All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

For nearly an hour, Izumi Kotomi focused on familiarizing herself with the steps and techniques of oil painting, gradually putting them into practice. She didn’t actually paint anything risque; she didn’t want to take such an unconventional route on her first day in the art club. Instead, she chose to recreate a simple painting from her art book, something appropriate for beginners.

First, she used a pencil to lightly sketch the main elements from the reference image onto the canvas. This initial step was easy for her, as she’d spent the past few days doodling in her notebooks during her free time. Then, she moved on to the next step: applying the background layer using broad brushstrokes to add the darker shades first. She had recently learned from an oil painting guide that with oil paints, you typically start with the dark colors and then layer the lighter colors on top—a technique that differed from what she knew about watercolors, where the process often goes from light to dark.

Kotomi paused, stepping back to view her work from a distance. The painting depicted an autumn street covered in fallen leaves, with the sky tinged in the colors of twilight.

Autumn, fallen leaves, and twilight—these elements combined to evoke a sense of laziness in Kotomi. To her, lazy elements were synonymous with warmth and comfort. Autumn, she thought, was a season that made you want to relax and take things easy—just like winter.

”One more session to add some finishing touches, and this painting will be complete,” Kotomi thought with satisfaction. Given that this was her first oil painting and primarily an exercise, she didn’t stress over the finer details. After finishing, she began to clean up her tools.

As she put away her supplies, Kotomi glanced ahead and noticed that the other art club girls were still gathered around the older girl in the center of the room. ”They sure are devoted fans,” Kotomi mused with a smile.

It seemed that her quiet, unobtrusive movements had gone unnoticed by the others, who were too engrossed in their admiration to pay attention to her.

”I just hope the art club members are easy to get along with,” Kotomi thought. Since she would be spending a lot of time in the art club, getting along well with the other members was important. Wherever you are, maintaining good relationships is crucial.

As her father, Izumi Kaneyoshi, often said, you can’t treat human relationships like a machine.

”Hey, there’s a new student here!”

”Really?”

”When did they come in? I didn’t even notice.”

Hearing the girls’ chatter, Kotomi smiled slightly as she realized she’d finally been noticed.

Standing up, she greeted them with a warm smile, ”Hello, everyone. I’m Izumi Kotomi from Class 1-F. I just joined the art club today.”

One of the girls, with long, purplish-white hair, recognized Kotomi and exclaimed in surprise, ”Oh, it’s Kotomi! Hi, I’m Seiko Kirigiri, from the same class.”

”Seiko, what are you doing here? I thought you joined the Mystery Club?” Kotomi asked. She remembered that Seiko Kirigiri, a classmate she’d spoken with a few times, had signed up for the Mystery Club rather than the Art Club.

Seiko laughed, explaining, ”The Mystery Club meets tomorrow afternoon. I got the days mixed up, so when I saw the club room was closed, I thought about heading home. But when I passed by the Art Club, I decided to drop in since I didn’t have anything else to do.”

”Oh, I see,” Kotomi nodded, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that Seiko looked familiar.

The purple-white hair, the distinctive ahoge on top of her head, and that increasingly familiar name...

”Seiko, is your mother named Kyoko Kirigiri?” Kotomi couldn’t resist asking, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Seiko smiled and nodded, ”Yes, that was her name before she got married. Now she’s known as Kyoko Naegi, and my father’s name is Makoto Naegi.”

”So, you’re using your mother’s maiden name?” another student asked.

”Yes, exactly. My parents named me Seiko Kirigiri to honor my mom’s maiden name. I also have an older sister named Hibiki Naegi,” Seiko explained.

”That’s such an interesting way to name someone.”

”I’ve heard of that before. It’s a nice way to keep the family name alive.”

Kotomi mentally consulted the God-Level Heroine System. ”System, why are there characters from Danganronpa here?”