[53] The Determination of Kasumigaoka Utaha
After taking a shower and changing his clothes, he left the Kendo Club.
"I'm back."
"Welcome back, Onii-chan!" Naturally, Komachi greeted him as he returned home.
"How was today's club activity, Onii-chan?"
"Today, I had a good match with the senpai in the club. I feel like my kendo skills have improved quite a bit," Hachiman said with a smile as he patted Komachi's head.
Indeed, after his match with Saeko today, his proficiency had increased by a whopping 1500 points.
His proficiency in Kendo was now over 6000 points at the third level, and he estimated that a few more matches would help him reach the fourth level.
At the fourth level of Kendo, if he could learn some of the techniques from the Busujima style, Hachiman was confident he could defeat Saeko.
"Oh, I see..." Komachi, while Hachiman patted her head, seemed a bit distracted. After a pause, she spoke up, "How about you stay a bit longer at the club, Onii-chan? It's okay for me to be alone at home."
Typically, Hachiman would return home around 5 PM, which meant he only had about an hour of practice at the club.
If he could practice a bit longer, his kendo proficiency would likely improve even faster.
"No way!" Hachiman immediately rejected Komachi's suggestion.
"How could I leave my adorable Komachi alone at home? What if something happens?"
"Well... Onii-chan, when you say it like that, it makes Komachi really happy," she said, blushing slightly.
"But it sounds like something a siscon would say."
"Hey, I'm a siscon, so what?" Hachiman shamelessly admitted.
What's wrong with being a siscon? Having a cute and considerate little sister like Komachi is great. Who would like those troublesome kids instead?
"Well, even though Komachi is happy, if Dad were to find out that Onii-chan has a sister complex, Dad might just break your legs."
Hachiman thought, "With my current skills, I doubt even my irresponsible dad could beat me." But he certainly couldn't say that in front of Komachi, so he just smirked.
"Alright, enough of that. I need to make dinner. Komachi, what would you like to eat?"
"I want hamburger steak!" Komachi's eyes lit up at the mention of food.
"Alright, alright, I'll make you hamburger steak, you little foodie."
"Yay! Onii-chan is the best!"
Indulging her, Hachiman patted her head and then headed into the kitchen.
.....
After dinner, Hachiman returned to his room, as he usually did, to start writing.
The third volume was already completed, and the Aincrad storyline had wrapped up.
The next part would delve into the Fairy Dance arc.
However, there was one thing he hesitated about: whether to include the plot where Asuna was almost subjected to NTR (cuckoldry) by Nobuyuki Sugou at the beginning of the fourth volume.
After some contemplation, he decided to include this storyline. It would spark more discussion and engagement, making his blog post lively and boosting the popularity of his novel.
Once the decision was made, Hachiman's fingers swiftly danced across the keyboard. First, he needed to complete his 10,000-word task for the day.
In the Kasumigaoka residence...
In a dimly lit room, only the computer screen emitted a faint glow. Utaha sat in front of the computer, the clattering sound of typing echoing in the silent room.
Compared to the previous restless writing, Utaha mood had undoubtedly improved significantly.
The beautiful legs wrapped in black stockings under her desk swayed slightly with her improved mood.
With Hachiman's guidance in the plot, her thoughts had become much clearer, making writing feel effortless.
She had already completed half of the revisions for the first volume and estimated that it would take another two to three days to finish them all and send them to the editor.
"It's really thanks to Hikigaya-kun's suggestions," Utaha said with a slight smile as she looked at the mostly completed manuscript on her computer screen.
"Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm..." In her good mood, the young girl even started humming a tune.
"I should take the opportunity to thank him properly."
Writing novels wasn't just a whim for her. As a literary enthusiast, Utaha had poured a lot of passion into her writing.
During her usual bouts of writer's block, Utaha undoubtedly felt very uncomfortable.
After finishing another section of text, she paused with her hands resting on the keyboard.
She opened her own blog and watched the steadily increasing number of followers every day. Her sense of contentment grew with each new follower.
After reading some suggestions from her readers on her blog, Utaha nodded slightly in agreement.
She closed her blog and suddenly thought of something, so she opened another blog.
This blog belonged to Hachiman, and it marked her second visit
"Tsk, there's still quite a gap."
Seeing the number of followers on Hachiman's blog, Utaha clicked her tongue slightly.
The number of followers had already exceeded 100,000, with over 200,000 comments.
For a newcomer author, this was undeniably a staggering figure. Even for someone like Senju Muramasa, a pillar of the Dengeki Bunko, when he initially wrote "The Legendary of the Phantom Blade," he likely had similar statistics.
"But it seems like this esteemed author doesn't manage the blog very actively," Utaha remarked as she observed the sparse number of posts on Hachiman's blog. She couldn't help but feel a bit perplexed.
With a blog so popular, yet seemingly neglected, and still being able to produce such bestselling novels without much interaction with readers, could this be a mark of true genius?
"This is..."
As Utaha scrolled her mouse, she stumbled upon a message on the same blog that Hachiman had used to promote her book earlier. It was a moment of realization for her.
Utaha had forgotten to express her gratitude to both him and Editor Machida.
"They've both been helping me," she mused.
This realization stirred a wave of emotions within Utaha's heart.
"Then let me repay you with my results."
With unwavering determination, the young girl returned her hands to the keyboard and resumed her work on revising the first volume of her novel.