Hearing the girl's confession-like words, Izumi Chihiro was also stunned for a second before reacting, saying, "Mafuyu-chan, I am well aware of your consistent support. Thank you for always supporting me so much."
"That's also because Teacher Izumi's works are always so captivating."
Shiina Mafuyu said with a smile.
'It seems I didn't misunderstand.'
Izumi Chihiro secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Because he understood Mafuyu, he didn't presumptuously assume it was a romantic confession between a man and a woman, especially since she referred to him as Teacher Izumi.
"However, it's still too strange to use 'Teacher' in real life. I'll call you by your name, Mafuyu, so you should call me by my name too."
He extended his hand and continued.
"Mhm, Chihiro."
Shiina Mafuyu's face flushed crimson, and she cautiously extended her right hand, feeling her heartbeat quicken a few beats.
Although it was just a brief touch, she did make physical contact with him, and nothing melted.
This made the naive girl breathe a sigh of relief.
Afterward, Shiina Mafuyu seized the opportunity to chat with him about some light novel-related questions.
This was also an inevitable part of being a fan, and he gladly responded.
Although they were plagiarized works, most of the content was actually written by his own hand, so he could shamelessly and reasonably accept his identity as a creator.
For the affection of others, he felt the joy of sharing as a reader and also some of the feelings of an author; the two overlapped to create double the happiness. He experienced a dream-like happy time that Yukina had never felt.
Life, once again, returned to its normal rhythm.
Every day, going to and from school, dozing off in class, not participating in club activities, and choosing to go home immediately after class to rush work—this somewhat mechanical life allowed everyone to enjoy themselves.
Whether it was Eriri or Mashiro, he was the same; they were all striving to improve themselves, aiming to create even more satisfying works.
In the blink of an eye, it was May.
At this time, a sudden piece of news online stirred up the brief calm on the internet.
The sixth volume of "Re:zero - Starting Life In Another World" would go on sale in mid-May, which truly surprised everyone.
Because by the release date, only two months would have passed since the fifth volume went on sale.
["Hey, is it real or fake? It can't be fake news, right? Publishing a volume every two months, that's way too fast!"]
["I checked the official website, and it seems to be true. The teacher has already submitted the manuscript, which means he finished it in about a month. The remaining time was spent on printing and promotion."]
["Could it be that Old Thief has made progress again, reaching the legendary realm of a human typewriter?"]
["The normal publication time in the industry is four months per volume, right? Even diligent authors take three months. Isn't two months too rushed? Old Thief's fastest update for a single volume before was also close to three months, wasn't it?"]
["Actually, it's not bad. Aren't there some people in the industry who are considered 'toilet paper production machines'? They can update several light novels by themselves, and their update volume is huge, although their results are quite ordinary."]
["If it were anyone else, I'd think it was a bit rushed, but Old Thief is different. I'll always believe in Old Thief!"]
["That's enough. I'm telling you, our updates here are quite 'health-preserving.' Over there across the ocean, some people update 20,000 characters daily. Converting that, one volume is only five days' worth of work. The remaining time is for revisions, so the working time is actually completely sufficient!"]
["The person upstairs is exaggerating a bit; 20,000 is still too much for most people, but what he said isn't false."]
["Since that's the case, let's look forward to whether Old Thief's sixth volume can satisfy everyone."]
Fans expressed their opinions one after another.
This news caused a small wave of public discussion. Everyone had their own views; some thought there was actually plenty of time, and it wasn't impossible for people in the industry to do it, just that they weren't willing to.
Others thought he was struggling to write and was preparing to increase his update speed, sacrificing quality to finish the work earlier, especially since the story of "Re:zero - Starting Life In Another World" was much more mentally demanding than other Isekai works.
After this news spread, Nayuta, Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kuroneko, Mafuyu-chan, Takasago Tomoe, and even Eriri offered their regards.
Kasumigaoka Utaha: Junior-kun, are you a tentacle monster? Are you the one forcing everyone into this internal competition? Truly heinous!
Gokou Ruri: Teacher, I want to learn from you!
Kani Nayuta: Senpai, this must be too tiring! Please tell me your home address so I can come over and comfort you!
Mafuyu-chan: Izumi-sensei is too diligent! Mafuyu is truly touched.
Takasago Tomoe: Chihiro, you're truly amazing.
"My drawing can't even keep up with Ni-san's speed!"
Sagiri, who had always followed in her brother's footsteps, sighed.
Fortunately, the number of illustrations could be appropriately reduced, so she could still maintain her composure.
"Hey, you, updating so fast, will it really not affect the quality of the work? If you write it poorly, you'll be letting down many anticipating readers."
On the phone, Eriri asked in a questioning tone.
Actually, what she wanted to ask more was, isn't rushing the manuscript like this very tiring? You idiot! If your body breaks down, how will you achieve your dreams?
Of course, she wouldn't say such words directly; the concern in them was too strong.
"Of course not, don't worry, Eriri. I wouldn't do something that would destroy my own city walls. Besides, before publication, Sonoko-san also has to check it. If it's written poorly, she'll be the first to object."
Izumi Chihiro replied.
"That's right, hmph...! Since you're so confident, I'll reluctantly believe you."
"Mm, thank you for your concern, Eriri. I'll continue to work hard and won't let down your expectations."
"Uh, I wasn't specifically concerned! Also, don't just expect things on your own, hey! I didn't say anything like that..."
"I know, I know."
Izumi Chihiro hung up the phone with a smile on his face.
This matter might be surprising to others, but for him, it wasn't a big deal.
After all, the detailed outline existed in his memory, and with his honed writing skills, the difficulty of writing greatly decreased, so his updates were not stressful.
Additionally, he had tried many methods to break through his own bottleneck, but it was already difficult. It seemed he had reached his limit. This feeling was very unpleasant, but he was helpless.
So, he might as well fully immerse himself in writing, hoping that one day he would naturally break through.
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💯 PS = 2 bonus chapter