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[Game] Chapter 240: Kuroneko’s Surprise
🕑 Added 2025-05-30 03:21:18 +0000 UTCAfter watching for a while, Ichin nodded in appreciation.
Her fundamentals were solid. There were a few spots where she was still a bit unpolished, but nothing major—things that could be corrected easily. It was clear she hadn't participated in any real game development before.
Without interrupting Kuroneko, Ichin called over Umiko and stepped out of the programming department with her.
“How’s Kuroneko looking after a full day of observation, Umiko?”
“Very promising.”
Umiko didn’t hold back on her praise and responded directly, “Her foundation is solid, and she’s clearly gifted—one of those types who grasp things instantly, just like Sakura Nene. Plus, she’s hardworking and responsible. She meets all of my expectations across the board. With a bit of time and guidance here, she’ll definitely improve even more.”
“That’s great to hear. I’ll leave the task of mentoring her to you then, Umiko.”
After sneaking another glance inside, Ichin continued munching on his chips and headed over to the art department.
The moment he arrived, he was met with Aoba’s wide-eyed stare.
Crunch crunch.
Swallowing a mouthful of chips, Ichin held out the bag toward her. “Want some?”
“They were mine to begin with!”
Aoba reached in and grabbed a few chips, munching quickly. “I specifically saved that last bag of sea salt flavor... and the moment I let my guard down, you snatched it away! I really can’t afford to relax around you!”
“...”
Ichin went silent for a few seconds, then looked at her and said, “Aoba, you do realize all the snacks in the snack cabinet are bought with my money, right?”
“Oh… Right!”
Aoba’s face instantly turned awkward. She gave him a cute, apologetic smile and rushed back to her desk, throwing on her headphones and diving back into work.
Shrugging, Ichin popped another chip into his mouth and walked over to sit next to Kō Yagami.
Naturally, she had witnessed the entire exchange between him and Aoba. In fact, Aoba had already come to her to complain the moment Ichin took the chips. At the time, Kō had simply laughed it off.
But who would've thought Ichin would come back and pull off that little act?
“That’s Aoba’s favorite flavor, you know.”
As she spoke, Kō sneakily grabbed a few chips for herself and pointed to a design on her monitor—Susano-o, the Shinto storm god.
“Take a look. What do you think of this design?”
Handing the chip bag over to Kō, Ichin took her mouse and examined the artwork with confidence.
“Mm, your work is solid as always, Kō. Let’s go with this design. Once the rest of the effects are done, we can drop it into the demo and run a test.”
The final Persona designs for the main cast were nearly finished. As for the major bosses in the story, only three had been completed so far. Still, with all the combat effects coming together and the accompanying music almost ready, they could already begin testing boss fights that felt close to the final version.
“Mmmff… Got it!”
Hearing Kō’s muffled reply, Ichin turned his head—and sure enough, she’d already finished off the entire bag of chips.
“Is that flavor really that popular?”
Swallowing the last bite, Kō took a sip of tea from her cup and laughed. “Well, it was the last bag. Aoba had been guarding it like a treasure. I never thought I’d get to eat any of it, hehe!”
Ichin shook his head, unable to understand them sometimes.
Then he turned to Rin Toyama, who was sitting nearby. “Rin, we should restock snacks tomorrow, yeah?”
Rin quickly put away her phone, which she had just used to secretly snap a photo of Kō Yagami, and responded, “Got it!”
“Oh! We’re buying snacks? I want Pocky!”
“Sure, sure!” Rin agreed without hesitation, pulling out a small notebook to jot down Kō’s request. “We still have a decent budget for snacks, so we can pretty much get whatever anyone wants!”
After noting down what Kō wanted, Rin began walking around the office, asking each team member what snacks they liked. She planned to do a big shopping run the next day.
Ichin watched Rin walk around and thought to himself—some of the snacks he liked weren’t even available at the nearby supermarkets.
“Forget it. I’ll just order mine online.”
Around 5 p.m., Ichin was in the programming department discussing some in-game logic issues with Umiko when Utaha came in and interrupted them.
“Ichin, it’s about time. We should head home now. Mom said we need to come back early tonight for dinner.”
Checking his watch, Ichin finally realized, “Whoa, it’s that late already?”
Umiko didn’t press him to stay and said, “Go ahead and head out. I can handle the rest on my own—it’s nothing urgent.”
“Alright then, we’ll head off. You all shouldn’t stay too late either. Clock out when the time comes.”
After Ichin and Utaha left, Kuroneko—still seated beside Umiko, as a newbie learning the ropes—turned to her curiously and asked, “Umiko-san, is Ichin-kun really only 18?”
“Yup, he just turned eighteen in February,” Umiko nodded. “Surprising, isn’t it? He’s really mature in every way.”
“Yeah… you really wouldn’t have guessed.”
Even though she’d only been here for two days, Kuroneko had already picked up quite a bit of interesting gossip around the company—like Ichin’s age, his relationship with Utaha, and the fact that Utaha was a light novel author.
She’d even read Metronome in Love before.
Kuroneko had also dabbled in writing novels herself, but they were overly self-indulgent. For several years in a row, she had submitted them to rookie contests but never even made the shortlist. Eventually, she gave up and decided to study programming instead.
Ichin’s background, once she learned it, could only be described as unbelievable.
He had come to study abroad completely on his own, developed Slay the Spire solo, and turned it into a breakout success. After that, he quickly built up his own studio.
And on top of his professional accomplishments, his romantic life was just as surprising. He and Utaha were only 18 but had already met each other’s parents and had such a strong, loving relationship.
It was hard not to be envious. Honestly, she was envious enough to feel like cursing them out of pure jealousy.
Suppressing her chuunibyou tendencies, Kuroneko turned her attention back to the mini-game she’d been assigned and continued working on it.
That evening, after dinner at Utaha’s house, she and Ichin headed back to his place.
While sitting on the couch, Utaha gently tugged at the sheer stockings on her legs and said, “Ichin, the weather’s getting warmer. After school tomorrow, come shopping with me for some new stockings. All my thin ones are getting worn out.”
Before she even finished speaking, Ichin lay down and rested his head on her lap, snuggling against her a little.
“Mmm, yeah. The thinner ones are definitely better in this weather.”
Feeling his movement, Utaha blushed slightly and poked his cheek softly.
“Also, do you think I should try a different style?”
“A different style?”
Utaha nodded. “What do you think about white stockings?”
“Emmm~~”
After thinking it over, Ichin shook his head. “I still think black suits you better.”
...
