Chapter 264: Strong Spectating
Kaede and Eriri, being younger, definitely had a sharper sense of the internet than Asakura Reiko. So, everyone began offering suggestions based on Asakura Reiko's new goal.
Soon, the car arrived at the TV station.
After parking, the four people got out and arrived at the TV station entrance. The program director, whom Kaede had met once before, was already personally waiting there.
Seeing Kaede arrive, the director immediately jogged over to greet him: "Good afternoon, Asakura-kun."
"Good afternoon." After exchanging greetings, Kaede smiled and said, "Let me introduce you. This is my mother, Asakura Reiko. This is Eriri, whom I mentioned to you last time, here to observe the program recording, and this is her mother."
Upon seeing Sawamura Sayuri, the director was stunned for a moment, then immediately asked, "Excuse me, are you the wife of Mr. Spencer the diplomat, Ms. Sawamura?"
Sawamura Sayuri was also somewhat surprised, nodding, "That's me. Do you know me?"
"Yes. Three months ago, Mr. Spencer came to participate in a program, and you came along then. Although I wasn't part of the program staff, I saw you nearby."
Sawamura Sayuri realized, confirming that was indeed the case.
While speaking, the director ushered the four people inside: "Please come in, everyone. We still have over an hour until the program recording, so there's no rush. I can show everyone around."
As they walked inside, the director's gaze toward Kaede changed slightly.
He had originally thought Kaede was just a popular light novel author, perhaps surprisingly young. But now, it was completely different. The girlfriend he had mentioned earlier was actually the daughter of a diplomat, and the Sawamura Family was not an unknown household in Tokyo. Although they couldn't compare to the major conglomerates, they were still beyond the reach of a minor director like him.
From that moment on, the director became three times more serious in his reception.
As they walked further in, it was Eriri's first time at a TV station, and everything felt new and exciting to her.
While observing, she pulled Kaede's arm and whispered, "Kaede-kun, look! That's the comedian we often see on TV!"
Following Eriri's gaze, Kaede realized, "Huh? It really is him. I didn't see him last time, I went straight to the recording site."
Eriri nodded, observed for a moment, and said, "Sure enough, they always wear makeup when they're on TV. He looks quite different now compared to on TV, plus there's the effect of camera filters. Kaede-kun, do you have to wear makeup later too?"
"Did you forget? I'll be wearing a mask."
"Ah, I remember now."
Eriri stuck out her tongue with a smile and asked, "So, Kaede-kun, what kind of mask are you going to wear?"
"That, you'll see once we get to the lounge."
Soon, the group arrived at Kaede's exclusive lounge. As the publishing house's promoted best-selling author of the year, having a separate lounge was certainly not a problem.
After Kaede chatted with the director for a few minutes, confirming he needed to be on standby at the site in half an hour, he took Eriri and the others into the lounge.
Immediately upon entering, Eriri saw a bag placed on the table.
"Kaede-kun, this must be your mask, right?"
"That's right."
Eriri immediately walked over, opened the bag, and took out the contents.
Upon seeing the mask's true appearance, Eriri burst out laughing instantly: "Pfft! Hahaha! Kaede-kun, I originally thought you'd custom-make a mask of Kazuma, but I didn't expect you to make one of the Headless Horseman? That's hilarious!"
"Isn't this great for the program's effect?"
Kaede walked over, took the mask, and said with a smile, "The Headless Horseman has already had a pretty rough time in the novel, so I might as well give him a little more presence elsewhere."
Putting the mask on, Kaede said, "It feels pretty good. Since it's custom-made, it's not uncomfortable. How does it look?"
Eriri took two steps back and nodded, "Mhm, it looks great. This way, absolutely no one will recognize your true identity!"
Taking the mask off, Kaede said, "Eriri, there's still half an hour until standby time. The other participants have already arrived. Do you want to go meet them?"
"You mean the voice actors? Yes!"
Kaede looked toward Asakura Reiko and Sawamura Sayuri, and both elders shook their heads simultaneously.
Sawamura Sayuri said, "Kaede, you and Eriri go have fun. We two simply came to accompany you, so we'll rest here for a bit and go to the set right before the live broadcast starts."
Kaede nodded, pulled the already very excited Eriri out of the lounge, informed the program director, and was then led by him toward the voice actors' lounge.
While Kaede and Eriri were looking for voice actors for photos and autographs inside the TV station, elsewhere, friends known to Kaede had gathered in various places, preparing to watch his first appearance in front of the camera.
At Aisaka Taiga's house, Aisaka Taiga, sitting in the living room, stuffed potato chips into her mouth while saying, "Although he's going to be on the show, didn't Asakura say he'd wear a mask? That makes it boring to watch."
Utaha was also there today. She smiled and said, "Even though he'll be wearing a mask, we aren't here to see Asakura-kun's face, are we? We just want to see how he performs on the program. As for me, I'm also watching with the intent to learn. My editor told me that if things go well, my novel should also be adapted into an anime later, and I might have to appear on a live broadcast program then too."
Nowadays, more and more light novel authors or manga artists participate in live broadcast programs related to their works. Kaede was neither the first nor would he be the last, and naturally, Utaha, as a colleague, couldn't avoid it either.
However, given the status of her work, by the time it gets animated, she should already be in college, so whether she shows her face or not won't be a big issue then.
Takasu Ryuji pondered and said, "I've been wondering if that guy will be nervous. I don't think I've ever seen him look nervous before."
When Takasu Ryuji mentioned it, everyone realized it was true.
No one was clear about things before high school, but since entering Toyosaki, Kaede truly hadn't encountered anything that made him nervous.
Rubbing her chin, Utaha said, "Setting aside everything else, Asakura-kun isn't nervous at all when girls confess to him; he always handles it calmly. I think this live broadcast program won't be a problem for him either."
Kitamura Yusaku said in surprise, "Senior, have you seen him being confessed to by a girl before?"
"That's right, I have seen it." Utaha nodded and said, "But I won't go into details. Although it happened before he started dating Eriri, it's still Asakura-kun's privacy, and I saw it by accident."
However, the more Utaha refused to say, the more curious everyone became.
Just then, Kushieda Minori spoke up, "Ah, it looks like the program is about to start!"
Everyone's attention immediately shifted to the large-screen television connected to the computer.