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Chapter 13 — The Reviewer's Eyes
The review committee of Dengeki Bunko was assembled.
It consisted of the editor-in-chief, several senior editors, and a few special guests. The special guests varied each year — sometimes young debut authors with steady sales, sometimes well-known light novel reviewers with sharp tongues.
This year, one of the special reviewers was none other than the popular YouTuber known online as "Chiba no Fallen Saint Black Cat."
Her real name was Gokō Ruri — though most people in the community knew her better as Kuroneko.
Kuroneko loved to write novels herself, especially secondary creations based on Maschera. Her settings were famously detailed and rigorous; she had once produced nearly 3,000 pages of lore just for fun.
Since junior high, she had submitted manuscripts to the Dengeki Bunko Newcomer Award for three consecutive years, always with the dream that a successful debut could help provide income for her family.
But fate had been unkind. She never made it to the final selection.
Her close friend, Kōsaka Kirino, had once dismissed her drafts as "self-indulgent Ziwei novels." What stung even more was that Kirino herself — who had barely been writing for long — had actually debuted, become a bestseller, and even had her series adapted into anime.
It was almost unbearable.
In her jealousy and anger, Kuroneko had once uploaded a venomous review of Kirino's hit novel Sister Princess City. Every word was sharp, dripping with bitterness and lemon. She thought of it as nothing more than venting — but somehow, the video went viral.
Overnight, her channel gained over 10,000 subscribers.
At first, Kuroneko was overwhelmed. But encouraged by Kirino herself, she leaned into it. Her critical tongue became her identity. Over time, she built a dedicated fanbase, broadcasting on weekends and holidays. Now her channel boasted nearly 80,000 subscribers, and her ad revenue alone provided her family with more than 1.5 million yen a year.
She had always reviewed the winning works of the Dengeki Novel Award on YouTube. But this year, for the first time, she was reviewing them as an official invited guest.
Kuroneko adjusted the lace of her black Lolita dress and gazed at the mountain of finalist manuscripts stacked before her. She let out a breath.
"I hope these works won't disappoint me."
With that, she began reading.
---
The finalists were certainly not bad. To even reach this stage was proof of quality. But Kuroneko's eyes were famously harsh.
For her, a story had to sparkle with something more than technical skill. Many of these works, though well-crafted, were just… good. They didn't pierce her heart.
She yawned after reading through more than twenty novels. Only three had impressed her enough to receive her recommendation vote.
Still, work was work. She pressed on.
She picked up the next manuscript, her tired eyes catching on a line written in the recommendation section:
> "The sunshine in April is warmer than any lie, because it can illuminate your heart."
The title: Your Lie in April.
Kuroneko tilted her head. It was a beautiful title, though vague. She wondered at its meaning. Instinctively, she began imagining her own story around those words.
For a moment, she hesitated. What if the newcomer's clumsy writing ruined the beautiful image now alive in her mind?
But duty won. She opened the manuscript.
---
The prose drew her in at once.
The story began three years after a musical prodigy could no longer play. The protagonist was Kōsei Arima, struck on the head by a baseball in the music room. The culprit: his childhood friend, Tsubaki Sawabe, who fretted anxiously over his condition.
Soon after, the cheerful soccer ace Ryōta Watari climbed in through the window, teasing the pair. Their lively, natural banter warmed the page.
Later, Tsubaki confided in Kōsei: a classmate of theirs had a crush on Watari. To avoid being a third wheel, she begged Kōsei to come along.
And that was when the violinist appeared.
A girl like spring sunshine, free and brilliant — Kaori Miyazono.
Their meeting began with a misunderstanding, but in the preliminary round of a violin competition, Kaori stunned the audience with her wild, willful performance. She ignored the score, lost the chance to advance — and yet, in her bold defiance, she enchanted everyone, including the boy whose heart had long been darkened: Kōsei Arima.
---
Kuroneko leaned closer as she read.
The prose flowed effortlessly, vibrant and alive. It was as if a ray of sunlight had pierced her fatigue, clearing away the weight of the previous manuscripts.
"…"
She could hardly believe it. Was this really the work of a newcomer?
Her worries about amateurish style melted away. She found herself devouring page after page, almost forgetting this was "work."
Kuroneko pressed a hand to her chest.
This manuscript… this one was different.
END of the chapter
Usual power stone goal 200=extra chapter