Life is a Mess Ever Since My Mother Won an Ero-Novel Grand Prize - Chapter 4.5

Chapter 4.5

On Sunday morning, I was in my room clutching my head.

I don’t have any idea on what to write…

I went to Akihabara with my mother, and later Rinka lent me some reference materials, but their efforts were in vain…  nothing really came to mind despite everything.

This may be the first time that I have not been able to visualize anything.

I’ve been writing for about four years since I was in junior high school, and I’ve always written what I wanted to write, as I wanted to write it. But this time, the theme was decided to be that of family love. And the winner would be decided by public vote. With this in mind, I tried to come up with an interesting story that would be accepted by the majority, but I couldn’t come up with anything at all.

Maybe I’m the type of person who can’t write once conditions have been set?

There’s only one week left until the deadline.

If I don’t have an outline of what I’m going to write by now, I won’t be able to make it to the contest…

At that moment…

“Hmm?”

My phone rang. It was Kimeseku-sensei calling.

“Yes, hello?”

|| “Mating press. It’s me. ‘A night you’ll never forget’ Kimeseku.”

“Excuse me, what’s that creepy command in front of your name?”

[TLN- this is a bleach reference, After first learning the Zanpakutō’s name, the Shikai can be performed at will simply by speaking a command followed by the Zanpakutō’s name.]

|| “Of course it’s my command. You should use it as well to demonstrate your true strength…”

“No, I don’t need any kind of mid-life crisis.”

|| “Why don’t you do the same thing? Like ‘Bloom a bouquet of flowers between my legs!’, Mating Press, something like that.”

“That’d be just plain sexual harassment!”

Besides, I’m not Mating press! I’m just a shadow warrior who has no choice but to go with this! Kimeseku Sensei, didn’t you have a slight inkling of this the other day? Well, if you want to go through with it, fine!

I sighed.

“So, what is it, this early in the morning?”

|| “Morning? Yeah, that’s right. I’ve been in the basement canning myself, so I didn’t notice. It’s been four nights now…”

He has been writing a lot of stuff with his brain doped up again, this guy… This is the reason why he and his daughter are on bad terms, and he has no remorse about it…

|| “The reason I called this time is none other than you. I just wanted to check on your progress. And if you want, I can give you some advice.”

“Oh, you don’t mind if I beat your daughter, do you?”

|| “As long as it’s not on the bed.”

“Do I look like someone who will do that?”

Damn it, my image of Kimeseku-sensei is all messed up. Before I met him, I thought of him as a god of novels and a supreme being, but now he’s just a deadbeat father who likes to talk dirty and even his own daughter hates him!

|| “So I guess you’ve at least decided what kind of story you wanted to write.”

“It’s… not decided yet.”

|| “What? The deadline is in a week. What do you mean you haven’t decided yet? Are you writing so many stories in your notebook that you can’t put them all together?”

Don’t lump me in with writing freaks like you,

“Fuh… here’s my advice.”

“Please.”

I straightened up and paid attention. His personality is very problematic, but when it comes to creativity, Kimeseku-sensei is top-notch. So getting advice from him is very valuable.

“Write a short, concise story within the limits of what you know. That’s a golden rule.”

“Write within the limits of what you know. … Concise and short…?”

Hmm? That sounds familiar. I tilted my head. I remembered hearing the exact same words recently.

I preempted Kimeseku-sensei’s next words.

“It’s more effective to concentrate on what you know well and write about it, rather than doing a lot of research and wielding a lot of knowledge…”

|| “Oh, you knew about this?”

“No, I was told something similar a while ago by someone.”

That’s right, it’s my mother, Mirei. We had this conversation at the eroge store in Akihabara when we were discussing the next work of Mating press.

“Hou! I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s got potential.”

Japan’s best writer is impressed by the real Mating Press, my mother.

My mother, who had intuited these words even though she was a rookie, was blessed with a natural talent as a writer. And through her own actions, she showed me the way.

I pulled her words out of my brain at that time.

“It’s as if the writer has compressed his own life into a single piece. A work in which the writer puts everything he has into his life, without shame or pretense, as if this is his life. I believe that such a work filled with soul will be a masterpiece that no one will be able to deny.”

I hung up the phone and ruminated. What she had told me earlier.

When I think about it, all the award-winning and explosively successful works in the world have this quality. After all, people are different, and facts are stranger than fiction. It’s natural that nothing would be more interesting than a work that reflects the life and soul of the author.

Then….

What is my life, my soul, that I should put into my novel?

As I sat in bed pondering for about thirty minutes, then there was a knock at the door.

“Dear Brother, may I have a word with you?”(E/N:Damn If only I could change this to Onii-sama.)

“Hmm? Miyuha? Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

I was taken aback by my sister’s attire as she softly walked in.

“It’s Sunday, right? Why are you wearing your school uniform?”

She went to a famous young lady’s school in Tokyo. The school uniform is so cute that some parents made their daughters take the entrance exam just to have them wear it. Miyuha looked very good in that cute uniform.

But Miyuha gave me a scathing glare.

“Why, of course, Because today is the day of the interview for the special student slot.”

I can’t help but exclaim.

Yes, Miyuha was having an important battle of her life. It was a special scholarship program that only five people in Tokyo could receive. Miyuha has been nominated for the scholarship because of her extraordinary artistic sense.

“I’m sorry… I’ve known about this for a long time, but I’ve been so busy that I’ve lost track of it.”

“No problem. That’s the kind of person you are, Dear Brother.”

“What kind of person?”

“When you’re absorbed in something, you put all your energy into it, but you can’t see anything else. You’re a reckless, single-minded person.”

“Yeah, reminds me of that.”

But concentration is a double-edged sword. If used incorrectly, you will end up neglecting your family just like what happened with Kimeseku-Sensei.

──Don’t end up like me.

──As if I will.

After that exchange, I realized that I myself had lost sight of Miyuha. I was becoming more like Kimeseku-sensei in a bad way

“But that’s okay, Dear Brother. If there is something you are passionate about, I as a family will support you in it.”

“… No.”

I’m not good enough. I was blind to what I should have done. Perhaps that’s how Kimeseku-Sensei started out, with the help of his family. And then he accumulated his achievements to become a monster of a writer. But before he knew it, he had lost his family, which was the most important thing in his life.

But I won’t make that same mistake like he did.

“So today is the day of the interview. Since you’re wearing your uniform already, I take it that you will go there now?”

“Yes, there’s still time, but I thought I’d leave early and wait near the venue.”

Good girl. Miyuha is probably the most organized person in this house.

“Are you well prepared for the interview?”

“Yes, it is said that one person in every three years at our school gets this interview, so the school was used to it.”

As expected of a famous school for young ladies. So my worries were unfounded.

“So you’re all set?”

“No… I mean…”

But at this moment, Miyuha lowered her eyes while fidgeting.

“I am also a little nervous… and I don’t have the courage nor much confidence…”

That’s unusual. In spite of her ladylike appearance, Miyuha is surprisingly unafraid of things and is always ready to take a stand. She is smart, decisive, and a good leader. At school, she is often nominated to be the leader of the student council, class committee, and art club.

She carries a lot of expectations on her fragile body.

But then again, Miyuha is still a normal highschool girl.

“What…”

Miyuha shouted.

I put my hand on her head and stroked it. And said in a warm tone…

“Don’t worry, Miyuha.”

I will become stronger, tougher. More than the current Miyuha, I’m sure.

I’m also not much of a person myself, and I can’t compare myself to other people who are blessed with talent.

But if my sister is anxious, I’ll become the strongest brother in the world for her.

“Your brother is here for you!”

“Un!”

Miyuha blushed and gave a bright smile, and then left the room with light steps, which was a complete 180 from her earlier attitude.

I walked down the stairs to the entrance. Miyuha put on her shoes and waved at me before leaving.

“I’m going to go now! Bye big brother!”

[TLN- now it’s Onii-chan]

The mask of a young lady was removed, and she smiled like she used to be back then. It was a beautiful smile, innocent and pretty, like a flower blooming.

I was standing in the doorway, watching my sister’s back as she walked away…

I had a sudden realization. The thing about my sister being in the art club came into my mind, and I rushed back to my room to open my laptop. It occurred to me that I might have made a huge blunder.

Yes, in recent years, online fiction sites have been offering… where you can also set up illustrations. And this time, the judging system is based on public votes…

No way.

I also checked the competition in question.

This one also seems to allow you to set the illustration.

This is not good…

I hurriedly called my opponent, Senri.

|| “Hello. ‘The one who admires Steve Jobs.’ Senri Ebidensu, means me speaking.”

“No, I don’t care about likes or dislikes. Or rather the command!”

|| “What? You’ve just made an enemy of the Apple worshippers of the world! You can’t expect to see the sunrise tomorrow!”

“You don’t have to try so hard to imitate the Kansai dialect. I’m talking about the online competition. It looks like you can set up illustrations, but we’re not allowed to have one, do we?”

Because this is a novel contest, illustrations should of course not be allowed, right?

|| “What? Of course you can have illustrations.”

Or not…

|| “A novel is a joint work with illustrators. I wooed a talented guy I met at Comiket. You know at least one illustrator, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t!”

|| “What’s wrong with you, have you lost your mind? If you’re a writer of a novel, you should at least have an illustrator you want to work with.”

“No, I thought that was the job of the editor…”

|| “Ha-ha-ha! Then I guess it’s my win! The game was decided before the fight! The difference between victory and defeat was the difference in personal connections!　It’s the difference in awareness as a novelist!”

“Weren’t you a literary writer, Senri-san?”

|| “That’s right, that’s right! Indeed I am! I usually write literature! But this time, I’m just trying to match and compete with light novels.”

So why do you get so frantic about it?

“… No, I mean…”

Senri continued, 

|| “For a professional writer, sales are everything. In this competition, the epitome of that, the number of votes is everything. If we want to increase the number of votes, it’s only natural that we prepare illustrations.”

Damn, is there really a gap in mindset between professionals and amateurs? My thinking was a tad naive.

|| “You can’t withdraw the challenge now, can you? Well, if you’re going to admit defeat quietly, I’ll be happy to reduce your sentence a little. Since you’ll never write another novel again, I’ll let you off with a three-year suspension or something like that.”

“I’m sorry, I lost, please forgive me.”

|| “What are you really apologizing for? Did you really think I would even forgive you?”

Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.

Hahahahahahahahahha.

Leaving behind that triumphant laugh, Senri hung up the call at once.

“Damn it!”

I gritted my teeth. I don’t know what kind of work I’m going to make, nor do I know what kind of illustrator I’m going to get to draw the illustrations.

And there was only one week left.

How could I turn the tide from here?

Without a professional illustrator, it would be impossible to beat Senri. But If I don’t… I’ll have to stop writing! Rinka has also abandoned me…

Oh, yeah, Rinka! I hurriedly called Rinka.

|| “What’s wrong, Shimomura? Why are you calling me? This is the first time you’ve called me”

“Huh? You have no commands? And yet you call yourself a light novel writer?”

|| “What? Wait, what’s a command?”

When Rinka’s voice suddenly turned cold, I came back to myself.

“You’re right, normal people usually don’t have a command.  I’m becoming a bit crazy…”

|| “I’m not sure what you mean. But don’t you have something to say? Otherwise, you would never call  me, right?”

“What do you mean? Am I not allowed to call you for no reason?”

|| “No, no, no. It’s totally fine. Well? What do you want to talk about? Or do you want to go somewhere? Or do you want to talk until we fall asleep? I’m fine with that. If you insist, then so be it!”

“Well, there’s a reason I called you.”

|| “There is? What is it?”

Rinka asked in a grumpy tone.

“Do you know any illustrators? I’d like you to introduce me to one.”

Rinka seemed to be complaining in a small voice, “You don’t want me huh… you hustler.”

“Rinka, can you hear me?”

|| “There’s an illustrator I know, but she’s a girl, so I can’t introduce her to you.”

And then the call was cut off.

Hey, why is that? Why can’t you introduce me to a girl? I don’t care if it’s a girl or a boy, introduce me to an illustrator!

I mean, why was she so angry? Is it the rejection? Or did I do something wrong?

I looked down at my phone in silence. And then…

“Hmm? This time it’s Miyuha calling.”

I answered the call. Today sure is a busy day. A lot of people are taking turns calling me.

“Yes, this is Haruma Shimomura, who will bring you to a new page of  your youth…”

|| “Dear Brother? What’s with that lame phrase?”

“What is it? Oh no, I didn’t think much of that phrase, I just put a command. Pretend you didn’t hear what I just said, Miyuha.”

|| “It’s okay, but a command?” Miyuha’s voice was clear confusion. 

I cleared my throat.

“So, what’s up? Are you at the venue already? I mean around this time you should be at the nearest station?”

|| “Ah right! There’s a big problem, Dear brother!”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

I raised my eyebrows. Miyuha’s voice had  urgency in it and her tone was coarser than usual.

I wondered if she’d forgotten something, but it seems like it wasn’t that simple.

|| “There was an accident, and the train was stopped!”

“What? An accident? The train has stopped?!”

My thoughts stopped for a moment and I asked immediately.

“Will you make it to the interview?”

|| “I don’t know… According to the announcement, the train was still going to stop for several minutes, and there were no signs of recovery at all.”

“What the hell is that? That’s a lot of time!”

|| “Everyone has given up on the train, and there’s a long line at the stop for the bus and taxis…! What should I do? I may not be able to make it to the interview if things continue like this.”

“…!”

Calm down, me! What should I do in a situation like this? What would our mother do in this situation?

As I ask myself that question, I realize that I still rely on her after all.

Then it hit me. Or should I say, I remembered.

It was a long time ago, when I was a kid.

It was the day of a field trip I had been looking forward to at preschool, and I had accidentally failed to tell my mother that we had to leave early. On the morning of the day, I remembered and started crying because I knew I wouldn’t make it in time and everyone would leave me behind.

However, she responded strongly.

──Don’t worry, Haru-kun. Your mother is with you!

And then she put me on the back seat of the bicycle and pedaled for me.

She had no confidence in her physical strength, but she had worked so hard.

I gritted my teeth and made up my mind.

“Don’t worry, Miyuha. Your big brother is with you! Wait for me at the car park!”

|| “Eh… But…”

I hung up the phone, got on my bicycle, and started pedaling.

Uwoooo And then I hit the road to the station.

The nearest station was not far away. I could see it right away.

In the narrow traffic circle, I catch sight of Miyuha at a glance.

“Miyuha!”

“Dear Brother!”

I drifted in front of her and said,

“Get in, Miyuha!”

“What?”

“If the train, bus, and cab are no good, then I have no choice but to ride the bicycle there!”

“But, you’ll…”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that far! Just get in!”

“Un!”

As soon as I saw that Miyuha had sat down on the back and grabbed the hem of my clothes, I started pedaling as fast as I could.

“Heck with it~~~~~~~”

It took me 30 minutes to ride to school every day. Recently, I’ve been able to break thirty minutes, and I’m confident in my lower half.(E/N:UmU.)

We rode through the city at full speed.

I was insanely breathless and felt a burning pain in my thighs. But what does it matter? My sister – Miyuha – needs me.And If I can’t do this, then what am I a big brother for!

“Hold on tight, Miyuhaaaaaaaaa!”

“Yes!”

Uwoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

And twenty minutes later, I was drenched in sweat.

“I see it! There’s the city center from that station!”

“Yes!”

We drifted in front of the station entrance. Miyuha jumped down with surprising agility.

“Thank you very much, big brother!”

“Oh, ah, it’s… no… problem…!”

I was coughing and my legs were shaking.

But thank goodness. I made it somehow.

My vision was hazy. It was hard to breathe, and I might be starting to hallucinate.

“… Umm, big brother?”

My sister seemed to have some kind of lewd, bewitching smile on her face.

“I have to give you a reward.”

Reward?

What the hell are you talking about?

I must be hallucinating.

“Actually, I’m mom’s, Mating Press’s illustrator ‘Sexy-Panty-Flash’.”

She smiled devilishly and ran her eyes around to make sure no one was around that heard her.

It was just a glimpse.

She flipped up her skirt and showed me…

On top of her beautiful, pale, white thighs,

She was wearing string laced panties…!

The sexy panty flashed before my eyes.

End of chapter 4