30 Top Secret... Folder

"This..."

"What..."

Both Chongyun and Xingqiu were not able to utter more than two words. That ending really caught up to them by surprise.

From how the story was going, a man was sent to another world and he expected a fun adventure. But his expectations were turned down and he even got beaten up.

Following that, a girl saves him and he felt eternally grateful to her and decided to help her. Only to be killed in an unknown location together with her.

However, what happened next surprised them. They really did conclude that Igarashi would kill his main character and end the story there.

And with the final words at the end, they finally understood Igarashi's true intentions.

Xingqiu and Chongyun calmed themselves down. Despite being shocked by the sudden turn of events, they actually found it refreshing. A new plot that sticks out from the rest.

'As expected of Boss Yunru, he had once again made another work that is different from those of others...' Xingqiu praised in his thoughts.

Deep inside his mind, he knew he made the best decision to support Igarashi's business. Not only was his business new to Liyue, but the stories are even unusually unique. From a body-switching romance book to this... Psychological fantasy.

To be fair, he always read a book that gets his attention. Though, Igarashi's works just stand out.

As for Chongyun, he wasn't really that into reading. He oftentimes spends his time improving his exorcism and hunting demons. So, with this new experience, he felt that it was not for him. 'Returning to the past by death... Is it a curse or a blessing? Haah... I'd rather believe in the former...'

Although he does not take Re:Zero to his liking, that does not mean he doesn't like the other works of Igarashi. For example, he loved the manga 'Your Name' and still believes the body-switching phenomena are real.

This is one of Chongyun's gullible sides. He would often mistake something from a book for something real. And his dear friend Xingqiu, being the tease he was, would continue to trick him to believe that it is indeed real until he had enough and explain it to him.

In short, he still wants to go to Japan. And Xingqiu has still not told him that it may only be a fictional land Igarashi made based on Inazuma's culture.

Xingqiu closed the book a heaved a sigh. "Although Boss Yunru's new work seems a bit heavy, I still find it somewhat enjoyable." He started stating his opinion. "And I have to say, an ability like returning to the past by death seems rather... Traumatizing."

He then thought of something and slightly shivered at the thought of him getting this ability. "All I could just do is hope that Boss Yunru won't torture Subaru with this ability that much. As such, I'll continue reading it."

Oh, boy was he wrong.

And he will find that out in the future. Possibly, even develop a rabbit phobia.

Chongyun also closed his book and looked at Xingqiu. "I don't think it's for me."

Xingqiu smiled and teased him. "Why? Was it too much for our dear little Chongyun~?"

Chongyun was flustered a small tinge of red spread across his face. "N-No, I'm not! I just... I just don't like it!"

"Ehhh? Really though~?" Xingqiu continued with a mischievous smile.

Chongyun knows what his friend is doing. He would often do this to raise his temperature which results in... Some troubles for him.

Since he has excessive Yang Energy, he's always prone to warm things. Even the sun's rays could affect him. And even blushing can raise his body temperature!

And In the event he is not able to suppress those feelings, he might enter a manic state of being excited, friendly, or faint. In extreme cases, he may show extreme signs of irrationality. To counter said positive energy, he always wears light-colored and light-weight clothing and usually eats cold food.

The two friends kept chatting with Xingqiu laughing when a familiar voice was heard.

"Looks like you two are done." They turned their head and saw Igarashi giving a gentle smile. "So, how was it?" His smile widened

Xingqiu was the first to react and he slammed the manga on the table. "Boss Yunru! Why didn't you tell us about the whole thing?!"

Igarashi shrugged his shoulders with a smile ok his face. "I don't know what you're talking about. Could you clarify it?"

Xingqiu pouted before sitting down again. He then crossed his hands and said: "You know what we're talking about!"

Chongyun, who has now mostly recovered from the teasing, also joined in and spoke. "He's right, Boss Yunru. You only told us that it is a normal fantasy book. But the manga was a contrast to what you said."

Igarashi smiled again, and finally decided to confess. "Alright, alright, I'll stop being vague now."

He cleared his throat and then started explaining. "As you know, this is not your average 'Feel Good' story. It's about how a man struggles to protect the person he's in favor of by dying how many times it takes."

"And it's not just a favor. It's his promise. He promised that he will save her as many times as it takes." He pointed out

"We already know that much, yeah..." Chongyun said. "However, why does it happen to him? Is he cursed? Or trapped in a loop?"

Igarashi hummed while he closed his eyes. "Well then, why don't you find out yourselves? Continue reading the series. I plan to release 11 chapters at the end of the week, covering the first volume of the story, so stay tuned for that."

He wasn't lying when he said this. He had already drawn up to 5 chapters of the manga. He wouldn't be able to reach this far if it wasn't for his intelligence stat raised.

[A+]

That is what his current Intelligence stat is. It rose his memorizing skill by three folds and also have him a fast thinking capacity. Though, for some reason, he wasn't able to advance to the next level of this stat. He was sure that there would be at least the [S] stat, or maybe there isn't? Either way, he just has to find out in the future.

As for his skills [A Mangaka's Will] and [Tears of a Mangaka], their proficiency rose to 64% and 16% respectively. He frequently used the former skill and not the latter because he does not want to end up the same as Kentaro-sensei, a person he respects a lot.

After talking to Xingqiu and Chongyun for a bit, the two of them finally left. Though, Chongyun said that he will be coming back because of the coldness of the place, to which Igarashi replied that he should continue buying books if he wants to stay.

Later, Igarashi returned to the other side of the wall and spoke to Mo Fan. "I think the release of Re:Zero went well."

Mo Fan nodded with agreement. "I concur. Despite the brutality of its nature, the story is great."

Igarashi also nodded and saw Mo Fan's work. "How about this, good right?"

It was the next series he was planning. Avatar: The last air bender.

Mo Fan nodded and gave his opinion. "It's actually intriguing. A person from a hundred years ago coming back to stop a war... Although it's not a new genre, I think it's still unique."

"Nothing new? What do you mean?" Igarashi questioned.

Mo Fan started explaining. "Well, as an editor, I had seen many books. And genres like these are nothing new. For example, one of the books I edited in the past is about a martial master from the archon war coming back to the present Liyue Harbor after being sealed by Rex Lapis for being too powerful. It's actually pretty decent."

"Oh~ I see, I see..." Igarashi nodded as he understands.

Then, Mo Fan noticed something on his desk. It was rather... Peculiar folder.

Out of curiosity, he asked Igarashi. "Boss Yunru, what is that?"

Igarashi was a bit confused and looked where he was pointing and immediately got startled. He frantically ran to it and covered it with paper. "...Don't mind it."

It was pretty clear. It was top-secret.

Mo Fan was taken aback for a moment before nodding. 'Could it be something... Classified? It must be something really important to Boss Yunru to be kept a secret...'

However, Mo Fan's guess was wrong.

Because what Igarashi covered was a folder that is colored all-black. And in the front of the folder's cover, there was a symbol of the letter 'N' with red bat wings on the top.

'A little side-project...' Igarashi mischievously thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside Igarashi's shop, two figures stopped.

"Th-This is the place..." Muttered a person. They sounded like they were having a hard time. Having a hard time convincing someone, that is.

It was Ganyu.

"Then let us enter. I've finally found the culprit of the recent ruckus in Liyue Harbor which caused a headache for my side..." Said the person beside Ganyu.

She was also a beautiful woman with fair skin and dark amethyst eyes, with oval cat-like pupils featuring diamond-shaped markings on the iris.

But of course, the most noticeable feature about her is her cat-like hairstyle.

It was the current Yuheng Qixing, Keqing.

The Yuheng is in charge of the land, livelihood management, construction, and real estate. And like the rest of the Liyue Qixing, the role requires strict regulation and developmental direction.

"But to think Ningguang already sent you here... It doesn't matter. Let us go." She said.

And so, the two of them entered.