Tokyo: Oreimo

The other person showed no discomfort whatsoever; the stranger's gaze had no effect on her whatsoever.

Gokou Mao strode to the booth, calmly scanning the two people.

......

So young?

Gokou Mao was somewhat surprised.

It wasn't about Takashiro Ryōno's age, but rather about Ryōsuke.

The fact that Rumiko Takashiro is a shoujo manga artist is no secret in the industry; Kadokawa has long used this as a gimmick to attract fans.

What she didn't expect was that CLAMP, the other author of "Cardcaptor Sakura," was someone around her age.

"Please have a seat."

Ryosuke spoke and gestured for the girl in front of him to sit next to Ryouno.

"I might not get along with her that well, so why don't you sit here?"

"Ok?"

Before Ryosuke could agree, Gokou Mao sat down next to him almost without hesitation.

After all, they had argued online all night, and sitting together in person made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"I'll give you my seat, you can sit here by yourself."

Takashiro Ryouno frowned.

What's with sitting next to a man on our first meeting?

"No need, this is fine."

Gokou Mao was fairly satisfied with Ryosuke's reaction.

The booths in the coffee shop weren't spacious; there was only about a fist's width between them. As she was about to sit down, Ryosuke immediately moved to the inside, avoiding any physical contact.

"whispering sound."

What's going on? I have this inexplicable feeling of unease.

Takashiro Ryouno's emotions were written all over her face, which Gokou Mao noticed.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Luna from Clow Reed, the administrator of the Lost Land/H Game community. Nice to meet you."

Gokou Mao took the initiative to greet them, her voice loud and full of energy, drawing the attention of those sitting nearby.

"Hey, keep your voice down. When we meet in person, we should use our real names. Communicating under a screen name and bringing up the forum, don't you feel ashamed?"

Takashiro Ryouno felt a chill run down her spine; this was the first time in her life she had ever met such a reckless person.

Bringing up erotic game forums in public without restraint could cause serious trouble if someone you know overheard it.

"It's no big deal. Japanese law doesn't explicitly prohibit operating 18+ forums, so it doesn't matter if people find out."

"Who cares about that kind of question? I mean, people will think I'm an otaku!"

"Huh? So you weren't? You were doing illustrations for 18+ games."

"you!"

Gokou Mao turned and glanced at Ryosuke.

"Has she always been like this? She's completely different from the Rumiko Takashiro I imagined; she's rather childish."

Who are you calling childish?

Before Ryosuke could reply, Takagi Ryouno immediately retaliated as if she had been stung.

"You little brat who's not even as tall as me, you look like a primary school student, don't you?"

“…”

Mao was taken aback by her sudden attack. In terms of height, it was indeed as Ling Nai had said.

She was quite petite, and when she was looking for part-time work, she faced many rejections because of this.

Does this mean we're going to have a verbal battle?

In just a brief exchange, Gokou Mao's idealized image of 'Takashiro Rumiko' shattered completely.

"If that's the case, I won't hold back."

......

The incident happened so suddenly that Ryosuke didn't even have time to interrupt. The two argued back and forth for a full five minutes without showing any sign of stopping.

The surrounding guests, who had initially been observing discreetly, began to gather and watch the battle.

After all, it's rare to see two beautiful girls arguing, no matter where you are.

The fight only subsided briefly when a shop assistant came over and asked the two to keep their voices down.

Ryosuke couldn't help but rub his temples, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

In terms of arguing skills, the two seemed to be on the same level, neither able to gain the upper hand. He couldn't get a word in edgewise and was caught in the middle, feeling rather lost.

Have you calmed down yet?

Ling Nai snorted and didn't reply, her gaze lingering on the two of them.

Gokou Mao responded by nodding gently.

“It was wrong of me to argue with her. Please get down to business, CLAMP-sensei.”

"Tch, what's with the act? Why are you pretending to be a good person?"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Ryosuke quickly interrupted.

"In person, please don't use your pen name. It sounds too formal. My name is Ryosuke Takashiro, and Ryou is my younger sister."

"Okay, Professor Gao Cheng."

This reason was reluctantly accepted by Gokou Mao, who also revealed her real name.

Ryosuke then took out the demo he had brought from his bag and handed it to her.

"The reason I invited you to meet in person this time is also to promote Lost Land/H game. The official version is complete and will be released at CM Expo."

"If possible, I hope it can be displayed in a prominent position on the forum's homepage."

Gokou Mao held the CD in her hand; it only had markings made with an oil-based pen and was completely devoid of any decoration.

"No problem, but I need some promotional materials, like electronic copies."

This is not difficult; it can be done by slightly adjusting the website code. With only a limited number of ads, it won't put much strain on the server.

"I will send those to you via email as soon as possible."

Ryosuke estimated that if the drafts used for promotion were only a few sheets, they could be delivered in one or two days from drawing to digitization.

"And what about the cost?"

Upon hearing his question, Gokou Mao paused for a moment.

To be honest, this was the first time she had ever received an advertisement for a visual novel. According to the market price of other types of forums, the fee for exhibiting for a month is roughly between 30 and 150 yen.

She tentatively offered a price.

"Is 10 yen a month okay?"

Although it was a fairly cheap price, she was still a little worried that Ryosuke would think it was too expensive.

After all, as the website administrator, he knew exactly how many registered users his forum had, which was less than four thousand, and a considerable number of them were inactive.

"Yes, that's a great price."

Ryosuke replied with a smile, which relieved Mao Gokou and made her feel somewhat excited.

10 yen is not a small amount of money for her; if she were to work, it would be equivalent to half a month's income.

Ryosuke took out cash from his bag and handed it to her, paying in full.

Gokou Mao immediately put the money away.

"Then please send me the draft as soon as possible. Starting from the first day of the exhibition, the promotion will continue for one month."

As she spoke, the girl stood up. Although she still had an hour before her shift at the barbecue restaurant started, she didn't intend to chat any longer.

They glanced at Takashiro Ryouno, and then both turned their heads away simultaneously.

I just can't get along with this blonde woman; we might end up arguing after a few words.

She is clearly an otaku, but she is ashamed to admit it; she does not approve of this kind of behavior.

This older brother, on the other hand, seems quite sensible.

Just as Gokou Mao was about to take her leave, she saw Ryosuke gesturing to her with his hand.

"Wait a moment, Miss Gokou."

"Is there anything else?"

"Well, I was also planning to ask how much it would cost to create and operate a website for you?"

Chapter 71 Busy Models

Since we've already decided to establish a company after the CM exhibition, it's time to put the website on the agenda.

In this way, it might be possible to print the image on the product before mass burning, which could potentially have a good promotional effect.

I originally planned to ask Phoenix Institute for help, but considering that they might not have time to focus on the operation, I gave up on the idea.

On this point, Ryosuke and Mao had a rather long discussion.

"For a simple corporate website, the cost from design and production to implementation is around 60 yen. Hosting and operation fees are separate. I can accept hosting your website on a server."

When the conversation turned to professional topics, Gokyo Masao became very enthusiastic.

She had always longed to monetize the equipment her father left her, and she never expected to have this opportunity today.

"What if I plan to add a forum to the website? People can speak freely and upload pictures."

"Do you have a traffic forecast? If there's another forum, my server might not be able to handle it."