All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

—You’re Shizuka Hiratsuka’s girlfriend, aren’t you?

When Saori Funamoto said that, Kotomi Izumi knew perfectly well that, regardless of how Yukino might react, Yui would definitely feel terrible inside.

Given Yui’s personality, even if she felt awful, she might not say anything. She would simply bottle it up and suffer alone.

Yui Yuigahama had never truly lost her temper at Kotomi. Even the few times she had gotten sulky before, a simple hug and a bit of coaxing from Kotomi had been enough to soothe her.

Yui was not the kind of girl who was so strong that she never cried. It was simply that she had unconditional trust and tolerance toward Kotomi. So even if Kotomi did something that made her unhappy, Yui would keep telling herself in her heart:

It’s not Kotomi’s fault. It must be that I didn’t do something well enough. Kotomi only did this on purpose to punish me.

Or else:

It’s not Kotomi’s fault. Kotomi could never be wrong! It must be someone else’s fault! Kotomi is too pure. If she meets a bad person, she might be led astray. There’s only one way to prevent that… I’ll keep Kotomi in a very safe little house that only I know about. That way, she won’t see anyone else. She’ll only have me in her eyes!

Very few people are truly strong. No matter how strong someone appears, there is always a soft, fragile side within. The difference is simply that some people are better at hiding it.

And Yui had never been strong.

Kotomi’s assessment of her had always been accurate. Yui tended to overthink, yet her gentle nature meant she would never take the initiative to voice her feelings.

Kotomi understood Yui’s personality clearly. Otherwise, she would not dare to tease her so brazenly every time, deliberately making her jealous.

When Yui felt uncomfortable inside, she would cry to Kotomi.

So back when Saori had said those words, Kotomi had discreetly glanced at Yui and thought to herself:

Yui might cry about this later. I need to prepare an explanation in advance. If it were just the two of us, that would be easy. Yui’s a bit silly—I could make up any story and smooth it over, coax her back into happiness without much effort.

But the explanation I come up with now won’t be just for Yui. I’ll have to say it in front of Yukino as well. If I use my usual way of… ahem… explaining things to Yui, Yukino definitely won’t believe it.

Reluctant as I am to admit it, the phrase ”keenly intelligent” really does suit that tsundere ice-queen little tigress.

Speech was the truest expression of linguistic art.

Being good with words might sound like an innate talent—either you have it or you don’t. But in reality, with practice, it becomes second nature.

After telling lies too many times… ahem, after speaking with high emotional intelligence too many times, Kotomi quickly devised a set of explanations in her mind that would work for both Yukino and Yui.

But what if they didn’t believe her?

Whether Yukino would believe her, Kotomi could not guarantee. But she was absolutely confident that Yui would.

When it came to decei—no, comforting Yui, Kotomi had both experience and confidence.

Even if Yui still had doubts after hearing her explanation, Kotomi had a foolproof strategy: strike first.

If Yui still looked unconvinced, Kotomi would immediately scrunch up her face and burst into tears pitifully.

Faced with a tearful Kotomi, Yui’s already limited brain capacity would have no room left to question whether Kotomi was telling the truth. Her entire mind would be consumed with one thought—how to make Kotomi happy again.

Back to the present.

Because she understood Yui’s personality so well, Kotomi often teased her without fear, deliberately provoking her jealousy.

Ordinarily, no matter how aggrieved or heartbroken Yui felt, she would endure it. She would wait until it was just the two of them before breaking down in tears and asking for Kotomi’s embrace.

It was not only because Yui was thin-skinned.

There was another reason—she believed that as Kotomi’s girlfriend, she had to preserve Kotomi’s dignity.

So when the three of them were together, even if she wanted to cry, Yui would try her best to hold it in. If Yukino saw her crying, she felt Kotomi might lose face.

Until one minute ago, Yui had still been thinking this way.

Even after hearing Saori say that Kotomi was Shizuka Hiratsuka’s girlfriend, Yui had felt miserable inside. Yet she bit her lower lip lightly, repeatedly telling herself:

Saori said it, not Kotomi. Maybe it’s just a baseless joke.