Ever since Yukino Yukinoshita realized the forceful side hidden within Kotomi Izumi's personality, she had begun to pay extra attention in many matters. Even when she held a completely different opinion from Kotomi in her heart, Yukino would first weigh the pros and cons.
If it was not something particularly important, she would not voice the disagreement she felt inside.
After all, even if she said it out loud, it would not bring much benefit. Though the two viewpoints might differ in direction, the final results would likely be similar. In that case, why express the difference at all? Saying it would not change much, and it would only make Kotomi unhappy.
That was how Yukino Yukinoshita thought now.
Though she had a strong personality, in front of Kotomi Izumi she had gradually shifted from being completely assertive at the beginning to slowly compromising.
The reason for this change was largely because, during rehearsals for the cultural festival performance, she had casually asked whether they should change the order of the songs—only to be met with Kotomi's darkened expression and cold questioning.
Although the moment Yukino showed compromise back then, Kotomi's gloomy expression instantly returned to normal—as though nothing had happened. She was gentle again, considerate again. But the memory remained in Yukino's mind. Even now, after so many days, she would occasionally recall that dark expression and the icy questioning.
Now, while pretending to sleep and overhearing Yui Yuigahama express an opinion completely different from Kotomi's, Yukino's feelings instantly became complicated. Her first instinct was a flicker of happiness—if this caused a rift between Kotomi and Yui, if disagreements created cracks in their relationship, wouldn't that give her a chance to snatch Kotomi away?
But almost immediately, she felt the urge to sit up and persuade Yui not to contradict Kotomi. After all, it was not such a major issue. At least in Yukino's view, whether a child attended a public kindergarten or a private aristocratic one made little difference.
Anyway, if I ever have a child with Kotomi and the time comes for kindergarten, I definitely won't worry about something like this. Wherever Kotomi wants to send our child, that's where they'll go. And I will absolutely never let our child learn a musical instrument. If the child insists on learning, then before that, I'll definitely have a serious talk and ask what kind of hardship they've encountered in life to suddenly want to learn an instrument.
Eh, wait... why am I suddenly imagining a future where I have a child with Kotomi? I want it so badly... No, no. I'm not even Kotomi's girlfriend right now. Yui is. And Yui is my best friend! How can I be fantasizing about something like this?!
Tch, damn it. Kotomi's already been taken by Yui. Do I not even have the right to imagine things in my own head?
Yukino muttered to herself inwardly. The further her thoughts went, the more the earlier and later lines clashed against each other. Only several minutes later did she snap out of it.
Honestly... what was I even thinking just now...?
She rubbed her head. Even she found her current state a bit of a headache. In the end, she decided not to think about anything and focused entirely on sleeping and resting.
If she continued this internal monologue, she had a feeling she could talk to herself all night—and that would count as pulling an all-nighter.
Even Kotomi Izumi, the self-proclaimed "if the moon doesn't sleep, neither do I" queen of staying up late, had recently begun adjusting her schedule and paying attention to her sleep. Yukino, whose routine was already regular, had even less interest in staying up all night.
Just as Yukino was about to fall asleep, her consciousness hazy, on the verge of drifting into dreams, a thought suddenly surfaced.
Why am I falling asleep so fast today?
Normally, in situations like this, it would take her at least ten minutes to fall asleep. But tonight, from the moment she decided to sleep to the point where drowsiness overwhelmed her and her eyes nearly closed, less than a minute had passed.
Sure enough, the moment that thought ended, she fell asleep and entered a peaceful dream.
The sudden increase in Yukino's speed of falling asleep was easy to explain. It was not because her sleep quality had suddenly improved, but because she and Kotomi were in the same room.
In the beginning, Kotomi Izumi's Queen of All Females physique only enhanced her own sleep. But as it gradually matured, that enhancement began, little by little and almost imperceptibly, to affect anyone sharing the same room.
At first, nothing seemed unusual. Only when one lay down and prepared to sleep would the influence slowly take effect. And once the moment of sleep arrived, falling asleep would become incredibly fast.
Under normal conditions, within one minute.
In ideal conditions, within thirty seconds.
With exceptional performance, just a few seconds.
And so, the Yukino who had been pretending to sleep and eavesdropping moments ago was now genuinely asleep.
Yui Yuigahama, however, had no idea that Yukino had been pretending all along. She truly believed Yukino was asleep. To avoid disturbing her, she had deliberately lowered her voice.
From time to time, she even reminded Kotomi Izumi—who had not bothered to control her volume—to speak more quietly.
Kotomi, for her part, was unconcerned. It was not that she enjoyed speaking loudly while others slept. The reason she had not controlled her voice earlier was because she knew perfectly well that Yukino had not been asleep at all, but had been pretending.
She looked peaceful, as if resting deeply, but in reality she was pricking up her ears, unwilling to miss a single word of the conversation between Kotomi and Yui.
So why, knowing Yukino was pretending, had Kotomi continued chatting about married life and future child-rearing as though unaware?
It was not because Kotomi had suddenly realized, "Yukino might already know that Yui and I are dating." Kotomi had always been proud. Even now, she firmly believed that the act she and Yui had put on in front of Yukino was flawless. There was no way Yukino could possibly know they were dating.
In truth, the disguise Kotomi Izumi had arranged really could be called flawless. Knowing that Yui Yuigahama was terrible at lying, she only assigned Yui the simplest task—denial—while Kotomi herself handled all the details and refinement.
If Yukino Yukinoshita had not witnessed the scene at the fountain where Yui confessed to Kotomi from the very beginning, then even now she might still have been completely fooled by Kotomi's carefully constructed act.
Unless something absurdly catastrophic happened—something like kings meeting kings and turning the atmosphere into a battlefield soaked in blood—then Yukino would probably only learn the truth when Kotomi personally told her, "Yui and I are dating."
Returning to the matter at hand, the reason Kotomi Izumi casually discussed married life and future kindergarten plans with Yui right in front of Yukino was simple.
She wanted to move on to the next step.
Kotomi Izumi wanted Yukino Yukinoshita to know that she and Yui Yuigahama were dating.
As for the reason behind doing so...
There was none.
...
More than ten minutes later, Kotomi Izumi put down her phone and stretched lazily. Realizing it was getting late, she decided it would be better to sleep soon.
"Yui, I'm sleepy."
Kotomi lay back down on the bedding and casually spoke.
"I got it!"
Yui Yuigahama hurriedly responded and stood up. Perhaps because it had not been long since she and Kotomi finished cuddling intimately, her legs were still weak when she stood.
Naturally, Kotomi noticed how unsteady Yui was. She did not even need to guess the reason.
Kotomi chose not to comment. There was perhaps a trace of resentment mixed into her thoughts. After all, Yui had only lasted a few seconds, yet afterward she looked exhausted as if they had spent an entire day and night together, to the point she could barely stand. Even if Kotomi did not outright say, "Yui, are you even capable?" she still somewhat wanted to ask, "Should we have you take some medicine before we start next time?"
Obediently following Kotomi's words, Yui turned off the room lights. Because her legs still felt weak, she supported herself against the wall as she slowly walked back and forth.
Ugh... I embarrassed myself in front of Kotomi again...
Yui thought shyly as her cheeks gradually heated.
After returning, she carefully sat beside Kotomi Izumi.
Seeing this, Kotomi could not help but laugh teasingly.
"Dummy dumpling, have you recovered already? You actually dare to sit beside me? I'm still not full yet, you know~"
After cuddling intimately with Kotomi so many times, although Yui always took the initiative and seemed to overwhelmingly play the attacking role while little Kotomi remained on the receiving side, Kotomi had still gently and patiently taught Yui many "little lessons" while panting softly.
These "little lessons" were things Yui Yuigahama had never even seen on late-night manga websites.
Originally, Yui had understood almost nothing. But under Kotomi's guidance, she had gradually begun understanding what certain words, expressions, and reactions during intimacy actually meant.
At first, Kotomi always had to gasp out instructions before Yui understood what to do. And if Kotomi did not say it loudly enough, the silly dumpling would simply bury herself in effort without understanding anything.
Now, just from looking at Kotomi's expression, Yui could at least slowly figure things out. Though she still could not instantly understand, she had improved from needing several minutes to react to now understanding within about a minute.
Of course, compared to little Kotomi, who understood everything instantly in every aspect, Yui was still hopelessly inferior.
At this moment, after hearing Kotomi's teasing words and finally understanding their meaning, Yui's cheeks visibly flushed red, embarrassment mixed with disappointment.
Although their earlier intimacy had lasted less than a few seconds, Yui's "cooldown period" still had not ended.
"Kotomi, I still can't..."
"Alright, no need to say it. Just one look at your expression tells me everything. If you're tired, then rest well tonight."
Kotomi smiled faintly.
After hearing this, Yui lowered her head with a red face, looking as though she were about to cry.
Kotomi could not help laughing softly at the sight. After laughing, she reached out and pulled Yui into her arms, comforting her gently.
"Don't worry. Even if someday you can't even last half a second, my heart will still love you forever and ever."
Yui nodded.
But this time, instead of merely basking in Kotomi's comfort, she seriously declared after a moment:
"Kotomi, I'll definitely work hard!"
Kotomi lowered her head and lightly kissed Yui's cherry-soft lips.
"Then do your best~ Hehe. It's late, so let's sleep early. And don't bother laying out another futon tonight... sleep in the same blanket with me, okay?"
"Okay!"
Midnight.
Kotomi Izumi, who normally slept early, now found herself completely unable to fall asleep after Yui had drifted off.
It felt almost like insomnia.
Ordinarily, with the Queen of All Females constitution, it should have been impossible for Kotomi to suffer from insomnia.
Not only was she not sleepy, she even felt as though a blazing fire was burning inside her body. Though the "moisture" within her continued building up more and more, it did absolutely nothing to extinguish the flames.
Or rather, the fire itself was being fueled precisely because of that increasing "moisture."
Kotomi threw off the blanket and hurriedly jogged toward the bathroom.
She knew the side effects of the Queen of All Females physique were stirring again.
And there was only one way to resolve it.
"I just hope the bathroom's soundproofing is really, really good..."
After sitting down on the slightly cool bathroom floor, Kotomi muttered those words.
Then...
Five hours later.
Five in the morning.
Having spent nearly the entire night inside the bathroom, Kotomi Izumi stood up in her pajamas with unfocused eyes and light, floating movements.
She turned on the showerhead.
As though she had simply finished bathing with body wash and was habitually rinsing off the bathroom floor afterward, Kotomi casually used the showerhead to wash the floor.
Only after finishing did she slowly shuffle toward the sink one tiny step at a time.
Before washing her hands, she first looked at herself in the mirror.
This time, instead of admiring her own beauty, Kotomi reflected on the emotional changes she experienced the previous night and could not help giving a bitter smile.
"It feels like my emotions were constantly being influenced by the side effects of the Queen of All Females physique last night.
"For example, even though I knew Yukino was pretending to sleep, I still deliberately talked about married life with Yui right in front of her.
"Isn't that basically the same as outright telling Yukino that Yui and I are dating?"
At this point, Kotomi Izumi unintentionally let out a soft laugh.
The breathtaking smile that escaped unconsciously from her lips seemed capable of driving all things in the world mad, leaving behind nothing but insanity.
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