All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

”I guess I really don’t look like the type of girl who enjoys reading, huh? Actually, you weren’t wrong at all. I’m the kind of person who barely reads anything besides manga. The first time I ever tried reading a novel—can’t even remember what it was called—I didn’t get what those book bloggers meant when they said novels could pull you into another world.”

”Honestly, staring at all those words on the page, the only thing I felt was boredom. I tried reading a few paragraphs, but I just couldn’t go on.”

”Then, just a few days ago, our homeroom teacher told us to read any book we liked and write a review of at least 800 words. When I heard that, I was totally dumbfounded. Forget 800 words—I didn’t even think I could finish reading a whole book. But since it was homework, I had no choice but to force myself to go to the bookstore.”

”While browsing, I found this one on a shelf. Apparently, the author’s really famous—there were posters and displays all around it. The cover and tagline caught my eye, so I decided to buy it.”

”When I got home, I opened the first page, telling myself I’d try to read as much as I could… and before I knew it, an hour had passed. I’d read dozens of pages without realizing it, and I still didn’t want to stop.”

”I ended up staying up all night and finishing the whole book. The next day, when I wrote my book report, I went over a thousand words! Can you believe it? I used to think book reports were the hardest thing in the world. Every word I wrote felt forced and lifeless—writing even one extra word felt like evolution. But this time, writing about this book, I actually went two hundred words over the minimum.”

As she spoke, Ruriya picked up the book from the table and pointed at the title.

”By the way, Kotomi, have you read this one? ’Evening Rain of Sayoyo’ by Takamine. I’ve already finished it once, but it’s got this kind of magic that makes me want to read it again. I even went and bought all of Takamine’s other novels recently, hehe. Luckily, she hasn’t published too many yet. Otherwise, my allowance for the month would’ve been completely gone~”

Kotomi smiled softly. ”I’ve definitely heard of Takamine-sensei—she’s really famous. But I’ve never actually taken the time to sit down and finish one of her books.”

”Then you have to read it!” Ruriya said enthusiastically.

She’d been feeling a bit frustrated lately. Ever since finishing Evening Rain of Sayoyo, she’d had so many thoughts she wanted to share—but none of her friends liked reading. Talking to them about novels was hopeless. Some of them probably didn’t even know who Takamine was.

It couldn’t be helped, really. Ruriya herself had never been into books before, and most of her friends were the same. In fact, they probably didn’t even understand why she’d suddenly become so obsessed with reading.

She had tried to recommend Evening Rain of Sayoyo and Takamine’s other novels to her friend Ruka Ishikawa. Every time, Ruka promised she would read them—but Ruriya knew her too well. They’d been friends since kindergarten, and if she didn’t understand ninety percent of Ruka’s personality by now, she might as well not know her at all.

And one thing she knew for sure: Ruka Ishikawa hated reading. Just like Ruriya once had.

So she hadn’t really expected Ruka to actually read anything.

But now that she knew Kotomi Izumi liked reading, Ruriya was thrilled. Because she was sure that if Kotomi picked up Takamine’s books, even if she hadn’t read them before, she’d quickly get lost in them too.

In Takamine’s literary world, the two of them would have endless things to talk about.

Sharing—it was one of humanity’s most natural instincts.

Sharing didn’t always mean giving something away. Sometimes, it simply meant telling someone about something good you’d found—letting them discover it too.

That kind of sharing often carried a subtle hint of pride, as if to say: Look, I found something wonderful.

That was probably why social media was flooded with product reviews and unboxing videos.

”Eh?”

Kotomi Izumi looked a little confused as Ruriya Hojo grew more and more animated.

”Not just Evening Rain of Sayoyo, but Takamine-sensei’s other works are also really interesting! I’m planning to start The Black Goat’s Egg tonight. I heard that at the end of this year, Takamine-sensei will begin writing a new novel. Unlike before, this one and her next few works will all share the same universe—it’ll be a full series.”