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Chapter 3 | Eventually, Beyond That Point is | Remake our Life!
Part 7
The meeting started in the afternoon and lasted until well into the night. Seeing Tsurayuki's enthusiasm, Kuroda cancelled his evening plans and joined us, and thanks to him, we were able to finalize the setting to the point where it was quite detailed.
"Sorry it ended up being this late."
"It's fine. Kuroda was in high spirits, and I'm motivated once again."
Tsurayuki seemed to be in a good mood, as if the pressure had been lifted from his chest.
As we stepped out into the hallway to walk him to the elevator to go home, we nearly bumped into three men coming out of another room.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
I quickly apologized and tried to head for the elevator hall again.
"Ah. Uhm, by any chance."
"Are you Kawagoe Kyoichi-san?"
The three of them mentioned Tsurayuki's pen name with a sense of hesitation.
"Yes, that's right...?"
Tsurayuki replied,
" I knew it! Uhm, the three of us are huge fans. We even went to the signing!"
"Oh, thank you for that!"
From there, we talked about how we were looking forward to the new works and that scene in Ai Bura... but I kept thinking about who these people were.
(By the way, I remember Sakurai-san had a meeting with visitors today.)
Then, finally, it hit me.
"Are you guys part of Project Grape...?"
"Yes, that's right! Sakurai-san asked us to have a meeting. And so"
I see, I was convinced.
They were indie game producers and had come to give a presentation in order to receive funding for Project Grape.
"We've been making games since we were students."
"When I said that I wanted to continue working as a company~, I was approached by someone."
"I'm very happy, because I still have a lot of games I want to make."
After having a pleasant conversation, the three of them left with cheerful greetings, "Well then, excuse me~!" and left.
Somehow, both Tsurayuki and I watched them leave happily.
"It's nice, something like that."
"Yes."
"When I was a student, I only did assignments or wrote novels, so I want to make games with my good friends like that."
"You didn't do it when you were a student...?"
I had assumed that the members, including Kawasegawa and the others, had been creating something together.
"No, we were just talking about wanting to do it. Kuroda had been working on various projects since then, and Kawasegawa wanted to be a producer, too. But when the time came, there was no one to lead the charge."
"Heh..."
I thought it was unexpected.
I thought both Kawasegawa and Kuroda were the type to take the initiative in doing such things and leading everyone, but it seems that was just my assumption.
"Kyoya, if I had met you when I was a student, I might have done it."
"......Me?"
Tsurayuki smiled and replied, "Yeah," and then he just got in the elevator and left.
"Such a future is ...... I see."
Before, I dreamed for a moment, the past of an IF world.
At that time, I had been accepted to the University of Arts, and I wanted to create something together with them.
It was only a distant dream world, but now I am making it come true right before my eyes.
"I see, I’m ... in that place right now."
As long as you keep walking, you will one day reach your destination.
I could not help but think that these words, which seemed to stimulate only hope, were the most golden words ever uttered to me.
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Part 8
At the regular evening meeting of the 13th Department, I summarized what had happened today.
"I see. No, I think you made a good decision. I have a feeling this decision will come into play later on."
Miyamoto-san also agreed with the decision that Tsurayuki and I had made.
"Yes, it took a little while, but I think we managed."
Whether this was a success or not will depend on the outcome from this point on. Of course, Tsurayuki himself knows this, so he has no choice but to look forward to the future.
I told everyone that that was all from me.
"I've got some good news, too. Regarding your earlier mention of the probe into Succeed, I think I've got one thing on what they were doing."
Miyamoto-san gave a surprising report.
"Eh, really!?"
"Well, listen. That's their way of crushing."
The story was much simpler than I expected.
In short, they have been trying to attract creators in the graphic design field who might work at CloDes in the future, and then offer them large sums of money to fill their schedules.
"I could understand if they were going to add 10% or 20% to the price, but it seems some people were trying to pull in three times the price."
"Three times!?"
Perhaps this was what Kuroda was talking about. But even so, three times the market price is extraordinary. What kind of money did they move?
"Well, it was obvious that they were trying to sabotage us, so I explained Succeed's corporate policies to the subcontractor who told me they had been approached."
There is nothing wrong with paying a talented creator a lot of money to do a job. In fact, if this is the reason why BCC could not order the work, it is only our fault for losing out in the market system.
However, Succeed will continue to cut back on its game work in the long run. Unlike other companies that will continue to do so, there is a possibility that contracts will be terminated abruptly.
For that reason, it is necessary to provide a proper explanation to creators who terminate their contracts with BCC based on the face value alone.
"Well, now that we know how they do it, we can do something about it. I'll leave a list of the writers who have been approached here, and you can do the rest."
I tucked away the list that Miyamoto-san had given me and thanked him.
"It's really helpful. Now I can take action on what Succeed was trying to do."
"No, I feel like I've managed to pay back what I owed before. Anyway, I'm glad."
Beside the relieved Miyamoto-san and me, Kojima-san had an unhappy look on her face since a while ago.
"What's wrong, Kojima-san?"
As Kojima-san noticed, she turned her face toward me,
"Ah, no, I just thought the attack was a little too simple for that executive director."
"Is it simple? That's a lot of money to throw around, that's for sure"
Kojima-san nodded at Miyamoto-san's words,
"It's not about the amount of money. I just thought that the executive director likes to inflict a fatal blow rather than a simple attack like that. So I just thought it didn't fit his character."
"Indeed, now that you mention it......"
Considering what that man had done so far, it seemed like a stage direction, or something that would include surprising the other party.
"But, you know, this time, he made us think that, and then he slowly poisoned us......Isn't that also the case?"
"If you start talking about outsmarting, there's no end to it. Well, let's just be careful."
That's right.
This time, it just happened to be detected in advance, and it would be better for you to assume that the next bullet has already been loaded.
"The other thing is that they are acquiring small manufacturers who are no longer viable, and they are acquiring the developers. This seems to be a countermeasure for the education business."
"I guess the business itself is going well. I hope they're concentrating on that."
The executive director is an obstacle to us, but I often thought he was actually excellent in his management skills and non-game perspectives, even from a novice's point of view.
"Yeah. If he's just in a magazine like President ... I can look at him ... and see that he's doing his best."
Good grief, how much easier it would have been in that kind of future. God went out of his way to put us in such a hard mode, there's a limit to how much of Sadist you can be.
"Really, I hope nothing more weird happens..."
Sakurai-san's quiet words also contained everyone's thoughts. I just want it to be over somehow around here. That was all.
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Part 9
Two months have passed since then.
The setting and plot redirection were successful, resulting in a noticeable improvement in progress.
Tsurayuki's expression also brightened, which had a positive effect on the rest of the proceedings.
"It's progressing to 40% of the total. He's different when he's aboard."
Kuroda, too, finally seemed a little relieved at this point.
This is our regular debriefing session with Kawasegawa. So far, it has been difficult to hear good news in the scenario area, but perhaps there should be no problem after this.
"The results of our in-house development have improved, and we've been able to increase efficiency while keeping some areas that need to be worked on. Now, if we can just keep this up until the end, there's nothing more to say."
"Right. And the subcontractors seem to be doing okay?"
At my question, Kuroda grinned,
"Yes, we've been in close contact since that report, so no worries there."
The information from Miyamoto-san was immediately passed on to Kuroda and Kawasegawa, and countermeasures were implemented.
"No, I was saved at that time. In fact, there were writers who were getting offers, and it was a close call."
Kuroda seemed to have immediately checked with the subcontractor, and it seemed to have turned out for the better.
"Good, well, it's a good opportunity, and now we can revise our treatment of outsourcing to the better side......Kawasegawa?"
While we were relieved, Kawasegawa seemed to be thinking about something the whole time.
"Eh? Ah, yes, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something."
"About what?"
Kawasegawa nodded with a blank expression on her face, and said,
"I don't have any evidence to back it up, and I'd be happy for it to be a groundless fear, but I can't help but feel there's something behind this story."
I remembered Kojima-san's words.
In many cases, this is true even before there is any evidence to support it. The fact that the two of them think so must mean that there is something strange about it that is still there.
"Isn't it just your imagination? If you're too worried, we won't be able to move forward with the things we can move forward with."
Kuroda said so, and laughed hahaha.
"Right, now that the subcontracting issue has been resolved, we can look forward to a positive outcome."
Kawasegawa smiled at our words,
"I guess so, maybe I've been worrying too much because of what happened before."
It was not unreasonable, but that doesn't mean that if we stand still, nothing will move. If we don't make things, there is no future for us.
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Part 10
Meanwhile, the production was progressing, and the development reports on NicoLive were going well, and the regular Friday night 8:00 p.m. stream was gradually becoming more and more popular.
"Yes, the stream has been disconnected~ Thank you for your hard work!"
Takenaka-san's call came in as usual, and the week's streaming ended without a hitch.
"Next week, I'd like to talk a little more about the scenario, is that okay?"
"Right. Let's start by talking about the main character's past, starting with what has already been said."
I finally got around to responding to Takenaka-san's suggestions. The feedback from users was also calmer for the growing number of viewers, and we could see that they had high expectations.
"It's finally starting to feel like it's the time!"
Takenaka-san says happily.
"We are still in the early stages of development. We have barely reached the half-year point of development."
In fact, in the fourth month, most of the material preparation was still in progress, and the parts that could be shown in motion were still close to zero.
It will be some time before we can show working material at Nico Live.
"But when I talk to the staff, I know firsthand that things seem to be going well. When it's not, it's obvious that the atmosphere is not good."
Judging from Takenaka-san's response, there must have been such a manufacturer. Or perhaps Succeed, for example, was just that kind of manufacturer.
"Speaking of which, my company has also asked me if I would be interested in setting up a slot at an upcoming major real event and streaming the event from the site."
By "Jiwango-sponsored event," perhaps they mean the Cho-Kaigi (super conference). Although we have no plans to exhibit at this time, there was plenty of room for consideration.
"Sounds good, I'll talk to the president about the budget in a bit."
"Thank you very much~! I hope it will help make CloDes more exciting!"
By the way, I haven't seen the president recently. She seemed to be coming to work normally, but seemed to be meeting with people outside more often.
(Well, she was originally in that position.)
To suddenly show up at a development is what is unusual in the first place.
"Well, I'll see you next week, then, sorry, I got a call."
"No, no, go ahead~"
I noticed the incoming call from RINE and said goodbye to Takenaka-san. Then I looked at the screen and was surprised.
"Eh...Miyamoto-san?"
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Part 11
It has been a long time since Miyamoto-san came in on such short notice and asked for a business,
"Can we meet soon?"
He asked. Frankly, uneasiness was the right word for the situation.
When I went to the designated restaurant, it was a drinking establishment divided into private rooms, and when I entered, I found Miyamoto-san and another man, whom I did not know, sitting and waiting for me.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Uhm, what is this about?"
As I was about to speak to him, my gaze turned to the unfamiliar man.
"Yeah, I should introduce him. Hashiba probably knows him too, right? This is Liu-san, a former member of the development department of Ensect, one of the largest media companies in China."
Ensect is a Chinese company that has rapidly become well known over the past two to three years. The company has overturned its previous image and released high quality software, which has earned the trust of Japanese users.
"I am Hashiba. Nice to meet you."
"I am Liu. I have heard about you from Miyamoto-san. Nice to meet you, Hashiba-san."
Liu-san was surprisingly fluent in Japanese. For someone like me, who shies away from the mere thought of learning a foreign language, he was a dazzling presence.
"I had been in contact with Liu-san about a comic book project of Ensect's. We had become friends through that. I was getting along well with him, and I heard a strange story. So I decided to talk to Hashiba about it, so I called you."
Following that flow, in this completely separated private izakaya gives me a bad feeling. (Note: a type of Japanese bar in which a variety of small, typically inexpensive, dishes and snacks are served to accompany the alcoholic drinks.)
"Without further ado, can you tell me about your business......?"
At my words, Liu-san turned to Miyamoto-san and nodded,
"Please do not tell anyone else what you hear from here. Also please don't even mention that you heard it from me."
He began his talk with a completely and disturbingly definite preamble.
"In addition to in-house development, Ensect also subcontracts work to other companies."
"Yes, I know."
It is common to hear that Japanese media companies, unable to cover all of their operations with their own employees, tend to outsource or increase the number of outsourced employees, and as part of this practice, they are also outsourcing to overseas manufacturers.
However, it is said that these days, foreign manufacturers have more development capabilities, and conversely, there are cases where Japanese manufacturers are subcontracting work, but that is another story.
Liu-san's story continues.
"I was in a position to review almost every project in development, but recently there was only one project that was blocked because it was called a president's project."
President's project, blocked project. Too disturbing.
"Are you saying that ... this is a Succeed Soft project?"
At my words, Liu-san shook his head.
"I have no proof. I didn't have the evidence with me, either. Just......"
Liu-san glanced at Miyamoto-san. As if to take over, Miyamoto-san now began to speak.
"This is also unofficial, but there was a rumor going around that the president of Ensect and one of Succeed's executives were going to sign a business partnership agreement in the near future."
"Executives..."
"The only person who would be that active in that company today would be that Executive Director."
I see, that's how the lines were connected.
"But now Succeed has no advantage in getting close to a complete entertainment company like Ensect, so why...?"
"That's the point. That's what I thought too, so I thought Hashiba might know something."
All three of us, together, were lost in thought.
"Speaking of which, why did Liu-san bring it up to us? I don't see the benefit of telling me if you just had an exchange with Miyamoto-san."
When I asked, Liu-san laughed,
"I was originally a fan of Succeed's games. That's what led me to Ensect. I was looking forward to MysClo."
"I see what you meant, that's...I'm sorry."
Somehow, I felt very sorry. When I thought that there must be many such users, not only Liu-san, I couldn't help but feel that it was arrogant of us to rework the title for our own convenience.
"But you know, Liu-san has high hopes for CloDes because of that process. After leaving Ensect, he continued to work as a freelance developer, and he told me about it, hoping that he could contribute something to the project."
"I'm grateful... for that."
But with the information we have, we didn't know if this was even valid.
"Well, to be honest, I don't know what this story means. But by telling you, you might find out something. So, just in case."
I nodded,
"For the time being, if we learn something new about this matter, or if we have a theory that this might be the case, we will share it with you."
"Yes, I understand."
Liu-san nodded and Miyamoto-san said, "I guess that's about it for now," and decided to create a RINE group immediately.
(But...I wonder what that means, that movement)
Succeed still has a development department that continues to make games. It seems that new projects are no longer being accepted, but sequels to existing titles that are in the works are being continued.
So, my theory for this story was that those existing titles would be transferred to the development department as a whole.
But that would mean the loss of the company's assets in terms of human resources. Succeed is a highly regarded manufacturer in the areas of programming and systems, so the executive director would want to stop the game and apply those talents to the business he is about to launch.
But if that were the case, there would already be a lot of people leaving that company. Those who were barely making it at Succeed are not going to be able to withstand an event like the sale of the development department.
If so, why? The mystery only deepened.
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Part 12
Two more weeks had passed since I met with Liu-san. We had gone to the trouble of creating the RINE group, but there was no sign that it had moved since then.
(Maybe it was nothing after all.)
But since he gave me the information out of the goodness of his heart, I thought I would call on Miyamoto-san and maybe we could go out for a drink sometime.
Other.
Production was going quite well. Tsurayuki was consistently submitting scenarios, and both Shinoaki and N@NA-san were taking time out of their ridiculously busy schedules to work on CloDes. By the way, I heard that Shinoaki's art book has been delayed because she wanted to make it even better.
"And yet, she's still managed to submit her illustrations to us...... All I can say is thank you."
While sorting through the files, I suddenly remembered what Liu-san had told me.
Succeedsoft and a Chinese media company have formed a partnership. The purpose of the partnership, which has not yet been made public, is probably the transfer of IP and joint development.
But what we thought was possible didn't seem likely.
"Well, if it's an existing title that can be moved, the staff will immediately make a fuss."
Suddenly.
Right in front of me, there was a document of "that work".
"Nope......No way."
For a moment, just a moment, I felt my body temperature drop.
The copyrights, materials, etc. for "that work" are naturally held by Succeed. As long as the executive director was in place, there was no longer any chance of it working at Succeed.
"Just, no way."
Consider a hypothetical story. Ensect buys the game rights from Succeed. Then, the game is completed and released at a rapid pace.
Naturally, the more hurriedly the work is produced, the lower the quality will be. Naturally, the reputation will also suffer.
"......No, I don't think so."
Ensect is now a company that can show its brand power to the outside world. It was only a disadvantage for the company to buy another company's title that had a reputation and release it with an obviously terrible performance.
That's just too much of a guess.
"I can't laugh at Kawasegawa. I'm starting to worry too much."
Suspicions don't clear up quickly. I may have to be hypersensitive to what that company and that executive director do for a while.
I looked around and saw Kuroda. Unusually, his back was straight and he was staring at the PC monitor with good posture.
(That's unusual, he's usually like that)
By "that" I mean that he had bad posture. He never put his feet up on the desk, but he sat cross-legged or upright in his chair, or even overturned the back of his chair. Kawasegawa also complained about his posture on numerous occasions.
When such Kuroda was looking at the monitor with a proper posture. It was usually when he encountered something interesting or amusing.
"What is he looking at?"
Curious, I walked over to him. Although he must have known I was approaching, Kuroda remained motionless the entire time, staring right in front of me.
"Kuroda, what are you looking--"
As soon as I said it, I noticed something strange about the way he looked.
"Hashiba, take a look...... at this."
Kuroda was seriously looking at the monitor in front of him. However, from his face, the blood had drained away. I immediately looked at his monitor, too.
What I couldn't believe, what I didn't want to see, was there.
Mystic Clockwork, Succeedsoft × Ensect
Service starts today!
The next thing I knew, I could see that the rest of the development department was beginning to buzz. Everyone was rushing to start up their phones or check the monitors that someone was looking at.
In the midst of all this, we just stare at the screen.
"Hashiba! Kuroda! Hey, what is this mea...!"
Kawasegawa came to us with a smartphone in her hand.
But we were all unable to react.
My brain wasn't able to process what was happening right in front of me.
Soon after, an alert on the application told us that Succeedsoft's Nico Live, which had not been running for quite some time, had started.
With trembling fingers, I launched the Nico app.
The face I never wanted to see again was reflected with a big smile, along with the president of Ensect.
And he said in a frighteningly refreshing voice,
"Sorry to keep you waiting. This is the real Mystic Clockwork!"
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