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.
*
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