Tokyo: Oreimo

"In addition, my elder brother kept his word and did not tell Ling Nai about that matter."

Ruri Aragaki felt a surge of joy, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

"Liuli, what are you laughing at? Heh, I know, you're laughing at that guy for overestimating himself, right?"

Takashiro Ryouno noticed the expressions on her sister's faces and assumed that she agreed with her opinion.

That's more like it. It's laughable to think that an outsider wants to get into the world of comics.

"Where?" Liuli quickly denied.

She herself didn't know why she was laughing, she just felt a little happy.

However, looking at Ling Nai's current state, it's not hard to imagine how she will react when she finds out that Ryosuke is a light novelist.

Thinking of this, Liuli couldn't help but laugh out loud again.

"Still denying it! Let him laugh if he wants, there's nothing wrong with saying it. It's better to give up sooner rather than later. If he has to stay up all night every day because of the comics, he'll age very quickly."

"Ling Nai, are you concerned about your elder brother?"

Ling Nai was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red as if a vital point had been hit.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I wouldn't care about such an annoying guy!"

.....

Unlike the carefree atmosphere among young girls, the atmosphere in the Kadokawa Building's manga editorial department was somewhat oppressive.

In the meeting room, editor Iori was singled out and criticized by her superiors.

The incident that the Takashiro siblings caused at the company a few days ago has finally spread.

She was originally expected to be promoted to deputy editor-in-chief by the end of the year, but after this incident, all hope was lost, and the editor in charge of "Moon Witch Transformation" was replaced as a result.

In the light novel editing department on the same floor, Hayakawa Rumi returned to her workstation with a cup of coffee, a smile on her face, looking to be in a great mood.

Next to her was Takuya Hattori, the deputy editor-in-chief in charge of managing her.

"Hattori editor, have you heard? Iori, the editor next door, has been dismissed. I guess he has no hope of being promoted by the end of the year. It's great news."

Hayakawa Rumi brought the latest news, which she had just inquired about from the lounge during her lunch break.

Hattori Takuya replied indifferently, "What does this have to do with you? Doing your job well is the most important thing."

If it were when she first arrived, Hayakawa Rumi would have shut up and obediently gone about her work if she had seen the other party's indifferent reaction.

But now that the two are quite familiar with each other, she noticed that Hattori Takuya's ears twitched, indicating that he wasn't uninterested.

"Of course it's related. A few days ago, that editor Iori said that Shigaze-sensei was just some nobody, which was so rude. But later, he scared editor Iori off with just a few words. It's a pity that you weren't there, editor Hattori."

"Whether you're present or not makes no difference. I've heard about this. Also, is it true that Shi Yuze and the genius shoujo manga artist of 'Moon Witch Transformation' are siblings?"

"It should be true, right? He told me that they all share the same surname, Gao Cheng."

Hayakawa gestured with his fingertips to the food, pondering for a moment.

Hattori Takuya picked up his coffee, took a sip, and stared thoughtfully at the computer screen before slowly speaking:

"Then go to the manga editing department next door and give his contact information to Editor Saito."

"Huh? Who's that?"

Hayakawa Rumi was somewhat curious.

Why would Ryosuke Takagi, an author in the light novel department, give his contact information to the manga editorial department?

"Editor Saito took over Iori's work, but she refused to cooperate by providing the author's contact information."

"Is that so? That makes sense. We should be able to contact the author of 'Moon Witch Transformation' through Teacher Shiyuze. I'll go right now."

Hattori: "Just provide a phone number, don't say anything unnecessary."

"I see!"

As she spoke, Hayakawa Rumi didn't realize anything was wrong and hurriedly got up and left her workstation.

Hattori Takuya watched the other person's departing figure, shaking his head wearily.

"You're so innocent. I hope you can grow up quickly."

He looked at the computer screen and manipulated the mouse.

I closed the email on my screen that was titled "Professional Ethics Recommendation".

Chapter 17 THE WIND

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Ryosuke Takagi almost always locked himself in his room, except when eating.

It wasn't until today that Ling Naicai saw the other person at the breakfast table this morning.

"Hey, good morning."

Ryosuke took the initiative to greet her.

"What? The missing person has returned?"

Ling Nai sat directly opposite him, taking small bites of her hot toast.

"I have finished compiling your tutoring materials. Starting tonight, I will provide you with practice questions. You will practice for 2 hours every day until the end of the winter break."

As Ryosuke spoke, he took a sip of water and swallowed the food.

Ling Nai rolled her eyes, not wanting to pay him any attention.

She's starting to regret it now. How difficult must the questions have been if she could lock a top student in a room for three days?

She doesn't mind spending two hours every night, but she's afraid that she won't be able to finish in two hours.

"Don't worry, you can definitely finish the questions I give you. Even if you can't finish them, you can stop after two hours."

As if guessing what Ling Nai was thinking, Ryosuke immediately dispelled her concerns.

After three days of review, he was confident that he could predict 90% of the questions on next year's spring recruitment exam. As long as Ling Nai followed his academic tutoring step by step, her grades would soon be reflected in her performance after she entered school following the winter break.

"I see."

Ling Nai didn't argue with him after hearing what he said.

"There's something else I need to tell you. Your editor called me."

"Huh?"

Are they urging me to submit the manuscript again? Iori Setsuna clearly has my contact information.

Ling Nai couldn't help but reach for her phone to check if she had missed a call.

"Wait, why would she contact you?"

The girl was unusually clever for once.

Under no circumstances should they have contacted Ryosuke Takashiro.

“I have a friend in Kadokawa who knows that you and I are siblings.”

Ryosuke gave a casual, dismissive answer, but Ling Nai immediately frowned. "Who gave you permission to act as my brother outside?"

Is that what you care about?

Ryosuke was somewhat surprised; he had been worried that the other person would press him about why he had a friend who worked at Kadokawa.

"Stop getting off-topic." He waved his chopsticks, interrupting the girl's question.

“I received a call from the new editor in charge of your work. His surname is Saito. The old one has been replaced. I dealt with the issue of urging me to submit the manuscript and we agreed to submit it before the end of the winter break.”

"real or fake?"

Ling Nai's eyes lit up immediately.

Does that mean I won't have to see that arrogant Iori Setsuna anymore?

She was initially a little uneasy, wondering if the other party's apology was sincere, and what if they would try to sabotage her later?

She was also thinking of making a promise with Ruri Aragaki to have her accompany her to give her courage.

"Really, she's supposedly a very reliable editor who won't have any ethical issues and won't bully you just because you're not very bright."

"Who are you calling brainless?"

Ling Nai was so angry she almost jumped onto the table, gritting her teeth.

"puff."

Ryosuke couldn't help but laugh, which caught the attention of Mieko, who was tidying up in the kitchen. The two of them quickly composed themselves.

"You'd better apologize to me, Ryosuke Takagi," Ling Nai said softly, reaching under the table to touch Ryosuke's thigh.

"?"

Ryosuke's expression changed.

What are they doing? Siblings are taboo, even if they're not blood-related, this is the dining table.

"What are you going to do... Hiss!"

Just as he was about to dodge, he felt a piercing pain in his thigh. Looking down, he saw that the girl's manicured nails were firmly stuck to his leg.

"sorry!"

Ryosuke apologized very readily.

From a martial arts perspective, he was no match for his sister who had inherited their father's superhuman strength, not to mention that she also had 'equipment'.

"Hmph, I'll let you go."

Takashiro Ryouko withdrew her hand, gave him a haughty look, and walked off the dining table, preparing to return to her room.

She had important things to do today, and since the editor in charge had changed, there was no reason to keep delaying the manuscript.

The outline drawing is complete; all that's left is to paste the paper on it before it can be submitted as the final manuscript.

Submitting it sooner will put my mind at ease and allow me to start brainstorming new ideas.

Just as she was about to leave, Ryosuke called her back.