"I saw on TV before that after a girl gets pregnant, her personality can change a little. Wh-what if after the baby is born, I become a bit smarter?"
Yui Yuigahama's face flushed red as she spoke, sounding slightly unconvinced.
"There's also an old saying—pregnancy makes you silly for three years. Heh. You're already a little airhead. If you get pregnant, you'll be even sillier~ By then I'll be able to bully you even more without restraint! Heh heh heh! Alright, it's decided. Tonight we'll both put in some effort. I'm fairly confident in my abilities. Let's aim to get you pregnant before the end of the year."
Kotomi Izumi let out a wicked laugh as she spoke, then reached out and vigorouslykneaded the dumpling's soft cheeks.
With her cheeks being kneaded by Kotomi, Yui's little face turned crimson. Judging by her unconvinced expression, she was clearly still trying to think of a way to refute Kotomi.
But Kotomi's line—"I'm fairly confident in my abilities. Let's aim to get you pregnant before the end of the year"—was simply too devastating.
Yui instantly forgot how to argue back. Her adorable face grew even redder, as if she had turned into a sweet, juicy strawberry dumpling, letting Kotomiknead her cheeks as she pleased.
The words she had originally wanted to use to refute Kotomi, mixed with embarrassment, happiness, anticipation, and a swirl of other emotions, came out completely differently when Yui finally spoke.
"Kotomi… how many do you want to have…?"
"A whole bunch! At the very least enough to form over a dozen soccer teams," Kotomi Izumi replied casually, clearly joking.
But Yui took it seriously. Hearing that Kotomi wanted so many children, her already flushed face turned an even deeper shade of red, as if a light pinch would make it bleed.
"K-Kotomi, you want that many kids? Th-then let's work hard together!"
Yui felt extremely shy. After all, they weren't even married yet, and they were already talking about having children. The maidenly bashfulness in her heart made her unbearably embarrassed.
Yet at the same time, she was more than willing to bear Kotomi's children. Even if Kotomi's requirement—enough kids to form over a dozen soccer teams—was a little harsh, as long as it was something Kotomi wanted, Yui was willing to do her very best to fulfill it. That was why she nodded without hesitation and agreed in one breath.
Seeing Yui's expression—clearly aware it would be difficult, yet still nodding simply because it was her request—Kotomi couldn't help but feel slightly dazed, as though something soft in her heart had been touched.
Yui was silly.
But her silliness came from the fact that as long as Kotomi wanted something, she would give her anything.
Kotomi Izumi took a deep breath andkneaded Yui's cheeks firmly again, sounding both helpless and indulgent as she said,
"You silly little dumpling. I think you're even more foolish than my little sister. If we really had that many kids, it would be one pregnancy after another. Twelve months in a year, ten months pregnant, one month recovering after childbirth—that would leave us only one month to make the next litter. That'd be way too boring."
Following Kotomi's reasoning, Yui thought about it carefully. It really did seem to make sense.
Just now, she had only been focused on fulfilling Kotomi's wish. She had assumed that "having a whole bunch, enough to form over a dozen soccer teams" was Kotomi's true desire. So even though she knew it would be difficult, she had agreed without even furrowing her brow.
"I'll listen to you."
Yui Yuigahama spoke simply to Kotomi.
Whether it was one child or a whole bunch, she would listen to Kotomi. However many Kotomi wanted her to have, she would try her best to have.
Kotomi smiled faintly and pinched the dumpling's cheek.
"You'll listen to everything I say? Then if I told you to jump off a building, would you jump without hesitation?"
Yui nodded immediately.
"Mm! But… you have to promise me that after I jump, you'll take good care of my mom and my little sister."
"You silly dumpling. Do you know why you're silly?" Kotomi sighed helplessly and poked Yui's little head with her finger.
"Why? I don't think I'm silly at all?" Yui tilted her head slightly, a trace of confusion appearing on her naturally airheaded, adorable face.
"I toss out a random joke and you take it seriously. Isn't that silly?"
"Because every word you say, Kotomi, sounds real." Yui honestly voiced the thoughts in her heart.
For some reason, even though it was such a simple sentence, Kotomi's heartbeat couldn't help but quicken after hearing it. Only after a long moment did she let out a breath, then grabbed Yui's cheeks again and said fiercely,
"Little dumpling, are you getting bold? Daring to flirt with me so openly now?"
"Mm…?"
With her cheeks pinched by Kotomi, Yui tilted her head in confusion. She had only said what she truly thought in her heart—why was Kotomi saying she was flirting?
And what did flirting even mean?
The dumpling's mind was full of tiny question marks.
Kotomi had no intention of explaining what "flirting" meant. She simply wanted an excuse to pinch Yui's cheeks again.
Having satisfied her hands, Kotomi felt quite pleased. Just as she was about to turn and lead Yui back to the guest room—planning to take her to visit Third Uncle and Third Aunt shortly—her phone chimed with a notification.
Kotomi Izumi took out her phone and glanced at it. It was a new post from Dengeki Bunko's official Twitter account.
Tapping it open, sure enough, it was related to the upcoming Dengeki Festival.
The Dengeki Festival would be held on October 30 and October 31.
There would also be a Halloween event on October 31.
With less than two weeks remaining, Dengeki Bunko had naturally already finalized the works participating in the festival. Although they hadn't yet announced which title would hold a signing session at the event, judging from the preview, it would likely be selected from among the confirmed participating works—specifically the one with the highest popularity and sales.
Kotomi quickly skimmed through the list of works that would be exhibited at the Dengeki Festival. They were mostly familiar faces from the bestseller rankings, along with a few newcomers. There were also some titles that hadn't appeared on the bestseller list but had achieved excellent results in adaptations, and those would also participate.
Some light novels were suited for strong sales, while others thrived through adaptations. Different revenue paths, yet both qualified for the Dengeki Festival.
Kotomi looked through the list from beginning to end, her delicate brows slowly knitting together.
She didn't see Sword Art Online anywhere.
She knew she had only signed recently and was still a newcomer author. But the sales of Sword Art Online were solid and undeniable.
Kotomi opened Dengeki Bunko's official website and checked the bestseller rankings.
There it was—Sword Art Online was still sitting firmly at number one on the monthly bestseller list.
Yet as the number one title on the monthly bestseller chart, not only had they not given her the signing session qualification—didn't it even have a slot to participate in the festival at all?!
Kotomi put her phone away, her expression darkening slightly.
After a moment, she adjusted her emotions internally, then patted Yui lightly on the head and spoke in a faint, gloomy tone.
"Well… my mood suddenly got a bit bad. I feel like I'm being treated differently."
Kotomi Izumi spoke righteously to Yui Yuigahama.
"Even though it has nothing to do with you, can you apologize to me?"
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven