Umiko wasn't gaming—she was fixing in-game errors.
Ichin pulled up a chair beside her.
"Umiko, is the patch work going smoothly?"
"Relax," Umiko smiled. "No major issues so far, just minor fixes here and there. The game's underlying framework is solid, and we were careful during development, so nasty bugs are unlikely. Plus, we've been optimizing all along, so the day-one patch won't even need much performance work. Workload isn't heavy."
"That's good."
Feeling reassured, Ichin looked at her screen.
"The game's already been sent to the review media these past two days. Once the day-one patch is ready, don't forget to update their copies too."
"Don't worry, I'll handle it."
After finishing with the programmers, Ichin returned to the art department and stood beside Yagami Kō, watching her play.
As the producer, Ichin didn't really feel like playing a long RPG like Persona from start to finish. He was content just being an audience. Watching others enjoy the game felt pretty nice too.
Yagami Kō noticed him. While continuing to play, she struck up a conversation.
"Ichin, how's Yukino's cat doing?"
"Don't worry, great. Yukino takes such careful care of them—they're chubby and healthy. We'll take Sesame to the vet the day after tomorrow. Should know by then how many kittens there are."
"Ohhh! A vet visit the day after tomorrow!"
That instantly caught Kō's interest. After all, she had already said she wanted a kitten from Yukino's litter.
"Ichin, count me in! I've never been to a pet clinic before. I want to see for myself—someday I'll raise a pet too, so this is a good chance to learn."
"Sure, let's go together."
Even though the day after was a workday, the game's development was done. Only bug fixing and patches remained. Kō could easily step out for a while.
"What, what, you're going to a vet?"
Hearing them, Shinoda Hajime quickly ran over, eyes sparkling.
"I want to go too! I've never seen a pet check-up!"
"You haven't?" Ichin asked in surprise. "Didn't you go with Hazuki when she took Mozuku
for check-ups?"
Shinoda shook her head.
"Nope. She said it was just a normal exam—boring—so she never took us. But this is different! Sesame's pregnant! It won't be like a normal check-up. We want to know how many kittens there'll be!"
As they chatted, Aoba and Hifumi wandered over too, curiosity written all over their faces.
Ichin sighed.
"Hey hey hey, don't tell me all of you want to tag along. We're just taking a cat for a check-up, not a school trip. You all stay here and work. I'll ask Kō to film a bit for you—deal?"
"That works."
His proposal finally cooled their excitement, and they returned to their testing.
After watching Kō play a while longer, Ichin returned to his office. He called Hazuki in, and the two of them started refining the project plan for Battle Block Theater, which Hazuki would take over.
Compared to Dark Souls and Titanfall, which Ichin had already drafted, Battle Block Theater was a smaller project. With a solid plan, Hazuki could quickly gather staff to start pre-production.
Unlike the two big titles, Ichin estimated Battle Block Theater's dev cycle at about six months—wrapping up by year's end. For a team now experienced and backed by a detailed proposal, that timeline was realistic.
He kept busy until quitting time, then left with the others and headed to Yukino's. Dinner that night was Yukino's treat—home-cooked, so Ichin didn't have to cook himself.
---
The next day, Ichin and Utaha began their official university classes.
Though it was "college," the start of classes didn't feel much different. It just meant paying closer attention in lectures and taking more notes. The content itself wasn't difficult for them.
After one class ended, Ichin packed up and headed to a different room for the next.
The boys in class were all friendly. After class, they grouped up in twos and threes, leaving together.
Ichin stuck with Takahashi and Oosawa, two guys he'd met yesterday—but the two clearly had other motives.
"Ichin, are you free at lunch? We'll treat you!"
"Yeah, our treat! We'll be classmates for four years, so we should build good ties, right?"
Their odd eagerness amused Ichin.
"If you're thinking of getting the game early, forget it. Apart from review media, no early copies."
"No, no, not that!"
Oosawa shook his head quickly and leaned closer, whispering.
"We want your advice… on how to chase girls."
"Huh? Ahhh, so that's it."
Ichin suddenly understood. Looked like Utaha showing up yesterday had left quite an impression.
But then again, he himself wasn't exactly an expert in pursuing girls. His relationship with Utaha happened naturally—neighbors, later classmates, and then everything just fell into place.
Still, seeing their hopeful faces, Ichin nodded.
"Alright then. At lunch, I'll give you some analysis."
He couldn't teach them how to pursue girls, but sharing thoughts and giving advice—sure, that he could do.
Heading into the next classroom, Ichin used the waiting time before class to message Utaha, telling her about it.
On her side, waiting for class as well, Utaha read his message and couldn't help but cover her mouth in a laugh.
Utaha: "Ichin, them asking you for dating advice—that's really putting you in a tough spot."
Ichin: "Don't tease me. I didn't see this coming either."
*
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