Machida Sonoko, 30 years old, single.
Being single at thirty isn't uncommon for a career woman, but for someone who was once a beautiful campus idol, not having a boyfriend at this age is somewhat regrettable.
The value curve for men and women is different. Men pass thirty and become mature, stable, and more "valuable." For women, thirty means the start of a decline, gradually moving from the peak towards the abyss of "Auntie."
Of course, the above only applies to men and women with wealth, looks, and ability. Men without looks, money, or ability, and women without looks, ability, or money who enjoy fighting for gender equality, have no value at any age.
However, Machida Sonoko didn't care about the age issue, as long as no one was foolish enough to mention it to her face.
She was currently focused on her career. As an editor at Fantastic Bunko, she had Kasumi Shi (Utaha's pen name), a beautiful and highly regarded writer with a best-selling work, Love Metronome. She also discovered several strong light novel authors for the Bunko, giving her significant influence within the company.
Machida Sonoko's goal was to climb to the position of associate editor before she turned thirty-five. While she showed no progress in her personal romantic life, she was extremely ambitious in her career.
Oh, despite not caring much about her own romance, Machida Sonoko was very invested in others' romantic problems.
Specifically, she was very interested in the love life of Utaha, a girl who resembled a college friend of hers, and she frequently helped Utaha pursue Aki Tomoya.
However, Machida Sonoko honestly wasn't optimistic about Utaha and Aki Tomoya's relationship.
While Aki Tomoya wasn't a bad person—he helped Utaha out of a slump and ensured her novel, which was nearly canceled, sold well, making him a benefactor to her in many ways—his issues in other areas were too significant.
First, he was an otaku, a super hardcore one. Even ignoring societal discrimination against otakus, this fact alone was a huge minus.
In a nice way, Aki Tomoya's personality is called naive; in a harsh way, it's called unrealistic. Yes, he has the drive to work toward his goals, but in this world, drive alone isn't enough.
Furthermore, Aki Tomoya rejected Utaha despite her clear advances and confession. Honestly, Machida Sonoko couldn't understand his thinking.
He didn't have another girl he liked, nor was he asexual. His reason for rejection was "I can't take responsibility for this work"—could this be interpreted as an unwillingness to take responsibility in general?
So Machida Sonoko wasn't optimistic about their relationship, but out of fondness for Utaha and the affection that comes with it, she always encouraged the two.
Alright, the conversation seemed to have strayed. Machida Sonoko specifically cleared her schedule this afternoon, canceling an editorial meeting to meet someone at a cafe.
This was a "connected person." He used Aki Tomoya's connections to reach Utaha, and then through Utaha, he contacted her directly.
Machida Sonoko didn't like such people. As a career woman who climbed to her current position through merit, she instinctively despised those who relied on connections.
However, Machida Sonoko trusted Utaha's character. If he was someone truly useless except for his connections, Utaha wouldn't have recommended him.
At 3:00 PM, the cafe door was pushed open exactly on time.
The first impression the young man gave Machida Sonoko was very good. White shirt, black jacket, clean jeans, white sneakers, a handsome but not effeminate face, and stylish black hair.
He looked like a clean-cut high school campus crush, without any strange fashion choices.
"Hello, senpai. Hello, Ms. Machida. My name is Shin. I apologize for taking your time out of your busy schedule."
Polite and impeccable, Shin pulled up a chair and sat across from the two beautiful women in black stockings.
Yes, two. Who knew why Utaha also came.
"Ah, hello, Shin-kun. I heard from Utaha that your work is good. But why don't you try submitting to a newcomer award?"
Machida Sonoko exchanged pleasantries and then cut straight to the chase with a sharp question.
"Ah, that's because I'm broke," Shin smiled and spoke the truth.
There was nothing to be ashamed of or hide, was there? Broke is broke. When the damned System takes 90% of his earnings, he has to work as hard as possible just to survive in this city without stealing or committing crimes.
"I came to Tokyo to study alone, so tuition, rent, and daily expenses are a significant outlay. I also need to send some money home, so I really need money."
"I see." Machida Sonoko nodded. It was a very normal reason. Not participating in a newcomer award because you need money is usually due to not being able to withstand the long waiting period for the award results.
If it were Machida Sonoko, she would also take a shortcut if she needed money.
"By the way, Kasumigaoka-senpai, regarding the script Aki-kun needed for his game, I've already sent him the complete initial text for all routes," Shin suddenly turned to Utaha, who was silently drinking coffee and playing on her phone.
"What?" Utaha frowned, put down her coffee, and asked suspiciously.
"You finished it all? How is that possible? How many words did you write?"
"Two hundred and forty thousand words," Shin said calmly.
"A total of five heroine routes and one hidden route, all finished. Aki-kun was very satisfied and paid quickly."
Perhaps Shin's "education" that time severely stimulated the otaku student. After all, motivation from the same gender is generally more effective than from the opposite gender, especially someone who has a crush on you.
Aki Tomoya could actually be very wealthy. If you consider the income of top anime reviewers on YT, while he might not match the top streamers with over five million followers, Aki Tomoya, with a decent fan base and a reputation as a "liver," could easily surpass the monthly income of most Japanese office workers on YouTube if he wasn't so reserved about making money.
It's highly unfair to call him a loser. At least, in high school, few people nationwide could achieve his level in a single field. And as for earning money from anime reviews... how many people want that money but lack the means?
Moreover, he honestly hasn't "cashed in" much. He hasn't taken ads, which shows a certain... persistence.
Although Shin didn't personally like his personality, Aki Tomoya was a very useful tool for promoting "Dawn Lord" with his large overseas fan base.
"That's impossible!" Utaha's voice rose eight octaves, slamming her hand on the table.
"How could you write 240,000 words in just seven days?"
One of the main reasons she accompanied Machida Sonoko today was to reach an agreement with this seemingly cunning junior.
She coveted Aki Tomoya's body, she was honest about it. To ensure a perfect, pure love ending with no NTR elements as the heroine, she had to eliminate all potential rivals while building up her favorability.
The blonde tsundere and the unobtrusive woman were not strong opponents, but Aki Tomoya was stubbornly dense. Joining his joke of a game club was a last resort.
If she didn't join, she couldn't integrate into the group, especially with the appearance of Shin, a perfect replacement who was efficient, didn't drag his feet, and whose writing was better than hers. She felt a strong sense of identity crisis.
The artist (the losing dog) and the model/heroine reference (Assassin) couldn't be replaced, but she could. If she continued to act diva-like or tsundere, she might not even have a chance to enter the game.
However, Shin was a man, a normal man without an interest in fencing. Combined with their mutual respect as authors and his act of stepping in earlier, Utaha actually had a good impression of Shin.
But that was conditional on Shin not destroying her goal.
Utaha intended to use this opportunity to "show favor" to her junior and have him quietly withdraw from the game production, allowing her to maintain her irreplaceable status. Of course, she would offer benefits, as a fellow author and senior, she would take good care of him.
But now, not only had he not withdrawn, he had delivered a fatal blow, directly forcing her out of the game!
"Nothing is impossible… Thank you." Shin picked up the cappuccino, took a sip, and shrugged.
"You might not know the daily output of web novel authors in my country. Two thousand words a day is a living corpse, five thousand is a slacker with no ambition, ten thousand is barely getting started, thirty thousand is chasing dreams, and fifty thousand is considered 'diligent.'"
"If I pull an all-nighter, I can write the amount of words you write in a month. 240,000 words in seven days, that's just over 30,000 words a day. It's really not difficult."
While Shin exaggerated slightly, it was true. Compared to the output of domestic web novel authors, light novel authors' output is pitiful.
Speaking of which, this is all thanks to a certain ancient web novel author with the alias "Blood Red." Before him, web novel authors updated every two or three days or once a week, similar to light novel authors. But since he started writing 10,000 words a day, the web novel industry's output has been explosive...
Four thousand words a day is the minimum required for full attendance. In domestic websites, this is taken for granted. In the Japanese light novel industry, it's considered killing the author.
"Shin-kun has also written web novels?"
Machida Sonoko asked with interest. As a professional editor, she had researched the highly similar web novel industry and even taught herself Chinese to "investigate" it.
Shin's statement was exaggerated but not unfounded. The update volume of web novels is unimaginable for light novel authors. The endless stream of tropes and the fierce competition also results in extremely high update frequencies. After all, with a market of 1.3 billion people, the competition is too intense.
Shin smiled and nodded, while Utaha's expression turned sour.
She never expected that after guarding for so long, her home base wasn't destroyed by the rival girls, but by a meteor that fell from the sky!
"But Senpai, you really don't need to worry,"
Shin glanced at Utaha and smiled.
"I only charged for the initial draft. In the contract I signed with Aki-kun, I didn't undertake the obligation to revise the text submitted to Party A. You can review and modify my manuscript, or discard it and rewrite it yourself."
"...Should I thank you?" Utaha narrowed her slender red eyes, looking at Shin with a dangerous glare.
"From an emotional standpoint, yes," Shin crossed his hands, tilted his head, and said, "I have no intention of interfering in the four-way relationship between you, Sawamura-kun, Katou-kun, and Aki-kun. Hmm... it might be a five-way star shape? Anyway, please don't let your emotional issues with Aki-kun ruin our friendship."
Although he ruthlessly tricked the socially inexperienced Aki Tomoya in the contract, Shin felt no guilt, and even said this to Utaha righteously.
Utaha wanted to lash out with sharp words, but Shin was right. He had genuinely helped her in various ways. Although he ripped off her future boyfriend, he did help her.
And sharp words... they worked on Aki Tomoya, but for this man who gave off the dangerous vibe of an old schemer, like Gin Ichimaru or Satou, it would likely be useless.
Utaha could only accept the loss and sulk silently.
"Alright, Ms. Machida, let's get down to business."
Shin crossed his hands and smiled kindly at Machida Sonoko. However, at some point, he seemed to have taken control of the situation.
Machida Sonoko felt a cold sweat. In just a few words, this guy had shifted from the passive position of an applicant to a bizarrely dominant position. It wasn't a change in status, but a change in presence.
Facing this gently smiling high school student, Machida Sonoko felt as nervous as if she were facing her superior.
"This is my humble work that I hope you can critique and evaluate."
Shin took out the prepared 400,000-word manuscript and handed it over with both hands.
Machida Sonoko took it, sweating, and froze when she saw the title.
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