Tokyo: Oreimo

"A children's channel, and a paid one at that... Saito, you've been dealt a really bad hand."

Ritsu Saito sighed softly.

Although it wasn't the best option, it was something that he, as an editor, couldn't interfere with.

"But gold will always shine, won't it?"

Chapter 69 A Girl's Troubles

In a coffee shop next to the Kadokawa Building, Takashiro Ryouno listlessly rested her chin on her hand, her gaze wandering among the crowd outside the glass window.

The negotiations for the anime adaptation were progressing faster than the two had anticipated, with just over half an hour remaining before their agreed-upon time with 'Luna of Clow Reed'.

There wasn't enough time to do anything else, so I simply found a shop to sit down and rest.

Ryosuke flipped through the fashion magazines on free display in the store to pass the time.

"You're quite capable."

He saw a familiar face in the magazine; it belonged to his younger sister's good friend, the youthful and beautiful Ruri Aragaki.

In the photo, she is wearing a light beige straw hat, a plaid ruffled short-sleeved shirt, and a denim skirt, with a slightly playful expression.

To be honest, this posture perfectly matches Ryosuke's stereotypical image of his younger sister.

Lively and adorable, the pure feeling almost overflows from the page.

He couldn't help but look at Ling Nai.

"Tsk, what kind of look is that? I get the feeling you're thinking something bad."

Noticing Ryosuke's gaze, Lingna pouted unhappily.

"Ha, that's just your imagination."

"That would be best."

Ling Nai gave a soft hum, then noticed the contents of the magazine.

"Speaking of which, last week Liuli wanted to ask me to go shopping on the 12th, and I was a little worried about how to refuse."

"Why refuse? Aren't you good friends?"

Hearing Ling Nai say that, Ryosuke looked over with some confusion.

"Have you forgotten that the CM exhibition is in mid-August? And it just so happens to be the 12th, which is the first day of the exhibition. There's a performance by Nanako Matsui. If you miss the first day..."

Ling Nai puffed out her cheeks and glared at him.

"Nanako Matsui?"

This name sounds familiar...

Each year, CM Expo invites idols or voice actors to perform, and the performances are different for the three days, which is also to increase the popularity.

The cast list seems to include some familiar names, such as "Moon Witch Transformation".

"It's the voice actor for the main character in my work. They'll be performing live, playing the theme song, and there will be some interactive activities..."

At this point, Ryosuke finally remembered.

When choosing voice actors for FSN, Ayano even tried to specifically request one of them, but she declined because the price was too high.

"If you really want to see this show, why not just talk to your friends and find some excuse to change the date?"

"That's the problem. Liuli has been quite busy with her part-time job lately, and it wouldn't be right not to spend some time with her when she finally has some free time. Because of the progress of your game, I hardly saw Liuli outside of school for the last few months before I went to college."

During that period, Takashiro Ryouno used almost every reason she could think of.

By now, she no longer had a suitable reason to refuse the other person, nor could she bear to, after all, they were her best friend.

Ryosuke suddenly felt a bit dumbfounded.

No wonder Aragaki Ruri kept sending him messages of concern and asking about her younger sister's condition recently; now I know the reason.

With increasingly frequent visits to the studio to rush original manuscripts and game concept art, it's truly difficult to find the time to spare.

"Speaking of which, you can't keep this a secret forever, can you?"

Ryosuke sighed inwardly.

He doesn't think liking visual novels or erotic comics is anything abnormal. Normal people have their own private hobbies, but in this day and age, they are not respected by the general public.

The Kabukicho business in Shinjuku is so booming, and the social acceptance of male escorts and streetwalkers is quite high, isn't it?

"What nonsense are you talking about? Liuli hates otaku so much. If she finds out, we won't even be able to be friends anymore."

Takashiro Ryou was somewhat dejected.

She had long considered confronting Ruri Aragaki and had even taken action to do so.

"Back then... they were all classified as garbage... I absolutely can't let her know."

"I thought you were mentally prepared. After all, you're the original artist for this game, and you're using Rumiko Takashiro's name. If the game becomes a bestseller, Aragaki will find out soon enough."

There is some overlap between otaku and the manga community, and this news will spread sooner or later.

As far as Ryosuke knows, Aragaki Ruri has been keeping a close eye on Takashiro Rumiko's movements, and it's only a matter of time before she notices.

“…”

Ryosuke noticed that his younger sister suddenly fell silent for a few seconds after hearing what he said.

Then a look of panic appeared on his face.

Ryosuke: "...You didn't think of that, did you?"

Before the demo was completed, when it came time to get credit, Ryosuke specifically asked her if he wanted to come up with a new pen name for the original artist, but she refused without hesitation.

What do you mean by saying that you should paint uprightly? What's wrong with painting 18+?

"...Can it still be changed? Please, Titaness, work overtime to fix it!"

Takashiro Ryouno started to panic.

She doesn't mind if her fans find out, but she absolutely cannot let her good friend, Ruri Aragaki, know.

"Stop burying your head in the sand. A significant portion of the demos have already been leaked, so there's no point in fixing them now."

She really knows how to keep quiet when she should.

Ryosuke marveled at his own foresight in preparing a disguise.

He considered more aspects than Ling Nai. On the one hand, he paid tribute to the original author, and on the other hand, he could avoid being targeted by haters who would send him death threats. He achieved multiple goals at once.

Anyway, once the company is established, all the works will be produced by its own subsidiaries, which will help to divert attention and prevent anyone from targeting him.

That way, when they come to their parents as adults, they won't be criticized for writing 18+ scripts when they were minors.

He clearly had a secret he didn't want anyone to know, yet he still revealed it, which is exactly the kind of thing Ling Nai would do.

"Ugh..."

Takashiro Ryou let out a mournful cry like a severely injured young animal, collapsed onto the table, clutched her head with both hands, and rubbed her hair in frustration.

Seeing this, Ryosuke almost burst out laughing.

"Stop acting like that, or the website administrator will laugh when they get here."

"Mind your own business! Who cares about this! It would be terrible if Liuli found out about this..."

"Don't worry too much. There's still some time before she finds out. You can't keep it from her forever. Lying to your best friend isn't a pleasant thing either."

"As for this date, I'll figure something out."

.....

"You said you'd help with the shopping and dating arrangements. What are your plans?"

It took Takashiro Ryouno a while to calm herself down, and she pouted, looking unhappy.

"You don't need to worry about these things. I'll talk to Aragaki first."

Ryosuke offered to help his sister solve her problem because her current situation was inextricably linked to him.

If Ling Nai hadn't been rushing to finish the game illustrations, he wouldn't have been so busy that he didn't even have time to go out with his friends. And if he hadn't pulled the other party into the project because of budget constraints, he wouldn't have made this mistake.

"What? Don't talk nonsense in front of her, it'll be troublesome if she finds out..."

Takashiro Ryouno was a little worried; she couldn't think of any way Ryosuke could resolve her current situation.

"Don't worry, I won't reveal your secret."

Ryosuke smiled, preparing to tease her a few more times, but then he saw someone else in his line of sight, which made him abandon that plan.

A simply dressed, petite girl stepped into the coffee shop.

"Well, let's talk about this later. It's time for our appointment."

Ryosuke gave him a look, and Takashiro Ryouno paused for a moment before turning her head away.

"Over here! Miss Luna from Clow Reed!"

Ryosuke smiled and waved at the other person, completely disregarding the strange looks from those around him.

Chapter 70 Verbal Battle

"!!!"

"Hey, why are you shouting out your online name in public?"

Takashiro Ryouno felt that almost all eyes in the coffee shop were on the three of them, and even though she wasn't the main target, she still felt a huge sense of shame.

"Well, this was something we agreed on a few days ago, using online names as a code word to meet."

Ryosuke shrugged and chuckled.

"Shouldn't meetings be done privately and quietly? Shouting it out like that will definitely make the other person angry!"

Takashiro Ryou imagined that if she were treated like that, she would probably run away on the spot.

To her surprise, the girl who entered the coffee shop, who had been looking around, immediately looked over after hearing the call.

What's wrong? Why do you seem completely unconcerned?