Izumi Chihiro wasn't too concerned about everyone's evaluations either; compared to the impactful effects animation could create in terms of visuals and music, light novels were undoubtedly far behind in this regard, thus magnifying certain shortcomings.
But there was no need to rush. As long as it wasn't a direct deterrent, a temporary loss of public opinion was fine. As long as he followed his own pace and later delivered a brilliant performance, the reputation would naturally undergo a huge change.
Over the weekend, Izumi Chihiro paid a visit to Sawamura.
Because Aunt Sayuri was out, he spoke directly with Eriri.
"The plot setting for white album is basically complete. I came today to give this to you... Oh, and I'll also give you the songs I had Nishikino compose earlier."
Izumi Chihiro got straight to the point, handing her a large stack of papers.
Eriri took the items with a bewildered expression, then quickly composed herself and said, "This work progress is acceptable. At least you didn't make me wait too long, but... let me review it first and see how well you wrote it!"
The girl sat on the sofa and began to read.
Firstly, in terms of format, it was very formal, completely following the gal game model, indicating that he had specifically researched it before starting work, showing a serious attitude, not just talking casually.
As for the content.
Leaving aside the similar points for now, she needed to pay attention to certain highlights.
Evidently, the main theme of the plot was a story between one boy and two girls, with a strong emphasis on the entanglement of factional disputes, rather than a sweet, ambiguous approach with both sides.
The settings for both female leads had some Highlights, but neither garnered her preference because neither of them possessed that attribute.
Because of this, she could look at the story settings within with less personal bias.
"It's indeed a good script... entirely worth making a game for."
After reading the script, Eriri couldn't help but say, moved.
Izumi Chihiro smiled with satisfaction.
For his childhood friend to give such a direct evaluation meant that the true assessment would be no less than good, proving that his hard work was not in vain.
"And the songs... I don't quite understand this, can't tell if they're good or bad, but these lyrics, tsk tsk..."
Eriri looked at the sheet music, her expression changing.
"Then listen to it yourself."
As if he had expected it, Izumi Chihiro pulled out his phone from his pocket, clicked on an audio software, and a familiar singing voice immediately resonated.
"These two songs are indeed very good. It seems there are no problems, but the person singing this is Nishikino, right?"
Eriri's expression was strange.
Not only composing, but also singing?
Nishikino could be so generous?
How far has your relationship progressed, hey!
"Yes, I had Nishikino sing it once earlier and recorded it."
He replied.
"The script is fine, and these two main songs in the plot are also very good. It looks like it's time to get to work!"
Eriri took a deep breath and made her decision.
With the most important script and two good songs, the difficulty from now on would not be very high.
It only required constructing some dialogue details, ordinary sound effects and BGM, as well as drawing and voice actors.
"Can we make it for Winter Comiket?"
Because Summer Comiket was approaching soon, Izumi Chihiro estimated the work speed and knew it would be impossible.
"What do you think? We have almost half a year to prepare, and it's not a high-budget production. With our experience, we can definitely finish it before Winter Comiket."
Eriri rolled her eyes at him.
"This is going to be interesting now."
Izumi Chihiro chuckled.
"You're not going to think you can just be a hands-off boss after this, are you? You still need to supervise."
Seeing this, Eriri reminded him.
"Alright then."
Izumi Chihiro was rather speechless; his original plan to be lazy had fallen through.
But this was also good. If he didn't follow up, the plot in the official game might change completely due to various reasons.
Then all his efforts during this time would have been completely wasted!
...
Just as the plan was finalized, this news spread like wildfire online.
Compared to the deep roots of Fujikawa Bunko, the notoriety of a mere doujin game club was certainly insufficient, so there could be no ambiguity when it came to marketing.
Therefore, to increase its visibility, the club egoistic-lily also revealed a piece of news on its official blog and Twitter.
The new work would no longer be a doujin game, but an original galgame penned by Izumi Masamune!
Although the name Izumi Masamune was not as dazzling as Senju Muramasa and Kani Nayuta, he was still a somewhat well-known figure in the industry of this era.
Especially because Kashiwagi Eri and Izumi Masamune had a good relationship, the game club's fans became quite agitated.
["Huh? I'm not seeing things, am I! Izumi Old Thief actually came to make a game? And he's the main writer... This is going to be interesting!"]
["How to evaluate Old Thief, who isn't doing his main job and instead came to earn some extra money?"]
["Old Thief's novels are pretty good, but there's a difference between games and light novels, right? Can he really handle it?"]
["Old Thief must be here to repay a favor this time, right? He received help from Kashiwagi Eri before, but never had an opportunity like this until now."]
["By the way, I'm so confused! Who exactly is this Old Thief you're talking about! Is Kashiwagi Eri very familiar with him?"]
["The commenter above must be new, right? You don't even know Old Thief? Old Thief is Izumi Masamune, the creator of demon slayer, and he and Kashiwagi Eri are good friends!"]
["This is getting interesting. Can Old Thief, at his age, really write this kind of slice-of-life romance plot? He's not just here for fun, is he!"]
With his debut work selling an average of 100,000 copies per volume, it was conservatively estimated that at least 100,000 people were already familiar with the name Izumi Masamune, and as for his popularity, there was no need to even mention it.
In addition, many people expressed understanding for Izumi Masamune's somewhat slacking behavior, because as old fans, they generally knew about the predicament Izumi Masamune faced back then, so they were very grateful to Kashiwagi Eri, who provided timely help.
Kashiwagi Eri helped Izumi Masamune before, and after Izumi Masamune rose to prominence, he was equally willing to take some time to help Kashiwagi Eri. This mutual assistance made everyone have more conjectures and envy regarding the emotional bond between the two.