There weren't that many belongings, but there weren't exactly few either. The main issue was that there were all sorts of miscellaneous odds and ends — which made organizing everything rather troublesome.
Ichin first went to place his collection in the media room. After that, he still needed to set up the game consoles and computers in the media room, as well as the computers in the study. Several sets of new PC components had already arrived, but none of them had been assembled yet.
Utaha, meanwhile, went with her mother to organize luggage in the bedroom — arranging the wardrobe, making the bed, and so on. Utaha's father worked in the kitchen, putting aside items labeled as "temporarily unused" into the storage room, then tidying up the rest of the kitchen.
Taking each collectible out of its box and placing it carefully into the display cabinet, Ichin stepped back and clapped his hands lightly, feeling satisfied as he looked at the dazzling array of figures and models before him — Gundams, Kamen Riders, EVA units, Ultramen, and of course figures from his own games. Among them was the recently released Nameless King figure from Dark Souls.
"Hmm… the Soul of Cinder and Giant King figures should be out soon too. I'll put a couple of those here as well."
Naturally, figure sales could never compare to game sales. Not every Dark Souls fan would spend several hundred — sometimes nearly a thousand — RMB on each new high-end figure release. Most would pick just their favorite character, or perhaps opt for a more affordable Nendoroid version.
Fortunately, the production numbers for high-detail, high-priced figures weren't large. The main sales drivers were mid-range figures and Nendoroids, so overall sales were still decent.
Since Ichin genuinely loved these collectibles himself, he personally supervised each figure carefully during the gray prototype stage before release, striving for the best quality possible. As a result, the Dark Souls and Persona series figures had earned very positive reputations among players.
After finishing with the figures and taking a few photos, he closed the cabinet doors and turned to focus on the equipment setup in the media room.
One of the computers had been brought over from the old house — all he needed to do was remove the internal packing materials and connect the cables. The other, however, consisted of entirely new components that required full assembly.
Taking the case out of its box and laying out all the parts beside it, Ichin began building the PC.
Fifteen minutes later, the media room door opened. Utaha, Yukino, and Eriri walked in.
"Ichin, need any help?" Utaha asked.
Ichin, currently installing the CPU liquid cooler, looked up and smiled.
"This stuff… you probably can't handle it, right?"
Eriri glanced at the components in his hands and nodded.
"Yeah… I usually just pick the parts at the store and have them assemble it for me."
Not just Eriri — Utaha and Yukino were also limited to using computers. Assembling one from scratch was completely unfamiliar territory for them.
After installing the radiator and checking that it wasn't interfering with the RAM, Ichin picked up a case fan.
"No need to help here. I've got it. Yukino, are the cat trees downstairs done?"
Yukino nodded.
"Yes. They were mostly simple assembly. Not too complicated. But the bedroom still needs organizing."
"Then go finish your room."
He turned to Utaha.
"There are drinks in the fridge. Could you bring me a can of Coke?"
Utaha smiled.
"Sure. I'll bring it up right away."
The moment she mentioned Coke, Eriri immediately perked up and followed her out.
"I want Coke too!"
After the two of them left, Yukino returned to her room to continue organizing, leaving Ichin to finish assembling the PC.
About ten minutes later, he finished the build, connected the power and monitor, booted it up, and began installing the operating system. Then he headed to the study to assemble two more computers — one for himself and one for Utaha.
He had originally planned to set up new PCs for Yukino and Haruno as well, but Yukino said her laptop was more than sufficient for now.
As for Haruno, she had brought her desktop from the apartment, so she didn't need a new one either.
By the time both study computers were assembled and the systems installed, it was already past eleven.
Wiping sweat from his forehead and finishing the last sip of Coke Utaha had brought him, Ichin let out a long breath.
"Done. These two don't need games — just some professional software later."
At that moment, the study door opened. Utaha peeked in.
"Ichin, are you finished? Lunch is almost ready."
"Hm? We're eating at home today?"
Utaha nodded with a smile.
"Yeah. Mom and Dad went out earlier to buy groceries. There's only one dish left to cook."
"Alright. I'm done here too. I'll wash up and come down."
After shutting down the newly set-up computers, Ichin went to the bathroom.
When he came downstairs after washing his face, he discovered that not only was Eriri still there, but her parents — Sayuri and Mr. Spencer — had arrived as well. It was quite a lively lunch gathering.
After an enjoyable meal and finishing some light tidying up, Utaha's parents headed home.
Eriri's parents returned as well, but Eriri stayed behind to hang out for the afternoon.
Since it was the weekend and everyone was tired from organizing all morning, they didn't plan any activities. Instead, Utaha, Yukino, and Eriri went to the newly set-up media room, sank into beanbag chairs, and watched a movie on the massive projector.
As for Ichin, he headed straight to the study to work.
There was no need to guess what kind of movie the girls had chosen — it was undoubtedly a romance. Ichin had little interest in that genre.
After installing the necessary professional software on his computer, he put on his headphones and resumed work, continuing to write the unfinished design proposal for Bloodborne.
Since Aoba and the others would visit the new house tomorrow, he needed to get ahead of schedule. What was supposed to take two days needed to be mostly finished today — there would be no time to work tomorrow.
In the evening, since Utaha's parents had bought extra groceries earlier and there were still ingredients in the fridge, they didn't go out. Instead, they cooked dinner using what they had.
Compared to lunch, dinner was much quieter — only Ichin, Utaha, Yukino, and Haruno remained. Eriri had been called home around five in the afternoon.
It wasn't that she didn't want to stay longer — she still had a considerable amount of homework to complete. And since she planned to visit again tomorrow, there would be no time to study then.
Art college assignments were plentiful. Even though Eriri performed well academically, the pressure was still significant.
After dinner, the four of them headed out to a nearby supermarket to buy snacks for tomorrow's gathering.
As for fresh ingredients, they would purchase those tomorrow morning.
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