"Actually, if you hadn't come, it wouldn't have been easy to convince Muramasa's father you know..." Homura revealed to Elf.
Elf was a clever girl, and upon hearing that, she quickly understood the reasoning.
"I see..."
Elf understood Homura's intentions.
Having witnessed her previous interactions with Muramasa, how could Muramasa's father not be aware of his own daughter? Homura had pretended not to understand, but in reality, he understood Muramasa better than anyone else.
His daughter, who had shown little interest in anything before, suddenly had a person she could talk so much with, and their relationship seemed so good, proving that she had developed an interest beyond novels.
This was a very joyful moment for the doting father! And for those who sought to win him over, this was a crucial part!
Without the bond between Muramasa and Elf, no matter how convincingly a stranger spoke, what could they possibly achieve? Did they think they could move someone like Rintaro?
That would be a joke.
Elf, having figured everything out, glanced deeply at Homura. Was this a spontaneous decision or had he planned it in advance?
Either way, it demonstrated Homura's remarkable abilities. In her eyes, his ingenuity surpassed even that of Megumi.
This was also where Homura couldn't understand Elf's thoughts. Otherwise, he could only force a bitter smile and retorted that he wasn't that calculating.
Of course, it was a spontaneous idea of him. If he had planned it in advance, why would he have racked his brains earlier?
At most, one could say that he was exceptionally quick-witted. He always managed to make a significant impact at critical moments.
"Ahh... I thought the collaborative novel idea was pretty good to convince him." Elf rested her head on the table. "After all, it's quite fun. I never expected we wouldn't need it at all."
"We can do it if you want." Homura took another sip of tea. "It's not that difficult."
"Really?" Elf instantly perked up.
"Yeah, if you really want."
Receiving a confirmed answer, Elf turned to Muramasa. "Hana, what do you say?"
"... I just feel like I won't be able to write a better story than the one I wrote myself..." Muramasa replied, pretending not to hear her real name spoken by Elf.
"How will you know if you don't give it a try? Who knows, the process of collaborating might be the most exciting part. Of course, if the work turns out to be fun too, that's even better."
"Even if Elf didn't suggest it, I was planning to propose the same thing anyway." Homura added. "After all, we're about to start a new work, and merging scripts is inevitable. Wouldn't it be better to get used to it in advance with this collaborated novel thing?"
Hearing Homura's explanation, Muramasa still hesitated but eventually nodded. After all, his reasoning made a lot of sense.
"Since Minamiya-kun said so... the members, are just the three of us?" Muramasa asked, knowing that their future collaborations would involve these people, hence the question.
"Let's have Eromanga-sensei join too." Elf exclaimed at the tablet. "How about having her illustrate the entire novel?"
"I don't know anyone with such a name!" The usual reflexive retort came, though Sagiri showed interest. "But it sounds fun and challenging. I'll take care of the illustrations."
"Yeah! Let's do it! I'm starting to get excited!" Elf happily laughed, then suddenly frowned, "But it feels like we're a bit short on people..."
"How about we add some difficulty?" Homura's mouth curved with a hint of a smile.
"Wait!" Muramasa interrupted, catching on to Homura's intention. "Father's novels are so boring! I never thought he could write anything good, and with him being in this situation..."
"Hana... that's really mean..." Rintaro put down the item in his hand, looking helpless as he gazed at his daughter.
"Who asked you to write such boring novels." Muramasa stuck to her opinion.
"Don't say that! This time, we're just trying out the collaborative novel. Even if you don't like your father's work, we can make it interesting for the next writer, right?" Elf comforted Muramasa. "That's the fun of a collaborative novel! The next writer has to solve the problems left by the previous one. Isn't that interesting?"
"...Fine." Muramasa finally relented, then looked sternly at her father. "Don't let us down."
"..." Homura was speechless. This scene just felt so strange no matter how you looked at it!
"Alright, let me join this collaborative novel thing." Rintaro said calmly while nodding. Being able to do something with his daughter got him excited as well.
"Hehe~ That's great!" Elf was ecstatic. "As for the theme... how about a 'chance encounter'?"
""No problem!""
Everyone readily nodded.
But afterward, Sagiri and Muramasa were shocked!
Let Rintaro write a novel with the theme of a chance encounter...
Seeing his daughter's surprised expression, Rintaro chuckled and rubbed his chin.
"What? Do you think I can't write it?"
Muramasa nodded. "Your novels might be boring, but I've read them, and they're totally different from a theme like a chance encounter."
"But that's exactly the point of the collaborative novel." Rintaro continued to smile. "I've also studied the writing style of light novels, and mimicking it shouldn't be a problem. With some of my techniques, I should be able to present the next writer with an interesting challenge. Are you interested?"
"Give up all resistance, Muramasa." Elf waved her hand enthusiastically. "Everyone participating is already a decided matter. Any complaints can be discussed after it's over."
"Haha... writing a novel with my daughter... this is really wonderful!" At this point, Rintaro didn't seem like the solemn father he was before at all!
"Wait a moment." Rintaro suddenly stood up, left the room, and then returned with a laptop after half a minute. Once seated again, he spoke, "Let's use this to write. The theme is a chance encounter, and I'll be the first to start. Is that okay?"
Homura was the first to nod, and although Elf had decided on Homura going first. After hesitating a bit, she also nodded.
Seeing Elf's concerns, Rintaro explained, "Don't worry, I truly understand light novels. After all... I want to have a common hobby with my daughter."
"Ever since my novels started selling, Father turned into this kind of person." Muramasa rolled her eyes.
"Being an experienced player in the novel industry, he's got quite a lot of vitality."
Elf nodded and spoke with an impressed tone. But suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she quickly looked at Rintaro.
"Hey, I'm curious, have you ever tried submitting a light novel for publication?"
To her question, Rintaro simply operated the laptop and displayed the screen to everyone.