I'll post an extra chapter every 400 Power Stones. Good luck with that!
Goal for the next extra chapter: 261/400
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Time passed, and the table read came to an end. Once it was over, the atmosphere became friendly again. Aya, who was sitting next to Kyo, said, "That was impressive. I didn't expect you to be that good."
Kyo felt a bit embarrassed and tried to act humble. "It was nothing special. I was only able to perform that well because I'm in the presence of all of you. I'd like to thank you—it helped me a lot."
Kyo lowered his head to thank his seniors.
"Don't bow your head, there's no need to thank us~~ This is work, isn't it? I should be the one thanking you for letting me see something so incredible. It's been years since I've seen someone as talented as you," Keiko said.
She was genuinely impressed.
She had just seen someone so young perform like that. Was he using method acting? She didn't know, but it felt as if she were truly in the presence of Sota Mizuno while they acted together.
It was as if she were in front of her "son."
Hiroshi was also impressed.
While arguing with his "son," Kyo's gaze had been unpleasant—the look of a child who couldn't stand his parents. He was acting exactly like a rebellious teenager.
'But he's so young…' Hiroshi thought. 'This kid definitely has a bright future ahead of him.'
He smiled as he watched Kyo walk away.
Aya had followed him.
The other people in the room—who weren't just actors, as Kyo had thought, but also members of the production staff—began discussing him.
"Is that boy really 13 years old?"
"I don't know, but I can't believe it. That performance felt like someone with years of experience. Are you sure he hasn't acted before when he was younger?"
"I'm sure. His résumé is practically empty. The only thing he's done is a commercial campaign for a famous clothing brand. That was his first job."
"Alright, let's stop talking about him now." Keiko clapped her hands. "I'm going to my dressing room to get ready for shooting." Then she looked at a camera on the wall.
From another room, both the director and the screenwriter had been watching everything.
"Who is that boy? You've found a monster," Keiko said with a smile before leaving the room.
Everyone began to leave, heading to their dressing rooms or to their positions to start the shooting.
Kyo, who had returned to his dressing room accompanied by Aya, was surprised when she entered with him.
'What is she doing here?' Haruna also couldn't understand, but… 'Isn't that woman staring at Kyo a bit too much? And what's with that smile?' Haruna knew Aya, after all—she was a famous actress.
But she completely ignored that fact.
'If that woman is interested in Kyo, I won't allow it! Is she some kind of criminal or something? How old is she? Almost 30!?'
But contrary to what Haruna imagined, the only thing Aya was thinking was…
'He's so young, handsome, and talented. I need to get closer to him—he'll definitely be a star in the future.'
She was only interested in getting close to him because of his potential success.
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While the studio grew increasingly busy with preparations for shooting, in bookstores all across Japan, the new work by Aoi Haruki was being released.
The abbreviated title of the work was "Oregairu," a story focused on teenage romance and character development.
Most of the people buying this new work were fans of Overlord, fans of Aoi Haruki. However, some of them weren't fans at all. One of those people was Hanna Tachibana.
An 18-year-old girl who had just graduated from high school.
She was at a bookstore to buy the first volume of Overlord, since her friends were fans and the series had recently been completed. Fortunately, reprints of the first volume had been made.
However, when she arrived at the bookstore near her house, a new work by Aoi Haruki was on sale.
"Isn't Aoi Haruki the author of Overlord?" She recognized that name very well.
The bookstore was crowded. Not only were sales of the final volume of Overlord going strong, but people were also buying the author's new work, Oregairu.
Since Hanna was a fan of romance, she became very interested.
In addition to buying the first volume of Overlord, she also bought the first volume of Oregairu.
But she wasn't the only one.
Many people who were fans of romance—even those who had never read Overlord—started buying the first volume of Oregairu.
And so, Aoi Haruki began building a "new audience"—a fanbase deeply passionate about romance and eager for a high-quality romance light novel.
When Hanna left the bookstore and looked at the cover of Oregairu, she was impressed.
'It's one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen.'
Aoi Haruki had also illustrated the cover. Not just the cover, but all the illustrations in the first volume.
'He's incredible.'
She looked at the cover of Overlord, and while it was eye-catching, it wasn't nearly as impressive. The quality of the cover made by Aoi Haruki was superior.
Hanna opened the first page and began reading right there.
After reading just the first few pages, she was already hooked.
'Hachiman, right? I'm already very interested in him. He seems like an intriguing protagonist.'
As soon as she got home, Hanna set aside volume 1 of Overlord and started reading Oregairu instead.
She became captivated by the character Hikigaya Hachiman—a loner with a distorted view of relationships. He believed that most relationships, especially in school, were superficial and fake.
People weren't truly happy. Everything was "fake."
Hanna could relate to that. Her high school years had been turbulent.
As she read, she smiled the entire time.
When Yukino Yukinoshita first appeared, Hanna didn't like her
She seemed too rational and uninteresting at first—a character that didn't "fit" her.
But when Yui appeared… it was love at first sight for Hanna.
A kind girl who always seemed cheerful. Hanna usually didn't like people like that, but for some reason, she fell in love with the character.
Since it was a romance—and probably a "harem," she thought—
'I'm rooting for Hachiman to choose Yui in the end!'
And so, a war between Yui fans and Yukino fans began on the internet—even though only one volume had been released.
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