After the sudden attack, Nangong Yu immediately turned his gaze to Seele.
When he noticed Seele puffing out her cheeks, her big eyes looking at him full of resentment, his heart instantly thumped.
Oh no, he might not be able to sleep again tonight.
...
"Cheers!!"
In the evening, the living room of the house was filled with lively celebratory sounds.
Since hollow knight achieved such good results, Bronya naturally excitedly invited her good friends to her house for a celebration party. Today was the weekend, and Kaguya, who had arrived early, also joined the celebration.
Using juice instead of alcohol, the group happily clinked their glasses.
After Nangong Yu finished some polite remarks, Bronya immediately happily pulled Mei and Kiana to chat. Her cute, childish manner of constantly showing off made Mei unable to stop chuckling.
Kaguya, on the other hand, sought out Seele and shared with her the cute little decorations she had recently made by hand. Then the two planned to knit a sweater for each family member.
However, Sirin was sitting there alone, silent since she arrived, her gaze blank, and her eyes somewhat dazed.
"What's wrong with Sirin?"
Nangong Yu was originally being pulled by Bronya, listening to her ramble with Mei and Kiana. Noticing Sirin's appearance, he couldn't help but ask curiously.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Kiana chuckled, as if she had been waiting for someone to ask, and pointed at her sister, scoffing, "She's been playing hollow knight."
"Huh?"
Noticing the three puzzled gazes, Kiana quickly explained, "That idiot was too impulsive. Provoked by the viewers in the live stream, she directly bet that she could definitely clear the Five Gates without taking damage, and if she couldn't, she'd stream herself washing her hair while standing on her head."
As for the game made by their best friend, she and Mei had naturally completed it immediately, so the few people present naturally understood how exaggerated Sirin's bet truly was.
"Uh... wish her good luck."
Nangong Yu raised his glass to Sirin from afar and drank the juice in it in one gulp.
Hope she's okay.
Without mushrooms, this gathering was less eventful. The group came with excitement and left with satisfaction, which could be considered content.
With free time, Nangong Yu sat on the sofa to rest. Kaguya stood behind him, gently massaging his shoulders. Today was Saturday, so she naturally chose to stay.
Her gaze went over her husband's head to the coffee table, where a not-so-small box caught her attention. She leaned down, close to her husband's ear, and softly parted her lips. Her sweet breath brushed against Nangong Yu's ear: "Husband, what is that?"
Her soft voice added a sense of comfort to Nangong Yu's heart. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction Kaguya was pointing.
"Oh, that's a TGA trophy. I didn't have time to pick it up before, so I had someone help me collect it and send it back."
"TGA... Ah, is it 'to the moon'?"
"Yes, Best Narrative Award."
"Then congratulations again, husband~"
Although Kaguya had already congratulated him once when the award winners were announced, this did not stop her from expressing her admiration again.
Who wouldn't like such a gentle, beautiful, sweet-talking, and obedient fiancée?
At least, over the past six months, Nangong Yu had gradually become immersed in this gentle haven.
"It's a pity that hollow knight was released too late."
Hearing Nangong Yu and Kaguya's conversation, Bronya, who had come over, said with a bit of annoyance.
She bent down and opened the small box, looking at the sparkling trophy inside, her eyes showing a hint of envy.
"Don't rush," Nangong Yu said with a smile to comfort her, "hollow knight is completely qualified to win next year's Best Independent Game award."
But Bronya shook her head.
"Hmm? So unconfident?"
"No."
Bronya looked at him, a slight smile suddenly appearing on her lips, and said emphatically, "According to the timeline, the next Best Independent Game award should be for our next work."
Hearing this, Nangong Yu and Kaguya were stunned for a moment, then both smiled.
It turned out she wasn't unconfident, but overly confident.
He patted Kaguya's hand, and she understood, letting go. Nangong Yu stretched and walked up the stairs, quickly returning to his familiar studio.
Soon, Bronya and Kaguya also followed him in.
Noticing Nangong Yu sitting in front of the computer, busy with something, Bronya curiously walked over, wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, and whispered in his ear, her breath like orchids, "Didn't you say you were going to rest for a while? Why are you working again?"
There was still more than a month until New Year's Day, so Nangong Yu and Bronya had already planned to start making a new game after the New Year's holiday.
"Just quickly checking the company emails."
Nangong Yu quickly flipped through the letters, responding casually.
Quietly putting the used manhua mirror 3 back to its original place in the room cabinet, and then putting the new manhua mirror 4 into her sleeve, Kaguya then walked carefully to the two with a slight blush.
The strange games her husband made were actually quite interesting...
At this moment, Nangong Yu scrolled to an email about personnel transfers. He suddenly thought of something and looked up, meeting Bronya's gaze.
Bronya, who had misunderstood, lowered her head and kissed him on the mouth, then blinked cutely at him and asked playfully, "Want more?"
"Yes, but wait a moment."
He leaned in to return the kiss, feeling the sweet softness between their lips, and then pulled Bronya to sit beside him.
"I thought you were asking me for a reward for working hard."
Bronya leaned against him and replied, feeling a secret regret in her heart.
If only the chair were a little smaller, she could sit on Yu's lap like Seele. Every time she saw Seele leaning comfortably in Yu's arms, Bronya felt a little envious.
"Of course, we can have more of this kind of reward."
He said with a smile, then Nangong Yu became slightly serious: "Bronya, I think we need to recruit some people."
Hearing this, Bronya, who had been lost in thought, was slightly stunned, then slowly nodded: "Yes, we really should recruit some people."
If they didn't want to just play around with future games, then the two of them alone would definitely not be enough. In fact, Nangong Yu had mentioned it once during the production of hollow knight.
For Bronya, this was the first game she and Nangong Yu made together. She didn't want it to bear the marks of others, so when she heard this suggestion, Bronya's expression immediately became a bit conflicted.
Therefore, this suggestion was quickly dropped by Nangong Yu, only to be brought up again now.
This time, Bronya naturally had no objections. In fact, even if Nangong Yu hadn't brought it up, she would have taken the initiative to do so.
To develop, sufficient manpower is always one of the first factors to consider.
"Cough, cough."
A soft cough caught their attention. Kaguya stood in front of them, her face full of anticipation, her large, flickering eyes seeming to say, "Pick me, pick me!"
"Don't worry, you've already been considered. You're the designer for our Eientei."
As she spoke, Bronya's voice carried a hint of resentment.
This matter had come to light a month ago, making Bronya quite depressed for a while. She realized that among the people who frequently appeared in the studio, besides Seele, she seemed to be the weakest one.
"Hmm, then I shall trouble senior for your guidance."
"Don't tease me."
Bronya rolled her eyes at the chuckling Kaguya and leaned her entire body onto Nangong Yu.
Nangong Yu stroked Bronya's head and continued, "Since we're recruiting people, we naturally need to divide them into teams. The first batch of people recruited into Fantasy Township will form the first team, and its name will be Red Devil Mansion."
"Our own people will form a separate team, independent of these other teams, and can integrate into any team as needed for work tasks. As for the name..."
He glanced at Kaguya, who was listening attentively, and Nangong Yu said lightly, "Let's call it Eientei."
Eientei?
Looking at Kaguya, whose face showed surprise, and Yu, who was smiling, Bronya puffed out her cheeks and didn't say much.
"Then, what does Eientei need to do next? I can prepare in advance."
Quickly identifying herself as a member of the team, Kaguya asked with some anticipation.
"The work after the New Year hasn't been decided yet. Before the New Year, the recruitment for Red Devil Mansion can be handled by dedicated HR personnel. As for other matters, there shouldn't be any..."
Just then, Hatsune in the bottom right corner of Nangong Yu's computer suddenly tapped the screen a few times. After getting Nangong Yu's attention, she immediately said, "Master, there's a new message in the chat software. Do you want to open it?"
"Open it."
Nangong Yu responded directly, without any hesitation towards Kaguya and Bronya.
This trust filled Kaguya and Bronya with joy, and smiles appeared on their faces.
Soon, a chat window was pulled out by Hatsune. The message was from Eromanga Sensei.
Eromanga Sensei: "Boss, the special features for manhua mirror 5 have been drawn. Please check!"
"Thank you for your hard work."
Nangong Yu had just replied when he quickly received a response from the other side.
"Not at all! It's my greatest honor to work with you, Boss!"
"Alright, alright, stop buttering me up. If you say any more, I'll reduce your commission."
"No, no, no, Boss, I have elders above me and children below me, please don't do that!!"
He naturally knew about the situation of the first Eromanga Sensei. As a single mother raising her daughter alone, the pressure of living in the city was naturally immense. Nangong Yu was just joking.
"Don't let it happen again, okay? Tell me, why are you suddenly trying to curry favor with me? Is there something you need?"
"Hehe, I knew I couldn't hide anything from you, Boss. I just wanted to ask if manhua mirror 5 is the final work in the series?"
In front of the computer, a mature woman with a silver ponytail tied in a single braid sent this message with some trepidation. She glanced at the door on the other side, decorated with cute patterns, and gently bit her lip.
The success of the manhua mirror series had brought her a lot of income. This income allowed the mother and daughter, who once had no fixed abode, to have a house that truly belonged to them, abundant food, and a comfortable life, no longer having to live that bleak life of not knowing where their next meal would come from.
For Nangong Yu, Eromanga Sensei felt nothing but gratitude.
Meeting this boss felt like it had exhausted half of her life's luck. He never delayed payments and was very generous. If there were no new projects, she would have to return to that fiercely competitive artist society, scrambling for the few available resources.
"Yes, Eromanga Sensei, are you planning to terminate our cooperation?"
This sentence made her breath catch, and she quickly replied, "No, no, no, I just wanted to ask if there are any other new jobs."
Soon, the reply from the other side made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Yes, I just thought Eromanga Sensei didn't want to work with me anymore, and I was getting a headache trying to find a new artist."
"No, no, no, I never thought that, you must choose me! I'll do it, I'll do it, I'm very capable!"
Looking at the artist's reply, Bronya couldn't help but raise her hand and hit her lover's arm. Even Kaguya, who was always obedient to him, said, "Husband is too mean-spirited."
"Don't worry, don't worry, I was just teasing her."
Eromanga Sensei was his exclusive artist, whom he had painstakingly cultivated. She worked hard, was easy to work with, and obedient. As long as the pay was sufficient, she was like a little Palu who worked tirelessly, almost non-stop from morning till night.
"Then hurry up and reply to her. How can you bully a single mother like that?"
"Alright, alright~"
With his cheek pinched, Nangong Yu quickly typed: "Of course, as long as Eromanga Sensei doesn't terminate the cooperation, you will always be my first choice."
These words moved Eromanga Sensei to tears, but she still weakly asked, "What about the remuneration...?"
"Same as before."
"Thank you, boss! I love you, boss!!!!!"
Looking at those words, one could almost feel the surprise emanating from them.
Just as Nangong Yu was smiling and preparing to reply a few more words, Bronya suddenly interjected, "You're not interested in a single mother, are you? And a mother and daughter pair?"
"Compared to a mother and daughter, I think I'd be more interested in sisters."
He hinted at Bronya with his eyes, immediately earning a beautiful roll of her eyes.
"Oh, it's snowing."
Kaguya, who was near the window, suddenly discovered something and quickly walked over, looking at the snowflakes fluttering outside, and said with some surprise.
"It is indeed time for it to snow."
By the end of November, the weather was already cold, but Bronya and Nangong Yu, who had grown up in Siberia since childhood, naturally wouldn't have Kaguya's kind of surprise.
"It's the white season again..."
Unconsciously uttering this sentence, Nangong Yu suddenly paused.
He looked at Kaguya and Bronya, stroked his chin, and tentatively said, "There's nothing much to do before New Year's Day, so how about we make a galgame together?"