Today is a crucial day… for my roommates, that is.
"Kyoya! The girl's face is completely blank!" shouted Nanako.
"Kyoya! I was working on the blonde's route, but the screen went completely black!" exclaimed Shiroaki.
"What the hell! Why is this choice a dead end for the route?" Tsurayui complained.
"Guys! We have eight hours until the deadline! We need to be ready to bring the CD to Keiko-san! Girls, you've found two bugs, so stop and wait for Keiko-san to see if she can help us out. Tsurayui, focus on debugging the game; we don't have time to rewrite those scenes!" ordered Kyoya.
The competition is just three days away, and they need to finish within eight hours; otherwise, there won't be enough time to make additional physical copies of the game.
Now that I think about it, this world's ACG scene is a bit strange. The isekai trope isn't very popular yet, there's an odd focus on magical girls in both anime and TV series, and Keanu Reeves is an actor but not as famous as he should be. The last one doesn't have anything to do with ACG, but I need to make a point.
Anyway, while they were running around like headless chickens on the ground floor, I just finished my part.
Last week, I completed the game program, and when I couldn't find any problems, I sent a copy to a company to make two hundred copies. I initially planned for one hundred, but since they offered a discount for ordering a larger quantity, I decided to go with two hundred. It wasn't too expensive; I ended up spending only 350,000 yen on the disks and an additional 100,000 yen on their cover.
While I could have opted for a cheaper cover, I chose not to because it provides excellent publicity for my company, and the logo is the most eye-catching part. I also spent another 300,000 yen on D&D goods, so I'll be selling both of them.
I found myself moving around my room with nothing to do, which isn't something I enjoy.
"Hey guys, do you need help? I'm free."
Kyoya was the director, but any decisions he made were quickly overruled by a panicked Nanako, who had a runny nose.
"Then, could you check the bug that Nanako encountered?" Kyoya asked.
I nodded and went into her room. Five minutes later, I glared at the situation with a judging gaze.
"You're lucky you're all my friends."
They had definitely messed up with the code; I needed to examine more than just this scene—I had to look at all of them.
---
Now, I was walking with Kyoya and Keiko-san to the Comiket area.
"So, young man, what are you going to do now?" she asked.
She knew about my roommate's project since they consulted her for advice. They had also gained the support of her company, which was perfect for their situation, as they had a strong backer in Hallucigenia Soft and some publicity as well.
"I'll set up my stand, and I will be here for the rest of the day... and I plan to be here for the entire duration of Comiket."
"Oh, you're really focused on your objective, aren't you?"
True, I wanted to dive into my work. I was determined to revolutionize the ACG world, which I found unsatisfying. But that wasn't all I had prepared for.
"I'd like to keep the last day just for myself, though. I hope to sell everything on the second-to-last day, or maybe I could find someone to help out that day?"
"Oh, so you have something planned for it?"
"Yes, but it's a surprise."
And what a surprise it would be. I had spent some Shards on it; there was no way I was going to waste them.
So, we continued our conversation, mainly between me and Keiko-san, with Kyoya chiming in occasionally. Not that it wasn't interesting for him, but we were discussing companies and the current market, while he was still masquerading as a normal college student rather than a time traveler.
When it was time to part ways, I promised to buy a copy as a gesture of support. They were ready to give me one for free, but I declined; buying it felt more meaningful for all of us.
When I arrived at my stand, I discreetly brought out all the necessities from my inventory and set everything up. In the end, I settled on a simple yet effective display. The table was divided into two sections: one for Dungeons & Dragons, featuring some of the best artwork I had created and stacks of books; the other section was filled with discs of the newly completed game and simple artwork depicting each letter of the name, each set in a different biome.
Given that this world didn't have Minecraft, there would be no debate over which game was better. Terraria would reign supreme.
As the day continued, after three hours, some people began to stop and admire the artwork I had created, but my sales were slow. This was expected, as there were countless stands and many aspiring artists trying to make a name for themselves by selling light novels and manga, and I was just one of them.
My first real client, by some stroke of luck, was the group of friends who had tried D&D. They were not alone; more people joined in, and we started talking about the game.
It turned out that the game was an instant hit with them. They enthusiastically shared how simple yet complex it was and how much fun they had playing. Not only was this group actively promoting my game for free, but one of them discovered a talent for being a Dungeon Master and was eager to find more players.
I sold them three books, as the new players wanted one each to read, and I included a set of dice for every Player's Handbook since I had decided to do so. Also, as a reward for my good fortune, I gifted an additional set of dice to the person who had previously bought a book from me.
Interestingly, I ended up selling three games since they found the concept intriguing.
The day went on, and when it concluded, I had sold a total of 20 books and 24 games. The first day was over, but the week was just beginning, and I was eager to secure that free day for myself...