Chapter 19. To the Moon
"That guy said the game he made is pretty good.
Do any of you know about it?"
Looking at the loading screen, Sirin asked casually, and then the word "No" filled the entire screen.
"No?"
As a well-known game streamer, she had tens of thousands of live viewers every stream, and many of them were following the St. Freya Mini-Game Festival.
With so many people all saying no, it looked like this game didn't have any buzz.
Forget it.
Since she had already agreed before, of course she should fulfill that "new fan's" wish.
"I remember the day-one vote ranking should be out.
Let me see where this one placed..."
To keep a stream lively, a streamer has to learn to "talk to herself" even when she isn't reading chat.
She tapped a small icon to the right of the game title, and a number quickly appeared.
"No. 514... How many games are participating in total again?"
The bullet comments quickly answered her question.
[There are 523 games in total.
This one is tenth from the bottom.]
[Did the streamer get paid?]
[Definitely a paid boost.
Let's just say, those who know, know.]
[Uh, from a quick look, it's an old-school pixel game.
Kinda hard to keep a straight face.]
[Streamer, streamer, if there's no content, go bite a lighter.
No need to gross everyone out with this stuff.]
[Lol.
The Arhat α you recommended yesterday shot up to the top five today.
Someone probably got jealous and came to you for promotion.
At least Arhat α relies on solid game quality.
What does this old-school pixel game have?]
[...]
In short, before she even started playing, everyone's impression of the game had already dropped a lot, and they were cracking their knuckles, ready to roast it.
Tenth from the bottom...
Sirin deliberately furrowed her brow and said doubtfully, "Could that guy be bluffing?
He looked really confident.
Whatever.
If it's not fun, I'll just close it right away and go scold him tonight."
[Scold? Alert!]
[Why are you rewarding him?!!]
[Don't scold him.
If you have to scold someone, scold me!!]
[I think I need Miss Pufferfish's discipline!!]
...
Ignoring the barrage of unhinged comments, Sirin launched the game.
"Alright.
Horse or mule, we'll know once it's led out for a walk."
As the Gensokyo logo flashed by, the title screen quickly faded to black.
Then, with no picture on screen, a clear and pure piano melody slowly began to play.
It meandered and flowed like a gentle stream, piercing straight through their shells, nourishing their hearts, and smoothing away the earlier impatience.
[Gotta admit, this music is really good.]
[True.
Doesn't feel like something a random small studio could make.]
[The tune is unfamiliar.
This should be original, right?
Feels like, just for this track alone, it's not a loss.]
[It's just a pity it's a pixel-art game.]
The mood in chat improved quite a bit, and Sirin's brow relaxed, giving her a bit more confidence.
Even for a big streamer like her, forcing her way through a bad game would really cost followers and momentum.
With a pixel-art lighthouse and moon in the background, Sirin clicked Start.
Soon, the camera panned down, the start-screen background blending into the actual map.
In the silent, empty hills, a sizable mansion stood on a cliff not far from the lighthouse.
In the mansion's living room, a child sat at the piano.
The intoxicating music was clearly coming from that child as well.
"Hiss, this kid has the bearing of a piano master!"
Seeing that, Sirin cracked a joke.
If kids that young can play at that level, they really are piano prodigies.
[Ah, these trees, this water, this house, these character models.
I feel like I'm back a decade or more, to a childhood I can't return to.]
[This pixel feel—memories of an era.]
[A pity for such music.]
As everyone complained about the pixel graphics while enjoying the piano, a sudden screech of brakes and a crash came from outside the mansion.
The music cut off at once, and the child turned toward the outside.
The screen went dark, then shifted to the foot of the hill.
A black sedan had slammed into a tree, its popped hood still spewing white smoke.
"Wait, how did they even crash like that?
Don't tell me the car drifted into it?"
As soon as Sirin finished her quip, two pixelated figures in white coats jumped out of the car.
One man and one woman.
The woman was Dr. Eva Rosalene, and she immediately scolded the man: "Where were you looking while driving, Neil!"
The man was Dr. Neil Watts, and he said helplessly, "Oh, sorry.
I was just trying to avoid that poor squirrel."
"But not only did you run over that poor thing, you also rammed the company car into a tree!"
"...Good thing it's the company car, isn't it?"
Their ensuing jabs about the boss made everyone chuckle.
This style—setting aside other aspects to focus on the story—actually felt pretty interesting.
Then they took a special device and headed up the slope toward the mansion in the dark.
There was nothing particularly obstructive on the way up—the difficulty was basically zero—but listening to the duo bicker kept it from feeling dull.
As the two entered the mansion, the screen went black again.
"Act 1"
"I've never told anyone, but… I've always thought they were lighthouses."
"Mm, that's got a vibe~"
As Sirin finished speaking, the screen came back.
"I suppose you two are Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts.
It's wonderful you could come so quickly; you've really helped us."
The mansion's caretaker, Lily, welcomed them.
"These are my two kids, Sarah and Tommy.
Since this isn't exactly a nine-to-five job, Old John allowed us to live here together."
This "Old John" should be the two doctors' client.
Dr. Watts raised a question and received Lily's confirmation.
"He's being treated upstairs right now.
Please come with me."
The two doctors traded a couple more barbs, then followed Lily up to the second floor.
Meanwhile, seeing no one in the living room, the two children paired up again at the piano and began to play the piece that had everyone enchanted.
Sirin took note.
This music might be an important clue for the plot.
Arriving at the upstairs bedroom, the two doctors finally met their client: an elderly man worn down by time, able only to lie in his sickbed—Old John.
"How is his condition?"
Dr. Watts set up the device, while Dr. Rosalene asked the physician by the window.
"It's not optimistic.
At most one or two days left, and it could worsen at any time."
Then she asked Lily, "So, what is his wish?"
"The moon."
"? The moon?"
"The moon... He wants to go to the moon."
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