Yukima Azuma led everyone upstairs.
He had already prepared a room for Eriri—right next to Kasumigaoka Utaha's. Coincidentally, two days ago, he had bought a batch of blank naplates. Now, they could finally be put to use.
Azuma pulled one out of the box and wrote "Sawamura Spencer Eriri" on it. Then, he hung it on the door.
"The katakana is terrible!" Eriri scowled at the naplate.
But even as she criticized it, the corners of her lips betrayed her—lifting into a smile so wide, it looked like it could stretch to the sky. A grin like soone barely holding back recoil on an LMG with an 8x scope.
Azuma could only shrug helplessly.
He picked up another blank naplate, scribbled down "Kasumigaoka Utaha," and placed it on Utaha's door.
Kasumigaoka stared at it for a mont. Then, her gaze drifted to the remaining naplates in the box.
Without warning, she pinched Azuma's side.
Azuma flinched but endured it in silence. Sotis, you had to pay a small price.
Kato gumi, holding Shiratamaru in her arms, stood at a distance and quietly watched the scene unfold.
After helping Eriri move her things in, everyone returned to the living room.
"The character designs and cover are done, and about a third of the CGs too." Eriri laid her artwork on the table.
Azuma flipped through them. As expected, nothing major needed fixing. They had already revised most of the designs through LINE chats. With Azuma's original concepts and Eriri's top-tier skills, the results were almost flawless.
If there was any issue, it was that everything still felt slightly rushed.
Utaha placed a stack of papers on the table. "The script is finished. But it's my first ti writing one for a ga, so there might be things I missed."
Azuma and Eriri each took a copy and began reading.
As always, Utaha's writing was sharp and compelling.
But—
"I feel like... sothing's missing," Eriri muttered, furrowing her brows.
Utaha didn't respond to her. Instead, she turned to Azuma, clearly waiting for his opinion.
He had just finished reading.
"The story's great. It definitely ets the standard—maybe even exceeds it," Azuma said. "But since you're used to writing novels, you've probably overlooked sothing."
"In a ga, story branches and player choices are essential. Each choice should lead to different endings. What you've written would work well as the Good Ending route."
Utaha nodded. "That makes sense. I am more used to linear storytelling."
"Exactly!" Eriri raised her hand, agreeing loudly.
"You're criticizing even though you haven't finished your own work?" Utaha smirked.
"Hey! Illustrators have tons of work!"
"And writers don't? Sounds like a skill issue."
"Text and art aren't the sa!"
"Then why don't you write the script?"
"You're so annoying, you evil woman in black stockings!"
The two imdiately began bickering again.
Azuma took a seat beside Kato gumi, who remained on the sidelines, still holding Shiratamaru.
He reached over to scratch the cat's chin. Since Shiratamaru was in gumi's lap, his hand brushed lightly against her leg.
gumi didn't seem to mind at all.
"gumi," Azuma said suddenly, "want to join the club as a ga tester?"
She looked up, surprised. "Huh? But I don't know anything about this."
"That's fine. Actually, it's better that way," Azuma explained. "Utaha-senpai and Eriri are professionals, so when they evaluate each other's work, they're too harsh or too technical."
"But our players won't be pros—they'll be regular people. We need soone who can evaluate the ga from that perspective."
gumi blinked a few tis, processing it. "I see... I guess that makes sense."
"I can join, but... will Kasumigaoka-senpai and Sawamura-san be okay with it?"
At that mont, the two stopped arguing and turned toward them.
Azuma folded his hands like he was pleading. "Utaha-senpai, Eriri, is it okay if gumi joins the club?"
"You already decided, didn't you? Why even ask?" Utaha sighed.
"Yeah, seriously," Eriri echoed.
Though they grumbled, neither of them actually opposed it. If it were soone else, they probably would've flat-out rejected the idea.
Despite only knowing gumi since the beginning of the term, both of them already considered her a friend.
gumi had that kind of quiet power—drawing people in without even trying.
"Alright!" Azuma grinned. "To celebrate gumi joining, let's have red bean rice tonight!"
"Wait a second, Lonely-kun," Utaha glared at him. "What about the programming? Don't tell you're just pushing us while doing nothing yourself."
"Exactly! Slacker!" Eriri chid in.
Azuma shook his head and opened his laptop.
"Of course not. Here."
The screen displayed a functioning ga system, already running smoothly. The entire frawork was done. Now they just needed to plug in the art, text, and music.
Utaha's eyes narrowed. She hadn't seen him coding at all lately. Yet, this... was way too polished.
Even with seven or eight programrs, this would've taken several days.
Eriri stared in disbelief. "Wait, when did you do all this? Did you outsource it?"
Azuma nodded. "Exactly. Because I did outsource it."
"...Huh?"
"Huh??"
Seeing their stunned faces, Azuma chuckled.
"A few days ago, I registered a company. It'll handle developnt, PR, and release. I hired a few programrs and gave them the job of building the ga system."
The room went silent.
Who just casually starts a company for a school project?
"...Just wait until this ga flops. Then we'll see how smug you are," Eriri muttered.
But deep down, she had already decided—when the ga released, she'd ask her mom to buy a hundred copies. She could give them to friends in her otaku circles. The more copies, the better.
As for Utaha... her thoughts were simpler.
If the company went under, she'd just feed Azuma herself.
That evening, Azuma really did make red bean rice—also called azuki gohan. In Japan, it's a dish for celebration. It symbolizes happiness, warmth, and new beginnings.
In the kitchen, gumi quietly helped Azuma cook.
In the living room, Eriri called to the cat.
"Co here, Shiratamaru~!"
The little guy understood basic words now. Hearing his na, he gracefully walked over, then jumped into Eriri's arms. His tiny paws gently kneaded her leg.
Eriri hugged him tightly, casting a triumphant look at Kasumigaoka.
Kasumigaoka glared back.
Silly Eriri, she thought. You don't even see where the real threat is.
Right on cue, Shiratamaru jumped out of Eriri's arms, darted across the room, and leapt into Kasumigaoka's lap.
His little paws tapped gently against her black tights.
Shiratamaru: Umu. This is the right place.
Utaha giggled softly.
"You witch! Seducing Shiratamaru with your black tights!" Eriri shouted, fuming with jealousy.
Is it because she has bigger oppai than ? Is that why Shiratamaru chose her? she thought.
"Sawamura-san, read a book for once. It's called 'kneading.' It's a normal kitten behavior."
"Shiratamaru picked because you have no charm. Don't bla the cat."
Utaha smiled sweetly—but her words were as sharp as ever.
"Grrr—Shiratamaru, co back! Don't play with that evil woman!"
Eriri grabbed a cat toy and tried to lure the kitten back.
Shiratamaru hesitated... then bolted toward the teasing stick.
Kasumigaoka just shrugged.
She could always bring out the cat snacks later. That always worked.
Dinner ti ca, and the atmosphere was... strange.
Because Azuma's cooking transcended the concepts of "good" or "bad."
It was so absurdly flavorful that Eriri and gumi genuinely wondered if he'd used so kind of weird ingredient.
Azuma: I would never do sothing unreasonable like that!
After dinner, Eriri stayed up late drawing on her tablet.
Utaha began working on the branching paths for the script.
gumi washed the dishes and got ready to leave.
At the door, Azuma looked at the pitch-black sky.
"...Why don't you stay the night?"
"Hmm... would that really be okay?"
"Of course. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you walk ho alone."
"Well... I'll go buy so pajamas and a towel first."
"I'll co with you."
Practice makes perfect.
After last ti—when she accidentally stayed over after falling asleep on the couch—"spending the night" between them had taken on a whole new aning.
It was now a versatile excuse:
Too late? Stay the night.
Too hot outside? Stay the night.
Oh, the weather's nice and Shiratamaru misses you? Stay the night.
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