Haruka Kasunano is really foolish.
Working only four hours a week for a reward of 80,000 yen—this is the confidence of a top-tier family?
If he really takes this job, he would have a guaranteed income of 320,000 yen a month. What more could he want?
“If you're not satisfied with the reward, we can negotiate further, as long as you’re willing, Kasunano-kun!” Seeing the boy's interest, Eriri added more incentives.
It's just money, right? Who would be lacking in that?
Even if his mother refuses to cough up the cash, Eriri herself is a little rich girl, okay? A mere 320,000 yen a month is nothing.
Just skip buying one piece of clothing or one pair of shoes, and it’s all good.
Just as Haruka Kasunano was about to succumb to the allure of money, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
“Sorry, Sawamura-san, but Kasunano-kun might not have time to teach you how to draw.”
“Kazanokou Shiyu!” Eriri was all too familiar with the suddenly appearing girl with long black hair.
She belonged to that type of person who could be recognized just by hearing her name.
There was no way around it; her childhood friend was a fan of Kazanokou Shiyu and had mentioned this woman’s books more than once in front of her.
Although she was quite annoyed by such recommendations, Eriri had to admit that she was also a fan of "Love Metronome."
The reason she knew Kazanokou Shiyu's true identity was that Eriri had also attended a signing event for "Love Metronome."
However, she would never admit to that.
Especially at this moment, when she was on the verge of success, this unexpected interruption completely disrupted her plans.
“Um, senpai, I have time.”
“No, Kasunano-kun, you don’t.”
“But senpai, I really do have time!”
“I said you don’t!”
“Senpai, I need to make money, boohoo.” Haruka Kasunano was on the verge of tears; cutting off someone's financial path is like killing their parents. Doesn’t Kazanokou Shiyu understand this principle?
“I know, so I have something to ask of you, Kasunano-kun.” Kazanokou Shiyu arrogantly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then proudly said, “I want to invite you to participate in the creation of 'Love Metronome,' such as helping me analyze characters, providing inspiration, and doing some editing work. All of that can be entrusted to you.”
“Ah...” Upon hearing the girl’s words, Haruka Kasunano immediately wanted to refuse.
He knew that these tasks were not simple; compared to teaching Eriri how to draw, this kind of work was considerably more burdensome.
“Don’t be so quick to refuse. Don’t you want to hear about the reward I’m offering, Kasunano-kun?” A sly smile appeared on Kazanokou Shiyu's face.
Because Haruka Kasunano, who was about to refuse, immediately closed his mouth.
“With your participation, I believe we can complete a volume of 'Love Metronome' in two months. Therefore, from all the royalties I receive, I will give you 20% as your reward for this work.”
Haruka Kasunano's mouth dropped wide open.
It wasn't because he was shocked by the profit-sharing ratio; he knew that higher rewards often meant more effort required.
Not everyone is like Eriri, a rich young lady who can spend money without a care.
Even if Kazanokou Shiyu is a bestselling author, her income wouldn’t be extravagant to that extent.
The real reason he was puzzled was simple.
“Why me?”
“Because you are the one who truly understands this book. From our conversation yesterday, I realized that you have genuinely immersed yourself in the world constructed by the novel. With such insights, you would be a great help in my future creative process. If you are willing to help, I am confident that I can shorten the original three-month creation period to two months.”
“Also, don’t be too quick to refuse. The first volume of 'Love Metronome' sold 100,000 copies, and Fukashikawa gave me a 10% share. Don’t you want to calculate that first?”
Whenever it comes to money, Haruka Kasunano's mind always works quickly.
Knowing that the price of one volume of 'Love Metronome' is 700 yen, and Kazanokou Shiyu's share is 10%, which means she would get 70 yen. With total sales of 100,000 copies, the total royalties would be 7 million yen. If every copy continues to sell at that level, Haruka Kasunano could receive 20% from each copy.
So, how much would he earn in total!
It’s not that Haruka Kasunano is bragging; he could solve such problems back in elementary school.
In two months, that’s 1.4 million yen, a figure he never dared to imagine before.
They say money is hard to earn, so when did making money become so easy?
“Kazanokou Shiyu, do you know about queuing? It’s such a simple principle of first come, first served. Don’t you understand?” Seeing that Haruka Kasunano was about to be snatched away, Eriri couldn’t sit still.
It was clearly my turn first!
“Sawamura-san is right. Even elementary school students know the principle of queuing. Why doesn’t Sawamura-san understand?”
“What are you talking about? Clearly, it’s you...”
“Not me! Sawamura-san is the one who came later. Because yesterday, I had already reached a certain monetary agreement with Kasunano-kun. Do you understand?” Kazanokou Shiyu pointed to her lips, and despite being just a high school student, the charm she exuded was enough to make adults feel ashamed.
Her school uniform from Toyozaki paired with black stockings, along with her voluptuous figure, was enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat.
What’s worse, this enchantress even winked at Haruka Kasunano, her mature and alluring aura combined with a pure and playful expression, like a perfect blend of angel and devil.
The boy felt that, in that moment, he seemed to have suddenly grown up...
“Monetary... transaction...” Eriri's face turned bright red; as a doujin artist, she immediately thought of some inappropriate scenarios.
A closed space, pink lighting, a lonely man and woman in the same room, after a storm, the woman laughs arrogantly, tossing down a few bills and saying, “Boy, I’m very satisfied. Same time, same place next week, okay?”
“That’s right, it’s a monetary transaction. So, just like Sawamura-san said, first come, first served. Why don’t you go queue up first? Once my transaction with Kasunano-kun is over, I might even share a little with you, Sawamura-san.” Words that made one blush and heart race spilled from Kazanokou Shiyu's rosy lips, accompanied by a gesture of licking her lips. If someone saw this, perhaps there would be a stampede at Toyozaki today.
“Shameless!” The thin-skinned Eriri could no longer bear such provocative words; her porcelain-like fair skin was flushed with red as she covered her face and fled the scene.
This time, she lost again.
“Senpai, do you really need to make a normal employment relationship sound so... easily misunderstood?” Haruka Kasunano shook his head helplessly.
If he had known Kazanokou Shiyu was this kind of person, he would have thought twice about whether to become this girl’s illustrator.
But now it seems like he’s already on a pirate ship, and is it too late to turn back?