247 A Delicate Touch

Chiba Shiori had asked permission from Kimura Kazuki before she wrote his name into her book.

Kimura Kazuki was surprised and wanted to know why she did so.

"To boost popularity."

Kimura Kazuki had no problem with that after hearing those three words.

After all, "Loading File Of Tokyo" was written to fulfill Furuhashi Sakurakyu's obsessiveness... If putting his name in Chiba's book would garner a larger reader base, he couldn't reject her request.

However, Kimura Kazuki felt that Chiba Shiori's novel was much more popular than the Jade Dragon Flag.

Above all, Kendo was just a kind of sport and not something that the public kept a close eye on. However, it was different for novels. Novels were thought to be food for the soul, and there would definitely be more people reading it than focusing on the Jade Dragon Flag Competition.

Chiba Shiori just smiled. She had her own reasons for putting Kazuki in her novel.

As she was heading home, she felt a great sense of crisis from Harunaka. Hence, she wanted to deliver her thoughts to the readers in her own words.

So...

In the novel, Manatsu Hokuto, the main character, had held a young girl hostage in front of Kimura Kazuki at Fukuoka Budo Gym.

Coincidently, this young girl's name happened to be Chiba Shiori.

What a coincidence, right?

Chiba Shiori's face was red from embarrassment when she was writing about this. Apparently, she felt ashamed. Although Yuriko, who was sitting beside her, looked at Chiba weirdly, she did not say what she was thinking out loud. Their long friendship ensured that she knew what the other was thinking. 

——

Kimura Kazuki stared blankly at Manatsu Hokuto, who stood not 50 meters away from him. He had taken a young girl hostage... Although he did not know her name, he could clearly see she was terrified. He looked determined - determined to save her, as he thought of Flame's words again.

He owed Flame a favor before, and he could repay it by saving the girl. The policemen had already started to evacuate the crowd outside. Meanwhile, Manatsu Hokuto paid no attention to Kimura Kazuki - his sole focus was to threaten the policemen by making use of his hostage, Chiba Shiori, to ensure he could escape unharmed.

Manatsu Hokuto had almost gone crazy in his bid to escape the police. Indeed, he was already on the verge of a mental breakdown.

He felt wronged. He had gone straight back home after escaping from the hospital. Instead of getting the rest he desired, he was knocked out by the couple living next door. They abducted him and tied him up on the bed. He later discovered that their son was suffering from cannibalism... and would have a frenzy if he did not eat human flesh once every few days.

That was how he died, by thousands of cuts during the torture. After loading the files, he immediately killed the couple but spared the life of their kind-hearted son. Then, he rescued a high school girl from a murderer along his way. He expected that she would appreciate his help, but she reported him to the police instead. He ended up starting his journey as a fugitive again, although he had found a shelter for himself with great difficulty.

While he was being pursued, he had encountered numerous perverted killers and gang shootings along his way... All these incidents had made his heart as cold as stone.

From the readers' point of view, Manatsu Hokuto was a really pitiful ordinary man who had been through a lot of suffering. The negative development of his personality was understandable. However, some readers vented in the comments section. They believed that Manatsu was too passive, never changing his behaviour despite his gradual increase in intellect along the arduous journey. They thought it was an unfair pairing as Manatsu was still not a match for Flame.

However, as an editor who had read a myriad of light novels, Kento Nara was amazed by Miss Gentera. For him, light novels that were able to strike a chord with the audience were indeed excellent light novels.

Of course, the novels about the characters having love affairs were excluded from the list.

——

When Manatsu Hokuto had all of his attention on the policemen, he heard a noise from the back. In his frightened and desperate state, he fired a shot behind without attempting to communicate with the other person. 

He heard a whimper before a heavy blow to his head sent him unconscious. 

In the novel, Kimura Kazuki was shot. Chiba Shiori did not over exaggerate his strength as "Loading File Of Tokyo" was a crime fiction and not a novel about extraordinary ability. The readers would find it strange if he was able to dodge the bullet successfully.

Flame was cheerful when he was informed that Manatsu Hokuto had passed out and asked the others to bring him back to the police department. He heaved a sigh of relief upon learning that Kimura Kazuki was shot on his thigh and that there was no danger to his life. During this time, Chiba Shiori, the young girl that was held hostage, had offered to take care of Kimura Kazuki, and Flame approved of it. After all, Kimura Kazuki had always been single. He might bring their fates together if he allowed her to take care of him.

Then only he recalled that Miss Gentera had updated 20,000 words.

He continued reading with that thought in mind, wondering if the fourth volume would bring anything new and unexpected to the surface.

The storyline completely blew Kento Nara away. 

Manatsu Hokuto, the main character, had been getting by relying on his ability to load files. The readers were eager to know how the story was going to end for Manatsu Hokuto this time, even though he had a disturbed personality. 

However... there was no plot twist.

The Japanese Police Department had tried to execute Manatsu Hokuto once he was caught. This raised Flame's suspicions. Besides that, Manatsu had attempted to commit suicide many times within that period. Upon investigation, Flame found that there were still many questionable points in this case. He brought Manatsu back to the United States and locked him up without the knowledge of the Japanese police department.

Flame interrogated him every day, asking him the most important questions over and over again. How had he managed to escape from the cordoned-off zones? Was there anyone working for him in the police department from the shadows?

However, Manatsu Hokuto would not speak.

After all, he was only an ordinary person who could escape from the messes he found himself in by relying on his ability to load files. He could never tell anyone about this secret.

Manatsu Hokuto couldn't commit suicide now because he was under surveillance all day long. There were no sharp weapons in the room. He had even tried to bite his tongue to commit suicide once, but he was found and rescued before he could die from excessive blood loss.

At the same time, Flame was unable to reach any accord with Manatsu too. It was a stalemate. 

Then...

Kento Nara saw three words.

50 years later.

He was stunned upon reading those three words and didn't recover from his shock for a little while. He had been scared to death when he had thought that this light novel was going to end. But he came back to his senses almost immediately, slapping the table and shouting praise, his eyes beaming with fanaticism, "Wonderful, wonderful! This book is going to be a hit, a hit!!"

Being an editor, he instantly knew what Miss Gentera was going to write next.

As a matter of fact, Manatsu Hokuto was already halfway to madness. He would surely go nuts if they were still after him, he was disturbed after all.

However... when Kento Nara saw the three words '50 years later', he realized that the way Miss Gentera dealt with this part was with a very delicate touch.