After hearing my mother's words, silence filled the room. She and Inoue stared at each other for a while, and then my mother stood up.
"Alright, we'll be leaving then. Let's go, Kyo."
She didn't even wait for Inoue to say anything. He was still trying to process what he had just heard. Is it really that surprising that I can't speak? I hadn't said a single word so far, even though I'm a child.
Children usually like to talk.
I stood up to leave with my mother, but Inoue stopped us.
"Wait, wait. I was just surprised! Please don't go."
My mother turned to him and then asked me, "Kyo, do you want to leave?"
So I walked back to the chair and sat down. Inoue let out a sigh of relief.
"Huff~~" My mother also sighed and sat beside me.
"As for the commercial, no—he won't need to say anything if he's selected. Also, I can inform the interviewers in advance about Kyo's condition, so you don't need to worry."
"That would be great."
I nodded in agreement.
Inoue then gave a big smile and said, "You're impressive, Kyo. Even with a condition that affects you so much, you communicate very well with your mother and don't seem to mind not being able to speak."
What are you saying, you idiot?
I had a brain tumor and can't speak. Of course I care!
I just smiled at him as if I agreed.
My mother sighed and said, "Alright, since Kyo wants to do this, I won't stop him." She was still uncomfortable with the way Inoue reacted when she mentioned I couldn't speak.
I understand her.
Inoue looked shocked, like he was thinking, "What a waste."
As if he was imagining the future and concluding: "He'll grow into a very handsome man, but won't be able to build a career since he can't speak. It's a waste for such a beautiful face not to be used."
Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I felt the same as my mother.
But honestly, it's better to ignore that and move forward.
I believe I'll recover in the future.
It's impossible for me to become the greatest star in the world without my voice. I'm sure God—or that "being"—will help me with that.
Then Inoue scheduled my audition, which would take place in the same building in two weeks.
When we left his office, my mother said, "I don't like him."
I just gave a bitter smile.
####
As soon as we left the Stardust Promotion building, my mother took me to a café, and we had coffee together while eating cake.
While we enjoyed our meal, she said:
"Are you sure you want to do this, Kyo?"
Hearing her question, I finished chewing my cake and said with difficulty:
"Yes."
The word came out a bit wrong, even though it was short. It feels like my speech is getting worse over time. Probably because I stopped going to speech therapy. I should go back at least once a week.
If I stay focused on my recovery, I'll probably be speaking normally in a few years.
I don't fully believe a miracle will just happen and cure me.
My mother smiled and said, "Alright. I'm sorry for asking so many times, it's just that I'm afraid you'll get hurt. Those people can be very cruel."
Cruel? She's talking about people at auditions?
Probably.
She must have gone through a lot during her time as a model or when she tried to get roles in series. Better not ask about it.
After we finished eating, we went back home by taxi.
As soon as I got home, I went straight to my room and checked my notebook.
I had received an email from Mr. Kuroda.
[Subject – Manuscript Received]
I am truly impressed with what I just received! Not only the speed at which you wrote it, but the quality is phenomenal. I've only read a few pages and haven't found a single grammatical error.
Additionally, the development is excellent!
The paragraphs are longer, the environmental descriptions are even more vivid than in the web novel, and the dialogue remains impeccable.
If the entire volume is as good as the beginning, it may not even need editing. What incredible talent you have, Author!]
After that, he said he would contact me again in the coming days. He mentioned that the publication process might be faster than usual due to the lack of need for revisions and narrative changes.
That's good.
It's like taking a cake recipe and improving it. I'm making Overlord even better thanks to my Rank S writing. The quality of my writing is on a completely different level!
After closing the email, I opened Twitter and made a casual post:
[Just submitted the manuscript for Overlord Volume 1 to the publisher. I'm excited~~]
A short post, but with huge impact.
More and more comments started pouring in—many congratulating me, others surprised that Overlord would become a light novel so quickly. After all, this hadn't been leaked anywhere.
I was the first to tell my readers.
Many pages had already started posting about it.
One page with over 300,000 followers posted:
[The Volume 1 of "Overlord" by author Aoi Haruki has been announced!]
Of course, they used my Albedo artwork to grab attention.
'I'm a bit worried… Did talking about this break the contract?'
I read the contract—I didn't see anything about that. It should be fine.
'It's really impressive how much influence I've gained on the internet in such a short time. Huge Light Novel/manga pages are posting about me, both in Japanese and English.'
This is so fun.
Time passed.
I received another email from Mr. Kuroda saying that Volume 1 had been approved for publication, and they were looking for an artist to illustrate the novel.
Of course, I replied that I could do it without any problem, and now I'm waiting for his response.
Also, the day of the Takara Tomy commercial audition was getting closer.
Will it be a disaster… or will everything go well?
####
Read 6 more chapters on my patreon!
/KyoHaruhi
By subscribing to my Patreon, you can suggest works for the protagonist to recreate!
Next Chapters: Chapter 18 - Boy without a voice. / Chapter 19 - 12 Years. / Chapter 20 - Amuse Inc. / Chapter 21 - Should I write something new?