Chapter 8

"We have to give it a try, right? If it doesn't work, we'll talk about it later."

Hikigaya Hachiman was inexplicably open-minded at this moment.

In short, let's set a small goal first, to surpass Ms. Yamada!

...

A few days later, the Fuzugawa Bunko announced several works that won awards on its official website, including one Best Award, three Best Awards, and seven Best Works.

His "Summer Returns" was in the last row of Best Works, and it didn't seem so eye-catching.

But to be honest, as one of the three well-known bunkos in the industry, the traffic of the Newcomer Award is not low, so when it wins the award, it will more or less have more traffic, and then when it debuts, it will make a publicity gimmick, and immediately have a guarantee of sales.

As for whether it will be a big hit in the future, it depends on their own abilities.

After the Grand Award was announced.

On the weekend, Hikigaya Hachiman took the train to Tokyo again. In addition to receiving the award, he also finalized the contract for his debut.

In the same chat room, Machida Sonoko handed him the contract.

"Take a good look at it. If you are sure there is no problem, sign the contract."

Hikigaya Hachiman was well prepared before coming. He had a little understanding of the market. In his eyes, this contract was very reasonable. There were no traps, and of course there was no preferential treatment. The proportion of royalties was exactly the same as that of most newcomers.

This was normal. He was just an unknown young man who had just debuted. He was not a super popular author or a super genius who suddenly appeared.

After confirmation, he signed the contract.

"Hikigaya, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the future."

Machida Sonoko closed the folder, then stood up and stretched out her right hand.

"I will trouble Miss Machida in the next few days."

He also stood up, stretched out his hand and shook it, and responded politely.

"As for any work arrangements in the future, we will still contact each other through chat software or phone."

Machida Sonoko finally waved goodbye.

After returning, Hikigaya Hachiman put a lot of energy on rewriting the first volume of "Summer Returns".

After this period of time, he felt that he saw a few loopholes in his own work when he reread it.

Although it was not fatal, it was very annoying.

He planned to make major changes to several plots and dialogues, and delete some parts in a small way, so as to make the effect of the first volume better, even beyond his current ability.

Because once the official serialization begins, considering the existence of the deadline, he will not be able to repeatedly think about certain problems like he does now.

In this way, another month has passed.

After all, it is just improving some aspects, not a thorough rewrite, so it does not take a lot of time, but in terms of quality, he thinks it has improved a lot compared to before.

Because he almost spent more than half a year on this first volume. If it is not good enough, then wouldn’t he have worked in vain?

After the revision, Hikigaya Hachiman directly sent the manuscript to his editor-in-chief, Ms. Machida, and won her approval.

"It does feel smoother to read, Hikigaya, it seems you've put a lot of effort into it, so, is it about time to consider publishing it?"

Machida Sonoko called and asked for his opinion.

"Okay, it's time."

Hikigaya Hachiman thought for a few seconds and gave his answer.

He has now reached a bottleneck period, and "Summer Returns" cannot be improved much no matter how much it is revised, and it is meaningless to continue.

Now, it's time to really step into the industry!

14 New Illustrator, Eromanga Sensei

"Then I'll go arrange the next work."

When Machida Sonoko was about to hang up the phone, Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly thought of something very important.

"Ms. Machida, um, have you arranged for my illustrator?"

"You are worried about this, don't worry, although I can't help you get a famous illustrator in the industry, but I will help you find a new illustrator with the same potential as you."

There is no doubt that illustrators are very important for light novels. This is the first impression given to readers. Just like people with good looks are more likely to be favored, the joke of buying illustrations and giving away light novels does exist in the industry.

Especially for light novels called toilet paper in another world, there is usually a good illustrator working behind the scenes.

Although his type of subject matter pays more attention to the plot itself, it is never a bad thing to have good illustrations.

With the guarantee of the editor, Hikigaya Hachiman settled down.

Just a few days later, the editor sent him a message.

Machida Sonoko: Hikigaya, I've spotted a good new illustrator, but she's a little special and asked for her personal information to be kept confidential. I haven't even met her, but for a new artist, she draws very well. I'll give you her contact information, and you can just note the author of "Summer Returns". Let's talk about it, and if it's okay, I can sign a contract with her.

Me: OK.

"Did you find it so quickly?"

Hikigaya Hachiman muttered, logged into Line, and searched for the other party's ID.

A name with an anime avatar appeared in the search results.

"Eromanga teacher??

He muttered the other party's account name subconsciously.

I didn't expect there would be such a fate.

He took a look at the other party's information and found that there was nothing except this name. It seemed that it was a completely new account.

Without thinking too much, he clicked on the friend request and noted the information.

In the evening, the other party accepted his friend request.

Me: Are you Eromanga teacher?

Eromanga teacher: No, I don't know anyone with that name. The origin of the pen name is Eromanga Island in Vanuatu, a Pacific island country. It has nothing to do with "erotic comics".

Okay, now it's confirmed, it's that person.

Me: It doesn't matter, it's just a name, it's not important, what's important is whether you plan to become an illustrator for Summer Reappearance ?

Eromanga: Yes, I have this plan.

Me: Can you let me see your work? See if it suits my taste.

Eromanga: Yes, OK.

It seems that because of the online text chat, the chat with the other party was very smooth, which was a bit inconsistent with his memory.

Soon, the other party sent a few colored works. From a completely layman's point of view, he didn't know how much better than ordinary people, and the intuitive feeling was that they looked very good.

It is undoubtedly a very lucky thing to be able to work with such an illustrator right after debuting, except for the kind of illustrators that Ms. Yamada knows herself.

Moreover, it is not a bad thing to work with a very cute white-haired loli.

But Hikigaya Hachiman thinks it's still It is necessary to be responsible for yourself and your work, so he asked one more question.

Me: Do you have any taboos in drawing? For example, these characters seem to be all thin, cute, but too cute.

Eromanga teacher: Well, I am not good at drawing characters with big breasts, and the same is true for illustrations of battle scenes.

Me: In that case, I may have to say no.

Although he was a little reluctant, he still typed this paragraph.

Because this is his crucial debut battle, he can't waste each other's life because of a momentary preference.

Eromanga teacher: Please give me a chance! I will work hard to make up for these shortcomings! As long as you give me time, I will definitely be able to do it!

Hikigaya Hachiman was a little surprised by her Persist.

Me: Why are you so persistent?

Eromanga: Because I like illustrations and don't want to miss this opportunity. I want to prove myself. In addition, I have seen your works and I wanted to draw them myself at all costs.

Me: Is that so?

Eromanga: That's it.

Me: Well, you have convinced me. I am willing to cooperate with you. However, I hope that you, Eromanga, can correct your shortcomings as soon as possible. Time waits for no one, so as to avoid problems in future cooperation.

Eromanga: I will do it!

Eromanga: Also, I don't know the person with that name!

"Hehe..."

Hikigaya Hachiman chuckled a few times and closed the chat box.

Why did he agree to give the other party a chance?

First of all, it's not because the other party is a weak white-haired lolita. It's useless to be cute. His sister Komachi is cute enough!

It's just because Eromanga is indeed a talented painter who can provide him with great help. As long as he is willing to correct his shortcomings, even if he keeps the original state, it is estimated that he will be favored by some readers.

There was no reason for him to reject such a precious opportunity.

After Machida Sonoko got the news, she contacted him later and chose to approve his decision.

However, the official publication time would be postponed for a while.

It can only be said that good things take time.

He thought optimistically.

As they agreed, Eromanga teacher was working hard to change himself every day, getting information from the Internet, drawing scenes that he was not good at before, and even sending him a new picture every few days, saying that he would draw until he was satisfied.

This was enough to show how hard Eromanga teacher worked.

What surprised Hikigaya Hachiman even more was that the other party's evolution speed was too fast, it was simply too genius, which was a bit beyond his expectations.

In just three weeks, the way he draws battle scenes has changed from being dull at the beginning to being powerful. He has also improved greatly from being able to draw small characters. He has gradually become familiar with various breast shapes. It is said that he learned this from some marginal training videos.

Me: How come it’s so fast? Who taught you this?

Eromanga teacher: Since you want to know, I can tell you. It’s my mother. She is a very good painter. I asked her to train me in hell.

Me: I see.

Hikigaya Hachiman typed a reply, then showed a thoughtful expression, and thought of something at the same time.

It seems that in the memory of the previous life, Sagiri’s mother died in an accident. I don’t know if this will really happen...

If possible, he certainly doesn’t want such an unfortunate thing to happen.

15 Exposed!

After thinking for a while, it seems that there is no good solution. I can’t run to someone and say that I can predict the future, right?

Besides, he didn't know the exact date, but there was no need to worry about it, after all, it was still a long way from that time.

Just like a small butterfly flapping its wings and disturbing the air, it may cause a storm in a distant place after a long time. His appearance will also cause a bigger butterfly effect, leading to huge changes in everything in memory.

That kind of thing may not happen.

...

After confirming that Eromanga's painting problem has improved, they will formally discuss the problem of illustrations.

For such problems, it is best to communicate face to face, so that communication will be easier to understand and faster. Some things are limited by text communication alone.

Obviously, Eromanga, who is shy and extremely afraid of strangers, does not intend to come out to meet, and this is not a problem in a short time. They have to communicate almost every once in a while, so the next best thing is to make a video call.

After Eromanga was ready, Hikigaya Hachiman clicked on the video invitation.

After the video was connected, the person in front of him wore an anime character mask and a hooded jacket hood.

The girl tried her best to cover her face, because it was as if she was taking on another unknown identity, which made her feel more comfortable.