Chapter 98: Agreeing to Sell the Adaptation Rights

“No need, no need!”

Kitahara Chiki waved both hands, refusing Araki Sho’s suggestion as quickly as he could.

Damn it, what would your sister come here for? What good would that do?

Actually, when he thought about it, there was no real problem anymore. Apart from Araki’s unusual train of thought, everything else was going smoothly. Since they were already discussing the adaptation, Kitahara decided to return to the subject that mattered.

“Um, President Araki, how did your discussion with Kyoto Animation go? How much will it cost to adapt this Goblin novel into an anime?” he asked curiously.

“They said one or two million yen could do it, and ten or twenty million could do it too. It depends on the quality of the final product. I haven’t settled on the details yet!”

Araki paused, then continued with renewed enthusiasm.

“But I figured that one or two million definitely wouldn’t be enough. What kind of good anime could they make with so little money? After buying the adaptation rights from you, I plan to put all the money I have left into the production. If I’m going to do this, I’ll do it properly!”

He had already paid part of the cost upfront.

Kitahara had asked because he wanted to understand how seriously Araki had approached the project. An adaptation was not simply a matter of obtaining permission and handing a story to a studio. The people involved would need to plan the script, design the characters, prepare the storyboards, and make countless decisions before the finished work could be released.

Araki might not understand those details, but at least he had recognized his own limitations and entrusted the technical work to people with the necessary experience. That gave Kitahara some confidence in the project. It was better than pretending to know everything.

“They asked me to pay some money first so they could begin working on the script outline, character models, storyboards, and other things. I don’t really understand all those technical details myself, but these people seem quite professional. Professional matters should be left to professional people!”

As he talked about the project, Araki Sho grew increasingly animated. He spoke fluently and with complete confidence, clearly eager to see the anime made.

Kitahara found himself admiring the man a little. Araki’s way of doing things was certainly bizarre, but his love for adult novels and this Goblin story was genuine. He wasn’t merely talking big. He was actually willing to spend a considerable amount of money to turn a novel he loved into an anime.

For Kitahara, who was already worth more than one billion yen and would soon have over two billion, the sum Araki was discussing was hardly significant. For ordinary people, however, it was a huge amount. Few people would willingly invest so much in an unfamiliar industry unless they truly cared about the project.

“Mm, I completely agree with your approach, President Araki,” Kitahara said. “But I have one more question. Aren’t you worried about losing money? What if you can’t recover the costs and all that money goes down the drain?”

“Lose money? How could I lose money on this?”

Araki looked genuinely puzzled by the question.

“Don’t all men love watching this kind of thing? I’ll put the anime on videotapes and sell each box for just one or two thousand yen. That’s only the price of a meal. There shouldn’t be any trouble selling them, right?”

He seemed to have already worked out the entire business plan.

“And if it really comes down to it, I’ll get my Yakuza subordinates and people in the industry to buy one box each. If they don’t buy them willingly, I’ll go to their places and sell them door to door. I’ll find a way to recover my investment!”

Araki’s eyes lit up as he considered the idea.

“Huh? I’m simply too smart! There are hundreds of syndicate organizations in Tokyo, with tens of thousands of members altogether. If everyone buys just one box, wouldn’t I make a fortune?”

“…”

Kitahara Chiki was at a loss for words. Araki Sho really was quite a character.

Going door to door to sell adult anime videotapes was an idea Kitahara would never have imagined. What was even more astonishing was that Araki looked as though he might actually do it.

Still, his passion was sincere, and that was rare. Since Kitahara didn’t particularly care about the money, he decided to help Araki realize his wish.

“In that case, all right, President Araki. Your sincerity has moved me, so I’ve decided to sell you the adaptation rights to this work. And there’s no need to pay three million yen. Just give me one million as a token gesture. That way, you’ll have more money left to make a good anime!”

Whether he received three million yen or one million made little difference to Kitahara. He found Araki amusing and wanted to make friends with him, so lowering the price was a small gesture of goodwill.

Araki Sho was overjoyed.

“Yoshi! Kitahara-kun, you’re so generous! I want us to become brothers! You’re talented and broad-minded. You’re definitely someone worth befriending!”

“Haha, President Araki is also a man worthy of trust,” Kitahara replied. “How about this? If you run into financial difficulties during production, you can come to me. I’ll help you work things out.”

Kitahara had no shortage of money, so offering help was no burden.

“That won’t be necessary! My family is quite wealthy. If I need more money, I can just ask my sister for it. But I appreciate your kindness, Brother Kitahara. Don’t worry. I’ll get this anime made, and I’ll make it so good that it stuns the world!”

Araki then abruptly returned to the subject of his sister.

“By the way, Brother, are you married? If you aren’t, why not consider my sister? She’s very pretty, has a great figure, and plenty of people like her!”

Kitahara’s expression stiffened. Araki really wasn’t going to let this go.

“Of course, she does have one flaw,” Araki continued. “Her martial arts skills are very good, and she hits people. If you can’t take a beating, dating her might put you under a lot of pressure. Brother, can you take a beating?”

“…”

Kitahara didn’t know how to answer. Whether he could take a beating depended on the other person’s strength, so the question was impossible to answer in the abstract.

In terms of physical fitness, he was certainly stronger than an ordinary person. His bone and muscle density, along with his vitality, were far above average. In theory, he should be better able to withstand a hit.

However, he had never trained specifically for that, nor had he received any martial arts rewards from the System. He lacked the techniques needed to make any confident claims.

More importantly, why was he even considering whether he could take a beating from a woman he had never met?

“President Araki, if you stop bringing up your sister, we can still be friends,” Kitahara said seriously. “Besides, I already have enough girlfriends to deal with for now. Let’s not mention this again.”

He rejected the proposal once more.

Pretty and well-proportioned? Who knew whether that was true? Kitahara certainly wasn’t going to take Araki’s word for it. He already had plenty of women he wanted to pursue and was busy enough as it was. He had no interest in getting involved with the sister of a Yakuza syndicate leader, especially when her own brother warned that she liked hitting people.

“All right, what a shame!” Araki said regretfully.

Since both men wanted the deal to go through, and neither was overly concerned about the exact amount of money involved, the authorization contract was signed without trouble. With Suzuki Misaki and the lawyers from Shueisha helping, the paperwork was completed quickly.

It was already close to noon. Araki was delighted that everything had gone so smoothly and insisted on treating Kitahara to lunch to express his gratitude. Kitahara couldn’t refuse, so he went with Araki to a nearby restaurant. Suzuki Misaki accompanied them as well.

After a while, lunch came to an end.

Outside the restaurant, Kitahara watched Araki Sho swagger away with his usual arrogant, strutting gait. Suzuki Misaki frowned as she turned to Kitahara.

“Kitahara-kun, I don’t understand. How could you agree to sell the rights to someone like him?”

“Why not?” Kitahara asked.

“Because he doesn’t seem very smart! Besides, he’s a Yakuza who knows absolutely nothing about anime. Everything he says sounds unreliable.”

“Haha, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make a good anime, does it?”

Suzuki considered that.

“That’s true. Other people might not be willing to invest so much, and they’d probably haggle over every single clause.”

“Exactly. He was the first person to come to me and ask to buy the rights. Maybe it’s fate. Let him try. Who knows? He might give us a pleasant surprise!”

Kitahara spoke calmly. The whole encounter had felt dreamlike and amusing, but he genuinely didn’t care much about the financial outcome. He was happy to treat it as entertainment and see what Araki could accomplish.

After saying goodbye to Suzuki Misaki, Kitahara headed home.

Today was moving day for Hayami Rina and Aya-chan. He had already made arrangements with Rina that morning, and he wanted to get home early to see whether there was anything he could help with.

Besides, he was looking forward to the “special gift” Rina had mentioned. Curious about what she might have prepared, Kitahara quickened his pace and headed home.