Chapter 26

"No, it's okay. I can do it even without your help."

Gokou Ruri quietly clenched her fists.

They are just a bunch of rotten humans. There is nothing to worry about. Just look down on them like Ajiro Shinpei!

"If you really can't stand it, you can do this..."

He looked at the girl's face and suggested to her.

"If I can afford the salary."

Gokou Ruri suddenly felt a little funny.

"Uh."

Hikigaya Hachiman felt choked.

Sometimes, he would take it for granted.

"Forget it, there is nothing to discuss. Maybe you will be able to debut with a novel before the next comic exhibition."

To hide the embarrassment, he changed the subject.

"Are you setting a flag for me? Don't say that after you finish, I will never be able to debut..."

Gokou Ruri first sneered, with a sharp tone.

"But I'll take it as a blessing."

Then, a faint smile hung on the corner of her mouth.

41 People Are Hard to Dismantle

The illustrated fan fiction, with its solid thickness and only priced at 500 yen, is no less attractive than some fan comics, so the light novels on the table are disappearing one after another. Judging from the progress, there is a chance that they will be sold out before the lunch break.

Maybe it's because of the good location, or maybe it's because his standards for quality control are actually quite high.

In short, the emergence of this situation makes Gogen Liuli very happy.

If all 500 copies are sold, according to her estimation, minus the printing cost and the booth fee, she can earn more than 150,000 yen in total.

Admittedly, this income is not as much as many people earn in a month, but for Gogen Liuli, who can only work secretly in an old bookstore, this is much better.

What's more, this is just the beginning. If she becomes famous in the future, even if she can't make a debut with a novel, she may live a very comfortable life.

For example, popular artists like Kashiwagi Eri, who is even more popular in the inner world, may not earn less than some ordinary professional cartoonists, but their reputation cannot be introduced to outsiders.

Hikigaya Hachiman and Gokou Ruri put the remaining novels on the table. As time passed, there were only a dozen books left, and a new customer appeared in front of them.

"Eh?"

There was something strange in Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes.

The person in front of him wore a pair of black-framed glasses, a soil-colored baseball cap on his head, and wore a somewhat outdated otaku-style outfit. This deliberate dress seemed to be intentionally concealing something.

There is no doubt that the girl in front of him is trying her best to hide her beauty so as not to be exposed.

But he still recognized the true identity of the girl in front of him.

Sawamura Spencer Eriri, the eldest daughter of the Sawamura family, is also Kashiwagi Eri, a famous manga artist in the inner world, and the trump card of the doujin game club 'egoistic-lily'.

It was normal for the other party to appear in such an occasion, but he did not expect to appear in front of their booth by chance. It seems that as a book illustrator, he is also chasing the popularity and is very interested in the popular themes of today's animation, so he cares about this kind of fan fiction.

Indeed, as he speculated, Eriri had just drawn a fan fiction of this popular animation some time ago and liked this work. When she saw the fan fiction of this work at this time, she was naturally attracted.

When she walked to the front of the booth, her attention was not on them at all, but she read it with ease.

"The quality of the article is ordinary, probably better than that of a novice, not worth collecting."

Eriri looked a little disappointed.

As an old house, she naturally has her own vision. The works that can be collected by her are either high-quality or innovative, even if they are doujinshi.

"Huh? There are illustrations?"

Just as she read a few pages and was about to put the light novel back, she glanced at the illustrations.

It is true that the illustrations in the fanfiction are a highlight, but the quality of the drawings is not very impressive. The main reason is that the style of the illustrations makes her very concerned.

"Excuse me, who drew this illustration?"

Eri closed the light novel and looked at the two.

"I drew it, and I also wrote the novel."

Gokou Ruri stood up.

"Why do I feel that this drawing is familiar? Did you use anyone's work as a reference?"

Eri continued to ask.

"Kashiwagi Eri, why are you asking so many questions? If you want to buy it, just buy it."

Gokou Ruri was a little impatient.

The attitude was a bit bad. If it was any other time, Eriri would definitely throw the book and leave, because she is also a very temperamental person, but after getting this answer, she immediately said: "Okay, give me one, no, two!"

"Here."

Hikigaya Hachiman handed over the two light novels.

Eri took out 1,000 yen and put the two fanfictions into her handbag.

‘Strange, that person’s eyes, could he recognize me? No, it must be my illusion, right?’

Turning around, Eriri looked back quietly, then shook her head and continued to look for the ‘treasure’ along the stalls.

“It seems that she misunderstood something.”

Hikigaya Hachiman thought in his heart.

“Why did that person ask that? A weirdo, or is she a fan of that Kashiwagi Eri?”

Gokou Ruri was a little surprised at the other person’s behavior and made such a comment.

“Maybe it was Kashiwagi Eri herself.”

His seemingly joking words revealed the truth.

After a while, a total of 200 fan fictions had been sold out, and the two of them cleaned up the scene and prepared to leave.

“Hikigaya, this is the money I borrowed from you.”

On the train home, Gokou Ruri handed over a stack of banknotes after she had sorted them out.

Hikigaya Hachiman took it easily.

“I didn’t expect it to be sold out. It turns out that making money can be so easy.”

Gokou Ruri said with some emotion.

"Is it really that easy?"

Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly said.

Gokou Ruri thought about it.

With the help of a debut writer, she still went through repeated and tireless polishing to achieve the current results. On the surface, it was a result of selling 100,000 yen a day, but in fact it took several months. Such a return is not very high.

But compared to those hobby participants, it is definitely much better.

"It's really not easy."

She smiled.

Three days later, all 500 fan fictions were sold. After Gokou Ruri estimated the income, although she was still calm on the surface, joy had already filled her chest.

With so much money, she can consider buying more light novels and comics that she likes, and she can also buy some dolls for her sister. This was something she dared not imagine before. All this was done because of someone's help.

Arriving at the door of her house, Gokou Ruri secretly glanced at his profile, and suddenly stretched out her right hand, pointed at him and said: "Hehehe, Hikigaya, considering that you have played an irreplaceable role in paving the way for me... Come on! Tell me your request, I can promise you."

Unexpectedly, Hikigaya Hachiman just glanced at her lightly.

"Chuunibyou? It seems that after staying in that environment for three days, your condition has also worsened."

Gokou Ruri's face flushed immediately.

Life is already so difficult, some things should not be exposed!

"Forget it! Humph!"

She went home angrily.

42 Live in the present and look forward to the future

After the winter comic exhibition, it means that the new year is coming.

Hikigaya Hachiman reviewed his experience over the past year, which should be the most meaningful period of his life so far.

Recalling his past life, his parents divorced shortly after he dropped out of high school. No one loved him except his grandfather, and he only placed his hopes on the beautiful world of fantasy. After that, he wanted to do something but failed to do anything. In the end, his short life ended because of a ridiculous accident.

In this life, the family environment is almost the same. The only difference is that he has a cute and sensible sister, which makes him feel a little more comforted, so that he can gradually get out of the predicament and look forward to a different life.

So far, he seems to be doing well. Even though there are some setbacks, he still became a light novelist as he wished. Although the story is someone else, at least he tried to express it in his own words.

Although it sounds a bit ridiculous and shameless, as a mediocre person, he thinks he has done well enough.

In the next period of time, he will work hard to become a real strong man!

Of course, this does not mean that he will not plagiarize. If he has advantages but does not use them, that is the self-righteousness of a fool and meaningless stubbornness.

But in the end, only writing can override everything!

…

“Onii-chan, is the comic exhibition fun?”

Komachi jumped in front of him.

He and Gokou Ruri went out early in the morning, and naturally he could not hide it from his sister at home. After asking, she asked to go with them, but he refused.

The reason is simple. His sister is still too young, still an elementary school student, and it is not suitable for her to go to such a place to avoid being polluted.

“It’s okay. We didn’t have much fun. In addition to selling books, we just went to some bookstores to browse.”

Hikigaya Hachiman said truthfully.

“Does everyone there wear cosplay costumes?”

Komachi asked curiously.

“Of course not. Generally speaking, only dedicated cosplay enthusiasts will go to cosplay by themselves. Most people are still at the level of appreciating others’ cosplay.”

He replied.

“I see.”

Komachi nodded.

Then, his sister asked several more questions, and he, as a brother, patiently answered them one by one.

"There are so many people, some even come to wait in the middle of the night? That's so exaggerated. Komachi was quite interested before, so after listening to Onii-chan's story..."

Komachi frowned.

"Wouldn't it be fine if I didn't go?"

He said while rubbing his sister's hair.

"That's a pity."

Komachi looked regretful.

In the evening.

Because it was a New Year's Eve dinner that only happened once a year, the food on the table was unusually rich.

"Komachi, you're about to graduate from elementary school, right? Have you decided which middle school to go to?"

The Hikigaya couple became concerned about Komachi's affairs.

"Well, the middle school where Onii-chan is, so we can go to school together."