Chapter 193
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Animation (1)
Time flows ever forward, no matter how much you scream and fight to stop it.
As far as I know, the only way to retrace its path involves death and a contemplation of Hell, making it nearly impossible to turn back the clock.
Since it cannot be held, one must live fully in each moment.
Living that way, you sometimes have moments where you suddenly realize you’ve come a very long way.
These days have been like that.
Isn't it strange? Several years have already passed since the animation production was confirmed.
[I don't care about being the King of Hell. I just want to protect this person!]
[Contractor!]
The moment the pre-recorded clip finished playing.
“Wow, that came out great. You know, with animations, the art quality often collapses after the PV, the first episode, and the final episode, right? But you don’t really see that here. That’s the advantage of pre-production. An animation of this high quality will definitely make it big in the subculture scene. Absolutely. Just being number one for the quarter shows how huge the promotional effect of an animation is…”
The one most excited about the news of *Demon's Relic*'s animation was Yang Gil-sang.
I had no idea why this man was making a bigger fuss than the people directly involved, but listening to him made it clear that the animation was produced to a very high standard.
For me, this was a good thing.
Of course, being certain of a mass media success is a major taboo, but if even a layman like me thinks ‘it’s fun to watch,’ doesn't that mean it has a certain level of popular appeal?
Since this is the first time the entire studio is attempting content outside of games, voices of interest are rising from all corners.
That was one thing. Besides that, there was a second recent change.
“Senior, I’m taking Friday off.”
“Yeah, take the day.”
“Sigh, there’s a limit to how shy one should be.”
“What was that?”
“Just talking to myself. Anyway, let’s have dinner that night.”
“Ah, okay.”
Han Seo-rim had become noticeably brighter.
She seemed to be struggling for a while; I guess she was worried about a lonely future.
It seems my comfort helped.
Later, when she finds out that Rewind Silver Town has her back, Han Seo-rim’s heart will feel even more secure.
Was that the reason?
Thanks to the recently brightened Han Seo-rim, the atmosphere in the Art Team seemed to be improving as well.
As a superior, I wouldn't know the details, but there are always rumors, aren't there?
Besides, I could see with my own eyes that their work speed and quality had improved significantly, so it had to be true.
There was one thing that puzzled me, though.
—President, thank you so much!
For some reason, Gu Su-rim from the Art Team thanked me when she came to give me a wedding invitation.
Well, she must have been thanking me for helping Han Seo-rim with her melancholy.
Anyway, everything was going smoothly, and October 2021 was just around the corner.
“President! *Demon’s Relic* has been named the most anticipated work of the fourth quarter!”
The time had come for everything we’d built up to explode.
* * *
The animation of *Demon's Relic* was one of the major events whose news had already spread throughout the industry.
It had been revealed in Rewind's roadmap, and even before that, *Demon's Relic* itself was a major IP with a unique position in the industry, so interest from outside the gaming world was also very high.
Its primary audience consisted of subculture consumers worldwide who were into beautiful female characters.
Its IP power was strong enough to be considered at the forefront of that industry, and its fandom's loyalty was so solid that its influence hadn't waned over a long time.
Of course, there were various allowances for fan creations and official events outside the game to support this, but that didn't mean the IP's own strength was lacking.
The important thing was that the animation, which could be called the crowning jewel of the *Demon's Relic* IP's expansion, was highly anticipated by many.
To put it simply, from the moment the initial lineup was revealed, the *Demon's Relic* animation had a huge impact.
This was because Rewind had poured an astronomical amount of money into everything from the studio selection, which the fanbase considers crucial, to the voice actors and director.
The source of the funds was a portion of the money *Demon's Relic* had earned.
They reinvested it completely, and thus, a star-studded lineup classified as A-list in the industry was formed.
『OneMoreKing: Studio Deceptin lolol. Cheon Yeon-ho f*cking gets it lolololol』
『NowACivilServant: Is it for real that Minori-chan is playing Paimon...? Then Paimon is confirmed as a girl now, right? The ‘trap’ thing was just a rumor, right?』
『BloodLordOfBangbae: Baal's voice actor is someone I'm… indebted to. Thank you….
NewBrideJaehee: ?』
A solo investment by Rewind.
Anyone with a little knowledge of the industry would know what that meant.
It meant that the animation's storyline was personally inspected by Keisuke Nishimura, a true otaku known as the "Mother-in-Law of *Demon's Relic*," so there would be no scandals like lore inconsistencies.
No, beyond that, it might even reveal hidden lore.
It was on a day when such rumors were circulating.
『OneMoreKing: Ahhh, it's here. That thing. The anime PV is out lolololol』
Early in the third quarter of 2021, ahead of its official broadcast, a promotional video was released to heighten consumer anticipation.
The roughly two-minute video turned out to be a product worthy of the consumers' expectations, and by confirming the broadcast date, it signaled that the anime's airing was just around the corner.
Now, beyond the game communities, any subculture community you went to was filled with talk of *Demon's Relic*.
—You seen that PV?
—*Demon's Relic*, yeah. Can't be sure just from the PV, but isn't the quality insane? Looks like they worked the production team to the bone lol
—If it's a solo investment by Rewind, they might have actually worked them to the bone?
—The voice cast is seriously stacked. The little bit of action we saw also screamed 'Deceptin,' as expected lol
During the 2021 COVID season, the animation market, like the game industry, experienced significant growth, and there were several works driving it.
The *Demon's Relic* animation was a work competing in the same quarter as those industry-driving titles, and in terms of impact alone, it was on par with them.
—Ah, when is October gonna get here lololol
The voices of anticipation grew louder.
And, as with all waiting, the long-awaited time eventually comes.
October arrived, and it was the day the animation would air.
A moment of silence.
And, the moment the first episode finished airing,
『OneMoreKing: Fuck… Fuck……. They made it so fucking well lololololol』
Everyone knew who the king of the fourth quarter was.
* * *
If you were to pick the loudest and most incident-prone place within Rewind, a hundred out of a hundred people would pick Team 2.
After all, there was no other department where directors got into fistfights and came back on crutches, so it was only natural.
There truly wasn't a single quiet day.
Even on days without sparring or arguments, it was the same.
Because the directors were always looking for a fight over anything, the voices of the team members who had to mediate between them had grown too loud.
A silence fell over such a team, Rewind's Development Team 2.
It was an unprecedented event, one that no one could guarantee would ever happen again.
The silence was not due to a lack of people.
On the contrary, the largest number of people since the COVID era were present.
Then was it the calm before the storm?
That wasn't it either.
What dominated the space was not the usual sharp atmosphere before a sparring match, but for some reason, a warm and sentimental mood.
That's right.
They had just been watching the first episode of the *Demon's Relic* animation in real time.
The large beam projector on one wall now only displayed a blue screen.
Yet, there was silence. The creators who had made this IP blossom to this point could not easily escape the lingering emotion.
It was then.
“Hey, Nishimura.”
Copson murmured quietly.
His gaze was on the beam projector.
He held a beer in his hand, a faint smile on his face.
“Congratulations. You've achieved your dream.”
Copson's gaze finally turned to Nishimura.
Nishimura, too, was staring at the projector with a pensive expression, a beer can in his hand.
He couldn't answer readily.
No, it seemed he was in a state where he couldn't hear anyone's words.
It was as if his soul had left him, and yet, in a way, it also seemed as if he was filled to the brim with spirit.
‘So it meant that much to him.’
Copson's smile deepened.
It had been a long, long time.
A life spent watching only him for several years.
Every moment was a hardship, but because of that, those times were joyful and fulfilling.
Copson was now certain that he knew Nishimura better than his own family did.
That's why he could understand, to some extent, the emotions he must be feeling.
How could he not? It had been like this since their first meeting.
And as their relationship deepened, there was something he heard more and more often.
—Ah, my dream is to dominate the subculture scene with an anime based on a game!
He always said it like a habit—the production of a game-based animation.
Not just producing it, but turning the industry upside down with it.
That dream had come true.
If he wasn't this dazed, how else was he supposed to react?
Men live on dreams.
If their dream is broken, they die.
In that moment, the flame of life is extinguished, and they become a lost buoy.
Then, conversely, what happens when they achieve their dream?
What happens when they eat and eat until everything on the plate called 'dream' is stuffed into their belly?
At least, Copson would find out the answer today.
“Hoo…”
Nishimura let out a deep breath.
He took off his glasses, gulped down his beer, and placed the can on the desk.
He wiped his face with his hand.
A fine tremor ran through his movements.
Was he crying?
At least for today, it seemed okay.
Of course. Isn't the achievement of a dream a fitting celebration for a man's tears?
Copson quietly placed a hand on Nishimura's shoulder.
The more he did, the more unstable Nishimura's breathing became.
He couldn't seem to calm down, and eventually, he even let out a tear-soaked breath.
It was after that moment had passed.
“…I've shown you an embarrassing side of me.”
Nishimura looked up, smiling sheepishly.
The area around his eyes was red, but Copson pretended not to notice.
“It wasn't embarrassing. It was an inspiring sight.”
“Thank you.”
“It's only natural to congratulate you. It was the dream you always talked about, wasn't it?”
For today, Copson decided to be a steadfast colleague.
However, Nishimura's next words were enough to shake him.
He shook his head.
“I'm not thankful for the congratulations.”
“Huh?”
“I'm thankful that you ran alongside me.”
Copson’s body froze.
Nishimura grinned.
“That's what I think. If we ran all this way together and raised a toast together, then it must not have been just my dream, but our dream.”
Copson felt as if he'd been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.
‘My dream?’
Was it a dream?
In one second, tens, hundreds of thoughts and emotions flashed through him.
Among them, what remained were positive emotions, and what left were negative ones.
Only then did Copson…
*Drip—*
…feel the tears wetting his cheeks.
“Ah, so that's how it was…”
At some point, that dream had become not just Nishimura's, but his own as well.
He remembered.
He remembered how happy he had been on the day he heard the news of the animation's confirmation.
“…So that's what it was.”
Copson laughed heartily.
Nishimura did the same.
The two men embraced each other.
Only then could Nishimura truly understand.
‘What does a man who has achieved his dream become?’
The dream does not disappear.
It does not burn out and fade away.
He does not get lost and wander as if his dream is gone, nor does he collapse from exhaustion.
“Hey, Nishimura.”
“Yeah.”
“It's not over yet.”
He will just move forward.
Having done it once, he gains the confidence that a second time is not impossible, and looks toward an even bigger dream.
“We still have a long way to go.”
“You're stating the obvious.”
If you reach your dream and it becomes reality, you simply move on to a new dream.
To say it again, a man is an animal that cannot live without feeding on dreams.
The manly development team, Rewind's Development Team 2, could still go further.