The atmosphere brought by the grand school festival exceeded all expectations. For the past few days, the entire private comprehensive high school had been immersed in the lively mood it created.
There were no classes on Thursday and Friday. Aside from those obsessed with studying, the classrooms were filled with laughter all day long.
It was a rare break, and being able to play freely at school made it feel even better.
Compared to the complicated plans of other classes, the class Sato belonged to did not need to do much.
In total, they only had to prepare four things:
Costumes, props, drinks, and decorations.
Sato had run a website before and was also a major shareholder of a formal corporation, so these tasks were naturally easy for him.
The matter of renting maid outfits was handled by Isshiki Iroha.
Although Kirito's family dojo had already declined, they still had various kendo uniforms and bamboo swords. He had a few boys accompany Kirito to bring several sets over.
Since the theme was mainly a kendo hall and maids, the classroom did not require much decoration.
As for the drinks at the end, Sato bought some instant coffee.
Come on. Who would come here for a proper cup of coffee anyway?
So compared to the bustling scenes of other classes, Sato's class seemed rather orderly.
After all, they had plenty of time.
After arranging the class work, Sato went to the clubroom.
The clubroom was empty. The Service Club members were not there, since two of them were on the executive committee and were probably either busy or in the committee room.
As for the Light Music Club, only Kotobuki Tsumugi was there.
"Good afternoon. Did Ritsu and the others not come?"
Sato walked over to Kotobuki Tsumugi, pulled out a chair from under the table, and sat down.
"They just left."
Kotobuki Tsumugi spoke softly, then picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup of black tea, and handed it to him. "Please, Nohara-kun."
Sato took the tea from her and noticed a trace of excitement and joy in her eyes.
He could not help but smile. "Kotobuki-san seems to be looking forward to the school festival?"
"Mm. This is my first time participating in a school festival."
"I see…"
Sato suddenly remembered that Kotobuki Tsumugi had always attended a prestigious all-girls' school before. A place like that probably did not have school festivals. If it did, it would likely be something like a concert, where a group of refined young ladies performed with violins and other Western instruments.
Suddenly, Sato felt a vibration from his pocket.
Someone was calling.
"Sorry, I'll take this."
"Go ahead."
Walking over to the window, Sato took out his phone and glanced at the name. He raised an eyebrow, then answered the call.
"What is it, Editor? Did those old men upstairs start barking orders at you again?"
"What do you mean barking? Don't make it sound like I'm part of a flock of ducks."
"If it's not those old men, then why is someone as busy as you calling me today?"
"Miyabi-sensei, could you at least have some self-awareness?"
On the other end, Machida Sonoko spoke with clear exasperation. "Do you remember when you gave me your last volume? Shouldn't you be thinking about volume fourteen by now?"
"It's already time for volume fourteen? That fast?"
"Fast? Have you forgotten you used to be a workhorse? And if I'm not mistaken, you probably haven't even started writing volume fourteen yet, right?"
Sato gave a dry cough. "I've already started."
Machida Sonoko rolled her eyes while holding the phone. "Alright, stop lying. You authors all say the same thing. But that's not the main reason I called today."
"Not the main reason? So there's something else?"
"Mm. The anime adaptation of Hero Throne is basically finished. I'll send you a sample. If there are no issues, we'll move on to the final voice recording."
Hmm?
Sato's eyes lit up, pleasantly surprised.
In fact, this anime had been in production for over a year, covering roughly the first five volumes. After waiting so long, it was finally done.
Normally, once animation rights were sold, it had nothing to do with the original author. But depending on status, contracts differed, and Sato still had some say in the adaptation.
"Alright, send me the sample later."
Sato was in a good mood, but then he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, there's one more thing."
"Has the voice casting started?"
There was a string of meaningless characters.
Machida Sonoko was slightly puzzled but answered honestly, "Not yet, but it'll start in a couple of days."
"Can I recommend someone?"
"Well…"
Machida Sonoko frowned slightly. "We can't really interfere directly."
"It's just a recommendation slot, not a guaranteed role. If she doesn't pass the audition, that's fine."
"I see. In that case, it's no problem."
"But… Miyabi-sensei, your range of business is really wide. Have you expanded into the voice acting field now? Are you going to get involved in animation production next?"
"This is just a personal request, nothing to do with the company."
"A personal request?"
"Mm. A friend. She's been interested in voice acting since she was little. She works part-time to pay for training at a voice acting agency. She's very hardworking. Anyway… she's someone worthy of admiration."
"Oh my, so it's her."
Machida Sonoko's eyes lit up when she heard "her," and she teased him through the phone. "Sounds like a beautiful girl, right?"
"Tch. Does that matter?"
"Of course it matters. I've never seen you help any girl who isn't pretty. Like Kasumigaoka… Should I air out the rest?"
"I have to say, Editor, you do make a good point. But the girls I know are all pretty. It's quite a burden, you know?"
"Tch, acting smug after getting all the benefits. You normies should just explode!"
Clutching her phone, Machida Sonoko cursed viciously and hung up without hesitation.