Summer vacation was almost here.
The colors of summer are different in everyone's eyes.
For some, summer is ice-cold cola with rising bubbles, air conditioning running all day, endless manga, and countless games.
For others, summer is a season full of beautiful memories: a scorching sun, ceaselessly chirping cicadas, catching fish barefoot in clear streams, and attending festivals in yukata and geta with a beloved partner…
And now, the Literature Club was in the midst of a heated discussion about summer.
"For summer vacation, it definitely has to be a beach and a training-camp storyline!" The vice president, long ponytail swishing, sat at the head of the table and slapped it.
"I… I just want to stay home," Komari stated seriously.
"Ah, sorry, I also have a part-time job."
Yanami, sitting on the other side, tilted her head—the Literature Club was a club she had only joined a while ago. At first, she came just to borrow books so she could help Kiyono evaluate his novel, but for some reason, when faced with Tsukinoki-senpai's invitation to join, she readily accepted.
Perhaps… she thought that this way, she could get a little closer to a certain person.
"Oh, it seems everyone isn't very enthusiastic… Never mind, we're the Literature Club after all."
Tsukinoki-senpai blinked.
"In that case, let's switch to a more elegant club activity—everyone, let's enter the digital realm and submit our works online!"
The vice president stood up, raising her fist. "Oh, by the way, this is a request from the student council. It would be bad if we can't complete it."
Write novels?
Yanami and Komari were both stunned.
The blue-haired girl softly murmured "novel" twice, as if she had thought of something important, and her eyes grew brighter.
The fifth period was physical education.
This was Komari's least favorite class because many sports required teaming up with others, but given her popularity in class…
Komari made an excuse to the teacher and squatted alone in a corner, faintly hearing the quiet discussions of classmates passing by. In response, the gloomy girl just sneered twice.
During lunch break, classmates chatted and laughed, shared tables for their bento, or invited friends to sit under a tree, while Komari, like a cool lone wolf, took her bento and naturally walked into—the women's restroom.
"Only here can I feel at ease."
The girl showed a blissful smile, pink bubbles seeming to float around her.
Although she didn't have a place in the class, it was fine.
Komari silently took out her phone.
Her eyes brightened.
She reread the novel she had read over and over again.
"Please teach me how to write light novels, Kiyono-sensei!"
In the lounge, shortly after the morning's work ended, the blue-haired girl rushed to Kiyono, excited.
From the prolonged exercise, her forehead was beaded with fragrant sweat, and the top button of her shirt was undone, revealing a patch of fair, delicate skin beneath. Up close, one could smell a faint trace of antiperspirant spray and tonkatsu sauce.
Kiyono's gaze unconsciously fell on the exposed patch of white, but after only three seconds, with immense willpower he forced his eyes away and pulled two tissues from a nearby table for her.
"Anyway, wipe your sweat first."
"Mm!" Yanami cheerfully hummed in acknowledgment. After wiping her sweat, she took out the paper and pen she had prepared and placed them on the table. She pulled over two chairs, continuously hinting for him to sit next to her.
"Nowadays, light novels are all submitted online…" Kiyono pulled his chair a bit farther away and sat down, grumbling.
"N-don't get too caught up in these details. I'm just writing casually now to get a feel for it."
The girl chuckled, then placed snacks next to the manuscript paper.
Condensation from the lounge's old air conditioner went drip, drip. Komari, hiding in a corner, peeked out her small head at the blue-haired girl and pouted.
—I… I'm too embarrassed to expose you. Is that really what you mean by wanting to write a novel?!
And, and what does Kiyono know about novels?! When asked like that, he just naturally accepted! Anyone would think you're really a light-novel master!
"Hmph, o-only I am serious."
After secretly observing the two for a while, Komari withdrew her gaze, took out her phone, and stared blankly at the empty document on the screen.
Ever since her senpai said they would collectively write novels that day, she had been thinking about it.
—Should I write a novel?
It wasn't for the so-called club activities, nor for her beloved club president; it was a desire of her own.
In fact, she had vaguely had this idea before. The moment she finished reading "Things Offered to the God of Death" that day, a wish was born deep within her heart.
Can I become such a person?
If I just reach out, can I get a little closer?
Thinking, hesitating.
Until her senpai brought up novels.
Her heart was gradually ignited, and that vague idea became clearer and clearer—she wanted to write a novel.
However, everything is easier said than done. Although she had a goal, when it came to actually taking that step, she lost confidence. These past two days, she deleted and rewrote, rewrote and deleted, and as a result, her progress was still zero—even Yanami had pretentiously written a few sentences and settings!
Komari sighed. She came to work part-time to change herself, and she wanted to actively pursue her dreams, yet she was still stuck in place…
She idly played with her phone, unconsciously opening a light-novel website, and for the umpteenth time clicked on a certain author's avatar, flipping back and forth.
["Admiration."]
This was her only thought about this person.
Someone who could write such brilliant stories must also be a resolute and gentle person.
At that moment, a sudden idea flashed through her mind.
If it were this person… they should be able to give her some useful advice.
Komari stared at the other person's personal page and info section, her expression serious, like a fan secretly contacting an idol. Her finger slowly pressed that forbidden button.
In reality, she definitely wouldn't dare to do this, but online, she could even be considered a cheerful and outgoing normie!
Kiyono and Yanami were still playing a role-playing game.
The blue-haired girl with a single ponytail sat at the table, writing furiously, her profile serious, as if diligently studying at school—if one ignored the chocolate snacks placed next to her manuscript paper.
Watching her, Kiyono inexplicably felt as if they had become classmates, currently doing homework together in the library.
Yanami mumbled as she wrote:
"For the heroine, she'll be blue-haired. She's beautiful, cute, kind, cheerful, and outgoing, loved by everyone. She's a little gluttonous, but that's just her cute point. And beneath the girl's cheerful exterior, she has an unknown, delicate inner world…"
You're really praising yourself, hey.
"As for the male lead…"
Yanami deliberately drew out the end of her sentence, casually glanced at him, and then said to herself:
"The male lead is, of course, a childhood friend. He's pretentious, cheerful, innocent, straightforward, and gentle—both an idiot and a hero…"
…Huh?
Kiyono fell into thought.
"This is the story of the two of them!"
Yanami's cute, charming face showed a smile, gentle with a hint of shyness. She picked up her pen and kept writing.
Kiyono just propped his cheek and stared blankly.
At a certain moment—
"Hey."
Yanami stopped writing, propped her face with one hand, and slightly turned to look at him, long eyelashes blinking, voice innocent and sweet.
"Kiyono-sensei, can you help me look at this sentence?"
"Sure." Kiyono snapped out of it and leaned closer. "Which one?"
The girl pointed to the eighth line with her finger.
Kiyono's gaze followed and he read softly, "The second meeting between the heroine and the hero? There are too many close-ups of the character's hands here. You don't need to specify the nail-art style; the description should lean more toward the character's distinct features…"
"Oh, is that so?"
The blue-haired girl extended her slender, fair hands, pretty face puzzled. "But Kiyono seemed to be staring at my nail stickers from time to time when we were in the library last time. I thought that should also count as a feature, right?"
She showed an innocent smile.
"…Hey! Don't make me sound like a pervert! We're talking about light novels here, aren't we?!"
Kiyono coughed awkwardly twice. How could you even remember such a small thing?! It's a bit scary!
Yanami untied the hair tie from her hair, and her blue hair softly spilled down, stray strands clinging to the hollow of her fair collarbone. She placed the hair tie on the table, then pointed to a line on the manuscript, face full of anticipation:
"What about here? What about here?"
"'In the drizzle, they wore raincoats, and the warmth of two people in the sealed space was so hot her heartbeat drowned out the rain.'… Who asked you that?!"
This must be referring to the raincoat incident last time… Is that what she thought? No, no! This food-loving idiot isn't the type to care about such things!
Kiyono's mind wandered a bit, and he unconsciously glanced at her. The girl was already writing again, pen rustling:
"So, she chose to kick the boy out and enjoy the raincoat all by herself! I don't want to wear a boy's smelly raincoat!"
She proudly raised her chin.
That night, with nothing to do, Kiyono scrolled through a novel website on his phone, basking in the adoration of his readers and hinting to himself that they were all female fans, all beautiful rich women, who would form a large fan club in the future and shower him with money…
Now, it's fantasy time!
Suddenly, one private message caught his attention.
["T-teacher, h-hello, I am your loyal fan… I've read every part repeatedly several times. My favorite character is the h-heroine… Even now, I can still feel that moving emotion!"]
At first, there was some restraint, but then the tone became faster and faster.
["I've loved reading light novels ever since middle school, because the protagonists in novels can do many things I want to do but can't achieve."]
["Wanting to change myself, wanting to forget unpleasant things, wanting to fly out of a suffocating life—it was novels that gave me the courage to persevere, encouraging and supporting me."]
["Your characters are very graceful, very gentle—like imaginary characters becoming real, truly very touching…"]
["But in reality, I am weak and unsightly, often falling into self-loathing. I want to become a beautiful and strong person like you, to become my ideal self. Can you please teach me?"]
Kiyono raised an eyebrow. This was a true fan, and her living environment seemed quite difficult. Her personality should be relatively isolated, gloomy, unsociable…
Was this… conveying his words to someone who shared similar pain?
For some reason, a sternly beautiful figure flashed through his mind.
If someone asked her for help… she definitely wouldn't just ignore it, would she?
Kiyono took a deep breath and slowly shaped his inner thoughts into text.
The first month of summer vacation passed smoothly and was fulfilling.
During the day, he worked part-time, interacted with Yanami, chatted about boundless topics, rotated through snacks, and occasionally triggered dialogue scenes with the small animal, Komari; during his free time, he discussed plot, illustrations, and publishing with his editor…
At night, he rode his bike with the girl, watched the starry summer sky, and occasionally took the little corgi for a walk;
Repeat, and repeat.
Time flowed like sand through his fingertips—as if he could feel the rough texture of the grains.