All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Whenever Seiko Kirigiri recalled the scene she had secretly witnessed that night, she could not help feeling nervous. Although she did not know exactly how wealthy Kotomi's family was, it was not difficult to infer from Kotomi Izumi's usual speech and behavior that her family was probably very rich. After all, the wealthier a family was, the stricter they tended to be regarding their children's conduct, attaching great importance to their education from an early age.

Therefore, unless someone was an especially outrageous, spoiled wastrel, people from such families generally had pleasant personalities and good manners, even if those qualities were only an act.

Of course, the most obvious indication of Kotomi's wealth was the occasional luxury bracelet or accessory she wore.

Kotomi Izumi rarely wore particularly ostentatious luxury clothing. After all, she had to wear her school uniform on campus. At most, she might occasionally wear a small necklace or bracelet on a whim. Although Kotomi's preferred necklaces and bracelets all came from luxury brands, their designs were generally understated and minimalist.

Only upon looking closely would one notice a certain luxury brand's logo, or someone knowledgeable might recognize the item as a newly released limited-edition piece from a luxury brand.

The Naegi family's financial circumstances were fairly good. Both Hibiki Naegi and Seiko Kirigiri could occasionally afford a few luxury items, so Seiko possessed a certain degree of knowledge about luxury goods.

It was precisely because of this that she often recognized the accessories Kotomi wore around her wrists and neck. They looked understated and simple, but their prices were anything but "simple."

After briefly searching the prices of several accessories Kotomi had worn before, Seiko Kirigiri concluded that Kotomi must come from an extremely wealthy and influential family. Otherwise, her family could never afford such extravagant purchases. Returning to the matter at hand,

it was precisely because Seiko had guessed that Kotomi's family was so wealthy that she had become extremely nervous when she accidentally witnessed Kotomi and Shizuka Hiratsuka kissing in a classroom occupied by no one but the two of them. She had hardly dared to breathe, terrified that she might be discovered and then silenced by Kotomi through the classic method of being "stabbed ninety-six times in the back before the Metropolitan Police Department ruled it a suicide."

"Oh, is that so? Then I won't disturb you any longer. Hurry and close your eyes for a while before class begins. Fourth period this morning is Mr. Nakamori's mathematics class. If you doze off during his lesson, be careful, or your homework for the next two days of vacation might be doubled." Seeing that Seiko Kirigiri did not need the pillow, Kotomi Izumi said nothing more and returned directly to her seat.

"By the way, Kotomi, would you prefer a boxed lunch from the school store today, or some bread? It's been a long time since I last ate their yakisoba bread, and I'm suddenly craving it. Why don't we visit the school store during lunch break today...?" As Megumi Kato sat down, she spoke to Kotomi while unpacking her schoolbag. Midway through her sentence, she placed her textbooks on the desk and looked toward Kotomi.

The instant Megumi Kato looked at Kotomi, the words in her mouth abruptly froze.

At the same time, the surrounding air seemed to freeze as well.

Kotomi, who had only just sat down, was already being tightly bear-hugged by Mashiro Shiina. Not only that, but Mashiro Shiina was sitting on Kotomi's lap and leaning dependently against her chest!

"Kotomi, did you have fun during those days in Kyoto?" Mashiro Shiina's voice always carried an adorably vacant quality that made Kotomi feel incredibly comfortable and left her wanting to tease Mashiro. What did Kotomi most want to do right now?

She wanted to hold Yui and Mashiro in either arm, pull them both into her embrace, and thoroughly bully them. Tease them for a while, pamper them for a while, then tease them again and pamper them again. Back in middle school, Kotomi had read plenty of domineering-CEO romances where cruelty came before affection.

I didn't have any fun at all. Why? Because you weren't by my side, Mashiro. Kyoto without you was so dull that even while soaking in a warm hot spring, I felt as though I were submerged in an icy spring. Kotomi Izumi had originally intended to say that to Mashiro. The words had already risen to her lips, but before she could speak, the survival-instinct alarm in little Kotomi's heart began shrieking for dear life.

At the same time, Kotomi Izumi sensed several gazes so cold that they seemed capable of freezing the air itself. They came from Megumi Kato, Yukino Yukinoshita, and Yui Yuigahama. Since Megumi Kato was Kotomi Izumi's desk mate and sat closest to her, the pressure from Megumi's icy stare was the most obvious.

Kotomi Izumi shrank her neck and hurriedly forced the flirtatious words back down before they could escape. If she said them now, Megumi, Yui, and Yukino might "divide her into three equal parts." After swallowing the flirtatious remark she had originally intended to make, Kotomi Izumi hurriedly invented another response in her mind and said:

"It was quite nice. I discovered that the hot springs at Harugamo Inn truly were comfortable, and I enjoyed plenty of beautiful scenery unique to Kyoto. When we have time in the future, let's all go together." Kotomi Izumi phrased her answer as carefully as possible, striving to leave no openings and maintain perfect balance.

"Can I go with you too?" Megumi Kato asked with a smile, her tone deeply suggestive.

"Of course. Besides, when I said 'we,' I was including you, Megumi," Kotomi Izumi hurriedly replied. This was not the moment for her to fool around.

When was Kotomi Izumi at her most obedient? Whenever Megumi was about to become jealous or angry.

After all, Megumi had only recently stabbed her...

Hiss...

The moment she remembered it, Kotomi Izumi suddenly felt an inexplicable ache in her abdomen again.

"Hehe~" After hearing Kotomi Izumi's answer, Megumi Kato smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied for the moment.

Mashiro Shiina raised her head and looked at Megumi Kato, her gaze anything but friendly.

Mashiro Shiina: "..."

Megumi Kato: "Hehe..."

Megumi Kato and Mashiro Shiina stared directly into each other's eyes.

"Why are you here?" Megumi Kato asked in a calm voice that nevertheless seemed to carry an oppressive force.

"Because Kotomi is here," Mashiro Shiina answered as though it were only natural. Not only that, but as though deliberately provoking Megumi Kato, she tightened both arms around Kotomi right in front of her. Megumi Kato's lovely face instantly darkened, as though she were watching her beloved wife display affection with a romantic rival right before her eyes. Moreover, that was exactly what was happening at this very moment.

Her girlfriend and future wife—Kotomi Izumi—was being held tightly by Mashiro Shiina.

This could no longer be described with the simple word "provocation." If she could, Megumi Kato wanted to draw a knife right now and stab her romantic rival, Mashiro Shiina, who was trying to seduce Kotomi, again and again until she died! And not only Mashiro Shiina. Megumi would use the knife in her hand to kill every vixen who tried to lay a finger on Kotomi, leaving none alive!

Under the influence of her rage, that thought gradually swelled within Megumi Kato's heart.

"Mashiro, um... Class is about to begin. Although I don't mind you continuing to sit on my lap and using me as a chair, it would be rather difficult to explain if the teacher entered the classroom and saw us like this." Fortunately, the survival-instinct alarm in Kotomi Izumi's heart was beeping frantically, allowing her to realize instantly that Megumi Kato was in a very bad mood!

Therefore, Kotomi Izumi immediately spoke.

Although this was not a good moment to say too much, taking the initiative would at least show Megumi Kato her attitude and prevent Megumi from settling the score with a cleaver afterward...

After hearing Kotomi Izumi's words, Mashiro Shiina cast Megumi Kato a cold sidelong glance. Then she looked at Kotomi with her adorably vacant expression, nodded, and obediently said:

"All right. Since you said so, Kotomi, I'll listen to you."

Only after saying this did Mashiro Shiina reluctantly climb down from Kotomi's lap and return to her own seat.

Once Mashiro Shiina had obediently returned to her seat, Kotomi Izumi finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. She wanted to raise a hand and wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, but she was afraid Megumi and the others might notice.

That was seriously close. Why have these battle royales been erupting so frequently lately? Kotomi Izumi silently wondered.

The atmosphere had been like a powder keg waiting to explode.

Caught between Megumi and Mashiro, Kotomi Izumi broke out in a cold sweat, terrified that the two might begin fighting in the very next second.

If Megumi and Mashiro truly started fighting, Kotomi Izumi would not even know how to intervene.

Fortunately, she had extinguished the tiny flame of the battle royale before the atmosphere could intensify any further.

Had she truly allowed that little flame to ignite, Kotomi Izumi did not know what else might have happened, but she could guarantee that she herself would have been burned until "the blazing heavens scorched her back."

To ease the tense atmosphere left behind by the battle royale, Kotomi Izumi took the initiative to chat with Megumi, Mashiro, Yui, and Yukino:

"Hey, hey, October is almost over, and we're already approaching the end of the month. Do any of you have plans coming up?"

"Nothing especially important. Spending the time leisurely would be nice. However, the Dengeki Convention will be held on October 30 and October 31. Megumi, Yui, and I are planning to visit it." At this point, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at Kotomi Izumi and asked once again, still unwilling to give up:

"Kotomi, why don't you come to the Dengeki Convention with us? I remember that you enjoy anime, don't you?"

The moment she heard that they wanted her to attend a convention, Kotomi Izumi shook her little head like a rattle drum. Both her attitude and tone were exceptionally firm.

"No, no. It's precisely because I like anime that I refuse to attend conventions. No matter what kind of convention it is, for a home security guard like me, it's nothing but a waste of time! Unless one of my favorite creators has a booth there, I absolutely refuse to go!

"A lot of people think conventions are paradise for otaku, but in reality, they've long since become gathering places for normies! Damn it! All normies should explode! Rather than waste time wandering around a convention, I'd be better off staying home and watching anime. I've actually been wanting to rewatch Haruka Nogizaka's Secret lately."

"All right..."

After being rejected by Kotomi Izumi yet again, Yukino Yukinoshita could only sigh helplessly.

Ever since deciding to visit the Dengeki Convention, Yukino Yukinoshita had invited Kotomi several times. Yet Kotomi's answer remained the same every single time.

I'm a home security guard. I'm not going!

Yukino Yukinoshita did not know exactly what the phrase "home security guard" meant, but judging from Kotomi's tone, Yukino could roughly infer that Kotomi preferred staying home over attending a convention. A melon forcibly twisted from the vine would not taste sweet. Seeing how unwilling Kotomi Izumi was to attend, Yukino Yukinoshita had no choice but to give up.

In truth, Kotomi Izumi did not dislike conventions that much. On the contrary, Kotomi had previously spent more than three hundred thousand yen on a camera specifically to practice her photography skills so she could take plenty of pictures of beautiful cosplayers at conventions. Of course, photography was merely her cover. Kotomi Izumi's true objective was to use the opportunity to strike up conversations with all the beautiful cosplayers.

Driven by this objective, Kotomi Izumi had learned to use the camera remarkably quickly, and her photography skills had now reached a beginner's level. However, she later became addicted to playing erotic games and left the camera unused.

Now, that camera worth more than three hundred thousand yen sat around like an expensive figurine. Kotomi Izumi had already forgotten the last time she turned it on. Had it been half a month ago? Returning to the subject, the fact that Kotomi Izumi had been willing to spend more than three hundred thousand yen on a camera just so she could photograph beautiful girls at conventions proved that she did not dislike conventions at all.

Besides, conventions offered more than cosplayers. They also had newly released doujinshi and homemade merchandise from all kinds of fan creators. For Kotomi Izumi, who loved collecting physical items, such a place was practically paradise. The reason she was so unwilling to attend the Dengeki Convention had less to do with wanting to stay home and watch anime than with throwing a tantrum and sulking.

After all, Sword Art Online was absent from the list of works participating in the Dengeki Convention. As the author of the number-one bestselling series under Dengeki Bunko, Kotomi Izumi was extremely displeased. Forget attending the Dengeki Convention. Recently, Kotomi Izumi had even begun wondering whether she should cooperate with a different light novel publisher for her next book.

Mm... Because she had not opened Twitter for several days, Kotomi Izumi did not know that Sword Art Online was missing from the participant list not because it had failed to qualify, but because a convention-exclusive edition of Sword Art Online, Volume 1, would be released at the Dengeki Convention. On top of that, the autograph session at this year's convention was also dedicated to Kotomi Izumi.

With two such heavyweight forms of special treatment granted to the same work, it naturally would not be placed on the same list as the ordinary participating titles. Instead, it had received a dedicated promotional poster.

However, Kotomi Izumi had not checked Twitter recently. She had been too busy dating. She had barely even played games, so she knew absolutely nothing about what had happened on Twitter. The most recent post on her profile was still the interaction with Kadokawa Bunko. After they chatted for a while, the bell for class suddenly rang.

As the bell sounded, the somewhat noisy classroom fell silent.

In the past, whenever the class bell rang, Kotomi Izumi would either continue playing games or remain sprawled across her desk, sleeping.

But today, as the only student who had known in advance that Shizuka Hiratsuka had resigned, Kotomi Izumi sat up slightly straighter and gazed curiously toward the classroom door, wondering who Class 1-F's new homeroom teacher would be.

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