Chapter 255

"Hmm~..."

Kitagawa Marin instinctively shrank back, her previous liveliness vanishing once more, replaced by a tense expression.

I felt a different kind of shame welling up inside me than before.

What is this? It seems to be called... Foot Shame?

There are quite a few measurements needed for the feet, including forefoot, hindfoot, midfoot width, arch length, ankle circumference, etc.

After each measurement, he would hold it between his legs to prevent the smooth, mischievous thing from slipping away. After recording the results, he would repeat this process.

"..."

"..."

After a slightly ambiguous silence, he finally lowered her lower limbs.

"Alright."

"Phew~ It's finally over! Thank you for your hard work, Sakurakoji-kun!"

Upon hearing his instructions, Kitagawa Marin breathed a sigh of relief, finally completing the task.

She wondered what changes might occur to her if she continued like this, no, even now...

Thinking of this, she quickly went to her clothes and put them on. Performing alone was just too embarrassing!

"Oh, right, Kitagawa-classmate, could you close your eyes?"

After she finished dressing, Sakurakoji Talent made a somewhat abrupt request.

So focused on having fun, I almost forgot about the important matter.

"Hmm? That's possible... I understand."

Without thinking too much, Kitagawa Marin obediently closed her eyes.

She didn't doubt that he had any evil intentions; after all, if he really wanted to, he would have already done it.

Moreover, even if she did have some ulterior motives, she didn't feel that she was the one who would suffer a loss.

It's rare to meet a friend who shares the same interests, is handsome, gentle, and suits her taste. Even if she were to try dating him—it doesn't seem so bad, does it?

After a brief rustling sound, the other person's footsteps approached from afar. Her long eyelashes trembled, and she resisted the urge to open them.

A few seconds later, a cool and soft touch descended upon her... equally soft, slightly warm red lips.

The two touched briefly and then separated. She instinctively took a step back, startled, and then suddenly opened her eyes.

Standing in front of her was Sakurakoji Talent, Hands was holding up an exquisitely crafted, adorable doll that looked remarkably like him, and smiling at her.

"Isn't it cute? Here, it's yours. Consider it a gift for our first meeting."

"Oh oh..."

Kitagawa Marin blankly accepted the elastic doll, which had no fabric to the touch and was extremely similar to a human body, and lightly covered her mouth with her hand.

What? It's a doll? She thought it was... She secretly glanced at Sakurakoji Talent, who was casually playing with his phone with an expressionless face, and felt ashamed of her thoughts, her pretty face turning rosy.

Yeah, we've only just met. Expecting Sakurakoji-kun to have any feelings for her... isn't that just too narcissistic of her?

Beside.

Sakurakoji Talent, who was staring blankly at his phone screen with his fingers lightly moving, sighed deeply. He felt weak all over and had an urge to faint from lack of oxygen.

So that's how it is. This is really troublesome...

Chapter 303: A Date, Shopping, and Meeting with Three Women.

By the way, who made this doll? It's so cute!

On the other side, Kitagawa Marin quickly put the matter aside and began fiddling with the white-haired doll in her hands.

With its exquisitely chibi-style design, unisex cute outfit, and its disdainful upturned mouth that looks like it could hold a wine bottle, it's absolutely adorable!

The exposed skin is covered with a layer of high-grade silicone, which explains the cool sensation.

She kept comparing the doll to the Hayato in front of her, finding it more and more interesting.

Could it be that Sakurakoji-kun can also make this expression and pose? What would it look like?

"Next, we need to buy fabric and matching accessories. Let's go, let's go to Shibuya or Ikebukuro first, and have lunch there too."

After putting down his phone, Sakurakoji Talent stepped out of the room.

"Hey~ so fast~ Let's rest for a bit~"

"It's almost noon, we'd better hurry. Do you know any shops?"

"Yes, there is..."

"Let's go then!"

"Eh~ Sakurakoji-kun -kun~"

"..."

Half an hour later, the two arrived at a cosplay specialty store in Ikebukuro.

Comparing the pictures of Kuroe Shizuku on his phone, Sakurakoji Talent nodded repeatedly. Although he had never played the game, he roughly understood based on the pictures of her from various angles online.

"So? What materials do you need?"

Kitagawa Marin also leaned her head close to his shoulder and looked at his phone.

"I think I understand. To be honest, the only things that really need to be bought to match are probably the choker, colored contact lenses, false eyelashes, eyelid tape, wig, and shoes. As for the other items, like stockings, lace, fabric headbands, artificial roses, ribbons, and the puffy inner skirt... I can make them all as long as I have the corresponding fabric."

"I already have all the zippers and special threads I need, and I can also find all the foundation and lipstick shades I need for makeup, so I don't need to buy any more."

"Ah, hairnets, hair clips, mirror combs, makeup boxes, craft knives, glue, band-aids, and other cosplay props—you'll need to buy these if you don't already have them."

"Ma Ji?"

Kitagawa Marin stared at his profile in surprise. "You can tell so much just by looking at him? As expected of Sakurakoji-kun!"

"Basic operations are not a big deal."

He scoffed. "Who do you think he is? He stands at the pinnacle of the world, destined to be written into textbooks, and admired by countless fashion design students and professionals alike..."

"Ah, I've already bought all the necessary props for cosplay, so I don't need to prepare any more!"

"... Is that so? That's good."

He sighed softly and continued, "Then, there's only one question left."

"What? What?"

Kitagawa Marin quickly took small, quick steps, already eager to go shopping.

"What's your budget, Kitagawa-classmate?"

He asked this practical question.

"Huh?"

Kitagawa Marin stopped abruptly, tilted her head, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Although the items I want to buy are decided, the quality of the fabrics and accessories available varies greatly depending on the budget, and the final quality will also differ significantly... However, most people probably won't pay that much attention to the details."

"I see. So, how much is the most expensive type?"

"While saying there's no upper limit is a bit of an exaggeration, it's undoubtedly an astronomical figure, one you probably don't want to hear."

"Oh, I see..."

Kitagawa Marin clutched her ample chest, still feeling a bit taken aback. "Actually, the money I've saved from working part-time as a hair model is about..."

She tiptoed and whispered a number in his ear, then looked at him with concern.

"How about this? Is it enough?"

"Hmm... to be honest, I was very nervous, but I could feel Kitagawa-classmate's passion for cosplaying characters."

Sakurakoji Talent nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll cover the extra amount in advance. You can pay me back later when you earn more money."

"Haha...!"

Kitagawa Marin smiled with delight, her large, ruby-red eyes sparkling. "Thank you! Sakurakoji-kun!"

"It's okay, but isn't it a bit low for you to earn money with just that part-time job?"

Without making a sound, he began to cast the bait and lay the net.

"It's quite difficult to make a living out of passion. You'll probably have many more characters to cosplay in the future, right? Do you need me to introduce you to some jobs?"

"Is that okay?! Actually, I've been thinking about that too!"

Kitagawa Marin nodded repeatedly, but also felt troubled. "But I also have to go to school. This part-time Sui High and doesn't require too much time, so it's already pretty good!"

"It's okay, what I'm going to introduce to you is probably similar to that... If all else fails, you can always skip class and ask for leave, right?"

Sakurakoji Talent stared at her with a mischievous smile, considering whether to bring her on board as the first artist signed by his Entertainment Studio.

With her qualifications and abilities... she could be assigned to the modeling group, taking on clothing modeling jobs, magazine gigs, and small advertisements. After gaining some fame, she could also expand into cosplay-related businesses.

Well, if Kawaragi Momoka and the others are in a hurry to make money, we can bring them in first.

Oh, so you're saying that before the band group, the acting group, and the performance group, it was actually the modeling group that was formed?

It seems this world still judges people by their looks and figure; there's no hope for it.

"Moreover, excellent cosplayers can also make money. Once you participate in more events and accumulate fans by posting some exquisite cosplay photos online, you can start taking orders."

"Is that possible? It must be difficult to achieve that level of skill, right?"

Kitagawa Marin blinked. She was still in the early stages of creating this out of pure passion, and hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"It's alright, it's alright. I trust your looks and my skills. Okay, let's go grab a bite to eat first, and then we'll go buy the ingredients."

It was almost lunchtime, he suggested.

"Okay! I understand!"

The two quickly grabbed a ramen at a Ramen restaurant for lunch, and then began wandering through the cosplay shops and fabric stores in Ikebukuro.

"Swallowtail? This is the first time I've heard of it. Wow, the number of wigs... should be fine."

"The purple wig is closer to the picture than the black one. Let's choose this black with purple undertones, and a longer one so I can have it trimmed when I go for my hair treatment."

"While you can make suspenders and stockings yourself, buying fabric specifically for that would be more expensive, so let's just buy ready-made ones."

"Hmm? Today's perk and thank-you gift? If I had seen this before taking your measurements, you would have been excited and happy. Well, it suits you quite well, I hope you'll wear this in the studio next time!"

"You were the one who brought this up first, so why are you the one who blushed first?"

"Awkward? Not at all. It's not like this is my first time shopping at a women's lingerie store. And even if I come alone, people usually don't think I'm a pervert."

"Alright, hurry up, we need to get to the next place soon."

"..."

After shopping for over an hour, the two finally bought all the items they needed.

For shopping, this amount of time is not only short, but frighteningly short.

Even for ordinary people, it takes two or three hours to prepare basic clothing items before buying them, let alone buying more complicated items.

However, Sakurakoji Talent is such that he makes decisions after just a few glances in the store, without wasting any time. Although the things he picks are surprisingly suitable, this makes Kitagawa Marin complain that shopping with him is much less fun.

He didn't want it to be like this, but he had things to do this afternoon, and if he didn't hurry, he wouldn't make it—or rather, it seemed the other party had already arrived.

"I have an appointment this afternoon, and I have to leave after putting my things back, so I can't stay with you. I'm sorry!"

"Mmm~"

Kitagawa Marin shook her head. "I'm already so happy that Sakurakoji-kun agreed to make me clothes! I'm the one who should be saying thank you!"

"Yes, you're welcome to come visit me later... but I'd prefer you contact me by phone beforehand, since I'm often not there."

"I understand! In that case, let's exchange contact information!"

Kitagawa Marin grinned and held up her phone.

"Okay, that's settled then. By the way, when is the event you're going to participate in?"

As he typed the note, he casually asked.