Uneasy daily life

"That's just being polite."

Toyohama's mother shook her head: "How could I not know Kazuka? Her skills are mediocre, she hasn't improved much in training, and sometimes I even see her slacking off, watching dramas online. She's rebellious and disobedient, and has run away from home several times. Let alone becoming someone like Sakurajima Mai, it's questionable whether she can even do a good job."

Sakurajima's mother took a sip of coffee and remained silent.

"What's wrong? Say something."

"You're just being polite to me," Sakurajima's mother said, shaking her head. "Toyohama is indeed a very promising child, although he's not as good as Mai."

"Her running away from home was already chaotic enough."

Feng Bin's mother didn't believe it at all: "You have to help me inform her, as her agent, and say a few words to her, tell her to come home early. What kind of behavior is it to wander around outside all day? These kids nowadays are really..."

Listening to the familiar mutterings of the other person, Sakurajima's mother silently drank her coffee and ate her snacks, and came to believe Toyohama's mother's opinion.

Perhaps something happened recently that changed Toyohama and Hana.

……

Successfully breaking through the bottleneck, a piece of work inspired by a momentary impulse can be noticed by editors, gain a certain popularity, and even reach the point of being published...

Am I a genius?!

That was what Yihui initially thought.

Until you encounter the bottle cap on the bottleneck.

[Editor: What about the manuscript for Volume Two?]

[Sword Master General: Writing.]

[Editor: Haven't you started writing yet?]

[Sword Master General: ...]

[Editor's note: The deadline is right there. If you miss it, you won't be writing anything.]

[Sword Master General: Great works require inspiration to hone! Great victories require repeated charges! I am currently recruiting for the next victory. When the time is right, everything will be alright. Please grant me a little more time!]

[Editor's note: There's a possibility that will allow you to not worry about deadlines.]

[Sword Master General: That's great! What's possible?]

[Editor's note: Volume 1 performed poorly and was canceled outright, so you won't have to worry about the deadline then.]

[Sword Master General: How...how can you judge a hero by success or failure?!]

[Editor's note: We're not heroes yet, so let's not even discuss it. To put it bluntly, your current skill level doesn't warrant my advice not to give up. I'm urging you to update more every day than I care about my parents. If you dare to slack off and give up, the company will dare to give you up.]

[Sword Master General: Huh?!]

[Editor's note: If you become a bestseller and achieve immense fame but can't submit articles, I'll pray to the gods and Buddhas, I'll come to your house to sweep, wash dishes, and cook, I'll grant your every wish, just so you can get those articles—Little General, I wish you can reach that level.]

The swordsman general was overwhelmed by the editing and became depressed. The thought that he still had no ideas made him even sadder.

After a heart-to-heart talk (one-sided venting), Yoshiteru Zaimokuza looked at the group expectantly.

"His initial arrogance followed by obsequiousness is so disheartening that it evokes melancholy and sorrow."

Bai Ying was deeply moved. He crossed his arms and propped his chin up, asking repeatedly, "General Swordsman, how did it feel to be beaten up by thugs? Do you know the sharpness of the 'sword of the underworld'? Is your reserve of chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) still sufficient?"

"Victory is assured! Life is assured! My sword has never been dull!" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza forced himself to stay upright, shifted his position to make sure he was seated firmly, and declared with a face full of heroic devotion, "Come on! Please give your opinions, whatever they may be, I can handle it!"

Last time you didn't dare post it online, letting netizens point fingers at you.

Hachiman Hikigaya thought to himself, "In the end, Zaimokuza chose a path that was even more self-destructive than the netizens' criticisms..."

The victims tied themselves to a cross, imagining themselves as Jesus, believing that after suffering, all that remained was sweetness.

"Your editor is lying to you."

Bai Ying shook her head and said.

"Huh? Don't you have to worry about the deadline?" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza asked optimistically.

Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) pondered, "Your editor probably wants to put pressure on you so that you can work harder. If they really just wanted to be professional and not care about anything else, they wouldn't talk to you much and would only talk about work-related things."

"Souga..."

"Once you become a big star and your books sell like hotcakes, your editors won't be serving you tea and water, washing dishes and sweeping floors," Bai Ying said quietly. "One call in the morning urging you to update, one at noon, one in the evening, three meals a day without fail. The closer you get to the deadline, the more frantic your editors become, wishing they could just rip the manuscript out of your head..."

Yi Hui, the timber maker: "Gurgle."

"Until the emergency response mechanism is triggered, the editor will not hesitate to break the law and arrest you, putting you in a dark room and creating an environment where you can't do anything but write," Bai Ying said with experience. "Give up your illusions, your editor is lying to you. There's no such thing as a young person's rise to power after thirty years; there are only editors and authors, these eternal enemies."

"Editor: Keep up the good work. I'm ignoring you now, but once you become powerful, I'll bow down and serve you."

The white figure turned sideways to the left towards Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai), looking down at people with her nostrils.

Editor: Oh my! Isn't this our great writer, our pillar of the literary world? Hahahaha! Have you finished your manuscript yet? What? Not yet? Someone! One seat in the private room!

The white figure turned to face Hachiman Hikigaya on the right, a smile plastered on his face, but a dagger was hidden in his smile.

Yi Hui remained motionless, watching as Yan was about to turn into pale ashes.

"Regarding suggestions, the first volume mainly tells the story of the male protagonist and the former hero. How about writing about the Demon King in the second volume?" Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) offered an interesting suggestion. "Traditional hero-demon king stories are no longer fresh. To break away from market trends, it would be best to add some interesting elements—for example, the Demon King is no longer the original Demon King, but has been replaced by someone else, and has been reincarnated as one of the heroes in another world, where he meets the former hero again, but neither of them knows the other's identity..."

"Great! That sounds interesting!"

Yoshiteru's eyes lit up. As expected of the clever Yukinoshita!

Hachiman Hikigaya stroked his chin and said, "A love-hate relationship romantic comedy? The style of the first volume is more like a hot-blooded adventure. If we try to change the style in the second volume, it will be easy to lose the readers we have accumulated. But the illustrations are the key. It is very important what kind of beautiful girl the Demon King is drawn as."

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza: "Ugh—!"

"The one who replaced the Demon King, in order to avoid his identity being exposed, worked hard to play the Demon King, conquering towns and releasing monsters. His mentality changed without him realizing it, from 'I don't want to be the Demon King' to 'I want to play the Demon King well' to 'The Demon King is here', and finally he was stabbed to death by the former hero..."

Bai Ying said with great enthusiasm, "The true Demon King becomes a human, striving to reclaim the Demon King's throne. He experiences rejection and attacks from his own kind, becoming a spy, and so on. His mindset changes from 'How dare you, I am the Demon King' to 'Bah! I have been the Demon King from the beginning, how can you call me a traitor?' to 'Demons and humans are no different.' In this way, he breaks through the illusions, his cultivation advances further, and in the final battle, he is stabbed to death by the former hero..."

Yoshiteru Zaimoto obediently raised his hand and asked in confusion, "What about the male lead?"

"The male protagonist is possessed by the former hero, and the old man who taught him cultivation becomes a deadbeat who borrows your body for a while and never returns it." Bai Ying said, "In the end, the former hero returns with invincible power, destroys the Demon King's body and soul, and creates the great cause of expelling the demon race - there is no such thing as a young man who embarks on the path of a hero and makes a comeback, it is just a lucky guy's delusional dream before he dies.

"Write it my way, and I guarantee you'll succeed!"

Bai Ying said confidently.

Even Yui Yuigahama could see that this was a path to failure. Shiro's tragic creative philosophy was simply courting disaster!

Yi Hui, the woodworker: "Ah, this..."

"Haku-kun's idea isn't bad; it's quite valuable, except for the fact that it's not very useful as a reference." Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) glanced at Haku-kage and said thoughtfully, "Anyway, Zaimokuza-kun doesn't have any ideas, so why don't we follow Haku-kun's suggestion and conceive the second volume?"

Yuigahama Yui: “?”

Xiaoxue! Did Xiaobai catch you doing something wrong?!

"?!" Hachiman Hikigaya thought for a moment and nodded. "That's right. Anyway, the illustration is the most important thing. If you don't know what to write, just listen to the department head's advice. Just remember to build a good relationship with the illustrator."

"Wait a minute, but this suggestion is so strange!" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza stammered. "I'm not writing a tragic story, and the former hero isn't a villain..."

"It's too shallow, the depth is too shallow."

Bai Ying interrupted, excitedly saying, "Everyone has already enjoyed enough of the Lucky Ones. Simple clashes between good and evil are getting boring. Your first volume was alright, it left suspense, and the protagonist had a goal and room for a comeback. Now you should write about depth! War and peace, race and individual, consciousness and matter—you only see the tragic story I described, but these are the real core!"

"Who the Demon King is is unimportant. Having that power means being a demon, wielding authority, and thus needing to wage war. Therefore, humans can also become Demon Kings. There is no difference in race, no difference between humans and demons. There is no mutual enemy. Even if they were enemies, there would still be internal strife within each race. Without the demon race as an enemy, humanity would still be divided into different nations based on different slogans, ideologies, and material conditions. Even if only one nation remained, there would be different organizations within that nation. Even if only one organization remained, there would be different factions within that organization. Even if only one faction remained, there would still be people like you and me with differing opinions within that faction..."

"Tragedy makes you sink into the story, and the characters are just puppets of the story."

Bai Ying said earnestly, "The Demon King becomes human, and the human becomes the Demon King. The former hero destroys the demon race by any means necessary. The protagonist, who is pursuing the path of the hero, realizes that his yearning is a form of self-deception... Trust me, just write it like this, and I guarantee you will succeed!"

Hachiman Hikigaya chimed in, "What if it doesn't work out?"

“Of course it’s because General Swordsman didn’t try hard enough and didn’t use his initiative to overcome objective facts.” Bai Ying replied matter-of-factly and asked, “General Swordsman, don’t hesitate, just do it.”

"No, no, no... isn't tragedy a bit too much? Um... anyway..."

Yi Hui shook his head repeatedly, stammering.

Bai Ying's eyes widened: "Trust me!"

"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just..."

"Write it like this!"

"no!"

After struggling and hesitating for a while, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza suddenly slammed his fist on the table and stood up, declaring in a booming voice: "The passionate tale I want to create is not the kind of tragic story full of intrigue and pain! Even heroes cannot stop me!"

"We share a master-disciple bond, and the supreme path is within reach. Do you choose to give it up?"

"If I succeed by following this path, it will not be my achievement! A victory that does not belong to me is something the Sword Master General disdains! I withdraw my commission!"

"If you're not one of us, then you're a heretic. Don't blame me for being ruthless, hehehehehe—!"

The white figure clapped, his expression instantly turning cold and sinister, and took out Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's light novel to flip through.

Why did the protagonist forcefully challenge the otherworldly hero when the village was besieged by monsters?

"Of course, it's to prove myself..."

"Foolish! You're just copying other light novels, forcibly extracting their plot structures in an attempt to cater to readers, but it's a complete mess! Is this the passionate, righteous protagonist you speak of who aspires to be a hero? Fighting amongst themselves in the face of disaster—it's laughable!"

"Gu——!"

"The characters are inconsistent, the plot flows like water, there are few highlights, many awkward moments, not enough fun, the reasoning is not profound, the theme is shallow, and there are no highlights or memorable lines. You have exhausted your life's work to write the first volume, and the second volume will inevitably cross the line and disappear from the scene. With your level of skill, you still want to compete with your peers? I have never seen such a shameless and arrogant person!"

The white figure gestured and pointed at the light novel with great confidence and force.

puff--!

As if he had been shot in the face by a machine gun, Zai Muzuo Yihui sat back in his chair with a bang and turned into pale ashes.

Hachiman Hikigaya comforted him, "It's alright, illustrations are enough."

puff!

The wooden support wobbled away.

Things change every thirty years! I will not admit defeat!

"It is indeed a joyful thing to give pointers to my peers; even Calvin's pain has been alleviated."

Bai Ying easily closed the notebook: "My subordinate, the club activities this afternoon are in your hands. I hope that when I wake up tomorrow, you will have already completed three tasks."

"If the minister were to fall asleep and never wake up, that possibility would be even greater."

"Keep trying, I believe in you."

"I'll be going now, I have some things to take care of today."

Shiroki and Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) left together.

The two people remaining in the activity room exchanged a glance.

"So mysterious..." Yui Yuigahama muttered to herself, then asked curiously, "Hachiman, are they going on a date?"

"perhaps."

Hachiman Hikigaya remained noncommittal: "Yukinoshita is quite strange, actually going out of her way to help the captain..."

"Huh? What assist?"

"Let Zaimokuza continue his chuunibyou (delusional) behavior, acting as an accomplice to his dream of becoming a writer?" Hachiman Hikigaya said casually while reading the light novel. "His efforts to seek opinions in his writing process mean he doesn't believe in his own ideas and is somewhat indecisive. The method proposed by the club president, which is practically ghostwriting, has actually made Zaimokuza stick to it... Strangely, Yukinoshita is actually willing to play the accomplice. Normally, even if she saw through it, Yukinoshita wouldn't play along with the club president. At most, she would make a few sarcastic remarks about Zaimokuza's light novel and subtly criticize him."

"Huh? Is that what you mean?" Yui Yuigahama leaned back, shocked. "Shouldn't it be that the novice enjoys attacking his peers and promoting the art of tragedy?"

"Of course there are," Hachiman Hikigaya insisted.

"I always feel like everyone has a lot of ulterior motives."

Yui Yuigahama couldn't help but mutter a complaint, feeling a pang of melancholy.

"I advise you not to express such sentiments in front of the minister."

"Ah ha ha……"

So, why is Yukinoshita acting a little strange?

Hachiman Hikigaya pondered this question, and after thinking about it for a while, he decided to stop thinking about it.

In case there's any real problem, it's just my curiosity...

[I've chosen you! Go forth, my general!]

Curiosity killed Hachiman; mind your own business.

Hachiman Hikigaya put several seals on his curiosity.