Chapter 121: Noblesse Oblige
After Uchimura returned home with the game cartridge in hand, I decided to have a meal with Miyazaki while heading back to Tamago Shop.
Since lunchtime was approaching, it seemed like a good idea to have a quick meal before returning to the store to give the staff a break.
As I strolled through Akihabara with a bag of neatly wrapped figures of Hasegawa Miyuki, I could feel the eyes of people looking at me from all around.
"At least they could have given me a shopping bag," I thought.
The bag I was carrying was a document bag, not suitable for putting figures in.
"Chief, they're so cute."
"Haha... Anywhere is fine. Let's go inside the store quickly."
Finally, after stopping by a soba restaurant near Tamago Shop, I placed Miyuki's figure on the table and let out a long sigh.
I've been so distracted by this figure all morning.
"Hey, can I take a quick look at that figure too?" Miyazaki asked.
I nodded as I sipped on some cold water.
She removed the plastic wrap covering the figure and took out Miyuki.
"Wow... It's really well made when you see it like this. The color representation is great, and how did they even think of putting a kimono on a figure? Yuki-san would love this."
"I don't know... I think she'd prefer Nanase."
"Well, I guess that's true."
Miyazaki and Yuki, both the same age, were very close friends.
After opening Tamago Shop and coming to work on the first weekend, Yuki, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, visited the store. Although she was inexperienced in sales, her eagerness to explain about Tamago Monsters to the kids who visited the store at the time made her want to work here.
"By the way, Miyazaki."
"Yes?"
"Have there been any players who brought in unusual Tamago figures in the past few days?"
"Unusual Tamago figures? No, I haven't seen anything like that."
Hmm. By this time, I expected to see one or two, but it's surprisingly quiet.
Miyazaki seemed to be concerned about what I said and asked me.
"Has a new Tamago figure been released recently?"
"No, that's not it. Well, Miyazaki, you work here, so it's okay if you know in advance. In fact, a very limited edition Tamago figure was released last month."
"Really? Is it a collaboration Tamago?"
Huh? Miyazaki also seems to have a good sense.
"Yes. That's right."
"I've heard of it."
Well, it's been four years since Dragon Emblem was released, and it seems understandable that she wouldn't know. Especially since Dragon Emblem has become somewhat of a legendary game known only to those in the know, with its unique "distribution structure."
From last year, you couldn't even find any cartridges in the market. So, could it be that Dragon Emblem has become the number one among the rarest items according to last month's Famitsu Communications?
The resale price of the game cartridges has skyrocketed, even with the additional expansion pack that restores the data. Second place went to the first limited edition of "The Street I Don't Have."
And what's in third place, you ask? It's a bit ridiculous, but it's the demo cartridge for Psych Battle.
It wasn't even released in stores; it was produced in limited quantities and given away as non-commercial items. So it's currently being traded at a high price among Psych Battle enthusiasts, I guess?
Maybe collectors have to collect everything from 1 to 10 to feel comfortable. If one is missing, it can't be helped that they feel a little disappointed.
"I bet the people who wanted to collect these were really dedicated. There's nothing easy to find...".
Currently, Dragon Emblem has been ranked first in the monthly poll of Super Family users who want to see the next title. At that time, communication via the internet had not become widespread, so the communication between users and developers was conducted in the form of this kind of survey in magazines.
And the result of listening to the wishes of these users was the "Tamago of Dragon Emblem."
It was time for the pitch-black Tamago figure, which reached the extreme level of grumpiness and would die of its own accord if it wasn't kept at the right temperature, to be in someone's hands by now.
I hope the Tamago figure has found its way to someone who knows about Dragon Emblem.
Otherwise, the difficulty level would be so extreme that it would make you want to give up right away.
While having a meal with Miyazaki, I explained about the "Tamago of Dragon Emblem."
"So, the way you raise the new Tamago figure is completely different from the existing ones. Shall we call it a bit more maniac?"
"That's right. If someone asks about the black Tamago, just explain it as I told you."
"But if we do this, won't the competition for Dragon Emblem Tamago figures become overheated?"
I smiled and replied to Miyazaki's question.
"I've already thought about that."
Then she burst into laughter and spoke.
"You really are like what I heard from Yuki-san."
"Is that so?"
"Something about always hiding something in your mind."
"Did Yuki say that?"
"We were eating together last time, and the conversation turned to you."
Miyazaki seemed embarrassed and changed the subject as she fanned herself with her hand.
"Oh, by the way, what's the cartridge you gave to Mr. Uchimura earlier? The title seemed a bit unusual."
"Was it Valentine's Day?"
"I'm also part of Pentagon Soft, so I'm a bit concerned about the new release."
Come to think of it, Miyazaki also liked games. I had seen her playing monster battles against the kids who came to the shop with the Tamago Monsters she had raised herself.
Since I had one more cartridge in my bag, I asked her.
"If you're okay with it, would you like to try playing it too?"
"Can I really try it?"
"There's a Super Family in the break room, so I can let you play after work."
...
Valentine's Day.
At first glance, you might think it's a romantic simulation game, as Uchimura's prediction, but in reality, this game was inspired by a horror story, influenced by a game I played when I was younger called "The Killer of the Clock Tower" and a domestic game.
The game's protagonist attempts to confess his feelings to the girl he likes on Valentine's Day, a day when lovers exchange cards. However, the game's plot is quite simple.
On the night before Valentine's Day, February 13th... The protagonist sneaks into the school with a letter to confess his feelings to her, planning to hide it on her desk secretly.
Is that all, you might ask?
Well, if he can return home safely, that is...
On that night.
After everyone had left work, Miyazaki entered the break room with an eager expression.
"Mr. Manager, everyone has left."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"But why is the break room so dark? Did the lights go out?"
"Miyazaki-san."
"Yes?"
"Do you like horror movies?"
At my question, Miyazaki-san awkwardly smiled and replied.
"Why suddenly a horror movie?"
"Just curious."
I inserted the cartridge into the Super Family console while asking. The Valentine's Day experience cartridge started without a title screen, accompanied by a creepy BGM.
The plot of the game is based on the idea of confessing your feelings to a girl you like on Valentine's Day, a day when lovers exchange cards. However, the actual gameplay was quite simple.
The day before Valentine's Day, on the night of February 13th... the protagonist, who had secretly decided to confess his feelings to her with a letter, would simply return home after placing the letter on her desk.
"Manager... Is this perhaps a horror game?"
As she hesitated, I nodded without saying a word. Miyazaki-san turned her gaze towards the screen, looking a bit scared.
"I've been deceived..."
But it was too late. I silently watched her play, holding back my laughter.
First of all, "Valentine's Day" followed a 2D side-scrolling format. In other words, you could only move left and right, and the only available button for escaping from something was the run button.
The horror of an empty school where everyone has gone.
You might have heard of the seven school mysteries commonly mentioned when you were young.
A red mask with its mouth ripped open.
The sound of a piano playing alone in an empty music room.
A student studying alone in a dark classroom.
The 1st place student who fell from the rooftop to her death due to jealousy of the 2nd place student, walking around the school with her head upside down, was the stage of "Valentine's Day."
Miyazaki-san repeated the BGM that was eerie but familiar, shaking her head and then suddenly turned to me.
"Manager... Isn't this the children's song they sing?"
"Yes, I slowed down the sound tempo quite a bit."
"No wonder it sounded so familiar..."
Finally, the protagonist entered the schoolyard on Valentine's Day. Miyazaki-san began to carefully move the male protagonist forward, hesitating to look at the character.
The character's controls involved using the left and right direction keys, and you could hide under the desks. There were unique buttons for "holding your breath."
If you pressed the Y button, the protagonist could hold his breath, making it possible to hide from the ghost's sight. However, there was a breath gauge, and you couldn't hold your breath for too long, so I placed a device that prevents continuous breath holding.
A little later, having heard all my explanations, Miyazaki-san began to move towards the school building for male teachers. Valentine's Day had two buildings, the male teacher's building and the female teacher's building, and I had prepared puzzle elements in an adventure game style.
Creak...
A rather creepy lock sound rang out. Miyazaki, who had found the switch on the wall to turn on the lights, pressed the select button to turn on the lights.
As the lights came on in the dark corridor, Miyazaki-san let out a short breath.
However, it was short-lived...
Quaaang!!!
With a thunderous sound, the lights in the corridor blinked, and darkness returned. The repeating BGM that had been playing faded, and the dark corridor alternated between brief brightness with each flash of lightning.
"Where should I go?"
To Miyazaki-san's question, I answered that it's the second floor.
She moved the male protagonist while clutching her body and checking the direction key again.
With the mini-map displayed on the screen, Miyazaki-san quickly found the location of the stairs and began to take another step.
The screen suddenly flashed white, and something appeared at the left end of the screen.
"What's that...? What is it?"
With a rope around its neck, swaying left and right, it didn't look like a normal character.
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