Chapter 99
Chapter 99
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Live Streaming (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Let's be clear before we go any further.
Although Studio Rewind wasn't built by me alone, but by the employees who worked alongside me, I am still the one who makes the final decisions.
In other words, this is my company.
‘Absolutely not.’
Over my dead body will I allow the horrific situation of a furry heroine appearing in our game.
There should be no misunderstanding.
This was not a tyrannical abuse of company ownership, but a fulfillment of my duties as the one in charge.
Isn't that what a person in charge is supposed to do?
When the people under you take things from the second verse to the third, then to the fourth and straight past reason to absurdity, it's my job to stop them.
For that reason, I visited Development Team 2.
Nishimura, upon seeing me, said:
“Sacho (President), matte (wait)!”
Thud!
Nishimura dropped to his knees.
His body was already packed with muscle, and his hairstyle—sides and back shaved clean with only the top grown long and tied up—gave him an incredibly intimidating aura.
I tried my best to hide the tremor in my voice as I asked.
“...What is it?”
Nishimura’s eyes were bloodshot.
“Give me one more chance! I’ll definitely win this time!”
...What is this nonsense?
“It’s shameful, but I was careless! But I, Nishimura Keisuke, as a man, do not wish to cowardly borrow external power to seize victory! I want to win with my own two hands!”
I truly had no idea what he was talking about.
My eye began to twitch.
“Sacho (President)! I’m not asking for much! Just one word...! Just add one more clause to the trial by combat!!!”
I don't know anything about trial by combat clauses.
I didn't even have a chance to say so.
“I will stop it! With this fist! Kono purojekuto wa ore ga mamoru (I will protect this project)!”
Thump!
This time, he slammed his head on the floor.
The Team 2 employees began to whisper as they watched the scene unfold.
—Eh! Nishimura-san, he bowed his head to the Imperial Court?!
—I’ve never seen Nishimura-san so serious!
—Ah, the first appellate duel in the history of Team 2...!
One thing was certain.
These people, having been steeped in some bizarre company culture, seemed to have collectively lost their minds.
But that strange atmosphere stopped me from speaking.
It was because of a foreboding thought that suddenly crossed my mind.
‘If I force my will on them here...’
Team 2's developmental autonomy would be infringed upon.
In other words, it would set a bad precedent for the development process.
That was the one thing I was most wary of.
What was the original intention behind separating Team 2 in the first place?
It was because I knew the results of the synergy they created internally.
I wanted to exclude the external factor of 'me' as much as possible.
Having been an employee, and having lost my authority due to external pressure, I knew something.
The mere thought that pressure from above might exist is enough to make a director start strengthening their self-censorship.
That leads to a restriction of ideas, which in turn results in a subpar final product.
A deep sigh escaped me.
I rubbed my dry face and finally asked Nishimura.
Right, that appellate duel or whatever...
“...Just tell me this.”
“Hai!”
“Can you be certain of victory?”
Whatever happened, if Nishimura won, the furry heroine would be deleted.
That was the question I posed, taking a step back with the judgment that it was best to resolve internal issues internally.
At that moment, Nishimura's eyes grew moist.
Soon after, he knelt on one knee, placed a fist over his heart, and bowed his head.
His voice was filled with passion.
“As you command—!”
“Waaaaaaah!!!”
...I just want to run away.
* * *
Until now, the trial by combat had been conducted under a single clause.
That clause was ‘the winner’s word is justice.’
In the might-makes-right world of Development Team 2, no one had ever questioned that clause.
However, a sudden storm of demonic energy caused doubts about the clause to bloom, and it was at that very moment that the Lord of the Black Serpent League, Nishimura Keisuke, petitioned the Imperial Court.
Thus, the second clause of the trial by combat was born.
『Should the outcome of a duel be judged to have a malevolent influence not only on the martial world but on the entire Central Plains, a single rematch shall be permitted under the observation of the Imperial Court.』
It was truly an era of great change for the Central Plains (Development Team 2).
“Hey, loser.”
The Furry Heavenly Demon, Jellen Copson, stepped into the ring and spoke to Nishimura with a cynical smile.
“Begging the Director? Have you no shame as a boxer?”
With a determined expression, Nishimura took off his glasses and put in his mouthpiece.
His eyes, shedding their usual cunning, shone with the brilliance of a master facing a life-or-death battle.
“You’re wrong, Copson.”
He put on his gloves.
“Boku wa (I am), not a boxer...”
He then took his stance.
“...I am a director.”
Shwick!
Copson responded by taking his own stance.
“A director is a boxer. You ignorant fool.”
In this moment, the calm before the storm, the outcome would tell who was right.
A square ring, forty-nine square meters. Once they stepped inside, there was no turning back.
The supporters (martial artists) on both sides, watching the duel, began to cheer at the top of their lungs.
“Nishimura-san!!! Protect Paimon-chan!!!”
“Copson! Show the world! Show them that we were right!!!”
Somewhere in the crowd, the Emperor watched with a worried expression, his arms crossed.
Beside him, A-yun (the Imperial Guard) was giggling. “May the best man win!” she chirped.
Seo-rim asked the Emperor.
“Sunbae, is this right?”
“Don’t ask me. I don’t know either. How on earth did things get like this?”
The power of the martial world had grown so immense that the Emperor's worries deepened with each passing day, but that is a story for another time.
Ding—!
The battle for the fate of the project had begun.
“Copsooon!!!”
“Nishimuraaaa!!!”
The two men's fists flew through the air.
Full power from the very start.
It was a display that showed their resolve for this duel.
Copson was overflowing with confidence.
He intended to wear Nishimura down using his mastered Energy-Draining Arts, and his attempt was being executed perfectly thanks to his overwhelming reach advantage.
Nishimura gritted his teeth and endured.
As a classic in-fighting boxer, he was helpless against the arm-length difference of at least a handspan.
However, there was one fact that should not be forgotten.
The martial arts are perfected by training the mind (心) through the body (體) to manifest energy (氣).
A truly strong martial artist was one who could channel their will into their fist through the unity of mind, body, and spirit.
Nishimura could not lose.
He loved all female forms, whether young or old, slender or voluptuous, but the one thing he did not love was furries.
And he was certain that countless fellow otaku felt the same.
‘You are not on a heretical path. You are on the demonic path!’
Demon's Relic had to be a paradise for otaku.
It could not be a paradise for demons...!
“Never!!!”
KABOOM!
Charging forward while taking a triple jab head-on, Nishimura succeeded in securing control of the airspace.
Copson’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
—How?!
His gaze conveyed the question.
Nishimura answered with his own gaze.
—Ah, it is will...!
His fist was loaded.
Copson also gritted his teeth and prepared a straight punch.
And then, at the exact same moment, two fists shot toward each other's heads.
CRACK!
A cross counter.
For a moment, silence filled the space.
“W-what! Who won?!”
“Hey, hey, referee!!! Check it, quick!!!”
However, there was no need for the referee to intervene.
Thud!
Someone’s knees buckled.
It was Copson.
“Keuk...!”
Copson, an out-boxer who relied on reach and jabs, was no match for Nishimura, a hard-punching in-fighter, in a head-on clash.
The reason he had countered with a cross counter was that, in the final moment, he had felt Nishimura’s will.
“Ah, it’s my loss.”
He looked up at the ceiling blankly and laughed, as if in resignation or perhaps relief.
“You win, otaku.”
Nishimura, after calming his heaving breaths, took off his gloves with a bitter expression and extended his hand.
“No, this duel relied on external power from the start, so it’s not a complete victory.”
“What?”
“Come to think of it, I forgot about Paimon-chan’s otokonoko setting. Making him a male character is a bit much, but...”
When Copson didn't take his hand, Nishimura slung an arm around his shoulder and helped him up.
“...transforming into a male lion should be possible, I suppose.”
Copson's eyes grew moist.
He gritted his teeth, swallowing his emotions, before finally letting out a hollow laugh and replying.
“You idiot.”
“It’s the victor’s magnanimity. Hey, let’s get back to work.”
At the sight of the two men supporting each other, the audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation.
“Woooooah!!!”
And so, the First Great Demonic War ended in a dramatic reconciliation.
Seo-rim commented.
“Couldn’t they have just talked it out from the beginning?”
“...”
To that, Yeon-ho did not reply.
He no longer wanted to think about Development Team 2.
* * *
The development progress report for the eventful Team 2 was finally complete.
To be honest, it felt like all I did was watch a sparring match... but anyway.
“The script is more or less drafted. Have you finished checking the presentation?”
I nodded at Yang Gil-sang's question.
“Yes, I think we can start right away.”
We were in a temporary broadcasting room set up inside the studio.
That's right, today was the day of the live stream.
“Did you see? The community seems to be pretty excited.”
“So much so that I’m worried.”
I wasn't just saying that; the anticipation was genuinely high.
Even though I had explicitly stated that the broadcast was just for a brief announcement about upcoming projects, the mention of two projects sent users scrambling to every corner of the internet, where they began speculating wildly among themselves.
The general speculation was as follows:
1. They will create another IP while producing Hellic 4.
2. They will challenge the online game market while continuing to make their existing package games.
3. A new IP will be released in collaboration with another developer.
Each theory had its own reasoning, and that was the problem.
‘They’re all wrong.’
At best, number 1 was half-right with the "new IP" part, but numbers 2 and 3 were completely baseless, yet they were gaining a strange sort of credibility.
It was because of our identity as a Korean developer and our relationship with Russo.
I just hoped they wouldn't be too disappointed.
I was organizing the script again as I thought about it.
“P-President...! I brought this for you...!”
Jo A-yun came over and held out a white wig.
“...What is this, A-yun?”
“Huh? For today’s cross-dressing...”
“Not happening.”
“Eh?”
“Not today.”
Jo A-yun looked crestfallen.
Where did she even get something like this...?
“Tsk...”
...It was Yang Gil-sang.
Yang Gil-sang was clicking his tongue.
When I glared at him, he averted his gaze.
Definitely a person to watch out for.
I couldn't let my guard down for a second...!
“Two minutes until broadcast!”
Time had flown by.
I took one last deep breath to compose myself.
‘A live stream...’
Separate from my worries, there was a sense of excitement.
It was, after all, a time to communicate with the people who enjoyed and loved my games.
In truth, my only opportunities to meet users face-to-face were at game expos.
The rest was just seeing reactions on online communities, so the thought of actually talking with them filled me with a sense of romance, didn't it?
It was embarrassing, but I was only human, so I couldn't help but be interested in talking with people who liked me.
It would be even better if I could use this opportunity to gauge the users' feelings about the projects.
And so,
“Broadcast starting now!”
My face appeared on the screen.
Feeling a little awkward, I spoke.
“Hello, everyone. I am Cheon Yeon-ho, the CEO of Studio Rewind...”
Just then, the first chat message appeared.
[ClearAsDay: Why is he dressed as a guy? lol
Hellic4When: Boring;]
...This isn't going to be easy.
It certainly wasn't a romantic start.