Episode 16

Man, I’m definitely going to stand out, aren’t I?

First of all, Soulwing Academy has three levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Although the buildings are separate, most students move up from the elementary division. Students who can’t keep up with training as soul contractors, or whose abilities are deemed insufficient, can’t advance. In other words, those who make it to the high school division are the crème de la crème.

In my case, I only barely passed thanks to my game knowledge, after training hard starting from the summer of my third year of middle school. But generally speaking, there are very few students who pass from outside the academy. 

Even without all that, I was bound to attract attention as a standout student. But on top of that, I ended up making contracts with Seraph and Luminous, two candidates for top-tier contractors.

Yeah, there’s no way I wouldn’t be noticed. Far from just pulling off a typical protagonist move, I’ve reached a level of attention that makes the protagonist look like a background character.

…It can’t be helped on the first day. But from now on, I’ve got to stay low-key to avoid drawing attention.

Maybe I should intentionally fail a mission as part of our Union…

N-no, wait! That would lower Seraph and Luminous’ reputation! At the start of the game, Seraph and Luminous need to be the ultimate angel and demon! I can’t compromise on that as one of the developers!

It’s crucial that players think, “Who the heck is this protagonist who can make a contract with such an amazing angel or demon?!” That’s something we discussed a lot when developing the game.

“First off, we should probably create an official website for our Union. What do you think? Should we ask someone outside for help?” 

…Creating an official website, huh?

We also went all out on this, even creating custom code using actual web development languages. Although we prepared a more general template for those who couldn’t do it themselves…

“I can handle that. Leave anything internet-related to me.”

…Seraph’s good at this kind of stuff. She’s a serious homebody and spends all day messing with her computer or phone if left alone.

“Oh right, Seraph, you’re good at this kind of stuff. I’ll leave it to you then!”

“Of course. Takigawa-san, feel free to let me know if you have any requests. I should be able to meet them.”

“…Got it.”

If you make a contract with Seraph, she’ll pretty much handle everything on her own. Even if you contract with Luminous, Luminous would ask Seraph, and Seraph would handle most of it for you. 

In the game, they didn’t have an actual interaction like this, but… well, this is pretty much what we expected when developing the characters. Experiencing the difference between the game and reality is pretty interesting.

“Alright, that takes care of the Union stuff, but we should talk about a bigger issue.”

“What issue?”

“What is it?” 

When Luminous asks, both of us tilt our heads in confusion. With a serious expression, she begins to speak.

“It’s about living together in this house. We’ll need to split up the housework, right?”

…Housework, huh.

Honestly, I’m not very good at living alone. I’m not a great cook, and cleaning isn’t my strong suit either. 

I quickly avert my gaze at Luminous’ words and end up locking eyes with Seraph, who also looks away. 

…Well, she’s pretty hopeless when it comes to her personal life too. According to the game’s setting, her room gets messy quickly, and Luminous ends up cleaning it regularly.

She’s a lazy angel, and that’s part of her charm!

“…Yeah, how should we do it?”

“First, we need to decide on who’s in charge of cooking. Should we rotate daily, or should one of us handle it? By the way, how good are Takigawa and Seraph at cooking? …Wait, why did I even ask Seraph?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I can cook… a little.”

“Okay, then what can you make?”

“I, uh, dabble in cup noodles.”

“Don’t try to make it sound fancy! What about you, Takigawa?”

“…I’m really good at buying pre-made food.”

“Neither of you cooked! Seriously, don’t you two have any sense of responsibility about living on your own!?”

“Nope.”  “None at all.”

“Don’t say that so proudly!”

Luminous glared at us, baring her fangs in frustration. Seraph lowered her gaze apologetically. 

“I’m… more of an eating specialist. I’m sorry.”

“Fine! I’ll handle the cooking! What about cleaning and laundry!?”

“I’ve got an old robot vacuum cleaner from home, so I’ll take care of the cleaning. As for laundry, my family was getting a new one. So I brought over a second-hand drum washing machine.”

The washing machine was originally used by a family of four, so it’s pretty decent in size. I gave her a big thumbs-up.

“You haven’t done anything yourself! Honestly… well, with all that home tech, we can get by at a minimum… yeah, I’ll handle the smaller tasks. But in exchange, you two take care of the Union work!”

“…You’re a lifesaver, Luminous.”

“Oh, and no bell peppers for me, please. I hate them.”

“Don’t be picky about food!”

…Luminous seems like she’s going to be a strict mom.

“Alright, I’ll need to get groceries, so I’m heading to the store! You two stay here and wait!”

“I-I can at least carry the bags—”

Before I could finish my offer, Luminous had already darted out of the living room, clearly enjoying herself.

“She’s got a lot of energy…”

“She’s always been like that.”

“You two have known each other since elementary school, right?”

As the game’s developer, I already know everything about their backstory, including behind-the-scenes details that were never revealed in the main game. Still, to make our conversations feel natural, I should ask these things firsthand.

This is what you’d call “setting a flag.” You have to ask these things at least once.

Sure, I know their exact measurements and even small details like where they start washing when they bathe. But blurting that out would just make me sound like a total creep.

Original Author’s Comment:

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