Liang En's investment in TYPE-MOON Company didn't yield immediate profits; in fact, he had to pour nearly 500,000 euros more into the company during this period.
However, these investments were meaningful. For instance, Liang En now owned 35% of the company's shares, which he believed was the maximum he could reasonably hold.
Unlike most companies at TYPE-MOON, the core individuals were Takeuchi Takashi and Nasu Kinoko. Everyone else was merely ancillary.
Therefore, the major shareholdings naturally had to belong to these two founders. Otherwise, if they felt the lethargy of working for others or even considered starting anew, it would certainly not bode well for Liang En as an investor.
An additional benefit for Liang En was the thorough approval he gained from the two founders of TYPE-MOON. After all, an investor who put in real money without showing greed for company shares was indeed rare.
As for the investment in the animation, Liang En naturally supported it. Although the cost of over 5.6 million euros was not cheap, he understood that this animation was likely to herald the ascension of the Fate series, thus making the investment necessary.
Despite the budget of over 5.6 million euros, this amount did not put any pressure on Liang En, who had recently received a significant sum in royalties.
Furthermore, letting that money sit idle in a bank account would be the height of folly. Liang En had always contemplated where to invest that money, and financing this animation seemed like a very good idea.
Of course, thanks to previous successful merchandise and productions, the company had some funds of its own. Liang En did not need to pay the full 5.6 million euros but only about 3.8 million.
As for future promotional expenses, those would need to be addressed once the products were developed, not requiring immediate full payment, which significantly eased the investors' pressure.
Most importantly, a one-time payment allowed the animation to be produced in one go rather than being made concurrently with its broadcast, benefiting the overall quality of the series.
The return on this investment was straightforward: Liang En would receive half of the income from this animation and its derivatives, a rate of return far higher than most conventional investments.
However, investing in cultural products carried significant risks, as people's tastes and market situations were highly unpredictable, especially for new works without previous content.
Indeed, some had gambled small and earned returns several times over, even tens of times greater, but many more had lost everything, making such investments highly risky.
Normally, aside from a few professionals skilled in this area, most investors avoided this field due to its unpredictability.
Liang En's willingness to invest was simple; as a shareholder, he needed to contribute financially when necessary. Enjoying the benefits also meant assuming corresponding responsibilities.
Another reason was that Liang En was aware of the miracle the Fate series had achieved in another world, so he naturally took the opportunity to ride along.
The contract was straightforward, and since there were hardly any disagreements between the parties, they confirmed the contract's details through a lawyer that afternoon and signed it before dinner.
"This money will allow us to start production immediately; I really appreciate your trust," Takeuchi Takashi said happily during dinner at a famous izakaya where everyone gathered.
Nasu Kinoko also seemed very excited, being able to see his story being animated so quickly was thrilling indeed.
"I believe this is a very good story," Liang En remarked. Although in his previous life he had only watched the series to gather material for his writing, including some famous scenes, he hadn't fully explored the animation's overall quality in another world, just a general impression.
Fortunately, from the script presented now, Liang En felt that the overall direction of the story was not significantly different from what he had seen before, and any minor discrepancies in details wouldn't affect anything.
The other party also mentioned that there would be a character based on Liang En, an archaeologist who dabbled in magic, though this would only appear as a background detail, a small Easter egg.
This was also a small privilege for the author, allowing his acquaintances to enter these works and add more interest to the entire series.
That night, the two Japanese drank a lot of sake because Liang En had successfully helped them resolve their most difficult problem, showing his reliability, which greatly eased their minds.
According to Japanese custom, it was better to drink more during such bonding times, even if it meant becoming embarrassingly drunk.
In Japan, drinking to excess meant completely lowering one's guard, a traditional way of showing closeness and bonding with others.
As a result, the two Japanese were carried back, but as foreigners, Liang En and his group were not obligated to follow this custom, so they each had only a half cup of wine.
With the funds now secured, TYPE-MOON Company entered a busy phase, as they
had already prepared and were ready to start work.
However, due to their current workload, the company's president, Takeuchi Takashi, even went to their hotel to apologize since they had initially planned to travel together, but it was clear that the company's obligations made it impossible.
Liang En found this display of Japanese politeness somewhat helpless, but it was a local characteristic, so he politely acknowledged that the company's business took precedence.
Following this, Liang En and his group began their journey, spending three days visiting famous locations around Tokyo's film and television industry, even specifically going to Ueno Park to see the cherry blossoms.
Honestly, the sight of cherry blossom petals blown by the wind, fluttering in the air together with those falling from the trees, was indeed beautiful, no wonder it had become a part of Japanese culture.
After visiting all the tourist spots, they finally returned to the antique shop in Ginza to inquire about the origin of a particular shell.
Liang En didn't hold much hope for this inquiry, as antique shops often kept the seller's information confidential, especially those in Ginza where such secrecy was as vital as life itself.
But to his surprise, after their inquiry, they actually learned about the original owner of the item from the antique shop.
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