By the time Zaboru returned home, it was already around 20:00. The ZEPS 4 meeting had finally concluded, and although the day had been long, his mind was still filled with the energy from the hall. The reaction from the developers, the applause, the questions, the excitement, and the sight of so many ZAGE teams from around the world looking toward the same future still lingered in his chest. It was tiring, but it was the good kind of tiring, the kind that made him feel alive.
When he entered the Renkonan household, the atmosphere was completely different from the ZEB meeting hall. There was no massive screen, no technical spec sheet, no developers whispering about memory bandwidth or motion controls. Instead, there was the warm smell of home, the soft light of the living room, and the comfortable noise of family spending time together.
Zanichi had apparently just woken up after sleeping in his office, and he now sat in the living room with slightly messy hair and a face that still looked half-asleep. Keiko was there as well, calmly reading a book while occasionally glancing at everyone with a gentle smile. She liked quiet moments like this, where the family simply existed together without needing to do anything special. Ayumi sat nearby with relaxed posture, and Sanika was also there, looking far too alert for someone who was supposedly only casually hanging out.
The children were already in their room. Arumi had fallen asleep earlier, while Zenshin was apparently still drawing something with intense concentration. Everyone had already learned not to disturb him too much whenever he entered that mode.
Zaboru entered the living room and immediately relaxed. The tension from the meeting finally loosened from his shoulders as Keiko looked up from her book and smiled at him. "Welcome home, Zaboru. You're late again, but I kept some food for you."
Zaboru's eyes lit up. "Mom, you're the best."
Keiko chuckled and pointed toward the small plate on the table. "It's only snacks. Dumplings. Eat before they get cold."
Zaboru sat down almost immediately and began eating the dumplings Keiko had prepared for him. The moment he took the first bite, his expression softened in pure happiness. "Ah... this is dangerous. Dumplings are the real technology."
Ayumi smiled and said, "You always become dramatic when Mom cooks for you."
Zaboru pointed at the dumpling with complete seriousness and replied, "Because Mom's cooking deserves dramatic respect."
Keiko laughed softly, while Zanichi yawned and muttered, "Leave some for me, brat. You always eat it all, damn it."
Zaboru grinned. "In your dreams."
Keiko chuckled. "Don't worry, I made plenty."
Sanika, however, was not interested in dumpling philosophy. Her eyes were practically glowing. Right now, she was still an intern at ZAGE, though in a couple of months she would become a permanent employee. She was also working undercover, so nobody knew she was Sanika Renkonan. Inside ZAGE, she used the name Sani Ran. Because of that, she was close enough to hear rumors, but not high enough to receive the really secret information. That made today's ZEPS 4 meeting especially painful for her.
She leaned forward and finally burst out, "Nii-san! Dad! I heard there was huge ZEPS 4 information today, right? Please give me the details. Please. I'm dying here."
Zanichi immediately sighed and said, "Sani-chan, you are still an intern. This information is irrelevant for you."
Zaboru chuckled while eating another dumpling. "Well, Dad is correct."
Sanika's face twisted into a pout so powerful it looked almost weaponized. "Damn you two old farts. You're both stingy as hell."
Zaboru's eyes widened instantly. "What!? I'm not an old fart! I'm still in my twenties!"
Zanichi groaned and looked at her with betrayal. "Then I'm the old fart? Damn you, Sani-chan. Even my own daughter attacks me after I worked myself to death for that monster machine."
Sanika crossed her arms proudly and replied, "If the shoe fits, Dad."
Everyone laughed. Even Keiko covered her mouth with her book, while Ayumi leaned slightly against the sofa, clearly enjoying how quickly the family had turned ZEPS 4 secrecy into comedy.
Zaboru pointed at Sanika with a dumpling between his chopsticks and said, "Careful, Sani-chan. If you bully the CTO too much, he might delay your future development kit access."
Sanika froze immediately. Her face changed from smug little sister to desperate intern in one second. "Dad, you are young, handsome, brilliant, and definitely not an old fart."
Zanichi stared at her.
Zaboru nearly choked.
Ayumi laughed quietly and said, "That was fast."
Keiko smiled warmly and added, "Sanika, at least make your flattery less obvious."
Sanika clasped her hands together and looked at Zanichi with fake innocence. "What flattery? I am only speaking the truth."
Zanichi sighed like a man who had seen too many suspicious family negotiations. "You're definitely Zaboru's sister."
Sanika grinned. "Thank you."
Zanichi leaned back and rubbed his face, still looking sleepy, but there was a faint smile on his lips. "Jokes aside, Zaboru, I wonder what kind of games you're planning for ZEPS 4. That machine is crazy. You literally made me work overtime and exceed my limit. I should be angry, but honestly..." He paused and glanced away as if admitting it embarrassed him. "It was kind of refreshing."
Zaboru looked at him, and his grin softened into something warmer. "Without you, Dad, I don't think I could believe something like ZEPS 4 is possible. I had the dream, but you're the one who turned it into a real machine. And for the games... don't worry. Hehehe. ZEPS 4 games will be insane. I'm not going to lie."
Zanichi raised his brows, while Sanika and Ayumi's eyes lit up at almost the same time. Ayumi leaned forward slightly and asked, "What kind of games, Zabo?"
Sanika immediately nodded and moved even closer. "Yeah, what games? Sequels? New IPs? Online games? Motion games? Horror? RPG? don't act like you didn't already think of everything."
Zaboru blinked, then looked amused. "Sani-chan, you asked more questions than some team leads today."
Sanika puffed her chest proudly. "Of course. I'm an intern with ambition."
Zanichi muttered, "You're an intern with dangerous curiosity."
Sanika ignored him completely and kept staring at Zaboru. "Come on, Nii-san. Just a small hint. I don't need exact titles. Just direction. Like, are you focusing on cinematic games? Bigger worlds? Motion control? Online features? Or maybe something that use new controller!?"
Zaboru laughed and shook his head. "Fine, fine. Since you're that curious, I'll say a little. It's a bit of both: sequels and original games. I plan to focus almost all major ZAGE teams on ZEPS 4 development after their recent tasks are done. Their main workload will gradually shift toward creating ZEPS 4 launch and early-era games. I'm planning to release ZEPS 4 probably next year, and for launch or launch-window support, I want around twelve major titles."
The living room went silent.
Zanichi's eyes widened first. "The hell? Twelve games?"
Sanika's mouth opened. "Twelve?"
Ayumi blinked. "Zabo... twelve ZEPS 4 release games?"
Keiko looked up from her book again, not because she fully understood game development schedules, but because everyone's reaction made it clear that Zaboru had said something ridiculous.
Zanichi sat up straighter and said, "You're going to put your developers to death. ZEPS 4 games should have insane quality, right? This isn't ZEPS 3 anymore. You can't just say twelve like you're ordering dumplings."
Zaboru grinned and nodded. "I know. But I'll be with them, Dad. Don't worry about it. I promise you, this will be good. And no, they won't die. Hahaha. Our developers are something else, you know."
Zanichi narrowed his eyes. "That sounds like something a reckless boss says before everyone dies."
Sanika nodded seriously. "Nii-san, as a future permanent employee, I would like to formally request not dying."
Zaboru laughed. "Request accepted."
Ayumi tilted her head and asked, "But how are you going to manage that many games? Even with many teams, launch games for a new console are difficult."
Zaboru's expression became calmer. "That's why I'm not planning to make every team do the same kind of project. Some games will be massive RPGs, some will be romance RPGs, some will be open-world games set in urban environments, some will be sci-fi shooters, and of course there will be horror games, sports games, racing games, historical games, and plenty more. Hehehe. But for now, the exact titles are still secret."
Sanika's eyes shined even more. "Whoa, that's so much! So each game will show a different face of ZEPS 4? Are those themes?"
Zaboru shrugged with a teasing smile. "Maybe?"
Sanika immediately looked extremely proud of herself, as if she had just uncovered confidential ZAGE strategy through pure younger-sister instinct.
Zanichi sighed. "Don't encourage her. She's already too curious."
Sanika immediately turned toward him. "Dad, curiosity is important for developers."
Zanichi replied flatly, "So is confidentiality."
Sanika clicked her tongue. "Stingy old genius."
Zanichi looked at Zaboru. "See? This is your fault somehow."
Zaboru pointed at himself. "Me?"
Keiko smiled gently and said, "She learned from both of you."
That ended the argument immediately, because nobody could fight Keiko's calm truth.
Zaboru chuckled. "Family is exactly why I know how dangerous you are. And didn't you stop being my cute little sister when you entered high school? You used to hate it whenever I called you that, didn't you?" He grinned teasingly.
Sanika froze for a second, then her face turned slightly red. "Nii-san, don't bring that up now! That was embarrassing!"
Zaboru laughed. "See? Dangerous."
Sanika placed one hand on her chest like she had been wounded. "Nii-san, how could you say that? I am innocent."
Zanichi muttered, "You are not."
Ayumi smiled and added, "Not even a little."
Sanika looked betrayed. "Ayumi-nee too?"
Ayumi giggled. "Especially me. I know the Renkonan family too well now."
Zaboru laughed, then finally gave in a little. "No titles yet. But yes, some are sequels. Some are original. Some will use ZAGE Network heavily. Some will show off motion controls. Some will use the handheld link. Some will focus on cinematic presentation, and some will probably make players say, 'Wait, this is possible now?' That's all."
Sanika narrowed her eyes, clearly unsatisfied but also excited. "That's not enough, but... that's definitely suspicious enough to keep me awake tonight."
Zaboru grinned. "Good. That means it's working."
Zanichi yawned again. "Suit yourself then. That's not my business anymore." He rubbed his eyes and stood slowly. "I'm still sleepy though. Honey, I want to sleep earlier, okay?"
Keiko smiled and nodded. "Okay, anata. I'll join later."
Zanichi looked at Zaboru one more time and pointed at him lazily. "Don't make another console idea tonight."
Zaboru smiled innocently. "Well probably not now hehehe."
Zanichi paused for a second, then looked away while pretending not to be pleased. "Hmph."
Keiko smiled softly because she could clearly see that her husband was happy. For all his complaints, Zanichi was proud. He had helped make Zaboru's dream real again, and even if he grumbled, yawned, and acted like he only wanted coffee and sleep, his face betrayed him a little.
After Zanichi left for the bedroom, the living room became quieter, but Sanika was still visibly restless. She stared at Zaboru like a cat watching a locked cabinet full of food. "Nii-sama... really no more hints?"
Zaboru took another dumpling and replied, "Nope. Wait a while, okay?"
Sanika sighed dramatically. "This is abuse of younger sister curiosity."
Ayumi smiled, then shifted the topic. "But then, isn't this a good period for third-party developers to release their games if ZAGE slows down this year until the next?"
Zaboru nodded while chewing. "Yeah, that's correct. More third-party games will release while our internal teams shift toward ZEPS 4 preparation. I already notified them, and some of them are happy because it gives them more space."
Ayumi frowned slightly. "But why didn't you notify Akaishidan, Zabo?"
Zaboru chuckled. "I did though. I already told Akechi-san. Maybe you've just been too busy these days?"
Ayumi sighed and leaned back. "Probably. My game is almost finished, and I hope it can release in the next two months."
Sanika immediately looked interested again. "Ayumi-nee's game too... everyone has secrets. This house is full of secret projects. I'm the only one suffering."
Zaboru smiled. "Welcome to ZAGE."
Sanika groaned, but then she eventually stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm going to be a third wheel if I stay longer, hehehe. Anyway, I'm off. But Nii-san, remember this. When I become permanent, I'm coming for those development details."
Zaboru waved casually. "Work hard first, Sani Ran."
Sanika froze, then slowly pointed at him. "Don't say my undercover name at home so naturally. It makes me feel like I'm being summoned."
Ayumi laughed, and Sanika finally went to her room, still muttering something about stingy geniuses and corporate family abuse.
Zaboru smiled as he watched her go. There was a warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with business success. Sanika was still young, still learning, still hiding her identity inside ZAGE, but her curiosity was real. She wanted to know. She wanted to grow. And maybe one day, she would become someone who helped shape ZAGE too.
After that, Zaboru and Ayumi eventually went to their bedroom. It was already around 21:30, and the kids were asleep. The house had become quiet, filled only with the soft feeling of night and the distant comfort of family resting under the same roof.
Ayumi lay beside Zaboru and looked at him with gentle curiosity. "Hey, Zabo... honestly, I'm so curious about those twelve games too."
Zaboru turned toward her and smiled. "You too?"
"Of course," Ayumi replied softly. "I'm your wife. I'm allowed to be curious."
Zaboru chuckled. "That sounds like a legal argument."
Ayumi smiled mischievously and moved closer. "Then I have one request."
Zaboru narrowed his eyes playfully. "Oh? Here it comes."
Ayumi hugged him and said sweetly, "Can Akaishidan get ZEPS 4 development tools a little earlier?"
Zaboru grinned. "Bribing me, huh?"
Ayumi looked up at him with innocent eyes that were absolutely not innocent. "Well, it can't hurt to try."
Zaboru laughed quietly and wrapped an arm around her. "Fine then. But not that early, okay? I still need to keep things fair."
Ayumi's face brightened. "Yay."
Zaboru smiled at her reaction, but his eyelids were already growing heavy. He actually wanted to sleep early tonight. He had barely slept for almost three days, and even with his Enlightenment Body, that was still too much. Usually, he only needed around two hours of sleep each day, but now his body was clearly demanding more. Probably around six hours this time. Tomorrow, he would go to AKAI to talk about AKAI's super expansion, and that meeting would probably be another storm of ideas.
Ayumi noticed his tired expression and gently touched his cheek. "Sleep, Zabo. You've worked enough."
Zaboru smiled softly. "Yeah... maybe I really should."
Ayumi rested closer to him, and Zaboru closed his eyes he sleep like a log.
To be continued.
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