"Dear passengers, the Line 4 train you are on will arrive at Hegu Station in one minute. Passengers preparing to disembark, please get ready."
Hearing the attendant's formulaic yet sweet announcement, Kamiyā Yuu squeezed his way from his seat toward the train doors. Even though it wasn't rush hour, the train was still crowded.
As for Kamiyā Sora, who had originally planned to come along, she gave up the chance to meet Morishita Aoi this time due to certain indescribable reasons. After taking a bath, she had gone straight to sleep, her body completely drained.
Kamiyā Yuu had also called Morishita Aoi to inform her that he would be taking a later train, delaying things by about an hour.
After getting off the train, he followed the signs and quickly found Exit 3 that Morishita Aoi had mentioned. Looking around and not spotting her, he continued up the stairs. Sure enough, not far from the exit, he saw her standing by the bus stop. She was wearing a black women's business suit, and her mature, graceful figure drew frequent glances from the men waiting nearby.
"Aoi, over here." Kamiyā Yuu jogged over and greeted her.
Noticing him, Morishita Aoi nodded in response. But once they were face-to-face, she crossed her arms and sighed helplessly. "Yuu, you really are a busy man."
"I only missed one train. It shouldn't be a big deal, right?" Kamiyā Yuu scratched the back of his head guiltily. If she knew the real reason for his delay, it might become difficult to ask her to keep working for him.
Morishita Aoi brushed aside her short hair, revealing her slender neck, and shot him a critical look. "I don't mind, but this is your first meeting with Director Yūki. Couldn't you show a bit more sincerity?"
"Sorry," Kamiyā Yuu replied awkwardly.
"Forget it. Let's head back first." Seeing his apologetic expression, Morishita Aoi didn't press further. After all, if Director Yūki had any complaints, he would be the one to deal with them.
"Aoi, do you know what Director Yūki likes to eat?" Kamiyā Yuu asked after a moment, finally earning an approving glance from her.
······
To save time, the two took a taxi after leaving the supermarket, with Kamiyā Yuu naturally paying the fare.
It's worth mentioning that taxi fares in Japan are notoriously expensive—among the highest in the world. The base fare starts at 650 yen per kilometer, and after the first two kilometers, an additional 80 yen is charged for every 250 meters. On top of that, fares typically increase by around 30% at night.
In Japan, owning a car doesn't necessarily mean someone is wealthy—but regularly taking taxis certainly does. Take Kamiyā Yuu, for example: as a second key animator, his monthly salary was just over 100,000 yen. That averaged out to about 4,000 yen per day, meaning a single taxi ride could easily cost him half a day's wages.
Following Morishita Aoi, they arrived at a relatively quiet street. Not far in, they reached the office building she had rented as the starting point for their animation studio. Judging by its exterior, it was another old-style small office building comparable in age to Kyoni Animation's building—plain walls with only a few narrow windows.
"The total area is 260 square meters, with three large office rooms and a fully equipped restroom. Once we purchase items like a water dispenser, desks, and a copier tomorrow, we can officially get started. As per your instructions, I prioritized acquiring five computers and the corresponding desks, along with setting up the network. They're currently in the third office," Morishita Aoi explained as they walked through the spacious yet quiet interior. While the exterior wasn't impressive, the interior was simple and comfortable, which satisfied Kamiyā Yuu.
When they entered the third, medium-sized office, a wheeled office chair that had been facing the computer slowly turned around.
Sitting on it was the petite director Kamiyā Yuu had seen at Kyoni Animation's company party—Yūki Chinatsu.
She wore a pink casual jacket styled like children's clothing, paired with ultra-short denim shorts and black-and-pink thigh-high stockings, giving her an undeniably cute appearance. Her small, slender frame and youthful face made it hard to believe she was nearly thirty years old.
"I say, don't you think it's a bit late?" Reclining in the office chair, Yūki Chinatsu crossed her arms and grumbled in a mature yet helpless tone, shooting Kamiyā Yuu a glare at the end.
Kamiyā Yuu smiled, placing a box of takoyaki and a few cans of beer in front of her. "Sorry, something important came up and delayed me. By the way, Director Yūki, do you still remember me?"
Seeing the food and drinks, Yūki Chinatsu's expression visibly improved. She grabbed a can of beer, popped it open, and took a big gulp, sighing in satisfaction. "Ahh! Even in cool weather, beer is still great! Fine, I'll forgive you this time—the key animator who blended into the background at the company party, Mr. Kamiyā Yuu."
Kamiyā Yuu's expression turned strange. Beer and a loli—it was a bizarre combination, no matter how he looked at it. Moreover, this Director Yūki felt oddly familiar. Not because he had seen her before, but because she closely resembled a certain anime girl in his memory—a loli version of Saber soaking in a hot spring.
A background key animator? That assessment wasn't wrong. Based on his appearance alone, Kamiyā Yuu would disappear in a crowd. Even the slovenly middle-aged Ōkawa Kazuki from the same department was more noticeable than him.
Watching Yūki Chinatsu happily eating the hot takoyaki, Kamiyā Yuu struck while the iron was hot. "Haha, I do look pretty plain. So, Director Yūki, are you interested in joining us?"
"If I wasn't… gulp… I wouldn't be here, would I?" Yūki Chinatsu shot him a disdainful look, her table manners far from elegant.
"Before that, there's something I need to confirm." Her expression suddenly turned serious as she asked in a firm voice, "Is the 'Red—Crescent Rose' on that 'fakebook' website really your personal work? I don't like lies, and I don't like liars."
She jumped down from the chair and walked up to Kamiyā Yuu, looking up at him with doubt. "That author said the character designs were done by Etsuki, and she also said you were the creator of 'Red—Crescent Rose'. But can a mere key animator really produce such an outstanding 3D animation? Without professional knowledge, without a professional team, without professional equipment—I can't understand how you managed to create that piece. Did you just imagine it out of thin air?"
In a sense, she wasn't entirely wrong.
Kamiyā Yuu smiled confidently. "Ordinary key animators can't—but I'm not an ordinary one."
"Oh? That's interesting. Why don't you show me?" Yūki Chinatsu looked at him provocatively. "If you really are that creator, then I'll join your animation studio unconditionally—even without pay."
Precisely because she was a professional, she dared to say that. Deep down, she was a thousand percent convinced that Kamiyā Yuu couldn't possibly produce a 3D animation of that level. But even in the unlikely event that he really was the creator, staying in this studio wouldn't be a bad thing. Even without a salary, what she could learn would be a priceless treasure.
This was her perspective as a 3D animator evaluating 'Red—Crescent Rose'.
She didn't care about character design, plot, music, or even the uniquely styled combat. What she valued was the 3D visual quality—something fundamentally different from other 3D animations. It amazed her, giving her the sense of a subtle yet undeniable technological gap between it and all others.