Monday afternoon, Ichin went alone to the company. As for Utaha, she was still at the library with Yukino.
When Ichin arrived at the Fall Guys development group, he handed over Utaha's finished stage design to Hazuki.
"Hazuki, this is what Utaha designed. Take a look and decide if you want to approve it. Personally, I think it's quite good."
"Oh? So Utaha finally finished it? Then of course I have to see it."
Hazuki smiled, took the printed pages from him, and began flipping through them.
Utaha's design wasn't a marathon-style course made of multiple stages strung together, but rather a single, consolidated map. Still, it was a massive arena—similar in scale to the already-completed Honeycomb Showdown map.
But unlike the Honeycomb map, which tested players' patience and precision, this one focused on reaction speed under high-velocity movement.
The stage's main structure was inspired by roller coasters. But unlike a real coaster, players weren't strapped into seats—they had to balance on dragon-like coaster tracks that surged and dipped at breakneck speed.
As the coaster twisted along the rails, obstacles would pop up across the map, and items would drop from above to knock players off.
So while moving at high speeds, players not only had to avoid interference from others but also dodge waves of obstacles and flying projectiles. The difficulty was clearly higher than the current showdown maps.
After reading, Hazuki's eyes lit up. "This really is good. We can definitely use it. Though Utaha was a bit conservative with the obstacle design—we can make it more complex. Leave that part to us. And honestly, this design has sparked all sorts of new ideas. I feel like we can come up with a lot of fun stuff from here."
Hearing Hazuki's praise, Ichin let out a quiet sigh of relief.
After all, this project was Hazuki's responsibility. Even if he personally thought Utaha's design was excellent, he couldn't just push for it to be accepted directly. Since Hazuki approved it after review, that was the best possible outcome.
With the design handed over, Ichin returned to his office and sent a message to Utaha at school.
When she received it, a smile appeared on her face.
Utaha: Ichin, didn't I say it would definitely pass? So, what reward do I get?
Utaha didn't care for prize money, so when they made their bet, she had asked for a different kind of reward instead.
Ichin thought for a moment and replied: The reward's not an issue. You can ask for anything.
And he meant it literally—anything. He knew Utaha wouldn't demand something outrageous, so whatever she requested would surely be something he could do.
Half a minute later, her reply came.
Utaha: Since you said anything, then here it is. After work, come meet us for dinner. Then at night, let's go shopping for clothes. You'll pay for mine and Yukino's.
That was it?
Ichin agreed immediately. Shopping for clothes? No problem.
Even if it wasn't just Utaha but also Yukino, it was no big deal. Over New Year's, he'd handled his mom and Haruno together—he could definitely survive this. Easy!
Once she got Ichin's confirmation, Utaha showed her phone to Yukino beside her, smiling. "See? I told you, he'd agree. Besides, with the two of us going out with him, he's the one who gets the bragging rights."
That left Yukino speechless… but she had to admit it was true.
Whether it was Utaha or herself, either one going out with a guy was enough to make other men on the street turn green with envy.
Neither Utaha nor Yukino would deny this—they acknowledged it confidently, without a hint of embarrassment.
After a pause, Yukino said, "I don't mind shopping, but I'll pay for my own clothes."
"Don't fuss. You're not an outsider."
Utaha shut down her protest decisively, leaving Yukino no room to refuse. She then returned to her homework.
She had to finish quickly—so she could shop without worries later tonight.
Time ticked by. At 5 p.m., Utaha and Yukino packed up and left the library.
But just as they stepped outside, a boy came straight toward them, eyes fixed on Yukino.
It was obvious—he was either here to confess or to hit on her.
Utaha glanced at him and whispered, "Not bad looking."
Yukino's expression didn't change in the slightest.
The boy approached and said to her, "Excuse me, could I have your contact information?"
He smiled confidently, clearly proud of his looks.
But unfortunately for him, it had no effect on Yukino. Without even sparing him a glance, she said flatly, "Sorry, I don't give my contact information to strangers."
Then she left with Utaha.
As for the boy's feelings? That wasn't Yukino's concern. This was already the third such attempt in the one month since collage started. She had never given any boy a chance.
After walking some distance, Utaha chuckled. "You really don't want to date anyone, do you?"
"Mm. Doesn't seem like it."
Utaha, curious, pressed further: "Then… do you have any standards in mind for your other half? You must, right? I mean, I know you've got romance novels in your room. You've even read mine."
"I do have standards."
Yukino thought a moment. "First, he has to be outstanding. I don't care about family background, but he must work hard to achieve something on his own. Then height—since I'm 170cm, he should be at least 175cm, ideally 180. Looks don't need to be perfect, just decent features and knows how to take care of himself. Someone like that boy just now won't do. His face was too effeminate for my taste. Worse, he was wearing perfume. Absolutely disqualified."
Utaha nodded thoughtfully. She had no objections. Given Yukino's own qualities, those demands weren't high at all—in fact, they were pretty modest.
"The rest is fine, but for looks… I think you should aim for someone more handsome. You've got to think about the next generation, right?"
Yukino rolled her eyes immediately.
"Excuse me, I haven't even been in a relationship yet. Don't start talking to me about the next generation. That's way too far off."
And with that, she dropped the topic and headed for the parking lot.
*
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