The pendant was star-shaped. It was a bonus item that came with the release of a new book. As an author, he naturally collected many of them.
"It looks very delicate." Shiina Mahiru picked up the object and held it up to admire it.
"A friend gave it to me. If you don't mind, Shiina-san, please accept it."
"Alright."
Shiina Mahiru, who rarely received gifts in return, hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist her love for beautiful things and kept the pendant.
As she said goodbye to her lovely classmate Shiina, Natsume Rinno was struck by her kindness. If only she could have her as a girlfriend, perhaps her streak of bad luck would finally turn around.
Next time she meets her, should she ask if Shiina has a boyfriend? Asking might make her seem pushy, and that could leave a bad impression.
Forget it. I'll just observe this new neighbor a bit more for now. I believe that with his intelligence, he'll figure things out soon enough.
Sonoko sent another piece of good news. After a careful selection process, Phoenix Bookstore had finally chosen a partner for the collaboration.
The production team had worked on two hit anime series last year and was very interested in the rising popularity of Sword Art Online.
> [Professor Enju, are you free this weekend? I'll bring my legal team to meet you in Shinjuku.]
The editor and author had been talking online for so long—were they finally going to meet in person?
Natsume Rinno looked into the mirror. Her beautiful face still looked a bit youthful for a high school student, which might end up intimidating the poor editor.
Looks like I'll need to dress carefully that day—at least enough to look like an adult.
> [I'm free.]
The address came quickly. It was a café in Shinjuku, less than 20 minutes from Sobu High School.
It would be faster to take the train.
As the day of financial freedom approached, Natsume Rinno could no longer suppress her self-destructive urges.
> [Sonoko, I have a new project. Are you interested?]
In an unfamiliar office building in the Shinjuku district, Sonoko, dressed in an office lady outfit, lazily stretched out after confirming that Professor Enju had agreed to the meeting.
She was thrilled at the thought of meeting the mysterious Professor Enju.
Professor Utako was a notoriously unreliable high schooler who couldn't even meet basic manuscript deadlines. So someone like Professor Enju, who could keep up with consistent updates, must be a truly dependable young man!
Especially with that gentle, magnetic voice—maybe he was handsome in real life, too.
If that were the case, the two "generals" under her command—one a beauty and the other a charming man—would be the perfect pair.
But this fantasy quickly collapsed when Natsume Rinno sent another message.
> [Sonoko, I have a new project. Are you interested?]
A dual launch, huh? Professor Enju, I know you're passionate, but you don't have to work that hard.
If this keeps up, I'll have to lend some of Utako's update speed to him.
Sword Art Online is just getting started. There's still so much story left to tell. How can we give up a soon-to-be hit just to start a new one?
This kind of mindset must end!
> [Professor Enju, please don't do this. You're in your golden phase right now. If you focus and finish the current project, you won't need to pull all-nighters anymore. Think about the wonderful life ahead—please resist the urge to keep starting new stories.]
> [Alright...]
While Sonoko felt proud of herself for steering a promising writer back on track, Natsume Rinno had already typed the word "April" at the top of her new draft.
At the same time, she felt a little regret. Since Editor Sonoko didn't want to continue working with her on this, she'd have to use some traditional supernatural means to open a side account.
However, she would need to take extra care with privacy—otherwise, something truly disturbing might happen.
Like someone actually sending her a razor blade…
At the end of March, Natsume Rinno wrote the beginning of April.
She also chose a pseudonym that wasn't too Japanese-sounding: Professor Cat Who Hates Knives
Perfect—maybe this will help trick more unlucky readers.
After two minutes of writing, her inspiration dried up, so she decided to relax.
Mr. Cat, a very free-spirited light novel author, picked up the bento and cake that had just arrived from the kitchen and sat down in front of the computer.
While eating the cake sent by Shiina Mahiru and looking at the beginning of the draft, Natsume Rinno gave herself a thumbs-up for the hard work—and praised Shiina's baking skills, too.
Although it looked like an ordinary cream cake, it was exceptionally delicious—far better than anything from the convenience store.
As she scrolled through the sunny opening of the story, her mood suddenly darkened, and she put the cake down.
You shouldn't enjoy delicious food too much—because if you can't have it again in the future, you'll feel miserable. Just like this beautiful beginning, it gives off an indescribable feeling.
So the bento, barely touched, ended up in the trash. Natsume Rinno ate the rest of the cake, wiped her slender fingers clean, and scrolled back and forth on the screen.
She had realized the problem.
Without moving illustrations, the charm of Miyazono Kaoru would be hard to convey. Since the original was a manga, adapting it into a novel without care would be risky.
After checking the system's item list, she saw that even if she had points, the store didn't carry the items or skills she needed this month.
> [Violin Mastery]
[Professional Swimming]
[Bamboo Dragonfly Toy]
[Intelligence Points]
No points. No matter how good the items were, Natsume Rinno stuck to her principles and ignored them. And since she was planning to start a small secret account, she had to avoid being discovered by the editor—otherwise, Mr. Kashiwagi and the Phoenix Bookstore illustrators couldn't be used again.
Also, Mr. Kashiwagi's art style didn't suit this work at all.
So she had no choice but to turn to the all-powerful internet for help.
Using a secondary account, Natsume Rinno logged into a website frequented by light novel authors, illustrators, manga artists, and adult painters, and posted a serious job listing:
> [Light novel author seeking illustrator. High standards and generous compensation. Looking for a long-term partner. If you're serious, please don't troll.]
She followed that with a rough character sketch of Miyazono Kaoru, stating firmly that a sample draft would be required before any future collaboration.
She hoped this level of seriousness would keep the trolls away.
Still, she figured it would take quite some time to find the right person. Until then, she'd have time to prepare for the upcoming newcomer awards given by major publishers.
...