"Is that so? Then Kika-nee, you'd better remember it clearly. Don't forget again later—you did say your memory isn't very good, didn't you?"
After understanding, Kotomi Izumi couldn't help but tease her half-jokingly.
"Don't worry. When I get home, I'll write it down on paper and stick it on the wall. I definitely won't forget."
Ayani Kika said confidently. After speaking, she deliberately kept some suspense and added:
"Actually, I've already started guessing whether you'll choose A or B by then. How about we play a little game?"
"What game?"
"Let's see whether my guess is accurate. If the option you say later matches what I'm thinking, then we both win. As a reward for winning, I'll tell you a secret. If your answer doesn't match mine, then we both lose, and there's no reward."
"Eh... come on, how would I know what option you're thinking of? Besides, if we're going to play, shouldn't it be your guessed option compared with mine? If they match, you win; if they don't, I win. That would be fair, right? The rules you just proposed are fine otherwise, but tying both our wins and losses together like that is way too cunning!"
At this point, Kotomi Izumi added with a bit of dissatisfaction:
"I'm starting to suspect you set it up this way just to keep your secret and not tell me on purpose."
"Nope~ We're doing it exactly the way I said. If not, then this game won't happen at all."
When Ayani Kika said this, there was a hint of childish stubbornness in her tone, making Kotomi feel inexplicably helpless. She could only protest unhappily:
"That's cheating. It's not fair at all!"
"Kotomi-chan, let me teach you something school won't. If a rule is made by someone, then that rule can never be absolutely fair. Remember that, okay?" Ayani Kika said meaningfully.
"I... I'll remember it."
Kotomi nodded, subconsciously reflecting on Kika's words.
"Good~ Then it's happily decided." Ayani Kika's laughter grew more cheerful.
"Eh?" Kotomi froze. "Remember what?"
"Of course, it means we've decided to start this little game. Heh, Kotomi, don't tell me you're trying to back out? Or are you scared?"
Faced with Kika's teasing, Kotomi's cheeks flushed red, and she replied unwillingly:
"How could I be scared? I just think your rules are way too unfair. Fine, I'll play if you want to play. Who's afraid of who? I, Kotomi Izumi, am super brave!"
After saying that, she seemed to remember something and added:
"By the way, is there a time limit for this game?"
"No time limit at all. Whether you say your answer in an hour or years later, it's fine."
"Phew, good. No time limit is great. After all, once I go back to Chiba, I'll be busy again." Kotomi let out a sigh of relief.
"Haha, the way you say that doesn't sound like a high school girl at all. You sound more like a big boss who has hundreds of millions flowing into her account every minute, living a simple yet busy life every day," Ayani Kika laughed.
"High schoolers have things to be busy with too..." Kotomi sighed in an exaggeratedly world-weary tone.
"Busy juggling more than a dozen relationships?"
"Yeah, having many girlfriends is nice, but trying to balance them and avoid situations where kings meet kings takes a lot of effort... Ah, no, that's not it! I'm not busy juggling a dozen relationships! You're making me sound like a scumbag!"
Faced with Kotomi openly talking about her harem, Ayani Kika didn't get angry. She simply asked lightly:
"Isn't that the case?"
"I mean writing novels and drawing manga!"
Pretending not to hear Kika's question, Kotomi quickly explained about her novels and manga.
"Because of deadlines?"
Since Ayani Kika knew Kotomi was both a novelist and a manga artist, she wasn't surprised after hearing the reason.
"Yeah. The novel deadlines are fine—I type pretty fast. If I focus, writing twenty to thirty thousand words in a day isn't a problem. But drawing manga isn't like writing novels. Just because I type fast doesn't mean pages will magically appear.
And the manga publisher I signed with happens to require weekly updates.
And for the past few days, I've been busy eating, drinking, and having fun in Kyoto. It's not that I haven't drawn anything for the latest chapter... it's more like when I get home, I'll have to draw on my tablet so intensely it sparks, just to finish before the deadline."
Just as Ayani Kika had said before, Kotomi's feelings toward her were less like those of a lover and more like reliance on an older sister.
Ever since meeting Ayani Kika, whenever she had worries, Kotomi couldn't help but want to talk to her. Even if Kika couldn't give particularly useful advice, just saying it out loud to her made Kotomi feel lighter.
Over time, without realizing it, Kotomi developed this kind of dependence on her, like relying on an older sister.
Just like now—when talking about returning to Chiba and becoming busy due to the manga deadline—Kotomi couldn't help but confide a lot to Ayani Kika.
Even though Kotomi knew that Kika didn't really understand manga very well.
"Although I don't know much about manga, my younger brother has read a few before. I didn't expect creating one to be this hard. The deadline is coming soon—are you okay handling it alone? If there's anything I can help with, you have to tell me. It's just a pity I can't draw, otherwise I could help you with a few pages," Ayani Kika said gently after listening to her.
"If I could sit in Kika-nee's lap while working on my draft, my efficiency would definitely increase several times over~" Kotomi said with a deliberately wistful tone.
It sounded like a simple daydream while working, but in reality, it revealed her true intention.
That's right—bringing up the deadline from the beginning had all been paving the way for this moment.
Just as Kotomi waited expectantly for Kika's response, Ayani Kika replied naturally and matter-of-factly:
"Sure."
Ayani Kika agreed so readily that Kotomi Izumi—who had only meant it as a playful remark—took quite a while to fully process it.
"R-Really?" Kotomi asked, a little incredulous. But after thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem that unreasonable.
After all, they had already been intimate. Wanting to sit in Kika's lap while working, and Kika agreeing to it, felt only natural.
"Of course it's real. Although your feelings for me are still like flowers seen through fog, no matter what, we already share the reality of being husband and wife. If you want to sit in my lap while working, of course I'll agree—as long as you truly want it. Kotomi, do you want to sit in my lap while working?"
"I do! Of course I do! How could I not!" Kotomi said, her face flushed red.
"Is that so? Then I'll go home and pack my luggage right now," Ayani Kika said with a smile.
"Eh? Why are you packing your luggage?"
Kotomi often felt like she couldn't keep up with Kika's sudden jumps in conversation. One moment they were talking about sitting in her lap to work, and the next, Kika was talking about packing to leave.
Hearing Kotomi's confusion, Ayani Kika laughed as if she had just heard an innocent question from a child.
Listening to her laughter, Kotomi's face reddened in embarrassment. She wanted to ask why Kika was laughing, but she had a feeling it was because of the question she had just asked.
I was just asking why she's packing... what's so funny? Was that really such a childish question? Kotomi thought to herself, her cheeks burning.
"If you want to sit in my lap while working, then I need to be by your side first, don't I? Since you're going back to Chiba, naturally I have to pack my things and go there to find you. But... that also brings up some problems. For example, where would I stay while I'm in Chiba with you? At your house? And if I do stay at your house, what reason would I give your parents?"
After hearing this, Kotomi first understood—then immediately panicked.
"No, no! Just pretend I never said anything about 'sitting in your lap while working.' You absolutely must not come to Chiba to find me—at least not right now!"
"What? You don't want your family to know about me? That makes sense... after all, I'm just a geisha. Sorry, I almost caused you trouble. I was being too presumptuous..."
Ayani Kika's lively tone suddenly dropped, her voice now filled with faint grievance and quiet compromise.
"Kika-nee, that's not what I meant! Of course I want to introduce you to my family—to tell my parents and my sister that you're my girlfriend.
"Kika-nee, you're so elegant, well-mannered, and beautiful—my parents and sister would definitely like you and accept you. With my mom's personality, she might even push us to go to the city office next month to register our marriage.
"I really do want you to come stay at my house. My bed is pretty big! It's just..."
At this point, Kotomi hesitated, as if she felt too embarrassed to say the rest.
"It's just what?" Ayani Kika asked, her tone still carrying a hint of grievance.
"It's just... if you come to Chiba, there's a high chance you'll run into my other girlfriends. For example, Megumi—she lives very close to my house. We basically walk to and from school together every day."
Kotomi said this with some difficulty.
She knew that if she wanted a harem, then sooner or later her girlfriends would meet each other. When that happened, it could turn into a bloodbath... or a silent undercurrent... or maybe even a harmonious coexistence.
But no matter what, that was something for the future.
Kotomi absolutely did not want to trigger such a massive battlefield right now.
After all, she had just experienced being stabbed once... she didn't want to be chopped into pieces next time.
"No wonder she became your first girlfriend. She has the advantage of proximity," Ayani Kika commented calmly.
However, that comment wasn't entirely accurate. The one who truly had the advantage of proximity wasn't Megumi Kato, but Aimi Izumi.
Yet, judging from the current progress of Aimi Izumi and Kotomi's relationship...
It wasn't hard to see that Aimi hadn't made use of that advantage at all.
Of course, in Aimi's own mind, she felt extremely confident, believing she had perfectly utilized that advantage, far surpassing Megumi. She had even started thinking about what she would say to mock the "loser" Megumi Kato once Kotomi completely fell in love with her.
"Hahaha... I guess so," Kotomi laughed awkwardly.
"But I can hear the hesitation in your voice.
Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. If I go to Chiba now and stay at your house, your girlfriends will likely find out. Even if just one of them does, facing their slightly jealous questioning would already be difficult for you to handle.
Not to mention, you haven't figured out how to explain our relationship to them yet, have you?"
Ayani Kika analyzed calmly, sentence by sentence. Kotomi almost wanted to applaud—Kika had basically voiced all of her concerns.
"If I had you on speaker right now, I'd definitely be clapping already.
Kika-nee, you're absolutely right. When I heard you say you wanted to come to my house, I felt both happy and excited, but at the same time I couldn't help worrying about all sorts of things. I really want you to come, but I haven't figured out how to explain things to my girlfriends yet."
At the end, Kotomi even let out a soft, dejected sigh to emphasize her feelings.
"I don't think the only thing you haven't figured out is how to explain our relationship to your girlfriends. There are many explanations you haven't figured out.
"For example, have you figured out how to explain your relationship with Yui to Megumi?
"Or to put it the other way around—have you figured out how to explain your relationship with Megumi to Yui?"
This string of questions left Kotomi speechless, making her want to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.
She wanted to stubbornly argue a little, but after hesitating for a long time, she could only force out an honest answer:
"I haven't figured out any of it..."
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