Orihe: [Mr. Ito, my friend said she asked another friend to COS the Cat Girl you mentioned. Is that okay?]
Rin Ito: [Of course, that's fine.]
Rin Ito had originally wanted Orihe's friend to consider cosplaying the heroine of Sagiri's doujinshi to be the booth girl, as Sagiri needed more motivation. He hadn't expected Orihe's friend to bring along another friend to COS as well.
Rin Ito: [If possible, can we arrange a time to meet?]
It wasn't that Rin Ito was lusting after the cosplayers. He just wanted to tell them about Sagiri and planned to ask them to encourage Sagiri to leave the house.
Orihe: [We're meeting this afternoon to take measurements. I'll ask them if they are available.]
A little while later, Orihe gave an affirmative answer. Since they were students and Orihe had to work, the meeting was scheduled for the afternoon after they got off school and work. It was also a good opportunity to treat them to cake or something as a thank you... After all, they would be doing him a favor, a concept Rin Ito deeply understood. When he was eaten, Rin Ito could clearly feel the soft, sticky lining of their mouths.
Upon receiving Orihe's reply, Rin Ito looked at Sagiri. Rin Ito clearly knew how happy it was for a creator to have their characters liked, especially enough for someone to want to COS them. If there were punishments for not drawing, there should be rewards for drawing well.
"Wh-Why are you looking at me? I... I won't do anything indecent with you!"
"Do you take me for a pervert?" Rin Ito paused, then showed a boastful, cunning, wicked smile. "Hehe... I just got a call. My editor told me someone wants to COS the heroine in my doujinshi."
"Ugh..." Sagiri's lips twitched. What is wrong with this guy!? Is he going to be so blatantly boastful!? Although Rin Ito was outside just now, Sagiri could somewhat guess what he was talking about.
"Hehehe, jealous?" Rin Ito looked teasingly at the slightly pouting and aggrieved Sagiri.
"I'm not jealous!" Sagiri glared fiercely at Rin Ito. "Not at all!"
"ϵ=(oο'*)))Ah... Not jealous at all? I was thinking if you could finish your doujinshi in time for this convention, I'd find you a booth girl to COS as a reward."
"!!!!!"
"Do you want it? Do you want a Cat Girl booth girl COS? Not saying anything means you don't want it, I guess? In that case, I'll just decline." Rin Ito pretended to reach for his phone to send a message.
"I want it..." Sagiri's voice was barely a whisper.
"Want what?" Rin Ito looked at Sagiri with a smile.
"I... I want to see a COSPLAY of the heroine in the doujinshi I drew..." Sagiri's voice was a little louder.
"COSPLAY of what?"
Rin Ito continued to tease the increasingly red-faced Sagiri.
"I want to see the COSPLAY of the heroine in the doujinshi I drew!!!!" Sagiri shouted in a fit of angry embarrassment, tears welling up in her blue eyes. Even the System Daughter next door poked her head out, looking curiously toward Sagiri's room.
"If you want to see it, finish the doujinshi before the convention. For today, just finish 10 pages of storyboards!"
Sagiri nodded heavily. Under the temptation of the Cat Girl COSPLAY, Sagiri stopped procrastinating and started drawing the storyboards with full motivation.
Seeing Sagiri so motivated, Rin Ito was relieved. I wonder how long this motivation will last. Setting an alarm, Rin Ito also focused on his own drawing.
Later that afternoon, the phone alarm brought Rin Ito back to reality. Rin Ito leaned over Sagiri's shoulder, looking at her screen.
"How much did you draw?"
"Eight... eight pages," Sagiri answered cautiously.
Seeing Sagiri's adorable fear of being cut off from the internet, Rin Ito tapped her head. "Eight pages is good enough. Keep it up. It's getting late, I'm heading back now."
It was getting late, and Sagiri's brother should be home soon. Although he had given Rin Ito the house key, it would be awkward to be caught alone with his sister. It would be great if Sagiri could leave the house later... that way, it wouldn't be awkward to have parties elsewhere! Hehehe.
Rin Ito arranged to meet Orihe at a dessert shop. Orihe would drive to pick up the girls after work and then they would all come together. Rin Ito didn't have to wait long at the dessert shop before he saw three people walking together through the window glass. Rin Ito waved at the trio through the window.
The three quickly entered the dessert shop. The two JK (high school girls) were not shy at all and greeted Rin Ito warmly.
"You're Mr. Ito, right? I'm Marin Kitagawa, and she's my friend Misaki. Nice to meet you."
Orihe's friend was naturally outgoing and greeted Rin Ito right away. Rin Ito sized up Marin and Misaki. The first impression both gave Rin Ito was that of gyarus (gals). They had dyed blonde hair, wore earrings, had their uniform jackets tied around their waists, and their uniform shirts were somewhat loose around the collar and tie, revealing a delicate collarbone. Marin's blonde hair looked dyed; it wasn't as naturally radiant as Mashiro's or the System Daughter's, but the hair quality was still excellent and visibly smooth. Misaki's uniform was also tied around her waist like Marin's. Her blonde hair seemed natural, but it looked a bit messy, and her skin was a distinctly appealing tan, unlike Marin's pale complexion.
While both gave Rin Ito the initial impression of being gyarus, Misaki's gal image leaned toward the old-school delinquent type, while Marin seemed more like a cheerful gal who simply loved to dress up.
However... Marin Kitagawa? That name, coupled with COSPLAY... Rin Ito had a vague recollection, but too much time had passed for him to remember the details. He only remembered her as the heroine of a slice-of-life anime.
As for Misaki beside her, Rin Ito had absolutely no recollection.
In fact, whether he remembered them or not didn't make much difference. Having entered this mixed real and fictional world, their life paths could be completely different from what Rin Ito remembered. Just like Nanami and Mashiro, whom Rin Ito remembered vividly, their lives were completely different from his memories.
"Hello," Rin Ito offered a gentle smile to the two, pushing the dessert shop menu toward the trio. "I didn't know what you liked, so I haven't ordered. Please feel free to order anything."
"Really? Thank you so much~ Misaki, I remember you wanted to try this parfait, right? Mr. Ito is treating us today~ Orihe, I remember you like this one, right? Waiter~~~"
The naturally friendly Marin began ordering without hesitation. After placing the order, Marin looked at Rin Ito with curiosity. Although she enjoyed reading manga, watching anime, and playing GALGAMEs, this was Marin's first time meeting an author.
Rin Ito blinked. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, no." Marin blinked too. "It's just... Mr. Ito is different from the stereotypical, unkempt manga artist. Have you ever thought about trying COSPLAY?"