Chapter 23. The Miracle Call
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June 25, 1990.
Pokeni Co., Ltd.
A heavy air of despair hung over the company.
Yes, if the atmosphere a few months ago could be called tense, then now it was outright hopeless.
They had thought Onmyoji would be the company's breakthrough, their turning point. But before it even had the chance to succeed, it was already dead on arrival. Since its release in early June, it had sold only a little over 1,000 copies.
That number was even worse than their previous title, Heart of the Sword.
If they had given up without trying, they could have consoled themselves with, "There's still hope, as long as we try hard enough."
But when you give it everything you've got and still fail miserably, then all that's left is true despair.
Because at that point, you don't even know what else to try.
In the past few days, Pokeni had been hanging by a thread. The employees threw themselves into marketing, promotions, calling friends and relatives, handing out flyers in the streets, and trying to pitch Onmyoji to game stores…
But sadly—
It had little to no effect.
Many retailers dismissed Onmyoji without even trying it.
A game from a completely unknown company, coupled with such poor early performance—no one believed it was a product that could capture players' hearts.
"Ahh… I guess this really is the end, huh?"
"Yeah, we're done. Totally."
"Who could've seen this coming?"
"I know, right? It's such a good game, and yet it barely sold."
In the smoking room, employees had already given up. Some were even considering quitting voluntarily.
"But thinking about how the company's almost finished, maybe we should just stick around for its final days."
"The President's actually quite good. We didn't do anything wrong. It's just bad luck."
"Yeah… after this, I'm thinking of moving back to the countryside and raising chickens."
"Tokyo, huh? A place full of dreams… Maybe it just isn't for me."
Make the calls!
Why are you just standing around?
No clients? Go out and find them!
But…
No one could say a word.
When Kiyoshi Yuuma saw the fatigue on everyone's faces, the words he wanted to yell out stuck in his throat.
In fact, when he heard people saying they wanted to stay with the company till the very end—he got choked up.
Damn it!
I'm a person from the future! I've got a whole arsenal of aces up my sleeve!
How did it come to this!?
So all those easy "instant success" stories in novels were just lies?
"Everyone."
Kiyoshi Yuuma clapped his hands together.
Everyone looked up.
"Let's finish early today. Thank you for all your hard work these past few days." He gave them a deep bow.
No one knew why, but hearing those words made their eyes well up.
"I'm treating everyone to drinks tonight," Kiyoshi Yuuma said with a smile. "There's still a little money left in the account. Eat and drink as much as you like, anything you want. Please, don't say no."
Akanishi Ken stood up, walked over, and patted Kiyoshi Yuuma's shoulder. "We're going for sure! Tonight, we will drink hard!"
"Yosh!" Everyone nodded in agreement, their faces lighting up with smiles.
Asakawa Hiroki wiped his glasses with one hand as tears welled uncontrollably.
"President…"
This was clearly a farewell party. After tonight, Pokeni might cease to exist.
What a cruel feeling.
Hiroki hated it very much.
If Kiyoshi Yuuma had been some cold, heartless president, maybe it wouldn't hurt this much.
He almost wished Kiyoshi Yuuma would just yell at them and dissolve the company. That would've been better than this fake cheerful, nice-guy dinner party.
"I can't accept this… I really can't…" Mika Ishino burst into tears.
Her emotions quickly spread, and others around her began sobbing as well.
"Let's go. We did our best. There's nothing to regret." Kiyoshi Yuuma forced a smile and gently embraced Mika Ishino.
Her body began to tremble.
"It's because we gave it our all that we can't let it go… That's why it hurts so much… Damn it!" Asakawa Hiroki stood up and slammed his employee badge to the floor.
Others turned away, unwilling to let anyone see their tears.
Kiyoshi Yuuma completely understood. He knew this kind of pain.
Because only when you pour your heart into something does failure truly hurt.
"I…" Kiyoshi Yuuma smacked his lips, wanting to say something, but was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Riiing…"
Just then, in that suffocating atmosphere of silence and despair, the company phone rang abruptly and out of place.
"Riiing…"
Several rings went by, but no one answered.
Everyone turned to look at the president.
But Kiyoshi Yuuma didn't move.
HR Ayase Akane couldn't hold back anymore. She wiped away a tear and walked over to pick up the phone.
"Hello, this is Pokeni."
"Yes."
"Yes."
In the entire company, only Ayase Akane's voice could be heard.
But in the next second, the expression on her face changed dramatically.
From her initial dejection and despair, it turned into shock.
"Yes?!"
"Please tell me your store's address."
"Alright."
Ayase Akane quickly grabbed a pen from nearby and jotted something down in a notebook.
"Okay, thank you very much!"
After hanging up the phone, she looked up, eyes wide in disbelief, and turned to Kiyoshi Yuuma.
"President!"
"Hmm?" Kiyoshi Yuuma turned around.
"1,000 copies!" A smile spread across Ayase Akane's face as her heart pounded wildly.
"1,000 copies of what?" Kiyoshi Yuuma squinted, not quite understanding her words.
"Sano Game Specialty Store just called and ordered 1,000 copies of Onmyoji," Ayase Akane said.
Huh?
The entire Pokeni office went dead silent.
Two seconds later.
"Woooo!!" The crowd erupted in cheers.
"What?!"
"1,000 copies?!"
"Is it true?!"
…
"Riiing~"
Just as everyone was still in shock, the second call came in.
"Hello, this is Pokeni," Ayase Akane answered again.
"You want 2,000 copies of Onmyoji? Alright, please let me know your company's address."
While taking notes, she flashed a victory sign at Kiyoshi Yuuma.
Everyone looked at each other, completely confused.
What the heck was going on?
Why were there suddenly so many orders?
At that moment, the third call came in.
Then the fourth…
And the fifth…
Everyone was stunned.
"What are you all doing just standing there?! Answer the phones!" Kiyoshi Yuuma shouted.
Only then did everyone snap out of their daze and rush back to their desks.
"Hello, this is Pokeni."
"Yes, Onmyoji, right? How many copies would you like to order?"
That night—
The entire office was filled with the sound of ringing phones.
Order after order rolled in, seemingly without end.
…
For Kiyoshi Yuuma, this was nothing short of a miracle.