The negotiations went retively smoothly, thanks to Hazuki's friend being there. While both parties expressed interest in securing Sy the Spire and Hollow Knight as Nintendo Switch exclusives, the specific details of the partnership required further discussions. This meant Ichin would likely need to make a few more trips in the future.

  Whether the exclusivity would be permanent or time-limited didn't concern Ichin much. Compared to other consoles, the Nintendo Switch was indeed more suitable for the gaming experience of Hollow Knight and Sy the Spire.

  By 3:30 PM, Ichin and Hazuki finally left Nintendo and began their journey back.

  Once they were aboard the Shinkansen, Ichin leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes.

  "Man, I'm exhausted. Negotiations really aren't my thing," he sighed.

  Hazuki chuckled beside him. "Ichin-kun, your performance today was already excellent! You've far exceeded my expectations. For someone your age, most wouldn't even come close to what you managed."

  "Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Ichin asked, smiling as he rested his hands behind his head.

  "Well, I've been wanting to start something for myself. Once the idea sparked, I couldn't suppress it," Ichin said with a grin. "If I hadn't started developing Sy the Spire back in March, maybe none of this would've happened. I'd probably have waited until university to work on my first game, and I wouldn't have met you all."

  "True," Hazuki agreed, her tone nostalgic. "Honestly, when Eagle Jump disbanded, even though most of us had industry experience and could've easily found other jobs, I felt attached to the people in the company. If it weren't for you, Ichin-kun, we probably wouldn't still be working together now."

  Ichin gnced at Hazuki. "Hazuki-san, if you hadn't joined my studio, which company would you have gone to?"

  "Me?" Hazuki paused, tapping her chin in thought. "Hmm... I never really considered where I'd go, but I probably wouldn't join a big game company. I'm not the type to follow rigid rules, after all."

  That made sense. Considering Hazuki's reputation for creating a company culture that was entirely female-led, she'd probably survive in a rger corporation but wouldn't enjoy it.

  Ichin gnced down at a rge bag by his feet, which contained three development kits and other game-reted materials.

  "These dev kits—Hazuki-san, you haven't used them before, right?"

  "That's right," Hazuki replied with a hint of regret. "Our previous Fairies Story series was developed on a completely different ptform. The Switch's concept of merging home consoles and handheld devices is excellent, but its performance is definitely subpar."

  She turned to Ichin with a serious expression. "Ichin-kun, I think we should avoid overly complex 3D games if we pn to develop for the Switch."

  "Don't worry, I'm well aware of that," Ichin nodded. As a seasoned gamer, he knew the Switch's capabilities intimately. Porting rge-scale games to the console often resulted in severe graphical downgrades.

  One gring example was The Witcher 3. When it was first announced for the Switch, Ichin had doubted the possibility of achieving good visual quality. While it eventually became pyable after extensive optimization, it still couldn't compare to the experience on a PC.

  However, Ichin's current pns included games like Persona, which seemed well-suited for development on the Switch.

  He had pns to work on everything ter, but for now, the priority was to head back and start experimenting with the new development kits they'd acquired.

  With this in mind, Ichin turned to Hazuki. "Hazuki-san, I don't think we've told the team about today's outcome yet, have we?"

  "Oh, you're right!" Hazuki cpped her hands and ughed. "Since you're the boss, how about you deliver the news?"

  "Hmm, let me think... How about we keep it a surprise for now?" Ichin suggested with a grin.

  "That works!" Hazuki agreed enthusiastically, clearly liking the idea.

  After focusing on negotiations for over two hours that afternoon, Ichin was utterly exhausted. As soon as the Shinkansen began moving, he closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

  Hazuki, on the other hand, was still quite alert. As a seasoned professional in the industry, she had gone through simir situations many times before. Calmly browsing the internet on her phone, she smiled faintly.

  Two hours ter, Ichin and Hazuki finally arrived back in Tokyo. Checking the time, Ichin saw it was already 6 PM.

  Earlier, he had messaged Utaha to let her know he wouldn't make it home in time for dinner. He pnned to grab some takeout when he got back to quickly settle his hunger.

  "Let's go, Hazuki-san. Time to head back," Ichin said.

  Hazuki smiled. "Since we didn't tell the team in advance, they're probably still waiting for news. Let's not keep them waiting too long—let's get going."

  The two hopped into Hazuki's car and drove straight back to the studio.

  Inside the studio, the team had indeed been waiting patiently for their return. Wanting to avoid interrupting the negotiations, none of them had messaged to check on the situation.

  After finishing up a scene she was working on, Aoba Suzukaze put down her stylus, stretched, and said, "Ichin-kun and Hazuki-san are taking so long. It's already this te, and they're still not back. I wonder how things went."

  Beside her, Hifumi Takimoto spoke softly, "It should be fine. Hazuki-san's friend was there to help, after all."

  "That's true," Yun Iijima chimed in, spinning her chair around to join the conversation. "But we're talking about Nintendo here. For a small studio like ours, we're always at a disadvantage in these kinds of colborations. Even with connections, that dynamic doesn't change much."

  "I don't think there's much to worry about," Shinoda Hajime countered, offering a different perspective. "Ichin-kun's skills speak for themselves. Plus, he brought along the game concepts and some presentation materials. Hollow Knight is perfect for the Switch. The colboration is likely a done deal; the only question is whether we'll get featured in a Direct. What do you think, Umiko?"

  Hearing her name, Umiko pondered for a moment before replying, "I think it's fine. They're probably already on their way back. Knowing Hazuki, she's probably pnning to surprise us by showing up unannounced."

  Just as she finished speaking, the studio door swung open. Everyone instinctively turned to look at Umiko in astonishment.

  How did she nail that so perfectly?

  ...

  ???

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