[Game] Chapter 415-416

### Chapter 415: Titles

In the programming team, Narumi Tsubame glanced at the newly arrived email and, excited, turned to Ruri Gokou.

“Ruri! Congratulations! I can’t believe your design actually got approved!”

Ruri herself hadn’t expected it at all. For a moment, she felt almost dazed.

“Thanks… I didn’t think it would pass either.”

But as it sank in, a bright smile spread across her face.

Her full-time salary was already pretty good, but really—who would turn down extra bonus money?

And since both her younger sisters had been doing well in school recently, she decided she’d buy them some gifts once the bonus came in next month.

Just then, the programming office door swung open, and Kirino Kousaka burst inside, storming straight over to Ruri.

“How the heck did you get approved? I don’t get it!”

“Hm?”

Ruri gave her a sidelong glance and faintly curled her lips.

“I can only say—it’s talent. Not something you can learn.”

After graduating university, Kirino had smoothly joined the company. Thanks to her excellent grades and her accounting license, she secured a spot in the finance department.

Though she was currently just a regular accountant, with her abilities, she was sure to climb higher.

And with good pay, the chance to work in a game company she loved, plus having Ruri as a friend here, she was more than satisfied.

Still, Ruri’s smug remark left her sulking.

“So what kind of design did you make, huh? Show me!”

“Fine, I’ll show you.”

Ruri opened the design document she had saved on her computer.

Kirino looked it over, annoyed, but couldn’t find any fault. As much as she hated to admit it, Ruri’s design really was more fun than hers.

She accepted it in her heart, but as a classic tsundere, there was no way she’d admit it out loud.

“Hmph! It’s only so-so. Just watch—I’ll go back and design a stage that’s way better than yours!”

With that declaration, she stormed off in a huff.

Watching her leave, Sakura Nene asked curiously,

“The deadline for this side quest is still ten days away. Do you really think Kirino can pull it off?”

Narumi Tsubame shook her head.

“Who knows? But giving it a try isn’t a bad thing, right?”

Ruri, meanwhile, stayed calm, continuing with her work.

“That girl usually just wastes time gaming at home. Better she spend her energy brainstorming ideas. Who knows, maybe she’ll come up with something good. That would still be a contribution to the company. Plus, there’s the bonus money as motivation.”

“That’s true,” Nene agreed.

“Our bonus system here is pretty generous. And with Fall Guys, if someone really designs a great stage, the results are guaranteed to be impressive. You can tell at a glance whether something will be fun.

“It’s just a pity I’m not in that dev group right now. Otherwise, with Ruri’s design, I could’ve volunteered to help build it!”

Tsubame rolled her eyes at her.

“How about you focus on your own tasks first? You still have plenty left to finish this week.”

“Yeah, yeah~~~”

Nene replied lazily, picked up her cup, and found it empty.

“I’ll go get some coffee. You two want some?”

“Yes!”

“Then let’s go together.”

—

Meanwhile, at Todai, Utaha was studying in the library with Yukino.

After finishing the short essay she was writing, Utaha stretched her neck and pulled out her little notebook, turning her thoughts back to the half-completed Fall Guys stage design.

Yukino, noticing her movements, curiously glanced over.

“Senpai, you haven’t finished designing that yet?”

“Mhm, still missing a few details. Almost done, though.”

Utaha didn’t mind letting her see. She nudged the notebook a little closer and said,

“You can look, but don’t tell Ichin, alright? I want to polish it perfectly and give him a surprise.”

Yukino nodded.

“Alright. I won’t tell Senpai.”

Hearing that, Utaha smiled.

“Speaking of which… it’s been a while, Yukino. You still haven’t changed how you call Ichin? Calling him ‘Onii-chan’ isn’t that hard, right?”

Teased like that, Yukino couldn’t help but blush.

“I’m just… not used to it,” she explained softly.

“I don’t have cousins or older brothers among my relatives, and I’ve always called him ‘Senpai.’ Saying ‘Onii-san’ feels impossible.”

“I see.”

Utaha leaned closer, grinning.

“Then how about calling me ‘Onee-chan’? With the relationship Ichin and I have, that makes us family too. I’ve always wanted a cute little sister.”

“...”

Yukino gave her a speechless look. Great—now Utaha was teasing her just like Haruno did. No wonder the two of them got along so well.

But after thinking for a moment, Yukino wondered if she really was being a bit too stiff.

Ichin’s mother—her godmother—treated her with so much warmth. She often called Yukino, gave her New Year’s money, even sent her a birthday gift: a necklace that Yukino still wore around her neck.

Glancing at Utaha, still a little shy, Yukino finally mustered her courage.

“Onee-chan.”

Hearing that, Utaha’s face instantly bloomed into a satisfied smile.

“Ahhh, wonderful.”

Not teasing her further, Utaha turned her focus back to finishing the last touches of her Fall Guys stage design.

—

That evening, after leaving campus, Yukino drove with Utaha to Ichin and Utaha’s apartment for dinner.

When they entered, Ichin was already back, preparing the meal. Kou Yagami and Rin Toyama were also there.

After greeting them, Utaha happily skipped into the kitchen. Hugging Ichin from behind, she announced,

“Listen, Ichin, today at collage Yukino actually called me ‘Onee-chan!’”

“Hm? Really?”

Turning around, he saw not only Utaha but also Yukino standing at the kitchen doorway.

“Yukino, that’s not fair, is it?”

Meeting his gaze, Yukino—who had already steeled herself—finally called out,

“Onii…san.”

Though at first it felt embarrassing, once the word was out, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. Yukino’s heart immediately settled.

As for Ichin, his face lit up with the same satisfied smile Utaha had worn earlier.

Looking at him, then at Utaha, Yukino remarked bluntly,

“You two really are a perfect pair. Even your expressions are identical.”

At that, the two showed not a shred of embarrassment—only matching smug grins.

“Of course we are!” ×2

***

### Chapter 416: Looking Toward the Future

After dinner, since they were all college students now—and Yukino even had her own car—there was no need to rush home early. So Utaha pulled her along, and everyone sat down together for tea and conversation.

Talking about company matters, Kou Yagami turned to Ichin.

“Since someone’s stage design got approved and will be rewarded next month, everyone else is fired up. They all want to come up with something good before the deadline. Utaha, how’s your design coming along?”

With a smile, Utaha replied,

“I just need to finish the last part. I won’t show it off half-done. Once it’s complete, then I’ll reveal it.”

“Eh~~ so confident, huh.”

Ichin sipped his tea, then asked Kou,

“What about you, Kou? No plans to design something yourself?”

“Not me.” Kou waved her hand.

“I know my strengths. If it were designing characters or something, I’d be fine, but for obstacle-based stages like this? I have no talent at all, so I won’t join the crowd. Besides, didn’t you say you were giving us a raise? I’d rather not waste brain cells over a small bonus.”

True enough—after mentioning raises at dinner previously, Ichin had gathered Kou and the other veteran employees the very next day, sitting down with each of them to talk about salary adjustments.

The exact increases differed depending on their roles, but compared to others in the same industry with similar years of experience, even younger staff like Tsubame Narumi and Momiji Mochizuki saw impressive raises.

Ichin valued talent and ability over seniority. His veteran employees hadn’t let him down once, and he was more than happy to give them more.

With salaries raised, people like Hajime Shinoda and Tsubame Narumi—who had originally wanted to try designing Fall Guys stages—decided to let others take the chance. If inspiration struck later, they’d simply share their ideas with the dev team after the deadline. Whether they got the bonus or not didn’t matter anymore.

Even someone like Shinoda, who used to live paycheck to paycheck, now had significant savings thanks to steady raises—she’d become a proper little rich lady. As for those like Aoba, who already had the habit of saving, their finances were even more stable.

Hearing Kou’s reasoning, Rin Toyama chuckled and nodded.

“True. Raises are more practical. Let the younger, more energetic ones chase the bonus. We still have plenty of development work on our hands.”

Dark Souls had been in development ever since Persona released last year—nearly a year of work. And even so, progress was only around 40%.

Designing monsters and bosses was relatively straightforward. Once the tone and style were set, plenty of ideas could follow.

The hardest part was the maps—the sprawling castles and environments. The architecture needed to match the world’s lore: vast and imposing on the outside, intricately designed within, layered vertically to make full use of space, and rich with areas for exploration.

They also had to scatter hidden corners for ambushes and jump scares, deliberately crafting malice to challenge players.

That was where the real mountain of work lay.

As for the lore, main storyline, and side quests for NPCs—Ichin had taken full responsibility. The main plot had been almost complete since the planning stage, now already polished. Only some of the NPC storylines still needed refining.

Multiple endings, the interplay of side quests, and how they all impacted the main narrative—those needed careful design to ensure replay value and a rich multi-run experience.

“Dark Souls…”

Ichin leaned back on the sofa with a sigh.

“This game will most likely be delayed this year. We’ll need at least another year of development. But thanks to Fall Guys and Titanfall—which will release on time this winter—it’s not a big problem. By next year, once Dark Souls launches, plus Apex running as a free live-service title, we’ll be set for this year and next.”

Kou began counting on her fingers.

“Let’s see… we started with Slay the Spire, then Hollow Knight, Persona, BattleBlock Theater, Binding of Isaac—that’s already five titles. And with this year and next, we’ll have four more. Our development pace is honestly terrifying!”

“This is the result of everyone’s hard work,” Ichin said with a smile.

“My plans mean nothing without the team’s execution. But even now, our numbers aren’t enough. In the second half of this year, we’ll need another wave of hiring to fill the empty desks. By the year after, we can start thinking about getting our own independent office building—our base.

“The current rented place won’t be renewed. The old location will stay on as one dev team’s office, effectively a branch studio. That way, we can keep expanding, developing multiple projects of different scales at the same time.”

“Oh! We’ll get our own building?” Kou’s eyes lit up.

“When we visited Nintendo’s HQ, I was so jealous of their tower!”

“Don’t get carried away.” Ichin rolled his eyes.

“At most, it’ll be a mid-size office building, five or six stories tall. And that’s if we can even find a place ready to move in.”

“There should be.” Yukino spoke up.

“In Tokyo, with my sister’s management, our family’s business has been growing, and resources have expanded. If you need a place, I’m sure she could find something quickly.”

“That would be ideal. When the time comes, I’ll definitely ask Haruno-nee.”

Ichin wasn’t the type to waste available resources. Family connections like that could save him both effort and money. And since they were family, he wouldn’t let Haruno lose out either—maybe a little under market rate, but never at a loss.

Ichin would never let his own people suffer.

Rin Toyama patted Kou’s shoulder to calm her down.

“Alright, don’t get too excited. It’s still the year after next—quite a wait.”

“True, we’ll need more staff first before moving.”

Kou nodded, still unable to hide her smile.

“An office building of our own… it feels like only once we have that will we truly count as a big-name developer.”

In truth, given their sales, reputation, and team size, the company already qualified as a fairly large studio.

But compared to the established giants, the gap was still there.

On that, Ichin’s confidence never wavered.

“No need to rush. Step by step—we’ll become a true top-tier developer in due time.”

***