All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Originally, it was agreed that after school, Momoka Mito would temporarily lend the key to the second music room to Kotomi Izumi. Once the cultural festival ended, the key would be returned.

But after Kotomi finished running the 800 meters, she accidentally twisted her ankle and fainted right into Shizuka Hiratsuka's arms. Shizuka took her to the infirmary, where Kotomi immediately fell asleep and hadn't woken up since. After school, Momoka waited in the infirmary for a while, but Kotomi continued sleeping soundly with no sign of waking up.

Momoka had intended to wait a bit longer, but she had also promised to see a movie with Ami Koishi after school, so she ended up leaving with the key.

The two of them often snuck off for little dates after school. Yesterday, since it was sports day and the school hadn't assigned any homework, they took the chance. Because Momoka was still a student and a second-year at that, Ami Koishi always felt nervous about interfering with her studies.

Near the end of the movie—

"Momoka... um... when we came to the theater earlier, didn't we pass a big intersection at the third traffic light? On the right, wasn't that where all those love hotels were?" Ami Koishi hadn't paid attention to the movie at all. From the moment they stepped into the theater, that question had been on her mind.

"I think so," Momoka replied, feigning innocence.

"...Can we?"

"Ami, did you bring a nail clipper?"

"Yeah..."

The movie ended at six in the evening. Ami Koishi didn't take Momoka Mito home until close to eleven at night. Fortunately, Momoka's parents were away on a business trip.

Otherwise, even as a teacher, Ami Koishi wouldn't know how to explain. What could she say—that she was tutoring her until that late?

Tutoring what, exactly?

Music.

Back to the main story. Last night, before bed, Momoka made a plan with Ami Koishi:

"Ami, I'll buy KFC breakfast tomorrow and bring it to school. Let's eat together."

"Get me three burgers and some Original Recipe chicken!"

"I don't think they serve Original Recipe chicken in their breakfast menu..."

And so, to peacefully enjoy their breakfast time together, both Momoka and Ami arrived at school very early. Momoka originally planned to drop off the key to Class 1-F after breakfast.

But as she pushed her bike, a bag of KFC breakfast sitting in the basket, heading toward the bike parking lot, she happened to see Kotomi getting out of Shizuka Hiratsuka's car and walking into the building together.

So, Momoka decided to stop by the Class 1-F classroom first and hand her the key.

"Thank you, Momoka-senpai! I'll take good care of the second music room! You can count on me!"

Finally receiving the long-awaited key, Kotomi was beyond excited. She was already planning to bring Yukino to the second music room this afternoon to have her play the piano.

"Why does that sound like a son-in-law promising his future father-in-law?" Momoka said with a laugh.

Just as Kotomi was about to pocket the key, her nose twitched.

"Something smells so good... is that... KFC?"

Then she saw the KFC bag in Momoka's hand, with the iconic smiling Colonel Sanders. Many kids grew up hearing their parents say, "If you do well on your next test, I'll take you to KFC."

Sometimes it was McDonald's instead.

Colonel Sanders of KFC and Ronald McDonald of McDonald's had, in a way, become silent motivators for many elementary and kindergarten kids to study hard.

"Yep. I stayed up late studying last night, so I'm treating myself to KFC breakfast today as a reward," Momoka smiled. "Take care of the key. I'm heading off. Looking forward to your performance at the cultural festival."

"Thanks, Momoka-senpai. See you!"

After seeing off Momoka Mito, Kotomi cheerfully hummed a tune of an unknown melody. She tucked the key into her uniform pocket and returned to her seat, her face still full of joy.

Successfully acquiring the key to the second music room meant that her three-person band plan had finally taken a big step forward—well, at least half of that step.

Why only half?

Because her band still lacked a vocalist.

In any band, the vocalist is essential—unless the group plans to perform purely instrumental pieces.

But just thinking about the vocalist position made Kotomi frown a bit. There were probably plenty of students at Sobu High who could sing well, but most of the ones willing to perform had already signed up for cultural festival acts.

There were also students with great singing voices—not necessarily professional level, but certainly good enough to post a cover on YouTube and go a little viral. The problem was, they tended to be introverts. Performing on stage was out of the question; they barely even talked to others on a normal day.

Even if they had good voices, Kotomi had no intention of approaching shy students. She didn't have the time or energy to become a kind-hearted big sister figure from a classic idol drama, patiently helping someone overcome their social anxiety so they could shine on stage.

First, she lacked the patience. Of course, if doing so came with significant personal gain, she'd suddenly find herself very patient.

But there was no major benefit here. No profit, no motivation. It was better to find someone who already had the guts to perform and could sing well.

Even if you managed to convince a shy student to perform, they might freeze up the moment they saw the crowd from the stage.

Being introverted isn't a bad thing—it's normal. But personality traits are hard to change quickly. And because of that, some people miss out on opportunities.

Still, even if she couldn't find a suitable vocalist, Kotomi wasn't too worried. She'd already prepared a backup plan: she'd take on both the guitarist and vocalist roles herself.

It would just mean singing while playing guitar—turning their three-person band into a duo with her and Yukino.

If this were the old Kotomi, who had only unlocked her Voice Actress proficiency level, she wouldn't have had the confidence to both play and sing.

But things were different now. She had finally unlocked her long-coveted Music proficiency—and on the very first day, she jumped straight to level 6.

She spent the majority of her Fame Points on it. Painful, but totally worth it!

Returning from her joyful daydreaming, Kotomi turned back to Seiko Kirigiri and said:

"Seiko, let's continue our talk. My advice might not be 100% right, so once you tell it to your friend... ahem, make sure she really thinks it through for herself. She needs to decide what she wants to do."

Though Kotomi had already figured out that Seiko's so-called friend was Seiko herself, she didn't call her out on it. She went along with it out of consideration.

Pure oxygen is harmful to living beings. The unfiltered truth can crush the human spirit. Just like how breathable air is made of one part oxygen and four parts nitrogen, a person needs their truths diluted in lighthearted words to remain mentally stable.

"Mhm, got it!" Seiko nodded earnestly, completely unaware that her "I have a friend" act had already been seen through.

She couldn't help it. Raised like a spoiled little sister by Hibiki Naegi, Seiko was completely outclassed in social cunning by the fox-like Kotomi.

"Since your friend seems really bothered about her boyfriend constantly chatting on Line, how about she sneak a peek at his phone when he isn't using it? Just to see what he's usually talking about. Of course, that advice is only if..."

"This might not be the best advice, just the only thing my slow brain could come up with. As for what to do, just let your friend decide for herself," Kotomi added, finishing with a gentle reminder.

Seiko Kirigiri nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Kotomi!"

Just as she was about to get up, she suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "I'll be sure to pass this along to my friend. And later, she'll thank you herself!"

"No worries, it's a small thing. Don't mention it."

Kotomi shook her head and said nothing more, knowing full well she'd probably never hear that supposed friend's thanks.

After all, that friend was Seiko herself.

Seiko didn't bother Kotomi any further in her gaming session—er, studying—and returned to her seat.

Meanwhile, Kotomi was still wondering, "When did Seiko get a boyfriend? Should I tell Hibiki-senpai about this?"

After thinking it over, Kotomi decided to let it go. If Seiko really had a boyfriend, her older sister Hibiki Naegi probably already knew.

If she didn't, then that likely meant Seiko didn't want her sister to know just yet. The fact that she came to Kotomi for relationship advice also meant she trusted her not to spill the beans.

Telling Hibiki would just betray that trust.

So Kotomi set the matter aside and went back to her game.

Damn, out of oil again.

About twenty minutes later, classmates began to trickle into the room.

Before long, Kotomi was surrounded by her classmates, showered with concern from all sides.

"Kotomi, are you okay? You collapsed at the finish line yesterday after the race."

"Let us know if you're not feeling well."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"You were amazing yesterday! First place in the 800 meters! And on the hardest lane too, lane 8. When you crossed the finish line, the entire stadium was stunned."

"Kotomi, are you free after school? Let's go sing karaoke together!"

Kotomi was well-liked in her class, and everyone had been worried when she suddenly fainted. So naturally, upon seeing her at school today, they all rushed over with concern. Her desk was quickly buried in snacks and fruit brought by her classmates.

"I'm fine now. Thank you all so much for your concern. I'm seriously touched," Kotomi said, holding an apple in one hand and a mini honey cake in the other.

"Will you participate in the next sports day? You have no idea how stunned the athletes looked after yesterday's events."

Kotomi shook her head decisively. "No way. With these skinny arms and legs, I'm just not built for sports competitions. Even if the school offered a cash prize for first place, I wouldn't do it again. Rather than compete, I'd rather be sitting in the audience eating hotpot and singing songs."

Her witty remark drew laughter from many classmates.

In fact, there was a second half to that sentence: "...eating hotpot and singing songs, with a cute girl in each arm."

So why didn't Kotomi say that part aloud?

Simple—Megumi Kato had arrived.

And Kotomi, who was head-over-heels devoted to Megumi, didn't dare to say such things.

"Excuse me, everyone, could you please make way?" Megumi said with a gentle smile.

"Ah! Sorry about that, Kato-san."

"Morning homeroom is about to start... ugh, it's the physics teacher today, so no sneaking in manga reading."

"Hey, just be glad it's not Mr. Nakamori!"

Only then did the students realize they were blocking Megumi's seat while crowding around Kotomi. With homeroom starting soon, they reluctantly dispersed and returned to their own seats.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven