Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna

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Chapter 1 | I've Been Plotting | Remake our Life!

Part 5

    In the main hall of Building 7, almost all the second-year students of the Department of Visual Arts who were in charge of production were gathered.

    Today was a required class, but not all of the second-year students were present. It's a rule that a representative of the team that did the production last year should attend, in a way, it is a class that is typical of the Department of Visual Arts, not an individual creation.

    So, if you're representing a team, you're either the director or the production manager, in this kind of informational event, it's usually the work of the production manager.

    (It looks like everyone is already here)

    It is relatively easy to identify the production progress within the Department of Visual Arts. You can distinguish between two types of people: the type that has little to say and is forced to do poorly, or the type that is a different kind of leader from the director, who wants to lead and take charge.

    It seemed that many of the second-year students were of the former type. I looked over the materials that had already been handed out, but many of them seemed to be yawning and feeling bothered, as if they didn't really care.

    Well, production is not a very interesting position if you are doing it normally. If you don't find the act of moving people and things around and getting things done on schedule interesting in a puzzle-like way, or if you don't enjoy taking charge as a manager, then it's just a chore and a communication job.

    Therefore, those who find pleasure in it are either masochistic perverts or, in some cases, Do S. (Note: Sadist)

    "For now, let's read the material..."

    In today's class, the first semester assignment for the second-year students was to be explained. The class had already been held using film cameras, but it was announced in advance that there would be a separate assignment, free in both genre and media.

    And it was written in the material as follows.

    Nico Nico Douga started full-scale service at the end of last year. Initially, they were quoting from other video sites, but now that that has been banned, they are aiming to promote posting to their own servers.

    Therefore, it was written in the materials that the video department would also promote video production and uploading, and that it would be used as part of the class.

    "He~e, that sounds interesting"

    When I looked at it, I saw that the name of the person responsible for the project was written as Kanou Misaki. That made sense.

    In 2018, the year we were just a few months ago, the video was at the forefront of online media. There was live streaming as a matter of course, and some people even abandoned their bodies to seek refuge in illustrations and 3D models.

    But here we are in 2007, and video on the Internet has barely reached the level of its initial years. Of course, flash movies and OP movies for bishojo games were already past their prime, but this was the dawn of a scene where anyone could create and post videos.

    Allowing students to create and present this new style of video at a chaotic time before it gets dirty is something that the forward-thinking Kanou-sensei would have thought of.

    "This, but... will everyone understand?"

    Even though it was a different site, Nanako seemed to understand quickly since she had posted a video of herself singing along with me. But for Shinoaki, even if she knew that Nico Nico Douga existed, she wouldn't have thought of posting there herself.

    She is lacking motivation and needs something new to stimulate her and make her feel better. I think of it as finding a rival and a new stage.

    I had already decided who the rival would be. However, she was not sure if the new stage would really be here. Wouldn't the fear and unpredictability of the doujin game, something unknown to her, come back to traumatize her in the face of something new.

    With the materials in front of me, I began to worry about the first part. Would I be able to tell her about this new thing without forcing myself to lie?

    I folded my arms and thought,

    "Hihi, they gave us a task that we don't understand. But I guess it could be fun, depending on how you do it. What do you think?"

    Suddenly, he spoke from next to me in a somewhat rough voice.

    "Eh......?"

    I look in the direction of the voice and see the face.

    I didn't remember him. He didn't look familiar. But he had an atmosphere that made a strong impression.

    He was about ten centimeters taller than me. His hands were long and thin, and although I couldn't tell exactly because he was sitting down, his legs were probably quite thin as well, giving him an overall thin body.

    And above all, its eyes were impressive. The eyeballs were large and goggling, while the black eyes were small and blank. The mouth seemed to be smiling faintly, but the impression of the eyes was so strong that everything else looked normal.

    "Um, I'm sorry... who?"

    I assumed it was probably the first time we'd met, so I asked him back honestly,

    "Are? Is this the first time I'm talking to you? I see, I knew you already, so I thought you already knew me!"

    The man let out, hihihi, a peculiar chuckle,

    "I'm Kuroda Takayoshi. I'm working on a production for the Kuroda Team."

    "Aah, you are that!"

    I couldn't tell from the last name, but when I heard the name of the team, I was surprised.

    I will never forget it. This is the production team that made the film that caused the most damage to Nanako in the second semester of the first year.

    The work was amazing, and so was the team name, which was hard to read, so I remembered it in writing, but... Does it read "Kuroda"?

    "Are? Do you know who I am?"

    "Yeah, I remember your work from the second semester of the first year."

    When I said that, his expression suddenly disappeared,

    "Ah, that, huh. Was it that good?"

    "Eh......?"

    It was a surprising response. I thought he would be very satisfied with the production of such an impressive and controversial work, but he seemed to be fed up with being told about it.

    Perhaps, the system was not very well organized. That's why it makes sense to think that there was dissatisfaction with the director and actors.

    "Isn't Hashiba team more impressive than that! I've heard that your work has been outstanding since the beginning of the first year, and more importantly, that the production team is very skilled!"

 


    "Skilled, huh... Not at all."

    Every time I hear something like this, I can't help but remember that figure in the back of my mind.

    He smiled sadly, told me everything, and then quietly left.

    "Oi oi, are you being modest? At least I think it's awesome. In fact, my team is pretty bad, as evidenced here..."

    When Kuroda said so far,

    "All right, everyone here? Then I'll explain the task."

    Finally, Kanou-sensei entered the classroom.

    She looks around at everyone as she rolls up the material in her hands and strikes it with the palm of her hand.

    "Hihi, looks like it's about to start. Hashiba, if you don't mind, you can tell me about the difficulties you had in the production after the class. Okay?"

    "Y-Yeah... it's okay."

    That was the end of the conversation, and he and I both decided to focus on the teacher's explanation.

    (Kuroda Takayoshi... huh?)

    The initial impact was so strong that I was a little taken back, but after talking with him, I found him to be quite interesting.

    (There aren't any, someone to share the hard work of the production)

    I thought it would be a good partner to talk to or complain to for a bit.


    There were no more surprises in the story from the teacher than what was written in the document.

    The assignment for both the first and second semesters of the second year was to produce two videos of no more than five minutes in length and upload them to Nico Nico Douga, regardless of the format, and submit the video files and URL to the lab for credit.

    The deadline for the first semester was right after the summer break, and the second semester was to be submitted by the day of the screening at the special venue of the school festival.

    "Oh yeah, we're going to do something contest-like this time too, so everyone do your best."

    The content of the contest was clear.

    The number of views + comments + my lists of the submitted videos. The appreciation will be decided based on each of the first and second semesters and the overall yearly total, and the team with the most will also receive a cash prize from the teacher's pocket money.

    By the way, if the above numbers do not increase too much, "acceptable" will be given, but it will be the lowest level of score.

    "We'll decide on the team in the next lecture in three weeks, so make sure you have a team in place by then. It's going to be tough because it's not just going to be determined by the department's evaluation like before?"

    The teacher's talk ended with a firm threat at the end.

    I see, this is going to be a difficult task. It's not so difficult to simply upload a video, but when the number of views and other factors are involved, it becomes dangerous to create a video based only on our own values.

    Nico-Dou is still in its infancy, and Vocaloid and Meku are just now starting to produce original music little by little. If you make it well, you can make it stand out, but if you go too far, you might end up with an "elaborate but boring" work.

    I wondered what kind of project would be best. As I was thinking about it, I heard a voice from next to me. The man from earlier, Kuroda, was looking at me.

    "Ou, good work. That was quite a challenging task ~"

    "Good work, you too. Yeah, so what do you want to talk about?"

    It was about the production that he said he would do later.

    I said, and he looked apologetic,

    "Ah, my bad! Actually, I just got a call from a guy from my team. He said he needed advice, so I'm going to his house to talk to him."

    Speaking of which, he said earlier that he was having a hard time getting his team together. I told him that I didn't mind,

    "Can I talk to you in the next class?"

    "Yeah, of course"

    "I see! Then, I'll give you my contact information."

    He handed me a piece of paper about half the size of a business card, with his cell phone number and e-mail address on it. He must have prepared it for just such an occasion, because he already had several spare copies.

    "Hihi, see you!"

    Kuroda stood up and quickly left the classroom. I thought that the way he appeared and disappeared so quickly, he looked like a shadow.

    "Mysterious guy..."

    He was assertive and loud, but somehow he didn't really seem to exist. I was interested in him for this and other reasons.

    "Well, let's go home"

    I need to get home soon and discuss this issue with everyone.

    I packed my materials in my bag and was about to stand up.

    "It was a difficult time at Kuroda's team. ...... I heard that the actress quit college."

    "Oh, the girl from the Theatrical Arts department?"

    "Right"

    The production manager of another team, who was nearby, started talking about this.

    (Theatrical Arts... The girl who was so good at it?)

    Nanako, who was said to be able to act, was beaten from far above by a level-headed actor. I thought she must be quite good, but I didn't know she had quit...

    I thought there was no way she would quit without a reason, but the answer came more easily than expected from the two people in front of me.

    "I heard that the director was messed up in many ways, and it made her sick."

    "Uwaa, that's the pattern of production death"

    It was also somewhat convincing. There must have been some kind of method that succeeded in bringing out the actors' performances to such an extent. Was it a Spartan style of production, or was he the type of person who would give NG many times?

    I was also noticing that Kuroda seemed to be blunt or tired. Perhaps the actors were just dragged along, and it was the director who went out of control.

    (The production will be extremely troublesome, that's for sure)

    It reminds me of the battle between the director Kawasegawa and the scriptwriter Tsurayuki in Team Kitayama Kai. However, they somehow knew the balance of stopping one step before the fight. I guess that's why the Kuroda team had to go to a very difficult place.

    I left the classroom and was walking down the hallway when I suddenly stopped.

    "……Somehow"

    It bothers me. I'm worried.

    It was also true that there was the matter of Tsurayuki. Although I didn't push him directly, as the result, I must have pushed him.

    But it was something else that was bothering me. I hadn't paid much attention to the other teams, but now that I was hearing about them, it was starting to feel like mine.

    Now that I have returned from the future and made up my mind, there will be many things that will not be as clean as they seem. The incident that I just heard about might happen to our team sooner or later.

    "Let's check it out"

    I didn't really want to hear it. I wanted to be gentle and let it all go. If I heard about it, it would come back to me, and I would remember Tsurayuki no matter how I tried.

    However, if I am going to fight seriously, I must not turn my back on the record of defeat ...... I thought.


    "Director of Kuroda Team? Ah, about Shibata?"

    Kanou-sensei's office. As soon as I sat down on the usual couch, sensei immediately gave me a specific name.

    "He has a unique way of thinking. He was praised by the Performance Theory teacher, but he was not a good communicator. The fact that the theatrical arts student quit may have been the result of a failure to communicate well."

    Sensei was also aware that the student had quit. Perhaps there was some kind of contact from the other department. After all, one of the students had quit because of something outside the department. It was not surprising that it became a problem.

    "Reason for quitting... Did the actor tell them anything in particular?"

    "Ah. The fact that she had a problem with Shibata is just a guess by the people around him. It's a process of elimination, the only thing they can think of."

    I see. It's an unpleasant way to say it, but then the department won't be held responsible.

    "However, I have received reports that there was some kind of malice, ego, or cornering in Shibata's comments or actions. It must have been quite a challenge for the producer Kuroda."

    I can't help but be reminded of the part about the things that push someone over the edge. I can't let it be someone else's problem, I feel it's like a sin that I have to live with.

    "Something bothering you?"

    For a moment, my body reacted with a jolt.

    "... That's right, a little"

    I hadn't told the teacher everything about how Tsurayuki had disappeared.

    It was partly to protect his pride, and even though I spoke to sensei, it was not something I could say so easily.

    However, sensei seemed to be aware that something was going on between me and Tsurayuki. I was grateful that she didn't pursue the matter unnecessarily, but at the same time, I felt uncomfortable, as if she could see through me.

    "I see"

    Sensei nodded at my reaction, took a sip of her coffee, and opened her mouth.

    "We have students who quit in the middle of their studies. Quit like crazy. It's not that unusual. Didn't I tell you about that before?"

    "Yes. You said it was a little different from a normal university."

    Not only at the Daigeidai, but also at art colleges and universities, students tend to quit. This is because there are quite a few students who start working on their major while they are still in school, and many of them quit when they decide that they can make a living. In fact, there are many people who have become famous after dropping out of school.

    However, it was also true that many of the students were actually suffering from mental and physical illnesses. Even a single assignment requires you to use a different brain than the one you learned in elementary, middle, and high school, and when the people around you are more eccentric and talented than you are, you have much more to worry about.

    "If you think too much about the ones who are gone, like the student of the theatrical arts, they tend to suffer from it too. So, you understand, right?"

    I guessed that she was referring to Tsurayuki as well.

"......Yes"

    Sensei told me not to follow this matter any further. It's not that there's some kind of conspiracy, it's just a natural selection that's going on here, and that's probably why she wants to tell me not to worry too much about it.

    (But I'll never forget it. There's no way I can forget)

    This was also directly connected to the matter of Tsurayuki. It was because I knew his future that I decided to still hold on to him and not let him go.

    Nevertheless, it was no use mentioning it here.

    "I'm sorry, thank you very much."

    I thanked her and stood up.

    Let's talk to sensei again someday when I have come to a conclusion.

    "Yeah, and good luck with your next assignment."

    I opened the heavy door and walked out of the office. The summer sun was baking the concrete, and the temperature was at an unbelievable level.

    "Ah..."

    My skin was burning and I was sweating as I walked home in the scorching heat.

    I was in an unspeakable state of mind. The "incident" was already over, and neither the actress nor Tsurayuki had taken any action after quitting. It was just a story that the people around them dug up.

    But I had a bad feeling about this. This story would not end here. I was sure that it would lead to something else, that it would be revived, and that it would hang in front of me in a not-so-good way.

    Will I be able to take the right action then? No. Will I be able to move with my own conviction instead of adjusting?

    I have a lot on my mind, but let's go home first. There's a lot more to talk about today.

    For now, the next time I see Kuroda, I'll at least give him a bit of a pat on the back. As a fellow production manager.


***

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