Of course, Konoe Ryoka and the others are not the only ones who care about Kumamon. Hosokawa Koharu received numerous invitations for interviews in just two days after the promotion of Kumamon began.

And the goals of these people are of course very clear - all for Higashinoji.

Some people have previously been concerned about whether Tsukasa Higashino, who won the Youth Art Prize's double gold medal and designed Kumamon Bear, and Mr. Higashino, who painted "The Lonely Gourmet" and "The Ring", are the same person.

After all, Mr. Higashino from Urashima Publishing House and Higashino Tsukasa have the same last name.

In other words, it is possible that Tsukasa Higashino used the pseudonym "Higashino" to serialize the series at Urashima Publishing House.

Unlike Tsukasa Higashino, who won a double gold medal at the Youth Art Award, Urashima Publishing House's "Teacher Higashino" was at the peak of his career when he debuted. Many young people across Japan are fans of "The Ring" and "The Lonely Gourmet".

It wasn't until the genius high school designer Higashino Tsukasa designed the image of Kumamon that his popularity is comparable to that of Urashima Publishing's "Higashino-sensei".

There is another very interesting phenomenon here.

That means fans of Higashino Tsukasa are incompatible with fans of Higashino-sensei of Urashima Publishing House who drew the manga.

Both sides are dissatisfied with each other, they just feel that the other side is taking advantage of the popularity of their favorite author.

So in the discussion boards of "The Ring" and "The Lonely Gourmet" there are always people posting some pictures of Kumamon.

In the discussion board of Kumamon, someone will attach a picture of a particularly terrifying Sadako cartoon - it scares many girls who like cheap bears and can't sleep at night.

Fan representatives on both sides also held their own opinions.

While talking about how could Mr. Higashino, who drew "The Ring", design a character like Kumamon? It's simply impossible!

On the other hand, it was said that the designer of Kumamon, Higashino Tsukasa, is young and good-looking. How could he be like Higashino-sensei, who draws horror comics and food comics, and be an old man in his thirties with a dark mind? (Many media have promoted Higashino-sensei like this.

(My age is 30 or 40 years old, so these fans believe it.)

The two sides were fighting like crazy. As soon as Saturdays and Sundays were free, fans would start a war on these two different discussion boards, and the fighting was fierce.

In addition to the chaotic evil ones on both sides, there are also some lawful neutral fans. They not only like Higashino Tsukasa's Kumamon, but also Mr. Higashino's "Midnight Ring" and "The Lonely Gourmet". They remain neutral and occasionally watch

Discouraging fights in the discussion forum - 'Don't you guys stop fighting, don't fight anymore, don't you both like it?'

The more fermented the topic is, the higher the popularity will be.

This is a big pain for Tono Division editor-in-chief Hosokawa Koharu.

"It's really..."

After finally dealing with a group of reporters crouching outside Urashima Publishing House, Hosokawa Koharu let out a tired look.

The purpose of those reporters is also very simple.

I just squeezed in and asked about the relationship between Higashinoji and Higashino-sensei.

However, Hosokawa Koharu had the obligation to keep Higashino confidential, so he could only smile and keep silent about these topics, and walked into Urashima Publishing House with "no comment".

And that's not all. Recently, Koharu Hosokawa can even see reporters near her home.

"I'm going to have a nervous breakdown if this keeps up."

Hosokawa Koharu poured herself a cup of coffee, looking very tired.

I used to envy famous people being interviewed by reporters.

But when he was actually surrounded by reporters for interviews, Hosokawa Koharu was not very happy.

There was nothing she could do about it, those reporters were chattering and asking very pointed questions, which made her feel very tired just to deal with them.

"Teacher Higashino...can you come back soon..." Hosokawa Koharu sighed.

It would be great if Higashinoji came back and accepted the interview on his own terms... He wouldn't be able to torture her like Hosokawa Koharu at all.

Also...

Hosokawa Koharu shook his head to get rid of these messy thoughts, looked at the data on the desk again, and couldn't help but smile.

She is now waiting for Higashinoji to come back.

"Midnight Ring" and "The Lonely Gourmet"... can really bring a big surprise to Higashinoji.

...

In this way, Kumamoto Prefecture operated in Osaka City. After Kumamon was missing for two days, and the image of Kumamon suddenly became a cute and adorable creature reported in major magazines, the Kumamoto Prefectural Government stepped forward.

And following them out was Kumamon, who had been hiding before.

Jumping around on the TV screen, Kumamon conquered countless people with his cute image.

But this is not the only surprise that the Kumamoto Prefectural Government has given everyone.

They announced on TV that they would license the image of Kumamon bear to the whole country for free, and those who use the image of Kumamon only need to submit an application to Kumamoto Prefecture. As long as Kumamoto Prefecture approves it, they can use this image to produce products.

This courage shocked many media outlets.

Because this is equivalent to the government spending money and providing it to businesses for free.

Yes, at a time when Kumamon was becoming popular all over the island, the Kumamoto Prefectural Government made such a decision, which undoubtedly required strong courage.

When Higashinoji saw Kumamoto Prefecture's declaration, he was slightly surprised, but he quickly understood it.

Kumamoto Prefecture mainly wants Japanese merchants to spontaneously promote Kumamon Bears, and when they promote Kumamon Bears, they will naturally be introduced to Kumamoto Prefecture, the hometown of Kumamon Bears.

The greater the reputation of Kumamoto, the more people know about Kumamoto Prefecture. The more people know about Kumamoto Prefecture, the more tourists will come to Kumamoto Prefecture for sightseeing. This will effectively boost the tourism economy of Kumamoto Prefecture.

.

After all, if Kumamoto Prefecture alone wants to promote the Kumamon mascot image to the whole country... that will undoubtedly require a lot of investment.

So it is better to distribute this mascot character and let Japanese merchants use it and let the merchants promote it spontaneously.

Because the character Kumamon was originally designed for the economy of Kumamoto Prefecture.

As for the sales expenses of Higashinoji’s Kumamon peripherals?

This means there is no need to worry anymore.

As long as you are famous, then the peripheral products will be sold.

Kumamoto Prefecture itself will also produce many Kumamon peripherals for sale across the country, and in the future there will be cooperation between Kumamon and the Shinkansen and various Japanese airlines... When 2% of the cost goes to Higashinoji, then it will

It will be a huge sum of money.

So Tonoji doesn't worry about this at all.

Compared with this, Higashinoji is more concerned about when he will go back.

"I've been in Kumamoto Prefecture for two weeks..." Higashino sighed.

During this period, he did not accept any interviews from any media. Presumably Kumamoto Prefecture helped cover up a lot in order to provide him with a better creative environment.

Shengure Kirito even gave a laptop to Higashinoji, with several mini-games specially installed on it for Higashino Chihaya to play.

But by this time it was almost time to go back.

Kumamon has been completely finalized, and the next step is to design Kumamon’s other actions.

But that kind of thing can be done at home in Tokyo, so Higashinoji has no necessary reason to continue to stay in Kumamoto Prefecture.

Thinking of this, Higashinoji also called Shenmu Qiren.

"Teacher Higashino wants to leave? This...? Why so suddenly?"

Shenmu Qiren thought that she was busy with work here these days and neglected Higashinoji over there, so he was unhappy, so he said: "I will take Mr. Higashino with me after I finish my recent work.

Let’s go sightseeing in our famous places in Kumamoto Prefecture...”

"It's not because of this." Higashinoji smiled: "It's just that Kumamon's announcement is on the right track. If I stay in Kumamoto County any longer, I will definitely cause trouble for you, Fumaki-san."

He paused and then added: "Of course, there are also personal reasons. I have been out for two weeks and I still have schoolwork in high school. I am a little embarrassed to continue delaying it like this."

"That's right... I'm very sorry, Mr. Higashino." Only then did Fukure Kirito realize - Higashinoji is still a high school student.

It's not that he forgot that Higashinoji was a high school student, but Higashinoji's ability was so strong that he subconsciously ignored the identity of the other high school student.

Even the governor of Kumamoto Prefecture met with Higashinoji, chatted with him for a long time, and finally shook hands and took photos.

"Since this is the case...then I will not retain Mr. Higashino, but if Mr. Higashino comes to our Kumamoto Prefecture next time, be sure to call me. I will definitely take Mr. Higashino around."

Shenmu Qiren made a promise and chatted with Higashinoji for a while, and finally said that he would go and have someone prepare a ticket. Higashinoji would definitely be able to return to Tokyo tomorrow at the latest.

Higashinoji was naturally grateful for this.

Just like that, the next day came in a blink of an eye.

Higashinoji got into the special car prepared by Shenmu Qiren and headed towards the airport.

How I came to Kumamoto Prefecture from Tokyo is also how I left Kumamoto Prefecture and returned to Tokyo.

Of course, the process in between does not need to be described in detail.

The only difference is that Higashino Tsukasa, a young artist who won a double gold medal at the Tokyo Youth Art Prize, has now become Higashino Tsukasa, the Kumamon designer known to countless people in Japan.

Higashinoji and Higashino Chihaya quickly returned home.

Looking at the almost unchanged furnishings in his home, Higashino breathed out a sigh of relief.

He specially called someone to come over and help with dust removal and cleaning every day, so there was no need for Higashinoji, so Higashino Chihaya cleaned it deliberately.

"Aji...I'm going to bed first." Higashino Chihaya was sleepy and yawned repeatedly.
To be continued...