Normally, bargaining wasn't something that霞之丘诗羽 needed to handle.
She could just sit quietly, and 町田苑子 would naturally secure the best possible outcome for her.
That was the editor's duty.
But霞之丘诗羽 didn't like that. It was acceptable to talk about profits with colleagues, but not with friends.
Indeed, the proud high school queen of 丰之崎 Private Academy had, in the short time it took to draw a picture, considered 春日野彻 a friend. If anyone heard about this, they'd be green with envy.
But she didn't care. Or rather,霞之丘诗羽 never paid attention to what others thought.
She slept in class, she broke school rules, but no one could do anything about it.
As long as she was the top student in丰之崎, as long as she was the school's most adored beauty, these rules couldn't restrain her at all.
"Shi...," 町田苑子 was completely dumbfounded, like you were charging into battle, slaughtering everyone, about to win the chicken dinner, only to be blown up by your teammate's grenade.
Anyone who's experienced that knows the feeling.
"Senpai, this price... isn't it a bit high?" 春日野彻 wasn't complaining about the money, but right now, he was more focused on securing a collaboration with 不死川 Bookstore.
《恋爱节拍器》was a good novel. As a newcomer in the illustration world, being able to ride this wave was actually beneficial to him. As long as his illustrations received positive reviews, his fame would skyrocket.
But how long would it take to illustrate a volume of a light novel?
Conservatively, it would take months. Not every author could manage a daily update of 27,000 words. In the industry, pigeons were the norm.
How many illustrations would a volume of the novel need?
Typically, just a few, no more than ten at most.
30,000 yen per illustration, ten would be 300,000 yen. That sounded like a lot, but if it was spread over three months, it was actually less than what he earned from his part-time job.
Moreover, such a price would make other light novel authors wary of him.
After all, not everyone was like霞之丘诗羽, unconcerned about money. Those who'd already fallen to the point of needing to write novels, who would believe they didn't care about money?
Therefore,霞之丘诗羽's good intentions were actually a poison pill for 春日野彻.
He couldn't be tied to the book 《恋爱节拍器》. Abandoning a whole forest for one tree, only a fool would do that.
Having made the "Sea King" declaration in his heart, 春日野彻 naturally rejected霞之丘诗羽's proposal.
"Senpai, since we're all classmates, and the industry has its own rules, I think it's better to follow them."
"This..." 霞之丘诗羽 hesitated. She had originally proposed such a price out of good intentions. But seeing 春日野彻's firm rejection, she understood.
Randomly quoting prices could easily lead to involution. If you didn't have the power to establish industry rules, it was best not to challenge them.
Even though she was just a high school girl who hadn't yet graduated,霞之丘诗羽 understood this principle.
"Alright, let's go by industry rules. Black and white illustrations, 15,000 yen per piece. Colored illustrations, 20,000 yen per piece. Does that work?"
"No problem." 春日野彻 readily agreed.
As long as this collaboration went smoothly, maybe next time, when 町田苑子 had a suitable author, she would immediately consider him?
町田苑子 wasn't the only shrewd person present. 春日野彻, having experienced observing people in his previous life, already understood the importance of霞之丘诗羽 to 町田苑子.
Solving the most urgent need of the person who held the biggest ace in their hand, he'd earned a bit of favor.
"That's great. Shi, that takes care of the biggest problem." 町田苑子 clapped her hands, happy for her friend as well.
Though nominally author and editor, the two had become good friends during their interactions.
"Alright, I really appreciate you, 町田 editor." With the illustrator settled, the biggest worry in the girl's heart dissipated.
She'd been truly overwhelmed by this lately, not even enjoying her spring break. Now, tomorrow was the first day of school, so she should celebrate tonight.
"In that case, I'll treat everyone tonight. 町田 editor and 春日野-kun, please grace us with your presence."
"Sorry, senpai. I have a little sister at home waiting for me, so I'll head back." 春日野彻 didn't hesitate to decline霞之丘诗羽's invitation.
Compared to this business partner, his sister who was eagerly waiting for him at home was more important.
Moreover, tomorrow was not only his first day of school, but also his sister's return to 乙女咲 Private Girls' Academy.
Once 穹 went back, the next time they'd see each other would be during summer vacation.
So no matter what, he had to go home and have dinner with his sister tonight.
"So 春日野-kun is a siscon!" Though rejected, not knowing 春日野彻's family situation,霞之丘诗羽 was very gracious and understanding.
She wasn't the type who insisted on workplace rules. Family was more important than a newly met business partner, which was understandable.
She said this not only to lighten the atmosphere but also to save face.
After all, if the esteemed霞之丘诗羽 was willing to extend a dinner invitation at丰之崎 Private Academy, the number of people willing to accept would be countless.
But her first attempt was met with a merciless refusal.
She had pride too, you know?
But春日野彻's response left her speechless.
The young man pondered for a moment, then seriously said, "Senpai's right, I might be a siscon!"
...
春日野彻 was definitely not a siscon.
Though he cared deeply about his sister and valued her growth and friendships, he was not a siscon.
The春日野 family had done so much for him, he sincerely hoped his sister could find her own happiness (not in a bone-marrow-based way).
The reason he said that was just to prevent any future problems.
Because when霞之丘诗羽 invited him earlier, her eyes weren't exactly normal.
Though the odds were against her having those kinds of feelings for him, he really didn't want to be involved with such a prominent figure.
Besides, if he really had those feelings, wouldn't 英梨梨 be a better target?
Both in terms of personality and XP, 英梨梨 clearly matched him better.
So, when霞之丘诗羽 teased him, he said those words half-jokingly.
If he was a pervert, maybe no one would bother him, right?
And before saying that, he had carefully considered it.
If he were a blabbermouth, he definitely wouldn't have said that. It would've led to his social death.
But clearly,霞之丘诗羽 wasn't the gossipy type. Or rather, even if she wanted to tell someone, no one would believe her anyway.
Leaving these jumbled thoughts behind, 春日野彻 opened the door to his home.
"Brother, you're finally back!" Before he could even change his shoes, 穹 ran towards him and threw her arms around him.
"Hmm? Perfume smell!" 穹's eyes widened.