleeting and beautiful.

I think.

I hope to use her.

I want to use her as the basis of a light novel character.

If possible, I don't want to care about 'Vice Versa' (to all the fans, I'm sorry.) I want to start writing a novel with her as the heroine.

I--

I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, my heart occupied by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

May 29th.

It was Thursday noon, when the midterms finally ended after starting from Monday.

Like usual, I'll be riding the Limited Express to Tokyo in the evening--

But unlike before, I have more than enough time today. There's no need for me to hurry up.

I'll first have lunch in the cafeteria, and then I'll slowly walk home.

"Erm…"

A girl starts to talk to me.

Of course, it's not Nitadori."

"From now on, we won't be talking to each other in school after all."

That's the promise both of us made last Thursday.

Nitadori is still seated behind me. I heard her putting her stuff into her bag all this while, only to stop because of the girl who came to talk to me for some reason.

"Y-yes?"

I remained seated as I turned to the one asking the question.

Naturally, the one standing there is my classmate. This girl has short black hair, a petite figure, and gives an obedient vibe.

We have been attending classes together for almost 2 months, but I don't remember her name. I never spoke to her before. I guess she's...probably not one of the girls who questioned me about Nitadori.

She looks at my face nervously. I've no idea what she wants to say at all.

I'm worried that she'll have the other classmates giving strange looks to her because she's talking to me, who never talked to anyone else in class, and so I look around, but it appears I worried too much.

Then,

"Erm, about last week, that recitation."

She continued with respectful language.

Huh?

I get the feeling that something bad's about to happen.

The insensitive danger sensor inside my head starts to run.

"About the 'Vice Versa' part you recited in class--"

I better run away.

"If you can see it on the website, do you mind telling me the site address? If it can't be seen, I hope that you'll at least show me a copy of that printed script."

I better run away immediately, I guess?

This timid girl seems to have shaken off all her qualms once she reaches this point, and her expression suddenly changes,

"To be honest!"

Her face brightens immediately as she says,

"I'm really a devoted fan of the 'Vice Versa' book series! I read through all the works! I'm really looking forward to the anime that's going to begin airing in July!"

Wow! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Ah...ahem, I-I see."

I fake a cough, covering my mouth as I say this. It'll be bad if I'm seen giggling to myself.

"I discovered this work ever since the first volume was sold, but I didn't know that it's originally a web novel!"

Yeah, that's a lie.

"If there's a chance to look at the latest plot developments, I want to see it! Especially the part you read! I want to know the result!"

No, that's impossible.

That's because I only rewrote the parts I read, and the editor-in-charge told me 'the plot's good, but the essay's a little messy', so I have to edit it. Also, I need to make sure the plot developments thereafter makes sense, so I'm currently editing the manuscript of the eleventh volume.

I can't mention these unspeakable matters to her. This girl continues to grin and blurt out,

"Erm...if possible...as a fellow 'Vice Versa' fan, can I have a chat with you? Can we go talk about this in the cafeteria? Actually...I had been intending to chat with you on this ever since exams ended!"

Blam!

The sound of the chair shaking could be heard from the seat behind me.

To be continued...

## 03. Volume 3 - Time to Pray ( PDF )

### 001. Afterword, Special Synopsis

### Volume 4

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by the obi of my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress--Time to Judo-->>

When our relationship stabilized, Nitadori suddenly said to me, "Oh, right, sensei! Let's play judo!".

The protagonist started to play judo for real, gradually impressed, and finally made it to the Nationals! However, the next submission deadline for 'Vice Versa' is closing in...can he continue tossing around while writing his novels!?

The startling stage shall be set on the tatamis, the plot of the 4th volume filled with manly sweat!

### Volume 5

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, forced to marry by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress --Time to Marry-- >>

The Protagonist managed to win silver at the Nationals, and submitted the manuscript on time.

As a famous person in school, he's popular with the girls too, beaming away. Nitadori's crying tears of blood, but she couldn't do anything as she told him to do it. At this moment, Miss Kamishiro brought some shocking news. That is, Nitadori's already 20, and has a prearranged fiance overseas!

A fire is lit under Nitadori, and she pursues the protagonist! Turbulent times in volume 5!

### Volume 6

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, having a war against my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress --Time to Fight-- >>

The protagonist never noticed that Nitadori was trying to woo him. A fuming Nitadori finally transforms into the blond 'Super Nitadori' and starts to attack mercilessly! The protagonist uses the wardrobe he inherbits from his mother as a weapon, but is unable to completely withstand the attacks coming from behind him in class. When he was stabbed by the After Record script and about to die of blood loss, an unexpected person suddenly saved him--

80% battles, hardcore combat scenes! This is this 6th volume!

### Volume 7

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, and I feel my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress doesn't exist? Is it all my own selfish delusions--Time to Realize-->>

The anime was aired successfully, and the protagonist returns to his lonely school life. Doing this, he suddenly feels empty within. “Eh? Who was I talking to on the train...?” Even though he muttered to himself at the last seat of the classroom, nobody responded. Was it all a hallucination? But what was with the icy feeling left on the neck? Why did I buy an Afghan Shawl?

Fantasy and reality, truth and convictions cross in this psychological drama. What did he find in the 7th volume?

### Volume 8

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, and my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress is returning to her hometown, so I decided to head for a space odyssey. It's fine, I'll launch from Tanegashima --Time to Rocket-- >>

The protagonist was able to identify Nitadori, and knew of the truth she was hiding. She is the queen of the planet—the Second planet of the Arash galaxy Bennu Solar System, Sloatta. Once she regained her memories by changing the color of her left eye, she wanted to eat some horse sashimi from her native planet for breakfast, and suddenly returned home. As she returned, the countdown of the bomb to destroy Earth remains activated...

To get her back, the protagonist launched from Tanegashima, and flies towards space. The intense space chapter shall begin!

### Volume 9

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, and I feel that it doesn't matter. I love you, I can't forget about you. I want to meet you. --Time to Love-- >>

After reuniting with Nitadori, the protagonist realizes the heavy feelings in his heart. He feels restless. In this situation, Nitadori, unable to eat enough horse sashimi, kicked up a fuss, became really big, and wants to swallow the entire world in 2 weeks. While the protagonist remains conflicted between the fate of the world and his first love, his smartphone receives a message from Earth. “The submission deadline has already passed. Are you done with the manuscript?”

The blazing love story shall begin. The 9th volume enters the climax!

### Volume 10

< >

With convicted love and belief, the duo return to school. In this universe, nothing shall stop these two—right when the protagonist had such a thought, the homeroom teacher informed him of a startling fact, “I know you're busy saving the world out there, but you have insufficient attendance. You shall be expelled.”

But to continue being a 'high school boy', what shall the protagonist do? Also, what would be the truth to whatever Nitadori would launch in quick successions. Now comes the finale where the duo shall be tested!

The aforementioned titles shall forever remain unreleased. Please do not inquire the bookstores or the editorial branch.

June 2014, Keiichi Sigsawa

Hello everyone, this is Kouhaku Kuroboshi.

All three afterwords include Meek. In the 'Strangled' series, most of the illustrations involve the strangling heroine Nitadori, so I thought I should include some Meek in the afterwords...

I might as well say that it's enjoyable to draw Meek.

I want to read 'Vice Versa' too.

### 002. Chapter 1-1 - May 22, I touched her II

I'm a high school boy and a bestselling light novel author, strangled by my classmate who is my underclassman and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

I'm lying on the soft bed. This bed's mattress is really bouncy, nice to sleep on.

My classmate, a voice actress who's a year younger than me--

In other words, Eri Nitadori, or Stella Hamilton, is on my body.

She, dressed in a ¾ sleeve shirt, reached her hands out for my neck. The slender fingers on her hands were wrapping around my carotid pulse, clamping them from the sides.

Her hands are really cold.

I feel that I have a muffler made of chains wrapped around my neck.

In my vision, I can see her head.

The faint brown hair is short, unable to cover the sides of her face. The hair's pretty and thin, and looks really clear.

Thus, even with the backlight on her, I could clearly see her face

The large eyes are dichromatic. The right eye's a faint grey, and the left's brown.

At this point, there's no need to mention it, but I think she's pretty.

And her cold hands really feel comfortable.

It's probably because this room's a little too hot, so hot that I'm spacing out, which is why it feels very comfortable.

Ahh.

I really want to keep it this way.

How did it end up this way?

I start to recollect the events that transpired.

May 22nd, Thursday.

I took the Limited Express to Tokyo. In this wonderful weather--

The train proceeded smoothly.

I'm a professional author.

I wrote a novel titled 'Vice Versa'--

Currently, it's lined in the Pocket Book (Bunko) section of the bookstore.

My work is classified as a 'light novel', released by a publisher called Dengeki Bunko.

I debuted two years ago, in August, back when I was in my first year of high school. Currently, the series is published till the 9th volume. After taking a year away from school, I started going to school again, and I'm in my second year of high school.

Delightfully, 'Vice Versa' is selling well, and the decision was made to adapt it into a TV anime that's to be aired in July.

The After Record of the anime, in other words, the recording of the voice actors' work began at the beginning of April. To attend the recording session every Friday morning at 10 A.M., I would take the Limited Express to Tokyo every Thursday evening..

I was seated at the last row of the free seating carriage, to the left.

Eri Nitadori, the girl with long black hair and faint blue glasses, was seated at my right.

She's asleep.

Eri Nitadori is--

My classmate, seated right behind me in the classroom, a year younger than me, who took leave from school for a year.

At the same time, she's a colleague. She's a rising voice actress, voicing the character Meek in the anime 'Vice Versa'.

Since the second week of the After Record, she learned that we took the same train ride to Tokyo, and if there was anything to talk, we would keep it to the train. We would avoid talking to each other at the recording studio and the school, to avoid revealing our identities and relationship.

Till last week, she would ask all kinds of questions about my work as an author, and I answered obediently. I just needed to ask, so I felt at ease having a conversation. Typically, if someone were to ask me to chat with a girl, I guess I'll probably slip away.

A major case happened last week...or I should say, an incident, but I guess I barely managed to settle it. Even I felt that I worked hard, kinda.

It was less than 10 minutes since the train left the station.

During these few minutes, Nitadori and I boldly argued over the potato chips flavor, and we showed our tickets to Miss Conductor, whom we caused lots of trouble to the prior week.

After a rather short conversation, and during the few seconds of me seriously pondering the idea of 'I hope to have Nitadori as the protagonist of a novel one day'.

Nitadori fell asleep.

Her head rests on my shoulder before I knew it, and the weight on my shoulder doesn't feel too light or heavy.

I guess she deliberately added some perfume since her wig's giving off a fragrance--maybe that's what I'll call it. That black hair's very close to me. Her closed eyes are so close to me, it seems like they're able to feel my breathing. I can clearly see her long eyelashes, white skin and red lips.

I don't know what I should do.

I don't want to wake her up when she's sleeping so soundly, but if she's going to continue leaning on me, I think I'm going to have some bad imaginations. So this is inappropriate. Really inappropriate.

Even without this happening, that action of hers is almost equivalent to kissing my cheek, and I'm already unable to calm down.

Can I hang on for another 2 hours with such repressed feelings? No, I can't.

But I feel that I can't do something inhumane like saying 'don't sleep with your head tilted' and push Nitadori back.

And furthermore, if that causes Nitadori's wig to fall, I'll be more flustered before, so much that I want to jump out from the train.

It's troublesome.

Really troublesome.

Right when I'm panicking inside and not moving at all.

"Please let her sleep."

I hear a soft voice diagonally above me. The hushed voice barely made it through the noise of the train.

I turned my eyes towards the aisle, and found that it was Miss Kamishiro.

She appears to be about 27 years old, has short black hair, sharp eyes, and looks strong.

Whenever Nitadori heads to the capital, she'll come along, so I get the feeling that the latter is Nitadori's bodyguard.

Before I know it, Miss Kamishiro got up from the seat on the right end of the row I told her to sit at when she got onto the train.

"Use this."

She hushes her voice, and hands something over to me.

To avoid shaking Nitadori's head, I receive it with my left hand.

With my hand, I receive an earphone, and a black object that's as thick and large as a 100 Yen coin, connected to a cord that's about 30cm long--what are these?

"This is a microphone, sensei."

Miss Kamishiro told me. I wonder if she could read minds, or that she read my thoughts because my expression was so spaced out, or both.

Miss Kamishiro said it so nonchalantly, but I never thought this person would call me 'sensei' too.

I guess she already knew of my actual name and pen names from Nitadori. But I didn't really hate that title, so I didn't refute.

"Please attach the cable I'm going to give you to the earphone, and then put it onto the left ear. Also, please hold down the microphone to the side of the throat."

Miss Kamishiro continues to explain with a flat, calm tone, and sits down in front of me, before turning behind to hand the cable, which I received.

There's a little tip at the end of the cable. I see thinking that, I attach the cable to the earphone, and put the earphone at my left ear.

Even this dull-witted me can tell what Miss Kamishiro wants to do.

She wants to talk to me while keeping it a secret from Nitadori. Does she always carry this thing along? Or is it that she only does so today? I don't know.

"Can you hear me?"

I can hear some little noise with Miss Kamishiro's voice. The voice's vague as compared to hearing it directly, but I can still hear her words well enough.

With my hand hand on the microphone, I press it down to the left side of my throat, and press the switch in the middle, trying to speak,

"Ah, yes. I can hear you."

I spoke in a voice so soft, no bystander can hear me.

"Yes, it looks fine."

Miss Kamishiro answered. It seems that she's able to hear me.

This little thing is called a 'throat microphone', able to sense the vibrations of the throat, and can be used even in noisy situations. I know the existence and name of it, but it's the first time I'm using the real thing.

Speaking of which, I remember a certain anime about high school girls driving tanks, and the girls would press on their throats whenever they speak.

It's really useful, and I'm impressed. While I have some knowledge, actually experiencing it is a different feeling.

It's a good experience, and next time, I want the device to show up in 'Side Sin'.

I feel that if Sin's going to commit a robbery in modern Japan, he'll use the money he gets to buy entire wireless communications sets back to Reputation.

In that world, there are magic spells that work like directional speakers to convey voices to specific people. If there are such devices however, anyone can use those devices even without that kind of magic or training.

No, I guess this kind works better if prepared and used by Shin. The plot will proceed this way; Shin will ask his mom to buy him a complete wireless communicator set as a birthday gift, and after setting it up, he'll contribute greatly in Reputation.

In Reputation, the outstanding magicians are able to cast spells faster than the others, and able to sense magic from further away. With such a device, there won't be any presence left behind, and can be used to trick them.

My delusions progress to such a point at that moment, and I intend to record the idea into my smartphone.

"Now then--"

But Miss Kamishiro won't allow me the time to do so.

"I have something to say."

Yes, I understood that.

I look out of the window at the flowing scenery, and while mindful of Nitadori's head on my right shoulder, I quietly listen,

"Do you hear me? --I can't observe your face now, so please keep your answers brief if you have to."

Hearing the poised voice by Miss Kamishiro, I hastily answer.

"Yes...I'm sorry. I'll answer--but before this, may I ask a question?"

I'm tense, but I end up saying what I want to ask.

"What is it?"

"Well...erm, I only know your last name, Miss Kamishiro. Regarding your relationship with Nitadori...Miss Nitadori, I think I have a rough idea as to what it is. But it'll be bad if I'm wrong here"

I stammered.

"Understood. In any case, I have yet to introduce myself. I do apologize for that. Now then, let us begin from here."

And so, Miss Kamishiro told me a lot of things, while I merely answered from time to time as I listened.

Miss Kamishiro's full name is Akane Kamishiro, legend for Kamishiro, and red for Akane.

The name sounds cool, like a female protagonist in a combat fiction.

I really want to use this name for a character in a certain story, but now's not the time, so I pass on seeking her approval.

Also, she even told me her age without me asking. Shocking, she's already 35. Looking at her strong appearance, I thought she would be younger, about 27 or 28. I then state this to her.

"Oh? Thanks."

Only at this moment does she answer with a kind voice. Only at this moment.

And as I expected, Miss Kamishiro's the personal bodyguard to Eri Nitadori. She has been accompanying Nitadori ever since the latter lived overseas, and it has been over 5 years.

To avoid abduction overseas, it's necessary to have a bodyguard and a chauffeur. Thus, she has been fetching and sending Nitadori off in place of the latter's parents. Miss 'Kamishiro' takes the 'place' of the parents, and I found it cool.

It's said that she didn't need to do that much in Japan, given the good security. However, whenever Nitadori had to spend her nights outside, she would accompany, or in other words, 'watch over'.

Thus, as I had expected, she would accompany Nitadori to Tokyo, participating in the After Record.

That was also the case when I first met and spoke with Nitadori on the train, April 10th.

Both of them had green rail passes (TN: In other words, first class rides on the green car). After that, Miss Kamishiro and Nitadori would arrive at the station together, and be seated at the front seats of the same carriage.

At the end of this very long self-introduction, Miss Kamishiro spoke with a really displeased tone,

"But letting her slip from my sight last week was my fault...this will be the biggest failure in my life."

Even though I couldn't see her, she's definitely baring her fangs. If I saw her, I'll be utterly terrified. Good thing I couldn't.

The train continues to move forward, stopping at many stations.

It passes through a long, long tunnel, slowly slipping into a station by a lake. The number of passengers increased, but nobody sat beside Miss Kamishiro.

Nitadori maintains the same pose throughout, sleeping on my shoulder.

I turn to my right, looking at her sleeping face. Nitadori's really sleeping nicely.

"Milady...hasn't been sleeping well recently."

Miss Kamishiro says.

I turn my eyes forward again, and see Miss Kamishiro seated normally, looking forward. I'm guessing that she has a pair of eyes on the back of her head.

"I see..."

I press my hand on my throat, answering,

And Miss Kamishiro continues to explain with a poised voice, as though reporting the events happening on this world.

"Milady felt guilty for doing such a thing."

I answer,

"Well...same here."

Since I killed off Meek so easily.

But I feel Miss Kamishiro's probably unable to understand these words.

"I too feel that such a plot development is really terrifying."

Miss Kamishiro simply answered. She's scary.

"But most importantly, Milady didn't feel that way. She's often regretful about the fact that she tried to kill you, sensei."

"..."

I couldn't say anything. Then, Miss Kamishiro continues to talk,

"I have just heard of what happened to you two at school. You changed the future plot progression, hinting that the character Milady voices will return, have her owe the favor, and then--"

Miss Kamishiro pauses for a while.

"You remember her name, and the matter of her sending you a fan letter."

That was because I could never forget, and I'll never be able to forget.

"I guess, Stella Hamilton--is her actual name after all."

"Yes…"

Her reply proves that my guesses are correct. Great.

"But she has intended to hide everything in school. I hope that you'll help. "

My secrets aren't divulged, so she's likely to blackmail me, but she chooses to spare me.

Nodding, I clearly state,

"I'll guard this secret with my all. I won't talk to her again in school, just in case, to prevent it from being revealed"

Then, I ask Miss Kamishiro,

"Miss Kamishiro, you know that Nitadori once sent me a letter, and I replied, right?"

I ask this just in case. If not, she wouldn't be mentioning about 'me remembering the name'.

"Yes."

She simply answers.

This alone allows me to understand how much Nitadori trusts Miss Kamishiro.

In other words, Nitadori's about to honestly say how she once thought about killing herself, and unable to talk to her parents about this.

"Milady was really happy. If not for that incident...I guess I'll be driving down the expressway instead."

Miss Kamishiro says.

I don't know if 'that incident' here refers to the changing of the plot, or that I called her Stella, or both--

In any case, if I did anything wrong, Nitadori wouldn't be taking this train, and I probably will never have the chance to talk to her again.

I heave a sigh of relief, really earnestly.

And then, I say to Miss Kamishiro,

"Good thing I have the chance to talk. This is a god-given opportunity."

"Sensei, do you believe in god?"

Miss Kamishiro asks with a slightly incredulous tone,

I immediately answer,

"No, not at all."

"...Well, let us not talk about that."

She choose not to talk about that, and I decide to say what's on my mind. If not now, then when? I have to thank her.

"Miss Kamishiro, I really have to thank you."

"Huh? --What are you saying?"

She answers in surprise, and I continue,

"What happened last week, in the infirmary, well, I'm really grateful for you going along with that unreasonable, impromptu act. I haven't thanked you for that."

"Ahh...you don't have to. I just did what was the best option I could take back then."

Miss Kamishiro coldly replies, and then continues,

"But to be honest...I'm really impressed. I never thought you could come up with that plan in such a situation. Or I should say that you're a sensei capable of creating something on the fly?"

Ahh, I'm glad to be praised.

"Thanks...for the praise."

And to hide my embarrassment, I answer that first,

"Sensei...are you a judo practitioner? Or any other martial art?"

She asks, but I really don't have that kind of experience.

"No, none at all. I just said it to shake off the policeman. I only had some experience on judo in gym class, so I can't really say so."

"Well, I guessed so...but despite so, you managed to save Milady, and me in the process. If that really got its way to the police station, I don't think the matter can be settled even with me being fired..."

It's only after I hear her say this that I realize how terrible the worst case scenario would have been.

"Right. If things ended up that way, even the anime airing might be severely affected...I want to thank that Miss Conductor, but I can't say the truth..."

I express my true thoughts, only to hear Miss Kamishiro lashing at my left ear with an unprecedented harsh voice.

"Seriously? What are you thinking?"

No matter how dull-witted I am, I can tell that it's a furious tone.

The normally terrifyingly collected Miss Kamishiro is just terrifying to me now.

Unable to say anything, I don't know what she's angry about, and I don't know what's she's going to say next.

"Aren't you worried about your own life? If Miss Conductor didn't find you, you might have died, you know?"

She asked.

"Ah, you're right."

Now that she mentioned it, it is true.

"..."

Miss Kamishiro presses the switch of the microphone, but doesn't say anything. This is the first time it happens.

And so, I continue,

"But it turned out alright. Looking at things now, nobody died, and I managed to perform an unprecedented act. Good thing it didn't get out of hand."

"..."

For the second time, she remains silent.

I, seated behind Miss Kamishiro, am unable to see any expression on her face. I guess she's having a headache over it. No, she definitely is.

But isn't that good?

I didn't die, Nitadori didn't become a killer, and the plot progression of 'Vice Versa' is more optimistic.

Hm, isn't that good?

"If...Milady actually killed you on the spot, sensei, she might have killed herself."

After a long pause, Miss Kamishiro speaks up. She sounds calm, but I feel a chill down my spine. It's about what'll happen after I die, but I don't wish for that to happen either.

"...Good thing that didn't happen."

"But I would have tried to stop her even if I have to die."

"I'll leave that to you then."

"..."

For the third time, she's silent.

Miss Kamishiro looks as though she wants to say something, but doesn't. I can sense her speechless expression through my ears, and sense the atmosphere through the seat in front of me.

I guess a little explanation will be better, and so I press my microphone onto my throat, saying,

"Erm...I don't hate the 'all well that ends well saying'. I feel that even after encountering some setback, as long as we're still alive, we can reflect on it and use the experience for our future."

"...Hm,, I'll do that too."

"Did you fail before, Miss Kamishiro?"

I ask, and she quickly replies,

"Last week, when Milady came to look for you, I didn't follow. That's my greatest failure in this life. To be honest, this might cause me some psychological trauma. I suppose my gut won't feel good if I'm to recall that incident."

For the usually poised Miss Kamishiro, those words sounded really timid. If I'm to boast, I'll probably say that she's human after all.

Bodyguarding is a really tough job. One has to be often wary of the surroundings. Luckily, I'm a high school boy and a light novel author. Thinking about this, I suddenly heard a puzzling question.

"Sensei, what do you intend to do to Milady?"

I don't think Miss Kamishiro is joking, so I suppose it's a serious question. However, I really don't know what she means.

Intend to do what? Refer to 'waking her up because I feel uncomfortable being a pillow'? Doesn't seem to be the case.

Intend to do what? Refer to 'I got strangled, so I want her to lose her job as a voice actress'? Doesn't seem to be the case. Or I should say, definitely not.

Do what? I want to know the meaning to this question.

Thus, I decided to do that.

"Erm, I don't know what you mean."

"..."

For the fourth time, Miss Kamishiro remained silent, and so I frantically add on.

"Well, Nitadori is a girl with all kinds of experiences, so one day, I hope to have her as the basis of a light novel character. Or I should say, I did think of it. I really wanted to do that. However, I hope it won't be rude to her. Of course, I'll explain to her properly, and get her approval."

When talking to Miss Kamishiro, I forget that there's a girl still leaning on my right shoulder. It's not heavy at all, but it does give a strange sense of presence. I want to try adding this when writing the thoughts of a protagonist. If I'm to use her as the basis, I'll have to get approval from her, I guess?

Miss Kamishiro answers,

"Well, when that happens, please do so."

After that, there's no conversation.

I have become Nitadori's pillow, so I can't move, and can't reach for the luggage on the rack. I got got nothing to do.

Thus, I start to stare at the window. Less than a minute, and it seems the fatigue from the person sleeping beside me has spread to me.

I'm starting to feel tired.

But I have to get off first. I can't sleep.

No matter what, I have to stay awake.

Luckily, the weather's fine. Let's look outside the window, and think about the future plot progressions for 'Vice Versa'.

I can't use my laptop, but luckily, I have a smartphone in my pocket. Let's use this to record the idea.

I--

Still remember having such thoughts back then.

However, I can't remember when I fell asleep at all.

And when I woke out, I found that the train was about to enter the terminal, where the bright lights shone.

The seat beside me, and in front of me--

Are both empty.

### 003. Chapter 1-2 - May 22, I slept on him

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently strangling my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

Right now, I'm right on him, and he's lying face up on the bed.

My hands are on the sides of his neck, pressing down on the carotid artery.

Is he usually this hot?

Or am I usually this cold?

Or is it because I'm so tense, the color of blood is drained off from my hands?

Or maybe it's a combination of them?

Or was it all of it?

I could feel the heat coming from the skin on his skin, so hot that my hands were almost scalded.

How did it end up like this...?

I didn't want to do this.

I didn't want to do this again...

I had no intention of doing this again!

How did things end up like this...?

I start to recollect everything that happened till this point.

May 22nd.

It was a few minutes before the Limited Express reached the terminal, when I finally woke up.

Miss Akane is pinching hard at my right cheek, and pulls me away from my dream. She's always waking me up this way. No matter the occasion, she knows this is the best way to wake me up.

Whenever I wake up, I'll forget the dreams I saw, but I'm sure that there aren't any good dreams.

After I woke up, I find myself in the racing train, my body tilted heavily towards the left. My left shoulder and head are resting on someone's back.

I straighten my body, and turn my head left, realizing what it is.

"..."

Sitting over there with his head slumped there is the boy who is my senior and classmate.

I was touched by the novel this person wrote.

I felt that I was saved.

And so, I wrote in a fan letter.

Without any shame, I revealed my weaknesses and tragedies, conveying my thoughts.

And so, I received a reply from him, words of encouragement.

Words cannot describe how delighted I was back then.

I always imagined how this person was like.

When I heard that an anime of the work was in the works, without any shame, I did whatever I could do to obtain the acting role of the character I admired.

And I defeated many people to obtain that role.

When I heard that I was able to meet him live during the first After Record, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep.

And then, I got additionally nervous during my first After Record, so much that this would be the one day in my life that I had most difficulty in maintaining my composure. I was really shocked to learn that he's only a year older than me. Till this point, the sensei I had always imagined was that he was probably male, around 27-28, graduated from college, with work experience, and became a professional author.

And that day finally came to an end—

During the next twelve After Records, I guessed that there might be a chance or two to talk alone. Until then, I wanted to introduce myself. Of course, I couldn't talk about everything. I just wanted him to know of the existence of this voice actress called 'Eri Nitadori'.

Having such thoughts, when I was done with my self-introductions during the new school term of my Sophomore year in high school, sensei, who was seated right before me, had turned his head around to look at me—I guess I got lucky that I didn't pass out at that moment.

And when I saw him at the platform that Thursday, I was really taken aback.

Before this, I had hopes that 'since we're headed to the same place, I might be able to meet him', but I never expected both of us to meet.

And thus, Time to Play.

I decided to act.

That's because I felt that I wouldn't be able to talk to him normally no matter what.

I would probably be so tense that my face would freeze, I would use overtly formal language that would have stunned anyone, and shocked sensei as a result.

But I couldn't let myself miss out on this opportunity.

Thus, Time to Play.

I decided to play as a female classmate who was being affectionate (to put it bluntly, being bold and acting too mature).

At the same time, I had a promise with him that we wouldn't talk to each other in school. That's because, if I wasn't careful, I might end up divulging my secret.

I felt that my identity would ultimately be made known, so I was fine with it. However, if I were to reveal sensei's secret, there would be no point of return.

So I obtained the opportunity to play the 'role' of 'the one to sit side by side, the classmate who had a similar secret, and a colleague at work'.

I know it might be rude of me to say this, but I got the feeling that sensei isn't good at talking. If I want to keep talking with him, what shall I do?

I tried my best to think, and I got the answer.

"I just need to ask questions easy for sensei to answer."

But what kind of questions are they?

"What sensei knows really well. In other words, the profession of being an author."

So I decided to play the role of 'someone who wants to know what an author does', and talk with him every week.

I wasn't so curious that I wanted to ask about everything, but it wasn't that I was completely disinterested in the profession of authorship.

To create a scenario 'easy' for sensei to answer, every week, I would prepare presents.

The one thing that isn't 'expensive' and yet can make people happy is food.

Speaking of the 'snacks', it might sound nice at first, but it can be called 'bait'. To be honest, I didn't know how else to call it.

There are hundreds of options for food alone, and I was bothered about what to choose, before I finally decided on the safest bet that was potato chips.

Thinking back, in the afterword sensei wrote at the end of the 'Dengeki Bunko Magazine', sensei once mentioned that 'For potato chips, I find that sea salt flavor tastes best, and I only eat that' .

I never bought potato chips of that flavor. Speaking of which, I never bought that particular flavor, even when overseas.

So I went around the convenience stores, looking for it for a long time. The first store didn't sell that, so I went to a few more.

I finally managed to buy one, but I didn't know if sensei really liked it, and I was really worried.

After seeing sensei happily accept it and enjoy himself, I was really happy.

And sensei actually answered my questions.

Just like this, I manage to sit beside him for five straight weeks—

But last week, I tried to kill sensei.

I had a peek at the draft of 'Vice Versa'.

After sensei went to the toilet, a thought suddenly struck me.

When sensei placed his bag containing the draft at the front of his seat, wasn't he basically saying that I could have a look?

Since I'm playing as Meek, shouldn't I know everything about her? If I can know the plot beforehand, I should be able to add depth to my acting, right?

In hindsight, I should have known that it was the wrong idea.

But back then, that was what I actually assumed.

And so I read the draft.

And so I strangled sensei.

My memories were vague.

But there was one thing I was really clear about. Back then, I had a thought that 'I have to save Meek no matter what'.

I heard a scream, was knocked down, and after that, I couldn't remember anything.

When I woke up, I found myself in the infirmary of the station.

As for what happened next, I remembered really well.

This week, during the time I excused myself from school, Miss Akane told me,

"It's fine now. That peon came up with one huge lie to save you, Milady Stella. He definitely doesn't hate you."

It was unbelievable.

He nearly got killed by me, and yet he doesn't hate me. How is it possible that such a person exists?

If it had been me, I would never forgive anyone who did that.

I won't forgive those who bullied me violently or verbally. If it's legal, even at this point, I still want to kill them all.

The act sensei did in the infirmary is probably because he just didn't want to involve himself in a troublesome case, and not because he has forgiven me.

No, it's the opposite.

Later on, in the classroom or the studio—

He'll continue to torment me mentally, and that's why he didn't lodge a police report.

But even so, I can't do anything about it.

That's the right way to hit back, and I can't do anything about it.

Just thinking of that causes my gut to sink like lead, but I can't do anything about it.

"If that's how you want to think about it, Milady, all I can say is that you can 'do whatever you please'—However, I do feel that you don't have to feel that way."

In the middle of the night, Miss Akane told me this as I remained pale, unable to sleep.

"You can't keep taking breaks from school forever. No, school doesn't matter here. You do need to head to Tokyo for work on Friday however. I do strongly suggest that you go to school on Thursday."

But what will the people at school say about me?

If my identity is revealed, and I become the laughing stock of the class, what should I do?

If I, as I experienced before, were to be called out as a fake Japanese with a wig, colored contact lenses and a fake name, what do I do?

"As they say, 'just adapt accordingly', if anyone in class is so petty that he can't accept you, you can simply skip high school. Given your academic ability, Milady, you should be able to study in a university. However—"

However?

"As I had said so many times already, I don't think sensei is the type of person to do such a thing. If he had intended to do so—he would have told everyone else about this, right? Has any friend of yours called to inform you or written in letters to scold you? Furthermore, I don't think sensei is waiting for you in school just to reveal your secret in front of you."

I didn't know if that was the case.

But on Miss Akane's insistence, I finally went to school—

And unexpectedly, I learned that Meek would be revived.

I couldn't understand.

Why didn't sensei hate me?

He was nearly killed, so why didn't he hate me?

Why wasn't he angry with me?

He was nearly killed, so why wasn't he angry with me?

And he even edited the draft so that Meek got revived, like he's saying that 'you're right'.

I don't understand at all.

What exactly is sensei thinking?

I want to know about this.

And thus, I can only apologize about what I've done properly, and then ask him about what it is.

He nearly got killed for some strange reason, so why's he willing to forgive me?

To obtain this answer, I could only ride on the train again.

This is because I can only talk with sensei on that train.

"In that case, I won't be driving. Honestly, I really don't like to drive for too long, and not in Tokyo too. I'm pretty bad at driving."

Miss Akane said with a smile.

She's lying.

She likes to drive, and is reliable in that. As my chauffeur and bodyguard, she won't be able to get this job if she's not competent.

She continued,

"I might suggest that you don't force yourself to know everything, and hope that you'll aim to talk normally with him. Please continue to talk with him without using any formal language or courtesy like before. It's pointless to keep apologizing, Milady, and speaking of which, I do feel that sensei doesn't hope for you to continue doing that. Please continue with that usual attitude of yours."

Can I really do such a thing? I asked, and Miss Akane winked with a smile, giving me an unexpected answer.

"Oh? Haven't you been doing that all this while?"

Doing what?

"Acting. Time to Play."

I glance aside at sensei's sleeping face, and for a moment, I recalled the past like the lights passing me by.

"Then, shall we get off first this week?"

Miss Akane whispers to me, continuing,

"Let's take this train again next week."

### 004. Chapter 2-1 - May 29, I had questions

I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress.

And so, at this point.

I'm right before Nitadori's face--

And I had a big question in my mind.

While I know how dull-witted I am, her face seems to be showing some uneasiness, confusion, and fear.

I guess that's it.

To be honest, I am really concerned.

But if possible--

I want to keep it like this for a while.

May 29th, Thursday.

The eventful May was about to end.

Under the high temperatures akin to summer, I boarded the Limited Express as usual.

The weather's great, and the sun dangling in the sky lit the carriage.

When heading towards Tokyo, I would sit by the left side of the carriage, for I would face the East once we depart. Thus, I would avoid the afternoon sunlight, and could still see the computer screen.

But even so, ever since I started conversing with Nitadori on April 17th, I never got the time to work on the train.

Last Friday, on the 23rd, the After Record ended smoothly.

We were progressing into the 8th episode of the anime 'Vice Versa', the second volume of the original light novel series. The story's now in the so-called 'Side Sin'.

For some reason, Sin ended up in modern Japan. He was in the midst of military training, and thus appeared in full armor, dressed with bodyplate, sword and helmet.

Sin was curious to everything he saw, and Shin, who wanted to live a peaceful life, was completely befuddled.

The 8th episode was clearly meant to be comical. During the After Record, the studio was buzzing with laughter.

The anime staff added a lot more emphasis to the culture gap Sin experienced when he came to modern Japan, making his curiosity look idiotic.

I supposed it was because there was time for it in the anime that the number of scenes of Sin 'dying' (and reviving) far exceeded the original work.

All I wrote was him touching the high voltage cables, while the anime added other scenes--

Like him drowning in a lake after jumping in with full armor.

Running at a truck, only to be knocked aside, fell over a bridge, and died.

Trying to see if he could use magic in Japan, finding out he could just to get blown up by his own offensive spells.

There were various kinds of 'deaths'. (Naturally, the overly scary deaths cannot be depicted graphically. For every Sin's death, the show would depict Shin's annoyed and stunned look instead.)

Such changes were completed, as the series composer had familiarized himself with the original work.

When writing the second volume, I could not think of a reason--

But when writing the seventh volume, I added a reason, "Why does Sin want to seek death in modern Japan? Why is he so eager to die?"

The reason would be, "Sin sought death, for he had to know the pain of death."

As he bore the mission of being the ruler of a country, technically he could not die in Reputation. Bluntly put, even when his subjects die, he can't die.

In that case, he should at least die many times in this isekai called 'Japan', to understand the pain of death. In this story, Sin's foolish deaths are all reasonable.

Shin didn't know Sin's true intentions, and was left completely flabbergasted.

But even so, Shin couldn't just let Sin be. Sin would be violating the no-weapons law just by walking around, and if he were to continue living in Japan, he would have easily broken the law without knowing.

And if Sin was to be charged, Shin would be the first to be arrested.

"The one at fault is the guy who looks like me, that magician knight who comes from the warring isekai. It has nothing to do with me!"

But even though he would shout, it was unlikely the police would believe him.

Left with no choice, he had to bring Sin back to his house.

And just as how he brought the stray cat home, Shin intended to hide Sin for the time being--

But just like the former, his mother soon found out.

And again, just like the former, his mother easily agreed for some reason, so Sin started living at the Tsumizonos for the time being, while Shin's father was out at work.

In the manuscript of the tenth volume that was to be sold in July, I had Shin's mother act as though she had known Sin before.

Thus, there was a foreshadowing in the eighth episode. Basically, once Shin's mother met Sin, she showed a slight change on her face.

If there's a second series of the anime, I supposed it would link up to the ending I can currently think of. The anime should then be able to make use of the knowledge Shin's mother knew of, as established in that eighth episode.

Sin lost his mother since young, so surely he would obey whatever Shin's mother would say, and be a 'good boy', at least at home.

The ending of the eighth episode remained the same. The childhood friend Yui who came to Shin's house mistook Sin for Shin, and there's a nice mood formed.

Nitadori, who came back for the After Record after skipping a week--

Was acting as a girl who showed up twice. Her role was Shin's classmate, Yui's good friend.

"What are you hiding, Tsumizono-kun?"

"See you tomorrow!"

Just two lines.

Just to note, this girl has no name. She's an original character for the anime.

Based on the positioning in the classroom, the anime staff had her designated as 'windowside girl'--or to shorten her name, 'Madoko-chan'.

Madoko-chan had freckles on her face, and shoulder-length brown hair. The illustrator did provide a draft illustration.

For plot effects purposes, Madoko-chan was very forthfront in personality. While Shin and Yui were always having troubles, she would yap off at them.

And other than this episode, Madoko-chan would show up in the eleventh episode, squealing with her classmate.

Also, in the twelfth episode, right before the ending, she would have a slightly extended conversation with Shin.

Because of Sin's (non-malicious) actions, the relationship between Shin and Yui was in utter shambles.

Madoko-chan said some words to console Shin, to cheer him on. Of course, I didn't write those lines; it's an anime-original scene.

Just to note, in the following last episode, the thirteenth, the story would depict Shin being warped off to Reputation again. Thus, Shin would be reunited with many characters again, and even Meek had a line.

And on this day, Nitadori would be voicing the crowd along with the other actors, along with her role as Madoko-chan. It's called a 'mob scene', or just 'mob' for short.

It's a little pretentious of me to say, but I thought Nitadori's acting was fine.

I had assumed that her performance would be affected after that happened, and that one week break she took, but it seemed I was worrying too much. I guess I'm relieved.

There was nothing in particular to deal with on that day, so the editor-in-charge and I quickly left the studio.

Shin's voice actor did talk to me the previous week, but this week, I was not caught by him.

From Monday to Thursday this week, I had an important event for a high school boy--mid-term tests.

For the first time in over a year, I participated in these tests.

The absence over this year was exceptionally long.

I felt nostalgic when I had to write my class and name on the answer sheet. I thoroughly realized that I had really returned back to being a high school boy.

Everything was fine from Monday to Wednesday. After the tests in the morning, I would head home, and seal off all thoughts about the novel--writing, actually. I would spend the time before I sleep to study for the tests the following day. I would spend the whole day studying, sometimes taking a break, looking afar. It's a nostalgic feeling.

The editor-in-charge also knew that I was having exams, so he would not contact me.

Sometimes, I had to respond to emergency matters regarding the anime, so I was mentally prepared to some extent.

So on Thursday, the last day of the mid-terms, today--

Something happened about 5 hours ago, one that left me perturbed.

It was noon, right after the tests had ended.

Again on this day, I would take the evening Limited Express to Tokyo--

But unlike the usual, I had ample time left. There was no need to hurry back home.

First off, I had lunch at the school cafeteria, and I would take my time while heading home.

So I thought, but a girl spoke to me,

"Erm…"

Of course, it wasn't Nitadori.

The latter was still seated at her desk behind me, and till this point, I heard her stuff her items into her bag. That sound stopped as the girl was speaking to me.

"Y-yes?"

I remained seated as I turned my face towards the one asking.

Standing there was obviously my classmate. This girl had short black hair, a little petite, probably very demure.

We had approximately two months of classes together, but I never remembered her name. I never spoke to her. I supposed she's not the girl...who questioned me over Nitadori.

She looked down at my face tentatively. I really didn't know what she wanted to say.

I was worried she would be given weird looks as she's talking to this guy here who wouldn't talk to others, so I looked around, but it seemed I was thinking too much,

And in keigo, she spoke,

"Hello, with regards to the recitation last week--"

Eh?

Looks like something bad's about to happen, I guess?

In my mind, the dull danger management sensor went off.,

"The 'Vice Versa' scene you recited--"

Better run away.

"If it can be found on the internet, please tell me the address. If it cannot be found, I hope that you can print a copy of it and give it to me."

I should be running away now, right?

Once this scared looking girl said this, her face suddenly changed expressions, probably to shake off all doubts.

"To be honest!"

In a moment, she brightened up. Her face was dazzling,

"I'm! Actually, I'm a big, big, big fan of 'Vice Versa'! I read them all! I really am looking forward to the anime that's about to start in July!"

Woah! Thank you! Thank you!

"Ah...ahem, I...see."

I faked a cough, covering my mouth. It'll be bad if she realizes I'm all giddy with joy.

"But though I started following this work ever since it was first sold, I didn't know it was actually a web novel!"

Yep, because it's not.

"So if there are new plot developments I can see later on, I want to have a look too! Especially the part you read! I want to know what happened before and after!"

So, I can't do that.

That's because I did edit the part I recited, and the editor-in-charge told me, "Nice plot, but it's a little messy." So I had to finetune it. Also, I had to ensure that the plot development afterwards would be logical, so I'm currently editing the draft of the eleventh volume.

I couldn't tell her what I am unable to say. With a grin, this girl went straight to the point,

"Erm...if it's convenient...can i chat with you as a fellow fan of "Vice Versa'? How about the school canteen? Actually...I was considering chatting with you once the tests ended!"

Crak!

There was the sound of a chair shaking at the seat behind me.

Surely it was from Nitadori.

Was she tense? Smiling? Angry at something? I didn't know the reason. Maybe all these emotions.

"E-erm…"

I had to say something to this certain smiling classmate, so I, still unable to turn my head around, started to think.

I immediately thought of three ideas.

First off, and the easiest, would be to tell the truth.

But once I had this thought, I immediately understood that it was the worst possible course of action.

If I stated my secret, she would surely ask me lots of this. I wouldn't be sure if she would keep this secret.

And most importantly, she would further question me, why I would read such a new plot development during class time.

In that case, she might end up knowing that it was because of Nitadori, and that I might divulge her secret.

I couldn't do that.

Leaving my own matters aside, no matter how bad it got, I swore that 'even if I have to die', I would keep the matter of Nitadori being a voice actress a secret.

The other method would be to try and act, and lie,

"Ah, that, you say?"

"Ah, that, you mean? It's all a lie! I'm a huge fan of 'Vice Versa', so I tried writing my own story of what would happened afterwards. I guess you and sensei got duped easily, ahaha."

It seemed mean.

But I supposed it's a lot better than the first option…

If only this girl before me is to be angry.

"What, I see! But I think you have good writing. Good enough to try writing your own fanfiction! Let's discuss this as fellow fans!"

But if she's to say this, what do I do?

So I had to keep lying. I had no confidence that I could continue doing that.

The last option, the third one, well, that's pretty clear.

So I decided to do this.

I took my bag and ran,

"E-erm! Yeah--sorry!"

Saying that, I dashed out of the classroom.

As I had to pass by the back door that was closer, I ran by Nitadori.

"..."

I could see Nitadori seated on the chair, trying her best to stifle her laughter.

She appeared as though she was not involved in this.

"Sorry about what happened in the classroom! But I really was trying to hold back from laughing! I was holding it in! I did!"

"I see. But, the reason? Whose fault is this?"

"Yes! It's my fault, I'm sorry! Pfft! Wahahaha!"

And that was the conversation that started between Nitadori and me.

I guess Nitadori couldn't hold it in anymore as she laughed out loud. She really was enjoying herself.

It's a good thing there were few passengers from the station were just left from. Miss Kamishiro, seated to the right, remained silent. I decided to deem her as a Zashiki Warashi or something.

Leaving aside what we're discussing, she's able to not converse with me in formal language, and that's good. It's also a good thing that she's willing to smile. I don't want to talk about anything serious, on the train at least.

Even if we're not on the train, honestly, I don't have confidence in maintaining a conversation with Nitadori in 'Stella' mode--when she's using formal language. I think it's more precise if I say "I don't have confidence in conversing with Miss Stella Hamilton".

After laughing, Nitadori handed me the usual convenience store bag, saying,

"Ah, this is for you. Eat more and grow."

Stored inside are the usual, my favorite salted seaweed flavor.

"Thanks. I'm tucking in."

I said as I accepted it heartily.

"Maybe I won't be able to grow anymore, so have some, okay?"

I could at least joke around easily.

"Starting next week, I'm switching to Consomme."

Nitadori too was able to joke around easily.

I think it's a good thing.

I think it was very good.

There was no need for her to brood over me.

I was feeling hungry, and munched at the potato chips, before the train conductor came to check our tickets. This week, it's not the usual lady, but a young man I met for the first time.

The conductor finished, and went to the carraige behind.

I finished off the half-eaten chip, saying,

"Let's stop here. It's really nice."

"Huh? Aren't those potato chips 'salty' to begin with?" (TN: Actually it's supposed to be 嫌味, a few liberties taken on my part)

Nitadori made a rare, creative joke in Japanese (TN Snark: Too bad this guy here ruined it.)

"No no, 'salted seaweed flavor'. Thanks for the treat. I'll finish the rest later."

I rolled up the packet of chips, slipped it into the shopping bag, and drank some tea.

Then, I said,,

"Today, erm, 'that girl' really caused me trouble…"

I really was having trouble with her.

Tests finally ended, and I really wanted to motivate myself to write.

But after reaching home and sitting before the computer, I couldn't think of anything but this.

I kept thinking about this, from the way from home to the station, waiting at the station, but I couldn't think of a sure-fire way to settle this.

"It's pretty troublesome, isn't it? Ah, yes, I know I do share some responsibility."

Nitadori said in a half-joking manner.

"As for what happened later--"

She briefed me on what happened after I escaped.

First off, the girl who spoke to me was named Miss 'Hinata Satake'."

Speaking of which, I did remember a family name called 'Satake' mentioned in class. Whenever I hear this name, I'll wonder 'Is she from Akita'? The Satakes are Akita nobles after all.

She looks pretty ladylike, but she's very lively and bold in nature.

"Hm, I understand very well…"

Since she mentioned this to me out of a sudden, I guess that has to be it.

Miss Satake has outstanding athleticism, and it's said she really stands out during gym classes.

Nitadori had been skipping gym classes to prevent her wig from slipping off, and remained by the side. Thus, it seemed she had paid heed to this. She might have noticed the physical abilities of all the girls in the class.

According to her, Nitadori wasn't on good terms with Miss Satake.

I don't really understand which girls are on bad terms with Nitadori (I don't understand the world of girls. They might have some kind of intense fights behind our backs.) In other words, they're not the type of friends to sit together for lunch, or chat after class.

That's why Nitadori didn't know either.

"I never expected...that she was a loyal fan of 'Vice Versa'..."

Nitadori stared intently at the back of the chair before her, saying this with a miffed tone. I didn't know the reason at all.

I'm really grateful to have a loyal reader, so I'm really happy to be able to hear the thoughts of a classmate of the same age group (though a year younger than me).

Happy I was, this time however, I could not say so.

Also, Nitadori said--

That once I escaped, Miss Satake did not seem especially surprised.

"Ah, he ran away."

She muttered, looking a little happy..

Then for a moment, she exchanged looks with Nitadori, but neither of them said anything.

Miss Satake returned to her seat, picked up her bag, and heartily left the classroom.

"Soon after, assuming that Miss Satake learned that you're playing the role of Meek, she might feel really shocked. What will happened after that thought....?"

I muttered.

Anyway, once the anime airs, I'm not sure if her name will appear in the first episode, she's going to appear in the voice actors list on the credits.

The family name 'Nitadori' is rare. Furthermore, the full name is the same, and she has acting experience too. Looking at these points, Miss Satake will probably figure it out.

I bluntly stated what I thought, and Nitadori puffed her cheeks, yapping back,

"Please don't worry about that! Everything's fine on my end!"

She was miffed at me.

"I...see?"

I retorted without thinking,

"It's fine. Once the voice actor list is revealed, 'I'm actually acting as a voice actor. This time, I'm acting as a named character for the first time. I have an obligation not to reveal, but once it airs, I'm not limited to this. Everyone, please watch the anime 'Vice Versa'--I just need to say that without a second thought."

I see, so she's prepared for this.

"The problem is, if everyone knows of your real identity, sensei, it's not going to be that easy to deal with."

Again, she was miffed at me. Now that she mentioned it, that's true.

Eh?

But...we just talked about it. Wasn't Nitadori the cause of this?

I guess my stupid face had expressed my thoughts clearly.

"Yes! I'm sorry!"

She threw a tantrum, and apologized to me.

Well, leaving aside this skit-like conversation, Miss Satake is a huge problem.

I really don't want to think of someone, a fan of mine, who hasn't done anything bad, as a problem'--

But she is a problem, so I'm left with no choice.

"Got to think of a way to deal with this no matter what."

Nitadori too,

"Got to think of a way to deal with this no matter what."

Said this in unison.

During these ten seconds or so, we heard the train continue trudging on.

And then, she said,

"Sensei, have you thought of something?"

"I was thinking, but I couldn't…"

I might have succeeded in escaping today, but starting next week, I will have to face her every day. I can't escape unless I drop out or transfer out from school.

I guess that's why Miss Satake said "ah, he ran away", since she understood this well.

She said that without panicking, like a hunter knowing the drinking place of its prey.

"Hmmm…"

I looked up at the sky, the rack on the train carriage in fact, and muttered what I really thought,

"I can just tell Miss Satake the truth, and then say to her "that's how it is, so please keep it a secret." I guess this won't work though…"

Nitadori tersely asked,

"Do you think a girl's really able to keep a secret?"

Ugh, I felt a shiver down my spine.

"Erm...I guess not…"

Nitadori herself is a girl, but it's a matter about her career, so I don't think she's the type to blurt it out. For Miss Satake however, I couldn't be assured of that.

"Better not do that…"

After hearing that, Nitadori nodded sadly.

I gave my second idea.

"So--if I insist that 'it's my fanfiction', what do you think? She might go 'as a fellow fan, let's chat', but I'll try shaking her off by saying 'I don't like mingling around with others'..."

I was wondering if the 'second method' would have been effective. So I asked Nitadori

And she answered,

"Thank goodness you actually mentioned this instead of doing this…"

That's a pretty vague line from Nitadori,

"Sensei...you haven't realized this, have you?"

"Hmm?"

I turned to my right, towards Nitadori.

And found her seated there, giving a 'goodness gracious' face.

Did I make such a ridiculous mistake? Her face is basically saying 'I think it's fine to point that out, right? But I might have to wait for him to figure it out'.

Even this dull-witted me figured out that much.

That there was a fatal flaw in the 'second option.

What is that? I racked my brains. After about ten seconds,

"--Ah!"

I finally figured it out.

I never thought of this in the classroom. If Nitadori hasn't showed a 'grimace', I would have lived a peaceful life until the 'moment' came.

With what might be a terrible look on my face, I weakly answered,

"No...even if I insist on it being a 'fanfiction'...the lie can only last until September 10th…"

"Right."

Nitadori showed a slight smile, nodding,

Her face was basically saying 'ah, thank goodness this guy next to me isn't a complete idiot'.

What I recited hinted that Meek might revive, and it was planned to be in the 11th volume.

Though the messy parts have to be edited, the plot will surely remain the same. Miss Satake will definitely read the 11th volume and recall this.

Once it's discovered that the plot is the same, anyone will realize that it's not just some fanfiction.

"Good thing I didn't say that in class…"

I really felt a chill inside my heart.

If I had said it back then, the result would have been far worse than 'since we're fellow fans, let's get along'.

I took a sip of tea to calm myself down, and said while basically asking myself,

"So, I can only insist 'that's a document that was uploaded onto the internet', I guess…?"

Since that part is going to be published anyway, I can only insist 'that's a part the author wrote'. In September, the facts will still match up.

Nitadori thought for about three seconds, saying with a serious tone, along with the feminine terms she rarely used,

"While I do firmly believe this is better than the previous suggestion, if she is to pursue the matter regarding those facts, how long can you keep it a secret?"

So I thought about it, and figured it was as Nitadori has said. Anyone can figure out the truth after some investigations.

In modern society, it's easy to find information through the internet.

All she needs to so is to check on the message boards or the question and answer pages.

And she'll figure out that 'in fact, Vice Versa isn't a web novel'.

The internet users will question her,

"Who's the one spreading these rumors?"

Yes, it's the author. I'm not joking.

"I guess not...this can't last till September."

I said, and then I realized that reciting that part in class was a terrible decision.

But I had a change of thought. If I hadn't done so, things might have gotten worse.

If I had said 'that's a doujinshi', the outcome might be different, I guess? No, seems like it'll be the same.

I believe that the decision wasn't a mistake. All that's left is to settle this problem created by this chain of events.

"Alright."

After hearing me out, Nitadori probably sensed that I had a good idea, and turned her bespectacled stare towards me.

I looked towards the brown irises beneath the light green glasses, answering,

"Let's keep running."

"What?"

"Starting now, if Miss Satake is to ask me anything, I'll keep running. I'll leave my seat immediately after class and head home immediately. Our duty roster grouping is also different, so there's no problem here!"

"..."

Nitadori remained silent.

'Is this guy really okay?' That's the face she's showing me now, I guess.

But since I can't think of any other way out, this has to be the best way out, right?

"Well, if you say so, sensei…"

See? Nitadori agreed,

"It's fine. Nobody in class will talk to me, so even if I keep running, it's fine isn't it?"

I never expected this tragic reality of mine to be so useful here. I sense this 'ordinary high school boy' tag here is becoming distant from me again.

"Well, if you say so, sensei…"

With an inexplicable look of complicated feelings, Nitadori muttered again.

I made my conclusion, decided to keep 'running away', and assumed this case closed for now.

So I kept drinking tea as I looked out of the window.

Under the blue sunny sky, the train continued to stop at the stations and race off over and over again. I could see a dazzling green amidst the mountains outside the window.

I closed the PET bottle, and looked forward, before sensing a stare.

"..."

Nitadori was staring at me with a silent, stiff face.

"..."

I too peered back at her light green rimmed glasses, white nose, cheeks to her side. I was scared of staring into her eyes directly.

I was thinking that if I kept this up, she would say something, so I waited,

"..."

But Nitadori did not say anything.

Finally, I noticed that she might not be looking at me, but at the scenery outside, so I turned my eyes towards the window again.

The train then entered the tunnel, and this time, my eyes met Nitadori's, whose eyes were reflected on the window.

Again I turned around--

"What is it?"

I asked her as I turned around. I didn't know why she was so stunned, and I couldn't calm down no matter what

"Ah! That…!"

Nitadori nodded away with a serious look as she voiced out. Even in the tunnel, her voice was loud, so I guess she was pretty loud.

"Yeah?"

I knew Nitadori was trying to ask me something. As for what it was, I could only wait for her to continue.

Within my vision was Nitadori frowning nervously, and Miss Kamishiro's face beyond that

"..."

Miss Kamishiro glanced aside at me silently. Less than a second later, she turned her face aside, and looked forward, 'none of my business' so she seemed to be implying.

The train left the tunnel, and the carriage got bright.

The light shone upon Nitadori's face. It's a little early for sunset, but the sunlight was a lot less harsh than it was at noon.

While Nitadori's personality probably wouldn't change because of this, to me, she had 'become a different person'.

"Sensei…"

Nitadori slowly moved her stiff face.

I couldn't predict what she would say next, and to be honest, I was really scared. What if she's to say something hurtful? What shall I do?

I inadvertently braced myself.

"Please tell me how to contact you!"

What Nitadori said however was something so trivial.

"What? --Contact, as in, cellphone number, or email address, right?"

I asked, my mood dampened.

"Y-yes--o-of course."

Nitadori stammered her affirmation.

"What, that's it…?"

I was worried she would say something, but once she actually spoke up, I found it wasn't anything. As for why Nitadori was asking in that manner, it remains a mystery to me.

But even so, it's pointless for me to ask her, so I took out my smartphone, and said to Nitadori, whose face remained stiff,

"Got it. Contact, including phone number, mail address, and email. I'll tell you everything."

So we exchanged contact info, our phone numbers in fact--

Thinking hard about it, I should have done so a long time ago.

If we had our contacts two weeks ago, I could have contacted her easily after I got strangled. I didn't know what to say, but at the very least, I could have told her 'Don't mind'.

In any case, I regretted not doing so in the beginning.

This time, I got her contact, I felt relieved. Ah, basically, I probably won't get choked by Nitadori again.

So while we're exchanging contacts, Miss Kamishiro looked over at us from time to time, but never said anything.

I had to switch the input manner to 'reading' mode, and had the smartphone store some data.

But at this moment, I was wondering if I should classify her as a 'work acquaintance' like the others, or to classify her as a 'friend'.

I know it's impossible for me to classify her as 'family', which contains only mom.

Where do I put her? I kept looking down, and found NItadori typing something at a startling speed, but I shouldn't be peeking.

She's a colleague, but a friend? No, isn't this kind of vague? Won't it be arrogant of me to classify a classmate I know at work as a 'friend'?

So--

Without the person next to me noticing, I grouped her name under 'friends'.

She's the first person in that group.

To conceal this fact, I slipped the smartphone into my pocket, but it vibrated a few times.

"Woah!"

I squealed in surprise, and realized it was vibrating due to the new notification.

It might be a message from the editor at the office. He did mention that he would contact me after the Mid-Terms were over.

I took out the smartphone I had just kept, and looked at the screen.

Who would appear on the screen?

'Sender: Eri Nitadori'

'Title: Received'.

It was a confirmation message from NItadori, nothing much.

The signals released several centimeters to the right would reach the relay station, pass through the internet, back to the relay station, and into my phone. That's a long detour.

The content was,

'Please continue to take care of me'.

Concise and positive. To me now, it's something that left me most pleased.

I looked at the sender, and saw the person to my right holding her cellphone. This horse sashimi-loving bespectacled girl was smiling.

"Your reply?"

She suddenly made this request.

It was the first time in my life that someone asked for a reply.

'I haven't sent a message to my friend'. Did she figure that out?

Was she probing me? Or training me?

If I send the wrong reply, will she start nitpicking at my habit?

"What this this? I guess we don't need to contact each other! Thinking about it, there's nothing to contact each other about, right?"

Would she say such a thing--

"Delete…"

And delete the data before me?

She might delete the data, and even the address.

"..."

While I was left in the lurch with regards to this sudden test, the smartphone in my hand suddenly vibrated.

This time, the shock was much bigger than before. That device, the smartphone I was used to, nearly slipped out of my hands,

Time's up baby!' I thought it would be a message from Nitadori, something like that--

Only to find that Nitadori too was taken aback by my squeal. The phone in my hand was vibrating in a different manner, and I understood that it was a call.

On this Earth, there's only two people who would call me. Ever since I received this device, there were only two numbers on my call logs, wrong numbers aside.

Mom should be sleeping now, so there's only one possibility left.

Looking at the screen, I saw that it was from 'AMW editorial branch'. AMW refers to ASCII Media Works.

Tests were over, so naturally, the editor-in-charge contacted me. If he's not sending a message, that means that I have to answer something.

I had to pick up the call, but I could not speak while seated. It's rude to talk on the phone while in the train. For the Limited Express, it's common courtesy to speak on the aisle linking the carriages.

"Sorry, the editorial branch called."

I said, and Nitadori quickly got up to leave her seat quietly.

"Huh? Is it fine to talk here?"

Luckily, she's not the type to say that sort of thing here.

"Thank you."

I thanked her as I passed by her.

I had to reply Nitadori's message once I was done with my call and returned to my seat, but I had to hold this meeting with the editor.

I passed through the automatic door, and approached the place where I was strangled two weeks ago.

And picked up the phone at this place, the place where the human silhouette might have been marked out with chalk.

The call was regarding a request.

Luckily, the editorial branch had decided on a 'Vice Versa' audio drama in the 'Dengeki Bunko Magazine' that was to be published in August.

The editorial branch wanted to publish an interview involving the anime director and me, and needed my agreement. Of course, the interview would not reveal my identity, and I didn't need to show myself.

I never had an interview, but I had seen the interviews from other Dengeki Bunko authors. I felt that as long as I remained cautious in my answers, I could hide the fact that I was young, so I agreed.

The editor-in-charge apologized for this sudden request, but to go along with the director's schedule, once the After Record tomorrow's done, the plan is to hold it in the cafe at the studio. I agreed to that then.

There were few tunnels on this route, so I used this opportunity to discuss about 'Vice Versa' with the editor.

The conversation included the following, that the subplot regarding Meek still had to be edited, so when would the discussions be done? Would the guest characters be done by the illustrator, like usual? And also, what about the eBooks that haven't been published.

'Dengeki Bunko Magazine' has an electronic edition, so the editorial branch had discussed the possibility of releasing a very short chapter there. All that was needed were a few pages, and since there were many days until the deadline, I accepted this job.

Also, we had a chat about a new series. 'Vice Versa' isn't over, but the editor wanted to push out a new series before it ended, so he hoped I would prioritize this.

The editor's thoughts was basically, don't wait until this series is over before releasing the new work, but to start work on the new series before I'm done, and have me work on both series concurrently. I agreed with this strategy, so I decided to start thinking of new ideas on how to begin this.

So we kept chatting on the phone, and I found that I spoke for almost 20 minutes.

I took a detour to the washroom, and this time, before leaving, I took notice if there was anyone suddenly crashing into me.

"Ah."

And then, I recalled the assignment from Nitadori. I had to respond to her.

I returned to my seat, and wondered how I should respond to this person next to me. It's really too difficult. I decided to think of what to write, send it, before returning to my seat.

I took out my smartphone again, opened the message screen, and pondered over how to reply to this 'please take care of me'.

I couldn't think of how to respond, and after three minutes, I gave up,

'Same here. Please take care of me'.

I mistyped three times before entering this vanilla response.

"And same here, same here. I have something to ask of you. Please take care of me." At that moment, I thought using a haiku format would be interesting, but I gave up on that. I really wanted to praise myself.

But even so, 'is this really fine?' I was wondering as I twice hesitated before the send button, and before I knew it, another three minutes passed, so I pressed it.

The moment I did so, the train entered the tunnel, causing an error in transmission.

I stood before the automatic door.

I thought to myself that I had to let Nitadori leave her seat as I passed through the opened door, and entered.

"Ah…"

But Nitadori was not at the seat by the aisle.

She was seated by the windowside, the seat I was at. She, who had her long hair draped before her chest, was seated there.

"..."

She leaned her body towards the left windowsill, her eyes closed. I didn't check, but she's probably sleeping.

I realized that Miss Kamishiro behind me had stood up. The latter whispered to me.

"Because you took too much time on the phone."

I whispered back,

"My apologies. I shall seat on the aisle seat."

"If you are willing, you can seat next to me. As you had recommended, the scene here is great."

"No-no need for that."

"Oh? Why?"

"If there are any other passengers--if Nitadori wakes up to see an unfamiliar person next to her, she'll probably be shocked."

"So I'll go sit there instead?"

Miss Kamishiro proposed.

"...No need."

I pondered, and rejected it.

"Oh? Why?"

"I think that if Nitadori wakes up, it'll be weirder for her."

"..."

Without saying a word, Miss Kamishiro returned to that seat.

Trying to be quiet and not shake the seat, I approached that aisle seat, Nitadori's usual place.

I looked left towards her, who was usually on my right. It was a refreshing feeling.

Then, I saw something in her right hand, as she was obviously sleeping.

"..."

Her smartphone.

Now, the failed transmission should be able to be delivered.

"..."

I stared at the screen for ten seconds, did not send, switched off the screen, and slipped the smartphone into my pocket.

And then, I leaned towards the back rest, lowered my head, and closed my eyes.

And then, Miss Kamishiro shook my shoulders.

I had just fallen asleep, only to be woken up again. I was wondering if something bad had happened--

Looking outside the window I was taken aback. The sky was dark, and the scenery was filled with streets of the city. The train was approaching the terminal.

I was in a deep sleep. Time really passed quickly.

I slowly gazed to my left, and saw that the one there was still sleeping soundly.

To avoid waking her up, I silently removed my backpack from the rack, and nodded towards Miss Kamishiro. She too nodded back to me in appreciation.

I stood with the other passengers at the door, waiting for the train to arrive. I flipped out the smartphone, and edited the message.

I stepped onto the platform--

"Eh."

And I sent the message.

### 005. Chapter 2-2 - May 29, I obtained his contact number

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently strangling my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

Sensei's face is right beneath mine.

He's showing a peaceful, relaxed look.

I don't understand why.

How do I look in sensei's eyes?

Surely, I guessed.

I was showing a panicked look.

It happened on May 29th.

This isn't really a joke.

To be honest, it's a crisis.

In this crisis, sensei's identity might be revealed, and I might end up not being the only one who knows sensei's secret.

I had an ominous feeling when Miss Satake spoke to sensei, no, walked over to talk to him.

And that premonition actually came true.

Surely it was because of me that sensei would read the edited part of 'Vice Versa', since I did such a thing.

So I caused a crisis for sensei.

"I'm! Actually, I'm a big, big, big fan of 'Vice Versa'! I read them all! I really am looking forward to the anime that's about to start in July! Erm...if it's convenient...can i chat with you as a fellow fan of "Vice Versa'? How about the school canteen? Actually...I was considering chatting with you once the tests ended!"

After hearing Miss Satake's words, I--

Intended to stand up.

I wanted to stand up, grab sensei, and drag him out of the classroom before she said anything bad.

But I couldn't.

I couldn't do it, and I didn't have the right to do it.

Thus, all I could do was to act indifferent to whatever sensei did, slip my textbooks into the bag, and watch over him.

What would sensei do?

Would he reveal the truth?

Or would he try to fool his way out with words, like in the infirmary?

Or--

I had these thoughts, and saw sensei dart out.

"Alright!"

I nearly called out. Good thing I held it in.

I didn't know where did sensei's agility come from?

I was curious as to what Miss Satake would show on her face after being left behind?

Of course, I too felt that she was pitiful.

Miss Satake and I love 'Vice Versa'.

But I can't say the truth.

No, I won't.

In this world, I love 'Vice Versa' more than anyone else.

Miss Satake didn't seem dejected at all. For a moment, our eyes met.

"Ah, he got away."

And then, after muttering these words, probably directed towards me, she returned to her seat, picked up her bag, and left the classroom.

After that, I spent more than ten minutes at my seat.

After returning home, and until departure, I kept wondering about the problem caused by Miss Satake.

I don't want to think of my classmate as a 'problem'--

No, this is a problem.

A huge problem.

I--

Don't want sensei to be taken by Miss Satake.

That day, on the train, I raised this incident.

I 'pretended' to be happy, so that sensei wouldn't realize how dire the situation is, but deep inside, I'm very uneasy.

What I'm most scared of is sensei saying,

"Let's tell MIss Satake the truth, and have her keep this secret. She's a fan, and will probably do so. Let's have this as a secret between the three of us."

Appearance-wise, I feel that Miss Satake's pretty unpretentious.

As long as sensei tells her the reasons and have her 'to keep the secret no matter what'.

She'll probably keep this a secret until graduation.

But with that, the number of people knowing sensei's secret will surely increase.

She'll definitely keep talking to sensei in class.

It's one thing if they're guys though.

So I quickly rejected sensei's ideas.

I lied, showcasing some really terrible acting.

I had become capable of saying such lies so nonchalantly.

And after that, sensei came up with a stupid idea.

He thought of the most conservative method, to 'keep on avoiding Miss Satake'.

For me, this is the best option.

The problem here however is, how long can he keep running.

At the very least--

I hope sensei can keep running away until I'm able to apologize and ask for the truth.

So i think I won't run away, that I'll face it head on.

But even so, I can't just ask on the train,

"Why aren't you mad even though you nearly got choked by me?"

So I decided to summon my courage, do something I never did.

So--

I got sensei's number and mail address.

I felt that I had succeeded, improved.

I sent a greeting to sensei, trying to probe into how he would respond. No matter the reply, I would keep it for eternity.

But sensei had to leave his seat immediately, as he received a call from the editorial branch.

I felt that if I had asked this on May 8th, things would not have been so troublesome, but I sensed that even if it's a small step, I am progressing. So i thought as I suddenly had an urge to sleep.

Like last week, I realized this week that once my tension eased, I really felt the urge to sleep.

"Milady--"

Miss Akane quickly leaned her face over.

"It seems sensei will be taking a long time, so why don't you head over to the windowside seat?'

I was probably taken aback.

"You worked hard today, and I think you can sleep. That should be a lot better than 'wanting to force yourself to talk, and making the situation awkward'."

With her usual pretty, piercing look, Miss Akane said so,

I felt relieved inside, sensing that she really understood me.

I did not remember if I had dreamed.

Miss Akane pinched my cheek to wake me up, and the train parked at the terminal platform .

The smartphone in my hand vibrated.

"Ah!"

With the fastest speed I ever attained in my life, I looked towards the screen.

"Same here. Please take care of me. If there is anything, please contact me! Do your best for the After Record tomorrow! I'm looking forward to it!)

I stared at the little screen for several seconds.

"Now then, shall we get off the train?"

Miss Akane said gently.

### 006. Chapter 3-1 - June 5, I talked to Nitadori at school

I'm a high school boy and a bestselling light novel author, strangled by my classmate who is my underclassman and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

I know Nitadori's looking confused, but I don't know how i look in her eyes.

It's just my guess--

But I'm definitely--

Showing a peaceful look.

Showing a blissful look.

Showing a look she had never seen before.

June 5th.

A change of months, it's now Summer.

The temperature before had been hot, but I guess Summer's able to interpret the lunar calendar, and it's Minazuki now (TN: The month of no water, 水無月, if taken literally, even though it does rain in June)

The winds were strong, and as I stood on the platform, waiting leisurely, it felt comfy.

I got onto the train, and felt the air conditioning to be too strong.

The temperature was terribly cold, and I had a thin jumper over my long sleeved shirt. I'm scared of the cold, and a coat is something I will always heave.

It's a change of seasons at school, and the students are dressed in summer attire.

It's my first time wearing the summer uniform. I feel that the bright school crest on the left chest on the shirt is really cool. Private High schools are interesting in this sense.

I guess it's to be expected of a Private High School. There is air conditioning inside the classroom.

Once the air conditioning starts, I'll probably be so cold that I want a coat. Maybe I should be wearing the winter uniform instead? Or maybe something else?

Shall I buy a summer sweater or a cardigan?

I know the school doesn't have any regulations on the type of coat to wear, and students can wear whatever they like. If sweaters and the like are allowed, I'll be happy.

While I was thinking about that, the train departed on time.

I had a look at the watch, and saw that it was an additional seven seconds beyond the given time of departure.

My prefered watch is a radio watch I bought 'to commemorate the sale of 'Vice Versa', and it would show nary a second of error. Again, I thoroughly understood how Japan's train schedule is the most outstanding in the world.

On the other hand, Nitadori (and Miss Kamishiro) would arrive next to me at different timings. Sometimes, it would be three minutes, and sometimes, five.

So I sat at my usual seat, and tilted my chair back, leaning heavily into it, waiting peaceful.

"Hello...sensei…"

A minute after departure, or to be precise, fifty seven seconds.

Nitadori came towards me along with Miss Kamishiro.

She's not as lively as usual, her head's slightly lowered, showing a stiffened expression. She did not have her long hair tidied up as she sat next to me.

"Ah!"

Then, she hastily held down the wig that was pulled down by something, and lifted her buttocks. Again, she tied her wig into a bundle, and draped it before her, sighing against, before sitting down.

"Eh…"

There's a reason why Nitadori was feeling so suspicious, so anxious, and probably so furious.

I was apologetic, as it was because of me.

Just a few hours ago.

To handle a predicament back the, I made a strange lie in school.

"Nitadori's my girlfriend."

I made this ridiculous lie.

On the previous week--

May 30th, the After Record for the ninth episode of 'Vice Versa' ended successfully.

After that, I had an interview with the director in the cafe of the recording studio.

It's the first interview for me, but the interviewer would handle the rest, so all I needed to do was to answer cautiously.

I had met the director many times, from the script meetings, the venue visits, to the weekly After Records. I felt that I was able to communicate with him without tension, and state my own thoughts.

When the director praised the story for being amusing, I was really embarrassed.

The interviewer would vet through the answers, so once there are claims 'that cannot be published', they can be edited later. I intended to vet through them, and ensure nothing was lost.

Just last week, Nitadori and I exchanged contacts on this train, but that was the only time we exchanged texts.

I did not know what to write to her, and all I was thinking was 'if she sends something over, let's answer her'. But she never did. Since there's nothing urgent, I thought it was fine.

From Monday, June 2nd, to Wednesday, the mid-Terms were returned to us. After a year, I finally obtained my own results.

The results could be classified in two categories 'a lot better than I thought' and 'a little bad'. The former two were English and language, while the latter was maths. PE wise, my grades aren't good.

But even so, overall, my grades aren't bad for a first mid-Terms, so as I heaved a sigh of relief, I told myself to do my best for the end of terms.

But before then, I wanted to motivate myself into writing the continuation of 'Vice Versa', and I wanted to participate in the After Records of the anime.

What was most worrying to me last weekend, my classmate Miss Satake--

In fact, starting this week, until Wednesday, I had no issues at all.

I stopped arriving at school early like before, and learned how to enter the classroom right before homeroom period. It's just a five minute walk from home to school, so I could easily adjust my time.

If I arrived at school a little early, I would just wait in the place Miss Satake could never enter--the men's toilet.

The toilet's very close to my classroom, and it helped me out. Once I saw the homeroom teacher approaching, I would follow.

And after class, I would immediately slip out of the classroom like usual.

My seat's pretty close to the back door, and it's simple. Miss Satake's seat is at the front left, second column from the window, far from me, so I was able to escape before getting caught.

Before every period, I would slip out to the toilet to kill time. When changing classrooms, I would always be the last to arrive.

Miss Satake did not do anything to try to catch up to me.

I didn't know if she knew I would have my lunch at the school cafeteria, but at the very least, she never showed up there.

I was wondering what would I do if she was to issue a challenge letter into my desk drawer

'I'll be waiting for you behind the gym! Don't run away, come! If not--'

That didn't happen though.

I spent the entire previous week worrying about that, but she wasn't causing any problems.

Until the third period ended on this day, I was feeling relaxed. That's a dampener.

The fourth period was self-study period.

Once the period started, the homeroom teacher came to explain the reason, but I could not remember.

Miss Satake might come to talk during self-study period, so I intended to slip out of the boys' toilet, towards the library, wait for the cafeteria to open, and slip out.

"Oh--"

Right when the homeroom teacher was about to leave the classroom, he stopped with his hand on the half-opened door, wanting to request for something, and said to us,

"I need three people, at least two, to help out Endou-sensei. Making pamphlets."

Endou-sensei's the humanities teacher in his mid-thirties. We did attend his world history lessons.

He's short, so delicately thin. His face is thin, and has large eyes.

He's always in a grey suit, so the petty students gave him the rude nickname 'lil Grayman', and treated him like a aliens.

I would hear the nearby seniors and juniors chat about this in the cafeteria. Naturally, they would not say this right to his face.

I was thinking that Endou-sensei wasn't really popular with the students. I had yet to see him chatting with the students on the corridor or in the classroom.

In class, his teaching methods are detailed, and though not erroneous in any ways, to put it bluntly, he was monotonous.

Subjectively, this brash me would feel that such teachers would be most difficult to implement as characters when writing in school.

Having the students help out means that we're probably asked to 'fold some school activity documents into pamphlets, and stick something between them, before fastening them with staples', or something like that.

I did that once in school. As I was helping out during class, there were no rewards.

Do I do some self-study (to a limited extent) in the noisy classroom? Or to help out the teacher who probably wouldn't be too enthused when talking.

If anyone's to ask me what I would choose, I felt that there's no need to worry about it.

But as there's definitely no one who would volunteer, I was guessing the teacher would just nominate a few people.

While I was guessing that the two or three unfortunate folks would be lamenting their misfortune, I started to lower my head, hoping that I wouldn't be chosen--

"Sensei! I want to help! Along with--!"

I heard a lively girl say this, and was taken aback. Everyone else in class must be the same. There was some buzzing.

So who's this anomaly? It's a familiar voice, yet a voice I didn't think I had heard before.

There were only two seconds or so for me to lower my head to ponder.

The speaker then mentioned my name, and added a '-san' suffix.

"Both of us want to help."

Wait.

No, wait.

Wait a sec.

Once the plot turned out this way, even this dull-witted me realized who it was without looking up.

Miss Satake.

Brilliant tactic. I've been had.

While our classmates were buzzing in confusion, Miss Satake continued,

"I do think it's fine to offer myself for this troublesome work once in a while. But it's bad to involve my friends. Sorry, but I'll have the eldest in the class help me out! Seniority rules!"

So that's how it is. Everyone else in class agreed. No, I don't want you to agree.

I didn't know what sort of face I showed when I lifted my head.

"..."

I took a deep breath, but I couldn't say anything. I had no clear reason to object.

I couldn't just say that "I want to avoid Miss Satake as much as possible, since I don't want my own lie to be seen through."

If I objected while looking flustered, I would just leave a timid, embarrassing impression.

"I see. I'll leave it to both of you then. At the AV room."

The homeroom teacher said,

"As for the third--"

Even without saying anything, I understood.

He probably assumed it's fine if there's no third person. Looking at things, I would end up helping Miss Satake.

Save me.

Somebody save me.

Anybody, please.

And that person was right behind me.

"Sensei, I'm going too."

Nitadori became my hero.

She suddenly pulled her chair back, stood up, and said with a loud, clear voice.

Miss Satake, approaching me from her seat, showed a surprised look at this sudden contestant. Everyone in class is looking confused again, basically saying, 'what is Nitadori trying to do'?

I heard an answer behind my head.

"I--hardly participate in gym classes, so I should help out this much, at least."

While I felt this wasn't much of a reason, there wasn't much buzzing in class. I think what they were concerned about was that three people were chosen, and they could relax.

"Right, understood. Let's go then, both of you."

Miss Satake herself doesn't seem to mind the troublemaker Nitadori.

While Nitadori's assistance relieved me, I really wanted to run away.

Anywhere could do, whether it's the infirmary, or any other country.

If I had a smoke or flash grenade on hand to block out everyone's eyes, I would have used it. Just for this moment. If not now, then when?

But I never brought such a thing to school, and I never had it at home.

I slowly trudged out of my seat, moving like a walking dead.

The school campus was quiet, probably because the other classes were having lessons.

"Hehehe...I can say whatever I want next! No need to rush!"

That's probably what she thought, I felt. The prey was caught, unable to escape.

Miss Satake was right at the front, and Nitadori was right behind. I wanted to run away, but I ended up about 3 meters behind Nitadori.

Miss Satake tapped at the AV room door.

"Oh, come in."

The person inside answered. For a man, his voice was rather high pitched. No doubt it's Endou-sensei's voice.

Miss Satake and Nitadori entered, and I closed the door behind me, entering the room.

Like usual, Endou-sensei's dressed in a grey suit.

There's a long table in the AV room. There were four piles of printed documents at the table closest to the window, along with a stapling machine.

Looking at us, Endou-sensei did not really react much,

"Oh, the three of you. Satake, Nitadori, and--"

The teacher then mentioned my name.

He did not have a namelist or something on hand. Did he remember all the students he taught? If he did, that's some impressive memory.

"So, line up in a room. Two people by the window. Basically, fold the paper neatly and pile them up. The last one will handle the stapling. If you're tired, swap over."

The instructions given were easy to understand too.

But even so, what do I do? What shall I do?

While I was feeling flustered, Nitadori quickly went to the edge of the table, and sat at the pile of documents. Through the glasses, she gave me a look.

I barely understood her intentions,a dns trode from the window to the table. Nitadori inched in, opening a space for me, so I was able to seat the edge.

Miss Satake was the last to move, and went to the other seat without a word, next to Nitadori.

"Alright, let's get to work. It's fine if you can't finish before classes are over. When you're done early, you can go to eat earlier. Looking at things though, it's probably impossible."

Endou-sensei stared at the stapler machine in his hands, and as he said, there were lots of time, so it seemed we couldn't finish all the work within the fourth period. Over the next forty five minutes, I wouldn't be able to escape from Miss Satake .

So what do I do?

What would happen?

Feeling anxious, Nitadori started picking up the documents, changed the layout, and quickly began to fold.

"Let's work hard and do our best."

As to be expected of Nitadori!

This tactic's basically meant to prevent Miss Satake from talking to me.

I was increasingly unsure of how to thank Nitadori. I might even erect a 'Eri Nitadori shrine' and pray towards it every day.

"Ah, it's fine. You can chat leisurely and work."

And breaking up Nitadori's hard work is Endou-sensei. This guy.

For a moment, I saw Nitadori stop her working hands.

I had all sort of thoughts, but I had to do something. I took a piece of paper from the pile before me.

It's a promotional pamphlet for the first years, regarding the extra-curricular activities. It's an event held by the school to allow the freshmen to build camaraderie. As for why this work is given to Endou-sensei, it's still a mystery.

Nitadori continued to fold the documents neatly, and said calmly,

"But to be honest, I don't know what to say...I don't really talk to me. Isn't it better for everyone to finish work quickly?"

She's basically saying "To be honest, I don't want to chat with you people."

Of course, she's casting the 'Time to Play' spell--at the very least, I thought she was acting. That arrogant tone was rather impressive.

And then, Miss Satake,

"Woah, this person here is annoying. If she doesn't want to talk, then fine."

If she had said something like that, that would be fine (though I'm sorry that it would affect Nitadori's reputation). Unfortunately, she's not that kind of person.

"I'll get the ball rolling with my favorite novel."

Woah!

No matter how stupid I am, even I knew what that meant.

Endou-sensei, who had been working at the stapling machine in a rhythmic manner, gave an unexpectedly large reaction to this topic,

"Eh, you are reading novels, Satake?"

But given the the impression I had of Endou-sensei, it might not be weird to say he loves to read.

I earnestly hoped that both of them would discuss about the Shirakabaha or Dostoyevsky, but of course, things won't go as planned.

"Yeah, I've been reading light novels!"

Ah, the topic's starting to creep towards the fortress called 'Vice Versa'. She's flooding the moats, and the fortress will fall.

I kept moving my arms, wondering what would happen if I were to jump out of this window within inches of me. Just to note, it's the fourth floor.

At this point, I wanted to jump off the building to kill myself.

And so, I guessed Endou-sensei probably never read light novels.

"Oh, then which light novels do you recommend nowadays?"

Those words had me realize that I was wrong.

"Eh, sensei, you understand what I'm saying?"

"Well that's fine. Anyway, what do you say?"

"Basically, I like lots of works. For Dengeki I have purchased every volume of 'DuRaRaRa!' and 'Sword Art Online', but right now, what I most recommend is--"

Ahh goodness sake, I know the answer.

"'Vice Versa'!"

I guessed so.

From an author's standpoint, I'm really happy. Personally however, I couldn't be happy.

I accidentally folded the document awkward, and opened it again to fold.

And next to me, Nitadori turned into a 'high speed folding machine', giving a blank look as she repeated her actions.

Surely she was folding them to a precision of millimeters.

So does Endou-sensei know of 'Vice Versa'? Curious about the answer, all I suddenly heard was--

"Oh, that one's interesting."

Woah.

"Let's start talking. Now that you mention it, do you read light novels too, sensei?"

"I've been doing so before you were born. To me, it's no different from an ordinary novel."

"I never expected that!"

If it's Dengeki, I knew of it since it was started in 1993. I did use whatever little pocket change I had."

" I never expected that! You started reading since the last century!"

"Hm, Dengeki's prime has been a few years. You mean last century! Goodness, now you are treating me as an elderly!"

"Well you are twice my age, so you can be considered elderly now."

"One day all of you will be treated as elderly, so prepare yourself."

"Leaving that aside, I never knew you're a light novel reader!"

"I never mentioned this to anyone else before. Just to note, I do like anime and manga too. I never mentioned this either."

"Now that's unexpected. Then! I think you can be a adviser to the manga club or anime club."

"Satake, I don't know if you know, but there are no such clubs at school."

"If not, let's create one! Here's where the story starts. Chapter one."

"That's something students will have to do. There's no such plot in a light novel where a 'teacher wants to be an advisor and assembles five members'."

"No, I think it'll be creative! Popular even!"

Miss Satake continued to prattle off with Endou-sensei in a rhythmic manner, so I prayed to God that they would continue in that manner. Even though I'm an atheist.

But even though, Endou-sensei's interests are pretty surprising. I do feel that if students know about this, their opinions of him might change slightly.

During this time, none of us stopped as we kept on working.

After a quiet few seconds, Endou-sensei said,

"So, about 'Vice Versa'."

It seemed he wanted to continue discussing light novels. If only he could discuss other works instead.

I pretended not to be interested as I kept on working, and Nitadori's probably the same. Actually, both of us were concentrating our ears, scared of missing out any words.

"I think it's the most interesting work amongst the newcomers recently. It's no wonder there's an anime adaptation so soon."

Great!

I prevented myself from jumping. Nitadori folded the documents awkwardly, and folded them again.

Endou-sensei kept stapling at two points, and I glanced aside at him.

The short-haired girl then looked towards me.

"..."

I hastily looked aside.

Was she planning to say something at this point? Did Miss Satake intend to mention the passage I recited? I thought Endou-sensei didn't know about that?

Was Miss Satake intending to mention that and corner me into despair,

While I was counting all the debts I owed,

"So what do you like about the story, sensei?"

Miss Satake did not direct the topic towards me.

"I see--"

Endou-sensei said with his usual serious look,

"Probably the cliches."

So I started listening to the conversation between the people praising my work.

"'Vice Versa' is pretty old school, too cliche even. One might say it's a mashup of cliches. The story hasn't deviated from the kingship, and there isn't anything unique about the characters. It incorporates a large number of plots and backgrounds from other works."

"Of course. It's a 'Super Episode Faceoff'."

"I think that when writing such a cliche story, there has to be some form of determination. That's why I think the author did good here."

"I get it, I get it. 'Pluto's a girl dressed as a man. In the final battle, Shin used too much force and rubbed her breasts, winning as a result'. Now that was a typical plot that moved me."

"Hm, that cliche's great."

"The setup to move between Reputation and Japan is interesting too, right?"

"That kind of setup allows for both serious and comedic moments. It's rather bare bones, but I think it's a good idea."

"Yeah. I think if the story only shows one side, it wouldn't be so popular."

"I guess so. The author's pretty smart."

"Definitely an intelligent one."

"You can say so."

What's with this humiliation play?

Or an interrogation?

Or praise?

I was feeling chilly on my back, sweat's trickling down before I knew it.

And so, for a while, Nitadori had been making errors in her folding.

This intricate machine had malfunctioned.

"Want to swap over?"

Endou-sensei asked. It seemed he did not forget his work.

"Ah, I'm fine."

Miss Satake said,

"Same here."

Nitadori too said, and I wordlessly agreed.

"So--about 'Vice Versa'."

So he intended to continue chatting.

Enough already!

Let's chat about the weather tomorrow! It'll probably be sunny!

Maybe we can chat about what kind of meat we can put in curry! I like boneless chicken with skin! What about everyone!

I tried to release a telepathic ability limiter hidden within me--but it's useless. I don't have it.

"I think the author should be pretty young."

Endou-sensei suddenly began his analysis.

"While his personal particulars aren't revealed, I don't think the author's a female as rumored on the internet, but a male instead. Very young even...probably at college age instead."

I was taken aback.

"Eh, why do you think so?"

"I made this guess after reading the work, and looking at the nuances and plots. I did say that the author's able to write a huge mashup of cliches, and I feel it's because the author doesn't have a strong personality, or what I might say, the author lacks the 'I'm writing this sort of story no matter what!' attitude."

Eh! Really?

"Eh! Really?"

Miss Satake's opinion resonated with mine. Endou-sensei continued with his exhilarating analysis.

"I think this work, 'Vice Versa', is a novel written after the author 'analyzed, dismantled and rebuilt' the novels he liked. Thus, I feel that since the author's young and unassuming, he's able to write this work unpretentiously. One good thing about this is that the author never tried to clumsily insert his own personality and make the story awkward.

"'Analyzed, dismantled and rebuilt'. That's familiar."

"Yes, these are the basic three steps in writing."

I agree completely with the teacher. I'm not saying this just because I got praised though. I nearly nodded away, only to hastily stop myself.

"But even so, I guess the author's pretty young. I wonder if you have realized, Satake, but in 'Vice Versa', there are a lot of 'references' used in the story.

"Eh? Which parts?"

"For example, in the middle of the fifth volume, there's a hill fortress that was attacked by an enemy, right? The defenders wanted to deal lots of damage to the invading desert tribes, and buy some time for Sin and the others. All of them died on the battlefield."

"Yeah. There was a dragon tamer I liked who died in that story. I was so sad. The enemy really liked him, and said that they would spare him, so he could just surrender. That soldier's two sons and the dragons they inherited were saved though."

"That sounded exactly like the Siege of Iwaya Castle.

"What is that?"

Allow the author to explain.

The Siege of Iwaya Castle happened during the Sengoku Era, year 1586, located at 'Iwaya Castle' in Kyushu's Dazaifu.

The Shimazus tried to conquer the entire prefecture of Kyushu, and was said to have sent twenty thousand, or even fifty thousand to conquer the fort. Under the Catholic Daimyo Sorin Otomo, the vessel 'Shigetane Takahashi' led 763 people to combat.

Shigetane Takahashi refused to surrender over and over again, and inflicted a large number of casualties upon the enemy. This intense battle lasted for approximately half a month, and the Takahashis were valiantly wiped out.

The Shimazus won, but suffered heavy casualties, and required lots of time to regroup. Thus, they were unable to unite Kyushu.

When I first learned of this battle, that awe-inspiring way of life by Shigetane Takahashi really moved me.

"It's a battle during the Sengoku period."

Endou-sensei explained it with only one sentence. Concise, really concise.

"The story in the book was basically similar to that battle. I understand very well that the author clearly used this battle as the basis. I also sensed that the author could have involved other battles when writing this story, but he never did. Thus, I feel that although the author loves history, he's not a history nerd, but one who has a vast amount of knowledge, though lacking in depth.

The teacher never continued, so I sensed that the implied 'that's why' from him was probably a mantra of his. Well, leaving that aside, what's shocking is that the teacher's analysis was spot on.

As he said, I felt that 'rather than writing a clumsy story using my lack of battle knowledge, I might as well…', so I just used that battle as the basis of the story. I did inform the editor-in-charge of my rationale before too.

Miss Satake said,

"I see! Well, about the author though, I think it doesn't matter."

After hearing that, my body went limp, and the papers in my hand nearly slipped out.

"In that case, you shouldn't have bothered with me!"

I wanted to yell. I really wanted to yell out loud.

Leaving aside the author, Miss Satake continued,

"To be honest, as long as the work is interesting, it doesn't matter who the author is. Don't you think so too, sensei? The author might be an evil person too."

I think so too.

There were two people in the room who could be called 'sensei', and one of them answered,

"Hm, maybe. No matter how rotten the personality is, how stubborn and twisted the thought process is, an amazing chef will be able to cook up a fine dish. Also, someone once said 'if you want to experience the joy of a work, it's better not to know anything about the author'. Also, this author is a little…"

Endou-sensei started to make a rare stutter at the end.

I was wondering what he wanted to say, but clearly Miss Satake wasn't.

"Of course! Actually, after reading it, I might think that the author's a really repulsive person!"

"Then just leave me alone!"

I wanted to yell. I really wanted to yell out loud.

But while I could not yell, within my eyes, I saw that Nitadori, who was folding, suddenly stop her hands. It appeared she was shaking. Luckily, I couldn't see her face, so I didn't have to..

Well, leaving aside Miss Satake's heartless words--

I'm utterly grateful that my opinions don't matter. The minute hand on the clock continued to turn.

I was wondering how to spend this time. Nitadori's probably thinking the same.

"Speaking of which, 'Vice Versa' has many Homunculus like Meek, with different eye colors. That's a pretty cliche thing, right?"

Miss Satake kept on going.

But even so, I glanced aside at her, and found that she was actually working, and not actually slacking. She's moving rather quickly too. In a fluid manner, she continued to sort out the parts Nitadori and I folded.

As we were 'focused on working', Endou-sensei would only answer her.

"Ah, I think it's a pretty cliche setting. It's difficult to figure out how to include heterochromia eyes. However, the author never used it to show how cool the protagonist is, but had it as the unique characteristic of the supporting characters, the homunculus, and rationalized it with the 'eye embedding ritual'. I think it's pretty smart, and heartfelt."

Endou-sensei really knows a lot.

He read so many light novels before I was born, and it wasn't for show. I really was impressed. He should be able to be an editor, right?

"Oh!"

Miss Satake answered, sounding impressed.

"All the homu homu have unique names. Those names follow some rules, right?"

It was the first time I heard someone call the homunculus that.

But it's a little cute. (TN Snark: Homura called, she wants her nick back)

What if I have a certain tribe call the homunculus this? I haven't written this part yet, but everyone speaks Japanese in Reputation, so this should be doable.

"How does it work...it does seem like there is, yet none…"

It means that Miss Satake and Endou-sensei don't understand Russian. But I guess there aren't many Japanese readers who know the meaning behind these names. (TN Snark: Paging Sumipe, paging Sumipe)

"But the meaning behind Meek's name, I do know."

Eh? But if you know the meaning behind Meek's name, you should be able to figure out the meaning behind all the names, right?

I stopped and looked towards Endou-sensei. Nitadori too looked right, so i saw her black hair. Behind her, I could see the back of Miss Satake's head.

"What does it mean?"

Miss Satake asked as a matter of fact. As he stapled, Endou-sensei answered,

"It's probably the 'Meek' in English, meaning 'obedient', 'servile'." (TN Snark: The Meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity)

"Oh, I see. The homunculus do give off a slave-like feeling though."

The moment I heard that--

No!

I yelled in my heart.

"No!"

Nitadori yelled.

I guess they're both taken aback.

This girl had been working silently, and even at the beginning, she said,

"Let's cut the talk and get to work."

Yet she's yelling loud enough to shake the room.

I was taken aback, but even those two discussing 'Vice Versa' were more shocked than I was.

"Ah! Woah!"

Both Miss Satake and Endou-sensei were taken aback. Miss Satake even toppled over the pile of papers onto the table.

As for me, I could only see the back of her head, and couldn’t see how she was looking

I guessed she was fuming like a dog.

After looking at her, those two appeared to have seen a ghost.

I guess the older ones are the wiser ones as Endou-sensei was the first to recover.

“Ahh, that shocked me…So Nitadori, you read ‘Vice Versa’ too?”

He asked calmly.

“Eh? Eh? Eh?”

On the other hand, Nitadori was panicking.

She never intended to yell, but she couldn’t help herself. I understood how she was feeling.

I was unable to speak up, and could only observe silently.

“Eh, ehh…sorry for the sudden outburst.”

Nitadori lowered her head slightly. She then said,

“I’m going back to work…”

Nitadori wanted to run away, but Miss Satake, who had picked up the papers, did not let her go,

“Well, we could have discussed this if you well. Ah, but as you just said ‘let’s just work quietly’, you can’t speak up, right? But it’s fine! Sensei’s talking too!”

Just hearing the words, it sounded like she’s a nice kid worried about her friends,

But looking into it, it just feels like ‘I’m not letting you off!’

Maybe it’s just me reading too much into this.

Thus, Nitadori had to join in the discussion either way. But even so—

‘I have to participate in the conversation’.

It’s a lot better than that.

While I thought I was going aboard,

“Well, erm…I’m going to point out the mistake…”

Nitadori spoke with a rigid tone.

I shivered.

Those two people never realized this.

But I immediately realized.

And I shivered.

There was a slight change of tone when Nitadori said that.

I had chatted with her for long periods on the train, and heard the After Records. I knew that’s not Nitadori’s actual voice.

But whose voice was that?

Meek’s.

Right. That’s the voice of Meek I heard during her recording.

She’s doing that on purpose.

Nitadori’s definitely doing that on purpose. There’s a little difference in the voices of Meek and Madoko. Regarding that, I sensed that her acting was really intricate.

“That is not what ‘Meek’ means. Surely it is not the ‘Meek’ in English.”

Nitadori spoke using Meek’s voice. As it was directed at Endou-sensei, she was speaking in formal language. I guess that’s Stella for you, since her English pronunciation is so precise.”

“Oh, and that is?”

Meek, no, Nitadori answered Endou-sensei, and then to Miss Satake next to her,

“It’s Russian. The other homunculus are also named based on it. The word meek means ‘instance’ here.”

“Ah, Russian? Now that you mention it, it does seem that way. No, it’s not like I understand Russian in any way.”

“Heh, that’s amazing of you, Miss Nitadori!”

Both of them looked impressed.

And I started to feel dizzy.

It just sounded like Meek was explaining about Meek. We’ve going beyond 2-D and 3-D. What’s going on?

“So Miss Nitadori, how far have you read?”

No way could she conceal this fact anymore. Meek--no, Nitadori speaking as Meek answered pretentiously,

“I’ve basically read everything that was published…my friend at my previous school recommended it to me…it’s rather interest.”

“It’s going to be an anime now! You’re looking forward to it, right?”

“Y-yeah…I’m looking forward to it.”

Nitadori answered. Yep, she’s involved in it too.

“So, who’s voicing Meek?”

“…News aren’t out, so it’s hard to tell.”

Nitadori answered using Meek’s voice. Yep, it’s this one here.

“Who do you think is most suited?”

Is Miss Satake asking while knowing? Is she the niece of the producer or something? Did she know everything already!?

I guessed, but it’s a small possibility, so I just gave up on guessing.

I was curious as to how Nitadori would answer. Would she try to slip away by diverting the topic or something?

“I think--“

I pricked my ears for 'Meek's words.

"I think it's for the one who loves Meek more than anyone else."

A few seconds later, I was called out by Endou-sensei, who said to me

"What's the matter? You seem really happy there."

I raised my folded paper, and for the first time, I spoke up in this classroom.

"Feels good to be folding."

To correct myself.

I was thoroughly stunned by Miss Satake, who doesn't intend to push the topic towards me for the time being.

But even so, I had no need to rattle the snake.

I continued to work silently. I didn't hate this simple chore. I had a look at the watch, and found that there were approximately twenty minutes left.

Endou-sensei moved the completed pamphlets to another table, before returning to his seat.

"So about Vice Versa--"

Ah, looks like he wants to continue.

Well, whatever, do as you please. I don't care about whatever I hear, and I won't be shocked.

"The focus of the future developments should be, how will 'Shin' change?"

Gulps.

I did not have anything in my mouth, but it felt as though something was stuck in my throat.

Miss Satake said,

"Eh? This '[Shin'...is 'Makoto', right? Not 'Sin'?"

"Yeah, I'm referring to Makoto. Setting wise, he is an ordinary high school boy, but I'm guessing that his 'background' is not that simple. I'm guessing that Makoto will become an amazing final boss, and will battle Sin for the future of Reputation."

"Eh?" "Eh?"

Miss Satake and Nitadori echoed in unison. The latter's voice was back to being Nitadori.

On the other hand, it's summer, but I felt a chill down my back. Then, I felt completely bedridden, unable to move, unable to do anything.

"No, it's just something I randomly thought off--"

The heartless story prediction from Endou-sensei barged into my frozen years.

"Reputation is Earth in the future. The story mentioned that in history, 'Two Great Kings' had a battle of the fates, right? That's why I think those two are Makoto and Sin."

"I see!" "..."

P-Please don't continue now, sensei…

"At the end of the eighth volume, Makoto ended up fighting Sin, and finally won, right?"

"Yes." "Yes."

Miss Satake aside, even Nitadori answered enthusiastically.

"While the volume never provided a specific description, why did the weak Makoto beat the immortal Sin--"

Of course, that's because I smoked my way through on purpose.

"It should be a foreshadowing for a future plotpoint. Makoto's able to use magic, or something like that, even though he's in modern Japan."

Warrrgh.

I wish a certain somebody can send a bomber jet to fly in the skies about, and start an air raid siren here. I'll pay for the gas.

But this little wish of mine never come to pass.

Endou-sensei didn't know how the author, just centimeters away from him, was sweating away. He continued his clear analysis.

"Makoto's mother is a kind one, but she has something hidden. I was wondering if she was actually Makoto's actual mother. Thus, I felt that in the second volume, the way his mother accepted Sin was a foreshadowing disguised as a comedy."

"Oh!" "Oh!"

The two girls stopped working, giving strong reactions. As for me, who's next to me--

I was wondering if I should hire an assassin to shut Endou-sensei. Like asking for a 13 year old tractor. (TN: Golgo 13)

"I've been thinking about Makoto's name 'Shin Tsumizono'. There are two words that can be represented by 'Sin' in his name."

"Eh?" "Eh?"

"Of course, the first one is the 'tsumi' in the family name that sounds like 'sin'. I guess this is a reason why the author used the nonexisting family name Tsumizono. The second is to read 'Makoto' as 'Sin'. In English, 'sin' means that, right? Well, that goes for 'Sin' too."

"Oh!" "Oh!"

Well, however you want to analyze and dissect, do as you please.

I started working. How do I quickly fold the papers accurately? I started to compete against myself.

"That's amazing sensei! How detailed did you read the story? How many times have you reread 'Vice Versa'?"

Miss Satake asked.

"Hm, at least five times or so."

Endou-sensei replied in a manner that was hard to tell if he was being humble of boastful.

But to be honest, I was really happy.

Including the ninth volume released in March, to be able to reread so many times is a lot. For an author, reading that deep into the work is something wonderful.

I suddenly showed a smile. At this moment, the girl next to me yelled,

"I read it ten times!"

Ah!

Why compete about this right now, Stella!?"

Stella Hamilton's probably someone a bit more foolish than I thought…

She's probably the ridiculous type of person to act on emotions and not care about the consequences, I guess? Like choking someone.

Well, leaving that aside.

"What, that's amazing!"

Miss Satake seemed rather impressed.

"You're pretty thorough with it. I admit defeat."

Endou-sensei responded. Since when did it become a competition?

Excluding me, the three of them got on well. What's with this atmosphere?

I had a look at the watch. Since we couldn't finish all the pamphlets, I felt that if I toughed it out, I could escape to the cafeteria. At the very least, I really wanted to run away.

While folding, I guessed Miss Satake didn't try to talk to me as Nitadori followed.

"Sensei--"

Speaking to Endou-sensei wasn't Miss Satake, but Nitadori, and I jolted.

I tried to remain calm and listen in on their conversation.

"What is it, Nitadori?"

"When you mentioned about the 'Vice Versa' author, you were only half done, right? I was curious about that..."

Ah, me too.

"Also, this author is a little…"

Endou-sensei once said.

Did Nitadori ask for my sake?

If that's the case, I want to take back the 'she's kinda stupid statement', and prostate myself before her to apologize.

"Ah, that."

Endou-sensei kept tapping at the stapling machine. What will he say?

"Well, it is my personal viewpoint. I do feel this author--"

Endou-sensei's pretty sharp in his analysis. I was really looking forward to what he had to say.

Whether he's on the mark, it's interesting, so i really was looking forward.

What's Endou-sensei's answer.

"His view on life and death is a little weird."

What? That?

"'His view on life and death is a little weird'--what do you mean?"

Nitadori asked.

I had lost all interest, and looked towards the watch.

"I don't know if I'm right or not. When listening please be mentally prepared."

Endou-sensei cautiously chose his words as he led off, before answering,

"In 'Vice Versa', those that were transported to the other world wouldn't die, basically immortal. Even after the head's gone, blown into ash, they're still able to revive. Writing a world where 'death doesn't matter' can be considered some form of fantasy."

"Yes, that's right."

"I understand."

Miss Satake and Nitadori chimed in.

I think that in 'Vice Versa', the author used the 'can't die' concept to depict the plot in a calm, objective manner. It's really obvious in Shin's actions after he was transported to Reputation. For me, though many characters were slaughtered without mercy, the 'value of life' to the protagonist who had witnessed this was very light to begin with."

Endou-sensei continued with his analysis,

"I don't know if I'm able to convey this successfully. In any case, I just feel that for this author, the concept of 'loving each unique life' isn't really there--for this author, whom I presume is still young, what experiences allowed him to write such a work with a weak sense of life? That's what I'm curious about."

"Hm."

Miss Satake sounded as though she didn't understand at all.

And even I couldn't understand what he was getting at.

I could understand what the teacher was trying to get at, but I just felt that he wasn't able to properly convey his opinions to others.

"Erm--"

At this moment, Nitadori's voice trailed off.

If she was concerned about me, all she had to do was to show surprise.

After about ten seconds of silence, Nitadori thanked him, despite not exactly understanding what he meant.

"I don't really understand...but thank you."

The minute hand of the clock finally showed ten minutes left.

It should be time, right about time.

I proposed to Endou-sensei that it's time to end, and intended to escape. Time to run. I tried saying this cool English term. I should be correct here, right?

Today's fourth period was really tedious, but since it's ending, I'm pretty happy.

I got caught in Miss Satake's plot, and lost several years of my life due to fright, but I also found an unexpected side to Endou-sensei, and Nitadori actually being serious.

I neatly folded the last piece of paper, and quickly got up.

"So we should be done right? If we go to the canteen now, we won't have to queue much."

I suddenly spoke up, and Endou-sensei seemed rather taken aback,

"Ah? Ahhh--of course. The time is well spent. Thanks to the three of you. You're dismissed."

But he finally said the words to release us. A light.

I was about to take the first step out, but Miss Satake took the initiative.

"Ah, let's go to the canteen together!"

I see. So this is her objective…

No wonder she didn't do anything when we were working.

At the exit of the cave before me, the metal shutters slowly closed up.

"Eh? Why?"

I immediately answered, which I felt was rude of me, but Miss Satake took no heed to the jab.

"Since we have some spare time, it's fine to go to the canteen once in a while."

"Oh, and your bento?"

I remembered that Miss Satake would bring her bento every day.

"Actually, I forgot to bring it today."

She's definitely lying, but I can't just tell her,

"That's not true!"

"It's my first time going to the canteen. Please tell me which one to order!"

Ah, she's definitely coming along.

On a side note, I recommend the fried beef rice.

While curry rice is nice, I love the beef rice. The sweet taste of onions--no, it doesn't matter.

I'm a goner.

There's no way to run, and I can't ask Nitadori for help.

To be honest, I have nowhere to go.

I'm doomed.

"If you are being too unreasonable, he might be feeling troubled, no?"

In the end, I couldn't do anything other than to have nitadori speak up for me. She was on the chair, being cold and ruthless.

"Eh? Is that so?"

Miss Satake chopped, but those words could be read as,

"Oh, how annoying. Is it any of your business?"

It's scary. I really want to run away.

Following this, at the next second, something startling happened.

"Oh, I hope you three will get along well."

Endou-sensei said, and hurried towards the door.

"No need to lock the door. Nobody will steal these."

After That, he said these words before leaving. He got away.

I understood very well

That like me, Endou-sensei really hates troublesome things!

This teacher is unreliable! No, doesn't that make me the same? He's the one fast at running. Why can't I do that?

I was quietly rattles over and over again, but it was pointless.

I had to break through this crisis in my own way, and get away from here.

Just like the time when I woke up in the infirmary.

Well, if that was a 'remain terms of severity, this would be a 'four', no, a 'five'.

And so Miss Satake stood before the table, between me and the exit.

"Since you have read 'Vice Versa', Miss Nitadori, aren't you curious about what was read before the tests? Meek will die after all! And then she'll revive! No, she's not exactly reviving immediately, but she will be!"

She's saying this excitedly, probably for real.

"If what sensei said about 'Shin being the final demon king' is correct, Shin will become a really strong homunculus capable of reviving Meek, and at the very end, he'll have her become an ally of his!"

Miss Satake proceeded to guess the following plotline.

Yeah, I thought about that, and the editor-in-charge agreed to it.

"I'm not going to die until I solve this mystery!"

Ah, that's an exaggeration there.

She won't die immediately.

Well, there isn't a zero possibility of Miss Satake being afflicted with some serious illness. No, looking at how energetic she is, I guess she's not sick.

Anyone who read the plot afterwards can solve the mystery to this story.

As an author, I'm pretty...no, very happy about Miss Satake's feelings. She loves this work so much, and is so looking forward to the later developments. It makes me really happy.

I didn't know if I was troubled, or gleeful. Miss Satake continued to attack me without mercy,

"But if it's a web novel, of course I want to read it! I too want to know how to find this!"

Surely as a fan, I would have the same thoughts. Thus, I understood Miss Satake's feelings.

"I'll be working hard for this! Really! Even if the one who knows this has an intention to hide, I'm going to find and reveal everything."

Miss Satake's personality is probably the same as her appearance. I might say that she was intending to reveal the truth, rather than attack Nitadori.

And if I'm a fan, I'll probably work hard for the same reasons. What she wanted to do, was what I want to do.

Right when I was spacing out, Miss Satake smiled at me, saying,

"So let's go eat together."

Eh? That's a quick resolution.

I thought she would say some cool lines from a passionate fan, and it disappointed me. She could have continued. It's not too late to start now?

So then, Miss Satake seemed to have realized my thoughts, and rejected that notion as she turned towards Nitadori.

"Actually, I've already understood what you're thinking, Miss Nitadori. I know why you're working so hard to stop me."

Eh? Really?

"Eh?"

I was quietly taken aback, while Nitadori exclaimed in surprise.

Did she see through everything.

Was she trying to say that everything Nitadori and I did were recorded somewhere, and seen.

With both of us looking, Miss Satake said with the look of a famous detective who had realized the truth,

"Miss Nitadori's…'the kind of person who don't want to know rumors beforehand', right?"

Eh?

"Eh?"

"During that recital, I was looking at the reader in surprise, and found Miss Nitadori behind looking a conflicted look. She's showing a sad, elated look when she learned that 'Meek may revive'. It looked like she was holding back her tears."

I see! Thank you for telling me this! Miss Satake!

"..."

"Back then, I understood that Nitadori was watching 'Vice Versa' too."

This is correct.

"And then, I understand immediately! She's the sort of person who 'doesn't want to know the spoilers beforehand'."

This petite detective raised her right index finger, her gleeful look very cute even--

But she was dead wrong.

This bespectacled high school girl who loves horse sashimi read my manuscripts because she wanted to know what happened after. She wanted to know everything relating to Meek.

"..." "..."

Both of us remained silent. This silence lasted for about five seconds.

Miss Satake probably assumed she was correct, and carried on,

"Nitadori doesn't want to know what happens afterwards, and is preventing me from asking. As for why, that's because if I do, she'll hear whatever I share with the classmates! Spoilers!"

No no, that definitely didn't happen.

I guess Nitadori should be very enthusiastic if someone's to discuss the later plot of 'Vice Versa'. She'll be baited like a fish without feed when fishing.

After thinking too much, I was really tired.

I didn't know what I should say. I could actually think of all kinds of conversations I want in the novel. My knowledge and experience would be insufficient in escaping this crisis. The only successful moment was probably the moment in the infirmary.

If I activate the 'time to play' I showed back then, I should be able to pass through this crisis, I guess?

With my mind already lethargic as I thought, I checked my memories, saying,

"That's a grave misunderstanding, Miss Satake. Nitadori's here not because she doesn't want you and me to be together."

"Oh, so?"

"..."

The two girls stared at me.

Without a care, I lied,

"Well, Nitadori's my girlfriend."

So why did I say these words?"

### 007. Chapter 3-2 - June 5, I became his girlfriend

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently strangling my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

Why is sensei looking so blissful?

Why is he looking so happy?

Why is he looking so peaceful?

He's like a baby looking up at his mother, doted by him.

I just found--

Him to be very cute.

While I was strangling him.

"Well, Nitadori's my girlfriend."

I felt that I was hammered in the head.

The scenery in my vision started to sway, and I nearly fell over.

If I had not been seated on a chair, I would have fallen over as I could not grab the table.

"Ehh!?"

Miss Satake squealed so loudly, my eardrums were nearly broken.

"What's going on!? H-hey, please explain everything! You're willing to explain, right!? That's why you're willing to say!"

I understood that the sudden topic about romance had caused Miss Satake's pitch and blood pressure to rise.

Feeling groggy, I just heard sensei lie boldly.

"Well, since I said that much, I'm going to spill the beans, but don't tell anyone, okay? If you let others know, I'll really look down on you, Miss Satake."

"I-I understand…"

Miss Satake timidly responded to the rather stiff toned sensei.

"Well, Nitadori's my pen pal. We knew each other since two years ago."

Sensei said.

Well, some extras were added, but it's basically the truth.

As a fan, I sent sensei a letter, and received a one sentence reply. In that sense, we met each other.

But the relationship between us never improved. Sensei's the one lying that went "She's my girlfriend", so it's not weird for the listener to interpret accordingly and be fooled.

"Eh, eh...is that so?"

Miss Satake asked.

I didn't know if she did believe sensei's words, but she showed no look of suspicion.

"I had to stop schooling for a year, due to some reasons. When I was finally able to do so, Nitadori told me about this school. "There's a private High School that doesn't have much issues with attendance. I too started attending last year. I think it might be suitable for you--what do you think?"

This isn't the truth.

"So that's why I transferred into this school. Of course, the good is that I'm able to attend the same school as her. I never expected our class to be the same, but since there are three classes, the chances are basically one in three."

Sensei just went ahead with improved liars. It's what this 'liar' in me said, so it's pretty convincing.

"So we decided to keep our good relationship a secret. That's why we never spoke to each other."

That's pretty smart too.

He never said 'we're dating', but 'we're on good terms', so he's not completely lying. As for 'secret' and 'not saying anything', those are facts though.

Sensei's probably in the flow of things as he peppered some facts in the lies, able to continue talking, and had no need to lie.

I know sensei's becoming more and more used to lying.

"But I can't talk to other girls alone. I can't hide this from Nitadori. Knowing and doing is a further no go. Miss Satake, do you understand why Nitadori's trying to stop you?"

I knew sensei was lying.

But for me, it was the truth.

"Or do you want to butt in, Miss Satake? How about it?"

Sensei's like a different person, saying such forceful words.

"W-well, in that case."

Miss Satake lowered her reddened face. It seemed she's not the kind of weak-willed girl to be beaten however.

She lifted her head, looking very suspicious.

"But...it's kinda hard to believe so suddenly. Both of you don't seem to be on that good terms."

"Really? Well, I don't have any proof, but you should know I can't go to the cafeteria with you. If I do--I'll get strangled by Nitadori."

So I shouted instinctively,

"Don't mention that!"

"Ahaha, sorry!"

I saw sensei give a natural smile, and understood.

Sensei said those words to get a reaction from me.

Till this point, everything was according to sensei's plan.

In that case, i could only play along.

I quickly took a deep breath.

"Goodness! I just relaxed, and you're doing that again--I'm going to tell everyone in class of the secret if you keep this up. Hey, you fine with that? Really?"

I was fuming at the front part, not holding back in my tone. At the back part, I was grumbling like a lovey-dovey person.

No script, no rehearsals, but I felt it was a new act. This sort of thing is trivial to me.

"Do-don't do that…"

"Goodness...you dummy…"

After playing along with sensei for the final act, I said to Miss Satake,

"Sorry to hide this from you. That's how it is, it's hard to say this…"

The trick's to give a really apologetic look.

"Of course, we won't order you to remain quiet. Sooner or later, we'll reveal to everyone, so before then, if you're willing to keep this a secret. I'll be really happy. Of course, we won't force you, and we can't do anything even if you return to the classroom and declare this to everyone."

The trick is to be humble and give an apologetic look, showing a hardened stance and have her understand that 'if you do that, your reputation' will drop'.

"We-well, in that case...anyway, I don't have any intention to snatch anyone's boyfriend…"

Miss Satake showed a conflicted look.

Without her looking, sensei showed an awkward look, his hands giving a victory pose.

I felt that he was saying, please continue acting, until the cut.

And like the knockout bell of a boxing match, the bell signalling the end of the long fourth period rang.

### 008. Chapter 3-3 - June 5, I ate potato chips

The fried beef rice I had for lunch is the best I ever had.

There's a sense of relief. Over the next two years, every day when I have it at school, I'll probably remember this day.

After that, while there's the fifth and sixth period, Miss Satake never spoke to me.

It seemed she never declared this in class.

There's only one problem.

Was Nitadori fuming at me…

And without knowing what was behind me, I sat through the next two hours of class.

Homeroom ended, and I immediately darted out.

And then, on the train, I met Nitadori again.

She straightened her hair,

"Here!"

She shoved the convenience store bag to me with a grim, furious look.

"I'm! Very! Sleepy! Sleep!"

After these four words, she just sat down, and tiled the chair back.

With that moment, she shut her eyelids hard.

"..."

I was holding the bag, probably stunned.

Miss Kamishiro, seated next to me, was like usual, giving a cool look--

But it seemed she was being kind today.

I did say that to 'escape', but to deem 'Nitadori' a girlfriend, it's no wonder she's furious.

I wanted to use this chance to get away, but she fell asleep.

Even this dull-witted me could understand.

"I'm angry today. I don't want to talk." that's what she meant.

With this, Nitadori spent three weeks sleeping. It's only on the train that I got the chance to talk with her properly. This is bad.

She's that angry.

I guess I should apologize at this time next week.

Left with no choice, I decided to have a piece of potato chip before sleeping.

At this moment, I got hungry. Even I was embarrassed by this.

Trying not to make a sound, I took a potato chip from the bag.

"..."

I stared at the bag of potato chips for three seconds, and slowly opened the pack.

It's been years since I ate the Consomme flavor again--

It's pretty nice.

So I thought.

Starting next week, I guess it's fine to eat this.

### 009. Chapter 3-4 - June 5, I slept in the train

That day, on the car ride to the station--

I informed Miss Akane of everything that happened in school.

I explained carefully, right until the car was about to reach the station. I was wondering if I should buy some potato chips. Time was running out.

Once the car was close enough for the station to be seen, I asked her from the back seat,

"So, how do you think I should be seated on the train…?"

With her poised attitude, Miss Akane answered from the driver seat,

"What else--like usual, no?"

"You mean?"

"Sensei lied to deal with that situation, just like what happened in the infirmary, right?"

"I-I guess…"

"Not a guess, that's actually the case."

"S-so, in fact, sensei never thought of me as a 'girlfriend'--?"

"No."

"He might have some thought like that in his heart!"

"No."

"..."

"If you're feeling curious, Milady, you can ask him yourself. As him 'why are you still willing to forgive me after I choked you', and then ask. In other words, you have more things to ask about. That's why your situation is the same as before, Milady."

She was too reasonable, and I could not refute.

Miss Akane is always like this, never running away from the problem before her. Or rather, she would tackle the problem head on.

I really hoped to become a strong woman like her one day, a person able to express herself freely no matter who she's facing.

"Alright, we're here. Going to the convenience store?"

Miss Akane stopped, and I barely managed to express what I was thinking,

"I-I don't feel...like taking that train today…"

"Seriously, how old are you? You can't be acting that stubborn like a child now."

She responded.

"But!"

"Okay okay, I understand how you feel, but the car doesn't have enough fuel to reach Tokyo. This is troublesome, and it just so happens that I don't have enough money on hand."

"I'll pay with my credit card."

"Great for me, but I'm pretty tired. I don't have the confidence to drive all the way down to Tokyo safely."

"I'll drive then! Give me the key!"

"You can't drive in Japan now. Okay, we're getting off."

Miss Akane intended to open the driver door.

"Wait! Please let me confirm something!!"

I asked with the loudest voice I made.

This was the one thing I had to ask first.

"Just one thing. If we can't make it to the train, it's not a funny thing."

Miss Akane closed the door that was 3 centimeters open.

"Thank you--just now, about what Endou-sensei said that 'for a young person, this author's view on life and death is weird', what do you think?"

"..."

Miss Akane went silent, a rarity from her. After about five seconds of silence, she said,

"I never read 'Vice Versa', so I don't know the validity of that statement…"

I steeled myself,

"But even though he was nearly killed, he just forgave with a smile. I do believe the view of life and death for such people isn't normal."

Miss Akane said what I was thinking after all.

Ever since then, what Endou-sensei said about 'a weird view on life and death' lingered in my head.

With tense steps, I strutted towards the convenience store, and Miss Akane dragging the luggage bag told me bluntly,

"Enough with the chit-chat and get straight to the point."

It seems she was suggesting to me not to buy any biscuits as a snack, but to buy a donut.

But if I could do so, I would not be so bothered.

Sooner or later however, i will have to face this trouble.

Also, today's a good chance, right?

First off, I had to check the validity about the girlfriend.

"Sorry, sorry."

Once sensei apologizes, I'll gain the upperhand.

"Speaking of which, please tell me. Why are you willing to forgive me even though you nearly got killed by me?"

So I just had to ask this question casually…

Well, things do seem like they'll proceed smoothly.

No, they will.

No problems.

I can do it!

I shouted in the convenience store,

"Okay!"

As for the potato chips I was going to buy, I intended to buy some Consomme flavor.

I would have him eat my favorite flavor, and turn the tide of the situation to my side.

I had a feeling of victory.

When Miss Akane woke me up, sensei was still sleeping.

And there were only four minutes until the terminal.

Like usual, Miss Akane said calmly,

"Shall we get going then?--There's still a chance next week."

### 010. Chapter 4-1 - June 12, I didn't take the train

I'm a high school boy and a bestselling light novel author, strangled by my classmate who is my underclassman and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

I was wondering.

Maybe I should let go.

I felt I shouldn't have Nitadori--

Continue to choke me.

I felt that I was forcing her.

No, in fact, I was forcing her.

It's not good to do this.

I shouldn't have my hand on a girl's, having her continue to choke me.

June 12th, Thursday.

On this day, the After Record of the eleventh episode was about to begin--

But I didn’t board the Limited Express.

No, to be precise, I couldn’t take the Limited Express.

While the train departed from the station, I was lying on my bed, sleeping at home.

I did not oversleep my nap time, and did not skip the After Record because I hated the work, and it’s definitely not that I didn’t want to go to Tokyo because I wanted to avoid Nitadori.

So what’s the reason?

I had a fever.

“I feel that my head’s shaking. Is it an earthquake?”

On that day, I started to wonder.

I woke up at the same time as per usual, saw that mom, who was on night duty throughout this week, had returned home to sleep, and ate breakfast.

School’s pretty near to my house.

Starting this week, I did not hurry into school at the last moment because of Miss Satake. Until Wednesday, I was able to arrive at school earlier, and spend the time lazing in the classroom, reading.

But on my way to school, there was an earthquake.

Probably a two or three in magnitude, I guess? I found myself swaying about even though I was walking.

That was an omen--

All I did was to stop in my tracks, and check my smartphone for any earthquake occurrence.

Back then, I should have thought of entering the infirmary rather than the classroom.

Once class started, I started to feel the earth shake from time to time. As I could not use the smartphone in class (while some would secretly have a peek), whenever it shook, all I felt was,

""Why hasn't anyone sensed this earthquake? Doesn't anyone care?"

Soon after, I actually ended up thinking,

"Does this mean I'm the only one able to sense an earthquake a day early? Am I able to detect continuous earthquakes before they happen? Do I have precognition? Will I predict a massive accident in the near future, and be wondering how to inform everyone? So I end up preventing the incident, become a hero, prevent more incidents and accidents, received a large sum of money from the country, and live a leisurely life.

On a certain day three years later, I was targeted by a foreign spy hoping to capitalize on this ability for military purposes. Nevertheless, I managed to avoid all forms of crisis through my precognition, and fell in love with the heroine who happened. While I sensed a perfectly wonderful ending was about to come, I foresaw that I would die the next day, and went pale as a result. Having predicted everything to 100% accuracy, would I be able to avoid this looming fate--

Thinking back about it, it was a grave mistake, that my delusions were out of control.

And I did not realize that I was burning up.

After the third period ended.

(I guess) the matter about Miss Satake was resolved, and I didn't need to run to the toilet.

During recess, I sat on the chair. For some reason, I did not want to stroll about.

The boy seated before me shoved his textbooks into the drawer, and was intending to head out to the back door, only to stop at the last moment.

I looked up, and met him in the eyes.

Somehow, I could still remember the name of the person seated before me. This boy of average size and neat brown hair was called 'Aizawa'.

It's a rare family name, and there's the word 'Ai' for 'love', which seemed cool to me (though I didn't know what he thought of the name.

During classes, I would be seated between Aizawa and Nitadori, two people with very interesting names.

When the semester started, there was a girl with a common family name over there, but before i knew it, she changed her seat.

The reason why that girl ended up sitting at the front side was because 'she could not see the blackboard clearly due to short-sightedness', or something like that.

Or maybe,

"That seat is filled with an evil presence. I can't take it."

Probably not.

Well, leaving that aside, I just had a curious thought. What does Aizawa want with me?

Of course, I never had a proper chat with him.

During the two months and so on, all Aizawa did was to hand me the worksheets from the front, and say,

"Here."

Seeing how he was speaking in formal language, I could guess he was trying to talk to me. Is there seriously something though?

If he's going to talk about my delusional brain, well, I get him, and I get that it probably won't get cured, so I wanted to say it's fine, that I'll continue living on with this brain of mine.

"Your face is really red."

"Huh?"

What? Does Aizawa think I'm the type to blush upon seeing a man? If you say that, the illustrator of 'Vice Versa' will be very happy, so no! That was what I immediately thought.

"...Yeah, and you're shaking."

Following that, a familiar voice came from behind. It's Nitadori's.

"I guess."

Aizawa agreed with Nitadori. She got up, went to his side, and looked at my face.

And then, she said to me,

"Erm...are you having a fever?"

For the first time in my life, I heard Nitadori speak to me in class.

This would be something worth commemorating, but it's not the time to think about it.

My face's red, and my head's shaking. I might have a fever.

While I wouldn't say I distrust Aizawa, but since Nitadori said so, that might be the case. The frequent earthquakes might be due to myself. Mystery solved!

So I thought.

"Ah, yes, I guess...I'll head to the infirmary."

I slowly got to my feet. It seemed I was fine walking.

"Yeah, I should be able to go alone. Thanks, you two."

Saying that, I left the two worried ones behind in the classroom.

For my first trip to the infirmary in this school, I had my temperature taken. If the thermometer was not faulty in any way, I had a fever of almost thirty nine degrees Celsius.

I nearly broke the mark there. I was ordered to rest on the bed.

I could not remember how many years had it been since I rested on the bed. I did not remember such an experience.

Good thing I had a strong body, and never had a major illness or injury as a result.

Looking at the unfamiliar ceiling was an interesting experience, but before I knew it, I fell asleep.

I was woken up by the bell at the end of the fourth period, and the nurse saw that my fever had yet to subside completely, saying,

"I will notify your homeroom teacher. Head home for now."

Upon inquiring my home address, the nurse learned that I lived nearby, and heaved a sigh of relief.

I continued to walk down the 'tremoring' corridor, and returned to the classroom during noon break.

Nitadori and Aizawa were at their seats, having their lunches. I, who preferred to eat at the cafeteria, saw how the class was like during noon break for the first time.

While tidying my bag, I said,

"I really have a fever. Going back first. Thanks guys."

I wasn't intending to direct this to any one of them, but to both of them instead.

"Ah, it's fine. Please take care."

Aizawa said. Now I know he's a nice guy.

"Understood. I shall inform the teacher."

Nitadori in turn spoke in an official manner.

So I got the rare experience to 'talk with Nitadori in the classroom', only to return home eight minutes later.

It was around 1pm.

Mom, ready to go to work, measured my body temperature for a second time. It was over thirty eight degrees celsius, so she had me take some medication, followed by isotonic drinks. As to be expected of mom, straight to the point.

I changed into pajamas, and laid on the bed.

I wondered how I got a fever, but in fact, I already realized.

On the previous night, right after a long bath--

With wet hair, and dressed in boxers, I was seated at the living room just a curtain beyond the balcony, tapping at the keyboard as I wanted to record an idea I had in the changing room.

While the night wind felt comfy, it's not good for the body after all.

Even with the slight fever, I was able to think properly.

So I thought, until that moment came,

"Ah!"

While lying on the bed, I saw the calendar, on the wall, and noticed something. I took my smartphone out to check.

I realized it was Thursday. I had to head to Tokyo that evening.

Before then, I had been wondering if it was Wednesday. I even told myself, completely relaxed, that I had to be recovered by the following evening. It's all the fever's fault.

I hurriedly got up from bed, and told mom, who was at the corridor, ready to go to work--

But naturally, she ordered me to take a rest.

I returned to my room, and made a call to the editor-in-charge.

I reported the current situation to him, and asked him what I should do.

I wanted to watch the After Records, even if I had to force myself out of bed--

So the editor-in-charge told me that the body's most important, that I should rest.

But I would not budge.

"While I do understand how you feel...that you may think you are fine, but as an author, you cannot be spreading germs at the After Record."

I gave up upon hearing those words.

I could not cause trouble for any of the voice actors, who earned their keeps through their voices.

The Limited Express ticket was bought at the station that day, so I could leave it for the time being (once I transfer the receipt to the editor, I could claim the money); I just needed to cancel the hotel reservation.

While ASCII Media Works had booked the room for me, I was wondering how the expenses would be after cancellation.

After that, I chatted with the editor regarding several things.

I received the script the previous week, and had done the checks as an author. There was no part to be changed.

And as for the meeting regarding the 11th volume that was to be released in September, it was done during the previous After Record. Thank goodness.

In other words, I had no issues, except for missing out the goal of 'attending all the recording sessions for a first animated adaptation'.

"Please rest well and get well. It's an old adage, but taking care of your body is part of work."

I quietly sighed, hung up, and spaced out.

In fact, since March, it was the first time I did not spend a Thursday night in Tokyo, which I had done so over the past ten weeks.

"I'm never typing at the computer right after a shower, and in my boxers."

So I quietly made this decision in my heart. As the medication was making me drowsy, I decided to sleep, and fidgeted about as I laid down.

I closed my eyes.

After five seconds, I opened my eyes again.

I opened them really hard. There was someone I had to contact.

I had her number and mail address. It's lesson time, and I should send by mail.

Thus far, Nitadori and I had only exchanged one message. All I did was to reply to hers, not much content either.

Also, I angered her as I declared 'she's my girlfriend' the previous week. While I could not apologize to her in the recording studio or classroom, but I had no guts to settle this through mail.

I thought it would be a perfect opportunity on the train, but my body was not in a good condition.

The medication was really taking effect.

I hardly took medication, so once I did, the effects would be immediate, and I would feel like sleeping.

My mind was having difficulty in thinking. If I did not know what to write.

The more I angsted, the more difficulty I had in writing, and the drowsier I got.

So I simply sent her a formal-looking message before sleeping.

### 011. Chapter 4-2 - June 12, I took the green train, after not doing so for a while

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently strangling my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

I no longer understand.

Why am I strangling sensei?

I want to let go.

But why doesn't sensei want to let go.

Is sensei grabbing my hands that are strangling him from both sides?

I don't understand.

June 24th, Thursday.

When third period ended.

"Erm, are you alright? Your face is really red."

Aizawa, two seats before me, said so, and affirmed my belief that sensei wasn't feeling right.

From the first to third period, his back and back where shaking. To be honest, whenever he shook, my attention was taken by 'him', no matter how unwilling I was, and I was troubled.

Of course, the reason being--

That I had to apologize to sensei, but delayed the apology for more than two weeks.

I felt that in school, I should not talk to sensei at all, let alone in the classroom. However, there's an exception to everything.

My decision was that it was an exception. Thus, I spoke to sensei, through Aizawa as a proxy.

I went forward to check on sensei, and found his face to be obviously red. He's probably having a fever.

I wanted to touch his forehead with my hand, but gave up on this thought. I'm a normal girl with a lower body temperature. No matter whose forehead I touch, it'll definitely feel hot.

Sensei said he would be going to the infirmary, and I gave up the urge to follow as I watched him leave.

Once he did leave, Aizawa suddenly spoke me to while I intended to return to my seat.

"How's he like?"

"Eh?"

I exclaimed, and stared at Aizawa, who seemed a little surprised,

"...Didn't you help the teacher out with something just a few days back? I think you did talk about something, so I ask."

"Ah, I see…"

Aizawa has a girlfriend in this class called 'Nishi'. They started dating since last Christmas. All the girls in class know.

Thus, if I tell Aizawa, he might tell Nishi. At this point, Satake is willing to keep this fake secret, but Aizawa and Nishi might not. I can't beg them.

I can't reveal too much, but I can't not answer. I can't let him know what I know.

And to avoid him thinking this way, I cautiously said,

"I was talking with Satake and Endou-sensei. Sensei's rather surprising though. As for him...well, he was just working away quietly."

"Hm...doesn't he feel lonely? He's older than everyone by a year, and can't talk to anyone every day…"

I was always a liar, always acting, so I habitually had the skeptical notion 'aren't everyone else the same?'. Personally, it's the worst habit possible.

But I didn't think Aizawa was hiding anything at this point.

If I'm not being bluffed, he's probably worried for the upperclassman seated behind him.

If I deal with this well--

Aizawa might use this opportunity to chat with sensei amicably.

But I don't understand.

Is this what sensei wants?

And is this what I want?

So I tried my best to act concerned, saying,

"Hm...I guess it's up to him. It's different from telling him that he has a fever…"

"Hm, I guess so…"

Aizawa muttered, and once he heard his friend call for him, "bye then" he vanished before my eyes.

It seemed sensei was sleeping in the infirmary for a while, and finally returned to the classroom at noon break, thanking us with a red face, and went home early.

I was a little worried.

Not only for his health. What do I do when I head to Tokyo?

Regarding the script inspection, sensei can simply contact the editorial branch if there's a need to change. With so many volumes other there, there shouldn't be a need for new intonation.

There shouldn't be any issues. Nobody should be affected.

Except for one person.

"I got to apologize properly today and figure out there truth! Over the next two and a half hours, I can't run away. I'm going to face sensei properly."

And having made up my mind.

I lost motivation to attend class. Once lessons ended, I opened the smartphone, and found a sent message.

It was from sensei.

"I had a nice nap, all fine well! I'll ride the usual train. Can't be skipping the After Record. Let's continue chatting happily on the train."

That was what I believed sensei would write. I kept using my phone, only to see this message.

"Unfortunately, I can't go this week. No need for my potato chips this week. Thanks for your help in class. I'm sleepy after taking the medication. Going to sleep. Goodbye.."

I reread the message for another ten times--

Only to see those words again.

The seats on the green carriage, which I had not taken for more than two months, were spacious and comfy.

Being able to switch the seat heater on and off is a unique park to the green carriage, but I supposed there is no need for that.

The last time I took it, the weather was cold, and in a moment of interest, I tried it. Two months and so passed in an instant.

The weather outside the window's really nice, and so is the blue sky; I can see the hills clearly. Where did the plum rain go?

The train began to accelerate, and there was some level of noise inside the carriage. With the noise echoing, I said to Miss Akane, who was on the aisle-side of the twin-seater.

"I'm cursed."

"Why?"

She asked. "Nothing much." So I furiously retorted, and explained what happened.

"So I say, Milady, this won't do."

She suddenly pointed out my flaw.

Her lack of restraint is the reason why I respect her.

"Should you not have known this is to be expected when sensei's on sick leave? Please give up. We aren't angels. Most importantly, didn't you receive a rare message from him? First, you need to send him a message showing your concern for him. Once the After Record is done, can't you send another one to report? If it's work related, it should be a natural conversation for you. I really do think you should thank the Gods of fate for allowing you to scale this mountain little by little."

Only then did I realize the term 'speechless' existed for me.

I took out my smartphone.

### 012. Chapter 5-1 - June 19, I invited her to my house

I'm a high school boy and a bestselling light novel author, strangled by my classmate who is my underclassman and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

Strictly put, this isn't precise.

So I should say..

I'm a high school boy and a bestselling light novel author, having my classmate who is my underclassman and a voice actress strangle me.

This is my current predicament.

With my hands outstretched, I firmly grabbed Nitadori's hands on my neck, holding them down.

But I probably had no strength to crush Nitadori's slender, icy hands--

At least my blood won't stop flowing completely.

All I felt was an icy neck. Very comfy.

June 19th, Thursday.

I took the Limited Express, so that I could observe the After Record of the twelfth episode.

Like usual, I arrived at the station early, and waited at the platform.

Like the previous day, the plum rain took a temporary absence. The weather was fine.

The LImited Express slowly leaned its carriages on the platform, and the passengers from Tokyo disembarked. The train personnel quickly cleaned out. To be honest, I always found their work to be arduous.

I was the first to board, and went to the usual seat at the last row, to the left. I placed the backpack next to me, and exhaled.

To be honest, I had no need to do so.

Even if someone did take this seat, all I needed to do was to send a message to Nitadori.

"I didn't get the usual seat. I'll be seated at seat number OO."

She probably won't be mad at me, even if I'm to use such an intimate tone.

We did exchange a few messages this week, and just the previous day, she came to my house.

It started last week.

I had a fever on Thursday, and though I hoped to attend the After Record at Tokyo, I was stopped by the doctor. No, by my mother, who's a nurse, and by the editor-in-charge.

After that, I took some medication, and laid down; after that, I changed into pajamas, and continued to sleep. I woke up again, had some food and medication, waited for the drowsiness to kick in, and went to sleep--

On Friday morning, I woke up, and found my fever to have completely subsided.

While I surely would not have enough time to make it to the After Record, I had plenty of time to attend school.

However, I never knew how to attend school on Fridays. Though I had attended this school for at least two months, I never stepped into the campus of the school on Fridays.

What do I do if an alien exchange student riding an Adamsky-shaped saucer only on Fridays show up? What do I do if the student menu ends up as an invitation from an alien?

"Hey, I never met you before. Come to the back of the gym. I'll show you my flying saucer."

What do I do if an alien from the second planet of the Parapupa solar system, Henelebochara is to say this to me and not let me go?

What if it's a female who's proposing to me and want to take me there? What will happen?

After making such stupid delusions, I decided not to take the five minutes walk to school, and chose to write my novel as I wished.

Nitadori's message came after 3.30pm,

While writing the continuation of 'Vice Versa', the manuscript of the 12th volume, my smartphone vibrated, indicating a new message. I was wondering that it was probably from the editor, or mom as I used the phone. Then, I saw Nitadori's face.

The message she sent--

Contained cheerful, very formal words showing concern for me.

And also, she mentioned about how the After Record of the 11th episode ended successfully, that like before, the recording of the episode was perfect. The replication of the streets and

I had to answer.

With more effort than I exerted the previous time--

I indicated in my reply, I have completely recovered, thank you for worrying about me, I am looking forward to seeing the episode air.

She then answered me quickly, no longer than a minute.

Glad that you have recovered, so she wrote, you looked funny when you were shaking about in class.

Well, I thought there was some frequent quakes going on. Must have been funny to think about it.

So that ended our interaction on Friday, and I quietly went back to work.

Currently, I am writing the twelfth volume of 'Vice Versa', and plotting the outline for the thirteenth volume.

The twelfth volume involves 'Side Sin', when Sin arrives in Japan, and it is a comedy involving the school festival. I had no actual experience of a school festival, so when writing this part, I would distill the various scenes in past novels and anime.

The thirteenth volume is 'Side Shin', a serious story.

The war in the eleventh volume (which included Meek's death) expected Sin's territory, it resulted in new enemies. The major countries afar started to view Sin's country as a threat, and heard that he had an immortal doppelganger, and had the special forces deployed to abduct him.

I had intention to write approximately twenty volumes of the main plot.Thus, to improve it, I had to cook up the mood until it escales. Also, I had to set up the foreshadowing to the final battle. These foreshadowings were established during the prior meetings I had with the editor.

Thinking of plotlines is certain a delightful thing. I feel really blessed to be able to write this story.

During the three days of weekend, starting Friday, I was cooped in the room, and kept writing, just as I did during my hiatus from school--

And then, I received a message from Nitadori.

It was on Sunday, at about 8pm or so.

It was short.

And it went,

"You made a promise that I can visit your house, so may I?"

"Eh, did I make this promise?" For a moment, i was about to tilt my head--

But after a minute, I remembered.

Speaking of which, last month, on the 15th, on the day I was strangled, I did say these words. What happened thereafter was very impressionable, and that was why it took me some time to recall.

Just to note, the word 'mad' Nitadori used was a typo. It should have been 'made'. If I had submitted the manuscript as it were, there would be a red mark indicated by the proofreader.

In any case, I didn't really mind anyone coming to my house.

For me, the instances of friends coming for house visits only occur in novels, manga and anime, so I was glad, and it might be interesting to showcase my house to my friends.

Currently, my room isn't really messy. Mom's work schedule is shuffled again, like usual, and now she works in the day.

Thus, even though I would have a tight schedule tomorrow, either Tuesday or Wednesday should

It'll have to be after school though.

Of course, we couldn't go home together. If we're seen, Nitadori would be in trouble.

Thus, I would head home first.

After that, i would have Nitadori leave the school twenty minutes later, head to the gate of the apartment, and press the apartment number for the doorbell.

I wrote these things in the message, and also added on "no need to hurry with the reply" before sending the message--

After an hour, I received a reply,

"Wednesday then! Looking forward to it!"

Those were the words written.

On Monday and Tuesday, I went to school.

The days were normal, I never spoke to Aizawa, Miss Satake, and of course, not to Nitadori.

With the sounds of the plum rain pelting, I went to school like usual, never spoke to anyone, had my beef bowl, and went home after school.

And then, on Wednesday--

After having lunch in the cafeteria, I received a message from Nitadori.

"Is today ffine? If I'm not intruding, please let me visit as planned. The weather's good."

So she wrote.

Well, she's right. It's in the middle of the plum rain season, but it had been sunny since morning, and I could see the hills clearly. Such weather was clearly suitable for inviting a friend to a house visit. I replied, indicating my agreement.

On the way back, I thought,

Is there something I need to prepare?

I never invited a friend into my house as a visitor. In stories, snacks or juice will probably be served, or maybe cakes.

I started to wonder if there was anything at home--

There should be two, three kinds of juice. Snacks-wise, while I did not have any potato chips, I had cookies. I heaved a sigh relief. To be honest, there wasn't enough time for me to head down to the shop to do some purchases.

I returned home to my apartment at the top floor, and wondered if I should change out from my uniform, only to remain as I was.

At home, I would wear some tattered peats along with a crumpled T-shirt. Even if I do put it nicely, it's not a clean attire. I could not remember when was the time time I washed my clothes.

Though we're friends, she's a girl, can't be rude to her, so I thought, and i started wondering what to do--

"If only we're chatting in some public place, like on a train."

So I came to a very simple conclusion,

"Ah!"

I had a single thought.

It was best if I could prepare this first, so I took action to begin preparations.

Once I was done, I stood by the window of the living room, thinking that the hills on this day were pretty when the doorbell rang.

Through the screen on the speakerphone, I saw that it was Nitadori, and opened the door.

"Come in!"

So Nitadori walked in.

The security functions of this apartment building is truly satisfactory. Before taking the elevator, the rider has to repeat the same actions again.

If not, the elevator buttons could not be pressed. It's pretty troublesome for frequent visitors, I guess?

As a side note, the residents need to raise a card key towards a sensor before the corridor and elevator. There's a chip inside the card key, and the door will open, the elevator will shift over, and the residents can press the button leading to that particular level.

I timed the moment, thinking that it was about time, and waited before the unlocked door. I discovered signs of footsteps.

Then, I opened the door--

"Hii!"

I was taken aback by the shrieking Nitadori, my body twitching,

"Ah...erm, sorry."

I apologized for a reason I could not understand, and welcomed Nitadori into my house.

"Erm, welcome."

"Pl-please pardon my intrusion…"

Nitadori said as she slowly entered, removed her shoes, and placed them facing outside.

After seeing her remove her socks, I realized something. Argh, I forgot to prepare slippers. I hurriedly went to the shoe cabinet to get them.

I guess nobody wore this pair of slippers before.

My rented 'house' is close to school, has large rooms, and is useful for taxation purposes. It's a 4LDK.

After entering, there's a corridor straight down. Two rooms the size of 6 tatamits are on the right, used as the library and the storeroom respectively.

There are cheap steel shelves in the library, and the books I bought are all stacked fully. The storeroom has a transparent case for me to put my suit, along with a dust absorber.

To the left are the restroom and bathroom.

Further down the corridor is a spacious area where the living room and dining room are almost one, facing a balcony with a wonderful view.

Also, there is a Japanese-styled room 6 tatamis wide. This room was supposed to be one with the living room, forming a spacious place, but there isn't a need for much space for a family of two, so it became mom's bedroom.

"Woah! It's rather new! So pretty!"

I continued this introduction tour of my house to Nitadori, who was happily looking around the room.

"Great retention of sunlight. Oh, nice view! It's so windy! So cooling!"

Nitadori appeared to be enjoying herself.

And then, I recalled last November, when I came to visit this apartment.

I had the exact same thoughts as Nitadori has right now, I was really excited. Even when mom bemoaned the price of the apartment, I decided to stay here. And then, my dream was fulfilled.

It happened a mere half a year ago, yet I felt it was a long time ago.

Next to the living room was a large Western-styled room facing the balcony, 8-tatami wide. That's my bedroom, and my workplace.

Nitadori looked around the living room, and said,

"Now finally, the workplace!"

I, acting as guide, then responded,

"Understood."

I approached the door. The window's opened, so there shouldn't be any sweaty smell, so i thought as I opened the door.

"Come in."

On the wooden floor of this 8 tatami room, there were various things including the thin, long bookshelf b the wall, a black steel bed ordered from a furniture wholesaler, and a similarly cheap bed.

"So this is your workplace, sensei! The place where 'Vice Versa is born!"

Incredulously, Nitadori spoke with such riveting words. There are times when I would type on the train, or in the hotel, sometimes on the sofa in the living room, but I'll say about 70% of the work is done here.

But despite so, having this first visitor made me happy.

"May I come in?"

Nitadori stood at the entrance, looking around. She doesn't need my approval, so I thought as I answered,

"Of course."

Nitadori entered the room. I closed the door carefully, not letting the wind blow the door aside, and locked it as usual.

"Eh?"

Nitadori, standing two meters before me, looked at me with skepticism.

"Hm?"

I blurted out. Nitadori was at a loss of words,

"Ah, erm…"

And then,

"You locked the door…"

"Well, it's a usual habit."

"Even though you're in your house."

Ah, I see.

I didn't know the situation regarding other families . So there's a culture of families not locking their doors. No, I guess no ordinary family, including Nitadori's. Maybe they never had locks to begin with.

Since mom isn't at home, I reached out to unlock the door.

"Now then, for some introductions--"

Saying that, I moved forward, passing Nitadori as I stood before the desk, and pointed at the large laptop on it,

"This is the computer, my number one apparatus. The 'Vice Versa' manuscript sent for competition was typed out here."

I introduced this 'weapon' that changed my life, and enabled me to battle.

"Ohh! This is it! --The delinquent bike!"

Great reaction from Nitadori. Once again, she went overboard with the example.

I opened it, took out a hard disk, and showed it to her.

"So all the data is contained in this disk...so if anyone is to steal it and run away…"

"I'll pursue him to the depths of Hell--well, I do set up backups when I'm free, so I can continue to work."

"Ahaha."

The nine released volumes of 'Vice Versa', the high school textbooks and reference books were all neatly stacked on the desk.

That is because I would read my past works.

"I see, so you are wearing two mats here?"

She seemed rather impressed as she said this. While it should be 'two hats' instead, I did not bother to correct her.

There were a few corkboard on the wall before the bookshelf.

I did not want to have too many holes on the wall, so I bought them through mail, and hung a few of them within reach.

The corkboards would hold the illustrations of 'Vice Versa' the editorial branch would send to me as reference, along with the illustrations I printed for myself.

I bought a color printer when I moved to this house, and was so giddy with joy, I printed lots.

Nitadori stared at the illustrations of Shin, Sin and Meek,

"This is nice. Really nice."

She was already looking as a fan, her head swaying as she looked on.

Amongst them, there were illustrations of unrevealed drafts and character designs, and when the wrong costumes were drawn.

"I never saw this before!--not this either! Who is this? Is this the enemy general 'Coat'? Is this the original design for 'Dasca'? Eh, who is this character?"

Nitadori seemed really happy.

"Please don't leak this out."

I raised this extremely late request, and explained them all one by one."

And by the time I realized, we spent 20 minutes before the desk.

After introducing basically everything I wanted to show her in the room, I said,

"And there's one thing I want to show you no matter what."

I opened the drawer.

Within it, which I usually used to store pencils and erasers, that thing appeared.

It was something I prepared beforehand.

I opened the envelope placed within the transparent case used for storage, and revealed the letter placed there.

Handing that letter over to Nitadori, I said,

"I think you probably would want to see this thing you haven't seen in a while."

"Ah--"

After seeing that letter, Nitadori widened her eyes, but did not accept the letter.

"Where is the toilet?"

She suddenly shouted, so I hurriedly opened the door.

"To-to the right of the corridor! The switch to the lights is outside!"

I instructed, and Nitadori darted past me,

"You could have asked for the washroom instead!"

I thought of saying so, but did not.

For if I was mistaken, that she had a tummyache, it would have been embarrassing for me.

I slipped the fanmail from Stella Hamilton back into the drawer.

It was a treasure for eternity.

That until death, I would not want to lose.

This letter really delighted me, and I replied.

I never expected that after two years, the person who sent me this letter actually came to my room.

Life is really unpredictable.

Really interesting.

I don't know when I might day. It might even be today--

But I'm really glad to be born on this world.

As I stood on the balcony, watching the hills with the comfortable breeze blowing at me,

"Sorry…"

After her 'long toilet break', Nitadori went to the living room, and I followed suit.

Then, she stood before me, the eyes beneath her glasses looking a little red.

"I'm very happy. Also, I remembered a lot of things. While they aren't good memories, those past memories made me who I am."

Stella, wearing a black wig, colored lens, and glasses without degree, showed a smile as she said this.

Seeing that face, she's pretty after all, so I had this random thought.

It'll be great if I can have such a beautiful girlfriend, so I thought.

And then, I quickly gave up on this notion.

Putting an actual person as the basis of a delusion will never end well.

In fact, the conversations I could imagine, and the impressions I gain from them, none of them existed.

It's one thing if they're fictitious characters. I should in fact be doing that and focus on writing.

But I can't use a living person as a basis for my delusions. There is a huge difference between the impressions in my delusions and the actual persons, and I would end up unable to converse.

I focused my attention on Stella. After introducing everything I wanted to show, I wondered what to show next, when Stella suddenly said,

"I have something important to say."

I was quietly taken aback.

And even if I was not, I had issues dealing with the stiff formal language of hers when she's in Stella-mode, so I was really nervous.

What is this 'really important' thing?

Being so formal, I could tell she wasn't joking around, but I could not understand what she was trying to say.

"Have you realized? There's a terrifying presence in this room."

Would she say such a thing? Would she dig out a talisman from her bag and stick it onto the wall? Is she an exorcist?

No--that's not it.

It's probably when 'I deemed her as my girlfriend', right?

Speaking of which, I haven't apologized to her about this.

Or rather, more foolishly, I had forgotten about this.

During this time, my actions made it seem like that never happened.

She's probably fuming about this? Will she berate me over this?"

"Do you know how it feels to be called someone else's girlfriend without asking?"

Would she say such at thing?

To be honest, I'm really scared. I wanted to run away.

I wanted to go home.

And then, I realized I was at home.

"Wh-what is it…?"

I could not run away.

There was no one who would save me.

I hope someone can save me,

"I--"

With rage on her face, Stella spoke up. Suddenly, the door at the entrance opened.

"I'm back!"

I never expected my mother to be the one to save me!

### 013. Chapter 5-2 - June 19, I went to his house

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently strangling my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

Strictly put, this isn't correct.

I should be saying this.

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently forced to strangle my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

Sensei has his hands reached out, holding down my hands that are pressed on both sides of his neck.

But he hasn't exerted enough strength to crush my hands--

At least, it doesn't seem like it'll stop sensei's blood flow.

But his neck and hands are pretty hot.

June 19th, Thursday.

On the day without the plum rain at work, I took the car Miss Akane drove to the station.

At the same time, I recalled the excessive events that transpired this week.

Justs the previous week, the After Record of 'Vice Versa' episode 11 ended without a hitch.

On this eleventh After Record, for the first time, sensei did not appear in the studio.

Meek and Madoko did not show up, so I spent the entire time watching the senior voice actors perform before me, save for the occasional part as a mob character.

Every time, I felt that everyone acted really well, and I hoped I could be just like them as soon as possible.

The anime visuals are really brilliant. The castles are similar to the real thing. It’s no wonder they had to obtain material. At the scene before the station, there was the convenience store where I always bought the potato chips.

Sensei probably wanted to see it too. So I thought, and realized that there was something I could tell him through mail, so I did.

So work ended. I heaved a sigh of relief, and went to the lobby.

“Hello Nitadori. You look really skinny now. Have you eaten well?”

Suddenly, I heard someone speak to me with Shin’s voice. This manner of greeting is too overboard.

I could only hear that voice actor up close and personal.

“Not at all.”

I answered. Ever since that incident, I never got to finish a proper meal.

“Have you slept well?”

“No.”

I had difficulty sleeping every day. Sometimes, I would ingest sleeping pills.

“Hmm…did something happen between you and the person who isn’t around?”

He spoke with an overly intimate tone.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

I answered as I glared at him.

As a rookie, it was terrible of me to be treating my seniors like this. But at this point, I did not care.

Suddenly, the voice actor smile. It was a natural smile I had never shown before.

“Well, this is the real you, Nitadori. Not bad, a lot better now. It’s better to interact with others with this attitude, no matter who you’re dealing with. There’s no need to maintain a distance for no reason.”

He was not speaking with ‘Shin’s voice, but with his actual voice.

“…”

“Eh? I said that for fun. Am I right?”

The voice actor shrugged, and I answered him,

“Wrong, thank you.”

In the following conversation, we never held back. I earnestly prayed that nobody else heard these words.

“Hm? If it’s wrong, why are you thanking me?”

“Because you got me a little more energetic.”

“Oh, how cute--so Nitadori, a little request?’

“What is it?”

“Marry me.”

“I refuse.”

“An immediate answer? --That’s too fast of you!”

“Do you think the answer will be a little better fifty years later? It’ll be the same.”

“How hurtful. Be a little nicer to your boyfriend.”

“Hm, if I have one--thank you very much for your lesson and demonstration.”

“No problems. But if you have something to say to your boyfriend, I think you should be honest.”

“I have done so.”

“What? And you two are on good terms…beyond the level of boyfriend and girlfriend. Lovers even. I envy him.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right. He does know your true identity, right, Nitadori?”

“…”

“I haven’t lived these years for nothing. You can ask me about anything you don’t understand. Go ahead.”

“Don’t mind if I do. I have a question.”

“Sure. Do we go to the restaurant outside?”

“No, here will do. So I shall ask. Do you think it is possible for ‘someone to nearly be killed, yet be forgiven’?”

“Wha--those are some surprising words. Why did he nearly get killed? Is that person the reason?”

“Not at all. Seriously.”

“…”

“What do you think?”

“Well…is he immortal like Shin?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“So you mean he dies when he’s killed?”

“Yes.”

“Even so, to have others kill him without any resistance…I can only think of one possible reason.”

“What is it?”

“Hm, to answer here, or not? I guess we should go to the restaurant and enjoy some delicious tea together--”

“Just say it!”

“Woah, that’s scary…was that English? What does it mean?”

“It means ‘please tell me’.”

“I get the feeling that it doesn’t mean that, no, it definitely doesn’t mean that in Japanese…well, whatever. If I have to guess, there’s an unlikely chance, but I can only think of a reason. That is--"

“That is?”

“That ‘he was nearly killed a few times in the past, and has become numb to this’.”

“He was…nearly killed…a few times…?”

“In other words, ‘me’.”

“Huh?”

“You see, not ‘I’ in particular, but ‘me’. Shin. In Reputation.”

“Ah…”

“Just a little earlier, the voice director said this to me. ‘Regarding your screams when you die, be a little crisp. Makoto no longer fears death, so please act in a way that won’t make it seem like Shin’s really scared.”

“Ah--ahh.”

“So ever since, when acting as Shin on Reputation, I would think ‘death isn’t scary’.”

“…”

“Is this useful as reference?”

“…Y-yes…”

“But then, you just said ‘he isn’t immortal, Nitadori.”

“Yes, but I never tried to see if it’s true…”

“You can’t go about testing that. What happens if he isn’t?”

“…”

“Well, so I say, what I said might not be correct. This is the only reason I can think of.”

“Thank you.”

“No problems. Shall we have a meal together?”

“No thanks, I will not be going. I have something to do immediately.”

“How cruel. Well, let’s forget about today--if there’s any trouble you face, please think of my face, Nitadori.”

While taking the taxi with Miss Akane, I kept staring at the smartphone.

“You’ll get dizzy, you know?”

I ignored her words as I pondered my choice of words.

‘Hey sensei. Did you have any near death experience before the time I choked you?’

There was no way I could send such a message.

“Sigh…”

“Your happiness will slip away, you know?”

Upon hearing her words, I sent a completely meaningless message.

I got an immediate reply, which was vanilla as well.

“Sigh…”

“Your happiness will slip away, you know?”

I don’t think there’s any happiness left that hasn’t escaped, right?

I nearly killed someone I respected, and got forgiven by him for some strange reason. I wanted to know the reason, but I couldn’t ask, and kept running away. Once I finally had the will to ask, he took sick leave.

I thought, if so, I would visit him at his house.

His house…

“Ah! Ahh!”

“What? You dropped something?”

“No, more like I forgot something.”

“What is it?”

“A little promise. But…it’s fine.”

So I said as I tried to wave it off.

“Sensei allowed me to visit his house! I can just go to his house. I can ask him through mail now!”

I couldn’t say this to Miss Akane.”

For surely she would tell me,

“Very well. I shall go along too.”

I will send him a message tonight.

So I quietly made up my mind.

It was until two days later, on Sunday, that I finally sent that message.

18th, Wednesday.

After school, I waited twenty minutes before leaving school.

Through messages, I affirmed that I could pay a visit. Though I knew his unit number, and had his mail address stored in my phone, I had the information written on a note, in case the phone did malfunction.

After four minutes of walking, i would be able to reach the apartment sensei was staying at.

Those four minutes seemed really long.

If only it was raining. I could have covered my face with an umbrella. However, the weather that day was so fine, I could not believe it was the plum rain season.

During the first two minutes, I was concerned with the other students who were headed in the same direction as me.

"Eh! Isn't this Nitadori? Why are you walking here? That's rare. Where are you going?"

I was scared at the prospect of others talking to me.

"Where are you going? Where are you going? Why aren't you talking? Can't talk? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello--"

Just imagining it caused a chill to run up my spine.

I could feel my face and body sweating.

It was so unbearable, I had the urge to remove my wig and glasses.

But even so, after three minutes, I could not see the other students. I was alone, walking on the streets.

Following this, I would be headed to the place with no escape room, to be with him, alone.

I was mentally prepared. Or rather, I was headed there for this reason.

In the message, I learned that sensei's mother would be out for work.

I entered the entrance to the apartment block sensei was staying at, and pressed the room number to call for him. I no longer had the urge to run away at that point.

"In a battle, the scariest part is the night before the battle. That's the fear of whether you can see the next night again. But once you step onto the battlefield, that fear disappears."

At this point, I could understand the words Sin said.

"Come in!"

Once I did hear sensei's voice, the thick glass doors opened.

I repeated the same process before the elevator, and entered.

At the second to last apartment on the corridor, I made up my mind,

"I'm not going to run away before sensei, no matter what."

I arrived at the door, and decided to calm myself down during the ten seconds before I pressed the bell.

At that moment, I was not muttering 'time to play'.

So, what was the mantra? I could not think of any, so I never muttered. All I did was to have ten seconds to calm myself down.

Once I was sure I was at the right door, I stood at it, and took a deep breath.

The door opened.

"Hii!"

I shrieked.

I, not daring to raise a question immediately, could only continue with the act.

“Great retention of sunlight. Oh, nice view! It’s so windy! So cooling!”

To be honest, the room didn't matter.

"Well, enough with that. Sit here, I have something to say."

To be honest, I didn't have the courage to say that to sensei, who was happily introducing the rooms to me.

So I decided to wait until he was done introducing the rooms to me, and I could at least cool down, before asking,

“Now finally, the workplace!”

So I prompted sensei. Truth be told, I was more interested in the place where 'Vice Versa' was born, as compared to the other rooms.

Sensei opened the door to his room, and led me in,

“So this is your workplace, sensei! The place where ‘Vice Versa is born! --May I come in?”

So I said, and then I entered.

Thus,

I heard sensei lock the door behind me.

It might be hard to believe in Japan--

But in a foreign country, the school will teach female students this,

"For example, if you are called to the office by a male teacher (to a single room), and enter. If that teacher locks the door, do scream immediately."

Goes without saying, the reason is obvious,

In other words, one can't trust the other gender, even if it's an acquaintance.

"Eh?"

I instinctively called out,

"Ah, erm...I locked the door...well, it's a habit."

And sensei, stunned by this, uttered an unreasonable line,

Of course, most foreigners would lock their doors.

Same goes for my family. There are locks installed on the doors of the children's rooms, and my parents would ask me to keep my key safe. When there's no need to lock, the door will remain open, even when people are inside.

But in Japan, it's said that many parents don't allow their children to install locks in their rooms. I didn't know which one's the right thing.

"...even though I'm at home"

Saying that, sensei again reached for the lock.

He probably didn't understand why I was so shocked.

Then, sensei started introducing various things in the room.

Like his work computer, the printed illustrations that were laid out, and so on.

They were interesting. To be honest, I was excited about these undisclosed illustrations and designs. As a fan of 'Vice Versa', he really showed me some amazing things.

"It's really interesting! See you tomorrow then!"

I was utterly delighted. It would be wonderful if I could say these words and go home.

After this happy time--

"And there's one thing I want to show you no matter what."

Sensei suddenly said.

He then opened a drawer, taking out that thing.

It happened too quickly, and I was unable to imagine what he wanted to show me.

"I think you probably would want to see this thing you haven't seen in a while."

Once I saw the thing he showed me--

I really felt that the determination of humanity was all pointless.

After crying a long while, I regained my courage.

I washed the tears off my face at the basin, and returned to the living.

For I had something to say to the one standing at the balcony, basked in the sun.

"I'm very happy. Also, I remembered a lot of things. While they aren't good memories, those past memories made me who I am."

As I stood in the middle of the living, I blurted out whatever I wanted to say.

Sensei's staring right at me, and I did not know what he was thinking.

Though I did not know, I had to say,

“I have something important to say.”

I said it. The die is cast. Once this is over, there is nothing to be afraid,

"Wh-what is it…?"

"First, I have to apologize to you, sensei. For peeking at the manuscript on my own discretion, and for trying to strangle you. And then, why did you forgive me? Please tell me the reason. I am not going to leave until you say so."

So I wanted to say,

"I--"

But the moment I was about to speak up, the door opened, and a cheery voice rang,

"I'm back!"

"Eh?" "Eh?"

My voice was in sync with sensei's.

Our necks moved in the same manner.

Sensei and I looked at the corridor in unison, and at the bright rectangular space before us, there appeared a lady.

Of course, at that instant, I knew who she was.

She was the other occupant of this house, sensei's mother. This mother managed to provide some gifted education simply by moving houses.

She was supposed to be working, but for some reason, she had returned home.

What surprised me more than the fact that sensei's mother had returned home, was her beauty.

Once she saw me, she squealed,

"Eh!"

This pretty lady hurriedly removed her court shoes, stumbled on the corridor, and approached me.

She was shorter than me, about 160cm or so, dressed in a plain white blouse and navy blue skirt. She had a nice slender body.

Her black hair was tied up,, and she had a pair of large, bright eyes; some tear bags too.

What a beauty.

While everyone's preferences differ, I don't think anyone on this world will say that she's 'not a beauty'. If I have to use a cliche, she's so pretty that I can buy a claim that she's 'a Japanese movie actress'.

Age-wise, as she s sensei's mother, she's probably 35 at minimum, but she doesn't look that old. Miss Akane looks younger than she really is, and she too might be the same.

Aunty's storrming over.

"Wait! Wait! Wait"

She spoke with a loud voice as she entered the living, stopped before us, and called out the name of her one son (of course, the real name)

"Wh-what's going on? What' happened? Who is this? Did you abduct her?"

She spoke with same surprise, some delight, and some bewilderment as she looked back and forth between sensei and me.

"Erm...mom."

For the first time, I learned this was how sensei called his mother.

"Calm down, let me explain."

Sensei was strangle calm for some reason.

I didn't know why he was so calm. I didn't think he would have expected his mother to return home. Maybe it's because he's at home?

"Okay! And so?"

With a curious look, aunty widened her eyes.

I was looking forward to how sensei would introduce me--and bracing myself.

Looking at the current situation, it's rather troublesome. But sensei can't just not introduce me.

First, sensei introduced me by name, as to be expected,

"This is my classmate, Miss Eri Nitadori."

And then, he slyly explained,

"Currently, she's the only one at school who knows that I'm an author. She's sitting right behind me in the classroom, and I let slip my secret. She's a fan of 'Vice Versa'."

It seemed sensei would always maintain the two secrets, the 'I'm a voice actress participating in the anime production', and that 'we'll go to Tokyo together every week.

"So after school, we would chat a a bit--and when I mentioned that our house is close to school, she said she wanted to see the unreleased illustrations. In the end, I couldn't refuse her completely, so I invited her here today."

Brilliant explanation. Nothing to nitpick.

Then it's my turn,

"Erm, hello! I'm Eri Nitadori!"

With the vibe of someone approaching a microphone, I bowed to aunty as I said this. I made sure not to bow too deeply. Given my usual habit, I would give the most formal greetings.

"I was really surprised to learn that sensei's an author in high school. I really love 'Vice Versa', and read the entire series. Sensei told me lots of things, and it made me happy. Of course, I haven't told this to anyone else!"

These were facts, so it was easy for me to say them all out.

"I see!"

Aunty spoke with relief and surprise. And then, she looked at me.

"Eri, is it? Can I call you Eri-chan then?"

"Huh?"

Due to shock, I squealed.

"Ah, that was so cute. How about it, Eri-chan?"

Aunty's bringing her pure face close to me.

Even when looking up close, she's pretty.

As someone of the same gender, I can be impartial enough to say that she's a beauty.

She's kind and earnest. In other words, she's someone genial.

I heard that she's a nurse. If such a person's giving gentle, delicate care to a patient, that should be great encourage to the patients.

"E-erm...s-sure, it's fine."

I stammered. Nobody had ever called me 'Eri-chan' since elementary school.

Back then, I was in a foreign country, attending 'remedials', and only partaking in Japanese lessons on Saturdays when I did not have to go to the local school.

It's embarrassing, but I didn't hate it.

"Okay! Thank you! It's not good to stand and talk. Have a seat! Relax!"

"Yes." Before I could say so, sensei simply replied,

"She's going back now. There isn't much time left."

Sensei interrupted.

That's a lie. But I agree with the action.

The moment sensei's mother returned home--

I had no choice but to give up.

I finally had the chance to speak up, but I got interrupted.

Even though I was sad and depressed, I couldn't pin the blame on aunty. She's returning home after all.

And even though she welcomed me, I couldn't stay for long.

There was only one choice I could choose.

"Yes, I have to return home soon."

I had to lament my misfortune, and head home.

For even if I did leave the bathroom a minute earlier, aunty would have returned home right when sensei's about to say what was on his mind.

If that happened, what would happen next…?

On this day, I saw the letter I once sent.

That alone was worth the trip.

So I thought as I decided to leave.

"I see. Such a pity!"

Aunty said, and then grabbed my hands from both sides.

"Woah!"

I exclaimed in shock. She then raised my hands right to my chest,

"Eri-chan, my weird son here shall be in your care then! I don't understand at all, but it does seem he 'only' has the talent to write!"

"Y-yes...I can't really talk to him in school, lest the secret is revealed…"

I answered as I thought of something else.

"This person's hands are really warm" so I thought.

In fact, my hands were overly cold.

But even so, this person's hands were really warm, so comforting."

"If my son is to say something weird or do anything infuriating, feel free to vent your rage on him!"

"Ok-okay…"

I already did that. I once strangled him in my rage.

Right, aunty.

I once tried to kill your one and only son.

If in the future, I have a child, and raised him up.

And then, he was killed at the age of seventeen, the reason being 'he tried to kill off a beloved character in his work'--

What would I think?

I knew the answer.

"I will kill him."

I probably would have such a thought.

It's time to go back.

"Erm, well, goodbye. Glad to meet you."

I lied, and slowly withdrew my hands.

"Hm, such a pity."

Aunty finally was willing to let go of my hands.

And then, she ordered sensei,

"Send her off!"

Sensei remained calm however, and asked his mother why she returned earlier than expected.

"Ah, am I disturbing you?"

"No, not at all."

"Well, there's a colleague who wants to swap shifts with me, so I'm working night shift tonight. I'm going to sleep a bit and then go out."

Aunty said. So she means she's going to work on night shift instead of day shift? How long are the working hours?

"I see."

Sensei didn't seem surprised. So this is a common occurrence after all?

I wasn't familiar with the working habits of a nurse at all, so I couldn't comment.

"Eri-chan! Come back again!"

In the end, I bowed to aunty, who sent me off at the door.

Sensei and I were walking side by side on the corridor, and we entered the elevator that arrived immediately.

"Thank you for today--really."

"No worries--well, sorry that my mother was being all excited."

"No. She's really a cheerful, beautiful, outstanding person! She's a nurse, right? She's probably popular with the patients."

I said that with sincerity.

"She's pretty sloppy at home, actually. Also, she's normally not that excitable."

Sensei showed a rare smile.

I was wondering that this person would actually be so bashful when praised, and was relieved. It was true that aunty was a little overly excited.

We took the elevator down, and arrived at the empty atrium. The automatic doors opened.

"Too bad we were cut off before you could say anything--if possible, let's talk tomorrow."

Right.

"Yes, tomorrow."

I still had the next day. Also, sensei hinted at me.

I had decided. Once I returned home, I would take out that precious thing. The next day, I would keep it in my clutches.

"Here should be fine, right? I don't have my keys. Can't go back once I get out."

Sensei, standing on the inner side of the doors, was a little sheepish,

"Of course. Thank you for today. See you on the train tomorrow!"

I smiled.

On the 19th, I was on the car headed from home to the station, and I told Miss Akane of what happened the previous day.

"Oh my, that happened."

I thought she would be fuming at me for heading to sensei's house without her consent, but she was not.

She probably assumed that since it happened, it was pointless to be angry, right?"

"Milady, don't you think you've done well? Another step forward."

And then, she praised me, something i did not expect.

I guess Miss Akane really trusts sensei? Or maybe she felt that he's not much of a threat?

Leaving that aside,

"I can consider myself unlucky for being unable to say that...but today should be fine!"

"Oh? Where did this confidence come from?"

"Because I have something that brings me courage. Today's me is very strong."

"Did you steal the chopper from the kitchen?"

"This isn't funny, Miss Akane."

"My apologies--however, I have some interest in that. If things do go well, do you mind showing me that thing?"

"Hm, what should I do?"

Of course, I answered that, following intending to do so once everything went well.

"Looking forward to it."

Miss Akane probably understood this too, as she happily continued.

There was still some time until the station,

"Speaking of which, now that you mentioned it, I do remember something. Sensei's name is--"

Miss Akane suddenly started talking about sensei's real name.

That's true. So what?

I affirmed, and Miss Akane said,

"I see...actually, I heard some rumors, regarding sensei's mother."

"Eh! From where? When did you hear it?"

It was really unexpected, and I was surprised.

"I had an acquaintance who stayed in the general hospital for quite a while, and this was what I was told. Well, that name's really common, so I couldn't be sure…"

"What rumors?"

"It's said that she's the most famous nurse in that hospital. First off, she looks far younger than her given age, a Japanese beauty who resembled an actress, and she's very popular with the men. Work-wise, she's capable and hardworking--"

There's a likely possibility.

"Also, it's said that her hands are warm. Anyone who's not feeling well; will really feel comfy and warm when held on the hands or patted on the back. So said him along with the other other patients. A lot of people use the cliche 'white angels' to describe them, and she is one such person."

Ah,that's right.

"It's her! Miss Akane! No doubt about it!"

I exclaimed.

And I started to think,

Was sensei so 'gentle' to a startling extent because of aunty's influence?

As he's raised by an 'angel', he's able to forgive even when he's nearly killed?

It's just a one-sided imagination on my part. If I want to know the truth, I'll still have to ask him.

I recalled the warm hands of sensei's mother, and said,

"Her hands felt so warm when they touched me…"

"Your hands are always so chilly, Milady, so her hands will obviously be much warmer, no? Did you scald yourself?"

"That's cruel of you, Miss Akane…"

"Do people not say that 'those with cold hands have warm hearts'--?"

She hardly discussed such things, so I was surprised,

"Are you comforting me?"

"No, I am not done. What I am saying is that 'that is a load of nonsense, that the inner body temperature fluctuates according to the time, location, and target."

"..."

Miss Akane's the same as usual, absolutely brutal.

"When dealing with others, a person can become an angel, or a devil. In other words, whoever one becomes will be determined on who they are."

"I will kill anyone, all to save meek!"

My mind was suddenly filled with the imagery of that day.

"...I have a question, Miss Akane."

"What is it? We're reaching the station, so keep it short."

"Do you think someone who was once a devil can become an angel?"

Miss Akane immediately answered me,

"Certainly, and the reverse holds true too."

### 014. Chapter 5-3 - June 19, I forgot

The train departed.

And so, I was saved by mom's unexpected return home--

Thinking about it, I had a feeling that she would say 'something Stella wanted to say the previous day but couldn't do so'. When we went our separate ways, I told her to do so.

In any case, she would be asking a day later, and nothing's solved.

But if it's the usual, Miss Kamishiro will be seated next to me, and the train's a public location--

She's probably not going to tell me off that harshly.

I hope not.

Probably not.

In any case, my thoughts won't be swayed.

"No matter the topic, if she's angry, I'll apologize."

So I thought, and my smartphone vibrated.

I was really taken aback.

I knew from the vibration that it was a mail notification. From Nitadori?

"I don't want to see you today!"

Will she say such a thing?

"Want to know the reason? Hm, okay, listen--"

Will my face be as pale as the clear skies of midwinter?

With trembling hands, I took out the vibrating smartphone.

"What…"

I heaved a sigh of relief, for it was from the editor.

I did not receive that call, as I did not want to leave my seat before Nitadori arrived.

The phone started to record a voicemail. I decided to listen, and then message back at the deck.

The message was recorded, and I listened. What would be it about?

I listened.

And then--

My face was as pale as the clear skies of midwinter.

### 015. Chapter 5-4 - June 19, I remembered

On the departed train, I went to the usual carriage.

The aisle was narrow, and the train was shaking, so it was really difficult for me to walk.

But so what?

If the paths have been paved for me, I won't be able to reach the place I want to reach.

Today, I'm going to pursue the matter,

"Your bastard! Why did you forgive me! You were nearly killed by me!--Answer me!"

I didn't care whether I was on the train.

No way would i miss out this chance again.

Once I was done walking down the large carriage, I reach the deck where the toilet and washroom were.

It was here where I once committed a sin.

That thereafter, the person I wanted to kill saved me.

So to know the reason, I entered the carriage sensei was waiting in.

"Ah! You're here! I'm talking on the phone! My ticket's on the seat! If the conductor drops by, please take over!"

And then, with a smartphone in hand, he passed me by, ducked into the deck, and vanished before my eyes.

"Huh?"

Since it was something I could do nothing about, I leaned my back on the seat, and waited.

The empty windowside seat to my left had a bag and the ticket on it, so I took care of them for him. Of course, I would never peek into his bag on my own volition again.

Soon after, a middle-aged male conductor came to check the tickets, and I showed two.

Sensei did not return in a while, but he could not have hopped out from the moving train, so I could deal with waiting for minutes, dozens even. There's two and a hour hours until the destination.

I guess the call was from the editor. No way was I ridiculous enough to disturb others at work all because I had something important to discuss.

There's no need for me to panic. No matter how long it takes, I'll wait. So I waited patiently, pondering over the choice of words, and waiting for that moment.

So another five, ten minutes passed.

Sensei returned to my side while I was leisurely waiting.

I stood up to let him pass through. Once I saw his face, I was rather surprised, saying,

"Wh-what is it...?"

Sensei's face was as pale as a corpse.

What's with him?

Not feeling well again? But his face was really pale.

"Thank, you."

Sensei stumbled forward, and took his bag, sitting down.

"I forgot...I forgot!"

He said, and took out his computer from his bag.

He tossed his backpack aside, and placed it on his thighs, opened it, switched it on, and the monitor flickered.

"What is it?"

I tidied my hair, and sat down again. I asked the same question, and sensei's neck turned to the right like a rusted machine.

Looking really pale, sensei said,

"I forgot a join...the really short story of 'Vice Versa' that was to be submitted by yesterday...it was supposed to be published on the digital 'Dengeki Bunko Magazine'..."

"Eh?"

"Actually, the deadline was supposed to be Tuesday...the editor-in-charge delayed the deadline, but I forgot about it…"

"Eh!"

"I haven't written a line...if I don't go all out to focus on writing, it'll be a mess ...it'll be really, really bad…"

"Th-then--"

"Sorry Nitadori! I got to work! I'm going to focus on writing before we reach Tokyo."

I could have seen his password, but he entered it anyway, and stared at the watch.

And then, once he booted the word software, he stared at the screen as he kept typing.

What's with this situation?

What does he mean?

Is he asking me to 'disturb sensei and keep asking! Don't care about the deadline!' or something?

No, of course not.

I am not so insensitive.

Thus--

On the ride that lasted more than two and a half hours, sensei spent two hours and twenty minutes typing at the keyboard.

And I remained seated by the side.

Sometimes, I would glance to the side, and see the words on the screen accelerate at an astounding rate, but I never read it.

This time, I bought some consomme flavored chips, but I could not hand them to him in this situation.

I had checked the script an umpteenth time.

From time to time, I would check on sensei's sidelong face, and he looked grim and desperate.

I guess it's a rare experience to be able to personally witness a professional author at work.

If not for this being the day it happened--

"Ooh, so this is how 'Vice Versa' is written!'"

As a fan, I might be able to enjoy this.

Fifteen minutes before the train arrived at the terminal,

"F-finally done...sent a message for the editor to check. We'll have a meeting immediately after the After Record, should be fine…"

Sensei finally spoke up after two hours of silence.

This is great, really great.

But do I have to give up this week and wait another week?

You got to be kidding.

I decided to ask on this day. I brought along my weapon primed for this purpose.

So i thought, what should I do, what should I do.

And then, I thought of something.

I got up, pulled along Miss Akane seated next to me, passed through the automatic door and towards the deck.

"Is there something…? Milady?"

Miss Akane showed a rare surprised look,

"Let's called aunty!"

And so I whispered sharply.

### 016. Chapter 6-1 - June 19, I was strangled by her II

I'm a high school boy and a bestselling light novel author, strangled by my classmate who is my underclassman and a voice actress.

This is my current predicament.

June 19th, that Thursday night.

I was in that hotel in Tokyo, the place I visited for the umpteenth time.

This space wasn't so big, but didn't need to be so. I was on the single bed, leaning my back on the wall, pillow and bolster.

I had my computer placed on my thighs that were extended forward. As it would heat up, the gentle heat would reach me through the jeans, like a kitten. I never had one, so it's just my imagination.

In this image, I was working on the manuscript of 'Vice Versa'.

A small television was placed on the edge of the table, the corner of the room. It's showing the NHK news at 9pm. They had been discussing the FIFA World Cup all this while.

Stored in a plastic bag next to me was a packet of consomme potato chips, 4 PET bottles of water and tea, and a sweet bun for supper.

Of course, the potato chips and two bottles of tea were from Nitadori. I intended to consume them on the return trip.

Everything else was bought by me when I visited a convenience store close to the hotel after I checked in. The bag containing the potato chips was bigger, so I stuffed the rest of the items inside.

This was the hotel I enjoyed staying in, and it was close to the Dengeki editorial branch near Iidabashi station.

Over the two years and so, whenever I visited Tokyo, I would be staying here, (except when at the end of year party). I took medical leave the previous week, but I had been staying here for ten consecutive Thursdays, so I did remember the appearances of the receptionists.

Surely they would have remembered whenever I checked in.

"Hey you! What happened to you last week yo!"

It wouldn't be weird for them to say that to me. But they didn't.

Also, I can imagine the ones on the other side of the counter discussing 'the high school boy from the countryside living here every Thursday, sponsored by a publisher'.

Will I be dubbed 'Thursday-kun' or 'Thursday Boy'? Anyway, I don't want to be called that on the streets.

On this day, while on the trip to Tokyo, I forgot something really serious.

The senior authors dubbed the period right before deadline or way after that as the 'carnage period'.

"In a little carnage period."

"Next week's gonna be a carnage. Don't ask me out."

"Got out of the carnage period! Let's go Karaoke!"

They would use this term. That's what I learned at the end-of-year.

And during the two and a half hours from dusk to night--

That was a period of carnage to me.

I was really anxious. This was the one thing I was most apprehensive of with regards to writing.

How did I forget to write that short story?

I had a note on the desk, a 'tasklist', and I pasted it there. My smartphone calendar had this task recorded to.

And I forgot them all. I really forgot everything from my mind.

In this moment of crisis, the editor called me on the train. I really got saved.

If he had not contacted me--

For example, if he had contacted me only now, I would have faced a worse moment of carnage.

The content I had to write was decided, and the structure was completed (in my head), so I was able to complete it on the train, as I was able to focus.

I might be boasting, but i did feel this was a really interesting short story.

It's a comedy.

While Shin and Sin were in Reputation, they carelessly fell off a cliff. Shin died and revived, and in three days, was reunited with Sin. Before they met, Shin was treated as a god by the indigenous tribe living at the bottom of the valley.

I finished the final touches eight minutes before the train reached the terminal, and made it presentable to the editor. I sent the mail with the attached files through the smartphone internet as I sat on the train.

It's not a price to begin with, but I never got the chance to take to Nitadori at all.

And I never had the time to eat the potato chips on the train.

Nitadori and Miss Kamishiro got off the train first.

So for two consecutive days, Wednesday and Thursday, I never heard Nitadori, or Stella talk about that 'important thing'.

In other words, I did not have to hear her out.

This allowed me some relief, but there's still the following week. While we wouldn't talk in school, we would still meet. In fact, I couldn't escape at all, and I'm just pushing the problems behind me.

But even so, at least--

I wouldn't have to be so worried.

So I started to relax. After a while, I changed into the pajamas prepared in the room, and intended to sleep by twelve latest, to prepare for the After Record.

Right before bed, I started to relax, with the TV airing as the background music, and enjoy the moment of writing a novel

While I was feeling completely satisfied, I heard a knock on the door.

At first, I had assumed the knocking was from the neighboring door, or opposite.

There was no way anyone would visit my room at this time. It never happened before.

But after hearing the door knock again, I had to recognize that it was a knock on my door.

What's going on?

With laptop in hand, I got up from the bed. I shut it, and placed it on the table by the window.

And then, I switched off the TV using the remote control.

My shoes were placed at the door of the room, so I inserted my feet into the room slippers.

And then, I teetered towards the door, where someone was calling for me.

After the third knock, I approached the door, and was about to take a step forward.

"Coming."

I responded.

As there was a peephole in the door, a door scope, I decided to check.

It would be bad if it's a killer awaiting me.

No, in the movies I watched, once the house owner peep through, there'll be a gun pointed, and fired. I will die if my right eye's shot through.

But that's very unlikely. So I bent down, guessing that it was the hotel staff, and looked through.

And then, I spotted the one nocking.

Black hair, light green glasses.

Nitadori.

Why Nitadori?

Isn't she living at a relative's?

How did she know about this hotel and room number?

I had a lot of questions on my mind, and pulled the horizontal sliding lock.

I opened the door, and affirmed that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. It was Nitadori.

Was I right to imagine her as a 'killer'?

"Good night sensei. Sorry for the sudden visit."

Nitadori said with a frozen look, and nodded hastily. Her long hair flowed. It's definitely her voice.

Her attire was different from when we were on the train. Home clothes, maybe? She was dressed in pants with large pockets at the thighs, along with a three-quarter sleeved shirt, looking really relaxed.

I then knew it was Nitadori, but I did not understand why she visited.

"W-Why?"

I was quietly taken aback, but I asked slowly.

"I could smell some very nice horse sashimi smell from this room, so I came running here from my relative's place. Let me have some!"

Would she say such a thing? So I wondered.

"I have something to discuss. I couldn't talk on the train."

She did not mention that hose sashimi.

Till this point, I understood everything.

But how did she know where I was?

"And you know this hotel and the room…"

"You mentioned the hotel name before."

"Ah…"

Speaking of which, I did. That was probably when I first talked with Nitadori on the train.

"But...the room number?"

I was really surprised, and asked,

Surely no hotel staff would inform others of my room number.

Even if the person asking's my acquaintance, the hotel staff will merely call my room if needed. She can't possibly enter the suite level either.

"Erm...I'll tell you that later. Mind letting me in?"

Nitadori asked as she answered,

"Erm, alone?"

And in response,

"Impossible."

Answering me was Miss Kamshiro, standing to the right of the door, poking her head in from a place I could not see. She stood by the side like a shinobi.

She was holding a device a little bigger than the phone. Nitadori said,

"I shall answer your question then, sensei. This is a sensor. This room is giving off a strong consomme scent, so we know where you live."

Th-that's impossible...but, I guess it might be possible with Miss Kamshiro's secret weapon…?

While I was feeling dumbfounded,

"That was a joke. In fact, I placed a microchip into the potato chips bag. If it's within distance, I can determine the location. The battery's running out, so rest assure."

Miss Kamishiro answered. She's as scary in various ways as usual.

"Milady decided to stay in a double room with me here. I told her aunt that she would be with her colleagues till late, and that we decided to stay at a hotel near the studio."

"I see."

So at this point, i finally got something clear about Nitadori. This 'staying at the relative's place' part was real?

"Can I--come in?"

Nitadori asked again. I was thinking it was impossible for me to refuse her.

Thus, on this day, I had to face Nitadori (or Stella). I steeled myself.

Since Nitadori was so desperate to question me, I assume she must be feeling furious. I didn't know

We couldn't just discuss on the corridor. While the room's small, I could only invite them in.

With Miss Kamishiro around, there shouldn't be any problems.

"Of course, come in."

I said, and held the door with the left hand, backing up.

Nitadori passed me by, but did not enter the room.

She merely took a step forward, stopped right at the door, and reached her right hand out for the handle.

At that moment, I was taken aback, and then I understood that she did not want to enter the room without me entering first. Thus, I moved my left hand away.

I then entered the room, as she hoped, and turned back to see Nitadori follow suit.

After that, Miss Kamishiro was about to enter through the door--

"Eh!"

But Nitadori suddenly shouted, and barged into Miss Kamishiro on the shoulder.

"Huh?"

I looked over at her, giving an awkward cry.

Miss Kamishiro, who was suddenly attacked, severely lost her balance. However, she did not trip over. She stumbled a few steps back, and was barely able to maintain her balance.

This action alone was enough to force her out of the room.

And Nitadori reached her hand out, closing the door slowly.

Miss Kamishiro's face was blocked by the door, and the door get a crisp sound as it shut, and locked itself.

"..."

I might have been taken. Nitadori turned her head around, and smiled at me,

"Sorrry to startle you."

Right behind her, I could hear the forceful twist of the door knob. Of course, it wouldn't budge.

I thought Miss Kamishiro would be screaming, but she never did.

Of course, she probably knew she would be disturbing others, and immediately stopped doing so.

"Is this fine?"

I asked.

"This is fine."

Nitadori answered with a different intonation.

I had a thought.

Nitadori might have something very important to tell me.

That she would not say in front of Miss Kamishiro, if possible.

I understood everything till this point.

As for what she wanted to say however, I did not know.

"Understood...I'll hear you out. It's inconvenient to talk standing up. If you don't mind, have a seat."

It might the first time in my life that I used the expression 'it's inconvenient to talk standing up'. So this is also applicable in real life. I'm a little moved.

"Thank you. Yes, it seems so."

Nitadori answered, and this time, she moved forward, passed me, and into the room.

Huh?

All I had to do was to reach out, exert some force on the door, and it'll open.

I brooded, and wanted to say that since it's Miss Kamishiro outside, things should be fine. I did not open the door, and gave chase after Nitadori instead.

I felt that if I opened the door, I would have wasted all of Nitadori's efforts and determination. I was scared of what she would say to me, but I did not open the door. Nitadori went deep inside the room, quickly turned the chair at the windowside desk around, and sat down.

This time, she did not follow the usual routine of tying her wig, and draping it forward.

Instead, she sat down, placed her hands on her chest, and in a fluid motion, ripped off her wig.

Once she took off the black wig, the real hair beneath the net--the faint brown hair, almost grey appeared before me.

She quickly rolled up the wig in her hands, and placed it next to the phone on the table. Then, she immediately took the net off with one hand, and let her delicate and short hair flutter gently.

She then removed her glasses, and gently laid it beside the wig on the table, She then widened her right eye with her left fingers, and reached her right fingers into the eye.

It might look scary, but I knew what she was doing. She was removing the colored contacts beneath her glasses.

Once she took it off, she casually dumped it into her pocket.

I suppose it was a customized colored contact lens.

I had good vision, and never wore one, so I was unfamiliar with them. However, is it okay to keep contact lenses like this without storing within solution?

Then, I realized that she intended to abandon it.

I did not know whether it was because it was close to expiry, and she intended to discard it after taking it out, or to give up everything she could use to show her resolve.

Nitadori was turning into Stella.

Or rather, the opposite.

She was reverting back to being Stella. However, I did not know the intent behind this.

Was it more of a 'since it's late at night, I'm changing back', or 'to show my real self and interrogate this person before me?

I stood still, and Stella turned towards me.

She was staring at me with her grey right eye and brown left eye.

Once I clearly saw the difference in eye colors, I found them to be really strange, yet really beautiful.

"Please have a seat, sensei."

Stella said tersely.

"Ah, erm, eh, yes."

I did some suspicious gestures as I wondered where I should be sitting. So I could only sit on the bed, close to her.

"Heyo!"

I gave a good ol' fashioned grunt to hide my anxiety, and sat at the side of the bed.

After that, I found myself less than a meter away from Stella, who was on the chair.

Though we were closer while seated on the train, she was always shoulder to shoulder. I never once st facing her.

Again, I had a new experience, an uncomfortable one.

Stella once looked down.

Whenever she talked, she would typically look at the other party in the eye. I was wondering if she was asking me to take the initiative, but probably not.

Stella placed her left hand on her left thigh, right before her eyes, and she was tapping her white slender hand atop the pocket there.

It was big, and probably had the capacity to store lots of things; however, it looked really flat. There might be a lump even if the pocket contained a smartphone.

At the same time, i could hear the friction between the hand and the fabric, along with the no-so-strong air-conditioning. I didn't know what this ritual meant, but Stella repeated the same motion over and over again.

Thanks to that, I had some time to think.

After some consideration, I got an answer.

I didn't know what Stella wanted to say--but at this moment, I should apologize first.

Give a proper apology like a man.

On the train, I was thinking 'if she's angry, I'll apologize'.

This overly pessimistic, reactive attitude just won't do.

So I decided to apologize first. Don't people say that attack is the best defense?

"Phew."

Stella took a short sigh, and then moved her left hand away from her thigh.

I saw her lips curl into a blissful smile, and thought of a metaphor, that a beast would grin before its prey.

She lifted her head slowly, and took a quick breath. She was about to speak.

No way will I lose.

I spoke up.

It's mano-a-mano, like a quickdraw duel in a Western flick. The first to shoot wins.

I took a deep breath.

I once saw a saying that when gunmen have a showdown, there would be occasions when both would fire at once.

During such situations, only a gunshot can be heard.

This was the situation that happened to both of us.

Both Stella and I said the same thing, at the exact same moment.

We were completely in sync.

I hastily lowered my head as I spoke, so I did not see the expression shown on Stella's face.

As I slowly lifted my head, I saw Stella lifting her head too.

In other words, we both apologized and lowered our heads at the same time.

If we were any closer, I might have knocked Stella in the head. That was very close.

We both lifted our heads, and our eyes met.

"Ah?" "Eh?"

What we said next was different. However, intent-wise, it was the same.

With stunned looks, we stared at each other.

I had the immediate urge to say something--but I stopped myself.

"Why?"

Good thing I didn't say anything. If I did, I would have spoken at the same time as Stella.

"Please talk." "Please talk."

And we were in unison again. Surely both sides must be feeling awkward by now.

I listened to Stella, and said,

"It's nothing...I wanted to apologize, so I did…"

"Why?"

"Ah, because I thought you're angry."

"Why"

"You see."

Stella's tone was utterly terrifying, so I blurted in response. I wanted to respond, but I sounded so arrogant, and I immediately regretted my words.

"No, I'm angry because you're saying that--"

Stella refuted, and stopped.

"You have no need to apologize at all, sensei!"

And then, she hollered.

Eh? Really?

I was completely overwhelmed by her, and so I thought.

"I came here to apologize!"

She said with utmost vigor. It appeared she was livider than whenever Meek was misunderstood.

But even so, I could not understand the reason at all.

"Eh-eh? Erm...huh? Erm...what's going on? Did you do...something to me, Nitadori?"

I was waving my hands with intrigue, utterly speechless, and completely sweating, but I barely managed to respond. Nitadori then widened her eyes.

Her right eye was a grey hue, her left brown. The whites around the pupils widened.

Her slightly opened scarlet lips were quivering.

I had been thinking nonchalantly that if she was utterly seething, she would be so furious that she would end up transforming.

"..."

Stella got up from her seat without uttering a word.

She immediately brought her face and body towards me.

"Eh?"

She grabbed my shoulders, and shoved me down.

"Huh?"

My head and back crashed into the mattress. Of course, it didn't hurt.

Just like this, I ended up lying face up on the bed instead of seated. My posture was a little crooked, and everything beneath the knees were beyond the bed.

One second right after I was looking at the ceiling of the hotel room--

My vision was covered in a shadow, and I was being strangled.

Once my neck felt an icy sensation, I could hear Stella right atop my face, saying this,

"Why!? Why!? Why?--I! Did this! To you!"

She did not exert more force onto the neck.

I would say she was 'touching' my neck, rather than choking it.

If 'this thing' meant choking me back on the train, she's not doing this now.

This was simply 'touching the neck', not choking it. She could have exerted more strength into it,

Even so, her icy hands stroking my neck seemed to have removed much excess heat from my carotid artery, and I felt that it's comfortable.

"I! Tried to! Kill you!"

I was lying on the bed, and my neck felt comfy. I had relaxed completely as I heard Stella yel at me.

"I peeked into your manuscript! I was livid that Meek might die, so I tried to kill the person who did that!"

My eyes were facing the light, so I was able to see Stella's face, that her large eyes were brimming with tears.

I remembered this expression before; I saw it on the train.

Unlike the train ride though, Stella was not wearing glasses or contacts, and showed no malice on her face.

"I thought of killing you once! Even so! Why don't you hate me? Why aren't you hating me? Why did you forgive me immediately? Why were you willing to shield me?"

I heard her express her thoughts, and I thought, sorry to her, but "Let's hope the neighbor won't hear these shouts".

If this happened, what would happen?

I really hoped the hotel walls were sufficiently thick.

If the building materials are worse than I thought, let's just try to pull a fast one by say we're just practicing for an act, ahaha".

But even so, Stella (or Nitadori) was worrying about this trivial thing...she's probably been brooding over this ever since then.

To be honest, I'm really sorry.

I just felt that it was a good thing i had just apologized.

"Please! Tell me! WHy--"

"Erm."

Slowly, I stopped Stella from shouting further.

"Erm, it's fine not to yell like that. It's okay, calm down, alright?"

I tried to say so. This should be gentle enough, right?

"O-okay…"

Stella replied tersely.

Looking at her eyes, I found that she was on the verge of tears, but she managed to rein it in, and the rain-like tears did not drip upon me.

I felt that her hands were slowly leaving my neck.

I reached my hand out, and clamped Nitadori's hands down on the sides of my neck.

"Hii!"

Upon hearing the shriek, I knew that I scared her, so I said,

"Ah, sorry. But I hope you'll touch my neck a little longer. Your hands are really cold, really comfortable."

"..."

"Really comfy and cold. I feel that I can forget a lot of things. I'll be happy if you keep it at for a longer time."

I did not want her to be terrified, so I begged her.

I did not want her to be any more terrified than she was, but at this point, it was too late.

But even so, I was troubled.

She asked something really unexpected.

Could I ask?

Could Stella understand if I didn't explain everything?

But even so, could I just act a bit and pass it off as some hysterical nonsense?

I didn't think it was the right thing to do either.

What should I do?

If I got choked to death, she could run away, but things wouldn't end up this well.

What should I do?

### 017. Chapter 6-2 - June 19, I strangled him

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently strangling my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

"Really comfy and cold. I feel that I can forget a lot of things. I'll be happy if you keep it at for a longer time."

Sensei clamps my hands down from both sides, saying this,

He appeared to be really comfy.

Like a child being coaxed.

I couldn't remember the face he showed the last time I strangled him.

Thus, I was going to remember his expression.

To remember this comfortable expression.

I didn't know the reason at all.

"Hm, you're asking me 'why do I forgive you'...but I don't know how to get you to understand…"

Once I saw that sensei was finally going to answer the question, I heaved a sigh of relief. I was calm. It felt like my hysteria a while ago was all a fake.

This posture of putting my legs on the bedside, leaning forward massively, and reaching my arms downwards on the person lying on the bed--

Certainly was naturally. Soon after, my waist will ache.

But since sensei hoped for me to do so, I decided to endure this posture until he let go go of his warm hands.

I was going to end everything on this day.

The days of suffering, which lasted more than a month, was going to end.

I never had a proper meal. I had only a bento for lunch, and nothing else.

Miss Akane just said,

"If the room attack succeeds, let's go for a barbecue to celebrate tonight, shall we?"

It seemed she knew where the 24 hour shops were.

In this peculiar situation, I was imagining two people wearing paper aprons, enjoying themselves. I couldn't believe what I was thinking.

"I will hear whatever you have to say."

While continuing to choke sensei, I told him,

"Tha-thanks. I don't know if I can express this well…"

Sensei tried to think, and before I knew it, he eased the strength in his hands. I guess he couldn't focus on his neck anymore.

I should be able to remove my hands from his neck if I wanted to, but I didn't. Since he said these icy hands were very comfy, I would continue putting them on his neck until he told me to stop.

My waist will hurt, but so what?

"Erm, I--"

I heard sensei speak,

"I think I'm the type of person 'who won't care even if I die'. So I think."

I couldn't understand.

But if I did not try to understand, I would never know the answer.

To understand his words, I tried my best, and asked,

"Erm...sensei…you're the type who thinks 'my moment of death is just a matter of destiny', right?"

"Well, you can say so, or maybe not…"

It's not much of an answer, but I wouldn't give up.

"I'm going to ask what may be an unpleasant question, but please tell me, sensei--did you try to kill yourself before?"

I made up my mind.

I prepared this question in mind, for I thought perhaps there was a need to.

As I had vented to sensei in that fanmail, I had tried to kill myself a few times, and searched for ways to kill myself on the internet.

But I never tried them before (and I never failed).

I never had the urge to do so.

So, even if sensei was to answer 'yes'--

I couldn't agree with the idea that 'even if I nearly got killed, I can still forgive'. No, I didn't want to agree with it.

I never had the thought that 'it doesn't matter because I once tried to kill myself', and never once did I intend to have such a notion.

Sensei was momentarily taken aback, and simply answered.

"Failed a suicide? I never did, you know?"

And then, he continued,

"No matter what happens, I do think living is a wonderful thing. I have no intention of killing myself at all."

It didn't seem like he was lying or acting.

I didn't think sensei was the type to lie.

While sensei lied in the infirmary and the AV room, leaving aside what was said, it sounded too fake to me.

"Then--"

Why are you willing to forgive me easily even when you were nearly killed by me?

I swallow these words I was about to say.

For I had asked those words before.

I recalled the events that transpired in the audio visual room,

"Sensei...do you remember the words Endou-sensei said when helping with the pamphlets?"

"Hm? --Erm...how I ripped off from the Siege of Iwaya Castle?

Why would I be thinking about that? No,

"No! What I mean is that 'Endou-sensei found the 'Vice Versa' author's view of life and death is a little weird'."

"Ah, you're referring to that. Yes, I do remember."

"What do...you think…?"

"I find that it's correct."

Throughout this ordeal, this was the first time I found everything to be suspicious.

Sensei seemed rather calm.

It seemed he had decided how to answer my question.

And I got the feeling that 'though he won't lie, he would try to avoid answering the question directly'.

I didn't know what he was thinking. Since I didn't, I could only ask.

But the questions I had prepared beforehand appeared to be useless.

What should I do?

What should I ask?

Such were the developments, and I went this far, but I couldn't think of anything.

My mind was completely blank.

While I was in this 'pinch'--

"Think of something!"

I was suddenly reminded of the face of the person who proposed to me.

It was just for a moment, but I remembered the words he said,

"Sensei--"

I decided to ask this terrifying question,

"Sensei, were you once nearly killed, before I tried to?"

"Eh?"

He squeaked in surprise,

"Eh, erm--well…"

Once I saw the wavering look in sensei's eyes, I was certain he had such an experience before.

He was once nearly killed.

Not once, not twice.

After such painful experiences, he was already numb to being nearly killed.

So--

When was that?

Where?

By who?

I had a rough idea of sensei's past.

For he himself told me this on the train.

Back then, I did not think he was lying.

But in his words, there was a place he did not want me to enter.

And it nearly got him killed.

When was that?

Where?

By who?

No--

Even if I did know, so what could I do?

What could I do if I was to pursue the painful past he was unwilling to talk about?

I understood something.

I knew that sensei had a past he was unwilling to tell others.

And thus, his abnormal action after I did that.

Isn't this enough? Thus, I got it--

All I needed to next was to apologize, I suppose.

While I was feeling a breeze of relief in my heart while having this thought--

"Really comfy and cold. I feel that I can forget a lot of things. I'll be happy if you keep it at for a longer time."

I clearly recalled the words sensei just said.

Why would I remember that?

Why was it echoing in my mind?

Why--

"Eri-chan."

I heard my name being called,

"Hey--"

I,

"Answer me--"

Blurted out,

"Sensei,"

What was,

"Were you--"

On,

"Once--"

My,

"Nearly killed--"

Mind,

"By aunty?"

Just say no.

"That's weird...did I mention this in my fanmail reply?"

Say no--

"Maybe I did, I forgot…"

Say no--

"No...probably not...no way I would have...erm, Nitadori, how did you know? Are you--an esper or something?"

Sensei gave the sheepish look of someone whose prank was discovered. Looking back at him, I recalled the conversation I had with Miss Akane,

“Do you think someone who was once a devil can become an angel?”

“Certainly, and the reverse holds true too.”

"The first memory I had in life--"

I was seated on the chair, slumped like a corpse,

"Was when I was strangled by mom."

I watched sensei describe his past vividly. He let my hands go, and prompted me to return to my seat, sitting upright himself.

"I cannot recall...whether it was when I was two, three...or four--the only thing I remember well is the feeling. The area around my neck felt really warm with her touch."

Sensei was being his usual self.

No different from when he was on that train, answering my questions, he was describing his past.

Of course, since he was doing the same thing.

"As for this part, I don't really remember, so it's hard for me to explain, but mom often told me "You cannot go out today". I didn't know the reason, but whenever that happened, there would be a snake-like bruise around my neck. Back then, I was really surprised, wondering what happened."

Sensei chirped on, as though narrating the movie he had seen the previous day.

"And soon after, the bruises didn't appear as often. I guess the skills improved."

Sensei's not a mirror, so I didn't know the expression I showed.

"I remembered one day, the last time I was strangled. I didn't know when it was, probably around five, but this time, I remembered it really well. I would sleep at night, since I was a child, so I slept at around eight or so--"

I don't want to hear this.

That was what I earnestly thought from the bottom of my heart.

"What's with those eyes? Acting cool?"

"Are those natural? So disgusting."

"Are you local or Asian? Choose one!"

"Your eyes aren't small. Did you correct them with operation? Being rich sure is nice."

And then, I recalled the rude words others had said before, and felt that they were all child's play.

No matter what I remember in the future, surely there is no way I will be as terrified as I am now. It felt as though the aching graze was stabbed at.

"Once I went to sleep, I felt that the sides of my neck was warm. I initially thought I was dreaming, but soon after, I could somehow open my eyes, and see that. In the dark house, my mom, who said she was going to work, appeared before me. Then the world quickly turned dark, and I really went to sleep--NItadori, please get me the tea over there. I'm really thirsty."

Sensei maintained the same tone the entire time, whether it was when he was narrating his near-murder experience, or when he asked me for tea.

In a robotic manner, I took out the unopened tea PET bottle from the convenience store bag, and handed it to sensei.

"Thanks. You can have some if you want. The water bottles aren't opened."

And then, sensei heartily took about three gulps, before capping it.

"When I woke up, it was already morning. I had a vague feeling of someone slapping at my face, and when I opened my eyes, a police officer was before me, and that took me by surprise. Mom was around too, crying really hard. I wasn't sure what happened. "Did you know of anyone who came by? Did someone touch your neck?" but the police officer said to me."

Everything sensei said was real--

At the very least, I had a feeling sensei was being truthful with what he remembered.

"So I answered, 'no, I don't remember'. Of course, I was lying. Then the police officer told me, 'your mother assumed you were killed by someone. She was anxious'. Ah, so I was nearly killed by mom. She strangled me a few times when I was asleep. That day, she really tried to, thought that she succeeded, and then went to work to fabricate an alibi, even calling the police. But I never died. Ever since then, since that day, I never felt the warm of the fingers on my neck. I was raised normally, started school, reading...and you know the rest, so I'll cut the rest--Nitadori?"

"Yes."

I was listening.

"Ah good. I thought you've fallen asleep with your eyes opened."

I could never do anything that convenient.

If only this was a dream, so I thought.

"Ahh, that's how it is. Your deductions are really amazing, Nitadori. Really amazing. I don't know how much you know...but it does seem like I manage to answer your questions successfully, so I guess that's it. To be honest, I never intended to discuss this, and I was thinking of something rude, like 'if I don't say it, how do I try to bluff my way through'? Good thing I did say it. It feels good."

Sensei said. He looked really lively,

"So ever since then, i was never nearly killed by mom, and I guess it'll never happen again. After getting this apartment, I was finally able to lock my room, and it's a little relieving. I can sleep peacefully like this. Maybe there's a part in my heart that thinks 'mom is scary'."

Sensei said with nonchalance.

And so I understood why he locked the door the previous day.

I also understood the reason why he spent quite the heft price to rent that apartment.

And then, it was a day late, but I understood.

That when aunty showed the excitement that shocked sensei, that too was an act. I did not realize it.

How long has sensei's mother been acting?

Sensei himself did not realize the sinking feeling in me, and continued on,

"But! Don't tell anyone else what I told you! Ah, I know you'll keep my secret, so this worry is unnecessary. Yep."

As for why sensei's mother tried to kill him--

I had no idea.

As a single mother, perhaps the child was a huge burden to her? Or did she hate to raise her child? I could think of a few possibilities immediately, but it didn't matter.

I didn't want to know.

No matter the reason, trying to kill someone was an unforgivable act.

Unforgivable--

"Sensei."

I stumbled to my feet.

"I'll use the toilet."

"Eh? Ah, yes."

I passed the bed, and went to the toilet.

Over then, I knelt at the latrine--

And puked.

I did not eat anything, so all I spat all was a shockingly yellow, sour stomach juice.

I was feeling unbearable, uncomfortable, and wanted to ease myself as I puked, but I could not excrete anything other than some stomach juices. It had been a while since I had this feeling.

My body was creaking, groaning, yet I continued to vomit

"Hey--you alright?"

The door wasn't locked, so I could hear sensei's voice from behind, a warm palm on my back,

"Nitadori! Don't vomit when there's nothing in your stomach! They say that stomach fluids can corrode the throat and teeth! Calm down! Okay?"

He rubbed my back gently as he said this,

"Ahh…"

I weakly collapsed upon the icy tiled floor.

I slowly lifted my head, a trail of tears flowing from each eye, and the nausea vanished as though washed away by these tears.

"Rinse your mouth properly! This cup isn't used!"

Sensei opened the tap, let the water flow, and handed the cup to me,

"For you."

I slowly got up, and received the cup,

"Thank you."

I answered an obviously worried, flustered sensei, and brought the water to my mouth.

After some rinsing, I slowly spit the water back into the basin, and refilled--I repeated this motion many times.

Finally, I drank some water. It appeared my throat was cleaned.

"Thank goodness--the towel hanging there can be used. Take your time to calm down."

Sensei said, probably having seen my face in the mirror. He exited the toilet.

"Sorry for saying some things that made you uncomfortable."

And finally, he apologized.

But there was no need.

Sensei did not close the door as he left the toilet, probably out of deliberation.

After wiping my mouth and face with a towel, I lifted my face--

And found a terrible looking person on the vast mirror.

This girl's scowling, and the irises of her eyes were different.

Once I saw that foolish sight, I laughed.

And the person laughing in the mirror laughed back at me.

The reason why I felt so nauseous--

Was that at that moment, I really hated sensei's mother.

She wanted to kill, no matter her reason.

And then, at the next moment, I recalled what I did.

Was I not the same?

Did I not try to kill sensei before too?

And for such a trivial reason.

I had no right to hate sensei's mother.

And of course, she and I should be reproached, hated.

But sensei forgave me with a smile.

Did she realize that sensei already knew about?

If she did, would she be tormented, just like me?

It not, will she continue to be tormented for the next ten years and so?

I did not know the answer--

But I felt I understood what she was thinking when they decided to move houses.

Surely she would never try to kill again.

Just like me now.

I was really opinionated.

How foolish was I as a person?

How selfish was I as a person?

Since then, somewhere in my heart, I thought,

"Surely sensei forgave me because he likes me."

I thought that to sensei, I was a 'very special' person.

I was really too pompous.

That wasn't it.

And I knew it.

To sensei, I'm not the 'special one'.

In this world, sensei's the 'special one'.

His first memories in life were actually about how he nearly got strangled to death by his mother?

Sensei's life was way beyond what I could imagine.

"Why, you ask? Because I like you, so that means I have to forgive you, right?"

I was a hopeless idiot for hoping he would say those words.

I seemed to have made one too many wishful thinking, unable to accept the cruel reality as a result.

Maybe it's because I enjoy daydreaming a little too much.

That daydream's 'Vice Versa'.

This fantasy story saved me when I was in peril.

"What do I do…?"

I muttered to myself in the mirror, with this pitiful voice.

I no longer needed to act.

I would no longer mutter the spell 'time to play'.

I asked the mirror,

"Is there...a next spell?"

I felt the one quietly smiling back at me on the mirror was saying this,

"Think about one for yourself."

## Time to Pray

June 20th, Friday.

I entered the control room of the studio, waiting for the After Record to begin.

Fewer than ten minutes to 10am, and the voice actors were already gathered in the recording studio.

Of course, Nitadori arrived far earlier than I did, and was repeatedly greeting the seniors.

Once I saw her, the handsome voice actor portraying Shin entered.

Once Nitadori spotted him, she stood before him bowing respectfully.

I felt that she bowed more deeply towards him as compared to everyone else, or perhaps it was just me imagining things.

So I thought about various things, and what happened yesterday.

I recalled how that detective had just excitedly revealed my circumstances.

I was sitting on the bed of the hotel room, thinking.

People did say 'when you have a tummyache, vomit, and you will feel fine'. Personally, I had a few vomiting experiences, so I understood that logic.

Also, the motion to 'vomit' is because there is something bad inside the body (the stomach), an action to lighten the body by removing them.

Surely the matter I couldn't tell others of was the same.

By saying it out, I felt a lot better.

In other words, I was basically the barber in 'The King Has Donkey Ears'. I wanted to sound out to others, but I couldn't. It was a painful experience.

So that's how it was, so I feel really refreshed.

It was the first time I could mention anything I couldn't say over the past ten years and so, so it felt really good.

Initially, I was trying my best to think 'how do I avoid mentioning this when explaining'--

But when the famed detective hit the mark, I felt it didn't matter.

At this point, trying to hide this matter would seem unnatural, so it was really strange.

Of course, I didn't think it was fine to tell anyone. I only said so only because it was Nitadori.

I felt that Nitadori would keep this secret.

Or rather, I felt lucky that it was Nitadori who was willing to hear me out.

But the one mistake I made was that it made her nauseous, and that she ran to the toilet, wanting to vomit…

But even so--

How did Nitadori figure it out?

Was I being too callous in saying enough to hint at the truth? I didn't remember that.

Or was it that anyone reading the entire 'Vice Versa' series can figure it out?

Is it that by reading into the work repeatedly, one can understand the subconsciousness of the author? Like what Endou-sensei said?

In that case, this would probably be my diagnosis.

"This author has no girlfriend, no friends, and can only write his delusion disgusting self-insert wishes, a deplorable person so pitiful that nobody can look at him in the eyes.

While feeling mortified by this thought, I might have the mistaken assumption to think 'now this is my work!'

Having my own misunderstood delusions is awesome! Stories are basically feeding an author's delusions to the readers!

Not only did I have such thoughts, I guessed for me, I'm able to live a steady life over these two years because I've been venting my emotions through novels.--

In that case, it all makes sense.

While thinking as I sat on the bed, the phone in the room rang.

"Woah!"

I was truly taken aback.

For the first time, I knew how noisy the room's phone was.

"Isn't this too loud? But if we're showering, the sound has to be this loud. Morning call is the same too."

In any case, I could only pick up the receiver to stop it from ringing.

I got up from the bed, and reached out to the phone next to the mini TV. I picked it up, and brought it to my ear.

"Hello."

"Hello sensei--this is Kamishiro. You seem to be done talking. Please allow me to retrieve Milady."

I couldn't refuse this. I opened the door, and invited her in.

She entered the toilet, and whispered something to Nitadori inside. I was by the bedside, and did not know what they were talking about.

Soon after, Miss Kamishiro went alone before me, to retrieve the wig and others.

But even so, this call was way too coincidental. How did she know? I didn't think she could hear us talking from outside the door.

Miss Kamishiro turned to the right, and showed me her left ear, with a cabled wire attached to it. It seemed she had guessed what I was thinking.

"Sorry, but I did a few things on Milady's back just a while back."

"..."

Speaking of which, I did discover a small round object stuck on Nitadori's back when I patted her.

"Why is there a button here?"

That was what I thought.

Thinking back, my final conclusion was basically 'ahh, I guess it's some trendy lingerie design or something', and didn't pay any mind. To be honest, I wasn't in the mood to notice that.

In other words, it was a microphone, or a bug. This miniature device allows for voice reception and transmission through electric signals.

I had a thought.

That one day, I will be able to see all the 'secret weapons' Miss Kamishiro has.

So Miss Kamishiro brought a silent Nitadori out of my room.

I did not know what to say to Nitadori as I watched her leave, her back facing me.

She never turned back, and vanished from my eyes.

When the time slowly struck close to 10am, the start of the After Record, I was overwhelmed with terror.

That was because, after what happened the previous night, I had a nice sleep--

But after entering the studio, I suddenly had a thought,

"Is it fine for me to just reveal this matter this easily?"

It's relieving to share a secret, but this selfish thought was one-sided on my part.

I never considered Nitadori's feelings when she heard those words.

"Nearly killed by mom? Ahaha, not at all."

Back then, should I not have lied as such, even if I had to force myself?

The reason why she was so terrified that she puked was because I was too honest in my answer.

Before then, I did press her hands down onto the sides of my neck; that might be a reason too.

Thinking back, I shouldn't have done so.

No, I really shouldn't have done so.

If only I hadn't done so.

It was then did I realize I made a preposterous mistake. That selfish act made me uncomfortable. I was shivering, my spine tingling.

"You alright? Still not recovered?"

The editor-in-charge, seated next to me, asked me worriedly.

I was grateful for his concern, but it wasn't the case. It would have great if it was a cold.

"Ah...no...I'm fine."

"Good then. Speak out if you feel unwell."

"Thanks. I'll do so when the time comes."

So I answered, and I thought,

"If I'm feeling unwell."--huh?

How much discomfort did I cause Nitadori the previous night?

What startling thing did I do?

This time I was the one having a tummyache, and I had the urge to vomit.

The After Record began, and I was fighting on.

Not against sleepiness, for I had a good sleep.

But against myself, who was unable to stop thinking.

I thought of Nitadori and Stella the previous day, imagining what they would say to me in the future, and was starting to feel afraid. As long as I had a thought, I would shake my head, literally trying to shake it off my mind.

I really hated my ability of conjuring delusions.

"Are you really alright?"

The editor-in-charge asked me three times during the A part.

And so, the first half of the After Record, the most arduous moment finally ended, and it was break time.

After waiting a while, I went to the toilet.

I always did so. If I did head out immediately, I would be going to the toilet side by side with the veteran voice actors who were active before I was born.

Of course, I felt that I was cordial with everyone, but I couldn't be that honest. I really would not know what I should say, and I would act suspiciously.

Even if it wasn't the case, it would be awkward conversing in the toilet.

Even if it wasn't the case, I really wasn't in the mood today.

Each break's fifteen minute long.

I waited for eight minutes, and left the booth.

And once I was done, there was a drinks vending machine on the corridor.

While there was a pot of coffee prepared in the audio visual room to enjoy, I will get sick drinking too much coffee, and it seemed it would agitate my stomach, more so on this day.

"Yo sensei!"

As I lifted the PET bottle, the voice actor portraying Shin patted my shoulder from the back,

He would greet me all the time, but his usual speaking voice was really similar to Shin, and it really intrigued me.

"Ah...hello."

I wasn't in a good mood, but I could not simply ignore him. I turned my body around, and nodded respectively.

With that hearty smile that made him really popular with the ladies, the voice actor said,

"You don't have anything on your neck now?"

"Erm...it's rather hot now."

I lied. The air-conditioning in the studio was really strong, and to be honest, it was cold.

"Well, since it's a gift from your girlfriend, you should have it on at all times, whether it's midsummer or showering. Now's the time to show your love."

I really didn't know how to retort.

"Haah...well, it seems like it'll leave sweat marks."

So I said,

"You don't seem fine, you know? Speaking of which, you look pale. Still not recovered from your flu last week?"

"No, not at all...just something on the mind."

I couldn't lie anymore, and tried to brush the matter aside, but the one person causing this bother to me passed by behind me.

Of course, i did not intend to talk to Nitadori in the recording studio.

But the voice actor had other intentions,

"Ah! Wait a moment, Nitadori! Good timing! Wait a sec!"

"..."

Nitadori had to stop in her tracks, and she turned around, her face stiffened as she looked at us.

Surely she was fuming.

Or maybe unwell.

Did those words affect Nitadori's job?

It'll be great if it didn't.

Various thoughts appeared in my mind, and my stomach started to ache again..

"Sensei has something on his mind, and he's not looking good. Say some things to comfort him."

"Wh-why...me?"

I was thinking that her reaction was normal.

And also, I was wondering, did the voice actor call in Nitadori to say a few words because he knew everything?

The man who knew the truth. The hidden ruler. The final boss--

Once I had this thought, 'no way, no way', I immediately denied this in my mind.

"Hm, just a feeling."

The voice actor boldly answered,

This isn't much of an answer.

"Well, it's not much of an answer...an-anyway, if I don't know what's on his mind, I don't know how to console him."

"Ah, you're right…"

The voice actor turned his handsome face towards me,

"Hey sensei, what's on your mind? Try talking. Tell this big brother here, or maybe, just talk. You see, there isn't much time left for for this break, so just say something."

I guess it's a rare experience for an author to be prompted by the voice of his protagonist being animated.

"Ah, well, how do I put it…"

I wasn't really being interrogated, but I spoke up, and I couldn't stop.

"I once spoke to someone, and I was worried of that person would be feeling uncomfortable or angry, or despise me...when I was answering questions, I went and said too much, probably something weird. I thought I might be deemed a 'weirdo', I guess. No, it's better to be thought of one. But I was wondering if I was thought of as a 'disgusting person', and troubled that person instead."

I didn't intend to say it out.

I didn't intend to reveal these matters.

I was so scared of looking, I did not know what face Nitadori was showing. I lowered my gaze, staring at the tummy of the person before me.

After five seconds, the voice actor said,

"Hm, looks like we have to ask that person--am I right? Nitadori."

She did not answer.

"Eh? Nitadori's--gone."

I too lifted my head.

I couldn't see Nitadori on the corridor.

Ah, I'm hated now, surely, so I thought.

Though I thought so, maybe I was just thinking too much. I might have been thinking too much into it, and made a hasty conclusion based on my delusions.

I could not simply admit to this.

I could not allow myself to bring my delusions into reality.

If I admitted to it, I would think they were real.

The moment I let myself calm down a bit, I heard 'Shin's voice,

"What? Sensei--are you hated?"

"Yeah."

I answered.

I had to admit.

Strangely, once the recording of the B part started, my stomach stopped aching.

Was it because I said it out? Was there stomach medicine in the PET bottle? Did my worries vanished at once? Or was it all of the above?

First off, the rehearsals went well, and it was Nitadori's moment.

In this show, Madoko would have the scene with the longest lines.

Watching Nitadori left me unbearable, and hearing her voice left me unbearable, but I had nowhere to run.

In the control room, I watched the finished footage as I heard the voice.

The middle of part B.

Shin really couldn't say that Sin had caused a huge mess to his life, and lied to Yui.

Shin was really bad at lying, so Yui, who saw through the lies, questioned Shin. However, Shin, unable to say the truth, diverted the topic amazingly.

Yui left the classroom in a huff, and Shin stood there. The one to console and encourage him was Madoko, who did not have a name.

The voice actress portraying Yui finished the recording, silently left the microphone, and retreated to the back.

There was a pause amounting to a few seconds, as the footage showed Sin, hiding at the Tsumizonos' and eating miso pancakes, not knowing he was the cause of it all.

During this time, Nitadori, who had been seated the entire time, got up from the chair, and stood side by side with the voice actor before the microphone.

Airing on this day was the completed footage. The footage showed a closeup of Madoko, who returned to the classroom, raging at Shin as she pointed at him.

"Hey! Tsumizono! Go chase after her!"

"But..."

There was a weak response.

"She ran away hoping you'll give chase! Go explain everything clearly!"

"Is that, so--"

Shin, who was supposed to say 'is that so?' instead, was cut off.

"That is so!"

Madoko affirmed. At this moment, she showed a cheerful face.

"..."

"So please face it head on with courage! It's too early to give up! If chasing after her makes her hate you more, then we'll talk about it then! I won't take responsibility, but I'll continue to think of you two as friends like before! Alright, get going! I'm going to kick your ass if you come back alone!"

"What's with that...but thanks."

Shin smiled as he left the classroom, and Madoko silently watched him, the screen now showing her back.

As it was a change of scenes again, the rehearsal ended.

Nitadori's acting was perfectly fine, and the sound supervisor did not give any instructions.

While everyone was giving their all for this--

I kept thinking about my own issues.

Perhaps it's better for us not to take the same ride the following week.

If I sat at my old seat, and Nitadori didn't show up, what do I do?

If she did show up, and was unwilling to say anything, what should I do?

But--

If I were to take another train, yet Nitadori took the same old train ride…

Just imagining that left my gut winced.

Am I out of the medicine in the PET bottle? So I thought, and had another two gulps of water, but the situation didn't improve.

Maybe I should take absence the following week.

I couldn't get a full attendance award, and it's fine for an author not to be around.

Most importantly, I wouldn't have to take the train.

So I thought--

And I heaved a small sigh of relief.

Despite how vexed the author felt, the After Record continued smoothly.

The rehearsal ended smoothly, and there was not much time left, so the recording for part B was officially beginning.

Shin and Yui had a quarrel, and Yui left the classroom.

Nitadori again stood before the microphone, portraying Madoko.

This might be the last time I would see Nitadori acting in the recording studio.

So I thought as I looked beyond the glass panel.

"Hey! Tsumizono! Go chase after her!"

Madoko said,

"But..."

Shin answered.

"She ran away hoping you'll give chase! Go explain everything clearly!"

Madoko ordered.

"Is that, so--"

Shin said.

"Yes!"

Madoko cut him off.

"..."

Shin was silent, and Madoko said,

"So please face it head on with courage! It's too early to give up! I'll be praying for you here! English, pray, now's the time to pray! Time to pray! This is my spell. So it's fine! Both of you will surely get on well with each other!I"

Eh?

"What's with that...but thanks."

The voice actor continued his outstanding performance, ending this sequence.

"Nitadori."

I could hear the sound supervisor's voice. That voice could reach the booth, through the microphone.

"Yes."

I heard Nitadori's voice.

"Brilliant ab-lib! A little too much on the change. No, it's passionate, and the lines are great. What do you think?"

"Yes, I wanted to say this no matter what, so I did."

"..."

The sound supervisor held the switch down, and said nothing.

"Sensei."

He then called me, and I, looking beyond the glass towards the light green glasses, turned back.

"What do you think of the ab-lib?"

The scriptwriter of this episode was in this control room.The series screenwriter, along with the overall director, were both present.

But even so, he went to me first.

And I answered,

"Can I...tell her personally?"

The sound supervisor widened his eyes. And then, he turned his face towards the director seated next to me.

"This is fine."

The director calmly noted. The sound supervisor nodded, and said,

"Then, sensei, please."

He then switched on the microphone linking to the recording booth, moving it up, and pulled the chair back slightly.

I got up from my chair, took a few steps, and brought my face towards the microphone.

And then, through the glass panel, I saw Nitadori's face.

Her eyes were looking right into my gaze.

I took a quick breath, and spoke up,

With a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I 'owe you one'! Stella!"

While everyone might be taken aback.

These words probably reach this smiling her.

June 26th, Thursday.

The season of plum rain was at work, and the train moved on as it poured.

I was seated at my old seat, and from the backpack on my right, I took out my smartphone, I activated it, and took a photo of the rain-stained window.

I never took a photo within the train before, but I had a feeling that it would be the last time I would take this train on Thursday, at this time, and suddenly felt reluctant.

"Hey, what are you taking?"

I heard a voice from above.

"It's the last time...so, the window.

I answered as I reached my right hand out to lift the bag, and empty the chair. Then, I saw the face of the person talking to me.

"Eh?"

I blurted out in surprise.

I had assumed it would be Nitadori--but it was Stella.

"Thank you."

Stella swayed her light fluffy short hair as she quickly sat down.

No, looking closely, I could see that though she wasn't wearing glasses, she was wearing her colored contact.

Her hair showed Stella.

Her eyes showed Nitadori.

In this situation, how should I address her? Nitalla? Stedori?

Leaving aside, I asked,

"What happened...to your hair…?"

"Shocked?"

Nitadori asked cheerful.

"I am."

I answered.

From Monday till today, just two hours ago…

She was the usual bespectacled Nitadori.

"Starting tomorrow, I intend to remove my contact lens and go for the After Record. This is to prepare myself mentally, so I'm trying to get used to it."

She's not using formal language, so it's Nitadori mode, but her appearance resembled Stella. It's complicated.

And I was really surprised by what she said.

"So, you're going to work, not intending to hide anything…?"

"Hm, maybe I won't. I discussed this with the manager. I'll observe everyone's reactions tomorrow before deciding. Name-wise, I might end up using my real name."

"Wh-wh--why?"

"Whwhwhy?"

"Why? --Ah, no, I'm not trying to tell you off, not at all. I thought you would maintain the black hair. So I'm trying to say, what prompted the change of heart?"

"Hm, I know this will end up revealed sooner or later. It doesn't seem like it'll be a good thing if this gets revealed unexpectedly, and I don't want to become a weird talking point. To be honest, it's rather scary to keep living without being able to move vigorously. And so--"

"And so?"

"My hair, and my eyes. I think these can be called 'selling' points--so I finally managed to convince myself."

"..."

I was really surprised.

These were the causes of her negative memories, but she wanted to use them as 'selling points'. How much resolve did she put in?

How much stronger had she become?

With a cheerful smile, Nitadori said,

"I don't want to worry just because I'm comparing myself to others. I'm--me."

"..."

"Great line, isn't it? I might have this thought because of a certain person."

I tilted my head, asking,

"Erm...who would that be?"

"A certain dull-witted person who misunderstands a little too much."

Who would that be? I thought, and I got it.

"Ah! Ahh...I see…"

"Probably not, I guess?"

I watch Nitadori smile happily, and in my heart,

I thanked that person.

To Mr Voice Actor, thank you very much, really.

I really am glad that he was portraying as Nitadori.

Like usual, Miss Kamishiro was dressed in her posh suit, seated at the opposite side.

"Milady, this."

Nitadori received the bag, and handed it over to me.

"Please accept this. This is a heartfelt gift from me, sensei."

I saw that there were three PET bottles of tea inside, along with some sea salt potato chips. I really hoped there wasn't any transmitter inside.

"Thanks for your goodwill, I'll accept this--"

And so I accepted, but not without asking in a half-joking, half-tentative manner.

"But after eating this, I have to answer any question, right?"

"Of course."

She immediately answered.

The short light brown hair matched the brown eyes. I had never seen Nitadori like this before.

"Over ten times or so, I've asked you various questions, sensei. Now for the next question."

She stared right at me, and immediately asked. I was holding the bag of potato chips, and had not opened it,

"What do you think of me?"

It was too vague,

"What do you mean?"

So while holding the bag, I tilted my head, asking,

"Well, a few options--interesting? Annoying? Hard to deal with? Special? Cute? Weird? Which is the best answer? Or...others?"

There were many options, but the best option was 'others'.

"Others--"

I answered honestly, as usual,

"I hope to use you as the basis of a story."

"Ah…"

Nitadori widened her eyes, her mouth agape, and she muttered,

"I never thought this woul be your answer…"

And she quipped,

"Just like an author."

While opening the bag of potato chips, I answered,

"I'm an author."

And I popped the first piece into my mouth.

## Light Novel Q&A - Please feel free to ask us any LightNovel's questions!

Is Vice Versa a web novel?

If it is, where do I read it?

From Explosions

The following will contain heavy spoilers from 'Vice Versa', so please pay attention.

Someone told me "Vice Versa' was a web novel.

I was shocked to hear that. What he mentioned was further beyond what was sold.

I was shocked to learn that in that story, it's said that the homunculus Meek will die in a war.

But Shin of Reputation had an amazing power,

Using his power, Meek became a gemstone and kept on living. It's a pretty shocking story.

Is this part correct?

And if anyone knows of what happens after, please tell me!

I want to ask him, but he's out far away.

Thank you everyone for your answers!

Sent: XXXX/X/X X:X:X Replies: 6

That's not real

From Really Loves Shin

I don't know who you heard it from, but I think that's not true.

If it is, Dengeki Bunko would have announced it.

Till now, nobody has been hiding the fact that their own works were originally web novels.

Probably not

From YuiYui

I don't think the author's going to kill off a popular character like Meek.

You got duped there, didn't you?

Don't spread rumors

From Pluto

Do you think I'll be so stupid to let Meek die? Hahh?

That guy's definitely delusional

From Sin's real wife.

That guy's probably delusional, right?

There's someone who really believes the fanfiction is 'an author's original'?

I won't fault you there, but try asking him again.

I don't know where that guy is though.

You're duped there

From Shirotaro Matsumoto

Heh, you were duped there.

Only an idiot like you would have been duped.

How can Meek die?

That author's a veteran.

He knows this very well. That's why he's not going to kill off a popular character. (TN Snark: RIP Yatori)

I think it's a lie.

From The end

I guess the author won't kill off a popular character through that way.

But if it's me, I might try writing such a plotline.

The girl staring at the screen--

"UMU!"

Grunted like a Sengoku warrior, and got up from her seat.

### 018. Prologue

## ‎Prologue

Those cold hands

Feel

Really good.

My head

Feels a lot

Clearer

I wake up.

Ahh,

What I see in front of me,

I see them all very clearly.

What happened?

Why did things end up like this?

I,

Always remembered it well.

Remembered it well.

Always,

Remembered it well.

I couldn't forget.

I'll probably

Never forget about this,

In my entire life.

### 019. Chapter 6-2 - June 19, I strangled him

I'm a high school girl and a rookie voice actress, currently strangling my classmate who is my upperclassman and a Bestselling Light Novel author.

This is my predicament at the moment.

"Really comfy and cold. I feel that I can forget a lot of things. I'll be happy if you keep it at for a longer time."

Sensei clamps my hands down from both sides, saying this,

He appeared to be really comfy.

Like a child being coaxed.

I couldn't remember the face he showed the last time I strangled him.

Thus, I was going to remember his expression.

To remember this comfortable expression.

I didn't know the reason at all.

"Hm, you're asking me 'why do I forgive you'...but I don't know how to get you to understand…"

Once I saw that sensei was finally going to answer the question, I heaved a sigh of relief. I was calm. It felt like my hysteria a while ago was all a fake.

This posture of putting my legs on the bedside, leaning forward massively, and reaching my arms downwards on the person lying on the bed--

Certainly was naturally. Soon after, my waist will ache.

But since sensei hoped for me to do so, I decided to endure this posture until he let go go of his warm hands.

I was going to end everything on this day.

The days of suffering, which lasted more than a month, was going to end.

I never had a proper meal. I had only a bento for lunch, and nothing else.

Miss Akane just said,

"If the room attack succeeds, let's go for a barbecue to celebrate tonight, shall we?"

It seemed she knew where the 24 hour shops were.

In this peculiar situation, I was imagining two people wearing paper aprons, enjoying themselves. I couldn't believe what I was thinking.

"I will hear whatever you have to say."

While continuing to choke sensei, I told him,

"Tha-thanks. I don't know if I can express this well…"

Sensei tried to think, and before I knew it, he eased the strength in his hands. I guess he couldn't focus on his neck anymore.

I should be able to remove my hands from his neck if I wanted to, but I didn't. Since he said these icy hands were very comfy, I would continue putting them on his neck until he told me to stop.

My waist will hurt, but so what?

"Erm, I--"

I heard sensei speak,

"I think I'm the type of person 'who won't care even if I die'. So I think."

I couldn't understand.

But if I did not try to understand, I would never know the answer.

To understand his words, I tried my best, and asked,

"Erm...sensei…you're the type who thinks 'my moment of death is just a matter of destiny', right?"

"Well, you can say so, or maybe not…"

It's not much of an answer, but I wouldn't give up.

"I'm going to ask what may be an unpleasant question, but please tell me, sensei--did you try to kill yourself before?"

I made up my mind.

I prepared this question in mind, for I thought perhaps there was a need to.

As I had vented to sensei in that fanmail, I had tried to kill myself a few times, and searched for ways to kill myself on the internet.

But I never tried them before (and I never failed).

I never had the urge to do so.

So, even if sensei was to answer 'yes'--

I couldn't agree with the idea that 'even if I nearly got killed, I can still forgive'. No, I didn't want to agree with it.

I never had the thought that 'it doesn't matter because I once tried to kill myself', and never once did I intend to have such a notion.

Sensei was momentarily taken aback, and simply answered.

"Failed a suicide? I never did, you know?"

And then, he continued,

"No matter what happens, I do think living is a wonderful thing. I have no intention of killing myself at all."

It didn't seem like he was lying or acting.

I didn't think sensei was the type to lie.

While sensei lied in the infirmary and the AV room, leaving aside what was said, it sounded too fake to me.

"Then--"

Why are you willing to forgive me easily even when you were nearly killed by me?

I swallow these words I was about to say.

For I had asked those words before.

I recalled the events that transpired in the audio visual room,

"Sensei...do you remember the words Endou-sensei said when helping with the pamphlets?"

"Hm? --Erm...how I ripped off from the Siege of Iwaya Castle?

Why would I be thinking about that? No,

"No! What I mean is that 'Endou-sensei found the 'Vice Versa' author's view of life and death is a little weird'."

"Ah, you're referring to that. Yes, I do remember."

"What do...you think…?"

"I find that it's correct."

Throughout this ordeal, this was the first time I found everything to be suspicious.

Sensei seemed rather calm.

It seemed he had decided how to answer my question.

And I got the feeling that 'though he won't lie, he would try to avoid answering the question directly'.

I didn't know what he was thinking. Since I didn't, I could only ask.

But the questions I had prepared beforehand appeared to be useless.

What should I do?

What should I ask?

Such were the developments, and I went this far, but I couldn't think of anything.

My mind was completely blank.

While I was in this 'pinch'--

"Think of something!"

I was suddenly reminded of the face of the person who proposed to me.

It was just for a moment, but I remembered the words he said,

"Sensei--"

I decided to ask this terrifying question,

"Sensei, were you once nearly killed, before I tried to?"

"Eh?"

He squeaked in surprise,

"Eh, erm--well…"

Once I saw the wavering look in sensei's eyes, I was certain he had such an experience before.

He was once nearly killed.

Not once, not twice.

After such painful experiences, he was already numb to being nearly killed.

So--

When was that?

Where?

By who?

I had a rough idea of sensei's past.

For he himself told me this on the train.

Back then, I did not think he was lying.

But in his words, there was a place he did not want me to enter.

And it nearly got him killed.

When was that?

Where?

By who?

No--

Even if I did know, so what could I do?

What could I do if I was to pursue the painful past he was unwilling to talk about?

I understood something.

I knew that sensei had a past he was unwilling to tell others.

And thus, his abnormal action after I did that.

Isn't this enough? Thus, I got it--

All I needed to next was to apologize, I suppose.

While I was feeling a breeze of relief in my heart while having this thought--

"Really comfy and cold. I feel that I can forget a lot of things. I'll be happy if you keep it at for a longer time."

I clearly recalled the words sensei just said.

Why would I remember that?

Why was it echoing in my mind?

Why--

"Eri-chan."

I heard my name being called,

"Hey--"

I,

"Answer me--"

Blurted out,

"Sensei,"

What was,

"Were you--"

On,

"Once--"

My,

"Nearly killed--"

Mind,

"By aunty?"

Just say no.

"That's weird...did I mention this in my fanmail reply?"

Say no--

"Maybe I did, I forgot…"

Say no--

"No...probably not...no way I would have...erm, Nitadori, how did you know? Are you--an esper or something?"

Sensei gave the sheepish look of someone whose prank was discovered. Looking back at him, I recalled the conversation I had with Miss Akane,

“Do you think someone who was once a devil can become an angel?”

“Certainly, and the reverse holds true too.”

"The first memory I had in life--"

I was seated on the chair, slumped like a corpse,

"Was when I was strangled by mom."

I watched sensei describe his past vividly. He let my hands go, and prompted me to return to my seat, sitting upright himself.

"I cannot recall...whether it was when I was two, three...or four--the only thing I remember well is the feeling. The area around my neck felt really warm with her touch."

Sensei was being his usual self.

No different from when he was on that train, answering my questions, he was describing his past.

Of course, since he was doing the same thing.

"As for this part, I don't really remember, so it's hard for me to explain, but mom often told me "You cannot go out today". I didn't know the reason, but whenever that happened, there would be a snake-like bruise around my neck. Back then, I was really surprised, wondering what happened."

Sensei chirped on, as though narrating the movie he had seen the previous day.

"And soon after, the bruises didn't appear as often. I guess the skills improved."

Sensei's not a mirror, so I didn't know the expression I showed.

"I remembered one day, the last time I was strangled. I didn't know when it was, probably around five, but this time, I remembered it really well. I would sleep at night, since I was a child, so I slept at around eight or so--"

I don't want to hear this.

That was what I earnestly thought from the bottom of my heart.

"What's with those eyes? Acting cool?"

"Are those natural? So disgusting."

"Are you local or Asian? Choose one!"

"Your eyes aren't small. Did you correct them with operation? Being rich sure is nice."

And then, I recalled the rude words others had said before, and felt that they were all child's play.

No matter what I remember in the future, surely there is no way I will be as terrified as I am now. It felt as though the aching graze was stabbed at.

"Once I went to sleep, I felt that the sides of my neck was warm. I initially thought I was dreaming, but soon after, I could somehow open my eyes, and see that. In the dark house, my mom, who said she was going to work, appeared before me. Then the world quickly turned dark, and I really went to sleep--NItadori, please get me the tea over there. I'm really thirsty."

Sensei maintained the same tone the entire time, whether it was when he was narrating his near-murder experience, or when he asked me for tea.

In a robotic manner, I took out the unopened tea PET bottle from the convenience store bag, and handed it to sensei.

"Thanks. You can have some if you want. The water bottles aren't opened."

And then, sensei heartily took about three gulps, before capping it.

"When I woke up, it was already morning. I had a vague feeling of someone slapping at my face, and when I opened my eyes, a police officer was before me, and that took me by surprise. Mom was around too, crying really hard. I wasn't sure what happened. "Did you know of anyone who came by? Did someone touch your neck?" but the police officer said to me."

Everything sensei said was real--

At the very least, I had a feeling sensei was being truthful with what he remembered.

"So I answered, 'no, I don't remember'. Of course, I was lying. Then the police officer told me, 'your mother assumed you were killed by someone. She was anxious'. Ah, so I was nearly killed by mom. She strangled me a few times when I was asleep. That day, she really tried to, thought that she succeeded, and then went to work to fabricate an alibi, even calling the police. But I never died. Ever since then, since that day, I never felt the warm of the fingers on my neck. I was raised normally, started school, reading...and you know the rest, so I'll cut the rest--Nitadori?"

"Yes."

I was listening.

"Ah good. I thought you've fallen asleep with your eyes opened."

I could never do anything that convenient.

If only this was a dream, so I thought.

"Ahh, that's how it is. Your deductions are really amazing, Nitadori. Really amazing. I don't know how much you know...but it does seem like I manage to answer your questions successfully, so I guess that's it. To be honest, I never intended to discuss this, and I was thinking of something rude, like 'if I don't say it, how do I try to bluff my way through'? Good thing I did say it. It feels good."

Sensei said. He looked really lively,

"So ever since then, i was never nearly killed by mom, and I guess it'll never happen again. After getting this apartment, I was finally able to lock my room, and it's a little relieving. I can sleep peacefully like this. Maybe there's a part in my heart that thinks 'mom is scary'."

Sensei said with nonchalance.

And so I understood why he locked the door the previous day.

I also understood the reason why he spent quite the heft price to rent that apartment.

And then, it was a day late, but I understood.

That when aunty showed the excitement that shocked sensei, that too was an act. I did not realize it.

How long has sensei's mother been acting?

Sensei himself did not realize the sinking feeling in me, and continued on,

"But! Don't tell anyone else what I told you! Ah, I know you'll keep my secret, so this worry is unnecessary. Yep."

As for why sensei's mother tried to kill him--

I had no idea.

As a single mother, perhaps the child was a huge burden to her? Or did she hate to raise her child? I could think of a few possibilities immediately, but it didn't matter.

I didn't want to know.

No matter the reason, trying to kill someone was an unforgivable act.

Unforgivable--

"Sensei."

I stumbled to my feet.

"I'll use the toilet."

"Eh? Ah, yes."

I passed the bed, and went to the toilet.

Over then, I knelt at the latrine--

And puked.

I did not eat anything, so all I spat all was a shockingly yellow, sour stomach juice.

I was feeling unbearable, uncomfortable, and wanted to ease myself as I puked, but I could not excrete anything other than some stomach juices. It had been a while since I had this feeling.

My body was creaking, groaning, yet I continued to vomit

"Hey--you alright?"

The door wasn't locked, so I could hear sensei's voice from behind, a warm palm on my back,

"Nitadori! Don't vomit when there's nothing in your stomach! They say that stomach fluids can corrode the throat and teeth! Calm down! Okay?"

He rubbed my back gently as he said this,

"Ahh…"

I weakly collapsed upon the icy tiled floor.

I slowly lifted my head, a trail of tears flowing from each eye, and the nausea vanished as though washed away by these tears.

"Rinse your mouth properly! This cup isn't used!"

Sensei opened the tap, let the water flow, and handed the cup to me,

"For you."

I slowly got up, and received the cup,

"Thank you."

I answered an obviously worried, flustered sensei, and brought the water to my mouth.

After some rinsing, I slowly spit the water back into the basin, and refilled--I repeated this motion many times.

Finally, I drank some water. It appeared my throat was cleaned.

"Thank goodness--the towel hanging there can be used. Take your time to calm down."

Sensei said, probably having seen my face in the mirror. He exited the toilet.

"Sorry for saying some things that made you uncomfortable."

And finally, he apologized.

But there was no need.

Sensei did not close the door as he left the toilet, probably out of deliberation.

After wiping my mouth and face with a towel, I lifted my face--

And found a terrible looking person on the vast mirror.

This girl's scowling, and the irises of her eyes were different.

Once I saw that foolish sight, I laughed.

And the person laughing in the mirror laughed back at me.

The reason why I felt so nauseous--

Was that at that moment, I really hated sensei's mother.

She wanted to kill, no matter her reason.

And then, at the next moment, I recalled what I did.

Was I not the same?

Did I not try to kill sensei before too?

And for such a trivial reason.

I had no right to hate sensei's mother.

And of course, she and I should be reproached, hated.

But sensei forgave me with a smile.

Did she realize that sensei already knew about?

If she did, would she be tormented, just like me?

It not, will she continue to be tormented for the next ten years and so?

I did not know the answer--

But I felt I understood what she was thinking when they decided to move houses.

Surely she would never try to kill again.

Just like me now.

I was really opinionated.

How foolish was I as a person?

How selfish was I as a person?

Since then, somewhere in my heart, I thought,

"Surely sensei forgave me because he likes me."

I thought that to sensei, I was a 'very special' person.

I was really too pompous.

That wasn't it.

And I knew it.

To sensei, I'm not the 'special one'.

In this world, sensei's the 'special one'.

His first memories in life were actually about how he nearly got strangled to death by his mother?

Sensei's life was way beyond what I could imagine.

"Why, you ask? Because I like you, so that means I have to forgive you, right?"

I was a hopeless idiot for hoping he would say those words.

I seemed to have made one too many wishful thinking, unable to accept the cruel reality as a result.

Maybe it's because I enjoy daydreaming a little too much.

That daydream's 'Vice Versa'.

This fantasy story saved me when I was in peril.

"What do I do…?"

I muttered to myself in the mirror, with this pitiful voice.

I no longer needed to act.

I would no longer mutter the spell 'time to play'.

I asked the mirror,

"Is there...a next spell?"

I felt the one quietly smiling back at me on the mirror was saying this,

"Think about one for yourself."

### 020. Chapter 7 - June 20, Time to Pray

## Time to Pray

June 20th, Friday.

I entered the control room of the studio, waiting for the After Record to begin.

Fewer than ten minutes to 10am, and the voice actors were already gathered in the recording studio.

Of course, Nitadori arrived far earlier than I did, and was repeatedly greeting the seniors.

Once I saw her, the handsome voice actor portraying Shin entered.

Once Nitadori spotted him, she stood before him bowing respectfully.

I felt that she bowed more deeply towards him as compared to everyone else, or perhaps it was just me imagining things.

So I thought about various things, and what happened yesterday.

I recalled how that detective had just excitedly revealed my circumstances.

I was sitting on the bed of the hotel room, thinking.

People did say 'when you have a tummyache, vomit, and you will feel fine'. Personally, I had a few vomiting experiences, so I understood that logic.

Also, the motion to 'vomit' is because there is something bad inside the body (the stomach), an action to lighten the body by removing them.

Surely the matter I couldn't tell others of was the same.

By saying it out, I felt a lot better.

In other words, I was basically the barber in 'The King Has Donkey Ears'. I wanted to sound out to others, but I couldn't. It was a painful experience.

So that's how it was, so I feel really refreshed.

It was the first time I could mention anything I couldn't say over the past ten years and so, so it felt really good.

Initially, I was trying my best to think 'how do I avoid mentioning this when explaining'--

But when the famed detective hit the mark, I felt it didn't matter.

At this point, trying to hide this matter would seem unnatural, so it was really strange.

Of course, I didn't think it was fine to tell anyone. I only said so only because it was Nitadori.

I felt that Nitadori would keep this secret.

Or rather, I felt lucky that it was Nitadori who was willing to hear me out.

But the one mistake I made was that it made her nauseous, and that she ran to the toilet, wanting to vomit…

But even so--

How did Nitadori figure it out?

Was I being too callous in saying enough to hint at the truth? I didn't remember that.

Or was it that anyone reading the entire 'Vice Versa' series can figure it out?

Is it that by reading into the work repeatedly, one can understand the subconsciousness of the author? Like what Endou-sensei said?

In that case, this would probably be my diagnosis.

"This author has no girlfriend, no friends, and can only write his delusion disgusting self-insert wishes, a deplorable person so pitiful that nobody can look at him in the eyes.

While feeling mortified by this thought, I might have the mistaken assumption to think 'now this is my work!'

Having my own misunderstood delusions is awesome! Stories are basically feeding an author's delusions to the readers!

Not only did I have such thoughts, I guessed for me, I'm able to live a steady life over these two years because I've been venting my emotions through novels.--

In that case, it all makes sense.

While thinking as I sat on the bed, the phone in the room rang.

"Woah!"

I was truly taken aback.

For the first time, I knew how noisy the room's phone was.

"Isn't this too loud? But if we're showering, the sound has to be this loud. Morning call is the same too."

In any case, I could only pick up the receiver to stop it from ringing.

I got up from the bed, and reached out to the phone next to the mini TV. I picked it up, and brought it to my ear.

"Hello."

"Hello sensei--this is Kamishiro. You seem to be done talking. Please allow me to retrieve Milady."

I couldn't refuse this. I opened the door, and invited her in.

She entered the toilet, and whispered something to Nitadori inside. I was by the bedside, and did not know what they were talking about.

Soon after, Miss Kamishiro went alone before me, to retrieve the wig and others.

But even so, this call was way too coincidental. How did she know? I didn't think she could hear us talking from outside the door.

Miss Kamishiro turned to the right, and showed me her left ear, with a cabled wire attached to it. It seemed she had guessed what I was thinking.

"Sorry, but I did a few things on Milady's back just a while back."

"..."

Speaking of which, I did discover a small round object stuck on Nitadori's back when I patted her.

"Why is there a button here?"

That was what I thought.

Thinking back, my final conclusion was basically 'ahh, I guess it's some trendy lingerie design or something', and didn't pay any mind. To be honest, I wasn't in the mood to notice that.

In other words, it was a microphone, or a bug. This miniature device allows for voice reception and transmission through electric signals.

I had a thought.

That one day, I will be able to see all the 'secret weapons' Miss Kamishiro has.

So Miss Kamishiro brought a silent Nitadori out of my room.

I did not know what to say to Nitadori as I watched her leave, her back facing me.

She never turned back, and vanished from my eyes.

When the time slowly struck close to 10am, the start of the After Record, I was overwhelmed with terror.

That was because, after what happened the previous night, I had a nice sleep--

But after entering the studio, I suddenly had a thought,

"Is it fine for me to just reveal this matter this easily?"

It's relieving to share a secret, but this selfish thought was one-sided on my part.

I never considered Nitadori's feelings when she heard those words.

"Nearly killed by mom? Ahaha, not at all."

Back then, should I not have lied as such, even if I had to force myself?

The reason why she was so terrified that she puked was because I was too honest in my answer.

Before then, I did press her hands down onto the sides of my neck; that might be a reason too.

Thinking back, I shouldn't have done so.

No, I really shouldn't have done so.

If only I hadn't done so.

It was then did I realize I made a preposterous mistake. That selfish act made me uncomfortable. I was shivering, my spine tingling.

"You alright? Still not recovered?"

The editor-in-charge, seated next to me, asked me worriedly.

I was grateful for his concern, but it wasn't the case. It would have great if it was a cold.

"Ah...no...I'm fine."

"Good then. Speak out if you feel unwell."

"Thanks. I'll do so when the time comes."

So I answered, and I thought,

"If I'm feeling unwell."--huh?

How much discomfort did I cause Nitadori the previous night?

What startling thing did I do?

This time I was the one having a tummyache, and I had the urge to vomit.

The After Record began, and I was fighting on.

Not against sleepiness, for I had a good sleep.

But against myself, who was unable to stop thinking.

I thought of Nitadori and Stella the previous day, imagining what they would say to me in the future, and was starting to feel afraid. As long as I had a thought, I would shake my head, literally trying to shake it off my mind.

I really hated my ability of conjuring delusions.

"Are you really alright?"

The editor-in-charge asked me three times during the A part.

And so, the first half of the After Record, the most arduous moment finally ended, and it was break time.

After waiting a while, I went to the toilet.

I always did so. If I did head out immediately, I would be going to the toilet side by side with the veteran voice actors who were active before I was born.

Of course, I felt that I was cordial with everyone, but I couldn't be that honest. I really would not know what I should say, and I would act suspiciously.

Even if it wasn't the case, it would be awkward conversing in the toilet.

Even if it wasn't the case, I really wasn't in the mood today.

Each break's fifteen minute long.

I waited for eight minutes, and left the booth.

And once I was done, there was a drinks vending machine on the corridor.

While there was a pot of coffee prepared in the audio visual room to enjoy, I will get sick drinking too much coffee, and it seemed it would agitate my stomach, more so on this day.

"Yo sensei!"

As I lifted the PET bottle, the voice actor portraying Shin patted my shoulder from the back,

He would greet me all the time, but his usual speaking voice was really similar to Shin, and it really intrigued me.

"Ah...hello."

I wasn't in a good mood, but I could not simply ignore him. I turned my body around, and nodded respectively.

With that hearty smile that made him really popular with the ladies, the voice actor said,

"You don't have anything on your neck now?"

"Erm...it's rather hot now."

I lied. The air-conditioning in the studio was really strong, and to be honest, it was cold.

"Well, since it's a gift from your girlfriend, you should have it on at all times, whether it's midsummer or showering. Now's the time to show your love."

I really didn't know how to retort.

"Haah...well, it seems like it'll leave sweat marks."

So I said,

"You don't seem fine, you know? Speaking of which, you look pale. Still not recovered from your flu last week?"

"No, not at all...just something on the mind."

I couldn't lie anymore, and tried to brush the matter aside, but the one person causing this bother to me passed by behind me.

Of course, i did not intend to talk to Nitadori in the recording studio.

But the voice actor had other intentions,

"Ah! Wait a moment, Nitadori! Good timing! Wait a sec!"

"..."

Nitadori had to stop in her tracks, and she turned around, her face stiffened as she looked at us.

Surely she was fuming.

Or maybe unwell.

Did those words affect Nitadori's job?

It'll be great if it didn't.

Various thoughts appeared in my mind, and my stomach started to ache again..

"Sensei has something on his mind, and he's not looking good. Say some things to comfort him."

"Wh-why...me?"

I was thinking that her reaction was normal.

And also, I was wondering, did the voice actor call in Nitadori to say a few words because he knew everything?

The man who knew the truth. The hidden ruler. The final boss--

Once I had this thought, 'no way, no way', I immediately denied this in my mind.

"Hm, just a feeling."

The voice actor boldly answered,

This isn't much of an answer.

"Well, it's not much of an answer...an-anyway, if I don't know what's on his mind, I don't know how to console him."

"Ah, you're right…"

The voice actor turned his handsome face towards me,

"Hey sensei, what's on your mind? Try talking. Tell this big brother here, or maybe, just talk. You see, there isn't much time left for for this break, so just say something."

I guess it's a rare experience for an author to be prompted by the voice of his protagonist being animated.

"Ah, well, how do I put it…"

I wasn't really being interrogated, but I spoke up, and I couldn't stop.

"I once spoke to someone, and I was worried of that person would be feeling uncomfortable or angry, or despise me...when I was answering questions, I went and said too much, probably something weird. I thought I might be deemed a 'weirdo', I guess. No, it's better to be thought of one. But I was wondering if I was thought of as a 'disgusting person', and troubled that person instead."

I didn't intend to say it out.

I didn't intend to reveal these matters.

I was so scared of looking, I did not know what face Nitadori was showing. I lowered my gaze, staring at the tummy of the person before me.

After five seconds, the voice actor said,

"Hm, looks like we have to ask that person--am I right? Nitadori."

She did not answer.

"Eh? Nitadori's--gone."

I too lifted my head.

I couldn't see Nitadori on the corridor.

Ah, I'm hated now, surely, so I thought.

Though I thought so, maybe I was just thinking too much. I might have been thinking too much into it, and made a hasty conclusion based on my delusions.

I could not simply admit to this.

I could not allow myself to bring my delusions into reality.

If I admitted to it, I would think they were real.

The moment I let myself calm down a bit, I heard 'Shin's voice,

"What? Sensei--are you hated?"

"Yeah."

I answered.

I had to admit.

Strangely, once the recording of the B part started, my stomach stopped aching.

Was it because I said it out? Was there stomach medicine in the PET bottle? Did my worries vanished at once? Or was it all of the above?

First off, the rehearsals went well, and it was Nitadori's moment.

In this show, Madoko would have the scene with the longest lines.

Watching Nitadori left me unbearable, and hearing her voice left me unbearable, but I had nowhere to run.

In the control room, I watched the finished footage as I heard the voice.

The middle of part B.

Shin really couldn't say that Sin had caused a huge mess to his life, and lied to Yui.

Shin was really bad at lying, so Yui, who saw through the lies, questioned Shin. However, Shin, unable to say the truth, diverted the topic amazingly.

Yui left the classroom in a huff, and Shin stood there. The one to console and encourage him was Madoko, who did not have a name.

The voice actress portraying Yui finished the recording, silently left the microphone, and retreated to the back.

There was a pause amounting to a few seconds, as the footage showed Sin, hiding at the Tsumizonos' and eating miso pancakes, not knowing he was the cause of it all.

During this time, Nitadori, who had been seated the entire time, got up from the chair, and stood side by side with the voice actor before the microphone.

Airing on this day was the completed footage. The footage showed a closeup of Madoko, who returned to the classroom, raging at Shin as she pointed at him.

"Hey! Tsumizono! Go chase after her!"

"But..."

There was a weak response.

"She ran away hoping you'll give chase! Go explain everything clearly!"

"Is that, so--"

Shin, who was supposed to say 'is that so?' instead, was cut off.

"That is so!"

Madoko affirmed. At this moment, she showed a cheerful face.

"..."

"So please face it head on with courage! It's too early to give up! If chasing after her makes her hate you more, then we'll talk about it then! I won't take responsibility, but I'll continue to think of you two as friends like before! Alright, get going! I'm going to kick your ass if you come back alone!"

"What's with that...but thanks."

Shin smiled as he left the classroom, and Madoko silently watched him, the screen now showing her back.

As it was a change of scenes again, the rehearsal ended.

Nitadori's acting was perfectly fine, and the sound supervisor did not give any instructions.

While everyone was giving their all for this--

I kept thinking about my own issues.

Perhaps it's better for us not to take the same ride the following week.

If I sat at my old seat, and Nitadori didn't show up, what do I do?

If she did show up, and was unwilling to say anything, what should I do?

But--

If I were to take another train, yet Nitadori took the same old train ride…

Just imagining that left my gut winced.

Am I out of the medicine in the PET bottle? So I thought, and had another two gulps of water, but the situation didn't improve.

Maybe I should take absence the following week.

I couldn't get a full attendance award, and it's fine for an author not to be around.

Most importantly, I wouldn't have to take the train.

So I thought--

And I heaved a small sigh of relief.

Despite how vexed the author felt, the After Record continued smoothly.

The rehearsal ended smoothly, and there was not much time left, so the recording for part B was officially beginning.

Shin and Yui had a quarrel, and Yui left the classroom.

Nitadori again stood before the microphone, portraying Madoko.

This might be the last time I would see Nitadori acting in the recording studio.

So I thought as I looked beyond the glass panel.

"Hey! Tsumizono! Go chase after her!"

Madoko said,

"But..."

Shin answered.

"She ran away hoping you'll give chase! Go explain everything clearly!"

Madoko ordered.

"Is that, so--"

Shin said.

"Yes!"

Madoko cut him off.

"..."

Shin was silent, and Madoko said,

"So please face it head on with courage! It's too early to give up! I'll be praying for you here! English, pray, now's the time to pray! Time to pray! This is my spell. So it's fine! Both of you will surely get on well with each other!I"

Eh?

"What's with that...but thanks."

The voice actor continued his outstanding performance, ending this sequence.

"Nitadori."

I could hear the sound supervisor's voice. That voice could reach the booth, through the microphone.

"Yes."

I heard Nitadori's voice.

"Brilliant ab-lib! A little too much on the change. No, it's passionate, and the lines are great. What do you think?"

"Yes, I wanted to say this no matter what, so I did."

"..."

The sound supervisor held the switch down, and said nothing.

"Sensei."

He then called me, and I, looking beyond the glass towards the light green glasses, turned back.

"What do you think of the ab-lib?"

The scriptwriter of this episode was in this control room.The series screenwriter, along with the overall director, were both present.

But even so, he went to me first.

And I answered,

"Can I...tell her personally?"

The sound supervisor widened his eyes. And then, he turned his face towards the director seated next to me.

"This is fine."

The director calmly noted. The sound supervisor nodded, and said,

"Then, sensei, please."

He then switched on the microphone linking to the recording booth, moving it up, and pulled the chair back slightly.

I got up from my chair, took a few steps, and brought my face towards the microphone.

And then, through the glass panel, I saw Nitadori's face.

Her eyes were looking right into my gaze.

I took a quick breath, and spoke up,

With a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I 'owe you one'! Stella!"

While everyone might be taken aback.

These words probably reach this smiling her.

June 26th, Thursday.

The season of plum rain was at work, and the train moved on as it poured.

I was seated at my old seat, and from the backpack on my right, I took out my smartphone, I activated it, and took a photo of the rain-stained window.

I never took a photo within the train before, but I had a feeling that it would be the last time I would take this train on Thursday, at this time, and suddenly felt reluctant.

"Hey, what are you taking?"

I heard a voice from above.

"It's the last time...so, the window.

I answered as I reached my right hand out to lift the bag, and empty the chair. Then, I saw the face of the person talking to me.

"Eh?"

I blurted out in surprise.

I had assumed it would be Nitadori--but it was Stella.

"Thank you."

Stella swayed her light fluffy short hair as she quickly sat down.

No, looking closely, I could see that though she wasn't wearing glasses, she was wearing her colored contact.

Her hair showed Stella.

Her eyes showed Nitadori.

In this situation, how should I address her? Nitalla? Stedori?

Leaving aside, I asked,

"What happened...to your hair…?"

"Shocked?"

Nitadori asked cheerful.

"I am."

I answered.

From Monday till today, just two hours ago…

She was the usual bespectacled Nitadori.

"Starting tomorrow, I intend to remove my contact lens and go for the After Record. This is to prepare myself mentally, so I'm trying to get used to it."

She's not using formal language, so it's Nitadori mode, but her appearance resembled Stella. It's complicated.

And I was really surprised by what she said.

"So, you're going to work, not intending to hide anything…?"

"Hm, maybe I won't. I discussed this with the manager. I'll observe everyone's reactions tomorrow before deciding. Name-wise, I might end up using my real name."

"Wh-wh--why?"

"Whwhwhy?"

"Why? --Ah, no, I'm not trying to tell you off, not at all. I thought you would maintain the black hair. So I'm trying to say, what prompted the change of heart?"

"Hm, I know this will end up revealed sooner or later. It doesn't seem like it'll be a good thing if this gets revealed unexpectedly, and I don't want to become a weird talking point. To be honest, it's rather scary to keep living without being able to move vigorously. And so--"

"And so?"

"My hair, and my eyes. I think these can be called 'selling' points--so I finally managed to convince myself."

"..."

I was really surprised.

These were the causes of her negative memories, but she wanted to use them as 'selling points'. How much resolve did she put in?

How much stronger had she become?

With a cheerful smile, Nitadori said,

"I don't want to worry just because I'm comparing myself to others. I'm--me."

"..."

"Great line, isn't it? I might have this thought because of a certain person."

I tilted my head, asking,

"Erm...who would that be?"

"A certain dull-witted person who misunderstands a little too much."

Who would that be? I thought, and I got it.

"Ah! Ahh...I see…"

"Probably not, I guess?"

I watch Nitadori smile happily, and in my heart,

I thanked that person.

To Mr Voice Actor, thank you very much, really.

I really am glad that he was portraying as Nitadori.

Like usual, Miss Kamishiro was dressed in her posh suit, seated at the opposite side.

"Milady, this."

Nitadori received the bag, and handed it over to me.

"Please accept this. This is a heartfelt gift from me, sensei."

I saw that there were three PET bottles of tea inside, along with some sea salt potato chips. I really hoped there wasn't any transmitter inside.

"Thanks for your goodwill, I'll accept this--"

And so I accepted, but not without asking in a half-joking, half-tentative manner.

"But after eating this, I have to answer any question, right?"

"Of course."

She immediately answered.

The short light brown hair matched the brown eyes. I had never seen Nitadori like this before.

"Over ten times or so, I've asked you various questions, sensei. Now for the next question."

She stared right at me, and immediately asked. I was holding the bag of potato chips, and had not opened it,

"What do you think of me?"

It was too vague,

"What do you mean?"

So while holding the bag, I tilted my head, asking,

"Well, a few options--interesting? Annoying? Hard to deal with? Special? Cute? Weird? Which is the best answer? Or...others?"

There were many options, but the best option was 'others'.

"Others--"

I answered honestly, as usual,

"I hope to use you as the basis of a story."

"Ah…"

Nitadori widened her eyes, her mouth agape, and she muttered,

"I never thought this woul be your answer…"

And she quipped,

"Just like an author."

While opening the bag of potato chips, I answered,

"I'm an author."

And I popped the first piece into my mouth.

### 021. Light Novel Q&A - Please feel free to ask us any LightNovel's questions!

Is Vice Versa a web novel?

If it is, where do I read it?

From Explosions

The following will contain heavy spoilers from 'Vice Versa', so please pay attention.

Someone told me "Vice Versa' was a web novel.

I was shocked to hear that. What he mentioned was further beyond what was sold.

I was shocked to learn that in that story, it's said that the homunculus Meek will die in a war.

But Shin of Reputation had an amazing power,

Using his power, Meek became a gemstone and kept on living. It's a pretty shocking story.

Is this part correct?

And if anyone knows of what happens after, please tell me!

I want to ask him, but he's out far away.

Thank you everyone for your answers!

Sent: XXXX/X/X X:X:X Replies: 6

That's not real

From Really Loves Shin

I don't know who you heard it from, but I think that's not true.

If it is, Dengeki Bunko would have announced it.

Till now, nobody has been hiding the fact that their own works were originally web novels.

Probably not

From YuiYui

I don't think the author's going to kill off a popular character like Meek.

You got duped there, didn't you?

Don't spread rumors

From Pluto

Do you think I'll be so stupid to let Meek die? Hahh?

That guy's definitely delusional

From Sin's real wife.

That guy's probably delusional, right?

There's someone who really believes the fanfiction is 'an author's original'?

I won't fault you there, but try asking him again.

I don't know where that guy is though.

You're duped there

From Shirotaro Matsumoto

Heh, you were duped there.

Only an idiot like you would have been duped.

How can Meek die?

That author's a veteran.

He knows this very well. That's why he's not going to kill off a popular character. (TN Snark: RIP Yatori)

I think it's a lie.

From The end

I guess the author won't kill off a popular character through that way.

But if it's me, I might try writing such a plotline.

The girl staring at the screen--

"UMU!"

Grunted like a Sengoku warrior, and got up from her seat.

### 022. Afterword - Special edition. Preview Specials

## Afterword, Special Synopsis

### Volume 4

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, strangled by the obi of my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress--Time to Judo-->>

When our relationship stabilized, Nitadori suddenly said to me, "Oh, right, sensei! Let's play judo!".

The protagonist started to play judo for real, gradually impressed, and finally made it to the Nationals! However, the next submission deadline for 'Vice Versa' is closing in...can he continue tossing around while writing his novels!?

The startling stage shall be set on the tatamis, the plot of the 4th volume filled with manly sweat!

### Volume 5

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, forced to marry by my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress --Time to Marry-- >>

The Protagonist managed to win silver at the Nationals, and submitted the manuscript on time.

As a famous person in school, he's popular with the girls too, beaming away. Nitadori's crying tears of blood, but she couldn't do anything as she told him to do it. At this moment, Miss Kamishiro brought some shocking news. That is, Nitadori's already 20, and has a prearranged fiance overseas!

A fire is lit under Nitadori, and she pursues the protagonist! Turbulent times in volume 5!

### Volume 6

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, having a war against my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress --Time to Fight-- >>

The protagonist never noticed that Nitadori was trying to woo him. A fuming Nitadori finally transforms into the blond 'Super Nitadori' and starts to attack mercilessly! The protagonist uses the wardrobe he inherbits from his mother as a weapon, but is unable to completely withstand the attacks coming from behind him in class. When he was stabbed by the After Record script and about to die of blood loss, an unexpected person suddenly saved him--

80% battles, hardcore combat scenes! This is this 6th volume!

### Volume 7

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, and I feel my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress doesn't exist? Is it all my own selfish delusions--Time to Realize-->>

The anime was aired successfully, and the protagonist returns to his lonely school life. Doing this, he suddenly feels empty within. “Eh? Who was I talking to on the train...?” Even though he muttered to himself at the last seat of the classroom, nobody responded. Was it all a hallucination? But what was with the icy feeling left on the neck? Why did I buy an Afghan Shawl?

Fantasy and reality, truth and convictions cross in this psychological drama. What did he find in the 7th volume?

### Volume 8

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, and my female classmate who is my junior and a voice actress is returning to her hometown, so I decided to head for a space odyssey. It's fine, I'll launch from Tanegashima --Time to Rocket-- >>

The protagonist was able to identify Nitadori, and knew of the truth she was hiding. She is the queen of the planet—the Second planet of the Arash galaxy Bennu Solar System, Sloatta. Once she regained her memories by changing the color of her left eye, she wanted to eat some horse sashimi from her native planet for breakfast, and suddenly returned home. As she returned, the countdown of the bomb to destroy Earth remains activated...

To get her back, the protagonist launched from Tanegashima, and flies towards space. The intense space chapter shall begin!

### Volume 9

<<I'm a High School Boy and a Bestselling Light Novel author, and I feel that it doesn't matter. I love you, I can't forget about you. I want to meet you. --Time to Love-- >>

After reuniting with Nitadori, the protagonist realizes the heavy feelings in his heart. He feels restless. In this situation, Nitadori, unable to eat enough horse sashimi, kicked up a fuss, became really big, and wants to swallow the entire world in 2 weeks. While the protagonist remains conflicted between the fate of the world and his first love, his smartphone receives a message from Earth. “The submission deadline has already passed. Are you done with the manuscript?”

The blazing love story shall begin. The 9th volume enters the climax!

### Volume 10

< >

With convicted love and belief, the duo return to school. In this universe, nothing shall stop these two—right when the protagonist had such a thought, the homeroom teacher informed him of a startling fact, “I know you're busy saving the world out there, but you have insufficient attendance. You shall be expelled.”

But to continue being a 'high school boy', what shall the protagonist do? Also, what would be the truth to whatever Nitadori would launch in quick successions. Now comes the finale where the duo shall be tested!

The aforementioned titles shall forever remain unreleased. Please do not inquire the bookstores or the editorial branch.

June 2014, Keiichi Sigsawa

Hello everyone, this is Kouhaku Kuroboshi.

All three afterwords include Meek. In the 'Strangled' series, most of the illustrations involve the strangling heroine Nitadori, so I thought I should include some Meek in the afterwords...

I might as well say that it's enjoyable to draw Meek.

I want to read 'Vice Versa' too.