After taking a few sips of water and resting briefly by the roadside, Kobayashi Tetsu felt much better. He secretly vowed to never eat another candied apple again, even if he had to eat dog food instead.
"Thanks," Kobayashi Tetsu said, wiping his mouth. A hint of guilt flashed across his face. "Actually, I'm not very familiar with this place. Otherwise, I wouldn't have eaten that thing."
He gestured at the candied apple in his hand and sighed. "Could you give me a quick rundown of the area?"
"Sure!" Takamine Aika replied, her eyes crinkling into a smile. She pointed casually. "If you walk straight down this road to the end, you'll reach Senso-ji Temple. They have fortune-telling slips and other activities there. Later tonight, the fireworks festival will officially begin. You can find a closer spot to watch, or the riverside is also a great place to see them."
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded absently, his mind elsewhere.
Just as he was about to ask another question, a voice called out from a distance.
"Aika?"
"Aika!"
It sounded like a middle-aged couple.
Visibly, Takamine Aika's expression froze instantly. She then bowed politely to Kobayashi Tetsu.
"I'm so sorry, my parents are looking for me. Anyway, if you don't know where to go, head to Senso-ji Temple. They have lots of unique and interesting activities there."
For a moment, she flashed a slightly mischievous smile.
"Keep walking straight ahead, melt into the blue sky. Just keep walking forward, don't look to either side."
She hurried back down the stairs she'd come from. Kobayashi Tetsu clicked his tongue and shook his head.
*The Chase*, huh? What a classic.
Kobayashi Tetsu turned back and waited a few more minutes before Koyakawa and Anegasaki Nene returned.
They glanced at him, noticing his hands were now empty.
"Where's the candy apple?"
"Threw it away," Kobayashi Tetsu shrugged, spreading his hands. "It tasted awful!"
In the end, Kobayashi Tetsu never went to Senso-ji Temple.
It wasn't that he didn't believe in the supernatural; he simply didn't want to entrust his fate to something as arbitrary as drawing a fortune slip.
Hoping to change his luck if he drew a bad slip, or becoming overly elated with a good one—such fortune-telling felt utterly pointless.
He hadn't reserved any special spot, so he simply wandered aimlessly until the fireworks began. Then, he stopped with the other two to watch the spectacle.
Along the Sumida River, shops on both banks competed to outshine each other for this special day. Fireworks of every color bloomed across the night sky, so vivid they could be seen even from the outskirts of Tokyo. On this night, it seemed the stars had been replaced by the lingering embers of fireworks.
Kobayashi Tetsu, his hands tucked in his pockets, suddenly recalled a familiar song and began humming softly:
"Brilliant sparks burst forth; fireworks fill my eyes—"
"—How many more times will I get to watch these same fireworks with you?"
The firework sounds gradually faded, leaving only his unaccompanied voice echoing with the occasional crackle of lingering embers.
Meeting the gazes of his companions, Kobayashi Tetsu shrugged.
"Uchiage Hanabi. Don't ask me who wrote it."
Koyakawa asked, "Who wrote it?"
Kobayashi Tetsu shrugged again, his hands still in his pockets.
"Yonezu Kenshi. You wouldn't know him."
Noticing the late hour, Kobayashi Tetsu stood up.
"Let's go! The festival was pretty fun, except for the terrible candied apples. But it's time to head home!"
Returning to work, Kobayashi Tetsu noticed that the holiday had made many people lax.
For instance, he'd been standing here for ages, yet Naka Yuji hadn't even realized he should move the whiteboard. He was still chatting with Takahashi Kazuki.
***
Kobayashi Tetsu coughed violently twice, finally snapping Naka Yuji out of his daze.
After a few seconds, Naka Yuji realized what was happening and pushed the whiteboard toward Kobayashi Tetsu.
"Nakahiro-kun, it looks like you had a wonderful vacation," Kobayashi Tetsu remarked.
"Not at all, President. Nothing compared to how much you must have enjoyed yours," Naka Yuji chuckled.
*Just a homecoming, nothing special.*
Kobayashi Tetsu sighed wistfully.
*Wonderful vacation, my ass! I'm miserable!*
This summer brought devastating news: Anegasaki Nene had graduated and was no longer a JK! Even Koyakawa wouldn't be a JK next year!
Kobayashi Tetsu could only tell himself:
*I don't like JKs. I like people who used to be JKs.*
He turned to the group.
"Now let's get down to business. I'm planning to open a store."
Naka Yuji looked bewildered. "But we already have a store."
"Not that kind of store. I'm talking about finding a good location to run a gaming experience center," Kobayashi Tetsu explained, "focused primarily on games from Atlus Studio. Or rather, a place specifically for experiencing Atlus games."
With plenty of funds, opening a store was no problem. A gaming experience center would effectively bridge the gap between players and the development team.
While player feedback shouldn't be blindly followed, it's still crucial to listen to their voices.
Kobayashi Tetsu also had ulterior motives.
The current game distribution model heavily relies on offline channels. Starting with a single game experience store could gradually establish their own offline network.
Until the year 2000, the physical retail industry still had at least a decade of growth potential.
In fact, until internet speeds and storage capacity improved significantly, physical games remained essential. Even before 2010, many people still preferred buying game discs over downloading them online.
Therefore, building an offline network would remain viable for at least ten years.
After that, they could always pivot to other ventures.
"Xiaomi Home claims—"
Kobayashi Tetsu clicked his tongue and turned to the group. "Do any of you have recommendations for someone who loves the spotlight, is articulate, and would be suitable to manage a game experience store?"
Naka Yuji raised his hand. "This humble servant would be honored to take on this responsibility."
"Sit down. Anyone but you."
If Naka Yuji left, where would Kobayashi Tetsu find another programmer who was also such a perfect straight man for his jokes?
Iwata Satoru suddenly raised his hand as well.
Kobayashi Tetsu took a deep breath.
"Iwata-kun, you're not thinking of running a game store too, are you?"
Iwata Satoru said, "President, I was thinking that Kojima-kun might be a good fit for this."
Kobayashi Tetsu's expression immediately turned serious.
*Hideo Kojima... he does seem quite suitable!*
However, Kojima was still a student, and Kobayashi wasn't sure if the Hideo Kojima of 1985 had even graduated from university yet.
"Let's put that aside for now. If you have any other suitable candidates, let me know. After all, we don't even know when the first experiential store will open."
Site selection, operations—all these things still needed to be done.
Kobayashi Tetsu had a clear vision in his mind. An experiential store wouldn't just sell Atlas games; it would also allow players to play card games offline and offer food and drinks. Players could engage in card battles, and if they lost, they could even challenge their opponents to real-life fistfights, summoning a punch to the face as a direct attack.
*It's basically a Xiaomi Home for gamers! Even more thrilling than elementary school kids playing *Honor of Kings*!*
Kobayashi believed that just a hundred such stores across Japan's prefectures would be enough to establish a powerful offline distribution channel.
Fortunately, with Atlas's current library of games—both in quantity and depth—they could indeed support a network of experiential stores.
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