Chapter 87: Made A Deal With Suzuki Misaki

"What? Me ghostwrite? How... how could that possibly be!"

Suzuki Misaki’s eyes went wide, speaking in utter disbelief.

Her delicate face twisted slightly from extreme shock, her cherry lips parting into a big "O" shape.

This was the very first time she had ever encountered something so utterly absurd!

Although ghostwriting wasn’t an uncommon phenomenon within the writing circle, having an editor step up in person to ghostwrite—especially a female editor like her ghostwriting something filled with vulgar, erotic elements—

No matter which angle you looked at it from, it was simply too ridiculous and far-fetched!

Suzuki Misaki couldn’t help but wonder to herself: What on earth is Kitahara-kun thinking? Isn’t his way of thinking a bit too bizarre?

Could he have some sort of misunderstanding about me?

"Misaki-nee, I really have no choice here, my hands are completely tied! Just help me out, pretty please!"

Kitahara pleaded.

To be honest, if he really weren’t unable to spare the time, he would still prefer to write it himself.

After all, writing smut was his passion, and he thoroughly enjoyed the creative process.

If there were no rush, taking his time to write it would be fine.

However, right now this book possessed the potential to become a smash hit, so missing out on this opportunity would be far too regretful.

This was the only method Kitahara could think of.

"But... I can’t do it, right? Kitahara-kun, how about I ask around for you and find a more reliable writer to help?" Suzuki Misaki said, feeling put on the spot.

"No way, I don’t trust anyone else; I only trust Misaki-nee. If Misaki-nee won’t write it for me, then I’ll just have to shelve it for now. When I have the time and mood I’ll write it slowly—maybe next month, or the month after that, I’ll finish this second volume eventually!"

"How could that be okay? By that time, the book’s popularity will have long passed, and the loss would be far too massive! Kitahara-kun, you should know the value of this book; it will generate at least tens of millions or even dozens of millions of yen in profit, not even counting other copyright adaptation earnings."

"I don’t care, I’m not short on money right now!"

"But..."

Suzuki Misaki was somewhat speechless.

She suddenly felt as if she cared about and was more anxious over this work than Kitahara, the original author himself.

Yet Kitahara cared so little!

What reason led to this kind of situation?

Baffling!

Suzuki Misaki racked her brain, yet failed to find a definitive answer.

In the end, she could only attribute it to changes in Kitahara himself.

That’s right, it must be because this guy Kitahara has changed! He’s gotten worse and worse, more and more annoying!

Thinking up to this point, Suzuki Misaki felt anger rising within her, wishing she could rush up right now and teach him a harsh lesson.

The past Kitahara, in Suzuki Misaki’s impression, was an introverted, quiet person. On ordinary days he was a bit timid and kept to himself, not talking much, though occasionally revealing some unique insights and thoughts.

Back then, although he wasn’t good with words, the melancholy, grounded aura emanating from him was quite attractive.

Yet nowadays...

Huh? It seems the present Kitahara is actually more interesting...

This story he wrote about the beautiful girl and the goblins is indeed quite interesting, good to read, and fun to read.

If I were to write it, it’d probably be quite interesting too, right?

"Sigh, Kitahara-kun, you’re intentionally making things difficult for me! Why did you have to cling to me of all people? If word gets out that I helped you write this kind of thing, how embarrassing would that be?"

"Misaki-nee, does that mean you agree? Don’t worry, this matter stays between you and me; absolutely no third person will ever know. I swear to heaven, it will never get out!"

"Do you really think I can write it well?"

"Absolutely, Misaki-nee is a professional!"

"Kitahara-kun, do you have some sort of misunderstanding about me? Why are you so certain I can write it well?"

Suzuki Misaki slightly suspected that Kitahara Chiki knew her secret. Otherwise, how could he make such a request?

At the thought of this, her cheeks flushed red.

In her heart, she silently prayed that all of this was merely her own baseless speculation and would never become reality!

Because only she herself knew how erotic and embarrassingly shameless the things she wrote under her alt-account were.

If this secret were discovered by others, she would likely face the awkward scenario of social death!

"What misunderstanding? How could there be any misunderstanding? It’s simply because I believe in Misaki-nee’s professional capability! We’ve worked together for so long, and you’re more than familiar with my writing style. The parts you helped me revise last time made me very satisfied too.

Misaki-nee is the one and only candidate to ghostwrite for me, so of course I have to choose you!"

Kitahara spoke with utmost seriousness.

Hearing this, Suzuki Misaki was finally put at ease—if it was only for these reasons, then there was no problem.

It seemed she had indeed overthought things.

Blame herself for being too careless before, accidentally exposing her talent in this area.

Back then, she had been too delighted at finding a kindred talent.

"Since that’s the case, alright then, Kitahara-kun. I’ll help you ghostwrite this goblin sequel. Give me the outline, plot details, and such, and I’ll do my best to write it well.

As for the royalty aspect, splitting it fifty-fifty is definitely inappropriate. Ghostwriting has its own rules; fee rates generally range from 500 to 5,000 yen per thousand words. Just give me a middle-of-the-road price."

Suzuki Misaki finally relented.

Kitahara was overjoyed.

Fuck yeah, after expending so much effort, I finally persuaded this woman.

Not easy at all!

Now I can finally have more interactions with her!

Even "erotic novels" were being ghostwritten now, so in the future, the two of them would definitely communicate frequently regarding content and plot. This was packed with smutty material; over time, wouldn’t it be completely reasonable for something to happen between them?

You had to know, when a woman got horny, men didn’t even compare.

He didn’t believe Suzuki Misaki could hold herself back...

"No way, you have to take at least top-tier ghostwriting fees. I feel 10,000 yen per thousand words is too little; Misaki-nee deserves even more," Kitahara said generously.

"Hehe, alright, stop speaking so sweetly. We can talk about this later. I haven’t written anything yet; let’s see if I can actually write it first before saying anything else!"

Suzuki Misaki laughed, her smile like a blooming flower.

Nobody held a grudge against money, and nobody disliked hearing praise.

At this moment, she felt Kitahara wasn’t half bad—quite generous and quite manly in spirit.

If ghostwriting truly went smoothly, she could even make a nice little profit on the side!

"It’ll definitely work. I believe in Misaki-nee’s strength! Let me tell you about the upcoming plot for the second volume first!

You’ve read the earlier parts; the latter half of this volume mainly revolves around avenging love. For this, the young girl Kaoru gives up a lot and matures a great deal.

At the very least, her actual combat ability sees a remarkable improvement, laying the groundwork for subsequent content as well.

At the end of this volume, the three beautiful girls will discover a portal deep within the cave..."

"A portal? What’s inside?"

"Monsters, of course! All kinds of magical beasts, tentacle monsters, evil giants, and the like..."