The final price they agreed on was that Kasuga no Tōru would spend one day each week discussing the plot with Kashiwazaki Shizuka to deepen the character portrayal.
And the girl's contribution wasn't a 20% commission, but a fixed 50,000 yen payment.
While Kasuga no Tōru was taking a loss compared to tutoring Eriri, his long-standing poverty had taught him a valuable lesson.
Don't take what's not yours!
Let alone the saying "a gentleman loves money, but earns it by righteous means," Kasuga no Tōru knew better than anyone how much he was capable of.
Did his skills truly warrant a 20% commission or a 20,000 yen per hour rate?
The answer was no.
If he let himself be blinded by the allure of money at this moment, the consequences he'd face in the future would far outweigh the money he gained now.
There was no doubt that in the eyes of the wealthy, it was easy to ruin someone.
Including the senpai who seemed tempting and easy-going right now.
One day she might be the one who sent him spiraling into the abyss.
After all, Kasuga no Tōru wanted to continue making a living in the illustration industry, and Kashiwazaki Shizuka, an already established light novel writer, if she had any negative opinions about him, who in the industry would dare to work with him in the future?
This was a case of drinking poison to quench thirst, something Kasuga no Tōru wouldn't do, and couldn't do.
But overall, today's gains were truly substantial.
If he wasn't in a hurry to return his textbooks to the classroom, Kasuga no Tōru would have wanted to share this good news with his sister.
You think you're amazing for being beautiful and earning 120,000 yen?
Brother, I'm being taken care of… hired, and I only need to work four days a month to earn 200,000 yen!
In high spirits, Kasuga no Tōru hummed a tune as he returned to the school building, and with the help of his classmates, he carried the textbooks back to the classroom.
They say money is a good thing, and with this BUFF boosting him, Kasuga no Tōru could ascend the three flights of stairs without a breath, his back wasn't sore anymore, and he even had the energy to sing.
This good mood lasted until the class meeting.
"Kasuga-kun, you seem to be in a great mood." Of all the classmates, Kasuga no Tōru only knew Katō Megumi, and Katō Megumi only knew Kasuga no Tōru, so naturally, they became deskmates.
Ever since they returned from collecting the textbooks, Katō Megumi had noticed that Kasuga no Tōru's smile hadn't faded, so she curiously remarked.
"Indeed, I've learned for the first time that the feeling of having a sugar momma is so great." Since they were friends, Kasuga no Tōru didn't feel the need to be guarded as he would be with Eriri and Kashiwazaki Shizuka, so he made a joke.
"Ah, Kasuga-kun, you can't bully the disabled, it's a crime to cheat people for money just because they're blind." Katō Megumi lightly chided him.
But the smile on her lips had disappeared.
She had been smiling when she saw how happy Kasuga no Tōru was.
"Don't worry, don't worry, she was able to find this gold nugget of mine on the beach, how could she possibly be blind?" Kasuga no Tōru didn't notice his deskmate's expression, instead, he boasted.
"I see." Hearing the boy's words, Katō Megumi's smile reappeared.
She thought back to yesterday when she saw Kasuga no Tōru drawing on the street.
"If that's the case, there's nothing to worry about, right? But he's still like that, always saying things that are a bit off, does he like to make people misunderstand him?"
…
The rooftop of Toyosaki Private Academy was off-limits.
Don't get any ideas, this wasn't because someone had once fought here and it was designated a forbidden zone. It was simply that the school authorities believed that allowing students to enter freely could pose serious safety hazards.
Even though the rooftop was surrounded by high iron mesh fences.
But in this world, there are always people who are born to break rules, like Kashiwazaki Shizuka, who was on the phone on the rooftop at this moment.
As a scholar, she could, to some extent, ignore the management of teachers and the school, as long as she didn't do anything outrageous.
And as a beautiful girl, she could enjoy privileges among the students.
Today during the cleaning, when she picked up the broom, boys would appear and sweep the classroom floor clean.
When she picked up the cloth, several other boys would make the windows spotless in an instant.
It was so fast, it was like they had superpowers.
The girl, enjoying her leisure, avoided her crowd of admirers and went up to the rooftop to make a call.
"Shizuka, are you sure you've made up your mind?" The voice on the other end was pleasant, but filled with concern.
She understood better than anyone what this novel called "Love Timer" meant to this girl named Kashiwazaki Shizuka.
That's why she was surprised by the girl's decision.
"Of course I've made up my mind, do you think I'm the kind of person who would make random decisions and cause trouble for others in Machida-san's eyes?"
"That's not what I meant, it's just that I didn't expect you to suddenly involve Kasuga-sensei in the creation of the novel."
If it were simply a matter of doing the work of an illustrator, Machida Sonoko would have no objections.
But now Kashiwazaki Shizuka wanted Kasuga no Tōru to directly participate in the creation of the novel, she trusted someone she had only met once, and Machida Sonoko didn't know what to say.
"Machida-san, actually, you still don't understand." The girl fixed her hair, which was being blown around by the wind, and said leisurely, "I just hope someone can understand the stories I write, you don't understand that feeling of meeting a kindred spirit."
"In China, there's the story of Boya and Ziqi that has been passed down for a thousand years, although I don't expect to meet someone like that, Kasuga-kun is truly a reader who understands "Love Timer."
How should I put it, a literary girl is a literary girl, she uses allusions at every turn.
This gave Machida Sonoko a sense of being subjected to dimensional collapse.
But if Kasuga no Tōru knew that he was only doing this preparation to get the job, and Kashiwazaki Shizuka interpreted it like this, maybe he would have been more cautious.
His reading comprehension is better than what the author intended.
"Alright, since Shizuka has made up her mind, I won't say anything more." Machida Sonoko reluctantly gave in.
But she couldn't interfere anyway, after all, it was Kashiwazaki Shizuka's own book.
But after much thought, she still wanted to fulfill her responsibilities as an editor.
"But I want to remind Shizuka that there isn't much time left before the deadline. You've already wasted a lot of time battling wits with the main editor, if you delay the progress further, the popularity that "Love Timer" Volume 1 has accumulated will disappear."