[The Game Development Club is currently facing a crisis of existence. With the Student Council’s orders looming and destruction at hand, the only place we can turn for help is you. Hero, please save us!]
Upon hearing the message read by Arona, the Teacher tapped their desk tap tap.
“…The Game Development Club, huh?”
Students developing games themselves? Isn’t that quite an impressive feat?
Now that I think about it, since Millennium is a science and engineering academy, they must be specialists in development and invention, as Mika explained before.
As the Teacher pondered, Arona’s voice rang out again.
[Ahaha… this is the most entertaining and urgent request I’ve seen yet!]
“Let’s go check it out first thing tomorrow morning, Arona.”
[As expected of an adult’s decisiveness…! I believe the schedule for the RABBIT Squad is also clear. If you want, I can request them to accompany us—]
“No, since this is a matter within the academy, it shouldn’t be too dangerous… but just in case, I’d say one person along with us should be enough. How about Miyu… or maybe Miyako?”
[I think Saki would also be fine for acting alone!]
“Well… as long as it’s not Mohe, I think any of them would be okay. Still, I’d prefer Miyu. I have a bit of a wish to know more people.”
[Hehe, Miyu must be happy! The Teacher is being so considerate…!]
Thinking Arona’s voice sounded somewhat prickly, the Teacher finished up the report they had been writing and stretched.
Though the seriousness of the situation might differ slightly, the desire to help these students felt just as strong as when they read the letter from Abydos.
Despite the playful wording, it was evident how sincere the students were… Their desperation was unmistakable.
And that was the last memory before the Teacher awoke again.
*
“Teacher—!!!”
“…Where is this?”
“Wow, the Teacher is awake!”
The Teacher, still groggy, opened their eyes and looked around. The place, hardly organized even as a compliment, was cluttered with game consoles and game titles, and the shelves were crammed with programming books.
A clubroom that was hard to classify as either small or large.
As the Teacher pieced their memory together, they realized this was the Game Development Club’s room.
“Are you all right? You’re lucky!”
“L-lucky…? Teacher, are you okay…? I-I was really worried…”
The playful words from the girl next to the Teacher were met with a teary outburst from Miyu.
“D-don’t say strange things. You startled the Teacher!”
Clearly identical twin girls, one of them was the one called ‘Sister,’ and the PlayStation thrown at her head was the cause of the Teacher fainting and being dragged into the clubroom. The Teacher chuckled softly.
That laugh escaped likely because the twins’ banter was delightfully entertaining.
[Really, if it weren’t for me, it could have been truly dangerous!]
Though Arona sulked about that, the Teacher brushed it aside.
Gently patting Miyu’s head, they nodded when asked if the Teacher came from Shalle.
“Welcome to the Game Development Club, Teacher!”
“We’re glad you came, Teacher.”
“I’m Momo! I’m the scenario writer for the Game Development Club.”
“I’m Midori, and I handle the illustrations and visual aspects of the games.”
“And though they’re not here right now, we also have our leader, Yuuka, who oversees planning…”
We are the Game Development Club!
Starting with such introductions, the two sisters explained why they sought help from the Teacher.
They mentioned that it seemed possible to go to the “Ruins” now and that the assault on their club by the Student Council had begun.
The moment the familiar name Yuuka was mentioned along with the title of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Teacher interjected.
“I’ll explain that one directly.”
“This voice… You must be one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Student Council! The cold-hearted accountant! Yuuka!”
“Could you not call people by their job titles like they’re some monster? How rude. And, Teacher…”
“Hello, Yuuka.”
“Sigh… I didn’t expect you to get involved in such trivial matters. You sure are too sentimental, Teacher.”
“They’re students I must take responsibility for, after all.”
“That’s futile, Teacher. Even if Shalle comes back, there’s no way to stop the Student Council’s decision to dissolve the Game Development Club…”
[W-wait, dissolve…?]
Upon hearing Yuuka’s words, Arona quietly expressed her unfairness from the inside of the box of Shiddim. If Mika had known the whole truth, she might have smashed the box with her own hands.
“The operation of the Student Council is the unique realm of each academy’s student council. The decision to dissolve the Game Development Club… nobody can stop it. Even if you help, Teacher, it won’t change—”
“N-no! It’ll definitely change!”
Having finished grasping the situation after hearing the heated exchange between Momo and Yuuka, the Teacher understood the Game Development Club was currently below the minimum number of members and had yet to produce any substantial results.
In other words, to prevent the dissolution, they needed to recruit new members or produce results.
Hearing from Yuuka tales of the flashy assaults by other clubs under the pretext of constructing a pachinko park or searching for retro game consoles, the Teacher learned of the only achievement the Game Development Club could boast of: the disastrous state of [Tales Saga Chronicle]…
‘If they aimed to create the most despair-filled RPG since creation, they achieved perfect success.’
‘This game is lacking in many areas. The most lacking aspect is undoubtedly ‘sanity’.’
Hearing about the reviews of Tales Saga Chronicle and that its only award was the “Best of the Worst Game” trophy, the Teacher finally realized the challenge level here was just as daunting.
Now that Momo, who had been unilaterally losing to Yuuka, chose to draw the line when Yuuka referred to her precious game consoles as ‘junk,’
“…I’ll tell you the result.”
“…The result?”
“All preparations for it are already complete!”
“N-no way!”
Everyone, even Midori, was shocked by Momo’s confident declaration. But Momo was unfazed, venturing into her grand ambitions.
To submit [Tales Saga Chronicle 2] for the Millennium Price… Such an outrageous ambition.
The grandest competition in Millennium, where clubs present their best results, exceeding even the Millennium Club’s three digits, the Millennium Price.
Yuuka added that the comparison was like a high school baseball club advancing to the major leagues, noting that this made her more excited about it.
But there were only two weeks left until the Millennium Price.
Whether they could achieve any meaningful results in that timeframe was…
“Teacher, it’s so awkward to see you only show a serious face after we finally meet. But since this is a matter of the Student Council…”
“No, I think it’s cool to be diligent about what you need to do. And Yuuka, I don’t think you hate the Game Development Club as much as you show.”
“…Huh?”
“Eh?!”
Seeing Yuuka look flustered and Momo with disbelief, the Teacher clapped and smiled.
“Momo, Midori, let’s do our best together. And Miyu?”
“…Y-yes!”
“What do you want to do? From the look of it, if you want to go back, that’s fine too.”
“I… I’ll stay here…”
“Alright, then we’ll decide on that. Yuuka, could you find a dorm room for Miyu to stay in for a bit?”
“Yes, if it’s your request, Teacher, that should be doable. But then, where will you…?”
“I can stay at a hotel nearby.”
“It seems a bit dangerous for you to travel back and forth alone, but… understood, Teacher.”
Nodding, as Yuuka was about to leave, she seemed to remember something and looked back at the Teacher.
“T-Teacher…?”
“What is it, Yuuka?”
“I heard you met Noa yesterday. Did she say anything strange…?”
“If it’s Noa… I don’t think I heard anything too odd. She just mentioned that you had a lot of good things to say about me.”
“Ugh… if it’s just that…”
Seeing Yuuka look relieved, the Teacher suddenly seemed to recall something, then asked a question.
“Ah, I actually wanted to ask you one thing. In Kivotos… is it common for someone to date multiple people at the same time?”
“Y-yes…? What do you mean by that? There’s no way that would happen, Teacher.”
“Just as I thought?”
“If you’re talking about Noa, I think that relationship is… inappropriate in many ways. But since she seems happy, I won’t say much.”
“Hmm…”
“Still, I do think Misono Mika is a wonderful person. Despite her reputation as a flirt, she’s able and shows a lot of affection to those around her… As long as Noa is okay, I feel no strong desire to oppose it.”
…Yeah, if she’s happy… then that’s good. It’s a topic difficult to delve deeper into, really.
But still, four people seems a bit much, doesn’t it?
