At Atlus Studio.
Tetsu Kobayashi sat on the sofa, radiating confidence.
His trip to the Takakura Club yesterday hadn't been for nothing. He'd discussed two matters. First, Haruki Kadokawa had promised to help publish various strategy guides, setting collections, and even strategy videos.
Naturally, Atlus would provide the materials, while the Kadokawa publishing group would handle publication.
This was only a preliminary cooperation agreement; the details would be discussed later.
The second matter was office space.
Among the people at the gathering was a man named Keisuke Mitsuhashi, whose father was a property manager under Mitsui Fudosan, in charge of the Shinjuku Mitsui Building.
Located in Shinjuku Ward, the building had been constructed as part of a plan to develop Tokyo's new central district. It had a total of fifty-five floors, and the farthest distance to a nearby subway station was only a six-minute walk.
Later on, several companies—including Capcom's Tokyo branch—moved in.
Yes, that's right—Capcom wasn't originally a Tokyo company. Its base was in Osaka. In 1984, Capcom had just released an arcade game and wasn't yet a well-known company, let alone the industry giant it would become.
In short, Tetsu Kobayashi was very satisfied with the location, and Keisuke Mitsuhashi also said he could speak to his father about offering some reductions on property fees.
Tetsu planned to find time in the next few days to visit the Shinjuku Mitsui Building and choose a suitable floor.
Since Japan sits on an earthquake belt, most skyscrapers are equipped with emergency escape routes and stairways, so that wasn't a concern.
Yuji Naka poked his head over, astonished. "So we're really moving to Shinjuku soon?"
"That's hard to say," Tetsu replied. "I'm planning to rent one floor in the Mitsui Building and bring the headquarters and the second development team together. We can expand or adjust later if needed. We'll go take a look in a few days and discuss renovations. There's no way we're moving in this year."
Construction efficiency in Japan was slow.
He'd even heard that some old guy from another world hadn't been rescued, and three rescuers had been lost as well.
Probably went on a four-man party adventure in another dimension to fight Antu'en or something.
The others looked at Tetsu, a little excited by the future he was painting.
The garage was fine, but moving was inevitable.
Tetsu had already thought it through. He'd have a special office made, with a small hidden door beside it connecting to a bedroom and an emergency escape route. When things were quiet, he could even hire a secretary whose job was to crawl under the desk.
Just as he was talking, someone pulled open the garage door from outside. Tetsu suddenly collapsed back, clutching his chest with one hand, his expression pained.
Yuji Naka panicked. "Hey—wait, did you just die?"
Then he looked back and understood.
Nene Anezaki had come to deliver lunch. Atlus had arranged daily meal deliveries—two meals a day—from Old Dick's Western Restaurant.
Nene introduced today's dishes one by one. As she was about to continue, she noticed Tetsu writhing on the sofa.
"Tetsu-kun?"
No response.
She looked to the side. Yuji immediately stepped in. "Tetsu-kun went out on business to Bandai yesterday. Looks like he drank quite a bit. His body probably hasn't fully recovered yet."
Tetsu discreetly gave a thumbs-up.
As expected of Yuji!
Reward him with ten thousand taels of gold, send him to the inner palace.
Nene lowered her head, studying Tetsu's expression for a long moment, then sighed softly.
The acting was terrible. Anyone could tell he was perfectly fine.
Still, she chose not to expose him.
She actually enjoyed taking care of people.
Holding a disposable paper cup, Nene poured him some water and held it near him.
"Tetsu-kun? Have a sip."
"Ow—" Tetsu groaned. "I can't… I can't sit up."
Nene blinked.
Liar! He looked rosy and healthy!
Even so, she reached out to help, supporting him until he sat up.
Tetsu kept his eyes closed. "Feed me."
Her fingers paused, then she suddenly squeezed his arm a little harder.
Leaning close, she whispered, "Tetsu-kun, don't you think you're pushing it a bit?"
Tetsu opened his eyes, drank the water, and looked perfectly normal.
Yuji clapped his hands.
President, you're revived!
======
After the fourth episode of the Sonic anime aired, ratings continued their steady rise.
But Toshio Okada was worried.
And it was understandable.
According to the storyline GAINAX had planned, Sonic would meet a human celebrity, leading to a three-episode arc.
Okada had considered inventing a fictional actor, but felt that using a real, existing celebrity would have a better effect.
He'd tried sending invitations to some entertainers, but none of them had even looked at them. He hadn't received a single reply.
While he understood why, it still left him discouraged.
In another episode or two, the new arc would begin. If they couldn't secure the rights by then, they'd have to rewrite the entire segment.
"Looks like we'll have to change our approach after all. It's just too hard for GAINAX to obtain the right authorization."
As Okada was thinking this over, he heard Tetsu Kobayashi's voice. He looked up and, sure enough, Tetsu had arrived.
Okada hurried to his feet.
It wasn't just him. The moment Tetsu appeared, the GAINAX staff treated him with obvious respect.
It was like Ebisu himself had descended to inspect the mortal world.
Tetsu was only passing by this time. He was actually on his way to check out office space at the Shinjuku Mitsui Building.
Still, he took the opportunity to supervise the GAINAX studio.
GAINAX liked to exercise creative freedom. He had to keep a close eye on them, making sure they focused on their responsibilities.
They could do whatever they wanted later with Royal Space Force, but Sonic had to strictly follow his requirements.
After listening to Tetsu, Okada patted his chest.
"Don't worry, President Kobayashi. GAINAX's capabilities are absolutely reliable. We're following all requirements strictly in animation production, with no mistakes at all. Even the funding is supervised through the production committee—there won't be any issues."
"That's good," Tetsu said. "There aren't any problems right now, are there? If something comes up, say it immediately. The production committee exists to solve problems."
"No!"
Okada instinctively denied it.
But thinking about recent events, he hesitated slightly.
As someone experienced in commercial operations, Okada knew that failing to solve a problem meant lacking ability—but hiding it until it exploded meant bearing full responsibility.
"Well… there is one thing. For the new episode's storyline, we want to find a real-life celebrity and obtain their authorization. It'd be even better if they had some fame. GAINAX has sent invitations to several well-known artists, but we haven't received any responses."
Tetsu raised an eyebrow.
"That's it?"
Okada stared, stunned.
What do you mean, 'that's it'?!
This was a big deal!
Tetsu shook his head slightly. "Next time, tell the production committee earlier. Don't waste everyone's time. For something this small, if you'd said it sooner, the committee would've solved it already. Why go looking on GAINAX's name alone? You want a famous artist? That's easy. What level? Male or female? Is someone like Hiroyuki Sanada enough?"
Okada was truly shocked.
Hiroyuki Sanada? That was more than enough!
Tetsu's easy agreement made Okada uneasy. He rubbed his hands together nervously. "President Kobayashi… can you really handle something this big?"
Tetsu shot him a look of pure disdain.
Of course he could.
If he couldn't, wouldn't all this be for nothing?
Finding Hiroyuki Sanada specifically might not be realistic, and spending millions just to have him appear in a single Sonic episode wouldn't be worth it.
But someone one tier below that level?
That was definitely doable.
After all, the Kadokawa Group also had a film and television division.
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