The Blind Love Life of the Returning Hero: The Companions I Lost in Another World Resurrect in the Modern Era and Indulge Me - Episode 37

The excitement following the announcement far exceeded expectations. The number of visitors was so high that the servers crashed, it trended on social media, and gameplay videos by streamers quickly spread.

The game centered around Riri, designed to let people enjoy and learn about what happened in the other world, was already a major success even before its release.

Several weeks had passed since then. The development team, with Riri at the center, was steadily making progress toward completion.

In the living room of the apartment, Hayato listened intently to Riri as he made coffee. She had come straight from school, still in her uniform, and sat on the sofa enthusiastically explaining the data displayed on her tablet.

“Production is going smoothly,”
Riri said, showing Hayato a photo taken on her smartphone of a development meeting.

“We’ve had several meetings with the producer, consulted with the audience, and even tried incorporating feedback from the comments on our livestreams.”

“You were streaming the other day, right? That’s a pretty cool approach,”
Hayato said, sitting down on the sofa with two cups of coffee. He handed one to Riri.

“Thank you,”
she replied, taking the coffee and sipping it before continuing.

“At first, it was a trial run, but the response was much better than expected. A lot of people said they felt like they were part of the development process.”

Her eyes sparkled as she scrolled through the tablet, showing comment logs and survey results from the streams.

“For example, when we asked for ideas about a dungeon gimmick, people came up with concepts we never imagined. We’re trying to focus not on perfectly replicating the other world, but on making the game enjoyable. And seeing ideas I never would’ve come up with myself is really fun.”

Hayato smiled as he listened. Riri’s passionate demeanor reminded him of the wise mage Lilia from the other world. Her tendency to get so engrossed in something that she lost sight of her surroundings hadn’t changed at all. The books and scrolls had simply been replaced by tablets and code.

“I want to make something truly fun,”
she said seriously.

“I want people to experience the adventures we had in that world and remember them as good memories.”

Hayato was impressed by her passion but also slightly concerned.

“It’s great that you’re enjoying the process. Just don’t overdo it,”
he said.

“Of course,”
Riri quickly replied.

“I’m careful not to forget about my life here. I make sure my grades don’t drop.”

“That’s good to hear,”
Hayato said, relieved. She had once been a wise mage in another world, but now she was a high school girl living in the present. Her studies were important, and it seemed she understood that well, which reassured him.

“Plus, everyone’s been really supportive,”
she added happily.

“Mr. Josuke has been giving us marketing advice and suggesting ideas for merchandise.”

“Oh yeah, you mentioned something about selling merch,”
Hayato recalled.

“Yes. We’re planning to release the game for free, but we’re exploring other ways to make it profitable,”
Riri explained.

They were determined to let as many people as possible play the game, so making it free was a non-negotiable point. But as a company, IVE needed to generate revenue. Merchandise sales emerged as a compromise. Apparently, many fans had even asked to be allowed to support the project financially.

“Mr. Go has not only been backing us financially, but he’s also given great input on weapon designs for the game.”

“Everyone’s really pitching in,”
Hayato said, clearly impressed.

Thread: Thoughts on Lilia’s Game Dev Stream – IVE’s Vtuber Lilia

1. Posted by: Thread OP [ID:a7bX9c2d3e] Sat 23:15
   Anyone catch Lilia’s dev stream today?
   Isn’t it insane how she’s showing the actual dev process live?
   Let’s talk about it!
2. Anonymous [ID:df45gh78i] Sat 23:15
   She was writing real code.
   Thought it was just for show at first,
   but the speed and depth of it? Totally legit.
3. Anonymous [ID:j9k1lm2n3] Sat 23:16
   No lie, “Mage” is the perfect title for her.
   She sounds so young but has such insane coding skills—unreal.
4. Anonymous [ID:o4p5q6r7s] Sat 23:16
   Some people still doubt her, but if you saw how she writes code live, you’d know.
   She explained everything as she went—she’s the real deal.
5. Anonymous [ID:t8u9v0w1x] Sat 23:17
   Honestly, half the dev part flew over my head with all the technical terms lol
   The demo gameplay was fun, though. The process itself was kinda intense.
6. Anonymous [ID:y2z3a4b5c] Sat 23:17
   Same. Still, it was super engaging even if you’re not a dev.
   Didn’t understand the code, but two hours flew by.
7. Anonymous [ID:d6e7f8g9h] Sat 23:18
   I’m studying programming myself and could only grasp like half of it…
8. Anonymous [ID:i0j1k2l3m] Sat 23:19
   People are still doubting her?
9. Anonymous [ID:n4o5p6q7r] Sat 23:20
   Her speed and accuracy writing code was nuts.
   Her talk about optimizing algorithms? Super educational.
10. Anonymous [ID:s8t9u0v1w] Sat 23:21
    Did you see the famous dev from that big-name game studio reacting on social media?
    Said her stuff was “inspiring.” That blew my mind.
11. Anonymous [ID:x2y3z4a5b] Sat 23:22
    The way she implements viewer ideas is insane.
    Someone comments a suggestion and like 10 minutes later—it’s in the game?
12. Anonymous [ID:c6d7e8f9g] Sat 23:23
    ^Yeah! I was stunned.
    I typed “What if you add this kind of trap?” and she was like “Great idea, I’ll try it out.”
    15 minutes later: “Something like this?” and showed the demo. Unbelievable.
13. Anonymous [ID:h0i1j2k3l] Sat 23:24
    She’s crazy fast at filtering good and bad ideas.
    Like, she knows instantly what’s worth implementing. Her brain is on another level.
14. Anonymous [ID:m4n5o6p7q] Sat 23:25
    I gave a crappy idea and she replied, “That might take too much time to implement,”
    which was a gentle way of saying no—but she also said,
    “Even just sharing your thoughts means a lot.”
    I almost cried. She’s an angel.
15. Anonymous [ID:r8s9t0u1v] Sat 23:26
    Yeah, even when your ideas don’t get used, she never makes you feel bad.
    Love that.
16. Anonymous [ID:w2x3y4z5a] Sat 23:27
    Honestly, I’m more hyped about watching the dev process than the game release now.
17. Anonymous [ID:b6c7d8e9f] Sat 23:28
    Same here. I started off just wanting to play the game,
    but now I don’t want these dev streams to end.
18. Anonymous [ID:g0h1i2j3k] Sat 23:29
    Watching the other members playtest is great too.
    Last week’s stream with Gallet discussing weapon designs was gold.
19. Anonymous [ID:l4m5n6o7p] Sat 23:30
    Releasing a masterpiece like this for free is nuts.
    I’d easily pay 6000 yen. Please release a deluxe version.
20. Anonymous [ID:q8r9s0t1u] Sat 23:31
    Once this game is finished, it’s definitely going down in history.