Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Thank you for your support Saylesma, NetNN, La Fayette, Jeffery, That's Pretty Mint, Joshua Berry and Makalelo
Chapter 4 | Go for It | Remake our Life!
Part 1
Early that morning, I came to Tsurayuki's workroom.
I had come to check the final plot for submission, which he had finally finished after staying up all night.
"So, h-how is it, Kyoya...?"
It was already past the point where I could tell him what to do.
The only thing left was the final check: whether it was interesting to read or not.
Tsurayuki had already decided on his course of action. If I found it interesting, he would submit it. If not, he would spend just one more day revising it before submitting.
But in his mind, he was prepared as if today was his last chance. Or rather, judging by how Tsurayuki looked, it didn't seem like he had the strength to last until tomorrow.
Over the printed pages, I glanced at Tsurayuki's expression.
Dark circles stood out clearly around his eyes, and his unshaven beard had been left to grow. I also knew that, because he believed eating would make him sleepy, he had been living on nothing but water and chocolate.
In the midst of this tense atmosphere, I quietly continued reading.
I had decided not to compromise. If it wasn't good, I would reject it. If it was good, I would tell him so. Since I had taken on the role of giving my opinion, I wanted to be honest about it.
I finished reading. I placed the pages in front of him and said,
"It was interesting. You did a great job, Tsurayuki."
The moment he heard that, Tsurayuki grabbed both of my hands,
"I-I did it!!! Thank you, thank you, Kyoya!!"
He shook them up and down again and again, overflowing with joy that he had gotten my approval.
(Seriously, he really did his best, Tsurayuki.)
Just as we had agreed, this time I avoided giving detailed advice beyond sharing my opinion.
What I had done in the previous volume was to take Tsurayuki's ideas, which tended to jump in all kinds of directions, arrange the ones that could become the main theme in a proper order, and trim away the rest.
At first, Tsurayuki tried to do the same thing I had done with the plot for Volume 2. However, he was completely unsuited to the method I had used. Whenever he tried too hard to organize everything, the main theme became too straightforward, while at other times he couldn't cut enough away, causing the side elements to stand out too much.
The solution Tsurayuki came up with was something I never would have thought of.
"I feel like I've finally figured out what works for me. Instead of treating the plot like a plot outline, I should write it with the same rhythm I use when writing the manuscript."
Tsurayuki was the type of writer who made small changes to the content as he wrote the manuscript. In other words, he wasn't the kind of author who followed the plot very closely.
So, Tsurayuki chose to write a rough draft of the manuscript first. By doing that, he was finally able to work out the consistency and how to tie everything together. Then, using that prototype novel as the basis, he put together the plot in the form of a synopsis.
Of course, only Tsurayuki could write in such an inefficient way. Normally, people don't write the manuscript fast enough to pour that much effort into text that might end up being discarded later.
(It was a solution that only Tsurayuki could come up with.)
So this was undoubtedly the right answer that Tsurayuki had found for himself.
"H-Hey, do you think my editor will be happy with this...?"
"I don't know about that, but I thought it was really interesting. You showed it to me because you thought it was interesting too, didn't you?"
Tsurayuki nodded.
"There's no way I'd show something I didn't think was interesting to you, Kyoya."
"Mm, then that's all that matters. Let's send it."
When I said that firmly, it seemed as though a strong light had returned to Tsurayuki's eyes. Even though he looked like he could collapse from exhaustion at any moment, I honestly thought it was amazing that he was still able to think about the story.
"All right! I'll send it off! I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. Thanks a lot!"
"Mm, I'm looking forward to hearing the result."
With that, I left Tsurayuki's workroom.
Now that it had come to this, Tsurayuki would be able to handle the rest on his own. It didn't seem like the kind of submission that would be rejected outright, and even if there were any issues, they would probably be nothing more than minor revisions or small adjustments.
He had talent to begin with.
Even without someone like me, he should have been able to shine.
"Fuwaaah... Tsurayuki, is he okay?"
In the living room, Nanako was waiting with a sleepy expression.
She had apparently been worried about Tsurayuki and had stayed up all night watching over him as well. Even though they were always arguing with each other, one of Nanako's good qualities was that she could still be considerate when it came to creative work.
"It should be fine now. There may be differences in taste, but from what I read, it was definitely interesting enough."
"That's good to hear. He's got real talent, so once he gets his mindset back on track, he'll probably be fine."
"Mm, I think so too."
Tsurayuki had always been serious about writing, so I never believed this was the one thing he simply couldn't overcome.
Still, I also thought that perhaps his earnestness had been what kept him from finding a way through it. Looking at it that way, being able to give him that initial push was probably good for him as well.
"Well then, good work to you too, Nanako."
"Okaaay. Well then, good night~"
Nanako returned to her room while holding back a yawn.
"Now then, next up is... Shinoaki's turn, huh."
When I returned to my room, I checked the email from Shinoaki's editor containing an update on the situation.
The roughs Shinoaki submitted passed the review without any major issues, and her editor also felt that an approach close to the one we had suggested would be better.
The quality we had been concerned about improved significantly through the process from line art to coloring, and it turned out to be something that could be used in a commercial publication without any particular problems.
It seemed that the editorial department's response had been positive as well, and Shinoaki was apparently happy about it.
(At least things turned out well... I guess)
Feeling relieved for the time being, I knocked on her room's door.
"Shinoaki, I'm coming in."
"Sure~!"
Today, she was planning to work on the illustrations that had arrived from the client, and we were going to check on the current situation during a break in between.
"This is the bonus illustration I drew~"
I checked each one in order after opening them.
I had the same impression as with the cover illustration. There was nothing particularly new in terms of the composition or expressions, but my impression was that it had easily cleared the standard required for a product.
"Well, now that we've got the instructions for the illustrations too, let's work through them in order."
"Mm, I'll do my best~!"
Shinoaki's condition seemed unchanged from before.
No, if anything, now that she was healthier, she seemed even more cheerful.
If Jin-san and Yuu-kun saw her now, they would surely feel relieved. The older sister had become healthy again and was properly balancing her work with everything else.
That's what they wanted, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with it.
"Kyoya-kun, Kyoya-kun~!"
"Ah... Eh? Sorry, Shinoaki. I was spacing out for a moment."
"Mou~ I was talking to you. What happened?"
Shinoaki puffed out her cheeks cutely and protested.
"I just had a lot on my mind. Sorry. Even though this is supposed to be the time for me to focus on this."
"Fufu, that's right~"
Creative works have their ups and downs. Even if Shinoaki was stuck right now, it didn't mean things would stay that way forever.
I told myself that, and continued to let her work.
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
Part 2
The project being developed at Succeed Soft had entered full-scale development.
Starting with Matsuhira-san, the main staff members were working on planning the core parts of the game and creating various assets, while we were making the mini-games that appeared in the game as instructed.
Just as Takenaka-san had said, I was originally supposed to be involved as a supporting role, but once we actually got started, I ended up taking the lead on almost everything.
"Paisen, good work!"
Takenaka-san stood beside my desk and gave a perfectly sharp salute.
"I've put together the temporary versions of the system graphics, dummy event illustrations, rough drafts of the background graphics, and everything else, and uploaded them to the shared folder!"
"Thanks, that really helps! I'll write the next instructions in the task sheet too, so could you work through them from the top in order?"
"Understood!!"
After giving another crisp salute, Takenaka-san leaned in and whispered to me,
"...Paisen, are you sure you're okay? You've been working nonstop for so long, and Takenaka is starting to get a little worried."
"M-Mm, I'm still okay... I think."
I was lying a little.
For the mini-game development, we had been told that we could outsource parts of the work if necessary, but basically, I had been instructed to make it with just the two of us: Takenaka-san and me.
"Paisen is handling the scenario, design, choosing the assets, and scripting, while Takenaka handles the character designs and all the graphics stuff. Then we're supposed to use resources from previous games for the music and anything else we're missing. That's... pretty tight, isn't it?"
"Yeah. The deadline is pretty rough too. I wonder what happened."
As a result, we were being forced to work on a very tight schedule.
"Something feels a little off, doesn't it~? It's like the whole development department has a bad atmosphere lately, or something."
Takenaka-san muttered quietly in an even lower voice.
Just as she had said, the development department's current state clearly showed that something was wrong. Until now, people would chat during breaks in their work or play games in the shared space, but now everyone was quietly working away in an eerily silent office.
The only things that occasionally leaked out were the sounds of people clicking their tongues and frustrated voices.
"Today, Horii-san and Matsuhira-san had a meeting with the higher-ups, right?"
"Yeah, I think so. They should probably be coming back soon."
Just as she finished saying that, the door to the development department opened.
Most of the members turned their eyes toward it, and then froze.
"............"
The expressions on Department Head Horii and Matsuhira-san's faces were clearly stiff. There was no way the atmosphere was one where anyone could make a casual joke.
"Hashiba-kun and Takenaka-san, could you come to the conference room for a moment?"
"Y-Yes!"
At Matsuhira-san's summons, Takenaka-san and I stood up from our seats together.
"...I have a bad feeling about this."
"I think so too."
With a sense of unease, we hurried to the conference room.
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
Part 3
In front of Matsuhira-san, us, and the other employees gathered there, the news Matsuhira-san announced was, as expected, not a good one.
"The decision to shorten the production period for the RPG project we are currently working on from one year to ten months was made by the board of directors earlier today."
Naturally, everyone began murmuring.
The RPG project was the flagship project proposed by Matsuhira-san, and because they wanted it to be developed properly despite its scale, it had been given a longer production period than usual.
However, after taking the situation of the other development lines into consideration, they decided that they could not afford to spend a full year on it after all, and Matsuhira-san had been unilaterally informed that the production period would be shortened.
Since one month had already passed since development started, they were being told to finish it within the remaining nine months.
"No way?! We had been moving forward with such a solid schedule."
"We've already placed orders assuming we had a full year. Can we even make changes at this point...?"
The employees also seemed to have been caught completely off guard by the sudden change in the schedule, and they began voicing their concerns one after another.
"Seriously...? Matsuhira-san, is he going to be okay?"
Takenaka-san also looked worried.
Ever since launching the project, Matsuhira-san had carefully contacted everyone involved, creating a roadmap with a development process that would not push anyone too hard. On top of that, he had properly compiled it into a project that could generate profit for the company based on sales forecasts, and only then had it received approval from the upper management.
And yet, being suddenly told that the schedule had been shortened was simply too hard to accept.
(Nine months, huh... Cutting it in half would obviously be impossible, but if it's shortened by two months, we might be able to make it work by tightening the overall workload.)
I had already reviewed the roadmap that Matsuhira-san had made.
Fortunately or unfortunately, it had been made with some room to spare, so if we carefully tightened the gaps, it should somehow be possible.
It was a valuable opportunity, and the project itself was attractive, so I believed Matsuhira-san also wanted to move forward with it. At least, that was what I thought.
"Let me give my opinion."
Matsuhira-san spoke.
"I don't think we can continue under the current conditions. So..."
However, what he said next was unexpected.
"If we can't get the originally planned schedule, then I intend to take a firm stance and cancel the project itself."
At Matsuhira-san's proposal, the people around us finally began to murmur.
(Eh... Cancel the project?)
Without thinking, I looked at Takenaka-san beside me. She also seemed surprised and had a shocked expression on her face.
We had finally gotten it approved, so was it really okay to reject it so directly...?
Even the employees looked unsure about whether they should agree with this, and honestly, they seemed confused.
(After all, everyone was looking forward to this project, weren't they?)
Of course, Matsuhira-san was leading the project. But once the project had started to get on track, the other staff members had also begun contributing their own ideas.
When Matsuhira-san suddenly said he was even willing to scrap the project, it was only natural to wonder if that was really the right thing to do.
"Please wait a moment. Isn't canceling it going too far?"
"That's right. The budget has already been approved, and we've already started working on it. Can't we just accept some changes to the conditions and keep moving forward?"
As expected, questions began to come from the employees as well.
However, Matsuhira-san showed no sign of being shaken by them,
"There have already been many projects where management forced unreasonable schedules on us, and as a result, they failed to turn out satisfactorily. Are we really going to repeat that mistake again?"
Even when facing the veteran employees, he showed no intention of backing down.
"No, that's, well...That's true, but..."
"That's true. We've suffered enough because of unreasonable orders from the higher-ups."
I thought it was a clever approach. He had successfully shifted the discussion from this project itself to the humiliation the development team had endured over the years, as well as their position and pride. With all the frustrations that had built up over the years, the longer someone had been with the company, the harder it became for them to oppose him.
"B-But isn't there some way we can work things out?"
Even then, those who felt it would be a waste asked if there was any way to make it work.
"No. We shouldn't try to adjust ourselves to their demands in the first place."
Even so, Matsuhira-san did not back down.
It was as if he had decided on this course of action from the beginning, cutting through the issue without hesitation.
"If there are no objections, we'll proceed with that approa—"
Just as Matsuhira-san was about to say that in his usual calm tone.
"U-Uhm, please wait!"
Before I realized it, I had raised my hand.
Without thinking about the fact that I was only a part-time worker or that I wasn't deeply involved in the project, I felt that I had to say something.
As if my hesitation did not matter to him, Matsuhira-san calmly asked,
"Hashiba-kun, do you have something to say?"
He asked.
"U-Uhm, that..."
I hesitated.
Normally, I would never even think about speaking up to Matsuhira-san.
But this time, I instinctively felt that I had to say something.
"Don't you think it would be a waste to scrap the project here?"
I said it.
The entire meeting room fell silent for a moment.
Matsuhira-san was no longer just a part-time worker. It was already expected that he would become a full-time employee, and he had earned an extraordinary amount of trust from the development staff.
To disagree with someone like that honestly made me feel uneasy, and it was not something I wanted to do. It was even harder because he was someone I trusted in my daily work.
(But it's still better... than keeping this feeling to myself.)
I made up my mind and turned to face him.
"I know. I'm frustrated too about stopping the project here."
Matsuhira-san stood there with his arms crossed in silence, then slowly spoke.
"But if we're only going to make something that has no chance of turning out well because of an inadequate working environment, it's better to end it here while the damage is still small. Don't you think so, Hashiba-kun?"
His words were calm, and there was no wavering in the words of someone who firmly believed in his own principles.
Those were words that only someone who had steadily built a solid foundation over the years could say.
(No, don't back down. If there's something you believe in, say it.)
There are two points I want to make.
First, I don't think adjusting the schedule is impossible. Second, since we've come up with such a good project, I don't want to see it go to waste.
The second point is mostly based on emotion, so it's not very convincing. In that case, I should start with the schedule, which has already been declared impossible under the current conditions.
I took a deep breath and began to speak.
"I agree that shortening the schedule is a tough demand. But couldn't we, for example, ask if they would give us a little more time as a compromise, or think of a way to finish it within the remaining nine months? Can't we approach this with the goal of making the project happen?"
Matsuhira-san slowly shook his head.
"That's difficult. As for asking for a compromise, judging from how the upper management has forced their decisions on us in the past, it's better to assume they won't accept it."
"I understand that it won't be easy. That's why I think we should prepare our own bargaining points before we talk to them."
"What do you mean by 'bargaining points'?"
Matsuhira-san was willing to hear me out.
"Yes. According to what the upper management said, they want us to shorten the schedule, but they only gave a rough target of two months. So I think the development department should estimate the work and present detailed data?"
I pointed to the roadmap posted on the whiteboard and continued.
There were bars showing the time allocated for each stage, such as the scenario, graphics, and programming.
Near the end of each bar was a section in a different color. That was the buffer, added to give each stage a little extra time.
"Thanks to Matsuhira-san planning ahead, every stage currently has a small buffer built into it."
"Mm, because I believe those are necessary steps, so of course."
I wrote down the results after tightening all of those sections and calculating them beneath the board.
The total came to three days. We were able to save roughly one month.
"With this adjustment, I think we can somehow speed up the schedule. Of course, it would be disadvantageous in a negotiation to honestly propose these numbers as they are, so I'll submit an estimate of around 23 to 27 days instead. We'll say, 'This is the limit of how much we can shorten the development period'."
A few people murmured, "Oh..." in interest.
Judging from the reaction earlier, there were still a certain number of people who felt it was too soon to abandon this project. First, I wanted to bring that group over to our side, and then try to change the minds of those who agreed with Matsuhira-san as well.
"It looks like a realistic plan, but it's still nothing more than a calculation made on paper. We also need to consider how we will handle human errors and unexpected incidents where we suddenly can't secure enough resources. Excuse me for saying this, but making a proposal based only on simple calculations is dangerous."
I nodded at Matsuhira-san, who had pointed out the concern.
"Of course, this is only an example of the way we can approach it. We will need to carefully shorten the schedule while checking the risks with the people in charge of each department. But..."
I decided this was the moment to push my point and spoke firmly.
"It's a wonderful project that we've worked so hard to create. In order to make it happen and create a good product, shouldn't we consider adjustment plans instead of seeing it as simply a choice between 0 and 1?"
"......!"
Matsuhira-san held his breath.
I presented the logic first, and then appealed to their emotions afterward.
(Maybe some of what I've learned through work has been useful after all.)
If I had shown my emotions first, it probably would not have been as convincing.
The employees gradually began to voice their support.
“At least this much should be manageable. We can be more selective with the materials too. If everyone covers for each other, we should be able to make it work.” Opinions like those began to be heard from various people.
(With this, the atmosphere has changed a little, hasn't it...?)
The opinions, which had been split about evenly before, gradually shifted toward the idea of making adjustments and moving forward with the project.
I would say presenting an alternative plan was a success.
Matsuhira-san had kept his eyes closed the entire time, sitting with his arms crossed in silence.
Perhaps he had realized that everyone's opinions were gradually changing. After a while, he opened his eyes and said,
"Understood. If I didn't have everyone's agreement, I was planning to put the matter of scrapping the project on hold. Including Hashiba-kun's proposal, please allow me to take some time to consider this matter for now."
Several staff members exclaimed, "Oh!"
From Matsuhira-san's position, he could have simply rejected my suggestion, but perhaps after reading the atmosphere in the room, he decided to put the proposal on hold.
"Thank you for your hard work. That's all for today."
An atmosphere of relief filled the entire meeting room.
Everyone stood up and returned to their work, but Matsuhira-san remained seated there without moving.
I also found myself in a difficult position where I couldn't easily return to my own seat.
(Even though I only said what came to my mind, it ended up feeling like I had talked him into changing his mind.)
There was no ill intention or any kind of political motive behind it. Matsuhira-san should have understood that, of course.
However, the fact remained that by speaking up in that situation, I had made Matsuhira-san change his beliefs and thoughts, even if only slightly.
I wanted to at least talk with him about it. I did not want this to leave behind any bad feelings between us.
From my completely dry throat, I forced my voice out.
"Uhm, Matsuhira-san. I——"
The words I was about to say next,
"Hashiba-kun."
Matsuhira-san interrupted me in his usual calm tone.
"Could you spare me some time? There's something I want to talk about with you alone."
It seemed that he also had something on his mind.
"......Yes."
All I could do was nod.
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
Part 4
On the other end of the phone, I could hear quiet mutters as they made the final checks. Small voices saying things like "OK, this part is fine too" echoed intermittently.
Eventually, those voices died down, and then I received a clear response.
"The plot is OK. Thank you for your hard work. Please begin writing the manuscript."
It felt as if all the strength suddenly left my body.
"Thank you very much......!"
I let out a long breath and leaned back in my chair.
The second volume of the light novel I was currently working on. With this, I could finally move on to the actual writing.
"I'm sorry. I really ended up taking so much time."
I apologized to Fujiwara-san because the process had taken longer than it should have.
"No, it was a difficult process, but I think the result is better because of that. Keep up the momentum and do your best with the writing."
"Yes, of course."
After discussing the detailed deadlines and other matters, the plans for the future were starting to take shape.
Just as I was about to end the call with "Well then",
"Kawagoe-san, now that you mention it... Did you get a chance to talk with the person who helped you develop the story afterward?"
Now that he mentioned it, I realized I still hadn't reported anything about that matter.
"Yes. This time, I received a little advice from him, but we talked and decided that from now on, I would continue working on my own."
"I see. If things were settled in a good way, that's the most important thing."
Fujiwara-san ended that topic for the time being with, "That aside,"
"Looking at how you put together the plot for the first volume, I feel that you and Hashiba-san have a very good working relationship."
"I see... Is that so?"
According to Fujiwara-san, things like choosing which episodes to include and rearranging their order fit very well with the stories I created.
"That's why I think it's fine for this work to proceed in the way Kawagoe-san decided. However, for something created by the two of you together, I think it might be worth trying something like that again in the future."
It was a very welcome offer. I also wanted to create something with Kyoya again.
However, for now, I wanted to focus on improving my own abilities. After working hard and reaching that point, if there was something Kyoya wanted to create, I wanted to help him with it. That was what I hoped for.
Even after ending the call with Fujiwara-san, I continued thinking about what I would do from now on.
Continuing as a light novel author was a chance I could not have wished for more, especially since I wanted to make a living as a writer.
But since I had been lucky enough to meet Kyoya and the others from my department, I also wanted to cherish those connections, and my desire to create something with them again remained strong.
"Something I want to create with those guys, huh?"
When it came to Harusora, I had been far too inexperienced. I couldn't help but regret it, thinking that if it were now, I could have done things much better.
If we were to create something again, I wanted to have something of my own as well.
"Overwhelming storytelling power... That's what I need. If I have the power to make people think, without a doubt, that something is interesting, then it will surely be useful for Kyoya."
I opened the laptop that I had closed for a moment and immediately started writing the manuscript from the plot I had just finished reviewing.
"Above all, I need to become a proper professional myself."
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