In the afternoon, Akira and Sajuna returned to the Dengeki Bunko booth and resumed the autograph session.
The number of readers in front of the Dengeki Bunko booth was noticeably fewer than in the morning; after all, the morning was when most visitors explored, and by the afternoon, the foot traffic began to decrease, with only a few sporadic people coming to visit.
Akira sat bored at the autograph table, signing for the few remaining readers, while Sajuna sat beside him, watching drawing videos on her phone.
He wasn't sure if her art teacher recommended them, but ever since he asked Sajuna to illustrate his novel, Sajuna had started taking art seriously.
It seemed she was now incredibly dedicated!
Akira felt a slight sense of relief, as with the help of his experience system, he learned things faster than the average person.
If Sajuna didn't have any extraordinary talent, seeing such an excellent boyfriend, over time, she might still feel a sense of crisis.
Akira liked the current atmosphere of mutual companionship and growth between them, which had a simple, rustic feeling, like a man tilling and a woman weaving...
"Pillow-sensei, the autograph session will end in half an hour."
Ishigami Naoya checked the watch on his wrist and observed the flow of visitors.
"If you're tired, you can request to rest early."
Akira shook his head, not intending to be lazy; after all, the official announcement stated the autograph session was until 4 PM, so he would try to work until 4 PM.
If a reader arrived late due to an emergency, just as the session was about to end, he wanted to ensure they could still get a signed book.
However, speaking of book sales, only the morning's selling scene gave Akira a temporary taste of being a bestselling author.
By the afternoon, the sparse crowd always made Akira feel like his first book might have truly flopped...
Half an hour later, the Dengeki Bunko autograph session ended, and Ishigami Naoya, along with the on-site staff, began taking down the various banners hung at the booth.
Haruno Kyoko had gone to attend to something else and only returned in the afternoon after the autograph session concluded.
"Pillow-sensei."
"Haruno-san."
"I'm sorry, I might not be able to take you back."
Haruno Kyoko's face was full of apology as she looked at Ishigami Naoya beside her.
"The editorial department has a new marketing event that Ishigami and I need to attend together."
Akira waved his hand, indicating it was fine.
After all, he didn't have any celebrity baggage and wouldn't hold a grudge over such things, thinking he should be treated a certain way.
"Then let's take the train."
Akira skillfully took Sajuna's hand and looked down, asking Sajuna.
"Mm."
Sajuna nodded, then waved to Haruno Kyoko and Ishigami Naoya.
"Goodbye, Haruno-san, Ishigami-sensei."
"Goodbye."
"We are truly sorry."
Haruno Kyoko and Ishigami Naoya responded with their usual apologies, then also waved.
Akira, leading Sajuna by the hand, walked out of the convention center and slowly made their way along the road to the train station.
Speaking of which, when they came in the morning by the editorial department's car, the sky was still blue, showing no signs of rain.
By the time the two were about to leave, dark clouds began to appear in the sky, making it feel like it might start raining any moment.
"Sajuna, did you bring an umbrella?"
Akira turned his head to ask, then looked at the small bag Sajuna was carrying.
Such a backpack probably couldn't hold much, could it?
"No, I didn't."
Sajuna replied.
Looking at the weather, she instinctively thought of that time they went to the abandoned hospital together, when Aki-Kun held a large umbrella and stayed by her side.
Before that, there was the time she woke up to rain in the morning and ran through the drizzle to Aki-Kun's house for comfort.
Each memory was something she could savor repeatedly.
"Then let's buy one."
Akira nodded and took Sajuna to a convenience store, where he chose a black umbrella. Its large canopy could cover both of them, providing a great sense of security.
"Sajuna, is there anything else you want?"
Akira walked towards the checkout counter with the umbrella, asking Sajuna behind him.
While he was choosing the umbrella, he felt that Sajuna was looking around, searching for something.
He had already picked out the umbrella, but Sajuna came out from the shelves empty-handed. Had she not found what she wanted to buy?
"Did you not find what you wanted to buy?"
Akira asked, but then noticed Sajuna's eyes fixed on something on the small shelf by the checkout counter. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, like she had applied a beautiful, alluring rouge.
He followed Sajuna's gaze.
If he remembered correctly, the small shelves near the checkout counter usually held chewing gum or something similar...
At a glance, besides the expected chewing gum, Akira also saw many small, boxed products...
They all had things like "chaopao," "keli," "chijiu," "shuigan" on them.
The most familiar-looking one was a square package directly labeled "100."
Akira felt like he had often seen it in manga from his previous life.
"Sajuna, do you want to buy an 'umbrella'?"
Akira asked Sajuna calmly.
Although he felt there was nothing to hide by saying it directly, given Sajuna's shyness, Akira still refined his wording.
He wanted to buy a large umbrella, and Sajuna was thinking about a small umbrella.
It was perfectly reasonable to want to experience a small umbrella after experiencing a large one...
"Mm!"
Sajuna immediately flushed from her neck upwards, her entire face steaming as if boiling water.
"Aki-Kun, Aki-Kun, if you want to buy it, you can too..."
Sajuna shyly hugged Akira from behind, pressing her cheek against his back and whispering.
Fortunately, there weren't many people in the convenience store; otherwise, if people around saw them interacting like this, Sajuna's shyness might have escalated even further.
Akira thought that they had been dating for some time, and although their relationship had always been intimate, most of the big steps were initiated by Sajuna.
He was clearly putting a lot of effort into treating Sajuna well, but he always felt some pressure around him, or a hint that he should take their relationship with Sajuna further?
Akira sighed. His composed and dignified demeanor from when he transmigrated once again highlighted his difference from Japanese society's fast-paced, low-birthrate social norms.
These matters and related behaviors should, by all accounts, be taken for granted, Akira thought, reaching out to grasp Sajuna's hands wrapped around him, and turning his head to look into Sajuna's eyes.
"In that case, let's prepare for it."