I'll post an extra chapter every 300 Power Stones. Good luck with that!
Goal for the next extra chapter: 93/300
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Kyo carefully analyzed the situation. The question was very personal, and it involved another person. 'Well, I just need to tell the truth, right?' Kyo thought before answering the question. As he spoke, Miu's image remained in his mind the entire time.
"How can I put it… Miu is a very special girl to me, but she's not my girlfriend. I met her not too long ago, even though she's been studying at the same school as me for a long time." Kyo gave a warm smile.
"I met Miu while I was eating lunch on a bench near the gym. I always go there to eat because I like being alone. By chance, I ended up meeting her there… I was surprised because she was reading Overlord."
Kyo remembered that day perfectly.
"We ended up talking a lot about Overlord and other series too. I noticed that we have very similar tastes, and we became friends—very close friends."
Kyo thought about saying more things about Miu, but he couldn't. The journalist asked another question.
"So she's just a friend. Then who are you in love with? Is there a girl you like?"
"About that…" Kyo thought for a moment before making a decision. "That's a secret."
"Thank you, author." The woman sat down, looking satisfied.
After that, more questions started coming in. They were all very similar and mostly about Kyo's career as an author. Questions like, "How does it feel to become such a famous author at such a young age?" or "How do you deal with fame while being so young?"
They also asked many questions about his personal life, such as what he liked to do in his free time and what he enjoyed reading and watching.
They were basically fan questions.
Only a few questions were about his acting career, but the ones that were turned out to be quite interesting.
Kyo had the chance to talk about his past, about how he failed an audition when he was very young. However, he didn't talk about the cancer he had or about his difficulty communicating for many years.
That didn't need to become public. It was something from the past.
When the press conference ended, all the journalists seemed very satisfied.
Kyo spoke well. He answered every question quickly and clearly, never seeming like he was hiding anything. His confidence in front of the cameras was admirable. He was just a rookie, yet he acted as if he had already done thousands of interviews like this.
His calmness and maturity stood out the most.
Only 13 years old!? No, to all the journalists, Kyo seemed much older!
And not just to them.
On the internet, Kyo's name was spreading everywhere, especially on Twitter and in online forums. Many people were praising his diction and the way he carried himself.
Kyo didn't think the way he behaved in front of cameras deserved praise or special attention, but he was satisfied with the things he read about himself online.
As soon as he got into the car with Rina and his mother to head to the Amuse Inc building, Kyo noticed that he had received a few messages on his phone.
He had gotten messages from his three classmates as well as from Miu.
He ignored his "friends" and read Miu's message.
[You did great!]
Kyo smiled at Miu's message and replied.
[Thank you.]
'Love… In love…' Kyo murmured those words in his mind while looking out the car window.
His mother, sitting beside him, asked,
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, everything's fine…"
"Why did you lie?"
Kyo was surprised by his mother's question. "What do you mean?"
"You like that girl, don't you?"
"Yes, she's a special friend."
"You're in love with her."
"Am I?" Kyo smiled at his mother.
####
POV: Kyo
When the next day arrived, I received an email from Mr. Kuroda to talk about the next volume of Oregairu. I had asked him to publish two volumes at once, so now there are already four volumes published.
Whenever new volumes are released, I like opening Twitter and seeing my readers' reactions.
A lot of them tag me and talk about the story as if I were their friend. I directly replied to some of my readers, which earned me the reputation of being "the most approachable author in the industry."
In other words, the easiest author to contact and have a conversation with.
Well, that's wrong.
I receive countless DMs every day and never reply to any of them. Replying to a reader's post doesn't mean I'm having a conversation with them or that we're friends. I honestly just enjoy doing it to stroke my ego.
Searching my own name on Twitter is something very enjoyable.
Pictures of my face everywhere, praise coming from all sides.
'But I should stop doing that.'
I read Mr. Kuroda's email, and first he talked about the sales of volume four. The sales were excellent as always—over 100,000 copies sold in just one week.
Every time I release a new volume, sales surpass 100,000 copies in the first week.
The rest of the email talked about volume five. Kuroda doesn't know that I already have all the volumes finished, so he wanted to know my plans for the next volume. He only does this out of habit, since he has never once asked me to change anything.
Everything is always "perfect."
I smiled and replied to the email.
I wrote a long document of nearly five thousand words summarizing the entirety of volume five while also making my intentions for the future of the story clear. After sending the email, I picked up my phone and noticed I had a message from Miu.
[How are you? Are you writing right now?]
[No, I already finished my work for today. I just finished the last volume of that new novel I'm writing.]
[The one where the protagonist reincarnates as a slime?]
[Yes, that one.]
[Didn't you say you were on volume 12 not too long ago? How many volumes does it have, 13?]
[20 volumes. Though I plan to write two extra volumes.]
[That's terrifying… You wrote 7 volumes in such a short time…? That's scary.]
I laughed, and then suddenly received another message.
It was from Rina. Since she rarely contacted me on days when I didn't have filming scheduled, I was surprised.
[Aoi Hoshino is asking for your number. Should I give it to her?]
'Aoi Hoshino? Who?'
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Next Chapters: Chapter 85 - Aoi Hoshino. / Chapter 86 - Encounter with the "entity" / Chapter 87 - Two new works? / Chapter 88 - "Date" with Aoi Hoshino.