[151] The Upcoming Plot

Chapter 151: The Upcoming Plot

Seven months had raced by, and the passage of time had not gone to waste.

During this period, Hachiman's endeavors yielded extraordinary results across various fronts.

In the realm of light novels, little need be said. With an established reader base and steadfast support from Kadokawa, Hachiman's latest creation, "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime," soared to unparalleled success. With merely six volumes released, it had already surpassed the ten million copies sold milestone.

The words "In this world, it's eat or be eaten" had left an indelible mark on the hearts of countless readers.

Similarly, "Sword Art Online" underwent a shift in release frequency, changing from two volumes per month to one, owing to the necessity for parallel releases. As of now, it had reached its thirteenth volume, with sales surging past an impressive fifteen million copies.

With two light novels, each having crossed the ten million copies sold threshold, Hachiman had cemented his status as a widely recognized figure, known as "Wakamono-sensei," within the realm of light novels.

In terms of income, whether it came from novel royalties, manga adaptations, the impending anime adaptation, or even the profits derived from stock trading, Hachiman's assets had swelled to an impressive seven to eighth billion yen.

The pursuit of the ten billion yen goal now appeared well within grasp.

In regards to the anime adaptation, there was a slight delay in July the previous year. Several renowned studios, such as Toei and A1 Pictures, expressed keen interest in bringing Hachiman's work to life on the screen. Initially, he leaned towards A1 Pictures, considering their involvement in the original "Sword Art Online" anime. However, a surprising twist unfolded when another studio reached out, expressing a fervent desire to adapt his work.

In response, Hachiman suggested discussing this opportunity with Kadokawa, the publisher. Unexpectedly, Kadokawa turned down the studio's proposal, expressing concerns about their lack of recognition in the industry. Intrigued, Hachiman pressed for the studio's name. When they disclosed it, Hachiman was taken aback. He recognized the name because, in the future, they would become celebrated for their exceptional animation quality, earning a reputation as a god-like animation studio. Indeed, that studio was "Ufotable."

At that time, Ufotable had yet to achieve the fame they would attain in the future. Their prior anime adaptations included works like "Ninja Nonsense," "Fukatoi Alternative," and "Gakuen Utopia: Manabi Straight." Notably, they hadn't ventured into animating "The Garden of Sinners" or the Fate Series, as these concepts didn't exist in this world.

Hachiman's mind brimmed with the thought of creating a Fate story himself, ignited by the potential and vision of Ufotable. Thus, he set out to explore the prospect of becoming a shareholder in the studio.

Recognizing the studio's immense potential, Hachiman proactively arranged a meeting to delve into the possibilities that lay ahead.

His meeting was with none other than the studio's creator, Hikaru Kondo, a former producer at Telecom Animation Film. Initially, Hikaru had reservations about Hachiman's proposal to become a shareholder, given his relatively young age. However, Hachiman's fervent discourse on the potential of their anime adaptation and its future prospects left a profound impression on Hikaru.

Following their discussion, Hikaru consented to grant Hachiman a 10% stake in the studio. Unsatisfied with this, Hachiman embarked on a journey to acquire shares from other stakeholders, amassing a formidable 35% ownership. Hikaru marveled at Hachiman's unwavering determination and foresight.

Hikaru wholeheartedly shared Hachiman's excitement and their mutual dreams of elevating Ufotable to international acclaim. Together, they set forth on a path to turn these dreams into reality.

Hachiman also undertook the quest of locating the original voice actors from "SAO," with a promise not to forget Lisa and Yuki Kajiura. His contributions extended to providing invaluable insights on animation and the assurance that he would make periodic visits to ensure his satisfaction with the adaptation.

Alongside his commitments with Kadokawa and Ufotable, Hachiman continued his visits to Maki.

The reason for their meeting? After he had attained the title of the world's youngest swordmaster, he took the opportunity to visit various Kendo clans and schools.

Despite being the youngest swordmaster, he derived great enjoyment from sparring with Maki and engaging in discussions encompassing all aspects of ACG. To his delightful surprise, he discovered that Maki in this world was an ardent otaku.

In the course of their conversations, Maki casually mentioned that her sensei harbored the desire to challenge Hachiman to a duel. When Hachiman sought to learn the identity of this sensei, Maki revealed the name to be Satoru Gojo, the former youngest swordmaster. Hachiman couldn't help but pause, acutely aware of Gojo's unparalleled abilities and shrewd nature. Even in the world of anime, Gojo was regarded as overwhelmingly powerful, sometimes overshadowing the protagonist, Yuji, in his own series.

In addition to his extensive involvement in the light novel industry and the anime adaptation, Hachiman remained committed to nurturing his relationships with the girls.

Most notably, his connections with Saeko and Kotonoha had transcended the boundaries of friendship. Each weekend, they dedicated their time to attending Saeko's dojo for intense swordsmanship training.

Under Hachiman's expert guidance, Saeko made steady progress towards attaining the status of a true swordmaster, and Kotonoha's kendo skills underwent a remarkable transformation. In just half a year, Kotonoha ascended to the fourth-level kendo expertise.

In addition to his formal teaching duties, Hachiman organized occasional "extracurricular tutoring sessions" with the two girls, which unfolded in diverse settings, including the kendo dojo and even the bathroom. This proved to be a strenuous and demanding endeavor, but Hachiman invested his efforts wholeheartedly.

At times, when Maki visited Saeko, these "sessions" couldn't transpire due to her presence. It's possible that she might have some inkling about the true nature of their relationship, but the certainty remained uncertain.

As for Yui, their connection had ignited with fervor ever since Hachiman had expressed his feelings during their beach trip. They carried themselves like a couple, with the sole exception being that they hadn't yet taken that ultimate step. Kissing and cuddling had become the new norm, leaving Yui perpetually encouraging Hachiman to make an official confession.

On the flip side, it appeared that things with Utaha hadn't progressed any further. Utaha couldn't help but feel that Hachiman's brilliance was the stumbling block. Exceptional individuals often drew the attention of the opposite sex, as was evident from the beach incident.

Nevertheless, the determined Utaha wasn't prepared to throw in the towel. She remained resolute in her desire to prove herself. The one domain where she outshone those other girls was in the realm of writing light novels.

Over the past six months, Utaha had poured her heart and soul into her writing. "Koisuru Metronome" had already achieved a remarkable feat with six volumes completed and nearly 1.8 million copies sold. For an aspiring author, this was already an impressive achievement.

Yet, for her, it wasn't nearly enough. After all, Hachiman was a multi-million-copy author. Even if she couldn't surpass him, she aimed to reach at least five million copies, a goal she was determined to achieve independently, without relying on Hachiman.

The perfectionist Utaha found herself ensnared in an endless cycle of revisions while working on her new book. Each time she completed a section, she deemed it fell short of her expectations, which led to adjustments in previous parts, only to be followed by dissatisfaction with the later sections. This continuous editing process left Utaha mired in the quagmire of writing.

As for Yukino, her relationship with Hachiman hadn't progressed notably. Their interactions remained sparse, limited to the occasional exchange of greetings when they crossed paths at school.

On a different note, over the past seven months, aside from his close trio of Yui, Saeko, and Kotonoha, the person who reached out to him most frequently was Erina. The proud young woman persistently challenged him to monthly cooking competitions. However, the outcomes consistently favored Hachiman. His culinary skills had surpassed hers by a significant margin. At his current cooking level, he could effortlessly rival top chefs like Gin Dojima and Joichiro Yukihira.

Even Senzaemon, the head of Totsuki Academy, praised Hachiman's culinary talents and even suggested he could become a teacher at the academy. Despite Erina's inner discontent, she couldn't deny Hachiman's culinary prowess. Each time she tasted his dishes, the flavors were magnified by her "God Tongue," leading to alluring moans escaping her lips. After the taste sensation subsided, she would cast a glare at him, a mix of embarrassment and irritation. Nonetheless, Hachiman found her reaction rather intriguing.

Furthermore, when they engaged in cooking competitions, in addition to having Hisako as Erina's secretary, Alice would also eagerly join in the fun.

Ever since Hachiman had saved her at the beach, Alice had developed romantic feelings for him. Consequently, whenever Hachiman was in the vicinity, she made it a point to be the first to greet him. Moreover, whenever Hachiman emerged victorious over Erina in their culinary battles, Alice experienced an exhilaration that was beyond words, as if she had emerged victorious herself.

Following their cooking contests, Hachiman generously shared the recipes he had recently developed. Having ascended to level five in his culinary skills, he often embarked on the journey to recreate dishes from anime he had watched in his previous life. Notably, he had successfully replicated many of the delectable dishes from "Cooking Master Boy." Although these dishes didn't possess the exaggerated brilliance seen in the original series, they seemed to exude a faint glow of authenticity.

Whenever Hachiman and the girls dabbled in their culinary experiments, Senzaemon would stroke his beard, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth, leaving others to ponder what was going on in his mind.

Hachiman's parents occasionally returned home, and they were taken aback by the transformation in their son. Even his father seemed delighted, repeatedly asking if he had a girlfriend. Hachiman, of course, remained tight-lipped, but it appeared that his father had a hunch about what was on his mind. At times, they went out with Hachiman's parents for special occasions like birthdays and festivals. Hachiman felt a sense of disappointment as he couldn't accompany the girls on these outings. However, this year promised to be different, and he would be able to join them.

And there was more to Hachiman than just kendo and cooking. His skills in attributes like "Physique," "Learning," "Writing," "Acting," "Conversational," "Coding," "Fighting" and etc. had all reached level five, thanks to a stack of proficiency. Moreover, in his everyday life, he continued to acquire new modules.

Hachiman had indeed evolved into a well-rounded individual in every aspect.

....

Sobu High School.

Hachiman discovered his name on the class assignment chart displayed on the wall and proceeded to his new classroom.

Second year, Class F.

With the conclusion of spring break, Hachiman had naturally progressed to his second year of high school. Of course, he had intentionally not excelled in his exams, ensuring that he ended up in Class F.

Stepping into the classroom, he located his designated seat.

It was situated in the second-to-last row, near the window – the quintessential seat for a protagonist.

After placing his bag on the desk, Hachiman leaned his chin on his left hand and peered out of the window.

It was the height of cherry blossom season.

A gentle breeze rustled through the branches, and cherry blossom petals descended like a soft rain beneath the sakura trees in the schoolyard. The pink petals swirled through the air, carried by the wind, painting a picturesque scene.

Today marked the commencement of his second year in high school.

It also signaled the official beginning of the original story.

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Well, I understand that some of you might not like this time skip, but I promise there won't be a time skip like this in the future.