By mid-February, Kyousuke received a message from Utaha letting him know she had passed the entrance exam for Toyonozaki Private Academy.
He had added her as a friend on social media back when he escorted her home last time, using his own account.
"Actually, the one using that account… is another personality of mine."
After giving it some thought, Kyousuke decided to be upfront about it.
Since they were friends now, she'd inevitably find out about Mitsuha, so it was better to explain early on.
Of course, if he told her about body-swapping too, even a light novel author like Utaha might drag him straight to get his head examined.
And drag him she did.
At first, she was so shocked she nearly skipped sleep to take him to a hospital.
Kyousuke had no choice but to show her a recent medical report, assuring her that both personalities got along just fine and it didn't affect his daily life.
But the famously aloof girl still wasn't convinced.
When she came to Toyonozaki for the pre-admission orientation, she paid out of her own pocket to take him back to that all-too-familiar neon-lit university hospital for a full psychological evaluation.
The results?
The doctor declared Kyousuke's mental state healthier than most Japanese people—which, oddly enough, only made Utaha more worried.
After all, the "Sayuka" account still logged in from time to time… and even invited her out shopping.
Despite the distance, Utaha started visiting Tokyo every weekend as long as she confirmed Kyousuke was free—under the pretense of "creative collaboration," of course.
Most of those visits ended up as shopping trips instead.
Kyousuke now knew way more about stocking thickness, shine, and durability than any high school boy should.
Eriri was also worried about Kyousuke's mental state.
During their final middle school break, after he had pretty much redrawn the entire plot of One Punch Man, he set his sights on adapting Attack on Titan.
Kyousuke first returned home to Hokkaido, fulfilling a long-time dream of holding his beloved paper umbrella—named Sakurafall—while walking along the snow-covered Otaru Canal.
Unfortunately, Sakura and the others had all taken up part-time jobs for the break, so they couldn't join him.
At her request, he took photos and videos with the umbrella in every picturesque spot he could find.
He also visited Shouko Workshop, run by the old master Yagi Kazumasa, where he made a glass water pitcher engraved with a deep wine-colored "霞" ("Kasumi")—a gift for Utaha's admission into high school.
During one of their chats, she had casually mentioned liking glassware.
Kyousuke initially planned to make her a cup but was surprised when she asked for a pitcher.
Not fully understanding why, he went full-on perfectionist and made eight matching glass cups too.
Yagi was silent the whole time, only patting Kyousuke on the shoulder after watching him etch the final character.
"If it ever gets too much, just run," the old man said. "Run far away. With your stamina, no one will ever catch you."
Kyousuke didn't understand what the old man meant… even as he boarded the plane.
Coincidentally, the flight attendant this time was the same one from before—but her attitude had noticeably cooled.
After landing, he was picked up in Eriri's luxury car and chauffeured straight back to the familiar university hospital.
"We understand your concern as a guardian, but a second psych evaluation in such a short time really isn't necessary," the doctor said.
"W-Who are you calling his guardian?!" Eriri shot back, her face turning bright red. Still, she visibly relaxed after hearing the results.
"No wonder you're such an idiot, only someone totally carefree could be this mentally healthy," she said afterward, sitting beside him in the car, the tension already gone from her voice as she launched into teasing.
"Yes, yes, I'm an idiot. Told you I was fine, didn't I?"
"With the kind of twisted stories you write? That's not something I can leave to chance. I need to be sure you're not a danger to society," Eriri said, arms crossed, tilting her head up proudly.
"…Hey, Eriri. You've… grown, haven't you?"
Thanks to the seatbelt, Kyousuke had a clear view of her steadily developing figure.
"Of course! I'm 160 cm now!" she beamed.
'That's not what I meant,' Kyousuke thought.
He had already noticed her height increase the moment he saw her.
She was wearing a light pink tracksuit jacket, which made it hard to notice the more subtle changes—even for someone with his photographic memory.
"Wha—You perv! Where are you looking?!"
Eriri had been basking in his lack of response when she caught his gaze, followed it downward, and saw her own, well, impressive growth.
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment… but also a touch of pride.
'I used to only have talent and a pretty face… but now even my figure's perfect! Even this idiot Kyousuke can't look away!'
Kyousuke let out a soft sigh and turned to look out the window.
Yes, she'd grown.
But unless you were someone like him—who could remember even the slightest measurements—no one would notice.
Her cup size hadn't changed.
If he had to guess, she was still wearing the same lacy training bra she called her "Cinderella bra."
Eriri caught the sigh and immediately understood.
Her pride wounded, she tried to lunge at him—only to be caught by the seatbelt.
After unbuckling it, she threw herself on him, half her body now pressed into his lap.
Her scent surrounded him—that signature mix of girlish perfume and the mysterious eggy smell he still hadn't identified.
Kyousuke closed his eyes and leaned back, enjoying the sudden "massage."
When they arrived back at the old Furukawa estate, Eriri took a while to fix her clothes before finally stepping out of the car, cheeks still flushed.
After a warm lunch prepared by Mrs. Sayuri, the two resumed their usual collaborative work.
This time, however, Eriri absolutely refused Kyousuke's offer to split the profits.
Even when he threatened to stop working with her, she wouldn't budge.
"You're more than capable of doing this on your own," she said seriously, hands on her knees.
"You've got the full story, you can draw storyboards and characters… You could hire an assistant for 20,000 yen a day and be just fine."
Her tone was more earnest than he'd ever heard.
With six volumes of One Punch Man out and over 3 million copies sold, plus all the revenue from merchandise, she had already earned more than 100 million yen through her cut, it's not a small sum even for someone from her wealthy background.
Up until now, she had been fretting over how to repay that money in a way that wouldn't seem unnatural.
But now, this idiot had gone and created yet another manga—twisted as ever, but clearly a guaranteed bestseller.
There was no way she could just stand by and let him reap all the rewards alone.
Like she said, joint creation is common in the manga world, but usually only when the original author has zero artistic skill.
For someone like Kyousuke, a standard manga assistant who charges 10,000 yen a day would do just fine.
Even with 20,000 yen, you could hire a down-on-their-luck pro with amazing technique.
Still, despite how firmly she put it, there was no way she truly wanted to give up the chance to co-create a manga with Kyousuke.
The only reason she talked like that was because she knew the truth—this so-called demon feared by delinquents everywhere, the "Handless demon," was actually a big softie.
As long as she pushed like this, he'd definitely cave.
While she bared her little fang in smug satisfaction and let out a triumphant hum, on the surface she stayed firm and unyielding.
"Fine, I'll pay you ten million yen a day," Kyousuke relented.
Their collaboration was incredibly efficient—they could finish an entire issue in just a few hours.
And with each volume selling an average of 600,000 copies, the royalties alone would rake in around 30 million yen.
Offering Eriri ten million yen a day was completely reasonable.
"No way. One thousand yen," she shot back.
"Ten million."
"100,000 yen. Final offer! If you don't like it, go find someone else." The blonde girl in the green tracksuit crossed her arms and turned away with a dramatic huff.
And so, Kyousuke ended up hiring a beautiful blonde, blue-eyed manga assistant for 100,000 yen a day—and thus began the next phase of his literary "plagiarism" adventure.
Outwardly, Eriri had won the battle.
Inside, she was practically cackling with glee.
The two had already agreed to enroll together at Toyonozaki Academy, a private school in Toshima Ward.
Soon, they'd be seeing each other every day at school, and as his assistant, she'd even have the perfect excuse to live in the house she gave him.
She might've lost a year, but starting in her second year of high school, Sawamura Spencer Eriri's high school rom-com was finally kicking off!
Having witnessed Eriri's extreme reaction, Kyousuke decided not to show his newly finished Attack on Titan chapter to Sakura and the others.
He didn't want the hospital billing him for another mental health check.
Especially not sweet little Shouko, if she saw something that intense, she might have nightmares for two days straight.
Then he'd be stuck consoling her over video calls every night.
Instead, he showed it first to Utaha.
She had just taken him through a mental evaluation, so surely she wouldn't send him in again.
Surprisingly, she was only impressed by his wild imagination and strong character development—no comments about him losing his grip on reality.
This time, Kyousuke chose to publish the series in Weekly Shonen High.
Back when he had slowed down updates on One Punch Man, his editor-in-chief, Tetsuya Shimomura, had already asked if he was preparing a new work.
When Kyousuke gave him the nod, Shimomura didn't hesitate, he jumped in his car and drove straight to Kyousuke's apartment, dragging along his now-kendo-obsessed son Masao to play the emotion card.
"No matter what, I'm keeping the anime rights."
Channeling the tough stance he had just learned from Eriri, Kyousuke sat cross-legged at the low table in his living room with the father and son duo.
"Well, in the past that's been done, but…" Shimomura trailed off awkwardly, giving his son's sleeve a little tug.
Unfortunately, the kid that meant to be his emotional support was too busy gawking in awe at the legendary creator's apartment to be of any help.
"This one point is non-negotiable," Kyousuke cut in.
It wasn't that he cared about the money from anime production.
He could keep milking the written work forever—why step into a field he didn't understand?
Right now, with joint copyright ownership, the publishing company handled all the negotiations with the animation studio.
All he had to do was sign off on things and collect his one-time adaptation fee.
After that, he still earned royalties from TV re-broadcasts, DVD sales, overseas licensing—you name it.
He could literally make money in his sleep.
For someone as lazy as him, it was a dream come true.
But he couldn't forget what Yuzuru had said last time, how Shouko was dropped by a voice acting agency because of her hearing issues.
If he wanted to help her achieve her dream of becoming a voice actress, there was no better way than producing an anime himself.
Even if he didn't direct it personally, just holding onto the rights would give him serious leverage in casting negotiations.
Kyousuke silently vowed that from now on, none of his works would ever involve anyone from that so-called BandY agency.
Even though Shouko said she'd had a good time there, just thinking about what she must've gone through made his chest tighten with frustration on her behalf.
He didn't even want to imagine how Shouko must have felt, being turned away just because of her hearing.
Had it dredged up painful memories from her childhood?
"I'm not in a position to make that decision myself. Please wait a moment, Hojou-san." After a few moments of awkward silence and realizing his son was completely useless in this situation.
He gave an apologetic nod, took out his phone, and stepped out of the apartment to make a conference call.
"Take your time," Kyousuke replied, still seated calmly.
He wasn't at all worried that the magazine would reject his conditions.
After all, the big profits came from the manga volumes and merchandise, and those revenues were still shared with the magazine.
Anime rights weren't the major source of income for the publishers.
Plus, he wasn't asking to shut them out of the production committee—they'd still get their cut.
There was no real reason for them to refuse.
Besides, if Weekly Shonen High turned him down, he'd just take his manuscript somewhere else.
Even if all three major manga magazines rejected him, there were plenty of smaller ones happy to have a hitmaker.
He wasn't some nobody anymore.
Even without Kisaki Tetta's marketing push, Kyousuke had full confidence that his work would sell like crazy.
About twenty minutes later, Shimomura Tetsuya returned, visibly more relaxed.
"Hojou-san, the publishing house has agreed to your terms. However, there are a few additional clauses…"
As soon as Kyousuke heard that, he felt a headache coming on.
He quickly apologized to the editor-in-chief and summoned Kisaki Tetta, who was currently deep in study at a private prep school.
After all the copyright law Kisaki had been cramming, it was time to put that knowledge to the test.
In the end, they didn't sign the contract in Kyousuke's cramped apartment, but instead moved to the publisher's office building, mainly because the apartment didn't even have a printer or a fax machine.
Kyousuke wasn't sure whether Kisaki had been wearing that suit while studying, or if he'd changed specifically for this meeting.
Either way, when they met at the publisher, Kisaki was dressed in a perfectly pressed, sharply tailored suit.
If not for having failed the bar exam, he could've passed for a full-fledged legal consultant specializing in intellectual property rights.
Not that he got a chance to flex that knowledge—the contract was a standard one, with no traps or shady clauses.
As it turned out, veteran authors demanding more control and royalties was a common occurrence in the industry.
Shimomura even took the initiative and raised Kyousuke's royalty share on volumes by an extra 5%—before Kyousuke could even bring it up.
Everything went as smoothly as ever.
No sooner had Kyousuke handed in the first installment of his new series than the magazine gave it a full-color cover page.
EGOIST's latest work was about to debut, and both the publisher and Kisaki Tetta launched the promotional campaign immediately.
Even Weekly Bunshun, which had previously ridden the wave of Kyousuke's success, jumped in with early coverage, calling EGOIST "this year's most unrestrained author."
When the members of the Rampaging Angels saw the man-eating giant in the manga, they all gasped, "Boss has gotten so strong he has to fight that kind of monster now?!"
Of course, those silly minions' comments didn't leave much of an impression on Kyousuke.
What really caught his attention were the two completely opposite reactions—one from Shouko, the other from Sakura.