"I already discussed it with the building owner yesterday. He's willing to rent out the other vacant floors in this office building to us, and the rent will even be reduced by ten percent. The problem is that the third floor has always been vacant, so the renovation work hasn't been completed yet. After negotiating with the owner, he doesn't seem willing to take responsibility for that part. This issue arose because I didn't think things through carefully enough. I should've anticipated the possibility of the studio expanding."
Inside the break room, all the members of the 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio had gathered together. Morishita Aoi calmly explained the situation while placing a proposal document in front of Kamiyā Yuu. When mentioning her own oversight, her tone carried traces of helplessness and self-reproach.
"This is the owner's problem. It has nothing to do with Aoi." Sitting on the sofa, Yūki Chinatsu removed the pink lollipop from her mouth and indignantly spoke up in defense of Morishita Aoi.
Kamiyā Yuu picked up the document and skimmed through it for a few moments before asking thoughtfully:
"So how long will the renovations take, and how much will they cost?"
Morishita Aoi nodded heavily.
"At the fastest, it'll still take about a month. Although the basic interior structure is already in good shape, there are still quite a few issues with the electrical wiring and restroom facilities. I already consulted a friend in the renovation industry, and the estimated cost would be between four and six million yen. The owner is unwilling to cover the renovation expenses, but after negotiations, he agreed that if we pay for the renovations ourselves, this year's rent will be waived."
Kamiyā Yuu weighed the numbers in his mind before nodding.
"That's not too bad. Then let's proceed with that plan."
After speaking, Kamiyā Yuu glanced sideways at Yūki Chinatsu with a half-smile.
"So then, Chinatsu, what about you? If we continue expanding personnel, that vacant office you're using will definitely need to be cleared out."
Unexpectedly, Yūki Chinatsu answered without much concern:
"It's fine. That room was just a little more spacious for me anyway. Besides, it's winter now. Sleeping under my desk might actually be warmer."
"Really?"
Yūki Chinatsu unhappily rolled her eyes at him.
"What weird misunderstanding are ya having now, Yuu? Ya need to understand the cause-and-effect relationship here. I moved in because the room was empty, not that the room became empty because I moved in. I don't want people saying I'm taking advantage of the company."
Kamiyā Yuu's lips twitched. Turning toward Morishita Aoi, he asked:
"Aoi, calculate how much the company spent on snacks last month."
Upon hearing that, Uehara Etsuki, who had been leisurely drinking tea nearby, revealed a faint smile at the corner of her lips.
"W-Wait a second! That's employee welfare! That doesn't count!" Yūki Chinatsu stood up and loudly protested.
The 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio always kept a supply of snacks available. Or rather, most Japanese companies had similar habits, usually to provide food for employees working overtime who didn't have time to eat meals.
As for Yūki Chinatsu... during work hours, she averaged one bag of snacks per hour. The extra snack expenses alone amounted to roughly one-tenth of her monthly salary.
Kamiyā Yuu shrugged.
"Fine, it doesn't count. So then, how are preparations on your side coming along?"
Yūki Chinatsu puffed out her modest chest proudly and answered:
"Are ya underestimating me? Don't let my height fool ya. Back when I worked in Kyoni Animation's 3D animation department, I was actually pretty well respected. Relax, I've already contacted three former members of the 3D department. They can officially start working here tomorrow."
After the annual leave ended, the 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio wasn't in a hurry to begin production on the new project 'Black—Leaping Shadow'. Instead, they wanted to further expand the 3D department lineup, reducing Yūki Chinatsu's workload while making many future tasks more convenient.
The only troublesome part was that it would still take around a week for the new members to familiarize themselves with the MAYA 3D modeling software.
During this period, Kamiyā Yuu could focus entirely on producing storyboards for 'Black—Leaping Shadow', while the responsibility of teaching the MAYA 3D modeling software naturally fell to Yūki Chinatsu.
Furthermore, Kamiyā Yuu wasn't worried about the MAYA 3D software leaking to outsiders. Even if others knew he possessed such a miraculous 3D animation production software, they still wouldn't be able to obtain the actual program.
Every installation of the MAYA 3D software had been super-encrypted by him using technology from his previous world. It could only function on the designated machine and could neither be copied nor uploaded. Any suspicious behavior would trigger warnings, and if abnormalities were detected, the program would automatically lock itself down.
If hackers in this world wanted to crack this kind of super-encryption, they would need at least ten thousand top-tier computers running calculations continuously for a hundred years.
The 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio would not remain a tiny workshop forever.
Moreover, although Kamiyā Yuu had become an animation director out of pure personal interest, he also possessed ambitions to build an internet entertainment empire involving games, film, animation, music, novels, and many other fields, thereby creating a complete and perfect ACG industry chain.
After the company meeting ended, Kamiyā Yuu returned to his office. The moment he sat down at his computer desk, he noticed an email from the famous game producer Kojima Toshio.
"Dear Mr. Yosuganosora,
Our exchanges during this period have benefited me greatly, and they have further confirmed the feasibility and potential of adapting your team's work on 'RWBY' into a game.
Both my company and I are extremely willing to purchase the game adaptation rights to your team's work, 'RWBY'. With our capabilities, we are fully confident that we would never tarnish the reputation of your work...
...
...
I sincerely hope Mr. Yosuganosora will carefully consider my proposal.
Kojima Toshio
January 8th, 2017."
The content of the email was essentially another attempt to express his sincerity in purchasing the full game rights to 'RWBY'. The offer had risen from the initial twenty million yen to thirty million yen, now, an increase of fifty percent.
Yet Kamiyā Yuu still shook his head.
He had no intention of handing over the game rights to 'RWBY'. Once the buyout rights were sold, it would truly be like selling off his daughter.
And once his daughter ended up in someone else's hands, wouldn't they be free to do whatever they wanted with her?
······
"Only willing to sell licensing rights for ten million... that makes things difficult."
Game producer Kojima Toshio sat inside his office, staring solemnly at the reply on the Fakebook account.
The negotiations regarding the 'RWBY' series had proven far more difficult than he had imagined.
Normally, what small production team wouldn't want to latch onto a giant company? Forget twenty million yen for a full game adaptation buyout—given his company's reputation, plenty of studios would practically beg to hand over adaptation rights for free.
Yet during the New Year period, he had contacted Yosuganosora repeatedly through Fakebook's official account. Aside from asking about future development plans for the 'RWBY' series, he had also constantly probed Yosuganosora's attitude regarding the game adaptation rights.
Spending ten million yen for licensing rights wasn't impossible.
But that would mean all initiative remained in Yosuganosora's hands.
To a game producer known as the "Action Game Supreme," that was deeply unsatisfying. During development, copyright restrictions would constantly tie his hands.
Should he give up?
Kojima Toshio disliked that option even more.
The more he interacted with Yosuganosora during this period, the more he sensed the immense potential of this work—or rather, of Yosuganosora's entire team.
No matter how he looked at it, spending ten million yen for the licensing rights to 'RWBY' wouldn't be a loss.
"No choice. I'll submit a detailed proposal to the company investors first and try to secure more funding. Hopefully, that'll be enough to move that Yosuganosora. Otherwise... licensing rights are the only option left."
Kojima Toshio sighed and habitually reached into his pocket with his right hand.
Whenever he encountered troublesome situations, he always wanted a cigarette to calm himself down.
"Ah... forgot my lighter again. What bad luck for the New Year."