While Kotomi Izumi was still coaxing Yui, telling her that five minutes was already quite impressive…

Yukino Yukinoshita had actually woken up long ago.

The moment Kotomi loosened her arms and stopped hugging her, Yukino had already regained consciousness.

Originally, she had planned to keep pretending to sleep for three more minutes. Then she would rub her drowsy eyes, sit up as if nothing had happened, and greet Kotomi casually.

But when she heard that Yui Yuigahama had also woken up, Yukino decisively stopped counting down.

She had no idea what expression she should wear when facing Yui.

Kotomi was Yui’s girlfriend. The two of them were mutually in love. Just last night, before Yui fell asleep, Kotomi had sworn confidently, “I’ll definitely hold you and sleep on the same pillow as you.”

And yet, less than a few minutes after Yui fell asleep, Kotomi Izumi had turned over and hugged her instead.

Just thinking about it made Yukino not merely unwilling to get up and face Yui. If there had been a crack in the floor, she would have rolled straight into it without hesitation.

One second she was swearing to her girlfriend that she would hold her and share a pillow. The next second she turned over and hugged me.

Kotomi Izumi, you scumbag woman!

Yukino ground her teeth in her heart, as if venting her frustration that way.

The only question was what exactly that frustration stemmed from.

Was it because Kotomi had deceived Yui with sweet words, making Yukino feel indignant on behalf of her best friend?

Or was it because Kotomi had stopped holding her just now?

Which was it?

Only Yukino herself knew.

When she heard that Yui had woken up and seen Kotomi hugging her, Yukino’s heart felt as if an invisible hand had yanked it up into her throat.

For the next stretch of time, she lay there pretending to sleep while listening to Kotomi use all sorts of sweet, skillful excuses to explain away why she had been hugging Yukino.

If Kotomi had said those things to her before, she might have believed them.

But after witnessing this scumbag side of Kotomi, Yukino felt that even if she were beaten to death, she would never believe another word from that mouth.

And when she heard that dumpling believe Kotomi so foolishly and be coaxed so easily, Yukino felt both relieved and exasperated.

The weight hanging in her chest gradually settled.

Yet she could not help thinking, Dumpling, how can you be this silly? You were coaxed just like that?

No matter what, the matter had finally passed.

Yukino let out a silent breath of relief and decided to pretend to sleep for a few more minutes before getting up.

Ten minutes later.

Yukino Yukinoshita finally felt she had pretended long enough. She slowly sat up, as though she had enjoyed a very comfortable rest, stretching lazily.

In truth, sleeping in Kotomi’s arms had indeed felt pleasant.

Yukino had always been a light sleeper, often plagued by insomnia.

Yet when she was held by Kotomi, she felt as though her entire body had been immersed in warm bubbles. Without realizing it, she relaxed completely, gradually sinking into Kotomi’s gentleness. Sleep melted away her awareness bit by bit, and she drifted off peacefully in happiness.

If possible, she truly wished she could be held by Kotomi every single night.

Strangely enough, any girl who had been hugged by Kotomi Izumi would inevitably have that same thought.

“Good morning, Yukino.”

Kotomi Izumi, who was changing her clothes, greeted her easily when she saw Yukino wake up.

Her expression showed not the slightest trace of having hugged Yukino all night. It was as though nothing at all had happened.

Seeing that calm, nonchalant look, Yukino felt a faint wave of grievance rise in her chest.

She wanted to act the same way.

But Kotomi’s natural composure irritated her more than she expected.

Kotomi, are you really the kind of little scumbag who can forget someone the moment you put on a skirt the next morning?!

Yukino thought irritably.

So irritated that she even considered whether, since Yui was currently in the bathroom washing up, she should seize the opportunity to bite Kotomi’s cheek hard and leave a very obvious mark.

Earlier she had been annoyed at being called a cool little tigress.

Yet sometimes, her behavior truly did resemble that of a little tigress.

Kotomi Izumi’s greatest talent was giving people nicknames.

At the very least, none of her nicknames had ever been out of character.

Sensing Yukino’s gaze, Kotomi immediately covered her own cheek with both hands and said pitifully,

“It’s fine if you don’t say good morning to me. And I understand that you might have a little morning grumpiness since you just woke up. I can even understand being hungry first thing in the morning. But you can’t try to bite my cheek just because you’re grumpy and hungry! Only my girlfriend is allowed to bite my cheek!”

By the time she finished the last sentence, her tone was utterly righteous.

The little tigress who had just been about to pounce froze for a moment.

When she processed what Kotomi had said, she tried to maintain a cool expression—yet she could not stop herself from laughing.

Ever since Kotomi had walked into her heart, smiles had appeared more often on Yukino’s face.

After laughing, she shot Kotomi a glare.

“You once said you were a little narcissistic. I didn’t quite believe it. Now I do. Not only do I believe it, I think you seriously understated it. A little narcissistic? You’re extremely narcissistic! Who would want to bite your cheek? I don’t know what other girls or your future girlfriends might think, but I will never, ever want to bite your cheek in this lifetime!”

That was what she said.

Yet she could not hide the shy smile lingering at the corners of her lips.

Seeing this, Kotomi muttered under her breath, slightly modifying the nickname she had once given Yukino.

“Cool and tsundere little tigress.”

Her voice was soft, but the distance between them was so close that Yukino heard it clearly.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing at all!”

Yukino shot her an annoyed glare.

She would absolutely never admit that the nickname suited her perfectly.

You little Kotomi, acting so arrogant.

Just wait until I get the chance—I’ll bite your cheek hard!

…

And what about Yui Yuigahama?

What was she doing?

Yui Yuigahama was still in the bathroom.

She had just finished washing her face and was now wiping it gently with a towel.

…

When Yui walked out of the bathroom, Kotomi Izumi was packing up the suitcase, while Yukino Yukinoshita sat on the bed getting dressed.

“Good morning, Yukino!”

“G-Good morning.”

Faced with Yui’s cheerful greeting, Yukino’s gaze and tone were somewhat evasive, giving off the unmistakable feeling of someone with a guilty conscience.

Yui tilted her head slightly in confusion. What was wrong with Yukino? Why did she look like a child who had done something wrong?

Although Yui felt puzzled, she did not dwell on it for long, because Kotomi suddenly announced that she was hungry.

“There are only fifteen minutes left before checkout. Let’s head downstairs. Once we’re out, we’ll find somewhere to eat first. I’m starving,” Kotomi said.

“I’m fine with anything,” Yukino replied. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Kotomi, what do you want to eat?” Yui asked.

As the little foodie among the three of them, the task of deciding breakfast naturally fell to Kotomi.

Kotomi thought for a moment. Although they were currently in Kyoto, there were not many restaurants nearby that truly represented Kyoto’s specialties. And besides, Kyoto’s classic dishes were limited to just a few well-known options.

The first place that came to mind was Shoraian. After eating their yudofu once, you would immediately crave it again.

The first time Kotomi had ever eaten yudofu was at Shoraian. Ever since then, it had become one of her favorite foods.

And right now happened to be within their business hours.

But after thinking it over, she decided against it.

First, they had not made a reservation. Without booking in advance, it was very difficult to get a seat there.

Second, it was too far away. If she remembered correctly, Shoraian was located in Saga Kameo-cho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City. Even by taxi, it would take quite some time to get there.

Kotomi really wanted to fill her stomach as soon as possible.

She did not know whether it was due to the Queen of All Females physique, but whenever she was hungry now, she felt noticeably weaker. In the past, hunger had made her uncomfortable, but not this obvious.

Was it really the influence of that physique?

Kotomi did not have a definite answer.

In the past, she could have simply asked Kazumi and gotten a clear explanation.

But now…

Even though some time had already passed, the moment she thought about Kazumi still being in a deep slumber, a faint bitter smile appeared on Kotomi’s lips.

Kazumi should still be asleep within the mental space inside her body. Even though she was technically within her, Kotomi had no idea how to enter that space.

If she could freely enter it, Kotomi was certain she would rush in without hesitation and shake Kazumi awake.

Even if she could not wake her, just being able to see her sleeping face from time to time would ease her heart a little.

Thinking about it, during this period she had been constantly trying to decipher the request Kazumi gave her before falling asleep. Yet there were simply too few hints or clues. It felt like playing a game where, for some unknown reason—whether poor internet or something else—the progress bar was stuck at a certain percentage and refused to move.

After finishing packing the suitcase, Kotomi scratched her head helplessly. Although she had tried approaching Kazumi’s request from various angles, she had achieved nothing so far.

Even so, she had never considered giving up.

If someone asked her why she had not given up, she would definitely answer:

“Does that even need a reason? Kazumi is still waiting for me to wake her! Even if she didn’t say it outright after entrusting me with ‘I hope you can find the real me,’ I have a feeling that as long as I solve this request, I’ll definitely see her again!”

As long as she solved the request, she would definitely see Kazumi again.

That thought had long since turned into an obsession in Kotomi’s heart—an obsession that even surpassed her desire for immortality.

“Kotomi, Kotomi, Kotomi…”

Hearing Yui calling her name, Kotomi slowly snapped back to reality from her absent-minded state.

“Ah, sorry. I was thinking about where to eat. I got a little too absorbed,” Kotomi said with an embarrassed smile.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve always thought you look really pretty when you’re thinking seriously,” Yui said with a lovestruck grin.

Whenever she thought, Such a beautiful Kotomi is actually my girlfriend, she could not help but act a little smitten.

Before, she used to imagine what kind of wedding dresses she and Kotomi would wear when they got married.

Now, her fantasies about the future had evolved.

She had started thinking about what their child would be named.

What name should they choose?

Yui had already come up with more than sixty names, yet she still could not decide which one was best.

She had originally wanted to tell all sixty-plus names to Yukino and ask for her advice.

After all, Yukino was her best friend.

But ever since she started dating Kotomi, Kotomi had not allowed her to tell anyone—not even her mother or her sister.

Yui did not quite understand. Why keep it such a secret? Why couldn’t she even tell her own family?

Even though I really want to receive blessings from my friends, Mom, and my sister… if Kotomi doesn’t want me to say anything yet, she must have her reasons. I’ll just listen to her obediently. She didn’t explain the reason directly, probably because I’m a bit dumb and wouldn’t understand even if she told me. Hehe… Kotomi is so considerate. She treats me so well~ But I can’t just be satisfied like this. I need to work hard and become smarter! Yui thought to herself.

Faced with Yui’s praise, Kotomi accepted it naturally.

“That’s because no matter which angle you look at me from, I’m beautiful!”

She even gave a smug little hum, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed about her narcissism. To her, she was merely stating a fact.

And in truth, it was a fact.

Kotomi Izumi was breathtakingly beautiful from every angle.

Even calling her a once-in-a-lifetime beauty or the girl most qualified in the world to be narcissistic still failed to fully capture her charm.

Whenever Kotomi looked into a mirror, if she did not have anything else to do, she could easily admire herself for at least half an hour.

At that moment, Yukino, now fully dressed, spoke coolly.

“Stop being narcissistic. Have you decided where we’re eating?”

Although she agreed with Kotomi’s statement in her heart, there was no way she would ever admit it.

“Of course I’ve decided.”

Kotomi nodded confidently, looking as though she had already chosen a place—and was completely certain of her decision.

—

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep