area51novel Page 149
Page 149
“That’s right.” Yuto leaned against the railing, the evening breeze ruffling his hair. “The most fascinating thing about Anna’s character is not her strength, but her vulnerability in choosing to be strong even in despair.”
“This is not something that can be acted out with skill. It’s a quality of your soul that you were born with. You don’t need to act. You just need to be yourself and put all the bravado you put into those few lines of dialogue.”
He paused, then continued, "Believe in me, and believe in yourself. Tonight, your voice will be a powerful weapon that moves countless people. You are not letting anyone down; you are fulfilling everyone's expectations, including your own."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, followed only by soft sobs.
After a long while, a voice with a heavy nasal tone, yet with unwavering determination, rang out.
"...Yes! I understand! Thank you, Professor Itsuka!"
After hanging up the phone, Youdou let out a long sigh of relief.
He reassured others, but his own heart remained suspended in mid-air.
He turned around and looked at the brightly lit living room.
Eriri was still bickering with Kasumigaoka Utaha, but the tension in her eyes had eased considerably.
Kato Megumi was quietly tidying up the coffee table, occasionally glancing up at them with a faint smile on her lips.
Meanwhile, the emotionless girl, Yuzuriha Inori, sat on the carpet with her knees drawn up to her chest, staring blankly at the television, as if none of this concerned her. But when Yuto's gaze fell upon her, she would immediately look back, her deep red eyes filled with dependence.
Everyone's fate seems to be intertwined with his, with this work.
Eriri's journey as an artist, Kasumigaoka's glory as a writer, Aoyama Nanami's dream of becoming a voice actress, Kato Megumi's quiet daily life of protection, and Yuzuriha Inori's mysterious future...
All the efforts, dreams, anxieties, and expectations of everyone are now weighing on his shoulders.
This weight is both sweet and heavy.
Yuto pushed open the balcony door and walked back to the living room. Amidst the puzzled and concerned gazes of everyone, he picked up the remote control and turned off the PV that was playing on a loop.
"Stop looking." He glanced around, a long-lost smile appearing on his face. "And stop arguing. The outcome is no longer something we can control."
"Now, let's brew a cup of hot tea and then witness the miracle we've created together."
……
……
In the conference room of A-1 Pictures.
On the projection screen, the first episode of "Farming King" is playing.
No one spoke; only the sounds of animation and suppressed breathing filled the air.
Producer Masato Ando nervously rubbed his hands together, the animation director frowned, and sound director Shinsuke Takahashi crossed his arms, his expression as stern as ever.
Yuto Itsuka, Eriri, Megumi Kato, and Utaha Kasumigaoka, who were invited to the event, sat side by side, each of them looking like prisoners awaiting their final judgment.
When the protagonist shouted that cringeworthy slogan, a slight commotion arose in the conference room.
"The art style... is amazing!" a young production assistant couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.
Eriri's shoulders twitched almost imperceptibly, and her fingers gripping Yuto's clothes tightened.
Next, the head maid Anna appeared.
"I...I will never...let anyone harm Your Highness!"
Aoyama Nanami's unique voice, a blend of fear and determination, resonated clearly in everyone's ears through top-notch audio equipment.
In that instant, Shinsuke Takahashi's eyebrows twitched slightly on his perpetually icy face.
Yuto's heart skipped a beat.
Become!
With the anime storyline halfway through, Masato Ando's phone started vibrating incessantly.
He glanced at the screen, his eyes widening instantly. He excitedly whispered to the director beside him, "The ratings... the real-time data... it's off the charts! It's surpassed all other anime in the same time slot!"
This statement instantly caused an uproar in the entire conference room.
The real storm, however, is happening online.
On the laptop in front of Ando's assistant, the real-time feedback page for social media was refreshing so fast that it left afterimages.
"Holy crap! What kind of amazing anime is this? Farming can be this exciting?"
"My mom asked me why I was kneeling while watching anime! The animation is amazing! Every frame is wallpaper-worthy! Who is the artist? @EriKashiwagi, is that you?!"
"Anna! My Anna! Who is the voice actress? This voice is so moving! That feeling of wanting to cry but desperately holding it back, I... I'm breaking down, guys!"
"A new voice actress, Nanami Aoyama? I declare that from today onwards, she is my goddess!"
When the ending theme song began, and Inori Yuzuriha's ethereal, pure voice, seemingly capable of cleansing the soul, drifted over, the online frenzy reached its peak.
"This song... I'm dead... I'm going to put it on repeat!"
"The ending theme is called 'The Flow of Life'? And the singer is Inori Yuzuriha? A complete newcomer I've never heard of before? Is she a monster?!"
"Please, please release the full audio version immediately! I'll buy it no matter the price!"
#FarmingKingStartsStream#
#Divine Art Style: Eri Kashiwagi#
Are voice actors all monsters?
#Newcomer voice actress Nanami Aoyama#
#YuzurigiInori's Stream of Life#
One by one, the terms climbed to the top of the trending search list at an incredible speed, and the bright red "hot" word stung everyone's eyes.
Successful.
An unprecedented and overwhelming success.
"Woo..."
A suppressed sob was heard.
Yuto Itsuka turned his head and saw Eriri covering her mouth tightly, tears streaming uncontrollably from between her fingers like pearls from a broken string.
As she watched the words "Original Character Design/Illustration: Eriri Sawamura Spencer" scroll across the screen, and saw the crazy praise for her art style online, all the grievances, resentment, and self-doubt she had felt over the past few months—being attacked by Akane Kousaka and tormented by industrial standards—vanished like a flood.
"Yuto..." She couldn't hold back any longer, and suddenly threw herself into Yuto's arms, burying her face deep in his chest, and bursting into tears, "I did it... I really did it..."
Yuto gently patted her trembling back, feeling the warmth of her clothes quickly soaked with tears, and an indescribable joy and tenderness welled up in his heart.
This proud and reserved childhood sweetheart finally proved herself to the world with her paintbrush.
"Yes, you did it." His voice was also a little choked up. "You are the best, Eriri. My world is irreplaceable because of your colors."
The crying in her arms gradually turned into sobs.
My phone vibrated again; it was a call from Aoyama Nanami.
“Itsuka-sensei… Waaah… Thank you… Really… Thank you so much…” Nanami on the other end of the phone was already sobbing uncontrollably, only able to express her gratitude intermittently.
Yuto could picture her holding her phone, crying tears of joy in that small rented room.
He smiled and said softly, "This is what you deserve, Aoyama-kun. Tonight, you are the brightest star."
After hanging up the phone, he looked at the two other girls beside him.
Kasumigaoka Utaha wore a complex smile, a mixture of joy at the success of her work and a barely perceptible resentment at seeing Eriri in Yuto's arms.
Kato Megumi simply watched everything in front of her quietly, watching the joyful crowd and Yuto and Eriri embracing each other.
When Yuto's gaze met hers, she smiled slightly and said nothing.
This is not his success alone; it is a victory for all of them.
"Everyone—!"
Producer Masato Ando excitedly stood in the center of the conference room and clapped his hands with a beaming smile.
"To celebrate our resounding success, the company has decided to hold a grand celebration banquet for our amazing creative team right now! Immediately! at the best hotel in Ginza!"
"Oh oh oh—!" The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.
Masato Ando winked mysteriously, raised his voice, and said cryptically, "Furthermore, to recognize our team's outstanding contributions, I've specially invited a very special guest to entertain us! I guarantee it will be a huge surprise!"
Special guest?
A hint of doubt flashed through Yuto's mind, but it was quickly drowned out by the overwhelming joy around him.
In any case, tonight belongs only to victory and celebration.
The celebration banquet was held in the top-floor banquet hall of a top-tier hotel in Ginza.
The production team members gathered in twos and threes, their faces beaming with barely suppressed excitement and joy, loudly discussing the animation's success and future plans.
Yuto Itsuka, holding a glass of juice, wandered through the crowd, dealing with wave after wave of production staff who came to toast and congratulate him.
He felt his face was almost frozen from smiling, but deep down, the sense of satisfaction was real and burning.
"Yuto! Come here quickly!"
Eriri took his hand and pulled him into the small circle where she and Kasumigaoka Utaha were, her face flushed.
Surrounded by several core animators and screenwriters from animation companies, the two prodigies had clearly become the focus of the banquet.
"Teacher Wuhe, Teacher Xia Shizi was just discussing with us, saying that the core of your story provided her with unprecedented inspiration for her scriptwriting," a senior screenwriter said with a smile.
Kasumigaoka Utaha flicked her long black hair, but her gaze was fixed on Eriri: "Not at all, the communication between me and Itsuka-sensei is more of a resonance on a soul level."
"For example, the emotional tension in a certain scene, only he can instantly understand the philosophical thinking I want to express. This is a level that cannot be reached by simply drawing a few pretty pictures."
"Hmph!" Eriri puffed out her small chest, not to be outdone, and affectionately took Yuto's other arm.
"Yuto and I are childhood friends! Our understanding and chemistry started when we were eating apple pie made by my mom!"
The smell of gunpowder instantly filled the air.
Those around him wore subtle expressions of anticipation, while Yuto felt like prey caught between two lionesses, his head throbbing with pain.
Just as this chaotic scene was about to erupt in public, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the banquet hall, and the originally noisy music seemed to decrease by several decibels.
Everyone looked in that direction at the same time.
A tall figure in a black off-the-shoulder evening gown slowly entered the venue, accompanied by producer Masato Ando.
She had long, flowing black hair that reached her waist, and her skin glowed white under the lights. Her delicate features were adorned with just the right amount of light makeup, and she exuded a powerful aura that seemed out of place at this celebration party, as if she belonged to another timeline.
It's Sakurajima Mai.
The appearance of this idol instantly ignited the entire venue.
"Oh my god! It's Mai Sakurajima!"
"Is she the special guest Mr. Ando was talking about? That's so prestigious!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri's expressions changed slightly at the same time.
Their battles suddenly seemed like children playing house in the face of this true top star.
Mai Sakurajima smiled and nodded to everyone, her gaze sweeping across the room before finally settling precisely on Yuto Itsuka, who was sandwiched in the middle, looking utterly dejected.
A slight smile played on her lips as she strode through the crowd, the sound of her high heels clicking on the ground like a prelude to a great show.
“Yuto.” She stopped in front of the three of them. “Congratulations on the great success of your work. It seems that my cameo in the ‘Echo’ production team was a sure bet on the most promising stock.”
Her words were impeccable, congratulating Yuto while subtly mentioning her past friendship with him, her demeanor elegant and composed.
Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her eyes, while Eriri stared at her warily.
"Thank you, Mai-senpai." Yuto felt even more pressure.
Mai Sakurajima seemed oblivious to the sparks flying between the other two girls. She extended her hand to Yuto in an inviting gesture, her smile flawless: "Would you mind joining me for a drink in that quiet corner over there? As the director who mentored me, I'd like to express my gratitude to you privately. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
The reason was so legitimate and professional that Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri couldn't find any excuse to refute it for a moment.
They could only watch helplessly as Mai Sakurajima, like an elegant queen, easily took away the spoils they had fought for from their battlefield.
Yuto felt like he had been granted a pardon and almost fled as he followed Mai Sakurajima to the terrace in a corner of the banquet hall.
A gentle evening breeze dispersed the noise and smell of alcohol inside, allowing Youdou's tense nerves to relax a little.
"Thank you, Mai-senpai, you saved me again." He said with a wry smile.
"Save me?" Mai Sakurajima leaned against the railing, holding a glass of champagne. "I don't think this is saving you. I just temporarily pressed the pause button for you."
She took a sip of her drink, her gaze drifting to the city lights in the distance, and said slowly, "Those two really like you."