Eriri was clearly not joking about moving out.
Over the next few days, whether she was at school or at the company, she spent all her free time searching for apartments to rent.
When Sayuri Sawamura found out, she agreed without hesitation.
That didn't surprise anyone. Ichin and the others all knew Sayuri well—she'd never stand in the way of Eriri wanting to become independent.
However, since the year was almost over, it wasn't realistic for Eriri to move out right away. No matter what, she'd have to wait until after the New Year.
As the year drew to a close, everyone's workload gradually eased up. Taking advantage of the downtime, Ichin reviewed the final development schedule and officially announced the release date of Dark Souls:
March 25th, next year — Friday.
Most of Dark Souls was already complete. Only a few maps still needed optimization, and some bosses, monsters, and NPC storylines required final adjustments.
Three months was more than enough to finish everything.
Alongside the release date announcement, pre-orders also opened—and immediately attracted a flood of attention.
After all, judging from the previous trailers and live demos, the game looked brutal. It practically screamed "painful to play."
But the harder the game, the more players wanted to challenge it.
Ichin wasn't worried that the difficulty would scare people away. In this era, there were plenty of masochistic players—and he was quite proud to be training more of them.
By the final week of the year, Dark Souls had sold over 350,000 pre-orders across all platforms.
That number wasn't quite on the level of Persona, but it was within expectations. The darker, more oppressive aesthetic wasn't something everyone could easily accept at first.
Still, pre-orders had only just begun. Ichin wasn't in a rush—once the marketing phase kicked in and the next wave of trailers rolled out, he was confident they'd hook the hesitant crowd too.
With the release date announced, his final major task for the year was complete.
Now it was time for—
"Party! Party! New Year's Party!"
On December 27th, Saturday, at Ichin's home, Shinoda threw both hands up and declared,
"You guys all ditched Christmas for your own lovey-dovey dates, so this time we have to throw a New Year's party! It's been forever since we all gathered!"
Munching on chips beside her, Iijima Yun gave her a sidelong glance.
"You just want to play, don't you? You don't have to drag the rest of us in—New Year's is already busy enough."
"Then we can just push it back a few days! It's a week-long break anyway, I'll be busy the first few days too," Shinoda insisted. "It's the end of the year—what better time for us old friends to get together? Ichin-kun, what do you think?"
Carrying a tray of freshly made milk tea, Ichin set it down with a smile.
"I've got no objections. A get-together to celebrate the New Year sounds great. But if we're doing it, let's hold it downstairs at Kō's place. She already decorated for it—it's way more suitable than here."
Hazuki picked up her cup and said warmly,
"That works for me. If everyone agrees, let's set the date for the sixth. I'll be heading back to my hometown for the first few days, and on the seventh we'll need time to reset before work starts again."
Everyone discussed it for a bit and agreed—including Hifumi, Nene, and Aoba, who weren't there in person but gave their OK in the group chat.
Umiko, who was currently in Shanghai, was also coming back tomorrow, so she could join the party too.
"Perfect! Then it's settled for the sixth," Shinoda said with satisfaction.
By four in the afternoon, Shinoda and the others had left, and Kō's group went back down to their apartment.
Stretching lazily on the sofa, Haruno smiled. "It really is lively around here."
"It sure is." Ichin nodded. "Aside from Kō and her team, everyone else lives pretty close—only about twenty minutes by train at most. Once the new office building's done, the commute will be a bit longer, but it's fine. Everyone's got cars now, and those who don't can just hitch a ride."
Hearing that, Eriri tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Then when I look for an apartment, should I find one closer to the new office instead?"
"You should start by finding one near where you are now," Utaha said, cutting her off dryly. "I seriously doubt you'll last three months living alone."
"Huh? Are you underestimating me?"
Eriri puffed up angrily. "Wanna bet? After New Year's, I'll find a place, move out, and show you I can handle living alone just fine!"
Utaha folded her arms, accepting the challenge.
"Sure. I'll look forward to seeing that. But since it's a bet, what's the wager? Let's keep it simple—the loser treats everyone to dinner."
"Deal!"
As the two sealed their bet, Haruno gently nudged her sister's shoulder and whispered,
"Yukino, who do you think's gonna win?"
Yukino shook her head. "Hard to say. Eriri's never lived alone before, and everyone adapts differently."
"That's true," Haruno said with a grin. "But no matter who wins, as long as we remember to crash the winner's dinner, it's a win for us."
After handing out the year-end bonuses, the company officially went on holiday. The year had finally come to an end.
It had been a smooth year for the company—many new members joined, projects went well—and Ichin's own studies were also progressing perfectly. By April, he'd be a third-year student, with only half his university life remaining.
Driving home from the office, Ichin sank onto the sofa and rested his head on Utaha's lap.
Feeling the soft texture of her black stockings against his neck, he closed his eyes and murmured,
"Another year gone already… time surely flies."
Utaha gently stroked his hair and smiled. "It really does. You've worked hard this year, Ichin."
"Let me guess—the next line is 'Please continue working hard next year,' right?"
"Even if I didn't say it, you'd still do it, wouldn't you?"
"…You're not wrong."
After resting on her lap for a while, Ichin sat up and stretched.
"All right, I'll go make dinner. Once we finish tonight's meal, we can go next door tomorrow and freeload off your parents."
---
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