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

Image: "Chapter End Illustration Appreciation", Location: "Images/1755001023-100446961-113715147.jpg"

Volume 1: The Daily Life of a Beehive : Chapter 42 Online Reviews of DanMachi

Clicking into the comment sections of some sharing posts, Sakurakoji Talent prepared himself to face an online storm.

To be honest, it was his first time seeing others critique his work online, and he was a little nervous. Although he claimed not to care about book sales on the surface, nervousness was nervousness. Perhaps this was humanity's innate yearning for recognition embedded in our genes.

His brow furrowed slightly, his fair face tense for once, his eyes revealing a hint of seriousness as he began to browse the comments. First, he clicked on a post discussing the illustrations.

"Wow, this cover art is amazing! The style is so unique too. Is it the work of some new artist?"

"Probably. I've never heard of Yukimi Sakura before."

"Is it a waste to use such skill on a Light Novel cover? I wouldn't approve if they're not drawing hentai."

"The author and the illustrator are the same person?! Drawing their own illustrations? That's hardcore!"

"Are Light Novels this competitive these days? You have to master such amazing drawing skills too? How are other authors supposed to make a living?"

"..."

Hmph~

Seeing that most of the comments were praise, Sakurakoji Talent's eyes narrowed slightly, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed the reviews were decent. As a bestselling newcomer just entering the industry, he should have avoided the risk of being collectively attacked by paid commenters and causing a scandal.

Not bad for me!

After returning and exiting, he clicked into another video sharing post.

"Brothers, trust me! This is definitely the most outstanding new work in the last six months!"

"Teacher Yukimi Sakura's delicate brushwork and fresh depiction of psychology and emotions are definitely a clear stream in the current Light Novel world!"

"And the world-building is unique, completely different from traditional power-fantasy works! Family members who like Western fantasy works absolutely cannot miss this!"

"It's okay if you don't like traditional stories, but if you don't buy it after seeing the illustrations, you're this guy! I won't say more, please watch the VCR!"

"..."

The blogger in the video, gushing with praise and vividly describing the quality of the book, held the first volume of DanMachi and spoke endlessly to the audience about its wonderful aspects. Sakurakoji Talent got goosebumps and quickly hit pause, then directly opened the comment section.

"Since it's a recommendation from the big shot Tsukishima, I have to check it out."

"I bought a copy and finished it too. I forgot the beginning, I forgot the end, but overall, 666."

"This illustration style is so novel! And it's very fresh, with a watercolor-like elegance... The artist and author are the same person?!"

"I've read this one too, but I think the author's character descriptions are too forced and desperate. It doesn't feel right."

"..."

Sakurakoji Talent rubbed his eyes. Was there something dirty mixed in just now?

As he expected, for viewers who hadn't read the book yet, the discussions mostly focused on praising the illustrations and the surprise that the author and artist were the same person.

This was also what he had deliberately arranged beforehand. The reason he didn't use two pen names was to achieve this effect: maximizing the initial buzz!

This way, even if the initial sales weren't stellar, it could still generate significant discussion traffic, which would then feed back into sales, although the possibility of that was very small.

He scrolled through a few more video and image posts. Most were praise for the author and the book, with a small minority being mindless hate towards the content and illustrations. For those, he immediately reported and blocked them in one go!

Putting down his phone, Sakurakoji Talent walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.

At an altitude of two to three hundred meters, even in this area, it was like standing out from the crowd. The view from the top floor allowed him to take in a vast expanse of scenery, including the Tokyo Bay visible in the distance.

Buildings stood densely packed below him, dotted across the land like puzzle pieces alongside parks, green spaces, and small squares. Pedestrians on the roads were almost invisible; they were so small they looked like pixels, barely visible even to someone with good eyesight.

"Humans, less than ants."

Uttering that adapted classic line, Sakurakoji Talent felt a slight sense of satisfaction. Another thing he wanted to do was accomplished.

"Knock, knock."

A sound came from the door. Knowing it was the staff who came for daily cleaning, Sakurakoji Talent raised his voice slightly.

"Come in."

The unlocked door was pushed open, and a young girl in a Sakurakoji Family maid outfit walked in.

His gaze swept across the spacious room to the person on the other side, and Sakurakoji Talent gave an amused smile.

"Miss Aoyama, this outfit suits you quite well."

"P-please don't tease me!" Aoyama Nanami blushed, her eyes darting away, her hands nervously fiddling with the hem of the maid dress, unsure of where to put them.

She still had her signature high ponytail, but a white headband had been added to her hair. The vibrant energy of the young, beautiful girl couldn't be completely hidden even by the maid outfit; instead, it gave her a unique allure.

"I'm not teasing you. I mean it from the bottom of my heart." Seeing her shyness, Sakurakoji Talent gently shook his head.

"Compared to your usual attire, this outfit looks even better."

"...Thank you."

Seeing that he genuinely wasn't teasing her, Aoyama Nanami shyly accepted his compliment.

"Are you getting used to the work here? Are there any difficulties?" Sakurakoji Talent inquired about her work situation.

"No, Miss Yashiro is teaching me very responsibly. There's a lot to remember and many rules, but I think I'll be fine."

As she said this, Aoyama Nanami also flashed a cheerful smile.

To familiarize herself with the work here, she had even taken time off from school today. Fortunately, she had already achieved perfect attendance, so it was fine if she skipped school until spring break.

Although she had only observed for one day, with Yashiro Ichiyo's careful guidance and her own strong learning ability, she had already grasped most of the work a maid needed to do. The next step was to become proficient through practice.

As for special techniques and skills, she would have to learn by following her seniors when the time came.

She had never known before that a real maid was like this; it was completely different from what she had imagined. Only by experiencing it up close did she realize it was a very respectable profession.

"That's good." Sakurakoji Talent had only asked casually; he naturally trusted her and his own maid's abilities.

"Thanks to you, Mr. Sakurakoji, I was able to get this opportunity. Thank you so much!" Aoyama Nanami said with a serious expression, bowing deeply in gratitude.

"Hm?" Sakurakoji Talent's voice held a hint of displeasure.

This flustered Aoyama Nanami. She quickly realized where the problem lay and hesitantly replied:

"...Thank you, Young Master?"

"Mm." Sakurakoji Talent adopted a matter-of-fact pose, as if this was only natural, and admonished her, "As a maid of the Sakurakoji Family, you should no longer call me Mr. Sakurakoji. You should call me Young Master or Talent Young Master."

"Of course, I'll call you Nanami directly from now on too."

"Yes." Aoyama Nanami flinched slightly, her earlobes flushing red, and she responded with a soft mumble.

"Excellent!"

Image: "Five Finger Fist Heart Sword", Location: "Images/1755749264-100446961-113719142.jpg"

Author: Thanks for the spicy strips from ATTRHT~

Volume 1: The Daily Life of a Bee Magnet: Chapter 43: You're Writing a Romance Novel?

Hm?

Sakurakoji Talent's eyes suddenly widened. Feeling the healing progress within him change once again, his gaze towards Aoyama Nanami also shifted subtly.

He hadn't received any healing points from her for several days. It seemed that their relationship had progressed from calling each other by their surnames to calling each other by their given names, leading to a deeper connection.

"...Then you go and do your work. Don't mind me." Digesting this information, Sakurakoji Talent instructed her to act freely.

"Ah, yes!" Aoyama Nanami, unaware of his emotional change, agreed and began cleaning his room.

Sakurakoji Talent's residence—the top floor of Ten no Yashiro—was a large, open-plan apartment. Due to its vast size, the expensive furniture, and the many nooks and crannies that required cleaning, it took quite some time to clean every day.

Such a large house naturally wouldn't be cleaned by himself. Although he could do it, for some reason, he was confident in his domestic skills being maxed out.

But he was busy now and didn't have time to spend on this every day. Previously, he had people come in to tidy up at fixed times. After Aoyama Nanami arrived yesterday, this job had fallen to her.

Since he hadn't yet assigned a personal maid to himself like his sister, Yashiro Ichiyo had suggested that Aoyama Nanami become his personal maid and take care of his daily affairs. After a brief consideration, Sakurakoji Talent had agreed.

This was for the best; having someone he knew clean and maintain his private space would make him feel more comfortable.

Seeing Aoyama Nanami move around the room with light, careful, yet swift movements, her expression focused, Sakurakoji Talent sighed inwardly, hoping that nothing he worried about would happen later.

In the afternoon, he arrived at the Fumikage Bunko building at the agreed-upon time and location.

Finding the conspicuous sign for the Bunko and confirming it was the right place, he entered the building.

Stepping into the elevator, he gently pressed the floor button. The elevator quickly ascended to the editorial office floor.

Walking down the not-so-narrow corridor, he again observed the room numbers and signs. He passed the public office area and then proceeded room by room until he stopped in front of a door with a room number, after which he knocked.

"Please come in."

A young female voice came from behind the door. Sakurakoji Talent didn't hesitate and pushed the door open.

Like other standard personal offices, the first thing he saw was a long desk covered with various folders, papers, pens, and a computer. Behind it all was a woman whose eyes were still fixed on the computer screen.

She had shoulder-length short hair and wore a standard suit uniform, dressed impeccably as a working OL.

Hearing the door open, she glanced towards the entrance and then stood up in surprise.

"Um, can I help you? This is the Bunko editorial department office, not the talent agency."

"If you're looking for staff related to film crews or planning, you might need to go to a different floor."

Machida Enko felt that her eyes, long accustomed to the blue light of the computer, were momentarily soothed. Who was this person? Was she a celebrity?

No, no, even celebrities weren't this good-looking! If it weren't for the fact that taking photos would be rude, she would have already pulled out her phone.

She guessed that the person had probably come to the wrong place and kindly offered directions. At the same time, she widened her eyes, wanting to memorize the person's face and search for their identity online later to brag to her colleagues and to put down Xiao Shi, who was always boasting about her youthful beauty!

"Excuse me, I am Yukimi Sakura, the author of DanMachi."

"I had an appointment with the associate editor here today. Is this the place?"

Without engaging with her somewhat baffling remarks, Sakurakoji Talent offered a polite smile suitable for a first meeting, introduced himself briefly, and asked.

"Nani?"

Machida Enko's bright blue eyes widened, unable to believe what she had just heard. She rubbed her tired eyes and looked at Sakurakoji Talent again, asking in bewilderment, "I'm sorry, I might have been up too late and am experiencing tinnitus. What did you just say?"

"Excuse me, I'm Yukimi Sakura, a new author scheduled to come here today. Is this the Fumikage Bunko editorial department?"

"..."

After confirming she hadn't misheard, Machida Enko became even more dazed, staring blankly at Sakurakoji Talent, unsure how to respond for a moment.

What the heck?

With looks like that, why are you writing light novels? Wouldn't debuting as an idol be way more appealing?!

Speaking of light novel authors, aren't they mostly a bunch of chuunibyou teenagers or slovenly middle-aged men?

In all her years in this industry, she'd only had one young, beautiful author like Xiao Shi under her wing!

Regarding the appearance of the person before her, she could only say that it would be a waste of talent if he didn't become a model or a star!

Since when did light novel authors have such high requirements for looks? Machida Enko's gaze was incredibly complex.

"Hello? Hello?" Seeing her remain silent for so long, Sakurakoji Talent couldn't help but prompt her.

Why are you looking at me like the sky is falling? I'm not some kind of monster. It's our first meeting, at least invite me inside. Is it polite to leave me standing at the door like this?

"Oh, I am so sorry! I was momentarily lost in thought!"

"Um, yes, this is indeed the Fumikage editorial department. Please come in!"

Snapping back to reality, Machida Enko quickly invited him in and stepped aside, personally pouring him some tea.

"Please have a seat."

Placing a disposable cup on the other side of the desk, she gestured to a chair, inviting Sakurakoji Talent.

"Thank you."

Sakurakoji Talent gracefully sat down. Machida Enko returned to her seat, still staring at him in disbelief.