093. A Few Things I Know About Scripts (Part One)

“If you say things like that, the creator might just want to hit you, you know, Tomoya…” Teasing as she spoke, Jiang Yu walked into the classroom, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

Glancing at Tomoya Aki, whose face was frozen with embarrassment, and Utaha Kasumigaoka, who sat in the front row with her arms crossed and an expression of clear displeasure, Jiang Yu found herself a little lost.

So, in an attempt to ease the awkward atmosphere, she asked softly, “So… what happened?”

Tomoya let out a long sigh of relief, as if seeing his savior, and pulled Jiang Yu aside to recount the events.

“…So, you actually said that? No wonder Kasumigaoka-senpai is angry.” Jiang Yu listened to the explanation with a wry smile.

It was a straightforward matter. After going home yesterday, Utaha Kasumigaoka—who claimed to be inspired—stayed up late and managed to write about a third of Mayuri Shiina’s storyline. This morning, since she could only reach Tomoya, she sent him the script and asked him to share it with the rest of the club to gather their feedback.

And then, during lunch break, the scene unfolded. Tomoya, dissatisfied with some parts of the script but unable to articulate exactly why, ended up saying something that would enrage any creator while also making himself out to be a meddlesome yet incompetent producer.

“Please, Yu, take a look. I just feel something’s off, but I can’t put my finger on it.” Tomoya pressed his palms together sincerely. Clearly, he hoped that Jiang Yu, a fellow creator—especially as a fellow light novel author—could pinpoint what felt wrong.

“So, where’s the script? Give it here.” Jiang Yu wore an expression that said, “What am I going to do with you?”

“Ah… wait, it’s still with Kasumigaoka-senpai.” With that, Tomoya walked over and carefully negotiated with the still-stern Utaha Kasumigaoka, finally returning with a neatly clipped stack of papers.

“She only has the digital version. This is what I printed out this morning in the school’s mimeograph room,” Tomoya explained as he handed over the manuscript.

“The speed of professional writers really is something…” Jiang Yu muttered as she accepted the stack, but then she let out a sound of surprise.

The reason was simple: the title at the very beginning felt oddly specific—especially to someone in planning.

“An Exceptionally Wholesome Galgame Script for Mayuri Shiina’s Storyline in ‘Steins;Gate,’ Lovingly Crafted by Ethics-kun (Provisional Title)”

What was with this bizarre nickname, “Ethics-kun”? Was it referring to Tomoya? But Jiang Yu was the one who wrote the proposal… and in Japanese, “Tomoya” and “ethics” don’t even sound alike—only the character “Tomoya” shares a kanji with “ethics”.

Throwing a questioning look at Tomoya, Jiang Yu saw him shrug, indicating he was just as confused.

Well… it felt like losing the moment you pointed out the absurdity. So Jiang Yu simply ignored Utaha Kasumigaoka’s title, which was practically begging for commentary, and turned the page.

After skimming through it, Jiang Yu frowned. The script was noticeably different from the one she remembered from her previous life, when she played the game, but that was only natural. With a different author, even if the plot progression was similar, the script was still suffused with Kasumi Utako’s unique style.

But what really made Jiang Yu frown was the same inexplicable sense that bothered Tomoya—a strange feeling, like having a bone stuck in your throat.

It felt as though the answer was just within reach, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t grasp it.

Scratching her head in frustration, Jiang Yu looked apologetically at Tomoya and sighed. “Sorry, Tomoya, I’ll get you an answer after school. I need some more time to look it over.”

Tomoya hadn’t expected Jiang Yu to identify the issue on the spot. But since both of them felt that something was off, the script must indeed be missing something crucial in the eyes of these two experienced galgame players.

Then again, for a new writer like Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had only published one novel and never worked on a game script, this was already an impressive effort—beyond what Jiang Yu had expected.

Still, it seemed that Tomoya had only called her in at noon… Did that mean he wanted her to take on part of the supervising work too?

Even with these thoughts, Jiang Yu didn’t mind. As the planner of this game project, the one thing she absolutely couldn’t accept was letting this brilliant proposal fall from a masterpiece in her past life to a subpar work in the hands of a group of beginners.

So, if she could take on a supervisory role and keep the club’s progress on track, that would be more than welcome.

After bidding farewell to Tomoya and Kasumigaoka, Jiang Yu returned to her classroom with the script and began reading it thoroughly, over and over again.

Just as she had done in her previous life, painstakingly analyzing outstanding plots to craft her own game’s storyline.

Thus, for the entire afternoon, after reassuring the teachers who had been worried about her recent lack of attention by listening attentively in the morning, Jiang Yu once again immersed herself in the script, oblivious to the lessons around her.

It wasn’t until the end of the school day that Jiang Yu finally slapped her desk in sudden realization, whispering excitedly, “So that’s what it is!”

Naturally, this drew the eyes of every student and the teacher at the podium. “Jiang Yu, do you have any thoughts to share on today’s lesson?” the teacher asked pointedly.

Jiang Yu quickly stood up and apologized, returning to her seat amid the class’s laughter.

Eagerly awaiting the final bell, Jiang Yu could barely contain her excitement and rushed to head to the AV room.

But at the doorway, she was stopped by Tomoya, who had left ahead of her. Perplexed, she looked at him, and he smiled wryly. “I get that you’ve probably figured out the problem from earlier and you’re really anxious, but maybe slow down a bit? Never mind the school rules, we should at least wait until Kasumigaoka-senpai arrives before we start discussing it.”

Jiang Yu exhaled deeply, calming herself. “You’re right, Tomoya. I was too hasty. Let’s pack up first.”

After gathering their things, the two made their way to the AV room. On the way, Jiang Yu suddenly remembered a rather inconspicuous classmate. “By the way, isn’t Kato coming?”

Without turning his head, Tomoya replied, “Ah, Kato said she had something to do today and told me at lunch that she wouldn’t be coming to the club this afternoon.”

“I see…” Jiang Yu suppressed her curiosity, deciding to focus on the matter at hand.