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The match began with the blare of a digital horn.
Leo and Utaha split up immediately, adhering to the unspoken meta of high-tier matchmaking. Unlike the chaotic brawls of the lower tiers—where battleships sailed broadside into torpedoes and destroyers suicided into islands within the first minute—Tier IX and X matches were a game of chess played with high explosives.
Leo's Baltimore, despite being a stock hull, moved with eerie precision. His brain, operating on multiple threads, processed the minimap like a supercomputer.
Enemy destroyer spotted. Shimakaze. 12km. Speed approx. 39 knots. Rudder shifting to starboard.
Leo didn't need aim assist. He calculated the lead time, the shell velocity, and the enemy's psychological tendency to turn away from radar.
Fire.
Nine 203mm super-heavy AP shells arced through the virtual sky.
[Devastating Strike.] [First Blood.]
The enemy Shimakaze evaporated instantly. The player on the other end likely threw their mouse across the room.
"Nice shot," Utaha's voice crackled in his ear. "That destroyer was flanking my hull. You just bought me three minutes of safety."
"Calculated," Leo replied calmly, reloading his guns. "He moved in a straight line. Never move in a straight line."
"Radar cruiser at 10 o'clock," Utaha called out. "I'm dropping fighters over you. Don't get greedy."
"Copy that. I'm hugging the island."
While his hands executed complex maneuvers—dodging incoming fire by angling his armor at the last possible second—Leo's voice remained relaxed. For him, this wasn't stress; it was barely a warm-up.
"So," Utaha said, launching a squadron of torpedo bombers. "While we're farming damage... answer me honestly. Do you regret it?"
"Regret what?" Leo asked, putting a salvo into the superstructure of a careless Yamato.
"Investing ten million yen in Tomoya. You saw him at dinner. He's drowning, Leo. He has no plan, no script, and he's terrified of Eriri."
Leo sighed, checking his minimap. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned. In the past, I might have stubbornly said I trust him. But looking at the data? The probability of him delivering a quality product on time is... dropping."
"And if he fails?" Utaha asked. "Do we disband? Do I go back to being a bored honor student?"
"No," Leo said firmly. "I don't abandon assets. If Tomoya can't make his game... then I'll make mine."
"Your game?" Utaha paused. On screen, her torpedo bombers circled a lonely German battleship. "You have a concept ready?"
"Remember the novel I just wrote? The Demon King Delivers the Punchline?" Leo asked. "I'm planning a game adaptation. But not a visual novel. That's too small."
"Go on."
"Imagine a hybrid," Leo said, his voice animating with genuine passion. "Take the character progression and recruitment of Suikoden or Taiko Risshiden. Mix it with the grand strategy and territory management of Nobunaga's Ambition. Then layer the tactical combat of Heroes of Might and Magic on top."
Utaha let out a low whistle. "That's... ambitious. An RPG-SLG hybrid? Open world?"
"Exactly," Leo confirmed. "The player starts as the Demon King—my protagonist. You have a ruined castle and zero resources. You have to manage the economy, recruit refugees, train armies, and play politics with the neighboring lords. You can conquer cities by force or by diplomacy. Every NPC has a name. Every town is explorable."
He steered his ship hard to port, dodging a spread of torpedoes by inches.
"But here's the kicker," Leo continued. "It needs a soul. It needs complex character interactions. Romance options, betrayal arcs, loyalty missions. That's where I'm weak. I can code the economy and design the battles, but I need someone to write the human heart. I need someone to write the romance."
"So," Utaha said, dropping her torpedoes perfectly into the broadside of the German battleship, scoring three floods. "You need me."
"I need you," Leo agreed. "It's a massive project. It could sell millions if we pull it off. It would redefine the genre."
Utaha sat back in her chair, staring at her monitor. The match was going well—they were crushing the enemy team—but her mind was racing elsewhere.
The concept was terrifyingly huge. It wasn't a cute little dating sim made by a high school club. It was a AAA-concept strategy game. It played to Leo's strengths (world-building, systems, mechanics) and covered his weakness (emotional nuance) by bringing her in.
It sounded... exhilarating.
"Leo-kun," Utaha said, a slow smile spreading across her face. "If Tomoya crashes and burns... I'm holding you to that. That game sounds infinitely more interesting than writing generic dialogue for a tsundere heroine."
"It's a promise," Leo said. "But let's give the Golden Retriever a chance first. Maybe he'll surprise us."
"Maybe," Utaha said skeptically. "But I'm betting on the Demon King."
[Victory.]
The screen flashed green.
"Good game, Senior," Leo said. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Don't be late," Utaha replied. "I want to hear more about this 'Grand Strategy' idea."