Chapter 185: Store Exclusives

Thursday afternoon. P.E. class.

After finishing the two laps required by the teacher, Ichin stretched his limbs before heading over to shoot some hoops with the others.

They weren't playing a serious game—just chatting and casually taking shots. After all, their next class was Shizuka Hiratsuka's literature class, and if they exhausted themselves too much, zoning out in class wouldn't be an option.

After missing a three-pointer, Fujii wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at Ichin.

"Ichin, your studio's new game is launching tomorrow, right? Aren't you even a little nervous?"

Catching the ball as it bounced back, Ichin smoothly sank a three-pointer and smiled. "What's there to be nervous about? I have confidence in my game. And it's not blind arrogance—the quality speaks for itself. Now, I just have to wait for the sales to rise."

"Man, your studio is seriously impressive," another guy chimed in. "I played the _Hollow Knight_ demo, and it's really fun. I already pre-ordered the digital version for my Switch. I'm gonna start playing as soon as it unlocks tonight!"

"Heh, I pre-ordered the physical edition from a store that offers a launch-day exclusive pendant."

In Japan, physical game releases often come with store-exclusive launch bonuses, which vary from retailer to retailer. Hardcore fans sometimes buy multiple copies just to collect all the different exclusives. If one person can't do it alone, they'll team up with other fans, each buying from a specific store and then trading later.

Ichin didn't have much experience with store exclusives, so he left it up to Nintendo to handle.

Maybe they saw potential in his studio, because they agreed to the deal without hesitation. Whether they were planning to continue collaborating, invest in the studio, or even try to acquire it, Ichin didn't really care.

He wasn't interested in selling his studio to anyone. Keeping the current partnership model was the best option.

Besides, Nintendo didn't outright buy studios very often. Most of the time, they preferred partnerships or investments, which left room for negotiation.

"Still… store exclusives, huh?"

Ichin caught the ball again and dribbled it a few times. "I've never actually lined up to buy a game I developed before. Guess I'll get to experience that tomorrow."

---

Meanwhile, a good number of the girls had opted out of sports and were sitting on the sidelines watching.

Utaha was among them, sitting on the grass, watching Ichin play basketball from a short distance away.

Ever since she started dating Ichin, Utaha had softened a lot. She wasn't as aloof as she used to be and no longer avoided socializing. Though she still wasn't the most talkative person, she was now more open to joining the other girls for some gossip.

It was entertaining—and also great inspiration for her writing.

Of course, this was only possible because the girls in their class were easy to get along with. Under Hiratsuka-sensei's influence, their class had a pretty good atmosphere.

Watching the boys play, one of the girls next to Utaha commented, "Ichin's pretty good at basketball too, huh? I'm so jealous of you, Utaha. You two got together so fast. I overheard some first-year girls talking, and a bunch of them were saying they regretted not making a move sooner."

Hearing that, Utaha's lips curled into a slight smirk.

"They can say whatever they want, but honestly, even if I weren't in the picture, they probably wouldn't have had much of a chance. If it weren't for the fact that I live next door to him, we probably wouldn't have gotten together this fast either."

"What?! You two are neighbors too? That's way too convenient! So, has Ichin met your family already?"

"He has," Utaha replied, seizing the opportunity to show off. "My parents really like him. And not just that—I met his mom during summer break too. The only thing I find unfortunate is that I have to wait until we're in college before I can marry him."

"W-Wait, _marriage_?!"

The girls around her gasped in unison. Most of them hadn't even dated anyone yet, and here Utaha was already talking about getting married.

"This is what it means to be a top student? Even in love, she's ahead of us!"

"Can we stop talking about this? If we keep going, I won't be able to hold it together!"

"I've grown up without ever holding a boy's hand..."

"Huh? You've never even held hands?"

"Have you?"

"Yeah, with my cousin. He's three years old."

"That doesn't count at all!!!"

Listening to the girls' conversation, Utaha couldn't help but smile brightly—like someone who had won at life.

No, she _was_ someone who had won at life.

After watching Ichin play for a while, Utaha got up from the grass and dusted off the stray blades that had stuck to her gym uniform.

"Utaha, where are you going?"

Waving a hand dismissively, she answered in a leisurely tone, "I'm going to buy some drinks for Ichin. You guys stay here, I'll go alone."

With that, she headed toward the school building.

As they watched her walk away, the girls sighed enviously.

"She's pretty, has a great figure, and gets top grades... If I had _just_ a fraction of her good qualities, maybe I could have a boyfriend too."

"I think the key is her figure. What do you guys think? Utaha's body is _ridiculously_ good. No one our age has a figure like that!"

"Not only that, but don't you feel like she's been getting even prettier lately?"

"Ugh!!! That sounds so _lewd_!!!"

---

After school, Ichin and Utaha stopped by the supermarket, buying a huge haul of groceries before heading home.

Previously, Ichin had bought some lamb and attempted to stew it, but his first attempt didn't turn out great. After tweaking the recipe, he was confident tonight's version would be much better.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, he carried the ingredients for dinner to the studio, only to find the team huddled together, seemingly focused on something.

"What are you guys watching?" Ichin asked. "Did you send out the copies of the game I asked you to ship yesterday?"

"They were sent out! We finished it this morning!"

Kō Yagami waved him over excitedly. "Ichin, come quick! Hajime is about to beat the game!"

"Huh? She's about to finish it?"

Ichin exchanged a glance with Utaha before hurrying over.

Everyone had received their physical copies of the game a while ago, but most hadn't had much time to play. The fastest players so far were Ichin himself, Hajime, Kō Yagami, and Sakura Nene—all of them nearing the final stages.

Ichin had assumed the first to clear the game would either be himself or Nene, who had the highest skill level.

But to his surprise, it was Hajime.

Looks like she had been staying up late grinding.

As he reached Kō's side, Ichin saw Hajime playing in docked mode on her Switch, having just entered the final boss area.

...

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