Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Sato with a rather strange expression, her right hand lightly resting against her rosy lips.
She wore a white headband, and her long straight black hair fell behind her shoulders. With her fair and beautiful face, bright eyes, and elegant nose, she looked like a flawless beauty from any angle.
"Miyabi-sensei..."
"Hm?"
"I'm a graduating student right now."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm planning to hand this over to you after you graduate. What's wrong?"
"My target is Tokyo University, you know. The Literature Department of Tokyo University! You should know what kind of place Tokyo U is, right? You know what it symbolizes, right?"
"I know that too."
Seeing the confusion in Sato's eyes, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt somewhat stifled.
In the end, she sighed helplessly and looked at Sato resentfully.
"Do you really think it's appropriate for someone who's very likely going to become a student in Tokyo University's Literature Department to write scripts for an eighteen-plus galgame?"
"Well..."
Sato thought about it for a moment. Logically speaking, it really was somewhat inappropriate.
It was just that because he was too familiar with Utaha, he did not feel much about it. Besides, Tokyo University had never given him some sacred and untouchable impression.
"You can't think of it that way!"
A thought suddenly stirred in Sato's mind, and he looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha seriously.
"If we successfully make this game, then it'll leave a bold and brilliant mark in the history of galgames!"
"Think about it, how many people from Tokyo University's Literature Department can truly leave behind a bold and brilliant mark in the literary world?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha stared at Sato blankly.
Th-this...
Could those things really be compared like that?
Could galgames even be compared to the literary world?
Forget galgames specifically, even the entire gaming industry could only be trampled beneath the literary world.
Seeing her reaction, Sato secretly found it amusing.
Then he patted Utaha's shoulder and earnestly said:
"Utahime, look at me. I might enter Tokyo University in the future too, but aren't I still making this kind of stuff now?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was not so easy to fool.
She quickly rolled her eyes at Sato and said:
"You're the boss. I'm just a wage worker."
The boss made money, while the wage worker took the blame.
"What boss and wage worker? We're friends!"
"Friends, huh..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at him resentfully.
"If we're friends, then aren't you worried about how people will look at me if they find out about this in the future?"
"If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, then who'll know?"
Sato replied with a smile.
"Hmph!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately snorted coldly and narrowed her eyes unhappily.
"If my name can't even be left behind, then how exactly am I supposed to leave a bold and brilliant mark in the gaming industry?"
"Ahem, I was talking about the game itself. That has nothing to do with the scriptwriter. Of course, it doesn't really have much to do with me either..."
"So... I'm just a tool?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha's wine-red eyes stared at Sato faintly, carrying an extremely dangerous glint.
"No, you're a creator. How can you call yourself a tool?"
"There's not a single honest sentence coming out of your mouth."
"Every word I said is true!"
After the two stared at each other for quite a while, Kasumigaoka Utaha finally gave up.
She folded her arms beneath her chest.
No, more accurately, they were resting beneath her chest, because with that level of volume, properly crossing her arms was practically impossible.
"You're really that certain it'll become a classic?"
"You don't trust my ability?"
Sato smiled as he looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha. Rather than ability, it was more accurate to say he had been a witness.
He truly had witnessed that work becoming a classic.
And actually, that work still had many flaws. In many places, the visuals collapsed a little, and the production quality was not particularly refined.
Of course, he was talking about the anime. The game itself was produced quite well, since he had played it before.
The illustrations were absolutely top-tier!
Naturally, Kasumigaoka Utaha knew nothing about this, but Sato's confidence gave her confidence as well.
So after thinking about it for a while, she agreed.
In truth, Utaha herself was not particularly resistant to this sort of thing. She could be considered an otaku girl too, even though she had not really played many galgames before.
Still...
Utaha rubbed her brow with a headache.
If nothing unexpected happened, she should be entering Tokyo University. If that was the case, then absolutely nobody could find out about this.
Otherwise...
Even she would feel embarrassed.
"Oh right, I heard you all playing music just now. Did you write it, Miyabi-sensei?"
"That? More or less. It's background music for the game."
"Can I listen to it?"
"What a hassle."
"Hehe, suddenly I also feel like writing scripts is a hassle now."
"Fine, you win."
Sato stood up helplessly.
I'm paying you to write scripts. Are you paying me to perform for you?
...
Before they realized it, time had entered February.
By mid-February, independent university entrance exams had begun. Fujimiya Konomi also devoted herself completely to studying.
Although her grades could already be considered excellent and she counted as one of the top students, she still could not compare to an absurd academic monster like Kasumigaoka Utaha, who could casually wander around all day.
Though Sato himself was pretty unreasonable too.
Sato walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of peeled and sliced fruit. He placed the apples and pears beside Fujimiya Konomi, who was bent over her desk studying, then glanced at her progress.
"There's apple and pear here. I'm heading upstairs for a bit, so study properly on your own."
"Mhm! Thanks, Sato-chan!"
Fujimiya Konomi looked up and grinned at Sato.
Childhood friends really were the worst!
Sato darkened his face and stretched out both hands to pull at Konomi's cheeks. Under his merciless assault, two red marks quickly appeared on the girl's soft face.
He glared at her fiercely and said:
"I already told you, if you call me that again, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
"Okay, got it, Sato-chan!"
There was definitely a little devil living inside this girl!
Sato sighed, stopped bothering with her, and turned to leave the room.