Game Market 1983

< EP. 19: Novelis Oblige (1) >

&

“That concludes our report on last month's Tamago-san sales. ”

“300% higher sales than last month. Excellent, well done. Miyazaki."

Before the store opens. As I thanked Miyazaki for finishing her report on the deadline last month, the staff around me applauded her. She also smiled brightly and replied.

“No. It's great to be working with good people here, too. ”

“I'm very happy to be working with you. You've worked hard since the store opened. I would like to discuss this month's salary with you and offer you an additional incentive payment. ”

“Oooh!! ”

Speaking of incentive payments, staff cheered as they gathered together.

It's my way of managing to thoroughly reward him for his hard work.

I drank the green tea Miyazaki brought me and looked at the chart she gave me.

The first weekend of October.

It was a frightening summer that the heat on the Tamago-san was just as hot as the heat that warmed the whole country. Since opening in mid-July, Tamago-shop's sales have increased dramatically during August and September.

Not only did the Silk Tamago statue but also the popular character dolls were sold to children who came to Tamago Shop and they ran out of supplies every time they filled them up.

Located near the station, Tamago Shop became a landmark in Akihabara at the same time as the opening, and was in dire straits, as opposed to a shortage of visitors from the province.

No matter how much you pay, people have a personal life.

That is, if you don't guarantee working hours and holidays, people will get tired as long as you give them a lot of money.

So I expanded the job posting to the highest hourly rate within Akiba.

Thanks to the large crowd of people in sales or service careers, some who knocked on Tamago-shop's door shyly ran away without enduring the day.

And today at the opening of the third month.

The people who were gathered here today were like ‘warriors of inversion’ to me.

Miyazaki, who joined at the youngest of the staff and survived a hell of an open event, was popular with her colleagues who worked with her vigorously, as well as visitors to the store.

Unlike the usual staff, she was one of the players raising the Tamago-based monsters, and I was also the employee who had been watching her as a helper for communicating data with guests or teaching children how to cultivate Tamago-based.

“You're an employee of Tamagoshop, but you're also the face of Pentagon Soft.

I know it's hard, but the only thing I can do is offer you the incentive. However, please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any improvements or complaints about the shop. because most of all, I think what you're saying on the ground is important. ”

“Yes, I understand!! ”

The news about the special incentive payment gave me a feeling of employee fraud all at once.

Money is a simple but most efficient item.

Everyone was dismissed to prepare for the opening, and I was sitting at the table looking at the chart and I heard Miyazaki's voice.

“Hey, Manager Kang Jun-hyuk...”

“Yes? Do you have something to say? ”

“Oh, it's not about the shop. ”

“It's okay. Make yourself at home. ”

I put the chart up for a moment and looked at her.

When an employee asks for a conversation, it is polite to focus on the conversation with them.

Miyazaki hesitated for a moment, but I didn't rush but just smiled comfortably.

“Actually, I went to a figure shop after work yesterday. ”

“A figurehouse? ”

“Yes, I was wondering if there were any figures or doll accessories that weren't in our store. ”

Oh... Is she doing her own market research?

Miyazaki felt very fond of the Tamago Shop because the finished staff would even do market research on their own.

“You must be tired, that's great. Thank you on behalf of the company. ”

“Oh, no, not necessarily to be complimented, because I love the Tamago Award, too. ”

“I see. But what happened at the Figure Shop? ”

“Well, it's not about the Tamago-san, it's about the ‘streets without me’ that Pentagon Soft created. ”

“A street without me? ”

“I love that game so much, I have the whole series. ”

“Oh, really? ”

Miyazaki likes games just like Yuki.

I felt better about being proud of something. After the super family launch, I became the number one contributor to the contract for character making, making the Pentagon soft a huge profit.

Also, for those who are not familiar with the game, the original animation has made it popular in video rental shops and even released private video collections, so there is no one in Japan who does not know the 'street without me’.

Mr. Uchimura has been a part of the news coverage.

The day after Uchimura's incident, this article was written in the morning paper.

- The heroine saves a life in the game!! - Thanks to you, the streets without me were becoming a cultural content beyond the realm of the game.

Yuki said that stations often ask for dramatic outbursts, but there hasn't been a formal contract request for Pentagon Soft yet.

“But why is the street without me...? ”

“Oh, that was a rare figure in a figurehouse yesterday. ”

“Rare figures? ”

“It's a figure of Hasegawa Miyuki, which is a very distinctive concept. It was a figure in a kimono, and I made a kimono out of real fabric and put it on the character. ”

“Oh, that's amazing. But I don't think such figures have ever been contracted, so it's a personal collection. ”

“Yes, it looks like it was made using a limited edition summer model figure that we just launched, but it was amazing. Those guys at the figurehouse put up an auction that you wanted to buy, too, and the price just went up. ”

“If it's personalized for a private collection, there's only one person on the planet who deserves it. But how much was it?”

“110,000 yen the last time I saw it. ”

Having lost my words for a moment in her answer, I asked her again if I had heard it wrong.

“... 110,000 yen? ”

“Yes.”

I mean, what a great figure. Do you spend more than KRW 1 million on a figure?

A laughter pops out of my head.

Then Miyazaki said with a slightly worried expression.

“But I think that figure is a little strange. ”

“Yes? What? ”

“Is... is he like someone I know who's different from Hasega and Miyuki? Rather than Miyuki... I think she looks more like Yuki who goes out with you. ”

“Yes?”

What the hell is this? It's true that Hasegawa Miyuki motioned Yuki, but if Miyazaki says so, something's a little strange.

“Miyazaki.”

“Yes, sir. ”

“The store that saw the figures of Miyuki. Do you mind if I show you where he is? ”

&

After a while, I stopped by the Figure Shop with Miyazaki to find her figure, not so hard. But, um...

“189,000 yen!? ”

“That's a lot higher than yesterday.”

But for a second price, Miyuki's figure was more like Ishikawa Yuki, as Miyazaki said.

By the way, what's with the outfit?

Unlike Miyazaki's story, the kimono she was wearing was half-naked, revealing a white lining.

The crowd around the figure was crowded to see her, so it was hard to get close.

"This is crazy. I'm going to avoid setting Yuki up as a motif next time. By the way, who made that figure, and made it out of Yuki's face and plaque? ’

Anyway, there's only one thing I have to do now.

‘That... I have to buy that. I can't watch you fall for a tough guy. ’

I occasionally spoke to a store employee who was detaining a guest from taking out the camera.

“I'd like to bid on that. ”

“Oooh!! Here it is! A bidder broke 189,000 yen!! ”

“Yes, sir. Please enter bid amount here and sign. ”

I wrote down 250,000 yen on the paper the employee handed over and returned it to him.

“C-customer? Are you hit for 250,000? ”

“Yes, that's right. ”

“Th-thanks!! There's a new bid for Hasega and Miyuki figures in Kimono costumes. ”

The clerk squeezed the gap between the guests with a new bid. And then after a while...

“At 2.. 250,000!? Are you crazy? ”

... Yeah, it's definitely crazy money. I won't deny it.

But think about it. There's a figure that resembles your girlfriend walking into an exhibition hall half-naked and being seen by people, and you're just going to watch it?

“Hiic... rich bastard... But I'd like to buy some too if I had the money. ”

People were jealous of the new bid.

Then Miyazaki who was next to me carefully asked me.

“Sir, are you all right? ”

“What?”

“No. You're spending too much money...”

“Oh, I'm okay with that. But he certainly looks more like Yuki than Hasega and Miyuki, like Miyazaki said. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Right? I wonder how surprised I was yesterday.”

“Hopefully, the last bidder won't bid again.”

When I found out from the cashier that the last bidder had abandoned the bid and was going to sell after 3 hours, I thought I would be finished by today.

I'd like to get that figure out of the shelf as soon as possible, but right now I don't have a choice. If you give me the money I want, I can shoot you right now, damn it.

At that time, a middle-aged man came in with a nasty smile at the entrance of the Figure Shop.

The man squeezes the gap between people with a relaxed smile and taps on the shelf with Miyuki's figure, and his tongue flutters.

Who the hell is that guy?

“That's the bidder I saw yesterday, who called in 110,000 yen. ”

“Oh, yeah? ”

The man stared at the figure for a moment and confirmed the bid, making sure he hadn't noticed the bid I had placed.

At that moment, his face was puffy and crumpled.

“Eh, some asshole... dares...”