Game Developer in the World of Anime

After helping Eriri pick out a suitable air purifier and some incense, the three of them finally arrived at the apartment building where Yukino had moved into.

Getting out of the car, Eriri looked up at the building and exclaimed in surprise, "Yukino lives on the 12th floor? That's so high!"

Eriri lived in a villa, and her room was on the second floor, so she didn't really have much concept of high-rise living. Even Ichin's home wasn't this tall.

Just as Eriri was looking up, Ichin's voice came from behind her.

"Eriri, don't forget to take your stuff."

"Ah—oh! Coming!"

She quickly ran over to the trunk and picked up her air purifier and incense set.

"So heavy!"

Gritting her teeth and holding the items, Eriri looked at Ichin and said, "Help me carry it, will you?"

With no other choice, Ichin swapped the fruit gift box he was holding with Eriri and took the air purifier himself.

"Eriri, you really need to work out a little. You can't even carry this much?"

The air purifier they bought wasn't even one of the larger models—nowhere near too heavy to lift. But with Eriri's slender arms and legs, she just didn't have the strength. Compared to Yukino, she was far weaker. After all, Yukino had trained in Aikido and was well-versed in many sports.

Eriri?

Passing a 50-meter sprint was already a miracle.

With gifts in hand, the three entered the building and took the elevator up to the 12th floor. They stopped in front of apartment 1202 and rang the doorbell.

Soon, the sound of footsteps could be heard from behind the door. It opened a moment later, revealing Haruno standing at the entrance.

Seeing the three visitors, Haruno beamed. "Welcome, welcome! Come on in!"

"Sorry for the intrusion!"

After changing into indoor slippers, they saw Yukino walk out of the kitchen wearing an apron.

By now, Eriri had swapped items back with Ichin and was the first to step forward.

"Yukino, congrats on moving into your new home! These are for you!"

Seeing Eriri's bright smile, Yukino's expression also softened into a gentle smile.

"Thank you, Eriri."

"Here—this is the air purifier. Since it's a new place, I figured this would be useful. And this is incense—I asked my mom for advice and picked something that suits you. You can light it when you're reading or relaxing; it's really calming!"

After Eriri presented her gift, Ichin and Utaha also handed over their housewarming presents.

Yukino had always had a small social circle and practically no peers she could call friends. So having these three show up with thoughtful gifts made her genuinely happy.

"Thank you, senpai, and senpai."

Seeing the smile on Yukino's face, Haruno felt happy as well. Her little sister finally seemed a bit less cold and isolated.

They placed the two potted plants they brought—one in the living room, and the smaller one was set in Yukino's bedroom.

Once everything was arranged, Yukino, needing to prepare dinner, chatted briefly with the guests before handing over the hosting duties to Haruno and heading back into the kitchen.

Haruno then gave everyone a quick tour of the new place.

The apartment was nicely decorated, suiting Yukino's taste. It had a clean, minimalist style without any flashy embellishments. However, since she had just moved in, the furniture and decor were still a bit sparse, lacking a true sense of warmth. It would need some additions later to feel more like home.

Back in the living room, Haruno brewed some tea using the leaves Ichin had brought and glanced at the time. "Hmm~ she should be arriving soon."

"Is someone else coming?"

As soon as he asked, Ichin realized who it was. "Hiratsuka-sensei?"

"Bingo~ correct!"

Snapping her fingers, Haruno smiled. "Shizuka's known both of us sisters for quite a while. And since today's Saturday and she didn't have anything important going on, I invited her to come hang out."

With that, she took out her phone and sent Hiratsuka Shizuka a message.

A reply came quickly—Shizuka was already on her way and would arrive in less than ten minutes.

While they waited for Hiratsuka to arrive, Haruno chatted with Ichin about the game studio.

"I've read the proposal and rough script for your current project," Haruno said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I have to say, you're quite bold. Bullying, gang activity, financial blackmail—a series of real-world social issues, all being explored through a game. The storyline is definitely going to spark discussion."

"Of course, that's exactly why I'm doing it," Ichin replied with a smile. "Before I built the game's main narrative structure, I researched a lot of related materials. Of course, I made some creative choices in the storytelling—real life tends to be even more surreal and exaggerated than games."

Haruno agreed wholeheartedly. "Reality being more outrageous than games… yeah, that's absolutely true."

Her own sister, Yukino, had been ostracized as a child simply because she was more capable than others, and as a result, grew up without any friends.

Bullying in schools was nothing new. It happened almost everywhere—the only difference was in how severe it got.

Even at their current school, Toyogasaki, Yukino had already been isolated by the girls in her class within two months of enrollment, and things hadn't improved much since.

If not for the arrival of Eriri, Ichin, and Utaha, plus Hiratsuka's presence as a teacher to keep an eye on things, Haruno would've already taken matters into her own hands.

Sipping her tea, Eriri glanced at Ichin and said, "I really like the storyline so far. The main cast's actions are a bit chuunibyou, sure, but after reading through part of the script, it feels pretty passionate and intense. But this affection system in the game… Ichin-kun, aren't you just asking for trouble? You can romance multiple heroines at once. I even asked Umiko, and she told me that if you plan correctly, it's possible to max out the affection levels of all the female characters in just one playthrough."

Ichin grinned. "What? You don't like that, Eriri? I think it's quite fun. Besides, I don't think you've seen the full mechanics yet. Once you max out affection with the second girl, you'll be presented with a choice—either enter a relationship with her or simply maintain a high affection level without progressing further. So, what about you? If you were playing, what would you choose?"

"Hmm~~"

Eriri looked conflicted. After thinking it over, she replied, "The character designs are all great. My favorite is Futaba Sakura. But if I were playing, of course I'd try to romance as many as I could! What about you, Ichin-kun? What would you do?"

"Me?"

Ichin glanced at Utaha beside him, then calmly said, "Well, it's a game, so I'd just play however I enjoy it. I like all the characters, so of course I'd go for all of them. But since I'm the game's developer—and this is an RPG—I already know all the content, so it probably wouldn't feel as immersive for me as it does for you guys."

If it were an action game, it'd be different, since gameplay depends on personal skill. But in an RPG, where he knows all the systems and data, there's no sense of discovery or surprise.

Maybe… that's the price of being the creator.

...

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