novelraw Chapter 2: Copying the book is mandatory!
Chapter 2: Copying the book is mandatory!
The next morning, Shirakawa Yuta rushed as fast as he could and finally arrived at the classroom before the school bell rang.
He was daydreaming until 3 a.m. last night. If it weren't for the sound of Chiba Sena closing the door before leaving that woke him up, he probably wouldn't have woken up until noon.
Sitting next to him, Masako Takahashi looked at Yuta Shirakawa, who had dark circles under his eyes, and asked softly, "Did you stay up late last night, Shirakawa-san?"
Yuta Shirakawa yawned. He had a good impression of his "deskmate". After all, who would say no to a girl who looked just like Shizuka Kudo when she was young?
"Yes, I was thinking about some things last night."
Masako Takahashi nodded, and just as she was about to ask something, the teacher in charge of teaching Japanese walked in. She had no choice but to obediently shut her mouth, take out her Japanese textbook, and assume a serious attitude for class.
But not long after...
"Shirakawa-san, is there... something on my hand?"
"Ahem, no, no. I was just spacing out. I'm sorry if I accidentally offended Takahashi-kun."
Faced with the questioning look in Masako Takahashi's beautiful almond-shaped eyes, Yuta Shirakawa turned his head away somewhat awkwardly.
"Oh, it's alright. But we're in class right now, so Shirakawa-kun should probably pay attention."
Yuta Shirakawa gave an "OK" sign and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Masako Takahashi turn her gaze back to the blackboard.
He wasn't spacing out, nor was he looking at his hands.
Although he was indeed lecherous, and Masako Takahashi's fair and delicate hands were indeed beautiful, he was really only looking at the pen she was holding.
The reason he looked at that pen was because he had come up with a brilliant way to make money last night.
His past life's experience reading online novels told him that copying books was definitely a good way out.
Not only do they make a lot of money, but their status as writers in Japan is unimaginably high, in no way inferior to political and business elites; they are definitely at the top of society.
In a previous life, a writer's portrait was even printed on a 1000 yen banknote.
Besides, he has some experience with this kind of thing.
When he first transmigrated here, he had thought about copying books.
Although he hadn't read many Japanese literary works, the advantage was that everything he did read was a classic.
Novels like "Norwegian Wood," "Miracles of the Namiya General Store," and "Journey Under the Midnight Sun" are all bestsellers in Japan and around the world.
As long as he can reproduce a copy, although he still won't be able to buy a house in Tokyo, he can basically live a life free from financial worries if he moves to a different place.
However, after actually putting it into practice, he found that copying books was not as easy as he had imagined.
It took him almost a week to barely write one and a half pages, and the wording and sentence structure were nonsensical. It was the kind of manuscript that would be thrown into the trash after just one glance at the editor.
It's just that he can only remember the general plot. When he read "Norwegian Wood" in high school, he treated it like a little prince. He only remembered that Midori's chest was not big. Although he remembered the others better, they were not enough for him to reproduce them word by word.
I completely gave up on that idea after that.
It wasn't until last night that he remembered it again.
After all, there are cheat codes now!
If he can't write, why not just find someone who can?
Based on his experience with the previous piece of equipment, after checking that his pen was not equipment, the first person he targeted, and the one most likely to spawn the relevant equipment, was his deskmate, Masako Takahashi.
Not only is he incredibly good-looking, but he's also incredibly talented in writing.
He frequently won prestigious awards starting in junior high school, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Essay Writing Competition and the National Middle School Students Essay Writing Competition. His most impressive achievement was winning the National Excellent Award in the National Youth Reflection Essay Competition.
Although it can't compare to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award and the Best Award, it's still very impressive.
To Shirakawa Yuta's disappointment, the pencil she was holding was not an "equipment," nor were the pencils, ballpoint pens, and fountain pens in her entire pencil case.
During all the breaks that followed, Shirakawa Yuta wandered around the classroom, looking at almost everyone's pen, even his good friend Kurosaki Takeshi, whose Japanese language grades were always failing.
However, the outcome was somewhat disappointing for him; he did not find equipment that met his expectations.
At 3:30 p.m., the bell rang, signaling the end of today's classes.
As Masako Takahashi packed her pencil case, Yuta Shirakawa glanced at it again, still somewhat unwilling to give up, but unexpectedly, Masako Takahashi noticed him once more.
"Is Shirakawa-kun looking at this?"
As she spoke, she held up her pencil case. "Today, Shirakawa-kun seemed to be looking around the classroom all day. Was he looking for something?"
The girl's eyes were clear and bright. She tilted her head slightly, her small oval face raised, and stared at Shirakawa Yuta without moving, as if she was waiting for his answer.
Faced with Masako Takahashi's question, Yuta Shirakawa was somewhat annoyed that his behavior had been too obvious, but at this moment he had no choice but to agree.
He casually made up an excuse and said, "Yes, it's just that I saw a really nice pen the other day, so I wanted to look for it."
Masako Takahashi nodded in understanding. Although she was still a little curious as to why Yuta Shirakawa, who never cared about appearances, would suddenly look for a pen today, she didn't ask any further questions.
Instead, she lowered her head, her eyes shining, and whispered expectantly to Shirakawa Yuta, "Then why don't you go to the stationery store, Shirakawa-kun? I happen to know a really creative bookstore, do you need me to go with you...?"
"A stationery store! Yeah, why didn't I think of going to a stationery store!"
Yuta Shirakawa slapped his thigh, interrupting Masako Takahashi's next words.
His definition of equipment was ultimately just a guess; he still needed to verify it in practice.
If brand-new tools are also considered equipment, then where would you find more pens than in a stationery store?
Thinking of this, he haphazardly stuffed the things on the table into his schoolbag and hurriedly prepared to leave.
But when she reached the gate, she suddenly turned around as if she remembered something, bowed slightly to Masako Takahashi who was standing there in a daze, shouted "Doumoarigatou (Thank you very much)" and then quickly ran towards the school gate.
Masako Takahashi opened her mouth as she watched Yuta Shirakawa's retreating figure, but in the end, she didn't say anything. As if it were a habit, she just sighed slightly and packed her things to walk towards the e-sports club.
Hmph, fine, I won't go then. I just heard that Capcom is going to have a big event soon, so I'll go practice first.
Yuta Shirakawa was completely unaware of this, his mind filled with excitement at the possibility of discovering new equipment.
After leaving school, he did not go to the nearest bookstores, Kumazawa or Shimura, but instead took the JR Chuo Line directly to Cereo, a shopping mall in the city center.
Cereo not only houses Yurindo, the largest bookstore in Hachioji City, but also another large chain bookstore, LOFT.
Although both are named bookstores, in Japan, bookstores and stationery stores are often inseparable.
For example, a full third of the eighth floor where Youlintang Bookstore is located is dedicated to stationery, with a wide variety of products, including high-end fountain pens, professional art supplies, and imported stationery. The LOFT on the sixth floor is equally impressive.
Yuta Shirakawa only rode for one stop before getting off at Hachioji Station.
A girl who got off the bus with him was also thin and petite, wearing the same Mingde Private School uniform.
She carried a large black square bag on her back, which probably contained an easel. She had her head down, and her stray hairs obscured Shirakawa Yuta's vision, making it impossible for him to see her face.
However, Shirakawa Yuta didn't think much of it. After all, Hachioji Station is right next to the city center and close to the school, so it's normal for people to come and play.
After identifying Cereo's location, Shirakawa Yuta started walking forward.
He didn't notice that the girl behind him, after glancing at the sign, actually followed it.