After hanging up the phone, Izumi Kotomi couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. She wasn't sure how to face her younger sister, Aimi, once she returned ho.
Maybe… I should buy more than just pudding. How about so chips, too?
Just as Kotomi was mulling over how to handle Aimi's mood, she heard Yui's voice calling out to her:
"Kotomi, I've put your clothes here. Once you get dressed, co downstairs. Since you didn't get to try my mom's cooking last night, she's been eager to show off this morning."
"Aunt Yuigahama's breakfast? I'm really looking forward to it!" Kotomi's mood quickly brightened at the thought of breakfast, and she eagerly got up, ready to taste Tomoka's culinary skills.
After Yui left the room, Kotomi threw off the blanket and picked up the neatly folded clothes that Yui had prepared for her. One by one, she began dressing.
"I really need to change my sleeping habits," Kotomi muttered to herself as she pulled on her white tights. "Sure, it's comfy to sleep that way, but what if I end up stripping off my clothes while sharing a bed with other girls? That'd be so embarrassing! It's not just about being rude—what if they see like this when I wake up? I'd be mortified!"
She continued her quiet self-reflection while getting dressed. After noticing the curtains hadn't been opened yet, Kotomi casually pulled them aside, letting the bright morning sunlight burst into the room. Despite it being autumn, the sunlight was surprisingly strong, as if clinging to the remnants of sumr.
Squinting slightly to adjust to the sudden brightness, Kotomi gazed outside. The sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue, with the sun casting sharp shadows on the walls of the buildings.
It's a beautiful day for a date.
anwhile, Yuka, who was still in bed, groaned sleepily and buried her face in her pillow to avoid the sunlight.
Well, it's a rare Saturday morning, so I'll let her enjoy her lazy morning in peace. No need to disturb a fellow lover of sleeping in.
With that thought, Kotomi smiled, pulled the curtains closed again, and tucked Yuka back under the covers before quietly leaving the room.
As she made her way downstairs, the enticing aroma from the kitchen filled the air, causing Kotomi's anticipation for breakfast to surge.
Pushing open the door to the kitchen, Kotomi imdiately spotted Tomoka standing by the stove, wearing an apron. The warm, hoy image of her cooking made Kotomi feel an almost instinctual urge to walk up and hug her from behind.
Yui was already sitting at the dining table, waiting both for breakfast and for Kotomi to join her. When she noticed Kotomi co in, she waved.
"Kotomi, over here."
Kotomi sat down next to Yui, and Tomoka, who heard the sound, turned around from the stove, switching the fla to low heat.
"Good morning, Kotomi. Did you sleep well?"
"I slept very well, thank you. I'm sorry for causing you any trouble."
"Oh, not at all! You're welco to stay with us anyti, even forever if you'd like! I wouldn't mind having you around," Tomoka said warmly. "After I got permission from your mom yesterday, Yui and Yuka were over the moon. They'd love for you to stay again. How about staying one more night?"
"Thank you for the kind offer, but I have so plans today. I'll need to head ho after breakfast," Kotomi explained politely.
"Oh, what a sha."
Yui's face flushed red as her mom ntioned how excited she and Yuka were. She had wanted to say sothing in protest but couldn't, since her mother wasn't wrong. Desperate to change the subject, she quickly said:
"Kotomi, yesterday I reviewed my vocabulary again using the thod you taught . Want to test ?"
She held up her little ring-bound vocabulary book.
"Sure. Can you tell the English words for 'investigate,' 'total,' 'ignore,' and 'care,' along with their spellings?"
While Tomoka continued to cook, Kotomi and Yui used every mont to review the words. Yui occasionally paused to recall the longer words, but overall, she could spell them correctly.
As for Kotomi, thanks to the system's enhanced learning ability, vocabulary was a breeze. No matter how long or tricky Yui's words were, Kotomi could pronounce and spell them flawlessly the mont Yui finished asking.
No wonder all the teachers wanted her as the class representative. However, each ti they asked, Kotomi politely declined, using the excuse that she didn't want to take ti away from her studies.
The teachers assud Kotomi must spend a lot of ti studying to maintain such high grades, both at school and at ho. Assigning her extra duties as a class rep might only distract her and put unnecessary pressure on her, they reasoned.
In truth, Kotomi had no interest in managing class affairs. She already spent plenty of ti writing novels and drawing manga, and adding class rep duties to that wouldn't do her any favors. After all, ti was money!
And this wasn't just so motivational cliché—thanks to the "God-Level Heroine System," her ti could literally be converted into cold, hard cash!
"Not bad," Kotomi complinted Yui after testing her on over a dozen vocabulary words. "Spend today and tomorrow reviewing all the material you've learned this week. Study a bit, do so practice problems, and if you get stuck, give a video call."
As Yui bead at the praise, Tomoka brought the freshly prepared breakfast over to the table.
"Both of you did great with your studying! But now, it's ti to put the books aside and enjoy breakfast."
The breakfast Tomoka prepared was nothing short of a feast: lamb fried rice, peanut tofu, shrimp-head congee, and grilled mackerel. It was so abundant that Kotomi wondered if this was really breakfast—could she even finish it all?
Despite the large portions, Kotomi's appetite was especially fierce today. Since she hadn't eaten dinner the night before, her hunger seed to have multiplied. Though she initially tried to eat gracefully, one bite of the rich, flavorful lamb fried rice sent her into a ravenous mode.
There was no holding back now—she devoured the food in front of her with gusto.
Watching Kotomi eat with such enthusiasm, Tomoka smiled happily. She had been worried that Kotomi might not like her cooking, but seeing her enjoy it so much put her mind at ease. It was worth waking up early to prepare such a delicious al!
...
Twenty minutes later.
Izumi Kotomi set down her spoon, popping the stray grain of rice from her lips into her mouth before clasping her hands together and saying, "Thank you for the al."
Eating when you're truly hungry makes food taste incredibly delicious, even if it's sothing you don't normally enjoy. It can make you start appreciating foods you previously disliked. For Kotomi, green peppers had always been sothing she avoided. But one day, when she was starving, she ate a plate of stir-fried green peppers with at and rice. She nearly cried from how good it was, realizing sothing she had never liked could taste so amazing.
Since then, she's been able to tolerate green peppers.
However, spring onions were still absolutely off-limits!
Unless they're sprinkled on grilled barbecue, of course.
"Are you full? How about another bowl of shrimp-head congee?" Tomoka asked with a gentle smile.
"I'm full, thank you. Yuigahama-san, Yui, it's getting late, so I should head ho. See you later," Kotomi said as she stood to leave.
"I'll walk you ho," Yui offered, setting down her bowl of lamb fried rice and getting up.
"No need, you finish your al. I can go on my own." Kotomi politely declined.
After saying goodbye to Tomoka and Yui, Kotomi grabbed her bag, put on her shoes, and left the Yuigahama household.
She had made plans to et Shiina-senpai at 10 a.m. at the entrance of a the park in Chiba.
Kotomi hadn't expected Shiina-senpai to invite her to a the park. It made her wonder—was Shiina planning to write a scene set in a the park for the third volu of her novel?
As Kotomi pondered, she arrived at Don Quijote, a common chain store in Japan. Upon entering, she was imdiately greeted by the usual chaotic and packed atmosphere, with flyers plastered everywhere advertising irresistible discount prices. Towering shelves filled to the brim made the store feel like a labyrinth.
Kotomi grabbed a basket and headed straight for the section with Izumi Aimi's favorite caral orange pudding and various snacks. Since her dad, Izumi Kaneyoshi, wanted a at floss rice ball for breakfast, Kotomi took the elevator up to the second floor and bought three of them.
Aimi was still giving Kotomi the cold shoulder, as her reply to Kotomi's text asking what she wanted for breakfast had been brief:
— Whatever.
Whatever is the hardest thing to pick... Kotomi thought, looking at Aimi's curt response with a wry smile.
Normally, Aimi would tell her exactly what she wanted to eat or drink.
With no other choice, Kotomi decided to buy Aimi a bowl of stir-fried udon noodles with mushrooms and beef, one of her favorites.
As for her mother, Akina, who had requested at buns, Don Quijote didn't have any in stock. Kotomi would need to walk a bit further to a 24-hour convenience store.
After paying for her items at Don Quijote, Kotomi carried the store's signature yellow plastic bags to the other convenience store and bought three at buns at the counter.
With everything packed up, Kotomi wasted no ti heading ho, carrying the bags in each hand.
When she opened the front door, Akina peeked her head out, her voice imdiately light and teasing.
"My dear daughter, you're finally back!"
"Mom, I was just at a friend's house for one night, not off on so long journey."
"I didn't know what else to say, so I just went with that."
Akina replied matter-of-factly, taking the plastic bags from Kotomi's hands.
"Oh, these are my favorite at buns! You're such a good girl, Kotomi, rembering exactly which convenience store I like them from. Hmm? You went to Don Quijote? One bag has rice balls and udon, but this big one… wow, your survival instincts are on point! I only suggested you buy a few puddings for Aimi, but you went ahead and got ten premium puddings and a mountain of snacks! Are you trying to fill up your and Aimi's snack stash to bursting?"
"I was worried a single pudding wouldn't be enough to cheer her up, so I bought more. Where is she, anyway?"
"She's still holed up in her room. Last night, she stayed in your room until late, watching a movie on your laptop. Why don't you go upstairs and wake her for breakfast?"
"Alright," Kotomi replied, picking up the bag of snacks she had bought for Aimi and heading upstairs.
Standing outside Aimi's room, she knocked on the door. "Aimi, it's . I'm coming in."
"Okay," ca a curt reply from inside.
Kotomi chuckled softly, pushing the door open. Aimi lay in bed, bundled under a thick comforter, with the air conditioner set to a freezing temperature. The chill in the room made Kotomi instinctively hunch her shoulders against the cold.
"Hey, I love sleeping with the air conditioner on as much as anyone, but you've got it set way too low. You're going to catch a cold," Kotomi said, grabbing the remote to adjust the temperature.
"None of your business…" Aimi mumbled, turning her back on her sister as soon as Kotomi entered the room.
Ah, the little cold shoulder.
Kotomi shrugged with a smile, setting the yellow plastic bag aside and gently sitting on the edge of Aimi's bed.
"Get off…" Aimi muttered softly, her voice full of irritation.
Clearly, if she was saying that, she was still upset.
Normally, with Aimi's personality, not only would Kotomi sitting on the edge of her bed not be a problem, but Aimi would likely have already grabbed her and pulled her down beside her.
"Still mad at ?" Kotomi asked with a lighthearted smile.
"…"
Seeing no response, Kotomi slid a little closer.
Gently, she wrapped her arms around Aimi's soft body, pulling her into a tight embrace.
Aimi squird at first, struggling to break free, but Kotomi tightened her hold, keeping her in place.
After a brief struggle, Aimi eventually gave up, her body gradually relaxing into Kotomi's arms.
Seeing her sister finally settle down, Kotomi began softly stroking her back, whispering gently in her ear, "Can you stop being mad at now?"
Aimi, nestled in Kotomi's arms, breathed deeply, as if the scent of her sister's presence was the air she needed to survive. After a mont of silence, she finally spoke:
"I'm not mad at you… It's just… the thought of you spending the night at so other woman's house—it makes really uncomfortable. Really, really uncomfortable!"
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