At 9:30, the studio door opened once again. Ichin and Utaha had arrived, and with them was Kō Yagami.
Aoba, who had just brewed herself a cup of coffee, stepped out of the kitchen and looked towards the entrance with a smile. "Good morning! Kō, you're up really early today!"
"Morning!"
Kō changed into her indoor slippers and rubbed her stomach. "I dropped by Ichin's place for breakfast. Hehe, saved myself the trouble of making it."
Behind her, Ichin followed with a speechless expression. "I was in the middle of making breakfast when the doorbell suddenly rang. Utaha went to open it, and the next thing I heard from the kitchen was Kō shouting about wanting to mooch a al."
Kō, however, showed no sha and laughed heartily. "I couldn't help it! I was hungry! All I have here are so bread and biscuits, nothing proper for breakfast. So, I thickened my skin and ca over."
That was when she noticed the coffee cup in Aoba's hand.
"Aoba, you made coffee? Is there any left?"
Aoba nodded. "Yep! I brewed a lot—it's in the kitchen."
"Yay! Coffee first, then work!!! Ichin, Utaha, do you guys want so? I'll pour you both a cup!"
Everyone took their seats with their coffee in hand. Ichin took a sip and turned to Aoba. "How was your break, Aoba?"
"It was great!"
Aoba leaned back in her chair, holding her cup warmly. "I spent the first two days just relaxing at ho, and then yesterday, I went shopping with my mom. I even used my salary to buy her so clothes! She was a bit worried about joining a small studio at first, but after hearing that our ga is going to be showcased at an international convention, she finally felt relieved."
Ichin understood Aoba's family's concerns. After all, their studio was still relatively small.
But he believed that within a year or so, their achievents would shock everyone.
Kō stretched lazily, revealing a small glimpse of her stomach beneath her shirt, before pressing the power button on her computer. She patted her cheeks lightly and said, "Sounds like everyone had a fun weekend. Mine was pretty uneventful—I just slept here and played gas, completely unwinding."
Then, with a shift in tone, she declared, "But today is Monday, so it's ti to get serious again!"
About ten minutes later, the rest of the team arrived. Eriri and Yukino had also co along.
"Excuse us," Yukino said politely as she stepped inside.
The mont she entered, Hazuki's eyes lit up. She was the first to leap up from her seat and rush over. "Yukino-chan! Long ti no see! Co, let your big sis give you a hug!"
"!!!"
Watching Hazuki charging toward her, Yukino's instincts kicked in. She swiftly grabbed Eriri, who was standing beside her, and pulled her in front of herself as a human shield.
"Huh?"
Before Eriri could process what was happening, she found herself completely enveloped in Hazuki's embrace.
Her initial surprise quickly turned into sheer frustration.
For the past few days, she had been building up her self-confidence regarding her figure, thanks to Yukino.
But the mont she was hugged by Hazuki, all that confidence vanished into thin air.
As expected, self-delusion was pointless.
After sighing inwardly, Eriri broke free from Hazuki's embrace and turned to Yukino with an accusatory look. "Yukino! Why did you pull over as a shield?!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Hazuki chid in, pouting. "Why won't you let give you a hug?"
Yukino's lips twitched slightly before she finally replied, "I'm not used to that kind of close contact… so I'd rather not."
Just as she was about to step further inside, a series of soft ows caught her attention.
A cat, elegantly strolling across the floor with a red silk scarf tied around its neck, walked leisurely toward her. It glanced at Yukino, seemingly curious about the newcor, before confidently rubbing itself against her legs.
The mont Yukino saw the cat, her heart rate instantly sped up.
She lowered her gaze to the feline brushing against her. Though she desperately wanted to reach out and pet him, the presence of so many people in the studio made her restrain herself.
However, this small hesitation did not go unnoticed by the sharp-eyed Hazuki.
Her lips curled into a sly smile as she bent down, scooped up the cat, and said to Eriri and Yukino, "Alright, let's not stand around the entrance all day. Co on in."
As expected, once Hazuki picked up the cat, Yukino's eyes subtly followed its every movent.
Oh? This is interesting.
Amused, Hazuki returned to her desk with the cat now sitting on her lap.
With Hazuki sitting there, Yukino had no way to approach and pet the cat. Left with no other choice, she followed Eriri over to where Umiko was working.
"Umiko, where's the Hollow Knight demo? Let try it out!"
Umiko nodded, grabbed two Nintendo Switch consoles from the side, and handed them to Eriri and Yukino.
"The major bugs in the demo have already been fixed, but since you guys want to play, keep an eye out for any other issues. If you spot any, let us know. We still have so ti before the Cologne Ga Show, so if there are any remaining bugs, we need to fix them ASAP. That way, there won't be any problems during the live demo."
"No problem, leave it to !"
Eriri happily accepted the Switch and imdiately pulled Yukino over to their seats.
Even though she was more interested in the cat than the ga, Yukino decided to endure it for now and try out the studio's new demo.
Ever since she was introduced to Slay the Spire, one of Ichin's creations, she had developed a bit of an interest in video gas. In her free ti, aside from studying and reading, she had started looking up ga-related content online and had even bought a few notable titles—along with her own Nintendo Switch.
"An action ga, huh…"
After launching the ga and seeing Hollow Knight's title screen, Yukino pursed her lips, stole a glance at Mozuku, who was now lying lazily on a cat tree, and took a deep breath before focusing on the ga.
Although she typically preferred gas with expansive world-building and compelling narratives over action-heavy titles, she didn't mind giving this one a try.
As Yukino got into the ga, Hazuki lightly tapped Utaha's shoulder and whispered, "Utaha, does Yukino-chan really like cats?"
"Hm?"
Utaha glanced at Hazuki, then at Yukino, and nodded. "Yeah, she does. Or rather, she's obsessed with them. I've seen animal magazines in her clubroom multiple tis, and her phone wallpaper is also a cat. But when I asked her about it, she completely denied it and said she was just browsing to pass the ti."
"Oooh~~~ I see. She's really not honest with herself, huh?"
Hazuki smirked, already planning how to tease Yukino next.
This was going to be fun.
...
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