When Seiji told them the name of his novel, he noticed that both Chiakiās and Mikaās expressions changed slightly.
He was slightly embarrassed at this. Even though Seiji could proudly slap his chest and claim that his novel was an excellent story, he was still embarrassed about it.
āItās quite an amusing name; I feel tempted to read it right now,ā Chiaki said with a chuckle. āIām really curious about the contents.ā
Mika also nodded energetically.
āIt should be published in the Thunderbolt Literatureās next magazine, which will be released onāā
Before he could finish speaking, Seijiās cell phone started ringing.
When he checked the caller ID, he saw that the call was from Editor Yoshizawa!
āCould it beā¦ā
When Seiji received the call, his suspicion was confirmed. The editor had called him especially to notify him that the magazine with his story being published in it would be released tomorrow.
After he finished the call, Seiji immediately relayed this news to the two girls.
āWhat a coincidence! We were just talking about this subject when your editor called you.ā Chiaki smiled. āIāll get up early tomorrow and buy a copy of the magazine to check out just what you wrote, Seigo.ā
Mika also had an expression of anticipation.
Seiji smiled, and his eyes burned with a proud light. āIām confident in my own story, and I hope that you guys will like it.ā
To Mika and Chiaki, his current expression made him seem like he was shining with the brilliant light of charisma.
āWhat about the current story youāre writing together with your adopted younger sister Kagura-san? Whatās the name, and whatās it about?ā Chiaki asked.
āAbout thisā¦ā Seiji averted his gaze. āThe name will be āBrother Monogatari,ā and itās about a brother and sister dealing with demons.ā
āBrother Monogatari?ā
A brother and sister fighting against demons?
Chiaki and Mika exchanged awkward glances with each other.
Chiaki lowered her voice. āThisā¦ could it be a story about the real life of you and Kagura-san?ā
It really seemed so to her.
After all, Seiji and Shika Kagura both had āmysticalā powers, and the two adopted siblings indeed could be fighting against demonsā¦ this already sounded like a fantasy story!
āOf course not! I wouldnāt write about something from my real life.ā Seiji waved his hand in denial.
āI suppose so. Butā¦ā When Chiaki considered it more closely, she felt that the situation was somewhat strange.
An actual magical ability user writing a fantasy storyā¦ would his story count as non-fiction or fantasy?
The tomboy was struggling with internal conflict; she wanted to remark on the strange situation but was lost on how to go about it.
Not long after, the bell that signified the beginning of the next class began ringing.
ā¦
When Seiji returned home after school, he saw a brand-new living room.
High-quality tatami mats had been placed all over the floorboard, and some renovations were also done to the walls and ceiling. Together with the newly installed furniture, it seemed simple and beautiful. It gave the room the atmosphere of a family dwelling.
The renovation company did an excellent job, as expected of a company personally recommended by the landlord.
Seiji sat down by the table, and Shika brought out a teapot and some teacups, sitting down beside him.
The black-haired beauty sat down on a tatami mat, placed the cups, and began pouring tea.
This scene was so beautiful that Seiji was slightlyĀ startled He only regained his senses when Shika handed a teacup to him.
He took the teacup, had a sip, and felt the warm and slightly bitter tea run down his throat.
āMmmā¦ itās pretty good.ā
Seiji and Shika enjoyed their tea for a while in silence. Then, Seiji laid down on the tatamisĀ and tried rolling around on them.
Shika imitated him and also rolled around. Both of them exchanged glances and laughed as they lay on the mats.
The black-haired girl rolled over to Seijiās side, and Seiji offered her his arm as a pillow. Shika laid her head on his arm and closed her eyes.
Seiji watched his adopted sisterās face for a while, before closing his eyes as well. Without saying anything, the two of them napped like two idle cats.
Nighttime.
Seiji stretched; heād just finished another chapter of āBrother Monogatariā and had decided to stop for the day.
He felt that resting was necessary. Last time, he was so engrossed in writing that he accidentally pulled an all-nighter, which he didnāt enjoy.
He also wanted to relax after concentrating for so long on writing. Seiji went to the living room and poured himself a glass of water.
After he finished off most of the water, he simply sat down quietly on the tatami mats for a few minutes to help his brain to relax after working so hard.
āShould I continue writing?ā he wondered.
After a few moments of internal deliberation, he decided on a change of pace; he would practice his [Astral Vision].
So, Seiji simply laid down on the tatamis and began practicing. Yesterday night, heād finished reading the material on [Astral Vision], and his system indicated that he had reached 100% progress for the [reading a manual] requirement.
The difficult part of this spell was concentrating his Mana on his eyes. If a person didnāt have good control of their Mana, this would be impossible. To make a comparison with a certain game from his past life, Seiji felt that the [Body-Strengthening Technique] was akin to āawarenessā of Mana, while [Astral Vision] relied more on āmechanical skillsā to use Mana.
He needed patience and refinement. His body relaxed and his mind calm, he concentrated on perceiving and controlling the Mana.
Satisfied that he was sufficiently connected with the surrounding Mana, he took the opportunity to activate the power in his eyes with an incantation and his eyes shot open.
There was a red flash in his eyesā[Astral Vision], activate!
His vision sharpened, and everything in his field of vision glowed faint red, but his vision returned to normal after only a few seconds.
It was still no good. Seiji was aware that it wouldnāt be this easy to succeed and that he still needed to practice.
āI should chat with Shika about this and have her teach me.ā
He rose to his feet and went to knock on his adopted sisterās door.
ā¦
The next morning was a special day for Seiji.
The weekly edition of Thunderbolt Literatureās magazine was publishing Seijiās storyĀ Iāll Die If I Donāt Become HandsomeĀ Ā on this day.
He got up early to purchase a copyĀ and read it together with Shika during breakfast. Seiji felt inwardly satisfied at seeing his own original work being published on paper.
This was just the beginning. This was only a short story published in a magazine, and his next goal was to publish his own full-length light novel!
It was a light novel that he worked on together with Shika, one which would have an exquisite cover and excellent insert art.
Seiji and Shika both wished to see this in the future. On the way to school, Seiji showed the magazine to Mika.
Kaede asked what was going on when she saw this, and she showed interest after she learned about it. She promised to purchase a copy to show her support, and Seiji thanked her for this.
When they arrived at school, they saw that Chiaki was already in the classroom reading the same magazine.
When Chiaki saw Seiji, she gave him a big thumbs-up.
āI havenāt finished reading yet, but I think youāve written really well so far.ā The tomboy smiled as she gave him her review.
Then, she kept on reading.
Mika also sat in her seat and read her borrowed copy of Seijiās magazine; she seemed to be very enthused.
Class time.
Seiji ignored the content of the teacherās lesson and secretly worked on his novel.
Suddenly, a system notification popped up in front of himā
[Your written novel has been officially published and truly liked by one hundred readers. The [novel rewards] option has been activated under your [rewards] option, and you can now be continuously awarded points and items as more and more readers truly appreciate, praise, and support your novels.]
Seijiās eyes widened in surprise. āWow, this isā¦ā
He hurriedly opened up his system and checked the new option.
First, he noticed that heād received four reward points.
And right as he was looking at it, this four changed into a five!
The system said he would be continuously awardedā¦ so this was like income, not a one-time deal! The more readers that liked his novel, the more points he would receive.
And there were item rewards as well as points.
Seiji took a look at the first item reward; it was called [Random Draw Shard]!