The next morning, Izumi Kotomi woke up early for school. Learning from past mistakes, she had stopped drawing at 11 PM the night before and went to bed.
She slept well, but there was one thing that puzzled her—when she changed clothes in the morning, she noticed that one of the buttons on her pajamas was done up incorrectly again.
Had she accidentally buttoned it wrong when she got dressed for bed last night? Maybe it was ti to stop wearing pajamas altogether…
Forget pajamas! Who needs them?
After changing into her school uniform and finishing breakfast, Kotomi left the house, as usual. Across the street, standing by the lamppost as always, was gumi Kato, waiting for her.
The two of them walked together to Sobu High School and entered the classroom.
As Kotomi approached her seat, she saw Seiko Kirigiri looking half-asleep.
"Kirigiri, did you have trouble sleeping again last night?"
"Yup~"
"Did your sister have trouble sleeping too?"
"Yeah, we were both awake until 4 AM. So tired… I think I'll go to bed early tonight… cough cough, I an, I'll try to sleep early," Seiko muttered as she rubbed her drowsy eyes before slumping over her desk and falling asleep.
It was another sleepless night for the insomniac sisters. They really had it tough, always struggling with insomnia.
"Hey, are you alright? Another sleepless night?" Kisara Tendo asked as she entered the 2nd-year Class B classroom and noticed the tired look on Naegi Hibiki's face.
"Yeah… I didn't sleep until 4 AM again. I don't even know how I eventually fell asleep, but I was jolted awake by my alarm," Hibiki yawned widely, not in the mood for much conversation.
As soon as Tendo set her bag down, she saw that Hibiki had already fallen asleep on her desk.
From the way she slouched, it was clear she was exhausted.
"I wonder what she does every night that keeps her awake. She has insomnia every day," Tendo sighed, knowing she'd likely have to answer for Hibiki during roll call again.
"Oh? What's up with Naegi? Didn't she sleep well last night?" A familiar voice entered Tendo's ears, and she instinctively turned around to see a familiar face—long black hair, a signature white headband, and Sobu High School's uniform, with her slender legs wrapped in black stockings.
"Utaha, you've finally decided to co to school?" Tendo remarked.
Utaha Kasumigaoka, Naegi Hibiki, and Kisara Tendo had been close friends since their first year of high school, their personalities naturally drawing them together. Even after they were separated into different classes in their second year, they were lucky enough to end up in the sa class again.
"What do you an, 'finally decided to co to school'? You make it sound like I'm a delinquent who skips class all the ti," Utaha responded irritably as she pulled out her chair and sat down.
"Well, except for the first day, you didn't co to school at all last week. Don't tell it was another deadline?"
"No, my manuscript deadline was three months ago. Last week was a 'death line.' It was tight, but I managed to send it off to Machida before Friday."
For any writer, a manuscript deadline was like facing the devil, and missing that deadline to reach a "death line" was even worse—a million tis more terrifying than hell itself!
"You missed the deadline by three months and still managed to finish? You really are sothing! Are you a pigeon spirit who's mastered the art of procrastination? So, you spent all of last week working on your manuscript?"
"Pretty much… If Machida had gotten serious, it wouldn't have been pretty," Utaha sighed, recalling her longti editor, Machida Sonoko.
"Really? I always thought Machida was very intellectual and gentle."
"Ah, Tendo, don't be fooled by appearances. You can never judge a person by how they look!" Utaha warned as she adjusted her seat, her sheer black stockings revealing a faint hint of skin beneath.
"By the way, what's going on with Naegi? I've never seen her fall asleep in class before," Utaha asked, changing the topic.
"She's been having trouble sleeping lately. I guess you didn't know since you weren't here the last few days."
"Insomnia? Is that why she looks like this?"
"Yup. I think it's because of the art competition she's been worrying about," Tendo speculated.
"Art competition? What competition? Is Sobu High holding an art contest?"
"It's for art, but it's not sothing the school is hosting. It's the National Youth Art Competition jointly organized by Tokyo University and Kyoto University."
Utaha raised an eyebrow, now rembering sothing she had seen online. "You an the National Youth Art Competition by Tokyo University? I saw that on Twitter. So, Naegi's entering that?"
"That's right."
"Then I suppose she's the only one from Sobu High School's art club entering this year. Most of the older mbers had to quit the club after starting their third year to focus on studies, and the new mbers are all first-year students. That kind of pressure would explain her insomnia."
Utaha nodded in understanding.
"That could be it. But actually, Naegi isn't the only one from the art club entering the competition. There's also Izumi from the first year."
When Utaha heard the na "Izumi," her expression changed slightly, showing a hint of interest.
"Izumi? So, she's a first-year who just joined the art club and is already entering a competition? That's impressive. What's her na? Which class is she in?" Utaha asked, intrigued.
The reason for Utaha's sudden interest was that a new rising star in the light novel world had recently debuted under the na Izumi Ki. The novel Sword Art Online hadn't even been published yet, but it had already garnered a massive following online, with over a million readers. The hype continued to grow, showing no signs of slowing down.
With such a similar na, Utaha couldn't help but feel a flicker of curiosity when she heard the na "Izumi."
In fact, Utaha had already read Sword Art Online on Dengeki Bunko's website.
Before reading it, she hadn't understood why it was so popular. Ga-thed light novels had never really taken off in the industry. But after reading it, she understood everything.
From the setting, the character designs, to the plot—Sword Art Online had all the qualities needed to justify its massive popularity.
Even before its official publication, it was already such a hit. Utaha couldn't imagine how many copies it would sell once it was released.
The rankings of Dengeki Bunko's bestseller list would likely be turned upside down!
"Izumi Kotomi, Class 1-F. Don't underestimate her just because she's a first-year. Her art skills are so impressive that even Naegi, the art club's president, admits she's far superior," Tendo said with a nod.
"Really? That good?" Utaha was genuinely surprised.
Tendo wasn't shocked by Utaha's reaction, though. When she first heard Naegi ntion that Kotomi's art skills far surpassed her own, she had been just as taken aback.
"Yes, she's quite talented."
"There's always soone better out there, huh? By the way, does this Izumi girl have any other talents, like writing, for instance?" Utaha asked casually, testing her hunch.
Tendo blinked in surprise, then burst out laughing. "Haha! I have no idea. Have you been so absorbed in writing that you think every underclassman with the na Izumi must be a writer too?"
"Just forget I said anything. It was just a random question, nothing more. Don't read into it," Utaha quickly added, brushing off the topic.
But deep down, she couldn't help but wonder.
Izumi Kotomi, Izumi Ki... even though their nas were similar, that didn't an they were the sa person.
The idea that soone could not only write a super-popular light novel but also be a highly skilled artist—such a protagonist-like aura seed too unrealistic to exist in real life. Utaha smiled to herself at the thought.
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