Game Developer in the World of Anime

As class time approached, Utaha and Ichin packed up their things, preparing to return to the classroom. While Ichin was locking the door, Utaha asked, "You told Hiratsuka-sensei that you'd take first place in the exams to get access to this empty classroom, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Ichin replied, pocketing the key with a smile. "Makes sense, considering you were the previous top student. So, are we having a showdown in the midterms?"

"Oh? Feeling confident, aren't you?" Utaha scrutinized him. "Now that my novel is published, I'll have a lot more free time than before. But you seem to be in a crucial phase of game development, aren't you? If I surpass you, you won't be able to use this classroom anymore!"

"Then, are you challenging me?" Ichin's smile didn't falter as he met her gaze. "It's true that most of my time recently has been devoted to game development, but that doesn't mean my grades will drop. Kasumigaoka-san, don't underestimate me!"

Utaha raised her head proudly, her confidence unshaken. "We'll see."

With that, the two of them set off back towards the classroom.

Unbeknownst to them, just around the corner, Shizuka Hiratsuka stood in her white lab coat, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she watched their retreating figures.

She muttered to herself, "What's going on between Utaha and Ichin? Hmm, well, whatever. Judging by their attitude, it looks like they're planning to compete in the midterms. That's good. As long as neither of them is neglecting their studies, I won't have to intervene."

Back in the classroom, most of the students had already returned. Seeing Ichin and Utaha enter together, curious eyes immediately filled the room. Over the past three weeks, the class had gotten quite familiar with Ichin. Although he seemed busy, he had built good relationships with everyone and was always willing to help his classmates with their questions. His popularity was steadily rising.

Especially among the girls. Standing at 1.8 meters with a handsome face, Ichin had already won over quite a few admirers.

After the first period ended, as soon as Utaha left the classroom, the boy sitting in front of Ichin turned around, eyes wide with curiosity. "Hey, Ichin, why did you come back with Kasumigaoka? You two aren't…?"

Several other boys also leaned in, surrounding Ichin with eager expressions.

"It's not like that," Ichin said, clearly exasperated. "We just happened to come back right before class."

"Of course it matters!" one slightly chubby boy exclaimed, placing a serious hand on Ichin's shoulder. "You have to understand—Kasumigaoka hasn't gotten this close to any other guy since we started school! Dude, if you manage to pull this off, you'll make history!"

"Making history? You're exaggerating," Ichin sighed. "It's not that dramatic. I just happen to sit next to her, so we get along a bit better."

"Yeah, right!" The other boys weren't buying it at all.

After all, the seat in front of Utaha was also occupied by a boy, yet she wasn't nearly as friendly with him.

"Something's up."

"Yep, definitely something's up!"

Ichin couldn't be bothered to deal with their gossip. He pushed them aside and headed out of the classroom.

Reaching the vending machine at the end of the hallway, Ichin pulled some coins from his pocket and bought a bottle of cola.

With a clank, the drink fell into the dispenser. As he bent down to pick it up, he noticed Eriri Spencer Sawamura coming up the stairs and heading towards the vending machine.

Eriri wasn't expecting to run into Ichin there and hesitated for a moment. "Hello," she greeted.

"Yeah," Ichin nodded. "Getting a drink?"

He stepped aside to give her space.

"Yeah, the vending machine downstairs ran out of orange juice," Eriri said as she approached the vending machine and bought a can of orange juice.

After taking out the can, she looked around cautiously before asking Ichin, "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"Huh?" Ichin blinked and then smiled, "Relax. I'm not the type who likes to gossip. Instead of worrying about me, you should probably worry about Kasumigaoka exposing your true colors. After all, the difference between your school and outside behavior is pretty big."

Ichin knew about Eriri's secret identity as a doujin artist, but since Kasumigaoka hadn't told him directly, he pretended not to know.

"Tch, that girl may be a bit of a jerk, but I trust she wouldn't spill this secret," Eriri replied, clicking her tongue.

Then, she suddenly remembered that Ichin was a second-year student—technically, her senior.

Feeling a bit awkward, Eriri quickly added, "I have some things to take care of, so I'll be going now."

She turned and rushed down the stairs in a flash.

Not knowing what urgent matter the golden-haired girl had, Ichin didn't dwell on it. He sipped his cola and continued towards the classroom.

As he passed by the restroom, Utaha's voice suddenly came from the side, "Oh my, I didn't expect you to be having such a pleasant chat with your junior."

"Pfft! Cough, cough!" Ichin nearly spat out his drink. Wiping the corners of his mouth, he complained, "Can you not scare me like that out of nowhere? What if I choked? Would you be responsible?"

Utaha had never seen such a flustered expression on Ichin's face before, and she couldn't help but flash a bright smile. She pulled a handkerchief from the small pocket of her skirt and handed it to him.

"Sorry, sorry. Here, wipe yourself quickly."

"Hold on a second." Ichin placed his cola in Utaha's hand and went into the men's restroom to wash his hands and face. Only after that did he come out, taking the handkerchief from her to dry his hands.

Just as he was about to wipe his face, he paused and looked at Utaha, "You didn't use this to wipe your nose, did you?"

"…"

Utaha felt her anger rising.

"I'm not sick," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Then it's all good." Ichin acted as if he didn't notice her darkening expression. After wiping his face, he carefully folded the handkerchief and slipped it into his pants pocket. "Thanks. I'll wash it and return it to you later."

Although Utaha wanted to say it wasn't necessary, he had already put it away. Since they were deskmates at school and even neighbors outside of it, there wasn't much point in fussing over something so small.

Handing the cola back to Ichin, Utaha began walking towards the classroom. "What were you chatting about with that blonde earlier?"

"Nothing much. She just came up to buy a drink, so we said hello," Ichin replied after taking a sip of his cola. "Also, no matter what, you shouldn't refer to someone as 'that blonde'."

"If you knew what she calls me, you wouldn't think that way," Utaha retorted.

"Oh? What does she call you?" Ichin asked, curious.

Utaha didn't answer. She elegantly stepped into the classroom without looking back.

"Okay, so it's probably not a flattering nickname," Ichin muttered with a shrug, following her into the classroom.

…

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