Nolval blew the air out of boredom.
"Yo, author! When are you going to be introducing the characters Codenamed "stuck in a tree, Happy Meal," and "Crescent Moon Pajama boy," we don't have all the time in the world!"
"When I stop procrastinating, Null Value."
"But you always procrastinate!"
"Let him be, Null Value. Your time for protagonism has yet to arrive." A certain boy in pajamas decorated with crescent moons entered the room.
"I get that the author gave you guys nicknames that-"
"We can't be picky about our appearances, especially when we've yet to enter the official story."
"I didn't even finish talking."
"You didn't have to. I just knew what you were going to say."
"At least your name doesn't sound as embarrassing." Stuck in a tree, Happy Meal complained about their nickname.
"You don't get to complain. Both of your names at least give an impression. Mine's literally a default placeholder for when I get my meaningful name."
"Spoilers."
"Yeah, like how many chapters later? A few hundred? We're barely nearing the 90s mark!" Null value shouted at Crescent Moon Pajamas.
"Can you really call it spoilers if the author is revealing the information? Wouldn't it be more of a Chekov's gun?"
"Only if the main plot develops to that point. If you're skipping the vital stuff and heading straight to the conclusion, it's a spoiler."
"Oh, there you are, Nolval! I was looking for you." Kiori entered the room.
"Hey Kiori. We were just discussing how the story's been progressing so far and when some of us will eventually debut in the official story."
"MY NAME WAS LITERALLY MENTIONED ONCE, AND YOU'VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME!" Korons shouted.
"Actually, Korons. It's twice in the same chapter. Chapter 78."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY BETTER!"
"Author, are you ever going to explain why Korons attacked the town? I'm certain you have an idea as to why." Elizabeth Ilko asked.
"I have some ideas, but I want to remain faithful to the single perspective narrative. It should make Nolval's reactions events in the making more genuine."
"It feels like you're missing out of writing a compelling narrative by telling it exclusively from my perspective. And with how you're taking a few days between chapters in favor of games, it feels like the natural flow from one chapter to another suffers a bit."
"I'm just making sure I'm writing a quality story."
"Author, when are you going to explain why I proposed to Nolval? With your views on marriage and knowledge about everyone's background, fleeting or substantial, I feel like explaining why that happened could add more depth to my character instead of me being portrayed as a fanservice-obligatory love interest girl. You haven't exactly done my character justice with just 1500+ words on your patreon. You barely advertise it despite surpassing the 100,000 word mark." Alicia elaborated.
"I'll get to that. Alicia. Right now, I'd like to focus on developing a major plot point Nolval had been introduced prior to attendance."
"And what would that be?" Nolval asked.
"Why Nolval was nearly killed after producing smoke."
"What?" Alicia turned to Nolval for answers.
"Am I allowed to talk about confidential matters here?" Nolval asked the author.
"Hang on, let me get Mr. Draco as a witness."
"You called, author?" Mr. Draco entered the room.
"Remember that folder you presented Nolval?"
Mr. Draco's expressions cycled through various forms of confusion before realizing what the author was talking about.
"Oh! Oh."
"Yes, Mr. Draco. That file."
"What file?" Alicia asked curiously.
"It's an ongoing case of disappearances. All of the victims' bodies are mutilated in some fashion, with a serpent emerging from smoke tattooed onto their bodies."
"That's horrible!"
"Nolval. Is this what you wanted me to ask Mr. Draco about?"
"Yes, because the way he presented it, and with how tense everything felt in that room as I saw those files, I was under the impression that the contents of that file aren't to be shared so easily."
The room was silent, almost morbidly quiet.
"Mr. Draco." Nolval began. "Has there been a recent death with a similar motif of a smoke-covered snake? Perhaps a week, a month ago?"s
Everyone else in the room was staring at Mr. Draco.
"Without giving too many spoilers, following the constraints of the author's procrastination, Mr. Evenicht had a close relationship with a student from the previous school year. That might be why he reacted so aggressively when you produced smoke to ask for a missing key."
"Wait. What does smoke have to do with a missing key?" Elizabeth Ilko asked aloud. Korons shared the same curiosity.
"I was trying to convey the phrase 'disappeared in smoke and mirrors,' but that was too specific. Would've been much easier to show something fading in and out of existence as 'missing' or 'disappeared.'"
"That's another thing I need to teach you. Common phrases in our world." Kiori said.
"So, when will it be our turn to debut, Author?" Another group of 4 people entered the room. A short girl with a fur hat, a man wielding two knives, a telekinetic mage, and a librarian.
"Maybe in the 300 chapter range?"
Another boy entered, shouting, "I have to wait that long to debut!?"
"That's how long we'll all have to wait. From what I've seen, we'll be introduced within 20 chapters of each other." The telekinetic mage spoke.
"Well, hurry up! I want the readers to see my good side."
"Your story's primary medium will be words on a screen. It'll take a lot more than a few hundred thousand words to have an illustration of your appearance."
"So, author. We're nearing the 1000-word mark. Anything you want to say to the readers?" Nolval asked.
"We don't have any, and we're not exactly being posted on a popular site. There's your WebNovel brother, but I've yet to see a single comment from there."
"It's surprising that you're putting the effort into writing an April 1st chapter when you barely know your audience." Stuck in a tree, Happy Meal commented.
"To all of my genuine readers among a sea of bots, thank you for sticking with my story for this long. I hope you continue telling the story I've got planned. Happy April 1st, and if you're reading this on a day that isn't April 1st, just remember this chapter shouldn't be treated as canonical to the main story. More like a peek at the waiting room of characters I plan on introducing."
A group of people entered the room, reading the script given to them.
"I'm a little scared of the role you've given to me." [REDACTED 1] spoke. "Oh come on! Not even a hint at my role!?"
"At least you get to be [CENSORED ROLE]. I'm… something." [REDACTED 3] commented on the script.
"Stop complaining. At least both of you [CENSORED PLOT]. It won't be any different from waiting here. Wait, how come that last bit isn't censored?" [REDACTED 2] whined about their role.
"Either I complete my story, or die procrastinating." The author admitted self-deprecatingly.