Lack of Soul

Looking at the girl, Asahi could see her in full view now.

Dressed in sportswear, Asahi couldn't see her figure at all. Maybe Utaha just woke up, and her long hair looks a bit messy. He felt intuitively that she was not in a good mood.

Even so, she could still be considered a weak and beautiful girl of the highest quality. Unfortunately, there are no black stockings, and Kasumigaoka Utaha without black stockings seems to be lacking in soul.

Looking away from him, Asahi turned around to scan the entire rental house.

Bed, desk, laptop, these are all the amenities, simple and outrageous.

There is no kitchen in the rental house, and there is a small bathroom with a shower in it. A change of clothes hung on the balcony behind, including a Toyogasaki High School uniform, and several different pairs of "souls" (stockings).

"I don't have time to tidy up the room."

Pouring him a cup of hot water, Utaha knelt on the ground, in an extremely righteous manner, like a junior facing a senior.

It's perfectly normal to discuss seniority in Japan. Even if Asahi was only a year or two older than her and debuted a few years earlier, she still had to be respectful.

What's more, the two are not familiar with each other, and this is the first time they have met.

Utaha wasn't sure about Asahi's character, and even if her editor told her to relax, she didn't dare to believe it.

"Do not be too serious."

Asahi took a sip of hot water, crossed his legs, and faced her: "I already know the details, so I don't blame you. Sonoko-san is worried that you won't have time to come, let me take a look."

Seeing that she still hadn't relaxed, Asahi shook his head.

"Recover with peace of mind, you can seek advice from me when you are well. After all, you are also under Sonoko-san's command, did the temperature drop?"

"Possible." Utaha wasn't sure.

Possible?

What does this answer mean?

Without further ado, Asahi frowned and reached out his hand to reach Utako's forehead, then touched his own, and only lowered his eyebrows when he was sure they were about the same temperature.

Utaha didn't expect the other party to be so direct, she didn't react for a while, and let the other party's warm palm press against her forehead.

To be honest, Utaha isn't very good at dealing with people, especially acts of good faith, which embarrasses her quite a bit.

If it was an acquaintance, she could use her poison tongue to hide his embarrassment, but this was his first time meeting Asahi, and she was completely different when dealing with strangers and acquaintances.

In the eyes of an unknowing stranger, Utaha may be a polite and elegant iceberg girl who rejects others from thousands of miles away.

But in the eyes of his acquaintances, she is a little black-bellied and poisonous, but she is shy and not good at receiving compliments.

Asahi saw that Utaha was in good condition and expected to recover in a day or two, so he planned to leave.

"Wait, can you help me read the script for the second volume of [Love Metronome]?" Utaha quickly stopped him.

Asahi turned around and said, "You are still sick, and you will have a lot of time in the future."

The subtext means no worries for now.

"But..." Utaha pursed her lips tightly, doubt in her eyes.

The first volume of her debut work [Love Metronome] did come out as expected, but there was no sign of a reprint at all when it was released.

Sonoko tells her that if she continues like this, she might get eliminated after the third volume.

Utaha did not want to give up halfway, and found various ways, whether starting from herself or looking for other ways, but in vain.

Over time, the work's sales have not only increased, but also decreased and sunk in the huge light novel market.

Later, Sonoko gives her advice, to find other well-known light novel authors in the industry that she has edited for help.

Capable of rising to fame in just a year or two, the genius writer Hasegawa Asahi is definitely something unique. Although the two specialize in different fields, there are always some things in common.

Sonok is willing to take the initiative to introduce her. Utaha is very grateful, so she really wants to take this opportunity.

"Okay, I understand." Meeting his eyes, Asahi finally sat back down in his place and asked, "Then what about the script?"

Utaha hurriedly got up and opened the laptop to grab it: "Here."

Asahi took the initiative to push a chair to the side of the table, and Utaha saw him sit down and start casually reviewing the manuscript.

Reading from the second volume didn't affect Asahi's judgment in the slightest. [Love Metronome] itself is a simple story about a boy who meets a girl and then falls in love, a lot of things happen, and they break up, but they stay together, then it's over.

Most of the light novel routines are similar. The difficulty is figuring out how to use these routines to give people a refreshing feeling.

Including writing style and so on.

What he needed to do was check if there were any mistakes or loopholes that shouldn't have happened in the second volume.

After reading the second volume half an hour later, Asahi found no obvious failures. Although some parts are a little immature, the judging criteria are too harsh for a rookie who has just debuted.

After a moment of contemplation, he read the first volume again.

At first, Utaha was very nervous and restless, like a student who had just completed a test paper for the teacher to grade.

As time passed, Utaha instead calmed down, staring at Asahi's serious face, slightly curious about how he had managed to shock the industry in just two or three years.

Only when she enters the industry can she understand how difficult it is to reach Asahi's level.

Thinking of this, Utaha couldn't help but fall into a daze. In fact, she had a bit of a chasing after Asahi mentality, who was of the same age level, why was he so much better than herself.

So, in the room, apart from the rustling of mice, only the two of them were breathing evenly.

Until the hour hand points to three and the minute hand points to twelve.

"I know what the problem is." Finally, having finished the first and second volumes, Asahi loosened his slightly locked brows.

"Ah?" Utaha seemed to wake up with a start.

Asahi looked at her honestly: "The story may not be a big deal, just modify some parts that are not enough for emotional tension, and polish it a little. Although it won't be a big hit, it's fine to be a bestseller."

What Kasumi Utako lacks is publicity and exposure, the first steps to getting others interested.

Take the first step, and the rest will naturally follow.

Without exposure, no matter how good a piece is, it's hard to stand out.

It is said that gold will shine, even in a pile of chalcopyrite, God knows how long it will take to come out, maybe it will mix with brass.