Shiroi Shiori admiring me?
Ha! Impossible! It wouldn't happen even if the heavens flipped upside down!
Walking home, Kuroba Akira recalled his bet with Class Rep, certain she was practically handing him a free win.
Not only would he extend the period of getting free bentos, but he'd also get to enjoy Class Rep's thighs anytime he wanted.
Just like an emperor from ancient times—lying on his consort's thighs, opening his mouth and waiting lazily for her to feed him grapes… what bliss!
Then, once his light novel successfully got published, he'd even secure startup funds!
Hehe, isn't this life turning around nicely?
The six-month long stretch of hardship was finally over, everything was falling into place, and his plans were progressing smoothly, putting Akira in an extraordinarily good mood.
But just as he arrived home at Kobayashi House, he was greeted by freshly delivered news.
Shiginomiya Shion came out to welcome him, holding a letter in her hand.
"Akira-kun, there's a letter for you. It looks like it's from the publisher."
"Oh?"
A response so quickly?
Talk about efficiency—seems Hurricane Bunko reviews submissions on Mondays.
So, what's the result?
Accepting the envelope from Shion, Akira felt a bit nervous.
This kind of nervousness… how long had it been since he'd last experienced it?
The last time was probably waiting for the results of job interviews after graduating university…
This feeling of leaving your fate completely in another person's hands…
No matter how many times it happens, it's never something you get used to.
Taking a deep breath, Akira opened the envelope and read the short letter inside.
It didn't explicitly state whether his manuscript was accepted; rather, an editor named Mori Keima invited him out to dinner, leaving his contact information, and stated the restaurant and meeting time could be entirely up to Akira's convenience.
Just this short message was enough to make Akira smile.
If an editor took the initiative to ask you out to dinner, that's already half the battle won.
Seeing Akira's smile, Shion felt his joy and smiled warmly in return, hands clasped behind her back.
"It looks like good news?"
"Yep. Definitely good news—I get another free meal."
...
The next evening, Akira took the train to the dinner location.
After contacting Mori Keima, he'd indicated that Mori could choose the place, only requesting it be after 5 p.m. since he had classes during the day.
Mori hadn't expected Akira to be a high school student. He'd assumed the author capable of writing a masterpiece like My Little Sister Is Actually a Master H-game Creator?! would be a man in his thirties, like himself.
Technically, he wasn't entirely wrong—Akira was a male high school student with an old man's heart, after all.
The place chosen was a long-established tonkatsu restaurant in Meguro Ward, Tokyo. Upon hearing Akira was a student, Mori specifically chose a place popular among students.
Had the author been older, Mori would've invited him to an izakaya instead, chatting comfortably over ice-cold beers.
Entering the restaurant and following a waitress to the reserved seat, Akira finally met the editor he would frequently work with from now on.
Mori Keima wore a casual suit and sported mid-length hair, appearing as a slender, middle-aged man with some scruffy stubble on his chin. He looked more like an artist or an actor rather than an editor.
Upon seeing Akira, Mori warmly stood and offered his hand.
"Oh! You're here! Although we exchanged names over the phone, allow me to introduce myself properly—I'm Mori Keima, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Hurricane Bunko. Here's my business card."
"Nice to meet you, Mori-san. I'm Kuroba Akira... Ah, sorry, I don't have a business card."
"No problem, no problem. Come, have a seat."
Akira accepted the card and sat down as directed.
Mori initially wanted to let Akira order first, but as soon as Akira sat down, he jumped straight into the topic.
"Let's skip the formalities, Mori-san. Can we get right to the point? What did you think of my novel? Is it publishable?"
Akira didn't waste any words, directly cutting to the heart of the matter.
Mori paused for a moment, swallowing the introductory speech he'd carefully rehearsed beforehand.
So eager… but from his expression, he doesn't seem desperate…
Is this confidence, or is he testing my judgment instead?
Indeed, if even a manuscript of this level couldn't get an editor's approval, he'd be utterly unqualified as an editor.
Far from being offended by Akira's unconventional approach, Mori actually liked his attitude—exactly the temperament common among young, talented authors.
Thus, Mori didn't beat around the bush either, immediately revealing the result.
"Alright, let's start with the conclusion. In my opinion, your manuscript is definitely of publishable quality."
Success!
Akira's heart leapt with joy.
However, he didn't let it show.
Before coming here, he'd specially copied Shion's S-level Performance Talent to maintain a perfect poker face during interactions with the editor.
"But as your editor, I still have a few questions… These might impact publication arrangements down the line. Can you clarify a few things for me?"
"No problem. And you don't have to be so formal with me, Mori-san. You're older than me, right? Please relax."
"If you say so, then how about I call you Kuroba-kun?"
"That's perfect."
"Actually, the thing I'm most curious about is—how long did it take you to write this novel, Kuroba-kun?"
"About one week."
"One week?! You mean just to write the manuscript, right?"
So fast!
Way too fast!
Finishing just one chapter in a week was already quick enough, but completing an entire volume was simply absurd!
"No, I mean, from conceptualizing, outlining, writing the main text, and typesetting—everything took about one week total."
"What?!"
Mori Keima was so shocked that he slammed the table and stood up. Realizing he'd disturbed nearby diners, he quickly suppressed his excitement and sat back down, staring incredulously at Akira.
"You're not messing with me, are you, Kuroba-kun? You really created this entire novel from scratch in just one week?!"
Jackpot!
This was more than a supernova—this kid was an entire cosmos of potential!
"That's right… Uh, was that too fast?"
"Way more than fast! You're practically The Flash! I've never met an author as fast as you in my entire editing career!"
Being called "fast" wasn't exactly flattering for a guy… and indeed, Akira himself felt his speed this time was shockingly rapid.
But to avoid Mori thinking he could maintain this speed consistently, Akira quickly offered a bit of explanation.
"But please don't misunderstand. It's not like I only wrote after school. I also worked during class hours. You could say, aside from eating and sleeping, I dedicated every minute of that week to this novel. Plus, I was unusually inspired, pushing myself beyond normal limits. That's the only reason I could finish this volume so quickly. I probably won't replicate this speed again."
"Even so, that's incredibly fast! Don't you ever hit a bottleneck, Kuroba-kun?"
"Of course I do. For instance, after finishing the prologue, I struggled a lot about how to continue… But, well, once I found a suitable idea to develop the plot, the subsequent scenes naturally appeared in my head."
"I see… You must've read a lot of light novels, haven't you?"
"Yes, quite a lot."
Then it made sense. This teenager wasn't merely relying on natural talent—he'd accumulated a solid foundation through extensive reading before entering the field of writing.
Yet, even extensive reading didn't guarantee writing skills of this level. Where did he develop such precise control over his storytelling?
Mori grew increasingly curious about the young man before him.
"Is this your first novel, Kuroba-kun? Have you submitted anything to other publishers before?"
"It's my first. I haven't submitted anywhere else. I figured other publishers probably wouldn't take a risk on a complete newcomer like me, so I chose Hurricane Bunko from the very beginning."
"I see… you chose us because of our reputation for nurturing newcomers?"
"Yes."
Even the publisher selection had been carefully thought out—indeed, this kid had aimed for publication right from the start.
"Well then, just one last question remains… Kuroba-kun, what do you think is the most important quality an author must possess?"
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was toooo lazy and slept allllllllll week sorgee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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