Chapter 77: Eriri Infiltrates Yukima Mansion
Yukima Azuma led everyone upstairs.
He arranged for Eriri's room to be right next to Kasumigaoka Utaha's room.
Coincidentally, two days ago, Yukima Azuma had bought a batch of nameplates.
Now, they could be put to use.
Yukima Azuma took a blank nameplate from the box.
On it, he wrote the words "Sawamura Spencer Eriri."
Then, he hung the nameplate on Eriri's room door.
"The Katakana is written so badly!"
Eriri looked at her nameplate and criticized it.
But even though she said that, the corners of her mouth couldn't hide a smile.
That smile was even harder to suppress than when using an 8x recoil grip with large machine gun.
It was almost about to stretch to the sky.
Yukima Azuma could only feel helpless.
He casually took another blank nameplate from the box.
Yukima Azuma wrote the words "Kasumigaoka Utaha" and hung it on Kasumigaoka's door.
Kasumigaoka looked at her nameplate.
Then, she looked at Yukima Azuma box of blank nameplates.
Without leaving a trace, she pinched Yukima Azuma's side.
Yukima Azuma gritted his teeth and endured.
There was no other way.
Sometimes, you had to pay a small price.
Kato Megumi, holding Shiratamaru in her arms, stood at a distance and quietly observed this scene.
After moving Eriri's belongings, everyone returned to the living room.
"The character designs and cover art are here, and one-third of the CG art for the game is already completed."
Eriri laid her works on the table.
Yukima Azuma took a quick look.
There was basically nothing that needed correction.
When designing the characters, Eriri had contacted Yukima Azuma via Line.
The two of them had made a few revisions.
With the original character designs in Azuma mind and Eriri outstanding illustration skills, the chances of errors were minimal.
The only issue was that the work still seemed a bit rushed.
Kasumigaoka Utaha also took out a stack of drafts.
"I've finished the script, but this is the first time I've written a script, so I might not recognize some problems myself."
Eriri and Yukima Azuma each took a copy and began to read.
Kasumigaoka's writing was sharp, and her style was unquestionable.
However...
After reading, Eriri furrowed her small brows.
"I always feel like something's missing."
Kasumigaoka paid no attention to her.
Instead, she looked at Yukima Azuma.
At that moment, Yukima Azuma had just finished reading the script.
"As for the story, it definitely meets the standard, and I would even say it's excellent."
"But since you're used to writing light novels, you may have accidentally overlooked a few things."
"For a game script, the details of the story should have many different choices."
"Through these choices, it will ultimately lead to different endings. This script would work well for a Good Ending role."
Hearing this, Kasumigaoka nodded.
Indeed, she was used to writing light novels, so she had overlooked this point.
"This is exactly what I mean!"
Eriri raised her hand high and loudly agreed.
"You dare to criticize when you haven't finished your own work?"
Kasumigaoka smirked and mocked her.
"Hey, the workload of an illustrator is huge!"
"The scriptwriting work isn't light either. In the end, it's a human issue."
"Illustrations and texts are not the same!"
"Then why don't you write the script?"
"You're so annoying! You evil woman in black stockings!"
The two of them started bickering again.
Yukima Azuma sat down next to Kato Megumi, who was standing on the sidelines.
Shiratamaru was curled up in Kato Megumi's arms, looking very content.
Yukima Azuma reached out and scratched Shiratamaru's chin.
Since the cat was in Kato Megumi's lap, he couldn't avoid lightly touching her leg.
However, it seemed that Kato Megumi didn't mind at all.
"Megumi, join the club as a game tester," Yukima Azuma suddenly spoke.
This tuberose girl, who was holding the cat and staying out of the argument, looked rather quiet.
Moreover, the club really needed someone for real-world testing.
"Eh? But I don't understand any of this," Kato Megumi seemed rather surprised.
"It's fine, actually, that's better."
"Utaha-senpai is a light novel writer, and Eriri is an illustrator. When they experience the product, it's hard to avoid them being overly critical of each other's work."
"And if they use their professional perspectives to evaluate our work, it will lose objectivity in testing."
"After all, when the game is released, our target audience is the general players, not professionals."
Kato Megumi blinked her eyes as if she was pondering, "I see, so that's how it is?"
"I can join, but do you think Kasumigaoka-senpai and Sawamura-san will agree?"
At that moment...
Kasumigaoka and Eriri stopped arguing.
Both of them looked at Yukima Azuma and Kato Megumi with meaningful expressions.
"Utaha-senpai, Eriri, so, Megumi will be our new member from now on, is that okay?" Yukima Azuma clasped his hands in front of his chest, looking as though he was pleading.
"You've already decided, why are you asking us?"
"Yeah, that's right!"
It was rare for Kasumigaoka and Eriri to agree on something like this.
However, even though they said that...
It was clear they didn't object to Kato Megumi joining.
If it had been someone else, they would likely have rejected the idea without hesitation.
Although they had only known Kato Megumi since the beginning of the term, somehow, they had already come to consider her a friend.
Megumi had a special ability like that.
And the fact that Kasumigaoka and Eriri considered somebody a friend was truly rare.
"Cheers! To celebrate Megumi joining the club, let's have red bean rice today!"
Yukima Azuma raised his hand and cheered.
"Lonely-kun, did you forget something?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha glared at him.
"What about the programming? Azuma, you're not just urging us to work while doing nothing yourself, are you?"
Eriri also took this opportunity to criticize him.
Yukima Azuma shook his head.
"How could I forget?"
He opened his laptop and showed the program.
It was a pretty complete game system, with the entire framework already built and able to run smoothly.
Next, they just needed to add the necessary content.
The game could officially enter the internal testing phase.
Looking at the game program on Yukima Azuma's laptop, Kasumigaoka Utaha furrowed her brows in confusion.
Lately, she hadn't seen Yukima Azuma write any code at all.
But the level of completion of this program…
Even if there were seven or eight programmers working together, it would take at least two or three days to finish.
Eriri's mouth dropped open in amazement.
"When did you do this? Impressive! It's like outsourcing the work."
Yukima Azuma nodded in agreement.
"Of course it's like outsourcing, because it actually is outsourcing."
Kasumigaoka: "?"
Eriri: "?"
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Yukima Azuma couldn't help but laugh.
"A few days ago, I registered a company that specializes in developing our club's game, as well as preparing for future publicity and release."
"I set up the company, hired a few programmers, and gave them the job of programming the game."
After hearing Yukima Azuma's explanation, the three girls were stunned.
Normally, who would open a company just for the result of a school club?
Where did this idiot come from?
"Wait until the game doesn't sell, then we'll see if you stay obedient!"
Eriri muttered grumpily.
But deep down, she had already made up her mind.
When the game is released, she'll ask her mother to buy a hundred copies.
After all, she could give them to her friends in the otaku community for promotion.
The more copies she buys, the better.
As for Kasumigaoka Utaha, her thoughts were much simpler.
If the company made a loss, it wouldn't matter.
If Yukima Azuma went bankrupt, she'd just feed him.
(t/n: Rich lady with black tights, please feed me too)
....
That night.
Yukima Azuma really did cook red bean rice.
In Japan, red bean rice is also called Azuki gohan, symbolizing celebration.
This dish is typically made for special occasions like weddings, birthdays, or when a family gains a new member.
It represents care and has a strong symbolic meaning of bonding.
In the kitchen, Kato Megumi quietly helped Yukima Azuma prepare the meal.
Eriri was in the living room, playing with Shiratamaru.
"Come on, come here, Shiratamaru~"
Eriri waved her hand, calling the cat.
Shiratamaru was very clever and could now understand some simple words and respond to his name.
Hearing Eriri's call, the little cat elegantly walked over to her.
Finally, Shiratamaru jumped up and snuggled into Eriri's arms.
His tiny little paws gently scratched her leg, almost as if kneading dough.
Eriri tightly hugged Shiratamaru.
She looked provocatively at Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Kasumigaoka just glared back at her.
That silly Eriri.
She didn't even realize the threat from Kato Megumi.
And right after that…
Shiratamaru jumped out of Eriri's arms.
The little cat ran around before leaping and landing in Kasumigaoka Utaha's lap.
Shiratamaru's tiny paws lightly tapped on Kasumigaoka's black tights.
Shiratamaru: Umu, this time it's the right place.
Kasumigaoka paused for a moment, then giggled.
"How dare you! That woman in black tights, you used such lowly tricks to seduce Shiratamaru!"
Eriri's voice was full of jealousy as she shouted angrily.
Is it because Kasumigaoka Utaha has bigger oppai than me that Shiratamaru was seduced? Eriri thought to herself.
"Sawamura-san, read a book for once. This is a natural behavior for kittens, just cat kneading."
"Shiratamaru choosing me only proves that you, Sawamura-san, really have no charm. Don't blame everything on others, okay?"
Kasumigaoka laughed, her words sharp like a knife.
"How dare you! Shiratamaru, come back here, don't play with that wicked woman anymore!"
Eriri grabbed the cat teasing stick nearby, trying to win back Shiratamaru's affection.
Shiratamaru hesitated for a moment.
Finally, the little cat ran toward the teasing stick.
Kasumigaoka didn't mind much.
She'd just pull out the cat snacks later and win him back.
....
The atmosphere during dinner was quite odd.
The reason was that the food Yukima Azuma cooked went far beyond the concepts of "good" or "bad."
Eriri and Kato Megumi even began to doubt whether Yukima Azuma had added any strange ingredients.
Yukima Azuma: I would never do something unreasonable like that!
....
After dinner.
Eriri hugged her tablet, staying up late to draw illustrations.
Kasumigaoka also started writing the script for the branches of the main story.
Kato Megumi finished washing the dishes and prepared to leave.
At the entrance.
Yukima Azuma looked at the sky outside, now dark as ink.
"Why don't you stay the night?"
"Hmm... would that be alright?"
"What's wrong with that? I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you go home alone."
"Well… I'll go buy some pajamas and a towel first."
"Okay, I'll go with you."
What they say is "practice makes perfect."
Since the last time, when she fell asleep on the couch and conveniently stayed overnight, the idea of "staying the night" between the two of them had become much more ambiguous.
It's already so late, it's not safe to go home, so stay the night!
The sun's too hot, you'll get sunburned on your way back, stay the night!
Oh, it's still early today, and the weather is pleasant… Shiratamaru misses you, so stay the night!