The next day arrived, and I headed to Luan's house to talk to him about the 30 pages I had read yesterday. As I was getting ready to leave, Tiona and Tione got curious and decided to come along with me.
What Tione did yesterday was still on my mind. I feel like something strange is going on.
The first thought that came to me was: Is Tione in love with Luan?
They've only met a few times, but Luan is so attractive that I wouldn't be surprised if she had fallen for him. Should I talk to her about it? I'm not sure if that's a good idea.
I need to think it over more carefully.
After walking for a while, we arrived at the new home of the Hestia Familia.
Tiona and Tione were impressed.
"I didn't think it would be this big…" Tiona said.
"Did Luan buy this house? He must make a lot of money…" Tione said, her eyes sparkling.
Since I know Tione isn't the kind of person who cares much about money, I'm sure she's not interested in Luan's wealth. She's just genuinely impressed by the house.
"How should we call him? Isn't the front door a bit far?" Tione asked. Just then, the door opened. Luan, who had probably seen us from inside, stepped out to greet us.
He approached us with a smile and opened the door slightly.
"Good morning. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Luan said to Tiona and Tione.
The two of them looked a bit embarrassed. Strange.
"Luan, long time no see! Hahaha. Your new house is amazing! Ais told me it was big, but I didn't imagine it would be this big."
"I think I may have gone a little overboard," Luan said, scratching his cheek, a bit embarrassed.
"Yeah…" Then, Tione stepped forward.
She leaned in and whispered something in Luan's ear, but I couldn't hear what it was. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. Luan glanced at me and smiled.
His smile lit up the doubts in my heart.
Even if Tione is in love with him… he's not in love with her… right?
That's what I want to believe.
The weight in my chest lifted, and I smiled.
"Can we come in? I want to talk about those 30 pages you gave me yesterday."
"You came just for that? Hahaha. Come on in. I was having breakfast when I saw you through the window. You're welcome to join me."
"You're eating alone?"
"Lili went to work, and Mikoto and Hestia had breakfast earlier. They went back to their room and are probably resting now."
"I see."
We entered the mansion and headed to the dining room.
Tiona and Tione were practically speechless.
Luan sat at the table, and I, along with Tiona and Tione, sat across from him. I pulled out the pages I had read and placed them on the table.
"Did Tiona and Tione read them too?"
"Ah, no. They just wanted to come with me, and I let them. I'm the only one who read them."
"Got it."
"What is it? A new book by Luan?" Tiona asked, curious. "You didn't tell me about this, Ais!"
"I want to read it too," Tione added.
I sighed. "You can read it later. I'm going to spoil it now, so it's better if you don't listen."
"Nah, that's fine," said Tiona.
"No problem, we want to hear it."
"..."
####
*Luan's POV*
After hearing everything Ais had to say, I finally made a decision.
"Alright, I'll keep writing it."
She had praised my version of Romeo and Juliet so much that I couldn't bring myself to abandon the story.
I had written those 30 pages without thinking much, and I didn't even have a solid idea of how the story should continue. I didn't have a proper ending in mind either.
Even so, I wanted to keep writing it.
"I'm glad to hear that," Ais said with a smile.
Tiona and Tione also seemed really interested in the story, but I took the 30 pages back and told them:
"You two will only get to read it once the first book is published."
"That's so unfair! Why can only Ais read it?"
"I really wanted to read it too…"
They both complained, but I didn't change my mind.
"This will be a short series. Just three books. They'll be a bit longer than usual."
"A short story?"
"Yeah, it's not going to be too long. I could stretch it if I wanted to, but I already have two series being published. It's too much work." I gave a bitter smile.
Even though I'm just copying, it still takes a toll.
But this new book—this one is original. I stole the idea, sure, but the story itself is completely new. I don't want to copy the original work like I've been doing with Re:Zero and Overlord.
This will help me.
Having something truly original to write is definitely exciting.
But if it fails… I know it'll hit me hard.
"What's wrong?" Ais asked.
"Hm?"
"You suddenly got really quiet. What's on your mind?"
"I just… don't know how I'll handle it if this new series doesn't do well."
"But you already have two successful series, don't you? Why would it bother you if this one doesn't succeed? You're already famous, and your reputation is solid!" Tione exclaimed.
She's right.
But this is my first "original" work. It carries more weight.
Of course, they wouldn't know that.
"You're right. Everything will be fine."
I calmed myself and set the thirty pages aside.
After that, I served some tea for everyone and we chatted a bit more before I walked them out.
As soon as they left, Hestia came down the stairs.
"Had fun?"
"What's this? Jealous? I was just talking about my new book."
"New book? You mean that romance you had started? Did you finish the first volume?"
"No, I just wrote those 30 pages. Ais came to give her thoughts."
"And what did she think?"
"She really liked it and told me to continue."
"I said that too, didn't I? And you told me it wasn't good enough!"
"Well, I guess I better get back to writing then, huh?"
Since I've already written up to volume 10 of my other series, I have enough time to work on this first book.
I went to my room and started writing.
I had no idea the coming days would turn into a living hell.
####
Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl
10% patr eon discount code: B9A13
By subscribing to my Patr eon you encourage me to keep writing. I'm planning lots of new fanfics (mainly danmachi) ^^
Next chapters: Chapter 236 - Fans out of control. / Chapter 237 - Disturbance. / Chapter 238 - I won't be able to write anymore! / Chapter 239 - Luan, don't stop! / Chapter 240 - Volume 8. / Chapter 241 - Dinner with Ais. / Chapter 242 - Freya's Charm. / Chapter 243 - Make the Hestia Familia the strongest in Orario? / Chapter 244 - Meeting with Bella. / Chapter 245 - 3,000.