When passion becomes work, joy is quickly consumed—what's left is nothing but painful struggle.
Kuroba Akira's mind spun into overdrive. Thankfully, with the help of the [Academic Ability A] he'd copied from the class rep, his thoughts were much sharper than usual.
First, he had to define the relationship between the protagonist and his sister. The opening was crucial—web novels had the saying "golden three chapters" for a reason. In a time where reading speed was everything, a strong start could decide a novel's life or death.
There were relationships like the Kyousuke siblings from OreImo, starting with deep mutual dislike. And others like Sora and Shiro from No Game No Life, where their bond was maxed out from the beginning—practically lovers in a past life.
Setting the right initial affection level was essential.
After some thought, Akira settled on: "They used to be close, but drifted apart over time for various reasons."
That way, the sister's emotional arc could evolve naturally. He could even sprinkle in flashbacks of their earlier bond to build toward emotional highs later in the story.
Next came the sister's personality and moe appeal.
What kind of little sister really draws readers in?
Definitely not tsundere.
Sure, hearing a voice actress shout "Baka! Hentai! Iie!" could be adorable—but written out in text? It came across as too harsh. Not cute at all.
More importantly, Akira didn't like tsundere characters himself.
And when you don't like something, it's almost impossible to write its charm or essence convincingly.
He especially hated those clichéd misunderstandings created just because the sister couldn't be honest. That kind of plot device made him grind his teeth.
If he were to write a tsundere, it'd be the type who eventually got wrecked—crying her heart out, full of regret, begging the protagonist to take her back. Now that would be satisfying.
But since the whole story revolved around the subtle push-pull of sibling dynamics, the sister—the soul of the piece—needed to have agency.
A proactive personality…
How about… secret yandere?
The type who acts indifferent, but is actually obsessed with her brother. Every move she makes is to help him get his life together. That would give the character strong internal motivation, and also lay the groundwork for a possible turn toward wincest later.
Then came the hook.
He still thought the eroge angle in OreImo was brilliant—Fushimi-sensei really knew how to create a grabby premise. Later with Eromanga Sensei, it was a sister who drew hentai—walking a razor-thin line of "technically wholesome" that left plenty to the imagination.
So what about his own setup?
Hmm… what if the sister writes R18 stuff?
No—that might be too on the nose. That'd just fast-forward straight into "Onii-chan, help me with the dictionary," and the story would immediately feel like smut. It'd lose that delicate tension.
Better idea: keep the eroge theme, but have the sister be a developer, not a player.
Boom. There's the opening.
Big bro is playing an eroge, just about to, ahem, enjoy himself—when he notices the credits.
And sees his sister's name listed as the lead scenario writer.
That's where the story begins.
Yeah… that works.
Opening established. Now came the hard part—developing it further.
A strong hook wasn't enough. Characters and plot needed to hold up the whole tone of the work.
And right there—he froze.
Brother finds out sister is making eroge… and then what?
Stuck.
Akira felt a churn of acid rise in his stomach.
Once again, he was trying to eat by writing. The pressure of his past job as a writer—those long hours, the looming deadlines—rushed over him like a wave of scalding heat.
The anxiety was so intense it made him nauseous.
If this flopped, all that time would be wasted. No money. Shiginomiya's voice acting training would stall.
Worse—he'd have to suffer Shirai Shiori's smug mockery. Naked lap around the track. Social death.
Dammit… why isn't there a "Writing Proficiency" skill?
If he could see his skill level, maybe he'd feel more confident…
Damn it… no matter how much you write, that fear of failure never goes away.
He let out a bitter, helpless smile.
He suddenly remembered Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's Hell Screen.
In it, a father sacrifices his own daughter to complete his masterpiece—a blood-soaked screen depicting hell in all its horror.
He gave up everything, including the one he loved most, to chase artistic perfection.
Creating is hell itself.
"Akira-kun?"
Shiginomiya's voice pulled him back.
"…Huh? What is it?"
He looked up and realized she'd somehow ended up sitting beside him, concern etched on her face.
"I'm fine. But you—you don't look great. Is something wrong?"
"Ah…"
Maybe he'd looked like he was constipated or something, and that had worried her.
Forcing a smile, he said, "No big deal. Just stuck on how to develop the story."
"Develop…?"
"Yeah. I'm writing a novel. Planning to submit it to a publisher."
"…A novel?"
Shiginomiya blinked slowly. She wanted to peek at the screen, to see what he was writing—but worried that might annoy him, so she held back her curiosity.
Akira noticed her darting eyes and couldn't help but smile. That little bit of amusement helped ease his nerves.
"I'm still in the planning phase. It's a mess right now—not really something I can show off. But it's not a diary or anything, so I don't mind if people see it."
"Mm…"
She smiled back. Every time he trusted her like this, it sent a warm current through her heart.
Feeling a bit emboldened, Shiginomiya decided to probe a little further.
"…Do you want to become a novelist, Akira-kun?"
"Uh—not really. I guess it's half hobby, half Literature Club activity… I never aimed to be an author."
Akira's real dream was to become a full-time kept man. That hadn't changed.
He was only writing this to make money. If it weren't for Aizono Moe and her illustration Talent, he would've given up on this path entirely.
Well… that, and Shirai Shiori ticking him off.
Thinking about it now, it was kind of childish. Was he really letting a high school girl get under his skin?
Maybe this younger body's starting to affect my mental age too…
He took a breath and re-centered himself. In the end, what truly motivated him now—
Was the desire to slap Shirai Shiori in the face with results.
He couldn't stand that kind of arrogant person who looked down on everything.
Pride was fine. Arrogance wasn't.
She won a newcomer award and now thought she was above light novels?
How dare you.
Even a certain revolutionary surnamed Zhou once said:
"If the people love it, and you don't—who the hell do you think you are?"
Seeing Akira's frustration ease, Shiginomiya smiled.
"In that case, maybe you should be more selfish with your writing. Just write something that makes you happy."
Her words blew away the haze in Akira's mind.
She's right. I'm not a pro anymore.
Right now, he was just Kuroba Akira—a high school boy.
Why so serious?
If the novel route didn't pan out, he could always find another way to make money.
And if the book flopped? Whatever. Laugh it off. Worst case, he could play it cool and bluff his way out of that promise with Shirai. It's not like she actually wanted to see a naked guy run laps anyway.
And who said she'd definitely get published herself? For all he knew, they'd both fail—call it a draw.
Guess I've picked up some weird pride along the way…
In his past life, he hadn't been anything special. So why act like he had something to prove?
Shirai Shiori wasn't the only arrogant one.
I shouldn't be hoping for a miracle on my first try. This isn't a world where things succeed just because you want them to.
"…You're right. Haha. I've been overthinking it."
He'd still write the novel—but he'd stop obsessing over results.
Let's charge into hell with a lighter heart.
After all… the "light" in light novels means "easygoing," right?
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T/N: shion... is too great