Chapter 26: In the old days, carriages and horses were slow.
"Hmm, Ni-san, you're being scolded again."
"Lots of people are asking Ni-san for his address."
"Alright, I finally found a positive review; this one can be saved for Ni-san to see."
Sagiri flipped through letter after letter, finding, as expected, similar content in all of them.
Izumi Chihiro was also looking through them.
The content inside was all the same, much like what Sagiri was seeing; occasionally, a positive review would appear, but it would also include a complaint or two, hoping he would be gentler in the future.
The almost universally unnutritious content didn't dampen his interest.
As a creator, he constantly wavered between feelings of disappointment and anticipation.
On one hand, he worried about negative reviews affecting his mood, while on the other, he eagerly hoped for the next positive review to appear.
Every positive review was a weighty affirmation, and a source of self-confidence.
After two hours of searching, Izumi Chihiro finally found an identical pink envelope in the box.
"Is it from that person?"
Sagiri also noticed this detail and pouted.
She was sure that person was a refined girl, likely a high-quality female fan.
But that was also the person who stole her 'number one fan' spot, which made it impossible for her to be completely happy.
"Mmm…"
Izumi Chihiro nodded, opening the letter with a sense of anticipation.
He had to admit, he had a certain filter for this never-before-met female fan because he knew that if she entered this field, she would become the renowned 'Senju Muramasa,' easily reaching a realm that was still very distant for him.
Therefore, even though she was also a fan, the sense of anticipation she brought was different.
So, her letter was the one he valued most today.
The content of the letter was identical to the previous one; it didn't grandiosely discuss the shortcomings of his work but rather talked about topics she was interested in, and asked a few small questions.
For example.
Who exactly are the Upper Ranks?
Could other Pillars defeat Upper Rank Three?
Where does Flame Pillar's strength rank among the Pillars?
Among Tanjiro and the two others, who is truly the strongest?
How strong is Kanao?
Compared to the rambling words of others, this fan's purity was truly exceptional.
"Good heavens, a total power-level enthusiast."
Through these questions, Izumi Chihiro discerned her true nature.
However, it was also true that only these questions were relatively subjective, entirely fabricated by the author himself, making them difficult for her to assess.
As for the plot, character development, and what he intended to express, he believed that with her talent, understanding them would be effortless, and there would be no need to ask.
It was even possible that she understood them better than he did.
It's like when doing reading comprehension exercises; some people's answers can truly be more astonishing than the so-called 'standard answer,' making you unable to help but give her full marks as well.
However, compared to the previous letter, this time there was an additional line of information at the bottom of the letter, along with an address.
"If Teacher Izumi sees this, I hope Teacher Izumi can write back to me."
"A reply, huh."
Izumi Chihiro's gaze sharpened, and he pondered for a moment.
Since this young girl pleaded so earnestly, it wasn't impossible.
Replying to a letter doesn't require much trouble, but few people do it anymore.
Compared to the slow pace of correspondence, emails, text messages, and phone calls are undoubtedly much faster.
But he still agreed to her request.
Aside from his personal motives, the main reason was that she was indeed his most loyal fan to date, and she deserved extra attention.
So, after school the next afternoon, he went to the post office and sent the letter to the address provided.
He didn't know why, in today's society, people still communicated through letters.
It was too archaic in every sense of the word.
This reminded him of a saying.
In the old days, carriages and horses were slow, and mail traveled far…
Two days later, in the afternoon.
Rintaro, your mail.
An enthusiastic postman rode a tricycle to the Umezono family's samurai residence.
Generally speaking, in such a rural area, mail would not be delivered to the door due to insufficient manpower and wasted time; at most, people would be notified to pick it up at the post office.
However, Umezono Rintaro was considered a person of great standing; although he no longer wrote, people here respected him, which is why letters were delivered to his home.
"Hmm? Who sent the letter? I don't remember having correspondence with anyone now…"
Umezono Rintaro looked at the letter in his hand, stroked his hair, and had a puzzled expression.
Could it be?
He was about to flip it over to check the sender's column.
"Izumi Chihiro… an unfamiliar name."
"Could it be for Kohana?"
Umezono Rintaro frowned.
When did his daughter start corresponding with others?
This reminded him of his own era, when correspondence was more frequent, and he and his wife went from being pen pals to husband and wife.
Could his daughter be replicating that?
Sigh!
Although he knew this day would come, he didn't expect it to arrive so soon!
"Kohana, you have a letter."
Umezono Rintaro turned and entered his daughter's room, placed the letter down, then left dejectedly.
"What's wrong?"
The girl looked up, watching her father's lonely retreating back, feeling a bit confused.
"This is a letter for me… Could it be?"
The girl picked up the envelope, a flash of inspiration crossing her mind.
The girl glanced at the sender's column, a joyful expression appearing on her face.
Izumi Chihiro… Could this be Teacher Izumi's real name?
She carefully opened the envelope and learned the content of the letter.
"Thank you for your support and liking. I saw the letter you sent last time, and it's truly wonderful to have your support! As for the questions you raised, I won't answer them one by one. In this work, the power setting itself is not that important; what's important is the emotion it conveys… As for the strength issues, the future plot will naturally reflect them, but everyone's perspective is different, and their views will also differ. I hope you can understand."
The letter did not directly answer her questions, which left her a little disappointed, though she could understand what the other party wanted to express.
Moreover, being able to receive a reply from him, even if it contained some official terminology, made her incredibly excited.
It meant she had been noticed.
As a fan, this was a great honor.
"Thank you, Teacher, for noticing me and for replying to me. I will definitely continue to support you in the future!"
The smile on the girl's face grew brighter.