Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Hmm! I'm not really good at naming things, so I'll leave it to Kuroba-kun."

Meng Hui nodded emphatically. Although it was her work, she unceremoniously relinquished the important power of naming it.

Shiori is the same. Although she wrote the story, she hasn't given it an official title yet, and she also hopes that Akira Kuroba will name the story she created.

Because it feels a bit like naming her child... Kuroba Akira becomes the father.

In fact, looking at the script design for the adaptation of the work from novel to manga, Akira Kuroba is indeed the father of this work. Shiori Shirai, as the mother, was responsible for the creation of the work, while Akira Kuroba, as the father, was responsible for the secondary processing and redesign of the work.

But if that's the case, then what is Aiyuan Moe? She's naturally the 'foster mother,' responsible for nurturing the nascent work into a finished product.

"I thought you would have a very long name, Master."

"Manga doesn't need to rely on the title as a gimmick like light novels. The title of a manga should ideally be a name that reflects the entire content of the manga, and can be said to be the ultimate condensation of the content."

"I see. It is somewhat similar to traditional novels, but unlike the titles of traditional novels, it does not have a literary feel or abstract metaphorical expressions."

"Yes, so comics are truly where content is king."

After carefully placing the manuscript into the file bag, Kuroba Akira asked Moe a question.

"Mengmeng, if this work wins an award and the editorial department is very optimistic about it and wants to start serialization, what do you plan to do?"

Meng Hui paused for a moment, then waved her hands in a slightly flustered manner.

"Huh? A serialization? I... I never thought about something like this..."

"Then you should think about it carefully when you get back today, whether you want to officially debut as a cartoonist."

"Um... okay..."

The reason why Akira Kuroba agreed to let Moe Aizono draw two comics was actually to conduct a stress test.

To see if she truly has the passion for drawing comics, and... whether she can handle the demanding weekly serialization.

Because being a cartoonist is actually a very demanding job, especially for those who create weekly serialized comics; they truly burn their lives to draw comics.

Therefore, some comic artists who have experienced the horror of weekly serialization never want to draw weekly serializations again after their long-running series ends.

Either you wait until you become a top-tier comic artist, then you'll have the right to serialize your work irregularly, or you'll be able to take more breaks.

　Kuroba Akira originally thought that serialization was too early for Aizen Moe at her current level.

Although she does draw very well, illustration and comics are two different things, on completely different scales.

A light novel typically has fewer than ten illustrations, including the cover, and only one light novel is published every three months. However, a weekly manga has 18 pages per week, so a light novel would need to draw 72 pages per month, and 216 pages in three months... It's terrifying to even think about.

These two short manga series together total about 100 pages, and the timeframe is exactly one and a half months, similar to the pressure of a weekly serialization. Therefore, Moe-e probably won't be able to complete both series and will likely have to abandon one of them. That was Kuroba Akira's initial thought, but...

She's incredibly dedicated to her work!

What a tireless and selfless innate corporate slave!

It seems that Moe is always rushing to finish her manuscript after school. If Kuroba Akira hadn't been worried that Moe would get liver disease and asked Shiori to go to her house to watch over her, Moe might have really stayed up all night working.

But this time even Shiori's best friend couldn't persuade her. Even if Aizono Moe verbally agreed, she would still continue drawing after Shiori went back.

It wasn't until everyone noticed that her panda eyes had become so thick that they were affecting her appearance, and that she was also catching up on sleep during class, that even Ms. Kobayakawa, who rarely came to the club activity room, had to come over and warn her that "club activities should not affect her studies," and said that if this continued, she would have to contact Aiyuan Moe's parents.

So Kuroba Akira told Moe to stop this high-intensity drawing. Weekends were fine, but on school days she had to get a good night's sleep, or she would have to immediately give up one of the short stories.

Because it was her master's order, Aizen Moe obeyed despite her reluctance.

Otherwise, given Aiyuan Moe's writing speed, she might have finished the entire 100-page manuscript by mid-December... Of course, she might have ruined her health as well.

However, one thing is certain: Aizono Moe is absolutely capable of handling weekly serializations; she has the potential to become a well-known manga artist.

Shiori and Moe, these two best friends, are truly talented in creative work, and they are also the two whose career experiences most closely match those of Akira Kuroba in his previous life.

However, Moe doesn't have the same clear vision for her future as Shiori... Even after creating two such amazing works, she still doesn't seem to want to become a manga artist.

However, Akira Kuroba still hoped that she could think it over carefully and then decide for herself which path to take.

Of course, whether she works as an illustrator or a comic artist, with her abilities, she can earn a lot of money, so she doesn't have to worry about income at all.

After Kuroba Akira finished talking to Mengmeng about his career plans, everyone chatted about how Kuroba Akira had treated them to sushi. They didn't disperse until their teacher came over and urged them to go home.

Although Akira Kuroba promised to treat everyone to sushi, it's already too late today, and since Christmas is coming soon, he decided to hold a Christmas party later to make up for the missed treat.

……

12 month 24 day.

Everyone in the class was in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, which was obviously because...

"It's all over~ Winter break and Christmas are here~"

After the graduation ceremony, everyone in the class cheered in unison, announcing the end of the semester and the start of winter break tomorrow.

Moreover, there was only one English class this morning, followed by the graduation ceremony, and then the holiday started in the afternoon.

This is because many high school students celebrate Christmas together, so to make it easier for students to participate in activities, most high schools set the last day of the semester on the day before Christmas. It can be said that the school is very considerate... However, the teachers also subtly reminded everyone to pay attention to safety and not to cause any fatalities.

While Kuroba Akira was packing his schoolbag, the male classmate sitting to his upper right asked him a question.

"Amin! The arcade, wanna go?"

Because school ended early today, and the literature club didn't seem to be as busy, Kuroba Akira unusually went out with the boys after school yesterday, so today that boy invited him as well.

However, before Kuroba Akira could answer, another boy next to him complained.

"Are you an idiot? Do you even need to ask Ah Ming? It's obvious he's not coming today. He's definitely going on a date with our class monitor... Ugh! I'm so jealous!"

"Uh, but it's only afternoon. Dates usually start in the evening..."

However, when he saw Kuroba Akira raise his palm in an apologetic gesture, he knew he had made a fool of himself.

"Santa Claus doesn't exist! But a Santa girlfriend does exist..."

"Damn it! I wish you happiness! You bastard!"

The two boys walked away arm in arm.

On the other side, Hitomi Anri politely declined the invitation to the Christmas party organized by the girls, and then went to meet up with Akira Kuroba.

"Wise ruler, let's set off."

"Yes, it's here."

Today is Christmas Eve, a day for us to have a Christmas party together at Takanashi's house.

Chapter 340 Can we safely get through the Christmas chaos?

The reason for deciding to hold the party at Takanashi's house was mainly because her house was large, making it easier to decorate for Christmas. Also, there were only Mirai and her mother living at Takanashi's house, and Akiko was quite open-minded and welcomed her daughter's friends to come over.

For Kuroba Akira, it was like returning to another familiar territory.

After all the members of the Literature and Art Club gathered, they split into two groups. Kuroba Akira went with the class president to pick up the sushi that had been ordered in advance, while the others went ahead to Takanashi's house to decorate the place.

The Christmas party was only for members of the Arts and Literature Department, as it was held in conjunction with the department's celebration banquet.

Although the results of the short comic submissions won't be released until February next year, and another fan service comic has only just been sent to print, this can actually be considered an act of 'popping champagne early'.

However, being able to finish the original manuscript before the deadline is already a remarkable achievement, so it's worth celebrating.

Because this party was essentially an "external training camp" for the Literature and Art Club, even though he was told in the future that he could invite the goddess and his manager, Kuroba Akira did not invite Shion and Kurenai to come.

It wasn't to prevent a chaotic scene, but Kuroba Akira felt that if Shion came over and everyone was talking about the manga, Shion, who hadn't participated at all, might feel a bit out of place.

Hikawa Makoto originally wanted to bring her younger sister, but Saionji Mato, for reasons similar to Kuroba Akira's, felt that as someone who hadn't transferred yet, she would feel like an outsider attending another school's arts club party, so she didn't come either.

In the end, it turned into a Christmas party for the six members of the Literature Club plus Akiko's mother.

To save time, the sushi pick-up was still handled by Miss Ruiqing, the class monitor's housekeeper.

Since Miss Ruiqing sent him home last time, Hei Yuming has become very familiar with Miss Ruiqing. Miss Ruiqing has also regarded Hei Yuming as her young master and treats him with the same respect as she treats her own young lady.

On the way to the sushi restaurant, Akira Kuroba noticed that Christmas lights were everywhere, and even though it was still daytime, there were already several times more couples on the streets than usual.

Because the mysterious Tokyo University wasn't particularly interested in the holiday, the festive atmosphere on the streets wasn't strong. Only a few Western restaurants and shopping malls had decorations and Christmas activities. So, Akira Kuroba had never actually celebrated Christmas properly. At most, he would experience the Christmas atmosphere through mobile game events.

While Japan in this world has a stronger communist influence due to the influence of Kobayashi, its initial modernization still began after the Black Ships incident when Japan was forced to accept Western-style reforms. So, overall, it is still heavily influenced by the West.

It's just that young people and emerging forces nowadays tend to favor red... so Santa Claus is red too, right?

"Wow...it really does have a Christmas Eve vibe."

Anri Hitomi naturally leaned against Kuroba Akira and looked out the car window at the Christmas decorations.

"Yeah, Christmas Eve feels like the climax of the whole Christmas season, even though Christmas Day is actually on the 25th."

"Probably because there's no holiday for Christmas, the best time to celebrate is the evening of the 24th."

In Japan, Christmas is not a public holiday, so celebrations are usually held in the evening or at night to make it easier for people to participate.

Unlike the family-oriented celebrations in Western countries, Christmas Eve in Japan is more like Valentine's Day. Many people spend it with their partners, and many choose this day to confess their feelings, marking key romantic moments such as first kisses or marriage proposals.

You can tell this by watching Christmas Kiss; frankly, it's a holiday celebrated by people who are already in a good social life.

Kuroba Akira recalled that Christmas Eve was also popular when he was in school in his previous life, and people would give each other apples. It was a pun in the Chinese context.

Thinking about this, he suddenly realized that this was a convenient, worry-free, and very 'equal' gift.

This way, you don't have to worry about picking out gifts, and you don't have to worry about someone else taking your gift and causing dissatisfaction among others during the gift exchange.

To be honest, after having multiple female friends with whom he had an overly close relationship, these kinds of holidays became very difficult for him to handle.

Because this is the beginning of a series of 'super troublesome' events.

If you give a gift for Christmas, you'll definitely need to give one for the recipient's birthday, right? And what about Valentine's Day?

Who can stand coming so many times every year?

My wallet! My time! My energy! I can't keep up!

Thinking about it this way, it makes sense. No wonder those scumbags and playboys are all masters of time management and can win the hearts of multiple women...

Being meticulous and considerate sounds simple, but it is extremely complicated to do, and not everyone can be perfect in every aspect.

Originally, in order to maintain close relationships with them, keep their favorability at a high level, and avoid a situation where "it's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality," Kuroba Akira planned to choose a gift for each of them...

But when he thought about the apples on Christmas Eve, he realized that this was the laziest "general solution".

"Wait, Miss Ruiqing, let's go to the supermarket first. I need to pick out Christmas presents."

"Ok."

Anri Hitomi blinked and asked curiously in return.