In Haruto's view, Watching the Sea already had a perfectly good ending.
Writing out every detail of the fate would've just made it less perfect. In reality, the current main world was still hot with AoT popularity.
Countless fan works and spin-offs continued to emerge.
Its vitality far exceeded what a single author could accomplish alone.
Knowing Haruto's decision, Ami Furukawa didn't try to persuade him any further and instead brought up official business.
"You don't have to draw anymore, fine. But there's one more thing. When AoT was approved for production, it wasn't just the first season—it also included a movie version. At the end of the first season's broadcast, there's going to be a promotional event for the movie. It's going to be in the form of a live performance.
Specifically, it'll be an open audition format, selecting three finalists to sing the movie's theme song. The online auditions are already finished. Next comes the in-person regional contests, and finally, a live performance showcase by the selected finalists.
As the original creator, you don't need to worry about the earlier parts, but you really should attend the final performance. Ideally, you'll be the one to decide the final track."
Haruto nodded at her words.
He'd already heard a little about this event.
Ai Hoshino was currently running around participating in it, bringing a huge amount of buzz with her.
Even if Ami Furukawa hadn't mentioned it,
Haruto would likely have gone anyway.
After all, there was a 99.9% chance that Ai Hoshino would make it to the final round and be one of the top three.
When that time came, this girl would definitely drag him out to make a public appearance.
Seeing that Haruto agreed so easily, Ami Furukawa finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, this pigeon spirit was seriously too lazy and idle.
Getting him to attend a side event was harder than killing him.
Once everything was confirmed, Ami Furukawa handed Haruto the event schedule and the time and location of the final performance.
Then she quickly grabbed the two drafts on the desk and rushed out.
She needed to go negotiate with the event organizers and finalize the flow of the performance.
Watching the editor storm out in big strides,
Both Haruto and Izumi let out a breath of relief.
Then they exchanged a smile.
An unspoken understanding between pigeon spirits. At that moment, Izumi's stomach let out a loud gurgle.
The girl blushed slightly and covered her cheeks in embarrassment. Then she quickly ran up to Haruto and tugged on his sleeve.
A sweet, clingy look like a little bird snuggling up to its mate.
Haruto flicked Izumi on the forehead.
This girl was totally faking it.
Shyness just didn't suit someone like Izumi.
But now, Izumi wasn't the cautious girl she used to be. She didn't even get mad when flicked—just held her forehead with a pitiful expression.
Sighing helplessly, Haruto said,
"Alright, I'll make you something."
At his words, Izumi immediately dropped the pitiful act, raised her arms, and cheered.
Haruto shook his head with a smile. He knew her little schemes far too well. Since they'd been locked in the study rushing deadlines, it was already past dinnertime.
Tohru had probably gone to bed already.
Even though she was a dragon maid, Tohru was still part of this household.
Waking her up to cook at this hour seemed a bit rude.
There were instant foods at home, sure.
But clearly, Izumi, whose taste had become more refined after being spoiled, didn't want any of that.
Instead, she tried to sweet-talk and nudge Haruto into cooking himself.
Leaving the dark little study, Haruto headed into the kitchen.
He took some ingredients from the fridge and began preparing them with practiced skill. Speaking of which, ghouls usually only needed to eat once every two weeks.
If they weren't in combat, the time between meals could be even longer.
At first, Izumi didn't adapt well to the frequency of human meals, even if she had managed to get used to human food.
But now, she was basically no different from a normal person.
Three meals a day.
And they had to be good meals.
Otherwise, she'd whine and sulk.
Maybe Izumi had realized she was good-looking—and that Haruto had a soft spot for cute girls.
While Haruto was cooking, Izumi sat at the living room table.
Her small feet, wrapped in white socks, swayed under the table. She rested her arms on the table, cupping her cheeks, staring dazedly toward the kitchen.
She looked like a complete foodie.
Hard to imagine that she was once a top-tier boss meant to terrify an entire world—the One-Eyed Owl of the ghouls.
Before long, Haruto brought out two plates of fried rice noodles.
They weren't anything fancy,
But they looked and smelled delicious—simple yet tempting.
Yep, this was the perfect midnight snack.
"Ah, thank you for the food, Haruto! I am eternally grateful!"
Izumi put her hands together in mock gratitude and suddenly leaned in to kiss Haruto on the cheek.
Then she grabbed one plate and began devouring it with glee.
Haruto rubbed the spot on his cheek.
Izumi had actually put on lip gloss today—just a light tint, but it left a mark. A midnight snack for a kiss on the cheek?
Not a bad deal.
Watching Izumi's face light up with joy from just a plate of fried noodles,
Haruto couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.
And secretly thought,
"A girl who was once alone and drifting in the storm, finally feels the warmth of the world again thanks to the kindness of a good Samaritan… Just when she starts to feel hope again, fully adapting to the security I bring, becoming completely dependent—
I'll dismember myself and throw my body in front of her… keh keh keh!"
Izumi was happily eating her noodles when she suddenly shivered.
She quickly glanced around, not noticing anything strange.
A big question mark popped up over her little head.
Clearly, she had no idea just how twisted the "kind Samaritan" in front of her really was.
Of course, Haruto was just imagining things.
Isn't it better to just raise a sweet girl? Why go and raise a world-ending boss?
Wait, no. If he really did try that, Izumi—who was already destined to be a world-ending boss—would probably become even darker.
And with the high-level power systems of the main world,
He might actually end up raising a multiversal boss.
And so, the night passed uneventfully.
The next morning.
It was the first day of summer vacation, and Haruto planned to go out for a stroll. He hadn't received any hangout invitations yet.
But soon enough, he knew they'd start rolling in.
Most of his friends were from the Big Three schools.
When they had free time during summer vacation, they'd definitely want to plan trips. He'd be busy later, so he wanted to enjoy this quiet moment.
After heading out, Haruto took the bullet train.
Leaving Chiba, he headed toward Tokyo.
In the past, Tokyo had been much more prosperous than Chiba.
But in recent years, with the shift of two major conglomerates' HQs, Chiba had overtaken it.
Even so, Tokyo still had its charms.
Like Akihabara.
After getting off the train and making a few transfers, Haruto finally arrived at this sacred land of otaku culture.
The moment he stepped off the train, the strong scent of anime and subculture hit him.
Anime banners lined the streets.
LED billboards on tall buildings repeatedly played commercials for upcoming anime. You could even spot a few cosplayers here and there. Especially by the sidewalks, where many girls dressed as maids handed out flyers for maid cafés and restaurants.
Occasionally, they'd try to pull passersby into the shop.
But honestly, regulars in Akihabara usually avoided the maids. You couldn't blame them—maid tactics could be a bit disarming.
They'd call you "Goshujin-sama" with a cute voice, but once you went in, you'd have to buy an overpriced "omelette rice."
At most, you got to look at a cute girl and chat a little.
Terrible value for money.
Even though Haruto was rich, he politely declined a few invitations from maid girls.
The money wasn't the issue. But forcing himself to eat subpar, overpriced food was just asking too much. Just as Haruto was wandering around, planning to buy some limited edition GLA game discs from a shop—
A large crowd gathered on the side of the street caught his attention.
When he got closer, Haruto saw that the crowd had formed around a street performance.
A pink-haired girl with a youthful face was singing softly by the roadside.
Her voice was beautiful and touching, able to stir hearts. No wonder it had drawn such a big crowd.
Haruto stopped in his tracks.
What surprised him even more was the song this girl was singing:
"Guren no Yumiya."
=========
Well, we back.