Game Developer in the World of Anime

"Wow~~ Ichin-kun went to Nintendo's headquarters? That's amazing!" Eriri exclaimed in surprise after hearing Utaha's explanation about Ichin's schedule for the day. "A development kit, huh? I've never seen one before. I definitely want to check it out when he gets back! Oh, oh, do you think Ichin-kun will get to meet Shigeru Miyamoto? I'm such a huge fan of Mario and Zelda!"

"I wouldn't know," Utaha replied with a smile. "Why don't you call Ichin and ask him to get you an autograph if he happens to meet him?"

"N-No need for that!" Eriri said smugly. "I already have his autograph. Don't underestimate me—I've been to a live launch event before! But back then, I was still a kid and too shy to ask for a photo. I only managed to get the autograph."

Seeing Eriri's proud demeanor, Utaha almost forgot that Eriri's family was quite well-off, and her parents were also into otaku culture. It wouldn't be surprising for her to have connections to meet some big names in the gaming industry.

As they ate their bento lunches, Eriri pulled out her phone.

"Honestly, more than autographs, I just want to know when the new Mario game will release—or if Breath of the Wild 2 will come out next year. Though that feels like a long shot. Huh? There's a livestream?"

"A livestream of what?"

"Erm... Eromanga-sensei's stream. It's rare to see her streaming at noon," Eriri said.

"Eromanga-sensei?" Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but chime in with a critical tone, "Who would choose such a name?"

"It fits her style perfectly!" Eriri retorted. "And Yukino, you're in no position to criticize others. 'Service Club'? Really?"

While opening the stream and increasing the volume, Eriri explained, "Eromanga-sensei is an illustrator who only works on light novel illustrations. Outside of that, she occasionally uploads fan art online and hosts streams. What's unique is that she always wears a magical girl mask during streams and uses a voice changer. So far, all we know is that she's female—nothing else about her identity has been revealed."

Utaha and Yukino leaned in to watch. Sure enough, the stream showed someone wearing a magical girl mask. Her voice was distinctly artificial, distorted by a voice changer.

"Hello, everyone! Today's stream is a bit earlier than usual, but that's fine. Today, we're not doing any drawing—we're streaming gameplay! I discovered a fantastic game a couple of days ago called Slay the Spire. I got really hooked on it! Has anyone heard of it? It's apparently made by just one developer. That's so impressive!"

Slay the Spire? A gameplay stream?" Utaha remarked, surprised. "I've heard of this illustrator before. She's quite mysterious. But isn't it odd for an illustrator to stream gameplay instead of drawing?"

"Not really," Eriri said casually, waving her hand. "Even Ultraman actors stream games these days. Some voice actors even become Youtubers with their own models. It's not a big deal—it's all about having fun. Honestly, I've never seen Eromanga-sensei play games before, so this should be interesting. Yukino, didn't you also get Slay the Spire? How far have you progressed?"

Calmly eating her lunch, Yukino replied, "Both characters are at Ascension 20, but I haven't tried the newly added robot character yet. I spent the weekend at home."

Eriri's eyes widened in shock. "That fast?!"

"It wasn't too hard," Yukino said nonchalantly. "I just play a little each day after studying to relax."

"Just a little each day, and you're already that far? I didn't expect you to be this talented at gaming, Yukino!" Eriri exclaimed. "You should come to my house sometime—I'll recommend some games that suit you!"

"Maybe. Gaming is just an occasional pastime for me," Yukino replied, turning her attention to Eriri's phone.

Though Yukino wasn't well-versed in the world of livestreaming, she found herself intrigued by Eromanga-sensei's peculiar setup. A masked streamer with a disguised voice was certainly a novelty to her.

Eromanga-sensei's livestream had over 1,500 viewers in just 15 minutes—a testament to her popularity.

...