SCIAW: Chapter 280/281

Chapter 280: No, It’s Not Me!

On Wednesday morning, in a forest deep within Saitama Prefecture, an isolated cliffside villa was gradually welcoming guests one by one.

"Inhale… Exhale…"

A fashionably dressed short-haired woman took a deep breath. Staring at the suspension bridge in front of her, she felt as nervous as if she were about to ride a roller coaster.

"Chikako, you have to seize this opportunity. This really is your last chance."

As a screenwriter, she understood all too well how many chances she'd missed in the past two years. Those two years had nearly drained all the prestige she'd gained. She didn't even have the luxury of making another mistake.

This time, asking an old classmate for help was her final chance. If she failed to grasp it, there would be no more doors left to knock on.

After psyching herself up, Chikako Ikeda stepped onto the suspension bridge that would decide her fate.

Inside the villa, Suzuki Ayako and Suzuki Sonoko had already been waiting for some time.

At this moment, even Ayako was feeling a bit tense. There was nothing wrong with attending a college reunion, but this time, it involved a decision about her own future—possibly even her destiny. That made things more complicated.

Sonoko could easily tell her sister was nervous, and tried to comfort her.

"Sis, you don't have to be so uptight. Ren isn't that scary of a person."

Seeing her sister's carefree expression, Ayako didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.

"You can say that because you know him and you're dating him. But I've never met him before, so of course I'm nervous."

Being able to interact so casually with someone who was leading her sister down a path that could potentially end in godhood—how could that be considered normal?

Only someone with a personality like her sister could face something like this so calmly.

"Oh, don't worry so much. Ren's personality is actually really good. He just doesn't talk much when he's around strangers. But after spending more time with him, he opens up a lot."

Sonoko knew exactly why her sister was so on edge, but what else could she do?

Since yesterday, she'd been trying to calm Ayako down. But the moment this situation actually arrived, her sister just couldn't relax.

That was understandable though. Even Sonoko had been overwhelmed on the day she received her own powers.

Even though her power was classified as supportive, the ability to meet anyone without needing an appointment was downright abnormal.

She might not have direct combat strength like Ran, but that didn't mean she would never acquire such power in the future.

Knock knock knock!

The knock at the door interrupted their conversation.

When the door opened, they saw Chikako Ikeda standing there, a travel bag slung over her shoulder. She still looked presentable, but no longer had the bright energy she once did during college.

"Long time no see, Chikako."

"You too, long time no see, Ayako."

Compared to Ayako's calm and gentle greeting, Chikako Ikeda seemed noticeably reserved. She even held Ayako's offered hand with both of hers.

Ayako wasn't surprised in the slightest.

After two years of struggling in society, people who once thought highly of themselves were often worn down by reality. How could someone like that still put on a prideful front in front of someone who might help them?

Only a complete fool would do that.

"Come on in. We can talk inside."

Ayako didn't make things difficult for her former classmate and instead welcomed her inside.

Chikako Ikeda stepped into the villa with a bit of nervousness.

In the living room, she saw a younger Sonoko waiting.

Chikako naturally recognized Suzuki Sonoko, Ayako's younger sister. Back during their university club days, Ayako had occasionally brought Sonoko along.

"Long time no see, Chikako."

Sonoko greeted her with a friendly smile from where she sat.

"It's been a while, Sonoko."

Chikako gave a polite bow in return.

Seeing this, Sonoko's lips curled slightly. It wasn't easy to tell, but the proud attitude Chikako once had had been completely worn down.

Still, the fact that she could lower her head and come ask her sister for help showed she understood her current situation and who could offer her a lifeline.

Of course, even then, all Ayako was offering was a chance.

"Chikako, it's rare for you to ask my sister for help. But I'm curious—did you really write Blue Kingdom back then?"

Chikako, who had just sat down, suddenly froze. Looking at Sonoko's innocent curiosity, she forced a bitter smile.

"That… wasn't actually written by me."

Sonoko didn't look the least bit surprised. It was clear the once-proud screenwriter had finally realized how important actual ability was, and had stopped trying to hide things.

"That story was actually written by another girl from our drama club. She asked me to share it. I thought the fantasy world she created was rich and interesting, so I wanted to buy the rights."

Ayako's gaze instantly sharpened.

"Chikako… you didn't steal Atsuko story and drive her to suicide, did you?"

"No! It wasn't me!"

Chikako's expression changed immediately as she waved her hands in denial.

"Ayako, you know me. I was a little full of myself back in school, but I was just a regular student who got some results in the drama club. I wouldn't dare do something like stealing someone's work and pushing them to that point."

Hearing that, Ayako's expression softened a bit.

Indeed, after years as classmates, Ayako knew Chikako's character well. She could be arrogant and sharp-tongued, but she had never bullied anyone. At most, she had a bit of an attitude.

Chikako let out a small sigh, though her expression remained somber. She couldn't help but recall her friends suicide.

"Atsuko and I were never enemies. Back in the drama club, I wrote the scripts for most of the plays. You both should remember, the scripts I wrote weren't bad. Atsuko also liked writing stories, but she preferred fantasy rather than stage scripts."

"Her stories weren't really suited for stage performances, so we never used her scripts."

"Even though I knew she wrote something really good, I simply wanted to buy it. At that time, she was just a quiet member of the club, and I was the main scriptwriter. Why would I risk everything by doing something so shameless?"

"And besides, if I really had taken someone else's work, once it was discovered, I would've been ruined. I wouldn't have risked that kind of scandal."

Listening to Chikako's explanation, Ayako and Sonoko both nodded slightly.

It did make sense.

(To be continued.)


Chapter 281: That Story Is What I Bought

"What if you were careful and didn't get caught?"

Sonoko asked, a touch of curiosity in her voice.

"It wouldn't matter."

Chikako Ikeda gave a bitter smile and shook her head slightly.

"Once a published story is accused of plagiarism, the author's credibility is put under scrutiny. If the person you stole from can't produce a better story, you might get away with it. But if they can… then it's confirmed plagiarism."

"Once that label is attached to you, it sticks for life."

"If I had taken Atsuko story and published it, and she got the media involved, especially those gossip tabloids, I'd be completely ruined. Sure, the publisher might help me keep it under wraps, but if my next submission didn't live up to the standard, I'd be done for."

As she spoke, Chikako lowered her head helplessly.

"Actually, I've already been accused like that for the past two years."

"I've been working hard on my writing all this time, trying to surpass Blue Kingdom, the story Atsuko wrote. But I'm only really good at drama and stage scripts, not fantasy novels."

"So the books I submitted over the past two years didn't perform well—actually, they did very poorly."

Chikako's words snapped Suzuki Ayako back to awareness.

Now that she thought about it, their college drama club had been fairly well-known. She remembered that Chikako had written all the club's stage scripts, while Atsuko's stories had never made it to the stage.

"Come to think of it, Chikako, you were always good at writing for theater and stage plays."

Ayako looked at Chikako helplessly as the memory returned.

"So if you knew fantasy wasn't your strength, why did you want to buy Atsuko's story in the first place?"

Chikako looked a little embarrassed as she explained.

"Honestly… I was thinking about building up my reputation first. That way, my scripts would get more bookings in theaters. I thought if I used Atsuko's story to gain some recognition, I could push my real strengths afterward. I didn't expect that after I submitted the story to the publishing house, the news of Atsuko's suicide came out not long after…"

Chikako had understood early on that fame was valuable. Sometimes, leveraging a well-timed opportunity could bring tremendous convenience.

But she never expected Atsuko to take her own life shortly afterward.

Sonoko grew even more curious and asked,

"Chikako, did you actually buy that story from her? If you did, why would she commit suicide?"

"Right. If it was a proper transaction, Atsuko shouldn't have had a reason to do that. Did she really agree to sell the story?"

Ayako looked at Chikako as well, surprised by the implication.

"No. When I first read Atsuko's story and wanted to buy it, she refused. She told me, 'This is my story, I'll never sell it to anyone.' I didn't think much of it at the time and just returned the manuscript."

"Honestly, it was a spur-of-the-moment idea. If I could buy it, great. If not, it didn't matter. I already had several drama scripts ready, and a few well-known theaters were in talks with me about them."

"But two days later, Atsuko's mother came to my house with the same manuscript I'd seen before. I asked her why Atsuko was suddenly selling it, and she just said something had happened in the family and they urgently needed money. She asked me if I was still interested in the story."

"At that time, I'd just finished several commissions and had some extra funds, so I was willing to buy it. But her asking price was really high—300,000 yen for a single story."

That was indeed a steep price.

Both Sonoko and Ayako nodded in agreement.

No matter how well-written a story seemed, its market value couldn't be confirmed until after publication. Many factors go into making a story successful, including luck.

Paying 300,000 for a single, untested story really was too much.

"I had a good feeling about it. I thought the story had commercial value. Despite the high price, I still bought it. I went to a lawyer with Atsuko's mother, drafted a purchase contract, and we signed it."

"You hired a lawyer too?"

Ayako was a little stunned.

"I'd considered the legal risks. The lawyer helped draft a contract that covered all the bases. It was to protect myself in case Atsuko's mother came back to cause trouble later. You know how tricky publishing rights can be, especially since I also bought the title of the story."

Chikako wasn't reckless. She had foreseen many possible problems and had the contract professionally prepared from the start.

"What I wanted was to gain some fame from the story. I bought the name and the rights, and any profit from publishing would be mine. At the very least, I needed to recoup the cost of buying it."

"Atsuko's mother signed the sales contract as her legal guardian."

"But the day after I submitted the story to the publishing house and it got published, I heard the news of Atsuko's suicide."

Chikako's expression darkened at the memory.

What frustrated her most was that all she did was buy a story—yet in the public eye, she became the villain who drove Atsuko to her death.

"And then… yeah, Blue Kingdom exploded in popularity at the time."

Ayako had been about to ask why Chikako didn't clarify things publicly, but then remembered how popular Blue Kingdom had become.

For Chikako, who had purchased the rights, it would've been impossible to come forward. Even if she wanted to, the publishing house would've done everything in its power to stop her.

"I only wanted to use Atsuko's story to build my reputation and bring more attention to my stage plays. I never expected things to go so wrong."

"In the past two years, I've been studying different genres, trying to improve. But I really don't have the kind of imagination Atsuko had. I can't create the type of fantasy worlds she did. So the doubts just kept growing louder."

Thinking about the past two years made Chikako feel even more frustrated.

Still, she hadn't been completely stagnant. Her failures in the fantasy genre had pushed her to explore other types of stories.

Through all of that, she had finally managed to construct a story she felt was promising.

As she spoke, Chikako opened her backpack and pulled out a manuscript she had prepared in advance.

"This time, I didn't try to write fantasy like Atsuko. I focused on the direction I'm good at. Ayako, please take a look."

"Alright."

Ayako accepted the manuscript with a much more serious attitude than before.

(To be continued.)