After school in the afternoon, Ichin and Utaha waited downstairs for the fashionably late Eriri. Once she arrived, the three of them left the school together and headed for the studio.
Since they had moved locations, the studio was now a bit closer to the school.
They entered the office building, took the elevator up, and Ichin used his keycard to open the studio door.
Unlike some other companies, Ichin's studio didn't bother setting up a front reception desk—it simply wasn't necessary.
Passing through the hallway, they entered the open-plan work area.
But Ichin noticed something was off—there were fewer people than usual.
"Hm?"
Tilting his head, Ichin turned to Aoba, who for once wasn't wearing her headphones.
"Aoba, where are Kō and Rin?"
Seeing Ichin return, Aoba pointed in the direction of the meeting room.
"There's a guest. Kō, Rin, and Hazuki are in there entertaining them. Oh, and it seems the visitor knows Eriri."
"Eh? Me?"
Eriri pointed to herself, surprised. "What do you mean they know me?"
"No idea."
Aoba shook her head. "And I'm not sure if it's about a collaboration or not—they didn't say. But the guest is a total knockout!"
"Ooh~ A stunning beauty, huh? Now that's interesting."
Ichin grinned and turned to Eriri.
"Since they know you, want to go take a look?"
"Sure, I'm curious too. Who on earth knows me and came all the way here? Why not just come to my house?"
The two of them headed for the meeting room, with Utaha—equally curious—dropping her bag and tagging along.
Ichin knocked on the meeting room door.
"Hazuki, I hear we have a visitor? I'm coming in."
He opened the door to find Hazuki, Kō Yagami, and Rin Toyama inside, along with a mature woman wearing a form-fitting long dress. She had flowing wine-red hair and an air of elegance.
She looked… vaguely familiar, but Ichin couldn't place her immediately.
Just then, Eriri, standing behind him, gave him a push.
"Hey, don't block the doorway. I can't see."
Squeezing past him, Eriri's eyes landed on the familiar figure. The woman waved and called out cheerfully,
"Long time no see, Eri-sensei~~!"
Eriri's expression froze instantly. She spun around, trying to make a quick exit—only to bump straight into Utaha, who had just stepped up.
"My my, I thought I heard someone calling you. Trying to sneak away without saying hi? Tsk tsk, I'm very disappointed in you, Eriri-chan."
"Sh-sh-sh-shut up!!"
Blushing furiously, Eriri shouted and stomped back into the room. She glared at the woman she hadn't seen in ages.
"You! How the heck did you find this place?"
"We're acquaintances, aren't we? If I wanted to find you, it's not that hard."
The woman stood up and walked over to Ichin, extending her hand.
"Hello, Ichin-kun. I'm Akane Kosaka, here today as a representative of a doujin circle."
Kosaka Akane?
Ichin finally remembered who she was—a formidable figure, if memory served. She was even rumored to have been classmates with Utaha's editor, Sonoko Machida.
Still thinking it over, Ichin shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ichin, the person in charge here."
After the handshake, Ichin turned to Rin and Kō.
"Rin, could you grab a few cups of coffee? Kō, leave the rest to me and Hazuki."
Hearing Ichin's words, Kō let out a sigh of relief.
"Alright then, I'll head back."
Although Akane Kosaka had only been there for a little over ten minutes, Kō truly didn't have the nerve to deal with someone so outwardly polite yet inwardly sharp—a walking bundle of pressure. She quickly exited the meeting room with Rin Toyama.
Once the two had left, Akane Kosaka turned her gaze to Utaha.
"Hello, Kasumi Utako-sensei. I've read your novels—they're quite interesting. The anime adaptation is airing next season, isn't it? I'll be watching it for sure."
Utaha was surprised the woman had so casually revealed her real identity, but she didn't show it. She simply nodded and replied,
"Nice to meet you. My pen name is Kasumi Utako. I look forward to working with you."
Once everyone was seated, Eriri still had an aggressive expression on her face as she glared at Akane.
"Ichin, be careful around this woman. She's not the kind of person you want to trust lightly—she's known in the doujin world as a devil!"
But Akane didn't show the slightest hint of anger at Eriri's remark. In fact, she smiled even more sweetly.
"Thank you for the compliment, Eri-sensei. Being called a devil just proves how capable I am, doesn't it? I believe even you wouldn't deny my skill and reputation in the doujin scene, right?"
Eriri exchanged a glance with Akane and turned her head away with a pout.
She couldn't argue. In terms of skill and efficiency, Akane's works were indeed stronger than those of her old circle, Lily. Whether it was the quality of the content or the speed of production, Akane had the edge.
Of course, Lily no longer existed. Everyone from that group had now become part of Ichin's studio and embarked on a professional path far different from amateur doujin circles.
Before long, Rin Toyama returned with three cups of coffee and placed them in front of Ichin and the others.
"Thanks, Rin."
Rin smiled gently and said to Ichin,
"Let me know if you need anything else."
Once Rin left, Ichin turned to Akane Kosaka.
"Well then, Miss Kosaka, could you tell us the purpose of your visit today? After all, a doujin circle doesn't really seem to have much overlap with a game development studio like ours."
"You're right—it's not a direct connection."
Akane smiled.
"I heard about the disbandment of Lily a few days ago. It caught me completely off guard. So I called Miss Sawamura to ask about it and found out that the former members of Lily had all joined your game development studio. I came today mainly to get to know you and your team, Ichin-kun.
"Going forward, my doujin circle will also be transitioning. We'll be merging with the copyright company I manage to become a more professional multimedia production company. Whether it's games or anime, we plan to get involved. I think there will be many opportunities for us to collaborate in the future."
Collaboration, huh…?
Ichin narrowed his eyes slightly.
He didn't know too much about Akane Kosaka, but he remembered she, like Utaha, was a light novel author—one even more popular than Utaha, a bestseller right from the start. However, at some point, one of her works had been turned into a terrible anime adaptation, and that incident had seemingly changed her direction.
Still, none of that really mattered.
What did matter was that Ichin clearly understood Akane was a highly capable person. And having a chance to work with someone like her could only be a good thing.
He smiled.
"I'd be happy to work with your company, Miss Kosaka—if the opportunity arises. I've heard a thing or two about your circle."
Just as he finished speaking, the sleeve of his shirt was being tugged repeatedly—by none other than Eriri.
...
✨✨✨
Support me on Patreon/RedX43 - Read up to 40+ Advanced Chapters There!
✨✨✨