Although Haruno said she had come back early, she still had work on her hands. After having a cup of tea, she returned to her own place, planning to continue working that evening and go through some documents.
Her side of things was currently expanding step by step, and she was preparing to take on two more large-scale projects in the second half of the year. Because of that, the company's development during the remaining time in the first half of the year was especially crucial.
Even though she usually seemed rather carefree, Ichin had to admit that Haruno truly was a strong woman—a full-blown workaholic.
After Haruno left, Ichin stretched lazily and said, "You guys keep watching TV. I'll go take a shower. I still need to do a bit of work tonight too."
Once Ichin went back to the bedroom to grab some clothes, Yukino tilted her head slightly. "Is the development schedule falling behind?"
"Falling behind is impossible," Utaha said with a smile from the side. "Ichin already planned out the entire development timeline long ago. Right now, he just wants to save a bit more time so that once overall development is finished, there'll be more room for testing and fixing bugs.
"After that comes the planning for the new game. That part needs to be written by him personally. At the moment, it's still pretty difficult to find more producers in the company with outstanding abilities, so new game proposals all have to go through him. Though I heard from Hazuki-san that everyone submitted quite a few ideas—it's just a question of how many are actually usable."
Yukino nodded, thinking aloud. "Hopefully there'll be some good concepts in there."
After his shower, Ichin returned to the bedroom and began reviewing the creative ideas that Hazuki had handed over—various game concepts submitted by the company's employees.
He had to admit, there were quite a lot of ideas. Some people really liked Slay the Spire, and based on that type of game, they had written up their own gameplay systems. This immediately reminded Ichin of a game from his memories—Monster Train, wasn't it?
As he recalled, Monster Train also appeared after card-based roguelike games became popular, and it did fairly well. Its only shortcoming was that balance in deck construction was a bit lacking. Still, as a small indie game meant to kill some time, it was perfectly fine.
And now, there were already several card roguelike games on the market that drew inspiration from Slay the Spire. The idea in his hands now was something that could be worth trying out as well.
Ichin put a checkmark on that proposal and wrote a couple of lines of comments. When everyone held a meeting later, they could discuss it together.
Aside from this rather interesting card-based concept, there were plenty of other ideas too. For example, a third-person adventure design game where the protagonist is shrunk down to the size of an insect and explores the world from that perspective.
However, considering that once insects became as large as—or even larger than—oneself, many people would find it unacceptable, Ichin put a question mark next to that idea.
After all, things like cockroaches and spiders that were bigger than yourself—especially in a realistic style—were not something anyone would want to encounter up close.
"Hmm… wait a second. Come to think of it, the monsters in Bloodborne aren't exactly easy for people to accept either. Forget it—this theme itself isn't bad. The person probably played The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap before. If the subject matter were adjusted a bit, it might be worth a try. Making a demo could be interesting."
After about twenty minutes of reading, Ichin heard the bedroom door open.
Turning around, he saw Utaha and Yukino enter together. Utaha was carrying a takeout bag with milk tea inside, while Yukino held a plate of neatly cut fruit.
Utaha placed a cup of milk tea next to Ichin and said, "Here you go, Ichin. Just ordered it."
"Why milk tea all of a sudden?" Ichin asked.
Utaha smiled. "Yukino and I went shopping this afternoon and wanted to buy some, but the line was too long, so we waited until we got back tonight. But Ichin, you probably already had afternoon tea at the company, right? Is it okay to drink another cup?"
"No problem," Ichin said calmly, sticking in the straw and taking a sip. "I just happen to need some sugar. Oh, by the way, did you order one for Haruno-nee?"
Yukino nodded. "Yes. I took one over to my sister."
"Good. If Haruno-nee found out we were drinking milk tea without getting her any, she'd definitely make a fuss."
While drinking the milk tea and eating some of the sliced apples, Ichin continued going through the documents.
As for Utaha and Yukino, the two of them sat together on the bed, each holding a tablet and looking at their own things.
Since none of them had a first-period class the next morning, it was fine to stay up a bit later. Even Yukino, without much concern, ordered herself a cup of milk tea and gulped it down enthusiastically.
When Saturday arrived, Ichin woke up right on time at seven in the morning. He didn't wake Utaha. After changing into his workout clothes and doing a quick wash-up, he prepared to head out for a run.
He took out his phone and sent Yukino a message. Two minutes after he stepped out, the door next door opened as well, and Yukino came out wearing a fitted set of sportswear.
Looking at Yukino with her hair tied into a single ponytail, Ichin smiled and said, "Good morning. Let's go."
Yukino smiled back and nodded, following him toward the elevator.
After jogging a lap and coming back for a shower, Yukino came over to Ichin's place, and the two of them started preparing breakfast together.
It was Saturday, and aside from Utaha, even Haruno next door was still fast asleep.
Breakfast was simple: mushroom and chicken porridge, along with homemade youtiao and shaomai.
After setting the porridge to simmer, steaming the shaomai, and finishing the youtiao, Ichin patted Yukino on the head. "Go wake Haruno-nee up. By the time she and Utaha are awake, breakfast should be just about ready."
Yukino nodded. Before leaving, she glanced at Ichin, then leaned in with slightly flushed cheeks and gave him a quick peck on the corner of his lips before immediately darting away.
Feeling the lingering warmth on his lips, Ichin chuckled in surprise. "She's even learned how to launch sneak attacks now."
Leaving the kitchen and entering the bedroom, Ichin saw Utaha still curled up under the covers, only half her head sticking out as she slept soundly.
He walked over, pulled the blanket down a little to reveal her face, and gently pinched her cheek. "Utaha, time to get up."
Frowning slightly, Utaha slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing Ichin neatly dressed in front of her, Utaha yawned, grabbed his hand, and rubbed her face against it as she asked, "What time is it?"
"It's nine already. Time to get up. Change your clothes and wash up—breakfast will be ready right after."
"Mm… what are we having today?"
"Mushroom and chicken porridge, plus youtiao and shaomai."
After hearing what was for breakfast, Utaha struggled a bit under the covers, but eventually got up.
Leaning against Ichin, Utaha sniffed lightly and opened her eyes.
"Yukino's up too?"
"…You can even tell that by smell?"
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