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[Game] Chapter 225: Return, and an Unexpected Development Progress
🕑 Added 2025-05-15 14:33:51 +0000 UTCAfter a lively and joyful Lunar New Year, Utaha met several more of Ichin’s relatives following New Year's Eve. Without exception, she got along with everyone and quickly won the approval of all the elders. This trip home with Ichin had been a complete success.
Once the holiday ended, it was time for the two of them to return to their classes.
Ichin’s parents accompanied them to the airport. His mother held Utaha’s hand, reluctant to part, and said warmly, “If you have time during the next break, come visit us with Ichin again, okay?”
Utaha nodded earnestly. “Yes, I definitely will.”
Ichin added, “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve already talked to the studio team. We’re planning to come over for vacation together during the summer break.”
“That’s good,” his mother smiled.
Checking the time, Ichin’s father spoke up. “It’s about time. You should head to your gate. Ichin, as the man, make sure you take good care of Utaha, okay? Don’t let her suffer in any way.”
“I know, I will. I’ll take good care of her.”
Holding Utaha’s hand, they waved goodbye to his parents and headed for the boarding gate.
After the plane took off, Utaha leaned against Ichin’s arm and whispered, “I don’t really want to leave… Uncle and Auntie were so kind to me.”
“Didn’t I just say it? We can go back anytime we have the chance,” Ichin said with a smile, gently tapping her nose. “Get some rest. We got up really early today.”
Nodding, Utaha laid her head on Ichin’s arm and slowly closed her eyes.
Two hours later, their plane landed at the Tokyo airport. Ichin and Utaha collected their luggage and met up with Hazuki and Umiko, who were waiting for them at the arrival gate.
Seeing them, Hazuki waved excitedly. “Welcome back! You two must’ve had a great holiday, huh?”
Utaha had shared some photos in the group chat during their time in China, so everyone had already seen how festive their New Year’s Eve dinner had been.
Utaha smiled and responded, “Yeah, it was wonderful.”
Umiko, noticing that both were carrying a suitcase, asked curiously, “Didn’t you only bring one suitcase when you left? Why do you have two now?”
Ichin pointed at the one he was holding. “This one’s the same one we took with us. The one Utaha’s holding is full of stuff she bought—snacks for everyone, and gifts for her parents too.”
Ah, that explained it.
Umiko was reminded of when Ichin’s mom visited last summer—she had brought tons of delicious food and treated everyone in the studio like her own daughters.
So it wasn’t surprising that they had brought back more goodies again this time.
Once they got into Hazuki’s car, Ichin and Utaha were finally back.
Their first stop was Utaha’s home, where they dropped off the gifts for her parents and spent some time chatting about their experiences celebrating the New Year in China.
After about half an hour, Ichin left Utaha with her parents and took the goodies for the team back to the studio, where everyone had been eagerly awaiting his return.
“I’m back, everyone!”
Even though it was Sunday, everyone was at the studio to welcome Ichin and Utaha back—including even Eriri, who normally preferred to laze around at home over the weekend.
As everyone welcomed him back with cheers of “Gifts! Gifts!”, Ichin grinned and opened the suitcase, revealing it was packed full of snacks and treats—most of which weren’t available in Japan.
Coincidentally, the snack cabinet in the studio was nearly empty, so these goodies were a perfect restock. There were even some leftovers that didn’t fit in the cabinet, which were immediately opened and shared among everyone on the spot.
When Ichin opened a box of handmade pastries from his mom and took a bite with a smile, Momiji Mochizuki noticed something shiny on his hand.
Blinking curiously, she asked, “Is that… a ring?”
Rings were always a sensitive topic—none of the girls in the studio wore one, so all eyes instantly turned toward Ichin. Sure enough, there was a ring on his hand, though it wasn’t a diamond ring or anything flashy.
“You got engaged?” Kō Yagami asked in surprise.
“You’re overthinking it—not an engagement,” Ichin replied with a laugh, holding up the ring for everyone to see. “It was Utaha’s birthday gift.”
“Aww~ just a birthday gift?”
Hearing that, everyone’s expressions immediately calmed down. A few even clicked their tongues and looked visibly disappointed.
“Come on, guys. Think about how old Utaha and I are—we’re way too young to be rushing things like that. If you’re that nosy about relationships, maybe you should all try getting boyfriends yourselves,” Ichin teased.
As soon as those words left his mouth, the crowd scattered like birds, each person retreating to their desks—though not without grabbing a snack or two along the way, never missing the chance to profit.
Shaking his head with a chuckle, Ichin made his way to his long-unoccupied workstation and sat down to turn on his computer.
As soon as it booted up, he noticed a new folder on the desktop—one he hadn’t created.
“Demo Presentation?”
Reading the folder name, Ichin froze for a moment, then turned to Hazuki with a look of surprise. “You guys already finished the demo? Why didn’t you tell me when you came to pick us up?”
“Because it was meant to be a surprise!” Hazuki grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Pretty nice surprise, right? Don’t worry—no one worked overtime or pulled all-nighters. We did it all during regular work hours. And it’s not just the demo—we even made a full promotional video. Everything’s in that folder.”
Ichin opened it and, sure enough, alongside the demo build was a polished video file.
“You really hit me with a huge surprise,” Ichin said with genuine amazement.
He’d originally planned to start building the demo after returning so he could present it to Nintendo—but now, the whole team had already done the heavy lifting, and with incredible efficiency.
He launched the demo to inspect it. Though it was still a basic build, it showcased everything he had envisioned: exploration, maps, combat, and even a sample of the progression system—all integrated and functional.
After playing for a while, Ichin closed the program with a satisfied nod.
“The demo’s completion level is way higher than I expected. You guys really worked hard.”
“And that’s not even all,” Umiko said as she walked over, holding a Nintendo Switch.
She handed it to him and added, “We’ve already got it running on the Switch. It’s currently locked at 30 FPS, with no graphical downgrades.”
Surprise after surprise—it just kept coming.
Ichin smiled and launched the test demo on the Switch. The frame rate was smooth, and the visuals held up perfectly.
Now, as long as things went well with Nintendo, there wouldn’t be any problems releasing Persona on the Switch.
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