All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Hearing the praise for Kotomi Izumi, even the typically stern-faced Kaneyoshi Izumi couldn't help but proudly say, "Well, she is my daughter."

"As far as Izumi-san's academics go, I really don't think there's anything to worry about," Shizuka said. "To be blunt, as long as she maintains her current performance through senior year, she can get into any prestigious university in Japan, no problem. Studying abroad would also be an option, if she chooses it."

"While it's true that the graduation exams include P.E., computer science, and music, the school knows most students have inconsistent skill levels in those areas, so basically, just showing up is enough to pass."

"No worries on the P.E. front either—you, Teacher Hiratsuka, have awakened Kotomi's athletic talent. Running 800 meters against seven P.E. department students and still placing first—there's an old idiom in Tianchao that says, 'pulling up seedlings to help them grow.' Teacher Hiratsuka, did you study liberal arts in university?" Kaneyoshi asked.

"Yes... I majored in the humanities."

"No wonder you're so good with wordplay—you managed to trick my daughter. So did I use that idiom correctly?" Kaneyoshi let out a soft laugh, though it carried no warmth.

"I'm sorry!"

Kaneyoshi was silent for a moment, then waved his hand. "Teacher Hiratsuka, have a seat. No need to keep bowing."

"Thank you..." Shizuka replied, beads of sweat on her forehead as she cautiously sat back on the sofa.

"My wife and I are very upset about this matter. Not at Kotomi, but at you. As her homeroom teacher, when you visit our home, we should be welcoming you warmly—not treating you this way. Please understand: my wife and I only have two daughters, Kotomi and Aimi. As parents, the thing we care most about is their safety. We treat them like treasures, terrified of even the slightest harm."

"Kotomi has been frail since childhood. She's always avoided athletic events if she could. So next time there's a sports festival or something similar, I hope—"

Kaneyoshi's voice trailed off.

Shizuka quickly picked up on the cue and interjected, "Please rest assured, Mr. and Mrs. Izumi. Next time there's a sports festival or athletic competition, even if Izumi-san wants to participate, I will stop her immediately."

"If she wants to join of her own will, then there's no need to stop her. Eventually, we must let our children make their own choices."

"You're absolutely right."

Shizuka nodded like a nervous son-in-law meeting his future father-in-law for the first time—tense, yet eager to agree with everything he said.

This is weird. I'm Kotomi's teacher. Why does this feel so much like a marriage meeting? Shizuka wondered inwardly.

Clatter.

Just then, Kotomi slid open the partition door between the kitchen and living room. She had only taken off her coat and jacket earlier, still wearing her school blouse and skirt with an apron tied over them, holding a spatula in hand.

When Shizuka saw her like that, she briefly had the illusion that she had married this still-in-high-school Kotomi. That it was evening after work, and she was coming home to her wife Kotomi, still in her school uniform, cooking dinner in the kitchen.

"Dad, dinner's ready. I cooked most of the dishes today. Try them and tell me if my cooking has improved or gotten worse."

"My daughter's cooking is top-notch. If I go a day without it, I start craving it like crazy," Kaneyoshi replied, his previously stern demeanor vanishing in an instant.

"Oh? So you're saying my cooking isn't good?" Akina's teasing voice floated from the kitchen.

Kaneyoshi immediately corrected himself, "Well, Kotomi, you still have a lot to learn from your mom when it comes to cooking. Don't get cocky. Stay humble and keep improving, okay?"

"Got it~" Kotomi said cheerfully. "Go ahead and eat, I'll go upstairs and call Aimi down."

Seeing the Izumi family ready to eat dinner, Shizuka figured it was time to take her leave and began preparing to say goodbye.

"Shizuka-sensei," Kotomi suddenly said.

Shizuka looked over, and the first thing she saw was Kotomi's radiant smile, blooming like a delicate flower. "It's already so late—why don't you stay and have dinner with us?"

"Eh?"

"It's so late that if you drive home now, you probably won't feel like cooking. You'd either order takeout, eat cup noodles, or grab something from a fast food place on the way."

Kotomi hit the nail on the head. Shizuka had indeed planned to stop by a ramen shop on her drive home and bring back some ramen and fried rice to eat.

Although she wasn't good at cooking, Shizuka didn't like eating out either. She usually either ordered delivery or went for a walk and picked something up on the way home. She only cooked twice a week—on Saturdays and Sundays.

"Teacher Hiratsuka, please stay and join us for dinner," Akina Izumi added.

"Kotomi made most of tonight's dinner. And it's all because you're here, Teacher Hiratsuka. If you hadn't come, this little princess wouldn't have touched a single pan," Kaneyoshi Izumi chuckled.

Initially, when Akina called Kotomi into the kitchen, it was just to chat while having her help with rinsing and chopping vegetables.

But as soon as Kotomi shut the kitchen door, she declared, "Mom, don't touch the spatula. I'll be cooking tonight."

Experience speaks: the Izumi couple quickly understood that Kotomi insisting on cooking probably wasn't just a spontaneous whim. It was likely because Shizuka was visiting. Kotomi was acting like a girl bringing her significant other home for the first time, eager to show off her cooking skills.

Akina glanced at her husband, a silent message in her eyes: So, which boat is this now?

Kaneyoshi shrugged and smiled wryly, then turned to fetch the chopsticks and bowls.

"Then... if you insist."

Better to accept than refuse. Shizuka stayed to have dinner at the Izumi house.

She was also genuinely curious to try Kotomi's cooking.

A little devil witch's homemade meal... Could it be that this mischievous girl also had a gentle, domestic side that could run both the parlor and the kitchen?

When Aimi Izumi first saw Shizuka, she was very guarded, suspecting this woman might be another bad lady trying to steal her sister away.

But once she learned that Shizuka was her sister's homeroom teacher, her attitude made a complete 180.

Oh, she's just my sister's teacher? That's great! She won't try to steal my sister. What a good lady!

I really should be more thoughtful—I can't just assume every woman I meet is a rival for Onee-chan's affection. When I think about it, there aren't that many bad women like Megumi Kato, who's always picking fights with me and trying to steal my sister. For example, Sakayanagi-senpai from last time was clearly a good woman who wouldn't try to compete with me, the clever Aimi reflected inwardly.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, I want to apply to Sobu High next year. Do you happen to know the approximate cutoff score right now?"

With a Japanese language teacher from Sobu High right in front of her—who also happened to be her sister's homeroom teacher—Aimi Izumi wasn't about to miss such a golden opportunity. She intended to first get a sense of Sobu High's entrance score from Shizuka Hiratsuka, then compare it with her current grades to see how much more she needed to improve.

Aimi was doing very well at her private middle school in Chiba. In her most recent mock exam, she even surpassed the cutoff for several Tokyo high schools.

Aimi felt confident. If she could easily qualify for Tokyo high schools, then getting into a local one in Chiba like Sobu High should be a breeze, right?

A beautiful image was already forming in Aimi's mind: after finishing her entrance exams next year and successfully enrolling in Sobu High, she would walk hand in hand every day with her now-senpai sister, who would be a second-year by then. If she got lucky, maybe she could even sneak a kiss on her sister's cheek on the way to or from school!

Shizuka had no idea why Aimi was so determined to apply to Sobu High. She remembered Kotomi saying once, "My little sister is the real academic talent. If she wanted to, with her current grades, she could easily get into Royal Sakuraka Girls' Academy's high school division."

When comparing Sobu High to Royal Sakuraka's high school division, most top-performing girls would choose the latter over Sobu High.

Shizuka wondered whether Aimi simply didn't like living in a dorm and wanted to attend a high school closer to home. She didn't press further, though, and simply answered Aimi's question after thinking for a moment:

"It's only been about a month since the school year started, and winter break is still far off. Most high schools haven't finalized next year's entrance exam cutoff scores yet. Whether they rise, fall, or stay the same is still uncertain. But if I had to guess, I'd say Sobu High's score will probably go up a bit next year. To put it bluntly, your sister's year might be the easiest in recent history to get into Sobu High, and next year might be the hardest."

"Eh? How can the difficulty change so much in just one year?" Aimi asked, clearly skeptical.

Shizuka chuckled. The reason for Sobu High's rapidly rising difficulty was none other than Kotomi herself.

"Because of your sister. Kotomi ranked first in all of Tokyo in two consecutive exams. Sobu High's reputation has already spread from Chiba to cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Kyoto."

"Many parents are now preparing to have their kids apply to Sobu High next year. The school board chairman believes that since the school's name has gained prestige, the cutoff score should match that status, and they're planning to increase both the required score and the exam difficulty."

"Of course, the real reason is to keep the number of new students within an optimal range. If there are too many, the school can't maintain teaching quality. If there are too few, the school won't generate enough revenue, and even with government subsidies, that's not sustainable. Within three years, it could lead to a merger with another school or outright closure."

"So, there's a balance to be maintained, and Kotomi ranking first in Tokyo twice in a row has naturally pushed up the entry bar."

"Not just the score, but the entrance exam itself will be harder and possibly structured differently. Still, if you want to get into Sobu High, Aimi, I think you'll be fine. Kotomi often tells me how well you do in school."

"There's also competition between high schools. I heard Royal Sakuraka's high school division has already decided to drastically raise their cutoff score next year. It'll be very competitive, so when you fill out your applications, I suggest putting Sakuraha as your first choice, whether you make it or not, and then list the high school you really want to go to as your second choice."

When applying for high schools or universities, it's common to list a dream school with a very high entrance score as the first choice—even if it's hard to get into. It's like a way to comfort yourself: What if I get lucky and make it in?

The school you actually plan to attend is usually written as the second choice—something you're confident you can get into.

"I see. I didn't expect my sister to raise Sobu High's entrance difficulty all by herself."

"Well, not entirely~" Kotomi responded with a hint of false modesty. But everyone in the family knew Kotomi wasn't the modest type. She was probably already thinking of how to use this to brag.

Aimi considered her own scores. Although Sobu High hadn't yet set next year's cutoff, it would certainly be higher than this year. Her grades should be enough to pass.

As for Royal Sakuraka Girls' Academy, which was said to have a drastically higher cutoff next year, Aimi didn't even think about applying there. She wanted to go to whichever high school her sister went to.

If Saintlan's requirements were going that high, there was no chance she'd get in anyway.

So, following Shizuka Hiratsuka's advice, she figured she'd list Saintlan as her first choice, knowing she wouldn't get in, and put Sobu High as her second. That way, when chatting with friends afterward, she could still show off a bit: "Yeah, I listed Sakuraha as my first choice."

Speaking of friends, Aimi thought of her best friend Iroha Isshiki. Iroha had also said she wanted to apply to Sobu High.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, I have a friend who wants to apply to Sobu High too. You mentioned earlier that the entrance exam next year won't just be more difficult, but will also change format? What exactly is changing?"

"Previously, Sobu High only had a written test. Starting next year, it'll include both a written exam and an interview. The interview part is pretty simple, more like an early exposure to social education. It starts with a self-introduction, then a brief conversation in a foreign language. On the table will be three sheets of paper with different English reading passages. Students will randomly pick one, read it aloud, then answer a few multiple-choice questions."

"The overall difficulty and score requirements will be higher than in previous years, but there's no need to worry too much. The total score combines the written and interview sections, so even if one part doesn't go well, the other can help make up the difference."

Listening to Shizuka explain the changes, Kotomi felt incredibly lucky she had entered this year. Before awakening her academic ability, her grades weren't good enough to pass even the written exam, let alone the interview—especially now that the difficulty was rising.

To be honest, even with how easy the test was this year, she barely passed.

The system's best feature is definitely the learning ability... Kotomi thought to herself.

"So during the foreign language exchange, does it have to be in English?"

"Any foreign language is allowed, not just English. But most junior high students only study English, so even though other languages are acceptable, almost everyone just uses English. The goal is simply to pass the interview in the most reliable way."

"So using a foreign language other than English—would that be considered a bonus?"

"Yes. That would definitely help a student stand out. Is your friend fluent in another language besides English?"

"Yeah! She speaks German. She's amazing—she taught herself!"

Aimi sounded very impressed. She already found learning English tough enough, but Iroha had self-studied German and actually mastered it.

Aimi had once asked Iroha to teach her, and Iroha tried showing her a few basic German pronunciations. But Aimi's brain practically shut down, and she gave up.

"A junior high third-year who can speak German? That's really rare. If she clears Sobu High's written exam, she can definitely use German during the interview. That'll earn her some bonus points."

Shizuka was impressed by Aimi's friend—learning German on her own at that age was no small feat.

Kotomi easily guessed that the friend Aimi was talking about—the one who spoke German and wanted to apply to Sobu High—was Iroha Isshiki.

Kotomi wasn't surprised at all to hear that Iroha spoke German. She'd already known.

Just a few days ago, when chatting with Iroha on the phone, Iroha had even said "Good night" in German.

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