Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“What’s the theme of the competition? Supernatural?”
“Nope, the theme is criminal.” Chiba Shiori grinned as she saw the surprised look on Kimura Kazuki’s face, “My first light novel was a short criminal thriller. I went to Akichi High School because the editor told me that the light novel industry has been influenced by last year’s “Re: An Alien Life Starting from Scratch,” and the market has been dominated by light novels with paranormal settings. However, readers are slowly getting bored of it. Consequently, many shunned themes are slowly gaining popularity nowadays. That’s why the editor advised me to consider some niche titles to create a fan base. Moreover, I’m somewhat new to this industry, and I am keen to try all the genres and intend to steer clear of the common titles. That is how I ended up choosing this genre.”
I see. Kimura Kazuki finally understood.
As Chiba Shiori spoke, she took a light novel from the bookshelf and passed it to him.
When Kimura Kazuki received the book, he read the cover. The title written in the book was ‘Record Book of Matsuzawa Hospital.’
“Matsuzawa Hospital is a famous mental hospital in Tokyo.” Chiba Shiori put on a faint smile, “With the story set at this hospital, I wrote a novel, talking about the conflict between the protagonist, namely the doctors, detectives, and the policemen. This novel had already been published. The editors have liaised with the cartoonists to turn it into a comic. Besides, some of the animation companies have contacted me, hoping to make a film adaptation of my novel. However, they intend to amend a part of my story and add in a new plot. I refused and eventually rejected the offer.”
“That’s great!” Kimura Kazuki was genuinely marveled.
“So... have I passed the test?” Chiba Shiori was not flaunting her achievement. She only wanted Kimura Kazuki to know that she would do her best to win the contest, “Let’s Be A Light Novelist,” and fulfill Yukiro’s wish.
“Of course.” Kimura Kazuki used to think of Chiba Shiori as an inexperienced writer. He never expected her first book to be able to get adapted into a film. This significantly boosted his confidence. In addition to that, she also claimed that the theme of this competition was her forte.
As he dwelled in his own thoughts, Kimura Kazuki walked toward Chiba Shiori.
As Kimura Kazuki was approaching her, they got closer to each other, almost feeling each other’s breath. Chiba Shiori panicked, her initially steady heart rate gradually increased, and her cheeks flushed red. She lowered her head and mumbled, “What... what are you doing...”
“You will need to discuss the contest with Yuriko. Since you can’t see her, I will cast a spell on you, and you’ll be able to see specters,” Kimura Kazuki held her slender shoulders and lightly tapped Chiba Shiori on her forehead with his index finger. A fine stream of reiki flowed out of his finger.
This was the “Vision Spell” that was invented by Teacher Lin from the Alchemy Division.
Before Teacher Lin’s wife recovered her reiki, she was a blind woman. After the recovery of her reiki, Teacher Lin wanted to restore her eyesight and spent two years doing innumerable experiments before he finally invented the “Vision Spell.”
With the “Vision Spell,” the blind were able to see for the next 72 hours. Besides, as an additional function, the “Vision Spell” could enable an ordinary person to see the apparition.
When Teacher Lin was refining the “Vision Spell,” the country founded the Spiritual Academy and recruited Teacher Lin. Together with the effect of the elixir, Teacher Lin’s wife was able to see again. From then on, Teacher Lin became obsessed with alchemy and was diligent in the research regarding the production of elixirs.
The “Vision Spell” was then included in the Compilation of Spells that was made available to the public. And now, the “Vision Spell” was handy for Kimura Kazuki to make it possible for an ordinary person to see the apparition.
During the early days when the “Vision Spell” was practiced, it brought great pain to people whom the spell was cast on. But after Teacher Lin’s multiple amendments, the spell was way more efficient now and no longer caused pain and side effects.
Chiba Shiori felt a warm current that was running in rivulets from Kimura Kazuki’s index finger into her forehead. The streams glided across her forehead rapidly. Before long, she began to feel different. She felt as though a comfortable and cool breeze swept across her eyes... At that moment, Chiba Shiori’s eyes were as bright and tranquil as the black gemstones, and she quickly noticed something strange... She seemed to have recovered from her short-sightedness.
She had always had myopia, but it was not a severe one. On regular days, she did not wear glasses, saved the times when she read or worked. She never thought that the “Vision Spell” performed by Kimura Kazuki could actually cure her compromised eyesight.
Three seconds later, Kimura Kazuki removed his hand and never spoke a word again. As her consciousness shifted, Yuriko Kawachi appeared in Chiba Shiori’s room out of nowhere.
Upon her materialization, Yuriko Kawachi seemed shocked. Then, she ranted, “Kimura-Kun, you should’ve notified me before bringing me here. How can you summon me so abruptly?”
She was in the middle of a conversation when Kimura Kazuki brought her into the white room without warning. Despite being a specter, she needed her human rights too.
“Yuriko!” Although Yuriko Kawachi’s appearance startled her, Chiba Shiori was astonished at the fact that she could now see specters.
Yuriko Kawachi seemed identical to her living self. The only difference was that she was no longer standing on the ground. Instead, she was now floating.
“Shi... Shiori-chan?” Yuriko Kawachi stared at Chiba Shiori. Stunned and doubtful, she asked, “You can see me?” Back when she was in her home, Chiba Shiori was not able to see her. However, as she noticed Kimura Kazuki’s presence, she immediately grasped the situation.
Very quickly, Chiba Shiori and Yuriko Kawachi were both immersed in their chatters. Nonetheless, they knew each other earlier on the internet. They were one of the founders of [Light Novel Room].
Then, they began to discuss the contest, “Let’s Be A Light Novelist.”
Their conversation was soon interrupted by Kimura Kazuki as he realized that it was already half-past five in the afternoon after he checked the clock. He had to go home to prepare for his classes with the Furuhashi sisters later.
Seeing that Yuriko was going to leave alongside Kimura Kazuki, Chiba Shiori asked, “Can you make Yuriko stay?”
“Stay?”
“Yes. Since light-novelling is not Kimura-Kun’s forte, you should leave Sister Kawachi here so that we can discuss the novel’s plot at night. Besides, we can also take this opportunity to come up with the book’s title, the synopsis, and brief content for the first chapter,” Chiba Shiori explained as she looked at Kimura Kazuki with a puzzled look. She did not understand why Yuriko had to leave with Kimura Kazuki.
“You mean that you’re going to fulfill Miss Kawachi’s obsessiveness?” Kimura Kazuri gave a delayed reply as he was dumbfounded.
Chiba Shiori nodded. However, she was slightly perturbed, looking at Kimura Kazuki’s expression, “Is it possible?”
“I reckon that.. it is possible...”
At that moment, it was as though Kimura Kazuki had discovered a new world. Chiba Shiori had opened his mind to something new.
It was certainly feasible for an ordinary person to fulfill the apparition’s obsessiveness. After completing the obsessiveness, anyone could absorb the reiki that was transformed by the apparition. He would only have to keep himself updated with the progress. He could directly take it in after Yuriko Kawachi had successfully turned into reiki.
Apparently, he was confined by his own mind before this and failed to think out of the box. He was frustrated, thinking that he needed to participate in the entire process of fulfilling the obsessiveness. In fact, he had planned to commit a significant amount of time to study the light novels of many different genres.
But, as Chiba Shiori argued about how she could single-handedly complete Yuriko Kawachi’s obsessiveness, he realized that he could actually sit back and do nothing. It did not matter how long she took, he only needed to wait until the day she succeeded. He could totally reap without sowing.
At that moment, Kimura Kazuki felt as though he was freed.
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