A week passed just like that.
On Saturday afternoon, Kuroba Akira was, as usual, in the living room hammering away at his manuscript. Imouto Quest Vol. 1 was now in its final sprint—only the epilogue remained.
The factors that decided a first volume's sales were: cover, illustrations, hook, character setup, opening plot… and only after that, whether the first volume's story was actually compelling.
For the prologue, Akira had written a pure, edge-of-the-line fanservice scene—Onii-chan playing an H-game his little sister had made.
At the end, Onii-chan thought to himself that this was the best indie H-game he'd played in years. Unable to hold back his urge to "go another round," he'd just pulled down his pants to replay and savor the CG when—after the credits rolled—only one name appeared in the staff list. A name disturbingly familiar.
Right then, his little sister barged into his room. Looking at her, he connected her real name to the staff credit's username—calculations storming through his brain until his jaw dropped in utter shock: It's her?!
Meanwhile, she saw what he was holding in his hand… and how it had wilted in shame. At the same time, she noticed the exact screen that revealed her secret identity.
Twin cries of horror erupted from brother and sister—and that's how the story truly began.
Not bad for a hook, right?
But whether sales would hold after release would depend on the ending of Volume 1.
If the story just wrapped up neatly, it would leave readers with the sense that it could end right there—and no urge to buy Volume 2.
So you either introduced new characters, new conflicts, or an unexpected twist—something that left an itch in the reader's heart, a hook that cranked up the anticipation.
Thinking about post-release sales before even being published might seem premature, but a savvy editor would recognize an ending written with that intention—it'd be a bonus point.
That meant Akira also needed to have the outline for Volume 2 ready, so the transition between the first two volumes would be seamless.
Luckily, with the Talent [Academic Ability A], his mind was running at full power all week. No constipation, no writer's block—he'd even figured out how the later story arcs would go.
So writing the epilogue was no real hurdle—he quickly decided what to do.
Here, the little sister's hidden yandere side would surface. The main body of the volume had been about the brother discovering she made H-games, a series of misunderstandings, finding her fellow hobbyists, and eventually joining the development of her new game.
But Akira had deliberately hidden the real reason she made H-games—it was for her brother. A narrative trick.
Still, that wasn't enough… time to go for the heavy hit.
After her breakdown, she would pull out a game cartridge—one Onii-chan had helped develop. She'd pop it into the console, load up a save file named after him, beat the final boss with practiced ease… and reach the credits sequence.
Just like at the start of the volume.
Only this time—his name wasn't there.
She would then read aloud several names… people responsible for why Onii-chan had left the game industry he loved. People who hadn't even given him the courtesy of being credited.
And she would swear, right then, to take revenge for her brother.
Ending on that vow, Akira typed the closing quotation mark and hit save.
Yoshi! My Little Sister Is Actually an H-Game Master?! Volume 1—complete!
"Mmm~~~"
Finally finishing his first light novel left him loose and relieved. He stretched with a satisfied groan.
"Finished for the day, Akira-kun?"
Shiginomiya Shion drifted to his side without missing a beat, speaking with concern.
In such a good mood from finishing the draft, Akira smiled.
"Yeah, pretty much done. Just the polishing and revisions left… but no rush."
Shion smiled back—she'd watched him working hard all week, so her happiness for him came from the heart.
"I see… That's wonderful. Are you hungry? You skipped lunch today—I can reheat something for you."
"No need. It's curry again, right?"
"Mm, but today it's vegetable curry. Sweet, very tasty."
Because Shion couldn't eat spicy food, Kobayashi-obaasan had been adjusting the curry recipes recently—even making new variants like coconut milk curry… But at the end of the day, it was still curry.
Obaasan, can you only cook if it's curry?!
Akira had eaten enough of her curry to last a lifetime—and after a week of the Class Rep's deluxe bentos, his palate had been spoiled.
In the past, when he was starving, he could still choke it down. Now? Not even a flicker of appetite.
Going from luxury back to plain fare was hard. He couldn't imagine life without the Class Rep's bentos now… he'd have to find a way to extend his "bento supply contract."
"I've had enough curry… By the way, Shion—you never get tired of eating it every day?"
Tilting her head, she replied,
"I think it's fine. I've had times before where I ate nothing but rice balls every day, so sticking to one food isn't hard for me."
"…Uh."
Shion, your childhood… sounds a little tragic.
Shion's mother—Fumiko, wasn't it?—weren't you a bit too casual about feeding your kid? Rice balls every day is criminal!
No wonder Shion's cup size didn't match the Class Rep's—it was malnutrition!
Akira figured childhood was a minefield topic for her, so he shut his mouth.
Seeing him quiet, Shion asked,
"Then, if you're tired, I can give you a shoulder rub. After all, you're always massaging my feet…"
"What's this? You seem unusually eager to look after me today."
"It's nothing… It's just rare to have you home all day."
Truth was, she was lonely.
From Monday to Friday, Akira was at school, gone for most of the day.
And lately, even when he came back, he'd dive straight into writing, leaving little chance for conversation.
She'd wanted to share her thoughts on voice acting with him, but worried about disturbing him.
Still—Shion had recently learned a way to get his attention without speaking or interrupting.
By using her feet. Literally stepping on him.
Not stomping—just feather-light touches.
Like tapping his foot with her toes, or laying her calf across his thigh… always with white stockings, because he liked them.
And when Akira took a break, he'd inevitably start massaging her feet, smiling and saying it helped relax his wrists.
She'd even learned to suppress her voice now—no more strange noises… though sometimes a few still slipped out. But nothing like before, when she'd instantly "surrender" and end up unable to straighten her back.
Now Shion could not only endure the ticklishness, but also completely relax into enjoying his foot and leg massages… though there was a side effect.
She could feel her legs and feet becoming more sensitive than before.
It was a delicate, complex sensation—not just on the skin, but with the muscles beneath seeming to thrum. And it would travel upward… eventually reaching that most shameful place.
Shion was starting to think she might need to buy more underwear—at this rate, she'd run out from all the frequent changes.
And she worried: would she end up getting stimulated just from wearing socks, shoes, or even just walking? That would be too much.
What she didn't know was that this was the work of her least conspicuous S-rank Talent, [Light Body & Flexible Form S], which granted her far higher physical sensitivity than normal.
In other words, the "development" of her feet and legs was still ongoing.
Her worry, however, was unnecessary—this wouldn't make her literally unable to walk, or mess up the floor just from wearing shoes or socks.
Because the sensitivity's trigger was Kuroba Akira.
Put another way—Shiginomiya Shion's body, through these "innocent" massages, was slowly being remade into a form that belonged only to him.
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T/N: i wish i could write as easy as him :sob:
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