Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

And Goto Ichiri was his deskmate.

I don't know when Goto Ichiri returned home and figured everything out.

She knew where to go to fulfill her Christmas promise.

She is definitely familiar with the combination of Santa Bear and salmon. She likes watching documentaries and knows the scene of brown bears hunting salmon.

Brown bears fishing in strong currents will always eat fish eggs first to get more nutrients to store fat.

On the night of graduation, Goto Ichiri did not update the Guitar Hero video, but instead browsed all the light novel libraries around Tokyo.

But in reality, perhaps no one except Goto Ichiri takes Iruma Hibiki's ideals seriously.

So did his parents.

After all, if a teenager says he wants to be a writer, he has definitely experienced a failed student life.

If such thoughts continue into one's twenties, then this guy will definitely be a jobless and failed young man.

If this continues into his thirties, it would be terrifying. Perhaps this guy's mental and psychological state is already bad, just like the Tokyo University graduate I interviewed on TV before.

He lived in a small house, sleeping on a discolored mattress and pillow. Although he was an uncle, he wore a skirt and women's clothes and smiled brightly at the camera.

This is how the author exists.

As for Hibiki Iruma, perhaps it was just a spur of the moment decision at first, just an excuse he found for himself based on his surname.

Or perhaps it could be said that he was still unwilling to give up on the heroine.

But after not being taken seriously, he made up his mind a little.

By the time he realized that he had not exchanged contact information with Goto Ichiri and had lost contact, it was already his first week of high school in Shimokitazawa.

02 After Spring Break

"...I hear the bells of Jerusalem ringing, the Roman cavalry choir singing, let it be my mirror, my shield and sword, my missionary still on the battlefield in a foreign land, for some reason I can't explain, I know Saint Peter will call my name, never with honest words, but that is when I will inform the world."

Humming a classic ballad that might be laughed at by classmates as outdated, Iruma Hibiki walked along the streets of Iruma City.

He was yawning, a look of fatigue on his face. He didn't look like an emperor about to be guillotined, but he was just really tired.

The submission of the novel failed.

In the final analysis, someone hoping to debut as a light novel author over a spring break is nothing more than the wishful thinking of those who are too superficial about time travel.

Even if there is a disparity in the world, is writing such a convenient thing?

Iruma's surname is obviously not a holy relic or a title.

In short, the result was that after three attempts to submit the manuscript in two months, all of them were rejected. As a result, Iruma Hibiki recently looked at Machida Sonoko like a mouse seeing a cat, and was very confused.

But the other party is well versed in PUA.

"Mr. Iruma, your work is truly unique. You only need to polish it a little more and you'll definitely be able to debut as a talented author. To be honest, your current work is already good enough for you to debut, but I think—

Maybe you can do better.”

After all, the median debut age of light novel authors is 28, and most of the talented authors who became famous, even if they debuted early, were around 20 years old.

This is not to say that there aren’t talented people who have made their debut as teenagers.

But for Hibiki Iruma, the author he admires, Nisio Isin, made his debut at the age of 20.

So it may be natural to fail a few times at this age, which may be a valuable experience in life in retrospect. However, things that should be depressed will never shine because of the brilliance of the future.

Just like Goto Ichiri, who dreams of telling his story of being alone in high school, brown bears, and salmon on stage in the future.

In fact, when Goto Ichiri mentioned brown bears and salmon, his family's reaction was strange.

"Ichiri-chan, you might have the talent to be a writer."

Her stories about brown bears and salmon became a laughing stock in her family and were considered delusional.

But Goto Ichiri didn't have any reason to refute it.

I can only say loudly:

"Iruma Rengen will definitely become a great writer! Just wait and see! When the time comes, I will definitely fulfill the dreams of the salmon and the brown bear!"

"Xiang, I don't want to discourage you, but this can't go on any longer. I don't object to your dream of becoming an author, but please take care of your health, okay?"

On the other side, Hibiki Iruma was having a talk with his gentle mother.

The content of the interview was something that Hibiki Iruma could not refuse.

So he skipped classes his first week of high school.

Since he couldn't stay up late to write, he could only ask for leave from school to fulfill his dream. Iruma Hibiki fell into a certain degree of paranoia.

It's like Goto Ichiri who cried in the closet on the last day of spring break after searching through all the archives and failing to find Iruma Rengen.

In short, at the beginning of their lives, both of them made strange choices.

Even though he came to Shimokitazawa, Hibiki Iruma did not go to keep his date with his heroine.

On the other hand, Goto Ichiri had another argument with his parents about his delusional friend.

Although it wasn't a quarrel, the Goto couple already knew that the Santa Bear and salmon had become Goto Ichiri's sore spot without them knowing when.

The kind that explodes if touched.

They were very worried that their daughter would become trapped in delusions and unable to extricate herself, so they consulted many doctors.

Until, probably the day when the first month of school ended.

A pile of salt was placed in front of Goto Ichiri's door, an exorcist came several times, and he also consulted a psychologist online once.

But on this day, a name appeared in the Newcomer Award of the Fuzugawa Bunko:

[Genius high school student new light novel writer! Iruma Rengen! Warming up for the new debut!!!]

In fact, Iruma Hibiki already had some other ideas about his pen name.

Probably, he always felt that it was not good to use the pen name Iruma Renjian. What if there really was a Iruma Renjian in this world who was preparing a masterpiece like "Sister's Life"?

Maybe it would be more interesting if he chose a pen name with a centrally symmetrical pronunciation, like Nisio Isin?

But in the end, by mistake, when Machida Sonoko asked, Iruma Hibiki still used the name Iruma Renkan. After all, Iruma Renkan was probably not the teacher's real name, but just a pen name.

So if he really exists, let's just assume that he was the first to use this name.

The price of being a week late on a Japanese campus is isolation.

Girls might be saved if they were cuter, but boys are hopeless.

After the small circle is formed, the isolated boys can either huddle together for warmth, or try their luck to see if they can integrate into the girls' circle.

This is probably what Iruma Hibiki is troubled by.

Speaking of which, Iruma Rengen's name is also interesting. After all, "Ru" and "Ren" are exactly opposite kanji characters. Iruma Rengen is indeed a loyal fan of Nisio Isin.

When Hibiki Iruma realized this, he felt a little emotional.

There is no Nisio Isin and no Iruma in this world.

And he had no intention of becoming any of them. He did not plan to debut as an author in the style of Iruma Rengen or Nisio Isin.

Because it wasn't his own.

After reading a novel called "Love Metronome", when Iruma Hibiki looked up, a girl with hair as bright as the sun turned her head.

"Hello, my name is Ichichi Hongxia, and I'm your deskmate. I hope you will give me your guidance in the future."

Realizing that he was isolated, Hibiki Iruma didn't expect that a classmate would talk to him.

In fact, he had already prepared himself for the fact that he would have no friends during his high school years and would have to make a living outside of school, so he set his sights on a job posting for odd jobs at a livehouse.

"Iruma Hibiki, please give me your guidance."

"Hello, Iruma-san! I heard you took a week off due to illness. Are you feeling better now?"

Ijichi Nikka is a girl like sunshine. She knows how to keep a distance and exudes a gentle aura all over her body. There may be a moment when Iruma Hibiki will think that she is the heroine of his life.

Now that he has arrived in Shimokitazawa, has he entered the center of the story?

03 Decision about Guitar

At the end of the day, such a statement at the center of the story is still a bit strange.

To use a stage play as an example, he probably changes from a tree into a person or a small animal standing on the field, just like the little squirrel or the bear who is the princess's friend in the classic stage play.

Ijichi Hongka is the kind of girl who gives people such fantasies.

"Don't worry, I feel much better now. After all, I didn't take leave because I was sick."

"Eh?!"

Ijichi Hongxia made a surprised sound.

She actually has a friend with a similar personality, the kind of person who can easily break any agreed upon agreement or convention.

And the reasons for violations are usually terrifying.

For example, my grandmother's life and death, my father's cancer, and my beloved dog Beth's final surgery.

So it's not surprising.

“Because there are things I want to do no matter what.”

Accompanied by a sigh, Iruma Hibiki's words and the gleam in his eyes were caught by Ijichi Nichina.

After waiting attentively for a few seconds, she realized that Iruma Hibiki had no intention of continuing to talk about this matter, so Hongxia considerately did not ask any further questions.

I'm just a little curious. What is it that this strange classmate wants to do?

For example, recently, what she probably wants to do most is to share some of the pressure with her sister.

After all, now she can only depend on her sister.

Of course, few people know about such a tragic experience, but Yidizhihongxia, just like its literal meaning, even if there is a rainstorm, a rainbow will still hang in the clear summer sky.

"That's great. Actually, there are things I really want to do."

"What is it?"

"..."

Ijichi Hongxia was silent for a while before continuing:

"Band, I want to form a band and perform on the Livehouse stage."

"Hasn't it started yet?"

Perhaps because of Hongxia's talkativeness, Iruma Hibiki had a slight illusion that he might have made a real friend.

It was probably at this moment that he suddenly felt that he was really experiencing the daily life of his youth. It was really great to come to Shimokitazawa.

If he could, he would want to shout loudly now, chanting slogans like "Hum Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah", and then shouting with his last bit of confidence: "I love Shimokitazawa the most!"

Of course, if that happened, his life would probably end faster than if he had pooped in class.

But no matter what, Iruma Hibiki felt a certain joy at having made friends.

"No."

"why?"

"Because there was no one to invite, the only friend I had who played an instrument and was relatively close to me also had a band."

Iruma Hibiki doesn't think that Ijichi Kouka is someone who would lack friends.

Or, people like Ijichi Hongka can charm a group of people wherever they go with just a smile, especially teenagers with some regrets.

For a guy whose life experience is like that of youth trauma literature, which has received good reviews in the Akutagawa Prize, it would be a miracle if he could resist a girl like Ijichi Kouka.

The first time you see it you will definitely be mesmerized.

Then I couldn't pull it open no matter what I did.

Just like Tom who wants to give flowers to the white cat.

Of course the second time, the identities are swapped and this guy becomes Jerry.

Now, no matter how Hibiki Iruma thinks about it, he is Tom.