Just then, Umiko came out after finishing her call. Upon hearing what Nene had said, she commented, "That's already impressive. For a beginner to have the courage to develop a game engine from scratch—that's not something just anyone can do. And she actually pulled it off. By the way, where's Ichin?"

"He went upstairs to get something," Yagami Kō replied. "Probably cooked up some game idea he wants us to test."

Hearing that, Umiko said, "In that case, I've got a copy of the engine Nene worked on. I'll grab my laptop and let Ichin take a look. It's a waste to leave it sitting around unused."

She headed toward the bedroom.

Blinking, Nene looked at everyone, confused. "What does she mean by that?"

Aoba grabbed her arm excitedly and said, "It means she's going to show Ichin-kun your updated engine! Ichin-kun is amazing when it comes to game design—he might even come up with a game that perfectly suits your engine!"

"Eh? Really?"

Nene stared at her friend in disbelief.

Utaha smiled and nodded. "If your engine is well built, I'm sure Ichin wouldn't mind designing a game based on it. And since you're the developer, if we use it for a game, you'll definitely earn a nice bonus."

Hearing that, Nene felt like her head was spinning.

Right then, as Umiko brought out her laptop, Ichin also came downstairs holding his own.

Seeing the extra laptop, he asked curiously, "Isn't that Umiko's? What's it for?"

Umiko replied, "It's Nene's engine. We refined and added features to it together. I figured you might want to take a look. Also, I spoke to my friend just now—if you want to learn more about anti-cheat systems, I can invite her to our office in a few days to discuss things in detail."

"Perfect. I'd love that. We'll definitely need to collaborate in the future."

After agreeing, Ichin turned on the TV in the living room and said, "Umiko, could you grab a controller? I've put together a new combat scene demo. Come give it a try."

So it really was something new!

As Ichin connected his laptop to the TV and opened a folder, Eriri excitedly leaned in. "Can I be the first to play?"

"I don't mind, but…"

Ichin glanced around and saw everyone looking eager.

"How about rock-paper-scissors?"

After a quick tournament, Yagami Kō won the right to play first, with Eriri taking second place.

Sitting beside Kō, Eriri hugged her knees and said, "Second's not bad either. Hurry up and start!"

Ichin launched the program. After a brief black screen, there were no cutscenes or main menu—just an immediate drop into the scene.

The playable character was the same as the one Utaha had tested earlier: simple armor, sword, and shield. But instead of starting in a corridor, the character now appeared in an open space with a campfire burning weakly ahead.

Seated behind Kō, Ichin said, "Press the start button. There's a control guide in the settings—I'll let you explore it yourself."

Kō nodded, opened the settings to study the controls, then moved the character a bit, testing out attacks and blocks.

"Okay, I've got it. Controls are simple enough… though the models are kinda janky."

"Hey now, I whipped this up quickly just to test the combat system. As long as the models are passable, that's good enough. No need to waste time on the surroundings. Now that you know the controls, get going. There are three connected scenes, no major bosses—just minor mobs and one elite enemy at the end."

"Pfft, sounds easy. Bring it on."

Gripping the controller, Kō moved the character forward.

Beside Ichin, Utaha was already holding back laughter. She'd watched Ichin build these new scenes—and while the first few enemies were easy one-shots, the later ones were full of nasty surprises.

Sure enough, after Kō easily slashed through two stick-wielding grunts on the road, she said proudly, "Combat feels smooth, but wow—this is way too easy."

Ichin's expression didn't change. He just smiled and said, "It's just a test. I didn't buff the enemy stats too high. Keep going—there's another enemy up ahead."

"I see it!"

Humming casually, Kō had the character run forward into a room. She quickly killed an unalert torch-wielding enemy in two swings.

"Heh, piece of ca—"

Before she could finish, the character was suddenly slashed from behind and staggered.

"Wha—?! What just happened?!"

Shocked, Kō spun the camera around and saw an enemy wielding the same longsword as her character.

Just as she was about to retaliate, a sound of breaking crates came from the corner—startling her.

Before she could raise her shield, a dagger-wielding enemy burst out from behind the broken boxes and charged toward her clumsily.

Caught in a pincer attack, Kō dropped to the ground.

YOU DIED

The screen faded to black. As the camera lingered on the enemies still swinging at her fallen character, Kō sat frozen in disbelief.

"I… died just like that?"

She replayed the sequence in her head. She'd run in, killed one enemy, then got ambushed by a hidden swordsman, followed by a surprise attack from another enemy lying in wait.

Sitting on the couch, Hazuki chuckled with interest. "Hmm~ The enemies weren't tough, but that room design is clever. So now that Kō lost, is it Eriri's turn?"

Snapping out of it, Kō scowled at Ichin and grumpily handed the controller to Eriri.

"Here. Be careful."

Looking at the controller in her hand and the character now respawned at the campfire, Eriri took a deep breath and moved the analog stick forward.

*