I really don't want to be reborn.

Why would you bring back such important evidence?

Sitting in the chair in front of the cabinet, Kyosuke Kosaka continued, "But I don't think it's plagiarism or anything like that; at most, there's been some mistake..."

"Ah, um..."

"Given her rotten and moldy level of skill, I don't believe anyone would plagiarize her work."

Kyosuke scoffed: "Someone who even steals middle school students' essays—no, even their scribbles—doesn't think he has any writing skills, and his plagiarism skills are even appalling."

"Hmm... Eh—hiss!"

"What's wrong, Rino-sensei? Oh, you burned your hand."

Before she knew it, Rino-sensei's hand was scalded by the overflowing hot water. Kousaka Kyosuke quickly got up and went to the balcony: "I'll go get a towel. Which one?"

Rino watched his retreating figure, took a deep breath, and said, "It's the dark one."

She bent down incredibly fast like a mad dog, picked up the blue folding umbrella, and stuffed it into her waistband. Immediately afterwards, she was covered in sweat, clutching her hand and hissing in pain.

"Rino-sensei was so careless."

"Thank you, I'm sorry for making you laugh, Kousaka-kun. I feel much better now."

Kyosuke smiled and said, "Let's go to Pudding's place now. If my little sister does anything naughty later, please be patient with her, Rino-sensei."

"You're too kind, Kousaka-kun... Ah, I'm going inside to get something, could you please wait for me at the door?"

She slowly retreated into the bedroom.

that's terrible!

Ignoring the pain in her hand, she immediately pulled open the drawer of the table, preparing to put that damned folding umbrella inside.

"Hey, Rino-sensei, have you seen my umbrella—"

He lifted the curtain and met her gaze.

"..."

Kyosuke pointed to the folding umbrella in her hand: "Yes, yes, this is it. I just bought it today. I thought I had lost it."

The woman stammered, "You...you're my umbrella?"

"Yes, it's still damp up there. Thank you very much."

Without asking why she took his umbrella, Kousaka Kyosuke walked straight over, took it from her, and smiled at her, who was still dumbfounded. "Actually, don't laugh at me, teacher, but I usually like to carry an umbrella with me as a weapon..."

Rino-sensei's eyes were vacant; she didn't know whether she should speak or not.

"...It's kind of chuunibyou, eh...I'll wait for you outside, Rino-sensei."

"Oh."

"Sorry to bother you."

Kyosuke Kosaka left with a broad smile.

Rino-sensei... no, I should say Iori Fate Setsuna is in a state of panic, overwhelmed by the terror of being exposed and the humiliation of being mocked.

She slammed her fist on the table, gritting her teeth: "Bastard!"

Then she immediately put on a mournful face and said, "Mom, I want to go back to my hometown. Japan is so scary..."

…………

Ryunosuke Kumagai's office.

Miss Fate, as tense as a taut bow, walked behind Kyosuke Kosaka. She took a deep breath, mustered her last bit of courage and hope, and prepared to face the angry glare and scolding from the middle school girl.

But when he looked up, he found that the silly girl with the round head wasn't in the office.

Besides Kumagai, there was also a petite Gothic Lolita girl sitting to the side reading a book.

Without thinking, she blurted out, "Isn't your sister here?"

These words caused the expressions of the three people in the room to change.

Kumagai Ryunosuke sighed, while the black cat lifted the pages of the book to hide his mocking expression.

Kyosuke Kousaka suddenly turned around: "Rino-sensei, how did you know—"

He pointed to the silent black cat: "Even if she's a quiet, beautiful girl, why don't you think she's my sister?"

She took several steps back, then suddenly realized she had made an incredibly stupid mistake: "That's because, that's because—"

"That's because you know what my sister looks like."

Rino-sensei was completely flustered; her thoughts, which she had finally managed to calm down, were instantly thrown into disarray: "No! That's not true. I've never even seen your sister..."

Are you sure? Are you sure you haven't seen it before?

Kyosuke Kosaka pulled out a large photo of his younger sister: "A round head, unappetizing hair color, and that smile as silly as yours, you really haven't seen this before?"

Miss Fate is now ignoring everything else and sticking to one point: "I said I didn't see them! Mr. Kumagai, what do they mean by this...?"

Kosaka interrupted her: "You used Kumagai's name to lure Kirino out, you tricked her into giving you the remaining manuscripts, and you also tricked her into revealing that idiot's website password."

"It's you, it's you, still you! You've taken her place, comfortably waiting for your work to be published, reaping praise and recognition that isn't even yours!"

Like a courtroom revelation, Kyosuke Kosaka pulled out the business card and waved it: "Your handwriting and your fingerprints are evidence in court."

"Huh? What's that? Even if there are my fingerprints on it, it doesn't prove anything. Even if there's my phone number on it, does that prove I plagiarized your sister's novel?"

"Cannot be proven."

He looked at the woman as if she were an idiot: "But what you just said proves it—how did you know that your phone number was on this business card belonging to Kumagai?"

"..."

The black cat lowered its head and chuckled softly.

Why would Kirino be fooled by such a stupid person?

I just can't understand it. How could she be even dumber than this person?

Before Fate could retort, Kyosuke Kosaka delivered the final blow: "The recording pen recorded you saying 'I've never seen Kirino,' so can you tell me who the person in this photo is talking to my sister on the first floor of Dengeki Bunko?"

That was another photo, clearly showing Kirino and Fate sitting together talking, with both of their faces captured.

The plagiarist collapsed to the ground, utterly powerless.

Ryunosuke Kumagai shook his head and sighed, then helped her up from the ground and led her out without saying a word.

The black cat looked at the silent victor, at the inorganic emotion in his eyes, and felt a subtle sense of unease.

That feeling came very suddenly.

It's like walking on the Antarctic ice sheet and suddenly seeing a blooming rose.

That wasn't a surprise.

Many doubts slowly surfaced, and a flash of inspiration struck him. The little black cat shrank its petite body, feeling a chill run down its spine.

------

Chapter Twenty-Two: You are the black cat crouching on the wall, watching over us.

"Please use..."

With a low voice and a rough, gloomy face, Mr. Ryunosuke Kumagai said this polite remark with a heavy heart, and placed the tea and pudding on the table.

It's clear he's not in a good mood after this happened.

"Don't be like that. You've been an editor for so many years, what kind of weirdos haven't you encountered? Do you think this is an exception?"

“That’s not how it is. Kousaka, you don’t know, I’ve known Fate for years, and I never imagined she would do something like this.”

This was the first time Kyosuke had seen such an expression on this composed and serious man's face—a look of pain and bewilderment at being betrayed: "I've read her early works; she was clearly very talented, but I don't know why she's become increasingly boring in recent years, until recently when she came to me with your younger sister's novel..."

Kumagai's smile was bittersweet: "You have no idea how happy I was back then. I thought that girl who used to be full of witty remarks and bursting with inspiration was back. But I never expected..."

Kyosuke Kosaka waved his hand to interrupt his sentimental remarks: "There's no need to play the victim card. This matter must be dealt with seriously. It has little to do with how much harm my sister suffered. The most important thing is the atmosphere within the company."

Ryunosuke Kumagai's sour and sad expression immediately disappeared: "I forgot that you're not just an author, but also an editor, a company employee..."

"If an author dares to plagiarize and steal manuscripts under the guise of an editor, one can imagine how undisciplined their work has been in recent years. This is not good."

Kumagai didn't say anything, but scooped up a spoonful of pudding and put it to his mouth.

"The editor-in-chief has made it clear that the matter should be handled discreetly, but many people will investigate thoroughly, especially those emails complaining of plagiarism. It seems they are serious this time."

Ryunosuke Kumagai took a big bite, and the pudding pitifully went into his mouth. After chewing for a while, the gloomy expression on this devilish guy's face softened considerably.

"Mmm... Pudding is really delicious, it can really cheer you up."

As he said this, he grinned—a terrifying grin that could frighten even elementary school students.

Junior high school students aren't much better off.

The black cat hid behind Kyosuke, tugging at his clothes, and felt a chill run down its spine as it recalled being alone in a room with this ghost just a dozen minutes earlier.

Kyosuke patted the black cat's head: "Don't be afraid. Although this person is quite harsh when criticizing others and has a fierce face, he is a good person."

Having been friend-zoned, Kumagai continued eating pudding, feeling sullen.

The black cat felt the hand gently stroking her head and pouted, "...Is it because you like pudding that your nickname is Pudding?"

"Yes, Miss Black Cat...that's right, because pudding looks a lot like a woman's breasts."

"..."

I mean the texture.

"Hey! What dirty talk are you saying to my sister?"

"Don't give me that. You said before that Miss Kuroneko isn't actually your sister. Your sister is a guy named Kirino—and I don't think Miss Kuroneko could write a work like 'Imouto Sora'."

The black cat's eye twitched: "I feel like I've been insulted in an unbearable place."

Pudding Sauce looked at the pudding wobbling in the plate with a satisfied expression: "After eating pudding, I feel very calm. According to the instructions of our club president, we are to promote the activity of eating pudding while tapping the plate five times in ten seconds."

Kosaka smiled silently. The president he knew still seemed like an oddball: "I won't say anything more. As for Ms. Fate's apology, that can be done privately. I'll bring Kirino over next time to discuss the publication with you."

"You're still as meticulous as ever, keeping public and private matters separate."

"I have a large inventory..."