"Hmph, that sly woman… she's been coming around more often lately, hasn't she?"
In the office booth, Sayoko sat on Tetsu Fuyukawa's lap, wearing only a tight skirt. She playfully squeezed her curves, a hint of jealousy flashing across her flushed face.
From behind, Tetsu wrapped his arms around her, his lips brushing her neck. His eyes flicked to the locked door as he chuckled and shook his head. "It's only going to get more frequent. You two need to learn to get along."
No secrets here. Hearing his words, Sayoko's hazy, flushed gaze softened with a touch of resignation. She continued her playful teasing, murmuring, "Mmm… I know. But… ever since the game blew up, the way she looks at you, Tetsu-kun, feels different."
"You're pretty sharp, aren't you?"
Tetsu's mind drifted to his earlier conversation with Miyano Mitei, recalling her flustered parting words: "Wait for my message during the break." A smirk tugged at his lips as he pictured her, cheeks red, dressed in a maid outfit. But then—
"Eek! Tetsu-kun, no getting distracted now!" Sayoko squealed.
"Ow, easy there," he hissed.
"Hmph, that's what you get for thinking about other women right now," she teased. "But about that new game you mentioned—are you planning to jump right into it?"
"Not that fast."
Tetsu gave her full hip a light pat and leaned back on the sofa, gazing at the ceiling with a relaxed smile. "A 17-billion-yen mega project. I'm confident NTsoft will greenlight it, but the board's bound to haggle for a while. Plus, we'll need to recruit. A project this big isn't something Lightbird's tiny team can handle right now. Hiss—speed it up a bit."
He stretched his legs, sinking deeper into the moment, his hand grazing the soft fabric of her skirt. "But a break's not a bad thing. It'll give us time to catch up on Fate's delayed schedule. And you've been burning the candle at both ends these past few months—you must be exhausted."
"Mmm… I can… keep going," Sayoko purred, her breath warm as she glanced back, eyes sultry. Tetsu's pulse quickened. "Don't push yourself too hard. Up on the coffee table—full-on footwork!"
"Mmph—"
---
Much later, as the wall clock ticked past 5 p.m., Tetsu slipped back into his suit jacket. Sayoko, her face still glowing, followed him out of the office.
In the hallway, employees heading home stopped in their tracks, eagerly bowing and greeting them. Tetsu nodded back with a calm smile, unfazed, while Sayoko couldn't help but puff out her chest—still slightly tender—with a proud, sweet grin.
Sure, the leaked budget for Sekiro had some outsiders whispering that Tetsu was overreaching, but no one could deny that I'm Surrounded by Beauties was the biggest sleeper hit of the second half of the year!
The game raked in over 7 billion yen for NTsoft and earned Lightbird Studio a hefty bonus.
---
Game studios don't just pay salaries—there's profit sharing too!
With nearly 5 million copies sold and NTsoft's internal reforms encouraging inter-department competition and innovation, Lightbird Studio walked away with a 230-million-yen profit bonus after taxes and platform fees!
230 million yen in three months!
A jaw-dropping bonus that had the whole company green with envy!
As the team leader and core member, Tetsu took 70%, netting 100 million yen after Japan's 45% tax on incomes over 40 million yen—roughly 5 million RMB or 700,000 USD.
Sayoko, Kawaguchi, and Aunt Nogi split the remaining 69 million yen. After a 33% income tax, each pocketed 15 million yen—about 750,000 RMB or 100,000 USD!
That's four years' worth of an average NTsoft employee's salary earned in three months!
Who wouldn't want to join Lightbird? Who wouldn't want to latch onto Tetsu's coattails?
Even though Sekiro's proposal hadn't been approved yet, the board hadn't outright rejected it either—meaning there was hope!
A mega-production with a 60-million-USD development budget and another 60 million for marketing? Who wouldn't want a piece of that?
Tetsu was the hottest commodity at NTsoft right now!
And even if Sekiro fell through, Lightbird's four-person team was bound to expand.
As for the Third Department's staff? They avoided him like the plague, terrified of crossing him.
Sure, Yamanaka and Tetsu had a bet, and Yamanaka was a veteran at NTsoft. Most thought Tetsu would either lose or, if he won, let Yamanaka off lightly with a slap on the wrist. No one expected Tetsu's iron will—he actually made Yamanaka kneel!
The photo of Yamanaka groveling in the elevator shaft had spread like wildfire in the industry. Exiled to a remote branch, he now hid in his tiny office, too ashamed to face anyone.
Strong skills, unstoppable momentum, a fierce personality, and a do-or-do-it-right attitude—nobody at NTsoft dared mess with Tetsu anymore.
He didn't care much about others' opinions. Under their longing or admiring stares, he returned greetings with his usual smile and led Sayoko to the parking lot.
"Tetsu-kun, you don't seem as excited as I expected," Sayoko remarked, buckling her seatbelt across her curves.
Tetsu glanced out the window, easing off the brake and turning the wheel with a chuckle. "I'm excited, sure, but not that excited."
"Huh?" Sayoko tilted her head, puzzled.
He pinched her soft cheek, grinning. "You really have no business sense, do you? The game's a hit, but notice how all the headhunters calling me lately want me for marketing roles?"
"Mm… yeah, mostly marketing departments?" she ventured.
"Exactly."
Tetsu's expression grew serious, his eyes thoughtful as he watched the road. "I'm going to strike out on my own eventually, but even with the next project's bonus and Fate's sales, funding a big production will be tough."
Fate sold 200,000 copies in its previous life at about 4,000 yen each, totaling 800 million yen—roughly 3 million USD. That was without a global platform like Steam or the Chinese market. Today's market had more potential.
But Fate, as a galgame, was limited by its niche. The genre's all-time sales record was Key's 5 million copies across their series, with single titles under a million.
Fate's story outclassed Key's in depth, but dark, heavy narratives weren't for everyone. Some players wanted a story; others just wanted to unwind. Neither was inherently better—just different goals.
In China, most galgame players treated them like first-person shooters. A slow-paced, dark, and heavy Fate might not resonate. Even if it sold 2 million copies—a genre record—after taxes, that's maybe 30 million USD. Elden Ring's development cost alone, excluding marketing, was estimated at over 70 million USD.
The money wasn't enough, and it was short by a lot. But there were three solutions:
1. Keep making low-budget hits to build capital.
2. Cut staff salaries to reduce costs.
3. Pull in investors.
Low-budget hits were viable, but even those took over six months, and after I'm Surrounded by Beauties, Tetsu had little interest in small-scale projects.
The other two paths required fame.
Cutting salaries meant offsetting with higher bonuses tied to sales, which required proving he was a top-tier game producer to attract elite talent. Securing investment was the same—full control meant no equity partners, just high-stakes bets. That required a "top game producer" reputation to convince investors of profit potential.
Right now, media and headhunters focused on his market savvy, not his production skills.
It was like buying stocks—people would follow his lead. Starting his own company? They'd hesitate.
"Sekiro's release will mark my era. No rush," Tetsu thought, shifting his mindset. No point dwelling on things he couldn't speed up. He started chatting with Sayoko about their plans for the break.
Yes, a break.
Normally, New Year's meant time off, but with the game's launch, Lightbird had monitored data and tweaked based on player feedback, working through the holiday. Now, with the game's success, the company gave them a week off.
The topic reminded Tetsu of Miyano Mitei's exasperated look.
She'd worked through New Year's too, as a department head overseeing the Fourth Department's operations with no break.
So, a maid housekeeper game… in the office?
That sounded intriguing.
Lost in thought, they soon arrived at the market.
"I'm off to buy groceries, Tetsu-kun. Drive safe!" Sayoko said.
"Yep, meet me under the bridge later," he replied.
"Got it!"
Leaning over, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek, giggling as she unbuckled and sashayed across the street toward the market.
Tetsu lit a cigarette, watching her graceful figure disappear through the market's entrance. He started the car and headed to Tokiwadai High School.
Himawari Izumi's classes were about to end.