So many geniuses in anime! What's wrong with me joining?

Sakurakoji Talent blinked rapidly. He felt like he could understand why Sister Fei had said that back then.

Unfortunately, time waits for no one. At first, it sounded like bragging, but upon hearing it again, it felt like a cycle of reincarnation.

"...Why are you hesitating so much about coming back?"

"Well, well, you can understand that. After all, there are always some accidents during the process of inheritance."

I won!

Ichiji Hoshika seemed to be smoothing things over, but inwardly, she wore a victorious smile. She had finally found something she could surpass Sakurakoji Talent in. Her sister was, as expected, the cutest!

"...That's true. It would be abnormal for everyone to look like Mr. Talent."

Not understanding her older sister's despicable thoughts, Ichiji Nijika chimed in with agreement. Thinking of Sakurakoji Talent's breathtakingly handsome face behind the mask, she wore a complex expression.

If his entire family had his level of looks, how would anyone else live?

They might as well just restart. There would be no point in living.

"..."

Sakurakoji Talent was speechless at their one-sided conversation. Had Ashiri's reputation been unfairly damaged because of his slight hesitation?

But it didn't matter. They probably wouldn't have a chance to meet each other anyway, so it was fine.

Without defending himself, Sakurakoji Talent simply shrugged with a light laugh, letting the topic be casually dismissed.

Image: "Handsome Nijika-senpai", Location: "Images/1756004797-100446961-113682220.jpg"

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies : Chapter 25: The Sakurakoji Family Makes a Big Move

The next day, Sakurakoji Residence.

Yashiro Ichiyo, dressed in a maid outfit, entered the bright and clean living room. She walked up to Sakurakoji Talent and handed him two brand-new books.

"Young Master, the novels you asked to be produced a few days ago have been proofread and printed. These two are the regular edition and the hardcover edition. Please take a look..."

"Okay, I understand."

Sakurakoji Talent put down his phone, took the two books, and placed them flat on the table.

From the outside, the difference wasn't significant. After all, they were both legitimate new books, so there wouldn't be the issue of poor paper quality found in pirated copies. Only the details revealed some differences.

Additionally, the hardcover edition came with some extra gifts, which was why its price was considerably higher.

He picked up the hardcover edition. Not only was it exquisitely made, but the cover art was also very beautiful. After casually flipping through a few pages, he showed a satisfied expression.

The fresh scent of books filled his lungs, and the smooth texture of the paper was a pleasure to touch. The internal illustrations perfectly matched his own aesthetic—because he had drawn them himself.

Seeing that he seemed quite satisfied, Yashiro Ichiyo asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for days.

"Young Master, are you interested in this field?"

"Do you want to become a popular novelist in the future?"

The books she had just handed to Sakurakoji Talent were, in fact, his own works.

A few days ago, Sakurakoji Talent had approached Okura Iyo and expressed his intention to use his savings to buy some shares in a company, hoping he could help connect him. The other party had readily agreed.

That company was a publisher that primarily focused on popular books for young people.

The genre seemed to be called Light Novels. She wasn't very familiar with it, but a female friend of hers was very fond of dating simulation games, which seemed somewhat similar.

The name of the publishing house... it seemed to be Fumikage?

In short, Sakurakoji Talent used hundreds of millions of yen to purchase a portion of its shares, becoming a small shareholder.

At first, Yashiro Ichiyo couldn't quite understand why Sakurakoji Talent would do such a thing, as he had never been involved in this field before. Was he planning to abandon the design field he had been immersed in since childhood and switch to this?

It wasn't until Sakurakoji Talent asked them to help publish a novel he had written himself that she understood. So, their young master simply wanted to publish the book he had written.

"A little bit, but I don't intend to make it a career. I'm just playing around with it."

Yashiro Ichiyo nodded, seemingly understanding but not entirely. However, she didn't mind. As long as Sakurakoji Talent didn't intend to make this his lifelong profession, she would be relieved.

After all, as the heir of the Sakurakoji Family, making this his main occupation would make people laugh. Even if he wanted to be a writer, shouldn't his goal be to write a masterpiece that would go down in history?

The family wasn't lacking money, so there was no need to write books that catered to the market.

Sakurakoji Talent could see her inner worries clearly and secretly scoffed at her outdated way of thinking.

His head maid didn't know that nowadays, wealthy individuals did all sorts of things.

Some taught, some engaged in ACG creation, some drew adult manga, some played music, some just loafed around... You could never know how rich and varied someone's private life and work could be beneath their seemingly glamorous identity and appearance!

The main point was rebellion!

His act of using his pocket money to assist in a legitimate business was practically exemplary morality in this day and age!

That's right. His actions were naturally related to his physical condition. Looking at the name of the publishing house, one could tell who the next victim (crossed out)... the next target person would be.

In order to establish a reasonable initial connection with that person, he had no choice but to do this.

The most convenient method would have been to transfer schools directly, but he had already chosen his school, so he couldn't possibly attend two schools. He had heard of "part-time warriors," but he had never heard of "school warriors."

Moreover, with so many industry-related roles these days, it would be easier for him to get involved directly. Perhaps he might even encounter other characters one day, which would be even more profitable.

He had no intention of letting things happen by chance. Opportunities were something you had to fight for yourself.

If he didn't take the initiative, who knows when this Cao Dan's condition would be resolved, or how much longer he would have to suffer like this.

It wasn't that he was too eager; he was simply forced into it. Anyone else would have been more anxious than him!

The reason he bought shares in the publishing house was simply because time was running out.

If he followed the normal submission process, the review alone would take several months. If he happened to encounter some blind, uninspired editor, he might even get rejected.

He, Sakurakoji Talent, the legitimate eldest son of the prestigious Sakurakoji Family! How could he endure such indignity?

To avoid wasting time and to cut off all unfavorable possibilities, he directly mobilized the Sakurakoji Family's influence, giving the other authors who were patiently waiting for replies a little taste of capital's power.

As a result of his efforts, the book's publication was fast-tracked, completing all procedures in just a few days.

However, this was also because he handled most of the content himself; the publishing house only needed to sign and stamp.

The written story was a given. Illustrations might be a problem for other authors, but for him, a non-professional designer who learned to draw before writing and started using a pen for design at the age of three, it was nothing.

No one actually thinks designers can't draw, right? Right?

Although their main focus areas were different, the fundamental skills were the same; he just needed to adapt flexibly.

Sakurakoji Talent glanced at the book cover. The first thing that caught his eye was a long string of black Japanese characters: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

Heh! Shameless! Who told you to be a plagiarist?

With this kind of family background and talent, you're still a copyright thief? How dare you!

So what? Sakurakoji Talent sneered dismissively. Who cares? Since it doesn't exist in this world, it's mine!

To achieve his long-held ambition as soon as possible, he would utilize every resource available, whether it was money or existing works!

Was he the kind of fool who would ignore resources that could be used?

Don't even say "like"!

His gaze moved past the title to the exquisitely drawn background with its dynamic character poses, and he smiled with satisfaction.

When he read the original work before, he felt that the biggest problem with it was the mediocre cover and black-and-white illustrations.

At the very least, they were far from the style that was popular with the masses.

Like this, how are you going to earn money from those otaku who buy novels for the beautiful covers and illustrations?

Although his goal wasn't to make money, to achieve a good result, sales had to be satisfactory.

Now, based on the original character designs and his own secondary modifications, he was confident that it wouldn't flop. If he was lucky, it might even top the bestseller list.

"The future is bright!"

Sakurakoji Talent felt greatly relieved and looked towards the courtyard. Compared to half a month ago, the greenery on the flowers and plants had deepened, heralding the imminent arrival of spring.

Image: "Changed the cover, a commemorative moment", Location: "Images/1754319628-100446961-113682229.jpg"

Volume 1: The Butterfly-Attracting Daily Life : Chapter 26: Humans Have Limits

Pfft!

Sakurakoji Talent sank heavily onto the living room sofa, letting its weight support him completely. He picked up the porcelain cup filled with premium Mingqian Longjing tea from the coffee table and took two sips. Compared to black tea, he actually preferred green tea. He wondered why foreigners were so fond of fermented tea, a historical relic, as if it were a treasure.

Of course, since this year's tea hadn't been released yet, he was drinking last year's Mingqian.

Nevertheless, thanks to proper preservation, the taste was still excellent.

Inhaling the faint, delicate fragrance of the tea, which refreshed his mind and made him feel lighter, Sakurakoji Talent sighed contentedly, enjoying the peaceful and stable moment with a relaxed expression.

This is the life a person should live!

During this period, he had been working at Starlight, searching for potentially useful targets through various channels, planning for possible "coincidences," occasionally making appearances to maintain his presence with Hoshino Ai and Aoyama Nanami, and even squeezing in time to write books and draw illustrations...

He felt he was being too hard on himself; even a workhorse on a production team wouldn't be used like this.

With the new school year starting again after many years, he felt exhausted even though it hadn't begun yet.

The thought that this was just the beginning, and that countless people and events awaited him in the future, gave him a headache.

At this moment, he profoundly understood that human energy and time have limits.

If he couldn't increase time, he could only make more reasonable arrangements. It seemed that the ideal goal of becoming the world's number one time management master was an urgent matter.

He patted his face, which was gradually becoming serious. After a short rest, he began to review the two copies of DanMachi Volume 1.

Five minutes later, "I don't see any problems. Let them publish it as is, and try to do it quickly,"

After checking that the publication was essentially error-free, Sakurakoji Talent said to Yashiro Ichiyo, to whom he had entrusted all communication with the publishing house.

He had originally planned to carefully review his first published work, but he lost interest after reading two pages. Reading his own writing was truly boring.

Besides, the proofreading was done by dedicated editors. He only gave it a cursory glance. If there were any problems later... the responsible editor would just have to face the consequences!

"Yes, I'll contact them immediately to arrange printing and negotiations with various bookstores as soon as possible."

Yashiro Ichiyo responded with a smile to his command and then left.

Watching her receding figure, Sakurakoji Talent fell into thought... Speaking of which, his own Head Maid was quite busy.

Not only was she responsible for all matters at the mansion, but she also managed the property at the Ten no Yashiro apartments (even though there was a dedicated property management company). She also helped him and Ashiri with various trivial matters—could the time management master actually be by his side?

He shook his head, trying to stay alert. Heroes truly were as numerous as carp crossing a river!

For the next week, Sakurakoji Talent continued to embody the characteristics of his title, 'Tokyo Wanderer,' randomly appearing in some corner of Tokyo during the day. Unfortunately, after a week, he still had nothing to show for it.

"What's going on? Are there this few monsters, how is anyone supposed to play this game?"

Sakurakoji Talent clicked his tongue, astonished by the low efficiency.

Ever since he'd bumped into that pink-haired girl on the street last time, he'd once again experienced the feeling of searching for a needle in a haystack. After days of hard work, he'd found absolutely nothing!

How many had he even met? Was the map already cleared?

"Looks like I can't just wander around aimlessly anymore. The efficiency is too low. I should finish the known quests first."

He frowned slightly, making a decision in his heart. Not only was scanning the map a waste of time, but even if he ran into someone on the street, the chance of successfully striking up a conversation was slim. It was better to focus his energy on the tasks at hand for now.

Currently, he had three main places where he was working on increasing affection: Starlight, where he worked part-time; the convenience store; and Hoshino Ai's place.

At Starlight, because he went every day, he'd almost maxed out the points there. If there were no ways or actions that provided extra bonus points, it was basically at a standstill now.

As for other methods of increasing points besides daily interactions... he didn't want to think about that problem for now. His intuition told him there was danger here, and a lot of it.

It was similar with Aoyama Nanami. The effect from occasional contact had also reached its limit.

As for Hoshino Ai, aside from visiting her workplace once, he hadn't met her a second time. At most, they would chat idly on their phones.

"This won't do," Sakurakoji Talent muttered to himself.

Up to this point, the points provided by the three locations had only advanced his main quest progress by about one percent.

Fate had told him how to solve the problem, but it hadn't mentioned that the solution would be so inefficient!