After dinner, it was time for the Harukaze siblings' routine emotional exchange.
Don't get me wrong, this emotional exchange simply meant sitting on the couch watching TV and chatting casually.
"Brother, are you running out of allowance again?" Harukaze Kyō felt a pang of sadness, recalling what happened during lunch today.
But there was also something to be happy about—tomorrow was her payday.
Although the spring break wasn't as long as the summer or winter vacations, the first thing Kyō did after the break started was to find a part-time job for herself.
Because Kyō was exceptionally beautiful, many stores were eager to have such a lovely girl as their cashier.
During last winter break, working only six hours a day, Kyō earned 270,000 yen in a month.
This left Harukaze Tōru completely speechless.
"May this world of appearances be destroyed!" That was the only thought Harukaze Tōru had at that moment.
Just because his sister was pretty enough, she could get an hourly wage of 1,500 yen. What kind of world was this?
You see, for an average high school student, working in a convenience store usually earns only 1,000 to 1,200 yen per hour. Izakayas might pay a bit more, but generally wouldn't exceed 1,500 yen. And those crowded izakayas were simply not suitable for girls to work in. Who knows what those drunk customers might do?
Expecting drunkards to see a beautiful girl and not cause trouble was as unreliable as hoping a simp would stop desperately loving a goddess.
However, no matter what, Kyō was much better than him, her own brother.
Of course, those bosses willing to pay high wages weren't fools either.
With such a beautiful cashier, their sales would probably skyrocket.
Who wouldn't like a pretty girl smiling and greeting you?
Although spring break lasted only two weeks or so, and Kyō only worked for ten days, she would still earn 90,000 yen once she got paid tomorrow.
Even though the Harukaze siblings' parents had passed away, they still left something behind for their children.
For example, the small house they were living in now was a major asset accumulated by their parents during their lifetime.
There was also a savings account that they shouldn't touch easily.
The reason it was said to be untouchable was because the amount was only enough to cover their tuition fees.
Previously, the siblings had calculated that if they both got into public universities, the money in the account would be just enough to cover their tuition until graduation, no more, no less.
Therefore, for their living expenses, they had to find ways to make their own money.
Thankfully, Harukaze Tōru's previous life's drawing skills hadn't faded. During the weekends, he would go to the streets of Tokyo and draw portraits for people.
On good days, he could earn 30,000 to 40,000 yen a day.
In addition, Harukaze Tōru would also find part-time jobs. During spring break and winter break, he would work from Monday to Friday (because he had to draw on weekends, which made more money than part-time jobs). Once school started, anyway his sister would be living in the dorms, so he'd choose izakayas that were open late at night, since there was nobody else at home.
An hourly wage of 1,500 yen was truly delicious.
However, starting this semester, he wouldn't have to toil away in izakayas until the early morning.
Because he had found a more stable job.
"Brother, is the illustration thing you mentioned reliable?" Harukaze Kyō lay on the sofa in an unrefined manner, resting her head on the armrest.
But the Harukaze family's sofa was only so long, even though Harukaze Tōru was sitting on the other end, trying to stay close to the edge, Kyō's little feet still inevitably touched his.
Because the weather had warmed up, Harukaze Tōru was wearing light clothes, so he could naturally feel the softness of his sister's skin.
"Cough, Kyō, sit properly."
"No, you're just being a hypocrite, brother." Kyō scoffed, in her opinion, since they were family, such actions were nothing.
"Anyway, you're just a block of wood, brother, you'll never understand." Kyō thought with a bit of mischief.
But soon, she was happy with her thoughts.
Because a brother who was like a block of wood wouldn't go looking for other girls.
Harukaze Tōru leaned further towards the edge of the sofa. Even though there was no room to escape, it made him feel a little better psychologically...
"Brother, you haven't answered my question yet." Sticking her little feet into her brother's arms, Kyō repeated her previous question with satisfaction.
"It should be reliable." Harukaze Tōru recalled the young woman he had met on the street the other day, feeling a bit sentimental.
Fate is often so unpredictable.
Even though he had tried his best to conceal his talent, gold will always shine.
"Damn it, my unplaceable aura."
According to data released by the Japan Illustrators Association, a black and white illustration usually costs 3,000 to 5,000 yen, and if it's in color, the price could reach around 10,000 yen. But because of copyright issues, the survival environment of illustrators in Japan is really not good.
This was why Harukaze Tōru hadn't considered becoming a full-time illustrator before.
He could skip drawing this month, but he and his sister couldn't skip eating this month, right?
However, last weekend, when he was drawing portraits for people on the street, a strange woman liked his paintings and asked if he was interested in drawing illustrations for light novels.
After learning about the pay and benefits, and discussing it with his sister, Harukaze Tōru decided to accept the woman's invitation.
There was no other choice, for him, having a stable income was more important than anything else right now.
Although working in an izakaya wasn't unstable, it was really too tiring.
For a high school student who was still growing, staying up until the early morning and doing physical labor wasn't an easy task.
"What if brother doesn't get any jobs?" Kyō also knew that in every industry in Japan, seniority was very serious.
Could a newly debuted illustrator, who was also just a high school student, compete with those established, veteran illustrators for business?
It was obvious that those people would get to pick first, and only the unwanted works would be left for her brother.
But how much could those unwanted works pay?
"No way, that woman said there's a good light novel that urgently needs an illustrator now, and if you can pass the author's assessment, you can have a stable collaboration." Harukaze Tōru recalled the conversation from that day, and he felt that his chances of winning were pretty high.
"Okay, okay, I won't talk to you anymore, I should go out and draw to make money, I'll come back to make dinner for you." After exchanging a bit of emotion with his sister, Harukaze Tōru picked up his drawing tools and prepared to go out and earn money.