Wakana lay on the floor, covering his face with a towel, unable to stop sobbing.
It was his first time helping someone, and Akira-kun had even helped him.
Why couldn't he do it right?
Wakana blamed himself, his mind filled with chaotic thoughts clashing together.
"Wakana, you actually like girl dolls! I'm breaking up with you."
The image of the girl crying and leaving flashed through Wakana's mind.
He was already an adult, yet the shadows of his childhood still haunted him.
But what Akira said felt like it happened just yesterday.
"It's because of your dedication to what you love. Your passion surpasses most mediocre people in this world, which is why you seem out of place in others' eyes, and are even disliked."
"Because of passion, you can endure the loneliness of having no social life and turn it into motivation to move forward. Because of passion, you can strengthen your inner self and push yourself towards your goal."
"Passion is not lowly; it is a beautiful virtue."
"A genius scientist is not pitied for a lonely childhood, nor slandered for having few friends. Be more confident, Wakana."
He truly loved the profession of a doll maker, and he was working hard towards his goal!
Even though the journey was tough, most things in life were not smooth sailing.
Passion alone wouldn't be enough to sustain his perseverance.
His grandfather must have faced many challenges as a doll maker, overcoming countless obstacles to achieve his current level of craftsmanship.
Wakana murmured to himself—he couldn't just give up so easily.
After all, he had come this far; if he gave up now, would he just quit every time he faced difficulty in the future?
With this thought, Wakana sat up straight, wiped the tears from his eyes, and a determined expression appeared on his face.
He had to finish this outfit well!
He couldn't afford to disappoint Kitagawa-san's expectations!
He would never, ever accept such a thing!
The next morning, Akira woke up, turned off his phone alarm, and the first message he saw was from Wakana on Line.
[Wakana: I finished the outfit.]
It seemed he had worked hard all night.
Akira thought this, picked up his phone, and replied to Wakana.
[Akira: Congratulations.]
After sending the message, he tossed his phone aside, walked out of the bedroom to wash up, and examined himself in the mirror as part of his usual routine.
He seemed a bit more handsome than when he first arrived.
It should be the optimization brought by the experience system.
Akira judged this since, during this period, while improving his skill levels, he had also inevitably exercised in various aspects, and his overall spirit had greatly improved.
At least, he no longer resembled the bookish high school student he once was.
Of course, Akira controlled the speed of all these changes so that they wouldn't appear too abrupt to others.
Now, the students in the classroom still thought he was probably too shy to make friends at the beginning of the school year and was only now slowly unleashing his true nature, appearing a bit more popular.
In that sense, Akira's current social relationships were quite successful.
May 26th, Saturday, a day off from part-time work.
Akira planned to take Sajuna to see the outfit Wakana had just finished making.
After sending a message to Sajuna on Line, Akira headed directly to her house.
Feeling the cool breeze of early summer, Akira didn't even carry his schoolbag, and ran all the way to Sajuna's house, panting.
Fortunately, although he ran a not-so-short distance, he didn't sweat, so he didn't look messy.
Akira arrived, pressed the doorbell, and Shinju's voice came from inside.
"Is Akira-kun here?"
"Good morning, Shinju!"
Akira greeted her energetically, and soon, Shinju, dressed in homewear, opened the door from inside.
"Good morning, Akira-kun."
"My sister is in her bedroom."
Shinju smiled brightly when she saw Akira, then explained quietly.
Sajuna was probably too shy to come and greet him herself.
Akira thought this as he stepped inside, changed his shoes at the entrance, and walked towards Sajuna's bedroom.
"Sajuna isn't changing, is she? I'm coming in!"
After lightly knocking twice on the door, Akira asked again, and after waiting two seconds, he heard Sajuna's soft reply, so he pushed open the door and walked in.
As soon as he entered, he saw Sajuna, who usually only wore an oversized T-shirt at home, now wearing a fitted black dress. She was fidgeting, looking at Akira as he entered.
If he remembered correctly, Sajuna had originally worn this outfit when she followed Kitagawa and the others, right?
"Does the outfit look good?"
"It looks absolutely beautiful!"
Akira's eyes lit up as he praised, "Before, I always saw Sajuna in her uniform, and I thought that if Sajuna wore casual clothes, she would definitely look very beautiful. Now it turns out I was right."
"I'm glad you like it."
Sajuna seemed to release a sigh of relief, then asked Akira, "Where are we going today?"
It wouldn't be a date for two, would it? Sajuna thought to herself.
"Oh, I didn't explain it clearly to you," Akira suddenly realized. "Didn't I tell you before that I was helping someone make an outfit?"
"Now that the outfit is finished, I thought I'd take you to see it."
"It's not just the two of us?" Sajuna said quietly, turning her face away.
Akira didn't hear Sajuna's little thought; he just said, "That outfit is truly beautiful. I thought I'd show it to you first, Sajuna."
"After all, Sajuna, you also need to purchase clothes for your cosplay."
"Is the outfit very beautiful?" Sajuna asked.
"Hmm, overall, it's the kind of outfit that makes people unable to look away at first glance," Akira thought for a moment before answering. For university students like them, it had indeed reached that level.
"Then let's go see it, as Akira-kun wishes," Sajuna said tsundere-like, "Let's see what kind of outfit can be praised like this by Akira-kun."
"However, the owner of the outfit is also a cosplayer, and it seems she's even a fan of yours, Sajuna!" Akira smiled. "I hope Sajuna won't be too surprised then."
"Wh-how could that be!" Sajuna's eyes widened, "She's just a fan, how could it reach that point?"
Sajuna looked at the smiling Akira and lightly clenched her fists. "I just hope she's not the kind of cosplayer I dislike."