Anime Crossover: My Online Romance is Megumi Kato

Eriri lowered her eyes after hearing this, not denying Yuta Kijima's statement, since it was a neutral assessment. She said softly, "Yuta is right, but the conflict started because of me..."

After hearing this, Yuta Kijima sighed and rubbed his forehead. Eriri's point of logic was very strange.

Why would an elegant young lady like you focus your attention on Aki Tomoya? Is it really that important that he apologized to you? What are people saying about that online?

Yes! You weren't being manipulated by Tomoya, were you?

“Eri, I think that your long-term dedication to helping Tomoya complete the game's concept art without asking for payment and even staying up all night has almost canceled out the conflicts that arose when we were children,” Yuta Kijima said, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm…” Eriri clearly understood the subtext in his tone. She looked at Yuta Kijima with her azure eyes, pursed her pink lips, and said, “I know what Yuta means, but I’m still very unhappy. I’m the one who has been helping him all along, but now he’s praising this junior who suddenly appeared to him so highly.”

"I'm going to have to see if what Renya said is true later..." she said, biting her lip lightly.

Yuta Kijima breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he had safely passed this hurdle; all that remained was the club gathering later.

The morning sun was quite warm, and the gentle breeze made everyone feel happy.

Just as I was about to take out my phone to ask where Hui was, a calm voice suddenly rang out from beside the seats: "Sorry everyone, I'm late."

Yuta Kijima looked up and saw that Megumi was surprisingly energetic today. She was wearing a light pink sports jacket with a cute short skirt and a delicate bag on her shoulder. However, her usual ear-length bob hairstyle seemed to have grown a bit long. If she didn't get it cut in a few more months, it would probably grow to shoulder length.

Yuta Kijima checked the time and found that there were still five minutes until the agreed 10 o'clock. He smiled and said, "Megumi isn't late, we're just a little early."

"Yuta and Eriri arrived very early."

Eriri shook her head: "We've only been here a short time. Let's go. Kasumigaoka Utaha might have already arrived."

"Okay." Kato Megumi nodded gently.

Now that everyone is here, let's set off.

A few minutes later.

Yuta Kijima led the two to Tomoya Aki's house, glanced at Eriri who was last in line, and then rang the doorbell.

……

"Good morning, Yuta! Kato-san and Eriri."

Aki Tomoya warmly invited the three of them inside.

When Eriri heard Aki Tomoya call her name, she glanced at him and then looked away indifferently.

"Well... now that everyone's here, let's start discussing what's to come. There's one more thing to do today: we're getting Michiru to join our club."

Yuta Kijima followed Tomoya Aki upstairs and, upon hearing the name, asked, "Cousin Michiru?"

Aki Tomoya scratched his head and explained to the others, "Oh, it's the person I was talking about who helped us solve our music problem. But Michiru isn't an otaku, so she hasn't officially joined us yet."

"But I believe that once she sees our club's determination, she will definitely be willing to join us!" He clenched his fist and said earnestly.

After hearing this, Yuta Kijima felt that the possibility was not very high.

It's worth noting that non-otaku people in Japan are generally quite averse to ACG culture, let alone joining in to help create music. I wonder how Aki Tomoya will manage to invite his cousin.

As soon as I got close to Aki Tomoya's room, I heard the sound of a guitar coming from inside. It must be the cousin she mentioned playing.

Push the door open and enter.

Yuta Kijima spotted the girl sitting on the edge of Tomoya Aki's bed, playing the guitar.

She had short purple hair with a few long strands hanging down on either side of her ears, and a pair of bright purple eyes curiously looking at the people entering the room. She looked like a very energetic girl.

"Hey! Allen!"

Are these also members of your club?

Seeing Yuta Kijima standing behind her, Michiru Hyodo put down her guitar, stepped forward, and excitedly patted Tomoya Aki on the shoulder: "I didn't expect you to actually make friends, Tomoya!"

She then looked at the three people behind Aki Tomoya and introduced them, "Hello, my name is Hyodo Michiru, and I'm Tomoya's cousin."

"Michiru, how many times have I told you? You don't need to pat my shoulder so hard," Aki Tomoya complained, rubbing his shoulder.

"He's Yuta Kijima, so he's kind of a member of my club."

"This is Megumi Kato, the female protagonist who inspired the game our club created."

"Last one is our club's illustrator, Eriri Sawamura."

He then introduced the newcomers to everyone in the room, and Yuta Kijima took the opportunity to scan the room while he was introducing them.

"This is Michiru Hyodo, and the one playing the game over there is Hashima Ikkai."

Senior Shiyu was sitting at her desk with her beautiful legs in black stockings crossed, reading a light novel. She didn't seem to care about the people who came in after her and continued to focus on the novel in her hands.

The other one is a red-haired girl with twin tails sitting cross-legged in front of the TV screen playing a game. She must be the genius artist that Aki Tomoya was talking about.

As soon as Aki Tomoya finished his introduction, Hyodo Michiru grabbed his ear from behind and said irritably, "How many times have I told you, you should call me cousin!"

Chapter 181 Michiru Hyodo's Request

Aki Tomoya winced in pain, wriggling free from her clutches, and complained, "What?! We were born on the same day, you were just a few minutes earlier than me, why do I have to call you cousin!"

"Huh?" Michiru Hyodo gritted her teeth. "Being born a minute earlier than you is still older. Allen, you should respect the choice of time."

Yuta Kijima looked at the energetic girl in front of him in surprise, patted Tomoya Aki who had run to his side, and asked, "Is your cousin really only a few minutes older than you?"

Before Aki Tomoya could answer, Hyodo Michiru interjected, "Of course! Aki and I were born on the same day, month, and year, and even in the same hospital! But I was born earlier than Aki!"

Her tone was full of boasting, as if she thought that being born even a minute earlier than Aki Tomoya was a bonus.

Eriri, who was at the very back, turned pale.

Unexpectedly, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was reading a novel on the other side, put down her book and said with a sympathetic expression, "Looking at this, this is the pinnacle of childhood friends for Ethin-kun. It can be considered the most original childhood friend."

Upon hearing this, Eriri and Izumi Hashima, who were childhood friends, were instantly crushed by Michi Hyodo, leaving them with nothing but dust.

Fortunately, Eriri recovered quickly and showed no signs of being upset.

Yuta Kijima was completely helpless against Kasumigaoka Utaha's outspokenness. He glared at her, then glanced worriedly at Eriri behind him. Only when Eriri didn't react did he finally relax.

After all, Eriri had started to doubt herself at the station, so it's hard not to be concerned about her mental state.

"Alright! Michiru!"

Aki Tomoya was completely oblivious to the changes in the expressions of the other people in the room. Only Hyodo Michiru nodded proudly after hearing Kasumigaoka Utaha's words.

"Let's stop wasting time and get to the point of today's club gathering!"

As they were talking, Aki Tomoya gathered all the people scattered in the room around a small table in front of the bed and made them sit down. Only Hyodo Michiru remained, sitting on the edge of the bed with her guitar, watching everyone curiously.

After Eriri sat down, she began to intentionally or unintentionally sized up the red-haired Izumi Hashima. When she saw the person in front of her, her head drooped involuntarily. She had already lost the game from the start.

"Michiru, I think you can join our discussion too," Aki Tomoya suggested, a slight smirk on his face as he looked at Hyodo Michiru by the bedside.

"No." Michiru Hyodo shook her head decisively, refusing without any politeness: "I have absolutely no interest in participating in such a boring game."

"But your songs clearly reflect the influence of otaku culture."

"Nonsense! How could that be?"

Seeing that Michiru Hyodo still resolutely shook her head, Tomoya Aki gave up trying to persuade her. Instead, he turned on his computer, believing that once Michiru saw the club's plans, she would be interested in joining.

In the following period, Aki Tomoya finally managed to fulfill some of the roles he should have played as the initiator.

The game's development has now completed the storyline, dialogue flow, character designs, and background art. It seems to be progressing well and is gradually getting on track.

However, the crucial step in the production process is the subsequent assembly of these scattered assets into a playable game.

In general, the only thing left for these kinds of romance visual novel games is programming. The good news is that the programming difficulty for this type of game is not high; Aki Tomoya just needs to find a skilled programmer to complete it.

The bad news is that the subsequent expenses are still quite high, and Aki Tomoya's pressure should not be underestimated.

Fortunately, Aki Tomoya readily agreed to the offer, but reiterated to Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri the promise of a reward if the game became a huge success.

He also hoped that the two could make some minor changes to the script and original artwork according to his requirements, so that he could find an outsourced programmer to complete the game's production. He believed that with the help of Kasumi Shiko and Kashiwagi Eri, the game they created would definitely be popular with the public.

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded in agreement, and Eriri nodded in agreement after a moment of silence.

Then, at the end of the discussion, Aki Tomoya turned his gaze to Hyodo Michiru on the bed and said in a fawning tone, "Michiru, what do you think of our game? Do you find it interesting?"

Hyodo Michiru knew exactly what this otaku meant. She yawned and shook her head, saying, "No, it doesn't sound exciting at all. I'd rather play the guitar."

After hearing this, Aki Tomoya gritted his teeth, immediately rushed in front of her, and said with a very serious expression, "We need Michiru's inspiring music! And when our game becomes a hit, you, as the composer, will definitely become a hit too!"

"You know, our club has all sorts of famous figures from the ACG world!"

Even he is the famous TAKI-kun, so there's no need to worry about the game's release when they do a joint promotion. This can also be considered as helping Michiru fulfill her dream of promoting her band.

Upon hearing this, Michiru Hyodo did not show any interest and firmly shook her head in refusal.

Just kidding. If Ice Tail needs to make music for otaku culture to become popular, then she feels there's no need to continue. The band members don't need this kind of "charity" at all!

However, there is one thing she does need Aki Tomoya's help with.

Seeing that Aki Tomoya already looked distraught, Hyodo Michiru patted him on the shoulder and whispered her request as if it were a devil: "Actually, it's not impossible for me to help you, Tomoya."

Upon hearing that there was still a chance for things to turn around, Aki Tomoya immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Really! Michiru, do you have any requests? Let me make it clear first, the payment can only be made after the game is released."

Everything else is negotiable, but money is not an option.

Hearing this, Michiru pursed her lips, suppressing the urge to retort, and whispered softly, "I can even do without Allen's payment, as long as you..."

Instantly, everyone else present who was just watching the drama started to listen intently.

Is it necessary to establish ethics?

"All you have to do is agree to be our band's manager, Alan. How about that? Pretty good deal, right?" Michiru Hyodo looked at Tomoya Aki expectantly.

If Alan agrees, she will work through the night to compose a homebody song that will satisfy him.

Chapter 182 The Shattered Dao Heart?

"Huh?" Aki Tomoya was stunned. Manager?

Not only was he stunned, but everyone present looked at Michiru Hyodo with strange eyes. This request was very odd, okay?

Michiru Hyoudou scratched her head and asked in a consultative tone, "So, Alan, if you agree to be our band's manager, I'll immediately settle down and help you compose music."

If her father hadn't disapproved of her band's appearances at live houses, she wouldn't have run away from home and stayed at Alan's house. If Alan had agreed to be their manager and their band could get performance opportunities, then helping Alan create otaku-style music wouldn't be out of the question.

Now it was Aki Tomoya's turn to hesitate. He knew that his workload was going to be enormous. Since it was no longer possible to read light novels during school hours, he would have to find time to catch up on anime while working part-time.

How does she still have time to be a manager for some band?

Aki Tomoya looked at Hyodo Michiru and hesitated, "Michiru, how about I take on another job and pay you?"

“I simply don’t have that much time to be your band’s manager.”