Chapter 936 - 936: Kotomi Can't Give Aimi the Gift She Wants

"A reward?! Then what kind of reward are you planning to give me, Onee-chan?!"

Aimi Izumi's eyes immediately lit up when she heard that, and she asked excitedly.

"What kind of reward would you like?" Kotomi Izumi asked with a cheerful smile.

It looked as though she was asking Aimi to guess, but in reality, she was hoping to get some inspiration from her. Although Kotomi Izumi had learned from Iroha Isshiki that morning about Aimi helping a little girl on her way to school, she'd unfortunately been feeling rather sleepy all day. Not long after finishing her conversation with Iroha, she'd fallen fast asleep at her desk.

By the time she woke up, it was already fourth period, with less than three minutes remaining before class ended.

After finishing lunch, Kotomi Izumi couldn't resist taking another nap. Unexpectedly, she slept all the way through to the end of the afternoon classes.

Even Kotomi Izumi herself had no idea why she'd been able to sleep so much today.

After hurriedly packing her schoolbag and informing Hibiki Naegi that she would be skipping today's club activities, she headed straight home.

Having spent practically the entire second half of her school day sleeping, Kotomi Izumi naturally hadn't had much time to think about Aimi's reward.

Although Kotomi Izumi genuinely wanted to reward Aimi, she couldn't immediately think of anything that would truly make her happy. But she'd already promised a reward, so she could only pretend to be keeping it a secret and have Aimi guess what it was. That way, she could find out what Aimi actually wanted.

Then, when the time came, she could act as though she'd already decided on that exact gift and say, "Congratulations! You guessed correctly!"

"Then... Onee-chan, could you come with me this Sunday to buy the special edition of that gal game?"

Aimi Izumi barely hesitated before asking for the thing she wanted most. She wanted to spend the weekend shopping for gal games with Kotomi.

Although Kotomi had already rejected her previous invitation because she wasn't available, now that Kotomi was asking her to guess her reward, Aimi wanted to give it another try. What if her sister actually agreed this time?

Unfortunately, things didn't develop the way Aimi had hoped. Kotomi Izumi smiled somewhat helplessly and said:

"Aimi, I said I wanted to give you a present. Does accompanying you to buy a gal game really count as a present?"

In truth, Kotomi would have much preferred Aimi to ask her for a complete set of store-exclusive bonuses for some gal game. Although those complete sets were expensive, she could genuinely afford them.

But accompanying Aimi to buy gal games this Sunday...

That was something Kotomi Izumi really couldn't do.

After all, she wasn't a ninja and didn't know the Shadow Clone Technique. She'd already promised Iroha Isshiki that they would go on a date this Sunday, so naturally she couldn't accompany Aimi to buy gal games.

"But I just want you to come with me to buy gal games, Onee-chan!"

Seeing that Kotomi hadn't immediately agreed, Aimi muttered unhappily. She was being rather perceptive this time. She knew perfectly well that if Kotomi didn't agree right away, the chances of persuading her afterward were slim.

Aimi immediately felt a little aggrieved. All she wanted was to use buying the store-exclusive gal game edition as an excuse to go on a date with Kotomi this Sunday. Why did Kotomi have to keep rejecting her?

Seeing Aimi's sulky expression, Kotomi Izumi felt helpless too. She genuinely wasn't available this Sunday! But she couldn't exactly tell Aimi, "The reason I'm busy this Sunday is that I'm going on a date with your friend Iroha Isshiki."

At her wits' end, Kotomi Izumi suddenly remembered the release date Aimi had previously mentioned for the store-exclusive gal game edition.

Wasn't it supposed to be released this Saturday?

In that case, there was no need to insist on going shopping on Sunday. They could simply go on Saturday instead!

Kotomi should have some free time on Saturday.

With that thought, Kotomi Izumi suggested:

"Oh, right, Aimi. If I remember correctly, the store-exclusive edition of that gal game you want is being released on Saturday, right? In that case, why don't we just go buy it on Saturday?"

"I'd like that too, but even though the official release date is Saturday, it doesn't actually go on sale until ten o'clock Saturday night. That's when the official purchase page goes live and they start shipping the store-exclusive editions to physical retailers. By the time those editions reach the individual stores, it'll probably already be the middle of the night."

"I see... In that case, if you want to buy it as early as possible, Sunday really is your only option." Kotomi Izumi finally understood.

"And this particular store-exclusive edition has a limited production run. If we get there too late, it might already be sold out!"

"Mm-hmm. I know, I know."

Kotomi Izumi nodded. Store-exclusive bonuses were sometimes like that. If you didn't buy them early enough and they sold out both online and in physical stores, your only option would be to purchase them at inflated prices on secondhand marketplaces. Even then, you weren't guaranteed to find one.

Depending on their popularity, some special editions that originally cost 5,000 yen could immediately shoot up to 10,000 yen once they went out of production.

"Onee-chan~"

Aimi looked at Kotomi Izumi with expectant eyes, hoping her sister would accompany her to buy the store-exclusive gal game edition this Sunday.

In reality, whether she managed to buy the special edition didn't matter that much. Aimi mainly wanted to use the excuse of shopping for it together to enjoy a perfectly natural date with Kotomi on Sunday!

Unfortunately, Aimi had no idea that her good friend Iroha Isshiki had already "stolen" the opportunity to go on a date with Kotomi that Sunday.

Being stared at by Aimi's expectant eyes made Kotomi Izumi soften considerably. She almost instinctively agreed. Fortunately, she managed to stop herself just before the words left her mouth. Otherwise, she would have had no way to explain herself.

Remembering that she'd already made plans with Iroha Isshiki, Kotomi Izumi could only take a discreet deep breath and calm herself down. She needed to avoid letting her resolve crumble again before she could even get her words out.

Once she'd prepared herself mentally, Kotomi Izumi spoke again.

"Aimi, I really would love to accompany you to buy gal games this Sunday, but I genuinely don't have any free time that day. Could you choose a different present instead?"

Kotomi Izumi's earnest tone made Aimi realize that her sister really did have something important to do that day.

Although she was extremely curious about what exactly her sister was doing this Sunday, Aimi also had a vague suspicion that no matter how persistently she questioned her, Kotomi would never tell her the "truth."

Thinking about that, Aimi Izumi had no choice but to pout in disappointment and mutter softly:

"All right. I understand, Onee-chan."

"I'm sorry, Aimi. Apart from that, you can ask for anything you want. As long as it's something I can give you, I'll agree." Kotomi Izumi gently rubbed Aimi's little cheeks and comforted her.

Being promised a present by her older sister should have been something to celebrate. But for some reason, Aimi didn't feel particularly happy right now. She merely muttered:

"I don't even know what present I want anymore..."

"Aimi..."

Seeing how dejected Aimi looked, Kotomi Izumi couldn't help feeling somewhat guilty. But there was nothing she could do about it. If Aimi had asked her a few days earlier, Kotomi would already have agreed by now.

After a long moment, Kotomi Izumi reached out with both hands, gently pinched Aimi's little cheeks, and said with a soft laugh:

"If you still don't know what present you want, there's no need to rush. Take your time and think about it carefully. This promise of mine will never expire. As long as you want to, even if you decide to redeem it several decades from now, I'll still keep my word."

"Really?"

Hearing Kotomi say that, Aimi Izumi's eyes began sparkling again, as though she'd found something new to look forward to.

"Of course it's true." Kotomi Izumi smiled faintly and made her promise with complete sincerity.

"Th-Then I'll save this promise for now. When I decide I want to use it, I'll tell you, Onee-chan," Aimi Izumi said.

"No problem! You can redeem it whenever you like!"

Only after hearing Kotomi repeat her promise did Aimi Izumi finally smile again.

A little while later, having recovered from her disappointment, Aimi began chatting with Kotomi about how she'd performed during her exams at school that day.

"Onee-chan, listen! I'm guaranteed to score at least ninety-five out of a hundred on this mock exam."

"That's really impressive! Keep it up."

"I wish the high school entrance exams would hurry up and arrive~ The sooner they're over, the sooner I can stop worrying about them."

"You silly girl. Everyone else is praying that their entrance exams will arrive as slowly as possible, but here you are hoping they'll come sooner."

"What's so great about having them arrive later? The sooner I finish them, the sooner I'll be done. I wish I could wake up tomorrow morning and discover it's already February," Aimi Izumi replied, sounding genuinely puzzled.

"Haha. I guess that's what people mean when they say everyone has their own way of thinking." Kotomi Izumi chuckled awkwardly.

After dinner, Kotomi Izumi returned to her bedroom and resumed working on the manuscript for Chapter 8 of Chainsaw Man.

She was in excellent form today, and her concentration was particularly good. Combined with the fact that she'd spent most of the day sleeping at school, Kotomi wasn't particularly sleepy right now. So she seized the opportunity and pushed ahead while she was feeling productive, finishing the entire manuscript for Chapter 8 of Chainsaw Man in one sitting.

The first thing she did after finishing was save her work. Otherwise, if the power suddenly went out right after she'd completed everything, she'd be crying her eyes out with nowhere to turn.

Only after safely saving the manuscript did Kotomi Izumi stretch her wrists. She closed her eyes and rested for a few minutes, then opened the first page and began checking the manuscript for Chapter 8.

She continued checking it for an entire half hour.

"Onee-chan, have a glass of milk and take a break."

Having finished her bath, Aimi walked into Kotomi's bedroom carrying a glass of hot milk sweetened with a sugar cube.

Whenever Kotomi drank hot milk, she liked adding one sugar cube. Previously, she'd preferred adding only half a cube. Aimi remembered every single one of Kotomi Izumi's little preferences and habits with perfect clarity.

Aimi might forget what she herself liked. She might even forget her own birthday. But she would never forget what Kotomi liked, nor would she ever forget Kotomi's birthday.

Because in Aimi's heart, Kotomi was more important than her own life!

"Thank you~"

Kotomi Izumi cheerfully accepted the hot milk her younger sister had prepared for her. Since she'd practically finished checking the manuscript anyway, she leaned back in her chair and leisurely sipped the hot milk with its single sugar cube.

Seeing how relaxed Kotomi Izumi looked, then glancing at the completed manga manuscript displayed on the computer, Aimi Izumi guessed that her sister had already finished drawing it.

"Onee-chan, have you finished the manuscript for the latest chapter of Chainsaw Man?"

"Mm. I was in pretty good form today, so I took advantage of it and finished the entire thing in one go. It feels pretty nice, actually. There's a real sense of accomplishment." Kotomi Izumi smiled cheerfully and didn't forget to stretch afterward.

"If you could maintain that kind of productivity all the time, you wouldn't have to worry about deadlines for either your novels or your manga."

"I wish I could maintain this kind of creative momentum every day! Unfortunately, days like this are incredibly rare. If I could consistently stay in such excellent creative form, I'd happily write at least ten thousand words every single day!" Kotomi Izumi declared without the slightest exaggeration.

"Then when was the last time you wrote more than ten thousand words in one day, Onee-chan?"

"Uh... Well..."

Faced with Aimi's question, Kotomi Izumi suddenly found herself speechless. She felt a little embarrassed and couldn't come up with an answer.

Because it genuinely had been a very long time since she'd last written more than ten thousand words in a single day.

After spending a little more time in Kotomi's bedroom, Aimi noticed that it was getting late and returned to her own room. After all, she still had school tomorrow.

Actually, Aimi had originally wanted to sleep in Kotomi's bedroom tonight. However, Kotomi was planning to play Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty for a while before going to bed. She was worried that she might get carried away and play until very late, disturbing Aimi's sleep, so she hadn't allowed Aimi to stay in her bedroom tonight.

"Mm. I can squeeze in a little over an hour of gaming before bed."

Kotomi Izumi glanced at the time on her phone, connected her controller, opened Steam, and prepared to start playing Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, a game she'd been looking forward to for ages.

Once she started playing, she ended up continuing straight into the middle of the night.

...

Several days later.

Friday.

An entire week had passed in the blink of an eye.

With the ringing of the school bell, Friday's classes finally came to an end.

Back on Monday, she'd been thinking about how unbearably long the week would be. Yet now that Friday had arrived, she suddenly felt as though the entire week had flown by.

However, that feeling quickly disappeared. Right now, Kotomi Izumi had only three things on her mind: playing games to her heart's content on Friday, sleeping in as much as possible on Saturday, and thoroughly enjoying her date with Iroha on Sunday.

"Friday afternoons and evenings are the most relaxing times of the entire week. Just knowing that you have two days off ahead of you is enough to let you completely immerse yourself in relaxation. To make sure I spend every moment of Friday afternoon and evening perfectly, I've even drawn up a schedule."

Kotomi Izumi chatted with Megumi Kato as they walked home from school.

"Oh? What kind of schedule?"

Megumi Kato asked curiously. She'd originally assumed that Kotomi's Friday schedule would include something like "spending some alone time with Megumi." However, when she saw the schedule Kotomi had handwritten in her notebook, Megumi couldn't help feeling her expression darken slightly.

Kotomi's schedule contained nothing but gaming, followed by even more gaming.

For example, after getting home from school, she planned to spend three hours playing Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, followed by another two hours of Apex Legends, one full hour of which would be devoted entirely to using the R-99 and Charge Rifle. After that, she planned to spend another two hours playing Atomic Heart, among other things.

Her schedule was packed, but every single activity involved playing video games.

Megumi Kato immediately felt a little jealous. She'd originally been hoping to visit Kotomi's bedroom and spend some affectionate time alone with her. Unexpectedly, that little penguin Kotomi had nothing but gaming, gaming, and more gaming on her mind!

However, after thinking about it from another perspective, Megumi Kato realized that Kotomi being addicted to video games was at least far better than Kotomi secretly flirting with other girls behind her back.

Once she thought about it that way, the jealousy Megumi Kato had been feeling immediately eased considerably.

—

—

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven