Tokyo Soft Rice King

This led to an unprecedented invitation from Keima Mori to the author for the first time.

"Kuroba-kun, are you interested in working at Hurricane Library after graduation? I can personally guide you..."

He sincerely felt that it was a shame that his relationship with Kuroba Akira was limited to that of editor and author, so for the first time he had the idea of ​​training a successor.

"Not interested in."

However, Kuroba Akira's extremely quick rejection once again surprised Mori Keima.

It’s so decisive to refuse!

Hei Yuming also felt that it was a bit rude to refuse like this. After all, the other person seemed to really admire him, so he added an explanation.

"Well, Editor Mori, I hope you don't misunderstand me. It's not that I'm not interested in being an editor, but I'm not interested in the job itself."

"Haha... I see. No wonder you chose to write novels. As long as you can produce a best-seller, you can just sit back and wait for the royalties to roll in... Your goal is to be free from work, right?"

This sentence also made Hei Yuming smile.

Oh, you're quite understanding. You've already figured out my ultimate goal, right?

"Yes, I want to live an easy life."

"Very good. I believe you have the ability to achieve this. As long as you write two or three best-selling works, financial freedom is not out of reach."

"I accept your good words."

"Well, although I personally feel a little regretful, I still extend a sincere invitation to you, Kuroba-kun, on behalf of Hurricane Bunko. Please be sure to become a permanent author for our company."

Mori Keima extended his hand again, and Kuroba Akira took the opportunity of shaking hands to observe the talents of his right hand.

"Manuscript Request B"

This editor's talent is actually urging submissions!

What a terrifying talent!

It's the author's nightmare!

"Then I'll start working on the publishing contract as soon as I get back, and then discuss the manuscript fee and royalties later... Kuroba-kun, do you have any other requests?"

"Yes. Um, regarding the illustrator, can I choose one myself?"

"Oh? Do you already have an illustrator in mind? That's no problem. As long as they're willing to contribute to our Hurricane Library, you can choose any illustrator you like."

"I don't mean to choose from current professional illustrators, but to ask an acquaintance of mine to draw the illustrations for my novel. She is not a professional illustrator yet."

"This... I don't think I need to remind you. You should also know how much the quality of illustrations means to light novels."

"I know, but I've already reserved someone. Once the illustrations are finished, I'll send them to you for review. If you don't think they're up to standard, I'll just use your illustrations. Is that okay?"

Although I haven't worked with Moe Aizono yet, she was the one who inspired Kuroba Akira to decide to write light novels, so at least I have to reserve a spot for her first.

The most important thing is that when you work with an illustrator you don’t know, even if the other person’s drawing is not to your liking, you cannot make too many suggestions for revisions.

If the other party is still not satisfied after several changes, they may eventually give up.

Especially those big-name painters who are famous and have bad tempers, how can they stand others pointing fingers at them?

But if it is an illustrator trained by myself, she will obey me completely and I can ask her to make any changes I want.

Looking at how weak Aizono Moeie looks, it should be easy for me to adjust her... I mean, teach her how to draw illustrations.

Although Kuroba Akira can't draw, he has seen so many illustrations that he can offer suggestions for revisions. Even if it takes dozens or hundreds of revisions, he will let Aiyuan Moe draw illustrations that will satisfy both himself and the readers.

In this way, a 'dimensionality reduction attack' can be achieved.

The illustrations of light novels in this world have not yet reached the level of the previous life, so as long as Aiyuan Meng can draw exquisite illustrations that exceed the average level, sales will increase significantly.

It's all about money!

"I see. That's fine. As long as the quality is up to par, I have no complaints. I believe that an illustrator familiar with Kuroba-kun will be able to better depict the character image you have in mind. Our company also hopes to cooperate with more talented new illustrators."

"Okay, that's all I ask."

"Hmm...haha, look at us. We haven't even eaten yet, but we've already finished discussing business. From now on, let's just relax and enjoy the food. The pork chops here are amazing, right? I used to eat here often when I was young."

Now that the matter has been settled, Kuroba Akira can enjoy the delicious fried pork cutlet with peace of mind.

And then... the light novel showdown with Shiori Shirai was decided.

It only took Kuroba Akira just over a week to fulfill the bet requirement of getting the novel published, which also meant...

The certificate for Shiori Shirai's forced undressing is in hand.

Chapter 117: A Situation That Is Difficult to End

In the following days, Kuroba Akira kept in touch with Mori Keima to discuss contract-related matters.

By mid-September, the contract was basically finalized, and the royalties were set at 10%, which was a lot for a new author.

The industry practice is that the royalties for works that have not been published in magazines are 12%. If it is a published work or a paperback edition, the author can get 10%.

Of course, the author's fame will also affect the fluctuation of royalties, which is also the main profit point used by publishing houses to win over authors. Don't underestimate this 1% difference. For those books with sales of millions, this 1% can easily amount to hundreds of millions.

The royalties for light novels fluctuate between 8% and 14%. Generally, new authors can only get the lowest 8% because 2% of the royalties must be distributed to the illustrators.

Keima Mori also said that if the illustrator introduced by Kuroba Akira can draw a work that satisfies him, he can give the illustrator an exceptional 3% royalty and will give priority to arranging illustration work for him.

In other words, as Kuroba Akira's light novels are recognized by the publishing house, as long as Aizono Moeie can draw exquisite illustrations, she will never have to worry about not getting business orders in the future.

It is quite rare for an illustrator to reach a long-term and stable cooperation with a publishing house, which basically guarantees that they will have no worries about food and clothing.

After the contract is finalized, it is time to discuss the publication time. Considering that Aiyuan Menghui has never drawn illustrations before, it will take time to adjust her. However, her art proficiency is already very high, at level 3, and she also has design proficiency, so it should not be difficult to just ask her to change her style.

Then Kuroba Akira also said that while waiting for the illustrations to be produced, he would continue to improve the content of the first volume, and try to write the main content of the second volume during this period, so that Mori Keima could be completely relieved.

To sum up, the publication date of the first volume is tentatively scheduled for mid-November.

This is a very fast speed for publishing novels. From the start of writing in September to the publication of the book in November, it took less than three months, which is higher than the industry standard of publishing 3 to 4 books per year.

As I become more and more proficient, I might even be able to challenge the evergreens of the light novel industry, Kamachi and Continental Typewriter, who have a publishing record of 20 consecutive months.

Back to school, Kuroba Akira did not show off or brag in front of Shirai Shiori as soon as he got the contract. Instead, he pretended that nothing had happened and did not take the initiative to mention the results of his submission.

Shirai Shiori never asked, but just went to the literature club's activity room after school to check if Kuroba Akira was there, and then went home without saying a word.

Even though she would occasionally sit in the activity room for a while, she would ignore Hei Yuming, and there was a strange and tacit atmosphere between the two.

On the contrary, as time went on, Aizono Moeie seemed more and more anxious, as if she would be the one who would be stripped naked if she lost.

Why are you in such a hurry...the settlement date hasn't arrived yet.

Kuroba Akira did not intend to decide the outcome of this duel in advance. His plan was the same as before, and he wanted to wait until the results of Shirai Shiori's submission came out.

If both sides succeed in publishing, Kuroba Akira will say: "Wow! We actually accepted the manuscript on the same day, what a coincidence!", and then the matter will be over.

The class monitor also said not to bully Shiori Shirai too much. Kuroba Akira himself felt that it was a bit too much to get rid of the whole orgasm, and he was too lazy to argue with the little girl.

However, Shirai Shiori must also understand that Kuroba Akira is letting her win, so she will feel insulted and hate herself for it... In this way, she can win the bet with the class monitor!

Plan passed!

After having some free time, Kuroba Akira finally had time to read the borrowed comics and novels, and he could also listen to Murasaki Nomiya's dubbing.

So recently, Zi Zhigong has been in a particularly good mood because Hei Yuming has been paying more attention to her.

In addition, Zizhigong has decided to launch a more aggressive attack, so now he will stick to Hei Yuming whenever he gets the chance.

Hei Yuming also realized that Shirakawa seemed to be closer to him recently, mainly because their physical distance was closer and there was more physical contact.

For example, when Hei Yuming was sitting on the lower bunk in his room, Zi Zhigong, who was sitting on the upper bunk, would stretch out her two beautiful white silk legs from the railing, step on Hei Yuming's shoulders, and massage his shoulders with the soles of her feet.

During dinner, Zi Zhigong would sit next to Hei Yuming, so close that their shoulders were almost touching. When they used their right hands to scoop up rice with a spoon, their shoulders would always rub against each other, which made people feel itchy.

When Hei Yuming was sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a book, Zi Zhimiya would put her calves on Hei Yuming's thighs.

Of course, the most obvious thing is that the number of foot massages has increased. It is almost twice a day, once after dinner and once before going to bed.

Moreover, Zi Zhigong understands him very well. She changes his feet into different kinds of stockings every day, so that the feeling of massaging Hei Yuming's feet always remains fresh, and he never gets tired of playing with them and can't let them go.

As a result, Hei Yuming has been dreaming recently that Zi Zhigong is using her beautiful legs in stockings to help him chew, and he needs to go to the toilet in the morning to solve the problem of mushroom umbrella.

It seems that I have been holding it in for too long...

So Kuroba Ming decided to extend his morning jogging time and get up at 5:30 in the morning, also to avoid the embarrassing situation of being discovered standing at attention in the morning by his roommate, Shionomiya.

By the way, after resuming his morning jog, Kuroba Akira was able to see Tomita Haruka again, and after getting to know each other, Tomita Haruka would accompany him for a longer distance, and run with him until they left the riverside.

Now I can enjoy the rushing and thundering for a longer time, and my mood has greatly improved, but the side effect is that the effect of exercise in relieving heat has been greatly weakened.

So Kuroba Akira could only try his best to focus on chatting with Tomita Haruka and restrain his gaze from moving to her chest.

Is this some kind of abstinence challenge... (crying)

In this way, time passes in daily life...

In the blink of an eye, it’s already the last week of September.

At lunch that day, Asato Hitomi told Kuroba Akira that she had something to do today, so she wouldn't be going to the activity room. Finally, she said meaningfully, "Kuroba-kun, it looks like both bets are about to come to a conclusion."

From the squad leader's words, Hei Yuming had already guessed that something unusual might happen today.

Sure enough, when Kuroba Ming came to the arts club activity room as usual, he found that the atmosphere today was very wrong.

Shirai Shiori still looked as bad and lifeless as ever, while Aizono Moe looked sad and reluctant.

Before Kuroba Akira could say hello, Shirai Shiori suddenly stood up and spoke to him trembling all over.

"Hei Yuming! Even if you didn't come to show off to me, I can tell from your attitude! During this period, you not only seem to be at ease, but also have no intention of preparing a new work. This means that your submission has been accepted by the publishing house, right!"

"Well……"

Hei Yuming scratched his head and said nothing.

"...I know you've been waiting for me until now, and I know I've already lost, but I still want to try..."

As she spoke, Shiori Shirai took out a letter from her bag.

"Last night, I received a reply from the publishing house..."

She lowered her head, clenched her teeth, and forced out a sound.

"My work... failed to pass the draft."

"Uh……"

Oh no...I'm really embarrassed now.

To each other.

Chapter 118 Come Home with Me

Hei Yuming suddenly felt a little regretful. If he had known that the situation would turn out like this, he should not have come to the Arts Club today.

But was Shirai Shiori's submission really rejected? Why was it rejected? It shouldn't be accepted.

In fact, he had thought about the possibility that Shiori Shirai's submission would be rejected, but he always felt that the possibility was not high, so he gave up this idea.

Because when authors from the traditional literary field come to write light novels, they are simply there to bully the weak. Of course, they may not be able to adapt to the local environment, but that is because arrogant authors who look down on light novels write self-righteous garbage works without understanding the market, which will lead to failure.

However, the light novel environment in this world is relatively tolerant and does not overly pursue gimmicks, so even if Shirai Shiori writes something more niche, there should be a market for it.

Also, if the editors of the publishing house heard about her title of the youngest short story winner, they would definitely be eager for her to publish a book from their publishing house. After all, the fact that she is an active beautiful JK writer is enough to guarantee sales.

The most important thing is that during this period, Shiori Shirai was immersed in light novels every day, and she always maintained her passion and awe for creation... Kuroba Akira saw all her efforts.

Although Kuroba Akira has not been able to confirm Shiori Shirai's talent because she always wears white silk gloves, Kuroba Akira has also read her award-winning short story recently. Regardless of whether it is interesting or not, the characterization and writing skills are far beyond those of ordinary authors.

Therefore, Kuroba Akira felt that Shirai Shiori must have A-level or even S-level writing talents.

Therefore, Hei Yuming began to be curious about what she had written that caused the manuscript to fail to be accepted. Could it be that she had crossed the danger line?

Compared to Kuroba Akira who was analyzing the reasons for her failure, Shirai Shiori was still immersed in the emotions of being a loser.

"I lost... I lost completely..."

"Shirai-san..."

Shirai Shiori didn't even give him a chance to speak and shouted at him viciously.

"You are not allowed to sympathize with me! You are not allowed to comfort me! Come and mock me to your heart's content! Come and insult me!"