He had already guessed the reason for her call.

That morning at breakfast, his dad had explained the general situation: the contract was finalized, and the copyright remained in his hands. His dad had also mentioned there would be a surprise waiting for him later.

"Shouko-sensei, do you have time this afternoon?"

"Is this about the signing?" Akira asked, ignoring the curious gazes from students passing by in the corridor.

"Shouko-sensei, you already know? Well, that makes things easier. Would five o'clock this afternoon work for you?"

Akira paused. That was just right—he and Shouko could stay at the Art Club until around four-thirty and then head out.

"Yes. Shall we meet at the same coffee shop as yesterday?"

"Mhm, mhm."

The two exchanged a few more words before Shouko returned with her bento, and they hung up.

Back at his seat, under her curious gaze, Akira briefly explained the situation. Shouko understood right away, but the three friends sitting with them were still confused.

Shouko explained in simple terms, though she deliberately left out the book title.

"What? Really?" Atsuya Ayumi nearly choked on her food.

Takagi only widened her eyes slightly before quickly regaining her calm expression.

Nishikata froze with a snack bag in his hands. "Wait, you wrote a book? What's it called? How come you never told us, Miyamura?"

In all the three years they'd known him, not once had Akira ever hinted at this. The revelation left them stunned.

"It's true, but it's not confirmed yet since I haven't signed anything," Akira admitted, feeling cornered under their intense stares.

When Nishikata pressed about the title, Akira quickly deflected. Most of his writing these past three years had been healing-style light novels. If they found out, he was sure they'd tease him endlessly.

Besides, he was embarrassed.

Another thing that struck him—over the ten-plus years he'd lived here, he'd noticed that most Japanese light novels in this world had cheerful, complete endings. Honestly, they were terrible… nothing compared to the works from his previous life. Even Kamen Rider, the show he'd watched back in kindergarten, was still running with no replacement in sight.

By third grade, he'd already realized this wasn't the same Japan he had known before.

Thankfully, Shouko helped divert their questions, letting Akira eat his lunch in peace.

Even by the time the bell rang, Nishikata and Ayumi still couldn't quite believe what they'd heard. Both of them had once tried writing light novels themselves. Yet, whenever they sat at their computers, their minds went completely blank, and the sparks of inspiration they had in class evaporated.

—

The March wind still carried a lingering chill, though sunlight broke it into warm fragments as the clock struck half-past three.

The early-blooming cherry blossoms quivered at the rush of students leaving school. The zippers of schoolbags jingled like metallic chimes, sending sparrows fleeing from the branches where they'd been practicing their songs.

The hems of baseball uniforms fluttered as players dashed past the flower shadows. Girls strolled two-by-two across the damp ground where snow had only just melted, their socks dusted with gym floor chalk. A faint aroma of burnt cookies still clung to the aprons of students from home economics.

"See you tomorrow, you two."

"Bye-bye!"

"See you!"

After parting with their three friends, Akira and Shouko tidied up the classroom before heading to the Art Club.

Naruko-sensei, whose belly had grown rounder with pregnancy, greeted them warmly as they entered. They settled into their seats and continued painting.

By the time the two would graduate in mid-March, Naruko-sensei would also begin her maternity leave. Shouko promised she would visit her then, and the teacher had smiled fondly at her words. Over the past two and a half years, Naruko-sensei had grown extremely attached to Shouko.

When Akira's alarm went off, they excused themselves, explaining they had something to do, and left early.

—

"Ding dong…"

The bell chimed as Akira pushed open the café door. The air smelled of roasted coffee beans and cedarwood, just like yesterday.

Being a Monday, there were fewer customers—only one or two tables. He spotted Kazeno Jun right away, sitting in the same spot.

As Akira and Shouko approached, Jun's gaze flicked between them. She noticed their linked hands and felt a pang of loneliness. For someone who'd been single all this time, her juice suddenly tasted bitter.

"Shouko-sensei, I didn't realize you'd be bringing someone. I only ordered one drink—I'm sorry."

She quickly apologized when the waiter set a strawberry juice in front of Akira.

"It's fine, I should've told you beforehand." Akira pushed the juice toward Shouko and asked, "Shall we get straight to the contract?"

"No need. Your guardian from last night, President Miyamura, already signed for you…"

Her tone softened as she mentioned Daiki Miyamura.

She still couldn't believe it. Just last night, she had gone home feeling devastated, convinced the deal had fallen through. She'd even drowned her sorrows in desserts. But then, this morning, her father had called her into his office and praised her endlessly. For a moment, she thought he was losing his mind.

When he explained, she could barely believe him. Since when did kids from wealthy families skip running companies just to write light novels?

President Kazeno: I'd like to throw that question back at you!

But none of that mattered now. What mattered was that she had secured Shouko-sensei under her name—and she'd get to see their work firsthand!

Collecting herself, she explained, "Today is just to go over the next steps. From now on, we'll coordinate through LINE."

"Okay." Akira nodded. He didn't have his phone on him, so he'd add her later.

Beside him, Shouko quietly sipped her juice without interrupting.

"Shouko-sensei, how much of the manuscript have you finished?"

"To be honest, it's already complete."

"!!!"

Jun nearly jumped out of her seat. So he hadn't been telling the whole truth yesterday… but was he bluffing now?

"Shouko-sensei, would you consider splitting it into two volumes—an upper and a lower? We can publish the first volume directly as a physical book without going through Futaba Bunko."

She recalled her father's words from that morning.

"As for the second volume, it'll depend on the sales of the first. If it does well, we'll publish the second physically as well."

"Hm…" Akira pretended to hesitate before nodding. "All right."

So this was the surprise his dad had mentioned.

Jun tried to keep her excitement under control, but her lips still wanted to curl into a grin.

"Then please send me the manuscript for the first volume tonight, and I'll review it."

"Mhm, no problem." Akira nodded. Then, without missing a beat, he asked:

"So, how are the royalties calculated?"

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