Chapter 206. Pokémon Park?
"Don't you have any thoughts about it?"
Stroking Veliona's hair, Xander Masato asked with a smile.
"I…"
Veliona's voice came out dry from the turmoil in her heart. Her mind was a mess. She wanted to say something, but nothing would come, so she just stared into Xander Masato's eyes without moving.
Xander Masato wasn't in a hurry. He watched her with an easy smile. After a while, Veliona finally came back to herself. She gave him a complicated look first, then her whole body suddenly stiffened.
Did she… run?
Just as that doubt rose in his mind, Seele pounced on him.
"Brother, I'm so happy!"
Her arms locked tight around his neck. In her excitement, she nearly popped his eyes out.
He couldn't get a word out. Face flushing, he hurriedly patted Seele's shoulder. A few seconds later, Seele realized and quickly let go.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Clutching his neck, he coughed twice, then looked up at Seele with a resentful gaze.
My little sister has grown up—strong enough to move mountains.
"Were you trying to murder me?"
His slightly hoarse voice made Seele panic and wave her hands, eyes almost brimming.
"I—I'm sorry, Brother. I—I got too excited just now…"
Seeing her want to come closer but not quite dare to, Xander Masato rubbed his neck. Once it felt better, he shot her a glare; then, under her pitiful, guilt-ridden gaze, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Holding her, he pinched Seele's soft cheeks and said, dissatisfied, "Being excited is fine, but don't use that much strength, okay?"
"S-Seele knows she was wrong."
"Alright, I'm not actually mad. Just be careful next time."
"Mm…"
Seele snuck a glance up at her Brother. Seeing he no longer looked uncomfortable, she edged a little closer.
A little closer, then a little more—until she was almost touching him. Then she lifted her brows to peek at him again and softly kissed his slightly reddened neck.
Feeling his body tremble, Seele asked in a gentle voice, "Brother, does it still hurt?"
At that, Xander Masato blinked. "If I say it still hurts, what will you do, Seele?"
"Um…"
Cheeks flushing, Seele whispered, "Then I'll kiss it a few more times? Brother, does anywhere else still hurt?"
"Oh, just now you squashed me down there and it hurt."
Seele: "?"
…
They stayed clingy like that until the cafeteria sent up lunch. After giving Seele an extra portion, she ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
After lunch, they said goodbye to Elysia and Sirin, who were staying at home, and the two of them headed to the company together.
"Brother, what are you thinking about?"
Holding his hand, Seele hopped along like a child, trying her best not to step on the cracks in the pavement. When she turned and saw the thoughtful look on his face, she asked curiously.
"Nothing much. I just feel like the way Sirin looked at me just now was a bit off, and what she said this morning was kind of baffling."
At lunch, Sirin kept winking at him. When he asked if her eye was uncomfortable, she huffed and glared at him.
"Sirin?"
"Mm. I'll ask her when we have time later. It shouldn't be anything big."
As they passed a flower bed, a familiar shout carried over from afar just as Xander Masato finished speaking.
"Boss~"
"Hm?"
He turned and quickly saw three figures waving at them.
"Ah, it's Griseo and Sagiri and the others."
Seele had spotted the three as well and waved back with a smile.
Mrs. Izumi led the way, and the three of them came trotting over.
"Boss, are you heading to work?"
Her long silver hair was tied low and draped over her chest. Paired with that dangerously alluring hairstyle and a fitted top cinching her ample figure, things bounced perilously as she ran.
She already had a child on the verge of adulthood, yet she still looked quite young. Standing next to Sagiri, they looked like sisters.
Ma'am, you wouldn't also want to…
He hurriedly cut off that improper thought. Every time he saw Mrs. Izumi, his mind wandered in bad directions. Truly strange.
"Yeah. Are you out sketching?"
"I drew lots of flowers!"
Griseo raised her hand, eyes shining with delight.
"Not bad. Just flowers?"
He asked with a smile, but at that, Mrs. Izumi and her daughter's expressions suddenly changed.
Very quickly, Griseo continued, "Also, I drew lots of big sisters' thighs and, um…"
Her mouth was covered by the blushing Sagiri. Noticing Xander Masato's gaze, Sagiri shrank her neck in fright.
Even with her mother and Griseo around, she was still very shy compared to before.
"Ahem, just some simple academic study, that's all. Boss, don't misunderstand."
Mrs. Izumi forced an awkward smile, clearly not daring to meet Xander Masato's eyes.
"If you say so."
Griseo was already crooked beyond saving anyway. Teach her however you like. He was still very interested in Eromanga-sensei's works—her risqué pieces had only gotten more enticing lately.
Skipping the topic, Xander Masato looked at Mrs. Izumi. "Did you come over for something in particular?"
"Y-Yes, Boss."
Knowing their boss didn't like people beating around the bush, Mrs. Izumi quickly nodded and, a little embarrassed, said, "Boss, do you have a new galgame project? The fans have been urging us for a long time."
"A new gal? Don't you still have the outsourced Pokémon anime work?"
"That's true, but, but…"
She scuffed her toe on the ground and muttered, "Not being able to draw sexy pretty girls is so painful…"
"?"
Sister.jpg
Mrs. Izumi wasn't pretending; not being able to draw lewd stuff was worse than death for her.
Because she really liked Lillie in the Pokémon anime, she had practically monopolized a large chunk of the high-quality risqué fanworks of Lillie.
"Alright, alright."
That pleading look made the corner of Xander Masato's mouth twitch. He shook his head helplessly.
"Really?"
Mrs. Izumi's eyes lit up.
"Once the new game we're working on is done. And you've also taken on the Yu-Gi-Oh! outsourcing, right? Around the second half of the year, I'll prep a new gal project."
"Thank you, Boss!!!"
Mrs. Izumi almost went in for a hug, but when she saw Seele there, she quickly gave an embarrassed smile and blurted, "Boss is the best. Wishing the Boss and the Madam a hundred years of harmony and everlasting happiness!"
M-Madam?!
Seele froze for a second, then realized she meant her.
She lifted her brows and glanced at Brother. Seeing he didn't object, Seele couldn't help but secretly rejoice. Even the way she looked at Mrs. Izumi grew much gentler.
"Okay, enough teasing. You three keep having fun—we're off to work."
"Take care, Boss~"
Waving, Mrs. Izumi cheerfully saw Xander Masato and Seele off. Once they were farther away, she turned at once to Sagiri and Griseo.
The three of them held hands and raised them high with an excited cheer.
Before anyone noticed, Griseo had been completely assimilated into the Eromanga group. Tragic~
"Is Brother planning to make that kind of game again?"
That single "Madam" left Seele giddy all the way back. Once they got in the elevator, she finally asked.
"I'll make one. It won't take much effort anyway."
"New title or a sequel?"
Seele had high hopes for the Kaleidoscope series. Unfortunately, the final disc of Part Five already carried the feeling of an ending.
"Probably a new title."
In his memory there had been news of a Kaleidoscope Part Six, but back then the game hadn't released yet, so he wasn't clear on the details.
Given his current ability, he could write a script himself, but since he was planning to do this on vacation, better not make it too troublesome.
Also, there was a game he really liked that he still hadn't pulled out. It was time for the players to taste the "joy" he'd had back then~
Seeing Brother suddenly smile with ill intent, Seele shivered for no reason.
"You're here?"
Back in the office, Bronya had just finished her lunch break and stretched, her proud chest pushing her shirt into a taut curve.
He steadied her and gave a quick rub or two; under Bronya's disdainful look, Xander Masato happily sat back at his desk.
First he sorted the current progress on Yu-Gi-Oh! and assigned a few higher-priority tasks. Then he started going through the pile of documents.
Before long, looking at a new file, he blurted out in surprise, "Isn't the Pokémon World Championships still nearly half a year away? St. Freya's already started preparations?"
The main people in charge were Theresa and the Anti-Entropy operations team; Xander Masato didn't know the details.
"Maybe they have some special plans."
Beside him, Apprentice Secretary Seele was dutifully standing at the boss's side.
"That's possible."
"And, Brother, do you know how many people voted online saying they wanted to watch the tournament in person last time?"
"There was a vote like that?"
Xander Masato asked, puzzled.
"You were at Schicksal HQ then, so you probably didn't notice. Guess, Brother—how many wanted to come?"
"Um… thirty million?"
He frowned and gave a conservative estimate.
"Nope~ Guess again."
Seele smiled and held up one finger.
He frowned at once. "Only ten million?"
"One hundred million~"
"Hiss~"
He drew in a sharp breath, eyes going wide.
"That many?"
"That many."
Bronya chimed in, too.
"Anti-Entropy finally has an IP that can rival, or even surpass, HOMU, so of course they're pouring everything into operations. Compared to when it first launched, Pokémon feels more than twice as hot."
"Not only are there lots of breeding houses and skill shops on the market now, there are even dedicated trading houses. You should pay more attention to your own game."
At that, Xander Masato scratched his head and mumbled, "I've been busy with new games…"
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, knocking on the door covered his embarrassment. Relieved, Xander Masato smiled and called, "Come in."
Click.
The door opened, and a group filed in one after another.
"Key, Kazuto, Iori—what brings you here? How was your vacation?"
It wasn't just them. Behind them, Suguha Kirigaya stood a bit nervously behind her brother; behind Kitahara and Sugisaki stood two more people each.
The moment Sugisaki heard that, memories of the vacation came rushing back.
Kitahara's face twisted into a cruel grin, while Sugisaki Ken and "Grandpa Kirigaya" both wore the expression of someone who'd just eaten… well, you know.
They'd happily followed Kitahara to a diving shop; the moment they opened the door, a pack of beefy men in nothing but underwear gave them a massive "surprise."
"Looks like you all made some very beautiful memories."
Snickering inside, Xander Masato didn't prod and changed the subject. "Alright, what's up?"
"Um…"
Pinned by Kitahara and Grandpa Kirigaya's stares, Sugisaki Ken cursed the two for having no loyalty, then stepped forward. "Didn't you say before, A-Yu, that we should recommend two interns? So…"
"These are the people you're recommending?"
"Mm…"
Sugisaki Ken felt embarrassed about recommending people close to him, but he had no choice except to nod.
Xander Masato didn't mind. Setting aside that nearly all the real authority was concentrated in his and Bronya's hands, a few people like this wouldn't change anything.
The three brothers worked their butts off for him; letting them secure some perks for people they cared about wasn't a big deal.
"Don't worry about me. Just talk to HR."
He glanced at the people behind them and smiled. "And these are all familiar faces."
"H-hello, Masato!"
When Suguha Kirigaya saw his gaze shift to her, she straightened up at once, speaking nervously.
The two girls behind Kitahara and Sugisaki said the same.
Back in high school, the four of them had hung out a lot, so they naturally knew each other's families.
He waved to them with a smile, then gave Kitahara and the other two a meaningful look. "How about this—let the three of them be under me…"
"No."
"No."
"Absolutely not!!!"
In unison, the three big brothers blocked their sisters behind them, staring warily at the cad behind the desk.
"Hey, we're all old friends. You still don't trust me?"
He pulled a wounded face, only to be shot down by Kitahara: "It's because it's you that we don't trust you!"
"Eh? Why? I think Masato's a pretty nice guy."
Kitahara's little sister, Kitahara Shiori—a kimono-wearing girl with a graceful air.
"Hiss~"
Her words gave Kitahara a scare. He hurriedly leaned in to whisper: "Listen, no matter how decent A-Yu looks, in reality…"
He rattled off a long list, darkening Xander Masato's face.
"You jerk, don't slander me!!"
"I'm telling the truth!"
"Tch. Whatever, can't be bothered. Isn't your sister only in her third year of middle school? She's below working age, right?"
"She insisted on seeing where I work, so…"
Kitahara Shiori stepped forward and said apologetically, "Sorry. Did I cause trouble?"
"No, it's fine. Just don't disturb everyone."
He waved it off and continued, "As for specific roles, talk them through with HR. If they want to do game development, have them join your teams to be trained. We're short on hands."
Aside from the three sisters, behind Sugisaki Ken was a girl with black-blue long hair watching him with curiosity—that should be the childhood friend Sugisaki had mentioned before. Behind Kitahara stood a blond man who looked like the most nervous person in the room.
He didn't care much about these people and didn't say more, quickly sending them on to register with HR.
"Is Brother interested in those girls just now?"
They had barely left when Seele's voice drifted over, along with Bronya's prickling gaze that almost stung the skin. Kaguya said nothing, but her usual gentle smile was gone.
"N-no, I was just joking. Really."
"It had better be."
Bronya withdrew her gaze and said coolly.
Ding ding ding~
Before he could pull Seele closer and whisper some sweet words, the internal desk phone started ringing.
Not long after, a white-haired little shorty appeared at his desk.
"Well, if it isn't a rare guest. What brings our Academy Head Theresa here?"
The front desk had just called to say someone claiming to be the Academy Head of St. Freya had come by, which had surprised him.
Theresa didn't waste words. Arms crossed, she said excitedly, "I want to copy the HOMU World model and build a Pokémon Park!"
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