Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Therefore, struggling writers can only earn extra money as a side job, while those in the middle can do it full-time, and the top achieve financial freedom directly.

Of course, there are also many popular light novel authors who write novels while maintaining their main job.

Especially for professional articles, it's difficult to write about the depth of a profession and the details that only insiders know if you haven't actually worked in that profession.

Akira Kuroba himself used to work in the game industry, which is why he chose the theme of 'making games', because he really understands the professional knowledge in this field.

This is actually the 'core competitiveness' of a novel, something that other novels find hard to imitate, preventing it from becoming a homogenized work like those run-of-the-mill isekai novels.

Therefore, it is foreseeable that the sales of "Sister Game" will not plummet after they stabilize.

The difference between light novels and traditional literary works that are published in a book is that light novels are 'short-selling books', meaning they sell well when they are first released, and their sales will gradually decline afterward unless they are adapted into an anime, and they rarely rise against the trend.

The sales of traditional literary books are even more stable, and best-selling works can really sell for ten years. So some literary giants can actually live off a single book for a lifetime.

Kuroba Akira was envious, but unfortunately he didn't have the ability.

Light novels also have their own unique advantages, namely 'long-running serialization'.

A new book is released every few months, and when new readers join the fandom, they buy the 'previous' books, which in turn increases the sales of the previous volumes, and eventually the average sales per volume will stabilize... It's actually similar to the average subscription of online novels.

Therefore, novels like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which have been ongoing for over twenty years, have in a sense become 'works of a generation,' much like super-long-running manga.

Of course, as time goes by, the novel's popularity fades, and the readers from back then have gone from teenagers to middle-aged working adults. Those who are willing to spend money to buy new volumes of the novel are basically the "old guard" from back then.

If it were any other super popular work, and they had released a few more copies while it was still popular, they would probably have already achieved financial freedom.

However, with just this one novel, the author, Tanigawa Nagaru, could actually earn 500-600 million yen a year, which is about the same as what an average office worker earns. It's like he's taken a break from his job and can make money off his savings.

Therefore, the three million yen that Kuroba Akira received was only the 'first installment', because the initial print run of 100,000 copies had already sold out, and there would be further reprints.

With the release of the second and third volumes of "I Am a Friend," the novel's sales are expected to rise accordingly. After an anime adaptation, sales are likely to surge again.

In other words, as long as nothing goes wrong and ruins the novel's reputation, causing its sales to plummet, Kuroba Akira has essentially achieved 'financial freedom' this time.

Of course, you can't just buy whatever you want like a tycoon, but if you don't want to buy a house in Tokyo and just want to eat and drink without worry and spend money without pressure, you can achieve that just by living off the royalties from the novel "Imouto!"

Along with Aizono Moe and Shirai Shiori, who also shared the profits, they were promoted to 'little rich ladies'.

huh?

So making money is this easy?

It feels surreal, like winning the lottery...

The main issue is that Kuroba Akira was previously worried about how to get money, but when it came time to actually receive his share, he realized that his previous goal of "lying down and doing nothing" seemed to have already been achieved.

Moreover, because the class monitor invested her dowry in the company, and with the assistance of her father-in-law, Murasaki no Miyabi, the company didn't need Kuroba Akira to make any additional investments... After all, his money was barely enough to fill a company's teeth.

Ok……

In short, I'm rich now.

You've got money... and then what?

When the class monitor asked him this question before, Kuroba Akira realized that he had never really thought about it properly.

The main point is that thinking about it is pointless until the money is in hand; in this respect, Kuroba Akira is quite realistic.

Now that he was finally certain that he had become truly wealthy, Akira Kuroba began to think about what he could do with the money.

It's all about making money and having fun.

The most direct way is to eat, drink, and have fun...

Hmm... I feel like I'm a little... lacking energy?

As for food and drink, Akira Kuroba was already satisfied with the class president's homemade bento and Miss Kouka's hometown dishes.

Then, for entertainment... we went to Takanashi's house. They had all the latest games and anime, even the highest-end setup: a mom-and-boy companion...

I'm so happy... Last week, I was a little overwhelmed by Ziyin and the class president's obsession, and Kuroba Akira doesn't really want to keep having fun... Panpansi is enough...

Huh?

I actually...

Have you lost all desires and wants?

No way... Mingming finally became rich...!

There was nowhere that it was used at all?

How could this be...!

Doesn't that mean... I've unknowingly strayed from my original purpose and lost my true self...?

Seeing Kuroba Akira standing blankly at the bookstore entrance, Hikawa Makoto also walked out of the bookstore and stood next to him, saying something.

"Oh, I heard that too. 100,000 copies sold in the first week! Congratulations!"

Kuroba Akira suddenly tilted his head and asked.

"Hikari-kun, is there anything you want?"

"Huh? Why are you asking this? Didn't I say before that I wouldn't join your arts and literature department for money? Besides, if you inform the student council about the outstanding achievements of the arts and literature department, you won't have to worry about personnel anymore, right?"

Hikawa Makoto came out to explain this matter to him, and there was no need to go to great lengths to recruit her, so the request regarding Saionji Makoto can be cancelled.

But Kuroba Akira didn't play by the rules, and said one thing at a time.

"This has nothing to do with the Literature and Art Department; I'm just asking you this question from my own perspective."

"Uh……"

Hikawa Makoto choked for a moment, then became even more speechless.

It would be even stranger if you were the one asking!

I'm nobody to you, so what do you mean by asking me what I want?

Does that mean you want to buy it for me?

But what's the reason?

I'm not your girlfriend!

Why are you being so nice to me?!

Makoto Hikawa's confusion was written all over her face, and Akira Kuroba provided the answer.

"I have so much money I don't know what to do with it."

"what?"

After thinking for a while, Kuroba Akira thought of a place to spend money, and that was...

Pay money to buy women.

Oh no, it should be...

Spending money on women.

Chapter 289 A New Rival Appears

Let me briefly explain why Akira Kuroba came to such an absurd conclusion.

He used to think that spending money on a woman he had just met was the behavior of a shrewd, obsequious womanizer, and he still thinks so now.

After using the process of elimination to filter out all the places where he could spend money, Kuroba Akira realized that he now had almost no places where he needed to spend money.

If it were six months ago, the thing Kuroba Akira would have wanted to do most after receiving the money would have been to have a big meal, cleanse his stomach from the curry hot pot, and cleanse his intestines.

However, due to the expansion of interpersonal relationships, his material needs, such as eating and other aspects, have been met, so Akira Kuroba can only turn to purchasing 'spiritual needs' and 'emotional value'.

For example, buying your girlfriend a bouquet of flowers and seeing her surprised and happy smile makes you happy too. That's the right way to spend money on others.

But here's the problem: if Kuroba Akira only buys it for one woman, something terrible is bound to happen.

You see, even when Kuroba Akira is handing over grain, she has to split it equally between Shion and the class monitor. If she accidentally loses control of the balance when spending money to buy gifts for them, one of them will get jealous.

In fact, the class monitor is not short of money. No matter what she wants, as long as it is not too outrageous, her family will buy it for her. The same goes for Ziyin. If her doting father knew that she wanted something, he would probably send it to Xiaolin's house anonymously the next day.

The key is that the gifts Kuroba Akira gave them had different meanings, and their added value far exceeded the value of the items themselves.

Women's jealousy often swells in the act of comparison. They'll often say, "Why did you buy her something better than mine?" and then they'll endlessly stack boxes like they're comparing fighting strength... No amount of money would be enough to cover it all!

Therefore, Kuroba Akira did not want to actively ignite this fuse. Even if he spent money on them, they might not be happy. Instead, they might become jealous and it could even trigger an even more terrifying gravity-based battle. So why bother?

So, excluding the two women with whom he has the closest relationship, there are actually very few women that Kuroba Akira can spend money on.

Takanashi and her mother, the poetry and painting duo from the Literature Club. As for the former, Akira Kuroba plans to bring some souvenirs when he visits Takanashi's house next time.

It's a bit embarrassing to go there for free every week, so Kuroba Akira plans to bring some gifts next time.

However, the problem is that if they want to reciprocate, and the Takanashi family's treatment is elevated again, it will be almost like going to a red-light district brothel... So it might be better not to give them overly expensive gifts.

In other words, a gift like a strawberry cake that the husband brings to his wife and daughter after get off work is about right, and it's also suitable for his current status... Anything more than that would be inappropriate.

As for Shiori and Moe, since they also receive royalties, even if Akira Kuroba wanted to buy them gifts, they might not accept them.

Furthermore, it would be strange to buy gifts for them but not for the class monitor, but if we buy gifts for the class monitor, we would also have to buy gifts for Ziyin, which would cause a chain reaction. Therefore, all members of the Literature and Art Club are rejected.

However, there was one thing that Kuroba Akira always remembered: he needed to buy Aizen Moe a computer and a graphics tablet for drawing, and then slowly switch from hand-drawing to digital drawing. This would greatly increase his efficiency. As for who would pay for it, that was fine.

In this way, Kuroba Akira no longer has any women he needs to spend money on.

Then he remembered that Makoto Hikawa was working part-time because she needed money, so he decided to help her solve her financial difficulties first, and also to increase his favorability towards her.

So when he said he was spending money on women, he was specifically referring to Makoto Hikawa, and it was with a strong purpose in mind; he wasn't just spending money on women to show off.

Then, Makoto Hikawa, recovering from her shock, retorted.

"If you have nowhere to spend it, why not just save it?"

Indeed, there is an option not to spend money at all; you can simply save it up as money to cross the river in case of emergencies.

Moreover, saying that you have money but nowhere to spend it is an exaggeration. If you really want to spend this money, there are many ways, such as investing in stocks or foreign exchange. With a little leverage, you can lose everything in no time.

Kuroba Akira wanted to spend money in a way that was 'valuable', because saving it would only lead to it depreciating in value.

Moreover, he mainly wanted to prove that he still had places to spend money, otherwise he would feel that the life goals he had set before would be undermined.

"Well, I just feel uneasy if I don't spend some money..."

"Why?! Are you some kind of caveman from somewhere? Is this your first time in modern society? You've never seen money before, have you? What's there to be afraid of!"

Hikawa Makoto, who was working a part-time job, couldn't understand his strange mentality at all and made another sharp retort.