harleyscars Page 158
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"Thank you, Kato-kun," he said sincerely.
"You're welcome. After all, we're classmates and team members." Kato Megumi smiled slightly.
After saying that, she turned and went back to the living room, leaving Yuto alone on the balcony.
……
Volume 1: Chapter 147: Unreasonable Trouble
A night breeze blew by, and Yuto looked down at the diary in his hand.
He didn't know if words could really give him strength, but he decided to give it a try.
Perhaps this is the first truly meaningful thing he can do for himself.
Back in his room, Yuto sat at his desk, unscrewed the cap of his fountain pen, and wrote down today's date in his brand-new diary.
Then, his pen tip hovered in mid-air.
He wanted to write down everything that happened today, to write down the chaos and struggle in his heart, but his mind was blank.
The exhaustion of the day and the emotions stirred at night made it impossible for him to organize his thoughts effectively.
The bestselling author who once wrote thousands of words in his novel "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is now facing a blank sheet of paper, unable to write a single word.
He was horrified to discover that this emotional turmoil had begun to erode the very foundation he was most proud of—his creative ability.
Yuto slumped down, put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
The blank diary, like his blank mind at this moment, is filled with silent mockery.
Just then, a phone call came in, and Yuto quickly answered it.
"That's fantastic! Itsuka-sensei! You're practically the god of wealth for our Shinazugawa Bunko!"
On the other end of the phone, Machida Sonoko's voice was so excited it was almost distorted, with cheers and congratulations from other editors in the office mixed in with the background.
"The pre-orders for the first volume of the 'Isekai Become the Strongest Farmer' anime have broken all the records for any of our light novel adaptations! And the numbers are still growing rapidly! A-1 Pictures is ecstatic!"
Yuto Itsuka moved his phone further away and rubbed his ears, which were a little sore from the high-decibel sound.
Nevertheless, upon hearing this news, he couldn't help but relax a little after a day of tension.
"Really? That's wonderful!" He was genuinely happy for the team's hard work.
“It’s more than good! It’s a miracle!” Machida Sonoko continued excitedly.
"The publishing house's top management has held an emergency meeting and decided to make the sequel to 'Farming King' their highest priority project this year! Mr. Itsuki, how's the manuscript going? I know this is a lot of pressure, but... the market waits for no one!"
The mood that had just relaxed was instantly seized by a huge pressure.
“I…I’m working on it,” Yuto replied with some difficulty.
He couldn't very well say that he couldn't even write a single word in his diary, let alone a sequel to a novel of hundreds of thousands of words.
"That's good! That's good!" Machida Sonoko seemed to realize that she had been a bit too hasty and quickly softened her tone.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, Professor Wuhe. We all believe in your talent."
"Oh, right, there's also good news. Because of the huge success of 'Farming King,' more than one top animation company has been asking us when your next work will be released. They are very interested in investing!"
A new animation studio? Their next project?
These words, which used to excite him, now sound like mountains weighing on his back.
Success did not bring liberation, but rather a heavier shackle.
He was elevated to an unprecedented height, with countless people looking up at him, anticipating even more amazing works from him.
This document, a document of immense value, weighed heavily on his mind, making it difficult for him to breathe. He had been eagerly anticipating its release.
"I understand, Ms. Machida, I will do my best." That was all Yuto could say.
“Hmm! Oh, there’s one more thing,” Machida Sonoko added, as if she had just remembered something.
"That new voice actress you had high hopes for, Ms. Nanami Aoyama, has recently gained a very good reputation in the industry."
"I heard that she works incredibly hard in voice acting, is extremely resilient, and has made rapid progress. Many sound directors and producers have praised her highly, and some media outlets have even privately called her a 'once-in-a-century genius newcomer'! Itsuki-sensei, your judgment is absolutely spot on!"
Upon hearing the news about Aoyama Nanami, Yuto felt a surge of genuine relief.
The girl who stubbornly pursued her dreams in the simulated world has finally begun to shine in the real world.
This is the only bright spot in the gloomy weather of the past few days.
However, this relief lasted only three seconds.
After hanging up the phone, Yudou leaned wearily against the sofa, feeling even more exhausted than if he had written a 100,000-word novel.
His tremendous success in his career did not alleviate the predicament in his life; on the contrary, it acted as a catalyst, making the underlying contradictions even more acute.
He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
Kasumigaoka Utaha was sitting on the sofa, and on the screen of her phone was an entertainment news article titled "A Genius Emerges in the Voice Acting World, Aoyama Nanami's Future is Promising."
Her fingers slid lightly across the screen, but her gaze wasn't focused on the words; instead, she stared thoughtfully out the window.
Meanwhile, Eriri sat on the carpet, hugging her easel, but the easel was completely blank.
Seeing Yuto return, she immediately began to complain: "Yuto! What have you been busy with lately! You haven't even given me any feedback on the new character design drafts I drew! Don't you care about my drawings anymore? Do you think Aoyama Nanami's voice is more important than my drawings!"
These words were less a complaint and more an outburst of long-suppressed unease and jealousy.
The atmosphere in the living room instantly became subtle and dangerous.
"How could that be? Eriri's painting is irreplaceable," Yuto reassured her instinctively, while carefully observing Shiho's reaction.
Shiyu seemed not to hear, and continued to look out the window.
Yudou feels like he has one head and two heads! - Wo Ling Er = Er Yi 3 Ling Bei Ge Da.
He tried to change the subject, steer the conversation back to the safe zone of writing: "Speaking of which, what ideas do you have for the subject matter of your new novel? I've been thinking about it lately..."
"A new novel?" Kasumigaoka Utaha finally looked away, turning to look at him with an enigmatic smile on her face.
"Junior, you really have a lot of energy. The sequel to this project is barely even started, and you're already thinking about the next one?"
"Or... have you found a new muse to inspire you?"
She deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of the word "muse".
Yuto's heart sank.
He knew that nothing he said would make a difference.
In the face of absolute doubt, any explanation sounds like sophistry.
He felt an unprecedented sense of irritability and powerlessness.
That evening, Yuto sat alone at his desk once again.
He opened the blank diary that Kato Megumi had given him and unscrewed the pen cap.
He wanted to write something.
Write about the good news brought by Machida Sonoko, and the joy and pressure of that success.
Write about the progress of Qingshan Qihai, and express the heartfelt joy and concern.
Write about Eriri's complaints and the jealousy that makes him feel guilty.
Write about the cold laugh of Kasumigaoka Poetry, and the scrutiny that made him feel like he was being pricked by thorns.
Countless thoughts, emotions, and images surged in his mind.
He had so much to say and so much to organize, but when he tried to put it all down in writing, he found his hands felt as heavy as if they weighed a ton.
The pen tip hovered above the paper, trembling slightly, unable to fall.
He realized a terrible truth.
His emotional turmoil, like a virus, has spread from his daily life to his mental world, and has begun to substantially affect his creative inspiration.
The haven where he could escape everything was being swallowed up by the storm.
Yuto closed his eyes in pain and slammed the pen down on the table.
The diary of Si Bai, which is empty (three) and resembles 7 (two) @ `IV8, is still a blinding white.
……
The following day, in the club activity room of Toyonosaki Academy.
Eriri buried herself in her drawing board, writing furiously, but the occasional glances she gave to Yuuto Itsuka betrayed her inner turmoil.
Megumi Kato sat in her seat, holding a fashion magazine, seemingly reading it intently.
The source of the tension was sitting right across from Yuto.
"So, Yuto-kun, do you have any new ideas about the inspiration for the new character?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked, resting her chin on her hands with a business-like smile on her face.
"Ah... I'm still considering it," Yuto replied somewhat absentmindedly.
He is still troubled by his creative block.
"Really? That's a real headache." Shiyu's tone sounded full of understanding, but her next sentence revealed her true colors.
"Speaking of which, I recently read a very interesting interview about Ms. Nanami Aoyama."
She said that she encountered a bottleneck in her dubbing work, and it was a very professional teacher who gave her decisive guidance, which made her see the light.
Yuto's heart tightened suddenly.
"The report also mentioned that the teacher's understanding of the character even surpassed that of the sound supervisor, and it only took five minutes to convince everyone in the recording studio." Shiyu's gaze pierced straight at Yuto, her smile deepening.
"Junior, you often go to A-1 Pictures, have you ever heard of such an amazing person? I'm really curious."
This is no longer a hint, it is an explicit statement.
"I...I don't know much about the voice acting." Yuto could only pretend to be clueless.
"Really? That's such a pity." Shi Yu sighed with feigned regret, then suddenly changed the subject and became serious.
"However, junior, as your senior and your partner, I must remind you of something."
She leaned forward slightly, and a sense of oppression instantly enveloped her.
"As the original author of 'Farming King,' you undoubtedly have a significant say in the animation production committee, but with great power comes great responsibility."
“Your every word and action represents the image of the work. If you abuse this power to give special treatment to a particular person, have you thought about the consequences?”
Yuto felt cold sweat seeping down his back.
"I do not have……"
"Have you ever thought about it?" Shi Yu didn't give him a chance to explain, launching her logical offensive at lightning speed.
"What will the other voice actors, illustrators, screenwriters, and everyone who has poured their heart and soul into this work think when they find out that the original author has disproportionately devoted resources and energy to a newcomer?"
“They will feel that their efforts are being taken for granted, and that the project is full of injustice, which is a devastating blow to the team’s morale.”
"Have you ever thought about how the media and fans will interpret it when they discover that you, the genius original author, and that genius new voice actor have an inexplicable and inexplicable spiritual resonance?"
"They will attribute the success of the work to your scandalous affair, rather than the achievement of the entire team, which will tarnish the hard work we all put into it!"
"Yuto Itsuka!" She called him by his full name for the first time, her tone icy. "Tell me, what exactly is your relationship with Nanami Aoyama?"
"Was your help to her, which went beyond professional boundaries, out of a sense of responsibility for the work, or... out of your personal feelings?"
Yuto was completely rooted to the spot by these words.
He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't say anything.
How can he explain this?
Is that a form of compensation?
That would only confirm Shiyu's accusations and make her admit that she brought her personal feelings into her work.
To say you're just an admirer?
Faced with a feat like "conquering the recording studio in five minutes," such a claim wouldn't even fool oneself.
For the first time, he realized how utterly vulnerable he was in the face of the traps constructed by Kasumigaoka Utaha's language and logic.
"I……"