After Dinner,
The three girls helped to clear the table.
In return, Akira Fujimiya offered to walk them home and buy some food from the supermarket.
Yumiko Miura and Hina Ebina were heading toward the station, so Akira accompanied them there.
"Fujimiya-kun, Yui is a little timid, so please make sure you send her home safely," Ebina Hina said with a playful smile.
"See you tomorrow, Fujimiya-kun." Miura Yumiko gave Yuigahama Yui a meaningful glance, noticing her flushed cheeks, before waving goodbye to the two of them.
Akira watched them disappear into the station before turning to Yui, who stood quietly at his side.
"Let's go."
"Ah…right."
Yuigahama Yui nodded and began leading the way. Her home wasn't far from here, but walking beside Akira, she found herself enjoying the moment more than usual.
The two walked together in silence. From time to time, cars with headlights on passed by, breaking the quiet atmosphere.
Yui didn't know what to say, so she simply stole glances at Akira while enjoying this quit moment.
But, although his eyes were on the road, his mind seemed to be elsewhere, lost in thought.
"Fujimiya-kun…" Yui called softly.
"Hm?" Akira turned to her.
"Do you… do you have any ideals?" she asked, trying to start a conversation.
"Ideals?" Akira paused, a little taken aback. To be honest, he had never really thought about ideals before. Dreams, perhaps—but the ones he held had already started to come true.
"Sorry, that might've been a difficult question to ask all of a sudden," Yui said quickly, realizing her mistake. "Let's change the topic. Um… like, what do you want to do in the future? Do you have any goals?"
Even she didn't know how to put her own ideals into words.
"I don't know exactly what I want to do in the future," Akira admitted, "but right now, I want to write light novels. My goal is to become a light novelist before graduation."
"Is Fujimiya-kun an otaku?" Yui teased, her voice half-joking.
"I do like light novels and anime," Akira said honestly, without hesitation.
"Then… when you finish writing one, will you let me read it?" Yui asked with a shy smile.
"Of course." Akira nodded.
"What kind of story would you write?"
Akira was silent for a moment before looking straight at her.
"It would probably be… a love story."
"A romance…?"
Yui's cheeks warmed immediately. Was he trying to hint at something? The thought made her lower her head, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.
Before long, they arrived at her house.
Akira stopped in front of the gate, glancing at the nameplate.
"See you tomorrow, Yuigahama-san."
"Mm… Fujimiya-kun, see you tomorrow."
Yui waved softly.
Akira turned and walked away. She stood there, watching his back until he disappeared from sight. Only then did she step inside.
"I'm home," she called out, her face still glowing with a smile.
.....
Later That Night,
After buying groceries from the supermarket, Akira returned home.
He put the ingredients neatly into the refrigerator, opened a can of soda, and headed into his bedroom.
His room was simple: a bookshelf, a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk with a computer sat quietly on it.
After turning it on, Akira began searching for information on how to submit manuscripts.
He discovered two main methods.
The first was through author recommendation—being introduced by a famous light novel writer directly to an editor.
The second was by entering various competitions held by publishing houses, such as the New Light Novel Writer Competition, which was ongoing.
It was a major contest, and those who placed highly could go on to become professional novelists.
Akira checked the deadline—it was still months away, running until winter. The top ten winners, decided by both sales and reader reviews, which would be announced in the spring.
Satisfied with the information, Akira didn't rush into writing. Instead, he browsed through popular light novels of this world.
But he quickly realized—none of the famous titles he knew from his previous world existed here.
The first romance-themed light novel he thought of was "My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected".
But copying it would be too obvious. Even with name changes, the similarities would stand out.
There were still other romance novels he could use as reference, but Akira couldn't shake the unease. Just because those stories didn't exist in this world now, didn't mean the characters themselves didn't.
It was just a thought, but he couldn't ignore it.
Opening a notebook, Akira began jotting down ideas—not their names, only character sketches and settings. He knew that in light novels, attractive and memorable characters were the heart of every story. So he decided to focus on writing the heroine first.
...
Early Morning,
On the way to school the next day, Akira yawned, feeling the negative effects of staying up late.
At the shoe lockers, a cheerful voice greeted him.
"Good morning, Fujimiya-kun!"
"Morning." Akira looked up to see Yuigahama Yui, smiling brightly.
"Fujimiya-kun, did you stay up late again?" she asked, noticing his tired face.
"I was thinking about my novel's setting," he admitted.
"You shouldn't push yourself. You can think about it during lunch breaks. At night, you should rest properly."
"Got it, I'll remember," Akira said, changing into his indoor shoes.
She looked a little flustered when he glanced at her, but quickly smiled again.
They walked to class together.
Inside the classroom, Yumiko Miura and Hina Ebina were already seated.
As soon as Ebina spotted them, she walked over with her usual mischievous grin.
"Good morning, Fujimiya-kun," she greeted, but her eyes were clearly on Yui, whose cheeks were turning red.
"Morning," Akira replied simply, moving to his seat.
Ebina said nothing more, only smiling knowingly at Yui, who was avoided her gaze in embarrassment.
Not long after, Shizuka Hiratsuka entered the classroom, and the first period began.
.....
Lunch Break,
The morning classes passed quickly, though Akira had to resist the sweet temptation to fall asleep at his desk.
Just as he was about to leave for the Service Club, a soft voice stopped him.
"Fu–Fujimiya-kun… can we eat lunch together?"
Akira turned to see Yuigahama Yui, holding her lunch box with both hands, her face bright red.
"…Sure." Akira hesitated for a moment but didn't refuse.
Yui's face lit up with joy at his answer.
Akira grabbed his own lunch box and walked toward the door, while Yui followed quietly.
Yumiko and Ebina who were watch them from their seats, exchanged knowing smiles.
.....
Out in the hallway, Yui spoke softly.
"Thank you, Fujimiya-kun."
".....Yuigahama-san, I was about to refuse so I could take a little nap," Akira said bluntly.
"Ah—I'm sorry!" Yui bowed her head quickly, remembering he had stayed up late.
"But… you're really cute," Akira added calmly, "You're exactly like the heroine I imagined. So… would you mind if I used your knees as a pillow?"
"Eh!?" Yui froze, her face turning crimson.