Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Really?! You agreed?!"

Kuroba Akira was overjoyed and almost rushed over to grab Shirai Shiori's hands and shake them up and down.

"Hmm, hmm... Putting aside whether I agree or not, you just mentioned authorship rights... Mingjun, do you mean you'll give me the pen name for this light novel too?"

Not even wanting attribution... Does this person not love their work at all?

Kuroba Akira spread his hands and answered casually.

"I don't care, as long as the public likes what I write and I can get a share of the money, that's enough for me."

"hiss……!"

Shiori Shirai gasped, looking at Akira Kuroba as if she were seeing a saint!

This is the most shocking moment for Shiori Shirai today, no, it may be the most shocking moment of her life so far!

For an author, the most important thing is their pen name.

Kuroba Akira is also an author; he couldn't possibly be unaware of the importance of a pen name, which is equivalent to a writer's life!

Only when a work is printed with one's own pen name can it prove that it was written by oneself, and then be remembered by people, so that it can be remembered for generations and become famous for eternity... Well, even if it can't become a masterpiece, at least one can show it off to acquaintances.

Even if it were for money, they wouldn't go to such lengths!

But he actually managed to not even use a pen name... just to improve the quality of his work!

What kind of level is this...!

“…Wise ruler, please let me take back what I said before that you lacked the awareness to become a professional writer.”

"Oh?"

Shiori Shirai looked at him with respect and spoke to him in the most admiring tone.

"You are the purest writer I have ever met, without exception."

"Uh……"

Kuroba Akira scratched his head. It seemed that the effect of his ultimate move, not using a pen name, was too good, causing Shirai Shiori's favorability towards him to increase significantly.

But if that happens, the bet with the class monitor is in jeopardy again...

Therefore, Kuroba Akira said, "It's too late to mend the fence after the sheep have escaped."

"However, I must remind you of one thing: Shiori, when you're polishing the story, please don't embellish it or change the original plot without permission. I don't accept any changes to the storyline."

Shiori Shirai said resolutely.

"You can rest assured about this, wise ruler. I would never do anything to ruin the original work."

Okay... it didn't work.

Has Shiori Shirai's affection level been reversed? How did it rise so easily?

Kuroba Akira had begun to miss her initial rebellious and unruly demeanor.

"Well, I've decided on a pen name for you."

"But Mingjun, you seem to have already chosen a pen name, right? I remember seeing it under the book title just now..."

Shiori Shirai turned to the first page of the manuscript and saw the pen name below the title.

"Bai Zi... is that your pen name, Mingjun?"

"I guess so, it's also my nickname at home."

Does this nickname have any special meaning?

The name was said to have a meaning derived from a previous life, but Kuroba Akira couldn't possibly tell Shirai Shiori this secret, so he casually brushed it off.

"No, it's just that I personally prefer 'white'."

It was actually a double entendre; Kuroba Akira meant to say that he liked himself more, and there was nothing wrong with that.

: "..."

However, to Shiori Shirai, this statement was ambiguous.

My heart was racing for no reason. Even though I knew he didn't have ulterior motives, I couldn't help but take it to heart.

So he prefers white... just like me.

Actually, you can tell from the color of the underwear Shiori Shirai wears that her favorite color is white, because that's the color of paper, the background color of books.

She also likes black, because that's the color of words.

Black and white on paper... Shirai Kuroha...

Only when they overlap do they form a complete book page.

Chapter 126 I'm Going to Devour You Completely

Originally, she was only thinking about the pages of the book, but the imaginative Shiori Shirai immediately connected it to the image of two people's bodies overlapping.

No, no, no! That kind of thing will never happen!

Shiori Shirai felt her cheeks burning, just like Akira Kuroba. After the serious atmosphere dissipated, her sense of shame was revived, and all the pent-up shame exploded at once, causing her whole body to heat up.

Perhaps because the conversation had been revolving around nudity, and because she had actually stripped naked in front of him, Shiori Shirai's imagination was stronger than ever.

This has led her to see Kuroba Akira sitting on the bed as if she could see through him, as if she could see that he was naked. However, she still can't imagine the most important part of him because she has never actually seen it.

I'd like to see... no!

Stop it! Stop thinking about those filthy things!

Shiori Shirai shook her head like a rattle drum.

And he's the man Tong cares about!

According to Shiori Shirai's understanding of her best friend, Hitomi Anri is kind to everyone, but she maintains a certain social distance with boys, even with her childhood friend.

However, when Hitomi Anri faced Akira Kuroba, she could clearly feel that the distance between them had decreased significantly, not only physically but also emotionally.

This shows that Kuroba Akira has successfully entered her heart.

Kuroba Akira is really good at persuasion; he even convinced himself...

It's because what he said wasn't just empty words, but sincere advice, that it was able to move people so deeply.

It was because he was such a straightforward person that I initially misunderstood him... but that was actually just his true self.

Now that she has completely shed her prejudices, Shiori Shirai has discovered that she actually quite likes Akira Kuroba.

The bad impression was completely reversed and turned into a personality trait.

However, although he doesn't seem to be dating anyone right now, it's still very likely that he and Hitomi will start dating...

Thinking about this, Shiori Shirai suddenly felt a bitter and sour feeling.

Kuroba Akira was the first kindred spirit he had ever met, while Anri Hitomi was someone he could be friends with for life. With two such important people together, he should offer his blessings...

But why do I feel this way...?

Could it be that... I... have fallen for... him...? No!

It's just admiration and respect!

It's too early to say for sure that this is love!

It's just a misperception caused by the ambiguous atmosphere and the effect of hormones!

I'm just curious because I've never seen a man's body before!

This is driven by desire!

This is not a denial made simply out of shyness, but rather based on rational judgment.

Shiori Shirai has read many romance novels, so her definition of love is more 'rigorous'.

Unlike Murasaki no Miyako, who immediately accepts romantic feelings as love, Shirai Shiori, when faced with an unknown emotion she has never experienced before, first has to debate it.

Only when all other factors are eliminated and the remaining feeling is still admiration can she acknowledge that this feeling is love.

At this stage... she feels that she can regard Kuroba Akira as both a teacher and a friend.

"Then let's continue using this pen name."

"Aren't you planning to change to another one?"

Shiori Shirai slowly shook her head and smiled.

"No need. But can I still use this pen name later?"

"Huh? You need it too?"

"Yes, I also really like the pen name 'Shiroko,' and my surname is Shirai, so this pen name suits me well too."

Indeed, compared to Kuroba Akira, Shirako sounds more like Shirai Shiori's pen name, both in Japanese and Chinese.

"Does that mean you want me to give you this pen name?"

Akira Kuroba felt it was fine to give the pen name to Shiori Shirai, since he wasn't sure if he would continue writing light novels in the future.

If all goes well, the "Sister's Journey" series should be able to run for about twelve volumes, and with the IF routes and bonus chapters, it could be around twenty volumes.

If you write at a rate of one book every three months, it would take five years to finish.

However, with Shirai Shiori helping me now, the output speed should be twice as fast, and I can probably finish it before graduating from high school.

Of course, this is all predicated on the first volume selling well, in order to qualify for continued serialization.

In fact, once you get past the first and fifth volumes, unless the author can't continue writing, the publisher generally won't force you to cancel the book.

After all, publishing is a long-term endeavor; as long as the work can still sell, it can be reprinted continuously, generating ongoing revenue.

For Kuroba Akira, earning enough start-up capital through light novels is enough. After that, he can refocus his energy on the development plan for Murasaki no Miyako, wait for her to become famous and make a lot of money, and then he can live off her sustainably.

"No, I mean, we share a pen name."

"Shared use... then you'll have to pay me a usage fee, right?"

Kuroba Akira said half-jokingly.

To everyone's surprise, Shirai Shiori actually nodded in agreement with a serious expression.

"Sure, if my future works are published smoothly, I'll share the royalties with you too."