All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

”Yes, I haven’t grown up. I just want to always be the little sister who can cling to you and act spoiled anytime, anywhere!” Aimi Izumi cried loudly at the doorstep, tightly hugging Kotomi.

Aimi had always built a wall around her emotions, keeping them sealed outside. But the moment she saw her sister’s smile, that wall collapsed like a crumbling dam. The flood burst forth, destroying everything in its path, pouring out uncontrollably.

Kotomi Izumi gently stroked Aimi’s back, inhaling the faint fragrance on her. She smiled sweetly inside:

Aimi says she wants to act spoiled anytime, anywhere—but thinking back, it was actually the other way around when we were little. I was always the one clinging to her. If no one said otherwise, people would think I was the younger sister, and Aimi the elder.

But... when did that change?

Little Aimi blossomed into a graceful beauty, growing up bit by bit...

Aimi slowly lifted her head from Kotomi’s embrace. Crystalline tears still spilled from her eyes, trailing down her face where sadness and joy intertwined. With a calm voice, she said:

”Kotomi, I like you.”

In that instant—

Kotomi felt like time around her had frozen.

But it wasn’t another one of Kazumi’s time-stop abilities. It was simply her heart’s reaction to hearing Aimi’s confession.

Unlike that moment in Kyoto, Kotomi now almost wished Kazumi would stop time again, just so she could gather her thoughts and decide how to respond.

Aimi’s sudden confession filled Kotomi with joy deep down—but also left her completely unprepared, like someone caught off guard with their hands full.

Was this the moment?

Right here, right at the doorstep, to say out loud the answer she had already thought through?

Aimi must have been struggling too, waiting for this answer, just like she had been waiting for a chance to speak it.

Kotomi still hadn’t forgotten that night—Aimi’s straightforward declaration of love had caught her off guard back then too. But compared to that time, many things had changed.

Because after that night, Kotomi had come to a conclusion.

To speak it now, here at their front door, and forever change the relationship between them. Once the answer was spoken, no matter what it was, they could never return to how things were before. They could only move forward or backward.

Kotomi wanted to throw caution to the wind, to stop waiting for the ”right opportunity,” and just blurt out her answer to Aimi with all the courage she had.

But in that moment, a quiet voice whispered in her ear:

Do you have the courage to burn all your bridges?

Kotomi’s hand froze midair, and she looked at Aimi with a complicated expression. She wanted so badly to take that next step—but it felt like invisible chains had wrapped around her wrists, holding her back.

After speaking, Aimi calmly looked at Kotomi. Then, after a moment, she smiled.

It was a clean, warm smile—radiant like summer flowers in full bloom.

”Even if I tried to force you to say it now, it wouldn’t work, would it? Was I too impatient?” Aimi spoke gently.

Before Kotomi could respond, Aimi took her hand with warmth and a bright smile.

”Onee-chan, let’s go home.”

”Okay.”

Kotomi gently held Aimi’s small hand in return.

If she had once been surprised, hesitant, or uncertain about the answer in her heart—

Then now,

That answer had solidified completely.

Unshakable.

Very soon, she would tell Aimi everything—exactly as it was.

”Sigh...”

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Akina Izumi let out a sudden sigh. It sounded like one of resignation, but with other emotions subtly mixed in.

”What’s wrong? Still worried about Kotomi? You smacked her bottom so many times earlier—don’t tell me you’re still not over it. If you want to keep going, I might have to step in and protect her. If you actually make my precious daughter cry, my heart would ache,” Kaneyoshi Izumi said with a chuckle.

He and Akina had been married for over ten years, having weathered every storm together. He could read his wife’s emotions in an instant.

Akina rolled her eyes, then lightly tapped Kaneyoshi on the back in mock annoyance.

”You spoil our daughter too much! And honestly, are you overestimating me or underestimating your daughter? I was nearly exhausted spanking her, and she didn’t even flinch. When it was over, she even helped massage my wrist. That brat’s a little rascal, sure, but somehow, I just can’t stay mad at her.”

She sighed again, her voice tinged with complexity.

”It’s not just Kotomi. Aimi too. All of a sudden, it feels like both our daughters have grown up. And now I’m starting to worry—as they grow older, will they stop listening to us?”

”Do they really have to listen to us for everything?” Kaneyoshi countered gently.

”Honestly, I hope both of them think for themselves most of the time, instead of being like those kids who still run to their parents for every little thing, even in college. That’s no way to grow up. Besides, how many more years can we be here for them? We all have our time—aging, illness, death.”

”You’re right,” Akina said, ”but it still leaves an empty feeling inside. The other night, I even dreamed that Kotomi and Aimi got married to each other. They started a little family together. I woke up in a panic.”

”Maybe you’re just tired lately. Try to get to bed early tonight, rest up,” Kaneyoshi replied.

”Oh dear, your hand’s shaking! You’re just making soup, don’t add too much salt!”

”Ahem... I had a late video meeting last night. Didn’t sleep well.”

”Heh~ You don’t look like someone who didn’t sleep. Be honest—are you freaking out inside after hearing what I said? Feeling like you’re not ready, but you might become a grandpa at any moment?”

Kaneyoshi could only admit the truth helplessly:

”Alright, I confess. After hearing what you said, I felt a little hollow inside too. It was like one second they were just babbling little babies, and the next, they’ve grown up. And about that dream you mentioned... if it really turns out that way someday...”

At that point, Kaneyoshi finally understood why his wife had sighed earlier. If they weren’t in the kitchen cooking, he would’ve lit a cigarette right then.

”Darling.”

”Hm?”

”Time really flies. It feels like, in the blink of an eye, we’ll be grandparents.”

”Yeah.”

Kaneyoshi gently wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders, letting her rest against him.

...

Kotomi had a very satisfying lunch and was now lying comfortably on her bed, playing Azur Lane. She casually bought the new skins for Enterprise and Prinz Eugen, feeling absolutely delighted—the kind of bliss that made her want to sigh and say, Maybe this is what life is all about.

”Sluuurp~ Enterprise and Prinz Eugen’s new skins are way too spicy this time—and they move! Especially Enterprise, her face art style finally changed! It hits my exact XP spot. I couldn’t even force myself through the old style!”

Lying in bed, staring at Enterprise’s new racing outfit, Kotomi’s face was lit up with pure happiness.

Her wishes weren’t grand—just to eat well, drink happily, laze around at home playing games, and have a job that lets her achieve financial freedom without effort. A peaceful family, everyone healthy, and good meals every day.

Having reincarnated once, it was time to show her true ability and make that wish slowly come true!

After gaming for two hours, Kotomi finally realized she had been far too slack on her writing lately. She needed a reminder of the tough times. Back when manuscript payments were low, she would still sit at her desk every day, full of motivation.

Now that her income had soared, her creative discipline had become lazy. That was a bad sign.

To snap herself out of this creeping slacker mentality, Kotomi gave her cheeks a few firm slaps, pulled herself together, got out of bed, and sat down in her ergonomic chair in front of the computer. After booting it up, she took a deep breath. Once Word opened, her hands began flying across the keyboard.

Clack-clack-clack.

Luckily, the soundproofing in each room of the house was solid. Otherwise, she wouldn’t dare be so carefree about hammering away on a clicky blue-switch mechanical keyboard.

”As expected... real writing needs to be done at a proper desk, pounding keys. Back in Kyoto, I was typing on my laptop’s keyboard the whole time, and my speed and writing state totally tanked. I was supposed to be writing Redo of Healer, but the words came out completely un-spicy.”

”This won’t do. Once Volume 1 of Redo of Healer is done and I start preparing the print edition, I’ll need Tomoka Yuigahama to do the illustrations again.”

”Every one of her drawings is deliciously spicy. I need to make sure my writing lives up to them!”

Kotomi’s soft, pale fingers danced over the blue switches, muttering as she worked. With that motivation in her heart, she felt as if her spirit had caught fire. Without relying on the system’s power, she naturally sank into her writing.

This was the first time that had ever happened.

But Kotomi didn’t have time to be surprised. Her small hands kept moving nonstop over the mechanical keyboard, and as line after line of text appeared on the screen, her thoughts gradually merged with the rhythm of the keys.

It felt as if she had entered the world of Redo of Healer...

Wait, no—would entering that world be a good thing or a bad thing?

Kotomi wasn’t sure.

Back when the truck hit her—as Ailun in her previous life—if she had actually died and been sent to another world like in so many light novels, Kotomi would’ve chosen to reincarnate into the Six-Faced World of Mushoku Tensei.

But reincarnating to another world had always been something Kotomi only joked about with Kazumi.

In truth, Kotomi often felt deeply relieved that she hadn’t been sent to another world.

Every time she realized this, she would let out a long breath in her heart. Sure, reincarnating might start a legendary life...

But so what?

Although Kazumi never said it outright, she had subtly hinted to Kotomi before—if she had been hit by the truck as Ailun in Parallel World A and ended up in another world, her soul would never be able to return to the body in Parallel World B—the world she was in now.

Simply put, if she had been hit by that truck and sent to another world, her real body would have remained in this world as a vegetative patient—forever unconscious, lying in a hospital bed, never to awaken. She would never have met Megumi Kato or any of the others. Her life would slowly fade away, year after year, until she died on that bed.

Her parents would have passed away one by one before her, never hearing her call them ”Mom” or ”Dad” again before they left this world...

And in the end, only Aimi would remain by her bedside, holding her hand, accompanying her through the final stretch of life.

After her death, perhaps a few years later, Aimi would also pass on.

Tick tock, tick tock—

Whenever such thoughts surfaced, tears would slide down Kotomi’s cheeks uncontrollably. Each time, she felt a profound relief that her soul had returned to her real body. That was what allowed her to wake up, live again, and love her family.

At the same time, a wild idea began to take root deep in Kotomi’s heart.

As long as one remains alive in this world, there’s no escaping life, aging, illness, and death. No avoiding the birth and loss of life.

Kotomi didn’t want to someday lose her family or the ones she loved to the passage of time.

If possible, she wanted to keep everything. Keep everyone by her side.

That thought, that yearning, gave rise to an obsession—immortality.

She wanted to obtain a power that would render herself, her family, and her loved ones unaffected by the erosion of time. That power, in countless fantasy stories, had a name:

Immortality.

Kotomi had once thought that an obsession with eternal life was foolish and delusional.

But after experiencing life and death once, she too developed a fervent desire for immortality.

She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to see her family or loved ones leave her due to death.

She buried this obsession deep in her heart, never letting it show on the surface. From the outside, no one would guess she was a girl with such a thought.

But just because it couldn’t be seen didn’t mean it wasn’t there. On the contrary, that once-small idea had, over time, grown into a towering tree—unshakable, spreading its branches and roots into every corner of her heart.

Kotomi wiped away her tears. Her hands paused on the keyboard. Her eyes, locked onto the screen, brimmed with a chilling intensity.

”I have to find a way to become immortal.”

Within her, Kazumi—the system—sensed Kotomi’s current thoughts. After a brief silence, she could only shake her head helplessly.

She had never imagined Kotomi would harbor such a thought. But by the time she realized it, the desire for immortality had already become a deeply rooted obsession.

So deep that even Kazumi, as a system, could not interfere. All she could do was watch wide-eyed as everything unfolded.

She understood why Kotomi would develop such an obsession with immortality. But...

Since ancient times, which emperor who ruled over mountains and rivers hadn’t yearned for eternal life?

And in the end?

The immortality those emperors chased always ended as nothing but a dream.

Could Kotomi truly grasp immortality?

Kazumi didn’t know.

Normally, systems were capable of seeing into their host’s future fate—whether they were powerful or weak, that was one of the innate talents of their kind.

And yet, Kotomi’s future—Kazumi could not see through it. It was like a thick, heavy fog had shrouded everything, leaving not even the faintest glimpse beyond.

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