— — — — — —
A short while later, Kagurazaka returned with the contract.
Oikawa read through it very carefully.
There were always a few shady companies that liked to hide tricks inside contracts. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally sign a lifelong servitude agreement.
Fortunately…
Everything looked fine.
Oikawa signed his name without hesitation, then took out the seal he had prepared and stamped it neatly on the document.
"There we go."
He pushed the contract back across the table.
"Here's to a pleasant partnership."
Kagurazaka smiled and collected the contract. Then she opened her laptop and pulled up a document.
It was Your Lie in April, the manuscript Oikawa had submitted.
Some sections were highlighted in different colors.
"Oikawa-kun, you don't mind if I call you Oikawa-kun, do you?"
"Not at all."
"Great."
Kagurazaka pointed at the screen. "The highlighted sections are places where I think the wording could be improved. Switching to different phrasing might read a little smoother."
"Of course, it's completely up to you. I'm only making suggestions."
Normally, editors addressed writers as sensei.
So technically she should be calling him Oikawa-sensei.
But that felt too distant.
Besides, calling a boy who looked like the kid next door "sensei" was honestly a bit embarrassing for her.
"Sure. I'll revise those parts when I get home."
Kagurazaka blinked in surprise.
She hadn't expected the revision issue to be resolved so easily.
Most authors hated editing their work. But Oikawa didn't seem to care at all.
This was fantastic.
A genius who didn't act like a genius.
Kagurazaka suddenly felt like she'd struck gold.
She cautiously asked, "Oikawa-kun, don't you have anything you want to ask about?"
"I do, actually."
"When will the Grand Prize money be sent to me?"
"The prize money will be transferred to the bank account you provided within three months."
Hearing that, Oikawa's smile widened even further.
As long as they paid him, he was willing to do anything.
Even sell himself if necessary.
...
After leaving the office building where Dengeki Bunko was located, Oikawa felt like the whole world looked brighter.
Just three more months.
Three more months and he would be rich.
Grrr…
His stomach suddenly protested.
Oikawa decided to reward himself with a good meal for once.
After browsing on his phone for a while, he headed to a ramen shop with excellent reviews called Ramen-Dō.
The place was packed.
"Do I really have to line up?"
"If the wait's too long, I might not have enough time."
He muttered under his breath.
He had a convenience store shift at 6 PM tonight and needed to catch the Shinkansen back to Chiba before five.
Right now it was 4:20 PM.
It would take at least twenty minutes just to get to the station.
There simply wasn't enough time.
Oikawa turned to leave.
But just then, a girl sitting nearby seemed to notice his dilemma.
"If you don't mind, you can share a table with me."
She was very pretty. And strangely familiar.
She wore a white dress with a blue outer jacket. Light makeup touched her face, as if she had been preparing to meet someone.
Most importantly…
Her figure was extremely impressive.
Even compared to Kawasaki Saki, she easily held her own. Possibly even surpassed her.
Oikawa glanced once before quickly looking away. It was better to stay polite with strangers who showed kindness.
"Is that okay?"
"It's fine. I'm about to finish eating anyway."
Her voice sounded cool and emotionless. After saying that, she didn't look at him again.
"Thanks."
After thanking her, Oikawa called to the shop owner.
"One tonkotsu ramen, please. And if possible, make it quick."
The girl across from him continued eating quietly.
Oikawa thought about starting a casual conversation, but after a moment decided against it.
Instead, he took out his phone and checked his online group chat.
The group members were completely losing their minds.
And it looked like they had been at it for quite a while.
"If someone had to win the Dengeki Bunko Grand Prize, why did it have to be 'Copycat Transmigrator' instead of me?!"
"We can never casually chat in this group again. Copycat Transmigrator, you deserve death!"
"So the big shot was among us all along?"
"I'm reporting this. Ten days ago at 9:50 PM, 'Copycat Transmigrator' posted a lewd picture in the group. I have screenshots. Admin, you decide how to deal with it."
"Cough!"
Oikawa was drinking water when he saw that message and nearly sprayed it across the table. Thankfully, he managed to swallow it.
The girl across from him looked up and frowned at him.
"Sorry."
She didn't respond.
She simply wiped her mouth with a napkin, glanced at her phone, and suddenly smiled.
When she looked back over her shoulder and smiled, it felt like the entire room brightened.
Her smile is like the sunshine.
Oikawa felt that line perfectly described the girl in front of him.
High emotional intelligence version: He fell in love at first sight.
Low emotional intelligence version: He was instantly smitten by her looks.
Unfortunately, the girl never gave him a chance to speak.
She simply stood up and walked out of the ramen shop.
Oikawa briefly considered chasing after her.
But then the owner placed his tonkotsu ramen on the table.
After thinking it over, he gave up.
If he chased after her now, he'd probably gain nothing but a "nice guy" rejection card.
And he'd lose 870 yen worth of ramen.
Totally not worth it.
Just then, a message appeared in the group chat from Utako Kasumi.
"I also have screenshots of Copycat Transmigrator posting lewd pictures. I hope the admin will handle this fairly and won't show favoritism just because someone is a Grand Prize author."
Oikawa instantly lost his composure.
He typed furiously, "It's because of you guys that I missed my chance with the goddess I met in this ramen shop!"
(Message failed. You have been muted by the group admin. Duration: 30 minutes.)
Oikawa became even more furious.
Once upon a time, a sincere love had been placed before him. But he hadn't treasured it.
Only after losing it did he regret it deeply.
If heaven gave him another chance—
Actually… never mind.
The tonkotsu ramen here was really delicious.
Oikawa had already forgotten all about chasing after that girl.
.
.
.