Chapter 223: New Gal-Game Project
"In fact, Sister Elysia asked me out for a walk earlier…"
Under their unblinking stares, Xander Masato could only grit his teeth and tell the truth.
"So what?" Bronya arched a brow and asked in an even tone.
"J-just the two of us…"
As soon as the words fell, even with the office heater on, Xander still felt a chill brush across his back. The room fell quiet; his throat bobbed, and he waited in trepidation for the coming judgment.
Bronya was sitting in his lap with her back to him, her expression unreadable. Behind him, Seele—who had been cuddling up—also stopped, leaving only her warm breath on his neck. At his side, Kaguya looked like she wanted to say something. But the moment she opened her mouth, Bronya swiftly tapped her. The two exchanged a glance, and Kaguya instantly put away her gentle look, straightened her little face, and when she noticed Xander looking over, she turned away for the first time with a hardened heart.
"..."
Come on, say something, you two. This silent treatment is making me panic!
"Seele…"
"Hmph~" Seele turned her head, puffed out her cheeks, and looked away without so much as a glance. Even the always-good-tempered Seele wasn't happy this time. This really was a big deal.
"Bronya?"
"Don't touch me!" she slapped the hand on her chest away and said coolly.
Weren't you the one who put my hand there in the first place?! He wanted to snark back, but even he wasn't that suicidal right now. In the end, he turned pleading eyes toward Kaguya.
Naturally, Kaguya couldn't bear it and wanted to hug him with gentle comfort. But at a time like this, she absolutely couldn't make herself the exception, so she could only close her eyes and pretend she saw nothing. Forgive me, my husband!
Seeing his last hope vanish, Xander could only rely on himself. Calm down and think—this really isn't hard. It's just a matter of keeping the bowl of water level. After a moment, he tested the waters and said, "How about I push next year's new-game plan back two months and take each of you out on a date, one by one?"
"Mm-hm~ Now that's interesting. Continue."
It worked! Hearing that hint of softening in Bronya's voice, Xander's face lit with joy. "You can pick the destination. I'll make the time."
Seele's eyes brightened. Honestly, she already wanted to relent at this point, but when she saw big sister Bronya still composed as ever, she quickly pressed her lips shut and buried her little face on Brother's shoulder. Hold it in, Seele—for the greater good!
As for Xander, seeing Bronya still unmoved, he naturally kept sweetening the pot. "Whatever you want to do is fine. As long as it's not over the line, I won't refuse."
"Still not enough." Bronya blew lightly on her nails and spoke blandly.
"Then… at night, you get to decide all the positions?"
At that, Bronya blushed and spat, "That doesn't count. Next—wait, you said it yourself!"
After a whole list—seven or eight items in all—and with it just shy of a full slave contract, Bronya finally smiled.
"Yay~" Smack! The three of them clapped hands in celebration. Xander, meanwhile, lay face-down on the desk, looking like life had lost all meaning. Soon he felt a poke against his cheek. He opened his eyes and met Bronya's gaze, smiling with a hint of teasing.
"What's wrong? All these pretty girls lining up to go on dates with you, and you're feeling put-upon?"
"Wouldn't dare."
"Pfft~" That tiny, aggrieved look made Seele burst into laughter.
"Don't laugh. Laugh again and I'm not taking you."
"Hehe, don't worry, Brother. Seele would never make things hard for you~" Leaning in on his other side, Seele mimicked big sister Bronya's motion and poked him twice, then couldn't hold back and hugged him, rubbing against him in delight.
"Right!" Suddenly remembering something, Seele leaned to Brother's ear and whispered, "There are two Seeles here, you know. Brother, remember to set aside double the time~"
"I haven't forgotten. Whether birthdays or any holiday, I've always prepared the other Seele's gift too, haven't I?"
"Seele knows Brother cares about Seele a lot. But the other Seele is super looking forward to a date. She kept urging me to ask you just now. She's fierce to everyone else, but in front of Brother the other Seele is always so cute~"
No sooner had she finished than Seele's body jolted. A flustered, angry voice rang out at once: "Don't listen to that idiot Seele's nonsense. I—I'm not looking forward to any date!!!"
"Really?" Looking into Veliona's eyes, Xander finally chuckled. After a few seconds of eye contact, Veliona averted her gaze in guilt and muttered, "J-just a little bit…"
"Is that so? Since you don't like it, Seele, then we won't go."
"Eh?" Veliona froze, mouth open and eyes a little vacant. She—she didn't say she wouldn't go. Recalling what she'd just said, she wanted to speak, but nothing came out. Her voice caught in her throat, leaving her looking dazed. After a moment, Veliona folded her arms, turned her head, and said stubbornly, "Then don't go!"
But even her voice was trembling, clearly holding something back. Seeing this, Bronya pinched Xander hard at the waist, making him bare his teeth in pain. Veliona's aggrieved look made his heart ache as well, and he quickly reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"Hmph~" She struggled a little, then went still. A minute ago she'd been all prickly, but once he hugged her, grievance shimmered at the corners of her eyes.
"Sorry, Seele. I shouldn't have teased you just now."
Veliona craned her neck and said nothing, so Xander leaned in closer, speaking gently: "It's me who wants to go on a date with Seele. I'm really looking forward to it. Please don't turn me down, okay?"
Veliona might be tsundere, but after all this time the "tsun" had long since turned to "dere." Her resistance to tenderness like this was basically zero. "Y-you… since you put it like that—mm…"
Halfway through her words, Veliona's lips were sealed. As that face came closer, her heart softened at once. But teasing her was still a fact, so as if to punish him, she bit down on Xander's lower lip. The sudden pain made Xander suck in a breath, but soon a gentle kiss followed. Bronya, who had been about to intervene, went full black-line. How's she supposed to mediate this? Keep looking away and they'll end up stacked on the sofa.
Veliona's head went fuzzy from the kiss, and Seele quickly eased her aside. Seeing that Brother didn't notice, she closed her eyes and kept the kiss going.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Bronya nudged Kaguya with her elbow and whispered.
"Hm? Why stop them? Isn't this a lovely sight?" One hand propped against her cheek, Kaguya watched with a warm, doting smile.
Bronya: "?" Forget it. So much for counting on her.
After a while, when the two still hadn't stopped, Bronya finally couldn't help rapping them both once. "Ahem—seriously, are you two done yet?"
Rubbing his head and looking at the pitiful-faced Seele across from him, Xander asked in confusion, "Seele?"
"Eh?" Blinking, Seele dropped the act and hurried to explain, "The other Seele just told me she's really looking forward to the date with Brother!!" Ignoring the stream of flustered, angry protest in her head, Seele spoke steadily. She was voicing the other Seele's true feelings, so she wasn't lying!
"Then tell her I'm really looking forward to our date too."
Seele paused again, her body turning all shy and fidgety. "I—I'm really looking forward to it too!!" With that, Veliona instantly went offline without another word.
"So cute~" Xander smiled with heartfelt emotion.
"Right, right? The other Seele's super cute, isn't she~" The two Seeles were mutual hype-women—praising the other made them both happier than praising themselves.
"Okay, okay, we get it—you two are close. Hurry up and wrap up your tasks and hand over the rest." Dragging off the still-clingy Seele, Bronya said tersely.
Sitting in his chair, listening to the sisters' chatter next door, Xander couldn't help smiling. Today's problem was actually easy to solve; it was just a matter of keeping things fair. All those extra conditions were simply to soothe the little grievance of not telling them beforehand. Of the many things he promised, only one truly mattered: He could be by their side.
For the moment, there were no new projects, and the company atmosphere was quite relaxed. Aside from the folks in Public Relations who had to hustle for the year-end festival, the rest only had routine game maintenance. So Xander arranged for the period before and after the New Year to shift each team's focus to running the game communities. He also approved a sizable budget for regular fan-creation contests and events. Activity in the Gensokyo app was climbing higher and higher.
Kaguya pulled Bronya along and assigned the unavoidable tasks to Eirin and Reisen. Xander, meanwhile, sought out Ken Sugisaki and entrusted him with the heavy mission. Well, that's what good friends are for! Watching Ken, brimming with resentment, go find Kitahara and Kirito to share the load, Xander left them one line: "Whichever team runs their community best before year-end gets a doubled year-end bonus."
The entire staff erupted at once. Especially the cosplaying otaku crowd—colleagues ringed around them, helping refine personas one line at a time. Back home after dinner, Kiana—blissfully unaware—was instantly stunned.
"Eh? Vacation? How did I not know?!" Staring blankly at Bronya and the others chatting about the break, Kiana even forgot to cling to Xander and rushed right up. After Bronya's quick explanation, Kiana wore a stricken look. "B-but I still have some voice lines unfinished…"
"Don't worry. We'll wait for you to finish what's on your plate, then we'll all head out together. We won't leave you behind." He patted Kiana's little head in comfort, and her eyes immediately welled with grateful tears.
"Indeed, there's no way to go right now anyway~" With that calm comment, Xander met Bronya's half-smiling eyes and quickly looked away with a dry chuckle. They really could wait for Kiana—because he was about to head out alone with Elysia.
"Ahem, I'm going upstairs to find Griseo. You all keep chatting." He pried Kiana's little paws off and hurried up to the second floor. Knock, knock—two taps, and Griseo opened the door.
"Sir Knight~" Seeing Xander, Griseo's eyes curved into happy slits. Today Griseo wore a pale-blue nightdress. The long hem fell to her ankles, giving her little feet a hint of mystery. He naturally ruffled Griseo's hair, then stepped inside. "Have you gotten in touch with Mrs. Izumi?"
"Mm-hm! I was just talking to Master and Sagiri!" Holding his hand, Griseo excitedly led him to a tablet on a rug. Mrs. Izumi and Sagiri were on the screen. "Sir Knight, sit here!" Cheeks rosy, Griseo pressed her smooth little foot onto a cushion. He sat where she indicated, and Griseo immediately sat right on his lap.
With a soft, petite girl in his arms, he instinctively wrapped an arm around Griseo's waist. Sensing Xander loosening his hold, Griseo immediately looked up at him with a pitiful gaze. "Can't… can't I have a hug?"
"...You can." Refusing Griseo felt like a crime. He set his hands back, hugging that slender waist tighter.
"Waaah!" On the screen, Sagiri covered her blazing-red face, barely restraining a scream. Griseo, so bold!
The sight warmed Xander's heart. He looked at Mrs. Izumi on the screen and steered back to business. "Ahem. I've already finished the script for the new gal-game."
"Really?! Long live, boss!" Mrs. Izumi and Sagiri cheered together. "Boss, send over the script and character docs, quick! We can't wait!"
"Check your email. I sent it on the way here."
Mrs. Izumi opened her inbox. Right at the top sat the file Xander had sent. And the title of the file clearly marked the work's name.
"Clannad?"
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