Tokyoites don't have martial virtue

65. The Kingly Journey of a Light Novel Writer

Back home, Mizuhashi Eiki dropped the jellyfish pendant onto the table lamp and eagerly turned on her computer.

"I need to write down all my inspiration before the excitement fades!" She felt her mind flowing with ideas, and her delicate hands flew across the keyboard like an elegant pianist, typing at a speed she had never experienced before.

"I can't let my senior down... Senior..."

Thinking about everything that had happened today, Mizuhashi Eiji blushed, her hands paused for a moment because of her trembling body, and then she typed faster.

"I really want to... go on another date with my senior..."

She smiled at the screen, murmuring to herself in a daze.

When she came to her senses, a manuscript was already finished.

"The drizzle fell on the umbrella, and I can never forget the way my heart pounded at that moment. I think I've fallen for someone like him. I want to hold his hand and walk through a garden where cherry blossoms are in full bloom, I want to exchange a smile with him on the path behind the shrine's torii gate in the early morning, I want to watch the moonlit night and fireworks with him, I want to do everything I consider romantic with him... I want our bond to continue forever, intertwined until we can never be separated again."

This sentence served as the final conclusion.

Mizuhashi Ei-hime read through the manuscript she had just written from beginning to end, and was astonished by the words.

Did she really write this?

She seemed to have poured all her knowledge into it, and both the writing and the plot exuded a gentle and romantic beauty.

Because this work is written from a female perspective, it contains a great deal of nuanced psychological descriptions. Through the female protagonist's various heart-fluttering thoughts and subtle actions, the male protagonist's courage, thoughtfulness, and kindness are highlighted.

After three more days of revisions, Mizuhashi Eiki transformed the manuscript into a school romance light novel, and then came up with a light novel title with an artistic flair:

The Senior Who's Always Holding an Umbrella for Me

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Mizuhashi Eihi sent the manuscript to the editor she had previously contacted.

The next day after school, a new email notification popped up on her phone. The sender was "Yanhuo Library," the publisher she had been submitting her manuscripts to.

"We are very sorry, your submission does not meet our library's requirements, so we cannot accept it."

Upon seeing those familiar words, Mizuhashi Eiki's hand trembled, and she almost dropped her phone.

Although she had seen these words countless times, this time, however, she felt a heartbreaking sense of sorrow.

My seniors have worked so hard for me, yet I've still accomplished nothing?

Just as she was about to close the email and retreat to a corner of the room to shut herself off, she discovered that the email could be dragged down to reveal more content.

“Our ‘Yanhuo Library’ focuses on literary works with a youthful and passionate theme, so your submission does not conform to our operating policy.”

"However, our editors read your submission and gave it a good review. Compared to your previous submissions, you have made significant progress and it is fully in line with current market standards."

"We have already recommended you to our partner publisher, 'Jikumo Bunko,' whose main market is currently youth romance and light novels."

"If you have no objections, the publisher's staff will contact you soon. We look forward to your future performance and hope to have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future, Mr. Mizuhashi."

After reading the email, Mizuhashi Eiji excitedly covered her face and stood there motionless, unable to calm down from her joy.

"Mr. Mizuhashi...this is the first time he's called me 'Mr.'..." she murmured to herself, her voice a mix of laughter and tears.

"This is great... Someone like me... I never thought I could get this far..."

......

"Pfft-!"

The sound of a soda can being opened.

"Congratulations, little brother Shuiqiao!" On the rooftop at noon, Tang Zegui would simulate a "cheers" gesture with a can of soda:

"Now you can take your first step into becoming a light novel author!"

"Phew~ It seems my efforts haven't been in vain~" Suzuki Yuujin breathed a sigh of relief: "Keep going, the road will be open for you!"

"Don't give up halfway," Takatsuki Genji said calmly.

After reading Mizuhashi Eiki's new book, Senior Karakawa bit her nails, her teeth chattering: "Although the style is completely different from before, the improvement is too great. It seems your date went very well..."

"It wasn't exactly smooth sailing; we encountered a lot of problems along the way." Kyushu Makoto sighed and said helplessly, "I'm completely bad at dating; I'll have to leave it to someone else next time."

"Um...senpai!" Mizuhashi Eiki was startled and quickly said:

"Could you please continue to accompany me on dates in the future?"

"I already told you I'm not good at this kind of thing, right?" Kyushu Makoto looked confused.

At that moment, Suzuki Yuujin put his arm around his shoulder and showed him Mizuhashi Eiki's new book:

"Look, this is her new book. Doesn't the male protagonist, 'Amemura Ryo,' look a lot like you? He always carries an umbrella with him."

“I looked at it, and there is definitely a bit of me in it.” Kyushu Makoto nodded. “But I always carry an umbrella not because I hate the rain.”

"The theme of this book is the story of a man and a woman who don't understand 'love' and gradually deepen their feelings for each other through trial and error," said Yuji Suzuki, making a valid point.

"If we ask her to find a guy who's an expert in romance to do her research, wouldn't that conflict with the theme of the novel?"

“That makes sense!” Kyushu Makoto suddenly realized and agreed.

"Besides... only you, senpai, are... the person I trust most... so..." Mizuhashi Eiki became a little hesitant, "Could we... in the future..."

"..." Kyushu Makoto clearly hesitated for a moment.

He didn't mind continuing to help, but the expenses for each outing were not insignificant. Although he was happy to help others, he couldn't give unconditionally and make himself suffer.

As if she could read her senior's mind, and recalling her senior's family situation and the displeased look in her eyes when she saw the "Dolphin" restaurant's menu, Mizuhashi Eiji quickly suggested:

"It's alright, senior. My first volume of novel is being published next month! If the royalties are substantial, I'll cover the expenses from now on!"

"Oh, sure." Kyushu Makoto didn't feel any pressure. Since he had already spent time helping, he figured the other party could pay for it.

"Hey, isn't it a bit inappropriate to let a girl pay?" Tang Zegui scratched his head awkwardly. "It just feels so strange..."

"It's okay, because the male protagonist in the novel is also a penniless guy, and the female protagonist usually pays for everything~" Mizuhashi Eiki quickly explained, afraid that her senior would lose face.

"There's no need to recreate the 'penniless' part, is there?" Kyushu Makoto sighed. "It sounds a bit hurtful."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, senpai!" Mizuhashi Eiki realized she had said the wrong thing and frantically waved her arms and legs: "I'll go ask the editor if we can change the character design!"

Kyushu Makoto was amused by her flustered jumping around and reached out to press her head down: "It's okay. According to literature, being 'penniless' is also a kind of cute contrast, right?"

"Exactly! Anyway, we should arrange more research trips in the future!" Suzuki Yuujin raised his glass, took a sip of his lactic acid soda, and struck a cool pose:

"As for logistics, leave it to me, the Grand Strategist Suzuki! Let my 'strategist's wise counsel' lead you to victory!"

"Oh! It's getting exciting!" General Karasawa exclaimed excitedly, "General Karasawa, who has watched hundreds of romance novels, is here to lend you a hand—Awooo! Stop pinching me! I'll kill you, Suzuki!"

After Suzuki Yuuji pinched his waist again, Karasawa Kishou was so angry that he threw a series of powerful punches at him.

"Thank you so much, Suzuki." Kyushu Makoto sincerely expressed his gratitude: "Thanks to the guide you provided, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have been able to handle it."

While fending off Takasho Karasawa's wheel punches, Suzuki Yuujin gave Kyushu Makoto a thumbs-up, a glint of gold flashing in his eyes.

"

"Huh? What strategy guide?" Mizuhashi Eiki asked curiously.

"There's nothing there, Mizuhashi-kun~" Kyushu Makoto patted his junior's shoulder with a smile, brushing off the topic:

"Persistence is key in everything. I will continue to help you gather material, and in exchange, you must keep writing."

"One day, I will make sure that you can hear the name 'Mizuhashi-sensei' everywhere, and even your family will look at you with new respect!"

"Mizuhashi-sensei... even my seniors call me that..." Mizuhashi Eiki immediately covered her face in embarrassment.

"Hehe...I...I'll try my best, senior!"

66. Teacher Jiangniao's After-School Tutoring

"Hey, how did the monthly exam go?"

"Oh no, I failed the exam. I should have known better than to go to karaoke with my girlfriend before the exam."

"Oh, I made it into the top 30! I won!"

In the school corridor, a group of students were gathered around the bulletin board.

Xiujin Academy is a low-end private school, but in order to improve overall academic performance, the chairman of the board has incorporated a "monthly exam" system into the teaching policy.

Although it's called a "monthly exam," it's more like having two midterm exams within a semester. After all, if there were really exams every month, the students would probably go crazy.

The monthly exams had just ended a few days ago, and Kyushu Makoto casually glanced at his ranking, which was around 30th place, neither high nor low.

This result was a decline compared to his previous performance, because he no longer pushed himself to study as hard as the original owner of the body, and only glanced at the textbooks.

The worst subject was Chinese, which dragged down the average score considerably. Science subjects, on the other hand, were quite good, with chemistry even ranking among the top five in the grade.

He was a chemist in his past life—though he had no interest in scientific research—he just wanted to try applying his chemical knowledge to martial arts.

After all, who could resist becoming a cool sulfuric acid swordsman or a bomb-throwing boxing champion?

"Kyushu, how did you do on the exam?" Tang Zegui came over and hooked his arm around his shoulder, his weight making his shoulder almost collapse.

“Not bad, how about you?” Kyushu Makoto smiled and asked in return.

"Wow! We're in the top seventy this time!" Tang Zegui proudly puffed out his chest.

"Those two guys seem to have gone too far! I can't stand it... I always have to tutor them all night long. Can't they just study harder during the week?!"