On the other side, Aizono Momo's reaction after finishing was like being struck by lightning—her stunned expression frozen in place, unable to calm down for a long time.
Once she finally snapped out of it, she shouted excitedly at Kuroba Akira.
"Kuroba-san! This work is definitely going to be a hit!"
Aizono Momo, who usually spoke so softly, was surprisingly firm this time.
But right after, she got a bit embarrassed, waving her hands with her cheeks pink.
"Ah, sorry… Maybe my words don't carry much weight… But I really have read a lot of light novels, and I honestly think this one has so much potential!"
"Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease, Aizono-san."
Of the three Literature Club girls, Aizono Momo was the only true light novel reader—her opinion basically reflected what real readers would think. That gave Kuroba Akira a boost of confidence.
"Momo's right, this work will definitely be a hit, and I'll make it even better."
"Mhm, then I'll leave it to you, Shiroi. For today, just start by practicing with the prologue."
"Okay, leave it to me!"
Shiroi Shiori pulled out a stack of scratch paper and placed it to the right of the manuscript. As she read, she started writing, carefully weighing every word—she was instantly in the zone.
On the other side, Aizono Momo raised her hand to ask,
"Um, Kuroba-san, can I start sketching the character designs for the heroines now?"
"Oh? You already know how you want to draw them?"
"Because your descriptions of the heroines are so detailed, Kuroba-san, I could picture them all so clearly… Especially the little sister. I feel like I could draw her right now!"
"Then go for it, Aizono-san. Try sketching her out—I'd like to get a sense of your style too."
Akira had never actually seen Momo's drawings before. Just going by her proficiency, she was bound to be good, but every artist's style is different—you had to see it to know if it fit.
But since she loved light novels and manga, her style was probably anime-inspired anyway, which was exactly what Akira wanted.
"Mhm! I'll draw her right now!"
Aizono Momo, brimming with energy, pulled out the ever-present sketchbook from her bag and started penciling out character designs.
A little while later, the draft for the little sister's character design was done.
Kuroba Akira looked at it, and his facial muscles actually trembled a little from sheer shock.
He'd already set his expectations high—Momo had both Talent and proficiency—but the result still blew him away.
Seeing Akira's reaction, Momo asked, a bit nervously,
"Um… Did I not do a good job?"
"No—"
It wasn't that it was bad. It was that it was too good.
The lines were crisp and precise, not even like a rough sketch but more like finished linework.
This showed that Momo's hand was steady, and she already had a clear picture in her mind—so when she drew, there was no hesitation at all.
The style was a little bit old-school, but that wasn't her fault; that was just how things trended in this world. It was Akira's own taste that was a little ahead of the times.
He'd been worried that, since Momo liked shounen manga, maybe her style would be too stiff or sharp—but that was totally unnecessary.
Besides, an art style could be guided and evolved. He could help her update her style, get her ahead of the curve.
"Aizono-san, this is incredible. Seriously, it's way beyond what I imagined."
Momo beamed at the praise, patting her sizable chest and smiling brightly.
"R-really? That's a relief… I'm most confident when it comes to drawing people, after all…"
"Oh, I forgot to ask before—Aizono-san, do you color your work too?"
"Yes, I usually use colored pencils and watercolors, and I'm best at cel-shading… Ah, cel-shading is a style of coloring."
"I know. I don't draw myself, but I do know a thing or two about that stuff."
Cel-shading was a kind of flat-coloring style—sharp separation between light and shadow, clear color blocks, a very crisp look.
But as digital art software got popular and layer management became easy, painterly styles gradually replaced cel-shading.
Of course, there were also semi-painterly styles—using painterly techniques on a cel-shaded base for more depth.
Since Momo worked entirely by hand, it was only natural she'd be best at flat coloring.
Anyway, she had coloring covered. If she learned painterly rendering later, even better—but that was for another time.
"So what are you not good at drawing?"
Aizono Momo tapped her chin and thought.
"Hmm… Probably buildings… I can draw them, but it takes me forever…"
"I see… But that's fine. This light novel won't need big backgrounds, mostly just characters, so you're right in your element."
"Mhm! I'll do my best to make all the heroines super cute!"
Actually, what impressed Akira most was how well Momo understood the characters.
She'd really read the whole novel carefully and genuinely loved the story—otherwise she couldn't have been this perfect for it.
So her little sister design matched the novel's description exactly—cute, with a hint of danger, and the clothes totally fit, capturing that shut-in otaku vibe.
No matter how skilled an artist is, if they can't grasp a character's appeal, the design will always be a little off.
But with Momo, there was no problem at all—she'd nailed a character sheet that barely needed any tweaks, and she hadn't even needed Akira to point out the important details.
That's the power of having proficiency in design…!
So sugeyo! He'd really hit the jackpot!
But at the same time, Akira was puzzled.
With this kind of skill, why join the Literature Club? Wouldn't Manga Club make more sense?
And if she loved manga so much, why not make her own stories? Didn't she want to be a manga artist?
Still, Akira didn't ask. There was no need to pry, no need to make things complicated.
As long as she kept drawing his illustrations, that was enough.
"Anyway, I'm really happy with this character design."
"Hehe… As long as you're happy, Kuroba-san, that's all that matters! Should I do the other characters now too?"
"No, you can finish the rest later. Your little sister design is great, but I'll still have some revision notes… Is that okay?"
Momo, by nature, wasn't the type to insist on her own way—she always prioritized what others wanted, so she had no objection to revisions. She nodded without hesitation.
"Of course! Just tell me, Kuroba-san. I'll do my best to fix anything you ask!"
Just what he wanted to hear!
"Great. But let's leave revisions for tomorrow—it's getting late. Let's call it a day."
"Ah…"
Momo glanced at the time—it was almost seven. Normally, club activities ended around now. Non-sports clubs usually finished even earlier, and by eight, the school doors would be locked.
There were no night classes or anything… Japanese high schoolers really had it easy.
Today, they'd run late because everyone wanted to read Akira's manuscript, but the Literature Club usually broke up much earlier.
"And Shiroi too—tomorrow I'll look over your edits."
"Mhm, I'll keep working after I get home and try to finish the prologue edits."
Shiroi Shiori nodded, put away her work, and headed out with Momo. Both girls were still smiling.
Kuroba Akira also started packing up, getting ready to go home. Just then, Anri Hitomi came over with her hands behind her back, smiling slyly.
"So, Kuroba-kun—how are we settling our bet?"
"Haha…"
No getting away from this, huh…
The bet from before—Class Rep had won. Now she'd come to collect.