"Hey, hey, have you guys seen the new Pokeni game ad?"
On the company's rooftop, Yamada Masaharu chatted with a few others.
Their conversation ranged from the noodles they ate last night all the way to games.
That's when everyone remembered.
"Oh, it seems so," Kinoshita Keisuke flicked the ash from his cigarette. "I remember The Witcher was released a long time ago. I didn't expect a sequel to come out now."
"For a major game, two and a half years isn't that long, is it? Most development processes are like this," Furukawa Hirozawa said, sounding like an expert.
However, what he said was a fact; in most cases, the development cycle for large-scale games is relatively long.
Square's final fantasy 7 had also been in development for about two years.
However, during this time, players could always find similar games to satisfy their cravings.
It was truly rare for a game like The Witcher to have such a large gap without a substitute appearing, or an even better top-down action game emerging.
"Ah, two and a half years, huh? Back then, you weren't even a section chief," Kinoshita said to Furukawa.
Furukawa blinked, a wry smile playing on his lips.
"I've been working for ten years; it's about time I became a section chief, isn't it?"
"Exactly, exactly," Kinoshita quickly added, "If you had gotten married earlier, you might have been promoted even faster."
"Hmm?"
Furukawa Hirozawa paused. "What do you mean?"
"Did you forget?" Hayamikawa also leaned in, and the few of them lowered their voices. "The company has an unwritten rule that only married men can be promoted."
"What kind of rule is that?" Furukawa didn't understand.
"Because the company prefers stable family men over single people who might jump ship at any time," Kinoshita explained directly.
"And," Hayamikawa added, "you know the company's senior executives all have a 'wives' club,' right? Only after you get married can your wife join this small group.
Although they mostly discuss trivial things, it's also a way for everyone to build friendships.
Members who aren't in the wives' club are basically excluded from the company's core power structure."
"Ah?! Really or fake?!" Yamada expressed complete ignorance of this matter. "So I need to hurry up and get married, right?"
"What do you think?"
Hayamikawa took a puff of his cigarette, then raised his chin, pointing at Kinoshita Keisuke. "Didn't this guy get married last August? He's already starting his overseas assignment this year."
"Overseas assignment?" Furukawa and Yamada couldn't understand. "Isn't an overseas assignment like exile? It's basically for people the company doesn't value, or those who made a mistake but can't be fired."
"You guys~ are such idiots! Every single one of you is an idiot!"
Hayamikawa raised his hand and slapped each of their heads.
"Ah~ that hurts, okay?!"
Furukawa lifted his resentful little eyes.
"Overseas assignments also depend on the situation," Hayamikawa, the know-it-all, continued to explain. "There are overseas assignments to good places and overseas assignments to bad places. If you go to places like the Philippines or Malaysia, you basically won't come back.
Or when you come back, they'll find some excuse, like saying your performance didn't meet standards.
If you cause trouble over there, they'll transfer you to a subsidiary in a small place, and basically, your life is over.
That's called being exiled."
"And another situation," Hayamikawa continued, "being assigned to the United States, Europe, or Singapore, these places are called 'further training'.
After returning from further training, you'll be promoted."
"Hmm?"
Yamada and Furukawa's eyes widened; they had no idea such rules existed.
"Yamada, who just joined, is one thing," Hayamikawa said, looking at Furukawa Hirozawa, "but how do you, as a section chief, not know these things?"
"I always thought the company promoted people based on their abilities," Furukawa Hirozawa said with a bitter expression.
Hayamikawa pointed at Furukawa Hirozawa's nose. "Why would you think that? Do you think you're more capable than Yamada?"
"Hey, that's a bit discouraging."
"Senior, technology is constantly being updated, after all," Yamada said with a smile.
Furukawa Hirozawa raised his hand as if to strike, and Yamada quickly dodged back with a laugh.
On the rooftop, the wind was quite boisterous today.
"Yamada, you're not much better. If you don't get married soon, you'll be wasting your potential," Hayamikawa said. "Do you think you'll get promoted?"
"Hey, senior, that's a bit discouraging."
Kinoshita pressed his cigarette butt onto his wallet to extinguish it, then put it into his wallet and pocketed it.
"In short, marital status is prioritized for promotions. Remember that guy, ah, Sasaki? Didn't he also get married last year? He's already been promoted to section chief.
He's only 25, and he's only been with the company for a little over three years, less than four, right?"
"Ah~ Senior, you shouldn't be so discouraging!" Yamada Masaharu complained with a worried expression.
And Furukawa Hirozawa, standing next to him, looked even more depressed, his mouth twitching twice.
Good heavens, someone so much younger than me got promoted to section chief.
So, a section chief isn't worth much after all, huh?
"And it's not just about getting married; there are age requirements too," Kinoshita Keisuke said.
"If you don't get married before you turn 30, it'll be very difficult to get promoted later on."
"Really or fake?!"
Furukawa Hirozawa was completely stunned. "I'm 31 this year."
"Then why don't you hurry up and get married?"
Yamada Masaharu patted his chest. Fortunately, he was only 26 this year.
Furukawa Hirozawa said with a bitter face, "Where am I going to get married? Junna and I have just started. There's still a long way to go before marriage, okay?"
"But Hayamikawa, you know so much, why aren't you married? I remember you haven't even been promoted to section chief, right?" Kinoshita Keisuke suddenly remembered something.
Hayamikawa instantly turned to stone.
"If you know, don't expose me! Do you have any public decency?!"
"Do you think I don't want to get married? It's just that I haven't found the right person!"
Seeing Hayamikawa's expression, everyone found it both funny and a little pitiful.
He finally went to find his first love, only to find out her child was already in kindergarten.
"But for me, I guess this is it for this life. A person in their thirties who can't get promoted to section chief, I guess I'll just be a senior employee for the rest of my life."
...
Everyone chatted about marriage for a while, the wind on the rooftop blowing through their hair.
After an unknown amount of time, they all fell silent simultaneously.
"Huh? What were we just talking about? I suddenly forgot," Hayamikawa asked, belatedly.
"the witcher 2, senior!" Yamada reminded him.
"Oh, right, the witcher 2." Hayamikawa nodded, nudging Furukawa next to him with his elbow. "Are you going to get it?"
"Me?" Furukawa paused.
"the witcher 2 seems pretty good, doesn't it?" he asked, puzzled.
"Based on the PV released so far, it probably isn't as beautiful as princess mononoke. How should I put it, it's going in a different direction," Yamada smiled. "It's the dark style with psychological distortion that you like, senior, but isn't that what The Witcher is all about?"
"When did I like twisted dark styles?" Furukawa Hirozawa retorted. "I just like Pokeni's games, and it just so happens that most of the scripts written by Gen Urobuchi are dark, and I've played them all."
"Yes, yes."
Everyone laughed.
"By the way, senior, how was your experience with princess mononoke before?" Yamada was quite curious.
He had run errands for them at the time, and didn't know what the after-sales feedback was like, or if these guys were satisfied.
He himself really liked princess mononoke as a game.
Even now, he still considered it a masterpiece.
Whether in terms of art style, expressiveness, or plot, it was one of the very best game works.
"I forgot."
Furukawa Hirozawa smiled awkwardly, touching his lips as he recalled what happened that night, saying shyly, "I only remember Junna's lips."
"Ah~ damn it!
Senior, do you have to show off so much in front of us?!"
"Don't worry.
Leave this guy to me. I guarantee he won't see tomorrow's sun." Saying that, Hayamikawa put Furukawa Hirozawa in a chokehold.
"Ah! No!" Furukawa Hirozawa quickly begged for mercy.
"But speaking of which," Hayamikawa released him, asking puzzled, "you and Junna have progressed to this point, are you getting married soon?"
"Senior! Can you guys stop talking about marriage already?! Can you show some respect to the game?!" Yamada roared.
"Ah, sorry." The few of them snapped back to reality.
"You continue, Yamada," Kinoshita Keisuke waved his hand.
"So, getting back to it, are you guys going to get the witcher 2 or not?" Yamada asked.
"My wife won't let me buy it. She said that kind of game is clearly for people with extremely twisted minds," Kinoshita Keisuke said lightly.
"Hmm?" Furukawa Hirozawa paused. "But Junna supports me a lot. She thinks that if I like such a game, it means it has its own merits.
Perhaps there's a power of light hidden within the darkness."
"That's enough," Hayamikawa shouted.
"If you show off your affection any more, I'm going to hit you, senior," Yamada rolled up his sleeves, showing off his fist the size of a sandbag.
"Alright, alright, I'm getting a copy. Let's go together after work," Furukawa Hirozawa laughed.
Honestly, this guy had become particularly arrogant ever since he got a girlfriend.
Yamada Masaharu really wanted to punch his senior in the face to vent his frustration.
Fortunately, among the four, Senior Hayamikawa was still there with him; neither of them had girlfriends.
...
Time flew by, and in a flash, it was March 15th.
Pokeni's Demon Hunter: Devil's Egg was released on time.
Outside the store, a large poster was displayed.
The male protagonist looked as arrogant as could be, baring his teeth, half-human and half-demon, with black veins bulging on his face. His physique was also taller than normal humans, and his teeth were sharp and pointed, as if he was about to tear his prey apart at any moment.
Such a guy indeed easily reminded people of devilman.
Not long after work that evening, the store manager saw the familiar quartet.
"Welcome! We have new games today."
He was speaking when he suddenly froze—
Because behind Furukawa Hirozawa, there was a beautiful girl.
Perhaps not exactly beautiful, but a charming woman with an elegant demeanor. Her eyes and brows were very pleasant, and when she smiled, her gaze was radiant and approachable.
Just like an angel.
Eh!?
A girl.
This made the store manager nervous.
How could it be?!
That guy actually had a girl who liked him?!
He initially couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes, until he saw the girl gently linking her arm with Furukawa Hirozawa's. It was then that he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
With a loud boom.
Lightning exploded in his brain, leaving the store manager utterly devastated.
Oh my goodness...
What on earth happened?
Is this world real?
Aren't we living in a virtual illusion?
That perpetual bachelor, the otaku who always bought a pile of galgames, actually had a girlfriend?!
...
Yamada walked at the front, being the first to grab a copy of Demon Hunter: Devil's Egg from the shelf.
Then came Hayamikawa, Kinoshita Keisuke, and Furukawa Hirozawa.
Furukawa and his Junna were chatting and laughing, and after some discussion, they finally decided to just get one copy.
"You can come to my place to play then; this is an action game, and the difficulty isn't low, you know."
"Alright, but don't underestimate me, you know, I'm very strong," Yukitake Junna said with a smile, showing no weakness, and even flexing her bicep.
She even developed muscles from surgery.
"Alright, impressive," Furukawa Hirozawa gave her a thumbs-up. "Then I'll teach you when the time comes."
"Okay."
The few of them stood by, silently watching the two of them flirt.
Yamada Masaharu cursed Furukawa Hirozawa a thousand times in his heart.
Damn senior.
He shouldn't have called him.
He didn't expect them to show off their affection even in a game store!
How annoying.
If it weren't for Miss Yukitake, Yamada Masaharu would really want to punch him in the face.
Meanwhile, the store manager standing behind the counter was extremely terrified.
Terrifying. Do girls also like games like this?
One must know this was a work penned by Gen Urobuchi.
The extremely twisted and abnormal minds were difficult for most people to bear.
Moreover, it was a girl.
...
Nevertheless, the store manager dutifully finished the accounting and packed their items into bags.
"Please come again."
After seeing the few of them off, the store manager couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
...
After buying the game, Furukawa Hirozawa naturally pulled Yukitake Junna back to his home.
"Is this really okay? It's getting quite late," Yukitake Junna said, smiling as she gazed into Furukawa's eyes.
"I still have to go to work tomorrow."
Doctors were indeed quite busy.
If they played the game, it would probably be very late when she returned.
"Then why don't you just stay at my place tonight?" Furukawa Hirozawa said with a mischievous smile.
"Really? Is that okay?" Yukitake Junna blinked.
Although the two had some physical contact before, it was currently limited to playful bickering.
Staying overnight at Furukawa's place had not yet happened.
Hearing Yukitake's words, Furukawa Hirozawa looked a little troubled.
Was she rejecting him?
Ah~ What a pity. How could he get Junna to stay?
"But it's agreed, we're just playing games tonight. No funny business allowed."
"Eh?!"
Furukawa Hirozawa was overjoyed, his eyes gleaming, and he raised his hand. "I swear, I'll only play games, no funny business."
Yukitake Junna quickly pulled his hand down, scolding playfully, "Who asked you to swear?!"
...
The two returned home. Yukitake Junna went to shower first, leaving Furukawa Hirozawa alone in the room to tinker with the new game.
He had originally intended to put the disc in and try it out.
However, upon hearing the sound of running water from the bathroom, Furukawa Hirozawa stopped.
After some thought and an internal struggle, Furukawa Hirozawa ultimately did not unseal the game.
Instead, he sat still, quietly waiting.
It would be such a pity if Junna missed the opening CG.
Indeed, games were much more fun when played together.
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