Seeing Kuroha Akira focusing all his attention on Aizono Moe, Shirai Shiori felt a sour knot form in her chest. She wasn't about to let herself be completely sidelined, so she grabbed the polished manuscript and brought it over to him with purposeful steps.
"Akira-kun, come and look at the manuscript too," she said, holding it out like a peace offering. "I finished polishing the prologue and chapter one after I went back yesterday. See how I wrote it… If it's not good, I'll go back and revise it."
Actually, Shirai Shiori was secretly a bit proud of her work. She normally hated it when others messed with her writing—she had a bit of an ego about her craft. But at this moment, she was imitating Aizono Moe's approach, adopting a humble posture that said, I'm willing to accept all revision suggestions. Even if it stung a little.
"Oh? You've even finished chapter one? That's fast."
Kuroha Akira was genuinely surprised. Shirai Shiori had only started polishing yesterday, and by today she had already completed one-fifth of the entire volume. This pace was comparable to his own manuscript-rushing days back in his previous life.
It should be known that polishing work is sometimes more troublesome than writing the original manuscript. It requires reconception—essentially, secondary creation. You're not just editing; you're reimagining.
Ultimately, there were very few truly unknown story patterns left in this world. The light novel Kuroha Akira had written wasn't a particularly novel or groundbreaking subject. But even similar stories needed to be written with a different flavor—what they called 'old wine in new bottles.' Secondary creation worked on the same principle.
Kuroha Akira, relying on his experiences from another world, had acquired a super-large rough gem. Selling it as-is would already be valuable. But if it could be polished into jade—or even carved into an intricate craft—its price would go up another whole level.
And that required powerful writing skills to make the story gripping. Which meant it all depended on Shirai Shiori's literary style.
"Class monitor, you come and look too," Akira called out. "After all, you're the supervisor."
Asato Hitomi moved closer to Kuroha Akira, leaning against his shoulder to read the manuscript together. She turned to Shirai Shiori with her characteristic smile—warm on the surface, sharp underneath.
"Okay, then Shiori, don't blame me for being too critical, okay?"
"I'm not that petty!" Shirai Shiori pouted, crossing her arms. "You two just tell me whatever suggestions you have, and I'll revise them!"
She wasn't afraid of criticism—she could handle feedback. But she couldn't help feeling that Hitomi and Akira-kun were standing too close. Even if they were good friends, there was a limit. Personal space existed for a reason.
After reading through Shirai Shiori's polished chapters, Kuroha Akira felt that he had indeed found the right person for the job.
After her polishing, the light novel's appeal had risen another solid notch.
Moreover, she had also incorporated some slang and memes that Kuroha Akira—as a transmigrator—didn't fully understand. But seeing the class president's knowing smile as she read them, they must have been quite interesting. It was like how skilled storytellers could perform novel content in a lively way, making even a familiar story feel fresh and exciting to experience again.
"Isn't this done very well?" Akira said, genuinely impressed. "There are no changes to the plot or dialogue, but the action descriptions make the story more engaging, and the scene transitions are much smoother. There's almost nothing to criticize here."
In fact, just seeing Shirai Shiori's diligent and humble attitude was enough for Kuroha Akira to want to give her full marks. Effort counted for a lot.
"I do have a few suggestions," Asato Hitomi interjected, her tone deceptively sweet. "For example, here…"
Because she wanted to perform well in front of Kuroha Akira—to prove her own value—Asato Hitomi completely disregarded sisterly affection in that moment. She unceremoniously pointed out many detailed issues, line by line, making Kuroha Akira feel immense pressure just from standing nearby.
Goodness, he thought, sweating internally. Is this going to be submitted for a literary award or something?
Surely not. It was just an entertainment light novel…
Speaking of which, why make things so difficult for a sister?
Shirai Shiori carefully noted down all the revision suggestions, her expression serious. Then she turned to Kuroha Akira and asked,
"Akira-kun, what about you? Do you have any other opinions?"
She still cared more about Kuroha Akira's opinion than anyone else's. Ultimately, she wanted to show off for him.
Kuroha Akira truly had no additional ideas. He scratched his head thoughtfully and said,
"Hmm… if I had to nitpick, I'd hope Shiori could keep an eye on the word count. If the later chapters are also enhanced this much, the editor is going to complain that one volume is too long."
"Ah… word count…" Shirai Shiori's face fell. "That's something I didn't consider at all… You're right. The word count for a bunkobon can't be too long, otherwise the book becomes very thick, and the price goes up too…"
Last night, Shirai Shiori had been so focused on making the story more exciting that she had completely forgotten about the word count issue. It was a rookie mistake, and she felt embarrassed.
Feeling that she had made a major blunder, Shirai Shiori snatched the manuscript back from Kuroha Akira with a look of regret and determination.
"I'll condense it right away!"
"Well… no need to rush," Akira said, raising a calming hand. "There's still over a month until official publication. Just take your time and do it properly."
On the other side of the room, Aizono Moe raised her hand tentatively, like a student in class.
"Kuroha-kun, are we trying coloring today?"
"No, we'll talk about coloring another time."
At this, Aizono Moe frowned, her expression growing uneasy. She shifted in her seat.
"Hmm… that… Kuroha-kun! There's something I need to tell you." She took a breath. "Although I told you before that I would handle the coloring, I'm actually not very confident when it comes to that part…"
"Oh?"
So coloring was Aizono Moe's weakness. Probably because she preferred reading manga over painting, she had practiced coloring less frequently. If she were truly good at coloring too, she would be a perfect, all-around illustrator.
However, if the coloring wasn't good, the illustration effect would indeed be greatly diminished. Covers and color illustrations were the main highlights of light novel artwork—the first thing readers saw.
But Kuroha Akira didn't think this was a major problem. There was still plenty of time, and he could focus on developing her coloring ability step by step.
"It's okay," he said reassuringly. "Tomorrow, try coloring once, and I'll take a look. Alright?"
"Okay…"
Aizono Moe nodded silently, then lowered her head without speaking. Her expression appeared somewhat downcast, her usual brightness dimmed.
Because Aizono Moe had exposed her weakness, the other two girls secretly breathed a small sigh of relief.
Finally, they both thought, she's not the only one being favored…
Then, immediately afterward, they felt guilty about this dark thought. It was petty. It was unkind. But they couldn't help it.
The strong sisterly bond among the three Literary Club girls was slowly and silently developing cracks. Nothing dramatic—not yet. Just hairline fractures, invisible to the naked eye, spreading beneath the surface.
And Kuroha Akira, the unwitting instigator of all this? At this moment, his thoughts were no longer even on the Literary Club.
The illustrations were basically done. The polishing was outstanding. With the class president helping to supervise, there was nothing particularly concerning left for him to worry about regarding the light novel.
Everything was ready. They were just waiting for publication.
Next, he could shift his focus back to Shinomiya. But of course, the most urgent matter was still winning over Tashiro Kurenai and making her Shinomiya's manager.
Previously at the family restaurant, Kurenai-san had said she would give him an answer within the month. But with September almost over, there was still no word from her.
Kuroha Akira originally wanted to ask her directly, but recently, Kurenai-san had become like before—rarely appearing during the daytime.
Like the day he went to Shirai Shiori's house. Kuroha Akira had a rare taste of hometown-style fried rice and wanted to thank Kurenai-san in person, but she wasn't home. Shinomiya said that Kurenai-san had received an urgent work notification and left in a hurry.
Was the black company starting to overload her with work again?
Kuroha Akira couldn't understand.
Kurenai-san hated this job so much. Why did she force herself to continue?
Was it really just about livelihood issues?
To be honest, even if she quit without notice, she wouldn't be unable to live. After all, she was also part of the Kobayashi household—a fellow transmigrator. At the very least, she wouldn't have to worry about food and lodging… though she'd have to eat curry every day. Still, that was better than burnout.
So there must be some other reason forcing her to remain a corporate slave.
Perhaps she, too, was heavily in debt like Hijikata-san? That would explain a lot.
Kuroha Akira decided he would find an opportunity to talk to Kurenai-san properly. Something was going on, and he intended to get to the bottom of it.