Tokyo: Oreimo

"Because I showed off your animation to Iori Setsuna that day, and the comments and stuff online."

Hideo Nomura shrugged. "Iori thinks I'm getting too close to you. That guy is so petty. He's probably secretly tattling to the editor-in-chief, right? He takes his anger out on me when you're not around."

"You are indeed easy to bully. You've been with the company for so many years, but you haven't produced any best-selling works. You've always been lukewarm."

Saito Ritsu glanced at him. This guy always had an attitude of enduring as much as possible and muddling along in order to keep his job.

"You rascal, I'm already like this, can't you say something nice?"

Hideo Nomura chuckled heartily, raised his glass, and clinked it against his.

After a beer, the atmosphere at the table became somewhat heavy.

Saito Ritsu put down the bamboo skewer in his hand and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Kadokawa Manga is absolutely terrible."

"Yeah, I wish I were a light novel editor. Even though we're on the same floor, the atmosphere is completely different over there."

"The light novel division was formerly Dengeki Bunko. Because of the acquisition agreement, the management has remained the same, and it's not as corrupt as the manga division. If you're willing to start over, I can help you ask around."

Ritsu Saito and Takuya Hattori maintained contact, and given their relationship, it wouldn't be difficult for them to introduce Nomura to an interview.

"No need, I've already made up my mind."

Hideo Nomura took an envelope out of his pocket, turned it over in his hand, and then put it back. "The resignation letter is already written."

"Shueisha?"

"Yes, I contacted an editor there before, and they happen to be hiring."

"To be honest, I really don't want to switch jobs, but I'm not confident about the work I have on hand."

"Sakura is about to end, and the new author's work can't keep me going until next year. Anyway, I'll be fired for failing to perform well, so I might as well join Shueisha while I still have the halo of Sakura's editing."

"So, I owe you a favor again."

Ritsu Saito frowned. "Has the non-compete agreement issue been resolved?"

"Of course, I'm not a genius like you. A bottom-tier editor wouldn't get non-compete compensation from the company; they'd just cancel my job."

Hideo Nomura raised his glass and gestured to Ritsu Saito.

"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's drink. Today is to celebrate the great success of your animation, don't let my affairs spoil the fun."

Ritsu Saito did not raise his glass.

He looked at Hideo Nomura and suddenly asked, "Are you sure we can get into Shueisha?"

"...Probably. They said that as long as there are no problems on my end, the procedures can be completed at any time."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Ok?"

“Since you’ve already made up your mind, don’t drag it out.” Saito Ritsu picked up the bottle, filled his glass, and raised it. “The longer you wait, the more uncomfortable you’ll feel.”

Hideo Nomura paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You're still the same as ever."

He bumped Saito Ritsu's cup hard, making a crisp sound.

The two looked at each other and laughed simultaneously.

As I left the yakitori restaurant, a night breeze swept over me.

Hideo Nomura stood at the shop entrance, and Ritsu Saito took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to him.

A few seconds later, smoke filled the air.

"Let me know when you get to Shueisha, maybe I can give you a surprise."

"Ok?"

Ritsu Saito remembered that Ryosuke had mentioned recently that he was about to collaborate with his sister on another project, this time in the form of a manga.

Perhaps I can offer some advice to that club president.

Chapter 142: Death Will Be Written

At Gao Cheng's house, in the evening, after academic tutoring.

Ryosuke handed the notebook in his hand to Ayano.

"The NAME you requested is now complete."

Ling Nai took the notebook and eagerly opened the cover page.

"Death note? What's that called?"

The girl frowned as she looked at the title page.

What does it mean?

"Well, take a look first, I'm going back to rest now. I'll finish the rest of the NAME for you as soon as possible."

Ryosuke yawned.

The NAME content in the notes currently only extends up to episode 12, which corresponds to episode 4 of the anime.

The original work was co-created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, and consists of 108 chapters. It is a very exciting suspenseful and intellectual battle manga.

"If I work on it during the summer vacation, I should be able to finish it all."

The reason Ryosuke spent so much time on the opening was mainly because he was thinking about how to avoid unnecessary risks associated with this work.

The original work has been modified to some extent, while retaining its essence.

"Oh, by the way, if you encounter anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me."

"Huh?"

"Because this work requires a high level of understanding from the original artist, if you draw it randomly without understanding it, it will look very strange."

What does it mean to have high requirements for the original work's concept?

Takashiro Ryouno was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, her face filled with displeasure.

Are you saying I'm stupid?

Ryosuke chuckled softly.

"The fact that you even have to ask this question already says it all, doesn't it?"

"Believe it or not, I'll bite you!"

The blonde girl bared her teeth in anger, jumped up from her chair, and made as if to pounce on him. Ryosuke quickly and discreetly slipped out of her room.

"You annoying guy!"

The girl watched Ryosuke leave the room and spat out a curse.

"It's just drawing a comic, what does it have to do with whether I'm smart or not? I'm going to get a perfect score on this academic test, and then I'll see if he dares to laugh at me again!"

She sat back down in her seat.

The girl rested her chin on her hand, looking down slightly at Ryosuke's clumsy drawing skills on the notebook's cover page.

"What? Wasn't the new story supposed to be about gods as the main characters?"

"Isn't he still a high school student?"

"Let's see how it goes."

Takashiro Ryou paused for a moment, then turned to the next page.

"Death Realm"

A rather abstract image appeared in the notebook; she could barely make out that it was a humanoid monster with wings.

What exactly is this guy planning to draw?

I flipped through several pages, and apart from the first page which was related to Death, the rest were mostly about the main character.

"Yagami Light, that's a really rare surname. Did that guy just make it up?"

"His father is a criminal investigator, his mother is a housewife, he has excellent grades, and he is an outstanding child in his parents' eyes. What? Could this guy be a protagonist created based on his own template?"

They have extremely similar family backgrounds.

Takashiro Ryouno made some malicious speculations.

In several of her previous works, she could always see his shadow in the protagonist.

It seems that the only completely unrelated example is F/Z. In other works, similar to Tomoya Okazaki, the kind of behavior of liking to tease people is also reflected in Ryosuke.

And then there's Shirou Emiya... who has a protective instinct towards his younger sister...

"Oh dear, what am I thinking about! Focus, focus!"

Takashiro Ryou shook her head, clearing her mind of distractions, and continued reading.

In the next scene, a black notebook that falls from the sky catches Light Yagami's attention.

"That guy, he does a pretty good job of drawing these square shapes."

The black notebook in the picture is almost identical in shape to the one she is holding.

After school, the protagonist intended to go home, but out of curiosity, he picked up the notebook.

"Death note"

Ling Nai saw the words on the notebook cover clearly.

"A literal translation would be Death Note. What's its use? It must be a very crucial prop."

So far, Ling Nai hasn't seen anything special about the protagonist, or rather, the whole story doesn't seem particularly special.

In the next storyboard, the notebook was opened, and Light Yagami muttered something.

「How to use」

"The person whose name is written in this notebook will die."

Upon seeing this, Takashiro Ryouno paused for a moment.