Chapter 33: Continued Accumulation
Time had already come to March, and the arrival of spring brought the revival of the earth and warmer temperatures.
People on the streets wore fewer layers of clothing.
"Phew, I finally made it through winter! I'm alive again!"
Eriri exhaled a long breath.
There was no longer the feeling of white smoke lingering, but rather it disappeared without a trace.
Seeing her joyful expression, Izumi Chihiro couldn't help but tease, "This must have really suffocated you, but you've missed even more days of school. You won't fail to advance to the next grade, will you?"
'Teasing me again?'
Eriri snorted coldly in her heart.
"You don't need to worry about that. It's just missing a few days of school; what problem could there be with advancing to the next grade?"
She crossed her arms and said, completely unconcerned.
"A few times? Heh…"
Izumi Chihiro was a bit speechless.
How could it be called a few times?
It was only because she had the Sawamura family as her backing that she truly didn't need to worry about such simple problems.
"Oh, right, you just mentioned advancing to the next grade…"
Eriri took a few steps, her expression changing slightly as she belatedly realized something.
"What is it?"
He asked.
"No, it's nothing."
A hint of worry flashed in Eriri's averted eyes.
Because if they advanced to the second year, they would face the issue of new class assignments.
If they weren't assigned to the same class at that time, perhaps the time they could spend together would be further compressed.
Originally, due to their respective careers, golden times like playing games together had already become rare.
As soon as she thought of it, a strange sadness welled up in her heart.
But seeing the guy beside her looking completely unconcerned, she also didn't need to care about such things.
Hmph! She didn't want to be overly sentimental!
Izumi Chihiro didn't take this matter to heart because, in his mind, if he wanted to chat with Eriri, he could just go to her house.
After all, they were childhood friends, right? It wasn't like they would lose contact after school hours. If he wanted to see her, he could meet her anytime.
Moreover, he was currently single-mindedly focused on his light novel and had no intention of considering anything else.
Volume 3 of "demon slayer," the Entertainment District Arc, was about to be officially released.
This storyline in the original work was a masterpiece, with intense plot twists and turns, and several back-and-forth reversals full of drama.
The story also contained a certain irony regarding the different fates of the protagonist Tanjiro and his sister, and the Upper Six siblings.
Through the memories of the Upper Six siblings, one could see deeper things.
Of course, as a passionate, semi-orthodox light novel, he would not overreach to explore overly profound themes, but rather focus his writing on this heavyweight, life-and-death battle.
Although it took a long time, causing many readers to urge him for a long time, and even leading to impatience, he believed that readers would be very satisfied after reading the content of Volume 3, making the long wait worthwhile.
He was very confident about this.
His editor, Machida Yuanzi, was even more confident.
After seeing the text he sent, she even called him directly in excitement.
"Izumi-sensei, this is amazing! Sensei is indeed a genius! Although the waiting time was longer than usual, I believe this wait is worth it, and I believe "demon slayer" will reach new heights!"
Machida Sonoko's excitement was evident in her words.
Compared to the tragic and sorrowful sacrifice in the Infinite Train Arc, the exhilarating combat and emotional release in the third volume undoubtedly allowed her to better experience the burning passion truly belonging to an orthodox novel.
But what this actually demonstrated was the creator's progress, because the 'Izumi Masamune' of the previous volume hadn't been able to achieve this level.
That's why she praised him so highly.
"I did my best; it will probably be difficult to improve further after this."
Izumi Chihiro replied.
"Don't be modest, Sensei. I've witnessed your growth all along. It can be said that each volume is written better than the last, completely shedding the 'newcomer' identity… In less than two or three years, Izumi-sensei might even become a pillar of the Bunko publishing house."
Machida Sonoko continued.
"Machida Editor, that's a bit exaggerated, isn't it…"
Izumi Chihiro argued with her for a bit longer.
After hanging up the phone.
"After all, I've already burned out."
Izumi Chihiro suddenly let out a long sigh.
He knew his own situation best.
While he was happy with Machida Sonoko's praise, he remained exceptionally clear-headed.
His rapid progress in such a short time was due to his past accumulation and his all-out effort.
However, he found it difficult to say whether he would make significant breakthroughs in the next few volumes.
Because he wasn't a genius in the true sense of the word.
Having taken almost three months to write content he was satisfied with, he once again clearly felt his own shortcomings.
In fact, his performance this time might even be considered an over-performance.
Moving forward, he would no longer try to push himself to improve further.
As long as he didn't regress too much, it would be considered a success.
He had reached a temporary peak.
After this, it would be another long process of accumulation.
During this period, he began reading other light novels of the same genre, hoping to learn and draw inspiration from them.
From drawing inferences from other cases to accumulating knowledge for a breakthrough, he believed that one day, when the opportunity arose, his potential would once again erupt, and he would re-enter a phase of rapid improvement.
...
Izumi Chihiro poured a glass of water from the kitchen and returned to the sofa.
"Ni-san, are you feeling tired?"
Sagiri suddenly sat beside him, her light blue eyes showing concern.
"No, I've been sleeping very well lately, why do you ask?"
Izumi Chihiro shook his head.
"Because Ni-san gives off a very tired impression."
Sagiri replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Izumi Chihiro laughed wryly, but he understood what she meant.
"Don't worry, I won't be working as hard as before."
He ruffled his loli sister's soft silver hair.
Now, his familiarity with light novels had improved significantly; as long as he didn't force himself to 'surpass himself' as before, his workload would be much lighter.
"Then, Ni-san, on the weekend, can you play games with me?"
Sagiri lowered her head, then raised it again.
"Of course."
Izumi Chihiro nodded.
"It's a promise, okay?"
Sagiri smiled faintly and extended her pinky finger.
"It's a promise."
He also extended his pinky finger.
Their two pinky fingers hooked together.