Inside the room, Ichin really was, just as Utaha had said, fully immersed in work.
Whenever he was doing something he loved, Ichin always dove in with complete focus.
The door opened, and Utaha saw his back facing her.
With a soft smile, she tiptoed over and stopped behind him. She was about to speak, but Ichin had already caught the faint fragrance drifting in. He stopped typing and turned his head.
"What is it? Coming in so suddenly."
Placing her hands gently on his shoulders, Utaha began to massage lightly.
"It's about time. You've been working long enough—come out and eat some watermelon, take a break. While you were busy, Momoji, Tsubame, and Ruri also came over."
"Eh~~ those three came too? Alright then, guess I'll rest a bit."
After saving his work, Ichin left the room together with Utaha.
In the living room, he greeted the new arrivals, then grabbed a slice of watermelon and happily bit into it.
Watermelon wasn't cheap in Japan, but since today's was bought by Haruno, Ichin ate without the slightest sense of guilt.
After finishing one slice, he ladled himself a bowl of mung bean soup and sipped it contentedly.
Nibbling on snacks and watching Eriri and Haruno play Smash Bros., Kō slid her cushion over and sat next to Ichin.
"Ichin, what were you working on in your room just now? A new project?"
He didn't hide it and nodded.
"Yeah. A new project."
The moment he said that, Eriri and Haruno dropped their controllers, and everyone else gathered around too.
"What kind of project this time? A big one?" Eriri asked eagerly.
"Not a big one. A pixel-style, top-down game. The scale isn't huge, but players could easily sink hundreds of hours into it."
He then gave them a quick rundown of The Binding of Isaac—its setup and mechanics.
"Ah." Kō stroked her chin and smiled.
"That kind of game really is a time sink. If it's well-designed, it could attract a lot of players. And if the development cost is low, as long as the word-of-mouth spreads, it won't lose money. But Ichin, we don't exactly have extra manpower to spare right now."
"Relax. I wasn't planning to hand this to the studio."
Ichin waved his hand.
"This one, I'm going to develop on my own, in my spare time."
"Eh? All by yourself?"
Narumi tilted her head in surprise.
"But Ichin-kun, you've still got Dark Souls to develop, plus your university coursework, right? Todai's academics aren't supposed to be easy."
Ichin replied calmly,
"Don't worry. Todai's classes aren't difficult for me. I can still carve out some time for game development. Honestly, this project might be finished before BattleBlock Theater is."
"For real?"
Eriri eyed him suspiciously. But recalling his efficiency when he single-handedly made Slay the Spire, she realized it wasn't impossible.
Even though he said he'd be working solo, since he was already out of his room, Ichin didn't plan to go back for the rest of the afternoon.
He grabbed two decks of cards, and they all played together.
That evening, everyone stayed for another feast at Ichin's place.
When night fell and the others left, Ichin and Utaha sat together on the sofa, each cradling a cat.
The rest of the cats had been taken back by Yukino. After a vet check in a few days, Kō and Eriri would be able to bring home the ones they'd chosen.
While stroking her cat, Utaha asked,
"Why the sudden decision to develop a game all by yourself again?"
"I just felt like it, so I started."
Ichin smiled.
"This was a game I always wanted to make. But after founding the studio, I shelved it. Now, even though the company has three projects, my personal workload isn't that heavy. So I figured I'd try solo development. Why? Afraid I'll spend all my time on games and not on you?"
"…A little."
Utaha didn't hide it and nodded honestly.
"Game development takes a lot of time and energy."
Ichin slipped his arm around her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"Don't worry. I know how to balance things. No matter how busy I get, I'll always make time for you."
"That's fine then."
Satisfied with his answer, Utaha leaned in and kissed his cheek before relaxing against him to watch TV.
After a peaceful two-day weekend, Ichin returned to work.
Utaha didn't come along that day. In the morning, Ichin dropped her off at the publishing house to meet Machida Sonoko and discuss novel matters. She'd have lunch with her editor, and afterward, they'd bring her over to the office, so Ichin didn't need to worry.
Utaha's novels were selling extremely well now, with an anime adaptation already greenlit. The publisher valued her highly, counting on her to keep writing and bringing in revenue. Those messy experimental projects of hers weren't even mentioned anymore.
Of course, it wasn't just Utaha's talent—Ichin was also a big factor.
Japan's ACG industry was deeply interconnected. Games, novels, anime—all tightly bound.
In just two years, Ichin's company had grown to its current scale. Even without plans to go public, its strength was something Fujikawa Shoten couldn't ignore.
Because of that, they took great care to protect their "author lady boss." Ichin didn't even need to say anything—they decided on their own.
The publisher even hoped to collaborate with Ichin someday, making games adapted from their light novels.
Usually, light novel game adaptations were trash—cheap cash-grabs for fans. But Ichin's demonstrated skills were no joke. If he wanted to, he could easily take a combat system from one of his projects, slap it onto an isekai light novel, and still create a game above the passing line, with genuinely solid gameplay.
They had already discussed this, but unfortunately, Fujikawa didn't currently have any strong isekai battle-type novels. They'd have to wait until the publisher found one worth adapting before the partnership could move forward.
*
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