"Huh?"
Eriri stopped, her expression momentarily stunned, then her face turned crimson.
Before, she had always used the spare rooms, so was this some kind of signal?
...
Just then, the sound of a door opening came from the second floor.
Sagiri wants to be my exclusive...
"Someone's there?"
Eriri's attention was diverted.
At this time, her uncle shouldn't be home, right?
However, what appeared before her was a delicate, silver-haired loli. Although her features were a bit immature, she already possessed the capital to bring ruin to a nation.
"Where did this girl come from!?"
Eriri was utterly shocked.
"Ni-san, who is this...?"
Sagiri cast a questioning look.
"Eriri, my childhood friend."
He replied.
"Ni-san? Huh?"
Eriri was puzzled by the address.
"Chihiro, when did you get a sister? Kidnapping is a crime!"
She turned her head, her tone full of doubt.
"Nice to meet you, Eriri Onee-san, my name is Sagiri..."
Sagiri introduced herself.
She could tell that this girl had a very good relationship with her brother.
"Oh, oh..."
Eriri turned back and gave a brief response, then glared at him with sharp eyes.
Tell me honestly!
"A while ago..."
He explained the reason.
"I see, so that's what happened."
Eriri's eyes showed contemplation.
She didn't expect Chihiro to suddenly have a sister...
But it didn't matter; as long as it wasn't another childhood friend, she could accept it.
"Then I'll go to your room."
Eriri had no choice but to change her target and entered his room.
There was nothing strange about it; she had been in there before.
She sat directly at the desk nearby, took out her drawing tablet, connected it to her childhood friend's laptop, and began to work.
"Ni-san, what is Eriri Onee-san doing in your room?"
Sagiri looked confused.
"Nothing much, just drawing."
"Drawing?"
Sagiri's eyes lit up with interest.
"Does Eriri Onee-san like to draw too?"
Because she had never discussed drawing with anyone other than her mother, she was very interested.
"Yes, in that regard, she is quite talented."
Izumi Chihiro acknowledged this.
As he recalled, Eriri had also won many major drawing competitions with her talent.
Although she couldn't compare to Mashiro's limitless power, she was still at a level where she rarely met an opponent among her peers.
"Ni-san, I want to..."
Sagiri's eyes flickered, as if she wanted to say something but held back.
"You want to watch her draw? Not now. That's not an area you can get into yet, because what she's drawing right now is..."
His gaze changed.
Although children here generally matured early, Sagiri was still only an elementary school student, easily influenced by external things.
If she were to interact with Eriri and later decided to become an adult manga artist, he would have a headache.
Although Sagiri was destined to inherit Eromanga-sensei's position, her drawing style was only a bit more suggestive, and there was still a significant difference from actually entering the adult industry.
"Oh."
Sagiri lowered her head slightly, somewhat dispirited.
Although she was curious about the words her brother hadn't finished, she was sensible enough not to ask further.
After learning his lesson, Izumi Chihiro made extensive revisions to his manuscript until it was presentable.
Although he hadn't lived long enough to enter society in his previous life, he had accumulated many more years of experience. So, as long as he adjusted his mindset, his learning ability was sufficient to correct some basic errors.
The second judgment began.
"Hmm, this time it's much better. The plot handling feels more coordinated, and the relationships between the characters are clearer. It's readable... But since I'm not a professional, I can't offer much more advice. I think you can try submitting it now."
Eriri offered her suggestion.
"That's what I was thinking too."
Izumi Chihiro nodded.
"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to serialize it online and enter a newcomer award, or are you going to submit it directly?"
Eriri glanced at him.
Here, there were two ways to debut.
One was to participate in the various awards hosted by different Bunko on their websites. As long as the data was good and the light novel ranked high, there was a chance to debut, though the process was relatively slow.
The other was direct submission, which required a higher word count. The first step was to gain the editor's approval, then move up to the chief editor and so on... step by step until it was finalized.
In his previous life, this entire process, from submission to publication and sale, took about half a year. In this life, things were a bit different; the pace was faster, usually taking about two months.
"Direct submission, then."
Izumi Chihiro closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and finally came up with an answer.
He believed he needed the evaluation of professionals to improve faster.
If he serialized it online, it would be difficult to identify his problems.
Rely on readers?
Impossible.
Everyone had different opinions, and if he wrote strictly according to what they said, it would be easy to lose track of the beginning and end, leading to a complete breakdown of the rhythm.
Thus, he printed his revised manuscript and sent it to Fujikawa Bunko's email address.
Now, he just needed to wait for their reply.
...
At this point, Sagiri suddenly approached him.
"Ni-san... are you trying to become a light novelist?"
Her expression was much more serious than usual.
"Did Eriri tell you?"
Izumi Chihiro thought for a moment and asked.
"Yes."
Sagiri nodded.
When did these two get so close?
Izumi Chihiro thought to himself.
"Yes, I've already started submitting. I just don't know how long it will take to debut. If I'm lucky, it shouldn't take too long."
He was already looking forward to the future.
Sagiri pursed her lips, her clear, bright eyes sparkling with light, as if she had made up her mind. Her voice grew louder: "Ni-san, if that time comes, can I be your exclusive illustrator?"
"Is that Eriri's suggestion?"
He was a little surprised.
"No, it's my own decision."
Her gaze was firm.
"Um, Ni-san, my drawing skills are quite good, and Eriri-nee-san also thinks it's fine. I've been learning from Kasan since I was little..."
To increase her persuasiveness, Sagiri added another sentence.
Although she was a bit incoherent, her sincerity was evident.
"I understand. If I can debut successfully, then Sagiri can be my illustrator."
Izumi Chihiro reached out and patted her head, then ruffled her hair.
After all, it was his sister's sincere wish; refusing would be too hurtful.
"Ni-san, then it's a deal."
Sagiri instantly beamed with joy.