Chapter 289

"If you don't want to die here, you'd better not say the rest."

"..."

A few minutes later, Sakurakoji Talent finally closed the last page and finished reading the entire book.

I have to say, this period has been a bit of a struggle. Although I've eaten quite a few stones, apart from work requirements, no one really enjoys eating them all the time.

He let out a long breath, stretched his stiff neck, and then looked at Yukino Shita Yukino and said, "I'm ready."

Is it really okay?

Yukino Shita Yukino around to confirm.

"Okay, let's begin."

"... Understood, Zaimokuza, let's begin."

She spoke the second half of her sentence to Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, who had pulled a chair from the back of the classroom and was sitting some distance away from them.

"Cough cough!"

Zaimokuza adjusted his voice, facing the group directly with immense pressure, and forced himself to speak in a disguised manner, "Then! Let me hear your thoughts!"

"Then I'll start."

As the Club President, Yukino Shita Yukino took the initiative to speak, picked up the manuscript filled with notes from the previous night, and then frowned somewhat apologetically, stating the facts:

"I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with this kind of work."

"It's alright, about the umbrella? Let's hear some common opinions." (Part 4)

"Speak freely!" replied Zaimokuza Yoshiteru high and mighty.

"I see."

Yukino Shita Yukino closed her eyes, furrowed her brows, and calmed her expression. Deciding to show no mercy, she spoke in her usual cool tone, "Very boring."

"It even made reading a form of torture, more boring than I could have imagined!"

"Yaho!!!"

The Zaimokuza clutched his heart, tilted his head back, and let out a strange cry.

But immediately, he bravely turned his head away, not daring to look her in the eye, and slowly asked, "For reference, could you please tell me where I'm bored?"

Yukino Shita Yukino nodded slightly, flipping through the manuscript filled with Sticky Note notes in her hand. "First of all, the grammar is a mess."

"Why use so many inverted sentences? Do you know how to use particles? Didn't you learn that in elementary school?"

"This is because plain and easy-to-understand language makes readers feel closer to the author..."

The explanation for the Zaimokuza.

"Shouldn't we at least wait until you can write the most basic standard Japanese before considering these things?"

Yukino Shita Yukino continued to deliver her attack, making Hikigaya Hachiman and Yuihama Yui, who were watching from the side, tremble with fear.

"And there's the issue of phonetic symbols; there are too many misuses. '[ability]' doesn't have the same pronunciation as '[strength]'."

"I'm asking you,"

She held up the book to him and asked, "Where did the 'Nightmare' in 'Bloody NightmareThrasher' come from?"

"Ugh~ No, that's not it! Lately, Light Novel with a battle theme have been particularly fond of phonetic symbols..."

"Why would the Female Protagonist take off her clothes here? It's completely unnecessary and baffling."

"Hey hey hey~!!! If, well, without that element..."

"Could you please stop reading unfinished stories to others? Before showing off your literary talent, I suggest you learn some common sense first."

"Gurgle~!!!"

The Zaimokuza, knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his hands, tears streaming down his face.

"Just let him go this time."

As his best friend, Hikigaya Hachiman advised, "It's too ruthless of you to say it all at once."

"I haven't finished speaking yet, but never mind."

Yukino Shita Yukino decided not to press her advantage any further and turned to look at Yuihama Yui, who hadn't read the book beforehand and had fallen asleep halfway through reading it.

"Well then, it's Classmate Yuihama's turn next, right?"

"Gurgle~"

Yuihama Yui quickly tried to find the right words. "Um..."

Looking at the Zaimokuza, which had been utterly devastated, she commented tactfully, "You... you know so many obscure Chinese characters."

"Gah~!"

"Then, it's time for us to Hikikomori!"

Hearing the familiar name, Zaimokuza looked up at him, biting her lip in grief and indignation. "Hachiman! You must understand me, right?"

Hikigaya Hachiman slowly revealed a faint smile, and Zaimokuza, as if given hope, grinned from crying to laughing.

"So, where did you copy it from?"

Hachiman delivered his verdict without hesitation.

"Gurgle~! Ahhhhhh!!!"

Having taken the final blow, the Zaimokuza began to roll around on the ground.

Sakurakoji Talent pulled back her leg to prevent it from being crushed by him.

"You really don't hold back."

Yukino Shita Yukino a sense of melancholy.

Bang!!

He rolled around in the classroom until he finally crashed into the door and wall, lying on the ground with his limbs spread apart, unable to get up again.

I said...

Yuihama Yui looked at Hikigaya with reproach.

Looking at his masterpiece, Hikigaya Hachiman squatted down and patted him on the shoulder, giving him a final, sarcastic remark. "It's alright, the most important thing is the illustration, you don't need to worry too much about the content."

"The Zaimokuza..."

The fleeing soul emerged from the mouth of the Zaimokuza.

"..."

Sakurakoji Talent, resting his chin on his hand, silently watched the farce unfold. "Seriously, is it even necessary for me to show up in this situation?"

"Oh, right, and you too..."

Yukino Shita Yukino pursed her lips, hesitatingly saying, "Although it's a bit awkward for me to say this, let's not hurt him any further, or it might lead to a murder."

"Do you think I'm like you? All you do is criticize and refute, without offering any specific advice."

Sakurakoji Talent is wasted.

What should he say?

Although their opinions seemed sharp, they actually contained absolutely no useful information; they were merely personal feelings and emotional outpourings, weren't they?

He came here seeking advice, not to be tortured. Meeting three laymen like you is truly his good fortune.

If we follow your advice, he'll never become Light Novel author in his lifetime.

Misleading the youth, misleading the Miss Yukinoshita is also walking towards a direction even further from changing the world today...

"Oh? You mean you can offer opinions far superior to ours?"

Yukino Shita Yukino looked over defiantly.

"Of course, after all, I'm only a semi-professional."

He glared back.

"They only watched it for a short time?"

That's enough.

"..."

Yukino Shita Yukino Zaimokuza Yoshiteru. "Zaimokuza, please sit back down. There's still one 'judge' who hasn't given their opinion yet."

Zaimokuza was startled and stealthily turned towards the door. "I... I think that's enough for today. Thank you so much for your suggestions! I'll do my best when I get back..."

"Return."

The cold, emotionless words made him stop in his tracks instantly.

"Huh? Yes!"

A minute later, the group returned to their original seats and postures, waiting for the last person to speak.

"..."

The other four glanced at him furtively, their expressions and feelings varying.

Sakurakoji Talent flipped through the booklet in her hands with a "whoosh," noticing that different parts of the booklet had been folded into more than a dozen corners.

Just like he told Yukino Shita Yukino before, he wasn't being perfunctory; it was just that practice makes perfect, and he was very quick at finding problems.

What a joke! Although this manuscript looks thick, due to the traditional layout of Japanese books, it's only a few tens of thousands of words long and won't take much time at all.

In China, a professional editor could read the beginning of a few thousand or ten thousand words of an online article in a minute or two and offer their feedback.

His speed was already quite respectful and he was very serious; he even deliberately slowed down a lot.

Of course, formal peer review is not so casual—but as they said before, the other party's level was not high enough to warrant a serious review.

"Hey, Zaimokuza, right?"

"Yes..."

The Zaimokuza frowned, responding with a frailty that seemed completely out of place with his physique.

His spirit had been almost completely worn down during the process.

"I hope you can listen to their opinions critically, after all, the three of them are not professionals."

"Ah, but some parts are correct. I hope you can write down what I've said carefully now—if you really want to become Light Novel author."

"Did you bring a notebook? If not, I'll ask Hachiman to lend it to you."

Sakurakoji Talent rested his cheek on one hand and lightly tapped the table with the other, exuding the aura of a seasoned expert.

If he could, he would actually prefer to get a pair of glasses without prescription lenses, as it would feel more sophisticated. Unfortunately, he lives too far away and didn't bring them today.

"Yes, there are!"

Zaimokuza Yoshiteru took out paper and pen from his schoolbag, which was placed by the door.

"Okay, then go to the back and bring over a table, so you can sit down and write properly."

"Yes."

Zaimokuza quickly got up and walked to the back.

The person before him possessed a beauty and aura that rivaled Yukino Shita Yukino's, leaving him utterly devoid of any desire to resist.

"It does look quite like that."

Yukino Shita Yukino pinched her rounded chin as she commented.

"Well... Mr. Talent seems more serious than usual? He seems really impressive."

Yuihama Yui softly in surprise.

"Is this what a professional is like...?"

Hikigaya Hachiman also unconsciously reduced the range of his movements.

"Alright, I'm going to begin. Are you ready?"

Sakurakoji Talent tapped the desktop notification.