Your job as character team leader
is to understand the graphical direction given by me, the art director,
and keep the character models in line with it.
Okay.
Also, to attend the meetings to coordinate with the other teams.
But I'll be at those, too, so you can relax.
R-Right...
Okay!
U-Um, Yun-chan...
Yes?
How's your progress going?!
I-I believe tomorrow's the deadline. Do you think you'll make it?
Yes, I'll be fine.
Okay... Do your best...
R-Right...
A-Aoba-chan!
Yes?
Progress...?
Um... I'm sorry!
I spent so much time on the character designs that I fell behind on my 3D work.
Could I ask for two more days?
Okay...
Then... do your best.
I'm sorry! One day is enough!
Huh?
W-Well, Yagami-san never let me get away with it just like that,
so I got used to fudging the numbers.
I see...
I'm sorry.
No, it's fine.
Let me know if you ever need more time.
Okay!
Crap. The truth is, I'm not on pace to finish by tomorrow, either.
U-Um...
Hifumin, time for the meeting.
Y-Yeah, I know. Let's go.
Aoba, I heard what you just said.
Huh? W-Well, it's not like giving you an honest estimate ever worked!
Yeah, point taken.
Just don't be too mean to your new leader.
I won't be!
There goes my chance to tell her. What do I do now?
How will Hifumi-senpai take it when I miss the deadline?
With Yagami-san, it'd be a slap on the wrist and end of story.
Aoba-chan, what do you think of Hifumi-senpai as leader?
Huh? What do you mean?
Like, do you think she's easier to deal with than Yagami-san?
Oh, that sort of thing?
Well, unlike Yagami-san, she doesn't seem very strict.
Yeah. I doubt she'd get angry even if we deserved it.
Don't tell me you fudged your ETA, too?
I-I couldn't help it!
We always got away with it, so it became second nature!
Still, you should tell Hifumi-senpai the truth, or you might make her cry.
Huh?
It's... because my leadership was lacking...
I'm sorry...
Oh, no! But it's already too late to tell her.
Now it's deadline or bust!
Things were so much easier before!
It's no use! I can't come up with anything!
Your game design work seems hard.
Yeah... I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas.
If you'd like my input on anything, I'd be happy to help.
Thanks, but I'll see what I can come up with on my own for now.
The last time I stayed this late alone must've been when I was still new.
Hello?
Oh, Mom?
Yeah, I'm thinking I'll stay overnight.
Huh? Miu and Ren's breakfast?
Wasn't it your turn to make it tomorrow?
You have work?
Oh, fine, I'm heading home. Jeez.
So much for that.
Th-That's dangerous!
Now hurry up and get changed.
Yun-neechan!
I can't find my pencil box.
I told you to get ready the night before.
I did! But...
But I wanted to draw! So I...
You made him cry, Yun-neechan!
Oh, jeez!
Good morning.
G-Good morning...
Do you think... you'll be able to submit the models?
I'm sorry, I don't think so.
Huh? Oh...
I was going to come in early, honestly, but a few things came up, and...
It's okay. I don't think you're slacking off.
But why don't I help you figure out what caused the delay?
There's no problem with the quality...
Was the work simply time-consuming?
Yes, uh...
Truth is, I knew I wasn't going to finish to begin with.
Oh, I've got it!
Huh?
By the looks of your workspace,
you haven't set up many handy shortcuts, have you?
I'll send you my usual configuration.
R-Right... Thanks...
Gosh. Far from being crestfallen, she worried about my needs first.
Meanwhile, I was worried about some imaginary scenario.
I actually knew I'd be a day late to begin with.
Huh?
And yet I turned around and lied to you.
Please, reprimand me!
B-But it doesn't bother me at all...
It bothers me! I'll feel better if you do.
R-Reprimand her? What should I do?
But...
I know! If I just get into character, like when I cosplay...
How naughty of you to lie to me.
Bad girl.
Huh?
Where's your apology?
I-I'm shorry...
Why did you lie to me?
Let's hear it.
W-Well...
Good morni—
I got carried away!
All I did was ask her to reprimand me!
So fishmen kigurumis in the water, huh?
Yes! Put it on, and you can move freely through the water,
but struggle to move on land... or something.
I wonder if you can't better utilize the water environment somehow.
That's the thing, isn't it?
Slow movement and the inability to breathe are standard drawbacks of water levels.
That's why I came up with the fishmen.
But you can't just negate the drawbacks without some kind of trade-off.
Trade-off?
Like how wearing glasses halves my cuteness!
Oh, like how a kappa's weakness is the plate on its head!
Weakness
Right. But I think you can do better.
You might find that just talking it out like this can inspire you.
Have you tried discussing it with anyone?
Well, no. This is my job.
Oh, don't have so much pride over something so silly.
Suzukaze-kun's the character designer,
and Iijima-kun is an expert on monsters and animals.
There's no shame in relying on them.
But if I rely on Yun, she's going to think that I'm useless.
Nor do I want to look needy in front of Aoba-chan...
What about me?
No, it's nothing! Nothing at all!
Oh, okay. Just checking.
Um, Aoba-chan...
Oh, and also Yun.
Could I get your input on something?
"Also"? Was I an afterthought?
Come on, I'm sorry, okay?
Underwater mechanics?
Yeah.
I'm planning to design each species to showcase its unique features.
Wh-What is this?
It's just a concept!
But without arms or legs, she wouldn't be able to attack.
Then what about something like a hammerhead shark?
The "hammer" is for its eyes, but we could make it like a blade.
Yeah, that sounds super strong!
Then we could also have a spiky one, like a pufferfish.
And a sea slug one could be creepy but cool!
How about a turban shell?
She was right.
The ideas just keep coming!
We seem to keep picking small sea life.
Then what about a giant whale?
Aoba-chan, a whale's flukes are horizontal, not vertical.
Oh, yeah.
You know a lot about these things, Yun.
Huh?
O-Of course I do! I haven't been making monsters this whole time for nothing!
But what would the trade-off be?
That's true.
We may have changed how she attacks, but it's effectively the same as the fishmen.
Actually, the first one was perfect!
Huh?
This.
But she won't be able to fight like that.
She doesn't have to.
Using stealth to progress is also part of the game's style.
And if she wants to fight, she can just take off the fish kigurumi.
But then she'll move sluggishly and won't be able to breathe.
She might be able to fight off one enemy, but if she were to get surrounded...
I see! That sounds thrilling.
Exactly! Underwater thrills!
This is amazing! Who knew we'd figure this out so quickly?
I honestly thought I'd look inept, asking for advice.
But you really helped me out. Thanks!
Come on, you can always talk to us.
She's right!
But we'd better get equal credit.
Seriously?
Kidding, kidding.
I see. It's quite thrilling. I like it.
That was pretty fast.
Once I asked for input, the ideas started flowing!
The next job should be a piece of cake!
I just hope she doesn't get too cocky...
Aoba-chan...
We're going to need those new designs soon,
or the character team won't have anything to do...
Are they coming along?
I'm so sorry! Please give me a bit more time!
How many days do you need?
I'm actually not sure...
No, it's okay...
Now hold on!
True, she looks like a mean old lady, but as the queen and final boss?
Yeah, I know...
Do you have a clear vision of the queen?
An artist needs to have that more than anything else.
For example, even something like this...
Never mind. If I give you an answer, you'll just draw it like that.
You'll have to keep puzzling it out, Aoba.
Okay.
But if I don't hurry, the character team's schedule...
Then I'll design some background characters to give the character team some work.
Figure this out in the meantime.
What?! You're going to do grunt work like that, Yagami-san?
Well, it'll be fun to get back to basics, so I don't mind.
You've got your extension, so I expect results.
Way to put on the pressure...
How's it going?
Toyama-san...
Oh, this queen looks like one of the clients that I'm about to go meet.
Huh? Is she scary?
A little.
But she's a good person once you talk to her.
I see...
Do you like this queen, Aoba-chan?
Huh? That's a good question.
She's the only human character other than the protagonist, Peco,
and she's ruling over the plushies with fear, right?
I've been wondering why she'd do that.
Maybe I'm having trouble designing her because I don't understand her appeal!
That might be.
I need to find something about her that I can personally enjoy!
First, I should find out everything about the queen.
Hello, Hazuki-san.
Hey. What's up?
I wanted to find out more about the final boss, the queen.
Do you have some time right now?
Sure.
So the queen must have been born in the human world, right?
Yes, she'll probably be from present-day Europe like Peco.
Did she come to the world of plushies alone, like Peco did?
We're still working out the details,
but the world might actually have been created by the queen.
Perhaps life was unkind to her,
which made her retreat into her shell,
and now, in a world where she's the only human, she stews in her loneliness.
Loneliness...
So her loneliness makes her lash out at others?
It definitely makes it hard for her to be nice to people.
She stays holed up in her castle every day
bossing around the helpless plushies to suit her selfish whims.
So when she meets fellow human Peco, maybe she wants to be friends?
But she might not know how to make friends, and bully her instead.
She sounds like a child.
Oh, that's good! Why don't we make her a child, then?
Huh? You mean she doesn't have to be an adult?!
Yeah. If it's a good idea, we'll make it work.
Let's see... The queen was a sickly little girl who lived in a certain town.
Her room was filled with the plushies that she adored.
It was this girl who created the world that Peco wanders into.
Why did she wander in?
Maybe one of the plushies, out of concern for the girl, lured her in.
The plushies love the queen but also worry about her.
But they can't ease the queen's loneliness because they're plushies.
They want Peco to be friends with her.
Yes! And so Peco becomes the balm for the queen's heart.
I see! Thank you so much!
Yagami manages to come up with her designs alone,
but you should just figure out what works for you, Suzukaze-kun.
Hmm...
A sickly girl...
And so lonely and pouty that you want to help her...
I think I like this girl.
Some days later
I'm finished!
That took a while.
I'm very sorry about that.
But...
the results were worth it!
Thank you!
By the way, how would you have drawn her, Yagami-san?
Me? Well, if it were me...
Something like this?
H-How can you draw something so good this quickly? Is this just to show me up?
You're the one who asked!
I'm still no match for Yagami-san...
Nenecchi, Hotarun (3) I'm coming home! So do you guys want to go somewhere together on your days off? Fairies Team Hajime sent a sticker Hifumi Thank you! Nenecchi Aaaaaaah!!!!
Hotarun It's just about dinner time here, so I'm eating~
Today Hotarun I'm coming home! So do you guys want to go somewhere together on your days off?
Hotarun!
I'm back.
Oh, you seem happy. Did your design go through?
Oh, well, that's part of it.
A friend I went to high school with is coming back from studying abroad.
Studying abroad? That's impressive.
Where was she?
France! Oh, I have a photo of her, too.
This is from our graduation.
Oh, you're all so cute.
She's really good at art.
She taught me lots of fundamentals, among other things...
Huh?
It's nothing like that! That's how they greet people in France,
so we were joking around and took a picture...
And that's how my boss saw the picture of me being kissed.
It's nothing to be embarrassed about. That's just their culture.
All you do is...
Don't do that so suddenly!
You're awfully quiet, Nenecchi.
Huh? Well, I mean...
Y-You're having fun with this, aren't you?!
This is cross-cultural communication.
B-But kissing while naked is...
O-Oh, right. Sorry...
So the naked part still embarrasses you?
Payback time!
Aocchi?! That tickles!
Take that, and that, and that!
Wow! Aocchi finds her opponent's weakness and goes straight for it!
She's terrifying!
Nenecchi!
F-Forcefully doing stuff like that is a crime, you know...
It's just a greeting, so it's fine!
Hey, wait!
Fine, two can play at this!
Hey! Don't touch me there!
We're just physically bonding!
Hotarun passed out!
Are you okay?
I guess I haven't changed.
Sorry, I got carried away.
Just like always.
When I see you two smile, it reminds me of high school.
It's already been a year. A lot's happened.
Is Nenecchi still working part-time at your company, Aocchi?
Not anymore.
But I think she needs to find what she wants to do,
rather than worry about me.
She'll be fine. You know her.
You think so?
Is your job fun?
It is.
Everyone at work is nice.
There are plenty of challenges, but that's part of the fun.
Though going to art school with you might have been fun, too.
What are you talking about? You definitely would've regretted it, Aocchi.
Yeah, you're probably right.
I'm glad. You're pressing onward without any regrets.
You're always so kind, Hotarun.
If we switched places, I doubt I'd support you as wholeheartedly.
That's not true.
You know...
My dream from high school came true.
But that dream turned out to be just the first step on a staircase that stretches on.
Is the top in sight?
I'll make it there.
But you know, all I had before was this nebulous aspiration—
exactly the sort of thing you'd call a dream.
But now I have something concrete.
So more like a goal?
Yeah! Something like that!
But whenever I see my boss, I realize just how far off that goal is.
I'm back!
Ta-da! Bought some ice cream at the convenience store.
But we just ate! We're going to get fat.
But they looked so good!
I mean—
H-Hotarun passed out, so I thought she might want something cold!
Oh? A likely story.
I bet that was an afterthought.
Was not!
Uh, Hotarun?
I was actually just craving some.
You're so nice, Hotarun. Here.
Thanks.
Aocchi doesn't want to get fat, so none for her.
What?!
Hey, that's not fair!
Is too fair!