Seeing this, Akira decided to take a nap. Since Shouko said so, he would definitely "respect" her wishes.
Besides, he had stayed up until one or two in the morning last night researching Japanese publishers and comparing them one by one. In the end, he could only conclude that each had its own merits.
Ultimately, he chose Futaba Publishing, mainly because of the changes they had made to benefits and manuscript fees two years ago—it was hard not to be tempted.
Although he wasn't short on money now, and probably wouldn't be in the future, who would ever dislike having more?
Over the past two years, the editors and managing editors at Futaba Publishing had almost completely turned over, big and small alike. The only editor he still remembered was that blind editor, who had even been promoted to managing editor, or "Chief Editor" for short.
However, Akira didn't plan to submit to him. Instead, he intended to switch to an editor who had only recently joined Futaba Publishing.
As time passed and his thoughts drifted further and further, drowsiness overcame him. Before long, he had fallen asleep.
By the time he woke again, the class bell was ringing.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he looked toward the classroom door—only to meet the gaze of Ms. Nobe, who was standing at the entrance surveying the students.
Startled, he quickly nodded politely, then looked away, afraid that staring too long might invite trouble.
"Akira, remember to give this back to that girl after class," Shouko whispered.
He turned and saw her handing him back the student profile sheet. The blank sections had been filled out.
There were no mistakes—it was like a copy-and-paste job. The information was almost identical to the other sheets, with Shouko's alternate account filled in as the contact method and her LINE ID added.
"Cough, cough."
Just as he was about to comment, a cough came from the podium. He had no choice but to swallow his words and sit upright like a model student.
"Quiet down, everyone. Take out your math textbooks. Let's begin."
The whispers died instantly, replaced only by the sound of pages turning.
Ms. Nobe began her lecture, though some students clearly let their minds wander.
"Dong… dong… dong…!"
"The next period, we'll head directly to the gymnasium for the graduation photo. We'll return to class afterward."
With that, she closed her textbook and left without another word.
The moment she was gone, cheers erupted and the classroom filled with chatter again.
Akira quickly returned the profile sheet to its owner, exchanged a few polite words, then slipped back into his seat—only to feel Shouko's eyes fixed on him the whole time.
"Shouko-chan, how about we go to the Chickenzilla exhibition in Akihabara during spring break?" Atsuya Ayumi suddenly turned back, pulling Shouko into conversation.
That distraction gave Akira the perfect chance to escape her scrutiny.
"Okay, okay. Atsuya-chan, you set the time and I'll see if I'm free that day," Shouko replied easily.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would probably just spend spring break at home with Akira. Even if they went out, it would likely only be shopping. After all, Akira had plans to keep busy during the short two-week break.
"Takagi-chan—"
Before Ayumi could rope someone else in, Takagi raised her hand to cut her off. "Say no more. Same as Shouko—I'll go if you set the time."
Satisfied, Ayumi pulled over a chair and started chatting with the two of them about other topics.
Meanwhile, Nishikata sat quietly, absorbed in the manga in his hands. As he neared the final pages, he sighed and turned to the boy in front of him, who was clearly lost in thought.
"Once I finish this manga, I'll be in another slump. Miyamura, got any recommendations?"
Akira blinked out of his daze, staring speechlessly at him.
This guy had been asking the same question for almost three years. Every time he finished a novel or manga, he would come begging for suggestions. Akira sometimes felt like a living encyclopedia, though admittedly he had introduced him to many obscure but interesting works.
"Let me think…"
His eyes drifted toward Shouko's slightly rounded cheeks as he pondered. Nishikata knew better than to disturb him while he was thinking.
"Got it," Akira said at last. "But you might have to wait until high school to actually see this one."
That immediately drew the attention of the three girls chatting nearby. They were all quite interested in novels and manga, and curiosity lit up their eyes.
Shouko herself wasn't very into these things at first, but after spending years with Akira, she had gradually grown to enjoy them—though not to the same degree.
Hearing him say this, her thoughts jumped to what Akira had told her before: that he planned to submit a light novel again this spring break. If everything went well, they really might see it in print by the time they reached high school. But Takagi and the others didn't know about this yet.
"What book is it?" Ayumi asked eagerly. "Why do we have to wait until high school?"
"Yeah, what's the genre?" Nishikata chimed in.
Akira glanced at their eager faces and answered slowly, "Stepmom literature, blood-related siblings, forbidden love, age-gap romance, love triangle… grotesque."
"Eh…?" Shouko's eyes widened in shock. That was the last answer she had expected.
"Wait, is this not 18+?" Takagi blurted out, both horrified and curious.
Then again, by the time they entered high school, they would be nearly eighteen. Maybe it wasn't completely out of the question…
Ayumi said nothing, but her eyes gleamed with interest. For their age group, anything taboo tended to spark curiosity more than caution.
Akira let out a long sigh. "I know exactly what you're all imagining. Please rein it in, alright? I'm talking about what you'll learn in high school biology. Like—'backcrossing F1 white-eyed male fruit flies with parental red-eyed females,' or in short, fruit fly hybridization. What were you thinking?"
"Boring."
"Lame."
"Akira, you—!"
Takagi ignored him, Ayumi shot him a glare, and Nishikata buried his nose back in his manga. Only Shouko gave him a light tap, cheeks puffed.
Just like that, the little interlude ended as the class bell rang. Ayumi went to the podium to help organize the students for the assembly.
"It looks like our class is the first to arrive."
As they filed into the gymnasium, Shouko glanced at the empty space and voiced her confusion to Akira.
"Maybe it's one class at a time. Let's just take the picture first," he replied, noticing the photographer below the platform adjusting his equipment.
That made sense. With half a month left until graduation exams, a simple class photo now was only natural. The actual graduation ceremony wouldn't be held until a few days before.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
"Everyone, line up according to your P.E. groups!" Ms. Nobe's voice cut across the gym. "Hurry it up!"
In just a few minutes, the students dispersed and re-formed into neat lines, ready for the photo.
--------------
Support me at patréon com/Lukas25