With the start of the new week, Haruto shifted into a state of frantic productivity.
Now that he was in the second semester of his third year at university, his schedule had cleared up significantly. This allowed him to fully dedicate his time to coordinating the overlapping demands of Prime Manga, Kiyozawa Library, and Haru-Yuki Animation. Every hour of his day was planned.
He tried to keep as much of his work centered in Tokyo as possible, but his daily routine had become a blur of fan meetups and press conferences during the day, followed by live television appearances at night to promote his various projects.
The week flew by, and the latest episode of Code Geass arrived.
In the fourth episode, Lelouch's childhood friend, Suzaku, finds himself framed by the corrupt Britannian military. He is set to be executed in a public spectacle, accused of being the one who assassinated Prince Clovis. Whether driven by fury that his friend was forced to take the fall for him or a sense of personal responsibility, Lelouch cannot simply stand by and watch Suzaku die for his actions.
And so, in episode four, Lelouch adopts the persona of Zero. He gathers Kallen and a group of resistance fighters who are desperate to overthrow Britannian rule, uniting them under his new identity.
This was the moment where the true charm of the series began to shine.
To many viewers, this episode was the peak of Lelouch's charisma. He successfully persuaded a ragtag group of rebels, convincing them to act as his pawns in a daring operation to rescue Suzaku.
He called himself Zero and stood before the world, wearing a helmet and declaring to the masses that he was the one who killed Clovis.
Then, using the power of his eyes, he commanded the enemy commander to allow the rebels and Suzaku to walk free. As with previous episodes, if one scrutinized the plot too closely, inconsistencies began to emerge. It often felt as though Lelouch's enemies weren't particularly bright, allowing themselves to be toyed with quite easily.
But for most, the critical factor was the immersion of the experience.
The sight of a high school student using a newfound power to dance through the cracks of global geopolitics, outmaneuvering superpowers and entrenched ruling classes, was exactly what the anime community craved. To many fans, the real world often felt like a stagnant environment that no one had the power to change. Lelouch, however, was doing exactly what they dreamed of: he was looking at the rules of the world and saying a definitive "NO."
After the broadcast, the internet was a battlefield of polarized opinions.
"Seriously, what is this logic? Are we treating global politics like a video game? Why are so many people watching this nonsense?"
"If you don't like it, don't watch it. Personally, I think it's brilliant!"
"Lelouch is so cool, but man, those poses he strikes in that suit and cape are hilarious!"
"Haruto is a genius. He knows exactly what kind of itch I need scratched. Lelouch is a total badass!"
"Begone, reality! I love seeing a kid take the crazy ideals in his head and actually use them to manipulate and change the world."
"This is what anime is supposed to be! Compared to this, David from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners looks like a total amateur. Look at Lelouch. Since he hates the status quo and knows the world won't change on its own, he goes out and changes it himself."
"Haruto is the GOAT!"
"Look, I'm enjoying the show too, but isn't it a bit much? Lelouch's posing makes me want to hide. I think I have too much empathy for him; imagining myself doing that in front of world media on a live broadcast is just painful!"
"Haha, you just aren't used to the style yet. That's the whole point of anime. I have strong empathy too, but when I put myself in Lelouch's shoes, I just get goosebumps. He's incredibly cool."
"The main character in this show has a much stronger presence and more charisma than anyone in Haruto's previous works."
"Don't you think his strategies are a bit of a stretch sometimes? I mean, I couldn't come up with anything better in his shoes, but it feels like his plans rely on his teammates and his enemies both following a very specific script. It's a bit weird."
"That's exactly why the Geass power exists. Getting teammates to cooperate is the easy part. The enemies won't cooperate? Just use the eyes and make them."
"Besides, it's an anime. The warfare and tactics don't need to be hyper-realistic. As long as there isn't a massive logical hole while you're watching, it works. If you try to criticize these works with perfect hindsight, you'll never find an anime worth watching."
"I don't care about any of that. All I know is that Code Geass has me hooked. I can't wait for episode five next week."
The fourth episode of Code Geass pulled an average rating of 5.29%. While the growth was slow, it was undeniable that the audience was expanding with every broadcast. Supporters saw Lelouch as a charismatic hero, while haters saw a naive boy playing with fire. Yet, the former group far outnumbered the latter.
In the world of anime, there is a famous saying: "People who look for reality in fiction are the ones who are truly lost."
Most fans understood this instinctively. No one was seriously comparing Lelouch's command skills to the great generals and commanders in history. Expecting an anime scriptwriter to reach that level of tactical realism was absurd.
As April faded into May, the market response was clear. Code Geass had firmly established its ratings floor at around 5%. The noise from the anti-fans had failed to slow its momentum.
After a month on the air, the show's influence was spreading rapidly. In the major cities, the Cyberpunk posters that had dominated the areas for months were being replaced by Code Geass posters.
Haruto was satisfied with the first month's results. He wasn't naive enough to think that everything he produced would immediately smash records like Madoka Magica or Edgerunners. For the early setup phase of the story, maintaining a 5% rating was an excellent achievement.
In early May, the fifth episode aired. The plot focused on the relationship between two pivotal characters: Lelouch's friend Suzaku and the third princess, Euphemia.
In Haruto's personal opinion, Code Geass didn't truly elevate from a great work to a masterpiece until the tragic events surrounding Euphemia later in the season. Until then, the story was still meticulously laying the groundwork for the main conflict.
However, the end of the fifth episode provided a massive shock. The green-haired girl who had been missing ever since and was presumed dead, suddenly reappeared. This cliffhanger sent the emotions of the audience into overdrive. The episode also featured one of the series' most iconic tracks, Stories. As another song written and arranged by Haruto, it shot to the top of the music download charts the very next day.
As the early summer heat began, Haruto, Yukino, Reina, and Shizuru were gathered in their living room, wearing short sleeves and sharing a chilled watermelon. Shizuru was currently a senior and only a month or two away from graduation, which meant she was spending her week frantically preparing for her thesis defense.
However, her situation, like Haruto's, was unique. As one of the top mangaka, the university faculty had to take her social influence into account.
They certainly didn't want to face the wrath of her millions of manga fans. Because of this, Shizuru wasn't quite as stressed as her classmates.
"Haruto, it's already hit fourteen million copies!" Shizuru exclaimed, looking at the latest sales report. Her face was bright with excitement.
"That fast? It's only been three weeks, hasn't it?" Haruto checked his own phone, where a similar notification had just arrived.
"This has to be the fastest pace in the history of the industry," Yukino added. She had learned a lot about the business recently, but she looked to the others for confirmation.
"From breaking six million to seven, and now fourteen million... Hunter × Hunter is officially the fastest-selling debut volume in the history of manga," Shizuru said proudly. She stole a glance at Haruto, but noticed he didn't seem particularly moved by the numbers. "Haruto... why don't you look more excited?"
"Excited?" Haruto paused, then smiled. "I mean, it's great, but there's no reason to go crazy yet. Initial D is already averaging twenty-four million copies per volume. Hunter × Hunter is still just starting out. I'll get excited when its sales surpass Initial D or when it finally takes the number one spot in Japan."
"Plus, Sword Art Online isn't far from the top spot either. It might even happen within the year."
The room went quiet for a few seconds.
The others were well aware of Haruto's ambitions for his three current projects, and he made no secret of his goals. But hearing him casually talk about reaching the number one spot was still staggering.
"So, Haruto... are you really that confident that Sword Art Online will become the best-selling light novel in history?" Reina, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke up.
As someone who had dedicated herself to the novel industry, she couldn't help but ask.
She had been working tirelessly for over a year now. Her current series, The Absolute Realm, had been serialized for over a year and consistently ranked second in Kiyozawa Library's magazine, occasionally dipping to third. Her average sales per volume hovered around fifteen million. She could feel that this was the ceiling for her current work, and the gap between her and Sword Art Online was, quite frankly, immense.
In the five years she had known Haruto, she had always used him as the goal she was chasing. But lately, she had begun to feel a sense of powerlessness. She knew her next work would be better than The Absolute Realm, and the one after that would be even better. She believed that one day, she could break eighteen million, twenty million, or even crack the top ten all-time list. Maybe even number one. Whether she could actually do it was one thing, but she had always had the confidence to try.
However, when it came to Haruto, she felt lost. For every ten steps she took, he took twenty. She was growing, but he was growing faster. When would she ever catch up? Right now, Haruto was the undisputed prodigy of the light novel world, yet few people truly realized just how far ahead he was. Among their generation of writers, Reina was the undisputed number two, but her light was being completely eclipsed.
Even if she spent ten or twenty years creating a work that surpassed Sword Art Online, what level would Haruto be at by then? It was only because of her stubborn nature that she hadn't given up. Anyone else using Haruto as a benchmark would have quit long ago.
"Based on the current trajectory, once the GGO arc of Sword Art Online is fully serialized, it's highly likely the series will take the number one spot in Japan," Haruto said, looking at Reina. He saw the expression on her face and sighed inwardly, but he told her the truth.
Because they were close, he felt a certain amount of pressure when talking to her. He knew that the goal she was chasing was, ultimately, impossible to achieve. The cultural wealth of an entire parallel world could not be surpassed by a single individual. It pained him to see her like a moth to a flame, throwing all her time and energy into competing with a bonfire fueled by a literal world's worth of masterpieces, only to face inevitable failure.
"You know, Reina... maybe you shouldn't put all your focus on novels," Haruto said, unable to help himself.
The only thing that could possibly balance out her career-driven mindset was probably romance.
"If I don't focus on novels, what else am I supposed to do?" she replied, her eyes meeting his.
"You're already a junior. Your university life is going to be over before you know it. Haven't you thought about getting a boyfriend or falling in love? It would be a shame to spend all four years of college single," Haruto said.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the atmosphere shifted. Shizuru and Reina both looked uncomfortable. Shizuru shot him a look of annoyance. She was the one who was graduating in a month after being single for four years; Haruto was really poking at a sore spot.
"Even if I spend twenty-four hours a day on my writing, the chance of surpassing you is still so slim. How could I afford to be distracted?" Reina took a deep breath.
"Besides, why are you lecturing me? Aren't you single too? You spend all your time and energy on your career."
Now it was Haruto and Yukino's turn to look uncomfortable. They instinctively glanced at each other.
"Wait a second, Haruto," Shizuru said, looking suspiciously between him and Yukino. "You and Yukino have been acting really weird lately. Why do the two of you keep having these silent conversations with your eyes?"
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