About two hours later…
"Ugh~ so frustrating.... (Kuyashii)" Momoi threw down the controller, pouting, "Why did we get wipeout again!?"
"Well, it is the hardest five-player dungeon in the current version… getting wiped out a few times is normal."
I casually comforted her, though in my head I added that, honestly, given everyone's current state, it would be surprising if they cleared it easily.
After uploading the game demo to the website, Midori visibly looked worried, Arisu was clearly distracted, and their gameplay suffered compared to their usual level.
Even Yuzu, a gaming prodigy, made a few minor mistakes.
As for the one among the four who still seemed somewhat focused, Momoi, I could only say that I had always acknowledged her gaming skill.
Momoi, hearing my comment, nodded as if understanding, then sighed nostalgically:
"Ah… if only Maki were here. She's pretty good at WOA, though not as skilled as Yuzu."
WOA, short for World of Achieve, is the game we're currently playing, the "fun activity" Momoi referred to.
Honestly… it didn't feel nearly as fun as struggling with the Shittim Chest.
"All right." Momoi gathered her courage. "Let's keep challenging the boss!"
But just then, a protesting voice spoke up:
"Wait a moment."
"Huh? What is it, Arisu?"
Arisu had switched to using the mouse, apparently moving to another window, her expression serious:
"…There are comments. And more than one."
The already tense atmosphere in the clubroom grew even heavier. The girls, exchanging uneasy glances, paused their dungeon run and opened the website where the demo of Myth·Legend·Chronicles 2 had just been uploaded.
Sorted by latest first, the first comment they saw read:
"Oh? Is this the sequel to the game that previously ranked first on the Garbage Game chart? I thought you'd given up making games already. Seems you didn't learn your lesson."
I noticed everyone's expressions faltered slightly.
"A-Arisu!" Momoi was the first to think of Arisu's earlier declaration and tried to comfort her:
"Don't worry too much about stuff like this…"
Yuzu took a deep breath to steady herself, then added:
"It's fine. Judging by the comment's time and the gameplay length, it's clearly someone who only looked at the title and decided to comment. No need to care about it."
Midori cautioned:
"If you skip to the later comments, there are some serious reviews…"
Momoi quickly scrolled down, her expression brightening:
"True… And it seems our game has a lot of players looking forward to it?"
"Overall, it feels more like 'happily dismantling a bomb'…" Midori remarked dryly.
But judging by their expressions, the situation was already exceeding their expectations.
So, it seems that Myth·Legend·Chronicles topping the Garbage Game chart with almost no promotion truly had some unique qualities.
"Wait a second?" Suddenly, Momoi's eyes widened in disbelief. "W-What's with the download count!? Isn't this too weird!?"
I noticed too. The game had already been downloaded several thousand times, and each refresh showed the number rapidly approaching five digits.
"Ah…" Midori quickly found a likely explanation:
"A news post about our new game was published on a popular portal site."
"Waaaaah…!" By now, Momoi was even more nervous. "I was just hoping no one would notice! I didn't expect the downloads to reach this number—I'm suddenly scared!"
Sharing a similar expression was Arisu, who had been silent until now.
But looking closely, Arisu's face, glued to her phone screen, showed genuine fear.
"…Arisu?" I called gently. "Are you okay?"
"Se-sensei… everyone…" Arisu looked up, eyes brimming with tears.
"It… it seems Arisu's thing… has been opened…"
…What the hell!?
Everyone present froze, then crowded around Arisu to check her phone.
It was the Momotalk chat interface. The avatar of the person chatting with Arisu looked familiar, but the conversation itself was completely bizarre.
Arisu: Maki! Please, you have to help Arisu!
Reading this, I tried to guess what kind of "help" Arisu was asking for, wondering if she'd said something wrong.
But Maki's reply was cryptic:
Maki: Who are you?
Arisu: Eh? Wh-Why are you pretending not to know Arisu?
Arisu: Is it because last time Arisu accidentally ate all the pudding in the Veritas fridge…?
I thought, eating it all was hardly something you could call an "accident"…
Maki: Not the account owner.
Maki: Anyway, you're acquainted with this person, right?
Arisu: What!?
Arisu: Are you a hacker? Or a kidnapper?
Arisu: Arisu warns you! Don't mess with Maki! Otherwise, Arisu and the Game Development Club will never forgive you!
Maki: Hmm… so you're Tendou Arisu from Millennium Academy's Game Development Club?
Arisu: I'm s-so... Chatbox!
Arisu: Please don't open Arisu's chatbox! Arisu and Maki aren't even familiar at all!
…I really want to know what Arisu had learned while I wasn't paying attention.
Maki: What a mess…
Maki: Anyway, this one's in my hands now.
Maki: If you can contact her guardian, have them come to this address.
After reading the whole exchange, I put down my phone and stared at the trembling Arisu with a strange expression, speechless.
"Sensei, what should we do?" Arisu asked. "Should we notify Hibiki-senpai? Or Little Maid-senpai and Rio-senpai?"
I thought for a moment:
"Hmm… I'll handle this myself."
Midori hurriedly asked:
"Do you need our help?"
"No, it's a minor matter. Just wait for my good news."
After apologizing for leaving them, I got up and left the Game Development Club.
Then, recalling the address I had just seen, I took out my phone and scrolled to a particular avatar.
I sent a message:
Me: Are you there?