Tokyo: Oreimo

"No need to calculate so meticulously, everyone seems to lack confidence?"

"Huh?"

"All 500 copies have been sold out, that's a fact. And tomorrow there will only be more people than today, that's also a fact."

"Our booth is located at the entrance of the passageway between East Hall 4 and East Hall 5. It is one of the must-pass routes to the doujinshi area after visiting the corporate exhibition area. Those who bought books today will post, tweet, and blog after they go back. Those who previewed the books today but did not buy them will bring their friends to come again."

He paused.

"Today it's one hour and forty minutes, and tomorrow it will only be shorter. The question you should be considering now is not whether to print three hundred or five hundred more copies, but how many copies your stall can sell in the remaining two and a half days."

To be honest, Ryosuke thought the position he drew for the manga club this time was quite good.

In terms of location, it's much better than when he was selling "FSN"; it's much more conspicuous.

Selling 500 copies in two hours proves that Ayumi's illustrations are indeed eye-catching enough.

As long as the quality is sufficient, with a little promotion online, the popularity will only increase the next day, depending on the quality of the text.

Tian Zhongxue swallowed hard. "Then, how many should be printed?"

"Invest all of today's sales revenue into it, print as much as you can."

Ryosuke finished the rest of his coffee in one gulp and said casually.

In this situation, there's no need to hesitate; you should go all in.

Hearing what he said, Ling Nai had an expression of 'I knew it' on her face.

The stalls were so quiet you could hear the sound of tape being torn apart next door.

Shota Okubo's mouth formed an "O" shape.

Tian Zhongxue was completely stunned.

Ayumi looked at Ryosuke, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

“All of them?” Shota Okubo’s voice changed slightly. “Takashiro, do you know how much sales revenue is for 500 copies? The print shop gave us a discount, but at 500 yen per copy, 500 copies would be 250,000 yen.”

“We sold it for 800 copies and have made 150,000 yen so far. If we invest all of it as you said... if we invest it all, it will be 800 copies. If it doesn’t sell, the club’s funds will be gone. This trip to Winter COMI will have been a waste of our time.”

“Yes, all in.” Ryosuke chuckled.

Okubo grabbed Tanaka's sleeve: "Chairman, say something!"

Tian Zhongxue was silent for a moment, then raised his head.

"Okay, all in."

"President?!"

"Gao Cheng is the author, and I'll believe whatever number he says needs to be reprinted."

Tian Zhongxue took off his glasses, wiped them vigorously with his sleeve, and when he put them back on, his eyes behind the lenses were surprisingly calm.

"Moreover, we are creators who exhibited at CM. If the work sells well, it is normal to reprint it. I only had one thought in my mind, which was to let more people see Ryougi Shiki."

Yosuke Kobayashi closed his notebook, a very slight smile curving his lips.

"It's rare for the president to say something that isn't shameful."

"Kobayashi, whose side are you on today?!"

"Of course it's Takashiro. I really like Kara no Kyoukai, and I have confidence in this work."

As she spoke, Kobayashi glanced at Tanaka Middle School, "I think the student council president thinks the same way, right?"

Tian Zhongxue nodded.

"That's right, Takagi is someone who even defeated me!"

"What are you talking about? How can we hesitate now? Right, Ayumi!"

This sudden surge of passion made Horiuchi Ayumi's lips twitch.

She really wanted to advise Tian Zhongxue to calm down, since the manga research institute's funding had always been tight, and if it was all squandered, recruiting new members next year would be a problem.

We can't really rely on the other party to work to make up for the losses. Without money, COMI definitely won't be able to set up his stall in the summer.

However, she glanced at Ling Nai standing next to Ryosuke. The blonde girl didn't say anything, but just raised her eyebrows, showing no intention of interrupting.

In the end, Ayumi stood up.

He took out all the sales records and receipts for the day from the storage box, counted them, then put the thick stack of cash into an envelope and handed it to Tian Zhongxue.

The envelope wasn't too heavy; it contained all of today's earnings.

"Go."

Ayumi's expression was somewhat complicated. She actually understood that with the current sales volume, it was impossible for the products not to sell tomorrow, but there would be some risk.

Without successful experience, who knows if tourists who bought doujinshi will have positive feedback after going back?

She knew that Tian Zhongxue's proposal to reprint the book was actually a gamble.

But now that Ryosuke has proposed investing all his profits, multiplying the stakes several times over, he hasn't even flinched.

Is it because he trusts Takashiro? Or is it because this guy has always been like this, once he sets his mind on something, he dives headfirst into it without ever considering a way out?

'But I have no reason to stop you this time.'

Ayumi recalled the excitement she felt after reading the first three chapters of "Kara no Kyoukai" and the quality of the illustrations she drew under Ayano's guidance.

This is probably her best work to date.

If I don't prove it, I'll never be satisfied.

"This might be the most crucial step for the manga club to grow into a large organization. At this moment, we must not hesitate!"

Chapter 250 You're Mine This Afternoon (Combined Chapter)

Just after 1 p.m., the flow of people at DongCOMI slowed down slightly.

Ryosuke stood up from the inside of the stall and threw the empty coffee cup into the recycling bin.

Ling Nai was helping Ayumi rearrange the remaining original manuscripts according to their numbers, her movements swift and efficient, without even looking up.

"Ling Nai, I'm going to the corporate area."

Her hand paused for a moment.

"What are you going to do?"

"Find Saori."

"Oh," she said flatly. "Then go ahead."

Ryosuke looked at her.

This doesn't seem like Ling Nai.

Normally, she would either press him about why he went to see Saori, or she would simply say, "I'll go too." This decisive letting him go now seems rather abnormal.

"Aren't you going?"

“I’m not going.” Ling Nai put the last original manuscript into the folder and dusted off her hands. “I haven’t finished organizing this yet. I’m going to visit the exhibition with Ayumi-senpai and the others later. I’m not interested in the corporate section.”

Ryosuke raised an eyebrow.

Not interested?

Aniplex's booth was located in the corporate area. In addition to the demo of their new game "SAO", there was also a BD sales booth for "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" and an original artwork display for "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya".

As the animation director for Aniplex, she said she had "no interest" in the exhibition area of ​​works she helped create.

Moreover, Saori gave advance notice and it seems she even invited a DC idol group to perform. Wasn't she the one most interested in this type of exhibition before?

But he didn't expose it.

"I'll be going now. Message me if you need anything."

"Okay, okay, go ahead."

Ling Nai waved her hand, her tone carrying a hint of impatience.

Ryosuke picked up his coat, greeted Tanaka and Ayumi, and walked from the stall entrance into the main road of the East Fourth Building.

The corporate area is in another exhibition hall, requiring passage through a connecting passageway.

The crowds at the Winter COMI started to pick up again in the afternoon, with participants carrying huge paper bags and staff holding up club flags everywhere.

After walking about twenty meters, Ryosuke's footsteps gradually faded away in the corridor.

Ling Nai then stopped tidying up the manuscript, stared in the direction he had disappeared, and moved her lips.

Of course she wanted to go.

The Aniplex exhibition area features works she participated in, and the Giantess must be incredibly busy there. It would be perfectly reasonable for me to go there as an "animation supervisor."

But lately she and Ryosuke have been sticking together too much.

We go to the manga club together on weekends and get tutoring in the evenings. Because of university activities, the attendance rate of our club has decreased recently.

After being secretly photographed on campus last time, although she denied it, she knew very well that she had indeed gone a bit too far in "asserting her sovereignty" lately.

When Saori confronted her at the coffee shop last time, she made it very clear: she wouldn't stop her, nor would she give it to her; if she wanted to take it, she could.

That was a perfectly legitimate declaration of war.

Since it's a legitimate declaration of war, there's no room for backing down.

Having already gained the upper hand, clinging to Ryosuke and denying Saori any time alone would be an unfair victory, even if it meant winning.

She didn't want to win that way.

Besides, today is the first day of Winter COMI, and Saori must be extremely busy. If I show up with Ryosuke at a time like this, he'll probably think I'm going to provoke him.

Let her get better in a few days.

"Ling Nai?"

Ayumi's voice pulled her back to reality.

"What are you thinking about? You look so serious. Are you too tired? Do you want to rest for a bit?"

"It's nothing." Ling Nai quickly composed herself and put the folder into the storage box. "Didn't we say we were going to visit an exhibition? When are we leaving?"