Chapter 49 - GameDev Arc: Epilogue

...

A few days later, I return to the Game Development Department club room to watch the Millennium Prize award ceremony on tv with the four gamer girls.

I was supposed to rest for a few days, but ended up taking a trip to Red Winter yesterday for the Ivan Kupala, seeing as how it was the summer solstice.

...I really hope Cherino keeps her promises to those girls.

Regardless of that, I knock on the Game Dev club room door.

"Sensei!" Momoi says happily, opening the door to greet me.

"Took you long enough, the ceremony's about to start." Midori says, as I walk inside.

"Well, I made it, despite your directions." I say, with a joking smile.

As Momoi scuffles off to somewhere, I see the other three girls crack a smile at my joke, despite their tense nerves. All of them are sat around the tv, their eyes full of anticipation and worry.

"Aris! Aris! Check it out!" The pink twin says, happily, holding a piece of clothing out for Aris to look at. "Ta-da! It's a maid costume!"

"Eek!" Aris squeaks in fright, scurrying to the other side of the room.

"Hehe! This is so fun!" Momoi says with a smile.

"Oi. No bullying, Momoi." I say, seriously, before turning to the frightened robot girl. "You okay, Aris?"

"Um... Please keep anything wearing a maid outfit away from Aris from now on, please." Aris says, still shaken.

"Did Neru scare ya that bad?" I ask, a bit worried for the poor girl.

Aris quickly nods her head in affirmation.

"Well, she seems to be doing better." Midori says, sighing.

After my talk with Neru, I reunited with the girls in the infirmary to tell check on them and tell them to take a few days off. I haven't seen them since, so Aris being this skittish around maids is a bit surprising.

"I went to the Student Council earlier to discuss the building we destroyed." Yuzu says. "Thankfully, they deemed it a product of a 'sanctioned club accident'."

"You mean the one Neru destroyed, right?" I ask, with a knowing smile. The four girls look at me, confused. "After all, she's the one that started that fight."

"Hey, you're right!" Momoi says, agreeing with me. "Still, I thought we'd get expelled for that."

"I think C smoothed it over for us." The redhead says. "I saw Neru there and she told me 'See you soon'."

"How ominous." I point out.

"Eek!" Aris squeaks in fright again, before bolting into Yuzu's cabinet and shutting the door.

"Aris! Get out of the cabinet!" The green twin shouts. "What have you been teaching her, Yuzu?"

"Aris, you kicked her butt, remember? So, stop bein' so scared of Neru. If she tries to hurt ya, I'll kick her ass." I say.

The cabinet door opens slightly, as Aris peeks her head out. "As you sure? Can you beat the short maid?"

"I'm the 'Legendary Warrior', remember?" I ask, with a smile, causing Aris' face to brighten into a smile once more. "There's the smile." I say.

"Well, this is good news and all, but..." The green twin says.

"Right..." Yuzu mutters, before the tv changes. "The Millennium Prize has begun."

I sit down on the couch. "Guess it's time." I say, grabbing the remote.

The four girls all then sit down, Aris on one side of me, Yuzu and Midori on the other. Momoi sits down on a bean bag chair next to the couch.

"You know the drill, right? If we take home the gold, we party like there's no tomorrow. But if we lose..." Momoi begins.

"Stop thinkin' that way. We're gonna win, alright?" I say to the pink twin, hoping to reassure her, to less-than-wished-for results.

"Oh, right." I say, taking out my tablet to see Arona asleep. "Arona, wake up."

"Hmm...? What is it?" Arona asks, dazed and half asleep.

"The awards are about to begin." I say.

"Oh." Is all the AI says, as I put the tablet on the coffee table in front of us, standing it up so that Arona can watch as well.

"Ah, hello Arona." Yuzu says, with a smile.

"Hello, Yuzu!" Arona chirps. After this, I'm asking those Engineering girls to make Arona a body, costs and difficulties be damned.

As a familiar girl appears on screen, I un-mute the tv.

"Hello, and welcome to the Millennium Prize Award Ceremony!" Kotori says, on screen, speaking into a microphone. "My name is Toyomi Kotori, and I'll be your host for the day's proceedings! I hear that this year's competition has the most entrants that its ever had! Probably because the Student Council made it mandatory that each club enter or something."

I let out a bark of laughter as she says that.

"Looks like everything's worked out for Kotori." Midori observes.

"Well, the Engineering Club is one of Millennium's most valued clubs." Yuzu points out.

"But more entrants means more competition, right...?" The green twin asks.

"That's not good..." The pink twin says, worriedly.

Kotori, on screen, continues. "Last year's winner was Ushio Noa's 'The Meter of Memory'. Though unusual for poetry, it was praised as a sure-fire cure for insomnia due to its extensive use of long metaphysical terms. This year, we have tubes of what looks like toothpaste but is actually cheese, a large, missile-equipped umbrella for self-defense, a necktie power bank, optical camouflage underwear, a portable pencil-case-sized refrigerator- perfect for exactly one can, and finally a retro-style mobile game that went viral on the Kivotos network- Tales Saga Chronicle Two!" She reports, happily. "Out of the hundreds of submissions, only seven will make it to the top!"

Yuzu gulps in worry.

"Who the hell would make optical camo underwear...?" I mutter, in disbelief. Half of that shit she listed off made no sense.

"And so, we're kicking things off with our seventh place winner!" Kotori announces. "In seventh place, we have the camouflage underwear designed by Shiraishi Utaha of the Engineering Club!" She says, holding her free hand out toward a pair of underwear on a podium.

smack

I slam my palm against my face, immediately.

"I'm not sure whether this underwear puts for over function, but they received very high praise for allowing exhibitionists to exercise their hobby with peace of mind." Kotori continues.

What.

"I'd like to know who the reviewers are! Anyway, it's only better from here on!" Kotori declares.

Momoi lets out an awkward giggle. "It's okay, our game doesn't belong in seventh anyway."

"Moving on to sixth place, it's...!" Kotori continues.

Sure enough, sixth is some weird shit.

"In fifth place is...!"

Some more weird shit.

"They haven't called out our name..." Midori says, worriedly.

"They're only half done. Just wait a sec." I advise.

"Next is fourth place...!"

Can you guess what it is...?

More. Weird. Shit.

Something is wrong with the people of Kivotos...

"They should have called our name by now..." Momoi says, worriedly.

"There's still three left." I say.

"And now, it's time to crown the top three!" Kotori declares. "Snapping up third is...!"

"Oh look, something weird again." I say, deadpan, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

"I can't bear to watch anymore!" Midori says, caving under the tension.

"Please... Please..." Yuzu mutters.

"I'm sure it will come soon!" Arona says, hopeful.

"Second place was a real tight race, but in the end it went to..."

"Please be us... Please be us..." Aris says, face full of worry.

Second wasn't them.

"N-No way... They... didn't call our name...? That means..." Momoi asks, worriedly.

"Maybe it'll be first." I say, leaning forward and resting my forearms on my legs.

Midori gasps, a smile on her face.

"Last but certainly not least, we have our winner." Kotori begins, raising the tension even further. "Our contestants that will be taking home the Millennium Prize!"

"I can't take this!" Aris says, smiling.

"And our first-place winner will be...!" Kotori pauses for effect.

"I think I'm going to lose my mind." The green twin says, heart likely racing.

"...announced after this commercial break!" Kotori says.

"FUCK!" I yell, as loud as I can, causing the four girls and even Arona to leap back in fright. The tv then begins to play some uninteresting commercials.

"Aris!" Momoi says.

"Laser is fully charged." Aris announces.

"No shooting Kotori!" I say, hurriedly, before muttering, "Even if it's deserved."

"Ahhh! This anticipation's too much!" Momoi whines.

After a few minutes of boredom and waiting, the tv clicks back to the ceremony.

"And we're back, folks!" Kotori says, happily.

"Finally." I mutter.

"The first place prize goes to...!"

We all lean forward.

"...the New Material Development Club!" Kotori announces.

"The who?" I ask, quickly.

Before anyone can react, Momoi grabs her rifle and, in a fit of rage, shoots the tv into oblivion. All of us lean back in fright.

"What the hell?!" I shout the pink twin.

"Why'd you shoot the tv?!" Midori screams.

"What does it matter? We're going to lose everything, anyway!" Momoi shouts, tossing her rifle to the side, full of rage and sadness. "Ahhhhh! It's all over!" She shouts. As tears begin to fall from her pink eyes, she plops back down onto the bean bag chair, defeated.

All of us look much the same, exhausted and hopeless.

Yuzu lets out a long sigh. "So this is it?" She asks, downtrodden.

"Yeah..." Arona says, upset as well, having sat down in one of the chairs in her classroom.

"It's all right, Yuzu. We can still..." Midori says, trying to cheer up the shy girl.

"I've got it! There's no need to get all depressed!" Momoi suddenly shouts, eyes red and watery still. "The reviews we got weren't too bad. We've come a long way from being the legendary losers of the Worst Game of the Year award. We're just going to keep getting better. Even if we get kicked out, we can gather more club members and make something even better!" She declares, proudly. "When we reopen, we'll have an even bigger and better club room!"

"Heh, glad to see you haven't given up." I say, proud at my students.

"But... what about Yuzu and Aris...?" Midori points out.

"Aris and Yuzu can stay at Schale." I say, surprising everyone. "Or, if y'all want, I can rent an apartment near here for you two. Whatever you need."

"S-Sensei...!" Aris says, shocked and happy.

"That's okay, Sensei." Yuzu suddenly says, her face determined. "I'm going back to the dorms."

"Huh?" The green twin asks, eyes wide.

"I don't think anyone will call us failures anymore. And... even if they do, it doesn't bother me now." The redhead says, happily. "Because I have you guys... and Sensei."

"Hey, what about me?" Arona asks, upset.

"And Arona." Yuzu adds, chuckling, before turning to me. "I want to thank you, Sensei. Ever since you came to this club room, we've all grown and changed."

"Well, you girls have certainly made me proud in the short time we've known each other." I admit, causing the gamer girls to preen at my words. "Though, like I said, Aris can stay at Schale, or even that apartment I mentioned. I'm sure there's some near here." I say, looking at the robot girl for confirmation.

"Aris... I'm sorry." Midori says, sadly.

"Aris knows she can trust Sensei." Aris says. "However... That means... Aris can't stay with you guys anymore...!" She says, her voice quivering as tears well up in her robotic eyes.

"...?!" Midori lets out a soft gasp as Aris' words hit everyone hard.

"Oh, Aris..." I mutter, sadly.

"I'm sorry, Aris!" Midori shouts, hugging Aris tightly, as though her grasp is the only thing keeping her here. Tears well up in her green eyes as well. "I'm going to visit you at Schale every day! Seriously! Every day! We'll always be linked by the game we made together!" The more Midori speaks, the more tears spill from her eyes.

Momoi sniffles to the side. "No!" She cries out, grabbing a hold of me. "You can't take her Sensei!" She shouts, wetting my suit with her tears, which have begun to flow freely again. "Sh-She can stay in my room! We'll share the bed! I'll split my meals with her!"

With a sad expression on my face, I pat the crying twin's head softly.

"I can share too!" Midori adds, still hanging onto Aris for dear life.

"Guys, please don't pressure Sensei." Yuzu pleads, looking away from the somber scene playing out in front of her. "If anyone were to find out..." She says, somberly, tears welling up in her eyes as well.

Arona, on the tablet's screen, looks just as sad as they do. She flashes me a somber smile, one which I return.

This is just...

Dammit...

I dunno how...

But I will make this work out for them.

As I make that promise to myself, the door to the club room slams open as Yuuka walks in.

"Momoi! Aris! Midori! Yuzu!" The treasurer calls out, a smile on her face. Why's she smiling...?

"Ack! Yuuka's already here!" Momoi whines, holding onto me even tighter.

"You couldn't wait even a minute to evict us?!" Midori shouts, angrily, as she holds Aris protectively.

"That's just too cruel!" The pink twin whines, crying even harder. "How can the Student Council be so heartl-"

"Congratulations!" But she's interrupted by Yuuka, who didn't hear any of that, and likely hasn't noticed the situation in full.

"Wha...?" Midori asks, Yuuka's words having taken the steam out of her.

"...Wha-" sniffle "What are you talking about?" Momoi asks, her voice shaky.

"What the... heck?" Yuzu asks, confused as the rest of us.

"Hmm?" Aris asks.

"What's with you guys?" Yuuka asks, having finally noticed the somber mood. "Didn't you see the results?"

"What are you talkin' about Yuuka?" I ask.

"Yeah. We didn't even make it to seventh place." The green twin says, letting Aris go. Her twin does the same with me.

"Huh?!" Yuuka shouts, confused as we are. "What are you talking about? Turn on the tv."

"It has some, um, bullet holes in it." Midori says, awkwardly.

"Momoi shot it after the first place results." I say, pointing to the electronic, on the ground with smoke billowing from the screen.

That's a damn breathing hazard, probably.

"Sheesh, fine. Watch from my phone." Yuuka says, holding out her phone to us, which we wall promptly clamor around.

The screen turns on to show the award ceremony, nearing it's end, likely from a few minutes ago, as it's not live. A robot man at a podium speaks. "The Millennium Prize's purpose has always been to award students for creating something practical. However, practicality fails to fully cover the emotions which can be brought on by an interactive experience. And so, for the first time in the history of the Prize, we are awarding a unique top honor. Our Special Honors goes to the Game Development Department's Tales Saga Chronicle Two!" He proudly announces.

"Huh...?" I breathe out with wide eyes, much like the rest of the gamer girls and Arona.

"S-Seriously?!" Momoi shouts.

"What's... happening...?" Midori mutters.

The robot man in the recording continues. "We were charmed by a concept that transcended retro, a story not hung up on formalities, and a strange world which complemented both. Navigating said strange and unknown world, meeting new people and overcoming a demon king. We believe it is a piece of work that truly captures the essence of the RPG genre. It's a game that reminds us why we came to love video games in the first place. It is for these reason that we saw fit to award the game with the Millennium Prize's Special Honors!"

"W-Wow..." Midori mutters.

"Huh..." I add.

"Amazing!" Arona says.

"Congrats again!" Yuuka says, happily, as she pockets her phone. "I tried it too. It wasn't the most exciting game I've ever played, but it was a fresh experience. I really liked it!"

Suddenly, another familiar face runs in.

"Momo! Mido! I tried playing TSC-Two! It was so much fun!" Maki says, happily. "It's gone totally viral online! Veritas found that it's being searched online more than any celebrity in Kivotos!"

"I... can't believe it..." The green twin mutters.

"What a turn of events, huh?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Aris sees." Aris pipes up. "Tales Saga Chronicle Two was downloaded seven thousand, seven hundred and five times with one thousand, three hundred and seventy-two comments in the first three hours of being uploaded."

"If you think that's crazy, listen to this!" Arona says, catching our attention. "In the twenty-six seconds following its announcement at the Millennium Prize, it has amassed over ten thousand downloads!"

Momoi gasps in shock, but Aris adds on more info. "Of the five-hundred new comments, there are two hundred and forty-two negative comments, one hundred and ninety-two expressing excitement, and the remaining sixty-six are uncertain." Aris says, as Yuzu pulls out her phone.

"D-Doesn't that mean they don't like it?!" Midori shouts, shocked by the info, but worried by the ratio of comments.

"Not exactly." Yuzu says.

"Huh? What do you mean, Yuzu?" The green twin asks.

Yuzu wordlessly smiles, as she points her phone to Midori. "Look at the most liked comment thread."

We all gather around to look at the phone's screen.

chicken: I've thought long and hard about it, and I think in the end... I'm glad I was able to play this game.

Kotoha0507: Honestly, I used to be biased against Millennium. But after playing Tales Saga Chronicle 2, I can't hide behind the idea that Millennium students are all cold and calculating anymore.

Midori gasps in surprise at reading the comments.

"But, wait. Do we get to keep our club room?!" Momoi shouts at Yuuka.

"Well, as before, the confiscation is postponed." Yuuka explains. "Since the award you won wasn't official, the Student Council decided to give you another year to reevaluate if you get to keep your club room. And also..." Yuuka pauses her explanation, squirming a bit.

"Huh...?" Momoi asks.

"I, uh... I'm sorry I called your consoles junk." The treasurer apologizes suddenly and bashfully. "Playing your game, I remembered how much I loved playing games as a kid... It was like experiencing it all again for the first time. So... congratulations. Come to the Student Council room to apply for a club room extension or funding. I'll be seeing you." She says, as she begins to leave the room.

Once she leaves, Midori's smile reappears. "That means...!"

Yuzu gasps with a smile.

"We..." Momoi says, smiling once more, before throwing her hands into the air. "WE DID IT!" She shouts, boisterously.

"Ahhhhhh!" Midori shouts as well.

"Thank goodness... We really did it." Yuzu says, happily.

"Hehe, you guys did good." Maki says. "I'll leave you to your celebrating." She says, leaving the room.

"Uhhh...?" Aris lets out a questioning sound, looking confused as all hell.

"We did it, Aris!" The green twin shouts, glomping Aris in a big hug. "We get a budget and get to keep our club room!"

"So, does that mean...?" The robot girl asks. "...we get to stay together?"

"Yes, Aris. Yes it does." I say, with a smile.

"Of course it does!" The twins say in unison.

"Let's keep making games together." The redhead gamer says happily.

Aris smiles a happy smile as joyful tears threaten to spill from her eyes. "A... Aris is so happy!" She says.

"Aris!" Midori says, hugging the poor robot girl even tighter.

"We really did it!" Momoi says, glomping Aris as well.

"The dream lives on!" Yuzu says, hugging the group as well.

"Y-Yeah!" Aris says, happy tears now spilling from her eyes freely. "A perfect result!"

Looking at the joyful girls, I speak to Arona without averting my gaze. "All's well that ends well, huh?"

"Looks that way, Sensei!" Arona chirps, happy as we are.

Yeah, I think these four are gonna be alright.

While the group celebrates, the Game Girl, shoved away in a cabinet drawer, has words appear on the screen, illuminating the dark space.

Data recovery at 98.00%.

Then, the screen and buttons light up an eerie red.

Booting system.

System ready.

Setting program.

Then, a word appears on the screen, in a blocky font.

Divi:Sion

...

...

AL-1S...

Or rather...

Aris...

My...

...

precious...

...

p...

r...

i...

n...

c...

e...

s...

s...

GAME DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ARC: END

AN

And thus ends V2C1. V2 Chapter 2 will have to wait for a while... A loooooooong while.

Next, some Down Time.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!