046. Submissions and Pen Names

After sending Umaru back to her room, Jiang Yu returned to his own, grabbed a change of clothes, and prepared for a bath. After completing the ritualistic prelude of skill-casting, Jiang Yu finally slipped into the bathtub, embracing the most relaxing moment of his day.

Of course, even while unwinding, Jiang Yu did not forget to ponder over the matter of submission. First of all, according to the rules for the Undead River Library's Newcomer Award, works that pass the editorial review do not need to be published in their entirety online. This was only reasonable; though there are die-hard fans and collectors, most readers seldom buy another copy of a book they've already read just to keep at home—unless that book holds a meaning beyond the work itself, or comes with limited-edition merchandise and exquisite illustrations (a haze of desire). For most, it’s more likely that, while browsing a bookstore or online shop, they stumble upon a book they once read, recall the joy and emotion it brought, see that it’s not expensive, and buy it on impulse.

But that's beside the point. According to Akiyama's explanation, for this Undead River Library Newcomer Award, only content exceeding ten thousand but not surpassing thirty thousand characters needs to be posted online for readers to sample. As for precisely where to cut off the story—at some intriguing moment to spark readers’ interest or complaints—that is an issue the editor must consider.

With Jiang Yu’s understanding of "Spring Things," if he were to choose, he would end at the conclusion of the first chapter or just before the second meeting between Hachiman Hikigaya and Yukino Yukinoshita in the second chapter. The first volume of "Spring Things" relies heavily on character introductions to drive the plot, especially in the early chapters, which serve mainly to present the protagonist and the two heroines—not to mention the adorable, super-popular boy characters, whom we’ll set aside for now.

Moreover, by the end of the first volume, the personalities of Hachiman Hikigaya, Yukino Yukinoshita, and Yui Yuigahama are already well established, ensuring that readers won't question the characters’ choices or feel the author’s depiction is inconsistent as they proceed. The later chapters of the first volume focus on the interactions among the cast, interspersed with obscure NETA references that Jiang Yu himself, when reading the original light novel, often failed to catch.

Therefore, before submitting, he must carefully compare the original with reality, replacing games or anime that don’t exist here with similar works from his memory, and deleting NETA jokes for which he cannot find comparable ACG content.

With this thought, feeling sufficiently rested, Jiang Yu stood up, drained the hot water from the bath, dried himself, changed into pajamas, and stepped out of the bathroom feeling refreshed.

He walked to the living room, gathered the computer from the desk, took it into his bedroom, opened the first volume of "Spring Things," and began meticulous editing.

Come to think of it, none of those NETA references were altered, and neither Akiyama nor Megumi Kato mentioned it when they read the manuscript—it’s surprising they could understand it all. Megumi, perhaps not, but Akiyama, as a seasoned otaku, managed to find pleasure in those peculiar jokes?

While these thoughts floated through his mind, Jiang Yu searched for the sources of the original NETA references to see if the works existed here. To his astonishment, most did—though the names differed. After all, Wataru didn’t have a habit of citing the references in his writing. No wonder Akiyama held this work in such high esteem; it truly brims with elements that captivate otaku.

So, Wataru, did you always aim your books at your target audience from the start?

Because of this unexpected outcome, the workload for revisions plummeted. Soon, Jiang Yu had completed editing the first volume.

Next, Jiang Yu opened the Undead River Library's official website, ready to submit for the Newcomer Award. The moment the page loaded, its clean and tidy layout sharply increased Jiang Yu’s goodwill toward Undead River. In his previous life, Jiang Yu—fond of browsing that certain website—had suffered enough from intrusive browser game ads.

At the very top was a banner promoting the Newcomer Award; clicking it led directly to the registration page. After hitting the sign-up button, the site shifted to the information entry section. Jiang Yu filled in his basic details, then paused, rubbing his chin as he pondered the final field: "Pen Name."

On a whim, Jiang Yu entered "Tusu." Shaking his head with a wry smile, he added "Baili" before it.

So, the pen name he submitted was: Baili Tusu.

That was the protagonist of a domestic single-player game Jiang Yu had deeply admired in his previous life—one of the few heroes who left him with a lingering sense of sorrow and melancholy. There was a poem about him: "The ancient sword, iron armor reflecting clear radiance; a hundred tribulations, a fleeting thought upon the wheel of fate. Willing to spill crimson blood into the sky, letting karmic flames consume his body inch by inch."

This, perhaps, encapsulated the tumultuous life of that ill-fated hero.

He pulled out his phone and searched for the name Baili Tusu. As expected, there was neither a work nor a character by that name.

Where now lies the spirit of the sword and the heart of the zither?

Suppressing his tangled emotions, Jiang Yu exhaled deeply and murmured in his heart, "I will make you appear, in a better way."

...

After filling in the author information, Jiang Yu uploaded the first volume of "Spring Things" as a Word document in the submission section. Once uploaded, he clicked submit, and from then on, all he could do was wait for the editor to contact him.

In truth, Jiang Yu never even considered the possibility of failing the review.

After completing the submission, Jiang Yu glanced at the clock—it wasn't too late (not past one in the morning)—and created a new Word document titled "Steins;Gate Project Proposal Draft." He transcribed everything from his previous notes into the file. Considering it was a fan club project, Jiang Yu decided to include a breakdown of roles on the last page: planner—Jiang Yu; illustrator—Eri Spencer Sawamura; writer—Utaha Kasumigaoka, and so on.

If Akiyama was counted as the producer, how should Megumi Kato's role be defined? Heroine?

Scratching his head, Jiang Yu set aside the daunting task of assigning a position to Megumi Kato for now.

Though, aside from Megumi Kato and Akiyama, the other two hadn’t confirmed their participation, Jiang Yu believed that after reading the proposal, they would be drawn in and agree to join the club.

For, even if this was a novice’s project proposal, its design was fundamentally based on a work whose popularity had already been proven in the market.