"Ahaha... long time no see, dear editor..."
Shiro greeted a little awkwardly, already racking his brain for any mistakes he might have made recently.
"Yeah, it's really been a while. The little pigeon here ran all the way to Izu just to avoid his editor—didn't even leave an address."
{{(°△°; "}}!
Just a single sentence from Hanabi made Shiro panic—her cold voice brought immense pressure.
He admitted he had intentionally not told his editor where he lived. Sure, he was a bestselling author with over a million words under his belt, but he had a record.
Getting locked in the editor's "black room" was a terrifying ordeal for any author!
Meanwhile, the others nearby were dumbfounded listening to their exchange. They never expected some random guest to know Shiro—
and clearly, it wasn't just casual acquaintance.
Otherwise, there's no way he would've recognized her with his current pig-faced swelling.
Editor?!
Iori and Kohei didn't really know what "editor" meant. What they did know was: why does this piece of garbage know so many pretty older girls?
Jealousy ignited once more. They charged at him, fully intending to crown this pig-faced man with another beating.
"Bastard! What are you two doing now?!"
"You scum! Why do you always know pretty older girls wherever you go?!"
"Why do anime-like scenarios never happen to me?!"
"..."
Azusa facepalmed at the three causing a ruckus again, then looked toward Hanabi—Shiro's editor.
Of course, she knew Shiro had an editor. After all, she was the one who illustrated his work.
She had always assumed someone scary—like an old man—would be the editor that could terrify Shiro like this. But instead... it was a beautiful girl.
Though, this beautiful girl did seem a little cold... and why did she seem so familiar?
"Are they always like this?"
As Azusa was lost in thought, Hanabi turned and asked her directly.
She had already noticed this girl with similar hair color, probably one of the pigeon's senpai.
As for the other girl… a high schooler sneaking into a bar?
"Ah, yeah, they're always like that. But don't be fooled, they actually get along really well. This is just… their way of bonding."
"We do not get along well!" ×3
"..."
Azusa rubbed her ringing ears and shrugged.
"See? Perfectly in sync."
Hanabi nodded thoughtfully. It was her first time seeing this version of Shiro. He used to be a walking hormone and a trouble magnet…
Now, though he looked a bit dull and dumb, he was... oddly more pleasant.
"Editor-san, did you come here to find Shiro?"
Azusa glanced at the manuscript in Hanabi's hands—it must be Shiro's Scum's Wish.
"Mm, I need to have a little chat with this pigeon."
At that, a chill flashed through Hanabi's eyes.
She had been wondering how Shiro managed to write that novel, and after seeing that woman appear at the same bar with him, her doubts vanished.
This pigeon was definitely the "interesting guy" that woman had mentioned. Great. So the two of them had teamed up? And that woman had the nerve to tell him about her ridiculous past?!
That woman knew a lot about her, too!
"Uh…"
Feeling the chill in the air, Azusa quietly drew a cross in the air for Shiro. She didn't know exactly what he did, but Editor-san definitely seemed pissed.
"By the way... why do you call Shiro 'the pigeon'? Isn't he a bestselling author?"
Azusa was genuinely confused. A million-selling author shouldn't be this afraid of his editor, right?
"Million? Sure, that's true. He is. But this pigeon here dropped ten novels mid-way!"
Hanabi's teeth clenched in frustration.
Their meeting wasn't anything special—a rookie author and a rookie editor pairing up.
Back then, he was hardworking and his writing wasn't bad. But every single time, he'd drop the novel right after Volume 1!
He was this close to getting blacklisted by the publisher!
Any other editor would've given up on him long ago. But Hanabi, with her stubborn streak, refused to let go and stuck with him.
And he eventually delivered—writing a massively popular novel, Konosuba, which even earned Hanabi a promotion and took the heat off the publisher.
But the guy never changed! Right after graduating high school, he dropped that super popular novel too?!
Hanabi nearly wanted to kill him. She even brought a big pot to his house, planning to stew him alive—
Only to find out he had moved away!
If he hadn't promised to send her an amazing new novel within a few months, she'd have already blacklisted this damn pigeon.
And then… he actually sent her a new novel. A new one!
Seeing her growing rage, Azusa chose to stay silent. Even the three fighting fools backed off slightly.
"You're actually a light novel author?"
"Didn't see that coming. I thought you were just a fellow hobbyist."
"I think I did mention it before? Also, could you guys let me go, I really need to run away right now."
Shiro glanced nervously at Hanabi, who looked like she was one scream away from turning Super Saiyan.
As for Aina?
Yeah, she had already quietly joined the other three. No way she was staying in that kind of atmosphere.
"...This is getting out of hand."
Azusa's mouth twitched.
Looking at this now, the fact that Shiro was still alive was impressive. He better hope none of his other side jobs get him into trouble...
Watching Editor-san's hair almost turning gold, Azusa figured she should say something to help. After all, Shiro had played wingman for her before!
"But it's all good now! Shiro's new novel is finally out, and I'll personally supervise him this time! I'm doing the illustrations, too!"
She patted her chest with confidence. It was her first illustration job after all—she wanted a happy ending.
Hanabi's expression finally shifted, a bit surprised. "You drew the illustrations?"
"Mm... I hope that's not a problem?"
Azusa was a little unsure. Illustrators weren't as famous as authors, but they could still be used for promotional purposes.
Hanabi shook her head. "No problem at all. Honestly, this guy couldn't get any decent artist to work with him anymore. Your illustrations are great—it's just his story that's the issue."
She was praising Azusa. Thanks to Shiro's pigeon reputation, no decent illustrator wanted to work with him.
Luckily, his previous works had been comedy-based, so his own silly art style sort of fit.
"Eh? There's a problem? I thought the story was fine. Is it because the theme won't pass screening?"
Azusa wondered. But light novels had way crazier themes than this one, right?
Hanabi turned toward her, her emotionless eyes locking on. "Nice to meet you. I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Kamishiro Shiro's editor—Yasuraoka Hanabi."
"..."
!!!
Σ(°Д°;
Azusa's expression shifted from confusion to full-on shock. If she remembered correctly... wasn't the main heroine in Shiro's novel also named Yasuraoka Hanabi?
And now she finally understood why this editor felt so familiar.
That bastard Shiro didn't just use her editor's name—he even used her appearance!
This wasn't just a dumb move—no sane person would ever do this!
If it was a power fantasy story or something, maybe it could be excused. But Shiro... did he even read what he wrote?!
Azusa was speechless. There was no way words could fix this. Shiro, she tried, she really did. But...
The rest is up to you. She'll be over here picking out a nice little coffin for you.
Click—
Unlike Azusa's shock, Shiro was shattered. Everything was starting to make sense now.
No wonder Akane's storyline felt so familiar—he wrote it!
He had been so focused on other things that he completely missed the fact—
This world has the setting of Scum's Wish!
And he was writing Scum's Wish in the world with Scum's Wish characters?!
His editor was the heroine?!
Shiro was going crazy. Sure, he changed some plot points and side characters' names, but there's no way Hanabi wouldn't recognize her own high school life!
And he really didn't do it on purpose—he genuinely didn't recognize her.
Back when he started writing, his editor was already working, and her current look was very different from her high school self.
Plus, she was always cold and just introduced herself as "Yasuraoka."
There were so many people named Yasuraoka in the world—how could he have guessed?
He hadn't even called her by name in ages—"Editor-sama" was good enough for a pigeon like him!
Trembling, his gaze met Hanabi's.
"Editor-sama… if I say this was just a… misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
"Mm. I'd believe you. Next time you write someone's life story, make sure you at least change the protagonist's name. And… try not to let the person involved find out."
{{(°△°; "}}!
Shiro trembled even harder. Damn it, why was this bar so cold?! Manager, turn on the heater already!
"Once we finish our drinks, let's have a nice long talk about your new book."
NOOOOO!
I'm sorry! I WAS WRONG!
…