Chapter 361 324 – Utaha Loses Her Cool

Seeing Takumi smiling away, Utaha also realized that he was teasing her.

After puffing up her cheeks and glaring at him, Utaha pressed him further.

"What are you doing reading this many books all by yourself? You're just flipping through them randomly too. I originally wanted to find a few to read, but you took all of them."

After learning why Utaha had come over, Takumi smiled and shook his head.

"I'm almost done reading these books already… But Kasumigaoka-senpai, did you come here specifically looking for romance books because you wanted some reference material too?"

"You mean you're writing a novel too?"

Utaha looked at Takumi in surprise.

When she saw him nod, Utaha still found it a little hard to believe.

"Why do I feel like you're bluffing me? Who reads books like that?"

"I'm just extraordinarily talented."

"…"

Takumi's casual sentence left Utaha unable to refute him.

Standing beside them, Shizuka Yoshimoto anxiously flipped through her book and pointed at a passage.

Utaha looked over in confusion and read the sentence she had chosen.

"I can prove that what he said is true."

"Are you talking to me?"

Utaha looked at Shizuka blankly.

This was her first time communicating with someone in such a bizarre way.

Shizuka immediately flipped the page and pointed at the words, "Yes."

Seeing this, Utaha cautiously asked, "You can't speak?"

Hearing that, Shizuka shook her head, but then helplessly lowered it again.

She really wanted to say that she could speak, but because of the personality she had developed since childhood, she couldn't get the words out. She was terrified of communicating with people.

"Senpai, Yoshimoto-san can speak. She just isn't used to communicating directly."

Takumi stepped in at this point, stopping Utaha from continuing to ask questions.

"Not used to communicating by speaking?"

Utaha frowned slightly at that answer.

She did not understand what kind of strange habit this was.

And because she did not really understand it, her attitude naturally turned into one of keeping a respectful distance.

Sharp enough to notice Utaha's distancing attitude, Shizuka's mood sank, and she shrank behind Takumi.

Takumi did not stand on any moral high ground and start criticizing Utaha either.

Her reaction was, in itself, the attitude of a normal person.

When people encountered someone they did not understand, they would instinctively distance themselves and reject them.

Takumi rubbed Shizuka's little head and smiled as he comforted her.

"There's nothing wrong with this hobby of yours, Yoshimoto-san. Don't worry about it so much."

Looking at Takumi, who understood her so well, tears shimmered in Shizuka's eyes.

Megumi, who had watched the whole thing, let out a long breath.

She could somewhat empathize with Shizuka's situation.

Of course, if it had been Megumi before going through her current experience, she probably would not have been able to understand it either.

But Takumi had clearly only just met Shizuka for the first time, yet he was able to understand her like this. It really was unbelievable.

However, when Utaha spoke again, the topic at the scene was pulled back on track.

She placed both hands on the desk, her heavy fullness deforming under the pressure of her elbows. The spilling outline looked especially tempting.

With curiosity on her face, Utaha asked softly, "Kouhai, are you reading these because you're planning to write a romance novel too?"

Her recent desire to write a light novel was something that had only just emerged.

Looking at Takumi, however, it seemed like he had already begun putting his plan into action.

"I've written a few before. This time, I guess I'm opening up a new track."

Takumi continued flipping through the remaining books as he responded to Utaha.

Hearing him say that, Utaha could not help asking, "You're already a veteran author?!"

Utaha found that unbelievable. Could Takumi actually be an old washout?

In response, Takumi only glanced at her calmly.

"I am a veteran author, but I'm not telling you who I am."

"…"

Seeing that Takumi was openly trying to make her curious on purpose, Utaha wanted to bite his scalp.

You're way too black-bellied!

Utaha, who was rather annoyed, rolled her eyes, then showed a smile again.

"In that case, Great Author, it's fine if you don't tell me your pen name. How about big sister here discusses something with you?"

"If you want advice, just say so. And don't use that pervy auntie tone."

He was mocking her, right? He was absolutely mocking her!

Utaha puffed up her cheeks and stared hard at Takumi, her expression full of dissatisfaction.

"Fine, fine, senpai. Then allow me to seriously ask you for advice!"

She spoke through gritted teeth, then revealed the concept for Love Metronome, the work she had recently been preparing to write.

She herself did not even know how to write the beginning or the middle. All she had were a few scattered ideas and a title, so it was not as if she had to worry about Takumi plagiarizing it.

After listening to Utaha's idea, Takumi merely curled his lip and said, "These are all overused elements. There are a lot of places that need to be improved.

"So, Utaha, do you want to write a short story or a long-running serialization?"

Takumi's follow-up question left Utaha dumbfounded for several seconds.

She blinked, her momentum weakening as she asked in a small voice, "Is… there a difference?"

"A short story emphasizes refined plotting and focuses on highlighting the characters' personalities.

"For a long series, you need to stretch out the plot. You'll need far more skilled characters, and there's much more preparation to do ahead of time.

"Right now, you've only designed the male lead and the heroine. That's nowhere near enough character information to support a long series.

"Generally speaking, I'd suggest you write a short story and use it to practice your prose."

Takumi spoke in an orderly way, then helped her sort out several important points.

Combining them with the sparks of inspiration Utaha had shared, Takumi quickly drafted the outline of a small chapter.

The writing techniques he pointed out and the plot arrangements he suggested immediately enlightened Utaha.

Thinking back to the things she had secretly written in her notebook, she suddenly felt horribly embarrassed.

She had originally thought she had written pretty well, but when she really laid it all out, it was an absolute mess.

"It's okay. If you can write a pile of crap, that's at least better than not being able to squeeze anything out at all."

"For beginner writers, the important thing is learning how to carve flowers into crap. If you can carve them well, that means you've improved."

"Don't use that kind of metaphor!"

After being comforted by Takumi like this, Utaha felt even more emotionally broken.

But looking at all the newly organized gains, she still had no choice but to say "thank you" to Takumi.

Originally, she had only wanted to come to the library and flip through some romance-related books for inspiration.

In the end, she had encountered Takumi, and her gains were hundreds or even thousands of times greater than expected.

This could not help making her feel a different kind of admiration and gratitude toward Takumi.

Seeing that class was about to start, the two of them could only say goodbye for now.

"Takumi-kun! We found the cookbook we were looking for!"

At this moment, Karane Inda and Hakari Hanazono walked over excitedly.

Shizuka, who had originally been staying beside Takumi, saw this and could not help shrinking back, hiding in the corner.

...

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