Chapter 25. Scorching Summer
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Back at his place, he turned on the light.
Shirakawa Atsushi inserted the game cartridge into the console.
Then he turned on the TV and began playing the game.
The familiar BGM started playing.
It was the soundtrack he had composed for Onmyoji.
Even though he had already cleared the game once, Shirakawa Atsushi still wanted to relive the experience.
"Ah~ Pokeni, that's great."
A complex smile appeared on Shirakawa Atsushi's lips.
There was comfort and joy, but also a faint trace of melancholy and regret.
He had to admit, Onmyoji was the ideal game in his mind, and Pokeni's President, Kiyoshi Yuuma, hadn't let him down.
Not only that, he had far exceeded Shirakawa Atsushi's expectations.
The game's visuals and storyline brought out the pure and melancholic tone of the BGM to perfection.
All these elements worked together in harmony to make the work flawless.
This was exactly what he had envisioned.
Shirakawa Atsushi felt a powerful sense of emotion stirring inside him.
"As expected of President Kiyoshi, to be able to make a game like this…"
At the same time, his brows furrowed. Recently, every time he closed his eyes at night, the image of Kiyoshi Yuuma sitting right here, sincerely inviting him to join Pokeni, would float into his mind.
But back then, with no experience in game development, Shirakawa didn't have the courage to accept the offer.
Now, working as a composer at Falcom wasn't bad either. From a certain perspective, even though Pokeni had some solid sales, it was still just a small company.
In contrast, Falcom had renowned series like Ys and The Legend of Heroes. They had already established a firm footing in the industry and were even subtly positioning themselves as a challenger to Square, the makers of Final Fantasy.
Falcom was clearly more stable and had brighter prospects, and yet...
Shirakawa Atsushi just couldn't feel like he belonged. Composing music at Falcom always left him with a lingering sense of emptiness.
Or rather—it wasn't as beautiful or fulfilling as he had imagined.
Currently, Shirakawa was working in the music department for The Legend of Heroes 2. Though he wasn't the lead composer, he was still heavily involved. But whether it was the musical style or themes, everything leaned heavily toward Western influences.
The longer he stayed, the more he realized that this wasn't the kind of music he wanted to create.
What Shirakawa truly wanted was to fuse Japan's own traditional musical characteristics into orchestral arrangements with international appeal—a music that was more pure, natural, and healing.
To put it simply, his idol was Hisaishi Joe.
Kiyoshi Yuuma was absolutely right.
"Ah~ I really, really want to go to Pokeni…"
Shirakawa Atsushi sighed, gripping the controller tightly.
…
"'A galgame everyone should experience at least once in their life'—isn't that a bit exaggerated?" muttered Kinoshita Jun, a typical office worker, holding the latest issue of Famitsu.
"Hmm~ It's not exaggerated at all," Hirose Furukawa said, sitting beside him and staring intently at the screenshots of Yuuki Rei in the magazine.
Just thinking about Rei's ending made Furukawa's heart ache all over again.
"Do you want to try it? I happen to have a copy of Onmyoji," he offered to Kinoshita.
"For real? So you've played it already, Furukawa? I heard this galgame is seriously amazing. You're indeed a fellow player." Kinoshita smirked. "Please lend it to me."
"Of course." Furukawa smiled.
It just so happened that he hadn't had the chance to recommend this game to anyone until now.
It was mainly because Onmyoji was a galgame, even though there wasn't a single lewd scene in the entire game.
But people would still assume it was some dirty game by default.
It was hard to bring up in casual conversation, but seeing that Kinoshita was interested, Furukawa didn't hide it anymore.
Kinoshita didn't quite understand the meaning behind Furukawa's cryptic smile just then.
But two days later, he finally understood.
"Furukawa, are you still a human being?" Kinoshita clutched his aching chest, looking exhausted. "Onmyoji is such an emotional rollercoaster. I couldn't sleep a wink after finishing it last night!"
"Right?!"
Furukawa burst out laughing. "I felt the same way. Now, seeing you like this gives me just a tiny bit of comfort."
Kinoshita was momentarily stunned, then glared wide-eyed. "Hirose Furukawa, please be a decent human being!"
"Hahaha. So what are you going to do now?" Furukawa asked.
"Of course…" Kinoshita paused, then smirked mischievously. "I'm going to recommend Onmyoji to Uesugi. No way I'm suffering alone!"
"Hahaha…"
The two of them burst out laughing heartily.
Ah, men's happiness is so simple.
…
The popularity of Onmyoji showed no signs of waning. As July began, its momentum only intensified, much like the rising summer heat.
Summer, after all, was the perfect season to enjoy a galgame.
Many players came specifically for it, and game shops quickly sold out of Onmyoji cartridges, with some stores even reporting total stock shortages.
As for the game retailers who hadn't stocked up earlier—either because Pokeni was too small or they hesitated—they were now filled with deep regret.
Tokyo.
Akihabara, KAK Game Retail Chain.
A teenage boy burst through the door and asked loudly: "Manager! Do you have Onmyoji here?"
"Eh? I haven't heard of it," the manager replied.
"What? You mean you don't even have Onmyoji here?"
"Sorry, we really don't."
"If you don't even have Onmyoji, then you're out!"
"Hah?!"
The manager was completely stunned.
…
"Hah?!"
Hattori Hiroyuki, the President of Tojun Entertainment Co., Ltd., was equally shocked.
"Onmyoji is that popular?!"
Tojun was a comprehensive entertainment company with many brands and subsidiaries under its umbrella—bookstores, magazines, video and audio products, and electronic entertainment goods, among others.
In particular, their "Golden Thumb" chain was now one of the largest game retailers in the Tokyo area.
"Yes, President," said the secretary beside him, a woman in black-rimmed glasses who nodded earnestly. "Based on our preliminary data, Onmyoji has sold over 80,000 copies so far. Breaking 100,000 is practically guaranteed."
"100,000 copies?!"
Hattori Hiroyuki was dumbfounded.
He had reluctantly agreed to stock some Onmyoji cartridges at the request of Tsuda Nao, never expecting much from Pokeni. He had assumed the company wouldn't be capable of making a hit product. And yet—
Even though the game had been shelved in a back corner, it still sold out.
What did that mean?
A product that couldn't even be buried must be pure gold.
"And also…" The secretary hesitated.
Hattori gave her an encouraging glance to continue.
"And also, we've received quite a few customer complaints. They say our store doesn't carry Onmyoji, and they want us to stock more. Otherwise…" She bit her lip and said carefully, "Tojun will fall behind."
Hattori Hiroyuki fell silent for a moment, then slowly began to smile.
"That's nothing to worry about. After all, we're Tokyo's biggest game distributor. Pokeni won't hold it against us."
He calmly spun his chair and tapped his fingers on the wooden desk.
He had once written off this company, but now that they'd delivered a hit, it was time to extend a hand.
"Hmm… Fujiki, call Pokeni's President. And also President Tsuda. Invite them to dinner."
"Yes, President."