"So, this is our studio from now on. What do you think?"
Two bottles of red wine sat on the table as Tetsu Fuyukawa plopped down onto a cozy recliner by the balcony.
The layout of the "Fuyukawa House" was a bit like something out of Crayon Shin-chan. This second-floor room, about 30 square meters, wasn't huge, but with just an L-shaped desk, a computer chair, a bookshelf, and a small coffee table, it felt surprisingly spacious.
The room's balcony was a nice touch. At just past 9 a.m., warm sunlight streamed through the glass door, bathing the recliner in a golden glow that made Tetsu's hair feel toasty.
It was a comfy workspace. Sayoko Kawai's eyes practically sparkled like jelly as she stepped inside, excitedly peeking around.
"Such a great room! Oh, Tetsu-kun, do you play the guitar too?" Her fingers brushed the glass door as she spotted a book of Showa-era classic guitar scores on the bookshelf, turning back with curiosity.
Tetsu nudged the floor with his toes, swiveling the big, cushy recliner that could easily fit two. "I dabble sometimes."
"Wow, Tetsu-kun, you're so artistic! I'm jealous. Oh, is this laptop for me?"
"Yeah, use it for now. If it feels slow later, we'll switch to a desktop."
Seeing Sayoko settle at the desk, Tetsu got up and moved to his own computer. "Any questions? If not, it's work time."
"No problem here!"
Sayoko sounded confident, but Tetsu caught a flicker of nervousness in her expression. He didn't mention the wine and instead opened his computer, sending over two background images, the corresponding plot text, and character designs.
"What's this…?"
Sayoko froze when she saw the background art.
There are all sorts of illustrators—scene artists, character artists, UI designers—but for most low-budget galge, one artist handles everything to cut costs. Sayoko had braced herself for a high-pressure workload, but she hadn't expected Tetsu to have already finished the background art!
Is Tetsu-kun's drawing skill this good too?
Staring at the two highly detailed background images on her screen, Sayoko's eyes widened in disbelief. She might only be a mid-level illustrator, not yet capable of top-tier work, but after a decade in the industry, she could gauge an artist's skill just by looking at their work. Tetsu's backgrounds—whether in composition, design language, or overall atmosphere—were professional-grade!
Surprise! Admiration! +3000!
Tetsu-kun could totally be a lead artist at a big company!
Her eyes twinkled with little stars, but soon her brows furrowed slightly.
The contract said I'd handle all the art, but he still took the time to draw these backgrounds. Does he… not trust me to do it?
Her gaze lingered on the screen, her excitement fading into disappointment. Her slender fingers tightened around the mouse, her nails clicking against it. But as she studied the intricate backgrounds and detailed character designs—
-3000.
Her mood dropped?
Why?
Tetsu blinked at the red emotion numbers floating above her head, confused. But then—
+5000!
Another burst of green numbers appeared, and Tetsu was thoroughly baffled. Sayoko stood and bowed deeply. "Don't worry, Tetsu-kun! I absolutely, absolutely won't let you down!"
A full 90-degree bow, her floral sundress accentuating her curvy figure. But Tetsu's eyes weren't on the "scenery." They were on her serious, determined face.
Interesting.
Sensing the fire in her eyes, Tetsu understood her emotional rollercoaster. He smiled. "Take your time, no rush. I believe in you—you've got serious potential."
+5000!
[Sayoko Kawai's emotions are fluctuating intensely. A sweet-talk offensive could break through her defenses!]
A system prompt flashed before him, but Tetsu ignored it, focusing on Sayoko's earnest, shimmering eyes. He gave her a warm, squinting smile. "So, any questions now?"
"Thank you, Tetsu-kun! I'll work super hard!"
Another deep bow. This time, she didn't lift her head right away. Tetsu reached out, gently ruffling her hair. She leaned into it slightly, her cheeks flushing as she finally straightened up and returned to her desk to start drawing.
"Relationship status: still admiration, no breakthrough. But… that's not important."
Watching Sayoko's focused profile as she worked on her tablet, Tetsu shook his head with a smile and turned to his coding.
Ignoring the system wasn't some grand rejection of being a "system puppet." It was just his personality. He'd rather let things happen naturally than scheme with flowery words to win someone over.
Soon, the room filled with the soft clicks of a stylus on a tablet and the tapping of a keyboard.
Tetsu's side was fine. In his past life, he'd coded for years, and this life's memory fragments included programming skills too. All he needed to do was adapt Fate's code to this world's game engine. It was a big task—different engines, and tweaking code can be trickier than writing it from scratch—but Fate was just a galge. Compared to AAAComprende. A triple-A title or mobile game, its code was way simpler. It just took time.
Sayoko, on the other hand, was struggling.
[Ding-a-ling!]
[Ugh, what? I was up late last night. A little more sleep won't hurt…]
[Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!]
[Argh, so annoying—this thing doesn't get it!]
[Alarms don't understand human speech.]
"Starting with daily life scenes, and the backgrounds are already done, but… straight to drawing Rin Tohsaka?"
Sayoko's eyes showed a hint of frustration as she read the plot text.
No question, Fate/stay night's main character is Shirou Emiya, but the game opens from Rin Tohsaka's perspective.
"This is tricky."
Having gone through all of FSN's storylines, Sayoko knew the toughest characters to draw were Sakura Matou and Rin Tohsaka. As heroines in a galge, their designs were critical to the game's success. Plus, their storylines were steeped in stark contrasts.
Fate is about heroic spirit battles, but the Masters' own abilities matter too. Think of it like an old-school beast-taming story: the "beast" has to be strong, but so does the tamer. In Fate's world, the Masters are mages, and magical circuits are passed down through a single line. But the Tohsaka family's current generation has two heirs—Rin and Sakura.
Both are Tohsaka daughters, but their father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, made a choice that sent them on wildly different paths. Rin stayed with the Tohsakas, becoming a celebrated heiress, while Sakura was sent to the Matou family, becoming Sakura Matou. There, she endured horrific abuse in a worm pit and worse.
It's a stark contrast. When drawing them, everything—temperament, eyes, hair color, figure—had to subtly highlight this contrast without spoiling the plot, dropping hints that hit players with a powerful sense of fate's cruelty by the end.
That's a tall order for an artist.
"Maybe I should start with another character to get a feel for it?"
"No, no, no! Tetsu-kun's already done the backgrounds and character designs. If I can't even do this, I'm just dead weight!"
The pressure was on.
Sayoko's nerves kicked in, and with her growing anxiety, her strokes became hesitant. Anyone who's taken a high-stakes exam knows the feeling: under stress, even writing your own name can come out shaky.
The worse she drew, the more nervous she got. Her brows knitted tightly together. Just then, a pair of large hands landed on her smooth, fair shoulders, gently kneading the tense muscles above her collarbone.
"Relax."