[Game] Chapter 417-418

Chapter 417: Utaha’s Work, and the Boy Who Tried to Hit on Them

Monday afternoon, Ichin went alone to the company. As for Utaha, she was still at the library with Yukino.

When Ichin arrived at the Fall Guys development group, he handed over Utaha’s finished stage design to Hazuki.

“Hazuki, this is what Utaha designed. Take a look and decide if you want to approve it. Personally, I think it’s quite good.”

“Oh? So Utaha finally finished it? Then of course I have to see it.”

Hazuki smiled, took the printed pages from him, and began flipping through them.

Utaha’s design wasn’t a marathon-style course made of multiple stages strung together, but rather a single, consolidated map. Still, it was a massive arena—similar in scale to the already-completed Honeycomb Showdown map.

But unlike the Honeycomb map, which tested players’ patience and precision, this one focused on reaction speed under high-velocity movement.

The stage’s main structure was inspired by roller coasters. But unlike a real coaster, players weren’t strapped into seats—they had to balance on dragon-like coaster tracks that surged and dipped at breakneck speed.

As the coaster twisted along the rails, obstacles would pop up across the map, and items would drop from above to knock players off.

So while moving at high speeds, players not only had to avoid interference from others but also dodge waves of obstacles and flying projectiles. The difficulty was clearly higher than the current showdown maps.

After reading, Hazuki’s eyes lit up. “This really is good. We can definitely use it. Though Utaha was a bit conservative with the obstacle design—we can make it more complex. Leave that part to us. And honestly, this design has sparked all sorts of new ideas. I feel like we can come up with a lot of fun stuff from here.”

Hearing Hazuki’s praise, Ichin let out a quiet sigh of relief.

After all, this project was Hazuki’s responsibility. Even if he personally thought Utaha’s design was excellent, he couldn’t just push for it to be accepted directly. Since Hazuki approved it after review, that was the best possible outcome.

With the design handed over, Ichin returned to his office and sent a message to Utaha at school.

When she received it, a smile appeared on her face.

Utaha: Ichin, didn’t I say it would definitely pass? So, what reward do I get?

Utaha didn’t care for prize money, so when they made their bet, she had asked for a different kind of reward instead.

Ichin thought for a moment and replied: The reward’s not an issue. You can ask for anything.

And he meant it literally—anything. He knew Utaha wouldn’t demand something outrageous, so whatever she requested would surely be something he could do.

Half a minute later, her reply came.

Utaha: Since you said anything, then here it is. After work, come meet us for dinner. Then at night, let’s go shopping for clothes. You’ll pay for mine and Yukino’s.

That was it?

Ichin agreed immediately. Shopping for clothes? No problem.

Even if it wasn’t just Utaha but also Yukino, it was no big deal. Over New Year’s, he’d handled his mom and Haruno together—he could definitely survive this. Easy!

Once she got Ichin’s confirmation, Utaha showed her phone to Yukino beside her, smiling. “See? I told you, he’d agree. Besides, with the two of us going out with him, he’s the one who gets the bragging rights.”

That left Yukino speechless… but she had to admit it was true.

Whether it was Utaha or herself, either one going out with a guy was enough to make other men on the street turn green with envy.

Neither Utaha nor Yukino would deny this—they acknowledged it confidently, without a hint of embarrassment.

After a pause, Yukino said, “I don’t mind shopping, but I’ll pay for my own clothes.”

“Don’t fuss. You’re not an outsider.”

Utaha shut down her protest decisively, leaving Yukino no room to refuse. She then returned to her homework.

She had to finish quickly—so she could shop without worries later tonight.

Time ticked by. At 5 p.m., Utaha and Yukino packed up and left the library.

But just as they stepped outside, a boy came straight toward them, eyes fixed on Yukino.

It was obvious—he was either here to confess or to hit on her.

Utaha glanced at him and whispered, “Not bad looking.”

Yukino’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

The boy approached and said to her, “Excuse me, could I have your contact information?”

He smiled confidently, clearly proud of his looks.

But unfortunately for him, it had no effect on Yukino. Without even sparing him a glance, she said flatly, “Sorry, I don’t give my contact information to strangers.”

Then she left with Utaha.

As for the boy’s feelings? That wasn’t Yukino’s concern. This was already the third such attempt in the one month since collage started. She had never given any boy a chance.

After walking some distance, Utaha chuckled. “You really don’t want to date anyone, do you?”

“Mm. Doesn’t seem like it.”

Utaha, curious, pressed further: “Then… do you have any standards in mind for your other half? You must, right? I mean, I know you’ve got romance novels in your room. You’ve even read mine.”

“I do have standards.”

Yukino thought a moment. “First, he has to be outstanding. I don’t care about family background, but he must work hard to achieve something on his own. Then height—since I’m 170cm, he should be at least 175cm, ideally 180. Looks don’t need to be perfect, just decent features and knows how to take care of himself. Someone like that boy just now won’t do. His face was too effeminate for my taste. Worse, he was wearing perfume. Absolutely disqualified.”

Utaha nodded thoughtfully. She had no objections. Given Yukino’s own qualities, those demands weren’t high at all—in fact, they were pretty modest.

“The rest is fine, but for looks… I think you should aim for someone more handsome. You’ve got to think about the next generation, right?”

Yukino rolled her eyes immediately.

“Excuse me, I haven’t even been in a relationship yet. Don’t start talking to me about the next generation. That’s way too far off.”

And with that, she dropped the topic and headed for the parking lot.

***

Chapter 418: Shopping

Accompanying girls while shopping required both stamina and patience.

Doing it for one was already like that—let alone for two at once.

Sure, walking down the street with them drew plenty of stares, the kind that gave a man a sense of pride. But more than anything, one needed to brace himself mentally. After all, when it came to shopping, girls’ endurance simply couldn’t be measured by common sense.

At first, during dinner, Yukino had said she was mainly just tagging along for Utaha’s shopping. She claimed she’d just walk around afterward to digest the food.

But an hour later, she had completely forgotten those words.

Inside a women’s clothing store, Ichin trailed behind Utaha and Yukino as they picked out outfits, his hands already weighed down with multiple shopping bags.

This was already the fifth store they had visited, and their total spending had surpassed half a million yen.

For the three of them, that wasn’t much. A single meal they cooked together at home could already cost a fortune in ingredients.

Thinking of it that way, perhaps they’d been a little too low-key outside?

Ichin slowly shook his head. No—keeping low-key wasn’t a bad thing. It saved a lot of trouble.

At that moment, Utaha held a form-fitting dress against herself and turned to him. “Ichin, what do you think of this one?”

Ichin glanced at it and replied, “Hmm… the style’s good, but if it came in another color, it would be better. This shade is too loud—it doesn’t really suit you. Something with simpler tones would be nicer.”

Beside them, Yukino agreed. “I think so too. How about this one instead?”

She handed Utaha an off-shoulder crimson dress.

Compared to her old habit of judging clothes solely by fabric durability, Yukino had changed a lot. Thanks to the influence of Utaha, Haruno, and even Hazuki, she had learned the right way to choose clothes. Occasionally, she even flipped through fashion magazines.

Taking the dress from Yukino, Utaha smiled. “You’re right, this one feels more like me. I’ll go try it on.”

With the clerk’s guidance, Utaha went toward the fitting room, while Yukino kept browsing.

Ichin walked up to her, smiling. “Found anything you like?”

Yukino shook her head with mild frustration. “No. The spring collection here doesn’t suit me. It’s either tight-fitting or off-shoulder—styles that are all about showing off the figure.”

Saying this, she couldn’t help but lower her head, her eyes falling to her feet.

Already in college, and yet her figure hadn’t changed at all. By her first year, her sister had already looked better than a model.

Yukino seriously suspected that when their mother gave birth to her sister, all the body-shaping genes were passed on then—none left for her.

Ichin noticed her subtle movement, but wisely said nothing.

A girl’s figure wasn’t something you could casually comment on. Especially not with someone as proud as Yukino—one wrong word and she’d be upset.

Looking through the racks, he also realized these clothes really didn’t fit her style.

It wasn’t that Yukino couldn’t wear skirts—her height and proportions would make them look good. Just not the best.

And Yukino herself didn’t like revealing outfits. She wasn’t dressing for parties or banquets.

For daily wear, she preferred comfort first, design second.

Pulling out his phone, Ichin checked quickly and said, “If nothing here works, let’s head upstairs after Utaha’s done. There’s a shop up there that should suit you better.”

Yukino had no objections. Glancing at the bags in his hands, she let out a small smile. “Isn’t it getting a bit much?”

“It’s fine.” Ichin didn’t mind at all. “It’s still early anyway—we can keep going. And since I’ve been watching you two shop, now I kind of want to pick up some clothes myself. I’ll need your help choosing later. For now, I’ll just run down and drop these in the car, then come back up to join you.”

The parking garage was only a floor or two below—not a big hassle.

Just as he finished speaking, a familiar voice called out.

“Ah, Ichin-kun! Yukino!”

They turned and saw Narumi Tsubame and Momiji Mochizuki approaching.

Ichin smiled. “So it’s you two. Out shopping too? Oh, right—you live in the apartments nearby.”

Indeed, the two still lived in the place they had rented before. They had considered moving into Kou Yagami’s complex, but after two raises, their finances were stable, and with a kind landlady, they hadn’t been in any rush to move. Maybe later.

Narumi laughed. “Yeah, it’s less than ten minutes away on foot. We’d just finished dinner and decided to stroll. But today’s group is unusual. Ichin-kun, are you out with Yukino alone?”

“Of course not.” Ichin pointed toward the fitting room door that had just opened. “See? Utaha’s changing.”

Utaha stepped out in the crimson off-shoulder dress and, spotting the pair, smiled. “You two are shopping as well? Want to join us?”

Narumi and Momiji exchanged a glance, then shook their heads. Narumi replied, “Nah, we’re just browsing. We’ve already planned where to go. Let’s go together another time.”

With that, they waved goodbye and headed toward their chosen store.

Once they were gone, Ichin turned his attention to Utaha’s outfit.

The off-shoulder long dress looked stunning on her, highlighting her figure perfectly.

“This one’s really good,” Ichin nodded. “What do you think?”

“I like it too. I’ll take it.”

After she changed back, Ichin paid for it directly. Then the three of them went upstairs, where Yukino finally found several outfits she liked.

Next came Ichin’s turn—to choose clothes for himself.

For Yukino, this was her first time picking clothes for a guy. She found it surprisingly fun—a totally different experience from shopping for herself.

The three wandered the mall until after nine o’clock, arms full of bags, before finally leaving and bringing the night’s outing to an end.

***