Tokyo Soft Rice King

She had completely given up on herself, leaving Hei Yuming at a loss as to how to react.

Looking at Kuroba Akira's embarrassed look, Shirai Shiori said with a bitter laugh.

"Heh... that's right... You don't need to insult me ​​verbally at all. You're about to witness the most humiliating moment of my life... I'll honor the bet and accept defeat."

She had already made up her mind not to escape the outcome of this battle.

So she said to Aizono Moe who was worried about her.

"Mengmeng, you go back first."

"Shiori..."

"go back!"

"Well……"

After being yelled at by her, Aizono Moehui shrank her shoulders and picked up her schoolbag.

She knew that even if she stayed, it would only make Shirai Shiori feel more embarrassed.

What hurt Aizono Moe the most wasn't being yelled at, but the fact that, as Shiori Shirai's best friend, she couldn't do anything for her at the moment and could only watch her being humiliated... No, she wasn't even qualified to watch. After all, Shiori definitely didn't want her to see her at her most miserable...

So when she passed by Hei Yuming, Aizono Moeie looked at Hei Yuming with tears in her eyes, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she bit her lower lip and couldn't say anything. She quickened her pace and trotted out of the activity room.

Kuroba Ming sighed. Now in the eyes of Aizono Moeie, he has completely become a bad guy who bullied her best friend... Can they still cooperate well in the future?

After Moe Aizono left, only Kuroba Akira and Shirai Shiori were left in the activity room, facing each other in silence.

At this time, Hei Yuming's brain was working frantically, thinking about how to end it smoothly.

Maybe you can try starting with her submissions.

For example, if the publisher is wrong, tell her: "Oh, Shirai-san, you applied to the wrong publisher. This publisher doesn't publish light novels at all!"

Try to find other reasons first, so that she feels that the failure of the submission is not due to her lack of ability, but just luck or other factors.

That’s right, if you think about it carefully, there must be a breakthrough!

Hei Yuming wanted to save the situation and end it peacefully, so he checked the letter and tried to find a reason for her to get out.

As luck would have it, the publishing house she submitted her manuscript to was also Hurricane Bunko, and the person who replied was also Mori Keima. It seems that he is responsible for reviewing newcomers' submissions.

I took a quick look at the contents of the letter. The general meaning was that Keima Mori said it wasn't that Shirai Shiori's writing was bad, but that the subject matter was still a bit far from the current market. Although it could be published, the estimated sales would not be very high.

Then Mori Keima also said that he had heard of Shiori Shirai's name and admired her talent very much, so if he published this light novel for her, it would damage her reputation, so he could only refuse with great regret.

This was followed by some words of encouragement, and he also expressed that he was very honored that Shirai Shiori chose Hurricane Bunko. He hoped to have a chance to talk to her in person and looked forward to her writing more excellent works.

Seeing this, Kuroba Akira completely understood Mori Keima's thoughts.

He wanted to protect the young author's reputation, did not want the aura of genius to be shattered too early, and wanted to maximize the use of the aura of genius.

Just as Kuroba Akira wanted Murasaki Nomiya to reach the peak of her career as soon as she debuted, Mori Keima also hoped to use a more blockbuster work to make Shiori Shirai debut, rather than letting her debut with a mediocre work, which would be tantamount to killing the chicken to get the eggs.

If it were any other editor, they would definitely publish her work, but Mori Keima considered more than an ordinary editor.

Shirai Shiori's reputation had the opposite effect, causing Keima Mori to raise his demands, which led to this failure.

"Look, Shirai-san, this editor said you've reached the level of being published, so this time it was just bad luck..."

Shirai Shiori interrupted him expressionlessly and said coldly.

"I also spoke with Editor Mori on the phone. He mentioned that an author around my age has a fantastic work that will be published in November. He also told me I could take a look..."

Shirai Shiori stared at Kuroba Akira intently.

"That person must be you."

"..."

Mori Keima! You're talking too much!

But there is nothing that can be done about it. When Shirai Shiori chooses Hurricane Bunko, this situation is likely to happen.

After all, from Mori Keima's perspective, two young talented authors came to him on their own initiative, so they would definitely be compared.

Hei Yuming turned his eyes away, trying to get away with it.

"Well, it's not necessarily me, right? Actually, there are quite a lot of students who submit light novels..."

"I specifically asked him if the author had requested to designate his own illustrator... His answer was, 'How do you know? Do you know Kuroba-kun? Are you classmates?' And then I was sure that the person he was talking about was you."

Damn, this girl is quite smart. She can actually think of this kind of fishing-style confirmation method!

"We both submitted our work to the same publishing house, and yours was highly praised, while mine was considered merely average... Is there any room for excuse?"

"..."

Hei Yuming really didn't know what to say now.

Is it really just her choice to take it off?

How about compromising and just being a humble servant?

At this time, Kuroba Akira saw Shirai Shiori walking in front of him, looked up and said with a complicated expression.

"...You, come home with me."

"Oh ah?"

Chapter 119 I will watch over you

"Our bet doesn't specify where we're going to execute it. If we get naked at school, it'll disrupt the rules... so let's go to my house."

No, is it a question of where to take it off?

I mean, you really want to take it off?!

Where's the girl's modesty? Stop it now!

Hei Yuming was worried about her and tried to excuse her.

"Uh, Shirai-san, how about I go back today and you calm down first..."

Shirai Shiori walked up to him and grabbed Kuroba Akira's tie, her face flushed as she yelled angrily.

"Don't run away! Follow me!"

No, who is going to take it off...

Hei Yuming was grabbed by her collar and could only raise his hands in surrender.

"I won't run away...I mean, why do you feel more anxious than me..."

"I'm not in a hurry to take it off! Me too...! Gu...! Go to hell!"

Shirai Shiori almost died of anger. She had tried hard to suppress her shyness, but Kuroba Akira still looked like "I don't really want to see it", which made her even more angry.

You have to show me today even if you don’t want to!

Hei Yuming didn't even have time to put away his book before she pulled him by his tie, dragged him out of the activity room, out of the school, and didn't let go until they reached the subway entrance.

Passersby thought it was a young couple playing dog walking PLAY.

At this time, the subway was so packed that people could be squeezed into a pancake. Kuroba Akira had no choice but to act as a flower protector, pushing Shiori Shirai against the subway door to protect her body.

"……Thanks."

Shirai Shiori, who was in his arms, thanked him in a barely audible voice, but was still heard by Kuroba Akira.

"You're welcome, but Shirai-san, do you usually have to take such a horrible subway ride home?"

"No, I usually buy a half-price bento at the convenience store near the school, then take the subway home after the evening rush hour."

"Oh? Aren't you going home for dinner? Where are your family?"

"My parents are both university professors. They are usually busy with research and usually don't get home until after 9 o'clock at the earliest. So they give me money to buy dinner out, but I save most of the money to buy books."

"I see……"

Wait, so if we go to Shiori Shirai's house, we'll be alone?

Hei Yuming also wanted to say that if her parents were there, they should sit in the living room instead of going to her room, so as to prevent her from getting stuck in a dead end.

But now it seems that she had thought of this a long time ago, so she was willing to squeeze into the crowded subway to take herself home before her parents returned home.

This shows that he is determined to fulfill the bet.

However, a young girl strips naked at home in front of boys of the same age... no matter how you think about it, something is bound to happen!

Hei Yuming asked with a strange look on his face.

"Aren't you afraid of what I might do to you?"

"I'm not worried about that at all. If you were really that kind of person, Tong wouldn't have brought you to the Arts Club."

Shirai Shiori crossed her arms and said with a pout.

"Although I hate your casual attitude, I believe you are not the kind of scumbag who would take advantage of the opportunity to attack me."

"Does the squad leader's reputation guarantee my character?"

Having said that, Hei Yuming sighed and thought that he should just talk it out and not care about her face anymore.

"Hey Shirai-san, since you're also a good friend of the class monitor, I'll be frank. We can actually change the bet. I don't want to embarrass you, and Aizono-san must be worried about you too."

"no!"

But Shirai Shiori stubbornly refused.

"It doesn't matter whether you want to see it or not now. If I don't fulfill the bet... I will never forgive myself."

"..."

Shirai Shiori's self-esteem is too strong.

It was so strong that even she herself was bitten by her self-esteem.

Hei Yuming finally realized that words once spoken cannot be taken back.

Although he is the winner, he is the one being executed in the settlement of the bet.

Today he had to face Shirai Shiori's naked appearance.

Rather than excitement, I feel more helpless.

Hei Yuming really didn't want to force her to this point. He had always given her opportunities, but she didn't appreciate it.

At this point, Kuroba Akira had no choice but to follow Shirai Shiori to her home, a medium-sized two-story villa with a good location and lighting.

After all, Shiori Shirai's parents are both professors, so her family should be quite well-off.

He said "excuse me" when he entered the room, then changed into the slippers that Shirai Shiori prepared for him, and followed her to Shirai Shiori's room on the second floor.

Shiori Shirai's room is extremely tidy, with almost no unnecessary decorations. It doesn't look like the room of an active JK at all, but is more similar to Kuroba Akira's room.

The only difference was that her room had two huge bookshelves that took up the entire wall and were filled with books.

Compared with the bookshelf, her wardrobe is so small that you might not even notice it if you don't look carefully.

Because she had so many books that the bookshelf couldn't hold them all, many of them were piled directly on the floor, blocking the clothes hangers.

Hei Yuming also noticed that there was a half-meter-high stack of draft papers on her desk, three empty ink bottles, and the trash can was full of waste paper balls.

The wall in front of the desk is covered with sticky notes, all of which are written to help me remember key points, such as the attention points on word choice and sentence structure, the main plot line in the outline, foreshadowing, hidden plot points, character settings, etc.

Just as she writes her own outline on her laptop, Shiori Shirai struggles through the maze of creation, producing a work that is uniquely hers.

These are the traces of her efforts.

"Sorry, there are no extra chairs in my room. Just sit on the bed. Just don't sit on my books."

Kuroba Akira obediently sat on her bed, straightening his posture, while Shirai Shiori went to draw the curtains.

As the dusk outside was blocked out, the atmosphere in the room became more and more ambiguous, and even Hei Yuming felt a sense of nervousness and inexplicable excitement for no reason.

Oh right, this is just like that! The female knight who was kidnapped by goblins and taken back to the cave! The humiliation she suffered from defeat...it's actually even more exciting!

In order to ease the weird atmosphere, Hei Yuming asked.

"Should we turn off the lights?"

Hei Yuming wanted to make the environment darker so that if she couldn't see clearly, she might not feel so uncomfortable.