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TL: ALT
Chapter 142 – It’s Art, Art
After that, Honoka-chan and Haruhara returned, and the awkward atmosphere between me and Sayuki disappeared.
After that, Sayuki’s mood returned to normal.
We went to the hot spring at the inn, ate delicious food, played table tennis, and then went back to the hot spring and played crane games that felt like they were from decades ago.
When it was time to go to bed, Sayuki said she had something to tell us.
The lounge at the inn was empty, so we bought drinks from the vending machine and sat down together.
“Um, I have something to tell you…”
Sayuki started hesitantly.
For me, it reminded me of the conversation we had on the beach, but Sayuki’s story was something completely different.
“Actually… I’m writing a novel…”
“Is that so?”
…Even when I’m suddenly told something like that, I don’t know how to react.
But it’s not that surprising.
Sayuki is a bookworm and loves literature.
It’s not surprising that she wants to try her hand at writing.
In this world, she’s a member of the ‘Homeroom’ Club, but in the skill world, Sayuki was a member of the Literature Club.
Sayuki continued, looking uncomfortable.
“I applied for a certain literary award… and I got a call that I’d won.”
Sayuki’s words surprised all three of us.
“That’s amazing! Congratulations!”
Haruhara is the first to congratulate her.
It seems that he successfully exchanged contact details with the older woman on the chat app on the beach.
“That’s amazing! That must have been really hard, huh?”
Honoka-chan claps her hands.
“Congratulations. What kind of prize is that?”
I ask.
“Well… I don’t know if you know, but it’s the Bungeikai Newcomer Prize.”
“Bungeikai? You mean that stiff-looking magazine?”
It’s a long-established literary magazine that publishes literary works and reviews.
I’m on the library committee, so I see it in the school library every month.
…Well, it’s almost never borrowed, and I’ve never seen any students reading it.
But I know it’s a magazine with a long history; it’s been around since before the war.
It’s art, after all.
It’s a magazine that stuck to its principles and refused to use the new “芸” character. [T/n: People in Japan now use 芸 for art instead of 藝, which is the old one.]
“That’s pretty amazing…”
Honoka said.
“Yeah, hey, hey, could it be that you’ll even win the Akutagawa Prize?”
Haruhara said with a grin.
The Akutagawa Prize is the highest literary award for pure literature, and it makes the news every year.
I don’t know much about it, but I think it’s also nominated by the literary world.
Sayuki waved her hands in confusion and said
“No way, that’s impossible… I’m surprised I got the award at all”.
But she didn’t deny the possibility, so I thought there was at least a chance.
“When will it be published as a book? Or will it be in a magazine first?”
“It will be in a magazine first. It’ll be in next month’s issue.”
“I’ll definitely read it! If I have to, I’ll buy all 10,000 copies!”
Haruhara said.
He really does have that kind of money.
Or should I buy it after it’s published?
Of course, Sayuki also earns money as an explorer, so she won’t be impoverished if her book doesn’t sell.
But if money was all that mattered, she wouldn’t have entered her novel into a competition in the first place.
She wrote it in her spare time, between her studies and her job as an explorer.
She must have been very enthusiastic about it.
“No, that’s not true. Besides, I don’t want you to read it because it’s embarrassing… there are several complicated aspects to it.”
Sayuki says with a voice that seems to be about to disappear.
Well, it might be embarrassing for someone close to you to read a novel you’ve written.
However, it seems that the fact that she won the Bungeikai Newcomer Award will be known throughout the school.
Or maybe she’ll use a pen name?
“Look, it’s late. Why don’t we call it a night?”
She seemed embarrassed and unusually flustered.
We each said our own congratulations to Sayuki and then went back to our own rooms.
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