If Only I'd Realized

The scripts for this season had been finished long ago, so there was no need to worry about getting carried away.

All he had to do was follow the plan.

The only thing that hadn't gone as planned was Inoue Hikoo releasing the OP and ED early.

Originally, the opening and ending songs for Alien Baby Hikari-chan weren't due out for a few more days, but plans had clearly changed.

Alien Baby Hikari-chan was at the height of its popularity and discussion, so they had to go all in.

So, on the sixth day after Episode 11 aired—that is, Sunday—

Inoue Hikoo waved his hand and ordered the OP and ED released early!

The CDs had been ready for a while. All that remained was to ship them to stores.

They'd only planned to release them a few days later to fit the publicity schedule, but that plan was no longer necessary.

Inoue Hikoo had the CDs shipped out right away, sending most of them to stores throughout the Japan Administrative District, and a few to Great Hua.

Akihabara in particular was ready. All the major stores had prepared for the release.

Both the OP and ED for Alien Baby Hikari-chan were sung by Hanazawa Sakura, so they weren't released separately. Instead, they were combined onto one CD.

Since they already had two songs, they hadn't prepared any new ones.

Just those two.

The OP for Alien Baby Hikari-chan was called "Light of Hope," while the ED was "Walking With You."

Both had been composed by the industry great Ayako Ishikawa and sung by Hanazawa Sakura, the female lead and a celebrated voice actress. They had more than enough appeal.

Not to mention, the anime was an enormous talking point and had won over numerous administrative districts across Asia.

Great hopes had been pinned on this CD.

It hadn't even been released yet, and some media outlets were already hyping it as a potential million-seller.

"A million? That sounds more like setting it up to fail."

Shuya quietly spat to himself. The media were all rotten.

First, they'd hype up a goal that seemed somewhat attainable but was actually nearly impossible, just to grab some attention. Then, when it inevitably failed, they'd say something like "xxx has fallen from the top" and grab another wave of attention!

They'd said it all.

No matter what they said, they never lost!

What did it mean for an anime CD to sell a million copies?

Shuya remembered seeing a sales ranking for anime songs from the 1990s in his previous life. Selling more than a hundred thousand copies was enough to make the top 110.

Apparently, only eleven CDs had ever sold more than a million copies, and only one had sold more than two million.

Those media outlets doing all that hype clearly had ulterior motives.

They were probably just waiting to laugh at them.

But Inoue Hikoo only waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine! Let them say whatever they want. They're giving us free publicity, and that's a good thing! It doesn't matter whether we make it or not. We'll work as hard as we can, with the momentum of a million-seller!"

"And besides... it's not like I don't have a plan..."

Shuya had to admit, Inoue Hikoo's grin was pretty sleazy.

Inoue Hikoo lowered his voice and told Shuya his secret plan. He'd leaked fake news through a journalist he knew, telling the public that if the CD didn't sell well, the company might go bankrupt—and Alien Baby Hikari-chan might get axed...

A publicity genius!

"Isn't that just lying to people?"

Shuya gave him a sidelong look.

Inoue Hikoo widened his eyes. "How can you just make baseless accusations like that..."

His face flushed, and the veins on his forehead stood out as he argued, "How can you call publicity a lie? It's a perfectly respectable strategy!"

He went on to spout a string of incomprehensible things, like "I only exaggerated a little" and "It's all the world's fault." Everyone burst out laughing, and the whole company was filled with a lively atmosphere.

Section 49: 43—If Only I'd Noticed

It turned out that ideals were ideals after all.

Alien Baby Hikari-chan's OP and ED had no chance of selling a million copies—not yet, at least.

Its initial sales were two hundred thousand. That was an excellent result, but it still fell short of the million-copy feat the media had been hyping.

Even so, everyone at the company was more than satisfied.

To be fair, Ayako Ishikawa had charged only a friends-and-family rate for the two songs, and Hanazawa Sakura hadn't charged them at all. Even the publicity had been taken care of by enthusiastic fans. They'd basically gotten everything for free.

As for why Inoue Hikoo and the others knew the CD had sold two hundred thousand copies before the chart had even come out, it was because that was all they'd produced so far.

They'd sold out, so they knew the initial sales.

Inoue Hikoo had originally planned to print only a hundred thousand copies. That had already been a bold move.

Then, a few days ago, the anime exploded in popularity. Inoue Hikoo had rushed around like mad, frantically calling in favors to get more copies made. He'd used every connection he had to secure another hundred thousand, but those had sold out in a single day, too.

Many people bought more than one copy.

This time, the CD came in a standard edition and a limited edition.

The limited edition included a mini photo book of Hanazawa Sakura and a brief comment from Ayako Ishikawa.

This was a common tactic, but an excellent way to boost sales.

Each store also had its own exclusive photo as a bonus.

Plenty of hardcore fans bought a copy at every store so they could collect the whole set of photos.

That alone contributed a lot to sales.

There was one more factor they couldn't ignore: Inoue Hikoo had tricked quite a few people who didn't know the truth into thinking his company was in dire straits. They'd gone out of their way to buy a CD to support it.

In just half a day, every major store had sold out of its stock. Inoue Hikoo's company phone had been ringing off the hook again, but this time he really couldn't do anything except keep urging the production line to hurry up.

The massive queues on release day had even made it onto TV, prompting another wave of clueless trend-chasers to try to get their hands on a copy just to show off.

Even the neighboring Great Hua Administrative District had called to say that the more than a thousand CDs sent their way had all sold out.

Inoue Hikoo was genuinely shocked this time.

The Great Hua Administrative District had always been a graveyard for anime. Parents there had never liked their children watching anime, much less buying CDs.

They didn't even care to buy the anime itself.

Inoue Hikoo had assumed the only money he'd make from Great Hua was from selling the broadcast rights.

It wasn't that he lacked confidence in himself. The miserable track records of those who'd come before him had simply taught him not to expect much.

Inoue Hikoo hadn't expected the buzz sparked by Global Daily to be so intense.

After gathering a few newspaper clippings, he'd stopped paying attention to things over there.

He'd never imagined that experts in Great Hua's education sector would jump on the trend and give Alien Baby Hikari-chan a boost in experience points.

The result was that it became a sensation throughout Great Hua.

Parents over there trusted those experts.

Quite a few people went to watch Alien Baby Hikari-chan, then cried their eyes out after being moved by it.

That only led to even more people singing its praises.

By chance, Inoue Hikoo had leaked the lie that his company was on the brink of going under at just that moment. Many people in Great Hua who didn't know the truth had bought a CD of their own accord. Some of the wealthier ones had even preordered the DVDs to show their support.

The CDs had sold out within five minutes of going on sale. Stores in Great Hua were now fretting over their lack of stock, and could only keep calling to demand more.

Inoue Hikoo was suffering and delighted at the same time.

He suffered because he hadn't had enough stock and had missed out on a lot of money. He was delighted, naturally, because Alien Baby Hikari-chan was thriving.

As the CDs flew off the shelves, time raced ahead to the following Monday.

Episode 12 of Alien Baby Hikari-chan aired.

The story in Episode 12 wasn't as heavy as Episode 11. The mood returned to lighthearted comedy.

In Part A, Uesugi Yuichi kept staking out Yuzuki's father and doggedly pleading with him. He even brought Hikari-chan along to act cute.

Hikari-chan had gotten along well with Yuzuki's whole family by now.

After Uesugi Yuichi had been taken away by the patrol officer for pork cutlet rice that day, Yuzuki had taken responsibility for looking after Hikari-chan.

That was when Yuzuki's parents had been won over by Hikari-chan.

After learning that, Uesugi Yuichi cleverly—or shamelessly—used it to his advantage.

After the ordeal of staking people out, pleading, trying to persuade him, being kicked out, and being hauled off by the patrol officer, Yuzuki's father finally gave in, worn down by the constant harassment.

He said that if Yuzuki placed well in the upcoming National High School Painting Competition, he would let her continue studying art and support her in pursuing a career as a painter.

Hearing that, Yuzuki couldn't help laughing.

"Yuzuki, w-what are you laughing at?" her father asked, looking uneasy.

Yuzuki smiled. "Nothing. I was just thinking that my dad, who usually doesn't care about anything, actually knows about a competition this specialized?"

Yuzuki's father turned red. "Y-you brat! It's common knowledge, common knowledge!"

"Hehehe."

Yuzuki just gave her father a teasing look.

Her father grew so embarrassed and angry under her gaze that he snapped, "I'm done helping you! You're on your own!"

"Got it~"

Yuzuki answered in a good mood.

"Hmph!"

Her father didn't even look at her or Uesugi Yuichi as he turned and went home.

Yuzuki's mother shook her head helplessly, bowed to Uesugi Yuichi, and went back inside.

Once she knew Yuzuki hadn't gotten a boyfriend, she had no real objections to him.

Yuzuki's father had set that condition because he wanted to use this opportunity to make her decide what to do with her future.

Would she pursue an ordinary academic path, or continue down the road of painting?

Yuzuki had reached the age when she needed to make a decision.

Uesugi Yuichi knew that too, and he agreed with her father's approach.

This competition would determine her future.

But Uesugi Yuichi had complete faith in Yuzuki.

He encouraged her. "Sasaki, do your best! If you run into any problems, come to me anytime. Oh, and remember to come to the next class."

"I know."

Yuzuki nodded obediently.

After saying that, she suddenly smiled sweetly.

"By the way, Uesugi-sensei, don't you dare lie to me, okay?"

She moved closer to Uesugi Yuichi, her bright eyes full of mischief. "About the competition... you said you'd help me, remember?"

"?"

Uesugi Yuichi was taken aback. "Of course."

"Hehe, is that so, is that so... Then, see you tomorrow, Uesugi-sensei!"