Kotomi Izumi had originally planned to keep sparring verbally with Yukino Yukinoshita for a while longer. However, after glancing at the time on her phone, she decided to let it go for now.
After all, Third Uncle and Third Aunt lived in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto.
Although the distance from Harugamo Inn to Sakyo Ward was not very far and it would take about forty-two minutes by taxi, it was already morning. Traffic congestion was very likely, especially since they would have to take Karasuma Street. Whether it was rush hour or not, as long as the number of cars increased, that road was bound to get clogged.
For that reason, Kotomi built in an extra hour as a buffer, thinking that as long as they could arrive at her uncle and aunt's home before eleven at noon, it would count as a success.
Judging by the time now, it was just right to set off.
"Hmph, I don't feel like arguing with you anymore. I'm taking Yui to Third Uncle and Third Aunt's place to eat something delicious. Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Kotomi Izumi asked.
You're bringing your girlfriend to meet your relatives. How clueless would I have to be to follow along? Yukino Yukinoshita thought bitterly. Outwardly, however, she spoke in a calm, indifferent tone.
"I suddenly discovered a very good book yesterday. I just downloaded the e-book version onto my phone and plan to spend the entire day reading it. Books are the bread of the spirit. Whenever I discover a good one, I feel like a starving person who just wants to devour that spiritual bread and fill her stomach."
"I remember that whenever you're home on vacation, you spend your time reading too... So this hot spring trip of yours is really simple. You just changed your reading location from home to Kyoto," Kotomi said with a half-joking smile.
"Changing the environment where one reads is also a rather pleasant experience. You could try it sometime," Yukino replied with a soft smile.
"Hehe, I'm just a commoner. I'd rather fill my stomach first before thinking about literature. Yui and I are heading out then. Bye~"
"Bye, Yuki."
Yukino's delicate brows drew together slightly. She had deliberately shown a faint smile just now and even kept it on her face a little longer on purpose, giving Kotomi the chance to take a picture of it.
But Kotomi had acted as if she hadn't seen it at all. Not only had she failed to quickly take out her phone to capture it, she hadn't even mentioned it. It was as though she had already lost interest in her smile.
Has Kotomi really lost interest in my smile? She clearly said yesterday that she wanted to take a picture of it... No, no. Maybe my smile just now was too subtle and Kotomi didn't notice. Yes, that must be it!
Yukino comforted herself inwardly while continuing to maintain her composure, speaking in her usual calm tone.
"Mm. Travel safely, you two."
Seeing Yukino's feigned indifference, Kotomi cackled inwardly.
Little Yukino is getting anxious!
Of course Kotomi had noticed Yukino's smile. This time, however, she intended to play hard to get.
Seeing how effective it was, Kotomi let out a conspiratorial laugh.
Heh heh heh!
Kotomi Izumi and Yui Yuigahama set off with the gifts they had bought the day before. Though they were said to be carrying them together, once they stepped outside, Kotomi found it inconvenient to hold things while using her phone. She promptly handed all the gifts she had been carrying to Yui.
Yui had already been carrying most of them. Now she was just taking on a little more weight, which was barely noticeable.
Back when Yui's mother ran a cake shop, Yui had been the one to carry sacks of flour herself. So holding all the gifts now was not tiring at all.
After using a ride-hailing app to call a taxi, Kotomi leisurely squatted by the roadside, scrolling through Twitter on her phone.
She checked Dengeki Bunko's official Twitter account again. At first, she had thought they might split the exhibition works into two separate posts. Unexpectedly, it was all in one single post listing every participating title.
From beginning to end, even after reading it several times, there was neither her pen name nor the title of her work.
Kotomi immediately felt a bit irritated. Recently, Kadokawa Bunko had been contacting her through private messages, asking whether she was interested in signing with them to write a new series.
To be honest, she was indeed tempted to directly retweet a few of Kadokawa Bunko's posts using her official account and interact in their comment section. After all, when she signed with Dengeki Bunko, it had been a book-only contract, not a personal contract.
If you won't treat me well, fine. We'll go our separate ways. I'll just write novels for Kadokawa Bunko instead~
However, Kotomi calmed herself down. Something about this situation felt strange. She decided to wait until they returned from Kyoto before asking Yukino what exactly was going on.
Even if Sword Art Online had only debuted recently, its sales figures spoke for themselves. Surely it wouldn't be denied even the chance to show up at Dengeki Comiket, right?
Of course, if that really turned out to be the case, then even if Haruno Yukinoshita was her editor, Kotomi would not hesitate to end Sword Art Online with the second volume and move to another light novel imprint to start a new work.
When the time came and things truly fell apart between her and Dengeki Bunko, who would look worse?
It certainly wouldn't be Kotomi Izumi. By nature, she was the kind of person who repaid respect with respect. If you gave her face, she would give you face. If you refused to give her face, she would make sure you couldn't save yours.
Kotomi tapped into the promotional post for Dengeki Comiket and, sure enough, the comments section was already full of people questioning why Sword Art Online was not on the participant list.
[Just now I practically pressed a magnifying glass against the screen of my brand-new Iphone 18 and searched forever. I just want to ask one thing—where's Izumi Ki? Where's that huge Izumi Ki?]
[Keep it down upstairs, we get it, you bought an Iphone 18! Tch, what's the big deal? My freshly replaced battery Iphone 6S can fight for another ten years! But seriously, I looked for ages too. There's neither Izumi Ki's pen name nor Sword Art Online. Does that mean this year's Dengeki Comiket really doesn't have Izumi Ki?]
[@Dengeki Bunko m, give us an explanation! Why is Izumi Ki missing? You didn't announce the participating works in advance, and only started listing them after most of the presale tickets were sold out. Are you deliberately disgusting people?]
[Damn it, I'm in Hokkaido. I specifically bought a plane ticket and booked a hotel just to see Sword Art Online at Dengeki Comiket. And now you're telling me it's not participating? m, refund my money! If there's no Izumi Ki at Dengeki Comiket, I might as well stay in Hokkaido. There's a horse race on October 30th, and Rice Shower is racing too.]
[The planner for this year's Dengeki Comiket must have had the xylophone in their house pass away. The top seller on the monthly rankings can't attend Dengeki Comiket? Did no one show up to your family xylophone's memorial service, so you're taking it out on us on purpose?]
[The aggression from the commenter above? Fully approved.]
[What is this, some old-version Infinity Edge?]
[Wuwuwu, Tree-baby, we won't let you suffer this grievance. If you move to another imprint in the future, you have to tell your moms, okay? Fly boldly, Tree-baby, your moms will always follow! @Izumi Ki]
[I was just about to complain about the whole "no male moms" thing, but then I saw the avatar above was Kokkoro... I'm fine now.]
[@Dengeki Bunko stop playing dead and give us an explanation. Why isn't Izumi Ki on this year's participant list?]
[Dengeki Bunko's "mom" officially discontinued today!]
[lmao does Dengeki Bunko even have a mom? Something that doesn't exist—no alchemist could create that.]
[True.]
Reading the comments below, Kotomi's mood improved considerably.
Although she couldn't like the comments directly right now—doing so would mean officially tearing her face off with Dengeki Bunko—she decided she would find an opportunity to throw some sarcastic shade.
After all, she was not someone who would suffer in silence.
Izumi Ki's Twitter account had always maintained high popularity. She had never spent time crafting a persona, nor did she even post many original tweets herself.
The reason her popularity remained so high was entirely because there were many illustrators on Twitter, and they loved posting their newly drawn works there.
But with so many artists on Twitter, whether they gained traction was always uncertain.
That was true for the artists.
It was also true for people who liked saving illustrations from Twitter. There were simply too many artists, and without knowing how to search for them, most of the time it came down to luck.
However, Izumi Ki had long maintained the habit of retweeting any risqué artwork she came across. That alone had led many people to discover that there were so many hidden-gem artists on Twitter—and the art was incredibly spicy.
To put it bluntly, it was also because Izumi Ki's account had official verification identifying her as a novelist.
If she hadn't been verified, many people might have simply thought of her Twitter account as a high-quality curator of risqué art.
Over time, her popularity naturally soared.
Sharing was often the most profitable thing of all.
Some lesser-known artists hoped to gain exposure through Izumi Ki's retweets. When they couldn't wait for her to notice them, they took the initiative and contacted her directly, even offering money in exchange for a retweet.
Kotomi never accepted payment. After receiving a private message, she would check the person's artwork quality.
If it was good, she would retweet it for free, essentially doing them a favor.
After all, once her game company Type-Moon Realm was established in the future, she would need to recruit many artists. It was only natural to start accumulating connections in this field little by little.
Today I retweet you for free. Tomorrow you might be working at my company~
People who frequently browsed Twitter and followed Izumi Ki's account would check in often, gradually forming a strong sense of loyalty. As a result, whenever she posted an update, it would easily surpass ten thousand likes at minimum.
It was only because Kotomi hadn't found the time to monetize the account yet. If she really wanted to, she could take on some promotional posts and paid advertisements. After all, when she signed with Dengeki Bunko, they hadn't signed away the rights to her social media accounts.
To say nothing else, one sponsored post alone could at least earn enough for an Apex heirloom.
Back to the point.
While waiting for the taxi, Kotomi posted a tweet.
[Not in a great mood. Brought my laptop with me on this trip. I originally planned to outline Sword Art Online's next developments, but the more I wrote, the worse I felt. I wonder why~ I don't know either. Maybe my fate with Sword Art Online has come to an end. I guess I'll think about a new project instead. I've actually had a lot of ideas for a new work lately.]
Although the entire post did not mention Dengeki Comiket by name, the grievance and implications between the lines—combined with the fact that it was posted on the same day as the participant announcement—made the sarcasm almost written across her face.
After posting it, Kotomi immediately opened the Twitter accounts of Kadokawa Bunko and Fujimi Shobo. She casually retweeted two of their posts, both promoting upcoming anime adaptations.
[Izumi Ki retweeted Kadokawa Bunko: So excited! The visuals look amazing. When is the theme song coming out? I can't wait to loop it nonstop.]
[Izumi Ki retweeted Fujimi Shobo: The first light novel I ever read as a child was by Iruma-sensei. Congratulations on the anime adaptation. Looking forward to the broadcast!]
A crying child gets candy. Kotomi understood that principle very well, so when it was time to ask for candy, she never held back.
After posting, she didn't obsessively refresh the page to watch the like and comment counts rise. She let it ferment on its own.
Putting her phone away, Kotomi stood up and started chatting with Yui to pass the time while waiting for the taxi.
Kotomi: "Yui, my mood just dipped again a little. It's not your fault, though."
Yui: "S-Sorry..."
Kotomi: "Mm, good girl~ Let me pat your head."
Soon, the taxi arrived. The two of them got in and headed toward Sakyo Ward.
...
Sakyo Ward is one of Kyoto's eleven wards. The southern area is mainly residential and educational districts, while the northern part is mountainous, with forestry being quite prosperous. The literary atmosphere is especially strong. Independent bookstores and specialty cafés gather here, and many people who enjoy the arts like to spend their leisure time browsing bookstores or sitting in cafés in Sakyo Ward.
Take Kadokawa Bunko, for example. Several of their past signing events were held in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto.
It was said that the next Kadokawa Comiket was also planned to be held there.
Sakyo Ward is not only the most literary part of Kyoto, but also an ideal place to experience Kyoto's unique lifestyle.
Yuki Izumi had chosen to live in Sakyo Ward and opened his restaurant there precisely because he liked the pace of life.
Kotomi had already messaged Third Uncle and Third Aunt the day before, saying she would bring her girlfriend over for a meal.
When they saw the message, they were stunned. They knew Kotomi was already in high school and at the age to start dating.
But they hadn't expected her to be bringing... a girlfriend?
Despite their shock, their beloved niece—whom they had doted on since childhood—was coming to visit. Naturally, they readily agreed.
After agreeing, however, Yuki Izumi had planned to call his older brother, Kaneyoshi Izumi, to ask what on earth was going on. How had Kotomi suddenly gotten herself a girlfriend?
He was stopped by his wife, Rika Izumi.
According to her:
"What if big brother and sister-in-law don't even know that Kotomi has a girlfriend yet? Maybe she's bringing her over today because she's worried that when she tells her parents someday, they won't agree. So she wants to lay some groundwork with us first, so we can help speak up for her later. If you call Big Brother now, wouldn't you accidentally ruin Kotomi's plan?"
After hearing his wife's reasoning, Yuki Izumi nodded. It did make sense. So he put down the phone and decided to see for himself what kind of girlfriend Kotomi had brought home.
At that moment, Yuki Izumi was in the kitchen cooking when he said to Rika Izumi,
"We've watched Kotomi grow up since she was little. Now that she says she's bringing her girlfriend over, why do I feel like my hands are trembling while I cook?"
"M-Me too... I almost put sugar instead of salt just now."
"And honestly, why did you tell Yuyu about Kotomi getting a girlfriend? What does she know? Aren't you afraid she'll blab about it?"
"It's fine. After telling her last night, I used it as an excuse—plus the fact that her teacher called home recently and she deliberately didn't tell me—I beat her for three hours. Even if she had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to blab now," Rika Izumi said confidently.
Only then did Yuki Izumi understand why, less than a few minutes after his wife entered their daughter's bedroom the previous night, pig-slaughtering screams had erupted from inside.
So the new and old debts had been settled together.
Kotomi walked in front, while Yui followed slightly behind, carrying the large and small gift bags as they arrived at the door of Third Uncle and Third Aunt's house.
"First time meeting my family. Nervous?" Kotomi asked with a grin, glancing at Yui.
"A little nervous," Yui nodded and said softly.
"Take a deep breath. Relax~"
After saying that, Kotomi pressed the doorbell.
The one who opened the door was Kotomi's cousin, Yuyu Izumi. She was a cute middle school girl wearing glasses and sporting short hair that flipped outward at the ends. Upon seeing Kotomi, she immediately shouted toward the kitchen,
"Dad! Mom! Nee-chan is here!"
Then she noticed Yui standing beside Kotomi and froze for a moment. She reached out and pinched Kotomi's cheek.
"Hey, what are you doing? Who pinches someone's face the moment they meet? Are you asking for a beating?" Kotomi yelped as her cheek hurt, glaring fiercely.
Yuyu Izumi was not afraid of the so-called wicked witch Kotomi at all. After seeing Kotomi's cheek turn red from being pinched, she exclaimed in shock,
"Oh my god—is that Sister-in-law?! My sis really brought me back a sister-in-law! I'm going to be an aunt!"
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven