"Heh, heh..." Utaha Kasumigaoka let out a dry laugh. Watching Sogo Doma's smile, she took two more steps backward!
What the hell kind of death sentence is a bargain? Three years is a huge win!
What kind of school would publish a book on the economics of crime? No, wait, was that even a subject?
Was this guy serious? Utaha Kasumigaoka looked at Sogo Doma again.
Sogo Doma chuckled and stepped closer. "I'm serious, Miss Utako Kasumi!"
Are you a mind reader or something? Utaha Kasumigaoka really wanted to say that, but...
"By the way, this isn't mind reading."
So it really is mind reading! Utaha Kasumigaoka broke out in a cold sweat.
"Actually, it's just simple microexpression reading. You're surprisingly easy to read, Miss Utako Kasumi."
Like you know anything!
Utaha Kasumigaoka retreated as she thought to herself.
"Um..." She tried to fight back.
"Fair skin and a pretty face. Yeah, you just barely make the cut!" Sogo Doma looked Utaha Kasumigaoka up and down without restraint.
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
Sorry, but I'm the one who sets the bar for barely making the cut.
"But those long legs might earn you a few extra points."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
Should she laugh or cry at that assessment?
"If your breasts don't draw people in, how can you win their hearts?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
He cleared his throat twice. When he looked again, Sogo Doma had come quite close, so she took a few more steps back.
Sogo Doma smiled from ear to ear. "This is so much fun!"
That's for stealing my territory and eating my lunch! And for just showing up on the rooftop out of nowhere. Don't you know I usually have this place covered?
"Uh." Watching Utaha Kasumigaoka keep backing away, Sogo Doma rubbed his chin. "So, Miss Utako Kasumi, what do you think of a male lead like that?"
"Huh?" What the heck? Was this some kind of rehearsal?
That was just awful!
Utaha Kasumigaoka really wanted to say that. But when she thought about it, compared with those sweet, gentle male leads, the one Sogo Doma had just played did have a peculiar charm—no, not at all!
A male lead like that would absolutely make the story flop!
"Phew!" She relaxed a little. At least Sogo Doma wasn't really like that, right?
Sogo Doma: "Oh? It seems Miss Utako Kasumi doesn't like that kind of male lead."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: Ugh, you're only figuring that out now?
Sogo Doma stepped closer again and lifted Utaha Kasumigaoka's chin with one hand. "Are you sure...?"
The forceful, masculine pheromones overwhelmed Utaha Kasumigaoka. She turned her head away. She wanted to say, I'm sure! but was afraid Sogo Doma would pull another stunt.
The person who had once described, with complete composure, being the one who penetrated or was penetrated was scared for the first time.
Sogo Doma would say that it wasn't just her. Back when he made Kaguya Shinomiya cry, who could have guessed that young lady would burst into tears?
After calming herself a little,
Utaha Kasumigaoka stared coldly at Sogo Doma.
"Stare!"
Sogo Doma's burning gaze seemed capable of melting a person.
That look says it all. He's a super sadist.
Utaha Kasumigaoka let out a dry laugh. "Ah, I see. I should head downstairs..."
"Please..." Sogo Doma once again played the gentleman. It would have been even more convincing without that look in his eyes.
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
Hey, hey, you were just leering at me. Now you're kicking me out? Is that really okay?
Sogo Doma would say it was perfectly fine.
I don't want anyone disturbing my peaceful time on the rooftop!
"By the way, your Imouto..." Utaha Kasumigaoka fell silent for a moment, then tried to change the subject.
Sogo Doma turned around, his eyes suddenly cold. "Does Miss Utako Kasumi want to die once?"
"What's with this guy?" Utaha Kasumigaoka shivered and silently voiced her displeasure.
"I just wanted to ask if she liked the autograph."
Sogo Doma smiled again, his face bright. "She loved it. She even told me to thank Miss Utako Kasumi properly!"
You bastard! Is that any way to thank someone?
Looking at Sogo Doma's smiling face, Utaha Kasumigaoka felt as though a lump of anger were stuck inside her, impossible to get out.
"So, to thank you, I've been answering pretty much all of Miss Utako Kasumi's questions properly!" Sogo Doma smiled like an innocent child.
Only those who had spent enough time with him knew what kind of mischief lurked beneath that innocent smile.
"You've been answering all of them properly? Sadist-kun seems to know a lot about the industry."
"Question: who are you calling Sadist-kun?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka folded her arms and gave Sogo Doma a cold look.
"Who do you think?"
"Oh?" Sogo Doma pointed at himself, and Utaha Kasumigaoka nodded.
Sogo Doma fell silent for a long while.
"Um... You're not calling me Sadist-kun, are you?"
"Heh..." Utaha Kasumigaoka let out a cold laugh. If not you, then who? I didn't believe your introduction at first, but now I do!
"Well, well. My reputation must not be so bad after all. It only took a day for Miss Utako Kasumi to decide I'm a sadist."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "???"
What kind of standard for personal character was that?
"As for what you said about me knowing the industry..."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Hmm?"
Whether it was his reviews or the advice he gave her, he couldn't have come up with it without understanding the industry.
Sogo Doma seemed to remember something and gave a sinister smile.
"If your novel was initially expected to be a huge hit and they started promoting it, but then all the promotional material was taken down and nobody even mentioned it, and it didn't go on sale until six months later, you'd understand the industry too..."
"Huh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka covered her mouth again. "Sadist-kun has written novels too?"
Sogo Doma: "..."
He had written one—well, more accurately, he had plagiarized one. Of course he had. Did she think he had some kind of moral hang-up about it?
Of course, he hadn't plagiarized because he wanted to. He remembered writing his first essay in elementary school, and then:
Creation LV1 (56/99) Childlike scribbles. Keep improving, and perhaps one day you'll be able to depict a few words spoken by a great being.
Fuck!
There was no way he could make a living by creating original works. He could only get by through plagiarism. With that damn cheat skill, what was the point of even trying?
And then.
There was middle school.
He seemed to have gotten into some kind of trouble back then. This was what Keiryu Doma had told him: "I'd sooner throw the money away, toss it into the sea, than ever give you another cent!"
Sogo Doma: "..."
He didn't feel the least bit guilty about it. He was a transmigrator, for crying out loud. Was he really going to let something like money stump him?
All right.
Time to start ghostwriting. Of course, he wasn't going to write a novel in the anime-and-manga genre.
After he sent the manuscript to the publisher, everything went surprisingly smoothly. The editor and publisher were unexpectedly easy to deal with, and the publisher even declared that they'd advertise the book everywhere. No matter where you went, you'd see its ads first.
As for that,
Sogo Doma hadn't doubted them in the least. After all, the book had already stood the test of an even more realistic world. If it had sold well there, then making it a hit here should've been a piece of cake.
Until that day...
The editor called and asked Sogo Doma to attend a get-together. Apparently, it would be full of big shots.
"Hello, is this Gyojin-san—the pen name?" the editor asked over the phone.
"Um, yes. Is something up, Editor Yamagami?" Sogo Doma lowered his voice.
Yamagami: "This get-together is very important. Don't be late, Gyojin-san."
"Can I get out of it?"
"I don't think so, Gyojin-san. If people remember you from this event, it'll be a big help to your future career and all that."
Sogo Doma: "..."
"Got it. I'll call you then."
"Talk to you then."
Before you continue