In the afternoon, after the final class ended, Ichin and Utaha packed up their bags and headed to the first-year floor. They stopped in front of Eriri's classroom.
The sudden appearance of two of the most well-known top students in the second-year—honestly, in the whole school—immediately caught everyone's attention. It was clear they were here to see Eriri; she was the only person they knew in this class.
Eriri, who had been tidying up her things, naturally noticed them as well. She quickly shoved her books into her bag and jogged over to the classroom door.
"You guys are early."
Utaha smiled gently and replied, "We finished most of our homework already, and there wasn't much left to review, so we figured we'd head over."
"So basically, you're saying my grades are bad and I have to carry everything back home, huh?"
Rolling her eyes, Eriri huffed, "Just wait. I'll show you how much I've improved on this finals exam!"
"Ohhh~~ I'll be looking forward to that," Utaha teased.
Utaha was well aware of where Eriri's confidence was coming from—her tutor, Yukino. Yukino wasn't just top of the class, she also had a knack for predicting exam questions. Given the hints teachers usually gave about the key points, it wasn't too hard for her to guess a chunk of the actual test content.
Still, Utaha didn't believe that alone would be enough for Eriri to dramatically improve her scores. There were plenty of high achievers in the first-year. At best, Eriri might break into the top thirty, which was about where she landed in the midterm last semester.
Just as Eriri was confident in her comeback, Utaha had full confidence in her own judgment.
Well then, we'll see how it all plays out after the finals.
The three of them left the school grounds together and spotted Sayuri Sawamura's car already waiting nearby.
Lowering the window, Sayuri waved from the driver's seat. "Hop in! I'll take you to the clubroom."
They got in, and at Sayuri's request, Ichin took the front passenger seat.
As they pulled away, Ichin asked, "Is it far from here?"
"Not at all. It's in Shinjuku. I have a small office property there that wasn't being used, so I let the club use it as a workspace. Everyone does their creative work there."
While driving, Sayuri added with a smile, "If your company ever expands and you need office space, let me know. I know a lot of people and can get you a good deal."
"That would actually help a lot. Thank you in advance, Auntie Sayuri."
Ichin had already planned to begin hiring more people after the New Year, and securing a larger space was a key part of that plan. Now, with someone like Sayuri—who had great connections in Tokyo—offering help, things would definitely go smoother.
Sayuri chuckled. "No need to thank me. I'm also just helping out some of my friends' businesses. Plus, you and Utaha always look after our little Eriri. Helping you is the least I can do."
From the backseat, Eriri grumbled, "Look after me? More like, not bullying me is already a miracle!"
She recalled how, ever since her identity as _Eri Kashiwagi_ was exposed, the people at the studio had been teasing her about it nonstop. It was both frustrating and a little embarrassing.
Sayuri, however, wasn't the least bit bothered by her daughter's complaints. If Eriri really had a problem with it, she would've stopped going to the studio a long time ago. Clearly, she had grown close to everyone there. It wasn't real bullying—just playful banter among friends.
About ten minutes later, the car came to a stop in front of a standalone three-story office building.
After parking the car, Sayuri Sawamura said, "The third floor is where we're headed. Let's go."
The four of them entered the office building and went up to the third floor. Sure enough, there was a sign labeled Lily at the entrance.
Unlike typical companies with a front desk, the entrance opened directly into a space filled with neatly arranged desks, computer monitors, and drawing tablets positioned in front of the screens.
Since they were expecting the people who had commissioned the collaboration to visit today, everyone from the club was present.
At a glance, none of them looked particularly old—most seemed to be in their twenties or early thirties. Sayuri had mentioned before that some of them were her former classmates or juniors from school.
After a round of introductions, everyone gathered together while Ichin began explaining the details of the outsourced work.
Of course, a non-disclosure agreement was required. Ichin had no intention of letting any details about his game leak before it was even developed. That would be a disaster.
The meeting went on until 6 p.m., after which Sayuri drove Ichin and Utaha back to their apartment.
She originally wanted to treat the two of them, along with the rest of the club, to dinner, but Utaha's family was cooking that evening, so they had to pass. There would be plenty of time for a proper meal together later—after all, this collaboration was going to last for quite a while.
They had dinner at the Kasumigaoka household, enjoying a meal prepared by Mrs. Kasumigaoka. Afterward, Ichin chatted with Mr. Kasumigaoka for a while before heading back to his own place with Utaha.
Neither of them rushed off to their rooms or the bath. Instead, they lounged on the sofa in the living room, casually watching TV and chatting.
Leaning against Ichin's arm, Utaha picked up a piece of apple with a toothpick and took a bite. "Hey, Ichin, if you're thinking about expanding your company next year, do you think there's a chance... we could just recruit all the Lily members?"
"Huh? All of them?" Ichin blinked, giving her a surprised look. "That's... a pretty bold idea. I never even considered that."
But thinking about it more carefully... it didn't sound all that impossible.
The members of Lily were all seasoned creators. While none of them had worked at big-name game companies, they were highly skilled artists and programmers. They had developed many doujin (indie) games and had experience handling various outsourced projects.
Still, while that sounded good on paper, there had to be a reason these people chose to stay in a doujin circle instead of joining larger game studios.
Recruiting them wouldn't be easy.
Shaking his head, Ichin said, "Let's not rush. First, let's see how they do with the outsourcing work. If their final output meets my standards, then I'll definitely consider talking to Auntie Sayuri about bringing them on board. But for now, Utaha, don't mention anything to Eriri about this. Let me handle it when the time comes."
"Mm, got it."
And so December arrived. Development on _Persona_ continued steadily. Ichin visited the Lily team once to check their progress on the outsourced content—and he was pleased. The team hadn't lowered their standards at all just because it was contract work. Instead, they stuck to a strict schedule, prioritizing quality over speed.
Ichin was very satisfied with that. The performance of this doujin circle made him even more inclined to try recruiting them in the future.
Aside from game development, Ichin hadn't slacked on his music theory studies either. After two weeks of working through the basics, he slowly began recreating one of the _Persona_ songs he remembered from his past life.
Once he finished transcribing the sheet music, though, he ran into another problem.
"I wrote it down, but… there's no one here who can actually play it."
Who could he ask?
What a shame—Kitauji High School only existed in anime set in Kyoto. Otherwise, he could've asked their concert band for help.
"Wait a sec… a concert band?"
Suddenly, Ichin remembered something—didn't Toyogasaki also have a concert band?
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