All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Yukinoshita Yukino and Yui Yuigahama sat together, or rather, it seemed more like Yukinoshita Yukino found sitting next to the dozing Yui Yuigahama more conducive to quietly reading her book.

”The two girls sitting together are really pretty. Izumi-san, do you prefer the cold beauty with black hair, or the girl with light peach-colored hair who’s dozing off?” asked Megumi Kato, sitting beside Izumi Kotomi, as if she could sense exactly where Kotomi’s gaze was directed.

”Huh? Me?”

Kotomi was a bit surprised. She had only glanced at Yukinoshita Yukino and Yui Yuigahama, but Megumi Kato had already noticed?

And why did she feel a pang of guilt, as if she had been caught cheating by a wife, when Megumi Kato asked her that?

”Mhm, I just wanted to know if Izumi-san likes long black hair or short peach-colored hair.”

Megumi Kato smiled warmly. Her tone was always soft and gentle, almost emotionless, making it hard to detect any change in her mood. It was no wonder she was often perceived as a ”background character” despite her beauty.

After interacting with Megumi Kato in person after her reincarnation, Kotomi understood even more why, in her previous life, Megumi Kato was often referred to as the ”background heroine.”

”Uh... If you’re asking me that, can I be honest?” Kotomi asked, smiling awkwardly.

”Of course, I want to hear your real thoughts,” Megumi Kato replied with a smile.

Kotomi thought for a moment, then slowly spoke in a small but firm voice, ”I like both.”

Her tone was so bold and confident that it almost seemed like she was about to add, ”Why choose? I’ll take them all!”

Megumi Kato couldn’t help but chuckle at Kotomi’s response, a sweet and pleasant sound. ”Izumi-san, your answer is quite unique.”

”Haha...” Kotomi could only respond with a sheepish laugh.

The school bell rang, and Shizuka Hiratsuka, dressed in a lab coat, slid open the classroom door and entered Class 1-F. Perhaps it was the cigarette in her mouth, but there was an undeniable ”big sister” aura about her.

This teacher, so different from the stern and serious ones, instantly quieted the previously noisy classroom.

The sudden silence was so complete that one might have thought they’d wandered into Silent Hill.

Once on the podium, Shizuka Hiratsuka realized she still had a cigarette in her mouth. She extinguished it, made sure there were no embers left, and tossed it into the classroom’s trash bin.

”Hello, Class 1-F. I’m your homeroom teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka, and I also teach Japanese. Make sure to do your Japanese homework on time. I won’t bore you with the usual speeches; I’m sure you’ve heard enough during the opening ceremony in the auditorium. Why do teachers have to attend such boring ceremonies every year? It’s the same speeches every time—so dull.”

Shizuka Hiratsuka rubbed her head in frustration, clearly not a fan of the monotonous ceremonies.

”Anyway, back to the point—study hard, improve every day, and turn in your homework on time. Don’t make the other teachers complain to me about Class 1-F students misbehaving in class. That’s the basic rule. And most importantly...”

At this point, Shizuka Hiratsuka cracked her knuckles, her tone suddenly becoming cold and intimidating, as if she had transformed into a demon:

”Don’t let me see any bullying. I don’t care about teaching or reforming; I don’t want to hear excuses from teachers or parents like, ’Why are they picking on you when there are so many others?’ All I know is that bullies are scum. My approach to bullying is simple—fight fire with fire.”

A wave of coldness spread through every corner of Class 1-F. After her declaration, Shizuka Hiratsuka’s tone returned to normal.

”That’s all for Class 1-F’s rules. Everyone got that?”

”Yes!” the students responded in unison.

”Good. Now, let’s start with self-introductions. If you want, you can share more details like your hobbies. If not, just say your name and sit down. And let me make one thing clear—no flirting during the introductions. If you want to flirt, wait until after class.”

The self-introductions began with the first row of students. Some chose to give detailed introductions, while others simply stated their names and sat down.

Yukinoshita Yukino, for instance.

When it was Yukinoshita Yukino’s turn, she stood up slowly and said coldly, ”Yukinoshita Yukino.”

After saying her name, she sat down immediately, without any unnecessary words.

When it was Yui Yuigahama’s turn... well, she was still dozing off.

”Wake up, it’s your turn to introduce yourself,” Yukinoshita Yukino gently nudged Yui Yuigahama and reminded her.

Yui Yuigahama finally woke up, stood up in a fluster, and said with an embarrassed smile, ”Hi everyone, I’m Yui Yuigahama. Please take care of me.”

”Got it, Yuigahama-san, the fellow sleepyhead,” Shizuka Hiratsuka said, deliberately leaning on the desk and mimicking Yui Yuigahama’s sleepy posture. Her voice was low and lazy, which made the entire class burst into laughter.

Yui Yuigahama awkwardly scratched her head, her face turning red as she sat back down.

Ugh! I should’ve gone to bed earlier last night! Yui Yuigahama thought, mentally berating herself. The reason she was so tired this morning was because she had stayed up late reading Sword Art Online.

Last night, after taking a bath and planning to go to bed early, she felt a little bored, so she decided to browse her phone for a bit before sleeping.

But to her surprise, while scrolling through Twitter, she stumbled upon an article recommending light novels, specifically Sword Art Online.

And there were countless comments praising it.

[A mega-hit that garnered millions of views on the first day of its competition entry!]

[An unprecedented game-themed light novel!]

[This may be a game, but it’s not something you play.]

[The most promising entry in this year’s Dengeki Novel Prize!]

[Please, Izumi Ki-sensei, release Volume 2 soon!]

[Izumi Ki, the eternal legend!]

There were so many glowing recommendations that even someone like Yui Yuigahama, who usually wasn’t interested in light novels, couldn’t resist the temptation. Driven by curiosity, she opened the Dengeki Bunko website, searched for Sword Art Online, and decided to read the first chapter.

To her surprise, once she started reading, she couldn’t stop.

After finishing one chapter, she felt an overwhelming urge to read the next. It was as if not reading the entire first volume in one go would be a huge loss.

Yui Yuigahama, who initially intended to just kill some time on her phone, found herself completely engrossed.

Before she knew it, she had stayed up until 3 a.m. reading.

Luckily, her mom had pulled off her blankets to wake her up this morning. Otherwise, she definitely would’ve been late.

Although she had barely avoided being late, Sword Art Online was just so good! She wondered when Izumi Ki-sensei would release Volume 2. As Yui Yuigahama sat down, she couldn’t help but think about it.

And as she pondered when Izumi Ki-sensei would release Volume 2, it was finally Izumi Kotomi’s turn to introduce herself.