Prologue


Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna

Part 1

The next thing I knew, I was lying on the sofa. I rubbed my eyelids, the top and bottom still stuck and looked around.

A room in a dimly lit building. The room was filled with a dusty smell and the sound of a small motor. It was the sound of countless desktop computers.

On the side of the desk, which made a creaking sound at the slightest touch, the dust that had flown around was glittering with light. In the gloom and doom of the room, it seemed like a gateway to another world, though it was a strangely fantastic and ridiculous analogy.

Ah, I was making a game here.

I'm working on a Bishoujo Game, and I'm the director. Perhaps it's because I've just woken up from sleep, but my head is feeling a little foggy. It seems I am taking a long time to grasp the current situation.

I got up and stretched my body with a grunt. My joints made a cracking sound. I finally found the time to go to the osteopath, who told me in a serious tone, "Can't you spend less time on the computer?" It seems that I've been in the same position for so long that my shoulder and lower back muscles have become stiff.

"That's impossible, hup."

I went to my space by the window, surrounded by cardboard, and sat down on a chair. I sat down on the chair and heard a cracking sound as if it was about to break. The backrest had already been broken once and was now wrapped with a cloth tape.

This will be my last chair as long as I am with this company. When I asked the president for advice on buying a new chair, I was met with an easy-to-understand response.

Restore the computer from sleep mode and open the browser mail.

"Line art will be late... until the morning of the beginning of the week, huh?"

A message arrived promptly indicating the delay of the original illustration. I sigh and put my elbow on the desk.

This delay hurts at this time. It hurts, but it can't be helped. This is because the design of CG was delayed in the first place. Originally, the president, who is the producer, was supposed to specify the CG for this game, but he kept saying in his sleep, "I have it in my head," and as a result, it had been postponed.

It was only last week that I ordered CGs and other items for store privileges ahead of time, but I ran out of those too, so I pulled the authorization off.

(Yes, I understand! I'm looking forward to seeing the line drawings, as the rough draft looked really good! I'm also very sorry, but I'd like to know if you can cut the Monday morning time slot down to 9:00 AM?)

The original artist we were working with was very skilled but had a bit of a mental problem. The reason seems to be that she was subjected to a kind of power harassment and sexual harassment at the company she used to work for. So, I should never get angry at her apology mail. While maintaining a good mood as much as possible, I tried to be quick and specific about the message I received with a blunt expression like "first thing in the morning". If I get this wrong, it will cause her to lose motivation for the next time.

I had no choice but to contact the graphic artist-san and ask him to wait until the end of the week. It was a good thing that I made a plan in advance that it might be delayed.

"Next... Wow, this is even worse!"

I stood up from my chair. I was told that the company I had asked to manufacture the goods had failed to get through customs in China, and that they were currently negotiating with the manufacturer. If we didn't make it in time for next month's big event, the Summer Comic Mart, or Comima, we would lose a lot of money.

"It's the president's case... but leave this to the president will be a hassle."

I decided to handle it myself. I immediately picked up my smartphone and contacted a friend who has a relationship with a Chinese company via RINE.

 (The place I ordered the goods got stuck in customs, what should I do?)

I got a reply right away. He said he would contact a local friend of his and tell me directly what the cause was and what the solution was. Relieved, I typed, (Thanks, I'll buy you dinner next time) and sat down in my chair again.

On my desk, there is a printout with a "confidential" mark that only the producer, director, and sales staff can see. It's a document that makes me sick every time I look at it, but I take a deep breath and pick it up to give myself a boost.

 "Preorders... 231 unit, huh?"

It's been almost a year since the announcement. The launch has already been postponed three times. Even though we were finally on the verge of releasing the product in the fall of this year, the situation was extremely difficult.

At this stage of the game's development, it would be fatal for the Bishojo Game industry to have reservations in the low triple digits. Considering the production period of a year and a half and the size of the in-house staff of five, there was nothing we could do without sales of around 30 million yen.

However, at this rate, sales will be around 1 million yen. Even if you include the upcoming releases of 0P movies and master-up reports, the most you can expect is 500 copies. If I tweeted on SNS, I would probably get WRT and even if the original artist followed me, I would probably get around 100.

In other words, at this point, we've got no choice.

I put down my papers and got up from my chair. I went back to the sofa where I had been lying earlier and rolled my body so that I fell onto it.

 "I haven't been home..."

My whole body was itching. There were no bathrooms or showers at the office, and there were no public baths around. A short bike ride would have taken me home, but I didn't have the energy to go home. I wanted to avoid having to do more work on my own.

"Ha~a... what should I do, from now on?"

All-night and overnight work continued day after day. I was past the point of laughing at the hourly rate. All I could think about now was the monthly paycheck and that the game would be finished soon.

No matter how hard I struggled, nothing seemed to improve the situation. The news that came in daily was nothing but bad news, and none of it had any positive impact on the software. Everyone who knew said "In this day and age, making a full-platform package game is insane," or comment like that, I don't know if it's advice or fanfare."

I know. I know what I'm doing. I know that what we're doing is anachronistic and that we're missing out on a lot of things. But it takes a lot of energy to stop something once it starts. No one wants to be a part of that. No wonder. This is because there is no profit, and there is no guarantee that the decision you make will result in a positive outcome, even if it does result in a negative one.

Anyway, as long as we make the game in front of us, we can make some money for the time being. We can distribute it, pay it off, and then get on with it. No, let me. I don't want to think about anything else, anything difficult, right now.

Let's just make it. Let's get it done.

Staring at the dark ceiling, I could only think of bad things. I didn't want to blame the tears for my slightly blurred vision. So I forced myself to close my eyes.

I've been waiting for a reply for a while. The president will be coming to work soon. The other employees will probably be there as well. I'm sure they won't complain if I stay in bed until then.

Lying on the sofa, I decided to close my consciousness.

If I sleep, it will be tomorrow.

If tomorrow comes, now will be the past.



Part 2

"Hmm……"

When I woke up, I saw a ceiling I knew well. A beige ceiling with a few stains. The outside of the round fluorescent light was flickering slightly. It was my room in the share house Kitayama, where I've lived for almost a year now.

"...It was an amazing dream."

I had a vague memory of a dream. I was dreaming of the time when I was originally at the game company ten years later. I was dreaming of the time when everything was gray and I couldn't see a glimmer of light.

I have had dreams of that time before. But they were fragments, not a coherent whole, and that is why the damage was not so great.

But today's dream was intense. It made a strong impression on me that I never want to go back to that time.

It's so good that it can be kept at home. Not that dingy, dusty smell, but this soft, warm scent of shampoo...

"Shampoo scent?"

Finally, I noticed that my body was strangely heavy. There was something on my chest and I couldn't move.

"Shi-Shinoaki... How long have you been sleeping there?"

I finally sat up and realized what it was.

"Hmm...? Oh, it's already morning..."

The thing that had been on me rose up and gave a cute little sneeze. With sleepy eyes, she greets me.

 "Good morning"

 "Oh, good morning..."

I greeted her as well. What is this situation?

 "I see, you came to see the photo book and fell asleep"

Finally, yesterday's memory is back.

Shinoaki was looking for a background photo of a downtown area and she consulted to me that she couldn't find what she was looking for in an image search. I had just the right one, so I promised to show her.

However, Shinoaki seemed to be concentrating on her work, so she arrived much later than expected, late into the night. I was sleepy from work and other things, so I told Shinoaki, who was absorbed in the photo book, that she could take it to her room and look at it, and I fell asleep...

I didn't expect Shinoaki to have fallen asleep as well.

"The picture was really good. I think I can draw a proper building district now."

 I'm glad she looked very happy.

"I see, you can take the photo book with you... Shinoaki?"

Shinoaki was sitting flat on the futon and quietly closing her eyes.

"Eh, A-Ano..."

I would have been relieved if she had said she was actually asleep,

 "...Kyoya-kun~nnn..."

Obviously, she was waiting for the next act and called me by name.

"...Shinoaki"

Gently, I hugged her small shoulders and brought her face close to mine.

Since the incident at the school festival, Shinoaki and I had not made any progress in our relationship. We would occasionally go to each other's rooms to talk, but it was always about pictures or videos, never about our relationship as man and woman.

Of course, there was no kiss.

 (...If you do this, it will be confirmed already, right)

I had only been in a few relationships, and I honestly didn't know where the line was.

But with the school festival and the situation in front of me, I think is it okay to say that we are already dating.

I could feel the warmth of Shinoaki's body as I approached her, and the scent of shampoo in her hair made my brain melt away.

I was so focused on Shinoaki's lips that I neglected to pay attention to anything else.

The door of the room suddenly opened.

"Good morning, Kyoya, what the heck is this meeting all of a sudden... "



The words she was about to say stopped there.
I looked over and saw Nanako standing there with her eyes darting around.

"Ah"

"Fue?"

When the two of us return unspeakable words,

"...He-Eeeh... that's quite a bold thing you're doing."

With a clearly misunderstood reaction, she was sent a gaze.

"Nanako, this is not, this is"

When I tried to explain in a flustered way,

"I fell asleep while looking at the photo album."

Shinoaki said this with a smile on her face.

No, that's right, but she won't believe it in this situation!

"Hmm, hmm, then, you have to go back to your room soon ~"

With her temples tense, Nanako also forced herself to smile.

Although she was upset, Shinoaki smiled at her with his usual easy-going smile.

"Yeah, I'm going to go back to my room to change, and I'll see you two later ~"

 She stood up and quickly went back to her room.

 Later, there was one awkward boy and one clearly angry girl left behind.

 Fearfully, I called out to her.

"... So, Nanako, you know."

The girl glared at me and said,

"Kyoya, hurry up and get down because Tsurayuki is waiting for you too!"

She said in a slightly angry tone and closed the door in an annoyed manner.

"Nanako, she seemed strangely angry, I wonder why."

It was probably because she misunderstood that I had been doing something indecent with Shinoaki, but she seemed to be a little too angry for that.

"Well, there's something I have to think about more than that..."

I sighed and picked up a piece of paper that had been placed beside me.

"Right now, we need to solidify our team unity."

 On the cover of a few sheets of paper was a proposal for a doujin game. It was only yesterday that I made it, and I was going to make it.

I thought about it a few days ago.

"...It was faster than I expected."

One day, I envisioned it.

The game production was full of hardships. I spent my days just dealing with the task at hand, almost forgetting to even dream about it.

But this time is different. I can make the game of my dreams with the top runners of the Platinum generation, who were shining brightly 10 years later. The environment and circumstances will be different, but I'm sure we'll be able to create something great with these people who are willing to put in the work.

Above all, I can use my abilities. Not indirectly, as in the past, but directly. What's more, I might be able to use this power to save Tsurayuki's crisis.

I got up. I opened the curtains and let the morning light wash over me.

After 10 years of blocking out the light and burying myself in the dust.

The sunlight is so refreshing, 10 years ago. The remake for me starts from here –.