Seeing Ichin and Utaha arrive, Hazuki finally stopped what she was doing and poked Hajime on the forehead.
"Alright, hurry up and get back to work. Stop talking nonsense."
"Hehe~~~" Hajime chuckled foolishly, covering her head with both hands. "I'm sorry, I really just let it slip by accident, Hazuki-san~~ How about I treat you to lunch today?"
As she spoke, she affectionately hugged Hazuki's arm, asking for forgiveness.
Toward the girls in the company, Hazuki never truly got angry. She was just a bit helpless. She had only just met her blind date, and now it had already been exposed, with the entire company knowing about it.
Shaking her head with a wry smile, she said, "Alright, then I'll wait for you to treat me at lunch. Go back to work."
"Okay~~~"
After Hajime left, Hazuki rubbed her forehead and sat down. "I feel like I'm going to have to stay in my office all day today."
Ichin smiled, pulled over a chair, and sat down. Looking at her, he said, "It's not that serious, right? Everyone's just curious. And you've only gone on one blind date. Do you really have to be this shy?"
"Well, I can't help it. I've never experienced something like this before."
Hazuki spread her hands and smiled. "No matter what, I'm still a complete beginner when it comes to relationships. Am I not allowed to be a little shy at first? Besides, this isn't even a relationship yet, we've just met."
"That makes sense."
Ichin nodded with a smile. "Then you should work hard at it. Get to know him more. If he's really suitable, just go for it."
Utaha, who was beside him, also said, "That's right. If you have any questions, Hazuki-san, you can come to me for advice!"
"Alright, then I'll be relying on you a lot, Utaha."
After chatting for a while, Hazuki went upstairs to her office, and Utaha followed along, planning to write in Ichin's office.
Now that she had graduated and become a full-time author, Utaha's schedule was quite relaxed. With light novels being published volume by volume, she only needed about a month of focused writing every three months to complete one volume. The remaining two months could be spent on other things while leisurely planning future content.
As for Ichin, he stayed with the Bloodborne development team, continuing his work on the programming side.
The development of Bloodborne was progressing smoothly. Although the game's art style was something the team wasn't very familiar with, and the monsters carried a heavy Lovecraftian influence, everyone in the development team had strong learning abilities. They quickly found the right direction for development and design. Whether it was architecture, clothing, or monsters, with Ichin's guidance, they rapidly overcame the initial unfamiliarity.
After working for half an hour, Kō sent over a set of designed humanoid monster files, including ordinary Yharnam residents and werewolf-type creatures.
After confirming there were no issues, Ichin replied to her, telling her to proceed with the next phase of work.
Once the modeling was completed, a series of animations would need to be developed, which would be handled by another department.
For motion design, the company now had its own motion capture equipment, making the creation of many movements more efficient and closer to the original design concepts.
Just after sending the files, Ichin heard a lively commotion outside, including the voices of Hajime and Yun Iijima.
There was no need to think about it. They were heading to the motion capture room to start work.
Although wearing motion capture equipment was troublesome, the results were indeed excellent. It was one of the first things Ichin had wanted to add after the company grew.
So far, it was proving to be very effective for Bloodborne.
3:15 PM.
Work was going smoothly today, and Ichin had already started wrapping things up when he received a message from Yukino.
Her classes for the day were finished, and she was currently waiting in the university library for him.
After seeing the message, Ichin quickly replied that he would pick her up at four, then sped up his work.
After finishing up, Ichin took Utaha with him, and the two left the company, driving to the University of Tokyo.
Right at four, Yukino arrived at the school gate on time.
Seeing Ichin's car, she immediately jogged over, opened the door, and got into the back seat.
Once Yukino was seated, Utaha smiled and handed her a cup of milk tea. "You worked hard, Yukino. How was your first day?"
"Thank you, Utaha."
Taking a sip of the milk tea, Yukino's face showed clear fatigue. "It's definitely much more tiring than before. The schedule is very tight, and there's a lot of coursework. But it's also very fulfilling. It really feels like I'm improving."
Ichin started the car and said while listening to her, "That's good, but don't overwork yourself. Get some proper rest when we get home. It's only the first day. Let's go buy groceries now. Yukino, what do you want to eat tonight?"
Biting on the straw, Yukino thought for a moment before saying, "Chicken wings, and mapo tofu."
Although she usually didn't like strongly flavored dishes, after such a tiring day, she really wanted something a bit more stimulating to enjoy.
"Alright, then let's go buy them."
After a big grocery run at the supermarket, they also stopped by a pet store to restock some cat food and litter for the cats at home before finally returning.
Utaha still had a bit of her novel left to finish, so she headed to the study to continue working before dinner. Once done, she could send it directly to Sonoko Machida.
After putting down her backpack in her room, Yukino came downstairs and headed to the kitchen.
Seeing her come in while cutting vegetables, Ichin smiled and said, "Why'd you come in? Go rest in the living room."
Yukino shook her head, walked over, and hugged Ichin from behind.
With Yukino holding him like that, Ichin couldn't continue cutting vegetables, so he put down the knife and turned around to hug her instead.
"What's with the sudden clinginess?"
Rubbing her face against his chest, Yukino closed her eyes and said, "Absorbing some energy so I can recover quickly."
Gently stroking her back, Ichin had a smile on his face the whole time.
"Why are you so cute?"
Yukino raised her head and looked at him. "I've always been cute since I was little. Everyone around me knows that."
"Yeah, that's true."
Ichin smiled, lifted his hand to cup her cheeks, and leaned in to kiss her.
...
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