This One's in the Bag!

Though he was on the verge of bankruptcy, Inoue Hikoo was still willing to spend money where it mattered. The animation was absolutely top-tier.

Gentle background music played as a group of girls in art class chatted and teased one another.

On screen, a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair distractedly joined in, her gaze repeatedly drifting toward the door.

She was the heroine, Yuzuki Sasaki.

It had been hard to tell from the storyboards, but Yuzuki Sasaki was undeniably goddess-level beautiful. She captured the hearts of otaku at once, who excitedly decided she was their seasonal waifu.

After a brief commotion, class began.

A man opened the door.

Uesugi Yuichi, a handsome middle-aged man with a weary air about him, looked melancholy. His deep, magnetic voice rang out. "Good morning..."

He yawned as if he hadn't gotten enough sleep.

The Quintuplets, who had been chatting, suddenly fell silent, drawn to him without even realizing it.

The exquisite animation turned handsome old-timer Uesugi Yuichi into the season's husband.

Quite a few housewives and young women froze at the dinner table.

The moment sensitive, perceptive women saw Uesugi Yuichi's carefully animated eyes, they sensed the melancholy and faint sorrow hidden within him.

They were curious about this man's story.

And that feeling was the first step toward falling for him.

The anime continued.

Uesugi Yuichi taught with such focus that he radiated the charm of an artistic heartthrob. Yuzuki Sasaki's flustered little gestures also brought a smile to viewers' faces, taking them back to their own awkward school days.

Episode 28: This One's in the Bag!

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

From Yuzuki Sasaki's secret crush, to Uesugi Yuichi's eventful past, to Hikari-chan's appearance, the episode flowed seamlessly and kept viewers hooked.

Honestly, the first episode couldn't say much yet. If it made people look forward to more, that alone meant it had succeeded.

With its excellent character designs and story, Alien Baby Hikari-chan had become quite a talking point. Many women who'd tuned in for Shuya had grown curious about Uesugi Yuichi's backstory and wanted to keep watching.

Hikari-chan's final scene was adorable, too, but the story hadn't really gotten going yet, so she wasn't being discussed all that much for now.

So far, it was off to a good start. Women had been drawn to Uesugi Yuichi, while men were quite taken with Yuzuki Sasaki.

There was always something satisfying about a girl pursuing a guy.

The opening and ending themes were excellent, too, and Ayako Ishikawa's performance lived up to her reputation.

Alien Baby Hikari-chan looked like it was in the bag.

Inoue Hikoo had put everything he had into this anime, polishing every aspect until it was perfect.

The scene that earned the highest praise in the first episode was when Uesugi Yuichi fell and locked eyes with Hikari-chan in the rain.

Housewives everywhere said the scene had melted their hearts and turned them into fans.

With its conscientious production and excellent script, Alien Baby Hikari-chan was showing signs of becoming the season's biggest hit.

Only time would tell how things developed.

Shuya had no way of knowing what everyone thought. People didn't really post their opinions online these days, and Twitter and Facebook weren't even a thing.

But Japan had plenty of anime and manga magazines.

After the first episode of Alien Baby Hikari-chan aired, Inoue Hikoo received interview requests from many magazines.

Among them were the famous Newtype, Animage, and Animedia.

Inoue Hikoo had already approached them to run ads during the promotional campaign, and even brought Hanazawa Sakura and Shuya along for promotional photos.

Hanazawa Sakura's photo had even been made into a poster and sold as a bonus.

There was no denying that a beautiful voice actress like Hanazawa Sakura, who had both talent and looks, was in high demand. Her popularity in the industry was also much higher than Shuya's.

Even as the voice-acting world embraced idol culture and newer stars grew more and more attractive, Hanazawa Sakura's looks were still top-tier.

Others in the industry all thought it was a shame that Hanazawa Sakura had married so young. They figured her popularity would be much higher if she hadn't.

But then they thought of how popular her son was—enough to make up for any popularity she'd lost—and had nothing more to say.

Shuya watched the anime with the Quintuplets. Seeing them sit quietly and pay attention told him the first episode had been a success.

After the episode ended, Shuya was about to get up and pour himself a glass of water when an ad on the TV caught his eye.

The commercial he'd filmed with Mai-chan had aired right after the anime ended.

"Eh? It's Shu-chan!"

"Shu-chan's on TV again!"

Ichika and Yotsuba cried out, their little legs kicking.

The commercial opened with Shuya in a little suit, extending his hand to the side. Mai-chan, dressed in a gorgeous evening gown, placed her hand in his, and they exchanged a smile.

In Great Hua Language, you'd call them a perfect golden couple.

Nino widened her eyes. "Shu-chan, who is she?!"

Itsuki wanted to say something, too, but after thinking it over, she decided to sneak a few more snacks while her sisters weren't paying attention.

Miku stared at the TV, displeased. "Shu-chan, are you cheating?"

Where'd you learn that phrase, Miku-chan?

Shuya coughed.

"Cheating? We're not even dating, are we?"

Shuya protested helplessly.

"W-what? Shu-chan, you heartless jerk!"

Nino scolded him angrily.

"Exactly! Isn't having me enough for you, Shu-chan?"

Ichika nodded.

Nino retorted, "Shu-chan doesn't want you. He's mine!"

"He's mine!"

"No, he's mine!"

"Mm-mm!"

Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki spoke up one after another.

The Quintuplets argued for a while, then noticed that Shuya hadn't said anything in ages. They turned around and saw that he'd already slipped away.

Obviously! If he didn't run now, he'd end up divided five ways!

Shuya scrambled all the way home, only calming down once he got there. Hanazawa Sakura looked at him in puzzlement. "Son, you're home early today."

"Yeah. If I hadn't come back, things would've gotten ugly." Shuya shuddered. "Why do these little girls always have such wild imaginations?"

"Oh, so that was all the noise from next door. It was a love rivalry, then."

Hanazawa Sakura realized.

Inoue Hikoo glanced at Shuya and advised him, "Son, you'd better be careful. Don't let things get out of hand."

"Get out of hand? I think of them as my daughters."

Shuya retorted irritably.

He didn't want to keep talking about that, so he asked, "Enough about me. How's the anime doing?"

"Things are going great... Well, with my ability, that's only natural."

Inoue Hikoo vigorously sang his own praises. "A bunch of magazines have contacted me already. This one's definitely going to be a hit. It's in the bag!"

"Good to hear."

Shuya nodded, thinking that if things kept going this well, they might be able to avoid bankruptcy.

He chatted with his parents for a while, then his phone suddenly rang.

Shuya checked it. Mai-chan was calling. He told his parents she wanted to speak with him, then went into his room and answered.

After Shuya had gone inside, Inoue Hikoo stroked his chin. "Sakura-chan, I've been wondering if we should get Shu-chan an insurance policy, just in case he gets cut down and needs money to save his life."

Hanazawa Sakura nodded silently. "We definitely should. I think Shu-chan's going to have a lot of trouble down the road."

Inoue Hikoo blurted out without thinking, "Yeah, I'm so jealous!"

"...Hm?"

Hanazawa Sakura's gaze sharpened.

Shuya returned to his room and thought he heard a heavy thud come from the living room.

"?"

He glanced at the door in puzzlement, then answered the phone.

"Hello? Mai-chan?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you free right now?"

Like Shuya, Mai-chan was in her room, talking to him over the phone.

"Yeah, I'm free. What's up?"

Shuya lay down on the bed and spoke comfortably with Mai-chan.

By coincidence, Mai was lying on her bed in the same position.

"Hmph. Can't I call you if nothing's wrong?"

Mai pretended to be annoyed.

"Oh, that's not what I meant."

"I'm kidding. Anyway, I just watched the anime your father made."

"Alien Baby Hikari-chan? You watch anime?"

Shuya was a little surprised. He'd thought Mai was the kind of person who didn't touch anime or games.

Mai laughed. "What are you thinking? I'm only six, so it's normal for me to watch some anime. But I only watched it just now because you were in it."

"Well, thanks for that. So, what did you think?"

Shuya smiled faintly and asked her.

It was the first time since being reborn that Shuya had had this kind of conversation with a friend.

Mai was in high spirits, too. "It was great! The animation was beautiful, and the male lead was really charming. I noticed my mom was completely absorbed in it, too."

"That's nice to hear."

"Of course! My mom, of all people, actually watched an entire episode of anime..."

They chatted about the anime for a while, then the conversation gradually wandered elsewhere.

"By the way, your acting lessons lately..."

"Hahaha, that's really interesting..."

Night grew late.

Shuya and Mai chatted about all sorts of things, as if they'd never run out of topics.

Mai was one of the rare friends Shuya could speak freely with, and she felt the same way about him.

As they talked, their eyelids began to droop. They were so sleepy they didn't even know what they were saying anymore.

All they could manage were vague little sounds of agreement.

Zzzzzzzzz...