Alice's indifference embarrassed Tanaka, and the two groups separated sadly.
Accompanied by the melodious music of dozens of violinists, Takumi and his group entered the venue, as large as a football field, with bright lights and magnificent decoration. People were everywhere, and beautiful maidens moved in and out orderly with drinks in hand.
Tanaka entered before them, and as soon as he stepped inside, many people surrounded him.
"The Tanaka family was originally a wealthy family in Osaka,"
Alice whispered into Takumi's ear, and he nodded. He had researched Tanaka and wasn't surprised to see such a scene.
Tanaka was arrogant in appearance, but he used to attack people of lower status. He possessed great social skills. The Tanaka family had been in decline for a long time, but Tanaka preserved his capital in social networks and used it to resurface.
This man is quite intelligent and usually brings bodyguards for his social engagements. The upper class cares a lot about its image. If others saw that the Tanaka family had fallen to the point of not even having servants, 'how could Tanaka make friends, let alone cling to Kanto Manga Company?'
Therefore, when they met this time, Tanaka did not shake his hand, which surprised Takumi. Obviously, it was not a smart decision. 'Of course, others might say that Tanaka hates Takumi. There must be a reason for this. The two things with Hinotori Publishing and Tsuki Animation are enough to make Tanaka hostile.' But now Takumi's status is not low, and Tanaka has no reason to be arrogant.
There might be two other reasons.
The first is that Tanaka does not expect to improve his relationship with Takumi. He has considered him an invincible enemy, especially because of the handshake incident. He even worried that Takumi would take the opportunity to retaliate by shaking his hand.
But this reason is not enough, so the second one is very important.
The second, of course, is that Tanaka considers Takumi a harmless person; that is, he believes that he, Tanaka, will be the winner of this carnival, not Takumi. Furthermore, he believes that Takumi will not be qualified to compete with him in the future.
Of course, he doesn't need to treat those who are not qualified with courtesy.
But this conjecture makes Takumi feel absurd. 'If it's true, where does Tanaka's confidence come from?'
Takumi didn't think about it anymore. At that moment, Alice reminded him: "Guo Letong is here, the man walking towards Tanaka."
Guo Letong, Takumi had heard that name that morning. He is the director of the animation column that Osaka TV has just launched, and he is also the one who decides which animation to use.
Takumi looked up and saw a man with glasses and kind manners walking towards Tanaka.
"Tanaka, welcome." Guo Letong and Tanaka exchanged warm greetings. He smiled and said: "Tanaka is very young and promising. He has already worked at Kanto Manga Company."
"A bright future awaits you." Their conversation made Takumi's heart skip a beat. While speaking ill of him in secret, Guo Letong suddenly saw them, and his eyes lit up again.
"Tanaka, I'm going to receive the new guests. I'm leaving first."
Guo Letong and Tanaka quickly parted ways, quickened their pace, and greeted a group from Hinotori Publishing.
"Hello, are you Takumi?" he asked.
He extended his hand and shook Takumi's hand enthusiastically: "I saw your company's Pokémon series; it's truly incredible, a very good anime."
Takumi was stunned, and Tanaka, opposite him, also widened his eyes.
This partiality was too obvious. Guo Letong praised Tanaka and told him that a bright future awaited him. But when shaking Takumi's hand, he praised Pokémon. This attitude, at first glance, seems enthusiastic towards Tanaka. But thinking about it more, 'doesn't this mean that Guo Letong values Pokémon more than The Young Emperor?'
Takumi couldn't help but feel happy.
He chatted with Guo Letong for a while, and then his interlocutor smiled, said goodbye, and sent someone to guide Takumi and the others into the venue.
A group from Hinotori Publishing headed towards the agreed direction. Haru and Kenji were very excited about what had happened. Alice was very calm. Kenji Sato even smiled and explained: "I already imagined it. 'How is it possible that the television station didn't see Pokémon? They're not fools. Of course they'll choose whoever makes them money.'"
Takumi felt relieved. This time was different from the presentation to NHK. It was an original case back then. This time, the actual sample was shown to the Osaka television station. Although they couldn't see how popular Pokémon would be, they could at least distinguish it from The Young Emperor.
After feeling relieved, Takumi turned and smiled: "The Carnival will announce the animation program later. You don't have to follow me. Go play freely."
He saw a lot of self-service cakes and delicacies all over the place. The people behind him were already eager to try.
"Okay."
"Thank you, team leader!"
Kenji took Haru away, and many others also left. Shiori looked at Takumi and wanted to take him to play together.
But, obviously, it was impossible. Takumi had to attend a social event soon. He, Alice, and Kenji Sato couldn't leave. Shiori couldn't say a word. It was strange to be by his side. Shortly after, she left angrily.
Shiori ate and drank a lot. It was an exceptional occasion to attend such an important event. She discovered a lot of food she had never seen. She was happy eating.
But while she was eating, someone approached her.
"Shiori!"
Shiori looked up and was surprised: "Haru, what are you doing here?"
She saw her friends from the Alliance of Older Sisters appear in front of her.
"Hehe, I heard that this carnival will announce Mirai-sensei's animation, so I used my contacts to get in." Haru was very proud, her eyes sparkling, and said: "Not only are we here, but there are many other fans; I heard there are dozens. Mirai-sensei is really incredible; he has thousands of fans in the upper class."
"Ah."
Shiori was stunned. She turned around and looked around. 'Were there thousands of Mirai-sensei's fans among the costumed people, talking and laughing?'
She couldn't believe it.
"Shiori, we're ready to cheer for Mirai-sensei's animation!"
Haru crossed her arms and laughed: "In recent months, the world has been full of Kanto manga, which suffocated us. It's not easy to see Mirai-sensei come up with something; we have to take this opportunity... Oh, that's right!"
Haru clapped her hands, approached Shiori's ear, and whispered.
"I'll tell you a secret. A fan from the television animation team said that Mirai-sensei's Pokémon defeated The Young Emperor by an overwhelming majority. The animation that will be broadcast during prime time this time is Pokémon."
Shiori was stunned again.
"Is that true?"
"Absolutely true."
Haru nodded affirmatively, extending her hand to hug Shiori: "Come on, I'll take you to meet the other sisters. If there's an announcement, we can shout slogans and cheer together."
"Oh!"
Shiori nodded, ready to put down the cake in her other hand and go there, but at that moment...
"Shiori, what are you doing here?"
A man's voice was heard. Shiori turned and was surprised again.
"Hirano-sensei."
'What day is it today? Everyone's here!'
- - - -
Big News!
Thanks for reading! Your support this week on both Webnovel and Patreon has been incredible.
As a result, this week we'll have 4 daily chapters on Webnovel and 8 daily chapters for paid Patreon subscribers.
Also, if we can reach 20 paid subscribers a month, the base number of daily chapters will permanently increase to 3 on Webnovel and 6 on Patreon! Your support on Patreon is key to making this happen!