Click.
The wooden door of the shabby apartment opened. Gogyo Ruri, carrying a bag of ingredients bought from the supermarket, simply placed both her handbag and the shopping bag together in the entryway. As she walked toward her soft bed, she took off her suit jacket, and her delicate, girlish body collapsed onto the folded bedding.
Both mental and physical exhaustion made her unwilling to move even a little.
"Ah~~ I'm tired! So tired! I don't want to make dinner. Maybe I should just sleep like this until tomorrow."
Gogyo Ruri muttered with her face buried in the bedding. The unexpected incident today had truly caught her off guard.
"And it just had to happen during the job interview. Everything is over!"
"That detestable male creature!"
Thinking of Kamiyā Yuu, who had caused her to perform abnormally, Gogyo Ruri gnashed her teeth and sat up. Then she stared at the black gothic outfit hanging on the wall nearby and puffed up her small face in anger.
Gogyo Ruri propped herself up, her small hands beginning to unbutton her white shirt as she clenched her teeth.
"No. I can't just let this matter pass."
Before long, she had already changed into that black gothic outfit. Compared to a woman's suit, this black gothic attire suited her temperament and appearance far better, making her look as though she truly were a dark gothic girl who had stepped out of a gothic world.
The moment she changed into the black gothic outfit, Gogyo Ruri's expression eased. Covering her mouth, she laughed loudly.
"Kukukuku~ You are nothing more than a small fry standing in the way of my path. Let me show you the power of the Fallen Saint Demoness blessed by darkness!"
"First, the magic circle..."
Gurgle, gurgle~!
A faint rumble came from her stomach.
"Mm~ I should prepare the sacrifice first. My servant Night, you too are looking forward to the sacrifice, aren't you?"
"Meow~!"
The black cat sleeping beside the bed lazily yawned.
Three days later, Gogyo Ruri returned from her part-time job at a convenience store and opened her laptop.
Honestly, even though she felt inwardly that she had no chance, there was still a tiny sliver of hope in her heart. Whatever the reason, perhaps 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio had taken a liking to her after all?
The moment she opened her account on the recruitment website, she saw that a new message had arrived, making her heart jump.
There was actually a message?
When recruitment failed, most results sank without a trace. Generally, receiving a message meant one had more or less passed.
Would that be the result?
"Miss Gogyo Ruri, you attended an interview at 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio on May 23. After carefully reviewing your employment resume, our company believes that your abilities meet our requirements...
...
If you are willing to join our company, please arrive at the Blue Storm Hotel, located about one hundred meters to the left of the company, before 9:00 a.m. on May 28 to attend the new employee entrance ceremony."
Gogyo Ruri did not read the large amount of nonsense below.
From the moment she saw the first line, her originally gloomy and exhausted expression slowly became enveloped in sunlight.
One could clearly see the process of her expression changing from gloomy to incredibly happy and excited. In the end, she simply stared at the laptop screen in a dazed state of bliss. Her small face was flushed red, and her eyes overflowed with tears of joy.
At this moment, the expression on her face was probably enough to make anyone who saw it feel happy as well.
...
Blue Storm Hotel, 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio Entrance Ceremony.
As the company president, Kamiyā Yuu, dressed in a black suit, stepped onto the stage and smiled as he read the opening speech for the entrance ceremony.
"Congratulations to everyone on officially joining the company. Our 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio was founded last year. In terms of qualifications and every other aspect within the industry, we can only be considered a newcomer company. At present, the only work we can really present is probably 'RWBY,' an animated film that received fairly good reviews overseas."
"However, as a newly established animation production company, I have full confidence in the future of 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio. I also believe that the company's performance will not disappoint any of you, newly joined employees here."
"Then, the entrance ceremony for 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio officially begins. There's no need to be so serious. We chose a hotel as the venue precisely so everyone can relax and communicate freely."
Clap clap clap~!
Clap clap clap clap clap~!
Inside the hotel's large room, dozens of new employees of 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio stood together. After hearing Kamiyā Yuu's words, they all smiled and applauded.
Gogyo Ruri, below the stage, was somewhat stunned.
The person able to go up on stage and give the opening speech at a time like this could only be the company president.
In other words, the person who had read out her username during the interview was Mr. Kamiyā Yuu, the president and chief director of 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio.
The goal she admired.
The "all-purpose director" who had personally planned the entire 'RWBY' series and single-handedly completed 'RWBY's storyboards, music, action, plot, and so on?
Gogyo Ruri's expression stiffened.
Her first reaction was not excitement or happiness, but a wish to immediately find a hole in the ground, crawl into it, and never come out again.
Was there anything in this world more terrifying than having the person one admired know one's dark history?
Fallen Saint of Chiba...
Gogyo Ruri's face turned bright red as she entered a frozen state.
Only after Kamiyā Yuu greeted the newly joined employees one by one did he notice Gogyo Ruri sitting in the corner, completely out of place amid the lively atmosphere around her.
Honestly, he was still very interested in this real person with an anime-like character design. Seeing her lower her head, not knowing what she was thinking, he simply walked over and greeted her.
"Yo, Black Cat. How does our company feel? Not bad, right?"
He deliberately used the name Black Cat. Compared to addressing her by surname, it sounded closer and also carried the implication that they were friends with shared interests.
"Eek~!"
Hearing Kamiyā Yuu's voice, Gogyo Ruri abruptly stood up and answered stiffly with her body straightened.
"Yes!"
Kamiyā Yuu froze. Somewhat awkwardly, he touched his own face and joked,
"Am I a man-eating tiger or something? Why do you look so nervous? You're making me feel uncomfortable, too."
Gogyo Ruri squirmed uneasily and bowed. After a short pause, she blushed and carefully asked,
"May I ask... are you, Mr. Kamiyā Yuu?"
"If there isn't anyone else here with that name, then the Mr. Kamiyā Yuu you mentioned is probably me."
"Yes! I'm a fan of the 'RWBY' animation. I've always admired you very, very much!"
Kamiyā Yuu's playful remark failed to relax Gogyo Ruri, and she replied excitedly instead.
This left Kamiyā Yuu awkward.
If she treated him like some kind of idol, how was he supposed to interact with Gogyo Ruri?
To borrow a very classic line from 'Bleach,' "Admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding."
Compared to being admired, Kamiyā Yuu felt that interacting with Gogyo Ruri normally in everyday life would be far more interesting.
Kamiyā Yuu waved helplessly.
"Anyway, calm down first. I'm really not used to this way of getting along. You weren't like this before. I remember you were a somewhat sharp-tongued dark gothic girl?"
Boom!
Gogyo Ruri's heart exploded. Her face turned as red as an apple. Given the choice, she would have rolled out of the hotel on the spot and found somewhere empty to hide for a while.
"Uh... ah, back then... back then, my personality wasn't very mature yet. Did I cause you trouble?"
Gogyo Ruri bowed slightly and apologized again, looking every bit like a refined young lady.
"No... not at all. It's just that you were more interesting back then."
Kamiyā Yuu smiled and understood that the relationship between the two of them would not improve in a short period of time.
What a pity. He still wanted to experience what it felt like to be sharply mocked by an "angel" like Kanade Tachibana.
The Gogyo Ruri before him was extremely similar to the animated version in 'Oreimo,' but perhaps because of the age difference, the Gogyo Ruri in front of Kamiyā Yuu was more mature and composed.
Judging purely from her current conservative and serious suit, ordinary people truly would not be able to imagine what she looked like in a black gothic outfit.
Gogyo Ruri showed an embarrassed and strained smile.
"I-Is that so?"
Her heart finally relaxed slightly.
Interesting?
In other words, her words, actions, and clothing back then had not made Kamiyā Yuu feel strange or uncomfortable.
Gogyo Ruri recalled an unpleasant memory.
When she had first come to Tokyo, she once tried wearing her black gothic outfit to apply for a job at an animation production company. Afterward, reality had whipped her mercilessly.
"Miss Gogyo Ruri, we understand that your hobby is animation, but why did you wear such... informal clothing to an interview?"
"Miss Gogyo Ruri, you're already twenty years old, correct? Shouldn't you have passed that phase already?"
"Miss Gogyo Ruri, our company respects individuality, hobbies, and personality, but we still hope to recruit employees who won't make other staff members feel troubled."
...
The first stage of 'Yosuganosora Animation Studio's development plan had been successfully implemented.
Among the newly hired employees, three people particularly interested Kamiyā Yuu. Of course, not in the romantic sense, but purely out of interest and curiosity.
The first was Uehara Etsuki's bodyguard, Busujima Murasaki.
The second was Gogyo Ruri.
The third was the new supervisor of the Photography Department, Kumamoto Alice.
The "individuality" these women possessed made the other new employees seem as ordinary as background characters.
Even Kamiyā Yuu himself was the same in that regard.
If one did not know Kamiyā Yuu's identity and saw him standing together with Kamiyā Sora, Uehara Etsuki, or Gogyo Ruri, no one would notice him at first glance.
...
During these past few months, matters related to the 'RWBY' movie version and 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio have kept Kamiyā Yuu incredibly busy.
At the same time, 'Warship Girls Collection,' a game he had created purely on a whim out of boredom, had begun causing a sensation in Japan's gaming world.
The Japanese gaming world was a strange existence.
In some cases, even popular European and American AAA titles could not compare in popularity to certain Japanese visual novels made from mosaics and text.
Perhaps due to the influence of social patterns and culture, Japan's gaming industry seemed to favor relaxed, casual, and interesting works more.
The original 'Warship Girls Collection' had itself come from Japan, and after Kamiyā Yuu optimized it by combining experience from many sources, it perfectly struck the preferences most Japanese people had toward games.
Interesting and varied gameplay.
Beautiful and adorable shipgirl illustrations.
A completely innovative theme and play style.
And most, most, most importantly, this excellent work had absurdly closed off player registration channels.
As a result, the number of registered players was probably only around thirty thousand.
Thirty thousand players were merely a small ripple in Japan's gaming world, and the influence they could create was negligible.
However, after several months of accumulation, this ripple gradually became a large wave in the gaming world, attracting the attention of many players.
Several months ago, Miyamoto Ayumu, the manga artist behind the serialized manga 'Soccer Fierce General' in a famous weekly manga magazine, announced an indefinite hiatus.
Then, fans browsing through his "Twitter" discovered that, during the month before his hiatus, he had constantly posted information related to a game called 'Warship Girls Collection.'
While the industry lamented yet another manga artist neglecting his proper work, they also became somewhat interested in 'Warship Girls Collection.'
But when fans found the game, they discovered that there was no way to register.
Curious, they dug deeper and made an even more shocking discovery:
Accounts for 'Warship Girls Collection' were being sold on some gaming websites for three hundred thousand yen!
Had they gone insane from wanting money?
Even European and American AAA masterpieces cost only a few hundred dollars at most.
Anyone would think that.
Thus, one fan angrily posted a themed thread on Twitter titled: 'Would You Spend One Month's Salary to Buy a Game Account? A Game Worth 300,000 Yen!'
The content basically criticized the game officials for neglecting their proper duties and engaging in hunger marketing.
The post was quickly reposted by fans of manga artist Miyamoto Ayumu, all wanting to investigate the truth.
Originally, this was not something that would attract much attention. However, not long after the post appeared, a small number of 'Warship Girls Collection' players came over to explain that this had nothing to do with the officials.
The officials only provided game accounts and charged no fees.
The buying and selling of accounts were all decisions made by players themselves.
And so, a topic was born.
Arguments on Twitter began.
Most importantly, Miyamoto Ayumu, the manga artist who had served as the fuse, actually stepped forward to speak on behalf of 'Warship Girls Collection.'
He published a long post explaining the game's systems and apologizing for neglecting his proper work. At the end, he even said playfully that he would return to serializing manga because, aside from the manuscript fees he sent back home, he had spent even his living expenses on in-game purchases. At present, he was surviving on basic living support provided by his editor.
Just what kind of charm did the game 'Warship Girls Collection' possess?
By coincidence, one player who was also an online streamer had a 'Warship Girls Collection' account. He usually livestreamed the game on an online platform and had accumulated quite a few fans.
Once the matter involving manga artist Miyamoto Ayumu broke out, his livestream room was occupied by a flood of curious viewers.
More and more game details were exposed.
Some Japanese illustration websites began showing scattered artwork related to 'Warship Girls Collection.'
There were even doujin artists uploading shipgirl doujin works from the game to mysterious websites that only men over twenty were allowed to browse.
Relying on its solid quality and Kamiyā Yuu's "hunger marketing," the game completed a round of hype that was not truly hype.
In the end, the price of 'Warship Girls Collection' accounts was driven up to over six hundred thousand yen, and even then, supply could not meet demand.
Accounts listed for sale were snatched away by players in less than a minute.
'Warship Girls Collection' became a legend in Japan's gaming world!
The more unattainable something was, the more attractive it became.
Countless Japanese players wailed for help online, searching for registration channels for the game or strongly demanding that the officials open registration.
Aside from players, many Japanese game publishing companies also wanted to find the company that produced 'Warship Girls Collection.'
'Warship Girls Collection' was like a delicious cake that had not yet been divided up, and its aroma made countless people envious.
Kamiyā Yuu and the members of 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio paid no attention to any of this.
Rather, aside from routine server maintenance, Kamiyā Yuu had not paid the slightest attention to information about the game at all.
The 'RWBY' movie, 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio, and matters related to 'Magical Girl Nanoha' occupied all of his working time.