Chapter 29. Fate
---
Ten minutes later, the venue was fully prepared. The developers from the Onmyoji project team had taken their seats on the stage, including Kiyoshi Yuuma.
"Eh? Isn't that the player who was talking with us just now? Why is he sitting up there?"
"Yeah, and he's even in the center?"
"Kiyoshi Yuuma... the President of Pokeni?!"
"No way! We were just discussing the game with the President? Doesn't that mean we said a bunch of bad things about Onmyoji right to his face?"
"Nonsense! I said a ton of critical stuff too!"
"Wait, by the way—did you notice? Isn't Tsubaki Furuhara not here today?"
"For real? I thought I saw his nameplate earlier."
"Eh? It's really gone now."
"Is it really okay for the producer to be absent from Onmyoji's player forum?"
"I was actually looking forward to seeing Tsubaki Furuhara in person…"
…
Sitting in the middle, Kiyoshi Yuuma had already broken into a cold sweat.
Luckily, the nameplate was switched in time. If these folks realized he was actually Tsubaki Furuhara, the game's producer, wouldn't this entire forum turn into a public outcry against him?
He'd thought players in the 90s would have stronger mental resilience, but apparently, they were still just as fragile.
"All right everyone, welcome to the Onmyoji forum. Now let's invite the President of Pokeni, Mr. Kiyoshi Yuuma, to say a few words," the host announced enthusiastically. To match today's Onmyoji theme, she even wore a shrine maiden costume from the game.
Incidentally, the host was actually Pokeni's HR, Ayase Akane.
It's just that due to her rather flat figure, the players had a hard time connecting her to the in-game characters.
"No way… this plain-looking girl is supposed to be Yuuki Rei? She's way off from the Rei I imagined."
"Exactly. Rei's at least a C, right?"
Hearing their whispers, Ayase Akane shot them a fierce glare.
The players were instantly startled.
"Scary! She heard that even though I whispered so quietly?"
"I told you not to comment on a girl's body, especially someone like—" Realizing her glare was getting sharper, the player shut his mouth immediately.
…
Kiyoshi Yuuma took the microphone, forcing a calm and easy smile onto his face.
"Thank you all for accepting Pokeni's invitation to come here today," he said with a smile. "It's truly a pleasure to see so many players gathered here. Pokeni's been around for over three years now, and honestly, we haven't had many strong titles to show for it."
"But after all this time and effort, we finally have a game like Onmyoji."
"I believe everyone here is a true fan of Onmyoji, and we sincerely thank you for your support! This forum is our chance to speak face-to-face. So please, don't hold back. Whether you have praise or criticism, we welcome all your feedback."
After his opening remarks, Kiyoshi Yuuma gave a brief overview of Pokeni's history and the creative process behind Onmyoji. Then it was time for the open Q&A session.
"President Kiyoshi, what kind of mindset did your team have when creating Onmyoji? Why did you decide to combine galgame elements with classic turn-based RPG mechanics?" a player asked.
Kiyoshi Yuuma glanced at Tsuda Nao sitting nearby, hesitated a moment, then said, "At first, we actually didn't plan to include any galgame elements. We just wanted to make a pure RPG—an Onmyoji RPG. It was only later, at the suggestion of DUN's President, that we added galgame content."
"Eh? So Producer Tsubaki Furuhara originally didn't intend for this to be a galgame?"
"That's right." Kiyoshi Yuuma nodded seriously, distancing himself completely from the galgame aspect, as if to say it had never been his idea to begin with.
"But the galgame content is really amazing."
Everyone turned their eyes to Tsuda Nao.
Whispers immediately broke out below the stage:
"Whoa, I can't believe it was a woman who suggested turning it into a galgame."
"We really owe DUN's President for that, right? Otherwise, we wouldn't have this awesome galgame."
"Totally. And DUN's President is gorgeous too, right?"
"She really is a stunner."
"Figures—it takes a girl to truly understand girls."
…
Kiyoshi Yuuma frowned deeply.
Are players really this shallow?
"Why didn't Tsubaki Furuhara-sensei come today?" another player asked, raising a hand.
Huh?
Everyone on stage looked at Kiyoshi Yuuma in confusion.
Mika Ishino thought—
Isn't Tsubaki Furuhara sitting right here?
Before anyone could speak, Kiyoshi Yuuma quickly answered, "Sorry, Tsubaki Furuhara-sensei had something come up and unfortunately couldn't make it today. It's a real pity. But I'll be sure to pass your suggestions and comments on to him."
Eh?!
Mika Ishino frowned. The President could really lie with a straight face and not skip a beat.
Upon hearing Kiyoshi Yuuma's response, a wave of disappointment rippled through the audience.
"Aww~ what a shame. Tsubaki Furuhara didn't come."
"Yeah, I really wanted his autograph."
"I wanted to ask him why he gave Rei such a tragic ending."
…
"What are Pokeni's future game development plans? Will there be a sequel to Onmyoji?"
"Well… that's a secret for now." Kiyoshi Yuuma smiled, flashing neat and attractive teeth.
The crowd immediately buzzed with excitement.
"Ah~ such a tease."
"There's no way there won't be. Onmyoji did so well."
"True. It'd be dumb not to make money off it."
"I'm looking forward to it. I wonder if the sequel will give some closure, like bringing Rei back to life."
"It's possible. After all, Kurai Tsuki was revived, wasn't she?"
"Wow, if they really do that, it'd be amazing."
…
"Excuse me, but why did Producer Tsubaki Furuhara choose such a sad ending when creating this game?" A roughly 30-year-old office worker in a white shirt stood up and voiced what everyone was wondering.
Since everyone here had played Onmyoji, spoilers weren't an issue.
"Hmm…"
Kiyoshi Yuuma pondered how best to answer.
Honestly, he was a player too.
Back when he played The Legend of Sword and Fairy, Kiyoshi Yuuma had felt something similar. He had wanted to ask Yao Zhuangxian why he chose a tragic ending instead of a happy one like in Jin Yong's novels.
But before he knew it, that emotional impact from playing had stayed with him, and that's why in this life, he'd chosen The Legend of Sword and Fairy as the thematic core of his first game.
As for Yao Xian's creative journey, he had never thought about it too deeply.
…
"Fate."
At that moment, a voice rang out.