Reinhard heard this and gave Julius a nod.
They were hardly criminals. They did not even qualify as suspects.
If anything, they should be considered brave citizens who stepped up to help capture a wanted criminal. Naturally, there was no reason to treat them harshly.
It did not take long before Julius returned with the two of them, bringing along plenty of food as well.
Satoru Gojo flashed them a thumbs-up and immediately dug in.
Desserts and hot tea.
No matter how many times he had them, the combination never got old.
While everyone was filling their stomachs, a faint blue projection suddenly appeared in Gojo's field of vision. It was something only he could see.
[Anime series "Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World" will begin airing shortly.]
[Interdimensional playback function has been activated. You may view real-time comments and popularity rankings during the broadcast.]
[Popularity Value Shop unlocked.]
[Popularity values can be exchanged here.]
Gojo raised an eyebrow as he read the lines of pale blue text.
An anime series?
He chewed on a biscuit, his expression thoughtful.
That explained it.
He had already been wondering about something for a while.
Where exactly did this so-called supporting character system get its popularity values from?
After arriving in this world, he had done quite a bit.
Saving children in danger, teaching street thugs a lesson, even dealing with assassins from an underground organization.
If popularity values really existed, there should have been some kind of reaction after all that.
Yet until now, if not for these notifications, he would have had no clue at all.
Now it finally made sense.
Picking actors from countless worlds and throwing them into other worlds, using those worlds as the stage.
Tch. That's one hell of a production.
So who exactly are the people watching this anime I'm starring in?
Gojo pondered silently.
Am I performing for some vague, distant gods?
He swallowed the last of his biscuit and lifted his teacup, taking a small sip of the fragrant black tea.
In that case, it was time to test how successful his past two days had been.
He just wondered whether these so-called viewers were satisfied with his performance.
Activate interdimensional playback.
He murmured the command in his mind.
At once, all the pale blue text vanished.
In its place, a small window bordered with ornate golden patterns appeared before his eyes.
The window could be resized or adjusted in transparency at will, responding directly to his thoughts. It was surprisingly user-friendly.
For now, the screen was completely black.
The broadcast had not started yet.
Gojo waited briefly. Soon, the window flickered and changed.
---
Cilicili.
As the largest top-tier anime streaming site, it rolled out a wave of new shows every season.
Viewers tired of rewatching old favorites, or those waiting for other series to finish airing, would always take this opportunity to sample the newcomers and see if anything caught their interest.
Among the many new titles, Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World stood out clearly.
[Anime: Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World]
[Popularity: 0]
[Rating: 0]
[Genre: Alternate World / Isekai / Fantasy]
As a brand-new series, it had nothing to its name. No data, no ratings, no buzz.
Even so, that did not dampen the enthusiasm of anime fans eager to explore.
Especially viewers with a fondness for isekai stories. Many of them clicked in without hesitation.
[First!]
[Good luck on the premiere!]
[Anyone here?]
[I'm in!]
[Brain storage time.]
---
Several comments flashed by in quick succession.
The episode opened with Subaru Natsuki stepping out of a convenience store, plastic bags in hand. Standing by the roadside, he rubbed his eyes, looking worn out.
Then, in the span of a single blink, the world before him changed completely.
Subaru stood frozen in a bustling plaza, people passing by on all sides. His blank, stunned expression made him look more than a little slow on the uptake.
[That was a pretty casual isekai.]
[That confused look is priceless.]
[Surprised? Shocked?]
Gojo watched the comments scroll past his eyes, his gaze calm.
From the way these comments sound, this really isn't that different from my original world.
Speech patterns could vary wildly. Not just between worlds, but between regions and countries as well.
At first, Gojo had wondered whether the force behind all this was truly some godlike existence from legend.
But judging from these comments, even if they were gods, they were probably not much different from ordinary people.
At least in the way they thought.
"Hey, newbie, what are you standing around for? Did this place scare you stupid or what…"
Subaru's stunned state did not last long before a voice cut in from beside him.
When Gojo saw his own figure appear on the screen, he felt a strange sensation.
It really was like watching himself act in a movie, except he was just being himself.
Beyond that, he also noticed a popularity ranking displayed in the top-right corner of the screen.
At first, only Subaru's name was listed, followed by a big fat zero.
Judging from that clueless opening alone, Subaru had not exactly won the audience over.
However.
The moment Gojo's figure appeared beside Subaru and struck up a conversation, his own name was added to the list.
And compared to Subaru's lonely zero, his entry was clearly different.
In just a short moment, the number next to his name jumped to three.
[Your popularity value +1.]
[Your popularity value +1.]
[Your popularity value +1.]
Three notifications drifted by lightly.
[Another isekai'd guy?]
[Looks like this confused dude figured it out too.]
[They look about the same age. Why does the art style difference feel so huge?]
[Not gonna lie, white hair is always cool.]
Gojo set his teacup down and casually ran a hand through his hair, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.
He was not someone who obsessed over his own looks.
Still, that did not stop him from feeling pleased when the comments praised his appearance.
On screen, the two who had just met quickly grew familiar after realizing they were both isekai'd.
Especially after Gojo fed Subaru that whole spiel about supporting characters, even the audience seemed to get a little led astray.
[So he's the protagonist. No wonder he's so handsome.]
[Wait, would a real protagonist actually say he's the protagonist?]