Tokyo: Oreimo

"What are you doing at the autograph session—no, you—"

Okubo's finger pointed at Ryosuke, then trembled slightly in mid-air.

Ryosuke bowed slightly to them.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Ryosuke Takashiro, a first-year student in the Faculty of Letters at Waseda University, affiliated with the Manga Research Institute. I also have a pen name, Gen Urobuchi."

The rest area was so quiet that you could hear the background music from the next exhibition area.

Shota Okubo's fingers froze in mid-air, while Misaki Asakura covered her mouth with her hand. Yosuke Kobayashi, on the other hand, had a look of 'I knew it' on his face.

Tianzhong Middle School has finally regained its voice.

"You...you're Gen Urobuchi? You wrote all those scripts that made people cry until they were dehydrated and had stomach aches?"

"I wrote it."

"But you're only a freshman!"

"I actually started creating this when I was in my first year of high school," Ryosuke admitted.

Tian Zhongxue's face went from white to red, then from red to purple, finally settling on an expression that left him unsure whether to cry or laugh.

He suddenly remembered something and abruptly turned to look at Ling Nai.

Ling Nai stood behind Ryosuke with her arms crossed, her chin slightly raised, her expression a mix of relief that "she finally said it" and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Ayumi asked the question that everyone was already asking.

"Then Ling is...?"

Ling Nai didn't bow formally like Ryosuke; she simply tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, her tone carrying her usual arrogance.

"Rumiko Takashiro, that is me."

Okubo plopped down on a folding chair in the rest area.

"So, starting from the Electric Town Festival..."

“I’ve been wondering about this ever since Ling Nai drew that fan art of Amanon Reiyu in three minutes,” Ayumi corrected, her voice tinged with a wry smile. “I should have confirmed it then; that kind of drawing speed couldn’t possibly be the work of an amateur.”

She turned to Ryosuke.

"When you guided me in drawing illustrations during Winter COMI, it must have been because of Ling Nai that your work was so precise, right?"

Ryosuke paused for a moment.

This has nothing to do with Ling Nai; it's purely a matter of recreating the original's peak scenes from her mind and pointing out the flaws.

However, finding the flaws in Ayumi's painting is indeed much easier than finding those in Ayano's, so what the other party said isn't wrong.

He smiled and nodded.

"I just didn't expect that my long-held guess was actually correct."

Ayumi fidgeted with her fingers, her feelings complicated.

Tian Zhongxue sat on another folding chair, his hands on his knees, his head down, his shoulders rising and falling slightly, as if he were taking a deep breath.

Ryosuke walked up to him.

"President."

Tian Zhongxue raised his head.

"Actually, it wasn't that I deliberately wanted to hide it from everyone." Ryosuke carefully chose his words. "When I joined the manga club, I really just wanted to participate in club activities as an ordinary student. Whether it was writing fan fiction or making games together, it had nothing to do with my identity. I just thought it would be fun to create with you guys."

Tian Zhongxue was silent for a while, then suddenly spoke.

“Last time in the activity room, Xiaolin said that you would definitely be poached by Aniplex in the future, and we were still there looking forward to your future.”

Ryosuke smiled.

"I am a little embarrassed about that, but it is also a very happy thing to be recognized by everyone."

Tian Zhongxue stood up.

He reached out his right hand and patted Ryosuke hard on the shoulder.

"You've been hiding it for too long."

There was no dissatisfaction in his tone, but rather a sense of relief and exhilaration.

"I was a junior member of the doujin circle, but it turns out he's one of the authors of my favorite works. This is an experience that probably only we manga fans can have."

Tian Zhongxue grinned, revealing two rows of teeth. "I was a little disappointed when I was defeated by Kara no Kyoukai, but now that I think about it, my opponent was actually the Warrior of Love. I never dared to dream of competing against you."

"It's not that exaggerated..."

Ryosuke tilted his head and smiled. "Didn't everyone do a great job with the text support for 'Mahoutsukai no Yoru' this time?"

"I'm still far behind you."

Tian Zhongxue waved his hand casually, then suddenly leaned closer, "But there's something I need to make clear first."

"what?"

Tianzhong grabbed Ryosuke's hand and gripped it tightly.

"Next time you write a script, you're not allowed to kill off the female lead again! Do you know how many times I cried when I played Clannad?! And Madoka! I still can't forget Mami's death!"

“That might not work,” Ryosuke said frankly. “Tragedy and unexpected plot twists are my creative principles.”

"You rascal!" Tian Zhongxue tightened his grip a bit. "Last time in the activity room you said you'd pinch Lao Xu's hand hard when you saw him, and you actually did it so quickly!"

Ryosuke's lips twitched.

Are you kidding?

It looks like they're really putting in effort.

"Spare me. Maybe when you start writing, you'll be just like me, and then you'll understand me."

Ryosuke forcefully pulled his hand away.

Facing fans directly in person carries too much risk for Gen Urobuchi, given his identity.

"So, in that case, we're not actually making fan fiction..." Okubo belatedly realized.

"If Gen Urobuchi is the one writing this... wouldn't we be considered a regular army?"

The members of the club looked at each other in bewilderment.

Okubo suddenly put down the paper bag and leaned forward slightly.

"Speaking of which, Gao Cheng, can we come to your place after graduation?"

You mean Aniplex?

"Yeah! We have to think about the future, right? If our cosplay class graduates this year, could we join your group?"

He started counting on his fingers.

"Look, you watched Takeda build the program from scratch with your own eyes, Ayumi's drawing at Winter COMI proved her strength, you know Kobayashi's research and setting better than anyone else, the chairman's enthusiasm for planning is obvious to all, and Asakura's communication skills and affability are not to be underestimated."

He pointed to himself, "As for me, although I may not be as good as the others, I can still do odd jobs, right? Organizing documents, setting up the booth, moving goods, I'm good at these things."

Tian Zhongxue's eyes lit up. "Yes, I've thought about this for a long time. If we can get into Aniplex, wouldn't that be like upgrading the manga research group to a full-fledged position?"

Kobayashi put his glasses back on. "If Aniplex has any open script planner positions, they can consider me."

"Actually, if you just want to..."

Ryosuke glanced at Tanaka Middle School, who was scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I watched the entire production process of 'Witcher Night'. The fact that everyone was able to create a work of this caliber without commercial pressure proves the viability of this model."

He paused.

"If anyone is really interested, they can set up a separate studio under Aniplex based on the manga research, and maintain the existing freedom in the operation model, but I will no longer provide a complete script, only an outline."

"Or you can decide the direction of the project yourself, and the company will provide technical support and distribution channels."

“But,” he added, “it’s all on its own.”

Tianzhong was stunned, Okubo opened his mouth wide, and Kobayashi's hand, which was pushing up his glasses, stopped in mid-air.

Tian Zhongxue swallowed hard. "Did I hear that right? A separate studio?"

Ayumi gripped the strap of the canvas bag, her knuckles tightening slightly.

She looked at Ling Nai, who was sitting next to Ryosuke with his arms crossed, his expression calm, seemingly unsurprised.

Noticing Ayumi's gaze, Ling Nai gave a soft snort.

"Isn't it great? Anyway, he's been thinking that way for a while now. When you were making 'Witcher Night,' he didn't say it, but he kept praising you."

Tian Zhongxue stood up, walked up to Ryosuke, and extended his hand.

His fingers were still trembling slightly, but the grip was firm.

"Thank you." He only said two words, then withdrew his hand embarrassedly and sniffed hard. "Honestly, I was supposed to be the president, but I'm the one being taken care of by my juniors."

“That’s not true,” Ryosuke said. “If the club president hadn’t stopped me at the entrance ceremony, there wouldn’t be a ‘Mahoutsukai no Yoru’ now.”

"That's true!" Tian Zhongxue laughed heartily, giving Ryosuke a hard pat on the back. "So I had a keen eye! I knew you were the lucky star of the manga club!"

Ayumi let out a soft breath, stood up, and picked up her canvas bag.

"Alright, now that we've settled things for the future, let's deal with the present. The extra six thousand sets will be delivered this afternoon. If we don't head to the stall soon, the delivery person will have to wait."

As if waking from a dream, everyone stood up from their chairs.

Tian Zhongxue picked up the club flag and turned to walk towards the East Building.

He took two steps and then turned back.

"Gao Cheng, are you going back to Aniplex now?"

"Yes, I have things to do this afternoon."

See you tomorrow.

"See you tomorrow."

Ryosuke and Ayano watched as the group of manga club members disappeared at the end of the passageway leading from the corporate exhibition area to the East Hall.