Black Cat's a Cat Too, So What's Wrong with Making a Tom and Jerry? / Come on, Conan, Watch Me Pull Off a Stunt

Today's diary was also delayed a little because I was reading Love Metronome.

Sorry, today's diary update came a little late.

After all, today was the release day of Kashiko Kasumi's Love Metronome. As a die-hard fan of Kashiko Kasumi for ten years, of course I had to show my support.

Unfortunately, I didn't see Kashiko Kasumi personally promoting it at the bookstore today. Looks like I'll have to wait until next week's signing event to meet you, Kashiko Kasumi.

Anyway, I spent over an hour reading the book after buying it, so today's diary will just be a few thoughts on it.

The male lead was pretty standard, a classic Japanese male protagonist. Nothing much to say.

The female lead, Sayuka, had a great characterization and a well-rounded personality, but she felt a little distracting to read.

After all, anyone with eyes could tell that Sayuka's personality was based on you, Kashiko Kasumi.

The only problem was, as I recalled, Sayuka was supposed to end up as the losing heroine.

Honestly, I'd previously only heard of a certain mangaka whose wife cheated on him, so he turned the heroine modeled after his wife into a background character in his manga.

But as an author, having the heroine modeled after yourself establish an overwhelming advantage in the first volume, to the point where she practically looked set to speedrun the ending—

Only to introduce a second heroine in the second volume, start a love-interest war, and then successfully write the first heroine, who had been ahead by an entire volume and was modeled after yourself, into a losing heroine in the final volume... I truly had never heard of anything like that before.

And it hadn't happened just once, either.

I have to say, Kashiko Kasumi, you really were born to be a losing heroine.

Of course, a few years later, you got much smarter. You knew to model the losing heroine in your work after Eriri instead, and even specifically invited Eriri to illustrate that work. That was practically killing someone and twisting the knife.

But you probably haven't finished the second volume yet, Kashiko Kasumi. I wonder what the second volume you write in this world will turn out like.

I hope you can surpass yourself. Knowing how your original story went, perhaps you can make yourself lose even more spectacularly in your own work.

How about this? As Kashiko Kasumi's die-hard fan of ten years, I won't be stingy.

If you're still planning to introduce a new heroine in the second volume and start a love-interest war, I can give you a few classic lines left behind by your predecessors. Your relationship is more or less like that between Hoshino Ai and Shinomiya Kaguya.

Anyway, I'll just post the pictures.

Why are you so good at this? .JPG

How did it come to this? .JPG

I was here first. .JPG

With your talent, as long as you can grasp even a sliver of your predecessors' essence, becoming a master of gut-wrenching romance literature in the future will be no problem.

Black Cat Is Still a Cat, So What's Wrong with Filming Tom and Jerry?

On the first day of her new book's release, Kasumigaoka Utaha already knew her work's future through several sources, including the novel, anime, and manga.

There would be some setbacks early on, but it would ultimately make it to the end smoothly. For a newcomer, its results could be considered excellent.

But at this point, she was still only a novice author. As she waited for the first day's sales figures, she inevitably felt a little nervous.

Then, as the notification of "Reading Points +1" sounded in her ear, she gritted her teeth and took out her Diary.

"What kind of nonsense did that bastard You Know Who write about me in his diary today?"

She was certain that whenever You Know Who mentioned her in his diary, it was never anything good.

Then she saw that You Know Who had actually written an entire review of her new book in today's diary?

So You Know Who really bought my book and finished reading it?

Although that did nothing to ease her resentment toward You Know Who, she truly cared about what he thought of her new book.

And so, she was once again devastated by You Know Who's line: "Kashiko Kasumi, you really were born to be a losing heroine."

"How could that count as being a losing heroine? Writing novels isn't something that can just be applied wholesale to reality..." Kasumigaoka Utaha darkened her face and tried to defend herself, hoping to rid herself of the title of losing heroine.

But as she kept reading, she suddenly noticed something was wrong.

She would make herself lose, and more than once?

"That can't be right. Sayuka's position as the first heroine should be unshakable. Why would I make her lose in the end?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha began to doubt herself.

Could there really be something wrong with her? Had she subconsciously written the situation into one where Sayuka was bound to lose?

Kasumigaoka Utaha hurriedly shook her head, trying to throw that thought out of her mind.

If the idea that she was a losing heroine really entered her subconscious, her life would be over.

In any case, the character settings for Love Metronome had already been completed. Never mind how things would end up; in the future, she should learn from her future self. If she wanted to write a losing heroine, she could just drag Eriri in to serve as a cushion.

With Eriri beside her, as long as no third person joined in, her odds of winning would still be higher, right?

Though it seemed that wouldn't bring her much sense of victory either.

When she reached the end and saw the dialogue and images You Know Who had posted, so gut-wrenching they hurt just to look at—

Although You Know Who hadn't mentioned those "predecessors" by name, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a resonance from the depths of her soul after only one glance, confirming that they truly were her predecessors!

I was here first.

How many times have you kissed her?!

...For the first time, I found someone I liked, someone who could be my friend for life... But why... why did it turn out like this?

Ahhh, this kind of complicated, twisted love was what she truly wanted to write into her own work!

Just reading those words made inspiration burst forth in Kasumigaoka Utaha's mind.

She had even already decided that if Sayuka in her work really reached that point in the future, she would definitely give her an inner monologue like, "I was here first."

It fit perfectly!

Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately began writing the second volume of Love Metronome in her Diary. Since she could input words into the Diary with her thoughts, the page before her was almost instantly filled with text!

In that state, she didn't even notice that she had already tacitly accepted Sayuka, who was modeled after herself, as a loser.

It had to be said that there was naturally a reason White Album 2 had once become so popular.

It wasn't just Kasumigaoka Utaha, this "junior," who had entered yandere writing mode because of those few lines. Even the other girls in the Diary Enthusiasts Club were repeatedly savoring those words.

Especially that image of two people kissing, with the kissed heroine crying while the other heroine clutched her chest and watched from afar. That emotional entanglement was far too agonizing!

More importantly, Kasumigaoka Utaha had actually been created by the same author who created the other person?

Although everyone had known before that Kasumigaoka Utaha would lose to that Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend heroine in her original story, they truly hadn't imagined things would be this tangled!

The more they thought about it, the more interested the gossip-loving girls in the group became in Kasumigaoka Utaha's story.

Someone even directly started demanding updates in the comments, wanting to see more details about Kasumigaoka Utaha and that story.

After all, the Demon Slayer Corps and Vengeful Spirit were still far removed from them for the time being, but they couldn't miss gossip involving members of the group!

As long as You Know Who's blade didn't fall on them, anything was fine!

But in the end, the comment selected today belonged to Black Cat from the group.

She wasn't interested in these gut-wrenching stories. As someone with chuunibyou syndrome, she was naturally more interested in superpowers and combat.

Because of the things You Know Who had written in the diary over the past few days, as well as what she had learned after meeting Shinomiya Miko, she had written dozens of pages of worldbuilding in her own diary, planning to put it into her novel someday.

Assuming that her comment wouldn't be selected anyway, and in order to earn Reading Points, she had casually posted a section of setting she had devised in the comments each day, hoping to ask You Know Who to appraise her work.

Today, after seeing that Kasumigaoka Utaha's new book had been released, she had even asked on a whim whether she could become a light novel author in the future.

She never expected that after so many peaceful days, she would be selected today because of that.

Even though Black Cat normally didn't care about such things, and had even taken the initiative to exchange contact information with Kasumigaoka Utaha, displaying herself before a group of girls who all possessed diaries in this way was still somewhat embarrassing.

That childish Evil Eye was probably holding her Diary right now and laughing at her!

Thinking of this, Black Cat—Gokō Ruri, who was in Chiba—could only turn off her phone's notification sound and wait until tomorrow's Diary update before turning it back on.

Meanwhile, Miyauchi Hiyage burst out laughing when he saw Black Cat's comment.

I let you off the hook the past few days, and now you've come looking for me yourself?

He was considering how to have a friendly exchange with this Black Cat tomorrow when Jerry's excited cries suddenly came from behind him, followed by a loud clatter.

Miyauchi Hiyage hurriedly turned around and saw a mouse radiating astonishing waves of Aura darting excitedly around his room, showing off the results of its research.

Everywhere it went was left in a mess.

"Holy crap, Jerry, you really figured out Rat Breathing?"

It had only been a few days, and Jerry had already tinkered it out. Even Tsugikuni Yoriichi would have to call that talent impressive.

Hearing Miyauchi Hiyage's exclamation, Jerry finally stopped moving and proudly patted its chest, as if to say that Ripple Chi Kung was only this difficult?

Jerry could master it with ease.

Back when it competed with Tom, there had never been anything it couldn't do.

Seeing Jerry's smug expression, a new idea formed in Miyauchi Hiyage's mind almost immediately.

Now that Rat Breathing had been developed, the next step was to test its strength.

Ordinary testing wouldn't bring out Jerry's strengths.

Come to think of it, Black Cat was a cat anyway. Why not have Jerry play Tom and Jerry with her for a few days? Jerry could also moonlight as a Ripple instructor and improve those girls' Ripple strength.

Come On, Conan, Watch Me Pull This Off

As a character from a comedy anime, even after coming to this world and losing part of its experience, Jerry's vitality still far surpassed that of ordinary humans.

Miyauchi Hiyage didn't dare test its immortality, but ordinary methods definitely wouldn't be able to inflict a fatal wound on Jerry.

If it were in Naruto's world, it could at least count as a mini Hashirama.

After observing for a while, Miyauchi Hiyage was able to make a rough judgment.

Jerry had only just mastered Rat Breathing, and while its Ripple strength couldn't compare to his Pure Yang Body, it had already reached a level that ordinary people would need twenty or thirty years of training to achieve.

And there was another piece of good news: because of some insights Jerry had gained while researching Rat Breathing, Miyauchi Hiyage's research into the Ripple Camera Obscura had also made considerable progress. He estimated that he would soon be able to tinker out version 1.0 of the Ripple Camera Obscura.

By then, Jerry could carry a miniature Camera Obscura around and moonlight as an exorcist.

So that night, Miyauchi Hiyage drank another cup of Celestial Joy Tea. One cup of the stuff could keep him going for a day, and paired with his Pure Yang Body, it was simply the ultimate tool for grinding away.

After school the next day, Miyauchi Hiyage had originally wanted to keep the momentum going and strive to finish the battle that very night.

But his troublesome second sister wanted to join a club and couldn't decide which one to choose. After school, she forcibly dragged him and Kato Megumi around the club recruitment area, asking the two of them for advice.

This was Miyauchi Hiyage's first official meeting with Kato Megumi.

Kato Megumi's tone when introducing herself matched Miyauchi Hiyage's impression of her perfectly.

There was no emotional fluctuation, yet she still sounded oddly approachable. She truly deserved to be the formidable person who had effortlessly defeated Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri in the original work.

Miyauchi Hiyage, meanwhile, didn't say much. In front of Kato Megumi, he only voiced his opinion when his foolish sister asked him something. He had absolutely no intention of stealing his second sister's spotlight.

If not for his eye-catching face, his presence at the moment probably wouldn't have been much stronger than Kato Megumi's.

After successfully wasting more than an hour at school, Miyauchi Kouka was still wavering back and forth among the colorful assortment of clubs.

Instead, Miyauchi Hiyage was inexplicably noticed by several recruiters from sports clubs, who strongly invited him to join them and pursue their dream of conquering the nation together.

Honestly, if this world had supernatural sports anime like The Prince of Tennis or Kuroko's Basketball, Miyauchi Hiyage might have given it some thought.

After all, who wouldn't want to openly use superpowers on a sports field?

But unfortunately, this world's surface was still fairly normal for now. Perhaps only after spiritual energy revived would he see a group of tennis players engaging in supernatural brawls on the court.

Though Miyauchi Hiyage felt that even after spiritual energy revived, hitting black holes on a tennis court would still be a little too absurd.

Anyway, after spending some time talking those hot-blooded boys out of their unrealistic dreams, Miyauchi Hiyage checked the time and took the initiative to bid his second sister farewell.