All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

After finishing breakfast, Kotomi spent the entire morning completing her weekend homework.

She wondered if Yui had finished hers yet…

Well, if not, Kotomi could always let her copy it on Monday morning. She was used to it by now.

The rain outside grew heavier as Kotomi walked to the window and pulled back the curtains. What had been a light drizzle had turned into a full-on downpour, with gusts of wind howling through the streets.

She loved rainy days like this, where she could stay cozy at home, listening to the rain while playing on her computer.

After tidying up her homework, she glanced at her sister, Aimi, who had finally stirred from her long sleep, stretching lazily as she sat up in bed.

”Good morning, Onee-chan~ Last night’s sleep was so comfy,” Aimi said with a mischievous smile, looking at her sister standing by the window.

”Tonight, make sure you sleep in your own room,” Kotomi responded, walking over and playfully pinching Aimi’s cheek.

”Did you not enjoy sleeping with me, Onee-chan?” Aimi asked, a teasing tone in her voice.

She even puffed out her chest, clearly hinting at something with both her words and actions.

To be honest, yes, it was quite comfortable. But if Kotomi admitted that, she knew Aimi would keep coming back every night, wanting to sleep together. Who knew what might happen if they continued like that?

Kotomi wasn’t the type to remain unaffected with someone as charming as Aimi cuddling up next to her. She wasn’t exactly a saint who could keep her hands to herself when tempted.

And besides, Aimi’s white nightgown really did resemble the one Sora Kasugano wore… Wait, this wasn’t just similar—it was the exact same one!

To avoid going down that dangerous path, Kotomi quickly responded, despite her true feelings: ”It wasn’t comfortable.”

”Che~ Even if you say that, I won’t give up! Kotomi, one day I’ll make you admit it’s comfortable!” Aimi declared, full of determination and confidence.

Maybe Aimi didn’t mean anything by it, but Kotomi, a seasoned veteran of certain thoughts, couldn’t help but let her mind wander. Various images, tinged with shades of orange and pink, flashed through her brain.

Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she playfully knocked on Aimi’s head, her embarrassment clear: ”Show some respect and call me ’Onee-chan’ properly!”

”Why? Calling you Kotomi is fine! You’re so petty!”

Aimi, still teasing, retreated to her room. By now, it was already 10 a.m., and she had missed breakfast, which meant she’d have to make up for it by eating more at lunch.

Kotomi, on the other hand, sat down at her desk to continue revising the second volume of Sword Art Online.

Her day was perfectly balanced: writing novels during the day and drawing manga at night.

What a flawless way to manage time!

If her God-Level Heroine System had achievement badges, she would definitely unlock one for Time Management Mastery.

After about an hour of revising, Izumi Akina called the girls down for lunch.

After eating, Kotomi continued working through the afternoon, diligently completing the edits.

As evening approached, Kotomi saved her progress, rubbing her eyes as she leaned back from the keyboard.

The second volume of Sword Art Online was now completely revised.

But Kotomi wasn’t planning to send the manuscript to Yukinoshita Haruno just yet. She wanted to wait until the first volume hit the shelves and see how the sales performed.

Rushing to hand in the next volume wasn’t always the best strategy. Kotomi knew that well. She planned to wait for Haruno to come asking for the second volume, ensuring she maintained an advantageous position in their future collaborations.

”I’ll start working on the third volume once the second is confirmed for publication. For now, I need to focus on building up the manuscript for Chainsaw Man.”

During the signing process with Shueisha, Kotomi had familiarized herself with the weekly serialization requirements for Weekly Shonen Jump.

Although getting the green light for a collected volume would increase both her fame and income, she still needed to maintain the pace of releasing one chapter every week.

The process was simple: after publishing chapters in the magazine, once enough chapters were serialized, Shueisha would begin printing them as a collected volume.

This was something Asuka Chizuru, her editor, had already explained.

In short, even though the single-volume edition would bring in more revenue, she still had to keep up with the weekly chapters.

Thinking this over, Kotomi opened the half-finished second chapter of Chainsaw Man from the previous night and resumed her drawing.

With only a small section left to complete, Kotomi was confident that, at her current pace, she’d finish the chapter by Monday.

[”Is it good?”]

[”Woof!”]

[”For you to think this bloated udon is tasty… That’s worth some praise. You really are like a dog.”]

[”Um, may I ask… What’s your name?”]

[”Makima.”]

[”Makima-san… What, um, what kind of guys do you like?”]

[”Hmm~... I like guys like you, Denji.”]

[”Denji…? That’s… that’s me!”]

[—With that devilish, seductive statement, Makima tightly grasped the boy’s heart…!]

”Done! I finished!” Kotomi cheered, taking off her headphones and stretching.

She glanced at the clock—it was already 10 p.m. Her progress had been faster than expected.

”Looks like I’ll have Sunday off to relax,” Kotomi said, feeling quite pleased with herself.

She decided to take it easy the next two days and wouldn’t start working on chapter three of Chainsaw Man until Tuesday.

As Kotomi put her phone down, she noticed a message from Aimi.

”Huh? Aimi sent me a text? Why would she text me? She could’ve just come into my room if she needed something,” Kotomi muttered, unlocking her phone and opening the message.

[I saw you with your headphones on, sitting and drawing manga, so I figured I’d text instead of calling out to you since I didn’t want to disturb you. When you’re done, come down and eat dinner.]

Aimi had noticed her busy and chose not to interrupt, leaving Kotomi with a warm feeling inside.

Kotomi couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s thoughtful message.

She headed downstairs to eat her late dinner.

On Sunday morning, Kotomi wasn’t woken by an alarm but by the ringing of her phone.

Still half-asleep and reluctant to leave the comfort of her warm bed, she groped around for her phone on the bedside table.

The name on the screen read: Hibiki Naegi .

”Naegi-senpai, calling this early is practically a disturbance to the peace,” Kotomi yawned as she answered the call.

”Early? It’s already 9 a.m. You’re not still in bed, are you?” Hibiki’s voice sounded amused.

Kotomi glanced at the time on her phone.

9:27 a.m.

She had indeed overslept and missed breakfast.

”Well, it’s the weekend. As a high school student, sleeping in a bit is only natural,” Kotomi defended herself.

”True, but next week we need to start preparing for the National Art Contest. Didn’t Hiratsuka-sensei remind the three of us to finalize our themes over the weekend? Have you decided what you’re going to draw yet?”