Orie: [Ito-sensei, my friend said she asked another friend to cosplay the cat girl you mentioned. Is that okay?]
Ito: [Of course, no problem.]
Originally, Ito wanted Orie's friend to consider cosplaying the female protagonist of Sagiri's doujinshi as the signboard girl, as Sagiri needed more encouragement.
Unexpectedly, Orie's friend found another friend to cosplay together.
Ito: [If there's a chance, could we meet up sometime?]
It wasn't that Ito was lusting after the cosplayer's body; he just wanted to tell them about Sagiri. Ito planned to ask them to encourage Sagiri to leave her home.
Orie: [We're scheduled to take measurements this afternoon. I'll ask them if it's convenient.]
A short while later, Orie gave a definite answer.
Since they were still students and Orie had work, they scheduled the meeting for after school and work in the afternoon, which would be perfect for treating them to cake as a thank you...
After all, eating someone's food makes you soft-mouthed, a point Ito felt deeply... When he was being eaten, Ito could clearly feel their soft, sticky mouths.
After getting Orie's reply, Ito's gaze fell on Sagiri. Ito knew very well how happy it was for characters he drew to be liked and even cosplayed.
There's a punishment for not drawing well, so there should be a reward for drawing well.
"W-what are you looking at me for? I-I won't do anything lewd with you!"
"Do you take me for a pervert?" Ito paused, then showed off with a sly, mischievous grin. "Hehe… I just got a call. My editor told me someone wants to Cosplay the female protagonist from my doujinshi."
"Ugh…"
Sagiri's mouth twitched. What was wrong with this person!? Was he really that blatant when showing off!?
Although Ito was outside the door just now, Sagiri could roughly guess what he was talking about.
"Hehehe, jealous?"
Ito looked at Sagiri, who was pouting slightly and looked wronged, with a teasing, mischievous smile.
"I'm not jealous at all!" Sagiri glared fiercely at Ito. "Not even a little bit!"
"Ah… Not jealous at all? I was thinking if you could make it to this Comiket, I'd find you a mascot girl Cosplay as a reward."
"!!!!!"
"Do you want it? Do you want a Cat Girl mascot girl Cosplay? No answer means you don't want it, right? In that case, I'll just refuse."
Ito pretended to hold his phone, making as if to send a message.
"I…want…" Sagiri's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"Want what?" Ito looked at Sagiri with a smile.
"I…I want to see a Cosplay of the doujinshi I drew…" Sagiri's voice got a little louder.
"Cosplay what?"
"The female protagonist from the doujinshi I drew…"
"Female what protagonist?"
Looking at Sagiri, who was gradually turning red with embarrassment, Ito continued to tease her.
"I want to see a Cosplay of the female protagonist from the doujinshi I drew!!!!!"
Tears of shame welled up in her blue eyes. Sagiri, flustered and angry, shouted loudly, even causing the Fairy next door to poke her head out and curiously look towards Sagiri's room.
"If you want to see it, then finish the doujinshi before the Comiket. Today, draw 10 pages of storyboards first!"
Sagiri nodded heavily. Under the temptation of the Cat Girl Cosplay, Sagiri no longer procrastinated and began drawing the storyboards with great enthusiasm.
Seeing Sagiri's spirited appearance, Ito felt relieved, wondering how long this motivation would last.
After setting an alarm, Ito also continued to immerse himself in drawing.
It wasn't until the afternoon that his phone alarm brought Ito back to reality. Ito leaned over Sagiri's shoulder and looked at her screen.
"How much have you drawn?"
"Eight…eight pages." Sagiri answered cautiously.
Looking at Sagiri's cute, fearful expression, as if she was afraid of losing internet access, Ito tapped her head.
"Eight pages is not bad. Keep up the good work. It's getting late, I'll head back first."
It was getting late, and Sagiri's brother should be home soon. Although he had given her the house key, it was always a bit awkward to be seen alone with his sister.
It would be great if Sagiri could step out of the house in the future… That way, going to parties elsewhere wouldn't be awkward!
Hehehe.
…
Ito and Orie arranged to meet at a dessert shop. Orie would pick them up after work, and they would go together.
After waiting in the dessert shop for a short while, Ito saw three people walking together through the display window. Ito waved to the three through the window.
The three quickly entered the dessert shop. The two JK girls greeted Ito openly and without shyness.
"You're Ito-sensei, right? I'm Kitagawa, Kaimu, and she's my friend Misaki. Please take care of us from now on."
Orie's friends, being naturally outgoing, greeted Ito without any shyness. Ito observed Kaimu and Misaki.
At first glance, both gave Ito the impression of being gyaru.
With dyed blonde hair, earrings in their ears, their uniform jackets tied around their waists, and their uniform shirt ties and collars somewhat loose, revealing a small portion of their delicate collarbones.
Kaimu's blonde hair seemed to be dyed; it wasn't as dazzling as Mashiro's or the Fairy's blonde hair. However, despite being dyed, her hair quality was still good, visibly smooth to the touch.
Misaki's uniform was tied around her waist just like Kaimu's. Her blonde hair seemed to be natural, but she didn't seem to take good care of it, as it was a bit messy. Her skin wasn't as fair as Kaimu's but had a unique, healthy tan.
Although both gave Ito the first impression of being gyaru, Misaki's gyaru image leaned towards an older, slightly delinquent girl feel, while Kaimu leaned towards the type of gyaru who simply liked to dress up and had a cheerful personality.
However…
Kitagawa, Kaimu? This name, plus Cosplay… Ito had some impression, but it had been too long, and Ito couldn't remember the details, only that she was the female protagonist of a slice-of-life anime.
As for Misaki beside her, Ito had no impression at all.
Actually, whether he had an impression or not made no difference.
Entering this world where reality and fiction were mixed, their life trajectories could be completely different from what Ito knew.
Just like Nanami and Mashiro, whom Ito remembered more vividly, their life trajectories were completely different from what Ito remembered.
"Hello." Ito showed a gentle smile to the two, pushing the dessert shop menu in front of the three. "I didn't know what you liked, so I didn't order. Feel free to choose."
"Really? Thank you so much Misaki, I remember you always wanted to eat this parfait, right? Today, Ito-sensei is treating Orie, I remember you like this, right? Waiter~~~"
The naturally outgoing Kaimu unceremoniously began ordering. After ordering, Kaimu's curious gaze fell upon Ito.
Although she liked reading manga, watching anime, and playing GALGAME, this was Kaimu's first time meeting an author.
Ito blinked. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, no." Kaimu also blinked. "It's just… Ito-sensei is different from the stereotypical unkempt mangaka. Would you like to try Cosplay?"