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

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Chapter 1 | Pursuing a Dream | Remake our Life!


Part 3

    A couple of minutes walk from the building where I work, there is a corner with a lot of bars. There are many chain restaurants, but there is one that our company uses on a daily basis.

    It's an old-fashioned pub, but it's easy to get into, even for non-regulars, and it's the embodiment of cheap and tasty, which I really appreciated.

"Well, spring onion soup salt, skewers and pork sashimi, assorted kimchi and bitter gourd chanpuru, spicy chorizo and joyful salad, ah, did you order a drink?"

"Not yet, drink"

"Then I'll have a highball. And you?"

"Ah, I’ll have the same"

"Two highballs, then"

"I understand ~"

    He was probably from Thailand or Vietnam, and in fluent Japanese, he took our order through to the kitchen. It was hot in the restaurant, and only a fan, which was installed only for a short time, sent a breeze from time to time.

"It's hot, even though it's not the time to feel like summer yet."

    While fanning herself with the fan provided, Kawasegawa Eiko hardly seemed to be sweating.

"Extreme weather, I guess. It's probably just global warming, though."

    I was thinking about why I was called here today as I gave a really unimportant reply.

    Kawasegawa Eiko. She is the leader of the 2nd Development Department, which is the center of our company's development and is also involved in the launch of new businesses, obviously, she was a talented person.

    How did I know such a person, and why am I talking to her and drinking with her like this? Somehow, the moment I tried to think back,

"How? Are you getting used to our company?"

    She talked ahead of me, so I put off my reminiscing.

    Kawasegawa looks at me straight in the eyes with her serious and sharp eyes. To be frank, she is a very beautiful woman, so just being stared at like this makes me quite nervous.

"That's right... Well, it's basically a chore, so it's a simple task."

    When I answered that, Kawasegawa looked away apologetically.

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't done that, there wouldn't have been a frame anywhere."

    A few drinks and snacks were placed on the table. We raised a toast to each other and lightly quenched our thirst.

"Not at all, I'm grateful. I can't believe how lucky I am to be in such a good company."

    It was an honest feeling.

    Considering how many times I had been rejected from the application process, I was grateful just to get a job like this, and I wasn't going to complain about the job.

    The current environment seems to be more than enough for me, as I don't have a good work history.

"I don't think so!"

    Suddenly, Kawasegawa shouted loudly.

"You're being too down on yourself. You've just never been in a place where you could use your abilities properly."

"Ha-haa... Thank you."

"So just be patient for a little while. I'm sure you'll come to my department and play an active role."

    Then she gulped down a mug of highball.

(...She really is evaluating me, isn't she)

    Well, maybe it left a strong impression because of the circumstances.

    The snacks I ordered later arrived, and we spent some time relaxing and drinking. We didn't talk much about work, because I didn't think she wanted me to.

"What are you going to do next?"

    Kawasegawa's mug was empty, so I handed her the drink menu and asked for her order.

"Etto, I'm a little drunk so a light..."

    Just as she was about to make her selection, a notification sounded from Kawasegawa's smartphone.

"Ah, excuse me"

    Kawasegawa immediately opened the app and began to perform some operations.

"You're always checking around the contacts, it's amazing."

    At least when she is drinking... I thought, but I wonder if she is the type of person who needs to take some kind of action right away.

"No, if it's a matter of communication, I can do it later. Today, I have an announcement regarding a project."

"Oh, I see. You were RTing and writing comments?"

    Yes, Kawasegawa nodded.

    The 2nd Development Department, where she was working, was currently working on a big masterpiece game.

    "Mystic Clockwork". It was an attention-grabbing work that has already been developed in the media, including games, anime, and comics.

"It's amazing, to be able to be involved in something like that"

    That work was very special to me as well.

    A dream work that was announced by Nico Nama on the way back to my parents' house after my dream was crushed.

    Kawagoe Kyoichi.

    N@NA.

    And Akishima Shino.

    A collaboration work by three people who have a large of fans. What kind of work will it be, everyone is anticipating this project.

"Right, I think it's... a very meaningful work."

    She answered my words with a sigh. She didn't seem to be as happy as her words.

    Kawasegawa was the chief director of that work. With the announcement, she decided to lift the restrictions on her activities on SNS, which she had not previously revealed to the public.

    Naturally, it attracted a lot of attention from various people. Her followers, who were around 2,000 before she went public, have now grown to over 30,000.

    I wonder if it's because she feels such a burden, and to be honest, she said she's not very good at sending out information through SNS.

    She didn't seem to like the topic much. I decided to change the subject.

"Kawasegawa-san is, that"

"Honorifics again. I told you to stop, right."

"Ah, sorry……"

    She was my boss, even though we were the same age, and I tried to talk to her in a respectful manner at first. However, she stubbornly refused and told me to use casual talk.

"Kawasegawa is... Do you like your current job?"

    I asked simply because I was curious.

    I chose this industry because I like games and I wanted to work in the game industry. I don't think there are many people working in this industry who don't like games.

    That's why I was hoping to talk with Kawasegawa about such topics.

"Like? I don't know... I don't have any answer right now."

    It was her way of saying it, but it wasn't a reaction that she liked.

"I see, I like it, though."

"You do like, from the moment we first met"

    Kawasegawa seemed to laugh a little.

    She was friendly enough to invite me out for a drink like this, but she rarely showed her smiling face to anyone. I didn't know why.