"Is there a problem?"
Thoma, looking puzzled, said, "Why are you two reacting so strongly?"
"Besides asking you whether The Forest of Fireflies' Light was any good, did Fang Qiu really not say anything else?"
Paimon asked tentatively.
"There were some words of thanks and the like."
Thoma said.
"Nothing about ghost novels?"
Paimon asked.
"Nope."
Thoma shook his head.
"How strange."
Paimon leaned close to Lumine's ear and whispered, "Come to think of it, the last time we introduced Shenhe to Fang Qiu, wasn't it that Fang Qiu had just been badly scared by a whole crate of ghost stories, and then when she saw that Shenhe looked exactly like her, she got so frightened that in the end she fell into Shenhe's arms without even any clothes on?"
"I think so."
Lumine nodded.
Even now she still remembered the sight of Fang Qiu, draped in nothing but a thin layer of gauze, leaning soft and frail against Shenhe's chest.
She'd been so terrified she'd nearly wet herself...
If Shenhe had had a little red jam on her at the time, Fang Qiu would surely have been frightened into...
The moment she pictured that scene, Lumine felt her cheeks burning fiercely.
"Thoma, did you ever give Fang Qiu a copy of Another Me? The cover shows the protagonist turning around while looking in a mirror, but the her in the mirror doesn't turn—instead it grins eerily and reaches out a bloody hand toward the protagonist."
Lumine coughed, not daring to dwell on it any longer, and asked.
"I did. That one's a book I highly recommend—I placed it right in the very middle."
Thoma said proudly, "Judging by your reactions, Miss Fang Qiu must have read that book I gave her, right?"
"So it really was him... Fang Qiu probably wrote The Forest of Fireflies' Light just to get back at this guy Thoma. What do we do? Should we tell him?"
Paimon whispered.
"Since Fang Qiu didn't say anything, maybe... let's just let it go?"
Lumine hesitated a moment, then said.
"All right then. Next time he tries to send Fang Qiu horror stories, we'll intercept the books."
Paimon nodded.
"What are you two whispering about? Is there something you can't say in front of me?"
Thoma asked suspiciously.
"Uh..."
Paimon froze, and just as she had no idea how to answer, Lumine said, "Classified."
"Right, classified!"
Paimon hurriedly chimed in.
"Well, if it's classified, then I won't pry any further."
Thoma smiled and said, "Oh, right—it's getting late. Once the young lady comes back, let's all have a meal together. But before that, I need to ask a professional to go help queue up and buy a book."
"A professional?"
Lumine was a little puzzled.
"Who's the professional?"
Paimon asked.
"That, I'm afraid, has to stay a secret."
Thoma said with a smile.
"Well, if it's a secret, then Paimon won't pry any further either."
Paimon said, crossing her arms.
"Quite a good impression."
Thoma smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you to wait just a little while."
With that, Thoma walked out of the room.
"He's gone."
Paimon said, "Still, who would've guessed—Fang Qiu actually wrote The Forest of Fireflies' Light to get revenge on Thoma over the horror stories he mailed her."
"Yeah, I never imagined Fang Qiu had a side like that."
Lumine nodded and said with a smile.
Just picturing Fang Qiu sitting on a Jumpy Dumpty, gritting her teeth as she wrote The Forest of Fireflies' Light, unable to hold back her tears when she reached the part where Gin disappeared, and then wearing a triumphant, self-satisfied grin once she'd finished—it all seemed so adorable.
The two of them chatted idly while waiting for Thoma and Kamisato Ayaka to return.
Time slowly slipped by.
By the time it was around noon.
Kamisato Ayaka came back together with Thoma, one after the other.
After handing Kamisato Ayaka her own letter as well, they went on chatting all the way to noon.
Mostly about the topic of Fang Qiu.
After that, they all had a meal together.
Once the meal was over, Lumine and Paimon set off together, intending to head to the Yae Publishing House editorial department to ask for—
10
Outside the entrance of the Yae Publishing House's main store, it was already packed to bursting, with a long queue snaking out like a dragon.
The clamor of voices filled the air.
"I've got some good news to tell you."
"What good news?"
"You're going to be a father."
"What? I'm pregnant?"
"No... I'm the one who's pregnant!"
"You... are pregnant too?"
In the line, aside from one scatterbrained couple talking about their kid, everyone else was discussing Fang Qiu's novels.
"I'm so looking forward to Fang Qiu's book, Weathering With You. I wonder what it's even about—the weather?"
"Tsk tsk, that old rascal Fang Qiu really does carry a lot of clout. The Yae Publishing House actually released the book directly, without even waiting for the release date."
"Well, it's a book even the Shogun Almighty likes, so of course it's a different story."
"True. Last time, Reborn as the Raiden Shogun, Then Invincible Under the Heavens became a smash hit just from the Shogun Almighty reading a few pages and calling it interesting—let alone the fact that the Shogun Almighty read The Forest of Fireflies' Light all the way through, cover to cover."
"If only one day my book could be like Fang Qiu's, and get the Yae Publishing House to make an exception and release it early too."
"I remember you said you were going to write a book half a month ago, right? How's it coming along?"
"I've written a lot already."
"How much is 'a lot'?"
"A hundred and fifty words..."
"Just go get a job. Stop dreaming about writing a book."
Listening to the crowd's chatter, Lumine and Paimon couldn't help but smile.
Fang Qiu's books really were wildly popular.
Just as they were about to leave, they suddenly noticed, at the very back of the line, two people in kendo uniforms with wooden swords slung across their backs, discussing how the head of the Kamisato Clan had just come to the dojo to teach a lesson in person.
Although they were somewhat interested in the topic of the Kamisato Clan's head, their attention had already been drawn to a little girl standing in line in front of them.
That little girl wore a light-yellow one-piece dress, with a hood bearing brown ears pulled over her head. On the hood there was a green leaf, and behind her there was a tail.
She was standing right where she was, eyes gently closed, her head bobbing forward again and again with each breath—an utterly adorable sight.
She was fast asleep.
The line kept advancing, yet she stood there without moving an inch, leaving a great big gap open in front of her, and newcomers kept cutting in ahead of her.
Watching one latecomer after another slip past the three of them to line up in front, the two girls in Kamisato Estate Dojo uniforms wore hesitant expressions, debating whether or not to cut in.
"That's... Sayu! What's she doing here... uh, is she sleeping? She fell asleep standing up?"
Paimon asked, her eyes going wide.
"Sorry, you two go ahead and line up in front. We're acquaintances of hers."
Lumine said with an apologetic smile to the two girls.
"Mm."
The two girls nodded gratefully and moved up ahead in the line.
Then Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance.
"What do we do? Should we wake her up?"
Paimon asked.
"It's not really nice to disturb her sleep, but her sleeping here will bother the other people, so it's better to wake her up."
As Lumine spoke, she reached out and gave Sayu a shake, saying, "Sayu, wake up."
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