Next bonus, 200!
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Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well.
The promised longer chapters begin with Chapter 57... and starting from Chapter 64, I've taken things even further to improve overall quality. At this point, each chapter requires a significant amount of time and effort to complete, so I'll be increasing the bonus chapter from 100 to 200PS.
This is the only way I can continue delivering high-quality content consistently. Once again, thank you all for your continued support!
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"Ahem!"
Yumiko Miura finally realized it too. What she had just said was way too direct.
She quickly cleared her throat and changed the subject.
"I couldn't tell at all. Since the book is selling so well, it seems that guy is making a lot of money!"
Even though she didn't know much about light novels, she could easily guess that with such great sales, Kai, as the author, would definitely get a massive cut of the profits.
Perfect, Yumiko had secretly been planning to find an excuse to slip Kai some money if he was struggling financially. Now, it seemed that wasn't necessary at all.
"Kai-kun is amazing!"
Standing to the side, Yui held the book in her hands, a bright, cheerful smile blooming on her face.
To Yui, how much money he made didn't really matter. As long as Kai was doing well and wasn't unhappy, that was more than enough.
"..." Seeing Yui acting like this, Yumiko, who had been in a pretty good mood, suddenly felt an inexplicable emptiness in her heart.
'That's right. No matter how outstanding he is, he already has a girlfriend. Sigh, for the first time in my life, I'm actually a little jealous of Yui Yuigahama.'
"Yumiko?"
"Huh?"
It wasn't until she heard Yui calling her name that Yumiko finally snapped back to reality.
"Yumiko, are you okay? I called you a few times just now, but you didn't react."
"I'm fine. What could possibly be wrong with me? It's getting late. Since we've already bought the books, let's just head home."
"A-Alright!"
Seeing Yumiko turn around and hurriedly walk away, Yui was still a bit slow to process what was happening.
'I feel like Yumiko is acting so weird today. Everything about her is just so strange.' But after thinking about it for a moment, Yui honestly couldn't figure out why Yumiko was acting like this. In the end, she could only shake her head, look down at the book in her hands, and smile again.
'I must be overthinking things. I should just head home!'
Yui was also looking forward to going home and getting a good look at exactly what kind of light novel Kai had written.
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"Is she working overtime again...?"
On Kai's end, after returning to his apartment.
He simply tidied up a bit, looked around the empty room, and couldn't help but shake his head.
At this hour, Sakiko Togawa had probably gone to work again. And given Sakiko's workload, she probably wouldn't be back until very late.
Kai had thought about giving Sakiko some money, but he didn't. In fact, keeping a heroine was nothing for him right now because of how much money he had. But Sakiko was proud. Even though they were very honest and close with each other now, Sakiko would definitely mind it if he offered her money.
'Having such a stubborn personality isn't always a good thing.' Thinking this, Kai shook his head. 'I'll just have to take it slow. She will change eventually.'
Just as Kai finished tidying up and opened his door to head out, the door to the Togawa apartment suddenly opened as well.
"Hmm?"
The person walking out of the apartment was none other than Sakiko Togawa's father—Kiyotsugu Togawa.
To be honest.
Even though they were neighbors, this was the very first time Kai had actually laid eyes on Kiyotsugu Togawa, a man who supposedly only knew how to numb himself with alcohol.
But it was nothing like what he had thought it would be.
The Kiyotsugu Togawa standing before him didn't look like a sloppy alcoholic in the slightest. His beard was cleanly shaven, he was wearing a sharp, perfectly tailored suit, and he even had a faint scent of men's cologne on him.
If you didn't know any better, you would think the guy was heading out for a blind date.
As he walked past, Kiyotsugu acted as if he didn't even see Kai, briskly striding right by.
Although he was dressed sharply, his eye sockets were slightly sunken. Amidst his excited gaze, there was an unconcealable look of exhaustion.
He looked exactly like a man who had severely overexerted himself in certain physical activities.
'Don't tell me he's actually having a late-life romance.'
That absolutely didn't happen in the anime...
But then again, this was a multiverse anime world, not a single, isolated universe. It was entirely reasonable for a butterfly effect to trigger a series of chain reactions.
Besides everything else, Kiyotsugu Togawa's looks were definitely great. If not for this, it would have been completely impossible for him to marry into the Togawa family and live with them as their son-in-law.
Right at that moment—
'I've already booked the hotel room. When are you getting here?'
Kai's phone suddenly buzzed.
Seeing the message from Sonoko Machida, Kai stopped paying attention to Kiyotsugu's affairs and quickly typed a reply.
'I'll be right there!'
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"Is... is he really coming??"
Meanwhile, inside a luxurious room in a high-end hotel, Shizuka Hiratsuka, who had been brimming with confidence just a moment before, felt a wave of inexplicable panic wash over her.
Obviously, she was yet another textbook case of someone who talked a massive game, but the second things got real, she panicked faster than anyone else.
"Don't tell me you're actually chickening out."
Easily reading her friend, Sonoko Machida suddenly teased her.
"W-WHO'S CHICKENING OUT??" Regardless of how terrified she actually was on the inside, Shizuka absolutely refused to admit defeat on the surface.
She stubbornly stuck her neck out and declared.
"I am Shizuka Hiratsuka! Do I look scared to you?"
"..." Machida didn't say a word, but the smile on her face only grew wider and far more amused.
"Damn it, what the hell are you laughing at??"
The tiny shred of composure Shizuka had just managed to scrape together instantly shattered upon seeing Machida's smug grin.
"I can't believe you weren't scared the first time you did it."
That was a point Machida genuinely couldn't argue against. After all, during her very first time, she had been incredibly panicked as well.
"Ahem. Well, if you really don't have the guts to face him head-on, why don't you try this?"
"What?"
Machida pulled out a blindfold while Shizuka watched with a very suspicious look. Once it was on, it blocked out all vision.
Before Shizuka could even react, Machida stepped forward and strapped it directly over her eyes.
"How's that? Doesn't that feel a lot better?"
"It feels super weird..."
She felt even worse when she lost all of her sight...
But it was also true that the panic in her chest had calmed down a little since a moment ago.
"Wait a minute. Shouldn't we be putting this thing on him instead??"
"Just tell me if you want to use it or not!"
Seeing Shizuka suddenly decide to act smart at a time like this, Machida deadpanned.
"Fine, fine! So what am I supposed to do now?"
"Here's the plan. You go lie down in the inner bedroom first. I'll bring him straight to you when he gets here. How does that sound?"
"I really didn't realize you were such a pro at this roleplay stuff."
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https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)