I had some anxieties, but I left the work to Elsie and went to school with Keima.
Keima is walking along, fiddling with his PFP. He really does do that all the time...
"But is it really okay to just go to school at a leisurely pace?"
"What do you mean?"
"Knowing Keima, I knew he'd skip school and do something else."
"That kind of progression is certainly an option, but we have the opportunity to go to school together. We should make the most of it."
School is an essential setting in most dating sim games, and a treasure trove of events. Especially if you're in the same class."
"Is that how it is?"
"That's just how it is."
"Going to school together like this is also one of the events, isn't it?"
"Oh, really? In that case, should I do something?"
"No, no, don't be so defensive."
If I had to say something, it would be to just talk about what you want to talk about.
We're not going to have a discussion about anything."
"Oh, I see."
But when I consciously tell myself that I don't need to be on guard, I end up getting even more nervous.
I mean, this is an event for a dating sim, right? A game where boys and girls, you know, develop romantic relationships.
I was perfectly fine just a moment ago, but now I feel incredibly embarrassed!
S-Sure, something, something to talk about!
I mean, Keima, you shouldn't just be playing games all the time, you should be doing something else...
Where have you been?!
Leaving me alone like this, are you crazy?!
"Huh? That line just now..."
The voice I heard coming from Keima's PFP sounded incredibly familiar.
Could this possibly mean...?
Looking closely at the screen, my suspicion turned into certainty.
"what up?"
"This is a game in which I did the voice acting."
"What?!...Now that you mention it, it's definitely your voice."
I've voiced characters in several works, but... what are the odds that Keima is playing that game at this particular time?
...Oh, that's right.
"So, let's talk about this game."
"You know most of it, since you did the voice acting for this game, right?"
"That's true, but... I was wondering how it would feel from a player's perspective."
"Hmm, I don't know if this will be an interesting story for you, but... alright."
Keima begins speaking while showing the PFP screen.
"The main heroine of this game is named Shion. Her personality is a straightforward 'tsundere'."
A tsundere girl, someone who can't be honest with the person she likes and ends up acting coldly towards them.
I think it was something like, "The contrast when the daughter becomes honest is great..."
"Thanks to the popularity of tsundere heroines a while ago, there are a lot of characters who are just poser tsundere these days, but Shion is a rare example of a genuine tsundere."
"Is that...a good thing?"
"I don't know. Some people like the recent tsundere type, while others prefer the more traditional tsundere type. To be honest, it's a matter of personal preference."
"Your type... What kind of girl is Keima-kun's type?"
"Heh, if there's a girl there, I'll conquer her no matter who she is!!"
"Oh, really?"
Hmm, that's intriguing...
"Frankly speaking, a heroine whose only redeeming quality is her attributes is third-rate or worse."
A game where the female character's personality and background aren't well-developed is a terrible game!
"You're going that far?!"
"Of course. For example, what would you think if there was a heroine who, in every line of dialogue, would say, 'I-I don't really feel anything for so-and-so!'? It's a pretty extreme example, though."
"That's... extremely unnatural, or something like that..."
"Right? Games made with haphazard ideas like 'as long as the music is good it' or 'as long as the graphics are good' usually end up being terrible games."
If creators have the time and resources to focus on such things, they should be using that time to cultivate their love for their heroines."
"I see..."
So, does this mean that instead of "selling a game as a product," if you create a game with the feeling of "sending a young girl out into the world" and with care, it will naturally turn out to be a good work?
The relationship between a game and its creator might be somewhat similar to the relationship between an idol and their manager.
I'm sure Mr. Okada takes my health and requests into consideration when scheduling things...or at least I think so.
"By the way, how far have you gotten in that game?"
"I'm about 60% done with this. The 'dere' part of her tsundere personality should start to show soon."
Wow, that's amazing! You're right.
Keima-kun and Elsie-san's seats, and mine too, were quite far apart, so we never really talked during class.
It would have been nice if there had been an opportunity to form pairs in some class, but unfortunately, there wasn't such a class today.
And so, without much to say, it was time to go home from school.
"Okay, let's go home."
"Yeah. Is this also an event?"
"You understand it quite well, don't you?"
"The after-school event is a very important event!!"
"More important than going to school?"
"Well... in terms of the value of the event, there isn't that much difference, but the environment in which we can go to school together is limited, isn't it?"
"...That's true, I suppose."
In our case, we live together, so we go to and from school at the same time, but it seems like that's a rare case.
"Well, if you take the train or bus to school, it's fairly common to meet up along the way and walk to school together... but since the arrival time is fixed and there are quite a few people around, it's hard to have a leisurely conversation just the two of you. The after-school events are definitely more important."
"I see."
"By the way, a lot of casual gamers get this wrong, but... the after-school event is more important than the date event."
"Is it really that important!?"
"No, perhaps saying it's important was misleading."
More accurately, it's a "school-after-school event before asking someone out on a date."
1. After-school event
2. Exchange of contact information
3. Date
4. An event organized by the girls to mark the end of the school day.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4.
This is how love develops!!
"Oh, really?"
I wonder if that's really true...?
"Huh? But we've already exchanged contact information, haven't we?"
"Even so, is getting home from school the priority?"
"...Well, yeah."
There was a pause just now, wasn't there?
"Anyway, let's go home. We can talk on the way back."
"Hmm, that's true."