Game Developer in the World of Anime

While Ichin and Umiko were deep in discussion about the programming side of things, Kuroneko (Gokou Ruri), who had been busy at her own workstation, stretched lazily and took off her headphones for a short break.

The moment she removed her headphones, she could hear Ichin and Umiko's conversation not far away.

Turning her head, she spotted Ichin, who had somehow made his way over to the programming team without her noticing.

Before Ichin could spot her, Kuroneko quickly looked down to check her appearance.

A simple black dress, her hair neatly styled, and a quick glance in her compact mirror confirmed that her makeup was still perfect. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Even though Ichin, as the boss, never put on airs and always spoke casually with the team, as a new hire, Kuroneko was still very mindful of how she presented herself at work.

After a final light slap to her cheeks to refocus, she turned her attention back to her current task.

She had just completed a dart-throwing mini-game that had been assigned to her. Umiko had reviewed it, found no issues, and it had officially passed inspection.

Now, she was working on her next assigned task — a mini-game version of table tennis (or ping pong).

These mini-games weren't particularly complex. For a newcomer like her, it made sense to be tasked with relatively simple development work.

After studying several free table tennis games on the market, Kuroneko began crafting her own version.

She had sourced free assets and requested the art team to help refine them. Thanks to that, she now had visuals that matched the Persona-style aesthetic they were going for.

Programming was her strength, and most of the game was already functioning. The basic gameplay loop was up and running. However, she was still struggling with one part — getting the collision physics during ball hits to feel just right. No matter how she tweaked it, something still felt off.

After Ichin finished reviewing the system work with Umiko, he wandered around the programming area before finally arriving at Kuroneko's desk.

Seeing her deep in concentration, he gently asked,

"Having trouble with something?"

"Ah—!"

The sudden voice startled her, and she quickly covered her mouth to stop herself from yelping out loud.

Seeing how flustered she looked, Ichin apologized,

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's alright. I just didn't notice you coming over, Ichin-kun."

Blushing, Kuroneko shook her head and explained,

"I'm working on the mini-game. Table tennis isn't hard to make — if I were just copying one of the free games out there, I could've finished it easily. But I want this to match the overall quality of our game, not something half-baked. So I've been trying to fine-tune the responsiveness and the feel of the ball collisions."

"Hmm… I see."

Ichin nodded and glanced at her screen.

"Run it for me. Let me see."

Kuroneko quickly launched the program and demonstrated a few simple shots to let him see how it played.

After watching her brief demo, Ichin took the mouse, closed the running game, and glanced through the code she had written.

It didn't take long for him to identify the issue.

Smiling slightly, Ichin asked,

"Want me to walk you through how to improve it?"

Kuroneko didn't expect Ichin to find the solution so quickly. She was about to accept his help, but after thinking it over, she shook her head.

"No, it's fine. I can figure it out on my own. If I can't even complete a simple mini-game by myself, then I might as well not be doing this at all."

Ichin looked at her with mild surprise, then smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. Good luck—but don't forget the deadline."

Without saying anything more, Ichin left the programming team and headed over to the art department.

As the weekdays passed, Saturday finally arrived—the day Yukino was moving into her new apartment.

Since she didn't have much to move, Yukino didn't hire a moving company. Instead, she simply asked her sister Haruno to help her move everything by car.

And because she had also invited Ichin and the others to go with her to adopt a cat on Sunday, Yukino called Ichin, Utaha, and Eriri on Friday night to invite them to her new apartment for a small housewarming dinner on Saturday evening.

Originally, Utaha had suggested they could come by in the morning to help with the move, but Yukino flatly refused when she called.

"I really don't have that much stuff. My sister's car can carry everything in one trip. You guys can just come over before dinner."

Since she insisted, Ichin and Utaha decided to take it easy at home on Saturday. They relaxed, read some books, and didn't head out until around three in the afternoon.

Before going to Yukino's new place, they first had to stop by the Sawamura residence to pick up Eriri.

Ichin and Utaha had been to the Sawamura house a few times before. It was located in one of Tokyo's villa districts.

Since Sayuri Sawamura had informed the security in advance, they were let through without any trouble.

The car slowly pulled up in front of the villa. Eriri was already waiting at the entrance.

Compared to her usual school uniform or casual sportswear at home, Eriri had clearly dressed up today.

She wore a brand-new spring knit top, a signature short skirt, and over-the-knee black stockings. With her iconic twin tails and golden hair, she looked so striking that, if she were walking down the street, she'd probably capture the attention of 99.9% of all men.

As Eriri got into the car, Utaha smiled and said,

"If you showed up at school dressed like this, I guarantee your shoe locker would be overflowing with love letters the next day. Guys would be lining up to confess."

Eriri rolled her eyes. "Spare me, would you? If that happened, I'd never be able to show my face at school again."

From the driver's seat, Sayuri Sawamura leaned over to Ichin, who had lowered the window, and said,

"Ichin-kun, I'll leave Eriri in your care today."

Ichin smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Aunt Sayuri. I'll make sure she gets home safe and sound."

With that, he started the car, made a U-turn, and began driving toward Yukino's place.

In the back seat, Eriri asked curiously, "So today's Yukino's housewarming, right? Did you guys bring a gift?"

"Of course," Utaha replied, pointing toward the trunk. "We bought some fruit on the way here. And since Yukino likes tea, we brought some tea leaves that Ichin's dad mailed us. We also picked up two potted plants."

Seeing how well-prepared they were, Eriri frowned. "Then what should I get? I was thinking of buying something on the way, but I seriously have no idea what would be good."

Still driving, Ichin chimed in,

"I heard the place Yukino moved into is part of a newly built apartment complex. I think you could get her something like an air purifier. And since she studies really hard and gets tired sometimes, maybe some aromatherapy or incense too."

"Oh! That's a great idea! Let's go buy an air purifier and some incense then!"

Since Yukino had asked them to arrive before dinner, they still had plenty of time for Eriri to pick out her gift.

...

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