During the E3 exhibition, Ichin also fixed several minor bugs that players had reported in the demo and made a few small optimizations.
Then, taking advantage of the momentum, he officially opened pre-orders for the game.
Thanks to the demo's strong word of mouth — and the fact that the price had never been inflated to match typical AAA titles — pre-order sales were excellent. On Steam it was priced at 36 USD, and the console versions were only 3 to 6 USD more.
By the day Ichin and the others were set to move into the new villa, Berseria's total pre-orders across all platforms had already surpassed 150,000 copies.
That was in just ten days.
One could easily imagine how high the pre-order numbers would climb over the next three months. Even if it didn't quite reach the heights of Dark Souls or Persona, it wouldn't be far behind.
Once the planned pre-release marketing campaigns rolled out over the next three months, breaking one million total sales would be effortless.
With a guaranteed million copies as a baseline, Ichin felt even more energized about moving house.
Saturday morning, bright and early, Ichin and Utaha began the final round of packing.
They had already started organizing everything the previous night after dinner. The television wasn't coming with them — it would stay behind. What they were taking included the desktop computer from the bedroom and the various game consoles. Aside from that, some tables and chairs that would still be useful in the new house were also being brought along.
As for the display cabinets full of figurines, Ichin had carefully packed them all back into their boxes the night before.
Over the past two years, he had bought fewer figures and built fewer Gunpla kits, but whenever he saw one he truly liked, he still didn't hesitate to purchase it.
After two hours of work in the morning, everything was finally packed into cardboard boxes.
Glancing at the time, Ichin said,
"It's nine. The moving company should be here soon. Utaha, go next door and check if Haruno and Yukino are done packing. I'll head downstairs and wait."
"Okay."
Utaha nodded and left with him, heading next door.
Compared to Ichin and Utaha, the Yukinoshita sisters didn't have as many belongings. They also weren't taking their television. Just like Ichin, they had decided to rent the place out.
By the time Utaha arrived, they were almost finished packing.
Yukino was neatly placing her books one by one into boxes, sealing them with tape, then labeling each box carefully with a marker.
As for the cats, they were already inside their carriers. Later, Yukino would drive them — along with Ichin's two cats — to the new villa.
Seeing Utaha, Yukino stood up.
"Utaha, are you two finished packing?"
"All done. Ichin's already downstairs waiting for the movers. Where's Haruno?"
"She's still packing in her room."
Just as she said that, Haruno's bedroom door opened. Haruno walked out carrying a small cardboard box.
"Ah, Utaha! Are we heading out soon?"
Utaha nodded.
"Should be soon. Just stack the labeled boxes neatly. The movers will take them down."
"OK~~ We don't have that much stuff anyway. Pretty easy."
About six or seven minutes later, Ichin returned with several movers, who began carrying the packed boxes from both apartments downstairs.
Utaha's parents came out as well — they planned to visit the new villa together.
Meanwhile, Aoba and the others had woken up and came over to join the excitement. They didn't plan to visit the new house today, though. After everything was settled, they would all head over together tomorrow.
While the movers carried boxes, Ichin had Utaha and the others head out first. He would drive alongside the moving truck.
"Ichin, we're heading out first!" Utaha called, carrying a cat carrier in each hand.
She got into her parents' car, and together with Yukino's car, they drove off one after another.
After the two cars left, Aoba looked at Ichin.
"So, you're renting out the empty apartments?"
"Yeah." Ichin nodded. "No point leaving them unused. And no one at the company needs staff housing — everyone's salaries are pretty good now."
"Hehe, only a few of us are still freeloading here. Being early really has its perks!"
Over time, Aoba's skin had definitely grown thicker.
Ichin chuckled as the movers loaded the last few boxes.
"Almost done. I'll check upstairs one more time. Aoba, remember — you're coming over tomorrow."
"Of course! You said we're having a barbecue in the yard. No way I'm missing that!"
After everything was loaded, Ichin checked both apartments thoroughly to make sure nothing had been left behind. Only then did he lock the doors, get into his car, and follow the moving truck toward the villa.
When he arrived, he discovered that besides Utaha and the others, Eriri was there too.
After parking and stepping out, Ichin said in surprise,
"Eriri? You're not sleeping in this weekend?"
"I don't sleep in every weekend!" Eriri retorted loudly, crossing her arms. "It's your first day moving in! As your neighbor, of course I had to come check things out. And help a little!"
"Oh~~~" Ichin nodded, glancing at her slender arms. "Thank you so much."
"Why does that sound like you're humoring me?"
Next came the task of carrying boxes and furniture into the villa. The movers quickly finished their part, and the rest would be up to Ichin and the others.
After teasing the cats still inside their carriers, Eriri looked at Ichin.
"Anything I can help with?"
Ichin glanced around the first-floor living room.
"Alright. No heavy lifting for you. Stay here and help Yukino set up the cats' things. Besides what we brought, we bought several new cat trees — they still need assembling."
In one corner of the living room, several boxes were stacked — all containing new cat trees, scratching posts, and other feline necessities.
"I can do that! I'm good at this!"
"Then I'll leave it to you and Yukino."
With that, Ichin picked up his box of figurines and headed upstairs to the media room. There was a large display cabinet there — perfect for showcasing his collection.
The work of arranging their new home had officially begun.
---
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