Izumi Kotomi picked up a piece of baumkuchen with her fork and savored it, her eyes curving into delighted crescents as she enjoyed the sweet treat.
"Mmm~ It's so good!"
Hearing her sister's joyful reaction, Izumi Aimi felt a surge of happiness but tried to cover it up with a teasing remark, "You're a high schooler now, but you still like eating baumkuchen, a dessert only kids usually enjoy."
"I wouldn't mind staying a kid forever if it ans you'll take care of , Aimi," Kotomi replied playfully.
"Y-yeah, sure… Wait, no! Don't say such childish things, Onee-chan!" Aimi stamred, her face flushing red as she quickly corrected herself.
Kotomi chuckled softly and took a sip of her tea to balance the sweetness of the dessert. "This cake shop just opened recently, right? I really like their baumkuchen, but it's a bit sweet. Still, you know how much I love sweets. How did you find this place? Don't tell , Aimi, that even though you claim not to be into sweets, you secretly know all the best cake shops in Chiba?"
"Of course not! I only found out because Iroha ntioned it to after class today. We went to check it out after school. I wasn't planning on buying anything, but when I saw they had baumkuchen, I decided to get so for you. Just as a side thought, that's all," Aimi replied, slightly defensive as she inadvertently let slip the real reason for her purchase.
Kotomi, playing the role of the considerate elder sister, pretended not to notice the slip-up and continued, "Iroha? What's her full na? She's a girl, right?"
"Yeah, her na is Iroha Isshiki. And of course she's a girl! Why are you suddenly interested in my friend's na, Onee-chan?" Aimi asked, a bit puzzled by Kotomi's sudden curiosity.
"No reason, just making sure I know the na of the friend of the world's cutest little sister," Kotomi replied with a teasing grin.
"It's not like that…" Aimi murmured, feeling a bit embarrassed by her sister's sudden seriousness.
Hearing Aimi's friend's na, Isshiki Iroha, Kotomi was briefly taken aback but quickly accepted it. Since arriving in Japan after her reincarnation, she had already encountered Yukinoshita Yukino, Yukinoshita Haruno, Yui Yuigahama, gumi Kato, and the yet-to-be-t Shizuka Hiratsuka.
She figured it was only a matter of ti before she encountered other familiar nas.
After finishing their baumkuchen, the Izumi sisters were reminded by their mother, Izumi Akina, to head to their rooms and finish their howork. Aimi grumbled about how the workload in her third year of middle school was already overwhelming, with each teacher assigning a full worksheet on the first day.
anwhile, Kotomi found her own howork to be quite manageable. She completed her assignnts and even reviewed the next day's material within forty minutes.
With about half an hour left before dinner, Kotomi tidied up her study materials and opened her laptop. She began typing up a summary of the second volu of Sword Art Online, which she had already outlined.
The second volu focused on the various players in the death ga SAO, each with different professions and goals. Notable characters included Silica, Lisbeth, the mysterious young girl Yui, and a mber of the Moonlit Black Cats guild, Sachi.
When writing Sachi's part, Kotomi hesitated for a long ti. In her previous life, Sachi was one of the characters she felt the most sympathy for in Sword Art Online.
Now, as the writer of the series in this life, she pondered whether she should alter the story to allow Sachi to survive and give her a happy ending with Kirito. In the end, Kotomi decided against it, maintaining Sachi's tragic fate. She even considered making the scene more poignant and heart-wrenching.
Years later, when Kotomi was a well-known author, she would be interviewed and say, "If a character's most fitting fate is death, then I will not hesitate to lead them to it, no matter how much I love that character. Changing the story out of sentintality would be the greatest insult to them."
This philosophy would further cent her reputation as a "warrior of love" in the literary world.
But for now, Kotomi focused on completing the plot summary for the second volu. After ensuring everything was in order, she saved the docunt and sent it off to Yukinoshita Haruno.
With that task complete, Kotomi put her work aside. It was ti for dinner—her favorite part of the day.
She hurried downstairs to the kitchen, feeling a flutter of excitent. Her father had returned ho, and she was eager to share the news about her writing and her aspirations for a career in creative work with her family.
"Dad, you're ho!"
As soon as Kotomi entered the kitchen, she spotted her father, Izumi Kaneyoshi, sitting at the dining table, reading a newspaper through his black-frad glasses.
"How was your first day of high school, Kotomi?" Kaneyoshi asked, setting down his newspaper and looking at her warmly.
"It was great," Kotomi replied confidently.
Kaneyoshi, who had been worried about her all day, let out a sigh of relief at her words.
"Rember to pay attention to your relationships with others. Don't treat people like robots," he reminded her, echoing one of his frequent pieces of advice.
"Don't treat people like robots" was a saying Kaneyoshi often used, both in regard to work and personal relationships.
"Onee-chan, why didn't you knock on my door to tell dinner was ready?" Aimi grumbled as she ca downstairs, having just finished one of her assignnts.
"Sorry, sorry, I was so hungry I forgot about you," Kotomi replied with a sheepish smile.
"You're such a great sister," Aimi muttered sarcastically.
As the family gathered around the table for dinner, Kotomi ate a few pieces of teriyaki mackerel before setting down her chopsticks. She looked around at her family, then took a deep breath.
"Mom, Dad, Aimi, there's sothing important I need to tell you all."
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