— — — — — —
Finding Yoshiteru Zaimokuza wasn't difficult.
All you had to do was look around the most out-of-the-way corners of the school during lunch.
Sure enough, in a quiet little spot with a surprisingly nice view, Oikawa found him.
Zaimokuza was sitting there, eating his bento while reading a light novel.
Judging by the cover, it was Fate/Zero.
"Gilgamesh is cool, right?"
Oikawa sat down a short distance away and opened the bento Kawasaki Saki had made for him.
Fried pork cutlet over rice. A few peas. A couple pieces of tempura.
For all her rough edges, that violent girl could really cook.
Sometimes Oikawa even found himself worrying about something very real.
What if he and Kawasaki had a falling-out for good? What would he do if he could never eat food this good again?
Which meant one thing.
Fixing their relationship was absolutely necessary.
"EMIYA is clearly cooler, okay… huh? Wait, who are you?"
Zaimokuza instinctively scooted back, staring at Oikawa with cautious surprise.
"We're in different classes, but we had P.E. together a few days ago."
"My name's Oikawa Toru. Mind if I eat here?"
At school, Zaimokuza was considered weird, gross, and creepy by most of Sobu High—more so even than Hachiman Hikigaya. But Oikawa didn't dislike him.
Actually, why would he? Because he was chubby? Because he was a chunibyo?
None of that was a good reason to hate someone. In fact, he hated the people who used reasons like that to look down on others instead.
"Oh. Of course you can."
Zaimokuza instinctively shifted a little farther away, perhaps worried he might disturb Oikawa's meal.
The guy really did live like he was tiptoeing through life.
"I like Iskandar and Lancer too… Hmm. Lancer's Noble Phantasms are seriously impressive," Oikawa said casually. "Too bad Lancers are cursed with E-rank Luck."
"In the fight against the boar, if he'd brought the red spear that cancels magic instead, he probably wouldn't have died so easily."
Oikawa spoke like he knew the material well.
He really liked Lancer a lot. Spear fighters were cool.
Of course, compared to Gilgamesh, no one could compare. The man was coolness incarnate.
"You like Fate/Zero too?"
Zaimokuza leaned closer, eyes suddenly sparkling.
"Very much."
"Want to read it?" Without hesitation, Zaimokuza held out the light novel.
"I've already read that one."
"Ah… right."
Zaimokuza scratched his head awkwardly.
"I'm Yoshiteru Zaimokuza. Class 2-B. Nice to meet you. I've got a bunch of other Fate novels at home. If you want, I can bring some tomorrow."
Only after saying all that did he remember to properly introduce himself.
Still, the kindness he offered was genuine.
"I'm Oikawa Toru from Class 2-F," Oikawa said. "Also the president of the Literature Club."
"Feel like dropping by the clubroom after school? There are quite a few light novels there too. You might find something you like."
The invitation was sincere.
"C-can I?"
"Of course."
"Then… I shall… I mean, I'll take you up on that."
Oikawa smiled.
For a brief moment, he felt like he finally understood why that old woman had been so determined to create the Service Club.
Then, with Oikawa's invitation, Zaimokuza successfully joined the Literature Club.
The once empty two-person room became a trio.
Before Kawasaki arrived for tutoring, Zaimokuza was incredibly noisy. He constantly dragged Oikawa into discussions about light novel settings and worldbuilding.
Sometimes he even showed Oikawa his own writing.
Zaimokuza's story was about supernatural battles set in a school.
Oikawa's first thought was the anime Charlotte.
After several hours of pure suffering, Oikawa finally finished reading the manuscript.
Plot-wise…
It was set in Chiba City, where mysterious organizations and psychic individuals with memories of past lives moved through the shadows at night.
Then—
A completely ordinary boy awakens his hidden power and proceeds to defeat enemy after enemy.
If Oikawa had to sum it up in four words?
Garbage.
Or to put it another way?
Absolute garbage.
So Oikawa began guiding Zaimokuza step by step, slowly leading him toward the path of becoming a real light novel author.
"Your Majesty," Zaimokuza declared dramatically, "I know not when I shall storm the fortress of Dengeki Bunko and take the head of the villain known as the Grand Prize. Should that day come, Your Majesty will surely be the greatest hero of this campaign!"
Black lines crept across Oikawa's forehead.
"Speak human."
The one who said that wasn't Oikawa. It was Kawasaki, who had just walked into the room.
Zaimokuza instantly shrank like a deflated balloon.
In a much weaker voice, he said, "I don't know when I'll win the Dengeki Bunko Grand Prize…"
"I heard the novel Your Lie in April just won it. It's supposed to release in early August. It's not really my style, but I'm planning to buy it and study it anyway."
Kawasaki clearly had zero interest in that conversation.
Oikawa rubbed his nose. "How'd you even hear about that? I haven't seen anything."
"On the forums!"
Zaimokuza pulled out his phone and opened his bookmarks.
He tapped into a website called Writers' Gathering. It looked a bit like an online forum.
"There are a lot of authors there," he explained. "People share industry news all the time."
"That's where I saw the announcement about Your Lie in April getting published."
Oikawa browsed for a bit.
The forum actually felt much more professional than the usual group chats.
Looks like he'd found a brand-new place to show off.
Most importantly—
Utako Kasumi wasn't there.
Very nice.
Oikawa nodded in satisfaction.
"Explain this problem to me."
Kawasaki's voice suddenly cut in.
Oikawa hurriedly handed the phone back to Zaimokuza, then immediately walked over to Kawasaki with a shamelessly flattering smile.
Hey, a man's gotta make a living.
.
.
.