It had been a while since Ichin visited Fushikawa Publishing, but the receptionist at the front desk was still the same person. She knew him well, so after greeting him, she let him pass immediately.
Arriving at the editorial department, Ichin saw Utaha sitting with Machida Sonoko, the two of them enjoying some dessert together.
Utaha spotted him instantly and happily waved.
Ichin walked over and gently pinched Utaha's cheek.
"Done with everything?"
"Mm, all done. We finished discussing the outline for the last part of the novel—no issues."
Utaha nodded, then used her fork to scoop some cake and fed it to Ichin.
"Finish this, then we'll go home."
Watching the two of them being all lovey-dovey, Machida Sonoko suddenly felt that the cake in her hands wasn't sweet anymore.
Taking a giant bite, she stared at them and grumbled,
"Hurry up and eat. Then hurry up and get out!"
The resentment of an older, single woman… truly immense.
Sharing a glance, Ichin and Utaha wisely decided not to poke at her any further.
After finishing the cake and saying goodbye to Machida Sonoko, the two left the publishing house and returned to the company.
Back at Ichin's office, Utaha stretched lazily.
"Ichin, when are we heading out? Should we book the tickets?"
"No rush—just two days before the end of the month is fine. We can buy the tickets in the next couple of days."
Ichin flipped through the documents Umiko had handed him earlier.
"Tonight, after we get home, we'll talk with your parents and mine. Once your dad gets his vacation approved, we can book the flights. This time, we'll stay a bit longer and take both of our parents around to enjoy the trip."
Utaha nodded excitedly and immediately grabbed her phone, searching for fun places to go—planning her travel strategy ahead of time.
After finishing the documents, Ichin stepped out, letting Utaha rest in the office.
As he walked downstairs, he ran into Yagami Kō waiting for him.
She grabbed his arm and whispered, "She didn't find the ring, right?"
Ichin nodded. "Of course not. I locked it in my drawer—Utaha never rummages through that. Since you're here, Kō, perfect timing. Let's gather the Tales of Berseria dev team and head to the meeting room."
"OK! I'll go call everyone!"
---
After gathering the dev team, everyone assembled in the meeting room, and Ichin held a full one-hour meeting.
There were a lot of topics—mostly planning the upcoming development tasks. Since he'd be gone for almost half a month, he had to organize everything for February ahead of time.
Development for Tales of Berseria was going well. Combat systems and character movesets were mostly done, and various regions of the map were being built and filled with content.
Even though it wasn't an open world, Ichin still wanted the players to experience as much as possible during the main story.
On the programming side, Umiko had already worked on ARPG systems back at Eagle Jump, so she handled things with ease. Ichin only needed to mention a few things to watch out for.
When the meeting ended, it was already late. Closing his laptop, Ichin said to everyone,
"Alright, go tidy up and get ready to head home."
After most people left, Umiko walked out with Ichin at the back.
"Half a month back home—that's quite long."
Ichin nodded with a smile.
"I'm planning to take both my parents and Utaha's parents on a trip during New Year."
As for the proposal, he didn't mention a word. Even though he trusted Umiko to keep a secret, he wanted to surprise everyone after everything was done.
"Umiko, while I'm gone, I'll be counting on you and Hazuki to look after the company."
"Don't worry—we'll take care of it." Umiko smiled.
"I mean, I do own a bit of company stock. I won't slack off if it concerns my future retirement fund."
---
A week passed quickly. After finishing all arrangements for the company, Ichin, Utaha, and Utaha's parents took the flight back to Shanghai.
This time, Haruno and Yukino weren't with them.
Haruno had too much work at the start of the New Year and couldn't make time for a trip.
Yukino was also busy—her second-year coursework was heavy, and she had cats to take care of, including the two cats from Ichin's home.
Ichin could only bring extra gifts and delicious snacks for the sisters when he returned.
After a two-hour flight, the plane landed at the Shanghai airport.
Since Utaha's parents came as well, Ichin's parents also personally came to pick them up with two cars—one for Ichin and Utaha, and one for the four parents.
Having visited Shanghai multiple times, Utaha's parents were already familiar with everything. They chatted happily with Ichin's parents during the ride, discussing what happened over the past year between Ichin and Utaha.
At home, the guest rooms were already prepared, so Utaha's parents could settle in right away.
They arrived in the afternoon. After resting for a bit, it was time to prepare dinner.
Seeing his mom heading to the kitchen with Utaha and her mother, Ichin quickly pulled his dad and future father-in-law aside to explain his plan.
A proposal was something the elders should hear first—especially since the New Year's Eve dinner would still be at a restaurant. Proper arrangements needed to be made.
After hearing Ichin's plan, both men looked shocked.
Ichin's father laughed and patted his son's shoulder.
"Good! Your mother and I were wondering when you two would think about marriage, but it seems you're already one step ahead. Tomorrow, I'll be visiting the restaurant we booked for New Year's Eve. Come with me—we'll ask the staff to help set things up."
Utaha's father looked at Ichin with deep approval.
He knew he had made the right decision entrusting his daughter to him.
As for informing the two mothers, they decided to let the dads break the news tonight.
---
Dinner started at six.
While placing dishes on the table, Ichin's mom noticed the smile on her husband's face and asked suspiciously,
"What are you smiling about?"
Pouring drinks into the cups, Ichin's dad laughed.
"Hahaha! Ichin and Utaha's whole family are here! Of course I'm happy. Aren't you?"
She gave her husband a couple of glances, then noticed that Utaha's father had the same expression.
Ichin's mom muttered, "You two look oddly suspicious…"
Then she headed off to the kitchen to fetch rice.
The two old men exchanged a glance—and quietly clinked their cups.
----
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