All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

[Despite feeling at a loss, I forced an awkward smile and shook the outstretched hands of everyone. The only female player, a black-haired lancer, was the last to grasp my hands with both of hers, tearfully repeating her words to me:]

[’Thank you… truly, thank you. I was so scared, but when you came to save us, I was incredibly relieved. I’m really grateful to you.’]

After writing this passage, Izumi Kotomi’s hands paused on the keyboard, and she let out a long breath.

Reaching this point meant she had completed Chapter 4 of Volume 2: The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

This was also the final chapter of Volume 2 of Sword Art Online.

”Thank goodness for fast typing. I managed to finish Volume 2 with ease. If I maintain this pace, I should be able to finish by tomorrow night. Then I’ll spend the next two weeks revising the manuscript… Well, two weeks might be a bit tight, so I’ll extend it to three weeks. After all, the deadline is still far away.”

When Kotomi said two weeks was tight, what she really meant was that she wanted to leave herself a few extra days to play games.

After saving the unfinished Chapter 4 in the Volume 2 folder, Kotomi moved her mouse and clicked on Steam.

CS launched!

Seeing her familiar AK47 skins, ”Bloodsport” and ”Fire Serpent,” Kotomi felt her rhythm coming back.

Even if her gameplay was subpar, as long as her gun skins looked cool, she could still play with the confidence of a pro!

As for the kill count…

Hehe, the most important thing about playing games is to have fun, so who cares about the number of kills~

”Little Three God-san, are you there?” Kotomi asked as she started the game.

[Kotomi, how many times do I have to tell you? My name isn’t Little Three God; it’s Kazumi! Also, why did you summon me?]

The God-Level Heroine System, or rather Kazumi, appeared behind Kotomi, sounding a bit displeased.

She had such a lovely name—Kazumi—but Kotomi insisted on calling her Little Three God-san.

Had she known this would happen, she wouldn’t have told Kotomi her age was only three years old.

”Well, do you have a way to get me some souvenir crates from Castle? Preferably with a higher drop rate.”

”Huh? Souvenir crates from Castle? You mean the ones in CS?”

”Yep, those crates. I want a Dragon Lore.”

”Uh… even though I’m a system, I can’t directly manipulate in-game loot box probabilities. Not that it’s impossible, but it’s a bit of a hassle. So, you called me out just for this?”

”Yep,” Kotomi nodded.

Kazumi sighed helplessly, ”You just want a souvenir crate to try for a Dragon Lore, right?”

”Mm-hmm,” Kotomi nodded again.

”You’re impossible. Fine, go check your inventory now,” Kazumi said, exasperated but doting.

Kotomi checked her inventory, expecting to see the crate, but instead found two sniper rifles and a butterfly knife?!

AWP—Dragon Lore (Factory New)

AWP—The Eternal (Factory New)

Butterfly Knife—Slaughter (Factory New)

”Even if you raise the drop rate, opening a crate doesn’t guarantee you’ll get what you want. You should’ve just asked me directly for the guns you wanted~ I went ahead and got you the Dragon Lore you wanted, plus an Eternal and a Slaughter butterfly knife,” Kazumi explained from behind Kotomi. Despite their frequent banter, Kazumi was quite fond of Kotomi.

Other systems would definitely exclaim, ”You spoil her too much!”

”Thank you, Kazumi! Let me give you a hug~”

”No way! Last time you hugged me, I could barely breathe,” Kazumi said, feeling aggrieved, her eyes involuntarily glancing at Kotomi’s chest.

Why was Kotomi’s chest so big while she herself was still so flat?

Sensing Kazumi’s gaze, Kotomi smiled awkwardly, ”I can’t help it. It’s not like I wanted them to grow this big.”

While Kotomi was happily sniping with her Dragon Lore in CS, over at the Dango Cake Shop...

Yuigahama’s mother had just put the last tray of bread into the oven before finally taking a break, sitting down on a chair to rest.

Even though Yui helped her every day, making cakes was no easy task. Almost every day was spent working from the shop’s opening in the morning until closing at night.

However, for Yuigahama’s mother, staying busy was a good thing. At least it meant that her cake shop had many customers, and she didn’t have to worry about the shop’s income.

After her husband’s death, it was up to her alone to support the family.

Of course, the fatigue was undeniable. Often, as soon as she sat down, she felt an overwhelming urge to fall asleep.

Just like now—having just sat down, the exhaustion swept over her, making her feel drowsy.

”No, I can’t… The shop’s still open for another two hours; I can’t fall asleep now,” she muttered, rubbing her eyes and trying to stand up to go to the bathroom and splash some water on her face to wake herself up.

Ring ring ring.

Just then, her phone rang from her pants pocket, jolting her awake. She quickly took out the phone.

”Editor Yukinoshita? Why is she calling me at this time?” Yuigahama’s mother wondered aloud. Yukinoshita Haruno was her editor, and Yuigahama’s mother would always send her completed illustrations directly to her.

Was she calling to check on her progress?

Speaking of progress…

Thinking about her progress, Yuigahama’s mother could only smile wryly. Out of the five black-and-white illustrations due this month, she had only finished three. One was still in the rough sketch phase, and the other hadn’t even been started.

After a moment of consideration, she decided to answer Yukinoshita Haruno’s call.

”Hanayui-sensei, do you have a moment?”

”Yes, I do, but I still have two illustrations left to finish this month,” Yuigahama’s mother replied apologetically. She had hoped to finish them before the deadline, but the workload at the Dango Cake Shop had increased lately, keeping her very busy.

Even staying up late to draw, she found it hard to keep up with the pace.

That’s right, the moderately well-known illustrator in the art community and newly recruited part-time illustrator for Dengeki Bunko, Hanayui, was none other than Yuigahama’s mother herself.

However, she had never told Yui or Yuka about her modest fame as an online illustrator.

Initially, she had just started drawing illustrations as a hobby to pass the time. But after uploading her work online, she unexpectedly gained some popularity, with her follower count on Twitter and Pixiv surpassing 10,000.

She even received an invitation from Dengeki Bunko to become an illustrator. Though she didn’t opt to go full-time, even working as a part-time illustrator earned her a decent amount of royalties, easing her financial burden.

This was why, despite having to stay up late to draw every night, Yuigahama’s mother chose to keep doing it.

Her motivation wasn’t a deep love for drawing, but rather the simple fact that raising two school-aged daughters on her own required a lot of money.

People rush about, all for a few pieces of silver. But that silver can ease the endless anxieties of life.

”Ah, no worries. I’m not calling to rush you. Hanayui-sensei, are you familiar with Sword Art Online?”

Hearing that it wasn’t about the deadline, Yuigahama’s mother felt slightly relieved and replied, ”Isn’t that the light novel that’s been very popular on the Dengeki Bunko website lately? I’ve heard of it, and I read the first chapter. The story is quite captivating.”

She had read Sword Art Online before, and both the plot and writing were excellent. However, she hadn’t had the time to continue reading.

Her daily routine involved waking up at 10 a.m. to open the shop and then, after closing at 8 p.m., sneaking into her bedroom to draw while her daughters slept, leaving her no extra time to read novels.

”Hanayui-sensei, you applied to work on the illustrations for Sword Art Online, didn’t you? Congratulations, your application has been successful. You will be responsible for the light novel’s illustrations.”