Chapter 172: Chapter 172: MEM: Why Has No One Hung Him on a Streetlight Yet?
Chapter 172: MEM: Why Has No One Hung Him on a Streetlight Yet?
Crouching in the corner of the room.
Kirisu Mafuyu opened her mouth but couldn't scream, only letting out a sound like a mole's squeak.
Kirisu Mafuyu, what on earth have you done?!
That was your student!
Moreover—it was someone Yukino liked!
A deep sense of guilt flooded her.
If possible...
She truly wanted to dig a hole and live in it for the rest of her life.
But obviously, that was impossible.
People still had to face reality.
After twenty minutes of internal struggle,
Kirisu Mafuyu decided to confront her shame.
She timidly took small steps toward the door.
Using all the courage she had left, she gently pressed down on the doorknob, pulling it open just a crack...
Through the small gap, Kirisu Mafuyu cautiously observed the outside world.
She was afraid Yukima Azuma would be standing right outside, grinning mischievously as he waited for her to open the door.
Fortunately—there was no sign of Yukima Azuma outside.
Kirisu Mafuyu let out a sigh of relief.
"Mafuyu-sensei?"
A voice suddenly rang out, making Kirisu Mafuyu's entire body tremble.
She slowly turned her head.
Good news: the person outside wasn't Yukima Azuma.
Bad news: the person outside was Yukinoshita Yukino.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Kirisu Mafuyu with a puzzled gaze, as if wondering why she was acting so guilty, like a thief.
"Mafuyu-sensei, you're awake? There's some plain porridge downstairs that Azuma-kun prepared."
"Azuma-kun said that even though he gave you a hangover remedy, you'd probably only want to eat something light when you woke up."
Upon hearing that, Kirisu Mafuyu tried to feel her condition.
It seemed to be true.
She had gotten drunk at home before.
Every time she woke up, her head would feel like it was being hammered.
But this time, there was no such feeling at all.
Thinking back to last night...
Yukima Azuma had thoughtfully fed her the hangover remedy.
Even though her room was a mess, he hadn't been angry at all. Instead, he had helped her clean everything up.
Kirisu Mafuyu's heart skipped a beat.
Suddenly, she could understand why her former student liked Yukima Azuma.
But precisely because she understood, she didn't dare to look Yukino in the eyes.
"He's not home?"
Kirisu Mafuyu asked in a small voice.
"He left early in the morning. Today is the premiere of the anime film adaptation of his light novel."
Yukino, as the branch manager of Laplace Corporation in Japan,
naturally knew all the details regarding the release of the company's works.
She also planned to head to the company later to check the response data from the premiere.
But today—Mafuyu-sensei seemed strange.
Kirisu Mafuyu, upon hearing that Yukima Azuma wasn't home,
let out a sigh of relief, but at the same time, felt an inexplicable sense of loss.
She quickly shook her head, trying to drive away those strange thoughts.
"Then I'll go eat."
After saying that, Kirisu Mafuyu hurriedly ran downstairs.
....
On the other side.
Today was the premiere of the "Bunny Girl Senpai" movie.
There was still exactly one hour until the screening,
but the Ginza theater was already packed with people.
"Azuma."
Standing in front of the theater, Kurokawa Akane smiled sweetly when she saw Yukima Azuma approaching.
Today, Kurokawa Akane was dressed in a pure white dress.
The girl who was once called an emotionless doll needed only a white dress to leave others breathless.
To avoid being recognized, she wore large sunglasses and a sun hat.
But at this moment, her sunglasses had slipped down to the tip of her nose, revealing a pair of bright eyes focused intently on the young man in front of her.
She had been working seriously all this time just so she could watch this premiere together with Yukima Azuma.
The movie that he had written specifically for her.
The achievement he had earned by single-handedly overturning the prejudices of tens of thousands of people.
No matter how cold a heart might be, when you witness these things, you will definitely be warmed by that young man.
In the past, Kurokawa Akane had only focused on work,
completely clueless about anything related to love.
But in the face of such deep emotions,
no matter how oblivious she had been, she could now understand her own heart.
She had fallen in love with the young man who had saved her twice.
The first time, on the bridge, Yukima Azuma had saved her body.
The second time, outside the window, Yukima Azuma had saved her soul.
So, starting today,
Kurokawa Akane was willing to offer both her body and soul, devoting herself wholeheartedly to loving Yukima Azuma.
"Good morning, Akane-san."
Yukima Azuma waved at Kurokawa Akane, flashing a smile.
Kurokawa Akane was mesmerized by that smile.
But at the same time, she felt a bit puzzled.
Why did he call her "Akane-san" instead of "Guardian"?
Speaking of Guardian…
Kurokawa Akane suddenly recalled something else.
Her earlier doubts were quickly overshadowed, replaced by an intense sense of embarrassment.
"Uhm… do you want to add a little more love to it…"
Kurokawa Akane whispered, her voice so soft that it was almost inaudible.
The doll girl was no longer just a doll.
Of course, she fully understood what she had done.
But she had done so completely willingly.
Even though bringing it up now was a little embarrassing…
If it was Yukima Azuma, then it didn't matter.
However, just as Kurokawa Akane was waiting for Yukima Azuma's response—
"Akane-chan! Waaaah! You're finally okay!"
A petite figure suddenly dashed out from behind Yukima Azuma, throwing herself straight at Kurokawa Akane.
Kurokawa Akane was startled and instinctively raised her hand to block.
Taking a closer look…
She finally recognized who was in front of her.
It was MEM-Cho, the YouTuber who had filmed "LoveforReal" with her.
Their private relationship was quite good.
Kurokawa Akane had even asked MEM about things related to Yukima Azuma.
On any other day, meeting MEM again would have made her very happy.
But right now…
Why the hell was this girl here!?
"Akane, I'm so glad you're okay!"
Sumi Yuki also stepped forward from the side.
Upon seeing Sumi Yuki, Kurokawa Akane immediately understood.
Yukima Azuma must have invited the "LoveforReal" members,
the ones who had helped produce the video clarifying the truth.
That made perfect sense.
But still…
Kurokawa Akane pursed her lips slightly, looking somewhat resentful.
MEM, who had been all excited just moments ago,
slowly began to realize that something was off.
"Uhm… Akane-chan, are we… interrupting you two?"
She asked Kurokawa Akane in a small voice.
Even though it was a little embarrassing…
Kurokawa Akane still gave a small nod.
"Yes."
"Uwaa, that was way too straightforward."
MEM sighed in exasperation.
But right after, she realized it wasn't surprising at all.
Just looking at everything Yukima Azuma had done for Kurokawa Akane…
Even as an outsider, she found this couple way too adorable.
The perfect example of a great hero riding a seven-colored cloud to rescue a princess.
For Kurokawa Akane, who was actually living in this story,
it was completely understandable for her to be deeply immersed in these feelings.
If only, in her younger years, she had met a hero like that…
The high school girl who had long since passed the proper age let out a small sigh.
Even though they were interrupting…
The premiere tickets had already been purchased,
so MEM and Sumi Yuki couldn't just turn around and leave.
In the end, the four of them entered the movie theater together.
The ticket line stretched endlessly,
extending from the ticket counter all the way to the popcorn stand.
Seeing the massive crowd ahead,
MEM couldn't help but marvel with admiration in her eyes:
"Looking at this turnout, the box office is going to explode! So jealous, Nyan~!"
"That's only natural."
Sumi Yuki glanced at Yukima Azuma.
"After all, the original work has already sold seven million copies up to this point."
Seven million original fans.
Even if only one-seventh of them came to watch the movie,
the revenue would already be astronomical.
Not to mention, fans of this series were known to be fanatical across the internet.
And beyond that, the theater audience wasn't limited to just the original fans.
As a theatrical anime movie,
its audience would be many times larger than that of a light novel readership.
"Boss, has anyone contacted you to write scripts?"
MEM asked curiously.
On a side note, the reason she called him "Boss"
was because she had officially been poached by Yukima Azuma—
leaving her old company to join Laplace Corporation.
"Seems like it. My work LINE account has received quite a few offers."
As Yukima Azuma spoke, he pulled out his phone,
switching his LINE account to work mode.
A tidal wave of messages flooded the screen.
Handing the phone over to MEM, Yukima Azuma nonchalantly added:
"But I haven't paid any attention to them."
MEM blinked as she stared at the screen.
Immediately, she spotted invitations from several major talent agencies.
The figures they were offering were absolutely outrageous.
Moreover, they were only asking him to write scripts—
there were no unreasonable conditions attached.
At this point, the name "Yukimi Azuma" had practically become the dark horse of the industry.
Any company that could get their hands on a script written by him
could easily create a superstar adored by millions.
As for character development?
Just follow the script, and everything would fall into place!
Because of that, the script offers sent to Yukima Azuma
had become increasingly insane.
Staring at the mind-boggling numbers on the screen,
MEM swallowed hard.
"Boss, you've struck gold! Just by writing a few scripts, your annual income would be over 1 billion yen!"
"Nah, at this point, even if I do absolutely nothing, my annual income will still exceed 1 billion yen."
"Aaaaah! You filthy capitalist! Why hasn't anyone hung you upside down on a Streetlight yet?!"
"First of all, please call me an entrepreneur. Second, if you keep slandering me, your bonus this month will disappear."
MEM instantly fell silent.
She looked at Yukima Azuma with pitiful eyes.
"Nooo! Please don't cut my bonus!"
MEM could only feel that joy and sorrow between people were fundamentally incompatible.
For a YouTuber, an annual income of 100 million yen
was already enough to be considered one of the top creators.
If they reached 1 billion yen, they would be in the absolute upper echelon,
a dream that every YouTuber longed for but was nearly impossible to achieve.
And yet—
For her boss, 1 billion yen for a script?
He didn't even bother to check the offers.
Unforgivable!
MEM: "There are already so many rich people in this world! Just let me be one of them too!"
Meanwhile, Kurokawa Akane, walking beside them, felt nothing but excitement in her heart.
He doesn't even want to write scripts for anyone else!