Tokyo: Oreimo

However, the people at the anime research institute had no idea that the scriptwriters of these games were standing right in front of them.

In Tianzhong's eyes, Aniplex was a god-like existence. Although he thought Ryosuke was amazing, he never thought about it in that direction.

The door to the activity room was suddenly pushed open, and Tian Zhongxue rushed in, radiating a chill.

"nailed it!"

He waved a thin booklet in his hand, a bound sample provided by the printing shop, his face red from the cold, and raindrops still clinging to his glasses.

"The print shop owner said that printing can start tomorrow afternoon! As long as the final draft is sent over today, it can be picked up in three days! Here is the sample book, take a look!"

Misaki Asakura took the sample book and flipped through it; the paper quality and printing precision were quite good.

Tian Zhongxue rubbed his hands together, talking non-stop: "I even made sure they used 120-gram matte paper for the inner pages and thick coated paper with texture for the cover. It cost about 5,000 yen more than the budget, but after receiving the actual product, I think it was worth it."

"President, you said before that it should be resolved within the budget." Ayumi raised her head, the red pen in her hand hovering in mid-air.

"Well, I'll cover the extra cost myself. After all, this is the culmination of the Manga Research Institute's hard work this year, and we can't skimp on the cover design."

Tian Zhongxue scratched his head and smiled, then turned his gaze to Ryosuke, and suddenly straightened his posture.

"Takashiro-kun."

"Ok?"

"Thanks to your novel," Tian Zhongxue said seriously for once, then quickly added, "Of course, thanks to Ayumi's illustrations and everyone's hard work over the past few months. But to be honest, if you hadn't brought out 'Kara no Kyoukai' on the day of the vote, we would most likely still be the kind of unknown roadside stall at this winter's COMI."

“The chairman is right.” Kobayashi Yosuke rarely agreed. “The previous doujinshi didn’t sell out even after a whole day of sales. With Takashiro here, at least this time we shouldn’t be stuck sitting behind the booth doing nothing.”

“Don’t say that.” Ryosuke chuckled. “It’s true that I wrote the manuscript, but turning it into a complete doujinshi was a collaborative effort. The layout was done by the student council president, the illustrations were drawn by Horiuchi-senpai, and the proofreading and promotion were all done by everyone. I couldn’t have done all of this by myself.”

“That’s what we say, but we all know the truth in our hearts.” Asakura Misaki held a strawberry milk and said softly, “What makes readers pick up this book is ultimately the story itself.”

Tian Zhongxue took off his glasses, wiped them, put them back on, and then took a deep breath.

"Therefore, I plan to print two hundred more copies tomorrow."

The activity room fell silent for a moment.

"The original plan was to print 300 copies and sell them at COMI in winter."

Tian Zhongxue counted on his fingers, "But our club's doujinshi last year only sold less than a hundred copies. At the time, Ayumi said to print three hundred first, and I thought it was a bit too many. Now I think three hundred is not enough at all."

"How much do you want?"

"Five hundred. If we can't sell them all, I'll cover the cost of the excess myself."

Ayumi put down her red pen and looked at him.

"President, are you serious?"

"Seriously." Tian Zhongxue's expression was unusually serious.

He picked up the manuscript on the table, which had not yet been officially printed, and flipped through a few pages.

"I have confidence in Ayumi's paintings!"

"Why are you saying that all of a sudden...?"

Ayumi blushed slightly when she was suddenly called out.

"You've made great progress this time, haven't you!" Tian Zhongxue picked up the sample in his hand, patted the cover hard, and showed an unusually confident smile.

"To be honest, Ayumi, you might be a genius. You can paint at this level. If I weren't involved, I would also be attracted to this painting."

"It was all thanks to Ling Nai's guidance; I couldn't have drawn this on my own..."

Although Tian Zhongxue often praised her before, this time was different. She could clearly feel that the other party's recognition was genuine, just like when he talked about Aniplex.

“Don’t be modest, Horiuchi-senpai,” Ryosuke interjected. “Ryou didn’t help you much; it was mainly up to you.”

As a member of the club, he was well aware of how much effort and dedication Horiuchi Ayumi had put into this "Kara no Kyoukai" project.

While it is true that she relied on Ling Nai's guidance, she wouldn't have been able to reach this level without paying the price.

“That’s right.” Tian Zhongxue nodded. “With Ayumi’s illustrations, as long as customers are drawn to the first page, they will definitely buy it. I have confidence in Takashiro’s story!”

"It's rare for the president to say something so insightful." Yosuke Kobayashi picked up his coffee.

Ignoring his complaints, Tian Zhongxue continued, "So I want to take a gamble. If it doesn't sell well, I'll just have to use all the money I've saved from working to cover it. But if I'm right, this year's Winter COMI at the Manga Research Institute will be the most glorious day in our history."

Ayumi was silent for a moment, then picked up the red pen again.

"Then five hundred books."

"Huh?"

“I said, then print five hundred copies.” Ayumi didn’t even look up. “It’s not just the president who has to cover the cost. If you’re going to cover the cost, I’ll cover it with you. The manga club isn’t just the president’s club. Besides, if ‘Kara no Kyoukai’ doesn’t sell, that’s my problem with the artwork.”

"Ayumi..."

"It's not over yet. If you say something like 'I'll cover everything myself' again, I'll get angry!"

Tian Zhongxue opened his mouth, then bowed deeply, his glasses almost flying off.

Misaki Asakura clapped her hands gently, and Yosuke Kobayashi smiled slightly. Shota Okubo had already arrived at the door at some point, carrying a plastic bag from the convenience store.

"Wait, what did I miss?"

"The president and Ayumi are arguing about the print run of 'Kara no Kyoukai'," said Misaki Asakura.

"You won?"

"Five hundred copies."

Shota Okubo put the plastic bag on the table and gave a thumbs up.

"Well done! That's more like a manga club! We're pretty much free in the winter anyway, so let's print more! If we don't sell them all, we can just set up a stall until next spring!"

"Winter COMI only lasts three days," Yosuke Kobayashi reminded them.

I'm talking about the spirit!

The activity room was filled with laughter.

Ryosuke sat in his seat, watching the group make a ruckus, and a smile crept onto his face.

Joining the manga club was just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Waseda University has many clubs, and there are many that are more lively and have more resources than the manga club.

On the day he enrolled, when Tian Zhongxue struck up a conversation with him, he didn't intend to get involved in the club; he just wanted to find a place to kill time.

However, after half a year, because Ling Nai's fan art sold out the inventory, because "Kara no Kyoukai" crushed all other works in the poll, and because next week she will be going to Winter COMI to face off against other circles.

The manga club is no longer the marginalized group it once was, huddled on the second floor of an old club building, passing the time with expired magazines and secondhand comics.

"But speaking of which," Shota Okubo suddenly leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Isn't Ryouno coming next week? She said she was coming the other day at Fuyu COMI, didn't she?"

Everyone present turned their attention to Ryosuke.

“She said she would come,” Ryosuke said.

Ling Nai's original words were, "I'm definitely going to Winter COMI. This is your first time releasing a doujinshi under the name of a club. I want to see with my own eyes how many copies your booth can sell."

But in reality, Ryosuke knew very well that she had another purpose.

Because on the day of Winter COMI, Aniplex received an invitation from the organizers and set up a special booth, which Hououin Saori had informed Ryosuke about long beforehand.

There was a conflict with the manga club, so it was handed over to Saori to handle.

She will also be there that day, but she will be in Venue A.

Given Ling Nai's personality, even if it's just to "not be outdone" in front of Saori, she would definitely try her best to appear at the CM event.

"I really can't wait until next month," Tian Zhongxue said, gazing at the leaden sky outside the window, her voice full of anticipation. "I have a feeling something's going to happen this winter."

Outside the window, the rain and snow finally began to fall.

Chapter 248 Waseda Manga Club Strikes! (Combined Chapter)

At 6 a.m. in December, the sky over Tokyo Big Sight is still a deep blue.

In the distance, the lights of the station cast orange halos in the winter mist, and long queues had already formed on the sidewalk leading to the exhibition area.

The participants, dressed in thick coats and scarves, exhaled white breath. Some were holding boxes of doujinshi (fan-made comics), some were adjusting their cameras, and others were squatting by the roadside spreading out venue maps to make final route plans.

Ryosuke stood at the meeting point outside the station, holding a hot coffee he bought from a vending machine, watching Tanaka Middle School spin around in front of everyone like a top.

"Did you bring everything? Doujinshi! Change! Tablecloth! Tape! Price tags!"

Tian Zhongxue was carrying a bulging backpack and a huge tote bag in his hand. A thin layer of water vapor had condensed on his glasses. He had been walking around like this for almost ten minutes.

"President, put your bag down first." Shota Okubo yawned, his down jacket hood still askew on his head. "You've been going around in circles since just now. Things aren't going to grow legs and run away."

"What do you know! This is the most important day for the comic club this year!"

"Yes, yes, but if you keep turning around like this, you'll be exhausted before you even get inside."

Yosuke Kobayashi stood at the far end of the line, holding a cup of coffee just like Ryosuke's, his expression as calm as ever.

Ayumi walked out of the station, carrying two bags full of spare materials. Today she was wearing a dark blue winter coat with a small paintbrush brooch pinned to the collar.

"Everything's ready. All the doujinshi have been delivered to the print shop; they'll bring them to the booth before eight." She handed the bag to Tian Zhongxue, then looked around. "Where's Asakura?"

"Here."

Misaki Asakura jogged over from around the corner, carrying a stack of laminated price tags in her arms. Her cheeks were flushed red from the cold wind, but her eyes were incredibly bright, and puffs of white breath came out one after another.

“I redid the price tag and wrote the full name of ‘Waseda University Manga Research Club’. I also added a title in the corner. I think it’s more eye-catching and can sell more copies.”

"Well done!" Tian Zhongxue took the price tag, then suddenly remembered something and turned to Ryosuke, "Takashiro, your sister today?"

“She will come,” Ryosuke said, “but she might be a little late.”

Ling Nai spent two whole hours in the room last night, opening and closing the wardrobe door repeatedly, the clanging of the wooden clothes hangers coming through the walls incessantly.

Finally, she opened the door a crack, poked half her head out, and informed him in an unquestionable tone, "Go to the venue first tomorrow, don't wait for me, but once you arrive, you must go to your booth and don't wander off."

Ryosuke certainly wouldn't run around.

But thinking about the text message Saori sent last night, he was somewhat uncertain about how things would go today.

"Aniplex will have a demo area at Winter COMI tomorrow. I'll be there in the morning, but it'll be empty in the afternoon."

Then a follow-up message appeared.