As noon approached, Ichin was busy working in his office when he heard the door open.
Looking up, he saw that Utaha had returned, accompanied by Sonoko Machida.
"I'm back, Ichin!"
"Sorry to disturb you, Ichin!"
Setting aside his work, Ichin smiled.
"You're back? How did everything go?"
Taking a seat on the sofa, Utaha smiled.
"Everything's settled. Same as before, the second season of the anime will begin production immediately and is scheduled to air next January."
Machida also sat down.
"We've worked together several times already, so this negotiation went very smoothly. Nothing unexpected happened, and the contract has already been signed."
"That's great to hear."
Relieved by their words, Ichin continued,
"There's still some time before lunch. Would either of you like something to drink?"
"Ichin, iced coffee for me!"
"I want an ice-cold cola!"
"Alright, give me a moment. I'll have someone bring them over."
After the drinks arrived, Utaha didn't disturb Ichin's work. After sitting for a while, she took Machida around the company for a tour. Since it was almost lunchtime and everyone was fairly relaxed, nobody minded.
At noon, everyone headed to the cafeteria together for lunch.
It had been quite a while since Machida had come here for a free meal, and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
Finishing every last drop of her mung bean soup, she let out a satisfied sigh.
"Ahh, this is wonderful. Your cafeteria is seriously amazing. It has everything.
"Unlike our publishing company, we don't even have a cafeteria. We have to find food ourselves, and I've already eaten at every restaurant around the office."
After swallowing the last bite of rice, Ichin smiled.
"If you want, Sonoko-san, you're welcome to come eat here anytime. I'd be more than happy to have you. As long as you pay for it, of course."
"Hehe, if I have time, I'll definitely come!"
Compared to the repetitive restaurants around her publishing house, the company's employee cafeteria offered food prepared by highly skilled chefs, with a constantly changing menu. It was genuinely enjoyable to eat there.
With the boss's personal approval, Machida naturally had no objections to coming here in the future. At most, she'd spend a little extra on gas. Besides, the publishing company already provided fuel reimbursements for editors, so it wasn't a concern.
After lunch, Machida took her leave.
Although Utaha had become an extremely reliable author under her management, she still had several other writers. Unfortunately, some of them were far less dependable, and she needed to spend the afternoon chasing manuscripts.
After seeing Machida off and returning upstairs, Ichin looked at Utaha.
"Want to take a nap during lunch break?"
Utaha nodded with a smile.
"Yeah. I'll take a short nap and recharge. This afternoon I'll be getting back to writing."
So Ichin brought Utaha back to his office, took out the pillow and blanket he kept there, and let her rest comfortably while he went to get himself a cup of coffee.
Instead of returning to the office and disturbing her rest, he carried his coffee downstairs to the development department.
Over there, everyone was already discussing what drinks and snacks to have for afternoon tea.
"You all just finished lunch, and you're already talking about afternoon tea?"
Seeing him arrive, Eriri placed her hands on her hips and grinned.
"Hehe, afternoon tea is different. It's something you can discuss anytime!
"We've already decided on milk tea. What about you, Ichin?"
"In that case, milk tea for me too. If you're ordering, include one for Utaha and me."
"Okay, I'll add you both."
Aoba took out her phone and sent a message to a milk tea shop she frequently ordered from.
"You two want the usual, right? What about Yukino? She'll be coming later this afternoon too, won't she?"
"As for Yukino, I'll be picking her up. If she wants something, I can buy it on the way. I don't know exactly when she'll finish, so I'll wait for her call."
"Got it. Then I won't include Yukino."
Aoba nodded and finished compiling everyone's orders before sending them off, scheduling the delivery time.
"Delivery at three o'clock! Make sure to adjust your work schedules accordingly~~~"
Now that the company had grown larger, each department handled its own afternoon tea orders and simply submitted the receipts for reimbursement later. Ordering for the entire company at once would have been far too troublesome.
After sending the message, Aoba looked at Ichin.
"Is Utaha taking a nap?"
"Yep. That's why I left the office for her and came down here. Besides, most of my afternoon work will be here anyway."
"A nap, huh? Talking about that makes me sleepy too."
Aoba yawned and stretched her neck.
"I'm going to sleep in the meeting room for a bit. I stayed up too late gaming last night."
Seeing Aoba head toward the meeting room, Rin immediately called out:
"Aoba, don't forget to set an alarm!"
"I know~~~"
After Aoba left for the meeting room, Kirino, who had eaten lunch a little later than everyone else, finally came upstairs.
"Ah, Ichin-kun, there you are. I have something I need to discuss with you. Can you come for a moment?"
Ichin nodded.
After saying a few words to the others, he followed Kirino to the finance department.
At 2:30 PM, while working, Ichin received a message from Yukino informing him that things were wrapping up on her end and that he could come pick her up.
After replying, he finished the line of code he was working on, saved everything, and said to Umiko beside him:
"Umiko, I'm going to pick up Yukino. If the milk tea arrives, could you set aside mine and Utaha's?"
"No problem. Hurry up and go."
Returning to his office, Ichin grabbed his wallet and car keys. After informing the still-working Utaha, he headed out to pick up Yukino.
Today, Yukino had gone with her professor and several classmates to observe court proceedings and watch an actual case being tried.
Since she had messaged him now, things were probably nearing their conclusion.
Fifteen minutes after Ichin left, the trial and sentencing at the courthouse where Yukino and her group were observing officially ended, and everyone exited the building.
Looking at the blazing summer sun outside, their professor, a woman in her thirties, sighed.
"It's so hot. I'm taking the train back to the university. Anyone heading the same way can come with me.
"Yukinoshita, someone is picking you up, right?"
Yukino glanced at her watch and nodded.
"Yes. Based on the timing, he should be arriving soon."
A female classmate leaned closer with curiosity.
"Is it Senior Ichin? Your brother?"
"Oh! The one who runs the game development company? I've heard about him. He's amazing!"
Listening to her classmates, a faint smile appeared on Yukino's lips.
"Mm. If he's not too busy, he'll come personally."
At that moment, Yukino spotted Ichin's car approaching from the distance.
The vehicle slowly drove up and came to a stop right in front of them.
...
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