"If you're wondering whether I'm planning to write another light novel, I can give you a definite answer."
Now, just give me the answer already!
Machida was close to losing it, but she still asked, "So, what's your answer?"
"If I come up with a suitable topic, I'll definitely reach out to you, Machida-sensei."
With that clear answer, Machida finally relaxed.
The anxiety that had built up over the past few days melted away, and even her body felt lighter.
"I'll wait for your good news then, Akifumi-sensei."
Before hanging up, she added, "By the way, do you have any ideas for an extra volume for WorldEnd or any related merchandise?"
Comics and animations were the most popular forms of spinoffs, but other things like OSTs and stage plays were also part of the package.
Their purpose, of course, was to help promote the work and increase its popularity.
Akifumi didn't have any particular thoughts on this and simply replied, "You can arrange it however you like, Machida-san."
"As for an extra volume, there's one more I could write, but I'm too busy at the moment."
"I understand," Machida smiled brightly.
"After all, with the speed you're releasing volumesone every six monthsit's already impressive. Even if the extra comes out a year later, fans will definitely understand."
Tch.
No wonder these people can be so carefree.
With such patient fans, if a Chinese web novel author were to come into the industry, they'd create a storm of competition and force lazy writers out of the market!
After chatting for a bit more, Akifumi hung up the phone.
On his computer screen, his SNS account was open, and the latest post had completely exploded in the comments section overnight.
Last night, Steins;Gate episode 22 had aired as scheduled.
In this episode, the usually brilliant assistant had lost all hope and told Rintarou to give up on her.
Rintarou, however, expressed his feelings for Kurisu, and the girl kissed him in return, silently accepting his emotions.
Then...
Without any surprises, Rintarou sent the assistant off and, at 1ab, successfully infiltrated SERN, finding the original message.
With excitement, Okabe declared, "The battle for the goddess of the present is entering its final stage!"
"Thanks to my comrades who fought by my side for this victory!"
"To all the memories lost... Thank you!"
The clueless characters in the scene just thought Okabe was going off on another of his delusions, but the viewers watching knew exactly what this moment meant.
They knew just how hard it had been to reach this point, and the sacrifices that had been made.
There was no doubt about it: after everything Okabe had been through, he had completely outgrown his "chuunibyou" phase.
Looking back, both the person he was and the person he had become were symbols of his growth.
And just as Rintarou pressed the confirmation button, the assistant appeared and made her final confession.
"I... I love you too!"
Her confession was the final straw that broke the camel's back!
The comments section proved it, with fans pouring out their feelings of grief and pain.
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[181] The News You Wanted is Here!
Threats involving knives, cockroaches, and dead rats were not uncommon.
Some even more extreme fans went so far as to make more intense threats.
To this, Akifumi's expression remained completely unshaken.
Was he scared of these things?
Ridiculous! Not at all!
These guys thought that just because he spent his days drawing, he was weak?
Their pain would only fuel his amusement!
But still
As he looked at the messages, Akifumi couldn't help but sigh.
"Such a pity"
This kind of fun was coming to an end!
The Stone Gate was drawing closer to its conclusion, and once the final truth was revealed, these fans would no longer be in pain.
And he wouldn't get to witness the joy of tormenting them anymore.
So
"Before they're happy, let's bring them a little more suffering!"
Akifumi's eyes gleamed with determination.
He decisively stopped looking for fun and began the final stages of wrapping things up.
Time always easily heals many wounds.
.............
The new week arrived, and Friday, May 31st, had come.
After a few days had passed, the difficult feelings in people's hearts were gradually pushed aside.
It wasn't that they had forgotten, but they simply didn't want to dwell on it too much.
As for when they would start thinking about it again, no one knew.
But the remaining two episodes still left a glimmer of hope in many hearts.
Though happy endings weren't Akifumi's style, wouldn't it be better if it just ended with this episode?
Of course, this was just a beautiful fantasy in the minds of some fans.
Most people had already given up by episode 22.
They didn't expect Kurisu to be saved.
"Speaking of which, today is May 31st, right? Time flies!"
In the classroom, Tanaka couldn't help but exclaim.
"May 31st?" Tabata froze for a moment, then realized.
"Oh, you mean the new announcement sensei mentioned?"
"Huh, aren't you guys curious?"
"Curious," Tadakuni replied weakly. "But right now, I uh..."
As he spoke, the boy started crying.
Tabata rolled his eyes. "Hah, weakling."
"It's just that Kurisu got stabbed. What's so bad about it?"
Tanaka paused for a moment, then pointed at Tabata's eyes.
"Even if your tone is tough, the tears at the corner of your eyes have already given you away."
"You how do you manage to say such cruel things with such a calm tone!?"
"That was Kurisu! She just died! Just like that!!"
Faced with their complaints, Tanaka calmly shrugged off the tension and replied, "Because I cried a long time ago."
"When I saw Kurisu talk about the first few D-mai1s, I went back to review them."
From the moment he saw the first D-mai1, he had already started crying!
When he watched episode 22, his emotions were like stagnant water, with no ripples at all.
Because his tears had already dried up.
Tabata and Tadakuni fell silent.
They patted Tanaka's shoulder. "There's probably no fan who's more devoted to her than you."
"That's obvious!" Tanaka proudly lifted his head.
With anticipation, Friday's classes finally ended.
After enduring a few more hours, the time came, and it was 8 PM.
"What will it be?!"
As Tanaka eagerly refreshed the page, sure enough, a new post appeared!
"Everyone, how have these days been? Are you still healthy? Eating well?"
The first sentence of the post made Tanaka fall silent.
How had these days been?
Well, it had been too damn good!
He was healthy, but what did food even taste like?
A simple sentence had provoked the anger of even a hardcore fan like Tanaka, let alone the other fans.
Suppressing his fury, Tanaka continued reading.
"Thanks to everyone's support, the sales of 'Akame ga Kill' have been great! After discussing with the editor, we've decided to release a new volume every month!"
"That means the second volume of 'Akame ga Kill' will be out next month, probably around mid-June."
Reading this, Tanaka nodded in satisfaction.
Now, that was more like it!
You damn mangaka, keep drawing! As long as you don't drop dead, just keep drawing!! No breaks allowed!!
This is redemption for the characters you've hurt one by one!!
"Regarding recent comments on 'Stone Gate,' cough, I mean 'Steins;Gate,' I've seen them."
"I originally wanted everyone to find the answer themselves, but so many people have been asking for spoilers and since I'm someone who spoils my fans, here's the answer."
"The line is not the real ending. Neither Mayuri nor Kurisu will die."
"Don't know if this will make you happy?"
'Kurisu won't die?!'
Tanaka's eyes went wide, sparkling with disbelief.
Then, a current seemed to pass through his spine, his whole body stiffening.
Followed by an overwhelming joy flooding his heart!
"It's a happy ending!"
Tanaka was on the verge of tears, but suddenly remembered the tears he shed for Kurisu a few days ago.
Then he realized that episode 23 of Steins;Gate was about to air tomorrow.
The joy that had risen in his heart just moments ago vanished in an instant.
Why had he been crying these days!?
And why was he spoiled a day before he could find the answers on his own!?
He could almost feel a large, red, comically-shaped nose forming on the tip of his nose.
"Damn it!!"
With only two episodes left, who wanted to know the ending in advance!?
Compared to the spoiler from the mangaka himself, Tanaka harbored even more resentment toward the latter!
"Since I knew the new post was coming today, I decided to combine everything, hope you understand."
"Now that that's out of the way, here's the main event!"
"I'm sure many of you have been wondering what I'm going to announce "
"Now, let me reveal the answer!"
"The game I personally created, The Witch's House, will be available tonight at 8 PM on the Steam platform. I hope everyone supports it~"
"As for the story of this game, it was a little idea I had one day, which sparked my inspiration, and I just couldn't resist learning how to make a game... In short, the process was pretty tough."
"I'm really happy with the story the game tells and hope you all enjoy it!"
"Of course, being a newcomer in the game industry, I know you may have concerns about the game's quality."
"However, on the Steam platform, as long as the game time is less than 2 hours, you can get a refund. Rather than worry, why not give it a try? What do you think?"
"Once everyone plays through all the endings, I'll post the prequel comic and novel on SNS, so keep an eye out!"
Looking at the final message, Tanaka was stunned.
A game?
[182] Getting Into Game Industry
Tanaka couldn't help but grin, overwhelmed with joy. This was... absolutely amazing!
How was the game?
Who cares about that!
Like sensei said, there's a solid 2-hour trial period, and if he doesn't like it, he can always get a refund.
Did the game interfere with sensei's main work? No way!
When April he saw the completion of Volume 11 of Your Lie In April, and a new work, Akame ga Kill, wrapped up just in time to release in May!
Not to mention the completion of the light novel WorldEnd this month! And there's still the ongoing Steins;Gate anime series!
Although only two episodes were left, compared to other creators, sensei's productivity was through the roof!
Others may have wrapped up their main projects, but expanding his reach into other areaswhat's the harm?
After all, ACG is all interconnected!
Many scriptwriters and light novel mangakas have also contributed to game scripts before.
Sure, it's a bit much to see sensei making a game entirely on their own...
But considering everything this mangaka has done since their debut, this wasn't anything new!
A game, really?
That wasn't going to change anything for Tanaka.
If the game turns out bad, he'd deal with it then. Besides, sensei probably wouldn't make another one after this failed attempt.
However...
'I hope this is a good game!'
With that, Tanaka's mind was already looking forward to killing time with this new release.
Without hesitation, he clicked on the link to the game and logged into his Steam account.
With the rise of the internet, fans like Tanaka, who adored ACG, all had their own Steam accounts.
After logging in, the screen immediately changed, and an artwork flashed before his eyes.
It was a beautiful girl, with golden hair, a gentle smile, and eyes looking off into the distance.
Behind her, faint lines sketched a house in the distance.
The stark contrast between vivid colors and simple sketching added a slightly eerie feel to the otherwise lovely image.
The title "Witch's House" was written in colorful artistic letters at the bottom, rounding off the artwork.
"Wow!" Tanaka couldn't help but be impressed.
"As expected of sensei's work!"
Even without knowing what the game was about, he was already captivated by the artwork alone.
Even if it wasn't Warrior of Love and Hope's work, he would still have likely bought it just because the art was so stunning!
He then read the game's description:
A 13-year-old girl named Viola wakes up in a forest, where she finds a note from her father telling her to come home quickly, along with a talking black cat warning her about the dangers of humans in the area.
When Viola reaches the forest's edge, she finds her way home blocked by a massive rose bush, and on the other side of the path stands a creepy mansion, its doors inviting her inside...
"A horror-themed game, huh?" Tanaka felt a little uneasy but quickly pushed the doubts aside.
What's to be afraid of? He was a grown man, after all!
And this was sensei's new work!
As a fan, how could he possibly pass up on it?
However...
"This is clearly another bold new attempt by sensei!"
Looking back, it was clear that sensei had never stuck to a single style, constantly experimenting with something fresh.
But that didn't detract from the quality of the work at all.
Yet when he saw the price, Tanaka winced.
"1400 yen!!"
Tanaka gritted his teeth as he muttered this under his breath, realizing how quickly things were adding up.
In just one month, with this game, he'd already spent close to 3000 yen on sensei's works!
With tears in his eyes, he shakily clicked the "confirm purchase" button.
The game wasn't very large in size, and the download was done in minutes.
Eagerly, Tanaka installed it on his computer.
As soon as he clicked the icon, a new process opened up.
The screen flashed black, then a dim white light appeared, before fixing on a frail girl sitting on a red chair.
She was holding the chair's armrests, a naive smile on her face as she stared off into the distance, as though something there had caught her attention.
This girl was Viola, the character seen in the Steam banner.
Compared to the promotional image, the game's visual was even more refined, more complete.
Behind her, there was a small red house, though the red seemed darker than expected.
The bright, cheerful colors had been overtaken by an eerie, shadowy tone, like the moon's bright reflection in a lake, split by a black line from an unseen fishing line.
