Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Wait a moment!"

It wasn't Akira Kuroba who stopped Shiori Shirai from declaring defeat, but Moe Aizono, who surprised everyone present.

Her face flushed red, she clenched her fists, and spoke with all her might.

"I...I...I want both!"

For the first time, Aizen Moe expressed her thoughts in the face of the two domineering individuals.

Her independent will began to awaken.

Chapter 308 Sharing the Person I Like with My Best Friend

"You want both?"

At first glance, Kuroba Akira thought that Aizono Moe was saying this because she couldn't choose between her two best friends and didn't want to offend either of them.

It's like a cheating boyfriend who can't choose between two women, so he says something explosive like, "You are both my wings."

However, if such words are spoken, and the level of goodwill has not exceeded its limit, it will only cause resentment from both sides, leading to an immediate breakup, which may even be a physical one.

Although the consequences of Aizono Moe being a girl shouldn't be as severe as in a situation with two girls and one boy, women's social interactions are more complicated, and Kuroba Akira didn't know what kind of consequences Aizono Moe's words would cause.

However, just as Kuroba Akira was thinking about helping out of the predicament, he saw Aizono Moe's expression, which was different from any other time. It was more serious than ever before, and her gaze was resolute, which did not match her gentle and weak appearance.

At this moment, Akira Kuroba understood. It turned out that Moe Aizono hadn't said those words because she was torn between two options, but because she had truly made up her mind and had her own ideas, which was why she said those words.

Let's hear what she has to say first.

Shirai Shiori and Anri Hitomi, who understand Moe better than Kuroba Akira, had no misunderstandings from the beginning. They cast gentle glances at Aizono Moe who had made changes, as if watching over her growth.

Aizono Moe realized that her words might cause misunderstandings. She calmed her obviously heaving chest, and after sorting out her emotions and thoughts, she tried her best to speak.

"Everyone... please listen to me. It's not that I can't choose which side is better, which is why I gave such an ambiguous answer... but rather that I genuinely think both sides are good and I want to draw both, which is why I said that."

Kuroba Akira scratched his head and asked.

"So, Moe, you're planning to draw two short comics to enter in the competition?"

Aiyuan Moe shook her head and said.

"No, no, I only want to choose one side to participate in the short comic contest, and the other side's story... I want to publish an original comic doujinshi for Winter CM."

"Ah... I see."

So it turns out that they wanted to draw on both sides in this sense, which means creating two comics and assigning one to the more suitable 'home turf'.

Hearing this, Kuroba Akira could already guess which story Aizono Moe wanted to use for the commercial, but he didn't know if her idea was the same as his.

Aizen Moe picked up Anri Hitomi's notebook very seriously and said.

"To be honest, it's definitely Kotomi's story that gives me a better visual picture. Just seeing the premise of this story, I can already picture the intense scene of swimsuit beauties 'colliding' with each other..."

Especially during the process of creating illustrations for Akira Kuroba's light novels, Moe Aizono's inner H-spirit was ignited. In terms of pushing the boundaries and engaging in eroticism, she was completely opposite to her shy personality, pursuing bold compositions and panel layouts.

After her only weakness, color blindness, was 'filled' by Kuroba Akira, Aizen Moe once again found joy in drawing after a long time.

So she really wanted to draw more, cuter, and more sassy beautiful girls, and the story that Anri Hitomi came up with just happened to fit her current preferences, giving her a feeling that she 'had to draw it'.

"As for Shiori's stories... I genuinely find every concept interesting, and they're all stories that make me want to 'keep reading.' If they were serialized in a weekly shonen manga magazine, I would definitely follow every issue... But if I were to create these stories myself, I don't yet have enough confidence..."

Shiori's lips twitched slightly, revealing a faint smile. There was no surprise or anger in that smile, only a deep sense of helplessness, as if she had seen through the ending but still could not avoid it.

This is also why she wanted to admit defeat immediately. It is because Shiori understands Momo better than anyone else that she was able to instantly understand that the class president's story hit Momo's target spot.

It may not be the best, but it's the most suitable for her.

This time, Shiori Shirai learned from her previous loss to Akira Kuroba. She genuinely considered the feelings of the general readership and analyzed the gimmicks and highlights. However, she forgot that in this themed writing competition, she was only an assistant, while the 'real creator' was Momo.

Everything was considered, but Mengmeng herself was overlooked, so it's no wonder she lost this competition.

Just then, Aizono Moe suddenly grasped Shirai Shiori's hands, her eyes blazing, and every word she uttered seemed to burst forth from the depths of her heart.

"But! Precisely because I don't know what I'm capable of right now, I want to submit Shiori's story to the short manga contest even more!"

"Mengmeng...!"

Shiori Shirai looked at her familiar best friend, and at that moment, her figure overlapped with that of her childhood self, when she was full of passion for painting.

Even if I might not draw it well... even if I mess it up... even if I waste all the great ideas Shiori worked so hard to come up with, I...! I still want to give it a try!

At this moment, Shiori Shirai let Moe Aizono hold her hands tightly, and it seemed that the warmth of the other person was transmitted to her hands through Moe Aizono's hands.

Shiori Shirai's expression held a mixture of relief, joy, and a hint of bitterness and emotion.

It was as if time had finally returned to normal, and Aiyuan Moe had finally shaken off the shadows of the past.

"I haven't wanted to draw anything new for a long time! Shiori, your stories have given me the motivation to take on a challenge again!"

"Um……!"

Shiori Shirai's eyes were slightly red, and tears were quietly gathering in her eyes, like morning dew hanging on the edge of a petal, about to fall.

Finally, as she closed her eyes, two tears slid gently down her cheeks, warm and carrying unspeakable emotions.

Wise ruler... I sincerely thank you...

It was your light novel project that made Mengmeng pick up her paintbrush again, and it was also your short comic contest that helped Mengmeng rediscover her lost creative drive.

Shiori Shirai attributed all the credit to Akira Kuroba because she felt that if she were on her own, it would be difficult to help Momo out of this situation, and she might even have to watch helplessly as Momo strayed from the path of painting.

Because Mengmeng is a more genuine creator than I am, the kind of person who can find joy in creating, and I embarked on the path of writing novels because I wanted to empathize with her.

But it is precisely because Mengmeng is too pure in her creation that she is easily hurt and feels pain far greater than others. Even her best friend does not know how to help her rekindle her creative desire to paint without hurting her.

As a result, Akira Kuroba accomplished what he himself could not.

But Shiori Shirai didn't feel resentful this time. Instead, she felt relieved, thinking, "This is the reason why I fell in love with Akira Kuroba."

This gratitude caused Shiori Shirai's affection for Akira Kuroba to rise significantly again, to the point of being obsessed.

What's even more terrifying is that at this moment, the seeds of an absurd idea began to sprout in her mind.

The idea was that since Akira Kuroba was the one who cheered up Moe Aizono, he also became an important person to her. If both Akira Kuroba and Moe Aizono were willing, she felt that a 'threesome' might not be entirely unacceptable.

She doesn't want to let go of either her best friend or her first love, so she simply does what Mengmeng did... want both!

She felt that she, Aizen Moe, and Kuroba Akira were all 'creators' and like-minded people. If the three of them were together, their relationship would definitely be closer than that of ordinary lovers.

At this moment, Shiori Shirai's rich imagination came into play again, and she began to imagine the ideal life of the three of them living together, supporting each other, fighting together, and sharing joy and sweetness.

The more she thought about it, the better the future seemed. This idea took root in Shiori Shirai's mind, changing her original understanding of love.

Creative people tend to be unconventional, especially Japanese novelists and literary giants, who are particularly adept at portraying twisted love. Shiori Shirai has begun to catch up with her predecessors in this regard.

However, Shirai Shiori overlooked the existence of a certain literature club president, not to mention that Kuroba Akira was already living with another woman.

On the other side, Kuroba Akira was also moved by the heartfelt conversation between the two best friends. She turned around and looked at the class president, who was also watching with a smile. After making eye contact with Kuroba Akira, the class president silently congratulated her, "Akira-kun, you succeeded."

Yes, it was indeed a success.

And to everyone's surprise, the goal was achieved in the very beginning.

The original intention of encouraging Aiyuan Moe to participate in the short comic contest for shonen manga was to rekindle her desire to create comics.

So to be honest, whether the short comics win awards or not is no longer important.

However, in order to help Aizono Moe maintain this momentum and gain more confidence, and also because Kuroba Akira himself wanted to see her comics—a personal reason similar to that of an editor—it was necessary to help her successfully implement her own ideas.

Aiyuan Moe was still completely immersed in her enthusiasm and continued to explain her thoughts in detail.

"There's another reason! If I were to submit Xiaotong's story to a short story award for shonen manga, I would be constrained by the content restrictions and might have to compromise on the borderline. But I wanted to draw some of the 'details'... Also, I wanted to reuse the idea of ​​the discarded swimsuits becoming transparent! I'll draw that transparent texture!"

Aizen Moe's eyes blazed as she spoke words that sounded just like Eromanga Sensei's.

If you're going to go for something astringent, then go all the way with astringency, keeping people in suspense the whole time. It's no fun if you leave them wanting more but unable to get to the top or the bottom.

As for CM, 30% of them are adult-oriented creations, so you can feel free to depict certain 'points'.

After explaining her thoughts, Aizono Moe finally came to her senses from her excited state, and a wave of shyness washed over her. With her face flushed, she cautiously asked Kuroba Akira.

"In short, this is what I'm thinking... Is it... okay, Kuroba-kun?"

Ultimately, you should consult the owner's opinion.

However, if Kuroba Akira says 'no' this time, Aizono Moe will eventually listen to him, but she will be very disappointed.

"Um……"

Kuroba Akira did not agree immediately, but crossed his arms and began to consider the possibility of practical implementation.

Ideally, both sides could be balanced, but if neither is done well and a major defeat is suffered, Aiyuan Moe would likely be severely affected and never recover.

"If it were an original fanfiction, it could be thinner with fewer pages, but this is an original comic after all, and the story the class monitor envisioned also needs to explain the rules of sports, plus at least one match and some visually stunning panels... It'll be at least thirty... no, around thirty-five pages... Add it to the short comics and it'll be almost a hundred pages..."

"I can do it! I'll try my best to finish it!"

"Don't push yourself too hard. Even if you try your best, it's very difficult for you to produce two high-quality short comics while attending school."

"Well……"

Aiyuan Moe lowered her head dejectedly, like a wronged little bunny; if she had ears, they would definitely droop down.

But she did not refute, nor dared to refute, her master's words, because she knew that her ideas were somewhat unrealistic.

Moreover, without Kuroba Akira, who could guide him and help him, he definitely wouldn't have been able to complete two manga series by himself.

Aizen Moe's enthusiasm and confidence are all based on the premise that Kuroba Akira will help her, which is also her real 'backing' that allows her to speak her mind.

"And although there are indeed people selling original comics in CM, the sales are usually very poor. Selling ten copies is considered good."

"I...I don't care about sales figures!"

Kuroba Akira poked Aizen Moe's forehead with his index finger and teased her.

"Little silly and cute, we have to pay for the printing ourselves. If we can't sell them, then participating in CM will be a huge loss."

"Well……"

Upon hearing that it was a matter of money, Shiori Shirai wanted to step forward and say that she would pay for it. She had received royalties this time, and if it wasn't enough, she would even have to work part-time at a maid cafe to earn enough for Moe Moe's printing costs!

But before she could speak, Kuroba Akira said nonchalantly.

"But there's no need to worry about printing costs; I'll cover the money. The royalties from the light novel have just arrived, so I'm quite well-off."

　At this moment, Anri Hitomi interjected.

"No, how can you, Mingjun, pay for it? The printing costs will be deducted from the club's funds. Mengmeng has already agreed to use half of her royalties as club funds until she graduates, so I think it's appropriate to use this money to support her own creative work."