Chapter 138. Yuzusoft, Launch!
Knock, knock, knock.
The door opened, and Kiana's big smiling face came into view.
"We're here!"
Grinning, she handed the cake she was carrying to Seele, who had opened the door.
"Why'd you bring stuff?"
Taking the cake, Seele complained, but when she noticed the cake box's packaging, her eyes lit up.
"It's from that cake shop at the far east end of the shopping street?"
"Hehe, I knew you liked this, Seele~"
Feeling proud, Kiana and the Mei behind her were hurried inside by the delighted Seele.
Noticing that Mei casually closed the door, Seele—still looking behind them—froze for a moment.
"Sirin didn't come?"
"She had things to do today, so she couldn't make it."
Hearing the expected question, Kiana didn't dare look into Seele's eyes, and she kept her voice as calm as possible.
They'd only just laid everything bare with Bronya, and with Sirin's thin skin, it would be a miracle if she dared to come.
"I see.
That's a pity."
Seele frowned slightly and sighed.
"Yeah, haha."
Laughing awkwardly, Kiana quickly pulled Mei and Seele back to the living room.
All sorts of snacks and party games already filled the big table to the brim.
There was also a figure busy in the kitchen; it looked like Kaguya was helping prepare drinks.
The most excited about this was actually Kaguya.
Just the thought of a lively gathering among friends filled her with joy.
The only pity was that her husband wasn't home.
On the sofa, Bronya sat there leisurely playing a handheld game console.
When she saw Kiana and Mei come in, she only greeted them casually.
They were all so familiar with each other that there was no need to fuss over etiquette.
"It's a pity Sirin couldn't come."
Seeing this, Seele spoke with regret by Bronya's side.
"Mm."
Bronya nodded and said nothing more.
"By the way, won't Rain get mad that we kicked him out of the house?"
Noticing the topic drifting back toward Sirin, Kiana hurriedly asked.
"Actually, we wouldn't mind.
After all, Rain can count as our friend, too."
Sitting on the sofa, Mei first thanked Kaguya for handing her a drink, then looked at Bronya and Seele as she spoke.
"Yeah, yeah, it's not like there's anything he can't see," Kiana said, giving Mei a mental thumbs-up for the assist.
"It's not as serious as you're imagining."
Seele waved her hand with a smile.
While helping Kaguya serve drinks to everyone, she continued.
"It's just that my brother happened to have something to do today, so he went out."
As for kicking her brother out, she would sooner kick Bronya out than him.
"I see.
Looks like we misunderstood."
Mei seemed relieved and chuckled, shaking her head.
"No, I think I misled you.
When I said we kicked Rain out, I was joking."
Tossing the handheld aside, Bronya pressed her fingers to her forehead helplessly.
"Alright, don't overthink it.
Kaguya prepared a lot of games for today—can't you see she's about to burst from impatience?"
Teasing Kaguya with a smile, Bronya hit her mark.
Kaguya quickly blushed after being called out and stammered a rebuttal.
"I-I did not.
Don't slander me."
"Someone got up before dawn to start getting things ready.
I'm not saying who."
Smiling, Bronya went in for the finisher.
"Uu…"
Bullied by her two sisters in arms, Kaguya's face went red.
Head lowered, she mumbled, unable to get words out.
…
"By the way, Boss, you look kind of familiar—sort of like Sagiri's idol."
Because of the deliberate joke Rain made, Ms. Izumi quickly relaxed and wasn't as nervous as at first.
No helping it—he was the only person she and her daughter could rely on.
How could she not be nervous?
What if she said the wrong thing?
Of course, Ms. Izumi hadn't come to meet the boss alone without precautions.
On one hand, she chose a downtown venue.
On the other, Sagiri was at home.
As long as they kept the line open, if anything happened, Sagiri could call the police in time.
But now it looked like there was no need for any police.
Their boss seemed like a good person.
Rain had been cutting his steak with a knife and fork for a while but got annoyed and asked the waiter for chopsticks instead.
Ignoring the glances from others, he picked up pieces of steak and ate heartily.
Hearing Ms. Izumi across from him, he soon looked up and spoke with his mouth a bit full.
"Sagiri's idol—who?"
"Masato the Old Thief.
Funny coincidence, his name—'Rain'—is the same as your pen name, Boss~"
Envious of how freely he ignored others' gazes, Ms. Izumi struggled through a bite of beef with knife and fork, then smiled as she spoke.
Then, amused, she joked.
"And you even look so alike.
Don't tell me you're actually Masato the Old Thief—haha, kidding."
She waved lightly, laughing at her own joke.
Masato the Old Thief making an eroge with her?
What an international joke—fans of Pokémon would tear him apart if that got out.
"Honestly, Mom, don't say weird things.
How could the boss possibly—"
Before Sagiri's voice on the screen could finish, Rain dabbed his mouth with a napkin and casually replied.
"That's me.
My name is Rain Masato."
Clang!
The knife and fork clattered onto the plate with a crisp ring.
Ms. Izumi froze, her smile stiffening.
On the screen, Sagiri was so startled her mask slipped off with a thud, exposing her face without her noticing.
That unbelievably cute little face earned a silent thumbs-up from Rain.
Not bad—at least one-tenth as cute as Seele was as a kid.
In his heart.
Across from him, Ms. Izumi dazed out for a long moment before recovering.
Her fingers trembling, she picked up the knife and fork and forced a smile.
"Come on, Boss, don't spring jokes like that…"
"Y-yeah, Boss, don't joke.
T-that's Masato the Old Thief we're talking about…"
Seeing this mother and daughter unwilling to believe, Rain, of course, didn't blame them.
It was like in a past life.
If you told a gamer that Kaleidoscope was made by Miyazaki the Old Thief and that Teacher Eight Treasures was just his alt, they'd probably call you an idiot.
This was about the same.
Given he was their boss, the Izumis were already being polite by not saying something harsher.
"Hold on."
Verbal explanations were meaningless.
Rain simply took out his phone, snapped a photo of his plate before the waiter cleared it, then tapped a few times.
"Boss, what are you doing?"
Puzzled by his operation, Ms. Izumi asked.
After a moment, Rain put down his phone and smiled at them.
"Now open the blog of the 'Masato the Old Thief' you mentioned."
His tone made both mother and daughter's hearts skip a beat.
That tone—n-no way it's real?
Their hearts pounded madly.
Before Ms. Izumi could even unlock her screen, Sagiri's shocked voice came through.
"I-it really is him!
Mom, Mom, Boss really is the Old Thief!"
At that moment, Ms. Izumi also opened Masato the Old Thief's blog.
The latest post, one minute ago, was a photo of an empty plate after a meal with a caption.
"Still not used to knife and fork.
Chopsticks feel better."
The empty plate—and the pattern of the table beneath it—matched exactly what sat in front of her.
"…"
Watching the mature lady stunned into silence, Rain's smiling lips curled up a bit more.
Honestly, he could understand why protagonists in novels liked to play the pig to eat the tiger.
That moment when the truth came out really was satisfying.
A special kind of "nailed it" fulfillment.
It was just that everyone calling him the Old Thief was a bit awkward to hear.
"What's wrong?
Is it that shocking?"
He put on a puzzled face, his eyes smiling.
"Of course it is!"
Ms. Izumi clearly wanted to slap the table but quickly remembered they were in public.
She forced down her excitement and lowered her voice.
"It's shocking that our boss is that Masato."
"No—what's shocking is that Masato the Old Thief started out making eroge."
Rain's smiling face fell instantly, and he unleashed a death glare at Ms. Izumi.
Realizing her slip, she hurriedly covered her mouth, then quickly uncovered it again and rushed to explain.
"Sorry, Boss!
I didn't mean to blurt out my true feelings!"
The words had barely left her mouth when she froze again, her face twisting into near-tears.
She might as well have said nothing.
How did she put her foot in her mouth again?
"Your true feelings, huh?
Looks like it's time to terminate our cooperation."
With a twitching mouth, Rain spoke words that nearly scared Ms. Izumi out of her soul.
"N-no, Boss, it's all my fault!
Please don't abandon us.
W-waaah…"
"Too late!"
"Please don't do this to us!"
At last, after the waiter came over, Ms. Izumi stopped wailing like at a funeral, and Rain stopped teasing her.
"I'm sorry, Boss."
"Alright, alright, I forgive you."
Seeing her pitiful expression, Rain waved his hand.
"Really?"
"Really."
Then Ms. Izumi asked carefully, hopeful.
"Then… about the work?"
"I'll hand it to you.
Don't worry."
Rain's assurance finally let Ms. Izumi relax.
"Thank you, Boss."
"You're the ones I trained from the start.
I'm not keen on having someone else do it."
He'd worked hard to teach Ms. Izumi that slightly anime-leaning art style.
If he let her go, who would work for him?
"Then I'll work for you for life, Boss!"
She didn't notice the ambiguity in her words at all, but on the screen, Sagiri's face flushed bright red.
"So cheesy.
Talk properly."
Pretending not to notice, Rain replied with a look of disgust.
While eating the dessert the waiter brought, the grinning Ms. Izumi suddenly said.
"Boss, you really are Masato the Old Thief."
"Why are you still asking that now?"
"N-no, it's just—hehe—could you sign something for me and Sagiri?
We're your fans."
Seeing her excitement, Rain smacked his lips.
"Some fans you are—meeting me face-to-face and not recognizing me.
Fake fans, both of you."
"T-that's only because we were too excited to believe it.
Boss, please sign for us."
"Fine, fine.
When we're about to leave, I'll ask the waiter for paper and a pen."
"Yay!"
Not only Ms. Izumi but Sagiri on the screen also cheered in delight.
When they'd finished dessert, Rain finally got to the main point.
He opened his phone, pulled up his email, and sent out various documents he'd prepared in advance.
"I just sent the plan for the next project to your inbox.
Check it when you get back so you can start working on CG composition."
"Oooh, what kind of galgame is it?"
Ms. Izumi's eyes widened with delight.
She took out her phone to check and, as she operated it, spoke again.
"It won't be like the last one—White Album—right?
There are still lots of people flaming you on the forums."
"I'm just a game maker.
Why blame me?"
Saying something completely unreasonable, Rain then smiled and added.
"But this time the story's simpler.
As for the type, I like to call it 'moe for the sake of moe.'"
"Moe for the sake of moe?"
Repeating a term she'd never heard before, Ms. Izumi opened her email with curiosity and doubt.
The newest message's subject line stated the game's title.
She read it out softly.
"Senren＊Banka?"
…
"Haha, what a coincidence.
Fancy meeting you here."
"You're here too?
We really are fated."
"Ah, you came here as well?
What a coincidence."
Standing in the corner of the sidewalk, Sirin faced the wall and practiced, over and over, how she'd greet Rain when he came out.
No matter how she said it, she felt dissatisfied.
Frustrated and vexed, she tugged at her hair, covered her head, and squatted down.
How did she become so meek?
Seriously.
Feeling terribly wronged, she thought back on what had happened.
Of course she had no face to accept Seele and the others' invitation.
It would be way too awkward to see them right now.
After casually finding out which area Rain had gone to, the idle Sirin skipped her stream and took the train to the same district, hoping to try her luck for a chance encounter.
She hadn't expected much, but she actually got lucky.
She didn't pay much attention to the woman chatting with Rain with a smile.
She looked like a married woman around thirty.
Rain wouldn't go full rogue like that, would he?
Sirin quietly set up an ambush along the path Rain had to take when he left, then started her practice routine from just now.
He should be almost done eating by now.
Thinking she was about to see him made Sirin suddenly shrink back.
Wasn't chasing after him like this super embarrassing?
Maybe she should forget it.
Would Rain look down on her?
The urge to run grew stronger and stronger.
Just as Sirin nearly talked herself into retreating, a surprised voice came from behind her.
"Sirin?"
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