The next day, when Ichika gave the script to the director, the director's eyes widened more and more as he read.
When he turned to the last page and saw the final line of text, 'Screenplay by Nishikawa Makoto'—
Thud.
The director fainted on the spot.
The assistant was so frightened she quickly pinched his philtrum.
After some effort, the director slowly woke up. His first words were, "Quick... quick, contact the reporters..."
A few hours later, unsurprisingly, the world's media went crazy.
Makoto had written a script, and it was about to be made into a movie.
This news instantly captured the world's attention, even overshadowing the establishment of the Hero Association.
The headlines of major news websites all changed to this.
On social media, related topics directly dominated the trending lists.
"Commander Nishikawa wrote a script?"
"Really? He can write scripts too?"
"Is there anything Commander can't do?"
"Oh my god, if I give a bad review online, will he send his men to kill me?"
Instantly, countless people were curious about what he would write.
Yu, who disliked the media, even proactively sought out reporters for an interview.
"Senpai is perfect. What he writes is absolutely unprecedented and unrivaled. Shakespeare? He's not worthy to tie Senpai's shoes."
Hearing Yu's interview, Makoto was numb.
If those words hadn't come from Yu, he might have suspected he was being 'praised to death' by a hater.
He had just casually written a love triangle on a whim, and now he was being praised as beating Shakespeare and kicking Tolstoy, huh?
Makoto personally experienced the terror of 'fan culture'.
Makoto had thought about this.
Last night, he had wanted Eriri to change the screenwriter credit to 'Kashiwagi Eri', but she had refused.
After this news came out, the two actresses officially appointed as the leads, Mai and Ichika, instantly became headlines.
One was a national-level child star who had been famous since age six, the other was the King of the World's 'sister-in-law'. The two names together attracted maximum attention.
Countless sponsors also jumped in, investing almost all their capital.
Although, because of the wealth tax Makoto had instituted, the more capitalists earned, the more they paid, countless capitalists still wanted in because they knew this movie would definitely be a huge hit.
Even if ninety-five percent, even ninety-nine percent of the profits were taken by Makoto, it would still be substantial.
That was Makoto's drawing power.
Meanwhile, other celebrities in the entertainment industry weren't idle.
Countless stars, one after another, 'showed their presence' before the media, expressing their willingness to participate in the movie without pay.
Makoto had heard several names himself, such as Hoshino Ai, Kujikawa Rise, Okino Yoko, and others.
But even so, problems quickly emerged.
A few days later, when Eriri delivered the complete script, based on Makoto's dictation, to the studio, the two female leads discovered that the movie included kissing scenes, and even bed scenes.
For example, after the male lead, Haruki, realized that the person he truly loved was Kazusa, he immediately had sex with her.
Yes, it was the part after Kazusa says, "Why are you so good at this?"
When Mai saw the script, her face alternated between pale and flushed.
She bit her lip, her fingers gripping the paper until her knuckles turned white.
"I... I don't want to film this kind of content..."
Her mother, who was also her manager, quickly pulled her aside and said in a low voice, "Are you crazy? Do you know how many actresses in the industry are eyeing this role? It's just a bed scene. Even if it were real, you'd have to do it!"
That evening during dinner, Ichika also mentioned the matter to Makoto.
"Makoto-kun, um... the character I play, Ogiso Setsuna... she has a kissing scene..."
As she said this, Ichika didn't dare look at Makoto.
The dinner table fell silent for a moment.
Everyone's gaze turned to her.
Makoto smacked his lips.
To be honest, although there was much discussion outside, he actually didn't want to deal with it anymore.
After all, the reason he had Eriri write this script was purely because of his past life's 'occupational habit'. He just wanted to write a little something to scratch the itch.
He didn't want to deal with the follow-up matters.
However, when Ichika mentioned the 'kissing scene', Makoto paused.
This was indeed a problem.
"So what do you want to do?"
Ichika slapped her hands together, her eyes shining as she looked at Makoto.
"Could you... play the male lead?"
At these words, the expressions of all the girls at the table changed.
'Damn.'
'So this was her game, huh?'
The four Nakano sisters and Eriri simultaneously recalled what Makoto had said in the room before: 'You're both very good at stealing men.'
They felt that Ichika was indeed something else.
Although Nino had joked before about 'sending Ichika to Makoto's bed', Nino offering voluntarily and Ichika taking it herself were two different things.
"Ichika, you..."
Nino's voice came through gritted teeth.
Ichika ignored her, just looking at Makoto with shining eyes.
Makoto raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why me?"
A flicker of cunning flashed in Nakano Ichika's eyes.
"I'd rather kiss you than kiss someone I don't know."
She paused, her smile carrying a hint of playfulness.
"And besides, don't you think the character of Kitahara Haruki is completely you playing yourself in essence? He's also a bastard."
At these words, the girls who had been wearing various expressions all showed absolute agreement.
"I agree with that." Utaha smiled and nodded.
"Mm, mm~" Megumi quickly agreed.
The other girls felt the same way.
Makoto rolled his eyes.
"How is that the same?" Makoto said, completely confident. "I'm the dignified sort of bastard. I don't operate like Kitahara Haruki, sweet-talking on the inside and underhanded on the outside."
Ichika didn't follow up on that point, but changed her angle, pressing her advantage.
"Makoto-kun, do you want me to kiss some other man?"
Makoto's expression stiffened slightly.
"And—" Ichika's eyes curved into two crescent moons. "There's also Sakurajima Mai in the cast. However you look at it, you don't lose, right?"
Makoto: "..."
Indeed.
When a girl delivered herself to his doorstep like this, if he didn't take her, would he even be human?
"How about I have a shadow clone film with you?"
Ichika eagerly nodded. "That's fine! As long as the face is yours!"
Makoto thought for a moment, then added, "Let the shadow clone handle the ordinary scenes. When it's time for the kissing and bed scenes, notify me, and I'll come in person."
In his past life, Makoto had been something of a veteran reader and had read many web novels.
Among them, aside from the cuckold genre and the matchmaker genre, the 'clone genre' was also one he hated.
Damn, he somehow felt like he was cucking himself.
For the ordinary daily scenes, letting a shadow clone handle them was fine.
But for intimate scenes, the real deal had to be there.
At these words, everyone was rendered speechless again.
'Damn, he really didn't want to miss out on any opportunity, did he?'