It was seven-thirty in the morning.
With the gentle ringing of his phone alarm and the bright sunlight streaming in, Akira crawled out of bed, clutching his sore arm.
When he got home yesterday, he had been unexpectedly surprised to find that Sajuna-chan had replied to his message.
As a result, after returning home, he felt highly motivated and practiced every skill his body could muster. The outcome? He had been so focused that he strained his arm during his physical training.
Akira's arm was still sore. He gingerly held it, awkwardly showered, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and finally shuffled into the kitchen, where he laboriously made breakfast using only his right arm.
Today was Sunday, a day without mandatory plans as usual.
Akira briefly considered crawling back into bed to sleep some more, but then dismissed the idea with a firm resolution. His mind was still clear, and he couldn't afford to waste time. Even though he could indulge in laziness, he knew he had to use this precious time to build his future.
In this romantic world, although everyone was an adult, the timelines between the original plotlines were tight.
If he didn't master the relevant skills in time, wouldn't he just be a burden on others?
Watching others succeed from the sidelines was never a pleasant feeling.
Akira rubbed his head, trying to self-motivate.
He reorganized the review materials in his backpack. Given his current condition, he likely wouldn't be able to learn tailoring today, so he decided to help Wakana with his studies instead.
"I'll tutor you today," Akira said, opening his phone and sending a LINE message.
"Okay, Akira-kun," Wakana replied almost instantly.
By the time Akira arrived at Wakana's house, it was already half-past eight.
When he left his house, he unexpectedly saw a black cat. He stopped, staring into its eyes for about ten minutes.
He had always heard rumors that seeing a black cat could bring bad luck.
But then again, he also believed that seeing a black cat could bring good fortune.
These two conflicting thoughts swirled around in Akira's mind.
Akira crouched down, trying to pet the black cat he'd encountered in the alley. However, the cat simply stared back, calmly grooming its paws, as if ignoring Akira's approach.
Finally, just as Akira's hand was about ten centimeters from the cat's head, it looked up, meowed once, jumped onto a nearby wall, and disappeared.
Akira was left standing there, stunned.
He felt as though he had been led on and then abandoned by the cat.
The black cat seemed to be the typical "green tea" type: not proactive, neither accepting nor rejecting, but always leaving just when it seemed within reach.
Akira felt a little disheartened by the cat's departure.
He considered himself a handsome Japanese man, so why didn't cats like him?
Did cats in anime worlds only like beautiful girls?
Was there some rule about creating the iconic "beautiful girl smiling, half-crouching, petting a cat" scene?
Cute Marin.
Akira, his thoughts now distracted, finally reached Wakana's house. He gently knocked on the door, entered the shop, and opened Wakana's bedroom door.
Wakana was busy sorting through the fabrics and discarded clothing patterns scattered all around his room. Crumpled paper balls were strewn everywhere.
"You still need to tidy up, huh?" Akira said, glancing around.
"Um, Akira-kun, could you wait a moment?" Wakana responded without stopping his work.
Akira waved his hand. "Let's study in the living room today." He then walked into the living room with his backpack.
In the center of the living room was a dining table, perfect for two people to study at.
Akira pulled out various review materials from his backpack and began reviewing.
[Reading Lv5: 88/100]
His recent reading experience hadn't increased much, since he was focused on reviewing for the midterm exams. The experience bar only grew during his first round of review.
During the second round, experience points weren't gained, but his mastery of the material improved.
This gave him confidence in tutoring Wakana.
After reviewing the material two or three times, he could help others with their studies as effectively as a teacher.
This would be crucial for his future interactions with people.
After all, no matter how many skills he had, if he couldn't help his friends, it would create a sense of distance.
He couldn't afford to "down-grade" his friends.
He still wanted his friends to grow alongside him.
Akira sighed, put down his book, and pulled out a new exercise book, handing it to Wakana, who had just exited the bedroom.
"First, do the practice problems I've organized, then we'll review."
"Okay."
Wakana quickly adjusted his mindset, shifting from his costume-making thoughts to focus on studying.
The living room fell into a quiet rhythm, with only the sounds of pages turning and pens moving across paper.
By the time Wakana finished the exercises, it was almost noon. Akira took the exercise book from him, skimmed through it, and breathed a sigh of relief.
He felt lucky—Wakana wasn't just a university student with maxed-out tailoring skills. The accuracy of his work surprised him.
But then again, it made sense. In the anime, no matter how much Wakana struggled with making clothes for Kitagawa, his main concern was always not being able to finish them in time. His academic performance was secondary.
This made Akira's job much easier.
Akira spent the rest of the day at Wakana's house.
At noon, Akira impressed Wakana with his cooking skills, successfully conquering his praise.
Wakana's shocked expression and words of admiration left Akira feeling smug, thinking, "Where? Keep going!"
Cooking was a necessary skill for the male lead in a Japanese romance anime!
This way, he could officially qualify as a male protagonist.
In the evening, after their study session ended, Akira stretched.
Wakana stood up and said, "Sorry, Akira-kun, I have to go visit my grandfather, so I can't treat you to dinner."
"Can I come with you?" Akira asked, surprising Wakana. "It'll put your grandfather at ease!"
"Then I'll trouble you, Akira-kun," Wakana replied, rubbing his neck.
He was starting to learn how to be less reserved around friends.