I'll post an extra chapter every 300 Power Stones. Good luck with that!
####
After that exchange, my father picked up the contract to sign it. Of course, he read everything. I also skimmed through it, and it was identical to the contract from when I signed to publish Overlord.
In other words, a great contract.
Asking for better terms here would be foolish, and I'd also be taking advantage of Kuroda's goodwill.
"You can sign it," I told my father, and he signed it quickly. After that, Kuroda picked up the contract and finished his coffee. He said it was time to leave, but I asked him to stay a bit longer.
"I want to talk about Overlord."
Hearing that, Kuroda became very interested. He sat back down and called out, "Please bring me another iced coffee with milk!"
The waitress took his order, and soon the drink arrived.
"So, have you finally planned an ending for Overlord?" Even my father looked curious. He stared at me, waiting for an answer. I smiled at Mr. Kuroda and spoke honestly.
"No, I haven't thought of anything yet."
"Then…"
"But I'm going to focus on that before I start publishing Oregairu. I'll write the final volume this month. The new anime season is coming out next month, right? In April," I said.
Come to think of it, I'll be turning 13 in April.
"You want to release the final volume alongside the new anime season?"
"Don't you think it's a good idea?"
"It's a great idea! But are you sure you can finish writing the final volume?"
"I'm confident in my writing, and we have plenty of ideas. I'll stop worrying and just write what I want. After I finish, I'll send it to you for review. What do you think?"
"That would be great. So you want to start publishing Oregairu only in May?"
"Since the first volume is already finished and has been delivered to you, I think you can publish it this month—I don't mind. But the second volume will probably only come out in May."
"I see."
"Well, it all depends on how long it takes me to finish the final volume of Overlord. If I finish it quickly, I'll write the second volume of Oregairu this month as well."
"Don't overdo it, Kyo. You look a bit tired," my father said.
"It's fine. I stayed up all night watching a series, but a good night's sleep will fix it."
"But seriously, this is great," Kuroda said.
"Hm?" I looked confused.
"It's great that you've finally decided to finish Overlord. My boss has been bothering me about it. In fact, he even wanted to force me to make you extend the story—can you believe that?"
"If you had tried to force me, I would've dropped the story immediately."
"Don't say such scary things," Kuroda said with a bitter smile. "I rejected that idea right away. I told him the story was well planned and that it would be impossible."
"Good," I said with a big smile. "Now I think we should go, Dad. I have a lot of work to do when I get home."
"Kyo, I'm starting to worry about you," my father said.
"Huh? Why? I've never felt better."
"You spend all day at home working, you don't have any friends, and you never go out to have fun. Don't you want to make friends?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Your father is right, Kyo. You're still a kid—you should make friends. Don't you have any friends at school?" Why are you suddenly acting like an uncle, Kuroda?
"Friends at school? I have a few," I lied.
I have some acquaintances, but no one I could really call a friend. Maybe Mirai?
"Of course, of course," my father said, ruffling my hair. "Try to make some friends and go out to have fun. There's more to life than just work. I probably shouldn't have to tell you this—you're smart enough to know this isn't good for you."
"Alright, I'll think about it."
I can't really imagine myself being friends with a bunch of 12- or 13-year-olds and going out to karaoke or eating fast food.
'Well, it doesn't hurt to try.'
####
And so time passed. My school life continued as usual. I kept to myself while occasionally talking to a few people, but nothing significant happened.
I didn't manage to make a single friend. People seemed afraid to talk to me. Am I intimidating or something?
Well, whatever.
I left home with my mother since we were heading to the photoshoot. My hair was a bit long, so my mother gave me a haircut that made me look even more attractive than usual.
Even with this appearance, I can still be pretty careless sometimes.
Before getting into the taxi, I took a photo making a peace sign and added a caption: "First job."
Ugh, I'm not cut out for this. Will everything really go well at this photoshoot?
The taxi quickly arrived at the Amuse Inc building, and once I entered, I was guided to Mr. Rikuya's office.
After talking for a bit, we went somewhere else where I was introduced to some people who seemed to be in charge of the advertising campaign. They all treated me with great respect.
Well, we didn't talk for long.
After that, I was introduced to a woman named Reiko Matsuda. She's the photographer.
I talked with Reiko for several minutes. She's very kind—she even reminds me of my mother.
Speaking of my mother, the two of them quickly started talking and became close.
Before I knew it, I was inside a van with my mother and Reiko.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To Ueno Park. We're going to take photos there. They're already waiting for us."
"Wouldn't it have been better if I had gone straight there?"
"Mr. Rikuya wanted to introduce you to the Uniqlo executives before the photoshoot. They seemed to like you a lot."
"Those were the executives? I thought they were less important people," I said with a laugh.
"Hahaha." Reiko laughed. "Now focus. When we get there, we'll take you to another van to prepare your makeup and outfit. The makeup artist and stylist are already waiting for you."
"I see."
"And don't worry about people staring—people get curious when this kind of outdoor photoshoot happens."
"I expected that."
After a few minutes, we arrived at Ueno Park, and both my mother and I were guided into a large van.
Inside, two women were waiting for me.
####
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Next Chapters: Chapter 30 - Photoshoot. / Chapter 31 - I'm going to write the final volume of Overlord. / Chapter 32 - Volume 17. Photos. / Chapter 33 - First step. Fame. / Chapter 34 - Many followers. / Chapter 36 - Shonen Jump Editor.