Time slipped by quietly. After releasing the moving-day vlog, Ichin didn't make any major announcements. Aside from Fall Guys' regular monthly updates — new crossover skins and maps launched in early May and June to keep the hype alive — everything else remained calm.
On the Dark Souls side, only a few bug-fix patches came out. There was also a three-hour maintenance session in early May to improve the stability of online co-op.
Other than that, Ichin stayed low-key — fully immersed in developing his next titles and handling preparations for the upcoming E3 in June, without letting anything else distract him.
At the end of May, Akane Kōsaka released her long-awaited new game — a mystery RPG with horror elements titled Phantom Midnight.
That release actually caught Ichin's attention for once.
He hadn't expected Akane's project — after nearly half a year of work — to be that kind of game. When he checked it out on Steam, he was surprised to see overwhelmingly positive feedback. Within a week of release, it had already achieved a 92% positive rating.
It seemed Akane had finally found the right direction for her studio — focusing on what they did best: strong writing and character design.
Ichin spent three nights clearing the entire game, then sent her a short message to congratulate her.
From that moment onward, Ichin finally regarded Akane Kōsaka as a true competitor in game development.
Before this, both she and her studio had been somewhat lackluster — poor in management, unclear in direction, and limited in technical ability.
But with this new success, Ichin knew she was about to experience a breakthrough.
Even so, after beating the game, he didn't dwell on it. He simply refocused on his own projects.
From early April to early June — after two full months — the staff from Capcom who had been collaborating finally wrapped up their part of the work and returned to headquarters.
The combat design for Tales of Berseria was now mostly complete. Some sections had already been turned into demo footage to be used for the promotional PV at E3.
When Ichin returned from the recording studio, he headed straight for his office and dropped heavily into his chair.
Utaha, who had been typing at her desk, paused her work. She got up, walked behind Ichin, and gently placed her hands on his shoulders, massaging them lightly.
"Tired?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," Ichin replied with his eyes closed. "I've been working nonstop these past few days, making sure the game PVs for E3 are perfect. Not just here — even the Shanghai branch is burning the midnight oil."
Utaha smiled tenderly. "GARO, Tales of Berseria, Apex, and the Dark Souls DLC… this year's E3 is going to blow everyone's minds."
Ichin grinned. "Isn't that the goal? Just twenty days to go."
At E3, Ichin and Utaha would both attend in person. Yukino and Haruno would be coming along too. Hazuki from the company would also join them — she had friends working in major Western studios, and E3 would be the perfect place to connect.
After about five minutes of massage, Ichin raised a hand. "Alright, that's enough. Any longer and you'll get tired."
He held Utaha's hand, guiding her to sit on his lap with a smile. "How's your script coming along?"
"Almost done," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Just one final section left. After that, I'll do a full check and hold one more production meeting. Once that's done, my part's pretty much over. Though once filming starts, I might visit the set a few times — just to get a feel for the on-site shooting process."
As for the usual problem of directors changing scripts — that wasn't something Utaha needed to worry about this time. There were a lot of people involved in this project, and the director himself had helped discuss the story early on. If there were any changes to be made, they would have been raised long ago.
"So long as the script passes review," she continued, "we should be able to start filming around late July or early August. Ichin, will you come to the set with me?"
Ichin thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure. I've never actually seen a drama shoot in person before."
Just then, the office door opened — and Yukino appeared in the doorway.
Seeing the two of them holding each other, she froze for two seconds, then quietly backed out and shut the door.
"Sorry to interrupt."
"…"
Fortunately, the office was on the sixth floor, and few people came by. Otherwise, Yukino's little retreat would've fueled endless gossip among the staff.
...
Back inside, Yukino sat on the sofa and said dryly, "It's work hours, you know. Even if you're the boss, you should at least try to keep it professional."
Ichin took a sip of coffee, a little embarrassed. "Well… nobody else comes in without knocking, right?"
Utaha chuckled. "That's true — you do usually knock, Yukino. What happened today?"
"I suddenly remembered something," Yukino replied. "We still haven't booked our flights or hotels, have we? You said we'd go, but I haven't heard anything, so I came to ask."
"Ah, right," Utaha said. "We haven't done that yet, Ichin."
Seeing both of them looking at him, Ichin gave a calm smile. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten. I'll handle it in the next couple of days. Actually, Yukino, your personal details are already on file with the company, so HR will take care of everything."
It was only then that Yukino suddenly remembered — she was a shareholder in the company. She'd nearly forgotten that fact, and the realization made her cheeks redden in embarrassment.
After an awkward pause, she stood up. "I'll go check on Eriri."
And with that, she quickly left the office.
Ichin rubbed his chin. "Was that… embarrassment?"
Utaha nodded. "Definitely. It's been a while since I've seen Yukino that flustered — it's kind of cute, actually. Anyway, Ichin, you get back to work. I'll go follow her."
Before Ichin could say anything, Utaha also dashed out of the office.
"…Alright then," Ichin muttered with a wry smile. "Back to work it is. Work makes me happy."
---
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