Chapter 241 Clannad Goes on Sale!
"'A heartwarming, love-filled school story.' Old Thief Masato's new work Clannad is officially on sale!"
As it came to late February, one piece of news instantly shot up to become the hottest topic in the gaming scene.
Ever since Old Thief revealed that he was in fact Teacher Xander, the discussion around this had never stopped in the community. Especially after Gensokyo Software quietly added a galgame category tab, a whole bunch of rubberneckers got excited out of their minds.
Today, the first galgame Old Thief released post-exposure naturally drew the attention of a huge swath of players.
Whether veteran galgame players or players from other genres, as soon as this game went live it broke out of the niche purely on Old Thief's heat—so much so that even people who don't really play games started paying attention.
Although many players felt it was a bit of a pity that Clannad is an all-ages title, they more or less understood Old Thief's position. After a few words of regret, they stopped minding it.
Some galgame players were even quite moved that, after making a name for himself, Old Thief still hadn't forgotten them.
On release day, brick-and-mortar shops finally understood what "Old Thief's heat" actually meant.
They used to think that the not-yet-exposed Teacher Xander was already unbeatable, but with the added halo of Old Thief, the line that had started forming the night before and stretched who-knows-how-many meters left store owners and clerks dumbfounded—so much so that they hurriedly called the police, afraid something might go wrong.
Because of this, reporters with a nose for hot stories flocked in. When a player who had just snagged an in-store physical special edition came out beaming, one reporter hurried over.
"Hello, could you accept a quick interview?" She shoved the mic right up to the player's face.
"No problem." The player was clearly in a great mood and agreed without much hesitation.
"May I ask, did you buy Designer Masato's new game?"
"Of course—new work Clannad. I've been looking forward to it for so long. I hope Old Thief won't let me down this time either!" The player proudly showed off the prize in his arms, practically wishing everyone watching could know he got the first-press limited edition.
"We probably don't need to question Designer Masato's skill. Could I also ask—since Old Thief's game is selling so crazily—could you tell us your trick for managing to snag a copy?"
"A trick?"
This was exactly what the player was waiting for. The corner of his mouth quirked up as he said with a hint of pride: "Once you've seen the sun over Akihabara at four in the morning, you'll understand."
"... Search QUN: (garbled string)"
What can I say?
Not to mention the frenzy offline, the digital version online broke a million sales in a short time.
Compared to Old Thief Masato's other games, that number might be nothing special, but in the galgame world it was like a nuclear bomb—causing an earthquake wouldn't be an exaggeration.
From this, galgame reached a peak that would be hard for others to even glance up at.
For this release, besides the game itself both online and offline, anime CDs also opened for preorder at the same time, split into two parts—Clannad and Clannad After Story—to be sold after the TV broadcast finished.
Compared to the game, the anime's sales might be lower, but in under an hour of preorders it shattered the "wall of masterpieces." In the anime sphere, it could likewise be called a legend.
Back to St. Freya.
As a faithful devotee of Gensokyo, Sirin naturally placed her order the very first moment.
Not only the digital version of the game and anime—last night she even pestered Xander Masato into giving her a complete bonus-item set, and she was flaunting it on stream right now.
"I'm telling you guys, I actually didn't want to take this stuff at first. After all, everyone worked so hard to grab it—I'd feel too guilty if I just got it for nothing. But Xander... ahem, Old Thief was way too enthusiastic. I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to~"
With a wall scroll of Nagisa Furukawa in hand, Sirin said with a face full of smugness.
Lately Kiana had rubbed off on her and she'd started calling Xander "A-Xander" too; it felt more intimate that way. She'd almost slipped just now.
[Uh-oh, she's really hamming it up.]
[Old Thief begged you to take it? I don't buy it!]
[Yo yo yo, I bet she fronts one thing and does another. For all we know she gets off stream and drops to her knees for Old Thief.]
[Alright, alright—details on the kneeling.]
[Pufferfish: Boss, I admit I was a bit loud outside just now. I'm kneeling here to apologize.]
[Then Old Thief says he's really fired up right now, and pins Sirin's head down?]
[Tears of humiliation welled up in Sirin's eyes, but under pressure she could only close her eyes and endure in pain?]
[Sirin, you don't want to get kicked out of Gensokyo, do you? Kekeke~]
[A stream "viewing party" is just around the corner. Another 100 bucks for more!]
[Only 100? Who are you looking down on! Here's my number: a hundred each!]
[...]
"Hey, hey, hey—what are you saying? Would the great Sirin need to beg anyone?"
"And also, what are you all even talking about? Supermod! Where's the supermod—ban all these lewd ones!!!"
Seeing the increasingly out-of-pocket comments, Sirin stopped feeling smug and her face went one shade of red.
In the past she might not have cared or even wished they'd go further, but now...
As it happened, yesterday she had just been "lured" into taking a bath with Xander, then "forced" to squat there and "reluctantly" do certain things that left her mortified.
So when she saw the chat saying this, it felt like a little secret in her heart had been punctured. The inexplicable shame had her overheating in no time.
With the ringleaders thrown into the little black room, the bullet comments instantly cleared up like a river after dredging. Under heavy pressure, the viewers "voluntarily" started calling Sirin "Lord Clear Broth."
"Exactly. How could I possibly do that kind of thing, seriously! You guys—stop thinking about unhealthy stuff all day. This is a green stream!"
As if afraid of being misunderstood, Sirin added a "target-locked into the void" explanation, and then continued showing off her spoils from last night's wheedling.
Granted, if she mentioned it, Xander would set a set aside for her—but how could the righteous Sirin get something for nothing?
Mumbling that it was all for the game bonuses, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to service. Honestly, Xander was quite interested in this novel kind of play.
"Look, this one's my favorite—Fuko Ibuki. Isn't she super cute~"
Holding up a loli wall scroll, Sirin said excitedly.
"And, Xander... ahem, Old Thief told me this little loli's story is really moving!"
She chattered on for ages. After showing every last thing, Sirin finally put her hand on the mouse.
"Heh-heh, today I've brought a special perk unique to the Sirin stream for everyone!!"
Saying that, Sirin opened a folder on her desktop.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, dozens of video files appeared on screen.
"Through certain unspeakable special channels, I got permission to stream Clannad. You know this is content that hasn't even aired on TV yet. One and only—miss it and it's gone!"
[???? You're actually doing this for real?]
[Aren't you afraid of the Gensokyo Legal Department coming after you? Aren't you afraid of the Gensokyo Legal Department coming after you?]
Faced with skeptical bullet comments, Sirin smugly wagged a finger. "I told you—through special channels. Don't doubt my standing inside Gensokyo, okay?"
The Gensokyo Legal Department?
She's the boss's wife of Gensokyo now... one of them! How could family investigate family!!
The chance to stream was naturally the fruit of last night's efforts. If it were those companies focused on anime, this might be a matter that would affect the whole company's operation—but for Gensokyo...
Even if Clannad didn't sell a single copy, it wouldn't matter to them. The company wasn't relying on it to make money; the staff all treated it as the boss's passion project. The boss would obviously do whatever he wanted—no one would say anything even if it was all free, they'd even praise him for staying true to his heart.
So, for the sake of Sirin's little "I have what others don't" vanity to flaunt her status, Xander was never going to spoil her fun. In fact, as he bowed his head and gently stroked Sirin's long purple hair, he was thinking about when he might find an excuse to include Kiana, too.
They're real sisters...
Just thinking about it got him excited—so much so that he soon heard Sirin's muffled sobbing coughs.
[Uh-oh, maybe Sirin really does have reach across Gensokyo's hierarchy. Isn't Old Thief Masato going to rein her in?]
[Streaming an entire cour that hasn't aired on TV—won't that tank their relationship with the TV station?]
[Lol. Does Gensokyo actually care about "small local TV stations"? As for those overseas networks, buddy, maybe check who owns them behind the scenes?]
[Scared now—don't dare raise my voice in Sirin's stream.]
[So... what those guys said earlier might be true. Did Sirin really climb onto Old Thief Masato's...]
"You—you guys!!!!"
Seeing the topic going crooked again, Sirin gritted her teeth and was about to have the supermod execute another round of kill-one-to-warn-a-hundred.
But at that moment, a scrolling superchat made her eyes widen at once.
[Old Thief Masato, you're being foolish. This pufferfish has no chest, no figure, and a temper like that. Isn't Princess Kaguya nicer? Isn't Boss Duck nicer? If it comes down to it, even that little secretary at Old Thief Masato's side is ten thousand times better than the pufferfish!!]
[To be fair, the bro's got a point. And don't forget Miss Pink Elf♪. I don't understand how anyone who's won Miss Pink Elf♪'s love could still fall for someone else!!]
[Tsk. Weren't there also pics in those rumors of a lively, cute white-haired girl? Old Thief Masato really deserves to be damned!!]
[So what did he see in the pufferfish? It can't be her tiny little stream, right.]
[You in front—I'm dying over here.]
The supers came one after another like money was no object, madly firing at Sirin.
She turned red, then black, then red again, pointing at the screen and shouting angrily: "What's wrong with my stream!! I've spent years building this, okay!! And as for my connections in Gensokyo—do they have to be about my relationship with Xander?! Bronya and I have been good friends for five or six years. Is having a good relationship not allowed?!!"
"I didn't expect that after I worked so hard to get you all a perk, what I'd get in return was this kind of slander. Do you even have a conscience!!"
"And what about me, huh—how am I unworthy of Old Thief!!! Am I not pretty?!!!"
Her tone had been controlled up to that point, but on that last sentence she was gritting her teeth. If someone had been in front of her, she would've wanted to sock them.
Though "pufferfish" blowing up is her daily norm, exploding like this was a first. The viewers were stunned, thinking they'd pushed the joke too far. One by one they scrambled to apologize in the bullet comments.
Seeing this, Sirin folded her arms and huffed, turning her head away.
"Forget it. Since it's your first offense, I'll be magnanimous and let it go."
After letting them stew for half a minute, Sirin finally lifted her head again.
Looking at the screen, she pointed her finger. "One last time: I've got good relations with a lot of people in Gensokyo—like Bronya, and Old Thief's little secretary Seele, for instance. Don't be fooled by how tiny and soft that little secretary is—she's actually one of Gensokyo's major shareholders, a top-tier power figure. She's just low-key. Don't go teasing her casually."
"So, for something as simple as streaming rights to an anime, do I need to go to Old Thief? It's just a matter of a word. What's so hard about that? You really think my standing in Gensokyo depends on Old Thief? Let me put it this way—my position here is the same with or without him!!"
Thinking she'd delivered the line in a very cool way, Sirin snuck a glance at the bullet comments, ready to bask in a wave of worship and praise—but what she saw made her frown.
[Pufferfish, stop. Behind you—behind you!!!!]
[Oh crap—pufferfish, shut up! Look behind you!!!]
[Uh-oh. She's done for!!]
"Behind me?"
Puzzled, she took off her headphones and turned around—only to meet a pair of black eyes looking at her with a half-smile.
Swish!!
Sirin jolted in fright, hands flailing in front of her.
"X-X-Xander, w-when did you get here?"
Xander smiled. "Not that long. Right around when you said it was the same with or without me."
"!!!!!!!"
Didn't he hear everything?
For a moment, Sirin's brain blue-screened. She stared blankly as Xander set the fruit plate he'd brought down on the table, then walked out without looking back.
"W-wait, wait!!"
Just as Xander was about to step out, Sirin finally snapped out of it. She sprang to her feet, not even caring about the stream, and dashed after him. "Xander! I—I didn't mean it that way!!!"
"What's that supposed to mean? Didn't you say it's the same with or without me?"
"Waaah—I was just joking!!! Don't go. I'm sorry—wait for me!!!"
With a bang, the door closed, and the bullet comments exploded.
[Haughty first, humble later—truly hilarious upon reflection!]
[That's Sirin for you. Old Thief Masato just needs to work hard and make games seriously. Sirin has a lot more to worry about.]
[I declare: today's best content!]
The chat buzzed nonstop. Only after half an hour did Sirin return to the room, face flushed.
She slumped bonelessly into the chair, shooting the camera a shy-angry look. "This is all your fault. Otherwise, how would Xander have—how would he have..."
Her chest barely had two taels of flesh to begin with, and Xander just had to do that. In the end she still had to rely on her mouth... "QUN: (garbled string)"
"Forget it. We've wasted so much time already—I'm too lazy to scold you. The Clannad watch-along is officially starting."
"From now on we're watching it only once. Even though Old Thief said I can stream it however I like, I'm not that willful."
She moved the mouse to the first episode. Then she added, "Oh right, I've already enabled recording bans. Those clip-makers can take a break this time. This isn't content that's suitable to circulate."
Everyone naturally understood. They all said just being allowed to watch was already great—this was the world's only 'public resource.'
"Okay, then without further ado—we'll begin!"
She clicked the video.
At the very first moment, ethereal background music rang out. Under a gray filter, the view of a small town unfolded before the audience.
Next came the male lead's slightly negative inner monologue.
"I hate this town..."
His voice was flat as he walked along, speaking of his day-after-day gray routine in his heart.
Unchanging school life, a home he didn't want to return to...
But soon, when he walked up a slope of cherry blossoms, a girl standing by the roadside let out a soft sigh.
The camera froze on the girl. The background music shifted quickly into a sound like chimes—plain, warm. Just listening felt like it could bring a smile to your face.
"I like this BGM!" Sirin's expression relaxed; she said in delight. The bullet comments were almost unanimously positive.
Watching together is supposed to be like this—watching and chatting at the same time, that's what makes it fun.
"Red bean bread..."
The girl suddenly blurted out a puzzling line. Then, with her head lowered, half to herself and half as if asking, she said, "Do you like this school? I like it very, very much. But nothing can last forever..."
To the male lead, this was a girl he didn't know. She might have been asking him, but most likely she was talking to herself.
Just as he was thinking and about to leave, the girl spoke again. Clutching her handbag, she lifted her face: "Whether it's joy or delight, none of it, none of it can last forever. Even so, will you still come to like this place?"
Gray petals drifted onto the boy's head. He lowered his head and, after a moment of silence, chose to respond: "Then go and find it."
As his voice fell, the girl turned back in surprise.
The whole world blossomed into color in that instant.
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ chapters ahead of webnovel
Paid member can read 150+ chapters ahead of webnovel
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts