Chapter 151. Moving House and the Initial Project Plan Completed!
"Hiss… that hurts!"
Bronya glared at Xander, then hurriedly pried away the hand he had placed on her chest.
What exactly did Cocolia-mom say just now to make Xander this worked up?
It's fine to rub, but gripping hard really hurts!
"S-sorry!"
Xander pulled the phone a little farther away, his voice full of apology.
He had been too shocked when he heard about Griseo just now, and his palm had tightened on reflex.
"Um, does it hurt a lot?
How about I help rub it for you?"
"Hm?"
Faced with Bronya's death stare, Xander gave an awkward laugh and turned his gaze away.
"What's wrong?"
Cocolia's doubtful voice suddenly came from the phone's speaker, and Xander leaned in to reply, "It's nothing.
I was just talking with Bronya about something."
"I see.
Forget it — your business isn't mine to manage.
Just don't forget to pick someone up in two weeks.
I'm hanging up."
"Bye~"
With a beep, the call ended.
After rubbing it herself for a while, Bronya no longer felt pain and instead looked at him in puzzlement.
"What did you say just now?
Why do you look so shocked?"
"Cocolia-mom said a painter I really like suddenly wants to come draw manga."
"How desperate is she?"
Bronya immediately tossed out a jab.
You have to know the manga field is insanely competitive.
If Xander calls her a "painter," she obviously has some renown — the type who doesn't worry about selling her art.
"And she happens to be the daughter of someone Cocolia-mom knows, and she insists on coming to the Far East."
"Heh, wanting to draw manga is one thing, but coming to the most competitive Far East on top of that — what is she thinking?"
"Who knows.
Anyway, my task is to receive her and look after her for a while."
Bronya laughed.
"No wonder you're so excited.
I thought it was some idiot, but once I heard she's a painter you like…
By the way, how's her technique?"
"Technique?
It should be decent…"
Griseo's technique — if Cocolia is calling her a well-known painter — naturally isn't a problem.
Hearing that, Bronya's eyes lit up.
"See if you can pull her into Gensokyo.
Our art team has always been short on people!"
Bring Griseo over?
After thinking for a moment, Xander widened his eyes, met Bronya's gaze, and said with a smile, "You know, that might really work."
Lure… no, guide Griseo to join Gensokyo and work for him?
That sounds very workable.
Of course, he absolutely isn't interested in Griseo's tender, fair, jade-like feet.
When the time comes, he'll introduce the skilled Eromanga Sensei to be her teacher.
After learning, she'll naturally need a ton of practice.
By then, couldn't some of the game art be used as Griseo's practice?
Once she's used to being here, maybe she can even be converted into a full-time employee.
The two of them snickered, darkly finalizing their plan to lure the little loli.
...
Since the enrollment procedures were completed, a move was naturally in order as soon as possible.
"No need to take everything.
Leave the bulky stuff here.
We can still come back and stay from time to time."
Seele nodded obediently and put down the bedding in her hands.
Aside from taking everything in the studio, everyone only needed their personal items and clothes.
Even so, they kept busy from morning until dusk, finishing only after filling more than ten one-meter-tall cardboard boxes.
They called in the movers who had been waiting in the hallway for quite a while and watched them take the items to the agreed location.
"Phew… finally done.
Xander, my shoulders are so sore — come rub them for me~"
Elysia didn't have much stuff, but she had helped everyone all day.
Now she flopped onto Xander, her face wearing a maiden's delicate weakness.
Given that Elysia helped them a lot today, Seele and the others pretended not to see and went about their own tasks, leaving the living room to the two of them.
"Alright, alright.
But don't forget we still have to go work at St. Freya tomorrow."
He set Elysia on the sofa, stood behind her, and gently kneaded her shoulders.
Elysia's face had been one of contentment, but after hearing him, her little face instantly scrunched up.
"Xander, don't tell a girl the cruel reality while she's happy, okay?"
"Unfortunately, it's something we have to face.
And in a few days, when your luggage arrives, we'll probably have to tidy another whole day."
"...
Xander, I'm upset now.
Hurry up and say you'll love Elysia forever."
"You'll love Elysia forever~"
Seeing her puff up her cheeks in a huff, Xander chuckled to himself.
Then he stopped teasing her, bent down, wrapped his arms around her neck, leaned close to her ear, and said gently, "I'll love Elysia forever~"
"Mmm… you're forgiven.
But — as compensation, mm~"
Elysia lay back, closed her eyes, and lifted her face to him.
Seeing this, Xander understood and leaned down.
In the setting sun, their shadows slowly overlapped.
The quiet night soon passed.
This time, Seele snuck over.
No one knows how she negotiated with Bronya and Kaguya, but they actually let her slip out.
He hadn't hugged the soft, sweet Seele for several days, so of course they went to bed late yesterday.
When he woke up, the bright sunlight was almost shining on his face.
Seele had already disappeared from his side.
Xander yawned, got up, got dressed, and washed up.
After breakfast, they quickly took the train and met up with Kiana and the others at the St. Freya dorms.
"Oh! Looks like we're going all out today!"
Kiana rolled up her sleeves and looked at the big and small boxes in the courtyard.
"Uuuh, I want to sleep…"
Sirin squinted, obviously sleep-deprived.
"What's up with Sirin?"
Kiana asked in puzzlement, and then, with a snort, answered Xander herself, "What else?
She was so excited about moving in today that she couldn't sleep."
"What kindergarten kid is this?"
Bronya followed up with a jab.
"Right~"
Hearing their teasing, Sirin wanted to retort, but when she turned her head and saw Bronya, she shrank her neck and fell silent.
Even after all these days, she still didn't quite dare face Bronya.
There was no need to say much about packing.
After choosing their rooms, everyone buried their heads and got to work.
From dawn till late at night, they didn't finish until deep into the evening.
Two days later, Elysia's luggage arrived, and some of the equipment Kiana and Xander purchased began to come in one after another.
Before they were fully rested, they started hustling again.
After about a week of this, everyone in the dorm finally settled down.
On the first floor, Kiana and Mei each had a room, and the remaining room was converted into a two-person walk-in closet.
Sirin took a bold step and moved to the second floor.
Elysia and Kaguya each had their own room as well.
Bronya and Seele, of course, moved into the master bedroom with Xander.
"Moving house is really exhausting…"
After breakfast the next morning, Kiana flopped weakly onto the sofa and stared at the luxurious ceiling.
At first it had been novel for a few days, but now it already felt a bit routine.
They had finally finished a rough setup of the recording studio yesterday.
As for the wall treatments, Xander had already contacted professionals, and they would be coming in the next couple of days.
"Kiana, why are you lying there?"
Sirin padded over wearing bear-paw slippers, sipping a cold drink.
The central AC wasn't set too low, so she only wore a loose, pure-white spaghetti-strap long dress.
Her delicate shoulders glowed rosy, and lower down, the slender calves peeking from the hem reflected an enticing sheen in the sunlight.
"What do you think?
When everyone was setting up the recording studio yesterday, you were the only one who skipped out under the excuse of streaming.
Of course you're not tired."
Kiana shot the little traitor a look, huffed, and rolled over.
"T-that wasn't an excuse.
I haven't streamed for a whole week.
If I skip another day, my fans will riot."
Only after she looked around and noticed Xander wasn't in the living room did Sirin breathe a sigh of relief.
Why does Kiana always talk nonsense like that?
If Xander thinks she's lazy, what then?
Her dating plan hasn't even reached the hugging stage yet — she doesn't want to leave a bad impression.
"Here, want some?"
Sirin sat beside Kiana and handed over her drink.
"At least you still have a conscience."
Kiana grabbed it without ceremony, sat up against the sofa, and drank with relish — gulp, gulp, gulp.
"There's clearly a lot in the fridge.
If you want a drink, just grab one yourself."
"No, the one in your hand is sweeter."
"..."
Fine.
Given that Kiana made big contributions this time, Sirin decided not to bicker with her.
"By the way, aren't you supposed to start vocal lessons tomorrow?"
"Uuuh… cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Sirin's sudden question sent Kiana into a coughing fit.
She set the nearly finished drink on the table, and her little face twisted up.
"That scumbag.
That jerk.
That lecher.
Two-timing playboy…"
"Quit complaining.
Wasn't it your own decision?"
Arms folded, Sirin looked at her with a sage's calm.
"I know, but who would have thought Xander would move so fast?
He even found a teacher already.
Class starts tomorrow.
I haven't played enough yet!"
"You've been playing for months.
Time to rein it in."
"I knooow~"
With a sigh, Kiana accepted the cruel reality.
"Where are Mei and the others?"
After a pause, Sirin suddenly asked.
Glancing at her sister, Kiana knew perfectly well what she meant.
She pointed upstairs.
"After breakfast he went to the studio with Bronya and Kaguya.
They're probably already hard at work."
"I… I was asking about Mei!!"
"Mm-hmm, sure, sure."
Kiana stood up and waved a hand casually, her attitude visibly perfunctory.
The weather was so nice.
She would head back to her room, lie down, and play some games.
At the last moment, Kiana stopped, turned, and tossed out, "Oh right — Xander said if you're interested in game development, you can head up anytime and take a look."
"Really?"
"Believe it or don't~"
She waved again and yawned her way back to the bedroom.
Mei had gone to the company.
Xander and the others were working.
Elysia had run out early to meet a friend.
Sirin was hopeless as a playmate.
With no one to hang out with, she could only rest by herself.
Upstairs, Bronya and Kaguya were poring over reference materials on various buildings.
Although Xander had given them a rough map model and direction, the concrete details were enough to make the two of them — and the Scarlet Devil Mansion group's modeling staff — tear their hair out.
Bringing various different buildings together on one giant map, where each type needs its own identity and advantages, while also avoiding overly severe "dead angles" for shooting — honestly, it was a lot of work.
They suspected Xander was designing a game where many people fought on the same large map.
Just imagining it, they realized how fun this mode could be.
If you increase the number of teams on both sides, large-map brawls like this would make coordination between squads much richer and a lot more interesting than the small-map fights we have now.
Meanwhile, Xander stayed focused on writing the project plan.
This time was different from before.
As a large-scale game, there were many aspects he needed to consider.
Fortunately, thanks to the rich experience he had accumulated working with Anti-Entropy and world-class teams, he could write this plan so smoothly and thoroughly.
Otherwise, he might not have been able to pull it off.
As the folder grew thicker, Xander's initial work neared its end.
From morning till night, with only a simple bowl of lunch wolfed down at midday, he kept grinding until the sky dimmed.
When the final period was typed, Xander finally stretched long and hard.
And just then, he noticed a pair of beautiful golden eyes fixed tightly on him.
"Sirin? When did you get here?"
The purple-haired girl had brought over a small stool and was sitting quietly at his side.
Hearing his voice, Sirin snapped out of it and, a little shy, replied, "Um… I didn't disturb you, did I?"
She had actually started spacing out while staring at Xander's profile.
Wow, so embarrassing!
"It didn't disturb me.
If anything, I didn't even notice when you came over.
And I've pretty much finished the plan."
He reached out and patted Sirin's little head.
Her well-kept purple hair was dense and silky, and it felt amazing to the touch.
Sirin narrowed her eyes, enjoying it — until she noticed Bronya's teasing look from not far away.
She shrank at once and pushed Xander's hand away.
"A-ahem.
Well, um… can I take a look at the game plan?"
"I cou—"
"That won't do."
Bronya walked over and cut them off, leaving Sirin stunned.
She bent down, slipped an arm around Xander's neck, tapped his lips with a finger, and looked down at Sirin.
"This plan is Gensokyo Company's confidential document.
Sirin, you can't exactly be counted as part of Gensokyo Company, can you?"
"Eh? I…"
Sirin glanced at silent-mouthed Xander on reflex and lowered her head.
She felt like Bronya was hinting at something, but… she really didn't have the qualifications…
"So sign this."
Just as Sirin was feeling a little dejected, a long-prepared sheet of paper was presented before her.
"Huh?"
Seeing the mischievous curl at the corner of Bronya's lips, Sirin froze.
...
After luring Sirin into signing the "slave contract," Xander sensibly vacated his workstation.
Three heads that had been waiting in anticipation instantly huddled together.
Looking at the very beginning of the plan — the title Xander had typed last — Sirin read it softly.
"'APEX'…"
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