They spent the entire afternoon lazing around. If Yukino Yukinoshita hadn't forcibly pulled Kotomi out from under the kotatsu, she probably would have slept straight through until the next morning.
"Did you not sleep well last night? How can you sleep this much?" Yukino couldn't help but complain.
When Kotomi had said earlier that she wanted to sleep the whole afternoon, Yukino had thought she was joking. But when Kotomi really did fall asleep at one in the afternoon and didn't wake up until five in the evening, Yukino finally realized she hadn't been joking at all. She truly could sleep away an entire afternoon.
She had already slept until she woke up naturally in the morning. Logically, she shouldn't have been that sleepy in the afternoon. Yet it didn't affect her at all. Not only did she nap soundly, but if Yukino hadn't dragged her out from under the kotatsu, judging by her posture, she seemed fully prepared to connect her afternoon nap straight into her night's sleep and keep going until morning.
After being teased by Yukino, Kotomi Izumi tilted her head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky and spoke gently:
"Actually, I'm a melancholic beauty who often suffers from insomnia, sitting alone by the window in the company of moonlight.
"Whenever the night grows deep and quiet, and the moonlight slips through the window and thin curtains into the bedroom, I—who seem to have already fallen asleep—slowly open my eyes, unable to drift off again for a long time. Barefoot, I walk to the window and gently push it open with both hands, feeling the night breeze. Thinking of the one in my heart, I can't help but softly sing, letting my voice scatter into the moonlight.
"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
"Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
"Please send my regards to someone who lives there,
"For she was once my true love."
"Kotomi sings so beautifully!" Yui Yuigahama clapped happily the moment Kotomi finished, like a devoted little fangirl.
Kotomi loved being praised. It was just a pity she didn't have a tail. If she did, then every time someone complimented her, that tail would surely start wagging excitedly like it had been wound up with a spring.
"I like honest, good children. So obedient. I really do sing well. When I have time, I'll teach you 'Scarborough Fair.' Once you learn it, you'll definitely sing it even better than I do."
Kotomi reached out and patted Yui's little head. Yui grinned happily under the touch, like a puppy being praised and petted by its owner.
"Yui's voice really does suit 'Scarborough Fair,'" Yukino said in agreement.
Yet as she spoke, she turned her gaze toward the window, deliberately avoiding the intimate scene between Kotomi and Yui.
A tsundere little tigress—how could she possibly admit that she was jealous of Yui for getting her head patted?
"Okay! I'll definitely work hard to learn it!" Yui nodded vigorously.
When they had rehearsed for the cultural festival stage performance, both Kotomi and Yukino had often praised her singing. Little by little, her lack of confidence in her voice had faded.
And when she finally stood on stage and finished singing a song, the cheers, applause, and admiration she received completely blew away all her previous insecurity.
In the past, even though Yui possessed exceptional natural talent and an inherently beautiful voice, her family's financial situation meant she had never received professional vocal training. Whenever she wanted to sing, she would secretly sing alone for herself. That made her feel her voice was nothing special, leaving her without much confidence.
Now, hearing Kotomi and Yukino praise her so often, and after delivering a perfect performance at the cultural festival, Yui was finally full of confidence in her singing. She remained humble, but no longer inferior about it.
Kotomi was quite satisfied with this. Although Yui's personality still carried traces of insecurity, at least when it came to singing, she was no longer self-deprecating.
Kotomi had already planned it out. As long as Yui continued to pursue singing as a hobby, once she built up the Type-Moon Realm, any songs needed for the games and anime she created would be sung by Yui Yuigahama.
Every time she thought about this arrangement, Kotomi couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
Tomoka Auntie will handle the art for Type-Moon Realm, and Yui will handle the songs. At least at work, both of them will have to listen to me... Just thinking about it makes me feel so good!
After putting on her white pantyhose, Kotomi sat on the tatami, still feeling a bit drowsy—even though she had just slept nearly five hours.
After some thought, she decided she might as well wash her face.
When Kotomi returned from the bathroom, she picked up her phone and replied to a few messages she hadn't seen while sleeping. After that, she unplugged the charging cable, slipped the phone into her pocket, and said:
"Let's go shopping~"
About ten or so minutes' walk from Harugamo Inn was a commercial street and shopping center.
Kotomi wasn't particularly enthusiastic about buying clothes. The wardrobe at home was already overflowing with various luxury brands, divided roughly into two sources—what her parents bought her, and what Yuki Hishinaga mailed from overseas.
As an aunt, Yuki Hishinaga treated Kotomi and Aimi like her own daughters. Even though she hadn't returned to Japan in years, she never once missed holidays or their birthdays.
Since she didn't know exactly what Kotomi and Aimi liked, she would simply mail over many extremely expensive designer clothes and luxury goods each time.
Under Yuki Hishinaga's indulgent pampering, Kotomi and Aimi had grown up with little interest in luxury items. They neither chased trends nor felt enthusiastic about buying them. After all, Yuki Hishinaga had sent so many that they had long since become indifferent—almost reaching a state of having "no worldly desires."
The three of them strolled through the shopping center, walking and stopping at leisure. Shopping wasn't about needing to buy something. What truly felt enjoyable was the process of browsing and choosing.
After about an hour, Kotomi felt a little tired and sat down on a bench by the side of the road, planning to rest before continuing.
Strangely enough, the moment she sat down, she felt thirsty again—even though she had just had a free cup of juice while trying on clothes at a store.
Fortunately, there was a vending machine not far away.
Just as Kotomi took out her wallet and prepared to grab some coins to buy a drink, she opened it and suddenly remembered that although she had brought cash, it was almost entirely in ten-thousand-yen bills. She hadn't prepared any coins.
And the vending machine nearby was clearly the type that only accepted coins.
Helpless, Kotomi could only turn to Yukino:
"Yukino, do you have any coins? Lend me two five-hundred-yen coins. I want to buy a drink."
"Perfect. I'm a little thirsty too. I'll go buy them. Kotomi, Yui, what do you want to drink?" Yukino said as she stood up.
"I want Pepsi," Kotomi replied.
"I'll have peach soda," Yui said.
"Alright. Wait here for a moment."
While they waited for Yukino to return with the drinks, Kotomi glanced at the long white down coat Yui was wearing and smiled faintly. She had secretly bought it for Yui while on a date with Megumi Kato, deliberately keeping it hidden from her at the time.
"Do you like that coat?" Kotomi asked with a soft laugh.
"I love it!"
Yui nodded vigorously. She had treasured the white down coat Kotomi bought her like it was something precious.
Ever since receiving it, she had wanted to wear it, but the weather had still been autumn then, and she hadn't found the chance. Before coming to Kyoto, Yui had specifically checked the forecast. When she saw that the temperature might drop, she had even cheered aloud.
Finally, she could wear the white down coat Kotomi bought her.
Finally, she could let Kotomi see how she looked in it.
So when packing her suitcase, the very first thing Yui placed inside was this coat.
Now that she was wearing it, she was being so careful that Kotomi couldn't help wanting to laugh.
"Do you really need to be that cautious? It's not some expensive coat," Kotomi said.
"But you gave it to me. To me, that makes it the most precious and expensive coat in the world. It's like... I want to wear it, but I'm almost afraid to."
Yui spoke seriously. Though her cheeks were slightly pink with embarrassment, she still voiced what was in her heart.
Yui might have a tendency to overthink things, but when it came to expressing her feelings to Kotomi, she rarely hesitated.
Kotomi often thought that Yui and Yukino truly were complete opposites in personality.
"Just wear it normally. There's no need to treat it so carefully. It wasn't that expensive. If I give you an ordinary coat and you treat it like this, then if I ever give you a luxury handbag, are you going to put it on display at home? And every time you look at it, will you bathe and burn incense first?"
Kotomi teased with a half-joking grin.
Yui flushed at her words and hurriedly said,
"Luxury goods are expensive. That's not good. We shouldn't waste money."
Because of her family's financial situation, Yui saw buying luxury items as a waste. So when Kotomi mentioned giving her one, she instinctively refused.
"Then what if I said I wanted a luxury item?" Kotomi countered.
"Which one do you want? I don't understand luxury brands, so once you decide, just tell me how much it costs. I'll calculate how many cakes I need to make by working overtime late at night to earn that much. It might take some time, but if you want it, I'll definitely buy it for you."
Yui agreed without hesitation.
She was frugal with herself. Between a six-hundred-yen loaf of bread and a five-hundred-yen one, she would choose the cheaper without a second thought—even if it didn't taste very good.
Yuka often told Kotomi, "My sister is so stingy with herself."
Yet when it came to her family, and especially to Kotomi, Yui was unimaginably generous.
If she could, she would dig out her entire heart and offer it to Kotomi—even if the next second meant death.
Yui had no clear concept of how much luxury goods cost.
She only knew they were expensive. But how expensive? She didn't really know. Even after racking her brain, the highest price she could imagine was a few million yen.
To Yui, a few million yen was already an astronomical sum. But as long as Kotomi said she wanted it, Yui would rather scrimp and save, exhaust herself working late into the night baking cakes, just to gather those few million yen.
This silly girl had no idea that in the world of luxury goods, a few million yen didn't even count as entry-level.
Faced with Yui's answer, Kotomi found herself momentarily speechless.
Yui's love for her was like a little dwarf standing at a princess's feet, straining up on tiptoe, lifting higher and higher the heart she had just torn from her own chest with bloodied hands.
Kotomi Izumi, who was usually so eloquent, could only part her lips as though she had countless things to say, yet for a moment had completely lost the ability to speak.
After a long while, she sniffed lightly and turned her head away, not wanting Yui to see the faint redness at the corners of her eyes. In a low mutter, she said,
"I've never seen someone as foolish as you in my entire life..."
Then Kotomi reached out and tightly clasped Yui's small hand, as if silently conveying a promise: I will never let go of your hand in this lifetime.
Though she held Yui's hand, she deliberately looked elsewhere, refusing to let Yui see her face.
Perhaps this was just a tiny bit of stubborn pride in her heart when she felt like crying.
"I don't like luxury goods either. If you dare give me one, I'll break up with you," Kotomi said, rubbing her nose, her voice slightly thick.
"I don't want..."
Yui murmured softly as she leaned closer to Kotomi. They had already been sitting close together, and with that small movement, the last trace of distance between them vanished.
"Don't want what?" Kotomi asked.
"I don't want to break up with you. I want to marry you. I want to be your wife."
Yui's pretty face flushed deeper and deeper red as she spoke. Even though she felt unbearably shy, she didn't stop. She wanted to convey her feelings completely, without holding anything back.
"Hmph. That depends on how you behave~"
Kotomi replied with tsundere pride, her heart as sweet as if she had just swallowed a piece of candy.
At that moment, Yukino Yukinoshita returned from the vending machine not far away.
Holding three bottles of drinks, she looked at Kotomi and Yui, their hands clasped together...
For some reason, Yukino felt that in just the few minutes she had been gone, the atmosphere between Kotomi and Yui had subtly changed once again.
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