A newbie's anime life diary

Akane Kousaka clapped her hands after hearing this: "Hiratsuka-kun is really amazing. That's right. As long as the game is well received, we will immediately contact the animation company to produce a TV anime."

"Oh? It was all arranged long ago?" After handing the script back to her, Yukiteru looked at Akane Kousaka, who was beaming with confidence. "Let's put this topic aside for now. After all, the game hasn't even started production yet, so it's too early to talk about an anime adaptation. Eriri isn't very good at discussing things, so I'll ask the questions myself. First, let's talk about the deadline and payment."

After hearing this, Akane Kousaka looked at Eriri, who was nodding repeatedly, indicating that she was leaving the matter to Yukiteru.

"The deadline for submission is about two months, since there are 12 main characters and a number of scenes. Of course, considering the New Year, it can be postponed to mid-February. As for the payment, including the main scenes, there are a total of 20 pages, 50,000 yen per chapter, for a total of 1 million yen."

"Huh? You guys really went all out this time, 100 million just for character design and setting?" After a moment of surprise, Yukiteru looked at Eriri, "So, I've given you the price. Are you interested in this script?"

"Interest? I thought you wanted me to take over." Eriri said with some surprise, then looked at Akane Kousaka, "I think the script is quite interesting, but you should know that I also have to draw the Sword Art Online manga, so could you spare some time?"

"Would you like some more flexibility?" Akane Kousaka knew a bit about Eriri's manga work, after all, she got Eriri's email address from her manga editor. After thinking for a moment, she suggested, "How about until the end of February?"

"The end of February," Eriri said softly, counting on her fingers. "There should be enough time, right? Hmm? What's wrong, Yukiteru-kun?"

Yukiteru tugged at Eriri's sleeve to divert her attention and said, "While this script is quite interesting, Eriri, how much do you really know about this club?"

"You know about it? I've heard some information about it from my mom. It's a well-developed business circle." Eriri looked at Yukiteru with some confusion and said, "My mom also told me that the founder of the circle is a very capable guy. He has developed a doujin circle into what it is today step by step. To be honest, I was really shocked at first!"

Hearing Eriri say this, Yukiteru nodded. Although he could have kept quiet, it was better for him to tell her than for Eriri to find out on her own later: "You know that Ms. Kousaka is the first representative and founder of this club, but there is another representative in this club."

"Hmm? There's one more?" Eriri looked at Akane Kousaka with a puzzled expression after hearing this.

The other person looked somewhat helpless, and said with a sullen face, "Hiratsuka-kun really doesn't hold back. I didn't expect you to know so much. It seems that our cooperation with Eriri-chan is unlikely now. Our club's second representative, who is also the manager in charge of most things, is called Hashima Iori."

"Iori Hashima? Hashima... huh?!?"

Eriri thought about it carefully, and the image of a young man with slightly curly hair and a middle school girl with a childlike face and large breasts instantly appeared in her mind.

Then, Eriri looked at Akane Akasaka with a somewhat gloomy expression: "That Iori Hashima, doesn't she have a younger sister named Izumi Hashima?"

"Ha...I knew it was true?" Akane Akasaka finally realized it and sighed as she replied, "No wonder he told me the chances of success weren't very high. So you two really did have a conflict."

"Yes, there's a conflict, and I'm really annoyed, hmph!" Eriri turned her head away haughtily, pouting, but after looking at the script on the table again, she thought for a moment, "However, I can accept this request."

"Huh? Really?" Akane Akasaka leaned forward immediately upon hearing this, revealing her slender neck and beautiful collarbone.

Yes, very fair-skinned.

Xuehui glanced at it once and then stopped paying attention. He couldn't help it; the aftereffects of last night were still quite strong, and he was still in a slump. He was even more curious about Eriri's change in attitude.

Eriri straightened her posture and looked at Akane Kousaka, saying, "May I ask, who is in charge of the planning for this game?"

"Um...that..." Akane Kousaka was speechless for a moment upon hearing this, and turned her face slightly away.

"Hmph, then I'll state my conditions." Eriri smiled smugly, pointing a finger at Akane Kousaka. "Only you can be in charge of this game's planning. The Hashima siblings can't be involved. Only then will I agree to take on this job, and I can even give you a 20% discount on the payment!"

"...What a sinister intention this is, Eriri, you've grown up!"

Yukiteru stared blankly at Eriri, who had a foxy smile on her face, and uttered these words.

"Hmph, I haven't even asked you yet! Why didn't you tell me before? Why did you only tell me at the last minute?" The girl slammed her hand on the table, looking at Xuehui with dissatisfaction.

"Um... well, that's because Ms. Akasaka just arrived, so I couldn't say anything."

"Hmph, I'll settle the score with you later." Turning her face, Eriri looked at Akane Kousaka, who was deep in thought, and said, "So, will you agree? Anyway, you all want to rely on my popularity, right? I know about the prices. Generally, character designs for doujin games don't cost this much, but hiring a professional game character designer would be a bit too low. It's only suitable for someone like me who has just transitioned to the industry and whose popularity is still rising."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Akane Kousaka looked at Eriri and slowly nodded: "Let me go back and discuss it. I'll give you an answer before tonight, but I think it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Okay, that's good. Don't worry, I'm very professional. I'll do my job well once I agree to it." Nodding in satisfaction, Eriri picked up her coffee, took a small sip, and then immediately frowned.

"I still don't like it!"

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The second and third updates will be around 7 PM.

P.S.: Finished watching Princess Principal, totally on point. Okouchi finally understands the right way to approach things: don't give an ending!

Of course, we'll have to see if there's a second season. Personally, I think it's good that the first season has ended completely. If there really is a second season, I guess we'll have to worry about it.

Chapter 214 Meow meow meow?

After chatting for a few more minutes, Akane Kousaka left first, saying she needed to hurry back to discuss Eriri's request. After all, aside from Eriri's relationship with the Hashima siblings, the 20% discount on the payment she mentioned was quite reasonable.

Although the investment this time is huge, it's always good to save as much as possible.

The original three people became two again. Yukiteru sipped his coffee while watching Eriri, who was taking small bites of cheesecake, and said, "I'm telling you, is it really okay to accept this request like this?"

"It's just character design, isn't it? It was the same with the animation company before. I submitted my character designs, talked to the production team a few times, and then that was it. Mmm~~ Delicious!" After putting down her fork, Eriri looked at Yukiteru and said, "By the way, have you been keeping up with the anime adaptation?

"That's true. I haven't really looked at it much. Anyway, with editor Sonoko helping to keep an eye on it, I'm fine. I heard that the first episode is already half finished, and the voice actors have been mostly chosen." Nodding, Yukiteru remembered some things after Eriri mentioned it.

Regarding the anime adaptation, screenwriter Yukiteru offered a lot of advice, requesting that the plot be kept largely unchanged. As for the voice actors, to be honest, there are some differences between the original cast and the current one.

But none of these are the most important things. The most important thing is the opening and ending themes!

Without the original opening and ending themes, it always feels like something is missing.

Thinking of this, Xuehui immediately picked up his phone and dialed Machida Sonoko's number.

Machida Sonoko, who was resting at home on Sunday, answered the call with some confusion: "Moshi moshi, why did Yukiteru-kun think of contacting me today? Is there something you need?"

"Um, Yuanzi-nee, there's something I wanted to ask you. Regarding the anime adaptation, have the opening and ending themes been confirmed?"

"Sigh... I thought you contacted me suddenly because something important happened." Machida Sonoko turned the TV volume down a bit and continued, "The opening and ending themes for the anime haven't been produced yet, but it seems like you've already talked to a few people about it. What's up?"

"It hasn't started production yet? That's good." After nodding, Yukiteru said something that made Machida Sonoko jump for joy, "Well, I'll do the opening and ending themes. Go talk to the animation production team and I'll give you the music in a couple of days."

"Huh? Eek!!!!!!!!!!" Machida Sonoko's shout instantly pierced through the microphone, startling Eriri who was standing next to her so much that she almost dropped her fork.

"You can compose music, kid?"

"Well, I've studied a little bit. You can ask Jing-jie. I studied piano and music composition for a while when I was little, but I stopped after I entered junior high school. As for composing music, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Are all high school students these days monsters? Are you sure you're not kidding me?" Machida Sonoko's words were full of doubt, but Yukiteru did seem very confident in what he said, even suggesting that she consult Hiratsuka Shizuka.

"Isn't there any benefit to fooling you? I don't usually say anything because it's unnecessary, but now that it's useful, let's go all out. Okay, that's all for now. I'll give you the music in a couple of days."

After saying that, Xuehui hung up the phone, leaving Machida Sonoko completely bewildered on the other end.

Meow meow meow? Is there anything my authors can't do?

Eriri, biting her fork with a look of surprise, stared at Yukiteru, who had put down his phone: "I had no idea you could play the piano!"

"Don't even mention you, Yukino and Utaha don't know either, okay? They said on the phone earlier that it's something we don't usually need. Well, it's one of the few things I used to be good at." Yukiteru shrugged and sighed.

As for the piano, both the original Hiratsuka Yukiteru and the self before the transmigration knew how to play it. The self before the transmigration even studied for a longer time, but later he became a homebody and didn't take many grade exams. He would only try to play a few notes if he thought the songs in the new anime were nice.

He wouldn't have thought of it if the topic of animation hadn't come up this time.

Without hesitation, Xuehui opened the system he hadn't logged into for a long time and used the small amount of points he had accumulated to exchange for the opening and ending themes of the entire Sword Art Online anime series. As for the background music in the anime, he would leave that to others.

After exchanging the items, Xuehui immediately clapped his hands: "Alright, now let's go buy a piano? Eriri, come along!"

"Huh? Ugh!!!"

10 minute later.

Sitting in the car, Eriri looked at Yukiteru beside her and said, "What? Why should I go with you to buy a piano? Do you think I'm that free?"

"Aren't you free?" After replying, Yukiteru looked at Eriri's puffed-up cheeks. "Besides, didn't I come with you to see Akane Kousaka? Consider it payment for helping me."

"Ugh...you're pushing your luck!" Eriri squeezed her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster. She was annoyed by Yukiteru's self-talk, but after thinking about it, she finally agreed.

"But I have conditions. I need to hear your skills! If they're not good, I'll be the first to refuse to let you do the opening and ending themes!"

"This is it? Sure." Xuehui agreed without thinking, and at the same time, he began to recall some basic techniques in his mind. After all, he hadn't used them in a long time and needed to refresh his memory.

There's a pretty big music store in Chiba that carries most of the well-known piano brands, especially famous Asian piano brands.

As soon as the two entered, a formally dressed man came to greet them. He showed no surprise at the arrival of the two young people and greeted them with a friendly smile, saying, "Welcome, sir. How can I help you?"

Xuehui didn't mince words and said directly, "I'm here to pick out a piano. Do you have any good recommendations?"

The man, whose clothes were labeled "Manager," immediately nodded and led the two to a showroom: "The three pianos on the left are Asian brands, and the one on the right is German-made. These are our best-selling models. You two can try them out first."

Xuehui nodded after hearing this, and walked directly to one of the grand pianos, reaching out to touch the body of the piano and examining it with his senses.

'Yes, the quality is good. All the internal parts are high-end, and it's been well-maintained as a display item.'

After checking it out, Xuehui sat down, closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment, then reached out and placed his hand on the piano keys and slowly tried pressing a few keys.

One note after another, high and low, rang out. Yukiteru nodded again as he listened to the timbre, and then looked at Eriri, who had come to stand beside him.

"You're in luck today, you're the first to hear this piece."

After saying that, he placed his hands on the piano keys again. The pieces in his mind included complete arrangements as well as independent piano pieces. This was an unexpected surprise. After familiarizing himself with the music and regaining his feel for it, Xuehui began to play.

"Silsi" is the ending theme of the Mother's Lament arc in the second season of Sword Art Online. Although it appears in only a few episodes, it is a very beautiful ballad.

Xuehui didn't sing, after all, his singing skills were really mediocre, but his piano playing alone was already very captivating. Eriri, who was standing to the side, and the music store manager who was waiting, both listened attentively.

Not only these two, but the other customers in the music store also became quite active after hearing the music. They had never heard this piece before and were all very curious.

Nearly five minutes later, the piece was finished, and Xuehui secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his movements had become much more agile, so he quickly became familiar with it after the initial awkwardness, otherwise he would have made a fool of himself.

Turning his head, Yukiteru looked at Eriri, whose little mouth was slightly open, and smiled: "How was it? Not bad, right?"

Eriri was taken aback for a moment, then quickly snapped back to reality and clapped her hands: "Wow, that's amazing! Have you really not played in a long time?"

"Of course, you know very well that I don't have a piano at home."

After standing up, Xuehui said to the manager beside him, "I'm quite satisfied, but I'd like to try a few more."

The manager, of course, did not object. He was now completely certain that this young man was definitely there to buy a piano, and he wouldn't mind if he bought every single piano in the store.

After that, Xuehui tried them one by one, but only listened to the timbre and did not play the complete piece.

In the end, he still chose the one he had initially chosen, paid the full amount of 400 million yen, and had the music store deliver it to his home.

He sent another message to Yukino first, and then invited Eriri to his home.

The music store happened to have pianos in stock, so the delivery truck came back with Xuehui's truck.

When they got home and opened the door, Yukino and the other two came to greet them. They were quite surprised that Yukiteru had suddenly bought a piano, even though they knew from Shizuka that Yukiteru had studied piano.

"Why did you suddenly buy a piano?" Yukino asked, somewhat puzzled, as she looked at Yukiteru, who was directing the delivery crew to place the piano.

At this moment, Eriri, who came along with them, said, "I don't know what got into this guy, he said he wanted to make his own opening and ending themes for the anime, and then he dragged me to the music store to buy one. But his skill level is actually quite good."

A few minutes later, the piano was placed in a corner of the living room. Luckily, the house was spacious, so it didn't look out of place. Yukiteru then said to Yukino and the others, "Just like Eriri said, let's treat this as a spur-of-the-moment decision to do something different. But now, shouldn't we prepare lunch?"