[Game] Chapter 366-369

### Chapter 366: The Morning After the Kittens Were Born

After a long night of busyness, once they had confirmed in the second half of the night that all the kittens were fine, Yukino prepared a bit of nutritious food for Sesame and fed her. Only then did everyone finally return to their rooms to rest.

Of course, since both Yukino and Eriri still had classes to attend during the day, they were destined to have a hard time getting through today. Ichin, on the other hand, didn’t have much of a problem—he could sleep a bit longer. Utaha was the same; though still a first-year, with her level, slacking off once in a while wasn’t a big deal.

They hadn’t slept long when, early in the morning, the alarm clock’s merciless ringing dragged those with classes out of bed. With pained expressions, they shuffled out of their rooms.

Opening her door, Eriri glanced at Utaha, who happened to be coming out of the next room.

“Where’s Ichin?” she asked.

“Still in bed.” Utaha yawned before continuing, “Don’t worry, he already woke up just now, he’s just trying to sneak in a bit more lazing around. He’ll get up in time to send us to school.”

Eriri twitched her lips helplessly. “That guy’s life is rough—he can’t even sleep peacefully.”

Yukino added softly, “Senpai, it’s fine, we can just take the bus. Let him rest a little longer.”

“It’s fine, really.” Utaha waved her hand nonchalantly. “Relax. His sleep quality is way better than you think. It’s only seven-thirty now. He’ll get up at eight, wash his face, and take you guys to school—plenty of time. He doesn’t have classes this morning anyway, doesn’t even need to change clothes or fix his hair. It won’t take him any time at all.”

She was right—that was exactly what Ichin himself had said while still buried in bed. Driving the three girls to school wouldn’t take long, and after coming back, he could still catch up on sleep before waking up around noon to grab lunch at Todai and start his afternoon classes.

Since Utaha had said that much, Yukino naturally didn’t insist further.

The three of them headed to the living room first to check on the cats.

Peppa and Mochi were already awake but hadn’t entered Sesame’s nesting box. Instead, they guarded outside, occasionally peeking inside.

Yukino unzipped the entrance and peeked in.

The kittens were awake too, huddled against Sesame’s belly, eagerly nursing one after another. They looked lively and full of energy.

Eriri leaned closer, whispering, “Looks like all four little ones are healthy.”

Utaha nodded. “Yeah, pretty lucky actually. Sesame’s a first-time mother, and to give birth to four at once—with all of them this healthy—that’s really fortunate. Come on, let’s go wash up and leave the little ones to their breakfast.”

After washing up and eating breakfast themselves, Yukino also prepared food for the three adult cats.

While the cats were eating, Ichin came out of the bathroom, yawning, his hair a complete mess.

“Alright, you’re all ready? Then let’s go.”

Seeing his state, Eriri frowned in suspicion. “You’re not planning on driving while half-asleep, are you?”

“Relax. I’m fully awake now—no way I’d drive drowsy.” He rolled his eyes at her and added, “No matter what, I’d never joke around with my Utaha’s or my junior Yukino’s safety.”

“So my safety doesn’t count?! You laughed just now, didn’t you?! You totally laughed!!!”

Amidst their bickering, the four of them left under the watchful eyes of the cats.

Even though Ichin hadn’t slept much, his energy wasn’t bad. He drove smoothly without issue and safely dropped all three of them off at school.

The car stopped at the gate of Todai. Utaha unfastened her seatbelt, leaned over, and gave Ichin a light kiss.

“Ichin, want to have lunch together later?”

Ichin nodded. “Mm, let’s eat together. I’ll catch up on some sleep first, then head over before your class ends.”

Watching Utaha walk through the gates, Ichin turned the car around and drove back to Yukino’s apartment.

Inside, the kittens had already finished nursing. Each of them lay in different sleeping positions, nestled against Sesame, sound asleep.

When Ichin approached, Sesame showed no sign of anxiety. Calmly, she watched as he gently lifted one of her babies into his hands.

It was the first time Ichin had ever seen newborn kittens—especially ones only a night old—so every movement he made was careful to the extreme.

He checked them one by one, confirming their breathing was steady. Their umbilical cords hadn’t fallen off yet, which would take a few more days, but there was no rush; they were fine just as they were.

After placing the kittens back into Sesame’s arms, Ichin took out his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Yagami Kō.

Kō had already asked Yukino to reserve one of the kittens for her, since she’d be one of their future “cat slaves.” Naturally, he had to send her a photo.

Sure enough, not even two minutes later, Kō called.

“Ichin, four kittens? That’s a lot!”

“Yeah, quite a number.”

Lying back on the guest bed, Ichin chuckled. “I was busy until the middle of the night, so I didn’t get the chance to message you right away. I just got back after dropping Utaha off at collage. There’s one white, one orange, and two mostly white with orange and black patches. They’ll all be adorable when they grow up. Kō, have you thought about which one you want to raise?”

“That’s such a tough choice.” Kō, who had just woken up and was eating breakfast in her dorm with Rin Toyama and Umiko, laughed. “Is Eriri coming to the office this afternoon? If she is, I’ll talk it over with her—since we’re both taking one.”

“Sure, you two can decide for yourselves.”

After hanging up, Ichin set his alarm and went back to sleep for a while.

That afternoon, after finishing class, he and Utaha picked up Yukino and Eriri from Toyogasaki. They dropped Yukino off at home, then headed with Eriri to the company.

Though it was their first working day back from vacation, the news of the kittens’ birth had already spread. As soon as they arrived, coworkers swarmed them, clamoring to see pictures.

Since Hazuki often brought Mozuku to the office, and Ichin frequently brought Peppa as well, there wasn’t a single cat-hater among them.

So, Ichin had Utaha transfer the videos from last night onto the office computer and let everyone watch.

“Whoa!!! You even recorded it!”

Staring at the screen, where the newborn kittens squirmed and mewed, Kō’s eyes sparkled. “They look so full of energy! Eriri, which one do you want?”

“Me?” Eriri thought for a moment, then said, “I want the orange one!”

Although everyone always joked about “the mighty chubby orange,” Eriri personally loved the goofy look of orange cats. From the start, she had wanted one.

Luckily, her choice didn’t clash with Kō’s. Kō grinned. “Then I’ll take one of the calicos—the little one with the three-colored tail.”

And so, on the very day after they were born, two of the kittens already had owners waiting for them.

***

### Chapter 367: A New Project Begins

As for the two kittens left, although others in the company wanted to adopt them, unfortunately Yukino had no intention of giving them away.

After Eriri called Yukino to tell her about her and Yagami Kō’s decisions, Yukino decided she would keep the remaining two herself. With her finances, just the dividends from her shares in Ichin’s company alone were more than enough to support a few cats—let alone the fact that she was already a wealthy young lady who never lacked money.

Though they couldn’t get these kittens, the others in the company didn’t give up. Several of them were already planning to visit animal shelters that weekend to see if there were any stray cats suitable for adoption.

Ichin figured that in another six months, half the company would probably be cat owners.

Once the kitten video finished, Ichin gathered everyone in the large conference room.

After they took their seats, he looked around and said, “Alright, vacation’s over. Time for a meeting. Persona’s release has been going extremely well. Just during our week off, sales across all platforms went up by nearly a million copies, and the momentum hasn’t slowed. I estimate that within this year, sales could rise by another two to three million.”

Everyone froze at his words—then burst into excitement.

If Ichin wasn’t exaggerating, that meant Persona might actually break ten million copies sold this year.

That was a terrifying number.

So far, what games had reached that level of sales?

Off the top of their heads: Nintendo’s Mario series, The Legend of Zelda, the world’s top IP Pokémon, Tetris, Animal Crossing, and Super Smash Bros.

Beyond Nintendo: Halo, Gran Turismo, Uncharted, Call of Duty, Battlefield, FIFA, Need for Speed, Grand Theft Auto…

Every title was world-famous.

If Persona could join that list, it would be a massive boost—not just for the game itself, but also for the company’s future growth.

After letting the excitement run for a bit, Ichin clapped his hands. “Alright, sales haven’t reached that number yet—it’s still only our projection. But it’s not far off. And we’re not stopping with Persona. Next, we’re starting new projects.”

This was the topic he had teased back during the celebration party. Now, it was finally time to reveal it.

Holding his laptop mouse, Ichin pulled up the prepared project plans on the projector.

“This time, we’re preparing three-plus-one projects. As to why it’s three plus one, let’s go through them one by one.”

He introduced them in turn: BattleBlock Theater, Dark Souls, Titanfall, and the battle royale game Apex.

When he finished, everyone sat there slack-jawed.

So many project proposals?

And just from the gameplay and system outlines, every one of them sounded exciting!

Of these, Dark Souls was the most familiar—Ichin had already created a small battle test program earlier for everyone to experience. But compared to that demo, the full proposal described a world, combat system, and mechanics far grander than they had imagined—clearly not just a single game, but something even bigger.

After finishing his explanations, Ichin, a little parched, sipped some coffee before continuing.

“Alright, you can see we’ve got a lot planned. That means we’ll continue expanding the team. I’ve already rented the empty office space next door, and equipment has been ordered and is being set up. We’ll need a lot of new hires. If you know anyone with solid skills, you can recommend them. If they pass and join, there will be referral bonuses—HR will share details later.

“As for project groups: Titanfall and Apex will be developed by the same team. BattleBlock Theater and Dark Souls will each have their own team. So the company will be split into three dev groups. Titanfall and Apex will primarily be handled by the Shanghai branch that’s currently expanding. If anyone here is interested and willing to relocate, I’ll arrange dorms and set you up there. By the way, Umiko will be one of the project leads—she’ll be leaving for Shanghai soon.”

His words caused quite a stir.

Shanghai! That wasn’t just anywhere—that was one of the most famous international cities in the world. Even those who had never traveled abroad had heard plenty about it.

The only real barrier was language. Joining that team meant you needed at least some Chinese proficiency.

That discouraged some, but others in the company had already been studying and were seriously considering applying.

“Next is BattleBlock Theater and Dark Souls,” Ichin continued. “Hazuki will lead BattleBlock Theater, while I’ll oversee Dark Souls. Because of its smaller scale, BattleBlock Theater won’t need many people. If you’re interested in its style, go to Hazuki directly. Everyone else—aside from those traveling or working on BattleBlock Theater—will automatically join the Dark Souls team. Any objections?”

Of course, there were none. Just from the scope, Dark Souls would be tough—its maps, monsters, and art style were unlike anything they had done before.

And with that, the meeting wrapped up.

Back in his office with Hazuki and Umiko, Umiko immediately asked, “When do you need me to leave?”

“No rush, Umiko,” Ichin said, glancing at the calendar on his desk. “It’s mid-May now. Take your time to prepare. The Shanghai branch is still hiring. I’m thinking you can head out sometime after June. Oh, and before you go—why not visit your family? You haven’t been home in a while, right?”

Umiko paused, then nodded. “Yeah, it’s been some time. Alright, I’ll go back this weekend and let them know.”

With three projects kicking off simultaneously, the company was about to dive headfirst into another wave of busy days.

***

### Chapter 368: Sakura Nene’s Application

On video platforms, more and more content about Persona was popping up. Half a month after release, player-made walkthroughs were finally becoming complete.

Although Ichin had made some changes to the game, trying to raise the protagonist into a “perfect five-star warrior” without guides was still rather difficult.

As the developer, Ichin naturally couldn’t publish walkthroughs himself. Now that guide creators had released theirs, players who wanted to aim for a perfect first run finally had a way forward.

Browsing through them online, Ichin saw that indeed, these guides could achieve a flawless first playthrough. Clearly, the creators had put in a lot of work—grinding out all the details that required heavy testing.

Meanwhile, as more streamers and players cleared the game, the positive reviews remained sky-high. On Steam, the approval rating held steady at 96%, Overwhelmingly Positive.

One especially talked-about feature was the ability to pursue multiple female characters at once. On Valentine’s Day, if a player had romanced more than one, the truth would come out in a special scene.

While it didn’t lead to further drama and definitely avoided a “Makoto Itou” situation, the reveal itself was amusing enough. The meme of “the protagonist being shameless” began spreading after players tried conquering all the heroines.

At the office, Utaha was reading forum posts on her computer. With a smile, she looked over at Ichin.

“Players are all saying you’re really bold, Ichin. To actually dare put in a system for romancing multiple characters in this day and age.”

Of course, her words were a jab at the obvious trends in the wider industry. Even big Western studios were no longer designing attractive heroines—character models were often distorted or unappealing.

Ichin only chuckled and replied calmly, “I’m just a game developer. I don’t have the time to worry about their protests. Aesthetics aren’t for them to dictate—they’re for the players. Any halfway normal player knows what kind of character design is better.”

Take Tifa, for example. Why did people jokingly call her the “Jerusalem of the 3D section”? Simply because her appearance was top-tier. If you swapped her for Abby, do you think anyone would still stay in that section? They’d all have left long ago.

On this point, Ichin would never compromise. If a character design needed to be done well, he would make sure it was the best it could be.

As they were talking, someone knocked on the office door.

“Come in.”

With Ichin’s permission, the door opened and Sakura Nene walked in.

Seeing who it was, Ichin blinked in surprise, then pointed to the chair across his desk. “Nene? What brings you here?”

After sitting down, Sakura Nene looked a little nervous. “Um… I have a request. It’s a bit early to bring up now, but I wanted to say it in advance.”

“A request?” Ichin raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant.

Nene nodded. “Yes. Actually, I’ve already applied for early graduation. I finished my thesis during the holidays.”

“Early graduation?” Ichin looked at her in surprise. “You’re planning to graduate already? But taking it early… wouldn’t that be exhausting?”

“Hehe, actually it wasn’t too bad. I’ve already finished all my coursework, it’s just that the thesis took me a bit more time.”

Sakura Nene looked a little smug, then smiled and continued, “Now that I’m on the BattleBlock Theater project, and Hazuki-senpai has already picked her team, I want to devote myself fully to development. That’s why I decided to graduate early. Once I graduate, I can officially join the company full-time!”

That was right—since Nene was still a university student, she was technically only a part-timer at the company. Of course, Ichin hadn’t been stingy with her pay—it was only slightly lower than that of a full employee.

“So, you’re saying you want to start full-time right after you graduate? That’s easy—we already agreed to that.”

“No, no, not that!”

Nene shook her head quickly. “I’ve never been worried about that. What I mean is… what happens after we finish developing BattleBlock Theater.”

Her cheeks flushed even redder as she spoke, making Ichin and Utaha even more curious.

Under their gazes, Nene hunched her shoulders shyly and whispered, “I’ll tell you, but you can’t breathe a word to anyone. Promise me—you can’t tell anyone.”

Oh? She even wanted it kept a secret.

Ichin chuckled and nodded. “Alright. Utaha and I won’t tell a soul. Go on.”

“Well… once BattleBlock Theater is finished, can I apply to transfer to the Shanghai studio?”

“Hm?”

Ichin and Utaha froze for a second, then instantly understood what she meant.

The two exchanged a glance. Ichin gave her a sly smile and asked, “Does Umiko know about this little decision of yours?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Nene pretended not to understand. “I just want to be part of the Titanfall development team, that’s all. What’s it got to do with anyone else? Just tell me if you’ll approve it or not!”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I approve?”

Ichin waved his hand generously. “I’ll give you the green light now. But if you change your mind later, you can always come talk to me again. Of course, first you’ll need to actually get your diploma.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll have it before the end of the month!”

With that, Nene jumped up and hurried out of the office. She felt that if she stayed any longer, her whole face would turn scarlet.

Bang—the office door closed behind her. Ichin stood up and sat down next to Utaha.

Utaha tilted her head curiously. “Ichin, is Nene planning to drop the act?”

“Not quite yet.”

Ichin stretched lazily. “But once she really heads to Shanghai, that’ll be when she stops pretending. I just wonder how Umiko will react then—it should be pretty entertaining.”

Utaha nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Umiko looks cold on the surface but she’s warm inside, and she gets along well with everyone. Especially with Nene—she practically raised her from the start. When Nene suddenly shows up in Shanghai, Umiko’s probably going to be stunned. Ichin, let’s go together when that happens, okay?”

Ichin calculated the timeline in his head. It was May now, and BattleBlock Theater was projected to take about five to six months. That meant it would definitely be finished by November.

“Alright, let’s go together then.”

***

### Chapter 369: Company Expansion, and the Growing Kittens

In the remaining ten or so days of May, the company was busy nonstop with interviews for various positions.

Thanks to the popularity accumulated from their three games, once the job postings went out, many industry professionals and freshly graduated students sent in their resumes.

After rounds of interviews, they indeed recruited quite a few capable or talented people. The company expanded further, and the newly prepared office space next door was now fully in use.

The entire floor belonged to their company now.

After hosting a welcome party for the new hires, the development of Dark Souls officially began.

Since Umiko would soon be leaving for Shanghai, Ichin not only acted as the producer for Dark Souls but also personally handled programming duties.

It was a lot of work, but not enough to trouble him.

After the meeting, Ichin returned to his office and got started on programming tasks.

Ten minutes later, Umiko entered and sat down. “The ticket’s booked. I’m leaving the day after tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow?”

Ichin glanced at the calendar. “Sunday, huh. Then we’ll come with you to the airport. Oh, and your apartment’s been arranged—two bedrooms and a living room, near a subway station. Only three stops from the studio. If you want, you could even buy a car once you’re there and drive to work.”

“I’ll see when the time comes. At first I’ll probably just take the subway—it’s convenient enough.”

Besides Umiko, two other members of the art team would also be heading to the Shanghai studio. Ichin had already arranged their housing as well.

“Umiko,” Ichin added, “let’s hold a little get-together at the dorms on Saturday. Since you’re heading off, we won’t see each other often.”

“Sure.” She smiled, nodding. “But let’s skip the drinking. I don’t want to oversleep and miss my flight.”

“No problem. Just a small party to liven things up—no alcohol. And remember, if you run into any trouble in Shanghai, you can reach out to my parents. You’ve met them before.”

Hearing that, Umiko relaxed completely. She had been a little nervous about the business trip, but Ichin’s parents were kind people—especially his mother, who had looked after them warmly when she visited. Umiko enjoyed her company a lot.

“Alright. If anything comes up, I’ll consult Uncle and Auntie.”

She also thought to herself that once she was settled, she’d invite his parents out for a meal. There were many things she’d need advice on, especially since she was parachuting in as a leader. Even if both studios recognized her abilities, navigating workplace relationships properly was still important.

After Umiko left, Utaha, who had been typing on her keyboard the whole time, looked up. “Ichin, aren’t you going to tell Umiko that Nene’s planning to move there too?”

“What’s the rush? It’s still half a year away.”

Ichin waved his hand. “Besides, Nene hasn’t even been to the office lately—she’s busy finishing up her graduation. Don’t forget, we promised to keep it secret. If Umiko finds out now, Nene will probably explode.”

“I know, but… I can hardly wait,” Utaha said, fidgeting with impatience.

A secret that big, and they still had to wait six months—it was frustrating.

Truthfully, Ichin felt the same. Kō and Rin had been keeping their relationship progress so low-key it was impossible to tell. Now, finally, there was something brewing between Umiko and Nene… but they still had to wait.

Shaking his head, he focused back on work. “Forget it. Six months will fly by. Let’s just work for now.”

After work, he and Utaha drove out to pick up snacks and cat food, then headed to Yukino’s apartment.

Ever since the kittens were born, Ichin and Utaha had gone back to their own home, but they still visited every few days to check on the kittens’ growth.

After almost two weeks, the orange kitten was the first to open its eyes. True to the reputation of orange cats, it had a big appetite and grew the fastest.

When they arrived at Yukino’s place, Haruno was also there, cooking dinner with her sister. She was the one to open the door.

“Ichin-kun, Utaha-chan, welcome, welcome~~”

She ushered them in cheerfully. “Yukino made lots of delicious food today!”

“Really? Then we’ll be sure to eat plenty,” Ichin laughed, changing into slippers and dropping their bags in the living room before heading to the cat’s nest.

The four little ones were lively, crawling around nonstop inside. Besides the orange one, the other three would probably open their eyes in the next couple of days.

Even though they couldn’t see yet, it didn’t stop them from moving about.

Sesame, now fully in her role as cat mom, was no longer weak like right after giving birth. She stayed in the nest, watching her kittens. Whenever one crawled too far, she would go over, pick it up, and place it back in the middle.

Meanwhile, Peppa sat quietly at the edge, watching his four children.

Occasionally he would try to lean closer and sniff them, only to be swatted away by Sesame. He wasn’t allowed inside.

Still, Peppa had a good temper. He never got angry—he’d simply stay put, lying there obediently.

Ichin laughed as he picked him up. “You really are henpecked, huh? No temper at all. Well, seeing how well-behaved you are, I’ll let you keep your eggs for a few more days before we take you in for the snip.”

For now, Peppa was still a tomcat. But in two months, he’d be a proper neutered “uncle.”

By then, he and Sesame would be like sisters.

“Sigh, when I think about it, it’s kind of sad.”

Utaha rolled her eyes at him. “Ichin, could you not laugh while saying that? You’re showing your true thoughts.”

“Was I laughing?” Ichin looked surprised, then glanced at Haruno.

When both nodded in unison, Ichin shrugged. “Alright, fine. It is pretty funny. But this is for Peppa’s own good. If he keeps going into heat, it’ll be a real problem.”

As for Peppa himself—the center of the conversation—he simply lay calmly in Ichin’s arms, watching his kittens from above.

***