Igarashi walked down to the bottom floor of the shop and suddenly, he remembered something that snapped him out of his thinking. 'Crap, I forgot Xiangling'
He immediately went to the door and opened it to only see a sitting Xiangling in front of his shop with Gouba and they were... Writing their names on their faces?
'What is she doing? No, wait... Isn't what she's doing similar to what Mitsuha and Taki did in 'Your Name'?' Igarashi thought.
When Xiangling saw Igarashi, she stopped writing her name in Gouba which was halfway written and is now only shown as 'Xian'. "Boss Yunru, you're back! What took you so long?"
"Sorry, Xiangling, I was... Focused on another matter." Igarashi calmly replied. He then continued, "As for my side of our contract, I think it's time for you to know."
When Xiangling heard Igarashi's reply, she immediately got excited and listened close.
Igarashi cleared his throat and explained, "*Ahem* As stated by our deal, I will impart sequel of the story—"
"THERE'S A SEQUEL?!" Xiangling shouted in excitement. She had never guessed that the work she liked so much would have a sequel! 'I thought that Boss Yunru would stop there... but there's a sequel?!'
Igarashi calmly nodded and continued. "Yes, and, due to various reasons, I won't be serializing the sequel. Yet. However. You will be able to get it beforehand. Will you still accept this condition?"
As for what 'various reasons' it was, Igarashi just doesn't want to serialize another series when he still hasn't even mass-produced 'Your Name' yet. If he makes another serialization, it would make his schedules tangled up. Plus, more work to do.
Xiangling also nodded enthusiastically. 'I get to be the first person to see the sequel?!'
She really did want to know what will happen to Taki and Mitsuha. She's been completely dragged to the place where all readers suffer. Suspense. "I accept, Boss!"
Receiving her reply, Igarashi nodded and told her: "Alright, return later when I finish working on it."
Xiangling was a little disappointed when she heard that it still needed to be made but understood it. She slightly bowed and left with Gouba who waved at Igarashi.
Igarashi closed the door again and he was left alone in his shop.
It was then that a system notification appeared in front of him.
[New quest has been issued]
[Quest name: Collaboration]
[Description]:[Collaborate with the Wanwen Bookhouse to publish your work]
[Objective: Get into collaboration with the Wanwen Bookhouse]
[Rewards: 50,000 Mora]
'Collaboration, huh? I guess that's understandable.' Igarashi thought. Wanwen Bookhouse has been in liyue linger than him and they have connections to various publishing houses in Teyvat like the one in Inazuma owned by Guuji Yae Miko.
'But the only problem is... How?' Igarashi pondered. If he wants to enter a collaboration with the Wanwen bookhouse, then he'll have to show that his work is worth being published.
Take, for example, Xingqiu's book 'Legend of Sword'. It was rejected by Wanwen Bookhouse because it didn't seem to pique the interest of its readers. However, when a merchant from Inazuma managed to get hold of it before the Sakoku Decree, it immediately got popular in Inazuma. Now, the Yae Publishing House has the right to publish it there.
'In order to pique their interest, I need to make something that will... Give that feeling of 'waiting for it was worth it'. Hmm...' Igarashi pondered for minutes before his eyes widened as if he was enlightened. "That's it!"
Seemingly as if it was listening to Igarashi's conclusion, the system gave a notification right on time.
[New main quest has been issued.]
[Quest name: That first thrill]
[Description]:[Do you still remember the first manga that gave you chills and thrills? That feeling that you feel like you're in the story itself.]
[Objective: Serialize a thriller manga]
[Rewards: Stat upgrade point (2), 30,000 Mora]
When Igarashi saw the new quest, a small smirk appeared on his face. "Good timing, System."
He then bought parchment papers from the system.
One system point = 50 white blank parchment papers
5 System credits × 50 Parchment papers = 250 Parchment papers
Receiving the parchment papers, Igarashi smiled. 'All I need now is to draw the manga I have in mind on it, buy some staples and a front cover page and I'll have that manga...'
He set them all aside as he still needs to produce more of 'Your Name'.
After placing them somewhere, after a moment, Igarashi's expression changed as if he had finally realized something. 'I got it!'
He still hasn't given his puppet a name but now, he finally had an idea. He needed three names actually. Since he knows that the original body is from Inazuma, he needs an Inazuman name. And that's where the previous life memories come in. A person from a manga he read in his previous life that turned himself into a puppet.
'Sasori Izanagi.' A combination of a Shinto God and a puppet from one of Igarashi's loved mangas. 'Sounds a bit strange but it could work, I guess?'
As for his official names when they're outside, he had already made up his mind.
'His name in Liyue shall be Zhuge Liang.' Before Igarashi died, he watched an anime in his previous life about a person from ancient china who transmigrated to modern earth and immediately fell in love with modern entertainment. Since Igarashi is also bringing in cultur— err... entertainment, he found this name fitting.
"Yeah, this could work just fine. And I could just make an excuse about the reason we didn't share the same last name is that he's a sibling from another mother. Yeah..." Igarashi concluded.
As for the western name... Well, 'In honor of my favorite novel, I think I finally know what to call it.'
'Klein Moretti.' As for his? Well, in the Lord of Mysteries novel, the main character, Klein has an older brother named Benson. 'Benson Moretti.'
Igarashi smiled as he finally made some decent names to be used in the world of Teyvat for him and his puppet.
Suddenly, a system notification in front of him.
[Names set.]
'Eh?'
"Wait, what do you mean?" Igarashi asked. However, like always, the system didn't reply.
'Could it be that the name has already been set in stone...?'
To test this speculation, Igarashi called out the puppet's name. "Sasori?"
It was silent for a full minute before a child of the same height as Xiangling came down the stairs. It walked to Igarashi's table and sat at one of the chairs. Its golden eyes then looked up at Igarashi with a lethargic and emotionless expression. "...Yes?"
Seeing the seemingly self-conscious puppet replying to him, Igarashi's eyes widened. 'It really is the same puppet as Ei's. It can think and act on its own...'
'If it really is the very same puppet as Ei's... Then I better not turn it to another Scaramouche. And I better stop describing him as 'It'.' Igarashi thought as the thought of Scaramouche 2.0 appeared in his imagination.
He sighed a bit and took some pen and paper he bought when he was strolling on Feiyun slope. "Umm... Can you help me with this?"
Sasori looked at it for a bit and tilted his head a little. He then picked up a pen and looked at Igarashi with that same lethargic expression. "What should I do...?'
'Crap, do I need to teach him how to draw? *Sigh* I guess it's understandable...' Igarashi internally sighed.
He then picked up a pen and started teaching Sasori. And surprisingly, the latter was a fast learner, to Igarashi's relief.
'After we make about 20 copies of 'Your Name', I should set up a stall outside and see if I can bring in some customers.' Igarashi thought.
'As for the thriller manga I'm gonna make... It's gonna be...'
'Moriarty the Patriot.'
(A/N: POV shift in the next chapter. We're gonna see Big Dong Zhong's reaction.)