With Kouki's matter concluded, Akira temporarily put aside the idea of recruiting more tasks for his club.
After all, summer vacation was approaching, and with the weekly study group held every Friday, there was even less time to busy himself with other things.
Kouki's situation made Akira realize that it was truly not easy to manage a club that helped others…
On Saturday, Akira was woken up by his alarm clock.
After a busy week, Akira finally received the first edition of "Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai " from the editorial department yesterday. They sent him fifty experimental copies for him to personally sign.
Last night, after signing all the books sent by the editorial department, Akira told Sajuna about his intention to go to the anime festival, and as expected, she requested to go with him.
After asking Haruno Kyoko about the precautions for attending the anime club, he subtly brought up his desire to bring his girlfriend to the anime festival, and Haruno Kyoko, representing the publishing house, readily agreed.
After waking up, a sleepy Akira walked to the bathroom for a quick wash, then went to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast.
After slowly finishing his breakfast alone, Sajuna's knock on the door came from the entrance.
"Knock, knock."
"Aki-Kun."
Sajuna's voice calling his name accompanied the knocking, and Akira quickly ran to the door to open it for her.
"Aki-Kun, good morning!"
"Good morning, Sajuna."
Akira responded.
Sajuna's hair was still tied into two small pigtails on either side, paired with a beige knitted cardigan and a floral half-skirt that Akira had helped her buy. Her smooth legs had no other adornments, presenting a pure, youthful girl image different from usual.
Sajuna took off her white shoes, stepped onto the genkan, and placed her shoulder bag on the clothes rack nearby.
"Aki-Kun, where are the books you signed yesterday? Let me see them quickly."
Sajuna seemed extremely curious.
When Aki-Kun told her about it yesterday, she couldn't help but want to come and see them.
After all, it was Aki-Kun's first book, and a youth light novel that looked like it would be a huge hit.
Akira looked a little helpless, reached out and took Sajuna's hand, leading her towards his room.
"They're all piled up in the room."
"Sajuna only envies me for publishing a light novel, but she doesn't see how tired my hand was from signing all those books last night!"
Akira even sighed dramatically after speaking.
Sajuna quickly hugged Akira's arm, cupped Akira's right hand, which he used for signing, and observed it carefully.
"My heart aches for Aki-Kun too!"
She said, pouting, "But this is also the fruit of Aki-Kun's hard work!"
"Then I'll comfort Aki-Kun like this."
Sajuna picked up Akira's palm and looked at it, seeing no wounds, only finding Aki-Kun's fingers crystal clear and slender, looking like works of art.
Even when she pressed her fingers against Aki-Kun's, she felt her own hands weren't as beautiful as Aki-Kun's.
Darn it!
How could Aki-Kun be so perfect!
As Sajuna thought this, her original intention to encourage Akira turned into an angry little bite on Akira's finger.
"Hiss."
Akira let out a pained sound.
"If you do that again, I'll bite an impression into every one of your fingers!"
Sajuna threatened with unclear meaning.
Akira suddenly wanted to say, "Please, by all means, treat me that way," but after thinking about it, he decided to salvage his image in Sajuna's mind and reached out to gently stroke Sajuna's hair.
Sajuna, however, looked at Akira in confusion.
Why did Aki-Kun suddenly become so gentle…
"The book cover is so beautiful!"
Sajuna picked up a book from the pile next to the table and began to flip through it.
"It's said that the editorial department rejected several versions before approving this cover."
Akira replied.
However, he had only heard this information from Haruno Kyoko, and he himself didn't know the status of "Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai " within the editorial department.
After all, if he really encountered foul play, he could always just rewrite another book and leave.
Akira looked at the bunny girl senpai in a school uniform on the cover; the beautiful image was strangely missing her face, making it look incredibly odd.
"Aki-Kun, I feel like the cover effect isn't as good as I imagined."
"It seems so, but it will definitely be re-released later, and then Sajuna will be there to help."
Akira pulled Sajuna into his arms, letting her hold the book and flip through it while nestled in his embrace, and he, in turn, ran his hand through her hair.
His fingertips slowly passed through Sajuna's hair, moving from the roots down the soft long strands to the tips, as if he were combing Sajuna's hair.
"After all, Sajuna has already agreed to help me draw the illustrations for the new volume, you know."
"You said you could find other illustrators to help!"
Sajuna quickly argued. Although her art teacher said her drawing talent was quite good, she had clearly only been studying for a short time and hadn't deliberately set aside time for drawing lessons. So, she was very unconfident about her current drawing skills.
This was Aki-Kun's first book, and such important illustrations were being entrusted to a girlfriend who had just started learning to draw. Although Sajuna was incredibly touched, her love for Akira couldn't be transformed into drawing skill, immediately improving her ability.
Sajuna decisively dissuaded Akira's idea of entrusting everything to her.
After looking at the written "Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai " with Sajuna for a while, Akira felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
He pulled out his phone, saw the message from editor Haruno Kyoko, and then told Sajuna, "The publishing house's car should be here soon."
Just a few minutes after he finished speaking, he heard the doorbell ring.
At the same time, a Line message from editor Haruno Kyoko also arrived.
Akira opened the door and saw Haruno Kyoko in a professional uniform, her face still adorned with black-rimmed glasses, followed by a young man in his twenties.
"Haruno-jie, good morning."
"Pillow-sensei, good morning!"
After they greeted each other, Haruno Kyoko slightly stepped aside and introduced the young man behind her to Akira.
"This is my junior from the editorial department, Ishigami Naoya."
The young man behind her politely bowed, "Hello, Pillow-sensei, I am Haruno-senpai's assistant, Ishigami Naoya. This time, I'm accompanying Haruno-senpai to help Pillow-sensei ensure the book signing goes smoothly."
What a humble demeanor, Akira glanced at Ishigami Naoya in front of him, feeling as if he had met another good person.
Haruno Kyoko glanced at Ishigami Naoya, then instructed Akira, "Pillow-sensei, if you can't reach me for any miscellaneous matters in the future, you can directly speak to Ishigami."
Hearing this, Akira nodded, and Ishigami Naoya, seeing no annoyance on Akira's face, then reacted.
"Yes, this is my Line. I hope Pillow-sensei can add me as a friend."
Akira took out his phone, added Ishigami Naoya's Line, and then led the two into his home.