Game Developer in the World of Anime

After finishing dinner at the restaurant with his colleagues, Ichin said goodbye to the team and returned home alone.

Upon opening the door, he saw that the lights in the living room were on, and Utaha was lounging on the couch, leisurely watching TV.

Hearing the door open, Utaha stood up, walked over, and greeted him with a soft smile, "Welcome back."

Ichin approached with a smile, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. Holding her hand, he asked, "I thought you'd be staying at your own place tonight."

Utaha chuckled, linking her arm with his as they sat down together on the couch. "I got the message that you were out having dinner with everyone just after I finished my own meal, so I didn't join you. After resting for a while, I came over here. I made some tea for you—would you like some?"

"Sure."

By now, Utaha was completely familiar with the layout of Ichin's home. She knew exactly where everything was, possibly better than Ichin himself.

As she handed him a cup of tea, Ichin recounted the events of his day in Kyoto.

"Overall, it went smoothly. I brought back the development kit and secured some technical support. As for the exclusivity negotiations, those will need further discussion. It won't be finalized anytime soon."

"That's already quite impressive," Utaha replied cheerfully. "You're dealing with Nintendo, after all. Negotiating with them takes skill and patience. Given that our studio is just starting out, it's unrealistic to expect everything to fall into place immediately. Making small concessions isn't a bad strategy."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Ichin agreed with a nod. "That's why I didn't finalize anything today. I plan to revisit the topic after we've made more progress in development. We're game developers—our games' quality will ultimately be the foundation of our negotiations."

Ichin had confidence in the games his studio was producing. For the next round of talks, he planned to wait until Hollow Knight had significant development progress and the Slay the Spire NS port was optimized for smooth gameplay.

With these goals, the workload was bound to increase, especially now that he had decided to expedite the progress on Slay the Spire. This made him look forward to the arrival of new team members.

Although Sakura Nene and Narumi Tsubame were both newcomers, with Sakura being self-taught, their talents were evident. With guidance from himself and Umiko, they would undoubtedly improve quickly and become valuable contributors to the programming side of the studio.

Regarding the upcoming interviews, Ichin had already mentally approved all three candidates. The only uncertainty was whether Narumi Tsubame and Mochizuki Momiji would be comfortable working in the studio's current setup.

Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.

Looking at Utaha, Ichin shifted the conversation to her day. "So, at school today, I'm guessing most of the lectures were about reviewing the exam papers?"

"That's right," Utaha replied with a nod. "Since the difficulty was higher this time, many students didn't perform well. The teachers were quite frustrated during the reviews. Especially for the math exam—most of the questions weren't inherently difficult, but the problem-solving approaches were different, and that threw some people off. Honestly, it's a good thing you took the day off. Otherwise, you would've been bored stiff in class. Those kinds of mistakes are the ones we'd never make."

"I see," Ichin remarked, unsurprised. He had already anticipated this outcome before the results were out. While solving the test papers—particularly the science ones—he'd found the question styles oddly familiar.

It seemed likely that the school had drawn inspiration from Chinese examination methods or had used mock exams from there for reference.

When it came to test preparation, Japan wasn't bad, but in terms of sheer academic competition and rigor, it was hard to outdo China.

Ichin figured this was only the beginning. In the future, Toyogasaki's exams—both major and minor—would likely become progressively more challenging and mentally taxing.

However, such matters didn't concern him much. With a smile, he teased Utaha, "Didn't you say you'd beat me this time and reclaim first place in the year? But it seems you fell just a little short."

Hearing him bring this up, Utaha puffed up her cheeks in mock anger and reached out to pinch his. "Hmph! What's there to be smug about? You only did slightly better than me! Next time, I'll definitely surpass you!"

It was undeniable—when the two of them were alone, Utaha's lively and playful side really shone through.

But this uninhibited physical affection left Ichin a little flustered, making his heart itch.

Before long, the two of them ended up lying on the couch together, with Utaha sprawled on top of Ichin.

As Ichin gently stroked her cheek, he gazed at her tenderly and asked, "It's getting late. When are you planning to head back?"

"In a little while."

Utaha nuzzled her cheek against Ichin's palm, leaning into his chest with a smile before closing her eyes.

"Actually, if Ichin doesn't want me to go, I wouldn't mind staying, you know."

"Let's not," Ichin replied with a chuckle. "I'm afraid your dad would show up and give me a good beating."

Although the Kasumigaoka family didn't oppose their relationship, Ichin wasn't in a hurry to push things. After all, they were still young—there was no need to rush.

Hearing his response, Utaha pouted slightly and muttered, "You're overthinking it. My dad wouldn't do that. Do you know, before you moved here, there was this one time he got drunk at home and started ranting about how, with my personality, I'd have trouble finding a boyfriend in the future? He went on and on about how if I ever found someone I liked, he'd be thrilled if I married him as soon as possible. Can you believe it? He's my dad, yet he complains about me like that."

Ichin couldn't help but laugh. It did sound like something Mr. Kasumigaoka might say, especially after a few drinks.

After all, Utaha's personality back then wasn't exactly unapproachable, but she certainly wasn't the outgoing or sociable type either. The idea of her initiating conversations with boys was almost unthinkable. It was only thanks to Ichin's move next door—and the natural advantage of proximity—that their relationship had developed so quickly.

Suddenly, Utaha raised her head from his chest, her face slightly flushed, a playful smile on her lips. "Ichin, are you unable to hold back anymore?"

"Huh?"

Stunned for a moment, Ichin realized what she meant and quickly sat up, his face flushing with embarrassment.

"It's not what it looks like—I didn't mean to…"

"I know," Utaha said with a smile, looping her arm around his. "Teenage boys—it's perfectly normal. Besides, I'm a little confident in my figure." She stood up and stretched. "Alright, I won't bother you anymore. I'll head back now."

With that, she left Ichin's house.

Watching her leave, it took Ichin a moment to process her parting words.

"Not bother me? Not bother me with what? Don't just casually start saying stuff like that!"

...

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