After leaving the younger Yukinoshita heiress' room, Hayashi Maki returned to his own.
One neat thing about this "mana form" is that he can warp to a follower's side instantly—then, when he comes back, he snaps right back to where he started.
The contract isn't just for show. Through that thin thread between them, Hayashi Maki can jump to a follower in a flash; if they're in danger, he senses it and can channel magic to them from afar to pull them out of trouble.
If a follower is exceptionally gifted, they can even borrow his mana to boost their own strength and cast spells.
In theory, when he grows stronger, his followers do too—and when the followers level up, that power also feeds back into him. Once his "Hayashi Empire" is fully built, that'll be the moment he's untouchable.
So yes—the more followers, the better.
With nothing urgent to do, Hayashi Maki opened his laptop to get some writing done, and at the same time sent Megumi Kato a "task" on his phone. Simple assignment: as a club member, Megumi has to read more novels and manga and become a proper otaku. That's right—he was going to usher Kato into otakudom. That way, asking her to try on other outfits for him later would be… easier.
Megumi could only stare at the message, speechless. So this is what he meant by "harassment"? Assigning homework like that?
Truth is, she hadn't really read many light novels or manga. Her older cousin, though, was definitely an otaku, and probably had plenty lying around. So she swung by his place and "borrowed" a stack of light novels and manga.
While she was "borrowing," her cousin was in the middle of a game. He answered her without even turning his head, so he had no idea what she took. And given how forgettable Megumi can be, he'd forgotten the whole thing five minutes later and went right back to gaming.
Back home, Megumi cracked open a random manga from the pile—only to be greeted, up close and personal, by a pair of outrageously gigantic breasts filling the panel.
Her eyes flew wide. "This is way too exaggerated… bigger than a dairy cow's… Do people actually grow like this?"
Keeping a "study" mindset, she kept reading. Slowly, her usually calm face flushed red. Breathing a little fast, she snapped the book shut and tossed it aside.
"Nope. My brain feels contaminated."
"A manga by 'Kashiwagi Eri'… do people seriously like this?"
Yes—what she'd picked was actually an H-doujin by Kashiwagi Eri, in that hyper–big-bust style. Hardcore otaku might find it exciting, but for someone like Megumi who's never touched this stuff, it just felt bizarre. Nobody looks like that in real life.
"Does Hayashi Maki like this kind of thing?" she muttered, glancing down at her own figure before quickly shaking her head. "No way. Shiina's the perfect example—she's the gold standard for a beautiful figure."
Clearly, she'd let that manga warp her brain a little. Hayashi Maki owed her for this.
…
Meanwhile, over on Sonoko Machida's side.
After a week of daily prodding for pages, the genius beauty of a light-novel author she'd discovered—"Kasumi Utako"—finally showed up with a manuscript: volume two of the bestseller that had moved 500,000 copies, Love Metronome.
Sure, Kasumi's half-million is a far cry from Yamada Elf's million, but that's a matter of genre and pricing. Yamada's writing isekai harem adventure—the kind you could almost pass off as an H-book—so the core audience is seasoned otaku.
Love Metronome, by contrast, is campus romance with little in the way of steamy scenes; that kind of story is harder to blow up and harder to write, so its unit price runs higher. Basically, one volume can feed Kasumi for years—authors get a cut from every sale.
Sitting across from Machida now was a fair-skinned, finely featured, voluptuous beauty in a blue cotton top and a pleated skirt.
Her long, even legs were sheathed in black stockings and pressed together, showing off a graceful silhouette. Glossy black hair fell to her waist beneath a white headband. Head to toe, she radiated cool older-sister energy.
Kasumigaoka Utaha—pen name Kasumi Utako—the author of Love Metronome.
She looked composed, but her tightly clenched hands gave away the nerves; Machida's attitude at this moment held the fate of her second volume.
After reading for a bit, Machida let out a long sigh—so disappointed that Utaha's heart lurched.
"Editor Machida… it won't do?"
Biting her lip, she asked, unwilling to accept it.
Machida nodded, helpless. "It won't. Shi-chan, this second volume is worlds apart from your first. It's lost that spark completely. And the heroine, Sayuka—her characterization collapses here."
Utaha went pale, stubbornness still flickering in her expression. "But this is the story I wanted to write."
Having a work you poured your heart into rejected again and again—anyone would bristle. Machida's gaze sharpened; she couldn't help raising her voice.
"I know you put your soul into it. But do you want your career to end here? The world isn't short on hard-working writers—plenty work themselves to the bone and still get endless rejections. Shi-chan, you're very talented, but you also got lucky. If you don't hone your plot and rely only on imagined 'pretty scenes,' readers are going to feel empty. If this were isekai, fine—romantic excess can be a plus. But you're writing realistic, school-romance light fiction."
"Explain to me how the heroine jumps from the eleventh floor, doesn't die, and then smiles as she confesses to the male lead. Isn't that a bit much?"
The critique hit like a blade straight to Utaha's heart. She ducked her head, mumbling, "Well… I've never dated, so I can only daydream."
It felt romantic while writing—she'd even moved herself. Sayuka was, after all, based on Utaha's own image. But hearing Machida lay it out like that, she felt mortified. It really was absurd.
Machida rolled her eyes. "If it really won't work, we'll axe it. Start something new."
Utaha set her jaw. Writers get precious about their work—it's a kind of artsy illness. Editors, meanwhile, can see the pile of issues plain as day. Machida could only sigh. What do you do when your genius author starts running dry?
"Shi-chan… how about this: take a break. Go have a real romance."
Utaha pouted. "As if it were that easy. The kind of male lead I want hasn't shown up yet."
She wasn't about to date some random guy just for "research." She wasn't that kind of woman—and to her, Sayuka was herself. She'd only choose someone who genuinely made her heart race. The boys at school bored her, and she had zero interest in dating an older man. So: single it is.
Rubbing her temples, Machida felt a headache coming on—then remembered something. She pulled out a freshly printed, illustration-less book and handed it over.
"Since you don't want to give up, study story craft instead. This one's by a brilliant newcomer. We're promoting it through the imprint right now; take it home and see if it helps."
Utaha glanced at the title and couldn't help a wry look: My Youth Romantic Comedy with a Tsundere Blonde Twintails Childhood Friend and a Senpai in Black Stockings Is Seriously Wrong! (New)
Editor Machida, you aren't blind, are you? A title like this, compared with hers?
She was half amused, half exasperated, but chose to take the advice and said her goodbyes. Watching her leave, Machida's lips curled.
"Shi-chan, I wonder what face you'll make when you see such familiar settings."
In Hayashi Maki's book, the black-stockings senpai—Tsukimi Miyabi—was a dead ringer for Kasumigaoka Utaha. Even the details—light-novel author, senpai, bits of her personality—read like he'd used Utaha as a template.
Smiling to herself, Machida dialed Hayashi Maki.
"Moshi moshi—Twilight-sensei? This is Sonoko Machida."
"Hi, that's me, Machida-san. Calling at this hour—what's up?" Hayashi Maki asked.
"Business, of course," she said. "Have you logged into your author portal lately? The promo and sample chapters are getting great reader feedback. We now need an illustrator for character sheets and inserts. Do you have anyone in mind?"
Hayashi Maki perked up. "Sure—Kashiwagi Eri. Or Eromanga-sensei would also work."
Silence. "Are you serious? You want an H-doujin artist doing your novel's illustrations?"
"Dead serious," Hayashi Maki said evenly. "Those two. Please reach out."
Kashiwagi Eri—i.e., Eriri, the textbook tsundere blonde twin-tail. As for Eromanga-sensei—more precisely, the erotic-manga illustrator—Sagiri; whether that means Sagiri herself or an adult who looks just like her, either way, getting to work with them would be a win.
Machida paused, then sighed in resignation. "Alright. If you're that set on these two… artists, I'll make contact."
"Great—leaving it in your hands, Machida-san."
~~~
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