Chapter 224. This Is a Cheerful, Heartwarming Slice-of-Life Game~
"CLANNAD?"
The Izumi mother and daughter—who together could barely muster one high school diploma—tilted their heads in confusion and peered into the camera with eyes both clear and a little dopey.
It really was a bit above the heads of these two who only knew how to draw. Just as Xander Masato was about to explain, Griseo's soft voice chimed in.
"Sir Knight, this word should mean family, right? A regional language from Scotland. I learned about it when I was studying painting~"
Hearing that, Xander Masato looked a little surprised and rubbed Griseo's little head as a reward.
"Not bad. You even know such a niche fact."
"Hehe~"
Griseo nuzzled into his palm, eyes squinting in delight.
At the same time, the worshipful looks from the Izumis made Griseo give a smug little hum as she planted her fists on her hips in pride.
[Smug.jpg]
"But since the name means family..."
Mrs. Izumi's tone suddenly turned a bit odd. She licked her lips in a somewhat "lewd" way. "Has the Boss finally come to his senses and decided to do something 'big'?"
Xander Masato: "?"
Something big? How does a name like "family" become...
Wait—if it's a galgame, then family really can be a pretty spicy XP trigger: ethics, brother and sister, older sister and younger brother, or—if you push it—different generations...
Damn it, the title really isn't wrong. As expected of you, Eromanga Sensei!!
Under the lead of the big lewd lady, the two little lewd ladies quickly caught on. In a blink, their faces flushed red, yet their eyes went wide with curiosity.
Seeing this, Xander Masato said, exasperated, "What are you thinking? This time the script is all-ages."
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"Mm?"
Three different voices rang out, all equally disappointed. Xander Masato couldn't help tapping Griseo lightly on the head. "You're still young. How could I let you draw that stuff now!"
"I—I can draw it though. Boss, look at me!!!"
Mrs. Izumi shot her hand up energetically, but Xander Masato couldn't be bothered to acknowledge her.
Hearing Sir Knight's tone, Griseo puffed her cheeks at once and protested, "I'm not little anymore!"
"Yeah, sure."
That perfunctory reply made her puff up even more. Bracing herself, she flipped on the Sir Knight cushion, set both hands on his chest, and knelt on his thighs.
Those gorgeous violet eyes locked earnestly with Xander's. Her little face was flushed pink as she said, slowly, "I'm already sixteen. I've grown up."
As she spoke, she deliberately straightened her back—but that still rather modest figure wasn't very persuasive.
Even so, because Griseo was so serious, Xander Masato stopped brushing her off and gave her a careful once-over.
Compared to almost two years ago when she first came to St. Freya, Griseo had indeed shot up, shedding the babyish loli look and taking on the fresh air of a maiden.
As for her figure, while still nothing to write home about, the curves were now evident. Judging by her mother Blanca, the future looked promising.
Honestly, it felt like he hadn't paid this much attention to Griseo in a long while. In his mind, she was still that tiny silhouette from a year and a half ago—the nervous girl at the airport who lit up when she saw him and called him Sir Knight.
Now, that small, tender image was gradually being replaced by the girl in his arms.
With Sir Knight seriously looking her up and down, Griseo suddenly felt heat spreading all over, her already feverish cheeks turning redder.
Perhaps moved by the sudden, dreamy atmosphere, she mustered her nerve. "Does Sir Knight want to confirm it himself? Griseo's growth..."
Her body trembled as she slowly leaned in. Her not-so-full chest pressed lightly against Sir Knight. With her little face on his shoulder, all that was left of her was hot, shaky breath.
Just then, Xander Masato came to his senses and set his hands on Griseo's shoulders.
Thump-thump.
In that instant, Griseo clearly felt her heart leap. Was Sir Knight about to...
On screen, the Izumi mother and daughter clapped hands over their mouths, eyes shining as they stared, not even daring to blink.
Just as Griseo was full of a girl's nerves, fear, and shyness, she suddenly felt a firm pressure on her shoulders.
"That's it? Give it another two years."
The flat tone poured over her like a bucket of cold water, instantly cooling her overheated head.
He guided her back down onto his lap. Fuming, Griseo started thumping his chest with her forehead.
"Boss, you have no sense of romance!!" Mrs. Izumi protested.
"Yeah, this is exactly when you should just go for the kiss. Boss, are you even up to it?!"
Even the timid Sagiri shouted out of character.
"Hmm?"
He looked up and glared. Mother and daughter instantly wilted, shrinking like quails and not daring to show their heads.
Then Griseo spoke again. "Does Sir Knight not like Griseo?"
"It's not that I don't like you... you're too young. You get what I mean."
That line from Griseo had made his heart lurch. His hands had almost landed not on her shoulders, but gone to measure how her development was going. Fortunately, reason stopped him.
Griseo was truly a loli, not a loli granny like Theresa. He couldn't help feeling a bit guilty.
And as the household mascot, if he really laid hands on Griseo now, even Kaguya probably wouldn't be on his side.
"Too young..."
Griseo murmured, stopped her head-butting, then leaned against him and said slowly, "Then two years from now, will Sir Knight make me an adult?"
"?"
No, Griseo, why do you keep saying these wolfish, tigerish things!
One moment it's to confirm growth, the next it's to become a full adult. Eromanga Sensei, look at the mess you've made!!!
"Ahem, let's talk about the game first..."
"Mm..."
Seeing Sir Knight avoid a direct answer, Griseo didn't press. Instead, she tugged his arm back around her waist. She loved the feeling of being wrapped up by him; it made her feel safe.
Unfortunately, those older sisters usually fought over that spot and never left her any room.
"Eh? We're not talking about it? I still—mm..."
Since the Boss had called for business, Mrs. Izumi—who had once been a corporate drone—didn't dare clown around. She hurried to cover Sagiri's mouth and smiled awkwardly. "Boss, go ahead!"
"Uuuu ah oww!!"
Her hand got bitten, and she yanked it back with a yelp. She glared at Sagiri, annoyed. "Why'd you bite me!"
Sagiri was fuming too, pointing at her. "You old woman who only knows how to suck up to the Boss!"
"You!!!"
Mother and daughter started scrapping.
Well, now the gag had turned into a real show. He and Griseo watched with relish.
Only when the two, panting, finished their bout did they remember their audience. Blushing, they apologized again and again.
"Alright, alright. Having this much energy is a good thing. Let's talk about the game."
The Izumi duo immediately knelt properly and listened.
"I've already given you the scenario text. I also drew rough character sheets in the appendix. Refine them and make the motion and expression variations."
"No problem!" Mrs. Izumi replied with practiced ease.
These requirements were no different from before. She was used to them.
"As for task allocation..."
At that, the Griseo in his arms shifted a little, and he tightened his hold. "For Griseo, this is her first time on a production. She doesn't have the experience you and Sagiri do, so give her the shortest route. If she can finish early while keeping quality, she can help with the rest."
"I'll do a good job!!"
She didn't feel slighted by getting the smallest share. Griseo nodded earnestly.
"Okay, Boss, I'll do my best to guide Griseo!"
"Mm. No need to rush the schedule too hard. I value this project a lot—we need to strive for perfection."
To underscore the seriousness for Mrs. Izumi, he added, "This time, the game will be released through Gensokyo's channels."
"Mm, got it... huh? Gensokyo???"
Mrs. Izumi looked up in shock, staring at Xander Masato in disbelief.
Releasing a galgame in Gensokyo??? She couldn't wrap her head around it.
You couldn't blame her—just look at what Gensokyo operates now.
There's the world's current number-two IP, Pokémon; Yu-Gi-Oh!, which blew up worldwide in just over a month; and critical-and-commercial darlings like Cities: Skylines and Hollow Knight. Even the little titles—Plants vs. Zombies breaking a hundred million in sales—are out of reach for most.
And now you're saying a company like that will publish a galgame? Isn't that a joke?
It's not that Mrs. Izumi is prejudiced. It's just that in the general gamer mind, galgames sit at the bottom of the pecking order. For Gensokyo to publish one would look like lowering themselves. How could she not be shocked?
"What? Surprised?"
He smiled, and Mrs. Izumi blurted, incredulous, "How could I not be? It's Gensokyo!!! Boss, are you really doing this?!!"
"It's an all-ages game anyway. Why not?"
"B-but..."
"Is To the Moon bad?"
"..."
Mrs. Izumi fell silent. She still wanted to argue they were different genres, but he was the Boss. He could do as he liked—the company was his. She'd just focus on drawing.
"As for timeline, tentatively four months. Call up artists you trust. Dump the simple, tedious work on them. Money isn't a problem, but keep a tight grip on quality."
"Roger. Mission guaranteed!"
Hearing Mrs. Izumi's firm answer, Xander Masato nodded, satisfied.
He trusted her a lot. After all—well, you know.
Ma'am, you wouldn't want you and your daughter going back to those days of not knowing if there'd be a next meal, right?
"Mm. Besides the game, the anime will be produced in parallel and will air alongside the release."
"If we're making an anime too, it seems the Boss really has confidence in this game."
"Confidence?"
Xander Masato chuckled. "I do. In my view, this story's plot is no worse than To the Moon."
"Hiss~"
Mrs. Izumi sucked in a breath.
That's To the Moon—still sitting at number one among story-driven games. The Boss is that confident?!
For a moment, not just her—Sagiri and Griseo both grew curious about the script.
He wasn't bluffing. In terms of story, CLANNAD really hits hard.
In his previous life, even after nearly twenty years, veteran otaku still couldn't forget CLANNAD. Write it "CL," read it "life"—no joke. At different ages, you take away different insights.
"Alright, that's all from me. Make sure you read the script carefully this week. Analyze the character personalities, then you can start drawing."
"Okay~" x3
Just then Sagiri piped up, bold for once. "Boss, what kind of story is it?"
"Type?"
Xander Masato paused, then thought it over and smiled.
"Why, of course it's a cheerful, heartwarming daily-life story that makes players smile~"
...
"Sir Knight, you big liar!!!!!!"
Two days later, just as Xander Masato and Aili finished packing and were about to head out that afternoon, Griseo—who had been holed up for almost two days—came pattering out, thump-thump-thump, eyes red and swollen as she cried out at him.
Except for Kiana Kaslana, who still had to work, everyone at home was in the living room. The man was about to run off, so of course they had to see him off together and leave a deep "impression."
Just as Bronya and the others were figuring out how to do that, Griseo's wretched sobbing threw everyone for a loop.
What is going on? Even a scumbag wouldn't make someone cry this hard, right?
After a brief beat, Bronya suddenly shot Xander Masato a glare. "Did you lay a hand on Griseo??!!"
"?? I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!!!"
He denied it at once, shaking his head frantically.
"Uuuuuu~"
Griseo ran up and pummeled his chest with her little fists.
It didn't hurt, but the scene earned him a barrage of disdainful looks. Even Kaguya lowered her head in gloom. He couldn't get a word in.
"I am not a pervert!!!!"
His anguished protest rang out, only to be drowned by Griseo's wailing again, which went on and on without end.
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