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"Really? Do you honestly think so?"
Completely oblivious to his underlying intent, Sonoko Machida looked at him with bright, expectant eyes.
"Of course. Not only are you beautiful, Machida-san, but you have an incredible figure. I highly doubt many men could resist your charm." As he said this, Kai stared directly into her eyes.
For some inexplicable reason, meeting his intense gaze sent a sudden electric jolt straight through Machida's heart. She felt a wave of sudden, uncharacteristic panic wash over her.
"Y-You're exaggerating way too much! Ha... haha!" She waved her hands awkwardly, silently cursing herself in her head. 'Damn it all. Did my heart really just skip a beat for a high school boy ten years younger than me? This is practically a crime.'
"Ahem! Let's get back to the book. Kai, whether or not your big sister here gets a promotion is entirely riding on you now."
She desperately tried to change the subject to defuse her awkwardness. However, it was the absolute truth—her shot at a massive corporate promotion was completely tethered to the success of Kai's novel.
Ding!
Kai was just about to reply when his phone, resting on the table, suddenly chimed.
Seeing the name 'Sakiko Togawa' flash across the screen, he picked it up.
'Sorry, I'm going to be stuck working overtime tonight. I won't be able to make it back early.'
'No problem. Just text me when you get off, and I can come pick you up.'
'No, no, it's fine! I can just walk back by myself.'
'Alright, I'll leave some dinner in the fridge for you.'
He set the phone back down. It looked like Sakiko wasn't going to be able to keep him company tonight after all.
But... it seemed he could simply pivot to another perfectly viable target sitting right in front of him.
"What's wrong? Was that your little girlfriend checking up on you?"
Seeing Kai look deeply in thought after putting down his phone, Machida couldn't help but tease him with a knowing smile. She still clearly remembered the girl who had accompanied him when he first submitted his manuscript—Yui Yuigahama.
"No. It was the other one."
"???"
'The other one? The other what?' Machida's brain short-circuited for a split second.
"My other girlfriend." Kai said it so casually, acting as if he had just commented on the weather.
"..."
His utterly unapologetic, matter-of-fact tone left Machida completely at a loss for words.
"Your other girlfriend?"
"Yeah!" He shrugged, his tone incredibly nonchalant. "You should be able to understand, right, Machida-san? For novelists like us, we constantly need fresh experiences to spark our inspiration. Dating multiple girls is just my personal method for generating more creative ideas."
"As an editor, you must have dealt with authors who have their own unique quirks, right?"
"..."
She didn't even know what to say... Sure, some authors relied on bizarre methods to find inspiration. Some traveled the world, while others claimed playing mahjong helped them write better novels. Even though Machida thought those excuses were absolute bullshit, she had indeed seen her fair share of chaotic authors.
But someone like Kai? This was a completely unprecedented level of brazenness.
"I... I suppose I understand?"
'Wait, am I actually supposed to understand this?' All Machida knew was that the handsome young author sitting across from her was an absolute, undisputed scumbag.
"To be completely honest, I've hit a bit of a bottleneck recently," Kai suddenly said, his face twisting into a mask of deep distress.
"What kind of bottleneck??"
Hearing that it involved his writing, Machida instantly snapped to attention, completely tossing the scumbag revelation out the window. She couldn't afford to care about anything else right now.
"Well, even though I've dated a few times, we haven't actually gone all the way yet. I feel like I'm missing a crucial, fundamental piece of the human experience."
"..."
'So you've only gotten that far with your girlfriends.'
"T-Then... what should we do?"
She subconsciously grew serious. She had finally managed to sign a god-tier author—if his series got axed because of writer's block, she wouldn't even have a place to cry.
"I figured you'd be more than willing to help me out, Machida-san."
As he spoke, Kai reached across the table and gently grasped the hand Machida had resting on the surface. His gaze locked dead onto hers.
"Right?"
"H-How am I supposed to help?? I... I don't know how to..." This was genuinely uncharted territory for Machida. Her voice instantly dissolved into a flustered, panic-stricken stammer.
"Weren't you just complaining about wanting a boyfriend? I can help you with that too. Haven't you ever wondered what it actually feels like, Machida-san?"
"..."
Nearing thirty, saying she had never fantasized about it would be a flat-out lie.
But the current situation unfolding in front of her was completely different from anything she had ever imagined. She hadn't even touched a drop of alcohol, yet Machida felt incredibly dizzy. She didn't even notice when Kai had moved from across the table to right beside her.
In the very next second, she was swept off her feet and scooped into his arms.
"Wait! We can't—"
"What's there to wait for?"
Before Machida could finish her protest, Kai leaned intimately close to her ear and whispered softly.
"You wouldn't want me to suffer from writer's block and fail to deliver the next volume, would you, Machida-san?"
"..."
The words of rejection completely died in her throat.
In reality, sometimes women just needed a convenient excuse to step down gracefully. If Machida had genuinely been completely opposed to the idea, she would have forcefully ripped her hand away the second he grabbed it. It seemed that the pent-up desires of a thirty-year-old single woman burned just as fiercely as anyone else's.
————————————————————
[Fierce—! Rapid—! Thrust—!]
[Quest Completed]
[Goddess-tier feet! Goddess-tier feet!]
[Quest Completed]
[Keep Sonoko Machida from touching the ground for half an hour]
[Quest Completed]
[...]
A rapid series of system notifications chimed in his head. But right now, Kai absolutely didn't have a single second to care.
Time slowly ticked by.
Until...
"I'm home!"
Sakiko Togawa's voice rang out from the front door. Immediately after, a flurry of panicked, heavy footsteps echoed from inside the apartment.
"???"
Hearing the chaotic commotion, Sakiko, who was in the middle of taking off her shoes, looked up in pure confusion.
Then, she saw Sonoko Machida emerging from the living room, looking incredibly flustered. In her frantic rush to get dressed, her blouse was visibly misbuttoned.
"Who are you?"
Sakiko looked at Machida, then shifted her gaze to Kai, who strolled out casually right behind her. Her brows knit tightly together.
If Kai hadn't been acting so completely calm and natural, Sakiko definitely would have suspected something. Anyone walking in on a scene like this would absolutely jump to conclusions.
"You're back!"
Kai walked over with a warm smile and smoothly took Sakiko's coat from her hands.
"This is Machida-san. I haven't mentioned it to you yet, but I actually wrote a light novel. Machida-san is the editor in charge of my book. She specifically came over today to check up on my progress for the upcoming volumes."
"T-That's right!" At the end of the day, she was a seasoned corporate veteran. Machida quickly regained her composure.
"Hello, my name is Sonoko Machida."
As she spoke, she pulled out a professional business card and handed it to Sakiko.
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