The Grand Prize

The next day, Mom accepted my help request, and it wasn’t actually a family outing. Together with Sera, who held her hood covering her ears, we went to Market Street, and with an upturned face, Madame called out all of their workers to warmly welcome us as we entered the store. Even the other customers wandering around thought that we’re VIPs which in most cases were celebrities.

There’s too many people who Sera didn’t know, and being called a Monster may still be her concern until today. I could sense her fear, her clammy hands sweating and holding her shaking arms, closing her body from any approach. Her quivering lips might be her restraint to be silent as the conversation goes.

Madame approached us, opening her arms to hug Mom, and exclaimed.“Maki! How long has it been!? You’re still the same as when I met you!”

Mom also did the same and spoke while embracing, grasping the warmth between their bodies with her eyes wandering around the store, “This feels nostalgic, Madame. I missed you too. I never knew this place grew this big.”

Madame released the clasp to Mom’s bosom and continued with a grin that reached from ear to ear, “Of course, Maki! What do you take me for? I’m not only skilled in knitting and imitations, but I’m also business-minded.”

“It wasn't Madame I know if you’re not strategic with cash. How are things going here? And why are your workers lining up like soldiers? We’re just ordinary visitors.”

Placing her hand on her chest, Madame replied, “You’re not ordinary to us, Maki. If we didn’t know you, this business wouldn’t have bloomed. We all adore how skillful, ambitious, and leading you are. Even those new ones who aren’t familiar to you know you. Without your dedication to arts more than money, we may still be creating crap. You are our prime example, our role model.”

“That’s too much to think of me, Madame! I’m just an ordinary worker,” Mom chuckled, showing laughing lines on her face. “Think of us as normal customers. I only came here for a request and a visit.”

“Sure! Kou pulled you on this, didn't you? I can see your son’s potential ever since he’s staying here.”

My face reddened as I averted my gaze away. “You’re making me blush,” I muttered, squirming.

Madame noticed the tote bag I’m carrying, containing the disassembled costume together with the unpolished prints. Pinching her chin, she said. “I understand what you want us to do. I suppose the model will be the girl beside you.”

When Madame’s gaze met her, Sera tucked her trembling hand on my right arm and hid behind me. The emotions she held nearly spilled. The nerves on my arm popped out, showing how strong her grip was. Like a pulse, her trembling stopped and burst uncontrollably.

I caressed her hand and whispered, “It’s alright. She may be intimidating in looks, but she was way more reliable than you expect. She won’t harm you, just let Mom do the lead. Things will go smoothly.” The trembling stopped after hearing a long exhale and an agreeable nod from her.

“She’s gorgeous, and her body has ideal proportions, a model material. Who is she?” Madame asked, pivoting at Mom.

“My daughter, Sera. She’s shy, but her passion to cosplay elves was real,” Mom bragged.

“You never told me that Kou had a little sister. Did you adopt her? But it’s impossible… You had the same face,” pinching her cheek, Madame muttered.

“She went home from abroad under his Dad’s supervision, while I cared for Kou in Ningyocho. For now, she’s staying here until further notice.” That was a lie, and I adored how crafty Mom was when creating stories. This one scenario may be a product of her indefinite pacing at home. She might’ve even seen countless possibilities to forge the imaginary future in her mind. Luckily, they seem to look alike. Wait… Does that mean Mom could also cosplay Shizu-sama!?

Madame faced Sera and extended her hand. “Hello, Sera. It was nice to meet you. I’m Madame Rydia, and I’m your mom’s former colleague, now a business owner.”

Though she stopped trembling, she didn’t let go of her grip on my arm… until I tapped my fingers on it. I nodded when Sera’s gaze met mine. “You can shake her hand,” I whispered. Slowly, she released the grip, walked towards Madame, and shook her hand. Do elves know formal greetings in their world? Or did Mom just teach her beforehand?

With a smile, Madame asked, “What a pretty lady… Are you aware of what you will do for us?” When Sera shook her head, Madame continued, “You will be testing a specific clothing, and you will be rewarded on how long you relax. Don’t worry! We are guaranteed not to do anything malicious with you. You’re safe with us.”

“Right, Sera. You can trust her. If she did anything miserable to you, feel free to let me know,” Mom replied.

“Maki!”

Mom approached Madame and whispered, “By the way, let us talk with the terms. Since I can abuse my privileges, I only want you to be the critique of her modeling. There’s something about her that only we can see.”

An hour passed, every background customer stared at me, thinking I’m a celebrity as I circled the store for different fabric types and 3D printer filaments, imagining what project I should work on next after this, not thinking that this favor was my last goodbye to my dream career. There’s no stopping me when Shizu-sama entered my mind. All of those elegant and simple costumes, they are all made godly.

By this time, they should have been finished already, including the repainting of printed materials, the assembly, the makeup finish, and the error adjustments. I felt sorry that Madame was my last resort for this, but those were the things beyond my abilities.

A staff member announced from the broadcast speakers, “Kou Sugiyama, please proceed to the back office.”

They’re finished. A wide grin appeared on my face. My senses heightened, my chest lightened. I bounced from foot to prosthetic foot towards my destination, like I was in an adrenaline rush but hyperactive out of a sense of fun. What does Sera look like? If I see her, will I be able to hold my excitement, or will I faint? What would I look like if I saw the one I worship in reality, like a Goddess who stepped down from heaven?

I entered the back office, witnessing another door that leads to a private clothing room usually reserved by VIPs. The staff member assisted me towards the room where only Madame, Mom, and Sera were in. I ventured towards the private room full of maze-like curtains that occupied a fourth of the room, and when I reached the end of the path, traditionalism left me in awe.

In a platform made of soft birch wood stood a room with tatami mats made of woven rushes covering the floor. The walls of the open room included a shoji, a.k.a translucent sliding doors, filtering the warm background light outside, adding the softness of the Chinese lanterns’ light inside that created an inviting atmosphere.

Sitting on the low table, the ears of an elf stayed calm as she drank her tea in a seiza, a kneel, before a kotatsu, a low-coffee table accompanied by a thick fabric for inside heating. The tapestry of her dress shouted balance of divinity and mortality. Her eyes closed, her soft glowing lips manifested sexiness and elegance the moment it touched the lip of the embroidered ceramic mug. After drinking, she relaxingly exhaled and opened her eyes.

The real Shizu-sama! Unconsciously, my face slacked, my lips parting, breathless, uncertain of what I should feel. When our eyes met, my trembling body with muscles losing tension irresistibly leaned forward. I swallowed excessively, becoming inarticulate as I could feel the pulse on my throat.

My nerves were tingling, inviting my desire to approach her, savoring this moment that I’m with a goddess I longed for even in my dreams. My eyes were fixated at her, glued firmly, pulling out my phone to take a capture and engrave this moment in my memory.

I might be the luckiest man alive! Losing a limited-edition Shizu-sama figurine with removable clothes won’t stand a chance unless you lived with the real person, a literal grand prize! Though she was a cosplayer, there’s no other human, or elf, who could imitate Shizu-sama other than Sera. I would never forget this week in my entire life, and I could already feel that this moment will be taking over my dreams.

I’m sorry, Mimirin… I might’ve broken my promise. This is the only way I could catch up to you.

“CUT!” Madame, which I didn’t notice was beside me, shouted. She approached me, flexing her glittering white teeth, and said, “Oh, your face shows the answer. This is how our business treats high-paying personalities, far different from what you knew before.”

“A BIG WOW!” I exclaimed, my face beaming with strong color and sheen. My arm dragged my clenched fist down in a ‘Got it!’ sign.

Madame covered her tummy with her hands and laughed, “A big wow indeed… but we’re only focusing on the visuals here. As a critique, I can harshly state what needs to be done with your project, and if you asked your mom, our answers will be the same.”

“How’s your judgment, Madame?”

She waved her hand before her nose and said with a compressed face, “It smells awful! I unconsciously press my nose when I approach her. How long has it been since you did this? Did you use a perfume made of mold and expired bread?”

“Sorry, Madame. It’s been covered with tarp and plastic ever since I made it.” I purposely intended to create it only for Mimirin to wear it, but plans have changed. “If I may ask, what can you suggest I do with it?”

“We talked about this with your Mom, and I’m aware of your situation. I’m amazed that the fabric lasted for years. Its composition should be crumbling by now, making it fragile from a single tear. Our solutions will come up with severe risks, and you’ll be the one to decide how you’ll continue to showcase the costume to the public. Now I’ll ask you, if the convention is finished, will you still continue to pursue your dreams?”

When she asked me that question, it felt like the colors of my world became black and white, forcing my answer into bifurcation. The elation I felt vanished like a bubble as my thoughts were drowned into the void of a passionless future. I don’t want to say I’m unsure, even though that’s the only answer I have right now.

“...... I’m really sorry, but I can’t answer it for now.” After all, it depends on whether I could please everybody with my skills. Will a director approach and request me to craft costumes for models? I’m not yet skilled enough without Mom’s assistance. My plans weren’t concrete yet, and my favor to Sera was only a temporary insight if I’ll continue to pursue this.

“Then, the safe bet would be temporary solutions for now. The costume’s color vibrancy was already perfect, but it will immediately lose color once you soaked it in laundry. Rainwater would also affect the durability of the clothing. I would highly suggest using a highly fragrant perfume with no reactive chemicals. There’s a small bottle of the brand we created on the store counter.”

“What a marketing strategy, but I highly appreciate your recommendation. You really deserve to be called ‘Madame.’”

“I’m warning you, Kou. Once you use the perfume, the unsaturated spots will be obvious in everybody’s naked eye. If you’re achieving perfection, you can only use this costume once.”

“I’m well aware, Madame.” Will this be my goodbye to my last? Or the birth of my succeeding masterpieces?

Soon, Mom and Sera approached me. The elf with glimmering eyes shouted with enthusiasm, “Kou-nii!”

“Sera… Good job!” I smiled, tapping her shoulders, though my lips soon turned flat after the unpleasant fragrance of dust invaded my nose. “Truth… This smell wasn’t very Shizu-sama.”

“Magnus Kou, if I left, I want you to still continue walking towards your own path. If you ever feel lonely, please forget me. I don’t want to see you hurting yourself. I wish there will still be time where I can see you again,” the tearful Shizu-sama cried as she bid farewell to me, the main character.

I laid on my bed after dinner, holding my phone above my face that fronted onto the ceiling, playing the previous scene replay of the game similar to Shizu-sama’s movie adaptation Sera watched. But unlike Sera’s case, the scene has a forced linear plot, meaning, I can’t decide what will happen next. Shizu-sama will leave the player, and the player will save her after knowing that something terrible happened to her.

“Please continue looking into me, my goddess. I will look forward to seeing you,” I responded in the name of Magnus Kou, the username within the game.

She lightly caressed my character’s palm and slid it to its end, dragging herself away towards the portal which she believed would take her home. Before she vanished, I heard her whisper, “I’m waiting for you.”

The end.

Closing the game since I already farmed enough for my dailies and dropping my arms flat on my bed, I sighed. I faced left, witnessing Sera covered with a warm comforter, peacefully sleeping on the mattress on the floor. I’m surprised that a person who can comfortably rest before a big day exists… Or maybe she doesn’t fully understand the concept of cosplays yet. Shock might surprise her on that same day.

But for me, that biggest day would decide my initiation or my retreat. Reality really floods us with countless dilemmas, unlike linear games. And the twists… An unforeseen future. I already learned that expecting too much would make me more depressed. Still, even though excitement bugged the tingles inside me, the present already provided me too much satisfaction.

Since this will be my last big day, I will make it unforgettable.

I opened the convention’s event page through my mobile browser and searched for the event happening in Neribei Park, the CosFiesta Mashup 7th. All of the programs, including the cosplay contest were posted. It also clearly stated the criteria and showed the competent judges capable of practicing transparency.

Before I shut my eyes with a smirk, I completely filled in the details and submitted false information.