"This has to be the most reckless contract in the entire world..."
On the way back to the studio, Tetsuya looked at the copy of the contract in his hand and couldn't help but marvel.
"An amount so large it makes you question reality, and so few restrictions that it allows almost complete freedom... Is this young lady not worried at all that she'll be scammed?"
"It's less that she isn't worried and more that the head maid has a good eye for talent."
Sakiko said with a pout.
"From the initial recommendation to the subsequent persuasion, it was basically all orchestrated by that head maid. The young lady herself seems to just be unconditionally trusting the head maid's judgment."
"Speaking of which... this young lady, Sakurakouji, is quite surprising in many ways."
Recalling everything that had just happened, Tetsuya began to review the events.
"First, there's the issue of etiquette... From what Mutsumi revealed before, she's supposed to be a proper young lady from a prestigious family, but neither her words nor her actions have any sort of aristocratic feel to them..."
"It's more than just not knowing manners, it's utterly rude!"
At the mention of this, Sakiko's temper flared.
"If it were me, I would have been scolded by the butler or the etiquette teacher until—"
At this, her voice suddenly faltered, and she involuntarily covered her mouth.
Seeing her like this, Tetsuya just averted his gaze slightly and continued in a casual tone.
"But because of that, her standards for what constitutes an 'offense' seem to be different from those of a typical prestigious family. Neither your accusations nor my refusal provoked her anger. Instead, they just seemed to make her more and more interested..."
Especially when he told her that he wouldn't give her the design sketch even if it meant giving up the collaboration, the light that burst forth from her eyes was nothing short of delight.
"Everyone's way of thinking is closely tied to their personal experiences. This young lady's experiences... are likely completely different from what we imagined."
"No matter what kind of experiences... they are no excuse for her to be so rude."
On this point, Sakiko remained firm in her opinion.
She pursed her lips and said in a slightly low voice:
"If anything, the more one has experienced tragedy and suffering, the more one must maintain their character and dignity... That is the only thing that can be protected by one's will alone, ignoring reality."
"..."
Spurred by his encounter with the young lady Sakurakouji, Tetsuya felt he was getting closer and closer to the truth behind Sakiko's past.
But even so, he still didn't want to pry into the secret she so clearly wanted to hide.
Sakiko was a girl with a strong sense of self-respect.
Hating to unilaterally accept charity and gifts, she was still, to this day, looking for a way to repay him.
To bring up her past under these circumstances, and to try and "offer help" from a position of superiority, would only hurt her pride and add to her psychological burden.
That was not the outcome Tetsuya wanted.
If possible, he would rather witness this proud and strong-willed girl grow and solve her own problems with her own strength.
Until then, all he needed to do was watch over her appropriately.
Just as Tetsuya resolved not to say any more, Sakiko continued.
"More than that, the thing I find most unforgivable is that she dared to look down on your design, Chihaya-nii!"
Sakiko was still holding a grudge over this.
"If it weren't for that head maid, she might have really belittled your design until it was worthless!"
"That can't be helped."
Recalling how earnestly Sakiko had stood up for him, Tetsuya couldn't help but laugh.
"For a fifteen-year-old child with an abnormal concept of money, it's still a bit too early to ask her to consider things like cost. Besides... you saw that design sketch, didn't you?"
Tetsuya put the copy back in his bag.
"Honestly, if that design had appeared at Geika University, I wouldn't have been surprised at all. But if it comes from the hands of a fifteen-year-old, the nature of it is completely different. Her talent and natural gifts mean her perspective is inherently higher than that of an average person, and because of that, she overlooks these things that aren't so important to a genius."
"..."
Sakiko, who had also seen the other girl's design, couldn't help but clench her fists lightly.
"Although it was a gorgeous design that didn't consider cost, the overall coordination of the various elements and the final visual presentation were truly outstanding..."
No matter how unwilling she was to admit it, Sakiko had to concede that this young lady, a year younger than herself, was far superior to her in fashion design.
"This is the design industry, Sakiko."
Looking at Sakiko's somewhat dejected expression, Tetsuya said.
"In this industry, talent and ability mean everything. As long as you have talent, even a middle school girl can draw a sufficiently outstanding design."
He paused for a moment, then couldn't help but smile.
"And an apprentice who has only been on the job for a month can also use her own design to mend the friendship between herself and her friends, helping them overcome a hurdle they thought was impossible to cross."
"..."
Hearing this, Sakiko knew exactly which "apprentice" Tetsuya was talking about.
Although the outfit she had designed for Soyo had indeed received a lot of praise, after seeing Luna's design just now, the little bit of pride that had just begun to swell in her heart immediately cooled.
"The length of time I've been on the job doesn't change the fact that my skills are inferior."
Sakiko shook her head.
"If I truly want to become Chihaya-nii's 'number one employee,' my current level... is still far from enough."
In order to keep up with Tetsuya's pace, and also to win against that eccentric young lady.
She still needed to learn and train much more.
"In any case, we've secured the sponsor."
Tetsuya said.
"We now have the conditions to officially strike out on our own, but before that... we have more important work to finish here."
With that, he turned to look at Sakiko and said:
"Sakiko, could you help me contact Uika and ask her when she's free?"
"For this outfit... I want to use 'haute couture' production standards, just like last time."