After listening to Kotomi Izumi’s account, whether it was Yui Yuigahama—who had met Yuyu Izumi once—or Yukino Yukinoshita—who had only heard about Yuyu from Kotomi but had never met her in person—both wore expressions of utter shock.

It was not only because Kotomi Izumi told the story well, with perfect tone and expression. More importantly, the dark history she fabricated for Yuyu Izumi was crafted brilliantly. It had a powerful aftereffect, leaving people unable to calm down long after hearing it.

Yukino Yukinoshita was so stunned she could not speak.

If this had happened in the past, Yui Yuigahama would probably have been too shocked to speak as well. But recalling how Yuyu Izumi had called her sister-in-law the moment they met that day, Yui took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and forced herself to remain calm as she said,

"Th-then it’s better to head over quickly. Kotomi, once you get there, you have to help Third Uncle and Third Aunt calm down. Yuyu has her high school entrance exams next year. If she gets beaten badly and ends up in the hospital now, it’ll definitely affect her studying and the exams."

"Mm-hmm, don’t worry. Even though she did something like stealing a female classmate’s ’personal garments,’ which really makes your teeth itch with anger, she’s still my cousin no matter what. When I get there, I’ll definitely cheer Third Uncle and Third Aunt on from the side—ah, I mean, persuade them a bit. Don’t worry~"

After feeling that the timing was about right, Kotomi Izumi changed the subject and continued,

"All right, no time to waste. I’m heading to Third Uncle and Third Aunt’s place now. You two can go eat lunch on your own.

Judging by the situation, I have no idea when I’ll be back. If I’m not back by six in the evening, then I’ll either be at the hospital registering Yuyu, or at a furniture store with Third Uncle and Third Aunt picking out new furniture to replace whatever got smashed.

Don’t wait for me for dinner. Just eat without me."

"Be careful on the way," Yui Yuigahama said as she reached out to help straighten Kotomi Izumi’s slightly raised collar.

"T-take care," Yukino Yukinoshita added, still not fully recovered from her shock.

Kotomi nodded. After putting her phone, charging cable, and power bank into her handbag, she quickened her pace and left the room.

Sorry, Yuyu. To make it easier to find an excuse, I had to borrow you for a bit. Don’t worry. When the New Year comes, big sister will definitely give you extra New Year’s money to make up for this social death. On top of the original amount, I’ll add a massive 500 yen!!!

As Kotomi Izumi hurried toward the exit of Harugamo Inn, she thought with a hint of guilt.

...

"Ah-choo!"

Yuyu Izumi, who was attending an English supplementary class at school, suddenly sneezed.

"Yuyu, are you feeling unwell? Do you want to tell the teacher? I can take you to the infirmary," her deskmate, Kobayakawa Tomoyo, asked with concern. She had been listening attentively to the lesson, but immediately turned to look at Yuyu when she heard the sneeze.

After receiving Kobayakawa Tomoyo’s concern, Yuyu Izumi instinctively blushed and hurriedly shook her head.

"No, no. My nose just felt a little itchy. I’ll be fine after resting for a bit. It’s nothing..."

Yuyu Izumi was not someone who embarrassed easily. As Kotomi Izumi would put it, she had already forgotten the last time she saw Yuyu blush.

The reason she was blushing now was entirely because Kobayakawa Tomoyo seemed incapable of maintaining proper distance. Every time, she liked to lean in very close.

Just like now—Kobayakawa Tomoyo’s face was almost pressed against hers. Yuyu could not help instinctively leaning back, only to realize that her seat was against the wall. There was no room to retreat.

It was not because she and Kobayakawa Tomoyo were unfamiliar. On the contrary, they had known each other since the second grade of elementary school and had been friends ever since—from second grade all the way to their third year of middle school now.

Occasionally, Yuyu Izumi would stay overnight at Kobayakawa Tomoyo’s house, and sometimes Tomoyo would stay at hers. Their relationship was as close as it could be.

It was just that Kobayakawa Tomoyo, with her long black hair and clothing that was almost always black and white in tone, bore a striking resemblance—both in name and appearance—to Tomoyo Daidouji from the anime Cardcaptor Sakura.

Every time Kobayakawa Tomoyo got too close, Yuyu Izumi could not help recalling how, when she was little, whenever Cardcaptor Sakura played on TV and Tomoyo Daidouji appeared on screen, she would shout at the television, "Wife!"

The more enthusiastically she had shouted "wife" at Tomoyo Daidouji as a child, the more she felt it was a dark history now whenever she thought about it.

Of course, Kotomi Izumi did not have that kind of shame. She would never feel embarrassed about calling an anime character her wife or husband.

Because even now, she still called female anime characters her wives.

The only difference from childhood was that back then, little Kotomi changed her two-dimensional wife once a year.

Now, Kotomi Izumi changed her two-dimensional wife every few days. The frequency and speed entirely depended on how fast she was catching up on anime.

Getting back to the point, whenever Kobayakawa Tomoyo leaned close, Yuyu Izumi would blush uncontrollably—because she really looked far too much like Tomoyo Daidouji.

As long as she saw Kobayakawa Tomoyo’s face, she would inevitably recall the scenes of her younger self shouting "wife" at Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura. The surge of embarrassment would instantly turn her cheeks red.

"Are you really okay?" Kobayakawa Tomoyo asked again, still worried. After knowing Yuyu for so many years, she naturally understood her personality. To put it nicely, Yuyu was firm in her own statements. To put it bluntly, she was too fond of putting on a tough front.

"Mm-hmm! I’m really fine. My physical condition is strong. I didn’t sleep well last night because of my cousin, and I even failed to cover myself properly with the blanket. Even so, when I woke up this morning, I didn’t feel unwell at all."

Yuyu Izumi spoke with great confidence. At the same time, to change the subject, she deliberately mentioned her cousin in her words. She knew that saying this would definitely attract Kobayakawa Tomoyo’s attention and successfully divert the topic.

Sure enough, Kobayakawa Tomoyo immediately became interested.

"I-is it Kotomi-nee?"

Since meeting Yuyu, she had often heard her talk about her cousin—Kotomi Izumi—who was soft and beautiful. It was just that Kotomi rarely came to Kyoto, so Kobayakawa Tomoyo had only ever seen photos of her.

Kobayakawa Tomoyo was the school beauty of this middle school. Ever since first year, as she gradually entered puberty, she had continuously received love letters and gifts from male classmates.

Because of the title of school beauty, Kobayakawa Tomoyo felt a slight sense of pride. From time to time, she would feel a little smug inside and even fantasize about whether she might be the heroine of a shoujo romance manga.

Until Kobayakawa Tomoyo saw a photo of Kotomi Izumi.

From the very first glance, the pride she held as the school beauty shattered completely.

Without exaggeration, before seeing Kotomi Izumi’s photo, Kobayakawa Tomoyo had been standing tall.

The moment Yuyu Izumi casually flipped to a candid photo of Kotomi on her phone and showed it to her, Kobayakawa Tomoyo took one look—and in the very next second, she was on her knees.

She still remembered the conversation clearly...

Yuyu Izumi: "Tomoyo, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly kneel down? You scared me! Hurry and get up!"

Kobayakawa Tomoyo: "I-It’s nothing. It’s just that after seeing your sister’s photo, my knees suddenly didn’t feel too good... I felt like kneeling."

...

Yuyu Izumi nodded and said,

"Yeah... Huh? Wait, why are you calling my sister Kotomi-nee?!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Kobayakawa Tomoyo smiled cheerfully.

"Eh? Isn’t ’Kotomi-nee’ the title you used to talk about all the time in elementary school? You would tell everyone you had a Kotomi-nee who was as beautiful as a princess from a fairy tale."

After recalling it, Yuyu Izumi immediately blushed.

"Ahhh—why did I say such embarrassing things when I was little? Tomoyo, my cousin has recently come to Kyoto. If you ever get the chance to meet her, you absolutely must not mention this to her!"

The moment she heard that Kotomi Izumi had come to Kyoto, Kobayakawa Tomoyo’s attention was completely captured.

"Really? Really? Your Kotomi-nee is really in Kyoto? When can I meet her? I’ve long wanted to see in person the Kotomi-nee who’s thousands upon thousands of times prettier than me!"

"You’ve already seen my sister’s photo before, haven’t you? It was just a random snapshot—no editing whatsoever. If anything, editing it would only be an insult to her peerless beauty."

"Seeing someone in person is definitely different from seeing a photo!" Kobayakawa Tomoyo said earnestly. Then she asked again, "Please, Yuyu? I really want to meet your Kotomi-nee!"

"I-If there’s a chance, I’ll definitely let you meet my sister. The premise is that she’s free. Even though she came to Kyoto, she brought her girlfriend with her, so she’ll probably spend most of her time accompanying her."

"Girlfriend?" Kobayakawa Tomoyo tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Yeah, my sister’s girlfriend. You might not believe it, but she just brought her girlfriend to my house for a meal."

"Ah—?!"

Always refined and ladylike, Kobayakawa Tomoyo completely forgot that they were in class when she heard such explosive news and cried out in shock.

The English teacher at the podium, who had been explaining a problem, was startled. He put down his chalk, adjusted his glasses, and asked sternly,

"Kobayakawa, is there something the matter? Was the key point I just explained not clear enough?"

Kobayakawa Tomoyo quickly stood up, shook her head, and apologized.

"No, Sensei. You explained it very well. I understood everything."

"Oh? Is that so? That’s good. However, since you’re already standing, it would be a pity not to answer a question, wouldn’t it? Could you summarize the key points of this reading comprehension passage for us?" the English teacher asked with a genial smile.

"Ah... ahahaha..."

Kobayakawa Tomoyo let out an awkward laugh.

After the supplementary lesson ended.

With a pitiful expression, Kobayakawa Tomoyo lay face-down on her desk.

"Wuu... Because I couldn’t answer the question, I have to translate the entire reading passage and complete three additional reading comprehension exercises. The question types I’m worst at in English are reading comprehension and cloze tests."

After saying that, she cast Yuyu Izumi a resentful glance.

"Look, I got so excited just because I wanted to meet your sister. If you still won’t let me meet her, I’ll have to consider breaking off our friendship for one whole minute."

"I’ll definitely try my best to find a chance for you to meet my sister," Yuyu Izumi said with an embarrassed smile. Then she muttered softly, "But was it really necessary to get that excited? When you suddenly shouted just now, you even startled me. If my sister finds out, hehe... she’ll definitely start showing off again."

"Of course I’d be excited. You’ve grown up seeing your sister all the time, so the novelty has probably worn off for you. But ever since I saw her photo a few years ago, I’ve wanted to see her in real life.

"Besides," Kobayakawa Tomoyo added, "I wasn’t just excited because your sister came to Kyoto. I was even more shocked because you said she brought her girlfriend. Your sister is a girl—c-can girls date girls? I was so surprised I almost bit my tongue just now."

"Haha, I understand. When I first found out my sister got herself a girlfriend, I was so shocked I couldn’t sleep all night either. Actually, that’s why I didn’t sleep well last night. How should I put it? When I think about how my sister, who used to bully me since we were little, suddenly has a girlfriend, it makes my heart feel a little strange... like some place inside has become empty."

Yuyu Izumi shrugged, speaking with a hint of emotion.

"Ohhh~ I get it. Yuyu’s feeling lonely. That’s completely normal. When my brother got a girlfriend, I felt down for a long time too. On the day he got married, I even hid in my room and cried by myself.

"It’s only natural to feel a bit lost when someone you’re closest to—an older sibling or younger sibling—finds a partner. If you feel lonely, Yuyu, my arms are always open for you to lean on."

Kobayakawa Tomoyo reached out and gently patted Yuyu Izumi’s hair in comfort.

Yuyu Izumi, flustered by the consolation, hurriedly turned her face away.

"What are you talking about? I was just wondering how someone as beautiful and gentle as my sister-in-law could possibly fall for my sister, that great demon king who wreaks havoc everywhere."

And my sister even has a bit of a scumbag tendency... Yuyu Izumi silently complained in her heart.

"So, your sister’s girlfriend is very beautiful?" Kobayakawa Tomoyo asked curiously.

Yuyu Izumi nodded without hesitation.

"Of course she’s beautiful. The moment I saw her, I immediately changed how I addressed her and called her sister-in-law on the spot! My sister has many different types she likes, and my sister-in-law just happens to fit one of them perfectly."

"I see... Now I don’t just want to meet your sister—I want to meet your sister-in-law too. I really want to see what kind of girl is qualified to become Kotomi-nee’s lover!"

"After you see my sister-in-law, that already tiny bit of school-beauty pride you have might shatter all over again."

"It doesn’t matter. Ever since I saw your sister’s photo, I’ve felt that the school-beauty title is meaningless," Kobayakawa Tomoyo said calmly, lifting her chin slightly with pride.

After saying that, she looked at Yuyu Izumi again and asked casually, as if the question had just occurred to her,

"By the way... Yuyu, do you think two girls together can be happy?"

—

—

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven