I really don't want to be reborn.

"This must be someone you know, Pudding, right?"

“That’s right—to be honest, I was quite shocked at the time. I had been her editor for several years, but I couldn’t discover her talent in this area…”

"...That's really sudden. Is it that novel you complained about before, the one that was like eating shit?"

"Hmm... no, actually it's quite interesting to read after it's finished."

Ok?

It even has features of "The Return of the Condor Heroes"?

Kyosuke Kosaka remained silent for a long time.

This ominous silence finally made Kumagai realize something was wrong: "What... what's going on?"

…………

In a room on the fourth floor, Kyosuke Kousaka knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

His expression turned strange.

It was actually a woman's voice, and quite clear at that.

Kosaka pushed open the door and entered. What came into view was a woman wearing dark blue trousers and a tie, with short hair.

She looks like a very intellectual beauty, and like the black cat, she has a beauty mark under her left eye that indicates she's prone to crying.

Twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

She is quite tall for a woman.

If he hadn't been wearing women's clothing today, he would definitely have mistaken it for a man again.

On the day Kirino came to Dengeki Bunko, he had met this woman at the public sink in the restroom. At the time, he thought she was a handsome man who would urinate standing up...

In Kirino's exasperated words, he was a "dead transvestite".

Because this woman... really has no breasts.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Oh, I'm an editor from Pudding's team. Hello, Rino-sensei."

Upon hearing that she was an editor, the woman looked surprised: "Hello, please come in, oh dear, it's a bit messy here..."

"Sorry to bother you."

This is her room in the editorial department where she is temporarily staying.

It was clear that the living conditions weren't great. The room, which wasn't spacious, was divided into a living room and an inner room by a curtain, making it feel even more cramped. Kousaka Kyosuke smiled broadly: "Because I'm an editor in the special department, I've never gotten to know Rino-sensei. It's a real shame."

"Not at all... Please have some tea."

Upon hearing that he was the editor of the special courses, the woman's smile widened: "Is there something you need?"

Kyosuke took a sip of tea: "Yes, I have a favor to ask of you, teacher."

"what?"

He smiled wryly: "Actually, my sister is a big fan of yours, Teacher. She insisted on coming to see you today no matter what."

"Ahhh, that's... I'm so happy."

"Does the teacher have time? I just came from Pudding's place. I know you're going to talk about the second volume of 'Sister Sky' later—I was afraid the teacher would refuse in person and hurt my sister's feelings, so I came to sound out the situation first..."

He clasped his hands together and said, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry to have bothered you, teacher."

"No disturbance at all. I'd love to have more fans like this!"

Flattery is something everyone loves to hear.

Especially those who have been unknown for ten years and are now finally making their mark.

Kyosuke Kosaka was very good at flattery, and he flattered her subtly and perfectly. The mare was so wet from his flattery that she didn't even realize it. After a few words, they started talking about other things.

"I heard from Pudding that Rino-sensei's pen name used to be Little Fate."

"Ugh! This is so embarrassing, it's practically a dark history for me. I've told Mr. Kumagai so many times not to call me Little Fate anymore..."

"But the nickname 'Fate-chan' is quite cute."

"It's a lie, is it for real?"

Using her pen name, Kyosuke Kousaka launched a psychological offensive: "Uh, may I interview Rino-sensei on behalf of my sister first?"

The other party nodded enthusiastically: "No problem."

"I want to know the teacher's measurements—haha, I was being a pervert. The questions I want to ask are like... why does Pudding call you Little Fate? I feel like there's a story behind that name."

This is a difficult question to answer.

The woman sighed: "Don't tell anyone, okay? Actually, Fate is my middle name. My full name is Iori Fate Setsuna..."

Kousaka Kyosuke was stunned: "A pen name?"

"It's...it's my real name! People often say it sounds like a name from an anime or light novel! But what can I do? My parents just gave me this name..."

He said with a serious expression, "No, actually I think this name is very cute. Whether it's Fate or Setsuna, they are both very cute girl names!"

"Is that so? Thank you for the compliment... although I myself feel ashamed of this name."

"No way, it's both cool and cute..."

As they were having a lively conversation, he felt that he had built up a good impression of her enough, and suddenly clapped his hands: "Oh, by the way, my sister is also writing, and she also submits mobile novels for publication."

"Oh, what a child who really enjoys writing."

"Yes, and that girl said her novel on her phone was plagiarized, and she was quite angry. Besides coming to see her idol, Rino-sensei, she mainly came here today to demand an explanation."

Rino-sensei, who had been all smiles, froze as if her smile had vanished: "Plagiarism...?"

"Yes, Kirino was so angry she got sick—Rino-sensei, shall we go?"

He seemed to just remember something and slapped his forehead: "Sorry, sorry, I forgot to say my name."

"..."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Kousaka."

Kousaka by Kousaka Kyosuke.

Takasaka by Kirino Takasaka.

The woman stared blankly at him, at the boy who still wore a gentle smile, and swallowed hard. "Um, I'd like to have some water first..."

------

Ah, this chapter has 3,000 words. Counting the 5,000 words from the previous two chapters, today's chapter has 8,000 words.

Eight thousand words counts as four updates, so let's just call it my fourth update, okay?

I should be celebrating Children's Day! I've already added extra chapters, so please don't hold back your criticism!

Chapter Twenty-One: The Three-Step Combo of Quality

Rino-sensei was staring blankly at the water dispenser.

Hot water was slowly poured into the cup in her hand, and the rushing sound became incredibly noisy in her ears.

The water glass is getting heavier and heavier.

She had imagined many possibilities, including the other party coming here to make a scene, and even thought about a court summons, but she never expected that the other party's brother would also work in the editorial department.

"According to her, the editor who lied to her was despicable. Not only did he steal the manuscript, but he also took away the blue umbrella she was wearing that day."

"Rain, umbrella?"

"Oh, wasn't it drizzling that day? She put the umbrella on the table where the meeting was being held, and when she went back to look for it, it was gone."

rain?

Did it rain that day?

Rino frowned as she tried to recall, but the memory was vague.

That's how human memory works; we might remember the specific details of an event clearly, but we often can't remember the weather conditions on a particular day.

Do you remember what the weather was like three days ago?

In addition, winter is always cloudy with almost no sunny days, so such memories are even more vague. After he said that, she was not sure whether it had rained that day or not.

Moreover, such suspicion was fleeting, because Kyosuke Kosaka was always ruthless and relentless, giving the other party no time to think: "So I was thinking, it must have been that editor who took her umbrella."

"Yeah……"

"So I'll ask around the editorial department and see if I can find that editor."

Rino forced a smile: "That's true. What does that umbrella... look like?"

"What does it look like? It's a blue folding umbrella."

Rino felt a slight sense of relief.

She couldn't remember whether she took the middle school student's umbrella or not, as she was too nervous that day.

However, there were no blue umbrellas or anything like that in the room.

It probably wasn't referring to himself...

Could someone else have had their work plagiarized?

"I doubt there's anyone like that in the editorial department—"

She composed herself and turned her head away.

He fell silent as soon as he finished speaking, as if he had swallowed a thousand nails, his eyes fixed on an umbrella placed in the corner behind the door.

The umbrella was folded and blue.

Fuck!

Damn it!

Am I a pig-brain?