On the programming team's side—
After half a year of working at the studio, Ruri Gokou had completely adjusted to the work environment.
The atmosphere was great, her teammates were easy to get along with, and everyone shared a genuine love for games. They also had a wide range of interests—like manga, novels—and to her delight, Ruri even found someone who shared her passion for Lolita dresses: Iijima Yun. The two of them had plenty to talk about.
Work was going well. Though she was only part-time, the pay was stable. The recent pre-order sales for the new game were excellent, and the boss had even promised bonuses for everyone.
Ruri felt that not only could she cover her tuition for senior year with this job, but she could also help her parents out by paying a portion of her two younger sisters' school fees.
After all, with three kids in the house including herself, the cost of education was no small burden—which was why she had been working part-time jobs ever since high school.
Now that she had this programming job, she had genuinely fallen in love with the company and was even considering trying for a full-time position here after graduation.
She had secretly shared this thought with their team lead, Umiko-san, who casually said yes. As long as Ruri was willing, the company would be happy to offer her a full-time contract after she graduated.
With a clear future ahead of her, Ruri felt more motivated than ever at work.
After lunch, she took a short nap and woke up refreshed at one in the afternoon.
Stretching, she headed to the bathroom to wash her face and touched up her makeup a bit. Then, she returned to the programming team, ready for the afternoon's work.
But just as she arrived, she saw Rin Toyama and Hajime Shinoda handing out snacks.
"Hey Ruri, snack time!" Hajime smiled and waved her over.
Looking at the several bags of snacks placed in her hands, Ruri blinked and asked, "Hajime-senpai, why do we always stock so many snacks?"
"Hm?"
Hajime tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Well, work is tiring, so it's only right to relax a bit sometimes! Game development takes a lot of brainpower and stamina, after all. And don't worry about the cost—these snacks aren't that expensive. If they were, Ichin-kun wouldn't let us buy them regularly."
Rin chimed in, "Exactly. You've been here for six months now, Ruri, you should know by now. While we don't encourage overtime, when there's too much work to finish during the day, people often stay late or come in on Saturdays. That's why Ichin told me to always keep snacks stocked so everyone can recharge when they're worn out. We may not be backed by tons of investors like the big companies, but we're not short on funds—especially not when it comes to snacks."
With a lollipop in her mouth, Umiko walked by and added, "Besides, we order these in bulk from specific suppliers, and they give us discounts. It's way cheaper than it seems."
"I see."
Ruri nodded, set the snacks on her desk, opened a pack of fruit gummies, and popped one into her mouth.
"Even though I understand it now, I'm still surprised by how relaxed and cheerful the atmosphere is here. Most companies aren't like this, even game companies."
From the neighboring desk, Sakura Nene reached over and took a gummy too. While chewing, she said, "It's definitely because of the boss. Back when I was at Eagle Jump, the studio was managed by Hazuki-san. Even though we worked hard, the vibe was always lighthearted. But the other branches under the main company were a different story.
Our company may be small, but the benefits are top-tier. A lot of people want in, and we don't even take all applicants."
"What happened to those other companies now?" Ruri asked.
"No idea, I was just a part-timer back then," Nene replied, shaking her head and glancing at Umiko.
Umiko thought for a moment and said, "I remember Hazuki saying that a few people were reassigned to other departments, but most of the game development teams—mobile or single-player—left the company and went elsewhere. Can't be helped; the head office gave up on game development altogether. Things like that happen all the time in this industry. We just need to focus on doing our own thing well."
Saying that, she returned to her desk and resumed working.
Five minutes later, Ruri's phone buzzed.
She picked it up and saw a message from a friend she hadn't contacted in a while.
Kirino: Free this Saturday? I don't have work over the weekend. Let's hang out!
Ruri thought for a moment, then opened the company's internal chat and messaged Umiko.
Ruri: Umiko-san, are we coming in for overtime this Saturday?
Umiko saw the message pop up at the bottom corner of her screen and replied:
Umiko: Shouldn't be necessary. Why, do you have plans?
Ruri: Yeah, a friend I haven't seen in a while asked to meet this weekend, so I wanted to check first.
Umiko: Got it. Go have fun! We're still moving at a steady pace—no need for every Saturday to be overtime yet.
With Umiko's confirmation, Ruri felt relieved and quickly messaged Kirino back:
Sounds good. Let's meet Saturday—you pick the place.
—
That Saturday, after sleeping in comfortably, Ruri had a bite to eat at home, changed into her usual black long dress, and prepared to head out.
Glancing at her two younger sisters watching TV in the living room, she said,
"I'm going out to meet a friend today. You two stay home and don't wander off, okay? And finish your homework too!"
"We know~"
Her second sister, Hinata Gokou, looked at her curiously and asked,
"Ruri-oneechan, are you going to see your boyfriend?"
The corners of Ruri's mouth twitched. "It's Kirino, not some boyfriend!"
"Ehh~~ Kirino again?"
Hinata sighed. "You're already in college, shouldn't you find a boyfriend soon?"
"My love life doesn't need your input, brat. Anyway, I'm heading out!"
After she left, the youngest, Tamaki Gokou, sipped her juice and turned to Hinata.
"Hinata-neesan, Ruri-oneechan's job seems really great, huh?"
"Yeah, that game company she works at seems amazing! She said their pre-orders sold like crazy."
"Then maybe our Christmas presents are guaranteed?"
"You're right!"
And so, the two little sisters began plotting how they would ask their big sister for Christmas gifts.
...