My dear wife, I still love you more.

Speaking of which, when practicing kendo, it definitely feels better to shout out each time. Although it seems a bit strange, it's better than not making a sound at all. Besides, making sounds while practicing was something included in the tutorial that came with the wooden sword he bought.

Sweating profusely, Kenichi Hasegawa put down the wooden sword in his hand.

To be honest, this kind of practice can be a bit boring, but with the attribute panel, you can see your proficiency increase a little after each practice session. Although you can't feel it physically, there are clear data to tell you about your progress. It is this visible progress that gives Kenichi Hasegawa the motivation to practice every day.

After putting down his wooden sword and quickly rinsing off the sweat, Hasegawa Kenichi sat on the only table in the room and opened his books. These were first-year high school textbooks; school was about to start, and as a student, studying was naturally of paramount importance. Although, in truth, with his system, he would undoubtedly succeed and achieve great glory even without attending school, he was, after all, a student.

Moreover, putting everything else aside, just consider the parents of this body. They consumed most of the family's resources and even sent Hasegawa Kenichi a considerable amount of living expenses every month. Even if it's just for his parents' sake, Hasegawa Kenichi couldn't ignore it.

Moreover, speaking of which, in his previous life, Kenichi Hasegawa was an inconspicuous figure in school from elementary school to university graduation. His academic performance was mediocre; he was neither admired nor despised. Whether he existed or not, he was utterly insignificant.

Now that he has the opportunity to go back to school, Kenichi Hasegawa wants to become a top student if possible.

That's right, a top student. Back in his previous life, he often envied those with good grades, especially the top students. As a top student, they enjoyed countless privileges at school, receiving praise and compliments from teachers. If a top student and a struggling student skipped class at the same time, the top student would be greeted with concern and fuss by the teacher, as if something was wrong. But the struggling student, without a second thought, would definitely get a severe scolding.

So, if possible, I really want to be a top student.

Without the system, Hasegawa Kenichi might not have had such aspirations. But with the system, after Hasegawa Kenichi read for a while and acquired a skill called learning, the knowledge in the high school textbooks became exceptionally simple for him.

You don't need to expend a lot of energy or time; just by reading books and practicing calligraphy, you can master high school knowledge. And by practicing calligraphy, you even acquire a skill called calligraphy.

Having such skills, it would be a real waste not to become a top student and enjoy the privileges of being one.

Kenichi Hasegawa's plan for himself is to read for one hour and write for one hour, at least until both skills reach level 4. Yes, during this vacation. As for the remaining time, he can do things he wants to do. For example, read novels and comics, or try writing novels or drawing comics.

Despite the fact that these skills were still at a low level, Kenichi Hasegawa was thoroughly enjoying them.

Kenichi Hasegawa even felt like he was playing an online game, especially since this online game not only changed the virtual data in the game, but also directly affected his body in reality.

I put down my comic book, checked the time—it was almost five o'clock—time to head out. Time for work.

Kenichi Hasegawa works at the Yamaharu Izakaya from 6 PM to 10 PM, a total of four hours. This is roughly the busiest time of day for the izakaya, especially since Hasegawa is just a temporary worker and a kitchen helper; they obviously wouldn't let him waste time when there are no customers. So, Hasegawa earns about 4,000 yen a day. While not a lot, it's more than enough to cover his living expenses, as long as he doesn't spend money recklessly.

Although the money wasn't much, Kenichi Hasegawa had a plan in mind: from this moment on, he would stop asking his family for living expenses and earn his own. Then, he would earn his own tuition fees. Although he might not earn much money in a short time and wouldn't be able to send money home to his parents, at least he wouldn't have to ask them for money.

Kenichi Hasegawa already had a general plan. Novels, or more precisely, light novels. While making money from light novels isn't easy—after all, only a few authors actually earn money, and many more struggle to make ends meet—he, with his system, would be different. With his system, he could succeed in any industry if he wanted to.

Kenichi Hasegawa plans to practice casually for now, and once his writing level reaches level 3, he will officially submit his work. If that doesn't work, he'll spend more time improving to level 4, or even level 5.

"Hasegawa, you're here?" Chef Yamaharu greeted Hasegawa Kenichi with a smile when he saw him.

"Chef Shanchun".

"Let's change our clothes."

"Yes."

After changing into his work clothes, Kenichi Hasegawa walked into the kitchen. At that moment, a girl about the same age as Kenichi Hasegawa came over: "You're the temporary kitchen helper at the izakaya? Hmm, you sound so-so."

"Hello." Kenichi Hasegawa didn't seem to care about the girl's words and responded with a calm smile.

"Riko, what nonsense are you talking about?" Chef Yamaharu couldn't help but gently scold the girl as she looked at her like this.

"Well, I was telling the truth. Never mind, I'm going to go play with my classmates. Goodbye, Dad." The girl named Riko pouted, not even glancing at Hasegawa Kenichi again. Sure enough, nobody bothers with inconspicuous people. In fact, the only time Riko had ever spoken to Hasegawa Kenichi was because he worked at her house.

"Hasegawa, I'm sorry, that's just how my daughter is."

"It's alright, and what she said is true. After all, I really am just an ordinary person." Kenichi Hasegawa smiled calmly.

"Young girls are all so perfunctory. What's the use of a pretty face? It's people like Hasegawa, with good character and hard work, who are reliable." Chef Yamaharu gave Hasegawa Kenichi a thumbs-up in encouragement. Of course, he was just encouraging him. If Hasegawa Kenichi really wanted to pursue his daughter, he would definitely beat Hasegawa Kenichi to death.

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P.S.: Let me talk about the update schedule. After thinking about it, I think three updates a day, 6,000 words each, should be manageable. Also, please recommend, add to your favorites, donate, and support me!

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PS2: Something happened today that really dampened my spirits: my League of Legends account got banned for three years. To be honest, it's a pretty old account, almost six years old, and I've been playing it the whole time. But now it's banned for three years for using cheats. It's really disheartening. Six years of hard work, even though I've only played against bots for six years and never played ranked, but six years! How many six-year periods do we have in a lifetime? Do you know how I spent those six years? And just like that, it's banned.

Is Chapter 5 considered a hero saving a damsel in distress?

"Chef Yamaharu, tomorrow is April 7th. School is starting soon, so I'm sorry, but I need to resign," Kenichi Hasegawa said to Uncle Yamaharu sincerely.

"School starts tomorrow? Time really flies. Well, it's okay to quit, since you already said from the beginning that you were only going to work as a temporary employee. But, school starts tomorrow, are you still going to stay at the izakaya until closing time today? That would be too late. After all, school starts tomorrow." Chef Yamaharu asked with some concern.

"So, I can only work for two hours today. I'm really sorry, Chef Yamaharu," Kenichi Hasegawa apologized again.

"It's okay, it's okay. Two hours is fine too. After all, at your age, going to school is the most important thing."

At eight o'clock, Hasegawa Kenichi sincerely apologized again and left the izakaya. Of course, since he only worked for two hours that day, he only received two thousand yen as payment.

It took about half an hour to get home, and by the time Hasegawa Kenichi was almost there, it was already 8:30.

As he passed by Yui Yuigahama's house, Hasegawa Kenichi subconsciously glanced at it. This was probably a habit of his. After all, from the beginning, Hasegawa Kenichi had seen Yui Yuigahama and her daughter through his own window, though there had been no actual contact. But undeniably, seeing Mrs. Yuigahama, her adult figure, her gentle smile, and occasionally hearing her soft, slow voice, was quite a pleasant experience.

It's not a matter of liking or loving her. It's like walking down the street and seeing a beautiful woman in a short skirt walk by. You subconsciously admire her long legs, but there are no other thoughts. She's just part of the scenery.

This time, however, when Hasegawa Ken subconsciously looked towards Yui Yuigahama's house, he couldn't help but pause in surprise, because something seemed off about Yui Yuigahama's house today. A faint, ominous sound could be heard emanating from within.

The sounds included a man's angry curses, a girl's terrified cries, and a woman's weak pleas.

"Could it be that some bad guy broke into Yui Yuigahama's house?" Kenichi Hasegawa frowned, instinctively wanting to rush over to help.

However, Kenichi Hasegawa still had some sense and did not rush in recklessly. Instead, he quickly looked around and, not finding anyone else, ran a little further away and picked up a wooden stick.

Grabbing the wooden stick and swinging it around, Hasegawa Kenichi's movements became even more ferocious, thanks to the skill that had been upgraded to level 3 and had a little more proficiency.

Just as Hasegawa Kenichi was about to rush in, the door to Yui Yui's house suddenly opened, and a man walked out cursing. Mrs. Yui Yui was holding the man's hand, trying to say something in a weak voice, as if trying to stop him.

"Get out of my way, you filthy woman! It's just a little money, and you dare to stop me? Get out of my way!" With that, the man kicked Mrs. Yui, knocking her to the ground. Mrs. Yui lay there, her face pale, tears streaming down her face. She grabbed the man's trouser leg, pleading, "Please, please don't do this! This is all the money we have. Yui needs to go to school. What will happen to Yui if you take this money…?"

"I don't care what she does! Get out of my way, you filthy woman." With that, the guy was about to hit Mrs. Yuihama again.

Upon seeing this, Kenichi Hasegawa was filled with unprecedented rage. Such a beautiful, gentle woman! This man not only broke into Mrs. Yuihama's house to rob her, but he even tried to assault her.

"Stop it!"

Grabbing the stick, Kenichi Hasegawa rushed over and then slammed it down on the arm of Mrs. Yuihama's hand, which was about to fall on her face.

Click!

With a sharp crack, although the man's arm wasn't broken, the blow was still quite severe; the wooden stick seemed on the verge of snapping.

"Ah—" A scream came from the man's mouth. Hasegawa Kenichi immediately followed up with a kick to the man's chest.

bump!

The man was kicked to the ground by Kenichi Hasegawa. Hasegawa quickly helped Mrs. Yui up, asking, "Madam, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. You?" Mrs. Yuihama looked at Kenichi Hasegawa in astonishment. She vaguely felt that Kenichi Hasegawa looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before. However, she was still very grateful to Kenichi Hasegawa for saving her.

"Mrs. Yuihama, please wait a moment. I'll deal with this guy first." Kenichi Hasegawa breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that Mrs. Yuihama seemed to be alright, and then turned his attention to the man.

By this time, the man had gotten up from the ground. His face was contorted with malice, his eyes glaring fiercely at Hasegawa Kenichi like a wolf. However, Hasegawa Kenichi felt the man was all bark and no bite. At this moment, Hasegawa Kenichi finally got a clear look at the man's face.

To be honest, Kenichi Hasegawa wanted to hit someone even more, and he even felt that his previous kick had been a bit too light.

The man looked to be in his early thirties. Although his hair was a bit messy, and his eyes were bloodshot and red, making him seem somewhat mentally unstable, his face still retained a certain handsomeness. He was a handsome middle-aged man; with a little grooming, he could easily have been a star.

He's so handsome, yet he committed a home invasion robbery—it's such a waste of his talent. Even if he became a gigolo or a con artist swindling women, it would be far better than this kind of burglary.

"You bastard, you woman! How dare you cheat on me with another man, and one so young no less!!! No wonder we don't have much money left. You filthy woman!" This handsome but utterly despicable man pointed at Mrs. Yui and cursed.

But just as he was cursing, Kenichi Hasegawa, holding a wooden stick, swung it at the guy again.

Snapped!

The wooden stick struck the man on the shoulder, causing him to scream in pain.

"No, no, that's not it. I, I didn't, I don't know this gentleman." Mrs. Yuihama looked flustered.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Hasegawa Kenichi seemed to be vaguely understanding something. However, he didn't know the specifics yet, and this man was clearly no good, so he decided to deal with him first.

So, the wooden stick in Hasegawa Kenichi's hand rained down on the man, causing him to scream in agony until he couldn't even speak a complete sentence and ran away with his head in his hands.

Hasegawa Kenichi only wanted to teach this 'burglar' a lesson and didn't intend to kill him. So he didn't go all out. He just beat the man's fairly handsome face into a pig's head and then let him escape. Of course, before he escaped, Hasegawa Kenichi left him the money he had stolen.

However, just as he made his move, it seemed like Mrs. Yuihama was shouting something, but her voice was too soft for Hasegawa Kenichi to hear.

"This is the money that was stolen by that thief. I got it back. Mrs. Yuihama, don't be too sad." Kenichi Hasegawa put down the wooden stick in his hand and said to Mrs. Yuihama in as gentle a tone as possible.

"Thank you. Um, he, he's not a thief. He, he's my husband." Mrs. Yuihama's face was filled with gratitude, but also with bitterness. Her brows were furrowed, making her look like a sorrowful beauty who evoked pity.

"Huh? He, he actually, he's actually Mrs. Yuihama's husband? I'm sorry, I didn't know, I'm so sorry." Hasegawa Kenichi looked surprised and flustered, as if he had just found out that the other person was Mrs. Yuihama's husband. No, not just seemed, he had just found out.

“No. Actually, I should thank you. My husband—alas.” Mrs. Yui sighed, her sigh filled with deep sorrow.

Seeing Mrs. Yuihama's expression, Kenichi Hasegawa didn't know what to say. After all, it was her family matter, and besides, he and Mrs. Yuihama didn't seem to have any real relationship. Some things weren't meant to be said lightly.

He whispered a few words of comfort to Mrs. Yui, but it seemed to have no effect. Hasegawa Kenichi then left. However, it was unclear whether Yui was frightened or what, because even after Hasegawa Kenichi left, she was not seen to come out.

Chapter Six: The Creation of the Novel

Lying on the somewhat narrow bed, Kenichi Hasegawa had trouble falling asleep, but he didn't toss and turn in bed because the bed was too narrow and he would fall off if he did.

Peeking at the crescent moon through the gap in the curtains, Hasegawa Kenichi had originally planned to get some rest early, wake up early the next day, and go to school as soon as possible. After all, it was the start of the school year, and it would be good to familiarize himself with the campus beforehand. But, he couldn't sleep.

Mrs. Yuihama's image kept appearing in Kenichi Hasegawa's mind. Mrs. Yuihama's frail appearance, her crying face, and so on.

"So, after my body became younger, even my thoughts became uncontrollable?" Kenichi Hasegawa couldn't help but shake his head. In his previous life, he was in his forties, already middle-aged. The pressures of life and society had made him steady and silent, and he no longer had any thoughts about women. But after transmigrating, everything changed.

"Sigh, my body is still too young, my hormones are too strong." Kenichi Hasegawa sighed and got out of bed.

He turned on the light, illuminating the not-so-large space. Hasegawa Kenichi sat down at his desk: "Since I can't sleep, I'll write a novel. I've already reached level 3 in writing, which should be just about enough."

He took out a notebook and a pen, and Hasegawa Ken started writing and drawing on it.

Although I only started writing novels at level 3 in writing skills, I had practiced before that and even tried to create outlines.

However, writing novels is not that simple. Kenichi Hasegawa is not very familiar with Japanese customs, so his writing might not be suitable for the local context. In addition, his writing skills are still relatively low, so what he wants to write now is light novels.

Kenichi Hasegawa had some knowledge of light novels. Although he didn't have the original body's memories, he had a lot of manga and light novels at home, and he had read quite a few recently. So he had a certain understanding of light novels.

Similarly, compared to traditional novels, light novels have much lower requirements in terms of writing and other aspects.

It's like martial arts novels. When he was in school, he initially read martial arts novels and became obsessed with them. Later, martial arts novels were gradually replaced by other online novels, so he started reading other novels. After graduating from university and starting work, within a few years, he rarely read even online novels anymore.

Therefore, the feeling that light novel gave Kenichi Hasegawa was probably similar to that of martial arts novels and online novels.

Kenichi Hasegawa has roughly decided on the theme for the light novel, but he hasn't started writing it yet due to his own writing skills. Now, he can start.

I have some understanding of Japanese light novels; most of them are about youthful romance, or otherworldly themes, or high school students saving the world.

However, he felt that while his body had become younger, his mind was still somewhat old, and he probably couldn't write those kinds of stories—teenage romance, high school students saving the world, and so on. An isekai (another world) story was possible, but he felt that action-packed themes might not suit his personality.