Tokyo Soft Rice King.

It's been raining a lot lately. Every autumn rain brings a chill, and the weather in Northeast China is getting colder and colder.

It's nice to be a little cool; at least I won't get so hot I feel dizzy, and there are no mosquitoes.

In short, everyone, see you in October, bye-bye.

2024.09.01

Chapter 131 I Don't Want to Be Abandoned by Him

Kuroba Akira's words truly struck a chord with Aizen Moe.

In fact, Aiyuan Moe has always wanted to do something for everyone, but whether it's the personnel crisis in the literature department or her best friend's literary creation, she can't help much...

After all, she knew very well that she had poor interpersonal skills and couldn't attract many people, and authors in the field of pure literature rarely had the opportunity to collaborate with illustrators.

If Shiori were writing light novels, that way, she might be able to come in handy... She had thought this more than once.

So when Kuroba Akira first grabbed her hand, she was genuinely happy. Although she was a little afraid that she wouldn't be able to handle it, she was more determined to give it a try.

Now, upon learning that her best friend would also be involved in the creation of a light novel, Aizono Moe felt as if she were dreaming, and looked at Shirai Shiori in her arms with a look of surprise and delight.

"Ah...! Really! Shiori, you're going to get involved in creating the light novel too?!"

"Yes, it's true. I've already promised Mingjun, but I'm only responsible for polishing it up."

"That's great...! That's great, that's great, that's great!"

"Mengmeng, you're exaggerating..."

Aizono Moe was jumping around while holding Shirai Shiori. The fact that such a shy girl could show such liveliness and excitement shows that she was really extremely happy.

Seeing the two best friends who had been together since childhood reconcile, Kuroba Akira felt even more that her idea of ​​hiring Shirai Shiori as a ghostwriter was the most perfect decision.

In this way, Aiyuan Moe will definitely be full of energy, and she will accept all my suggestions for revision.

Great! Everything is alright now!

As the head of the Literature and Art Club, Anri Hitomi, who was being excluded by her own members, looked at Kuroba Akira with a resentful gaze, pouting as she asked.

"Kuroba-kun, what about me?"

Uh... the class monitor is emitting black smoke.

However, Kuroba Akira would never forget the class president. It was thanks to her that he was brought to the Literature Club, a wonderful place full of talented girls, that he had the opportunity to restart his light novel project. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was his lucky star.

Then Kuroba Akira said with a smile.

"Hehe, don't worry, how could I forget the head of the Literature and Art Department? I've decided to entrust the supervision of this work to you!"

"Oh? So I'm in charge of chasing up the manuscripts?"

"That's right! In addition to that, there's also a trial reading and error correction! We hope that you, class monitor, can provide us with your first impressions and help us find typos and grammatical errors."

It's basically just giving the class monitor a supervisory role.

In this way, the production model of this light novel becomes somewhat similar to the division of labor among translation groups.

First, there needs to be a source novel. Then, it needs to be translated, polished, and supervised before it can be published. The only difference is that the translation process has been replaced by illustration production.

Kuroba Akira was the source of the novel, producing the outline. Then, Aizono Moe produced the illustrations, while Shirai Shiori was responsible for writing the main text and polishing it. Finally, Anri Hitomi supervised the revision.

Originally, supervision should have been Kuroba Akira's job, but now it's been assigned to the team leader so that she can have some presence, and at the same time, she doesn't have to be paid.

Why not take advantage of free labor?

Anri Hitomi tapped her cheek and pondered for a moment before smiling gently as she spoke.

"Hmm... Although it feels like you've just found something for me to do to appease me, I'll gladly accept this responsibility since you haven't forgotten me, Kuroba-kun."

Kuroba Akira knew the class president would accept it, because she definitely didn't want to be excluded.

The Literature and Art Department has completed its mission without anyone getting hurt!

"So, this is our Literature and Art Club's first official activity! Working together to complete this light novel! Let's all do our best!"

Kuroba Akira extended the back of his hand to the three girls, and they all understood what he meant, placing their hands on top of each other.

Akira Kuroba: "Literature Club! Resurrected!"

The other three: "Oh!"

The atmosphere was just like that of a sports club with the motto 'Aiming for the national championship!' The long-dormant arts club was also ignited.

Kuroba Akira was the one with the brightest smile, but he was actually overjoyed inside.

Actually, you're all contributing to my dream of living off a woman! Hahaha!

After the morale-boosting session, Kuroba Akira sat down and took out three copies of the novel manuscript that he had prepared beforehand.

"Anyway, let's take a look at my light novel today. Shiori didn't finish it yesterday, so let's finish it today."

"Yeah, actually I wanted to finish watching it yesterday, and I've been really interested in the later parts of the story."

Shiori Shirai had been eager to see how things would unfold, and the other two also took the manuscript and began to read it carefully.

...Reading time for the Literature and Art Department...

Anri Hitomi was the first to finish reading it. After finishing, she didn't praise Kuroba Akira's novel for being so good. Instead, she showed a strange expression and asked a question.

"...Kuroba-kun, if I may ask, do you have a younger sister?"

"Huh? No."

I don't think so.

In fact, even Akira Kuroba couldn't be completely certain.

However, if I learn from Tashiro Kurenai that I am a counterpart from another world, then my family situation in both lives should be the same.

In fact, in his previous life, Kuroba Akira had the opportunity to have a younger brother or sister.

He had heard his mother say before that she had been pregnant a second time when he was three years old.

However, due to the one-child policy at the time, the family did not want this child, so Kuroba Akira had to shoulder the burden of the family alone after growing up... Sometimes Kuroba Akira felt that it would be great if he could have a brother or sister.

However, it is precisely because he doesn't have a younger sister that he can write this kind of sister complex story! That's the power of imagination!

"I see... If you have a younger sister, she'd probably blush and her heart would race if she saw this light novel."

It's practically like an incredibly long love letter to my sister...

Fortunately, he doesn't have a sister, otherwise it might have caused some misunderstandings within the family, or even escalated into a very bad situation.

"But this work is really interesting, Kuroba-kun is really talented..."

"Hehe, thanks for the compliment."

Hitomi Anri's admiration was heartfelt, but her unease also grew stronger.

It's likely that this light novel will spark a nationwide craze for sister complex after its release.

As a seminal work, the sales of this light novel are expected to rise accordingly.

He'll become very famous and make a lot of money, and then my value to him will only decrease...

This can't go on.

I need to work harder to catch up... otherwise he will never look at me, and will only get further and further away from me.

Hitomi Anri made up her mind once again that, as his friend, she had to acquire the talent to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, no matter what.

We must never be abandoned.

Chapter 132 She's Here to Collect the Debt

On the other hand, Aizono Moe's reaction after watching it was as if she had been struck by lightning. Her shocked expression was like a frozen image, and she could not calm down for a long time.

After regaining her senses, she excitedly shouted to Kuroba Akira.

"Kuroba-kun! This work is sure to be a bestseller!"

Moe Aizono, who usually speaks softly, made such a assertion at this moment.

After she finished speaking, she felt embarrassed and waved her hands repeatedly with a slightly flushed face.

"Ah, I'm sorry... what I said might not be very credible... but I've read a lot of light novels, and I genuinely think this work has a lot of potential!"

"I'm relieved to hear you say that, Aiyuan."

Aizen Moe is the only one of the three girls in the Literature Club who is a true reader of light novels. Her evaluation is roughly equivalent to the real evaluation of readers, which gives Kuroba Akira even more confidence.

"Mengmeng is right, this work will definitely be a bestseller, and I will make it even better."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you, Shiori. Let's practice with the prologue today."

"Okay, leave it to me!"

Shiori Shirai took out a stack of draft paper and placed it to the right of the original manuscript. She looked at it and wrote as she went, carefully considering the wording and phrasing, and immediately got into the zone.

On the other side, Aizen Moe also raised her hand and asked.

"Um, Kuroba-kun, may I start drawing the character designs for the heroines right now?"

"Oh? Have you already figured out how to draw it?"

"Because your descriptions of the heroines are so detailed, I was able to immediately picture them... especially the younger sister, I feel like I could draw her right now!"

"No problem, Aiyuan, why don't you try drawing first? I'd also like to get to know your art style."

Kuroba Akira had never seen Aizen Moe's drawings before. Although her skill level was definitely good, every artist has a different style, so he had to see them to know if they were suitable.

However, since she really likes light novels and comics, her art style will probably be more anime-like, which would suit Kuroba Akira's taste perfectly.

"Okay! I'll draw it right away!"

Aiyuan Menghui was full of energy and took out her sketchbook, which she always kept in her schoolbag, and started drawing character designs with a pencil.

After a while, the character design sketch for the younger sister was completed.

After reading it, Kuroba Akira's facial muscles trembled slightly from extreme shock.

Because Aiyuan Moe was talented and had relevant skills, he had raised his expectations, but the result still exceeded his imagination.

Seeing Kuroba Akira's expression, he asked cautiously.

"Um... was it because my drawing wasn't good?"

"Do not……"