It was almost five o'clock when Sajuna finally emerged from Akira's room.
"Sajuna found the story very moving."
Akira sensed that Sajuna's emotions were a bit turbulent, perhaps with tears still in her eyes.
Girls' empathy is inexplicably strong; they truly are emotional beings.
"Sakuta in the story is as gentle as Aki-Kun," Sajuna said, touched. He poured his heart into helping his senior for just a promise.
He also gave his all for his friends.
To take care of his younger sister, he left his parents and cared for Kaede, who couldn't go out, by himself.
He truly is a gentle (yasashii) boy.
Although the "puberty syndrome" setting felt a bit unscientific, the characters in the book always used scientific theories to analyze these supernatural phenomena.
It seemed a bit strange.
Sajuna continuously shared her thoughts with Akira, becoming particularly excited when she talked about Sakuta and Sakurajima Mai traveling together and sleeping in the same room at night.
"Mai must have been extremely uneasy at that time."
"She was afraid she would truly disappear and leave no trace in this world."
"That's why she wanted to give her kiss to Sakuta, who was trying his best to help her, as it was the only bond she could hold onto."
"Sakuta was also very gentle; because he had already made up his mind, he absolutely wouldn't allow Mai to do that."
Akira replied with a smile.
"I felt it would have been natural for Mai to cry silently at that point, but then I thought Mai had been an actress since childhood and should be stronger, so I changed it to her saying 'thank you' twice to Sakuta."
"I think that was Mai's most vulnerable moment," Akira explained.
"Hmm, I also felt Mai was more vulnerable at that time."
"After that, Mai decided to face the illness happening to her together with Sakuta."
Akira was happy with Sajuna's reaction because it proved that his writing skills hadn't ruined the novel.
Although, strictly speaking, this book was plagiarism, he had only watched the anime before.
Converting an anime into an already best-selling novel was also a very demanding task.
Often, the atmosphere visible in a scene cannot be summarized with just one word.
A simple expression in a scene might be driven by countless psychological activities behind it.
Akira brought out the finished tempura and seaweed soup from the kitchen, along with several pieces of sushi and tempura.
"These are all the ingredients left at home, Sajuna, so please make do."
"Aki-Kun is always so modest," Sajuna praised. Aki-Kun's cooking was so delicious that it made her lose confidence in her own cooking.
The two finished dinner together, tidied up the remaining dishes, and washed them clean in the kitchen.
"Aki-Kun."
"Hm?"
"Can I also cook for Aki-Kun in the future?"
Sajuna hesitated, saying, "Although my cooking isn't as good as Aki-Kun's, I can't let Aki-Kun always cook. As his girlfriend, I should at least let Aki-Kun eat a bento made with my love."
Sajuna felt a bit guilty, but helplessly, Aki-Kun's cooking skills were clearly something she couldn't catch up to in a short time.
Not to mention Aki-Kun wouldn't stand still either.
By then, she would probably be even further behind.
"Yes, I agree."
The two reached a consensus on the division of cooking. Akira would take on most of the cooking, but when Sajuna wanted to cook for Akira, she would get to do it.
The two returned to Akira's bedroom.
Akira sat down at the computer desk. There were no chairs around, and the desk chair was on the opposite side of the room.
Sajuna hesitated, thinking it might not be good to bring the desk chair over, then saw Akira looking at her.
"Eh?!"
Akira took Sajuna's hand and gently pulled her toward him.
"Sajuna, would you like to sit on my lap?"
His voice was close to her ear, slightly magnetic, and his warm breath brushed against Sajuna's earlobe.
It was a bit, no, very stimulating.
Sajuna's head spun, and she instinctively nodded, then was pulled onto Akira's right thigh.
Akira felt it was truly a bit dangerous for Sajuna to sit on his lap like this.
Whether it was her dazed expression or the intoxicating atmosphere, it always made Akira feel uneasy, fearing he might lose control and do something he shouldn't.
It would be too late if it reached the point of a soft seat becoming an outlet.
Feeling Sajuna's soft body even more, Akira couldn't help but feel his mind wander.
He gently put his arm around Sajuna's shoulders. Her petite figure allowed Akira's arm to easily wrap tightly around her, even allowing him to move freely in front.
"Sajuna, do you know anything about light novels?" Akira asked Sajuna, who was in his arms.
"No, I don't know," Sajuna stammered.
"Then let's find a famous publisher," Akira decided directly.
He didn't need to worry about the publisher taking advantage of him. After all, he still had a variety of creative ideas in his mind. If he wasn't comfortable, he would just switch publishers and leave.
He couldn't rely on just one work, after all.
Akira opened the Dengeki Bunko website, found the submission editor's email, packaged his contact information and the novel manuscript, then clicked send, successfully submitting it.
Next was waiting for the editor's reply, and there was no rush to write the content for the second volume.
After all, as an author, isn't procrastinating a common thing?
His previous hard work was just for the enjoyment of waiting for royalties after submission.
If life was nothing but toil, what fun would there be?
All the current effort and struggle were for better relaxation.
Akira felt he was the type of person who could just slack off after earning enough money for a lifetime.
But now, as his almost omnipotent self, he certainly wouldn't easily slack off.
After all, at least to fulfill some of Sajuna's wishes, he still needed to work harder.
"Aki-Kun, has it, has it been submitted already?" Sajuna asked, covering her face and looking at the computer.
"It's been submitted. Now we just have to wait for the editor's reply." Akira let out a sigh of relief and once again tightly embraced Sajuna in his arms.
The soft sensation from his legs came through; he felt that the petite Sajuna wasn't all bones.
The places he touched were inexplicably soft.
Akira's thigh couldn't help but move, and he felt he was sensing the edge of some clothing.
"Since, since it's already submitted, can I get down now?" Aki-Kun's scent was so strong that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself.
And Aki-Kun's leg must have felt it just now.
Sajuna was extremely mortified.