Tokyo: Oreimo

What does this mean? Is it a confession of love?

Ryosuke laughed; the other person's joking remark brought back the feeling of chatting with them online.

"Yeah, I've always liked to be straightforward. How does it feel to be loved at first sight? Isn't it awesome?"

"I would be honored to decline."

"You just rejected me like that? That's really hurtful."

Phoenix Institute led Ryosuke through the fast-track entrance and into the venue, where a bright and spacious area suddenly opened up.

Just as crowded as outside, the venue was bustling with activity inside, with rows of stalls set up in a neat and orderly fashion.

But the most impactful thing has to be the posters displayed in front of almost every stall.

Most of it is 18+ content.

"You've got an interesting reaction, kid. Is this your first time at CM?"

Phoenix In noticed the shocked expression on Ryosuke's face, and a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Could she be a virgin?"

"..."

Ryosuke completely ignored the tall woman's provocation.

"If you can't even accept this kind of thing, I advise you not to even think about making galgames. In the current market, erotic content accounts for a very high percentage, and the artist's skill level is the core competitiveness."

"It's okay, I was prepared."

"is it?"

Phoenix Institute chuckled mockingly, then led Ryosuke to his stall.

Are you alone?

"Because it was the last day, sales weren't picking up, and all my friends had already left, leaving me the only one left."

As Phoenix Institute spoke, he tidied up the boxed game discs on his stall, which numbered roughly a hundred.

Is this a way of encouraging oneself?

Ryosuke glanced around and realized that none of the nearby stalls had as many goods as she did.

Her friends must have been discouraged by the sales figures, so they called it a day early, leaving her here alone.

Ryosuke didn't point it out, but instead picked up the game disc from the stall.

[Passionate Youth/Intense Battles]

The cover has these words written on it, and it looks like a fighting game, but the background features several scantily clad female characters.

Moreover, they looked rather ragged.

"Your work? Is the selling point 'clothes ripping off'?"

From his perspective, judging solely from the artwork on the cover, the game appears somewhat crudely made. The artist's skill level was limited, failing to capture the feeling of trying to conceal something.

It's set in a fighting game world, but the gameplay isn't fighting; it's more like a typical visual novel.

I suppose they didn't put much effort into the storyline, which is probably why it affected sales.

"You're quite knowledgeable about this stuff."

Phoenix Institute gestured for him to come to the back of the stall, and then handed him a special vest.

"Put these on. Since you're here, you'll be temporarily requisitioned as a shop assistant!"

"We'll sell as much as we can with what we have left; today is the last day."

Phoenix Inu's initially high spirits dipped somewhat. Although she still appeared to be holding her head high, Ryosuke could sense her dejection.

"Well, then please guide me, store manager."

Ryosuke Takagi didn't say anything more and put the vest over his outer clothes.

Just as he was about to turn around and stand in front of the stall, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Excuse me, how much does this game cost?"

Ryosuke's mind suddenly tightened, and he turned his head slightly to look behind him.

A blonde girl, wearing sunglasses and a mask, was picking up a boxed game from the stall and gesturing at him.

Chapter 32 Settling the Bill (Thanks to "Doing Just a Lazy Fish" for the monthly vote)

"Interested? It's 2000 yen a serving."

Seeing that Ryosuke was standing there motionless, Phoenix In quickly stood up and patted his chest confidently.

"The content is absolutely fantastic! It's intense and exciting!"

"Then please give me one!"

The blonde girl excitedly took out her money.

"What are you waiting for? You collect the money, I'll pack it up!"

Phoenixin nudged Ryosuke, then quickly reached behind him and grabbed a paper bag, putting the game box inside.

Ryosuke Takagi turned around with a strange expression and took the 2000 yen bill handed to him by the girl.

Their eyes met.

He felt the banknote suddenly tremble, and the girl let go of it as if she had been electrocuted. She then took off running and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

"Hey? Where did they go? Don't they want their stuff?"

Phoenix Institute didn't even have time to react.

"The company is probably dead," Ryosuke said expressionlessly.

If Ryosuke came to the CM exhibition to buy erotic games, only to find that the stall owner was someone he knew, he would probably want to crawl into a hole and disappear.

"What are you talking about? What about this game? We can't just collect money."

Phoenix Courtyard rubbed his forehead, clearly having a headache.

"Leave it to me, I'll pass it on to her."

Ryosuke handed the 2000 yen in his hand to Hououin and took the paper bag from him, placing it aside.

"Is it someone I know?"

"Yes, it's someone I know."

"What a coincidence! I'd love to introduce you sometime. I really appreciate customers like this."

This is the first time in three days since Phoenix Cinema opened that a customer has proactively inquired and made a quick payment.

After all, my work doesn't sell very well, so it's a very happy thing to meet a patron.

Ryosuke nodded thoughtfully. "I'll pass on the message for you."

......

The afternoon passed quickly.

In fact, even with the addition of Ryosuke, it didn't have any positive effect on the sales of "Hot-Blooded Youth/Intense Fighting".

By the time they closed up shop, they had only sold ten servings, a dismal performance.

If Ryosuke wants to sell out the game, he figures the only way is to dress Hououin in the kind of lewd outfit on the cover; maybe that will work.

"That's it for today, I've really messed up this year, I've lost a fortune."

Phoenix Institute laughed as he gathered up the remaining clutter from the stall, with Ryosuke also helping out.

It took the two of them nearly an hour to finally emerge from the East Exhibition Hall.

"It's not your problem. The quality of visual novels is mostly related to the creators. What you lack is a reliable partner."

Seeing that the netizen next to him was visibly downcast, Ryosuke couldn't help but offer his comfort.

That's how the other person comforted him during those difficult years.

"I'll treat you to dinner; consider it a consolation prize."

Phoenix Inu paused for a moment, then suddenly reached out and hooked his arm around Ryosuke's neck, pulling him close with great force.

Ryosuke suddenly felt two extremely soft things pressing against his back.

Phoenix Garden leaned close to his ear and said with a grin:

"You have a very pleasant way of speaking, I like you more and more."

"Really? But I don't want our friendship to turn sour."

Ryosuke Takagi quickly broke free.

To be fair, although Phoenix Inu was dressed in otaku style, with a large shirt covering her up, it actually concealed her magnificent bosom.

He couldn't help but shake his head, interrupting his reverie.

"Then let's go get some barbecue! You'll regret it, I can eat a lot!"

...

The two found a barbecue restaurant nearby and sat down.

This is a barbecue buffet restaurant with extremely affordable prices.

Ryosuke was somewhat surprised. Judging from the other party's tone earlier, he thought he was going to be ripped off.

Once all the dishes are served, the rising charcoal fire heats the grill pan, and fresh beef is placed on it, frying until it drips with oil.

"By the way, are you really planning to make a visual novel? The costs aren't low."

Phoenix Institute stuffed the freshly grilled meat into its mouth, a look of pure bliss on its face.

"Yes, it's something I've thought about for a while, which is why I specifically came to you to collaborate."

Ryosuke took out the script he had been working on for the past few days from his backpack and handed it to the other person.

"I can handle the scriptwriting myself; there are zero costs involved. If you're willing, we can collaborate by investing in each other."