Chapter 126. Bronya Feels Like It's in the Bag
On a small island in the south, Xander, wearing only a pair of swim trunks, was lazily lying on a beach chair sunbathing.
Feeling the pleasant temperature, he suddenly understood why so many northerners liked to spend the winter in the south.
Who could refuse to wear swim trunks in the dead of winter, a popsicle in the mouth, basking on the beach?
Seele first went to build sandcastles for a while, but when a single wave easily washed them away, she angrily tossed aside her little shovel and ran over to stick to his side, refusing to leave.
A trip for just the two of them was relaxing, but compared to that, it was also a bit less lively.
Like now, with her brother lying on the chair not wanting to move, Seele couldn't find anyone to play with, so she could only lie down beside him, knead his hand, draw on his body with her fingertips, and from time to time poke her little head over to steal a bite of his ice cream.
After a while, Seele also didn't want to move anymore, so she simply pulled open her brother's arm, nestled into the crook of his elbow, and watched him scroll on his phone.
"What are you looking at, brother?"
Scooting her head closer, she stared at the long string of text on the phone screen and instantly felt a little lost.
"Nothing much, just some meeting minutes."
Stuffing the last bite of the popsicle into Seele's small mouth, Xander swiped his phone and explained, "The weekly meeting notes from the Pokémon team, and Iori and the others' production progress. The Pokémon side is proceeding steadily and isn't a worry. It's Iori's side that needs more attention."
"Mmm, does Seele need to help?"
"That won't be necessary."
He turned over, pulled Seele into his arms, and, feeling the warm softness of their bodies pressed together, put down the phone, lowered his head to kiss Seele, then closed his eyes.
"It's not that troublesome. I basically dealt with it just now. Time to rest a bit. Seele, let me hold you for a while."
After speaking, he let out a light yawn.
Seele hugged her brother back.
These last few nights she'd been sleeping very well, so with not the slightest bit of drowsiness now, she began gently patting his back, just like soothing a child to sleep.
Noticing that her brother's breathing quickly evened out, Seele paused, thought for a moment, then reached out to take her own phone.
Adjusting the angle while in her brother's arms, she opened the camera and snapped several photos of the two of them in a row.
Then she hurriedly opened the messaging app, found the little family group, and dumped all those photos in at once.
By the time, Bronya and Kaguya should be off work and back home to rest.
Perfect timing to share with them.
...
On the other side, Bronya, exhausted after a hard day's work, clenched her phone tightly.
Being dead tired and still unable to go home was bad enough, but what did that little Seele mean by sending these things?
Showing off?!
Looking at her and Xander cuddled together, enjoying themselves on the beach chair, a surge of nameless fire whooshed up from Bronya's chest.
All right, all right, all right—so that's how you want to play?
Just you wait.
But the moment she thought about their game's progress, a bucket of cold water immediately drenched her head.
As for the game content, it was only finalized today.
It wasn't that the subordinates were being disobedient, but rather that regarding the game's direction—after confirming it would be an action game—one group believed the story should be integrated with gameplay, while another believed time was too tight and that effort should be focused on refining combat and on how to make players feel more exhilarated.
The debate finally produced a result today, with the second plan winning by a narrow margin.
2D side-scrolling action plus roguelike, also commonly called an action roguelike.
All you need is to set a simple backdrop, then provide more selectable weapons, gear, and skills so everyone can simply enjoy the thrill of combat.
This pure kind of fun is also what most people want.
But thanks to this, their time before they could go home might have to be extended a few more days.
They absolutely couldn't do what that monster Xander could—casually produce an overall game plan and design.
If anything, painstakingly patching holes bit by bit is the daily routine of every game studio.
Beside her, Kaguya's expression was a bit different from hers.
Looking at those photos, she was even all smiles.
For now the two were roommates.
Bronya asked Kaguya doubtfully, "Kaguya, aren't you angry?"
"Hm? Why should I be angry?"
"It's Seele. She's traveling all over with Xander, while we can only stay here and work. Now she's sending photos to show off right in our faces. Don't you think that's going too far?"
Hearing that, Kaguya shook her head slightly and replied, a bit embarrassed, "It should be fine. Seeing Seele share with us every day, I actually feel quite happy."
"..."
All right then.
I forgot this one's train of thought isn't the same as a normal person's.
Giving up on the idea of condemning Seele together with Kaguya, Bronya moved to serious matters: "By the way, how did the people we arranged to scout Xander's side do today?"
Even though there were only three rookies on Xander's side, and even though he himself wasn't there, neither Bronya nor Kaguya dared to relax in the slightest.
From day one, they quietly arranged for people to go over and gather intel.
Calling it "scouting" was really just taking advantage of bathroom or water breaks to sneak a peek at their computers.
After all, with only three people, there was no way they'd be given a separate office.
Everyone's workstations were still quite close—just a few steps away and you could see.
After thinking for a moment, Kaguya spoke slowly, her voice a little unsure: "According to the reports from those few who've been observing these days and eavesdropping on their meetings, it seems husband is only planning to make a simple puzzle game this time?"
"From the visuals, there seem to be some chibi-style anthropomorphic plants and some chibi little zombies, and then… there didn't seem to be anything else."
"What is that supposed to be?"
Bronya frowned in confusion.
Kaguya also shook her head to indicate she didn't understand, and made a small jab, "Surely you're not supposed to use those plants to fight zombies, right?"
Bronya couldn't help laughing and followed up, "How are plants supposed to fight zombies? Would players really buy into a game like that?"
What's more, puzzle-type mini-games are inherently hard to stand out.
Why would that guy Xander choose something like this?
Could it be… just simple overconfidence?
Thinking that, Bronya immediately shook her head.
No, can't think like that.
He came up with Pokémon of all things, so maybe he'll pull off something fancy with this theme too.
We still need to keep watching.
No letting our guard down.
Maybe even Sugisaki Ken and the others didn't know that the stuff those three rookies tinkered with every day was putting a massive psychological burden on that other team of a full fifty people.
If we win, then everyone's happy.
If we lose, it'll be really humiliating.
A few days later, a quick-witted employee finally managed to secretly copy the files from Sugisaki Ken's computer and hurried them over to Bronya.
Business warfare is often just this plain and unadorned.
Opening the file, she saw a rough, obviously early-production mini-map with only a long patch of lawn on it.
A cute little thing named Peashooter was planted in the ground, swaying.
Across from it, a chibi zombie was slowly walking forward.
The little thing began spitting green peas, pelting the zombie one after another, until the zombie's arms and legs were blasted off and it fell to the ground, unable to rise again.
Only then did the little thing stop.
So, a tower-defense game?
That simple?
After confirming the situation again and again, Bronya finally broke into a smile.
Doesn't this mean I'm steady?
Victory secured!
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ chapters ahead of webnovel
Paid member can read 150+ chapters ahead of webnovel
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts