Chapter 52: Buddy, If You Don't Like It, Suck It Up!
Language truly was an art.
If someone couldn't hear Saku's inner voice and judged only by what they saw, it would be easy to mistake him for a coward.
He'd supposedly stolen away Tomoya's people, yet when the aggrieved party came looking for him, Saku stood behind two girls and played dead.
Once that impression took root, his reputation would inevitably suffer.
Whether Tomoya had said it accidentally, deliberately, or deliberately "by accident" didn't really matter.
The accusation was effective.
Effective enough that Saku would've had no choice but to step forward and confront him personally.
Unfortunately for Tomoya, Kasumigaoka Utaha could hear Saku's thoughts and had no intention of giving him the opportunity.
"That's enough."
Utaha's expression chilled.
"I don't appreciate baseless accusations, Aki Tomoya."
"Exactly."
Michiru stepped in as well.
"Tomoya, you're going too far. This had nothing to do with Saku in the first place."
"If you're angry, take it out on me."
Saku was Michiru's acknowledged best buddy.
There was no way she would stand by and let Tomoya bully him.
"You two..."
Tomoya genuinely couldn't understand what was happening.
He had no idea why their attitudes toward him had changed so drastically, or why they were protecting someone who should've been an outsider.
He carefully studied both girls.
Their expressions were cold, firm, and completely unmoved by anything he'd said.
Tomoya recognized that state because he sometimes fell into it himself.
Put simply, it was the point where someone stopped listening to anything they didn't want to hear and accepted only what already matched their beliefs.
Once a person reached that point, reasoning with them became nearly impossible.
The more you talked, the more mistakes you made.
"Kato-san."
Tomoya shifted his attention toward Megumi.
"Do you think the same way?"
Looking past Utaha, he could see Saku standing there with an expression that practically said, None of this has anything to do with me.
Tomoya wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.
He'd originally come here to confront Saku.
He hadn't imagined the guy would be this well protected.
What hurt even more was seeing Megumi standing on Saku's side.
Megumi was the girl Tomoya had chosen as the model for his game's heroine.
The girl he'd romantically encountered on that slope.
How could she be standing beside another guy?
For some inexplicable reason, Tomoya suddenly felt as though someone had placed a green hat on his head.
Unable to endure it any longer, he turned his questioning toward Megumi.
Megumi sighed.
There was no avoiding this anymore.
If possible, she would've loved to actually become invisible right now.
Unfortunately, that wasn't realistic.
Tomoya seemed to have some kind of tracking device permanently attached to her because he always managed to locate her immediately.
"Aki-kun."
Megumi looked at him calmly.
"Maybe you shouldn't talk to me anymore."
She paused.
"I'm afraid he might misunderstand."
Critical hit.
Tomoya felt as though he'd taken genuine damage straight to the heart.
His health bar nearly hit zero.
Misunderstand what?
Why was she afraid of a misunderstanding?
Tomoya didn't dare think about the implications.
They were too terrifying.
'Whoa! Megumi, are you trying to kill Aki Tomoya? That answer was unstoppable.'
Megumi hadn't even bothered debating who was right or wrong.
She'd simply ended the match with one sentence and achieved an overwhelming victory.
Saku could only mentally applaud.
Utaha and Michiru were equally stunned.
Neither had expected Megumi to completely ignore the normal script and shatter Tomoya's defenses with a single line.
"Why?"
Tomoya's eyes turned red.
"What exactly did I do wrong?!"
Veins bulged along his neck.
For a moment, he looked almost unhinged.
The sight was disturbing enough that everyone instinctively stepped back.
Hikigaya once again failed to suppress his curiosity.
He leaned toward Yui and whispered, "Am I misunderstanding something? Why does this feel like they're fighting over someone romantically?"
Yui simply spread both hands.
'Don't ask me. I don't understand either!'
Yukino actually knew most of the background.
For now, however, she had no intention of interfering.
After all, Saku had effectively dismantled Tomoya's entire club.
The procedures had been legitimate, but there was no denying that the result wasn't particularly flattering.
Tomoya coming here to demand answers was therefore understandable.
Of course, that only applied as long as his questioning remained within reasonable boundaries.
If he crossed the line, Yukino would intervene without hesitation.
After all, Saku was under her...family's protection.
Did Tomoya have any idea what that meant?
"Pfft."
Saku finally failed to hold it in.
Maybe it was the thrill of being the NTR villain.
Whatever the reason, Tomoya's expression had become inexplicably funny to him.
Everyone immediately turned toward Saku.
Seeing that he could no longer keep pretending not to be involved, Saku cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"Ahem."
"Buddy, seriously, what gave you the confidence to compare yourself to me?"
"What did you say?"
Tomoya clearly hadn't expected Saku to mock him directly to his face.
"Are you deaf or something?"
Saku looked almost amused.
"You asked what you did worse than me."
"Have you considered the possibility that you're worse than me at basically everything, and that's why they chose to follow me?"
Tomoya's face stiffened.
Saku continued without giving him room to interrupt.
"People in the same industry are natural competitors."
"I heard from Utaha-senpai that you're also making a game, and apparently you're very confident in it."
"But have you ever considered that maybe the only person convinced it's amazing is you?"
"The quality of a game depends on things like market value, target audience, and reputation."
"Sure, you can't measure all of that with hard data before release."
"But at the very least, shouldn't you have a proper draft that lets people see where the value is supposed to come from?"
Saku stepped past the human wall formed by Utaha and Michiru until he stood directly in front of Tomoya.
He showed no concern whatsoever for Tomoya's anger.
If anything, the smile on his face was openly teasing.
"So."
Saku raised his eyebrows.
"Do you have one?"
Tomoya didn't answer.
Saku waited for a moment before reaching out and patting him on the shoulder.
"All right, buddy."
"Looks like that question reached straight into your soul."
He patted him twice more, almost like an experienced senior encouraging a clueless junior.
"Passion is a good thing."
"But if you're going to dream, at least wait until nighttime."
With that, Saku turned toward everyone behind him.
"All right. It's getting late."
"Everyone go home."
Then he waved toward Utaha and Michiru.
"Utaha-senpai, Michiru. Let's go."
Everyone stared at him in stunned silence.
They'd expected explanations.
Maybe an argument.
What they hadn't expected was Saku to kick Tomoya while he was already down, then start dancing on the grave for good measure.
Every sentence had been a knife aimed directly at Tomoya's weakest point.
Words could cut without drawing blood.
And Saku's attack had been every bit as brutal as Megumi's, perhaps even worse.
The most obvious part was that Saku genuinely didn't take Tomoya seriously.
The way he treated him was less like a rival and more like some clown who had wandered into his path.
The girls were shocked.
But more than that, they thought Saku looked cool.
After all, someone had come directly to challenge him.
Standing there meekly explaining himself would've made him look weak and easy to bully.
This was much better.
Hit back hard.
Didn't like it?
Then suck it up.
Whatever anyone thought about the specific things Saku had said, his attitude completely matched the image they had of someone capable of leading them.
Even Yukino couldn't suppress a faint smile.
"Stop!"
Tomoya's entire face had turned red.
"You can insult me, but you can't insult my game!"
He glared after Saku.
"I'm going to make the greatest game in the world!"
"I won't let you talk about it like that!"
The looks everyone had been giving him made Tomoya feel like a complete clown.
Fortunately, he had exceptionally thick skin.
He'd endured far more humiliating stares before.
Somehow, sheer resilience allowed him to recover.
Seeing Saku continue to ignore him, Tomoya shouted with everything he had.
"Do you dare make a bet with me?!"
"We'll bet on whose game is better!"
Saku stopped.
For a moment, he was genuinely speechless.
The games they were developing weren't even competing in the same category.
Comparing them would be like comparing a single-player game to a mobile game.
What exactly was that supposed to prove?
Still, seeing Tomoya look so absolutely certain of himself, Saku didn't mind playing along.
It wasn't as though the bet would cost him anything.
"Sure."
Saku casually raised a hand.
"I accept."
He resumed walking without looking back.
"Looking forward to your game."
Then, with a lazy wave:
"Ciao~"
…