"???"
If breaking up is off the table, something else is fine?
Akane Kosaka didn't know what to say.
However... his words proved that, at the very least, her physical charm was not inferior to those younger girls.
"Hmph... You rejected the anime adaptation decisively, but you're quite honest about other things."
Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Akane leaned sideways and kissed Rin Ito's lips.
After a brief, testing kiss, she wiped her lip with a fingertip.
"Feels about the same as described in shoujo manga."
"About the same? A real kiss is much more intense than in a manga." This time, it was Rin Ito's turn to take the initiative, capturing Akane's lips.
His hands weren't behaving either, caressing her thighs wrapped in sheer black pantyhose. The fleeting, teasing friction sent shivers down her spine, making her instinctively tense up.
When she was seducing Rin Ito earlier, Akane appeared very mature. But now that things had actually started, with Rin Ito's hands and mouth on her, she became stiff and didn't know what to do.
"Don't be nervous..."
Rin Ito's hands didn't invade her breasts or crotch. Instead, he gently stroked her slender waist and back, his fingertips soothing her tension as if comforting a child.
Her tense body slowly relaxed, and her clenched hands instinctively wrapped around Rin Ito's neck. Just as Akane thought Rin Ito was going to do something that would make the car rock right then and there, he stopped and pointed out the window.
Although Orie, standing outside, couldn't see what was happening inside the tinted car, she was glaring intently at it... The only person who could comfortably do erotic things under such circumstances was probably Megumi Kato.
Akane finally remembered there was someone outside. She cleared her throat awkwardly, straightened her slightly rumpled clothes, and opened the door.
"Miss Kosaka!!! I haven't gotten in yet! I'm Ito-sensei's editor; I need to be involved in the anime adaptation discussion!"
"There's no need. He already rejected it."
"Eh...?"
Orie froze on the spot, the eyes behind her glasses shimmering with unshed tears.
Why did it turn out like this... I finally became the manga editor of my dreams, and I finally got an author with an anime adaptation opportunity. Two happy events happening at the same time should have brought dream-like happiness. But... why did it turn out like this?
Why?
"Ito-sensei!!! Why did you reject it!!!!"
Orie dove right into the car and slammed her hands on the doorframe, pinning Rin Ito against it in a kabedon.
"It was such a great opportunity! Why did you reject it, Ito-sensei!!!!"
As a rookie manga editor, seeing her author get their first anime adaptation opportunity made her feel even more excited and anticipatory than Rin Ito himself.
But the result was a rejection!?
A rejection!?
The frame of Orie's glasses was practically pressing against Rin Ito's eyebrows, her gaze piercing through the lenses to stare dead into his eyes.
"Ito-sensei! You must explain exactly why you rejected it! Miss Kosaka had already arranged the proposal and the production company!"
"Well, about that..." Rin Ito looked past Orie at Akane, hoping she would help him come up with an excuse, but Akane just snorted and looked away.
Traitor!
"Uh... Right, I feel my work isn't mature enough yet. It needs more polishing. I want to wait until my work is fully refined before proceeding with an anime adaptation. Yes, that's exactly it."
"I see..." Orie's shoulders slumped. "I thought I'd finally have an anime-adapted author."
"Don't worry, it's just a matter of time." After pacifying Orie, Rin Ito let out a sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Sahoto is currently struggling with her storyboarding. Since you're here, Orie, how about you give her some guidance?"
"Eh? Miss Ashisu is done with her exams? No problem, leave it to me!"
Full of motivation, the glasses-wearing editor adjusted her frames and ran towards the villa. Although it was working hours, guiding an author was also an editor's job.
Totally fine!
Definitely not slacking off!
Moreover, Orie's main job now was liaising with Baumkuchen Studio. Currently, only Rin Ito, Eriri, and Mihari from Baumkuchen submitted manuscripts to Crab Editorial, but they were all core pillars of the department.
Especially Rin Ito and Mihari. Their popularity wasn't the absolute highest before, but their submissions were incredibly stable, and they rarely missed deadlines. Now, with Eriri joining, it was even better. Although Eriri's submissions were unstable because she was a student, her popularity was incredibly high.
After Orie went inside, only Rin Ito and Akane were left in the yard. Meeting Rin Ito's gaze, Akane felt shy and embarrassed, quickly ducking back into her car.
Recalling the things she had said earlier made Akane's brain tremble; she was cringing so hard her toes curled.
Back inside the villa, Orie was guiding Sahoto on how to structure her storyboards. As an editor, Orie had some basic drawing skills. While she couldn't draw a complete doujinshi herself, guiding a newcomer like Sahoto was no problem.
Plus, with Mihari, an established manga artist, also there, it was a breeze.
"Um... Big Brother, could you come here for a sec?" While Rin Ito was watching Sahoto draw her storyboards, a flash of silver-white descended from the second floor. Kei Shirogane waved at him.
Usually, Kei was seen in her plain, sailor-style uniform. But during the holidays, she wore a beige undershirt with a light green thin jacket, paired with slim-fit long pants and ordinary black knee-high socks.
What a pity... if she were wearing a skirt, she'd definitely be wearing black pantyhose.
Following her back to her room, Rin Ito noticed an array of cosmetics lined up on her vanity. A phone was mounted on a tripod nearby; it seemed Kei had been filming a video.
"Filming a video?"
"Mmh. Big Brother, you suggested I try being a beauty vlogger before. I want to give it a shot during the holidays. I borrowed some of these cosmetics from Sister Chika. I want to try making some beginner-friendly cosmetic tutorial videos first."
"That sounds great... what's wrong?"
Previously, Kei's attempt to make money as a streamer had failed. Not showing her face, only showing her hands, and just doing homework... It would be a miracle if that made money.
But since Kei didn't want to rely purely on her looks to make money, Rin Ito suggested she try being a beauty vlogger—showing her face but not relying solely on it.
Kei had been busy studying before. After all, like her brother, she got into Shuchiin Academy not with money but with grades. If her grades slipped and she lost her scholarship, she wouldn't be able to afford the tuition.
Now that exams were over, she wanted to use the holidays to see if she could become a beauty vlogger.
But she was stuck on her very first video. Facing the camera, she felt like countless eyes were staring at her from behind the lens.
Filming a video for the first time, let alone introducing cosmetics, she stuttered just trying to speak to the camera... While she wasn't completely mute, it severely impacted the video's quality. Kei shared her frustrations with Rin Ito.
"Filming videos feels so hard... Do you have any ideas, Big Brother?"
"Mmh... It's perfectly normal to be nervous in front of the camera. Don't think about people watching you from behind the lens; just pretend the camera doesn't exist. Once you get used to it, it won't matter if you make a mistake or stutter occasionally; you can just cut it out during editing."
To be honest, Rin Ito didn't know how to film videos either. He could only try to comfort her and ease her camera anxiety.
Kei sat in front of the vanity, took a few deep breaths, and started recording on her phone.
"K... Kei's makeup class, episode one. T... T... Today..."
Kei was already nervous, and having Rin Ito watching her made it worse. She stumbled over her words, unable to finish a single sentence. Even with editing, Rin Ito figured it would be a rough watch.
"It's no use... I really don't have a talent for this. I'm better off just working a part-time job."
"You're just nervous; it's nothing you can't overcome... How about this: I'll help you film a few test videos to see if we can ease your nerves. What do you think? Want to give it a try?"
"Eh, th... then I'll be troubling you, Big Brother."