As for whether his manuscript would be accepted, Tsuna hadn't really considered it.
None of the light novels he'd read in his previous life appeared here, which only confirmed that he'd been transported to a parallel world. But that wasn't the point. The point was that none of the light novels, anime, and manga that had appeared in the past decade or so had impressed him.
He wasn't particularly impressed by the novels others praised here, but everyone has their own preferences, and that might be why.
He collected his thoughts, glanced at his phone again, and gently rocked the person in his arms. "Shouko, it's time to get up."
Seeing she still didn't respond, Tsuna rocked her harder. "Five more minutes, it really is time to get up."
"Tsuna, I'm a patient now. You should let me sleep a little longer," Shouko's muffled voice echoed from his embrace.
Tsuna stopped rocking her and met Shouko's eyes, who had raised her head in his arms. He saw her expression, which looked sleep-deprived.
"Then let me go and keep sleeping, okay?"
"No," Shouko yawned.
"…" Tsuna was helpless.
Finally, Shouko reluctantly let go of him, afraid he wouldn't let her hold him next time.
It just so happened that she also needed to go to the bathroom to change pad. After all, Aunt Miyamura had said it was best to change it every 2-3 hours to prevent bacteria.
"Aren't you going to sleep a little longer?" Tsuna sat up in bed, and seeing her get up as well, he asked in confusion.
Shouko rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "No, I need to go to the bathroom. You sit in the living room and wait for me."
She reached out her other hand and nudged his back.
"Yeah," Tsuna finally confirmed her condition before getting up and leaving the girl's bedroom. He sighed inwardly, feeling like he'd just held her and then abandoned her. Just now, he'd felt so reluctant, but now he just wanted to leave quickly...
But considering Shouko's mood swings during her period, he understood.
"Click..."
As the door closed, Shouko waited another minute or so, then reached out to the bedside table and retrieved the things Aunt Miyamura had taken her shopping for a few days ago.
After opening the door and confirming he was already in the living room watching TV with Yuzuru and the others, she stealthily made her way to the bathroom.
She felt a little embarrassed to let him know she was changing...
---
Yuzuru, still absorbed in his TV show in the living room, caught a glimpse of a familiar figure approaching. Turning to see who it was, he asked, perplexed,
"Tsuna-san, why are you out here? How's my sister?"
Tsuna nodded and greeted grandmother before turning to look at the black-haired girl resting her head on Hachiko's belly.
"Nothing serious, just a little stomach discomfort."
He sat down and stood up again, explaining to the two bewildered people, "I'll go get the hot water bottle," before leaving the living room.
He remembered someone he'd researched mentioning that applying a hot water bottle or heat pad over clothing to the lower abdomen could improve blood circulation and relieve cramps.
He wasn't sure if it would work, but he thought he'd try it on Shouko.
It was better than taking painkillers. All medicines are toxic, so it's best to take as little as possible.
Shizuka, who was preparing lunch in the kitchen, heard the door open and close. She poked her head out of the kitchen toward the entrance and saw her son changing his shoes. She immediately asked,
"Why are you back? And how's Shouko doing?"
Tsuna repeated to his mother what he had just explained to Yuzuru.
"Hot water bottles do help, but when did we ever buy one?"
"Don't worry about that. Shouko gave me one when it was cold before."
After changing his shoes, Tsuna walked to the stairs, explained to her, and quickly ran up.
Shizuka shook her head, then retreated to her work.
Returning to her room, Tsuna opened the locker and immediately noticed the white, chicken-shaped hot water bottle that Shouko had given him.
He'd heard that she, Ajitani, and Takagi had won a prize in a lottery while shopping for milk tea, and they'd won this limited-edition chicken bottle.
Ajitani had even offered to buy it directly from her, but she declined, and the hot water bottle ended up in his possession.
Whether Ajitani won the limited-edition chicken bottle or not was unknown; she hadn't told him at the time.
He wasn't particularly interested, so he didn't ask.
He reached for the hot water bottle, closed the locker, and headed downstairs, not forgetting to check how it operated.
"Mom, I need to trouble you later while we eat." Just as Tsuna came downstairs, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He turned and shouted towards the kitchen.
"What's that?" Shizuka's curious voice echoed from the kitchen.
Tsuna didn't explain, but instead walked to the entrance with his hot water bottle, changed into his outdoor shoes, and then opened the door and walked out.
"That kid..." Shizuka couldn't help but shake her head and grumble at the sound of the door closing.
But she'd know soon enough, so she wasn't in a rush. Right now, the most important thing was to fry the fish fillets in front of her.
Then, Tsuna returned to the Nishimiya residence with the hot water bottle and, under the curious and puzzled gaze of Shouko in the living room, added hot water.
It worked. She tried it, and if nothing else, it did work. Her stomach, which had been a bit uncomfortable, felt a little better under the heat of the hot water bottle...
---
"Mom, I'm thinking about writing a light novel and submitting it later," Tsuna, who had been called back for lunch by Shizuka at noon, spoke decisively as soon as he sat down after washing his hands.
"Yeah, good luck." Shizuka nodded casually in encouragement.
She had no opinion or suggestion on his decision. She felt that Tsuna was probably just writing for fun, and as for submitting it, it would most likely be rejected. She and his father did not intend to give him any help on his decision. After all, he was only in the first grade of junior high school. What good could he write?
Of course, they knew in their hearts that he would most likely not succeed, but verbal encouragement was still necessary.
"Shizuka dear, I'm serious..." Tsuna was speechless at her mother's perfunctory attitude.
As soon as these words came out, her head exploded.
"I'm also very serious about encouraging you, okay?" Shizuka retracted the hand that was flicking his forehead and said softly.
Seeing this, Tsuna rubbed his forehead and secretly rolled his eyes at her.
"Mom, remember to sign the contract for me when the time comes."
Shizuka nodded, chewing on the food at the corner of her mouth: "No problem."
After swallowing, she added: "When you finish writing, would you like to let me take a look? I can give you some pointers?"
This was definitely not because she wanted to see her own child make a fool of himself, but to give him some pointers to see if there were any mistakes or problems so that she could help him pass the manuscript.
That's right!
---
(End of this chapter)