Kira Yoshikage Yearns for a Peaceful Life

Kitagawa Marin put her phone away with satisfaction, a smile brimming on her face:

"Thank you~"

The mangled English sounded a bit odd, but for someone from Japan, that pronunciation was just right.

But just as she was about to leave, Kira Yoshikage, who had been looking down at his phone, suddenly grabbed her hand:

"This isn't Aoyama Nanami's LINE, is it?"

Kitagawa Marin blinked, gesturing with her chin toward the podium, and said slyly:

"Class is about to start~ I'll send it to you on LINE later."

Kira Yoshikage glanced at the teacher about to step up to the podium, then reluctantly let go of Kitagawa Marin's hand.

Kitagawa Marin returned to her seat and confidently gave her friend Miura Yumiko an OK sign.

She could have just given Kira Yoshikage Aoyama Nanami's LINE directly, but Kitagawa Marin had her own selfish reasons—she'd added almost everyone in the class on LINE, except for Kira Yoshikage, and that always felt incomplete to her.

8-19 Fujimi 1-chome, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Metropolis.

Dengeki Bunko Editorial Department.

"Ah, I've had enough!"

Kagurazaka Ayame, with her short brown hair and dressed in professional office lady attire, sat in front of her computer and let out a long sigh.

Even though she was no longer just an ordinary editor and had signed several authors with outstanding results, she was still busy with the Newcomer Grand Prize, which was due to close in April.

Every year, thousands of light novel submissions pour in for the Newcomer Grand Prize, and these works are evenly distributed among the editors, who are responsible for reviewing them and selecting the qualified ones.

Although the first round is a broad screening with no strict requirements, each light novel submission is up to a hundred thousand words long. Four thousand submissions means four billion words. And the most critical part is that among these thousands of works, the vast majority are pure toilet paper!

"No, they're worse than toilet paper! Toilet paper at least has the prerequisite of being publishable, but these works don't even have the value to be published!"

Kagurazaka Ayame's complaint carried a bit of personal bias.

Toilet paper isn't the most painful part. The most painful part is when some works have terrible writing, making the beginning awful, but the plot concept is brilliant. With some polishing later, they could even become hits.

So to avoid missing out on such 'gold nuggets,' the editors have to force themselves to read every submitted light novel to the very end.

"Reviewing manuscripts is already painful enough, but having to endure the torment of polluting my eyes to keep reading—this is outright murder!"

Kagurazaka Ayame muttered under her breath, but her body obediently continued working as she clicked open another submission.

Infinite Stratos

Pen name: 17, Afraid Campus Isn't Violent Enough

"Infinite Stratos? Infinite Stratos?"

Kagurazaka Ayame was a bit surprised. These days, light novel titles are getting longer and weirder, so a 'retro-style' title like this is quite rare.

And also...

"17, Afraid Campus Isn't Violent Enough..."

The corner of Kagurazaka Ayame's mouth twitched. What kind of weird pen name is that?

With that thought, Kagurazaka Ayame clicked in.

After just a quick glance, her eyes lit up.

Because the author's writing was remarkably good!

Even if the story itself were terrible, you could at least say the prose was beautifully crafted.

But after Kagurazaka Ayame finished reading the piece, her expression turned a bit subtle:

"The writing is excellent, the world-building is quite clever, and while the plot is a bit plain, with the strong writing and the harem fanservice elements backing it up, the plot takes a backseat. The only problem is..."

"Did this get submitted to the wrong publishing house?"

Although this light novel was indeed outstanding, and it included mecha elements, at its core it was still a school romance type. This clashed completely with Dengeki Bunko's main focus on the isekai genre, but it would fit perfectly with the neighboring Toshokan—

By the way, Japan's three major publishing houses are actually all part of the same family.

Originally, the three were indeed independent, but due to mergers and acquisitions by their parent companies, the three major publishing houses are now just different departments of the same corporation.

Of course, for the sake of their own performance metrics, the three still compete with each other.

It's just that the competition has shifted more from cutthroat rivalry to healthy competition.

"Whatever!"

Kagurazaka Ayame slammed the table, speaking with righteous confidence:

"Once a manuscript lands at Dengeki Bunko, it's Dengeki Bunko's work!"

To prevent the author from running off because they didn't win an award, Kagurazaka Ayame unhesitatingly gave it a 'Grand Prize' rating!

After all, ratings cost nothing, and she wasn't the only one judging.

She gave it a Grand Prize, but others might give it a Gold Prize, Silver Prize, or even a failing grade.

And these ratings only determine whether the work passes the first round. Whether it makes it through the second and third rounds to the finals will require a whole new evaluation.

So what if it's just one award evaluation? No big deal~!

Ring-ring-ring~!

12:40.

All four morning classes were over, and now came a full hour of lunch break.

The small cliques that had gradually formed gathered in groups of three or five. Some pushed their desks together to enjoy homemade bento boxes. Most, however, left the classroom, heading to the cafeteria for lunch.

After all, the majority of students weren't locals—their parents worked in other cities and couldn't prepare bento for them.

Kira Yoshikage briefly replied to Aoyama Nanami's message on LINE, then stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Miura Yumiko, a strong-willed girl with slightly wavy blonde hair, pulled her friend to an empty stairwell and asked nervously:

"Kitagawa, how did it go?"

"OK~"

Kitagawa Marin flashed a V-sign and showed Miura Yumiko the contact saved as 'Kira-kun' on LINE.

"Phew, thanks!"

Miura Yumiko let out a sigh of relief, quietly thanking her as she saved the contact info on her own phone.

Kitagawa Marin watched her cautious demeanor and found it a bit odd:

"Honestly, Yumiko, you could've just asked him yourself, right?"

Miura Yumiko's eyes dimmed slightly, but she didn't explain.

Her hesitant attitude, however, only fueled Kitagawa Marin's curiosity even more—

What exactly happened between them before?

Chapter 10: But I Refuse

Ring-ring-ring~!

At 3:20 PM, when the bell for the last class rang, Kira Yoshikage picked up his bag and prepared to leave. But at the same moment, two female voices called out to him.

"Kira-kun."

"Kira Yoshikage!"

One came from the blonde beauty smiling and waving at the lecturer, Kitagawa Marin. Beside her, the equally striking blonde Miura Yumiko looked somewhat regretful.

Miura Yumiko wanted to stop her friend right then, but Kitagawa Marin, who had been about to say more, fell silent on her own—because at the classroom door, a long-haired female teacher in a white lab coat was walking toward them.

That was their Japanese teacher and homeroom advisor, Hiratsuka Shizuka.

Hiratsuka Shizuka walked straight up to Kira Yoshikage and said bluntly:

"Kira Yoshikage, come with me to the office!"

With that, she turned and left the classroom without looking back.

A few students immediately wore smug expressions. They had no connection to Kira Yoshikage, but that didn't stop them from gloating.

Kira Yoshikage ignored their mocking gazes and calmly turned to Kitagawa Marin.

"Kitagawa-san, is something the matter?"

Kitagawa Marin flashed a bright, sweet smile:

"Kira-kun, we're organizing a class gathering—Dutch treat—tonight. Wanna join?"

Kira Yoshikage refused without hesitation:

"A gathering? Sorry, I have things to do. I probably can't make it."

So-called student gatherings were a waste of money and youth.

If it were free, he might have some interest. But Dutch treat? No thanks.

After all, with a split-the-bill setup, some students would inevitably order expensive stuff, making the cost way higher than normal.

"Ehh~, I see."

Kitagawa Marin's smile faltered, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. But she seemed unwilling to give up and tried again:

"Hey, Kira..."

Her words cut off abruptly—because Kira Yoshikage had already left the classroom, following the female teacher without looking back.

"Tch."

Inside the office, Hiratsuka Shizuka sat in her swivel chair, crossed her legs, and said irritably:

"Listen, Kira Yoshikage, you've been working part-time behind my back, haven't you?"

"If Aoyama hadn't come to me, I wouldn't have known a thing."

Although high school students in Japan are legally allowed to work part-time, they need permission from both their family and the school. Family means getting parental consent, and school means getting the teacher's approval.

But generally speaking, teachers will refuse students' requests to work part-time. After all, if a student gets into an accident while working outside, the teacher has to take responsibility. In such cases, it's better to avoid trouble altogether—outright refusal is the best choice.

Facing Hiratsuka Shizuka's sharp gaze, Kira Yoshikage's expression remained unchanged:

"Strictly speaking, this isn't concealment."

"I started working part-time half a year ago, and you've only been my homeroom teacher for two days."

Hiratsuka Shizuka tapped a cigarette out of the pack:

"Even so, you still need my permission! And from what I know, you've already been fired, haven't you? Without a letter of approval from me, no one would dare hire you for part-time work."

"There's no need for that. They won't think I'm a minor."

Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had just brought the cigarette to her lips, froze mid-motion and lowered it.

Just as Kira Yoshikage said, his height made it very hard to believe he was an underage student. Hiratsuka Shizuka was tall for a woman, but she still stood a head shorter than Kira Yoshikage.

Even Hiratsuka Shizuka herself, despite knowing full well she was in the office talking to a student, instinctively reached for her cigarette because of Kira Yoshikage's height, subconsciously forgetting he was just a student.

Hiratsuka Shizuka held the cigarette in her hand, tapping it on the desk in a feigned attempt to change the subject:

"In any case, I've understood your situation, and I'll issue the letter of approval. But!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka raised her voice, leaning forward as if to project a teacher's authority, but due to the vast height difference, her posture carried no intimidation—it was almost endearing instead.

Yet Hiratsuka Shizuka, oblivious to this, emphasized solemnly:

"Your work hours must be strictly limited. No more than 28 hours per week."

"Can't do it."

Kira Yoshikage cut her off bluntly before she could finish.

"Tch."

Hiratsuka Shizuka leaned back, rubbing her temples in mild frustration. "Let me finish first. In exchange, I'll help you find a job—one with an hourly wage double the minimum!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka had read Kira Yoshikage's file and understood his family situation. So she knew full well that Kira Yoshikage wasn't a natural workaholic; working 54 hours a week was purely out of necessity.