Chapter 933 Guess What the Gift Is?

Hearing Aimi speak with such righteous conviction, Kotomi Izumi couldn't help freezing for a moment.

"Megumi has ulterior motives toward me?!"

"Megumi, Megumi, Megumi... Every time you see Megumi Kato, Onee-chan, you keep calling her Megumi! Can't you stop addressing her so affectionately? Anyone who didn't know better would think she's your girlfriend! What, have you actually fallen in love with her, Onee-chan?!"

Aimi Izumi spoke with jealousy in her voice. Every time she heard her older sister address Megumi Kato or another girl so affectionately, Aimi couldn't stop the waves of jealousy rising in her heart.

That's right. I fell in love with Megumi Kato a long time ago, and we've already become lovers.

Faced with her jealous little sister, Kotomi Izumi instinctively thought this to herself. But she also knew she absolutely couldn't say it aloud right now. Otherwise, little Aimi would definitely explode with anger. All Kotomi could do was smile helplessly.

"There's nothing wrong with calling her Megumi, is there? Megumi Kato and I are pretty close, so that's what I call her. It's not particularly intimate, right? It feels like a perfectly ordinary nickname between friends. And I'm not the only one. Yukino and the others all call her Megumi too."

Having said that, Kotomi Izumi didn't forget to add:

"We're already good friends, so calling her Miss Kato would feel strange just thinking about it."

"But—"

Aimi wasn't satisfied with her sister's explanation. She didn't just want her sister to keep her distance from Megumi Kato. She wanted her to maintain a certain distance from every other girl!

Whenever Aimi saw her sister acting affectionately with other girls, she felt extremely uncomfortable, even if she didn't say anything. In her opinion, even friends didn't need to be that intimate, did they?

Besides, Megumi Kato's intentions toward Kotomi were anything but innocent!

Aimi Izumi knew that perfectly well!

After being provoked by Megumi Kato several times, Aimi had long since seen through her. Megumi Kato liked Kotomi and wanted Kotomi to become her girlfriend!

How could Aimi possibly accept that? She had liked Kotomi ever since childhood, and as she grew older, Aimi's feelings toward Kotomi had already evolved from "liking" into "love"!

How could Aimi, who regarded Kotomi as the person she loved, possibly allow Megumi Kato to steal her away?!

Before Aimi could come up with anything to refute her sister's words, Kotomi Izumi gently pulled her into an embrace.

"All right, all right. I know you and Megumi don't get along. Although I'd really like the two of you to become friends, and Megumi wants to get along with you too, you can't force these things. Whether you want to get along with Megumi or not is ultimately up to you."

Kotomi Izumi spoke gently. Aimi was growing up, and Kotomi couldn't keep lecturing her about everything. So she decided to respect Aimi's choice.

If Aimi wanted to get along with Megumi Kato, everyone would be happy.

If Aimi didn't want to get along with Megumi Kato, there was nothing Kotomi could do about it. After all, situations like that really did occur frequently between people. Sometimes, even when the other person hadn't done anything wrong, you simply found them inexplicably irritating.

Kotomi didn't know whether there was any scientific basis for this phenomenon. After all, she wasn't some omniscient heroine who knew everything about heaven and earth.

Perhaps there was an explanation, but she simply hadn't read the relevant research.

Besides, the terrible relationship between Aimi and Megumi Kato wasn't actually caused by anything like that. Sometimes, Megumi Kato really could drive Aimi absolutely crazy. They argued practically every time they met, with Aimi always being the one to start the confrontation and always suffering a crushing defeat.

How could their relationship possibly improve under those circumstances?

Even if they wanted to become friendly, it wasn't something a few words could resolve.

Kotomi Izumi had worried about this for quite some time. After all, Megumi Kato was her girlfriend, so naturally she didn't want her younger sister and her girlfriend to have such a terrible relationship.

She had also made several attempts to improve the relationship between Aimi and Megumi Kato. But after failing repeatedly, Kotomi Izumi simply gave up. She decided to stop trying and let them do whatever they wanted.

Aimi buried her little head in Kotomi's embrace and muttered:

"There's absolutely no way I'll ever get along with Megumi Kato. It'd be best if an awful woman like her never appeared in front of me again!"

"Hahaha."

Kotomi Izumi laughed helplessly, gently stroking Aimi's little head while comforting her in a soft voice.

Before long, it was time for dinner.

Kotomi Izumi took Aimi downstairs to eat.

After dinner, Kotomi was sitting in the living room watching a live performance by a female idol group when Kaneyoshi Izumi suddenly said with a smile:

"Oh, right, Kotomi. Daddy bought you a present on his way home from work today. Guess what it is."

"A present?! What is it?" Hearing her father say that, Kotomi Izumi immediately perked up. Her adorable little eyes sparkled with excitement as she asked.

"Heh-heh~ Take a guess." Kaneyoshi Izumi deliberately kept her in suspense instead of revealing the answer.

"A new phone!"

"Nope. Didn't you just buy a new phone?"

"A KFC Family Bucket! Wait, no. It's not Crazy Thursday yet."

"Of course it's not a KFC Family Bucket. If it were, I would've brought it out during dinner."

"Koala's March cookies?"

"There are still three bags of those cookies in the kitchen."

Kotomi Izumi came up with plenty of possibilities, but every single guess received a negative answer.

She made several guesses in a row without getting a single one right.

Kotomi Izumi immediately sighed in disappointment and rubbed her little head.

"Everything I guess is wrong. Daddy, if you don't tell me soon, I'm going to start wondering whether I've turned into an idiot."

"Maybe you were an idiot to begin with," Akina Izumi remarked, seizing the perfect opportunity to deliver another blow.

Pfft!

A follow-up attack dealing double critical damage!

"Mom!!!"

Kotomi Izumi puffed out her cheeks angrily and protested in dissatisfaction.

"Heh-heh-heh~"

Akina Izumi chuckled wickedly, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Her favorite pastime was teasing her two precious daughters whenever she had nothing better to do.

Seeing his precious eldest daughter sulking, Kaneyoshi Izumi burst out laughing too. He finally brought out the presents he'd prepared. He had a feeling that even if he let Kotomi keep guessing, she might never get the answer right. She might even become so discouraged by her repeated failures that she'd withdraw into herself.

"Your presents are, of course—the Resident Evil 4 Remake and the PS5 DualSense Edge controller you've wanted for ages but have been hesitating to buy!"

The moment Kotomi Izumi saw the two presents her father had brought out, her eyes lit up, and she cheered excitedly:

"Yay! Thank you, Daddy!!!"

As a longtime player of the Resident Evil series, Kotomi Izumi naturally knew that the Resident Evil 4 Remake had recently gone on sale. However, for various reasons, she hadn't gotten around to purchasing it on Steam.

Unexpectedly, her father had bought her a physical collector's edition!

And the PS5 DualSense Edge was a new controller Kotomi Izumi had been thinking about constantly lately. She really wanted one, but she'd only just bought a new PS5. The controller included with the console was also brand-new, and she'd used it fewer than ten times since bringing it home. Naturally, the DualSense Edge's hefty price made her hesitate.

It wasn't that Kotomi Izumi couldn't afford it. She simply didn't want to waste money. After all, she already had more than enough gaming controllers. Even if she bought the premium controller, she might not remember to use it very often after bringing it home.

But whenever Kotomi Izumi looked at the DualSense Edge's specifications, she couldn't help wanting one.

She wanted it, but she was hesitant. After wavering for ages, she'd suddenly feel an impulse to press the purchase button. Yet once that impulse carried her all the way to the checkout screen, she'd start hesitating again. After another long internal struggle, she'd ultimately close the checkout page.

With that mindset, Kotomi Izumi had been coveting the DualSense Edge for ages without ever placing an order.

She had originally planned to buy it next year. Unexpectedly, her father had already bought it for her. Kotomi Izumi was so delighted that she could barely string her words together.

"Huh... Capcom really is the king of recycling old games. I can't believe they've even remade Resident Evil 4," Akina Izumi remarked in surprise when she came over to take a look.

"Right? I only found out today that they'd released a remake of Resident Evil 4. I originally went to the game store to buy Kotomi the DualSense Edge, but when I walked inside, I saw the collector's edition of Resident Evil 4 Remake displayed on the counter directly opposite the entrance. So I bought it along with the controller," Kaneyoshi Izumi explained with a smile.

"Heh-heh! With the power of the DualSense Edge, I feel like I can complete the game and unlock every achievement!" Kotomi Izumi declared confidently.

Before she'd even finished speaking, Akina Izumi cheerfully teased her:

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Even with a premium controller, there's no way you'll unlock every achievement."

"Why not?" Kotomi Izumi protested, unconvinced.

"Obviously, it's because you little rascal love playing horror games despite being such a scaredy-cat! Every time you launch a game, you're brimming with confidence. But the moment you enter an indoor area or somewhere with dim lighting, you completely chicken out.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten that your father and I were the ones who earned your platinum trophy in Resident Evil Village. Otherwise, with how easily you get frightened, just the part where you first enter the village and get chased from every direction would have you panicking so badly that you wouldn't even remember which buttons to press!"

Akina Izumi laid out her evidence point by point with impeccable logic. After finishing, she grinned and poked Kotomi Izumi's little cheek.

Kotomi Izumi's cheeks immediately turned red. The reason was simple: everything her mother had said was true!

And it wasn't just Resident Evil Village. Practically every game in the Resident Evil series that the family owned followed the same pattern. After buying a new game, Kotomi would try playing it herself for a while.

But in less than ten minutes, she'd become too frightened to continue. Then she'd have no choice but to ask her parents to play for her while she watched from the sidelines, wrapped up in her little blanket.

Seeing Kotomi looking so embarrassed, Kaneyoshi Izumi promptly changed the subject.

"That's not entirely fair. The Resident Evil series really does an excellent job of creating a frightening atmosphere, so it's perfectly normal for Kotomi to get scared. I still remember playing the original Resident Evil for the first time when I was in middle school.

"During the opening section, when I first entered the mansion and encountered that first zombie, the way it turned around and 'smiled' at me gave me a tremendous fright, even though the graphics weren't particularly good back then."

"Now that you mention it, I remember that too. That classic over-the-shoulder look from the original game really was the stuff of childhood nightmares. Somehow, the same moment in the remake wasn't nearly as terrifying."

Akina Izumi spoke nostalgically before turning toward Kotomi with a wicked grin.

"Come on, Kotomi. Why don't you predict how long you'll manage to play Resident Evil 4 Remake by yourself this time?"

"I'm all grown up now! I'm not the same person who was too scared to play horror games anymore! This time, I'll complete the whole game and unlock every achievement all by myself!" Kotomi Izumi declared confidently.

"Oh~ Really? Then why don't you start playing right now?" Akina Izumi continued provoking her.

"Sure!"

Kotomi Izumi took the bait and agreed immediately without thinking.

Just then, Aimi, who had finished washing the dishes, came over and asked curiously:

"What's going on? What's going on?"

Kotomi Izumi briefly explained what had just happened.

"Oh, so that's what this is about. Onee-chan, I think Mom's right. With how easily you get scared, I'm really not sure you can complete Resident Evil 4 Remake and unlock every achievement all by yourself," Aimi Izumi said rationally.

"Aimi, you don't believe I can do it by myself either?" Kotomi Izumi asked, sounding rather aggrieved.

"Because when you played Resident Evil Village before, you barely managed to reach the part where you first entered the village. You hadn't even made it to the castle before those zombies chasing you all over the village frightened you so badly that you couldn't keep playing," Aimi Izumi replied helplessly.

"Hmph! Resident Evil Village is Resident Evil Village. This time, it's Resident Evil 4 Remake! I'm definitely going to redeem myself with some high-level Leon 'the Villager Slayer' Kennedy gameplay! And I'll unlock every achievement too!"

As Kotomi Izumi spoke, she switched on the PS5.

Twenty minutes later.

"Waaah... I don't dare play anymore."

Kotomi Izumi hugged a pillow and hid behind Aimi, looking utterly pitiful as she spoke.

Seeing Kotomi finally admit defeat, Akina Izumi glanced down at the time on her phone, then nodded approvingly.

"Mm. You lasted twenty minutes. That's still an improvement. Last time, when you played Resident Evil Village, you gave up after just ten minutes."

At this point, Kotomi Izumi couldn't even muster the energy to keep pretending she was brave. All she could do was turn toward her father.

"Daddy, I'm counting on you to get my platinum trophy."

"Haha, sure. I'll make a little progress today, then start playing seriously this Friday. But Kotomi, you can always try playing it yourself too. You have to give everything a try at least once," Kaneyoshi Izumi reassured her with a smile.

"I'll try playing it myself after I've watched you finish it once, Daddy," Kotomi Izumi replied timidly.

It was rather strange when she thought about it. Normally, when she watched Resident Evil gameplay commentary videos, she didn't find them particularly frightening. But the moment she had to play the games herself, she would start getting nervous and fumbling with the controls.

Tonight, the Izumi family sat together on the living room sofa, playing Resident Evil 4 Remake. Sometimes Kaneyoshi Izumi took the controller, sometimes Akina Izumi played, and even Aimi gave it a try for a while.

Let's just spend the time before bed relaxing with my family~

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