Stealing a glance at Haruno—still trapped in a video call with Ichin's mother in the living room—Yukino quietly returned to Ichin's side and picked up the kitchen knife to resume chopping vegetables.
"Brother, I think Onee-san is definitely going to want payback later."
"That's fine, I'm already prepared."
Ichin, holding a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, beat eggs while declaring righteously, "This is all for Haruno's future happiness, isn't it?"
On the other side, Utaha lightly kicked his calf and said with exasperation, "You only did this because of what Haruno-san said in the car earlier, didn't you?"
"…Alright, you saw right through me."
Ichin shrugged. "But hey, not just anyone gets to covet my good looks."
He was getting more shameless by the day. Utaha poked his waist twice with her fingers in mock annoyance before returning to dinner prep.
Meanwhile, after enduring ten minutes of interrogation from Ichin's mom, Haruno finally ended the call and appeared in the kitchen doorway. She glared at Ichin.
"Nice going, Ichin."
"Hm?"
Ichin glanced over and grinned. "So, Mom agreed to help find you a boyfriend?"
Haruno's lips twitched, her face twisted in frustration. "Yeah. Godmother's actually planning to do it. She's probably already on the phone with my mom to discuss it."
Which made sense—they'd have to coordinate.
Ichin laughed at her sour expression. "Don't worry, Haruno. It's nothing serious. With how much my mom likes you, she won't introduce just anyone. She'll screen them thoroughly—probably three or four times. That'll take at least a month. So you're safe for now. If there's a blind date, it won't be until late July or August. Just treat it as a trip to China—go sightseeing, and squeeze in a date or two."
"Ichin!"
Haruno exploded. She stormed over and locked her arm around his neck from behind, rubbing his hair furiously. "If that day really comes, you're coming with me!"
Ichin just laughed, nodding. "No problem. And not just me—Utaha and Yukino will definitely come too."
Both Utaha and Yukino nodded in unison.
"Hmph. That's more like it."
In truth, Haruno wasn't actually that opposed to Ichin's mother setting her up. She was mostly upset at being blindsided like this, her rhythm thrown off. But with Ichin obediently letting her ruffle his hair, her anger quickly melted away.
Once she let go, Ichin said with a smile, "Alright, Haruno, you've worked all day. Go relax in the living room. Tonight we've got your favorites—crispy fried pork and sweet-and-sour ribs."
"Now that's what I like to hear!"
With good food promised, Haruno's mood lifted completely. Humming a tune, she left the kitchen.
Utaha and Yukino exchanged glances at Ichin. He just shrugged. "Even a girl like Haruno-san can't resist good food, right?"
Day by day, the release date for Fall Guys drew closer.
But before that, Ichin wanted to stir things up again—to draw even more attention to their company.
So on July 8th, just two days before Fall Guys launched, the company's social accounts dropped two brand-new gameplay videos:
- A fresh demo of Dark Souls
- And, the one shooter fans had been dying to see, a demo of Titanfall.
Rather than spacing them out, Ichin dropped both at once, right before the big launch.
The Dark Souls demo showed much more than the first teaser—flashy boss moves, new monsters large and small, and players unleashing dazzling spells, sorceries, and weapon arts.
If basic swordplay was pure warrior gameplay, then with the addition of spells and skills, the overall spectacle had risen several notches.
"I saw so many dragons—and they're huge!"
"A dragon just jumped me after two steps in a castle… this game's gonna hurt. Looks brutal."
"Don't care, I'm maining a sorcerer when this comes out!"
"Magic is cool, but melee looked amazing too—those massive greatswords and heavy armor!"
"Did nobody notice the lightning spear? That's different from the blue magic—there are blue, yellow, and red spell effects. Multiple casting systems confirmed?"
Because the magic and miracles looked so flashy, most players focused their discussions there, leaving melee in the background. But that was exactly what Ichin had expected. He hadn't shown everything—late-game sorceries like White Dragon Breath, Soul Stream, and Giant Lightning Spear were still under wraps. He'd also added plenty of new spells, making mages far more versatile and fun to play.
Of course, pure warrior builds got upgrades too—the weapon arts were even more powerful and spectacular, though with higher risk.
Then came the Titanfall demo, which exploded with hype.
The protagonist looked ridiculously powerful—wall-running, sliding, cloaking—turning battles into cinematic showcases. If not for the UI visible onscreen, many would've mistaken it for a CGI trailer.
And once the Pilots called in Titans, the action hit a fever pitch.
Beyond the default Titan loadout, two new classes were shown:
- Ronin with explosive close-range combat and high damage.
- Scorch, even flashier, unleashing walls of fire and seismic shockwaves that wiped out enemy Titans in seconds.
Two very different games, two very different genres—but both demos showed incredibly polished gameplay. And yet neither had a release date. Both ended with the same line: "Still in development. Release date to be announced soon."
"With graphics and polish like this, and it's still in development? That means there's even more content hidden away?!"
"Too much good stuff—I can't wait any longer! Hurry up and release already!"
"Go play Fall Guys first."
The very next day, the final pre-release trailer for Fall Guys dropped as well.
***
Guys, please give it a try to the new fic: "DxD: The Transfer Student of the Demonic High School"
Don't forget to add it to your library!!
***
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