That evening, Shinomiya unusually asked Kuroha Akira many questions about the Literary Club. Of course, like a shoujo manga heroine conducting reconnaissance, her real target wasn't club activities—she was gathering intel on 'Hitomi'.
But Kuroha Akira didn't know much about the class rep either, only able to share some basic information. For example, she was probably the ojou-sama of a prominent family, had a few childhood friends, valued friends highly, was good at cooking, and so on...
He didn't say anything he shouldn't have. After all, he knew his interactions with the class rep could easily be misunderstood.
Although he and Shinomiya weren't dating, if she found out he was having fun with other girls, her favorability would definitely drop. She might even become wary of him, which would be very troublesome.
Shinomiya firmly committed this 'intel on her rival in love' to memory and learned that Hitomi's full name was Asato Hitomi. The enemy's true face became clearer.
As for what she actually looked like, her personality, or her background, Shinomiya wasn't particularly concerned. Those things weren't important.
What mattered was that Asato Hitomi... that woman had formally declared war on her!
In the animal kingdom, creatures mark their territory with scent—a primal message that screams 'this is mine.' Leaving your scent over someone else's? That's essentially planting your flag on conquered land, a provocation as old as nature itself.
The two girls had already engaged in this silent, spiritual exchange by leaving their scents on Kuroha Akira.
However, Shinomiya didn't fly into a rage over this. When it came to love, her thinking was surprisingly agile.
She thought it over carefully. If Asato Hitomi already had an intimate relationship with Kuroha Akira, there would be no need to go around him and warn her in such a roundabout way.
In other words, Asato Hitomi also hadn't confessed yet, didn't dare to confess, and had gotten anxious after smelling her scent.
Like a startled cat whose tail had been stepped on, arching its back and puffing up in a desperate threatening display.
Thinking this, Shinomiya felt the advantage was hers again. What Asato Hitomi? Not even worth fearing!
She probably racked her brains just to cover the scent. Otherwise, why didn't she cover it up when she discovered it earlier?
Her scent had been on Akira-kun for a while. The fact that she only declared war today meant she was helpless, didn't it?
It meant her opportunities for close contact with Akira-kun weren't many... But she could get intimate with Akira-kun every day under the pretense of foot massages.
Can you do that, Asato Hitomi!
Though feeling a little smug inside, Asato Hitomi's existence still made Shinomiya feel threatened. So, she retaliated by deploying even more seduction techniques on Kuroha Akira.
The seduced Kuroha Akira only felt that Shinomiya's favorability towards him had inexplicably risen again. It mainly manifested in her acting more and more casually around him.
For example, coming into the room after a bath wrapped only in a towel—the thin cotton clinging to her damp curves, steam still rising from her flushed skin, the scent of her floral shampoo filling the small room as water droplets traced lazy paths down her collarbone. She'd have him wring and blow-dry her hair, his fingers threading through the wet silk while the heat of the dryer made her sigh contentedly.
Then there was the time she peeled off her stockings right in front of him, the sheer black fabric sliding down her pale thighs with agonizing slowness before she balled them up—still warm from her body heat, carrying that faint musk of skin—and tossed them directly at his face.
And once, when he was lying in bed scrolling through his phone, she'd launched herself at him with a crab hold straight out of a judo manual. Her thighs locked around his waist, arms pinning his shoulders, the weight of her body pressing him into the mattress while her hair tumbled around them like a curtain. Shinomiya-san, that move is a forbidden technique, you know!
Kuroha Akira was puzzled. Did she really see him as a good buddy sharing bunk beds? Feeding his little brother such good stuff?
But receiving benefits without release made Kuroha Akira feel extremely pent-up. The difficulty of his abstinence challenge had risen another level.
He could only take a cold shower to 'cool' things down, and took the opportunity to wash himself thoroughly from head to toe again. Surely no one would say he smelled now...
The next morning, when he ran into the class rep, she leaned close to Kuroha Akira and sniffed. The unpleasant smell was completely gone, and her mood improved greatly.
Hehe... Someone must have a guilty conscience, huh? Too scared to continue?
Judging from Kuroha Akira's reaction of not knowing where the smell came from, this live-in partner had merely secretly left her scent on his bed. It definitely wasn't a smell left from rolling in the sheets.
So, Akira-kun still didn't have a girlfriend, nor any intention of getting one.
Then she, as his friend, was the closest person to him.
It seemed that even living together, their relationship was nothing special.
After this unseen battle between the two women, both felt the other was too weak, not even worth a fight.
Oblivious to all this, Kuroha Akira was still thinking about his plans for the day.
Trying hard to recall the art styles he'd seen in his past life, he attempted to convert them into precise verbal descriptions to use in guiding Aizono Moe.
After school, arriving at the Literary Club, as soon as he entered the activity room, Kuroha Akira said excitedly to Aizono Moe.
"Alright then! Aizono, starting today I'll be making various demands of you! Let me state upfront, my demands are very strict!"
"I-I'll do my best!"
Seeing Kuroha Akira so serious, Aizono Moe also sat up straight nervously, becoming fully focused.
"I might even interfere with your art style. If you don't understand, Aizono, you must speak up. I'll try my best to explain clearly why I want to change things."
"Okay, I'll try hard to understand!"
Aizono Moe never even considered questioning Kuroha Akira. In her eyes, Kuroha Akira was a professional capable of publishing light novels, while she was just an amateur hobbyist. It was a great honor that he was willing to ask her to draw illustrations; how could she dare have any objections?
So what followed was a one-sided output from Kuroha Akira, which Aizono Moe accepted in full.
The character designs for the first volume's cast were quickly completed, far exceeding Kuroha Akira's expectations.
Seeing there was still time, Kuroha Akira continued designing the first illustration with her, also wanting to see how good Aizono Moe's storyboarding skills were.
During the explanation process, Kuroha Akira once again felt Aizono Moe's quality.
This time, it wasn't because of her talent, but his surprise at how good her communication and comprehension skills were. She could even extrapolate from one point to others.
"Okay, so you want panty shots, right? What style?" Aizono tilted her head, tapping her stylus against her lip. "Personally, I think given the little sister's personality, blue and white striped panties would be more fitting... Ah, but let's go with your idea, Kuroha-kun."
After getting familiar, Aizono Moe's way of addressing Kuroha Akira had also upgraded from 'Kuroha-san' to 'Kuroha-kun'.
"Oh, I also think the shimapan look would be great..."
"Really? Then how much should be revealed? Half? Or the full view?" Her eyes gleamed with sudden intensity. "Hmm... Actually, I think taking them off here would be better... Ah, I mean—don't just lift the skirt to show the panties directly. Instead, lift the skirt near the absolute territory area, with the blue and white striped panties hanging around her knees. That way, you get the panty shot and the suggestion of being bare underneath..." She leaned forward, voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur. "The fabric stretched between her thighs, the shadow of what's hidden above—I think that would be far more erotic. What do you think?"
"Uh..."
Kuroha Akira was speechless with surprise.
She'd completely flipped the script on him!
I mean! How did she suddenly stop being shy at all!
And this level of expertise... She's absolutely a woman of culture!