All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

After returning to her room, just as Izumi Kotomi was about to open her G-oogle browser to search for Amazon's website and start purchasing computer parts, she received a message from Yukinoshita Haruno.

[Hope I'm not disturbing you, Izumi-sensei. I've finished reading the plot outline for Sword Art Online Volume 2. I originally thought it would continue with Kirito searching for Asuna, but I didn't expect the main stage to remain in Aincrad. However, this time the storyline feels more like an anthology, with each story making Aincrad's world and its characters feel even more real.]

Izumi Kotomi nodded in agreement as she read Yukinoshita Haruno's analysis of Volume 2.

Even though she hadn't yet started writing the main text for Volume 2, Yukinoshita Haruno's guesses were already about one-fifth correct.

Izumi Kotomi thought for a moment and then typed a reply:

[Yes, that was the approach I had in mind when I was initially outlining the story. Although I could have started a new chapter, Fairy Dance, in Volume 2 without any problem, I wanted to use another volume to thoroughly explore the stories that happened in Aincrad.]

[Izumi-sensei, you really are meticulous with your writing.]

[It's not just about being meticulous. In the upcoming plot, Aincrad, which ends with the game's completion, still holds significant importance. In fact, all subsequent plots in Sword Art Online are intricately tied to the initial SAO arc.]

Upon reading Izumi Kotomi's response, Yukinoshita Haruno was taken aback. She had initially assumed that the massive floating stone and steel fortress, Aincrad, would disappear from Sword Art Online's world once the SAO arc concluded. Even if it were mentioned again, she thought it would only be in passing, as a remark made by Kirito.

But to her surprise, Aincrad would not fade away with the conclusion of the SAO arc; rather, it would become the focal point for all future developments in Sword Art Online.

Izumi Kotomi seemed to have planned everything from the very beginning, with every plot point intricately connected as if even the smallest foreshadowing could influence the entire story's direction.

If she could, Yukinoshita Haruno would love to visit Izumi Kotomi's home and see how much material and outline work she had done for Sword Art Online.

However, even if she did visit, she wouldn't see any materials or outlines because Izumi Kotomi had never written them down.

Not only had she never written them down, but she also hadn't written a single word of Volume 2's main text.

[It's truly impressive! I'll look forward to reading Volume 2 of Sword Art Online when it's finished. I won't keep you any longer—good night.]

Reading Yukinoshita Haruno's encouraging response, Izumi Kotomi felt a bit embarrassed and murmured:

"I haven't actually written a single word of Volume 2 yet..."

She initially wanted to send this message to Yukinoshita Haruno, but Kotomi worried that if Haruno found out, she might turn dark, lock her in a small black room to finish her draft, and not let her out until she completed Volume 2.

With her strong survival instinct kicking in, Izumi Kotomi quickly dismissed the idea of revealing her actual progress.

People must learn to protect themselves.

Shortly after, Yukinoshita Haruno sent another message:

[I almost forgot to mention the publishing details. Sword Art Online Volume 1 is being prepared for release as a standalone book. The quality of the manuscript you wrote is excellent, so all that's needed is for you to review it once more to see if there are any parts you want to revise. If everything looks good, we can proceed to the printing stage. As for the illustrator, we haven't decided yet—do you have any preferences?]

[I don't know any illustrators, so I don't have any specific preferences at the moment.]

Even though her current drawing skills were good enough to handle the illustrations for Sword Art Online herself...

But...

Wouldn't that cut into her gaming time?!

For Izumi Kotomi, the most precious time in the world was gaming time! The one thing she couldn't accept was having her gaming time taken away.

With the time she would spend illustrating, she could at least play several rounds of Rainbow Six, CSGO, Left 4 Dead 2, or grind some Blue Archive.

[I see. In that case, over the next few days, I'll pick out a few illustrators who work with Dengeki Bunko and are suitable for Sword Art Online. I'll compile their pen names and previous works into a document and send it to you.]

[Thank you for your help, Yukinoshita-sensei. Good night.]

[Good night, Izumi-sensei. And don't forget to do your school assignments while working on Volume 2~]

Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't resist teasing Izumi Kotomi. After all, how could she resist when Izumi-sensei was so adorable?

Last night, Yukinoshita Haruno even fantasized about how comfortable it would be to cuddle Izumi Kotomi like a body pillow and sleep with her~

[I've already finished my assignments!]

Izumi Kotomi puffed up her cheeks in indignation as she replied.

After finishing the conversation, Izumi Kotomi returned to browsing Amazon.

After selecting the components, she added them all to her shopping cart.

CPU, motherboard, 3090Ti graphics card, RAM, cooler, power supply, 4K monitor, case, etc., all went into the cart.

Izumi Kotomi chose a flat-screen 4K monitor instead of a curved one. Although she had heard that some pro gamers preferred curved monitors, she still liked flat screens better.

She felt that a flat screen perfectly met her two main needs:

One, writing her manuscript.

Two, gaming.

"The computer is almost ready. Now I just need a keyboard and mouse."

For the keyboard, Izumi Kotomi chose a tea switch mechanical keyboard and a Topre electrostatic capacitive keyboard, so she could switch between the two. For the mouse, she went with Razer.

With that, Izumi Kotomi had her gaming peripherals... ahem, writing peripherals all set up.

Add everything to the cart, and pay!

Payment successful!

"Finally done~ Once the new computer arrives, I can transfer all the good stuff I saved from my previous life onto it and enjoy revisiting them."

[But Kotomi, aren't you planning to buy a graphics tablet? Didn't you want to draw manga?]

The God-Level Heroine System chimed in as a reminder.

"Oh, right! I forgot to buy a graphics tablet!" Izumi Kotomi suddenly remembered that she needed a tablet for drawing.

Although she had been drawing on paper recently, when she started working on manga, Izumi Kotomi wanted to use a graphics tablet to draw digitally.

She reopened Amazon.

Selected a graphics tablet she liked.

Ordered it and paid.

Now, there was another package to be delivered.

"Now I've got everything I need," Izumi Kotomi said with satisfaction.

[So, Kotomi, are you going to start writing your novel or drawing your manga now?]

"I should start working on the draft. After all, I haven't written a single word of Volume 2's main text yet. I need to keep an eye on the deadline... Hmm, maybe I'll start writing tomorrow."

With that, Izumi Kotomi turned off her computer, lay down on her bed, and started playing the relaxing and leisurely Blue Archive.