RNP Page 36
Page 36
Around noon, the doorbell rang in the entryway.
"Miss Sonoko, what's wrong?" Kato Megumi opened the door and saw Machida Sonoko outside, covered in sweat and panting heavily. She looked puzzled and asked, "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Where's Baili-kun? Where is Baili-kun?" Without even taking off her shoes, Machida Sonoko stood on tiptoe and strained to look towards the living room. The people working inside were drawn by her voice and turned to look at her.
"Excuse me, Hyakuri-kun and Muse went out to scout locations and should be back soon. Oh, and Kasumigaoka-senpai is with them too." Kato Megumi glanced at the clock on the wall. "Ms. Sonoko, would you like to wait here for a bit?"
"Well... that's all we can do." Machida Sonoko sighed, put on her shoes, plopped down on the sofa, pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and thanked Eriri for the drink she offered.
"Miss Sonoko, is there something urgent that you need to see Hyakuri-kun about?" Eriri put down her pressure-sensitive pen. Not only her, but everyone's attention was focused on Machida Sonoko. Judging from her anxious appearance, it must be something important, and it must be about Hyakuri Akira. Just these two points alone made everyone's hearts jump.
"Gulp gulp gulp~" After gulping down the orange juice in her glass, Machida Sonoko let out a long sigh of relief, a wry smile on her face: "It's definitely not a big deal for Hyakuri-kun, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a good mood taking Muse out... It seems that I'm the only one who's worried."
"No, I should say that anyone who knows Baili-kun probably wouldn't be able to stay calm, right?" Machida Sonoko muttered to herself, noticing that everyone's expressions were getting increasingly impatient. She figured that "if I keep keeping them in suspense any longer, they'll probably interrogate me." She chuckled twice and said, "Did you hear what Baili-kun said? He's planning to publish a manga for Muse!"
"what?"
"Really?"
"Teacher Baili?"
A series of loud, surprised exclamations rang out, and everyone looked at each other, swallowing hard.
"Is Baili-sensei going to publish a manga? I'm so excited! I wonder if it'll be in the style of the Monkey King." Yamada Elf, recalling the "Monkey King: Earth Walker" manga she saw every day, imagined that rough, domineering style applied to Muse and the others... She couldn't help but shudder, quickly banishing the thought from her mind: "No way, absolutely not Baili-sensei can draw Muse, it's an eyesore..."
"Fairy, you just don't understand! Only a few of us know how varied the teacher's art style is, so it's not like what you're thinking!" Izumi Sagiri pouted, giving Yamada Fairy a slightly warning look. The latter scratched her head and weakly replied, "I was just thinking..."
“Hyakuri-kun’s art style…” Eriri frowned, as if she was thinking of something that was giving her a headache, and couldn’t help but rub her temples with her fingers: “So far, I haven’t found any art style that Hyakuri-kun isn’t good at. Going out to sea, have you ever seen it?”
"No, no, it's all been Hyakuri-kun who's been teaching us, isn't it?" Hashima Izumi answered Eriri's question without hesitation, then turned her gaze to Shiina Mashiro, who said before she could speak, "Teacher is the strongest when it comes to drawing!"
"So that's what I'm saying!" Machida Sonoko shrugged helplessly: "Hyakuri-sensei, who can teach all of you teachers and is even better than you, sent me a message saying that he's going to publish a manga. Do you think I wouldn't be excited? I rushed over as fast as I could as I could when I got the news! I ran several red lights along the way!"
The sympathetic gazes of the crowd focused on Machida Sonoko. She gave a bitter laugh, looking utterly dejected and lifeless: "But, but he, the person directly involved, doesn't seem to care at all! Isn't that infuriating?"
“Yes, Sonoko-san should be angry.” Kato Megumi suppressed a laugh and tried to make her expression look serious as she refilled Machida Sonoko’s empty glass with juice.
"Sigh...it's true what they say, the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is..." Machida Sonoko shook her head and smiled wryly, picked up her cup and took a sip. Just then, she heard the sound of people talking outside getting closer.
...
"Honoka, how was the 10km run?" Baili Xiao looked at Honoka with a pleasant smile. The latter pouted, giving him a pleading look, and clasped her hands together: "Baili-sensei, I know I should lose weight, but you can't ask me to do this! If I can't eat snacks or eat more meals... I'm afraid I'll starve to death..."
"Just let me eat a little bit more, just a little bit, okay?" Honoka blinked, and her eyes sparkled.
Whether it was Sonoda Umi or Minami Kotori (especially the latter), seeing her pitiful state, they couldn't help but soften their stance—she thought this approach would also work on Baili Xiao, but she didn't expect the latter to say two words without changing his expression: "No!"
"Ugh!" Honoka's cheeks puffed up, and she glared at Hyakuri Akira with annoyance, then... turned around and hugged Minami Kotori!
"Little bird, the teacher is bullying me!"
0 ····Requesting flowers···· ·········
"Well, whatever the teacher says goes, Honoka, just listen to her." Minami Kotori patted Honoka's shoulder, comforting her with a wry smile. But as soon as she finished speaking, Honoka suddenly looked up, her teary eyes staring straight at her: "Kotori! It's only the first day, and you're already taking the teacher's side instead of mine, waaaaah... Ouch!"
Honoka released her hands from Minami Kotori's neck after receiving a "love tap" on her forehead, covering her head and looking at Sonoda Umi with considerable confusion.
"You should stop now! Once you lose weight, you can eat whatever you like! Who told you to be so greedy!" Sonoda Umi suppressed her anger and withdrew her right hand.
"Yeah, Honoka, maintaining your figure is a big part of being an idol!" Nozomi Tojo squinted and reached out to rub Honoka's forehead. "Besides, you're the leader of Muse, you can't stand in the middle with two elephant legs, can you?"
... 0th
"I don't have that many worries. I can eat as much as I want without gaining weight. It's just that I don't want to eat." Nishikino Maki played with her hair while glancing at Honoka's legs, her brows furrowing slightly—indeed... she's gained a little weight, hasn't she?
"Hmph! In order to become an idol, and to convey Nico's most beautiful smile to everyone's heart, I maintain my figure every day!" Yazawa Nico crossed her arms and raised her chin.
"Don't be discouraged, Honoka~ We'll keep an eye on your diet, Honoka~" Rin Hoshizora said with a grin as she ran to Honoka's side.
"Yeah, yeah, why don't you learn from me, Kogo? Eat lots and lots of white rice every day, that way..." Hanayo's soft voice rang out, but before she could finish, Ayase Eli interrupted her: "No, no, no, that'll only make you fatter, right?"
Honoka glanced at everyone with a look of utter despair, then made a circle with her hands to show off her thighs: "Really, really that fat?"
They nodded in unison!
"Okay, I understand..." Honoka lowered her head, her eyes vacant, looking utterly defeated—she succumbed to the tyranny of the crowd!
"Clap clap!" Baili Xiao's clear clapping sound rang out, attracting everyone's attention: "After you finish eating, take a rest, and we'll continue training this afternoon! I'll give you new songs and dance moves then!"
"Yes, Teacher Baili!"
As everyone responded, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was walking beside Baili Xiao, frowned slightly and looked at a car parked by the roadside: "That's... Sonoko's car?"
Bai Lixiao's lips curled slightly, and she nodded: "Yes, I need to talk to her."
Chapter 0100 What the Muse Lacks? (2/5, Please Subscribe)
"Baili-kun, you've kept me waiting for ages!" Machida Sonoko couldn't help but complain as she stared at Baili Xiao.
"Hehe, there's really no need to rush. Given Shiyu's and our cooperative relationship, my manga will definitely be published under the Shinazugawa Bunko name." Baili Xiao shook his head: "Miss Yuanzi, you're making a fuss over nothing."
Making a fuss over nothing? Machida Sonoko doesn't think so!
It's important to know that when Kasumigaoka Utaha was writing "Love Metronome," Shinazugawa Bunko was just a mid-to-low-tier paperback publisher with little influence and therefore little say in the industry.
However, since the release of "5 Centimeters Per Second", the first volume of "5 Centimeters Per Second" published by Shinazugawa Bunko has become known to everyone, and Shinazugawa Bunko's reputation has soared!
Volume 2 – Continuing the success of Volume 1, Shinazugawa Bunko collaborates with the strongest doujin circle "310" rouge-en-rouge to produce Volume 2 of 【5 Centimeters Per Second】!
Volume 3 – As the final volume of the [5 Centimeters Per Second] series, the release of Volume 3 was a grand event of unprecedented scale, comparable to CM Comic Con!
Furthermore, it was announced that "Shinzogawa Bunko, rouge-en-rouge circle, and Chishima Publishing" will collaborate to help [Huaxia] Studio produce the [5 Centimeters Per Second] animated film!
In just over two months, Shinazugawa Bunko went from being "a mid-tier paperback that only a small number of people in the doujinshi community had heard of" to becoming "one of the most influential large-scale paperbacks" thanks to the fame of "5 Centimeters Per Second" and the authors!
Chishima Publishing, a large paperback publisher, even launched a survey for light novel authors and illustrators: "[The company you most want to work for (change jobs with)!" The top-ranked company was none other than Shinazugawa Bunko!
why?
Because working at Shinazugawa Bunko not only guarantees a good salary and benefits, but most importantly, there is a chance to receive guidance from the teachers!
"There is a chance"—no one knows how big that chance is; it might be infinitely close to zero. But it is precisely this uncertain chance that possesses an incredibly attractive charm!
"With such a low odds of winning the lottery, why do people still buy tickets?! Why can't I switch to Shinazugawa Bunko?" — From an illustrator's Weibo post.
The release of the light novel "5 Centimeters Per Second" completely changed the status of Shinazugawa Bunko. From then on, the editor-in-chief of the paperback gave Machida Sonoko a "strategic" goal: "Follow in the footsteps of Hyakuri Akira!"
Now that Baili Xiao wants to publish a comic book, and one that he draws himself, how could Machida Sonoko not be anxious? How could she not be surprised?
"Have you decided, Hyakuri-kun?" Machida Sonoko tried hard to suppress her excitement and not appear too flustered. She took a deep breath and then said, "Since it's about the Muse, it must be a manga about idols, right?"
"Hmm." Baili Xiao nodded, explaining the content of the manga while picking up her graphics tablet: "Otonokizaka Academy is facing the crisis of closing down. To help their alma mater attract more students, nine girls from the school formed an idol group called Muse and won the Love Live! competition!"
"The reason for publishing this comic is to help Muse attract a certain number of fans and viewers before the August comic convention, and to prepare for the team's future idol career." After uploading the character designs he had drawn that morning to his computer, Baili Xiao opened the image gallery: "Take a look, I think it should cause a sensation no less than [5 Centimeters Per Second]."
Everyone held their breath as their gaze fell on the screen.
It's so lifelike! Even though it's just a drawing made with a pressure-sensitive pen, without any coloring or post-processing, the first impression it gives is like seeing the muse herself!
"This, is this me?" Honoka's eyes widened, her gaze filled with surprise as she looked at the character design in the art book marked "Honoka Kousaka"—almost identical to the real person, but the character design was much cuter and slimmer than her!
"Wow! I didn't know I could be this cute, this..."
"Of course not you as you are now!" Baili Xiao chuckled, interrupting Honoka without any mercy. "If you can't lose weight, you definitely won't become the person in the character design. But if you work hard during this period, control your diet and increase your exercise, becoming the person in the character design will be more than enough! In fact, you'll become even cuter!"
"Even...even cuter?" Honoka's eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. She patted her chest, trying to slow her breathing, and clenched her fists tightly. "Okay! I know! I'll definitely try my best to lose weight!"
Aside from Honoka, everyone else stared in shock at their character designs—Minami Kotori's memorable hairstyle, Sonoda Umi's tall figure and long straight hair, Koizumi Hanayo's sweet smile with a hint of vulnerability that made people want to protect her, and Hoshizora Rin's sunny dance moves...
Maki Nishikino has reddish-brown hair and a slightly cold demeanor; Eli Ayase has natural blonde hair and a charming face; Nozomi Tojo has a perfect figure and a mature woman's aura; Nico Yazawa is petite and... well, she's small in every way!
The character design on the screen looks exactly like them, but it exudes a charming aura completely different from their own, even giving them the illusion that "I am looking at my idol!"
"Can I really become like this?" Minami Kotori murmured to herself. Not only her, but all the members of Muse had the same question in their hearts.
“Of course!” Baili Xiao stood up, his eyes sweeping over all the Muse members: “Whether it’s weight, smile, or singing and choreography, these problems can all be solved under my guidance 4.9, because... these are not your biggest problems!”
"What is your biggest problem? It's confidence! It's the confidence you've lost because of the repeated failures in your performances since you formed Muse, and the lack of recognition and approval from the audience!" Baili Xiao said, glancing at Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed to understand the meaning in his eyes, and with her right hand she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a faint smile.
When the entire Muse saw her smile, they all froze on the spot—"So beautiful," was the thought that couldn't be uttered in their hearts.
Although the smile was faint, the confidence it naturally expressed was extremely powerful, even forming a kind of aura that enveloped everyone's hearts.
"See that? This is what you lack most right now! And I will lead you to find it!"
Chapter 0101 The Influence of Baili Xiao! (3/5, Please Subscribe)
After Baili Xiao finished speaking, the living room fell into a deathly silence.
Nan Xiaoniao stared intently into Baili Xiao's eyes. She felt a lump in her throat, and a thin layer of mist rose in her eyes.
To prevent the mist from increasing, Minami Kotori closed her eyes tightly and bowed deeply in the direction of Hyakuri Akira: "Hyakuri-sensei, please!"
The same action, the same eight voices, resounded throughout the Kasumigaoka family compound: "Hyakuri-sensei! Please!" *8
"..." Baili Xiao was silent for a few seconds, then smiled and waved his hand: "Didn't I already promise you that I would make you the most popular idol group? This little thing is of course within my scope of handling, it's not a matter of begging or not begging... Okay, okay, don't make it so grand, I'm a little embarrassed."
After speaking, Baili Xiao sat down first, scrolling through the mouse wheel as he said to Machida Sonoko beside him, "Ms. Sonoko, what do you think of the character designs? Also, idol themes aren't exactly mainstream in manga, right? In your estimation, how many readers will it attract after release?"
Machida Sonoko raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at Baili Xiao's profile, and after noticing the latter's serious expression, sighed softly: "Baili-kun, may I ask you a question?"
"Hmm?" Baili Xiao looked at Machida Sonoko with a puzzled expression: "Ask away."
"This question isn't just for you, it's for all the members of Muse..." Machida Sonoko took a deep breath, her eyes flashing with determination: "Can I—that is, Shinazugawa Bunko—use the image rights of Muse!"
"Huh?" This question not only stunned Baili Xiao, but also everyone else.
Image rights? What are they used for?
Seemingly noticing everyone's confusion, Machida Sonoko excitedly waved her hands: "That! That! Merchandise! Yes, merchandise!"
"Baili-kun, please don't say things like 'idol-themed works aren't mainstream.' You know, the romance genre of '5 Centimeters Per Second' isn't mainstream in light novels either, but it still sold over ten million copies, didn't it? Oh, sorry, the total sales of the three volumes of the light novel should have exceeded fifty million copies by now, right?"
Machida Sonoko's cheeks were flushed—a sign of excited blood rushing to her head—and she pointed at the character designs on the screen, continuing, "The hand-drawn illustrations alone are stunning. After coloring and retouching, I really can't imagine how beautiful these designs will become! Based on that alone, I'd bet that Love Live!'s sales will definitely be on par with 5 Centimeters Per Second!"
"Furthermore! Bai Li-kun is the one who came up with the plot for '5 Centimeters Per Second,' so I believe that in terms of plot, 'Love Live!' will be very interesting, even if it's just an idol drama!"
At this point, Machida Sonoko paused slightly, took a few deep breaths, and held up three fingers: "Perfect character design! Interesting plot! Plus Hyakuri-kun's own fame! I really can't think of any reason why [Love Live!]'s sales are not good!"
"Furthermore, compared to light novels which only consist of text, comics allow viewers to immerse themselves more easily, which means they can attract a wider audience!"
"I regret to inform you, Mr. Baili, that question you just asked me, I truly cannot answer." Machida Sonoko sighed, feigning disappointment, before bursting into laughter. "Because there are just too many! They attract too many readers! I have no idea how many that number is—tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Or even millions?"
The members of Muse stared blankly at Machida Sonoko—just releasing a manga could gain Muse a million more supporters? Such a thing probably only happens in dreams, right?
"Maki, pinch me and see if I'm dreaming... This Ms. Sonoko actually said that one manga can increase our fans by a million?" Yazawa Nico tugged at Nishikino Maki's sleeve and found that the latter's whole body was stiff.