Tokyo: Oreimo

"Just to be on the safe side, shouldn't we ask that guy?"

The girl got up, intending to go to the next room to interrogate the game's scriptwriter, but seeing her red, swollen eyes in the full-length mirror by the door, she decided it would be better to send a text message instead.

She soon received a positive reply from Ryosuke.

Ryosuke: "There is indeed a better ending, where Shirou and Sakura will live happily ever after."

He wasn't lying; there is indeed a true ending in the Heaven's Feel route, but another white-haired loli will die in place of Shirou Emiya.

"Well, at least you have some conscience."

That's more like it; that's fair.

Ryosuke: "Seriously, why send a text message when we're right next door?"

Ling Nai: "Mind your own business!"

She wouldn't say anything, because she didn't want him to see her with red, teary eyes, which is why she chose to send a text message.

Ryosuke: "Well, has the website administrator replied?"

......

Looking at the message on her phone, Ling Nai suddenly remembered that it was 10:50. She glanced at the clock and saw that the hands were already pointing to the clock.

I was so engrossed in playing that I completely forgot about it.

The girl sat back down at the computer, closed the game, and opened the forum.

The private message interface showed a red marker indicating unread messages.

Luna of Clow Reed: "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The reply was given just five minutes ago.

"Replying so late, is the admin a night owl?"

Ling Nai pondered for a moment and relayed Ryosuke's request for publicity.

I thought I would have to wait a while, but to my surprise, the other party replied very quickly this time.

"So the game that sparked this discussion on the forum was created by you? As for promotion, that's fine too. Please provide the list of game producers."

"Sir/Madam?" Is that how you normally address someone? This guy is a bit odd.

Ling Nai muttered something to herself, but it was a reasonable request. She quickly typed the content on the keyboard.

Script by Kinoko Nasu

Original painting: Rumiko Takagi

Program: Hououin Juro

This content was shown in rotation at the end of the game, so it's no secret; every player who completes the demo version can see it too.

After waiting for several minutes, the website administrator sent a reply.

"The script and programming are names I've never heard of before, but the key animators are... Rumiko Takashiro?"

"That's right, it is I who am."

Takashiro Ryouno openly admitted her identity, while also showing a hint of anticipation.

This was the first time she had ever directly faced the fans of her own work.

"If you help promote it, I can sign it for you afterwards. You must really like my work, right?"

Chapter 65 Counterfeits

Wu Geng Zhenxiao felt quite tired.

For most students going on to higher education, summer vacation is a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

But she couldn't enjoy it at all. Her father died young last year from overwork, and her mother, working alone, couldn't support the family's expenses.

She had just returned from working at the convenience store and put her younger siblings to sleep before she had a moment to start managing the website.

The Lost Land/H game community was built by her alone.

This talent was inherited from her deceased father, who, as an engineer in charge of websites for a large corporation, witnessed firsthand the rapid advancements in technology and began cultivating Mao's interest in this area from a young age.

As a result, she has a fairly thorough understanding of internet knowledge, but this is the extent she can currently reach.

With the equipment his father had purchased before his death, he built a server that could barely break even, mainly relying on the help of netizens on the forum.

"I'm already exhausted enough, why do I have to run into someone like this?"

When she saw the private message, Gokou Mao was actually quite happy, even though the original intention of creating this forum was to find like-minded people and create an independent space where people could exchange ideas about galgames.

However, due to the increasing number of online users recently, the cost of maintaining operations has become increasingly high.

If she could get advertising business, it might improve her current predicament, but after seeing the other party's reply on the page, she felt quite disappointed.

Are you kidding me?

She might have agreed to any random illustrator's name, but it just so happens to be Rumiko Takashiro.

Would a bestselling manga artist under Kadokawa create a visual novel?

Only artists who are desperately short of money and don't care about their reputation would do something like that.

After all, for a comic artist, illustrating visual novels is like an idol going into adult entertainment—it's an act that damages their public image to some extent.

Is using Gao Cheng's name to attract more fans?

She doesn't doubt the existence of the game; someone had already posted part of the text in the previous post that caused the controversy, which has already been proven.

“From a storytelling perspective, although it’s just a few words, the core concept is basically clear, and it’s a fairly original work, but so what?”

Would you really promote counterfeit goods using the name "Rumiko Takashiro" just for a little advertising fee?

Even if Gokou Mao shuts down the website, she wouldn't do something like that.

She's a huge fan of Cardcaptor Sakura!

Looking at the message in the private message window, the other party shamelessly claimed to be Rumiko Takashiro herself and offered to sign her autograph. She thought for a moment and then replied.

"I'm sorry, but I refuse. I will not promote counterfeit goods."

"A fake?"

Takashiro Ryou looked at the other party's reply with slight doubt, unable to discern the meaning behind it for a moment.

You just agreed, why did you suddenly refuse?

"It's rare to see someone as stupid as you. Don't you understand what my username means? Aren't you ashamed to impersonate a famous cartoonist in front of the author's fans?"

"Huh?"

Takashiro Ryouko paused for a moment, realizing that the other party did not believe her identity.

"Who are you calling stupid? I didn't impersonate anyone. I am Rumiko Takashiro, no doubt about it."

The girl's face showed a defiant expression.

She didn't expect that publicly acknowledging her identity would elicit this kind of response.

What? She's telling the truth. Why would the other person verbally attack me for no reason?

"There's no point in talking to an idiot like you."

After sending the message, Gokou Mao did not reply to anything. Instead, she used her backend privileges to directly ban the other party's account.

"I'm furious!"

When Takashiro Ryou saw the pop-up notification that her account had been banned, she felt a tightness in her chest.

They actually claimed to sell counterfeit goods!

No, I need to prove my identity to her first.

Ling Nai registered a new account and sent a private message to the website administrator.

.....

As the night passed, when Ryosuke saw his sister again, his eyes showed a hint of surprise.

The blonde beauty looked somewhat dejected, as if she hadn't slept all night.

"I reminded you last night, didn't I? Don't stay out too late."

"You're right, it's all your fault for having to advertise on that crappy website."

Speaking of this, Takashiro Ryouno gets angry.

Last night, she registered dozens of accounts and tried to communicate with the website administrator remotely. However, because the administrator had the power to decide the fate of the accounts, she would often be banned after sending only a few private messages.

That's outrageous.

What about the most basic trust between people?

They are clearly his fans, yet they completely distrust his words.

Ryosuke Takagi learned the general outline of what had happened from her and was not surprised by the outcome.

"It's understandable that the other party has concerns. After all, it's quite rare for a bestselling comic artist to draw visual novel illustrations."

Given the prevailing values ​​among otaku today, a manga artist capable of creating legitimate works would never lower themselves to "go into the adult entertainment industry" for money, so it's understandable that they might mistake Ling Nai for an imposter.

"Really? It's nothing, just drawing."

Takashiro Ryouko neither confirmed nor denied this.

For her, it's enough to be able to draw what she likes, and not to disappoint the fans who like her work.

As for whether or not it makes money, that's something Ryosuke should consider.

Back in their room, Takashiro Ryouno crawled into bed to catch up on sleep, while Ryosuke sat down at the empty computer desk and opened the website again.

At the same time, I created a new account and sent a private message to that 'Luna of Clow Reed'.

......

"Is this never going to end?"

Gokyou Makoto had a bit of a headache. The constant stream of private messages that kept popping up in the background last night had been incredibly annoying, and she finally managed to get some peace and quiet this morning.