Chapter 74: Semifinal Pressure

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Semifinal Pressure

The semifinal voting opened on Friday.

Haruki immediately regretted knowing that.

Not because he was nervous.

Because everyone else was.

The creator group chat transformed into chaos before noon.

Akari:

Why are there already prediction videos?

Aoi:

Because readers enjoy being wrong publicly.

Akari:

I dislike you.

Aoi:

Expected.

Kenji:

Good morning.

Nobody acknowledged Kenji.

Five minutes later:

Kenji:

Still good morning.

That finally made Haruki laugh.

The quiet crime-drama creator possessed a dangerous sense of timing.

The voting page launched shortly afterward.

Semifinal One:

Aoi Fujimura

vs

Akari Sato

Semifinal Two:

Haruki Amamiya

vs

Kenji Watanabe

The numbers began moving immediately.

Too immediately.

Readers apparently had no intention of pretending they needed time to decide.

Haruki closed the page.

Mistake avoided.

He opened Chapter Nineteen instead.

The Bureau’s response operation had begun.

News channels attacked the credibility of the leak.

Experts appeared.

False witnesses appeared.

Manufactured evidence appeared.

The protagonists finally realized something uncomfortable.

Truth alone wasn’t enough.

Proof alone wasn’t enough.

Winning required influence.

The parallel to the tournament wasn’t subtle.

Haruki noticed.

Ignored it.

Continued drawing.

Progress first.

Analysis later.

At noon, the system appeared.

Weekly Creator Assessment

Recent Growth:

Excellent

Process Stability:

Improved

Income Stability:

Poor

Warning:

Financial pressure likely within 45 days.

The notification disappeared.

Haruki stared at the empty space.

Forty-five days.

Not tomorrow.

Not immediate.

Close enough.

The problem wasn’t rent.

Not yet.

The problem was growth.

Tournament attention increased visibility.

Visibility created opportunities.

Opportunities took time to become income.

The gap between those things remained dangerous.

His bank account agreed.

The balance sat lower than he liked.

Higher than disaster.

Lower than comfort.

An annoying middle ground.

The phone buzzed.

Mizuno.

"How much savings do you have?"

No greeting.

Haruki immediately disliked the question.

"What kind of conversation is this?"

"The important kind."

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

After several uncomfortable minutes, Mizuno reached a conclusion.

"You need another revenue stream."

That sounded suspiciously similar to the system.

Haruki mentioned that.

Mizuno ignored it completely.

Expected.

"Interviews help."

A pause.

"Promotional appearances help."

Another.

"Long term."

Then:

"You need money now."

The sentence landed harder than expected.

Because she wasn’t criticizing him.

She was worried.

The call ended with homework.

Things Haruki hated.

Research licensing.

Research merchandise opportunities.

Research side content.

Adult responsibilities disguised as industry strategy.

Meanwhile, across the city, Akari sat inside a television studio.

A small one.

Nothing national.

Nothing famous.

Still.

A studio.

The interview lights felt hotter than expected.

The host smiled professionally.

Questions flowed easily at first.

Romance.

Characters.

Reader reactions.

Then:

"What do you think of Aoi Fujimura?"

Akari almost laughed.

The tournament really had become a rivalry show.

"Aoi is talented."

Safe answer.

True answer.

The host waited.

Clearly expecting more.

Akari sighed.

"He’s also impossible."

The crew laughed.

The clip spread online within hours.

Aoi’s response appeared shortly afterward.

Accurate.

The internet celebrated.

Meanwhile, Kenji Watanabe ignored all of it.

Instead, he released a Chapter.

A very good Chapter.

The retention numbers jumped immediately.

Haruki noticed that part.

That part mattered.

Not interviews.

Not clips.

Not social media.

The Chapter.

Always the Chapter.

That evening, Yui called.

Not visited.

Called.

A small difference.

A meaningful one.

"Good news."

Haruki sat up straighter.

"What happened?"

For half a second, Yui didn’t answer.

Long enough for excitement to build.

Then:

"I got the job."

Haruki smiled immediately.

No hesitation.

No analysis.

Just happiness.

"Congratulations."

A laugh came through the speaker.

Relieved.

Bright.

Real.

The kind of laugh that only appeared after weeks of uncertainty.

They talked for nearly twenty minutes.

Plans.

Training.

Schedules.

Future responsibilities.

The details mattered less than the energy.

Yui sounded alive again.

When the call ended, Haruki returned to his desk.

Chapter Nineteen waited.

Tournament voting continued.

Financial pressure remained.

Debt remained.

Kenji remained dangerous.

Life rarely solved every problem simultaneously.

Tonight, one thing improved.

That was enough.

Near midnight, the latest tournament numbers leaked onto the forums.

Aoi held a narrow lead over Akari.

Haruki held an even narrower lead over Kenji.

The margins were shrinking.

Not growing.

Good.

Comfort created mistakes.

Pressure created focus.

At least that was what he told himself before opening another energy drink and continuing to work.

Across Tokyo, four creators chased the same semifinal victory.

One chased perfection.

One chased connection.

One chased consistency.

One chased stories worth remembering.

By the end of the week, only two would remain.

And for the first time, Haruki wasn’t completely sure he would be one of them.