Faced with gumi Kato's smiling inquiry, Kotomi wasn't backing down out of guilt—she simply didn't want to keep secrets from gumi.
Besides, what was there to hide? It was just an agreent with Kisara Tendo to be a backup mber for the Kendo Club. Once the Six-School Tournant was over, she could not only get an honorary club president title but also earn so money.
Why shouldn't she talk about it?
Kotomi had always looked down on those protagonists in novels, gas, and manga who made a big deal out of nothing, refused to speak plainly, and constantly acted like enigmatic figures lost in their own self-induced drama.
"It's actually not what you think. Tendo-senpai's words earlier were indeed quite misleading—I would've misunderstood too—but in reality, this has nothing to do with anything romantic. She just wants to be a backup mber."
Kotomi explained the situation in one breath. When gumi Kato heard that Kisara Tendo wanted to recruit Kotomi into the Kendo Club, she furrowed her delicate brows slightly and asked skeptically:
"Can you really determine soone's aptitude for kendo just by looking at their artwork? I don't know much about kendo, but if that's Tendo-senpai's reasoning for inviting you, doesn't it sound a bit far-fetched?"
"It's hard not to suspect she has other motives for inviting you."
"What ulterior motives could she possibly have? I'm a girl, and so is Tendo-senpai. What, do you think she's going to lure into a dark room and devour ?"
Halfway through her sentence, Kotomi glanced at gumi's expression.
"Hey, gumi, don't look like you just had a sudden realization! That wasn't ant to give you ideas!"
"So, what's the verdict? Did Tendo-senpai misjudge you? When you went to the Kendo Club earlier, did you really have a talent for kendo?"
"Not just talent—I'm practically starting at max level!" Kotomi boasted. "I swung a bamboo sword at a training dummy in the dojo and dented its head with a single strike. Luckily, I didn't have to pay for damages."
After finishing her sentence, Kotomi worried that gumi wouldn't believe her, so she reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope that Kisara Tendo had secretly slipped inside earlier.
Opening it, she revealed a thick stack of 10,000-yen bills.
"Tendo-senpai gave this to you?"
"Yeah… I an, she's trying to recruit as a backup and lure away from the Art Club. Giving so money is pretty reasonable, don't you think?" Kotomi remained calm. After all, the balance in her bank account had been steadily growing.
It might not be enough to start a company, but at the very least, she no longer had to worry about running out of funds when playing gacha gas.
Wanting a character badly, only for it to be locked in a limited-ti event… Knowing that before the event ended, the only way to obtain it was through sheer spending power… Clicking on the recharge button, only to be t with an "Insufficient Balance" ssage…
Who could understand the pain of that?
Seeing that Kisara Tendo was even willing to offer money, gumi Kato finally felt reassured—it seed like she was genuinely trying to recruit Kotomi as a backup.
"By the way, how did you end up eting Senior Sakurajima?" gumi asked in a neutral tone.
But this was actually one of the questions she was most concerned about.
To put it bluntly, she didn't want Kotomi running into Mai Sakurajima at school.
After all, the cardboard box in Kotomi's bedroom was filled with magazines featuring Mai Sakurajima on the cover.
Moreover, the reason gumi Kato had recently transitioned from wearing ankle socks to thigh high stockings and even full pantyhose was because she had noticed how carefully Kotomi preserved a particular magazine cover—one featuring Mai Sakurajima in a black dress, her legs wrapped in black stockings.
gumi had a feeling that Kotomi might like that look, and she was unwilling to lose to a re magazine cover featuring Mai.
Was Kotomi's admiration for Mai Sakurajima purely that of a fan for her favorite actress? Or was it sothing more…?
gumi couldn't stop thinking about it.
"Sakurajima-senpai and Tendo-senpai were about to leave school together when they happened to run into in the hallway, so the three of us went to the Kendo Club together. And then, everything unfolded just like I explained earlier."
"That really was quite the coincidence."
"Well, the two of them, along with Utaha-senpai and Naegi-senpai, are all classmates. It's normal for them to walk ho together sotis—just like how we walk ho together almost every day."
Hearing this, the smile on gumi Kato's lips deepened. She gently traced her fingers along Kotomi's palm and said with a soft chuckle:
"But you can't compare them to us. They're just classmates—it's not the sa. After all, our relationship is—"
"A couple!"
Perhaps true telepathy did exist, because at that mont, without any prior agreent, both Kotomi Izumi and gumi Kato said the word in perfect unison.
Even with such an incredible level of mutual understanding, there were still tis when they accidentally ended up wearing each other's "intimate clothing."
"Kotomi, we said it together."
"It looks like we're perfectly in sync. Co on, give a kiss." Kotomi bead sweetly, tilting her face towards gumi's lips, her entire expression wordlessly saying: Don't just stand there—kiss !
gumi's cheeks flushed, and she pretended to be reserved, refusing to comply.
Kotomi pouted, as if scolding gumi for not kissing her already. Then, after giving gumi a playful glare, she wrapped her arms around her neck and leaned in, offering her lips.
After returning ho, Kotomi decided that today was the day she would tell her parents and younger sister about her decision to join the Kendo Club.
Although she was already this close to joining, there was still one last step—waiting for Hibiki Naegi's response tomorrow. Technically, it was a bit early to announce it.
But Kotomi felt that today was the perfect ti to say it.
Unlike the Art Club, where most of the ti was spent sitting in front of an easel and painting, the Kendo Club required daily training. Even though Kisara Tendo had assured Kotomi that she wouldn't have to participate in regular practice, the month leading up to the Six-School Tournant would, as per tradition, involve an intensive off-campus training camp.
Not to ntion, injuries—even minor ones—were always a possibility during kendo training, let alone in an actual match.
So before officially joining, she needed to inform her parents and get their approval.
If her parents didn't agree to her joining the Kendo Club, Kotomi didn't want to make them worry over the matter. She would simply apologize to Kisara Tendo at school the next day, explain her refusal, and return the money.
The off-campus training camp was held at a traditional Japanese courtyard in Osaka, specifically designated for Sobu High School's Kendo Club. Though she wouldn't have to attend school during the training, Kotomi wasn't particularly looking forward to it—after all, it wasn't a vacation. On the contrary, she would have to wake up early every day and train until late at night.
Once the initial novelty wore off after the first few days, that was when the training would beco truly grueling.
However, for those with the strength and talent to be selected for the Six-School Tournant, enduring a month of intensive training shouldn't be a problem. For skilled individuals, daily kendo practice was as much a ntal and physical discipline as it was an enjoynt.
As for Kotomi herself… she had already planned to bring an extra suitcase just for her laptop.
Would Aimi lend her the laptop? If she asked, Aimi would definitely send it over right away. But as it happened, Kotomi had been planning to buy a new one anyway.
Last night, while browsing Amazon before bed, she ca across a gaming laptop that caught her eye. Compared to her current one, it had a significantly larger screen—and a 4K display.
She was instantly tempted.
Of course, whenever she considered purchasing an expensive item, she would always hesitate for a while before actually making the decision. She knew she would end up buying it eventually, but she would first spend so ti—maybe an hour or two, or even a few days—going back and forth in her mind.
And then, when she finally clenched her teeth and pressed the purchase button—
That mont, filled with heartache, relief, and eager anticipation for the delivery, was such a contradiction.
And yet, it was precisely this twisted contradiction that made Kotomi feel… incredibly satisfied.
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