Impressive

"Being an experienced player in the novel industry, he's got quite a lot of vitality."

Elf nodded and spoke with an impressed tone. But suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she quickly looked at Rintaro.

"Hey, I'm curious, have you ever tried submitting a light novel for publication?"

To her question, Rintaro simply operated the laptop and displayed the screen to everyone.

"Oh~? There really is one!" Elf's eyes lit up as they leaned in. "Let me take a look!"

Excitedly examining it, she returned with a pale expression.

"This is really... quite a low score..."

"Wait a minute! It's because it's my first submission! I didn't quite grasp the trending topic! I swear it won't happen next time!"

Watching her father desperately explaining, Muramasa felt embarrassed.

Elf also sensed that the impression this father figure was giving was gradually crumbling, perhaps soon he'd be no different from an ordinary uncle next door.

Rintaro clutched the laptop and declared, "Leave the first part to me! If you don't hand it over to me, don't even think about writing!"

"..." Everyone was speechless.

Flushed-faced Muramasa hesitated, then spoke with difficulty, "Let's give the first one to my father... if he becomes like this, no matter what we say, he won't understand."

"We aren't planning to back out either, Umezono-sensei." Homura shook his head helplessly.

"Alright then, I'll get started." The now back-to-normal Rintaro began typing continuously.

"Even though the father really proficient with computers, the daughter just can't seem to get the hang of it." Elf looked at Muramasa's father and then at Muramasa, shaking her head.

"I've been trying hard to learn! I'll be as skilled as him soon!" Muramasa protested.

"Yes~ Yes~ I know! Study hard. If you don't learn it, who knows how many interesting works you'll miss out on." Elf's words were both pressure and motivation for Muramasa.

"Oh, by the way..." Rintaro who was typing suddenly spoke. "I'll upload this novel to the website earlier in real-time. You can read it there."

"Got it." Homura nodded.

"That's great! I can work on illustrations for the content now!" Sagiri also chimed in.

Homura and Elf took out their phones and logged into the website they had seen earlier, while Muramasa approached Elf, getting ready to read together.

"Speaking of which, are novels such an incredible thing? This is just something readers can enjoy at the moment, right?"

In the middle of typing, Rintaro spoke up again.

"It's one of the widely consumed forms of entertainment. Novelists aren't all that amazing. The line between professional and amateur is blurred. The difference between a masterpiece and something scribbled in a rush is often just a thin line. In the end, it will depend on whether people like it or not, no matter the quality. So, it's best to write more relaxedly. This sort of thing isn't worth staking your life on."

"So..." Muramasa glanced at her father with a stoic expression. "That's why your novel is so boring."

Hearing his daughter's words, Rintaro merely chuckled and shook his head, not saying anything more.

"Alright! It's done!"

Homura and the others had finally finished reading, and though they won't delve into specifics, the general gist is this:

A young boy and a fragile girl aspiring to become an artist crossed paths. By the end, the girl had passed away, yet her artistic journey was far from complete.

"Allow me to continue your art for you!" The boy declared.

The seemingly cursed boy worked like a zombie, producing the loathed artworks.

A tale devoid of redemption.

Unlike Homura's calm demeanor, Elf was itching to bite Rintaro!

"You old coot! Do you even comprehend the term 'chance encounter'?" The irritated Elf was on the verge of losing it!

"He only knows how to write stuff that's both awful and dull!" Muramasa's expression turned icy as she witnessed something she absolutely despised!

"It feels like it's straying from the theme." Homura shook his head. "It started with a chance encounter, but it grew increasingly melancholic."

"Didn't they encounter each other? Then it's enough." Rintaro nonchalantly said.

'This old man...' Elf gritted her teeth, wondering why he seemed so deserving of a smack in the face!

"Here." Rintaro handed the laptop to Homura. "Minamiya-sensei, the next part is up to you."

'As expected...' Homura let out an inward sigh. He knew this was a test for him. If he didn't step up to the challenge and please Rintaro, he might end up forbidding Muramasa to join Another Dimension.

'Bring it on then!' A spark glinted in Homura's eyes.

"There's no problem, right, Homura?" Elf shot an annoyed glance at Rintaro and inquired.

"No problem at all." Homura nodded and began typing immediately. As he typed, he explained, "A character from the girl's drawing suddenly comes to life, transcending dimensions to resurrect her creator—or more like her mother."

"Wow~! Why does this sentence feel so powerful?" Elf exclaimed in astonishment.

"Adding fantasy elements?" Though surprised, Rintaro was quite satisfied with Homura's approach.

"Ooh! Inspiration is flooding in on my end too!" Sagiri excitedly chimed in from the tablet.

Muramasa couldn't help but be intrigued as well and thought, 'Minamiya-kun, can you make this story interesting?'

===

"Bringing together protagonists and side characters to life from countless fiction worlds, they clash with the laws of the real world in unimaginable ways. A whimsical idea from the boy, combined with the unwavering determination of the military-uniformed girl to resurrect her creator."

"Finally... the deceased girl is pulled back from the underworld."

"Homura! You're amazing! This was on the brink of becoming a melancholy tale, and yet you turned it into an incredibly passionate one!" Elf jumped behind Homura, unable to believe that a collaborative novel would lead to such an enthralling story!

"Fascinating! Truly fascinating!" Muramasa's eyes glinted with an odd light. "Minamiya-kun, you're indeed amazing! It looks like we can expect some intriguing works from you in the future!"

"Impressive!" Rintaro was equally astonished. 

"Time to wrap it up." Unaffected by their enthusiasm, Homura continued typing. "Although the military-uniformed girl successfully rescued her creator, the laws of the world can't permit such an event."

The father-daughter pair gathered around to watch Homura conclude.

"The military-uniformed girl faced the same. As the main culprit causing the clash between the real and fiction world, she encountered strong rejection from the laws of the world."

"Utilizing her utmost abilities, the military-uniformed girl defied the world's laws and accidentally entered a strange world. From that moment on, the military-uniformed girl and her creator lived together, forever..."

"..." The excited Elf became silent.

Why did things go so orange-peel sour all of a sudden? And what about the boy? Has he become a redundant character?

"There's no rule that a chance encounter must only be between a boy and a girl, right?"

Homura stretched lazily and explained to Elf as he seemed to catch her confusion.