Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Listening to Akira Kuroba's analysis, Shiori Shirai nodded in understanding.

"I see... So, should we limit the types of sports?"

"There are no restrictions, any kind is fine, popular sports like football, basketball, and baseball are all good... But if a sport is too popular, it will be compared to legendary predecessors, so from the perspective of winning probability, I suggest choosing a 'moderately popular' sport, such as volleyball..."

Following Kuroba Akira's suggestion, Anri Hitomi raised her hand and asked a question.

"Can't we do track and field sports?"

"Of course, but it's harder to highlight the element of 'friendship' in individual events... Well, friendship doesn't necessarily have to be shown in the competition. Sports like tennis, badminton, and kendo can also highlight the friendship through team battles. It's just that in track and field, from a storyboarding perspective, there's no 'hitting' process, so it's harder to draw a sense of 'impact'. However, the sense of speed can be expressed through lines..."

Kuroba Akira rambled on and on, then fell into deep thought.

If we were to go on, there would be so many intricacies in sports comics.

There are realistic dramas, superpower dramas, ensemble dramas that emphasize teamwork, dramas that highlight individual heroism, and even the aforementioned dramas that exploit male-male relationships...

Besides, even niche sports can be promoted through comics. For example, Eyespeed 21. Before reading the comics, I only knew about rugby from Forrest Gump. I also learned about sumo wrestling by reading the comics.

If it's kendo, it can be transformed into a cool sword-fighting manga, and with a touch of the supernatural, it becomes a Bleach story. But the earliest example should be City Storm...

Then, badminton and tennis, because they involve doubles and the female characters wear short skirts, are often combined with romance elements... There was a blue box even before the time travel...

Wait a minute! How did it become me brainstorming ideas?

Kuroba Akira suddenly came to his senses and realized that he had interfered with their creative process, so he quickly stopped and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Uh, I accidentally said something unnecessary... What I just said were just my personal thoughts. You don't need to think about so many complicated things, and don't let my experience affect your inspiration."

The other three looked at each other, all with expressions of barely suppressed laughter.

If we really have to say, the person most suited to come up with the story is still Kuroba Akira, but this time he 'gave up' the opportunity.

Akira Kuroba also mentioned an even more unusual example.

"Oh, right, intellectual sports also count as sports, like Go and Shogi. It's like a primary school student being possessed by a Go master who died unjustly a thousand years ago and becoming interested in Go, or a Shogi title holder who has hit a bottleneck and takes a primary school girl as his disciple, with the master and disciple helping each other achieve success..."

Shiori Shirai reached out her hand to stop him.

"Wait! Mingjun, you just said it wouldn't affect us, but you've already given us the story!"

"Haha... I was just mentioning it casually."

"And why are they all elementary school students?!"

"Because intellectual sports are also a form of enlightenment... if elementary school students start, the sense of growth will be stronger..."

The reason she plays Go might indeed be because of that, but the reason she plays Shogi is probably just because XP is a mother of an elementary school student.

Kuroba Akira raised his palm in apology.

"Sorry, sorry, I just made that connection by accident. Please pretend you didn't hear what I just said. I just wanted to tell you that niche and unpopular sports can also be used as creative material."

"..."

Shiori Shirai was speechless. The two ideas that Akira Kuroba had just mentioned were already unfolding in her mind. It has to be said that the concepts alone were very appealing.

He can just blurt things out... Just how many stories does he have in his head?

Everyone admires Akira Kuroba and thinks he's the best at coming up with stories. Besides, what would he do if he didn't come up with stories?

Hitomi Anri asked this question as a representative.

"If we're going to compete in this writing contest, would you be in charge of judging, Mingjun?"

"No, I'm just the one who sets the questions. The final choice of which story to draw will be decided by voting. And if there's a tie, then it depends on which story Moe wants to draw more."

Upon hearing that Kuroba Akira actually planned to select the story through a democratic vote, Anri Hitomi fell silent. She realized that Kuroba Akira had not arranged a plot where 'Moe would definitely be chosen'.

Is it really going to be a competition between the three of them?

"My part is the 'next step' of the text story, which is to turn the text of the story into a name."

The name of a comic is actually the storyboard, which is used to determine how to allocate panels, how to present the characters, what lines the characters should say, and to determine the pacing of the story, etc.

It's essentially a stage before the draft is completed.

This is actually what Akira Kuroba wanted to rekindle Moe Aizon's passion for manga.

It's difficult to get someone who has given up on thinking about stories to start thinking about stories again, so you should start with something she's interested in.

When she was illustrating light novels, she had a unique understanding of scene design, action design, character clothing, expressions, and so on.

This is enough to prove that Aiyuan Moe actually has her own ideas.

And comics, to put it simply, are they just 'serialized illustrations'?

Therefore, Akira Kuroba wanted to have a comprehensive discussion with Moe Aizono during the name stage, so that she could develop her own ideas and change from 'drawing what others want' to 'drawing what she wants to draw'.

"However, since I can't draw, I can't even draw stick figures well, so I mainly need to ask MoeE for help with this part. Let's decide on the storyboard together."

"Okay, okay! I will definitely do my best to complete the storyboard!"

"Then comes the procedural work... blacking out, whiteing out, adding halftone dots, drawing backgrounds, etc... Let's all work together to complete this part."

Kuroba Akira wiped his philtrum and said.

"This can be considered our 'first work' completed through the collective efforts of the entire Arts and Literature Department! In short, the story is in your hands now!"

He thought he had said something very touching and that everyone would be moved, but the other people's reactions were not as good as he had imagined.

The problem still lies in the competitive writing model.

The idea of ​​having to compete before cooperating feels awkward no matter how you look at it.

Shiori Shirai commented on this.

“That’s true, but you just said it was ‘whoever writes the best story should be used’…”

"Uh... I'll correct you then. This time, we're not choosing the 'best story,' but rather the 'story that's more suitable for manga adaptation.' So you don't need to feel guilty that not being selected means your story is worse."

However, it did not provide any comfort whatsoever.

For Hitomi Anri, whenever there is a comparison, she will definitely want to be number one.

Rather, it's more important that other things don't matter, but gaining the approval of a wise ruler and becoming number one in his heart is the most important thing.

Previously, she felt that she was not as good as other geniuses in Kuroba Akira's eyes... at least not as good as them in terms of talent.

But if we can create the best story this time, will it make Akira Kuroba look at us in a new light?

On the other hand, Shiori Shirai is also very concerned about 'winning or losing'.

Because she considered herself Kuroba Akira's number one disciple, if she couldn't even win the competition set by her master, it would not only be a disgrace to him, but also a disgrace to herself.

The two women were full of enthusiasm.

The competition among female members within the Literature Club was interrupted by Hitomi Anri's "monopolization".

Now, however, it has been reignited by Akira Kuroba through a writing competition.

This competition is not only about talent, but also about love.

Only Aiyuan Moe was still oblivious.

She clearly loves sports comics, but when it comes to actually coming up with a story, her mind goes completely blank.

When the master gives the order to "think for yourself," the slave realizes that he is just a "thoughtless puppet."

But... is there really nothing I want to draw... no story I want to tell?

When this question surfaced in her mind, the screw in Aizen Moe's head called 'thinking' finally started turning.

The slaves began to awaken to their true selves.

Chapter 287 I Became a Light Novel Master in Japan

After the Literature and Art Department launched a writing competition and acted as a catalyst, Kuroba Akira was just waiting to see what would happen.

The atmosphere in the Literature and Art Department, which had been peaceful, suddenly became tense.

Compared to the confused Aizen Moe and the passionate Shirai Shiori, Anri Hitomi, who was able to maintain a relatively calm mindset, asked the most important question.

"There's another question, wise ruler: what about time?"

"Oh, right, two weeks is fine. This is mainly to take into account the time required for subsequent storyboarding and original manga production. I can only give you two weeks at most, because it's mainly for adapting short stories into manga, so it doesn't need to be too long. In fact, if it's too long, it will be more difficult to adapt."

Then, just to be on the safe side, Kuroba Akira still gave a reminder.

"So be careful not to create an extremely long story because you're too enthusiastic. Short comics should be around 50 to 60 pages long and should include a complete beginning, development, climax, and resolution. So the story should be as simple and easy to understand as possible, and the main points should be relatively focused."

At this point, Kuroba Akira crossed his arms and began to ramble on.

"Actually, this is one of the reasons why I limited the subject to sports. If it's a popular sport, there's no need for the 'explanation of the setting,' and it's easier to create compelling content... Well, as I mentioned earlier, niche sports are also fine, but considering that readers and editors don't really understand the rules of niche sports, there still needs to be an explanation. How to convey the information to readers in a simple and easy-to-understand way without wasting space is also a problem that needs to be considered..."

Kuroba Akira was about to continue talking about how he would think about it if it were him, but then he heard the class president's soft laughter.

"Hehe, Mingjun, you're just like a foolish parent who worries too much about their child."

"Ah...sorry, I'm rambling again..."

After regaining his senses, Kuroba Akira was also a little frightened by himself.

Why say so much when we've already decided to hand it over to them?

Just like the class monitor said, they are not children. They will think about and solve problems on their own when they encounter them. Even if they encounter difficulties that they cannot solve, we can answer them when they ask. There is no need to instill so much knowledge in them from the beginning.

Anyway, the purpose this time is not to make money, but just to help Aiyuan Moe rediscover her lost passion.

Did I end up rediscovering my passion for creation first?

However, Akira Kuroba never dreamed of becoming a light novel author; otherwise, his experience after transmigrating would have been 'I became a light novel master in Japan'.

Although Akira Kuroba had indeed decided to try to reach the top of the industry with them, he always felt that he was only a 'supporting' role and that the real leaders should be the ones with the talent.

How can a supporting character steal the spotlight from the main character?

You need to recognize your own position... 'Incompetent'.

After giving himself this warning, Kuroba Akira shook his head and said...

"Well, anyway, I'll leave the rest to you guys."

"Yes! I will write works that will be recognized by everyone!"

No longer creating for herself, Shiori Shirai, who has learned to consider the feelings of her readers, clenched her gloved hands into fists, looking very confident.

Anri Hitomi, on the other hand, pointed to her cheek with her index finger and tilted her head, her smile tinged with worry.