"Yes, um... I do apologize. As I mentioned earlier, that issue will be resolved if you download the patch, and also, examples and countermeasures are posted on our company's homepage, so if you'd like, please check there..."
The call finally ended. Today's fifteen
minute call was a battle with a big one, for the first time in a while.
"Good work... That sounded unusually
rough."
Sakurai-san from the next seat called out
to me, giggling.
"No matter how many times I explained,
they just wouldn't get it... but the FAQ we made the other day was incredibly
helpful."
"It was the right call to make it,
after all~. We barely have to spend any time on this kind of support work
anymore."
"Yeah..."
Until just a little while ago, a huge
amount of survey postcards were on our desks.
But not anymore. Because we switched
everything to be handled on the web and internet. Even for users without an
internet environment, we've been able to narrow down the numbers, which has
resulted in making phone support easier.
"Hashiba-kun, if phone support is
tough, shall I take some of it?"
Kojima-san's voice came from across the
desk.
"Thank you. But you have to
communicate with the translators, Kojima-san, so I'll be fine on my own."
"I see, well, let me know if it gets
tough."
She said, waving her hand.
"Thanks everyone, I know you're still
continuing with the support work, but we'll be saying goodbye to this soon
too."
The manager, popping just his head up as
usual, is going around thanking everyone.
"Oh, by the way, is it okay to start
phasing out the support for Circ Wizard soon?"
"Come to think of it, it's almost been
a month since the release..."
"It ended so peacefully that I kind of
forgot. Up until now, we would have all been full of grudges around this
time."
Circ Wizard 3, which was said to be a huge
disaster, well, the content of the game itself was certainly poorly received.
With an underdeveloped scenario, system
flaws, and on top of that, mysterious behavior from the 3D models, it wouldn't
have been strange if it had become a huge flame war, but
"Taking various measures in advance
was really the right decision..."
We formed a team centered around
Sakurai-san, created a website that reinforced the scenario's shortcomings and
setting inconsistencies, and made it readable by anyone at the time of release.
So, even people who played the game were
able to fill in the gaps in their minds by looking at the site, which helped to
prevent some flaming.
Regarding system problems and the like, we
were able to coordinate with the debugger team to include a document to follow
up on the correction patch, and as a result, the support system has been
considerably strengthened. Though, it feels ironic...
"Hey, good work. Oi Sakurai, could you
open the door for a sec?"
Section Chief Miyamoto's voice echoed from
outside the room.
"Ah, yes, please wait a moment."
When Sakurai-san hurriedly opened the door,
"Hey everyone, clear off your desks a
bit. I'm gonna put some stuff down now."
Miyamoto-san, carrying something in both
arms, placed it on our desks one after another.
"Eh, this... what's this for,
snacks?"
"This is chocolate from a pretty nice
shop, isn't it? The expensive kind..."
Miyamoto-san, with a wry smile, said,
"The other day, we all went to help
out with the publishing department's signing event, right?"
"Ah, for the creator you're in charge
of, Chief..."
A manga artist Miyamoto-san had brought in
was holding a signing event, but they were short on staff, so we were suddenly
called in to help.
"The artist was incredibly grateful to
us, so they gave me this as something to give back."
"Wow..."
It was a very welcome story.
"I didn't know who I was doing this
work for, but things really do change."
Miyamoto-san mutters deeply as he pops a
chocolate into his mouth.
I thought, that's absolutely right.
Since improving our workflow, we've been
able to spend our time in a very meaningful way.
We became able to take on work that we
couldn't handle before because our hands were full, and as a result, we even
gained a reputation for Succeed's amazing support.
"But well, we'll have to start
cleaning this place up soon."
And then, the success of the recent
presentation.
The official GO sign hasn't been given, but
the story that the Managing Director gave his seal of approval quickly spread
throughout the company, and we came to be recognized as a proper
"development" department that is moving a new business forward.
"Finally, goodbye to this execution
chamber..."
Miyamoto-san is looking around the room
with a strangely sentimental air.
"It's not decided yet, Section
Chief."
Even as Sakurai-san says that, her voice
sounds somewhat excited.
It's no wonder. From a place with no hope,
they were able to change the situation so dramatically.
"Hey, Hashiba."
"Yes?"
"I want to ask you something..."
Miyamoto-san asks with a puzzled look on
his face.
"Did you know it would end up like
this and orchestrate the whole thing?"
"Of course not, it was a series of
gambles the whole time. The end was just a complete shot in the dark."
Those were my honest feelings.
No one knows the future, and even now,
there is nothing I can see clearly.
But, everyone had worked so hard, so I
wanted it to be in a form where they would be rewarded. The result of that
action can only be said to be that presentation.
"I see. No, I think so too, but."
"Did something catch your
attention?"
"Mmm..."
Miyamoto-san, scratching his head, said,
"That, what you call fate? I kind of
felt something like that."
"Ehh?"
I never thought such words would come from
this person.
"No, even I'm thinking, 'what's that!'
I am thinking it, but."
He hurriedly waved his hand in denial out
of embarrassment, but,
"But somehow... it feels like it came
together so neatly that I wonder if it was designed to be this way from the
start. The presentation, Hashiba coming here... all of it."
"Now that you mention it... it's
true."
It was as he said, there were many strange
coincidences. If my coming to this company was a coincidence, then of course
meeting everyone in this department was also a coincidence.
(For a coincidence, it's overlapped too
much... right?)
Even for me, who doesn't believe in the
occult, I was gradually coming to think that there might be something to this.
"Well, maybe I'm overthinking it! It
just means that many good things have happened!"
Saying that, Miyamoto-san patted me on the
back.
"That's... right, yes!"
Fate is that kind of thing. I thought that
matter wasn't something to think about too deeply.
But I was, rather, starting to feel anxious
about what was to come.
I wonder what will happen from now on.
Isn't this current peace just a prelude to
something that will happen next?
My fantasies just kept expanding endlessly.
"Hashiba-san, you have a call. It's on
line 1."
"Ah, yes."
I hurry to answer the phone that
Sakurai-san had picked up.
"Hello, this is Hashiba."
The caller was someone I hadn't spoken to
in a while.
"Good work. I'm sorry to call you
during work."
"Kawasegawa..."
Her tone was calm, as usual.
"There are various things I have to
tell you, but for now, could you come over for a bit?"
"Got it, I'm on my way."
Fortunately, all my work was finished for
the time being.
When I told her I had some plans during my
lunch break,
"In that case, could you come to the
26th floor in the afternoon, right after your lunch break ends?"
Hearing that floor number, I was taken
aback.
"Is it... something from the Managing
Director?"
There was a short pause on the other end of
the line.
"I'll talk about it then. See
you."
The internal line was cut.
(I wonder if something happened.)
For the time being, I grabbed my wallet and
smartphone and wrote "meeting" in my schedule.
"Sorry, I'll be out for a little
while."
The worse the premonition, the more likely
it is to come true. I felt a sense of nausea from that jinx that has been
passed down uninterruptedly since ancient times.
◇
I leave the building and walk in the
opposite direction from the zone where everyone is eating.
"I'm sure it's here... found it."
After weaving my way through the back of
the building, there was a cafe with a hideaway-like atmosphere. As soon as I
entered, I was able to meet the person I was looking for right away.
"Yo, good work."
It was Hayakawa.
"Same to you. Thanks for coming on
such short notice, for such a troublesome matter."
"It's fine. I've got a private room
for now, so let's talk there."
The interior, decorated with Japanese-style
furnishings, had a somewhat dim feel, but the atmosphere was very good. It was
a place where one would hesitate to make loud noises, a shop perfectly suited
for secret conversations.
"Well, that's the kind of place this
is."
Entering the properly partitioned private
room, Hayakawa gave a wry smile.
"I've already ordered, so shall we get
straight to it?"
"Yeah... could you do that?"
It was a story I didn't particularly want
to hear, but thinking about the future, it was a story I should hear.
That was the main purpose of meeting
Hayakawa here today.
(Something I should know about that
Managing Director, huh...)
I had received the message just yesterday.
Hayakawa's company, which conducts a wide
range of sales activities with corporate clients, is in the advertising
business, so information about the internal affairs of various companies comes
to them easily.
In the midst of that, while he was
communicating with a mid-sized game company, the topic of Succeed's Managing
Director Matsuhira happened to come up.
"The other day, your proposal was
presented at a meeting hosted by the Managing Director, right?"
"Yeah, just like I told you
yesterday."
I couldn't talk about the parts that were
company secrets, but I had told him that some kind of proposal had been
accepted by the Managing Director.
"I see... no."
Hayakawa, unusually, furrowed his brow and
said,
"About Managing Director Matsuhira...
honestly, he seems to be a pretty dangerous guy."
"A dangerous guy?"
When I said "yeah," Hayakawa took
out his smartphone and opened a certain document file.
There, records remained of a proposal
submitted to the Managing Director two years ago.
"The person who made the plan was in
charge of advertising at Succeed, and someone I also have dealings with."
There, a plan was written to carry out a
certain advertising measure for a social game related to Managing Director
Matsuhira.
"It was an interesting promotion. But,
because it was a type of measure that had never been done before using a
YouTuber, there was apparently quite a bit of opposition within the
company."
It was said that the Managing Director had
decided on it almost entirely on his own.
"At that time, I was talking with the
person in charge, saying, 'The Managing Director is amazing, it's no wonder he
rose to that position at such a young age.'"
However, there was no sign of that
promotion ever being carried out. Hayakawa had also completely forgotten about
it, but
"I happened to run into that person
about three days ago, so I asked him."
That ad seemed interesting, so why did it
get shelved? I asked.
From Hayakawa's perspective, it should have
ended with a common story of it falling through, like "the talent's
schedule didn't work out~" or "the budget was pretty tight~."
However,
"that person suddenly turned pale. And
said, 'Please never mention that matter again,' and forcibly cut off the
topic."
"Seriously..."
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"Besides that, there are a lot of
strange things about the matters that Managing Director was involved in. But
because he himself is reliably bringing in profits, it's a situation where no
one can touch him."
It seemed the meal was ready, and a stylish
shokado bento was placed in front of us.
......However, honestly, my appetite had
completely vanished.
"And so."
Hayakawa also hadn't touched the meal in
front of him at all.
"I can only say this for now, but...
be careful of Managing Director Matsuhira."
"...Got it."
Even so, as he said, I didn't even know
what to be careful about or how.
It's true that he made a sudden remark that
stirred up the room during that presentation, but that's not something you can
prevent just by trying.
In that case, it becomes a matter of being
careful about getting close, but he is a man of real ability.
(Managing Director Matsuhira, huh.)
After the survival of Department 13, I felt
like an even bigger problem had fallen upon me.
◇
In the end, I barely touched my bento and
had them wrap it up to eat later.
Dangling the bento wrapped in a small
cloth, I was walking the path back to the office.
(I wonder if Kawasegawa's matter is also
related to that.)
The more I thought, the more anxious I
became. But there's nothing more troublesome than worrying about something you
haven't even been asked about. For now, I decided not to think about it.
Just as I reached the building's elevator
hall, the chime signaling the end of the lunch break rang. I didn't return to
Department 13, but instead took the elevator straight to the 26th floor.
This building has 28 floors, and the
president's office is on the top floor. The rooms of the directors, including
the Managing Director, were on the 27th and 26th floors below that.
(I never thought I'd be coming here so
often...)
The door opened quietly, revealing a
corridor laid with a carpet as luxurious as the one in the conference room the
other day. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was okay to enter with my
shoes on, but
"You're early."
Kawasegawa was already waiting, so I
proceeded inside.
It ended up with Kawasegawa walking ahead
and me following behind.
"I was meeting someone for lunch. I
didn't go back to the department after that."
"...I see."
Kawasegawa seemed to be listening to me
with her mind elsewhere.
As if her heart wasn't in it, she seemed to
be lost in thought about something.
"Hey, Kawasegawa. Is
something..."
She interrupted my words as I was about to
speak,
"Hashiba."
she first called my name.
"The presentation was brilliant. You
pulled it off perfectly."
"Thank you. But that's thanks to you
setting everything up for me..."
Kawasegawa suddenly stopped walking.
"What's wrong, all of a sudden?"
When I asked, she turned around and said,
"You know, Hashiba..."
It was an expression with many things mixed
together, and on top of that, it was as if she were pleading for something.
"There's something I want you to do.
But, I can't say anything about it right now."
"Something you want me to do...?"
"Yes," she answered.
"...So, the promise we made at the
beginning, if you can, remember it."
"Promise..."
To love games, huh.
I'm confident that I won't forget that, at
least.
"Got it. I'll remember."
"Thank you."
I felt that her expression brightened up
just a little.
"The Managing Director has something
to talk about."
"Well then, I'll be going now,"
Kawasegawa said and left.
I saw her off and then stood in front of a
large door.
Her pensive expression, the conversation
that followed.
None of it should be unrelated to the
person beyond this door.
(I wonder what he's going to talk about.)
After taking a deep breath, I knocked.
"Come in."
A reply came back immediately.
I slowly put my hand on the knob and opened
the door.
"--Excuse me."
The inside was filled with a quiet air.
The room looked more modest than I had
expected. I had imagined it would be lined with more luxurious furnishings, so
I was a little disappointed.
But, the scarcity of things also had a
terrifying aspect.
"Hey, you were a great success the
other day. Well, sit down, sit down."
A refreshing voice called out to me from
behind the desk at the back.
"Yes, well then..."
As I was told, I sat down and was handed a
plastic bottle of mineral water.
"It's not like you're the type who has
to have properly brewed tea, right?"
"Ah, that's... fine."
"I like that! I'm the type who doesn't
mind at all."
Frank, or light-hearted...
The Managing Director, whom I met after
bracing myself, had a surprisingly life-sized image.
He's also referring to himself as
"boku" instead of "watashi."
(This is a huge difference from at the
presentation.)
I thought he was probably someone who could
change the atmosphere depending on the situation.
"Just as I heard from Kawasegawa-kun,
you're brilliant."
"No, I'm not that..."
When I tried to deny it, he quickly blocked
me with his hand.
"You should properly listen to
people's praise."
"...Yes."
I see, so this is where he starts to apply
pressure.
He's probably the type to firmly take the
high ground with both carrot and stick.
"Today, you see, I called you because
there's something I want to inform you about."
While opening the cap of the plastic
bottle, the Managing Director began to speak in a tone like, "Let's go
grab a meal."
"I also had something I wanted to ask
you, Managing Director."
"Oh, that's perfect. Then, I'll hear
from you first, Hashiba-kun."
Perhaps that was his listening style; he
lightly clasped his hands in front of him and looked straight at me.
(The pressure from this person is really
intense.)
When he takes a stance like this, it
becomes difficult to talk.
I started my question, giving myself a
little momentum with my breath.
"Thank you for your consideration in
various aspects during the recent presentation."
"No, I didn't do anything."
"...No, you did something big at the
end."
"What?"
Is he playing dumb, or does he really not
think anything of it?
I decided to ask him straight out.
"At the end, you stirred up the
conversation that was about to be concluded."
"Oh."
"...You rebuked the executives and
directed their anger towards us. Could you please tell me the reason for
that?"
It was the thing I had questioned most
among the Managing Director's actions.
"Oh."
A distorted smile appeared on the Managing
Director's face.
"I see, you want to know about
that."
"Yes. For a moment, I couldn't grasp
your intention."
At that time, I thought I was being told to
fight against that row of executives.
"I thought... maybe you were testing
my resolve to start something new."
"That's cool, why don't you just think
of it that way?"
"But, I later realized that wasn't
it."
"...Oh?"
The Managing Director, at that moment, had
set out to crush his opponents.
By using me, to demean their status and
clarify his own position.
To weaken the opponent he was in a
factional conflict with.
I put that into words and told him.
"...In short, I wanted to confirm if
you had used that presentation as a tool."
If that were the case, it would mean I was
unnecessarily made to cross a dangerous bridge.
Regarding being incorporated into a
faction, I think there's a side to it that can't be helped. It's our
responsibility for having used the axis of conflict based on the information I
heard from Hayakawa beforehand.
But, that's a different story.
Because what he did, including the final
pursuit, was a very dangerous act that could have cornered us.
I waited for the Managing Director's
answer. I thought he might evade it, but
"Yeah, that's right."
he admitted the matter of the factions with
great ease.
"Those guys, they don't make any new
proposals, yet they complain about this and that. I thought I'd crush them from
the start for once. Man, it felt good! And your follow-up attack was great too!
That way you delivered that sharp speech, maybe I'll try it next time."
I see, so that was his purpose after all.
"...Isn't your behavior a little too
cruel?"
"What is?"
"I came to present a proposal. And
yet, Managing Director, you used that as a pretext to demean your opponents. At
a time when the proposal was in danger of being ruined."
The Managing Director's face became
somewhat displeased.
"You worry about the small stuff,
don't you? It doesn't matter, does it?"
"It does matter! Because you don't
know... what kind of feelings were put into that proposal, Managing Director,
that you can say such a thing."
Without thinking, I had blurted it out in a
strong tone.
"They worked with strong feelings, yet
they were oppressed and ostracized... that proposal was something that could be
called their grudge. Please refrain from words that make light of it."
The faces of the members of Department 13,
starting with Sakurai-san, float in my mind.
Everyone, while holding their own feelings,
desperately put that plan together.
And yet, to be treated with a
"something like that"... it would be natural to be indignant.
"You're more concerned with
appearances than I thought. Well, whatever."
As if feeling nothing, the Managing
Director took a sip of water with a faint smile.
"Besides, considering what I'm about
to say, you'll probably soon think that it didn't matter what that presentation
was about."
...Eh.
"What did you just say...?"
About what you're about to say?
What in the world is this person trying to
say?
"It's just as I said. Ah, well, I'll
move on to my story now."
The Managing Director stood up, took a
piece of paper, and placed it in front of me.
"Here, your official notice."
There, it was written:
Development Department 13, Hashiba Kyouya,
is hereby appointed as Vice Manager of the
2nd Development Department.
"This is..."
"Congratulations on your promotion,
Hashiba Kyouya-kun."
A refreshingly disgusting smile spread
across the Managing Director's entire face.
But contrary to his expression, his words
contained a strong poison.
"And, one more announcement."
The Managing Director, with a strained
smile still on his face,
said this.
"That proposal from the other
day--scrap it."
I couldn't speak.
To me, who was dumbfounded, the Managing
Director said this.
"Perhaps you were mistaken? That the
proposal was approved."
Leaning in close to me, he further
announced this.
"I will 'take charge of' this--that's
what I said at that time."
A dirty smile spread across the Managing
Director's face.
I felt like I was seeing a hallucination.
As if the ground that should have been
beneath my feet was crumbling away.
As if the person in front of me was turning
into a demon.
(Is a company... really this terrible?)
Tactics, love and hate, and a quagmire of
relationships.
All of that works in a bad way, and has a
negative effect on everything.
Of course, in the environment of
craftsmanship as well.
(Kawasegawa... what are you trying to fight
against?)
I remember the innocent and soft smile she
showed me when we met on our day off.
I remember the pensive expression she
showed me just a moment ago when we parted.
To continue to love it. That promise--.
I was finally beginning to realize that it was a very difficult thing.
