[Game] Chapter 386-388

### Chapter 386: Full and Satisfied, Time to Work

In the end, under Ichin’s amused gaze, Eriri left the kitchen in frustration.

Watching her retreating figure, Rin chuckled and said,

“Eriri really gets toyed around by everyone… you’re not going to comfort her a little?”

“No need.”

Ichin shook his head, continuing to chop vegetables.

“That girl’s not that fragile. Give her two minutes and she’ll be fine.”

And indeed, not even a few minutes later, laughter from Eriri drifted in from the living room.

Ichin glanced at Rin.

“See? Told you there’s nothing to worry about.”

All Rin could do was admit that Ichin’s prediction was spot on.

Lunch was handled by Ichin and Rin, so naturally, it turned out to be a feast.

Looking at the dishes covering the table, Kō Yagami smiled as she poured herself a glass of cola.

“With so much good food, it’s such a shame Aoba couldn’t come.”

Aoba had originally planned to visit, but some relatives showed up at her house. Their families ended up going to Disneyland together, so she couldn’t make it.

Before they began eating, Kō mischievously snapped a photo of the spread and sent it to Aoba.

At that moment, Aoba was in a Disneyland restaurant with her family, juggling lunch while looking after her little niece—busy beyond belief.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw the picture Kō had sent—an entire table of delicious dishes.

“Ugh! Kō-senpai, you’re too cruel!”

Puffing her cheeks, Aoba quickly sent back an angry emoji to express her frustration, then tucked her phone away and looked at her own meal.

Even though Disneyland food was above average, compared to Ichin’s cooking, it wasn’t even in the same league.

No way. Tomorrow I’m going over to mooch a meal too!

Back at Ichin’s place, seeing Kō happily put away her phone, Ichin sighed.

“Kō, hurry up and eat already.”

“I knooow~~ Let’s dig in!”

Despite six of the seven people being girls, the group still managed to polish off every dish. By the end, they were all stuffed.

After brewing some green tea for everyone, Ichin sat down and said,

“Honestly, what’s with all of you? Eating until you’re this full. Even Yukino too.”

Being singled out, Yukino blushed from her spot on the sofa and hurriedly tried to justify herself.

“It was delicious… so I ate a little more.”

Normally, people’s appetites shrink in the summer. Keeping that in mind, Ichin and Rin had made plenty of seasonal vegetables like winter melon and loofah, keeping meat dishes lighter.

That was probably why the girls ended up eating more than expected. Still, Ichin hadn’t imagined they’d clear out everything.

Rubbing her belly, Kō laughed.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Most of it was veggies anyway—we hardly touched the meat and rice. No need to worry about getting fat. Just resting a bit will be enough. Oh right, Ichin, when are we eating the watermelon?”

“You’re seriously thinking about watermelon in that state? You’ll burst.”

He shot Kō a look before saying,

“It’s in the fridge, but wait until after two. And I made mung bean soup this morning—you can have some later too.”

“Oh! Watermelon and mung bean soup, perfect!! By the way, got any ice cream?”

“Yep.”

This time it was Utaha who answered with a smile.

“After dinner yesterday, I went to the supermarket with Ichin. We stocked up on cat food, snacks, and some ice cream too.”

The ice cream was mostly for when friends visited. These days, Utaha had far more options than before. Besides watermelon and mung bean soup, she and Ichin often made fresh juice themselves.

Still, ice cream was loaded with sugar. Utaha wasn’t too worried about gaining weight, but she tried to limit herself anyway.

As that thought crossed her mind, her eyes casually swept over the other girls’ legs.

Hmm. In terms of leg length, only Haruno could compete with her. The others, like Kō and Yukino, were tall and slim, but their legs didn’t have quite the same shape as hers.

Not to mention the other features beyond legs…

So, even with all these girls around Ichin, Utaha never felt insecure.

Stretching lazily, she leaned against him with a smile, looping her arms around his.

Feeling her cling to him, Ichin chuckled.

“What’s this about?”

“Nothing. I’m just too full to move.”

Her voice carried a spoiled sweetness that made Ichin reach out and pinch her cheek.

Watching the two of them, Eriri shuddered, goosebumps rising as she folded her arms.

“Would you two cut it out already? Can’t you see there are other people here?”

“Oh my, Eriri, you still haven’t gotten used to this?”

Utaha turned toward her with a teasing smile.

“After playing so many galgames, I thought you’d be immune by now. Or did you forget your past identity? You were the famous Eri Kashiwagi-sensei! You’ve drawn scenes far more intense than this, haven’t you?”

The moment that name slipped out, Eriri’s composure shattered. She flailed her twintails furiously and yelled,

“Shut up!! Don’t bring up that name!! Drawing manga and… and this kind of stuff are totally different! Completely different!!”

“Is that so?”

Utaha tapped her chin with one long finger, amusement in her eyes.

“But art needs references. Don’t tell me all those doujins were purely from imagination? You can’t get that kind of anatomy detail just by thinking it up.”

The more Utaha spoke, the redder Eriri’s face grew. Finally, unable to bear it, she let out a cry, bolted toward the guest room, and slammed the door shut.

Watching the closed door, Haruno laughed.

“Oh dear, now she’s mad. What are you going to do, Utaha?”

“No need to worry. I’ve got plenty of ways to handle it.”

Utaha’s smile didn’t fade in the slightest. After knowing Eriri for over years, she understood her personality well—this was nothing more than a bout of embarrassed sulking.

Even Kō couldn’t help but laugh.

“Seriously, Eriri’s drawn all those doujins herself, yet when someone teases her about it, she still gets shy. I thought she’d have grown immune by now.”

“Some personality weaknesses can’t be patched up so quickly. It’s something only she can overcome.”

Ichin rose from the sofa.

“Anyway, you all keep playing. Whether it’s the mung bean soup or watermelon, help yourselves later. I’m going to my room to write a bit. These past few days since we got back to Japan, I haven’t done any real work—and my hands are getting itchy.”

***

### Chapter 387: The Taste of Dog Food, Even Watermelon and Mung Bean Soup Lose Their Sweetness

At present, the three games in development at the company all had their project proposals completed.

Now, sitting in his room, what Ichin was working on naturally had to be a brand-new proposal.

When he first decided to start developing games, Ichin had drafted a list filled with titles he wanted to make. There were still a few projects on that list that hadn’t even been touched yet.

Opening the document, his eyes landed on one particular name, and a look of eagerness spread across his face.

The Binding of Isaac.

This was a game that had devoured countless hours of his life back in the day. The sheer amount of replayability was insane—so many characters with unique traits, endless item combinations leading to different ways of dealing damage… players could spend dozens, even hundreds of hours experimenting.

Rubbing his chin, Ichin looked at the rough notes he’d once written down.

“This one’s pixel-styled, but with the engine Nene built, it can totally be made. Maybe I should set aside some free time and try building a prototype myself?”

He had three teams under him. The BattleBlock Theater team was being led by Hazuki, the Shanghai group had their own leads, and he mainly oversaw Dark Souls while checking the progress of the other two projects.

“With some spare time, yeah… let’s give it a shot.”

Decision made, Ichin pulled a drawing tablet from his drawer, hooked it up to his computer, and got to work.

The stage design in Isaac wasn’t particularly complex—just a series of rooms linked together into floor-based maps. Designing monsters and bosses wasn’t hard for Ichin either.

The complicated part was the sheer number of items. That was a massive undertaking. Even with Ichin’s extraordinary memory, faithfully reproducing all of them would take a long time, and he’d have to carefully check for any missing details.

But this wasn’t a real obstacle. He wasn’t some newbie developer. Even if he forgot an item or two, he could redesign them, maybe even take the already complex item system and push it further.

Time slipped by, and soon it was 2:30 in the afternoon.

No one in the living room had left yet. In fact, Narumi, Momiji, and Ruri Gokou had all shown up as well.

For Ruri, this was her first time visiting her boss’s home. At first she felt a bit tense, but seeing that Ichin wasn’t around and everyone else was so relaxed, she gradually loosened up.

Watermelon, ice cream, mung bean soup, and even freshly made fruit smoothies—the summer refreshment spread here was more than complete.

Nibbling on a chilled slice of watermelon, Ruri looked toward Utaha, who was playing with a cat.

“Um… shouldn’t we call Ichin-kun out?”

“No rush. Let him be for a while.”

Utaha set the cat down beside her, picked up a slice of watermelon, and took a bite.

“He’s probably focused on his work right now. If he’s immersed in it, the first hour or two isn’t the best time to disturb him—it’ll break his train of thought. Let me see… in about fifteen minutes we can call him out for a break.”

Ruri’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

So this is what they call the deep understanding between people who live together? Amazing.

Kō leaned closer, nudging Ruri’s shoulder with a grin.

“Surprised, right? Utaha knows Ichin inside and out. They’ve been together for over two years now, practically joined at the hip—there’s probably no one else in the world who understands each other better. Honestly, I know plenty of couples, but it’s rare to see anyone with this kind of bond.”

“Agreed.”

Ruri nodded earnestly.

“Anyone would envy them.”

They weren’t speaking quietly. Everyone else heard too.

Utaha smiled.

“In that sense, I really am lucky. Meeting Ichin turned my life upside down in the best way.”

Biting into her watermelon, Momiji blinked and then muttered to Narumi beside her,

“Tsubame, why do I feel like the watermelon doesn’t taste sweet anymore?”

Narumi nodded repeatedly, staring down at her bowl of mung bean soup.

“Yeah, the taste of dog food is way too strong.”

Utaha rolled her eyes at them.

“How is this dog food? I was just saying something normal. The only reason you feel it’s dog food is because none of you have even been in love before.”

Her one sentence hit everyone in the room like an AoE attack.

Well—not everyone. Kō and Rin looked completely unfazed, unlike the others who were clearly stung by her words.

Resting her chin on her hand, Kō chuckled.

“Utaha’s blunt, but she’s not wrong. All of you are adults, yet none of you have dating experience. Even Yukino and Eriri are eighteen already. High schoolers these days date all the time.”

Yukino immediately countered,

“True, but most of it is blind infatuation, with no thought to the consequences. Just at Toyogasaki alone, I’ve seen at least ten couples break up not long after starting. Couples like Ichin-senpai and Utaha-senpai are extremely rare. As for me, my priority is getting into Todai. Love isn’t in my plans.”

Eriri quickly chimed in,

“Exactly. Besides, those guys at school are so immature, I wouldn’t give them a second glance.”

For those unfamiliar with Toyogasaki, this was all news.

Rin tilted his head curiously at Utaha.

“So it really is like they say?”

“Hm~~ more or less.”

Utaha took a tissue to wipe her hands, recalling,

“Think about it. Yukino and Eriri are both young ladies from good families—their standards for a partner are naturally high. It’s not just about family background, personal qualities matter a lot. Choosing a life partner isn’t something to take lightly. In that sense, I agree with their mindset. Unless you truly meet someone right, there’s no point in dating in high school. At seventeen or eighteen, how many actually understand love? The ones who make it to the end are very few.”

Eriri might be clumsy and a bit naïve, but spending so much time with Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino had sharpened her enough not to get fooled by the average high school boy.

As for Yukino, after Utaha graduated she’d taken over the mantle of Toyogasaki’s “Ice-Cold Beauty,” notorious for her sharp tongue. She never treated unwanted admirers with the same gentle patience she showed friends like Eriri. These days, no boys even dared to approach her.

Those without even the courage to speak up didn’t deserve her attention anyway.

Hearing her little sister’s firm stance reassured Haruno. The last thing she wanted was for Yukino to get stolen away too soon.

The chatter continued until Utaha finally stood, glancing at the time. It was about right—time to go call Ichin out.

***

### Chapter 388: The Binding of Isaac, Solo Development

Inside the room, Ichin really was, just as Utaha had said, fully immersed in work.

Whenever he was doing something he loved, Ichin always dove in with complete focus.

The door opened, and Utaha saw his back facing her.

With a soft smile, she tiptoed over and stopped behind him. She was about to speak, but Ichin had already caught the faint fragrance drifting in. He stopped typing and turned his head.

“What is it? Coming in so suddenly.”

Placing her hands gently on his shoulders, Utaha began to massage lightly.

“It’s about time. You’ve been working long enough—come out and eat some watermelon, take a break. While you were busy, Momoji, Tsubame, and Ruri also came over.”

“Eh~~ those three came too? Alright then, guess I’ll rest a bit.”

After saving his work, Ichin left the room together with Utaha.

In the living room, he greeted the new arrivals, then grabbed a slice of watermelon and happily bit into it.

Watermelon wasn’t cheap in Japan, but since today’s was bought by Haruno, Ichin ate without the slightest sense of guilt.

After finishing one slice, he ladled himself a bowl of mung bean soup and sipped it contentedly.

Nibbling on snacks and watching Eriri and Haruno play Smash Bros., Kō slid her cushion over and sat next to Ichin.

“Ichin, what were you working on in your room just now? A new project?”

He didn’t hide it and nodded.

“Yeah. A new project.”

The moment he said that, Eriri and Haruno dropped their controllers, and everyone else gathered around too.

“What kind of project this time? A big one?” Eriri asked eagerly.

“Not a big one. A pixel-style, top-down game. The scale isn’t huge, but players could easily sink hundreds of hours into it.”

He then gave them a quick rundown of The Binding of Isaac—its setup and mechanics.

“Ah.” Kō stroked her chin and smiled.

“That kind of game really is a time sink. If it’s well-designed, it could attract a lot of players. And if the development cost is low, as long as the word-of-mouth spreads, it won’t lose money. But Ichin, we don’t exactly have extra manpower to spare right now.”

“Relax. I wasn’t planning to hand this to the studio.”

Ichin waved his hand.

“This one, I’m going to develop on my own, in my spare time.”

“Eh? All by yourself?”

Narumi tilted her head in surprise.

“But Ichin-kun, you’ve still got Dark Souls to develop, plus your university coursework, right? Todai’s academics aren’t supposed to be easy.”

Ichin replied calmly,

“Don’t worry. Todai’s classes aren’t difficult for me. I can still carve out some time for game development. Honestly, this project might be finished before BattleBlock Theater is.”

“For real?”

Eriri eyed him suspiciously. But recalling his efficiency when he single-handedly made Slay the Spire, she realized it wasn’t impossible.

Even though he said he’d be working solo, since he was already out of his room, Ichin didn’t plan to go back for the rest of the afternoon.

He grabbed two decks of cards, and they all played together.

That evening, everyone stayed for another feast at Ichin’s place.

When night fell and the others left, Ichin and Utaha sat together on the sofa, each cradling a cat.

The rest of the cats had been taken back by Yukino. After a vet check in a few days, Kō and Eriri would be able to bring home the ones they’d chosen.

While stroking her cat, Utaha asked,

“Why the sudden decision to develop a game all by yourself again?”

“I just felt like it, so I started.”

Ichin smiled.

“This was a game I always wanted to make. But after founding the studio, I shelved it. Now, even though the company has three projects, my personal workload isn’t that heavy. So I figured I’d try solo development. Why? Afraid I’ll spend all my time on games and not on you?”

“…A little.”

Utaha didn’t hide it and nodded honestly.

“Game development takes a lot of time and energy.”

Ichin slipped his arm around her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

“Don’t worry. I know how to balance things. No matter how busy I get, I’ll always make time for you.”

“That’s fine then.”

Satisfied with his answer, Utaha leaned in and kissed his cheek before relaxing against him to watch TV.

After a peaceful two-day weekend, Ichin returned to work.

Utaha didn’t come along that day. In the morning, Ichin dropped her off at the publishing house to meet Machida Sonoko and discuss novel matters. She’d have lunch with her editor, and afterward, they’d bring her over to the office, so Ichin didn’t need to worry.

Utaha’s novels were selling extremely well now, with an anime adaptation already greenlit. The publisher valued her highly, counting on her to keep writing and bringing in revenue. Those messy experimental projects of hers weren’t even mentioned anymore.

Of course, it wasn’t just Utaha’s talent—Ichin was also a big factor.

Japan’s ACG industry was deeply interconnected. Games, novels, anime—all tightly bound.

In just two years, Ichin’s company had grown to its current scale. Even without plans to go public, its strength was something Fujikawa Shoten couldn’t ignore.

Because of that, they took great care to protect their “author lady boss.” Ichin didn’t even need to say anything—they decided on their own.

The publisher even hoped to collaborate with Ichin someday, making games adapted from their light novels.

Usually, light novel game adaptations were trash—cheap cash-grabs for fans. But Ichin’s demonstrated skills were no joke. If he wanted to, he could easily take a combat system from one of his projects, slap it onto an isekai light novel, and still create a game above the passing line, with genuinely solid gameplay.

They had already discussed this, but unfortunately, Fujikawa didn’t currently have any strong isekai battle-type novels. They’d have to wait until the publisher found one worth adapting before the partnership could move forward.

***