Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 82 13. "Gifts and Light Novels"

knock --

"excuse me."

Masumi said softly as he opened the door and walked into the room on the second floor.

"Hmm? It's Masumi-kun." Asami turned her head to look at him. "You said 'excuse me' so seriously that I got scared."

"I see you're concentrating on something."

"It's an animation. Do you want to watch it together?" Asami said, "Sit anywhere."

"Ah."

Having said that, Masumi looked around the room and couldn't find anywhere to sit.

The two rooms on the second floor, occupied by Mami and Masumi's father, are the only Japanese-style rooms in Fanxing. However, compared to her father's meticulous traditional style, there are not many traces of Japanese-style rooms in Mami's room.

They also slept on a bed, but the tatami was covered with a carpet. On the sliding door hung a B2 scroll depicting a beautiful woman with long black hair, wearing a military uniform and looking awe-inspiring.

"How is it? Pretty, isn't it?" Asami saw him staring at the scroll and said proudly, "It's a B-level hanging scroll I bought on Mercari."

"The painting style is very beautiful, but why is it in this pose?"

The beauty in military uniform on the hanging scroll spreads her legs and squats with her feet turned outward and her fists clenched in front of her chest.

It feels like a puppy.

"That's because this character particularly likes dogs," Mami explained casually.

Masumi looked strange: "Do you like dogs... or do you like being a dog?"

"That's the charm," Mami said matter-of-factly. "The more a woman appears noble and inviolable, the more vulnerable and submissive she becomes. The contrast is truly captivating!"

After expressing her opinion, she nodded proudly.

"Masumi-kun, do you like this character? She's a popular character in this manga. I can lend you the single volume."

“No need.” Masumi shook his head. “If I want to read it, I can just catch up on the latest episode on the app and then buy the weekly magazine.”

"Masumi-kun is still too naive." Asami sighed pretentiously, "Don't you know? Whether it's the printing quality or the bonuses, single volumes are the best choice for reading comics, and the most important point is—"

"The single volume is unedited, without the annoying holy light!"

Asami raised her hands and cheered, "Long live the single volume!"

"...Is this some incomplete comic?" Masumi remembered the comics that Kaitsuki always mentioned about Mami.

"No, no, that's not true! Suitable for all ages! Absolutely perfect!"

Asami said with a serious expression, "This is a serious manga serialized in Shonen Jump+."

The only difference is that the content is not limited to boys, but focuses slightly on describing the "reward" given by the beautiful girl to the boy.

"Okay, okay." Masumi nodded perfunctorily, and the topic ended there. Then he saw Asami staring at him with unfriendly eyes.

"what happened?"

"You actually asked me what's wrong, Masumi-kun, how long are you going to stand there? If you keep standing like this, you'll see all of my breasts."

She was wearing a white sleeveless vest that could be used both as a home outfit and as pajamas. The low-cut neckline didn't cover much, revealing her white collarbone, and vaguely visible was her soft, cotton-like outline that was full of color.

"I wasn't looking at that place." Masumi sighed, "Besides, it's too messy here, there's no place to sit."

"Ah, I really can't do anything with you, then I'll clean it up."

Bang—Mami pushed the empty beer can beside her to the side, and then patted the ground and said, "Sit down."

The cleanup was really simple. As soon as Masumi sat down on the carpeted tatami, he could smell a faint scent of alcohol.

Mami's long hair swayed, she smiled, and her snow-white skin was slightly flushed.

Masumi picked up the unopened aluminum can next to him. It was Asahi's lemon sparkling wine.

"This sparkling wine tastes quite good when chilled. It's not bitter at all. You should try it too."

"Don't you usually drink Demon Slayer wine?"

"That's because Demon Slayer Wine comes in a cardboard box, which makes it easy to carry around, and it's also relatively cheap."

The latter point is more important.

At 100 yen a box, it's cheaper than some mineral water.

Click—Masumi opened the lid, and a light-colored lemon slice floated up, supported by delicate bubbles. He put it to his lips and took a sip.

The taste is very light, just as Mami said, not bitter at all. Normally, lemon slices will taste bitter after being soaked for a long time.

Is it freeze-dried?
With an inquiring mindset, Masumi tasted the lemon. It didn't taste bitter, but the fragrance was also lacking.

Mami was amused by his actions. Her smile was lazy and a little drunken.

"You're so weird, Masumi-kun. You came to my room late at night just to eat the lemon in my wine?"

"Of course I'm not that bored." He shook his head. "I have a gift for you."

This was the sixth time Masumi had said this tonight.

"Eh? A gift..." Mami opened her brown eyes wide and asked mischievously, "Do I alone have one, or did you give one to every girl?"

"I gave one to every girl." Masumi answered truthfully.

"But I picked out everyone's gifts specifically, so they're all different."

"Eh--"

Asami sighed, a sound that seemed to be squeezed out of her throat:

"I'll just say you passed, Masumi-kun."

"What kind of hurdle is this?"

"If I say I'm only giving it to you, will you be happy?"

"Of course I'd be happy." She answered without hesitation: "It's the same even if we're not lovers. Even if we're friends, I hope I'm the best person for the other person."

"It's essentially the desire to be treated specially, and the strange human desire for exclusivity at work."

Suddenly he began to seriously analyze human nature.

"That's because many anime and light novels revolve around this question." Asami explained with a smile, and suddenly asked Masumi a question:
"If you have a kitchen knife, who would you let hold the handle and who would hold the blade? Let's agree that we can't take turns using the knife, and we can't buy another knife either."

"What kind of question is that?" Masumi frowned slightly when he heard that.

It's nonsensical. He gave an example but completely denied the correct solution.

“So what’s the standard answer?”

"The standard answer..."

"...Forget it." Mami shook her head dejectedly, "It seems too early to ask these questions now."

“I really don’t know what will happen next.”

"Was the question just now a line from the light novel?" Masumi asked.

"Yeah." Mami nodded, a smile returning to her face. "Want to read it? I can lend it to you. There are only two volumes, so you can finish them quickly."

"Let's talk about it later. We have to prepare for the affairs of the Sea House recently."

"That's right." Thinking of the Sea House and then the special surprise prize, her heart leaped with joy.

"By the way, how's Masumi-kun's light novel coming along? I'm really looking forward to it."

"It's halfway done."

"Really?" Mami opened her eyes wide in disbelief, and asked in surprise, "How come it's so fast?"

“Well begun is half done…”

Before Masumi could finish his slow explanation, Asami elbowed him mercilessly.

"I'm so disappointed that I have high hopes for you. You haven't even decided on a subject, have you?"

"It's settled, love."

"That's too general. Ninety percent of light novels now have romance. I'm talking about more specific themes, like school, workplace, clubs, and so on."

"That's settled too." Masumi nodded: "It's another world."

After deciding to submit a light novel on the web, Masumi first checked the popular works and popular keywords on the website, and also checked the recently published new publications at Junkudo Bookstore.

As expected, works with different world themes occupy almost half of the market.

Come to think of it, it is precisely because the real world is too harsh and makes people feel tired that a gentle world that fully affirms you and will never hurt readers can easily give people hope and make them fall in love with this work.

In this type of work, in addition to the basic setting of abandoning the past and reincarnating into another world, the protagonist is generally given skills or talents like cheating plug-ins, and then bathes in the praise of everyone, gaining honor, bonds and friendship.

"Oh, I also want to be reincarnated into another world and be fully and gently affirmed." After Mami gulped down the sparkling wine in the aluminum can, she sighed while biting a lemon slice. "After getting really drunk, I should be able to go, right?"

"Don't you usually go there by truck?"

After saying that, he dodged Mami's elbow as if predicting it.

Asami snorted and turned the topic back to the light novel: "Since it's a love story in another world, the heroine's personality is very important."

"Yeah." Masumi nodded.

"There must be a large harem, with all the popular labels written on it."

"That's right."

"Then the heroines must fall in love with the hero."

"Is not this nonsensical?"

"Of course it's not that simple!" Mami said, shaking her finger. "It has to be universally accepted that the heroine admires the hero. The hero must be praised unconditionally, and the reader must never be made to feel uneasy."

"Wait a minute." Masumi interrupted, "According to the usual routine, shouldn't the hero help the heroine first before gaining her favor..."

"This is all the same old routine from ten years ago, Masumi-kun." "I fell in love with you because you were helped and treated me tenderly. It feels like conditional love gained through a transaction, not pure."

"So the heroine must fall in love with the hero unconditionally, just like water flows to the lowest point, as unquestionable as the common sense of the world."

"As for the novel, that's right." Masumi nodded.

"But... in reality, does such unreasonable love really exist?" He couldn't help but ask this question.

"Yes," Asami blurted out, a hint of amusement in her tipsy smile, "Isn't that the case with Ms. Mio?"

"..."

Masumi was silent.

"You dated her before, but didn't you ask her why she liked you?" Mami asked.

"Asked."

"Huh? So how did she answer?"

——"Why do you like Masumi?"

Kurokawa Mio tilted her head and said, "Her long, fair legs peeked out from under her unfastened trench coat, giving you a chill."

On the streets of Shibuya in January, the falling snow looks like salt crystals.

"I should have said this many times, but for Masumi, I will never get tired of expressing this feeling no matter how many times."

Her long honey-gold hair swayed gently as she opened her lips and poured out fluent words:

"I love Masumi, not for some reason."

"After all, love doesn't need any reason. If you ask me, 'What do I like about Masumi?', I can say as much as you want. But if you ask me, 'Why do I like these things?', then I can only give a nonsensical answer."

"Because I just like it. It's never a deliberate decision."

After she finished speaking, a gentle smile appeared on her lips.

"One day, I will make Masumi understand completely that I follow my instincts and like her."

Masumi still remembers Kurokawa's answer at that time.

"Masumi-kun?"

Asami's soft call brought his thoughts back to reality.

"what happened?"

"Are you listening to me?"

"You go on."

"Um……"

Mami frowned slightly at his absent-minded look and continued:

"Rather than empathizing with the heartbeats of the hero and heroine, today's readers prefer to see logic in romance stories: 'Because this person is like this, I like this person for this reason.'"

"For example, a person may be insecure and therefore doesn't want to rely on anyone. She always acts aloof, and there are very few people around her who can understand her personality in depth. So she might accidentally fall in love with someone who is close to her and who is always there for her when she is vulnerable."

"While this isn't necessarily true in real life, seeing this kind of logically clear description in fiction makes me feel closer to the rational understanding of 'the author is trying to convey to me what character A thinks of character B.'"

After saying all of this in one breath, Mami opened another can of lemon sparkling wine as if she was thirsty, and the drunkenness on her pretty fair face turned a little redder.

"But after all that, the most important thing about light novels is the illustrations!"

"As long as the girl in the illustration is pretty enough, people will read it no matter how bad the writing is."

"That last sentence is redundant." Masumi sighed.

"But Masumi-kun is serializing on the web, without illustrations, so the text is very important." Asami patted his shoulder and smiled, "Keep working hard."

"thank you, I know now."

The topic of light novels ended here, and Masumi took out the gift he had prepared long ago.

"Here, happy birthday."

"Eh? It's jewelry."

Mami opened the box, and inside was a piece of pearl jewelry with a structure that looked a bit complicated, strung together by a sterling silver chain.

Masumi actually bought three boxes in total. He thought that each box of jewelry was exactly the same, so he gave them to Chiai, Mirai and Asami respectively.

As a result, Qian Ai received a necklace. After returning home, she took a photo of herself wearing the necklace and sent it to him. In the future, she received a bracelet. Only then did he realize that it was a set of jewelry.

I divided a set of accessories into three parts and gave them to three people. I hope I won’t be considered lazy.

"Masumi-kun."

"Ok?"

He looked up again and heard Asami's puzzled voice, "Where do you wear this?"

"Isn't it a necklace?"

"The opening is too small. If it's a necklace, it won't fit at all." Mami shook her head and asked suspiciously, "Is this a gift for a child?"

"No, I checked it before I bought it. It's definitely a gift for girls." Masumi said firmly.

"If it's not a necklace, then it must be a bracelet."

"But as a bracelet, it seems too long, and it has two thin ring-like links, which are also very small."

Mami put down the pearl and silver chain in confusion, picked up the box again, looked at it carefully, raised her head again, and stared at him with an awkward look.

"What's wrong?" Masumi asked puzzled.

"You're not going to give this to other girls too, are you?"

"No, didn't I tell you that everyone is different?"

"Kurokawa is a blanket, Hanekawa is a blind box, the one I gave Kamishiro is a cat shark doll, Chiai is a necklace, and Jiuyuan is a bracelet..."

He was counting the gifts by himself when his knees suddenly sank as he sat cross-legged on the tatami.

Masumi lowered his head and saw two slender feet resting on his legs.

Her skin was as white and delicate as porcelain, and the slender arch of her foot formed an extremely beautiful arc. Masumi's eyes flowed along this arc, and finally stopped at the two heels that were white with a hint of red.

Unlike other parts of the body that are too white, it is stained with a light red, and the bright color that bursts out from it makes people realize that this is not a work of art carved from plaster, but a soft, vivid beauty.

"What are you..."

Before he could finish, Mami swung the pearl and silver chain over and stretched her legs forward again, following the natural and delicate lines from her calves to her ankles, where a hint of purple could be vaguely seen.

"Please put it on for me, Masumi-kun."

Her tone was unstable and a little irritable, and when one suddenly heard it, one felt that she was difficult to please.

"Really? I didn't expect Masumi-kun to have such a hobby."

"But it doesn't matter. This hobby is very common in the anime world, so I won't discriminate against you. After all, I'm an otaku too."

"But since you chose to give it to me, you think my feet are the most beautiful among these girls, right?" Mami smiled with narrowed eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

Masumi was completely confused. He picked up the pearl and silver necklace that had fallen on the ground, then thought about what Mami had just said.

A complete jewelry set: necklace... bracelet... then this is...

"Wait a minute! Let me explain, I didn't buy this on purpose!" Masumi quickly defended himself.

"I didn't know it was an anklet before I bought it. I thought it was just a necklace or bracelet."

Asami said nothing, but raised one foot and gently kicked him in the abdomen.

"hurry up."

"How about I give you another gift?"

"hurry up!"

"ok, ok, I got it."

Masumi reached out and grabbed Asami's ankle to prevent her from kicking again, while picking up the anklet with his other hand.

How do you wear this thing? He first pinched Mami's slender, crystal-clear toes, put the two thin rings through them, then extended them forward along the curve of the instep, and finally hung them around the ankle and tied them tightly, then changed to the other foot.

After putting them all on, he let out a quiet breath.

The sterling silver chain and round pearls shimmered slightly under the light, contrasting beautifully with her fair skin and adding a touch of color to her feet.

"You actually look so relieved, Masumi-kun. This is obviously a reward for you, right?"

Asami didn't hide her interest in watching the show at all, and a wicked smile formed on her lips.

"This is my return gift to you."

Facing this teasing, a direct response or explanation would only lead to self-affirmation. So Masumi pointed at her flushed cheeks and said calmly:

"You're blushing."

"That's because you're drunk." Mami said unhappily.

"You've always denied that you can't drink..."

"——What do you care!"

"Well……"

The calf drew a curve in the air, and the soft touch from the face interrupted Masumi's words forcefully, and the skin was then rubbed with light red marks by the silver chain and pearls.

　Thanks to Orange OMG and DocWar for their donations, subscriptions, monthly tickets and recommendation tickets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)