All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Oh, gods—I've always been an atheist, never believed in you. But if you could bless me to marry this beautiful, graceful, and elegant girl before me, then from this day on, through every spring, summer, autumn, and winter, beneath sun, moon, and stars, I will be your most devout believer. I beg you to let our love remain unshakable until death.

Shizuka Hiratsuka had once read those words in a book back in her university library. She couldn't remember the title of the book, but she remembered that line with perfect clarity.

As for the plot? Most of it had faded from her memory.

Something about a male scientist in Italy—a firm atheist and staunch believer in science—who one day, after dinner, took a walk in the park and saw a girl sitting on the grass by the lake, painting. The light from the street lamps and the glow of the moon cascaded over her, dressing her in a radiant gown.

No matter how gifted a writer might be, no matter how many pages they devoted, it was impossible to truly capture what love at first sight felt like.

No formula could explain it. No equation could calculate it.

But the moment the scientist saw that girl, he understood in an instant what the books could never describe. And in his heart, he offered up that very prayer to the gods.

Shizuka had no idea why, but as she looked at Kotomi Izumi kneeling by the bedside, that very passage popped into her head. If not for her rational mind holding her back, she might've blurted it out loud to Kotomi right then and there.

"Shizuka-sensei, the bedding is ready. Get some rest," Kotomi said softly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear and smiling gently.

"Th-thank you..."

Shizuka mentally reminded herself to stay calm as she carefully sat down on the futon.

"D-do you have a spare phone charger? My battery's almost dead."

She tried hard to change the subject. Luckily, her phone flashed a low battery warning right on cue.

"I do. But it's downstairs. I'll go get it for you."

"Thanks."

"No problem. If your phone dies and we don't hear the alarm tomorrow morning, we might oversleep and show up late. That'd be hard to explain for both of us," Kotomi said with a playful smile before leaving the room with light, carefree steps.

"That little witch..." Shizuka sighed and shrugged helplessly as she watched her go.

With Kotomi gone, Shizuka was left alone in the room—and her curiosity got the better of her. She started glancing around.

Kotomi's room was both typical and unique for a high school girl. While many girls might still be into plushies or posters of their favorite celebrities, Kotomi's room had an entire cabinet of figurines—some of which were... pretty bold.

Especially her prized figures of Asagi Igawa and Rinko Akiyama—truly the heavyweights among her more provocative collection.

One poster on the wall featured a pink-haired anime girl in the process of putting on black thigh-highs. At first glance, it looked innocent enough. But if you blew gently on the poster, the girl's clothes—and undergarments—would disappear.

Shizuka wasn't even fazed. After all, Kotomi was a teenager going through puberty—it was normal to be curious about those things.

She wouldn't be surprised if lifting the mattress revealed a stash of Kotomi's "forbidden books."

There were hardly any plushies. The only one she spotted was a chibi-style owl figure on the computer desk—silly-looking but incredibly detailed, especially its eyes, which looked almost lifelike.

"Wow, even figures these days are made with such detail?" Shizuka murmured as she curiously reached out to touch the owl.

Shizuka's gaze wandered again and soon landed on a small box placed on top of the wardrobe.

It looked plain and unadorned, with only a tiny padlock hanging from it—and not even a very convincing one. It looked like it could be yanked off with a good tug.

What was inside the box?

Shizuka wasn't sure if it was just boredom from being alone in the room, but she found herself deeply intrigued by this small locked box. It was like the box had some kind of magical pull, subtly luring her to reach for it, take it down, and pry it open to see what secrets it held.

Shizuka had her own locked box too—though hers used a combination lock. Inside was a small tree-patterned pendant given to her by her "little white angel."

That pendant meant more to Shizuka than her own life.

"What could Kotomi possibly have inside her box?" Shizuka murmured, curiosity guiding her as she approached the wardrobe.

It wasn't particularly tall, and the box was placed near the front edge. With her height, all she had to do was rise up on her toes to reach it.

"Wait, what am I doing? This is Kotomi's bedroom. Whatever's inside that box is clearly something important to her. Ugh, what kind of teacher even thinks about snooping like this?"

Shizuka scolded herself, but even as she did, her eyes kept drifting back to that padlocked box, unable to resist the overwhelming curiosity.

What could be inside?

The urge was so strong—it felt like an invisible hand was curling its finger at her, beckoning her to open it.

Just as Shizuka hovered in hesitation, the door opened. Kotomi stepped in with the charger in hand.

"Shizuka-sensei, I brought the charger. Eh? What are you doing in front of the wardrobe?"

Snapping back to her senses, Shizuka quickly laughed and explained, "Oh, nothing! I was just admiring your wardrobe. The design's pretty unique—not too tall. How many clothes can you fit in there?"

"Ah… you mean the height? It's custom-made. I like storing things on top of it, so if it were any taller, it'd be hard to put stuff up or take it down. At this height, I can just use a chair to reach everything easily."

"As for storage capacity? It's actually quite spacious. All my clothes fit in there with room to spare."

Kotomi explained everything in such detail, it felt less like she was talking about her own bedroom and more like a charming tour guide introducing a picturesque, captivating landmark.

Thunk—

Once her phone was charging, Shizuka set her usual morning alarm, double-checked that her volume was on and not muted, and finally put her phone down with a sense of relief.

There was nothing worse than needing to wake up early only to oversleep, then discovering your alarm never rang because your phone was on silent. No amount of "polite words" could express that level of frustration.

"Time to turn off the lights. Let's sleep early. Goodnight," Shizuka offered as she took charge of turning out the lights.

"Okay~ Goodnight, Shizuka-sensei."

With that, Kotomi casually tossed her pillow onto the futon on the floor, right beside Shizuka's, then slipped into the blanket next to it. Lifting one corner of the futon, she patted the empty space beside her.

"Mmm~ Sleeping on the floor once in a while has its own charm. Shizuka-sensei, come on over."

...

When Shizuka Hiratsuka came downstairs, Kotomi had already washed up and was seated at the dining table eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Izumi. Thank you so much for dinner and breakfast—it was truly a lovely treat," Shizuka said.

"No problem at all, it's just one more pair of chopsticks. Did you sleep well last night?"

"V-very well," Shizuka replied, instinctively glancing at Kotomi. But when she met Kotomi's smiling eyes, she awkwardly looked away, scratching her cheek.

Akina Izumi, who was serving rice to Kotomi at the time, caught the exchange. She didn't say anything—just smiled knowingly and nodded, as if to say, "Ah, I see, I see, I understand completely."

Smack!

Akina lightly swatted Kotomi on the head.

"Ow—Mom, why'd you hit me out of nowhere?!"

Kotomi clutched her head—not that it hurt, but she was too stunned to understand what just happened. So she asked first.

"Nothing. Just telling you to hurry up and eat."

"But you still have my rice bowl in your hand..." Kotomi pouted, practically one line away from saying, "Am I not your little princess anymore?"

"Kotomi, do you have any more events in the sports festival today?" Kaneyoshi Izumi asked after sipping his coffee, his concern showing.

He worried that with his daughter's personality, if there were still events left, she might charge in again out of sheer competitiveness.

That drive to win... it really reminded him of himself.

"Nope," Kotomi shook her head. "My sports festival duties are over. Now it's time to prep for the cultural festival performances."

"Cultural festival performance? Onee-chan, you're going to perform at your school's cultural festival?!" Aimi, who had been quietly spreading strawberry jam on toast, perked up at once.

"Yup! I'll be performing on stage!" Kotomi added with a couple of smug little hums.

Don't be fooled by how Kotomi wore a million reluctant expressions when she signed up—once it was done, she immediately started showing off.

Even though their three-person band still had no idea who'd be the vocalist—no leads at all—she was already boasting at every chance she got: You know Sobu High's cultural festival? My homeroom teacher, completely overwhelmed by my genius, practically got on her knees and begged me to sign up!

"I'm suddenly even more excited for your school's cultural festival now. Oh right, I already gave Iroha the ticket yesterday on my way to school. I was going to pass on her thanks to you, but she said she'd call and thank you herself. Onee-chan… do you and Iroha talk on the phone behind my back a lot?"

As Aimi asked, she glanced at Kotomi. Even though Iroha was her best friend, the idea that she might be secretly calling Kotomi all the time made the air feel a little sour.

"Of course not," Kotomi said as calmly as she could, though she was definitely a little panicked inside. This little devil really had no filter!

She and Iroha often talked on the phone before bed. It was supposed to be their little secret, but now the way the devil had phrased it sounded like she was spilling the beans—like she just had to share some juicy personal win with her friend.

Kotomi made a mental note to use this against her someday for payback. Still feigning calm, she added, "Iroha and I exchanged contact info before—you know that. Occasionally she sends a Line message or calls me. That's totally normal, right?"

"Isn't it every day, though?"

"Nope," Kotomi said firmly, forcing herself to stay cool.

Aimi stared at Kotomi for a while, her sharp little mind clearly at work.

Then—she got it.

"Well, that makes sense. You and Iroha aren't even in the same class. Your relationship should be more like... right, my friend's sister. Even if you wanted to talk every day, you wouldn't have that much to say, right?"

"Ahaha… yeah, you're absolutely right," Kotomi laughed nervously.

Akina Izumi didn't interrupt the sisters' chatter. She just listened for a moment, and suddenly recalled the way Iroha had looked at Kotomi last time—with that, she sighed inwardly.

Is my second daughter using all her intelligence just on academics?

"Aimi," Akina said, "do you want to eat some walnuts?"

"Walnuts? No way! I hate walnuts—they taste awful."

Aimi shook her head firmly. She wasn't a picky eater, but walnuts were one of the few things she truly disliked, even honey-glazed ones.

"Mama doesn't like walnuts either, but you should still eat a few."

"Why?" Aimi asked, puzzled.

"Because… walnuts are good for your brain."

Ah, the heart of a parent. Akina's words were filled with concern.

After breakfast, Kotomi picked up her handbag and left the house with Shizuka Hiratsuka.

Shizuka's car had been parked in the Izumi family lot. There were two spaces in total. Since she arrived late last night, she hadn't clearly seen what kind of car was in the adjacent space.

Now in the morning sunlight, under the clear blue sky, Shizuka took a closer look—and froze, eyes wide.

"No way—GT-R50?!"

The legendary God of Sports Cars. Even now, the mythos of the GT-R50 had never faded.

"K-Kotomi, is this your family's car?!"

"Yeah. My dad drives it to work when he doesn't feel like taking the train."

Shizuka's hands trembled slightly. She was immensely relieved that her parking last night had been careful and precise. If she'd accidentally scratched that car, she'd have to sell herself to pay for the damages!

This was the god-tier sports car, the stuff of dreams!

And she remembered Kotomi's school admission profile: under family background, it said in big letters—Ordinary Family.

Ordinary family, ordinary family, ordinary family.

What kind of "ordinary family" drives a GT-R50?!

Just the maintenance fees alone were outrageous!

Shizuka got in her modest little car, heart pounding, and carefully backed out of the driveway. Even just maneuvering out of the short distance from the parking lot to the road had her palms drenched in cold sweat.

Only after she was clear of the driveway did she finally let out a sigh of relief.

In the passenger seat, Kotomi had already pulled out her phone and started checking the messages she'd missed while sleeping.

She'd forgotten to call Iroha Isshiki yesterday, so now there were several Line messages waiting.

Since Shizuka had set the alarm a bit earlier today, they were leaving the house 15 minutes earlier than usual.

Kotomi glanced at the traffic light nearby—Megumi Kato hadn't arrived yet.

Knowing that Megumi always came early to wait at her gate made Kotomi feel guilty, so they had agreed on a set departure time to spare Megumi from getting up too early.

Before replying to Iroha, Kotomi sent a message to Megumi.

[Kotomi Izumi: Megumi, I'm heading to school early today. No need to wait for me, just head to school on your own.]

Megumi replied almost instantly—she must've been up already.

[Megumi Kato: Got it. Be safe.]

[Megumi Kato: Are you feeling okay? You really scared me yesterday when you collapsed.]

[Kotomi Izumi: It's alright now. Thanks for worrying. I just pushed too hard running and got tired. Twisted my ankle a bit, but it's better now.]

[Megumi Kato: Alright then. See you at school.]

[Kotomi Izumi: See you at school. Don't forget to eat breakfast.]

"Buckle up, we're heading out," Shizuka reminded her.

"Okay," Kotomi replied, fastening her seatbelt.

"Being driven to school like this every morning feels amazing. Shizuka-sensei, why don't you just drive over and take me and Megumi to school every day?"

"No thanks. Hey, do you and Kato-san go to school together every day?"

"Of course! Her house is close to mine, so we've gone together nearly every day since school started."

"How nice… youth."

"If you're jealous, just come pick us up every morning. Then it's like we're all going to school together."

"No way. If I had to drive from my place to pick you two up and still get to school on time, I'd have to leave half an hour earlier. I'd rather use that time to sleep more, thank you very much."

Shizuka sounded speechless. And yet, for some reason, she found herself kind of looking forward to the idea of picking up Kotomi each morning and driving her to school.

Just the two of them, like now.

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