At the Atlus garage, Yuji Naka was practically on the verge of kneeling before Kobayashi Tetsu.
"President, your foresight is unbelievable! To think you'd already laid out everything months ago—such an exquisite strategy, it's like Zhuge Kongming himself reincarnated!"
Yuji Naka went on and on, showering him with praise, while Tsukasa Masuko and Tsuyoshi Kitagawa cooperatively applauded from the side.
Kobayashi Tetsu raised a hand and made a downward pressing motion in midair.
"Quiet. This is just normal operations."
It wasn't exactly shameless flattery, but Kobayashi Tetsu certainly didn't have the ability to foresee events months in advance. Back then, he hadn't expected things to turn out this way at all.
Now that it had happened, though, it was simply a fortunate convergence of circumstances.
Even so, Yuji Naka was still brimming with excitement.
This time, he had finally made a name for himself as a game producer. While he couldn't compare to the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, at least when people mentioned "that Yuji Naka from Atlus," they could put a face to the name.
Masuko Tsukasa was just as excited, his expression carrying an almost unnatural level of exhilaration.
After all, that wasn't just anyone—it was Michael Jackson. Who would have thought that the electronic synthesized music he composed for Jörmungandr would receive praise from MJ himself?
Even if it was just a polite compliment, Masuko Tsukasa still felt it could be considered one of the greatest honors of his life.
Once everyone gradually calmed down, Kobayashi Tetsu finally spoke.
"Later, people from Kadokawa Game Magazine will be coming over. They reached out on their own for an interview and want to publish it in the magazine. I didn't ask them for any money this time, so watch what you say—and what you don't."
Yuji Naka wiped his mouth. "Then what about you, President?"
Kobayashi Tetsu spread his hands.
"I'll head out and wander around."
As always, Kobayashi Tetsu had no interest in interviews, nor did he want to become a celebrity producer.
He glanced at his wristwatch. Judging by the time, the Kadokawa Game Magazine staff would be arriving soon. After giving a brief heads-up, he slipped out first.
Since he had nothing better to do, Kobayashi Tetsu decided to buy a car in the name of Atlus Studio. It would make things more convenient in the future when going out to discuss partnerships.
After all, you couldn't exactly agree to meet at some CBD entrance while other company presidents showed up in Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, or at the very least Hondas, Toyotas, or Mazdas—
And he arrived on a shared bicycle.
That was just asking to get beaten to death by Zhou Chaoxian.
Less than half an hour after Kobayashi Tetsu left, the people from Kadokawa Game Magazine arrived as scheduled and conducted interviews with Yuji Naka and the others.
Facing the editor holding a recording device, Yuji Naka looked even more exhilarated.
"Me? I've only done a tiny, insignificant part. The real planner behind this game is, of course, the president. All of my achievements were completed with his help!"
"To solve the issue of opponent intelligence in the game, we came up with many ideas and ultimately chose the easiest one to implement. So I can say without exaggeration that Off-Road Motorcycle has the smartest reactions among all electronic games currently on the market!"
The Kadokawa editor's pen flew across the page, recording the key points alongside the tape recorder.
Yuji Naka's conclusion was simple: Atlus absolutely needed its president.
Kobayashi Tetsu spent some time browsing around and eventually purchased a completely unremarkable Toyota Corolla in the name of Atlus. White body, plain exterior—the car that would later become famous as the Toyota AE86.
Japan had strict regulations on car purchases: without a parking space, or if your space couldn't accommodate the car, you weren't allowed to buy one. However, buying under a company name allowed for some flexibility.
Besides, Atlus really did have a garage.
In theory, this Corolla was Atlus's property. Kobayashi Tetsu merely had the right to use it twenty-four hours a day.
Usage rights belonged to Kobayashi Tetsu; ownership belonged to Atlus as a whole.
Back at Atlus Studio, Kobayashi Tetsu flipped through the latest issue of Kadokawa Game Magazine. As the actual producer of Off-Road Motorcycle, Yuji Naka was clearly beginning to gain some recognition and would soon be one of the studio's presentable figures.
The phone rang. Kobayashi Tetsu casually picked it up.
"Hello, is this Atlus Studio? I'd like to apply for a position as a music producer."
On the other end was a gentle female voice, carrying the mature calm of someone older.
Kobayashi Tetsu paused, slightly surprised, and immediately glanced at the others.
"Didn't we already take down the recruitment ad? We've temporarily secured staff from HAL, so we shouldn't be hiring right now."
Tsuyoshi Kitagawa nodded. "It's been taken down, but maybe they saw an older ad."
Kobayashi Tetsu let out a snort and instinctively wanted to refuse.
"I see. The president isn't here at the moment. Please leave your name and contact information, and I'll pass it along later."
He declined politely.
The other party didn't seem to catch the implication and duly left her contact details.
"Thank you for the trouble. My name is Miki Higashino. I'm currently in Osaka, and I've already mailed my music samples to the address listed in the magazine."
Miki Higashino.
Kobayashi Tetsu set the receiver down again and instantly turned his gaze toward Masuko Tsukasa.
Masuko had just stepped out to make some coffee and looked puzzled when he noticed Kobayashi Tetsu staring at him.
Kobayashi Tetsu slowly shook his head at Masuko.
Masuko Tsukasa had come too early. If Kobayashi Tetsu had received Miki Higashino's call earlier, he might not have hired Masuko at all.
The reason was simple.
Miki Higashino was the original, bona fide composer of Salamander.
Her works included Kung Fu—the action game where the protagonist wore nothing but red pants—as well as Salamander, Suikoden, Tokimeki Memorial, and more.
It could be said that Miki Higashino was once a highly renowned composer at Konami.
Kobayashi Tetsu took a deep breath and picked up the receiver again.
"Higashino-san—I'll remember your name. But I have a question. Why did you think of submitting your résumé and music samples to Atlus?"
Or, to put it another way, was she casting a wide net and submitting samples to other companies as well?
Recording music samples wasn't cheap in those days, so widespread submissions were unlikely.
On the other end, Miki Higashino responded with a particularly relaxed laugh.
"How should I put it… students at Osaka College of Music have a very different understanding of music. A hobby like mine would be frowned upon there. Rather than being like them, I thought I'd try a newer industry, and that led me to games. Not long ago, I saw that news—Michael Jackson even praised Atlus's music production capabilities. I thought perhaps a company like that could accept my style."
Kobayashi Tetsu let out a short laugh.
It was a perfectly presentable reason, and at the same time, she subtly praised Atlus.
After hanging up, Kobayashi Tetsu couldn't help but sigh.
Who would have thought that a single compliment from MJ would bring such an unexpected bonus? Otherwise, at this point in time, Miki Higashino would probably be submitting her work to Konami and joining them as a music producer.
"Even random applicants are big names now," Kobayashi Tetsu muttered. "Looks like Atlus is really on the rise."
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