Game Developer in the World of Anime

In the remaining ten or so days of May, the company was busy nonstop with interviews for various positions.

Thanks to the popularity accumulated from their three games, once the job postings went out, many industry professionals and freshly graduated students sent in their resumes.

After rounds of interviews, they indeed recruited quite a few capable or talented people. The company expanded further, and the newly prepared office space next door was now fully in use.

The entire floor belonged to their company now.

After hosting a welcome party for the new hires, the development of Dark Souls officially began.

Since Umiko would soon be leaving for Shanghai, Ichin not only acted as the producer for Dark Souls but also personally handled programming duties.

It was a lot of work, but not enough to trouble him.

After the meeting, Ichin returned to his office and got started on programming tasks.

Ten minutes later, Umiko entered and sat down. "The ticket's booked. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow?"

Ichin glanced at the calendar. "Sunday, huh. Then we'll come with you to the airport. Oh, and your apartment's been arranged—two bedrooms and a living room, near a subway station. Only three stops from the studio. If you want, you could even buy a car once you're there and drive to work."

"I'll see when the time comes. At first I'll probably just take the subway—it's convenient enough."

Besides Umiko, two other members of the art team would also be heading to the Shanghai studio. Ichin had already arranged their housing as well.

"Umiko," Ichin added, "let's hold a little get-together at the dorms on Saturday. Since you're heading off, we won't see each other often."

"Sure." She smiled, nodding. "But let's skip the drinking. I don't want to oversleep and miss my flight."

"No problem. Just a small party to liven things up—no alcohol. And remember, if you run into any trouble in Shanghai, you can reach out to my parents. You've met them before."

Hearing that, Umiko relaxed completely. She had been a little nervous about the business trip, but Ichin's parents were kind people—especially his mother, who had looked after them warmly when she visited. Umiko enjoyed her company a lot.

"Alright. If anything comes up, I'll consult Uncle and Auntie."

She also thought to herself that once she was settled, she'd invite his parents out for a meal. There were many things she'd need advice on, especially since she was parachuting in as a leader. Even if both studios recognized her abilities, navigating workplace relationships properly was still important.

After Umiko left, Utaha, who had been typing on her keyboard the whole time, looked up. "Ichin, aren't you going to tell Umiko that Nene's planning to move there too?"

"What's the rush? It's still half a year away."

Ichin waved his hand. "Besides, Nene hasn't even been to the office lately—she's busy finishing up her graduation. Don't forget, we promised to keep it secret. If Umiko finds out now, Nene will probably explode."

"I know, but… I can hardly wait," Utaha said, fidgeting with impatience.

A secret that big, and they still had to wait six months—it was frustrating.

Truthfully, Ichin felt the same. Kō and Rin had been keeping their relationship progress so low-key it was impossible to tell. Now, finally, there was something brewing between Umiko and Nene… but they still had to wait.

Shaking his head, he focused back on work. "Forget it. Six months will fly by. Let's just work for now."

After work, he and Utaha drove out to pick up snacks and cat food, then headed to Yukino's apartment.

Ever since the kittens were born, Ichin and Utaha had gone back to their own home, but they still visited every few days to check on the kittens' growth.

After almost two weeks, the orange kitten was the first to open its eyes. True to the reputation of orange cats, it had a big appetite and grew the fastest.

When they arrived at Yukino's place, Haruno was also there, cooking dinner with her sister. She was the one to open the door.

"Ichin-kun, Utaha-chan, welcome, welcome~~"

She ushered them in cheerfully. "Yukino made lots of delicious food today!"

"Really? Then we'll be sure to eat plenty," Ichin laughed, changing into slippers and dropping their bags in the living room before heading to the cat's nest.

The four little ones were lively, crawling around nonstop inside. Besides the orange one, the other three would probably open their eyes in the next couple of days.

Even though they couldn't see yet, it didn't stop them from moving about.

Sesame, now fully in her role as cat mom, was no longer weak like right after giving birth. She stayed in the nest, watching her kittens. Whenever one crawled too far, she would go over, pick it up, and place it back in the middle.

Meanwhile, Peppa sat quietly at the edge, watching his four children.

Occasionally he would try to lean closer and sniff them, only to be swatted away by Sesame. He wasn't allowed inside.

Still, Peppa had a good temper. He never got angry—he'd simply stay put, lying there obediently.

Ichin laughed as he picked him up. "You really are henpecked, huh? No temper at all. Well, seeing how well-behaved you are, I'll let you keep your eggs for a few more days before we take you in for the snip."

For now, Peppa was still a tomcat. But in two months, he'd be a proper neutered "uncle."

By then, he and Sesame would be like sisters.

"Sigh, when I think about it, it's kind of sad."

Utaha rolled her eyes at him. "Ichin, could you not laugh while saying that? You're showing your true thoughts."

"Was I laughing?" Ichin looked surprised, then glanced at Haruno.

When both nodded in unison, Ichin shrugged. "Alright, fine. It is pretty funny. But this is for Peppa's own good. If he keeps going into heat, it'll be a real problem."

As for Peppa himself—the center of the conversation—he simply lay calmly in Ichin's arms, watching his kittens from above.

*

RedX43's Note:

➤ Want More? Get up to +70 Extra Chapters on Patreon!

➤ [email protected]/RedX43

➤ +300 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!

➤ Thanks for the support! 🙌