"You already have a setting?"
Sagiri's eyes lit up.
"I want to see!"
"I'll tell you after I finish the first volume."
"Please, Ni-san, let me see… see… please."
The girl stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and began to shake him.
After nearly two years of living together, she had a clear understanding of her brother's weakness: he was soft-hearted and couldn't stand being tough!
Thus, as his younger sister, she had mastered a skill specifically for him: the art of acting spoiled!
Who could resist the spoiled offensive of a cute silver-haired loli sister?
"Alright, alright, isn't it fine if I let Sagiri see it!"
Izumi Chihiro's tone softened.
"Heh…"
Sagiri smiled triumphantly, revealing her pearly white teeth.
He opened his laptop and clicked into the file containing the outline of his new work.
"Move, Ni-san."
Sagiri said impatiently.
This change in attitude made Izumi Chihiro speculate that if the chair she was sitting on didn't have armrests, his sister might have just squeezed him right out of it.
He left his seat.
"Eh, this setting is so interesting. Is it time-related? A similar feeling to Homura? But there's still a bit of a difference. Destiny seems very easy to change, unlike Homura who could only rely on Madoka herself to break the situation in the end…"
Sagiri looked at the character designs and simple outline, beginning to imagine the story.
"It feels very complete, Ni-san. You should be ready to start writing soon, right?"
Sagiri turned her head and asked.
"Hmm… there's still one problem that's giving me a headache, and that's the protagonist's character setting."
He mused.
"Oh? What's the problem, Ni-san? Can you tell me?"
Hearing this, Sagiri's eyes became even more spirited.
If she could offer some constructive advice, wouldn't that be a great achievement?
Ni-san would be grateful to her too!
"Then I'll tell Sagiri."
Izumi Chihiro explained the reason to his sister.
"Regarding the main theme of the new work, should I make the protagonist appear more arrogant? If so, the entire plot can use the protagonist's growth as a selling point."
"Or, should I make him smarter, highly intelligent, and write the work in a more refreshing way, using the protagonist's problem-solving and strategic planning as a selling point?"
The former is a common flaw in many light novel protagonists, but because their cheat is so powerful, they don't suffer much, turning them into 'Dragon-Proud-Heaven' (overpowered) characters, which is a profitable way for light novels to sell well nowadays.
As for the latter, there are quite a few such characters who are very popular, perhaps resembling historical figures they are familiar with, like Oda Nobunaga. Such works tend to leave a strong impression and receive excellent reviews.
"Uh, this problem…"
Sagiri's expression was hesitant.
Faced with these two options, unable to distinguish which was better, the girl found it difficult to choose.
"How about this, Ni-san? What if you blend them together?"
Sagiri looked up and said.
"You basically said nothing."
Izumi Chihiro twitched his lips.
"Hmm."
Sagiri hesitated to speak.
"But actually, it's not impossible…"
Izumi Chihiro thought for a moment and then said.
Correcting the 'toxic points' in his impression didn't necessarily mean strengthening the character's setting; he just needed to make him act a bit more normal.
What would a normal person do if they suddenly entered another world?
Would they be incredibly arrogant?
Probably not.
Even if you went to ancient times, without a cheat, you'd still be useless!
Of course, a certain degree of self-confidence is understandable, because the information he has access to far surpasses that of people in another world, making him believe he has a higher perspective.
But honestly, without knowing he had the Return by Death ability, being cautious would be normal.
And when he learned he had this ability, perhaps he would become more arrogant, believing he could reverse everything, foresee the future, do things others couldn't, developing a certain degree of arrogance.
It would only be after being repeatedly taught a lesson and experiencing a series of changes that he would realize his mistakes, change, and gradually grow into someone capable of standing on his own.
"That's right, it should be like this!"
Izumi Chihiro's eyes widened. He had just fantasized in his mind and finally found a solution.
It reduced the 'toxic points' while fitting the theme of growth, transforming from an ordinary person.
"Ni-san, did you figure it out?"
Sagiri had just seen her brother close his eyes in thought, immediately knowing he had entered a creative state, so she stayed by his side, not daring to disturb him.
Now seeing her brother's joyful expression, she could tell he had found a direction.
"Yes, Sagiri also played a part in this, so let me give Sagiri a reward."
Izumi Chihiro walked over and happily reached out to ruffle Sagiri's soft silver hair.
"Ni-san, what kind of reward is this!"
Sagiri, whose head was being held down, sounded displeased, but her body didn't show any signs of struggling.
Clearly, she quite enjoyed her older brother's 'head pat kill'.
Izumi Masamune thought to himself, a doting smile on his face.
"Now it's time to officially start working."
With his current personal ability, he could certainly manage such a work; the only difference was to what extent he could bring it to fruition.
His demands weren't high; it was enough if each volume showed a certain improvement compared to the last.
...
While he was preparing to work diligently, a junior preparing to enter the industry encountered a small problem.
Black Cat: Nayuta, am I too stupid? Even after all this time, I still haven't met your requirements.
Inside the room, Gokou Ruri, who sent this message, looked very frustrated.
She originally thought that with Nayuta's help, she would quickly debut, earn manuscript fees, and also be able to take care of her two younger sisters at home, improving her family's situation.
However, after meeting the initial simple requirements, she felt much more powerless, and Nayuta's evaluations were always pretty much the same.
Nayuta: This... maybe it's not your problem, Black Cat, it might be my problem.
Kani Nayuta looked at the message with a look of shame.
Although she had agreed very cheerfully at first, not considering what would happen later, it turned out that while she had a great talent for writing, she surprisingly had no talent for teaching.
One could say it was 'a stroke of genius' or 'knowing what but not why'.
In short, some things she could write were based more on 'intuition' than 'truth', so she encountered difficulties in teaching Gokou Ruri.
"What should I do? I can't just give up halfway, I promised Black Cat..."
Kani Nayuta was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, perhaps also blushing out of embarrassment.
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💯 PS = 2 bonus chapter