Ichin ignored all the follow-up messages Haruno sent, slipped on his headphones, and focused on work.
When she got no reply, Haruno turned her attention to Utaha instead.
Utaha! Ichin's ignoring me!
Utaha chuckled at the complaint and replied:
Haruno-san, don't bother him. Ichin's working.
Haruno: Working already? It's not even afternoon office hours yet, is it?
Utaha: He's in good spirits today, so he skipped his nap. But Yukino's resting right now.
Utaha then mischievously snapped a picture of Yukino's sleeping face and sent it over.
Armed with her sister's sleeping photo, Haruno the sis-con stopped pestering both Utaha and Ichin. She didn't even reply again.
At last, Utaha could quietly enjoy her book.
It wasn't until two o'clock that Yukino slowly woke from her nap on the sofa. Rubbing her eyes, she saw Ichin still working at his desk while Utaha was nowhere in sight.
Catching her stirring, Ichin smiled.
"Awake? Go wash your face. Afternoon tea will be here soon. Since you were sleeping, I went ahead and ordered you a taro milk tea, half sugar."
"Thank you, Onii-san." Yukino stretched her neck. "Where's Utaha-san?"
"She finished her book and went to hang out with Hazuki. If you're bored, you can join them—they're brainstorming some weird skins again."
That caught Yukino's interest, but instead of going right away, she washed her face first and touched up her makeup.
Like Utaha, she was naturally beautiful with fair skin, but both of them still wore light makeup when going out. Especially in summer, with the sun blazing, even if they drove everywhere, sunscreen was non-negotiable.
After freshening up, Yukino told Ichin she was stepping out and headed over.
A quarter of an hour later, Ichin also left his office—afternoon tea had arrived.
Grabbing his milk tea, he strolled over to sit behind Eriri and Aoba, watching the two of them sip their drinks while playing Fall Guys in co-op.
Afternoon tea breaks were perfect for a couple of rounds.
Lately, Eriri's luck in Fall Guys had been terrible. Her win rate was low, and out of the two GARO crossover skins, she'd only unlocked one—she still hadn't gotten Garo's. So today she dragged Aoba into teaming up.
The two were currently in the tail-tag minigame. On a trap-filled map, players were divided into red, yellow, and green teams. A set number of tails were on the field, and everyone had to grab tails from opponents and keep them until time ran out. The team with the fewest tails was eliminated.
"Ahhh! Three people are chasing me! Aoba, help!"
"I can't, I've got people on me too!"
Their shouting drew a crowd.
Soon both girls scrambled onto a platform, each with a line of enemies on their heels. After a chaotic scramble, the tails they had worked so hard to snatch were stolen.
Just as the timer hit zero, their red team was wiped out.
"Lost again…"
Dropping her controller, Eriri slumped and took a sip of milk tea.
"I just want one win. Just one win so I can unlock the skin. Why's it so hard?!"
From behind, Ichin chuckled.
"The longer a game's been out, the more skilled players it attracts. And there's no shortage of talented gamers these days. You two don't grind for hours daily, so it's natural you can't beat the hardcore crowd."
"Fair point…"
Eriri nodded, then asked:
"I heard from Hazuki-san that the first season pass will go live at the end of the month? And ranked mode next month? But why is the pass free? No paid content at all?"
"What, free's not good enough?"
Ichin smiled.
"We discussed monetization, but decided against charging for the pass. The game's not a hardcore competitive title—it's more for fun. Paid passes would probably just drag down reviews. The pass will stay free. But bundled skin packs? Those will definitely come later."
Running Fall Guys long-term would be costly. Game sales alone could cover the short term, but for ongoing support, they'd need extra revenue streams. Paid skin packs were inevitable—whether or not many people bought them, it was still income.
"Paid skin packs? Now that I like!"
Despite being a console gamer, Eriri was also a long-time gacha addict. She'd been playing FGO for years, and Ichin had often caught her charging quartz in the office. She'd had more disastrous pulls than lucky ones.
So of course she had no resistance to the idea of paid skins. And with her small-rich-girl status, spending a little extra on cosmetics barely registered.
After another sip of milk tea, she and Aoba jumped back into Fall Guys, determined to win before break ended.
But the more she wanted victory, the further it slipped away. Twice in a row, just before reaching the goal, griefers yanked her back, ruining her run.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Her wail of despair marked the end of the break.
Watching from start to finish, Kō Yagami gave her a sympathetic pat on the head before returning to her desk.
Eriri, meanwhile, stayed frozen in her seat, sulking with frustration written all over her face.
---
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