Crossover Anime: I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha's Brother

Page 61

"Hmm." Baili Xiao smiled slightly and placed the graphics tablet on the table beside him: "First, we need to decide on the specific time for the launch event."

At this point, his gaze turned to Akane Akasaka and Sonoko Machida. The two looked at each other and remained silent for a few seconds before Sonoko Machida spoke first: "Don't worry about the printing. We've been working overtime to print them since the end of CM Comic Con. Even now, we should have at least 100,000 copies printed. However, considering how popular they are right now, these definitely won't meet the demand for the official release."

As she finished speaking, Akane Akasaka continued, "The merchandise for the two light novels—such as posters, bookmarks, and so on—is also being produced at a rapid pace. According to the previous plan, the target was 50,000 pieces. I wonder if that number is acceptable?"

Whether it's light novels, comics, or anime, the majority of the money comes from the derivative merchandise. Take "5 Centimeters Per Second" as an example. Since its release, a series of merchandise such as the "5 Centimeters Per Second" illustration book and the "5 Centimeters Per Second" collector's edition envelopes have sold out almost completely, which has brought Baili Xiao and others a considerable amount of income.

"Fifty thousand pieces? It's a bit few, but there's no way around it when the time comes~" Bai Lixiao thought to himself for a moment—fifty thousand pieces sounds like a lot, but when distributed to various sales points (bookstores under Shinazugawa Bunko and Chishima Publishing, as well as Akane Kousaka's circle), it's actually very few, not to mention that on the day of the official release, a considerable amount of merchandise will also be needed!

However, the production of related merchandise is far more complicated than that of light novels (excluding small items such as bookmarks), so achieving this quantity is quite impressive.

"The only uncertainty right now is when the convention center here at Gan Hui will be completed. After all, we can only determine the specific dates for the launch event and concert once the venue is confirmed." Baili Xiao looked at Akane Kurosaka, who smiled sweetly, her smile revealing a hint of confidence: "Baili-kun, you can rest assured about that. Don't be fooled by the poor management of Gan Hui Amusement Park. Everyone in the park comes from a magical kingdom. What would take us normal people an extremely long time to build is done incredibly quickly in their hands. You'll see when the time comes."

In fact, the day after Akane Akasaka said those words, Hyakuri Akira truly witnessed what "fast" meant!

"Boom!" The deafening sound startled Kasumigaoka Utaha from her early morning sleep. She frowned and turned over to hug Hyakuri Akira, who was sleeping next to her.

Her fair and slender legs pressed tightly against Baili Xiao's skin as she slowly climbed upwards, until she finally clung to him like a koala.

"Boom!" The sound continued, and even seemed to be getting stronger...

"Ugh!" A muffled sound came from her nose as Kasumigaoka Utaha struggled to open her eyes, her red pupils filled with confusion. Last night, she watched Baili Xiao draw promotional posters for "Your Name" and "The Monkey King," and the two of them discussed and did some things that no one else knew about, so she didn't go to sleep until very late. Even with her eyes open, she was in a state between sleep and wakefulness.

"Get up. Ever since you finished writing the first volume of 'Your Name,' I've noticed you've become much lazier." Baili Xiao spoke softly and affectionately in her ear, reaching out to pinch her delicate nose.

She responded very softly, then buried her head in Hyakuri Akira's shoulder and moved slightly, her messy but still beautiful long black hair swaying a few times with her movement.

"Boom!" The noise outside grew even louder. Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned, about to say something, when Eriri's unbearable scream from the next room shattered the soundproofing: "Aaaaah! Can't a person get any sleep?! I stayed up really late last night! The soundproofing in this room is so bad! How am I supposed to sleep at night?!"

(The soundproofing is poor...) Baili Xiao's lips twitched twice, as if he knew why Eriri "slept so late".

Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled softly—every time she saw Eriri fly into a rage, she felt inexplicably happy, and more importantly... this time, the reason for Eriri's outburst seemed to be related to the two of them?

"Good morning." Kasumigaoka Utaha gently touched Baili Xiao's cheek with her lips and stood up: "Brother, I think we need to go out and take a look... such a sound cannot be made by an ordinary thing."

As if suddenly remembering something, a bright smile appeared on her face: "Oh, by the way, if possible, please tell Isuzu later that the soundproofing in the staff dormitory needs to be improved..."

Seeing the smile on Kasumigaoka Utaha's face, Baili Xiao shook his head helplessly. He had a bad feeling—Eri's temper was going to be extremely irritable today...

...

"Good morning, Teacher Baili!"

The southern area (second zone) of "Gan Hui" is a vast, abandoned area that was originally planned as an expansion site for the amusement park, but it had been vacant for many years due to previous mismanagement.

It is separated from the first park by a wide avenue, and the only way to get here is by overpass or underpass.

Unlike the first park, although this area covers a vast area, most of it is covered by forest. Only the "Brilliant Stadium" stands here, but after being idle for many years, it is impossible to see the "stadium" from either the outside or the inside.

As Baili Xiao and the others slowly walked down from the overpass, Isuzu, wearing a safety helmet and holding a planning document, greeted them. Then, she looked at Eriri with some confusion—underneath the latter's eyes, black marks were clearly visible.

Chapter 0167 You know nothing about magic! (Fifth update, please subscribe)

"Eri? Didn't you sleep well last night?" Isuzu asked with some concern—after carefully reviewing the information on the [China] studio, Isuzu already knew the identities of Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri.

While surprised that "two young girls are called teachers by many people", Isuzu's confidence in Baili Xiao's ability to "change Gan Hui's current situation" grew stronger, to the point that she became more respectful towards the three of them.

If it were anyone else with dark circles under their eyes, as long as it wasn't Lady Latifa, Isuzu would just glance at them and not pay any attention. But Eriri's identity was extremely special, and she was afraid that the other person would say something like, "Your dorm is terrible."

"Ugh!" Eriri's breath hitched. She first glared fiercely at Kasumigaoka Utaha—who still wore a victorious smile—then waved her hand: "I just slept in a bit late, it's okay... But what are you guys doing so early in the morning?"

Eriri looked in the direction from which the rumbling sound came from, and what came into view was dust and smoke that almost blotted out the sky. She couldn't help but frown and cover her nose.

"Oh, Taram is leading 360 and his people to demolish the stadium. The once glorious stadium has become unusable due to years of disuse, both in terms of its structure and function. According to Taram's calculations, it can no longer be used... When we heard that Teacher Baili was asking for the construction of a large convention center, we all thought of this place, but now it seems that we can only rebuild it."

Isuzu looked somewhat dejected—if they could use the old gymnasium (even if it was expanded), it would save a lot of time... That way, the amusement park could open sooner, and Lady Latifa could recover sooner...

Even so... after learning the true assessment of the stadium, Isuzu did not hesitate to choose "demolition"—she simply had a very simple idea:

(Professor Baili and his team did their best to help us; we absolutely couldn't let them hold their book launch and concert in a "less than perfect" venue!)

“Taramo?” Eriri repeated in confusion. Isuzu nodded and explained, “Taramo is the chief of the Moguto tribe and also the chairman of the ‘Dream (Mogumogu) Group Construction Company’. They have outstanding civil engineering capabilities, so they were once called by a certain kingdom to build the underground secret passage of the palace.”

As she spoke, Isuzu looked down at her feet: "Look, that's Tarramo."

If it weren't for Isuzu's gesture, Baili Xiao and his companions would have had a hard time noticing that standing at Isuzu's feet was a man wearing a yellow hard hat and a blue tie, looking like a construction foreman... a mole?!

Even Eriri, the shortest among them, is barely halfway up to the bottom of this mole, making it incredibly tiny and adorable!

"This is Taramor? Wow! It's so small!" Eriri's eyes lit up as she crouched down to examine the mole closely. Baili Xiao's eyebrows shot up—if Eriri had a wooden hammer right now, she would definitely smash Taramor down hard!

"Hey, can you understand me? How can you build things when you're so small?" Eriri seemed interested. In fact, after seeing the many actors in Gan Hui Li, she became very interested in each of them—they were creatures that were rarely seen in ordinary society. Even if there were similar ones, they were just fake puppets with "people standing inside"!

Eriri wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt like the mole in front of her had rolled its eyes at her. Of course, she wasn't sure, because she had no idea what a mole looked like when it rolled its eyes.

However... she (aeej) knew clearly that this mole named "Taramo" had no intention of paying attention to her at all. Instead, it turned directly to Baili Xiao, placed its two little paws on its round belly, and bowed respectfully to the latter: "Teacher Baili, it is a great honor to meet you. Our clan was unable to attend your lecture yesterday for some reason. Please forgive us."

Bai Lixiao suppressed a laugh and walked to Eriri's side, patted her on the shoulder, and then waved to Taramo: "It's okay, let's talk about business... I saw that Isuzu has the blueprints for the convention center, did you design that?"

“Yes.” Taramo nodded lightly—very lightly, so much so that Baili Xiao might have missed it if he hadn’t been watching him closely—his little paw pointed to the rising smoke in the distance and continued, “We plan to expand the existing stadium on its foundation... Once completed according to the plans, it will be divided into two parts: a smaller convention center that can accommodate thousands of people at the same time without feeling crowded, and a larger indoor concert hall that can hold nearly ten thousand people at once!”

Upon hearing his words, even Baili Xiao couldn't help but exclaim "Oh?" - a closed concert hall that can accommodate 10,000 people is something that can only be found in some mid-to-upper-level cities in this world.

(Is such a large concert venue a bit too much for Muse, who have just debuted?)

As Baili Xiao pondered, Taramo seemed to sense his thoughts and shook his head, explaining, "Teacher Baili, I've done some research online about your studio's Muse. Although they're just starting out, their popularity is already comparable to some top idol stars, and it's increasing every day! I'm even a little worried that a venue for 10,000 people might still be too small... But it's okay, I've already included room for future expansion in my plans!"

"Hmm, okay." Baili Xiao nodded somewhat helplessly. He knew absolutely nothing about construction, but he had one advantage: "For things I don't understand, I just need to leave them to people who do."

"When do you estimate it will be completed and put into use?" Baili Xiao asked casually, but Taramor's answer left everyone except Isuzu stunned.

"One week!"

"Impossible! How could such a huge project be completed in just one week!" Eriri firmly denied.

Taramo seemed to sigh and turned to look at her.

"Little girl, you know nothing about magic!"

Chapter 0168 A Discussion Among Three Women! (First Update, Please Subscribe)

Magic possesses a power that science cannot explain—things that seem "impossible" to ordinary people are mostly "small things that can be accomplished with a little time" in the realm of magic.

Take the "construction of the convention center" in front of Baili Xiao and others as an example. It would probably take two or three years for an ordinary society to complete, but in the eyes of the people of Gan City who came from the magic kingdom, it would only take a week.

"As an earth fairy, Kopoli can manipulate the earth at will. If she makes good use of her power, it won't take her long to build the convention center on the blueprint..." Following the direction that Taramo's claws pointed, you could see Kopoli, dressed in a gray-white work uniform, standing in front of the ruins of the stadium at the end of the field of vision, her hands outstretched, chanting to a broken wall.

"Boom!" The familiar sound rang out again, and the once sturdy stadium suddenly trembled. Huge cracks appeared on the smooth walls, and then it collapsed with a crash, sending up plumes of black dust and smoke.

“Every time Kopoli uses her power, she needs to rest for about ten minutes. At this rate, the basic construction of the convention center can be completed in three days. The remaining time will be handed over to us for inspection and interior decoration—this will take about four days.” Taramo raised his yellow hard hat and continued to Baili Xiao, “Of course, for the entire construction process to proceed perfectly, it requires the concerted efforts of all Gan Hui members. If Teacher Baili wants to conduct an inspection, it would be best to inform me or Isuzu in advance, since you and the two young ladies are too easily injured here.”

"Okay, I understand." Baili Xiao pondered for a moment, then nodded, secretly deciding in her heart that she would "never come to investigate."

Just kidding. They're professionals. If someone who "knows nothing" comes here to "inspect" with an air of superiority, wouldn't that be just like some "leaders" in my past life?

Besides... Gan Hui and his group have heavy tasks, and they also have many things to do on their own, so they have no spare energy to worry about anything else!

“Isuzu, Taramor, the construction of the convention center is entirely in your hands. I still have countless miscellaneous matters to handle, such as promotional posters, details of the sales event, and so on…” Baili Xiao smiled apologetically. Isuzu quickly shook her head and looked at him seriously: “Please don’t say that. Teacher Baili has already pointed us in the right direction. Leave the rest to us!”

"We will definitely provide you with a satisfactory convention center by then!"

...

Just as everyone in Amagi was busily building the convention center, Akane Akasaka and Sonoko Machida had just gotten off the plane.

"Hey, Yoko, thank you for your help." Machida Sonoko's gaze swept across the waiting area, and the first thing she saw was Duanmu Yoko sitting on a chair playing with her phone. She quickly walked over to the latter and greeted her.

Putting away her phone, Duanmu Yizi smiled slightly and took the handbag from Machida Sonoko and Akasaka Akane: "Since you knew you were troubling me, you should have told me in advance. If I had known you were accompanying Professor Hyakuri to Amagi, I would have gone with you even if I had asked for leave!"

"Oh...this was a last-minute decision..." Machida Sonoko scratched her head sheepishly—the decision to "go to Amagi" was so abrupt that even she herself didn't have much time to prepare, let alone inform Duanmu Yizi: "But in my opinion, it's better that she didn't go. After all, the flight time is longer than the discussion time, which isn't a pleasant experience..."

As Machida Sonoko spoke, she pounded her slender waist with the back of her hand, her "painful" expression on her face quite exaggerated.

Duanmu Yizi rolled her eyes at her with amusement, then turned her gaze to Akane Akasaka: "Akaane, I heard that Professor Baili has a big plan this time?"

Nodding slightly, Akane Akasaka glanced at the crowd coming and going in the waiting hall, and Duanmu Yizi instantly understood her meaning.

"Let's go, get in the car first, we can talk on the car!"

...

"So, Professor Baili is planning to hold the new book launch and the Muse concert together this time?" After listening to Akane Kousaka's introduction, Duanmu Yizi was slightly shaken, and this shock was transmitted through her arms to the originally stable steering wheel!

"Hey! Don't get distracted, drive carefully!" Machida Sonoko, sitting in the passenger seat, stared wide-eyed in horror—if she wasn't mistaken, the car was slowly veering to the right!

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"Sorry, sorry!" Coming back to her senses from the shock, Duanmu Yizi straightened the steering wheel. After a couple of seconds, she couldn't help but exclaim, "It really is... a big move!"

The so-called "big move" does not refer to "the launch of a new book in Amagi"—launching a new book is a familiar process for Chishima Publishing and Shinazugawa Bunko, and can even be described as "their job."

What truly surprised Duanmu Yizi was that Muse was actually going to hold her first exclusive concert in "Amagi"!

No matter how popular Muse is or how many fans they have, the fact that they "just debuted" cannot be ignored—who has ever seen a newly debuted idol group hold their own concert?

... ... 0

Which of them doesn't release a music album first, build up popularity, increase fans, and do a lot of packaging and promotion before considering concerts?

In Duanmu Yizi's initial estimate, even though Muse's popularity has skyrocketed and they have a large number of fans, they still need to proceed step by step according to the "model". Unexpectedly... Baili Xiao actually skipped the previous stages and entered the "concert" stage directly?

"Right? I also think it's a bit too fast." Machida Sonoko shook her head with a wry smile, looking out the window. "It's true that Muse's popularity online is growing daily, but how many people will actually attend the concert is still unknown. What if..."

Before she could finish speaking, Akane Akasaka, sitting in the back seat, interrupted her, saying, "Yuanzi, you don't need to worry about the possibility of 'what if' at all. To be precise, from the very beginning until now, has there ever been a single 'what if' in any of the things that Hyakusato-kun decided?"

"We just need to do as Baili-kun says. Just like we came back early this time to prepare for the new book launch, the Muse concert is something we can't predict..."

At this point, Akane Akasaka's lips curled into a mysterious smile, and she deliberately lowered her voice.

"And perhaps it's just my imagination, but I always feel... that those fans online who love the muse are like drug addicts, unable to stop?" Fan said.

Chapter 0169 Yazawa Nico is home! (Two chapters, please subscribe)

"I'm back!" A cheerful voice rang out from the entrance hall. The bouncy gait and the swaying black ponytail clearly expressed the owner's extreme excitement.

After Yazawa Nico finished speaking, she stood in the entryway and waited for a long time, but she couldn't hear any cheers coming from the living room—not even a single footstep!

With her hands on her hips still smugly, she slowly opened one eye and peeked into the room through the small crack. What came into view was a black-screened television—if her younger siblings were home, her mother would definitely have them sit in a row in front of the TV and play cartoon channels for them!

"What? I thought they were all home..." Since no one was home, Yazawa Nico no longer needed to maintain this posture—"360" let her arm fall limply, picked up the backpack beside her with some disappointment, her eyes gleaming with the last glimmer of hope before the light disappeared, unable to conceal the dimness in her pupils: "Didn't we agree in advance to wait for me to come back? Where did they all go!"

Before boarding the plane, Nico Yazawa called her mother to tell her that she was about to fly back to the idol city. In her mind, her mother would be waiting for her at home with her younger siblings, after all... she was now a member of the popular idol group "Muse"!

"Ugh!" With a muffled sound of dissatisfaction, Yazawa Nico threw her coat, sunglasses, and mask aside, slumped onto the sofa, and hugged her waist, sulking.

Before stepping through the door, she imagined countless scenarios of "meeting her family." In each scenario, her younger siblings would rush over and hug her, shouting, "Wow! Sister! You've really become an idol singer!" while her mother would look at her with gratified and loving eyes, walk to her side, gently reach out and touch her hair, and say, "Nicole, you've grown up!"

But... but to her utter surprise, he wasn't home! — This was the only scenario she hadn't considered!