Sumire Tohsaka

"Asahi Haruka?"

Sumire Tohsaka was still thinking about Akashi Seijuro's problems that day until she was sitting in the car where editor Amano came to pick her up.

Akashi-kun... Did you realize that she is Asahi Haruka from the style of painting?Or, do you think she is imitating Asahi Haruka's painting style?

Because he didn't ask clearly, she didn't know what he was thinking.

This troubled Sumire Tohsaka a little.

"What are you thinking, Xiaoyao?"

Editor Amano glanced at her in the rearview mirror, and suddenly asked.

Today is the weekend, and it is also the day when Zhao Riyao's new picture book signing will be held, so he specially came to her house to pick her up and go to the bookstore for signing.

"Just thinking about school."

Sumire Tohsaka replied indifferently, and editor Amano gave a soft "Oh", and no longer cared about it.

Three years ago, at Rin's suggestion, Tohsaka Sumire submitted the picture book she drew under the pseudonym "Asahi Haruka".At that time, the editor-in-chief Fumyo Amano was the one who caught her work at a glance in a pile of manuscripts.

After that, Fumyang Amano tried his best to recommend and publish Asahi Haruka's works as a key project, and then, as he predicted, Asahi Haruka's picture books caused a huge sensation. The strange magic in her works almost Drive readers crazy.Under his operation, Asahi Haruka became the most popular picture book author among young people in just three years.

Fumyo Amano has been Sumire Tohsaka's editor for three years, but still insists on calling her by her pseudonym rather than her real name.

According to him, this is to make it easier for Sumire Tohsaka to switch between the two states of "myself as a student (Tohsaka Sumire)" and "myself as a writer (Asahi Haruka)", that is, the "life" mode and the "work" mode. .

Tohsaka Sumire has a different opinion on this: "It's because I am only valuable to you as a writer...the me that is not a writer does not exist to you at all."

Because Fumyo Amano is such a person.

Seemingly gentle and polite, when he is working, people will even think that he is a hard-working and kind-hearted man, and he can be called caring for his subordinate authors. At times like this, he does not hesitate to waste precious rest time on the road. I also have to personally pick up Sumire Tohsaka who is in poor health.

If someone doesn't know him at all, they might think that he has some special friendship with Sumire Tohsaka.

However, Tohsaka Sumire knew very well that for this person, Tohsaka Sumire who was not Haruka Asahi had no value at all.

In other words, what he cares about and cares about...are only writers who can create excellent works.

Just like at this moment, he just smiled slightly at her sarcasm, as if he didn't care at all.Instead, I chatted with Sumire Tohsaka about her newly published work.

"The sales of "Nanachi and Mitty" this time are also very good. The scenery on the third floor of Abyss (ABYSS) is also amazing. The rock wall with a vertical height of more than 4000 meters is as shocking as the third floor. The upside-down forest on the second floor. If you read it..."

Amano Fumyang thought for a few seconds and gave a metaphor that was very characteristic of him.

"Well, it's like a sliced ​​baguette that is baked very crispy, and it's covered with butter full of spices. Whether it's the aroma of butter or the deliciousness of spices, it permeates perfectly into the bread. You can still feel the tiny particles in your mouth, which does not change the unique taste of the baguette, but also adds a wonderful flavor. It is so delicious that it almost makes people cry."

It is Amano Fumyo's bad habit to always use food as a metaphor for literature. Thanks to him, even his daughter Amano Toko, who is still in elementary school, will rush to hug her when she sees Sumire Tohsaka Legs, using all kinds of weird food to describe her picture book.

"The abyss is actually a very scary and hard-to-chew story base, just like baguette, because it is too tough and hard to swallow, so it needs special seasoning. In that rough and vital background color In fact, the relationship between Nanaki and Mitty is the most wonderful seasoning, which makes the abyss story that is difficult to be accepted by the public become a taste that everyone likes. No matter who you are, you can eat a few slices, because Few people can resist a slice of bread toasted with lots of butter and spices."

Amano Fumyang looked into her eyes from the rearview mirror, slightly bent his eyes and smiled.

"You did a great job, Xiaoyao."

And this is why Sumire Tohsaka hates Amano Fumyo very much, but still entrusts him with full power to represent her works.

Because no one can love literature more than him, and no one can have his obsessive enthusiasm, wanting to recommend the wonderful words he has discovered to everyone.

Personally, Sumire Tohsaka hates him very much.But as the author, Asahi Haruka's works can be entrusted to him.In terms of literature, Fumyo Amano is absolutely trustworthy.

Sumire Tohsaka looked away slightly: "Are there a lot of people coming to the signing event today?"

"Well, it's probably twice as much as last time." Editor Amano said something very scary with a clear face.

Sumire Tohsaka recalled the grand occasion of the last time when the line went from the bookstore to the end of the commercial street, and she couldn't imagine the scale of "twice the size of last time".

And what an outrageous workload it would be to sign so many people.

"...my hand will be broken." There was a trace of despair in her calm tone.

"It's okay, I've prepared ice packs and plasters, and I've also contacted the physiotherapy center for you tomorrow, because this is considered a work-related injury, and the magazine society will reimburse you in full." Editor Amano smiled and said something even more terrifying, "Signing The meeting is a stage where Asahi Haruka gets close contact with readers, so please perform well, Xiaoyao."

"Are you a devil?" Tohsaka Sumire finally asked the question she wanted to ask a long time ago.

"No, I'm a monster." Amano Fumyang half-jokingly said, and slowly drove the car into the parking lot, "Okay, the bookstore is here. Show off your momentum, Xiaoyao."

Sumire Tohsaka sighed, took out the black cat pendant that her senior had given her when she was in Rien, and gently shook it in front of her eyes.

Fumyo Amano is a well-known editor with considerable strength and reputation in the industry. He has launched a series of popular writers, so he has absolute right to speak in the publishing house, and he uses this right to speak to set the packaging route for Sumire Tohsaka. It is "acting as Haruka Asahi in the minds of readers".

As "the most popular picture book writer among young people", Asahi Haruka's famous works "ABYSS" series are all in the style of strange imagination, strange setting, dark and gorgeous style of painting.

The story seems to be a stand-up adventure story with the theme of "Nanaki" and "Mity", two fluffy orc girls exploring the abyss, but the actual reading is not the case.

Under the seemingly bright colors, there is a great uneasiness and impermanence concealed. The shadow of death lurks in the abyss at any time, and it will come anytime and anywhere, and everyone takes it for granted to move forward across the bones—towards the abyss. Go to the bottom.No one knows what is on the next layer of the abyss, so no one knows what they will see when they turn the next page.

The whole work reveals a kind of indifference to life and death, and a kind of unusually calm madness.

Such a picture book with a peculiar style has sparked huge discussions as soon as it was published.A famous writer once quoted Rilke's famous saying "Beauty is only the beginning of the horror we happen to be able to bear" in a column to describe the shock he felt when he just opened the picture book and faced the abyss.

The writer who created this kind of work will naturally not be a gentle and harmless literary girl with elegant manners in the readers' imagination.

In most people's imagination, she is a woman dressed in black, with a gloomy expression and slightly nervous features.He should have outrageous and flamboyant makeup, a cold look, and world-weary eyes... In short, he is a dangerous person who makes people feel uneasy just by looking at him.

To put it more clearly, it is like those crazy artists whose SAN value may be emptied at any time in Lovecraft's novels.

Fumyo Amano asked Sumire Tohsaka to play such an image.

Sumire Tohsaka's acting skills are really limited, so she had to rely on some external force to force her breakthrough...for example, to borrow magic hints or something.

And the pendant in her hand has such a function.It was a gift specially given to her by Li Yuan's senior sister to relieve her distress because she saw her acting like a rare person.

The black cat's pendant was attached with a suggestive magic formula, and as it shook gently, it aroused a soft moan in her mind.

"The weight of the air (lighter, weaker), the trembling of the chest (smarter, faster), the light comes later (go faster, go faster), the shadow comes first (tick tock)."①

With such a hint (Wish), when she opened her eyes again, Sumire Tohsaka had completely become the person Fumyo Amano wanted her to be.

"It's amazing no matter how many times I watch it." Amano Fumyang remembered the cartoons his daughter often watched recently, and couldn't help smiling. "Is this the transformation of a magical girl?"

"To shut up."

After sitting up straight, the girl's voice became very cold.With the help of magic hints, she has completely switched to "Asahi Haruka" mode.Even the tone of speech has completely changed.

"Don't say such silly things."

"Okay, okay." Amano Fumyang got up without hesitation, walked to the other side of the car, and opened the door for her, "Please, Your Highness the Princess."

In the bookstore, Gojo Satoru was holding a picture book in his hand, flipping through it boredly.Standing beside him, Yijizhi, the assistant superintendent of the High School of Conjuration, felt restless watching the flow of people who were about to line up in the shopping street next door.

"Five, Mr. Wutiao..." The poor social animal was almost submerged in the cold sweat on his forehead, "No...is it really okay not to put down the 'tent' and not disperse the crowd?"

For the sake of social stability and harmony, the existence of curses and conjurers must be hidden from the general public.Therefore, before conjurers exorcise the curse, they usually evacuate people deliberately, and put down the "tent" as an enchantment to isolate the internal and external spaces, so as not to be discovered by ordinary people and cause panic.

But this time Gojo Satoru knew that there was a possibility that a curse fetus would be born at this sale, but he still refused to disperse the crowd, and he was not allowed to let go of the "trap".

When Yi Dizhi thought of this, he felt that his cold sweat became more joyful.

If the curse broke out in the crowd, it would be an unimaginable accident!What to do with public opinion!How to write the report!How on earth should I report this blatant violation to the higher authorities!Mr. Gojo!Please stop being willful! ! !

"Hmm... have you heard of 'imaginary monsters', Yizhi?" Gojo Gojo rested his cheek with one hand, and looked at the picture book in his hand as if feeling amused.

"You... you mean the imaginary wraith?" Yidizhi felt his stomach ache when he thought of this thing, "A curse based on legends and imaginations...for example, 'incarnation of Yuzao'..."

"That's just a form." Wujo Satoru happily raised his index finger, "It's called 'imaginary wraith' on the conjurer's side, 'innocent monster' on the magician's side, and 'innocent monster' on the other side. Under normal circumstances, it is also known as an 'imaginary monster'. A monster that did not exist originally was born because of people's negative wishes and emotions, because people imagined too much about it."

Gojo Gojo closed the book with a snap, leaned on the bookshelf and looked towards the entrance of the bookstore.

"For some reason, writers seem to be easily cursed by their own stories."

"What... what?" Yidizhi was very confused, and didn't understand why the topic jumped to such an extent.

"No matter how well actors and voice actors perform, the audience... at least public opinion can separate them from their corresponding characters. But writers are different. Especially those writers who like to rewrite their experiences into works." He said meaningfully, "Everyone seems to It is easy to associate the writer with the characters of the novel, just like many people think that Dazai Osamu is Oba Yozo of "No Man in the World". But they forget that the story is originally a fiction, and it is simply insulting to say that a certain novel is a fact that happened in reality insulted the writer, and insulted the truth.

The moment the door opened, the originally noisy bookstore fell silent, and the crowd suddenly divided into two columns like Moses divided the Red Sea.And in the middle of the crowd, the girl walked through the crowd arrogantly and indifferently with her chin raised high like a queen on a tour of the territory.

She was wearing a pure black Gothic Lolita dress, with crimson lace dotted her skirt like bloodstains, and her gorgeous eye makeup made her look as ominous as a blackbird reporting mourning, but also so beautiful that it was suffocating .That kind of cold gaze that seemed to have substance, and that unreasonable beauty made her like the Snow Queen in fairy tales, making those who saw her hold their breath and dare not approach her.

"Recently, there is a popular saying on the Internet-Asahi Haruka must be able to see monsters that we can't see, so that's why he portrays those monsters so frighteningly and realistically."

Gojo Satoru continued speaking calmly.

"They say it must be some unspeakable horror. And that terror will consume her one day."

In the strange vision of the conjurer, Gojo Satoru saw more things.

"We can't lower the 'tent' this time, and we can't disperse the crowd, otherwise... that cunning curse won't really show itself."

Language, writing, wishes...these are originally curses.The black mantra spewed out from the mobile phones, minds, and lips of the people gathered here is like a miasma, entrenched on the crowd, slowly forming an indescribable terrifying existence.

That thing suddenly opened its eyes.

"Here their prayers come together to form the 'Monster of the Imagination'."

He said.