"Aki Tomoya, you're really like a cockroach—still crawling around after all this time."
Kyousuke didn't bother hiding the disdain in his voice.
Hearing that icy tone cold enough to freeze a man solid, Kosaka Akane smiled in satisfaction.
To see someone as composed and calculating as Kyousuke make that expression... It meant she'd hit the mark.
Kyousuke wasn't some naïve, hot-blooded dreamer like so many young creators.
He was steady.
Unshakably so.
She'd even prepared herself to be turned away at the door today—had backup plans, even considered marching straight into his apartment if needed.
Because according to the intel she'd gathered, walking into this place and having three or four knives held to your throat wasn't out of the question.
After all, the man she wanted to recruit was no tame housecat.
He was the handless devil himself—a name even real underground organizations had learned to respect.
And now he was in the anime industry? Kosaka had to wonder if the man had lost his mind.
Even if she ignored the infamous reports of Hojou Kyousuke dismantling entire teams by himself, the way Tomoya had been dealt with at that one doujin convention alone told her everything she needed to know.
The drivers, janitors, and assistants in this company weren't here because they couldn't find better work.
They were here because they'd chosen to rein in their claws just to follow this man, to stay close to his power, and serve under him in whatever way they could.
Kosaka had come today to hold interviews with new hires.
Instead, her candidates had been chased out the door.
If it had been her, she would've blown up on the spot.
But Hojou Kyousuke? He hadn't shown a flicker of emotion.
Even his sarcastic remarks had been sharp, yet refined.
No wonder everyone who'd worked with him in the industry praised him so highly.
Even without discussing his talent, just working beside a man like this—a gentleman with such presence—was a rare and intoxicating privilege.
And that's why Kosaka had made up her mind.
She had to win this man over.
Her eyes flicked to the girl beside her—her secret weapon, prepared for over a year now.
Most of the intel she'd collected on Sawamura Spencer Eriri came from this very source.
Beside her, Kisaki Tetta froze at Kyousuke's cutting words.
His expression turned regretful, then furious.
He stepped forward instinctively, ready to drag Tomoya out by the collar.
He had assumed Tomoya was just Kosaka's assistant—he hadn't expected this kind of baggage. Unforgivable.
He'd let someone like this walk right in? Totally negligent.
But Hojou Kyousuke shook his head and stopped him.
He saw it.
If they tossed Tomoya out that easily… it wouldn't get rid of the disgust he felt. It'd only leave it to fester.
"Huh? Hojou-sensei… Are you talking to me?"
Tomoya blinked in confusion, looking at Kyousuke with innocent awe, completely missing the malice in his voice.
'What's going on? Why did Hojou-sensei say something like that to me?' Still… he was thrilled.
'I can't believe the man behind One Punch Man, Attack on Titan, and Sword Art Online actually knows my name!'
'And soon, we'll be working together! How amazing is that?!'
Kyousuke didn't even look at him again.
Instead, he turned to Kosaka Akane, his ever-polite smile now gone, replaced by a quiet chill:
"Kosaka Akane… You've really outdone yourself. It's been a long time since I've felt this angry."
"I'm honored. But now you finally look like a proper young man."
Despite the cold fury in Kyousuke's expression—an intensity far too frightening for a typical sixteen-year-old—Kosaka remained unfazed.
After all, she wasn't just some heartless capitalist demanding her team sacrifice their lives for art.
If it came down to it, she'd sacrifice her own life too.
She'd made that decision the day she started walking this path.
Fear, hesitation, despair—those were emotions for the uncommitted.
But not her.
She was a creator who was willing to burn herself alive to perfect her work.
And as someone who lived with that conviction, she could meet Hojou Kyousuke's glare without flinching.
More importantly, she didn't think she was in the wrong.
Everything she'd done—every choice, every move—was to let the talents of Hojou Kyousuke, Sawamura Spencer Eriri, and Kasumi Utako shine brighter than ever before.
"But don't misunderstand me," she added. "I didn't bring him here just to provoke you. Please believe me—I value my time far too much to waste it on trash like that."
She didn't spare a single thought for Aki Tomoya standing right next to her.
"The only reason I brought him is to prove something—to show you that even a useless, delusional consumer pig like him can grow in my company."
"Grow?" Eriri echoed stiffly, clearly uncomfortable.
Just moments ago, Kosaka had roasted her for not improving in three years… and now she was saying this was growth?
"Yup! In this past year, I've come to understand you can't make a game just by shouting about it!" Aki Tomoya stood tall like a fresh new hire, practically yelling.
"I've realized being a producer or director isn't just about having dreams! Artists work super hard when they draw! Writers too, when they're writing scripts!"
Eriri looked like she was about to faint.
Kosaka turned to the three of them, smiling like a cat who'd just knocked over an expensive vase.
"Well? Impressed?"
Eriri was in disbelief.
'That's growth? Seriously?'
"Forgive me for saying this," Utaha finally said, stepping in. "But isn't that just… common sense? Isn't that why creators are respected?"
She didn't recognize the guy who'd walked in just now, though clearly Kyousuke and Eriri did.
But even without knowing him, the absurdity of what he'd just said was staggering.
'One year of work, and that's all you learned?'
"You really are the queen of this industry," Kyousuke said sincerely.
"Bwahahaha!"
Kosaka Akane burst into loud laughter, raising a finger toward Kyousuke and shouting in delight:
"That's why you're the one I've set my sights on! You actually use your brain!"
"Kyousuke, what are you even saying? Isn't that just… obvious?" Eriri snapped. "You call that progress? He's been working part-time at Mars for a whole year!
Shouldn't he at least know how game and anime production works by now? Or maybe understand what basic production responsibilities are?"
Eriri turned to Kyousuke, confusion flickering in her bright blue eyes.
"Isn't it normal for people with no other talents who admire the ACG industry to start off in production roles?"
Looking at the blonde girl beside him, Kyousuke couldn't help but think—what an idiot.
But a trace of relief softened his gaze.
It seemed she really had forgotten that awful past.
"Have you forgotten what Aki Tomoya was like when I first went with you to that doujin convention?" he asked.
He had seen everything from that day after drinking that traditional spit-fermented sake and syncing with the environment—every bit of it clear in his mind.
The reality of Aki Tomoya was far worse than anything Mitsuha had ever written in her notes.
Upon hearing "the first doujin convention," Kasumigaoka Utaha finally managed to dig through the mental junk drawer of discarded memories and recalled who Aki Tomoya was.
"Oh, that perverted fanboy who did a bunch of weird stuff on his own and shamelessly showed up at the publisher's office trying to cozy up to the author, right?"
The black-haired, red-eyed girl spoke with unmistakable disdain in her voice—not cool and aloof, but scornful now.
She even resented her own brain for remembering that day so clearly.
He was just a stranger who talked to her on the phone for less than five seconds, and yet he had the audacity to say that if Eriri joined his game dev team and they spoke properly, he could convince her to join too.
Seriously? Just gross.
How could someone be so arrogant, so clueless, so utterly full of himself?
Still, looking at it from another angle…
"I see. That really is a pretty big step forward," Utaha admitted, giving some rare praise to Kosaka Akane's insight.
As expected of the queen of the industry—her eye for people was razor-sharp.
"Hahaha! Eriri, do you think I'd hand over a key role like producer to someone like that?" Kosaka Akane laughed heartily, not sparing a glance at the person in question.
"People without talent need to know their place and recognize their limits. If they can at least do that, then that's already a big help to others. Don't you agree, Hojou?"
Eriri, sitting across from them, nodded instinctively.
This was the same idiot who'd loudly demanded that a professional like her join his project—and even dreamed of bringing in a best-selling author like Kasumigaoka Utaha.
For an average person, it'd be absurd to expect a failed producer to recruit a famous illustrator and a popular novelist.
But for Aki Tomoya to now understand the reality of things—that was, in a way, quite the achievement.
Eriri's lips parted in amazement.
Kosaka Akane really was her favorite creator.
She couldn't help but sneak a glance at Aki Tomoya, curious to see how he'd react to such brutal words.
But what surprised her was the complete lack of reaction on his face—as if he had genuinely accepted what Akane said.
As if he truly understood his own limits now.
Kyousuke's expression softened slightly.
"If this was meant as your peace offering, I'll accept it—for now."
"No, no," Akane shook her head. "If my generosity only went that far, even I wouldn't respect myself."
Aki Tomoya? Please.
He wasn't even worth considering.
She reached out her hand.
Aki Tomoya quickly passed over the folders he'd been holding.
Kosaka Akane took the files, stood up, and strode confidently toward the interview table, her long legs clad in black stockings drawing every eye.
The high-slit black dress swayed with each bold step, revealing even more of her thighs.
What a seductress! ×2
The two stern interviewers mentally crossed her out the moment they saw that.
After placing the thick folders down on the table, Akane returned to her seat, holding one final folder like it was proof of her qualifications—offering it up like an applicant showcasing their achievements.
"Hojou Kyousuke Defeat Plan – Version 4, March 2015, Kosaka Akane," Eriri read the label quietly.
"Hojou Kyousuke Defeat Plan – Version 3, April 2015, Kosaka Akane," Utaha read off the second one.
Neither of them handed the documents to Kyousuke first—this wasn't the kind of moment where a commander flipped through files.
They'd read everything and report the key points to him, obviously.
Eriri weighed the thickness of the folders with a grimace.
Even with her contact lenses on, reading through all that was going to destroy her eyesight!
'Cough, cough.'
She quietly slid the file back in front of Kyousuke, pretending like she never intended to read it herself.
Ugh, this assistant really had no tact!
Who makes the director read documents personally?
Kyousuke chuckled softly.
Eriri's little gesture had taken the edge off the disgust he felt from seeing Aki Tomoya.
She really was his little ray of sunshine.
"Setting aside the time I spent gathering intel and observing, it took me four full months to create those two plans," Kosaka Akane said flatly. "And for someone like me, who lives every second like it's my last—that's a pretty big deal."
She wasn't just strict with her subordinates; she treated herself like a workhorse too, burning the candle at both ends.
Kyousuke opened one of the folders and pulled out a half-centimeter thick stack of documents. The very first page had the title:
"Execute the Hojou Kyousuke Defeat Plan."
'Wow,' he thought. 'At least she's organized—crush me first, then build me up later?'
He began flipping through the pages like a flipbook, scanning the contents at a rapid pace.
His hands moved so fast that even Akane looked irritated.
"Hey! Do you have any idea how long it took me to make a game? At least read it seriously!"
This was the first time Akane had lost her cool since entering the room.
Sure, it wasn't a novel or manga—but to her, this was still a work of passion! And he was brushing it off so lightly?!
"Relax. As long as I still see you as a human being, I'll treat your work with respect," Kyousuke said with a calm smile, tapping the documents twice to neaten them.
"If you'd like, I can recite it for you from the first word to the last. Or in reverse. Doesn't matter."
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