Originally, she'd just been thinking about book pages. But Shirai Shiori—blessed with an imagination that never knew when to quit—immediately associated that image with two bodies overlapping on a bed.
No, no, no! That kind of thing is definitely not happening!
She felt her cheeks burn like twin furnaces. Just like Kuroha Akira earlier, now that the serious atmosphere had lifted, her sense of shame came roaring back with a vengeance. All that accumulated embarrassment burst forth at once, sending heat radiating through her entire body.
Maybe it was because the previous conversation had revolved so much around nudity—and because she had, in fact, stripped completely naked in front of him—but Shirai Shiori's imagination was running wilder than ever before.
She almost felt like she could see through Kuroha Akira, sitting there on her bed. Like she could picture him without clothes. Though she still couldn't visualize the most important part—because she'd never actually seen one in real life.
Kind of want to see... No! Stop it, me! Don't think about those dirty things anymore!
Shirai Shiori shook her head like a rattle toy.
And besides—he was the man Hitomi cared about!
Based on Shirai Shiori's understanding of her best friend, Asato Hitomi was kind to everyone, sure. But she maintained a certain social distance from boys—even her childhood playmates. However, when Asato Hitomi faced Kuroha Akira, the distance had noticeably shortened. Not just physically, but emotionally too.
That meant Kuroha Akira had successfully made it into her heart.
He's really good at persuasion, Shirai Shiori admitted to herself. Even I got convinced by him...
But that was because he didn't use flowery words or empty flattery. He offered genuine, sincere advice. That was why it moved people's hearts so much.
And because he was such a straightforward person, she'd misunderstood him at first. But that was actually a sign of his consistency—his integrity.
Now that she'd completely removed her tinted glasses, Shirai Shiori realized she actually quite liked Kuroha Akira as a person. Her bad impressions had completely reversed, transforming into personality strengths.
However... although he didn't seem to be dating anyone right now, if things continued like this, he and Hitomi were still very likely to end up together, weren't they?
Thinking about that possibility, Shirai Shiori suddenly felt a twinge of bitterness. A sour ache in her chest.
Kuroha Akira was the first kindred spirit she'd ever met. And Asato Hitomi was someone she could be friends with for life. With two important people getting together, she should logically offer her blessings...
But why did she feel this way?
Could it be that she... had fallen in love with... him?
No!
It was just appreciation and respect! She couldn't claim this was love yet. At most, it was an illusion caused by the ambiguous atmosphere and the effects of hormones! Because she'd never seen a man's body before, she was just curious!
This was desire at play!
This wasn't a denial born purely from shyness—it was a judgment based on reason. Shirai Shiori had read many romance novels, so her definition of love was even more "rigorous" than most.
Unlike Shinomiya, who immediately accepted any flutter as romantic affection, Shirai Shiori—when faced with an unprecedented and unknown emotion—would first try to analyze it. Only after excluding all other factors, if the remaining feeling was still admiration, could she acknowledge it as love.
And at this stage? She felt that Kuroha Akira could be treated as a mentor and a friend.
"Then let's keep using this pen name," she said, pushing her chaotic thoughts aside.
"You're not planning to change it?"
Shirai Shiori slowly shook her head and offered a small smile. "No need. But... can I also use this pen name later?"
"Huh? You want to use it too?"
"Yes. I really like the pen name 'Shirako.' And my surname is Shirai, so it suits me very well too."
She wasn't wrong. Compared to Kuroha Akira, "Shirako" actually resembled Shirai Shiori's real name more—in both Japanese and Chinese.
"You mean... you want me to give this pen name to you entirely?"
Kuroha Akira considered it. Giving the pen name to Shirai Shiori was fine by him—he wasn't even sure if he'd keep writing light novels later.
If all went well, My sister is a h-game master should run for about twelve volumes. Add in some IF routes and bonus extras, maybe around twenty volumes total. At a pace of one volume every three months, that was about five years of work.
But with Shirai Shiori helping now, the output speed should double. They'd most likely finish before high school graduation.
Of course, that depended on the first volume selling well enough to earn continued serialization. Actually, as long as he cleared the two major hurdles—the first volume and the fifth volume—unless the author themselves couldn't continue, publishers generally wouldn't cancel a series. Publishing was a long-term business; as long as a work kept selling, it could keep being reprinted, generating ongoing revenue.
And for Kuroha Akira, light novels were just a means to earn startup capital. Afterwards, he could refocus his energy on Shinomiya's development plan, wait for her to become famous and rake in the big money, and then live off sustainable—ahem—soft rice.
"No, that's not what I mean." Shirai Shiori shook her head. "I mean... we share one pen name."
"Share it, huh?" Kuroha Akira's lips curled into a half-joking smile. "Then you'll have to pay me a usage fee, won't you?"
Unexpectedly, Shirai Shiori nodded in serious agreement.
"Alright. If my future works get successfully published, I'll share the royalties with you."
"Huh?!"
Now it was Kuroha Akira's turn to gape like an idiot, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Even if they shared a pen name, there was no need to share all her royalties with him, right? What was she thinking? She couldn't possibly be unaware of how important royalties were to an author—that was their main income!
Seeing his astonished expression, Shirai Shiori had to stifle a laugh. Just moments ago, she had been the one standing there with her mouth hanging open like a fool. Now the tables had turned, hadn't they?
She planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin with mock haughtiness.
"Of course, I'm not saying I'll share royalties with you unconditionally. I want you to continue guiding my writing. When I write new works, you'll be responsible for reviewing them and offering suggestions—just like you did today."
"So... you want to hire me as your novel instructor and supervisor?"
"Exactly." Her gaze was steady, sincere. "I don't think I'm mature enough yet. Akira-kun, you have much more experience than I do. So I want to gain what I'm lacking from you. That way, I can make further progress in the field of literature."
"Understood." Kuroha Akira nodded slowly, a strange smile crossing his face. "So you want to 'devour' me. Turn me into your nourishment."
Shirai Shiori's ears turned crimson at his deliberately ambiguous phrasing.
This is why you're like this! Because you always say things like that, I end up with so many misunderstandings!
But looking at it now... this kind of metaphor was actually a rhetorical device only authors would use. If she saw this description in an essay, Shirai Shiori would genuinely appreciate it.
He must have integrated creation into his very life. She should emulate him!
With that thought, Shirai Shiori abandoned her previous reserved speaking style and declared boldly,
"That's right! I'm going to devour you completely!"