"You're saying you two slept together last night because you played the new game Yu made too late?"
"Yes, yes, Sister Bronya, you have to believe Seele, how could Seele actively do such a thing!"
Seele adorably puffed out her cheeks, as if displeased with Sister Bronya's suspicion of her.
"So that's how it is."
Bronya had originally thought of asking Nangong Yu about the specific game details, but ultimately decided against it after some thought.
The success or failure would be evident in a month.
Since they hadn't done anything physically demanding last night, in the afternoon, the three of them went out for a stroll together, a rare occurrence.
Their time together was quite pleasant, making Bronya feel somewhat dazed, questioning whether their argument and separation earlier had been right or wrong.
Returning home in the evening, after washing up, Nangong Yu was in a good mood, humming a tune as he dried his hair and walked back to the bedroom.
However, as soon as he entered the room, he found his neatly folded quilt spread out, with something moving and bulging underneath.
He walked over, pinched a corner, and lifted it, quickly catching sight of a pair of sky-blue eyes trying to hide.
"Bro-Older Brother, if Seele says she accidentally went into the wrong room, would Older Brother believe her?"
"...I believe you."
Saying that, he lifted the quilt and crawled in, sitting in the spot already warmed by Seele's body temperature.
"It's too cold outside. Don't get sick going out in just pajamas. Just sleep here tonight."
"...Mm, Seele will listen to Older Brother."
Seele mumbled, softly giving her response.
Even though, it was almost summer now.
On the other side, from that day on, Bronya never saw the light in Seele's room on at night again.
Won't take the initiative?
Bronya felt that the child hadn't been disciplined enough.
...
A month passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the day before the opening of the Indie Game Festival.
As an event for discovering talent in the gaming industry, Saint Freya, the organizer, took the Indie Game Festival quite seriously, unlike other regional indie game festivals that just held online events.
They would directly use the largest venue at Saint Freya University for an offline exhibition. After a week-long display, the games would be simultaneously launched on the Titan Game Platform, and top-ranking works would receive a half-month homepage banner recommendation.
It's worth noting that the Titan Game Platform is one of the world's three major game platforms. A half-month banner recommendation alone is enough to make even large companies producing AAA titles envious.
Therefore, this Indie Game Festival is a carnival for independent studios or individual game designers worldwide. The official rules prohibit large companies from participating, strictly punishing any violations. This is an opportunity given to newcomers.
To participate, you must either be a small studio or your company must have been established for less than three years and be relatively small in scale. The company named Fantasy Township, founded by Nangong Yu and Bronya through Cocolia, perfectly met these conditions.
Being small in scale and less than three years old, they successfully applied for exhibition qualifications, and given their former employer was Anti-Entropy, they were assigned a rather good spot.
"Yo, thanks for your hard work, everyone."
Nangong Yu carried a bag of water, smiling as he walked towards Sugisaki Ken and the others, who had just finished working up a sweat.
"Just helping a brother out, it's nothing."
Waving his hand, Beiyuan Yizhi took a bottle of mineral water, gulped it down in one go, wiped the sweat from his head, and then casually waved his hand.
"I just didn't expect you to quietly make a game and even get to participate in Saint Freya's Indie Game Festival."
Kirito, who had the worst stamina, was already sitting on a chair, holding a bottle of water, and spoke with some emotion.
His tone inevitably carried a hint of envy.
As an otaku who loved playing games, he was also quite interested in game development, and hoped his future job would lean in that direction. The very thing he dreamed of had unexpectedly been achieved by his good friend without him even realizing it.
"Exactly, exactly! You didn't say a word about it before, and when you finally did, I was startled!"
Sugisaki Ken mimicked Beiyuan, chugging a bottle of water, then simply sat on the floor, looking at Nangong Yu curiously and asking, "By the way, what kind of game did you actually make? The booth setup looks so abstract. Is that a lighthouse, and a moon?"
Since there were hundreds of exhibiting games, each booth area wasn't large, barely fitting a dozen people.
His booth wasn't like others that simply displayed the name and game logo, then set up a few phones or computers for players to try. Instead, he used some printed cardboard and hollow models to create a scene of a lighthouse by a cliff under a full moon.
"Is that a printing error? Look, the cliff edge is all pixelated. This game can't possibly be a pixel game from before we were born, can it?"
Beiyuan pointed at the pattern on the cardboard, joking with a laugh.
"How could that be? No matter what, pixel games are just too..."
Kirito laughed upon hearing it, but unfortunately, he was interrupted by Nangong Yu's voice before he could finish.
"That's right, it's a pixel game."
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
"Eh?"
The three of them froze simultaneously. They immediately looked at Nangong Yu, trying to see from his face if he was joking just now.
"Stop looking, I'm serious."
Waving his hand to stop their gazes, Nangong Yu said with a casual smile.
"Hey, hey, hey, do you know what you're saying? That's a pixel game, a pixel game, a game that no one has made for over ten years!"
With the current stage of technological development, even the most novice designers can find abundant, exquisite materials in public, free databases. There's no need to use pixel models where faces aren't even clear.
"Are you confused? Huh? How about we just skip the exhibition? I'm afraid you won't be able to handle the pressure."
Bei Yuan was already thinking of backing out. Even Kirito's eyes were darting around this time, wanting to say something.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Don't worry, I have confidence in my game."
He quickly comforted his three good Brothers. Seeing Nangong Yu's confidence, their panicked emotions also calmed down a bit.
Then, he put his arm around Bei Yuan's shoulder and winked at them: "Thank you Brothers for taking time off to come here with me and helping me so much this time. Naturally, I won't treat you poorly."
From their high school to Saint Freya, even taking the tram takes several hours. The few of them were essentially on a 'business trip' with him, and they would likely be busy for the week-long indie game festival afterward.
As for accommodation, the organizer booked a dozens-of-story hotel outside, so there's no need to worry about that. But when it comes to food, drinks, and entertainment, he definitely wouldn't treat his Brothers poorly.