All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

"Yui, let go already..." Kotomi Izumi sighed helplessly. Being hugged like this—what was that supposed to look like? Anyone watching might think Yui was confessing to her.

After school, with the golden light of dusk bathing the campus, the rooftop was theirs alone. One high school girl tightly embraced another from behind. Rather than simple friendship, it looked more like a hazy romance under the setting sun.

"No... I don't want to let go. Kotomi, what you just said really scared me. It felt like you might suddenly transfer schools and disappear to a city where I'd never find you again."

"I'll do it. I accept your invitation. I want to join your three-person band! Whether it's being the lead vocalist or performing with you at the cultural festival—I'll do it!! P-Please... don't leave me, okay?"

Yui Yuigahama clung tightly to Kotomi from behind, her voice filled with desperate pleading.

Kotomi had only told her not to hold her like that—it wasn't really appropriate. Even if Yui had no ulterior motives and was only worried about Kotomi leaving, her hands had unconsciously ended up resting on Kotomi's chest.

It couldn't be helped. Kotomi's scale was a little too overwhelming. There had been that one time, for instance—when Kotomi was erasing the chalkboard. Two lines of math formulas were written on it, and she only meant to erase the top row. But it was too high.

So Kotomi stood on tiptoe, reaching up with the eraser, unintentionally pressing her chest against the board. She didn't even realize it, too focused on erasing the upper formula. But when she finished, she looked and asked in confusion:

"Huh? Why did the second row of formulas disappear too?"

It wasn't until that night, before going to sleep, that Kotomi realized why the second row had 'mysteriously vanished.'

Right now, Kotomi just wanted Yui to stop holding her like that—or at least move her hands lower. Ever since gaining the Queen of All Females trait, Kotomi had grown more and more sensitive. If Yui kept holding her there, she felt like something inside her might start going weird~!

But Yui, with her mind full of how to keep Kotomi from leaving, didn't get the message. She even misheard Kotomi's words and hugged her even tighter.

If it had been Megumi Kato or Aimi Izumi hugging her like this, Kotomi would've immediately suspected they were doing it on purpose!

But...

When she heard Yui say she would accept the invitation and join the three-person band as the lead vocalist, Kotomi stopped caring about everything else. She had gone through all this effort just to get Yui to join her band.

Now that Yui had finally agreed, there was no need to keep acting.

Kotomi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking how beautiful the sunset was today.

The lead vocalist of their three-girl band was officially decided—Yui Yuigahama.

No one would have expected Yui to join Kotomi's band, let alone as the lead singer. When the cultural festival's stage performance comes, Yui will be front and center—C position, without a doubt.

And really, all three members of the band would surprise anyone.

Just like people were surprised to learn Kotomi could play guitar.

Just like they were surprised to find out Yukino could play piano.

Just like they'll be surprised when they learn Yui sings beautifully—and even has the courage to be lead vocalist.

For Yui, who couldn't even sing in front of her mom or sister, saying "I want to join" took immense courage.

Even so, she still chose to join—not because of some hot-blooded desire to change herself or surpass her limits, like in a typical shounen story. Yui Yuigahama had one simple reason for agreeing to be the lead vocalist in Kotomi's band: she didn't want Kotomi to leave.

Even if Kotomi really did end up leaving in the end, Yui wanted to at least help her have a cultural festival performance she wouldn't regret.

Such a simple reason—if it showed up in an idol manga, readers would probably question whether the author had just gotten lazy.

Too simple. No drama. No twists or turns. And yet it was this exact simplicity that gave Yui the courage to step forward. Even knowing she'd have to stand center stage and sing in front of a huge audience, she still said yes.

Yui didn't know if she could sing well. She wasn't confident she could help make Kotomi's one and only high school performance a resounding success.

But Kotomi had said she liked her voice.

Just for that one sentence, Yui was willing to stand at center stage and sing—for Kotomi's sake.

As long as Kotomi didn't leave—Yui was willing to do anything! That's what she told herself in a fit of emotion.

Even after she calmed down and realized she'd already agreed to be the band's lead vocalist, she had no regrets. In fact, she even thought: if that emotional high had lasted a little longer, she might've confessed her feelings to Kotomi right then and there.

Seeing that Yui had calmed down, Kotomi asked again, "Are you sure you want to join the band? As the lead vocalist."

"I'm sure."

Now calm, Yui still nodded without hesitation.

"Alright then, I'll keep it short. Welcome aboard."

Kotomi smiled and reached out her hand.

"Yeah!"

Yui tightly grasped Kotomi's small hand. She was feeling nervous now—just thinking about singing on stage during the cultural festival made her anxious.

But the moment she held Kotomi's hand, her nerves seemed to wash away like the tide. All she wanted now was to sing—just like before, when they were jamming together with guitar and piano.

Yukino Yukinoshita stared blankly at the new lead vocalist Kotomi had brought back—Yui Yuigahama. No wonder that singing voice had sounded so familiar just now. She finally realized—it was Yui's voice.

When Yui sang with emotion, her voice changed slightly. And since she had never mentioned her singing skills, just like Kotomi and Yukino hadn't mentioned theirs, Yukino hadn't been able to identify her right away.

Even Kotomi hadn't realized at first that the girl singing with them on the rooftop was Yui.

Otherwise, when she ran up the stairs and threw open the rooftop door, she wouldn't have been so shocked to see Yui standing there, bathed in the golden light of dusk, singing.

"Yukino, from now on, please take care of me! I'll do my best to be a good lead vocalist!" Yui said, reaching her hand out.

"Let's work hard together. I've learned a bit about singing too. If you have questions, feel free to ask," Yukino replied in her usual cool tone, her voice steady as ever.

The vocalist was finally decided. Their band had grown from just her and Kotomi to a trio. And the third member was Yui... Yukino thought to herself as she grasped Yui's extended hand.

"Alright then, without further delay, let's do another full rehearsal. Yui, are you ready now?"

With the vocalist spot filled, Kotomi picked up her guitar, preparing to perform "Duvet" once again.

"Mhm!" Yui Yuigahama nodded vigorously, trying to adjust her mindset as she recalled the melody of "Duvet" while taking deep breaths.

Seeing this, Kotomi chuckled. "It's just a rehearsal—you don't need to be so nervous. But, just so you know, there's no mic or speaker system in the second music room. Is that okay?"

"It's fine. I usually sing with just one earbud."

"Still, you should get used to singing with a microphone as soon as possible."

At that moment, Yukino Yukinoshita spoke up:

"Microphones and speakers can alter your singing slightly. Right now, your voice sounds nice as is, but once it's amplified through a mic and speaker, it may sound a bit different—not bad, just a little off. So, it's best to find a mic and speaker soon and test how your voice changes when it's amplified. That way you can adjust accordingly."

"I see..." Yui nodded in realization, but her face quickly turned troubled. "But I don't have a mic or speaker at home."

It wasn't that the Yuigahama family couldn't afford it, but all the tuition and living expenses for Yui and Yuka, plus the rental fees for the Dango Cake Shop, were covered solely by Tomoka Yuigahama through her bakery and illustration work.

Tomoka hoped both her daughters would one day attend college, and college tuition would be another huge expense.

Yui cared deeply for her mother's hard work. That's why she had always been careful with money—every yen spent was calculated with care.

Spending money on a mic and speaker just for one cultural festival performance? Totally unrealistic.

Sure, if she asked, her mom would definitely buy it for her without hesitation. But Yui couldn't bring herself to do that. There were so many better uses for that money.

"If it's just for one performance, buying a mic and speaker would be such a waste. Yui, are you free this weekend? Let's go to karaoke."

KTVs had mics and speakers already, and renting a room only cost 700 to 800 yen per hour at most.

Plus, you got fruit platters.

Back in middle school, Kotomi often went to KTV with friends—not to sing, but to quietly sit on the couch eating fruit, popcorn, pizza, and snacks.

No exaggeration: Kotomi knew exactly which KTV in Chiba City gave the most generous fruit platters, had the best popcorn, and which ones stuffed their pizza with the most cheese.

Other people cared about sound equipment—Kotomi was basically a food critic.

After hearing Kotomi's suggestion, Yui, who had just been discouraged, perked up. Right! Karaoke! The realization struck her like a light bulb turning on.

"This weekend... I have to help out at the Dango Cake Shop all day Saturday, so I probably can't then. Sunday's good though—Mom said she's taking that day off."

Ever since the royalties from Volume 1 of Sword Art Online came in, the Yuigahama household's finances had eased up significantly—thanks in large part to Kotomi.

Originally, Dengeki Bunko had planned to increase the fee per illustration for Hanayui, but only starting with Volume 2 of Sword Art Online.

The illustrations for Volume 1 were still paid at the original lower rate.

Tomoka hadn't complained after learning this, but Kotomi had instantly protested.

She called Haruno Yukinoshita that very day and dropped hints, saying Kadokawa Bunko had been reaching out to her a lot lately—and then deliberately trailed off mid-sentence.

Haruno Yukinoshita didn't know exactly what Kotomi was up to, but she could guess that Kotomi's words were meant to negotiate some kind of benefit.

As an editor, Haruno didn't have the authority to approve such things, so she immediately reported it to Editor-in-Chief Yuko Hiratsuka for her opinion.

Yuko Hiratsuka found the timing odd—why was Izumi Ki deciding to raise her rates only after the illustrations had already been completed? Normally, if a popular illustrator wanted to renegotiate, it'd happen right before printing, when the publisher would be under pressure to agree.

If Kotomi's goal was to strong-arm Dengeki Bunko into increasing her fees, this wasn't the right time. Since the printing process hadn't started yet, the publisher wouldn't lose much if negotiations fell through. At worst, they'd just lose a paid manuscript and some unusable artwork.

Yuko had never met Izumi Ki in person—she only knew that she was sixteen and just started her first year of high school. At that age, it was possible she had been tempted by promises from another publisher offering better terms.

Yuko gave a cold chuckle, ready to teach this talented but prideful girl a memorable lesson about the real world. But first, she needed to know exactly what Kotomi wanted—or rather, what Kadokawa Bunko had allegedly offered.

When Haruno, following Yuko's instructions, asked Kotomi directly what she wanted, Kotomi's reply shocked not only Haruno, but even the battle-hardened editor-in-chief.

—She simply asked for Hanayui-sensei's illustration fee for Volume 1 of Sword Art Online to be calculated at the new, higher rate.

Yuko already knew about the fee increase for Hanayui's work. But since Volume 1 had already been in progress when the rate change was approved, the finance department had decided to settle that volume at the old rate for simplicity. The new rate would take effect with Volume 2.

Yuko was stunned into silence. So she had misunderstood Kotomi completely. She had assumed Kotomi was trying to strong-arm them, but it turned out Kotomi was simply looking out for Hanayui.

"This girl really goes out of her way to protect people. If they weren't so far apart in age, I'd almost think she had a crush on Hanayui and was just looking for chances to score points. Heh... Well, since the payment hasn't gone out yet, I'll talk to finance and have them apply the new rate for Volume 1 too."

With that, Yuko called the finance department. As a result, Hanayui's payment for Volume 1 of Sword Art Online ended up being significantly higher than originally planned.

Though she was an editor for light novels, Yuko believed there was a difference between fiction and reality. She didn't approve of relationships with large age gaps. In her mind, even a three-year gap was a generational divide—and any larger difference made lasting happiness unlikely.

When Hanayui called Haruno to ask about it, Haruno simply explained everything honestly.

After learning that it was Kotomi who had gone to bat for her, Tomoka Yuigahama felt a wave of gratitude—mixed with complex emotions.

"Alright then, let's plan for Sunday. How about we meet at the station entrance at 3 p.m.? I know a KTV right in front of the station. On weekends, they give out a free fruit platter with pineapple and strawberries. Yukino, want to come? Yukino?"

Kotomi had to call her a few more times, but still got no response. When she turned around, she saw Yukino sitting silently on the piano bench, eyes fixed on the black and white keys.

"Yukino?" Yui also called out.

Still no response.

Kotomi walked over and spoke again. "Yukino."

"Hm?" Yukino finally looked up, as if snapping out of a trance, her expression confused—as if to ask what was going on.

Kotomi sighed. "I called you so many times. You could at least respond."

"Sorry, I was lost in thought."

Yukino dipped her head slightly in apology, then shifted her gaze back to the piano.

When it had just been her and Kotomi, Yukino's eyes would always drift softly toward Kotomi. But now that Yui had joined and the band had officially become the three-person unit Kotomi envisioned, Yukino had grown strangely absentminded.

They had finally found a vocalist and completed their trio—shouldn't she be happy?

Kotomi didn't understand. She glanced at Yukino but said nothing, only repeating her earlier question: "Yui and I are planning to go to karaoke on Sunday to practice singing. Want to come?"

"No thanks. I'll be visiting my parents this weekend."

Yukino declined without hesitation.

Kotomi knew Yukino lived alone, separate from her parents. Of course she'd want to visit them on weekends.

So it would be just her and Yui going to KTV.

KTVs were always a little... odd with only one or two people.

But Kotomi didn't dwell on it. She felt her heart was as clear as a mirror—pure, upright, and absolutely righteous!

So what if the atmosphere was a little suggestive? She and Yui were just going to practice singing!

Her heart belonged wholly and unwaveringly to Megumi Kato!

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

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven