Crossover Anime: I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha's Brother

Page 55

Chapter 0149 We are the Muses! (5/5 Please Subscribe)

The first day of CM Comic Con, at 11:23 AM.

When Minami Kotori handed the last copy of "The Monkey King" to the reader, bowed slightly, and said "Thank you for your patronage," Baili Xiao and the others' "comic convention sales event" was almost over.

All 10,000 light novels (each costing 5,000 yuan) sold out in just over three hours, an unprecedented event in the history of Comic Con.

On one hand, it depends on the immense popularity of Baili Xiao and others in the fan fiction community; on the other hand... anything produced by the studio, whether it's light novels, illustrations, posters, or comics, is considered a masterpiece among masterpieces compared to others.

Instead of buying high-quality works, why buy slightly inferior works from other groups? — Hmm, no normal person would do that, right?

"That's it?" The people still in line looked surprised as they saw Honoka struggling to hold up the wooden sign that read "Sold Out"—the convention was supposed to last three days! It ended on the first morning...what's going on?!

In fact... even if 100,000 copies of the novels "Your Name" and "The Monkey King" were printed, Akane Akasaka still believed that they would all sell out during the three-day comic convention.

However, she did not choose to do that. One reason was that practical reasons really did not allow it (it was too rushed), and the second reason was that a comic convention is just a comic convention, an event to showcase one's own club, communicate with a large number of anime and manga fans, and enhance relationships. If she sold novels on a large scale at a comic convention, how would that be different from a book launch?

Of course, the convention organizers wouldn't allow them to do such a thing.

"Other people's comics, fanfiction, light novels, and so on, are still plentiful... Has Baili-sensei's stuff already sold out?"

"Damn it! I saw there were a lot of people here, so I thought I'd wait and buy it later. I went to look around elsewhere, and now they're telling me they're sold out?!"

"Ahhh! Teacher Baili! Don't you have any left? Please bring out a little more!"

The initial reaction to the "sold out" announcement was one of stunned silence, which quickly escalated into a frenzy. Some lamented their loss, others stared at Baili Xiao with hopeful eyes, and a very small number, their faces ashen, pulled aside those who had already bought the novel, whispering amongst themselves...

"Alright, alright." Baili Xiao raised his hands and pressed them down, and with his movement, the murmurs among the crowd suddenly subsided. "I know that 10,000 copies certainly won't be enough to satisfy the hundreds of thousands, even millions, of anime and manga fans attending the convention. Please rest assured, the light novels 'Your Name' and 'The Monkey King' will be officially released in three days at the latest. You can buy them online or in person at one of the three bookstores we have partnerships with!"

"Both are hardcover novels, but the one sold at the comic convention has all the novel's illustrations and posters, while the officially released one only has one..."

Upon hearing this, many people let out a mournful wail—many anime and manga fans are "collectors," and even if it's a terrible visual novel, they won't give up until they've collected all the CG images... not to mention the illustrations and posters created by Baili Xiao and others, which are priceless!

"Um... Teacher Baili! What are the teachers in the studio going to do later? Muse... Muse's performance, please don't forget!" Just as everyone was feeling disappointed about not getting all the illustrations and posters, a slightly weak girl's voice reached their ears. Baili Xiao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl tightly holding "Your Name" in her arms.

Noticing Baili Xiao's gaze, the girl timidly took a step back and lowered her head to avoid his eyes.

"Don't worry, how could we forget the Muse performance?" Baili Xiao smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping over the Muse members: "I originally thought that all the novels would be sold this afternoon, so I scheduled the Muse performance for the end of the afternoon. Now it seems... it can be brought forward."

“But… they’ve been working for a long time, let them rest a bit…” Before Baili Xiao could finish speaking, Honoka, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly stood up: “Sensei! Is it finally our turn to perform? I’m not tired at all!”

Bai Lixiao raised an eyebrow, looking at Honoka with a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "Really? Who was it that collapsed there from exhaustion just now?"

"Uh...hehe." Honoka's expression stiffened under Baili Xiao's gaze, and she scratched her head sheepishly: "It is...a little tiring, but since everyone wants to hear us sing, I feel like I have inexhaustible energy!"

As Honoka spoke, the other members of Muse exchanged glances and smiled, then stood up hand in hand and walked to Honoka's side.

"Teacher, please!"

Without any discussion, the members of Muse bowed to Baili Xiao in unison. They knew that Baili Xiao was worried about their health, but at this moment, they only had one thought in their minds: "I want to sing for everyone!"

After nearly a month of training, from every dance move to every pronunciation and song, the members of Muse prepared so much for this day.

At first, they were nervous, wondering, "Can we really become idol singers?" But as they practiced longer and learned more, their nervousness was gradually replaced by confidence—"We're the idol group trained by Teacher Baili! How could we be defeated by something as simple as debuting?!"

0 ····Requesting flowers···· ·········

It is precisely for this reason that they want to show themselves in front of everyone as soon as possible, and prove to Baili Xiao that his efforts have been rewarded!

"Hoo." Baili Xiao let out a deep breath, silently closing her eyes before slowly opening them again: "Alright, in that case..."

He looked at Akane Akasaka beside him. Although they didn't communicate verbally, she understood his meaning: "You guys, come here for a moment and take these things away..."

Several staff members stepped forward and moved the tables, chairs, display screens, poster stands and other items to a corner—the booth that was previously the "[Huaxia] Studio" was instantly transformed into a sizable open space.

 …

While it's considered spacious by the standards of "every inch of space is precious within an exhibition center," this venue... well, it's still a bit too small for a nine-member group like Muse to perform in.

"Hey! Move back a bit."

"Don't just talk about me, aren't you pretty good at it yourself?"

"Come on, make way, let me move my booth."

It's unclear who moved their booth first, or perhaps it's more accurate to say that "all the groups surrounding Baili Xiao thought of this method at the same time." At least when everyone noticed, the exhibitors near the open space began moving their cardboard boxes, posters, tables, and other miscellaneous items outwards little by little.

"If it's possible, let me lend a hand!"

"And me! You can't move this, let me do it!"

"Is it okay to leave these things here? Okay..."

Noticing the actions of the exhibiting groups, many anime fans standing nearby had tears in their eyes. While helping out, they whispered, "Wait, could you sell me a copy of one of your exhibits?"

In less than two minutes, a space large enough for the muse's performance appeared in the crowded venue. The stage was somewhat simple, lacking dazzling lights and sophisticated special effects, but for some reason, stepping onto the cold floor made one feel warm all over...1

Honoka rubbed her slightly sore nose, exchanged glances with the rest of Muse, and nodded in unison.

"Next, we will be performing 'We Are Here' for you! This is also our debut song, Muse! We hope you enjoy it!" (Fan.0)

Chapter 0150 Muse's Debut Concert Begins! (1/4, Please Subscribe)

"Next, we will be performing 'We Are Here' for you! This is also our debut song, Muse! We hope you enjoy it!"

Honoka finished speaking softly, exhaled deeply, stood with her back to everyone, and slowly closed her eyes. 7

Not only her, but the rest of the Muse were the same, feeling nervous and excited, trying hard to keep it from showing, repeating to themselves over and over again, "It's okay, we've trained for so long, we won't make a mistake."

Standing near the front of the stage (since it's a 360-degree stage, there's no real distinction between front and back, but let's call the side with the most people the front), are the four members: Nishikino Maki, Hoshizora Rin, Tojo Nozomi, and Ayase Eli.

In the second row, slightly behind, standing in the center is Honoka, with Sonoda Umi and Koizumi Hanayo on her left and Minami Kotori and Yazawa Nico on her right.

Sensing the growing camaraderie among the Muse members, Baili Xiao nodded to Akane Kousaka. 5

"Click!" A crisp snap of fingers, and several staff members began fiddling with their tools in unison—a not-so-large speaker stood on either side, and a portable machine for playback and tuning was placed not far away. As the operators moved, music that filled nearly a third of the venue began to play.

"Huh? What's going on over there? Why are so many people gathered there?"

"Isn't that Teacher Baili's studio booth? Has something happened?"

"...100...No, it can't be that Muse's performance has started at 167:1055, right? What happened to the afternoon performance?"

"Stop talking nonsense, let's go and see for ourselves, let's go!"

Upon hearing the music, many people looked puzzled—they were the ones who had already queued up to buy the light novels "Your Name" and "The Monkey King" and had been told that Muse's debut concert would be held that afternoon. In order to find good doujinshi works at other booths or to see the amazing cosplay of the cosplayers, they had already left Baili Xiao's booth and could not have known what was going on immediately.

The crowd, which could already be described as a "human wall," kept growing, with more and more people joining in. Even exhibitors from other booths outside, or cosplayers from the more distant cosplay area, all rushed over.

The audience grew larger and larger, and the music played became increasingly rousing.

As the music played, the four people standing on the outside, including Nishikino Maki, suddenly opened their eyes. They glanced at the people around them out of the corner of their eyes and smiled.

Their figures crisscrossed, and Nozomi Tojo and Rin Hoshizora passed each other by. The former followed Ayase Eli's steps, her purple twin tails jumping and swaying in mid-air, drawing an eye-catching arc.

Then look at Nishikino Maki—unlike her usual somewhat aloof demeanor, she now wears the most radiant and genuine smile.

Nishikino Maki and her three friends formed pairs and skipped and hopped to the music to walk behind Honoka and the others. As they moved, Honoka and the others turned around one after another and struck what they considered to be their "best" poses!

Sonoda Umi was the first to turn around... It has to be said that compared to the performances of the others, her movements were a little stiff. Everyone would feel nervous when performing under the watchful eyes of the crowd for the first time, but Sonoda Umi was even more so.

Turning her feet around and placing her right hand with fingers spread beside her cheek, Sonoda Umi strongly told herself to "relax, relax"—but it still felt a little awkward to everyone. However... soon everyone's attention shifted from her to the second person almost simultaneously.

The second person to turn around was Minami Kotori.

Her thick, flaxen hair swayed with her movements as she turned naturally, her right leg slightly bent, giving her a "tilted" posture.

With her right hand mimicking Rin Hoshizora's "meow" gesture on her head and her left hand on her hip, anyone who sees Kotori Minami's smile will involuntarily think, "How natural!"

For Minami Kotori, who used to work at a maid café, "smiling" was the most important part of her daily work.

After Minami Kotori turned around, the next one was Koizumi Hanayo—unlike her usual slightly delicate self, standing on the stage with everyone and feeling the attention she received, she was constantly exuding a strong aura of "confidence".

This inexplicable "confidence" has influenced many people, including the girl holding the light novel "Your Name"...

(Muse! Go for it! Hanayo-chan, I'll always support you!) Without realizing it, the girl clenched her fists and stared at Muse's performance with increasing focus.

As soon as Koizumi Hanayo finished her movements, Yazawa Nico, standing on the far right, thought to herself, "Here it comes!" and her whole body trembled slightly with excitement—of course, no one would notice even if she did this during the performance.

(Finally! Finally, it's my turn! Let me use my most beautiful smile to make you remember Smiling Nicole!)

The thought flashed through her mind, and Nicole suddenly turned around and jumped, placing her hands on either side of her cheeks in a "flower leaf" shape, while making an "o" sound with her mouth open, closing one eye, and striking an extremely cute pose (in her own opinion)!

With a thought in mind ("Hmph, now they'll be charmed by my smile, won't they? You know I'm the cutest smiling Nico, not like those weird videos!"), Yazawa Nico keenly noticed that everyone's gaze towards her had changed!

It became... how should I put it? Roughly speaking, it was like, "Ah! It was her!" "Hmm! I remember now!"—that kind of "sudden realization" look.

Nico Yazawa even heard these words coming from the crowd not far away during a break in the music: "Holy crap! I just remembered! That person is Nico Yazawa! Also known as Nico 4.9 Nico Nico! Seeing her action made me realize, that smile...tsk tsk tsk! She hasn't changed at all!"

(!!! How could you forget this?! No! Please, please forget "Nico Nico Nico"! I've had enough!) Yazawa Nico was nearly going crazy. Normally, she would have argued with those who kept saying "Nico Nico Nico," but as the music continued, Honoka turned around, which meant the start of the second dance.

P.S.: It's impossible for me to be a eunuch! I've said it so many times.

I was hospitalized yesterday with acute appendicitis. The pain was excruciating, and I've been confined to the hospital bed for the past two days. I'll probably have surgery in about three days.

I definitely won't be able to update on the day of the surgery. I've been trying my best to type on my phone these past two days while I'm in the hospital, okay? I'll try my best to keep updating four times a week.

Chapter 0151 Muse! One more song! (Two chapters, please subscribe)

With her right hand extended forward and her left hand resting on her waist, Honoka, standing in the middle, slowly walked forward, her legs, clad in black over-the-knee socks, crossed, outlining a perfect leg curve.

Sonoda Umi and Minami Kotori followed behind her, stepping out of the crowd in the same manner. Every movement of the three of them, and the smiles on their faces, perfectly embodied the definitions of "girl" and "cute".

At the same time, their lips parted slightly, and a cheerful song rang out: "A straightforward heart connects us all."

The fingertips of the heart-shaped gloved hand pointed at Sonoda Umi, who raised her right hand, as if saluting or greeting her, and gave a bright smile.

"Earnest yet clumsy feelings collide..."

As the song continued, Honoka's fingertip suddenly turned and pointed at Minami Kotori on the other side. Kotori tilted her body slightly, winked her right eye at everyone, and made the same gesture as Umi.

However, compared to the latter, her movements were much more casual and playful, and her flaxen hair swaying back and forth made everyone around them catch their eye.

"even so..."

Honoka and the others took a slight step back, while Nishikino Maki and Hoshizora Rin, together with Koizumi Hanayo, walked forward.

Koizumi Hanayo crossed her arms in front of her chest, then slowly opened them above her head: "I still want to dream a grand dream!"

The three approached each other, exchanged a glance, and then, with smiles on their faces, extended their right hands, inviting everyone to join in: "And it's right here, just getting started!"

"I understand..." Honoka and the other two sang softly, their voices like whispers in each other's ears.

They stepped back, revealing the people behind them—three third-year students, with Ayase Eli on the right, Yazawa Nico on the left, and in the middle, half a step ahead, was Tojo Nozomi, whose eyes sparkled like the starry sky.

"It won't all be easy and fun, it'll be full of challenges..." Nozomi Tojo waved her hands and slowly shook her head.

"I understand..."