Yukinoshita Shizuku took the contract and carefully reviewed it for Tsushima Kagami. When her eyes swept over the line specifying the 15% royalty share, a look of surprise flickered imperceptibly across her face before she returned to her usual calm.
"Is a tankobon being released this quickly?" Shizuku raised her head. Seeing no issues with the document, she handed it back.
Tsushima Kagami returned the contract to his briefcase and smiled. "The readers are too enthusiastic; they've been urging the editorial department to release a tankobon."
Shizuku looked up at him again. "Although a 15% royalty is indeed the ceiling for the industry, you haven't sold a single copy yet. This is still a long way from the path of a 'Lord'."
"The editorial department conservatively estimated that we'd sell at least 100,000 copies!" Kagami wagged his finger triumphantly at Shizuku.
Shizuku remained unmoved, speaking as flatly as if she were discussing today's weather. "Fifteen million yen is indeed a lot, but for the Yukinoshita family of the past... never mind."
"More importantly, you'll have to pay a significant amount of personal income tax later. I think Lord Yukinoshita's urgent priority is to hire a professional tax accountant."
Kagami was instantly hit in a sore spot. He took a sip of the shop's free barley tea, then said, "I will hire a tax accountant, of course. However, I want Mother to register a company and then sign me over to it. That should legally avoid a lot of losses."
Shizuku lowered her head in thought. "Let Mother register a company to legally avoid tax? That shouldn't be a problem. I'll contact Mother later."
She looked up again, her clear eyes holding a trace of amusement as she regarded him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
It was rare for Kagami to see Shizuku reveal such an expression.
"I just think you might actually make a qualified capitalist. No wonder Father thought so highly of you."
"Wrong~" Kagami smiled and shook his head.
"What's wrong about it?" Shizuku asked, puzzled.
"We are the Old Kazoku."
"So, does that matter?"
"The relationship is that compared to capitalists, we are remnants of feudalism!"
"A system abolished long ago. Nowadays, plenty of Old Kazoku are working as corporate slaves in companies, getting cursed out by their bosses."
Shizuku rolled her eyes at Kagami, then looked at him with profound meaning. "No wonder Kobayashi-san said you would definitely be a leftist writer in the future."
At that moment, Shimizu Nayotake walked over carrying two steaming bowls of thick roast pork ramen. She placed the bowls steadily in front of them, her gaze resting briefly on the faces of Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku. With a faint "Please enjoy," she turned and walked back to the counter.
"Thank you, Shimizu-san," the two thanked her in unison.
Looking at the rich white bone broth in the bowl, the layer of roast pork with its perfect balance of fat and lean meat, and the soft-boiled egg glistening alluringly on the surface...
Shizuku tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and picked up her chopsticks. She first picked up a piece of roast pork and took a bite. As the meat and juices melted in her mouth, she revealed an expression of immense enjoyment.
Watching her profile, slightly flushed and moistened by the steam from the bowl, Kagami smiled and began to eat as well.
*
After finishing the ramen and bidding farewell to Shimizu Nayotake, the two strolled along the small path back to the subway.
The dim yellow streetlights gradually elongated their shadows until they slowly overlapped.
Shizuku stopped in front of a pastry shop and walked inside. Kagami followed her in.
"What do you want to eat?"
Sure enough, girls have two stomachs: one for regular meals and one for dessert. Kagami recalled this famous saying as he watched Shizuku selecting sweets on her own.
Shizuku ignored him and circled the dessert counter. It wasn't until she saw three golden, delightful cheesecakes remaining that she looked relieved. She placed all three onto her tray and went straight to the register to pay.
When they came out, Shizuku handed one of the packaged cheesecakes to Kagami. "Consider it a celebration for Lord Yukinoshita soon becoming a Lord, and a return gift for treating me to ramen today."
"Don't despise it for being cheap; after all, my hourly wage is only 900 yen."
In reality, it wasn't just that. Most of the grocery money at home was paid for by Shizuku using her earnings from part-time work. She hadn't touched the bankbook Mrs. Yukinoshita originally gave them, nor the manuscript fees Kagami had earned later.
Kagami took the cheesecake and smiled. "You really like feeding me cheesecake. Although, I do indeed like eating it."
Shizuku's expression softened into a rare, slight smile. With her hands behind her back, she trotted a few steps ahead, overtaking Kagami. Then, she turned around, her long black hair flicking in a beautiful arc.
"After all, I always feel that ever since I gave you that cheesecake at the house in Chiba, everything started to become different."
"Of course, I mean they were all good changes."
"It feels like... a lucky dessert."
Just as she finished speaking, the smile on Shizuku's face seemed to recall some unhappy memory and gradually faded, returning to the calm and lonely appearance she had when Kagami first met her.
Kagami smiled and pointed to the two cheesecakes in her hand. "So you gave me one; are you preparing to secretly eat two yourself tonight?"
"I am not! This one is for Yukino!" The girl didn't have time to immerse herself in the sorrow of the past before she was teased by Kagami. She lifted the hand holding the cheesecakes and glared at him with faux anger.
*
Once they returned home, Shizuku told Kagami to shower first while she continued transcribing the sequel to The Setting Sun in her room.
When Kagami finished washing, he went to the door of Shizuku's room to tell her it was her turn.
"Just a little bit left and it will be all copied."
Shizuku continued writing at her desk, her head lowered. A few strands of hair hung down from her temples. Illuminated by the desk lamp, Shizuku looked exceptionally intellectual and beautiful tonight.
"By the way, did WANI Magazine ask you to hurry up and draw the next manga?" Shizuku suddenly asked out of curiosity.
"Of course they did."
"So, have you decided what to draw next?"
Kagami spoke vaguely, with a hint of embarrassment, "Watanabe-san suggested I draw NTR."
The fountain pen in Shizuku's hand froze in mid-air.
After a long while, she slowly raised her head. Her face wore a complex expression that was a mixture of shock, confusion, and a look that asked, 'Has your brain been burnt out by royalties?'
"...You agreed?"
"Yes."
"Watanabe-san said it's the hottest genre right now. After all, it's a commercial magazine; we still have to go with what makes the most money."
After being shocked for a moment, Shizuku finally shook her head. "Why do you always develop in strange directions?"
"I didn't want to either. But it's a commercial magazine, and he even asked with a pleading tone. Since it's our first cooperation, I should show some respect for the opinions of the editorial department and my superiors, right?"
Kagami spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
In reality, Kagami was thinking about the mission issued by the System today.
He was genuinely curious about the function of that 'Hypnosis App' skill.
Clearly, it's a Pure Love System, so why is it asking me to draw NTR and giving me a Hypnosis App skill?
System, are you really Pure Love?
But since it was the first mission the System had ever issued, he had to give the System some face, didn't he?
Besides, when it came to NTR, there were indeed some works that felt somewhat like Pure Love and had good reception.
After all, if Pure Love can have so many disgusting 'Weird-flavored Pure' stories, why can't the Minotaurs have some 'Weird-flavored Bull'?
Kagami recalled the System's original slogan about letting Minotaurs ascend. If one does not go deep among the Minotaur masses, how can one make the Minotaur masses feel the charm of Pure Love and thereby ascend?
I will definitely pull you all from the Minotaur Hell back to the Pure Love Heaven!
And so, while standing at the door making idle chatter with Shizuku, Kagami rapidly flipped through some of the NTR works with decent reception in his memory, thinking about which one would be best to choose.
____
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