Chapter 3: First meeting with Illya

"Hey, big brother. What are you writing?"

Such a sudden question frightened Nanaya so much that he almost jumped up, and the pen in his hand fell onto the table with a click.

Nanaya looked up immediately, and what he saw was a smiling face.

She has fair and translucent cheeks, and although she is not wearing any makeup, her facial features are extremely delicate and camera-friendly. Her legs under the red plaid knee-length skirt have an enviable smoothness and brightness. Her red eyes and waist-length silver hair give people a feeling of nobility and elegance. In the coffee shop where the lighting is not sufficient, the appearance of this girl is like the sun, shining with a dazzling white light.

Nanaya estimated that the girl was only about 12 years old. Her distinctive hair and eyes reminded him of a very familiar character in his memory.

"Little sister, what do you want to talk to me about?" Nanaya said with a smile that he thought was very amiable.

But the girl pouted and complained to Nanaya with her hands on her hips: "Illya is not little! And wasn't it Illya who was asking big brother? Why did big brother ask Illya instead!"

After hearing the other party's answer, Nanaya's first reaction was "So that's the name", which made him feel a little unbelievable.

[Have you become accustomed to such things? Humans are indeed terrifying creatures. ]

When the little Loli saw that Nanaya ignored her, she took the script that he had placed on the table when he was not paying attention.

"Hello!"

Nanaya's shouting had no effect. Illya simply sat down opposite Nanaya and started looking through Nanaya's script.

"So it's a movie script... Nanaya Kiryu? Is that big brother's name? What a nice name..." After seeing the contents of the notebook, Illya's eyes immediately lit up with excitement and she began to read with relish.

"Is this girl actually very outgoing? Also, can she understand the script?"

Unlike novels with colorful plots, professional scripts can basically only be described as boring by people outside the industry. Because the content is too straightforward, many parts give people a dry feeling. Although ordinary readers will be attracted by the story, they are rarely interested in the script itself.

Illya looked up and smiled and replied, "Well, Illya has read a lot of scripts. After all, my family often receives a lot of scripts."

"What... Sorry, that's rude."

Nanaya immediately realized that he had unconsciously said what he was thinking, and he quickly bowed his head to apologize for his rude behavior.

"Hoohoo~"

Illya smiled and asked Nanaya tentatively, "Brother, are you a screenwriter?"

"No, it's the director."

"Really?!"

After hearing Nanaya's answer, Illya slammed the table and stood up. Her eyes turned into stars as she looked at Nanaya.

Nanaya scratched his cheek with his fingers a little embarrassedly. He didn't dare to look directly at the girl and could only glance to the other side: "Yes, although she is just a newcomer who has not directed a movie..."

"Is that why Big Brother came to Linbao to solicit investment? How did he succeed? Illya thinks Big Brother's story is very interesting!"

Facing Illya's excited expression, Nanaya lowered his head and said unwillingly: "Actually..."

[Ding-ling-ling~~~~]

Just when Nanaya was about to tell others that he had failed in his attempt to get investment, his cell phone rang.

"Sorry, big brother have to take a call first."

Nanaya apologized to Illya with some regret and turned on his phone. The unfamiliar number on it confused Nanaya for a moment, but he finally took the initiative to answer the call.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Kiryu-kun, is that you?"

Nanaya was very surprised by the powerful voice coming from the phone, because he had just come out of the other party's office not long ago.

"Is it Chairman Ryutani ?" Nanaya believed that a big shot like the other party would definitely not call him for no reason. Thinking of a certain possibility, Nanaya tried his best to suppress his inner excitement, and even his voice became a little out of tune.

Nanaya, who couldn't wait to confirm with the other end of the phone, didn't notice that Illya, who was sitting opposite him, had a slightly changed expression on her face after hearing the name.

There was no sadness or joy in Nobuyuki's words, as if he was just stating the facts: "Yes, it's me. As for the quota, I thought about it and decided to give it to you. You and your teacher can come together tomorrow, and we will have a short meeting then."

"Thank you very much!"

Even though the other person was not in front of him, Nanaya still took the initiative to bow deeply.

"Okay, let's talk about the details when we meet tomorrow."

Nobuyuki didn't say anything more and hung up the phone.

"Yes!!!"

After hanging up the phone, Nanaya waved his fists, his excitement was beyond words.

"It seems that your investment was successful, big brother." At this time, Illya was the first to calm down. She sat back in her seat, held her chin with both hands, and looked at Nanaya again. This time she was much more careful than the previous times.

"Yes, but it's just a 15 million yen TV movie production quota, which is not too great. It seems that Chairman Ryutani got an extra quota due to his personal connection. Although it's only a late-night slot, it's also a very rare opportunity for me." Because the huge rock that was pressing on his heart was finally removed, Nanaya couldn't help but talk more, and he explained to Illya in a spirited manner.

"Oh wow~"

Illya's eyes rolled, and she came up with a brilliant idea: "Hey, big brother. When big brother starts filming the movie, can Illya go and watch?"

"What?"

Nanaya's mouth opened wide. He was frightened by the little loli's sudden request.

"Illya likes movies very much. Because of her family, Illya has always wanted to be an actor. However, her family has never agreed with Illya's request. So Illya hopes to see more about how the crew works and to be fully prepared for the future! Just consider it as an apology for the rudeness of big brother just now!" Illya clapped her hands and explained to Nanaya happily.

"But... I'm a newcomer..."

Nanaya didn't think his crew was a good internship target. After all, he was a complete newcomer, and it was completely predictable that the crew would be in a mess when they first started to get along. From his own observations, Nanaya could see that Illya in this world was obviously a daughter of a wealthy family, and was probably related to movie production. With such a background, which crew would not be better for her to observe than a newcomer like himself?

"Because Illya wants to see how big brother, the newcomer, actually runs the crew~ Illya promised that she would just observe and would not say a word. Okay, big brother~"

Illya's whining voice was so powerful that Nanaya felt like every bone in his body was softened.

"I haven't finalized it yet..."

With cold sweat on his forehead, Nanaya tried to make a final struggle, but the little loli did not give him the chance.

"Then let's wait until big brother has finalized the entire project before notifying Illya! Now let's exchange email addresses first~" Illya handed her mobile phone to Nanaya, and the girl's own email address was displayed on it.

"If big brother wants to refuse..." A gleam of light flashed in Illya's eyes. She tilted the cup of iced coffee on the table slightly to the side and tilted her head to reveal a wicked smile.

Illya threatened Nanaya affectionately: "What will happen if Illya yells that Big Brother deliberately spilled coffee on Illya and wants to wipe Illya's body with a towel?"

[It's scary just thinking about it! This little devil doesn't give me any reason to refuse...]

The smile on Nanaya's face was about to burst. Although this little Lolita could be considered a perfect looker, she was a huge trouble in every other aspect.

"I see... Email address, right? I'll give it to you."

"Well, Illya likes obedient big brothers the most!" The original devilish smile turned into an angelic smile in just one second, and the speed was so fast that Nanaya was dumbfounded.

[This child might really be very suitable to be an actor. ]

In the end, Nanaya dejectedly exchanged email addresses with Illya and promised to contact her after all matters concerning the movie were finalized.

"Then Illya will wait for big brother's good news~"

After Illya waved goodbye, Nanaya left the cafe in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

After Nanaya left, Illya swung her feet happily, looking at the new friend's email in her hand with satisfaction.

"Hehe, it looks like I won't be bored any more recently. I originally smelled the special incense in Grandpa's office and wanted to see which uncle had just visited Grandpa, but I didn't expect it to be such an interesting thing."

At this time, a maid with silver hair and red eyes who had been sitting in the blind spot of Nanaya's sight stood up from her seat and sat opposite Illya.

"Miss, you don't need to have any contact with this unknown person. If you want to put it into practice, just ask the master..."

Illya interrupted the maid and said without even looking up, "That's meaningless, Sera. Grandpa will definitely introduce me to a very harmonious and perfect crew, which won't achieve the purpose of my practice at all! What I want to see is a real crew, not a play-acting performance!"

The maid, whom Illya called Sera, refused to give in: "A small crew like that is just playing house! And there is no need for you to get involved in those dirty things, you just need to ensure your purity!"

"If you stay in a greenhouse forever, you will never be able to become a great actor like your mother!" Illya refused to back down, "And I didn't just randomly choose the crew. I carefully selected that big brother."

Seeing the puzzled expression on Sera's face, Illya puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Illya knows that grandpa doesn't have any extra TV and movie spots to grab recently. This is a lie in itself. Grandpa must have taken a fancy to the big brother's talent, so he wanted to test him in this way."

"But, since the master is optimistic about it, why not give him more budget? You know, a well-made TV animation requires a budget of about 30 million yen." Sera's face still showed confusion. She didn't think her master would do such a thankless task.

Illya analyzed it clearly: "It must be because grandpa wants to test the limits of big brother's ability with a limited budget. After all, everyone can spend money! A director who can make a successful work with limited resources is a truly amazing talent. And I have also read his script. There are no major problems with the script. The rest is to demonstrate his ability as a director!"

Illya became more and more excited as she spoke, and even put one foot on the table, which scared Sera so much that she quickly grabbed her skirt.

"Miss! You can't do such vulgar things in public!"

"It's okay, Sera. What I thought must be right! Next I just have to wait for my brother's reply!"

Unfortunately, Illya, who was still excited, didn't know that her guess was not accurate. Nanaya was able to get help from her grandfather not because her grandfather had high hopes for him, but because her grandfather's old friend wanted to help his apprentice realize his wish of making a movie.

But judging from the subsequent development of the matter, this misunderstanding may not be a bad thing.