Tokyo Soft Rice King.

By not being fixated on winning or losing, he ultimately triumphed over himself... This demonstrates that his mindset was correct.

Is it wrong to want to make money from novels?

Do not……

Making money means you're popular, and being popular means you have a lot of readers...

Only works created in this way can gain public recognition.

He is right.

"Creation is not about winning or losing, it's only about survival."

"The quality of a work is judged by the readers, and creators also need to make money based on popularity. So a popular writer's work may seem to resonate with many people, but in reality, very few people truly understand it."

"So... it's already very lucky to meet a confidant, there's no need to force others to understand."

"Creating for myself, and creating for my readers."

"When you can do that, you will no longer lose to me."

Kuroba Akira finished speaking.

At that moment, Shiori Shirai realized that her knees had buckled.

what……

It seems... I don't feel so bad anymore.

He said this to help himself understand the reasons for his failure.

I didn't lose to a 'genius,' nor was I inherently inferior to him; rather, I failed to care about the readers as much as he did.

In that light... it's only natural that I would lose to him.

Because I am far less mature than him.

After truly acknowledging her defeat, Shiori Shirai felt a refreshing sense of liberation.

Something that had been tightly binding the body was untied.

That's an obsession.

You must write a piece that can beat him.

You must write something even better than the award-winning piece.

You must write a piece that will impress the publisher's editors.

must……

But is there any certainty in creation?

As he said, the quality of a work is not determined by the writer, but by the reader.

I failed to win over the readers, so I lost.

Coming to her senses, Shiori Shirai found herself kneeling down.

So she continued to bend forward, placing her hands in an inward-pointing position on the ground, and then touching her forehead to the ground.

Truly convinced from the heart and body.

"Kuroba-kun...Kuroba Akira, this time, I've lost."

She performed the full ritual of kneeling on earth.

Search Chapter 122 Please Teach Me

Shiori Shirai felt a hand above her head. Although she couldn't see it, she could tell from the direction the hand was pointing that Akira Kuroba wasn't opposite her, but beside her.

He did not accept his kneeling.

"Hey, Shirai-kun, do you want to become a professional writer?"

"I want to...! No...I absolutely want to become a writer!"

Shiori Shirai had never considered any other path.

She started reading novels because her parents were often away from home when she was young, and she felt bored and lonely when she was alone at home, and she wasn't the type of person who liked to go out.

So she went to her father's study, picked up a book from the bookshelf at random, and used it to relieve her loneliness.

Then, after opening the first novel, she opened the door to a new world and became completely fascinated by reading, immersing herself in one wonderful fictional world after another.

Looking back now, that novel is hardly a masterpiece; it was just a third-rate science fiction novel that my father bought to fill the bookshelf. But at the time, it was incredibly appealing to me.

That book is now placed at the very front of the first row on the bookshelf in Shiori Shirai's room, because that is where her reading begins.

The idea of ​​writing a novel first came to her when her good friend, Aizono Moe, said she was going to start learning to draw.

Previously, Aizen Moe was a quiet girl like herself. She also liked reading, but she preferred comics to novels.

She has a particularly shy personality. In kindergarten, she would blush as soon as the teacher praised her drawing, and she didn't dare to show her drawings to other children.

But after she started learning to paint, she became more willing to share her artwork with others, and she would show a genuinely happy smile when she received praise.

This made her wonder: Is creating really such a joyful thing? Can it even change a person's personality?

So Shiori Shirai also tried writing novels, and she couldn't stop, with things she wanted to write constantly emerging like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

However, after completing her first work, when she reread it as a reader, Shiori Shirai just wanted to tear this mess apart.

It is precisely because she has read countless excellent works that Shiori Shirai is able to better understand the gap between herself and those writers.

She once felt desperate, thinking that no matter how much she wrote, she would never reach their level.

But... in the end, she picked up her pen again and continued to create new works.

She knew she couldn't stop now.

Having already experienced the joy of writing, I can't forget that supreme joy, like giving birth to a child and welcoming a new life.

At this moment, Kuroba Akira was like a mirror reflecting her inner self, asking her a question.

"In that case, Shirai-kun, do you think writing novels is a fun thing?"

"Hmm... I'm happy... but it's also painful..."

"I understand you……"

Akira Kuroba understood perfectly.

After all, he had also pulled his hair countless times, racking his brains and struggling.

But what ultimately kept him going was that pure passion.

"So never forget this happy feeling, because this 'starting point' can help you get through endless pain and find a way out when you are suffering in your heart."

"Hmm...I know...I won't forget."

"And remember this resentment at losing to me; it will make you continue to grow greedily."

"I will never forget that! I will always remember you! I will never forget you in this lifetime!"

“Very good... Shiori Shirai.”

Kuroba Akira returned to face her and reached out his hand to her, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Welcome to the creator's hell."

Shiori Shirai straightened her upper body and looked up to see Akira Kuroba's devilish smile.

It's like saying, 'Now, you're an accomplice too.'

The story of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's "Hell Screen" came to mind.

He is now inviting himself to hell.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shiori Shirai grasped his hand with all her might, as if grabbing a spider's thread hanging down from heaven.

Hmph... Do you think I'm afraid?

I've already been living in hell for a long time.

……

"Well then, Shirai-kun, now that you've fulfilled your bet, it's about time I headed back..."

"Wait! Don't go yet!"

Having done everything he needed to do, Kuroba Akira was about to retreat when he was stopped by Shirai Shiori, who was halfway through getting dressed.

She was still completely naked; she had just put on her bra, but hadn't even fastened the back clasp yet.

So Akira Kuroba didn't know where to put his eyes.

Because the atmosphere was rather serious, Kuroba Akira didn't pay much attention to her naked appearance and focused his attention on her hands.

Moreover, after she sits in the deep meditation position, only her back and neck can be seen, so there is no need to worry about her exposing herself.

However, now that the spell of serious conversation has been broken, seeing Shirai Shiori getting dressed again, Kuroba Akira couldn't help but feel a strange sense of hindsight and inexplicable sentimentality.

So, you should put on your skirt first and cover up your lower body... Do you really not care about being seen naked?

Shiori Shirai was, of course, still feeling shy, and her rationality told her that exposing her lower body in front of boys her age was extremely indecent and perverted.

But now, the more important thing is that we can't just let him go!

And whether she's gotten used to it or not, Shiori Shirai finds herself able to be 'unprotected' in front of him.

I don't know why I feel the urge to pee... but I can hold it in!

So Shiori Shirai didn't use her hands to cover her lower body; instead, she grabbed the hem of Akira Kuroba's clothes and shouted.

"Teach me how to write novels!"

"Uh... Shirai-kun, if you want to write a hit work, you should consult an editor, not me..."

　"It has to be you!"

"……what?"

Realizing that her words were a bit ambiguous, Shirai Shiori blushed slightly, coughed, and changed her words.

"Ahem... What I mean is, your opinion is more valuable. The editor will be considerate of my feelings and won't say anything too harsh. Even the editor in charge won't point out the shortcomings in my novel; they will only offer some suggestions in a tactful way. But what I need now is a more incisive evaluation."