With Wataru’s help in deciding the setting, the characters, and the title, Aria then spent three days and three nights hard at work writing the epic first volume of Live from the Sky Kingdom on the Wind Continent: The Pirates!! The very moment she finished, she mailed off the manuscript to Anytown, Wind Continent, where Sky-Novel Club had their offices! A mere one month later, they received a reply from Sky-Novel Club!
“1027... 1028... 1029...!”
Wataru was lifting his one-ton barbell in his room, same as always, when all of a sudden Aria slammed the door open and entered the room!
“Wataru! Sky-Novel Club sent us their reply!!”
She was practically yelling with excitement as she waved around a white envelope in her left hand!
“Whoa, nice! It’s finally here! What’d they say!?”
“I haven’t read it yet! Let’s see what they have to say together, Wataru!”
“Yeah! Let’s do that!!”
He laid down the barbell on the floor, wiped away the sweat on his brow with a towel, and walked over to where Aria stood with the letter! Aria, heart nearly bursting with anticipation, tore open the letter and read what was written on the single page inside!
“......So, what does it say!?”
Wataru kept peeking over her shoulder in an attempt to catch a glimpse at the letter, but he still couldn’t read it! Or any other written materials in this world! Wataru, hit the books!
“Um, let’s see here...”
Aria began to read the letter aloud!
“To be perfectly frank, the novel you wrote was completely uninteresting. It’s unbelievably lame that the pirate protagonist can stretch his limbs like they’re made of rubber. Then there’s the detective. It’s totally unrealistic to have a character that looks like a child, but has the brains of an adult. What’s yet more ridiculous is the suggestion of an electrifying mouse as a mascot character—that doesn’t sound cute in the slightest. It also has that weird cry—‘bibabu～♡♡!’—what in the world were you trying to convey with that? Finally, we have the title: ‘Live from the Sky Kingdom on the Wind Continent: The Pirates!!’ That’ll never be popular. Please, do yourself a favor and pick up a book like, ‘It’s Me, a Shy Orc Loner with a Heart of Gold (Notice Me, Senpai!) Who Got Reborn In Another World, a.k.a. “Isekai,” Where I Am Getting Into All Sorts of Troubles, Hijinks, and Shenanigans, Oh My!’ by Mr. Jacob Yamada, or the more recently published ‘Dark Taboo ~The Forbidden Abyss~’ by Ms. Résistance, a.k.a., ~La Rebellatrix~. Read one of those so you can find out what a real novel is like.”
“......!!”
“......”
The air inside the room was suddenly very heavy! Claustrophobically so!!
“......Hey, Aria.........!!”
“......What is it, Wataru......”
“......All the editors at this ‘Sky-Novel Club’ place really are awful, aren’t they!!”
“Without a doubt!”
Let me remind our Dear Readers one more time! This story is entirely fictional! Any similarity to real people or organizations is entirely coincidental!
And so it was that Aria’s dream of becoming a novelist and having “legions of adoring fans” came to naught, all hopes of achieving such a life scattered to the four winds by that cruel letter! Happily ever after! Happiest ever after!!