Utaha Kasumigaoka

Upon hearing Izumi Kotomi call her, Hibiki Naegi quickly placed her phone face down on the desk, trying to appear composed. She raised her head, forcing herself to remain calm as she replied, "Ko-Kotomi, is there something you need?"

The slight tension on her face gave away her nervousness.

That was close. Naegi thought to herself, relieved she had reacted quickly. She had been chatting sweetly with Seiko Kirigiri, and Kotomi's voice had suddenly appeared right next to her. Thankfully, she'd managed to close her messages in time before anyone could see their conversation.

Noticing Naegi's unusual reaction, Kotomi found it a bit strange, but she decided not to press the issue and went straight to the point. "The transfer student in our class arrived today. Her name is Mashiro Shiina, and she's also joining the art club."

With that, Kotomi introduced Mashiro to Naegi. "Mashiro, this is our art club president, Naegi-senpai."

"Hello, President Naegi," Mashiro thought for a moment before deciding on what she considered an appropriate title.

Naegi smiled warmly when she saw the new member, her voice soft as she said, "So, you're Shiina-san? Nice to meet you. I heard about you from Sengoku-sensei last week. That's when I learned Sengoku-sensei had a cousin. Welcome to the art club. You don't need to call me president, though. You can just call me Naegi-senpai."

Naegi offered her hand, which Mashiro shook.

As the president, Naegi was naturally pleased to have a new member join the club. She had already heard from Chihiro Sengoku that Mashiro was incredibly skilled at painting. Whether it was curiosity or competitiveness, Naegi had been eager to meet this so-called world-class genius.

Now that she had met her, Naegi thought, Hmm… How should I describe her?

Mashiro was undeniably beautiful and cute, her movements as graceful as a mountain cat. Yet, there was little expression on her face.

Why did she seem a bit… aloof? And maybe just a tiny bit… airheaded?

So, this is the world-class genius artist that Sengoku-sensei was talking about? Naegi wondered.

"Hello, Naegi-senpai," Mashiro responded again in her usual calm tone.

"When did you arrive in Japan?" Naegi asked.

"Two days ago. I spent a day moving my things into my cousin's place and then another day resting."

"Have you prepared all your art supplies?" Naegi continued. "Although the art club has everything members need, most artists prefer using their own tools."

Mashiro nodded. "My cousin said the club has easels, so I brought my own paints and brushes."

"Good, good. The club's activities are held every day after the second period in the afternoon, usually for about an hour. Since the art club is an official club, it's a bit stricter compared to hobby clubs, so members are required to attend at least four times a week. If something comes up, just let me or Sengoku-sensei know in advance," Naegi explained.

Mashiro nodded again, her expressionless face making it hard to tell if she truly understood or not.

Satisfied, Naegi went on, "There's also a requirement to submit a progress report after midterms and before finals each semester. Every time I have to write one, it's a headache, but we can't skip it. To avoid last-minute cramming, try to take notes throughout the semester. That way, when it's time to hand them in, we can breeze through the reports and push all the hard work onto Sengoku-sensei."

Naegi didn't hold back when it came to passing off work to Chihiro Sengoku. As the president, she had no qualms about pushing as much as she could onto their "ghost advisor," even hoping to make Chihiro experience the joy of overtime.

Since you want to be an absentee advisor, you can at least help us out when we need you! Naegi thought with a mischievous grin.

Back in the teacher's office, Chihiro Sengoku suddenly shivered.

"Strange… It's not even autumn yet, but why do I feel a chill? Must be because I watched that horror movie last night," Chihiro mumbled to herself, pulling her jacket closer.

Naegi pulled out the layout of the art clubroom from her bag and pointed to a specific spot with her pencil. "We've arranged the seats like this. Mashiro, your spot will be right behind Kotomi. If you want to change it later, feel free."

Unlike a typical classroom, the art room had no desks, only movable stools. The spacious layout allowed students to find their perfect angles and positions, as different artists had their own preferences for where they liked to work. Some spots felt wrong and hindered inspiration, while others felt ideal, as if they could channel all the energy they needed from that specific position to create their masterpiece.

While it was a little exaggerated, every artist did have their ideal workspace, and the school had taken this into account when designing the art room.

When Mashiro heard that her seat was behind Kotomi, her eyes immediately lit up. "Behind Kotomi? Sure, that's perfect."

Naegi was a little surprised by how quickly Mashiro agreed. She had expected the girl to take her time picking a spot.

That's it? Less than a minute, and she's already decided?

Naegi couldn't help but recall how long it had taken her to choose her spot—over an hour spent moving chairs and easels.

At that moment, a voice chimed in. "Hmm? These two don't look like they're from our class. Are they new?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka had walked into the classroom and immediately noticed Kotomi, with her distinctive white hair drawing attention.

"Oh, Utaha. These two are my underclassmen," Naegi explained. "Mashiro here just transferred to Sobu High School today and is joining the art club. I'm helping them get settled."

"Oh, so these are your kouhai. You're acting so much like a senpai today. Who's this white-haired girl?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked, her eyes naturally drawn to Kotomi.

Naegi answered, "This is Izumi Kotomi."

"Nice to meet you, Kasumigaoka-senpai. My name is Izumi Kotomi," Kotomi said politely, surprised but keeping her cool.

Upon hearing Kotomi's name, Utaha's eyes lit up with surprise, as if meeting someone she had long wanted to see. "So you're Izumi Kotomi? Wow, you're even cuter in person."

Utaha's gaze unabashedly traveled downward from Kotomi's face, stopping somewhere lower, as she commented, "And… well-endowed, too."

Kotomi followed Utaha's gaze downwards, immediately understanding what she meant. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't back down. "If we're talking about size, Kasumigaoka-senpai, I think you more than hold your own."

Utaha blinked in surprise, then her wine-colored eyes twinkled with a sly amusement. Her thin fingers tucked a strand of long black hair behind her ear, revealing her delicate white earlobe. Her tall, curvy figure and her playful lips gave off an alluring, almost dangerous vibe—a mix of innocence and seduction.

"Kotomi-kouhai, you're quite an interesting person," Utaha remarked with a smirk.

"You're interesting too, Kasumigaoka-senpai. I love reading the works of Kasumi Utako-sensei," Kotomi said, inwardly regretting that she hadn't brought her copy of Love Metronome for an autograph.

"Oh my, you're a fan of mine? That makes me happy," Utaha replied, her smile widening. "You can call me Utaha-senpai, Kotomi."

"Got it, Utaha-senpai," Kotomi agreed, thinking to herself, Why does everyone like calling me little Kotomi? I'm not small in any sense!

Naegi chimed in, "I didn't know you were into Utaha's novels, Kotomi."

Kotomi smiled. "Yeah, I enjoy them a lot."

Naegi shrugged. "I bought every volume, but I still haven't finished the first one."

"Are you saying my writing isn't interesting enough?" Utaha teased. "Leave a book unread for too long, and you'll make it cry, you know."

"It's not that! I just prefer reading about… well, certain relationships," Naegi mumbled, her voice trailing off, making it hard to hear the last part.

Before Kotomi could ask what Naegi meant, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang.

"Looks like lunch break is over," Utaha said, glancing at her phone.

"We'll leave you to it, then. See you later, Naegi-senpai, Utaha-senpai," Kotomi said, taking Mashiro's hand and preparing to leave.

"See you, Naegi-senpai, Utaha-senpai," Mashiro echoed.

"See you in art club later," Naegi called after them.

"Bye-bye~" Utaha waved.

Once Kotomi and Mashiro had left, Utaha returned to her seat and said to Naegi, "That Kotomi kouhai… she's quite the character."

Naegi paused for a moment before giving Utaha a knowing smile. "Oh~ Utaha, don't tell me you've got a thing for Kotomi kouhai? So that's why you haven't dated anyone—you were waiting for someone like Kotomi to show up. Learning new things every day, huh?"

Utaha, deadpan, replied, "You're overthinking it. How could I fall for someone at first sight? That's absurd. I just find her intriguing, that's all."

"Oh, is that it?" Naegi teased but let it go.

A few seconds later, though, Naegi remembered something and added, "But Utaha, you write romance novels. Why don't you believe in love at first sight?"

Utaha's expression turned serious. "Because love at first sight is too shallow. How can you fall in love after just one glance? Love needs time to grow. Even in my stories, the feelings between the characters aren't based on love at first sight."

"I see~ So, you're a romance author who's never been in love herself," Naegi teased again, smirking.

Utaha winced, as if she'd just been hit. Naegi had struck a nerve.

"You always so sharp with your sister?" Utaha quipped, trying to brush it off.

"Of course not. I'm only like this with friends," Naegi replied cheerfully, making it impossible to argue with her.

Such a wonderful friend.

Back in Class 1-F, the afternoon lessons had started. Most of the students were only thinking about one thing.

Only two more classes, and we can go home!

Kotomi, always forward-thinking, was already anticipating the weekend. It's Wednesday, only two more days till the weekend! Awesome!

Because the teachers were in meetings during the second period, the last class of the day had turned into a self-study session.

Students loved self-study periods. It was the perfect time to chat, play on their phones, or read manga. Although these activities happened during regular classes too, doing them during self-study felt different—there was the thrill of goofing off in class but without the pressure of getting caught.

Others took the opportunity to finish their homework early, so they could relax at home.

Kotomi, planning to spend her evening writing novels (and maybe playing a game or two), quickly finished her homework. Afterward, she passed her completed work to Yui Yuigahama.

She'll end up copying it tomorrow anyway, so she might as well do it now.

"Thank you, Kotomi! You're an angel!" Yui exclaimed, taking the homework gratefully, looking like she was about to cry from joy.

Kotomi smiled, telling her to finish up and return the work once she was done.

While Yui was busy "borrowing" her answers, Kotomi discreetly opened her system interface.

Since the system had a special visual treatment, there was no need to worry about anyone noticing anything unusual. At worst, someone might think she was zoning out if she stared too long.

Her points had been steadily increasing, and she had already leveled up several skills:

Writing Level: 7 (32,000 Fame Points needed to upgrade to the next level)

Drawing Level: 6 (20,000 Fame Points needed to upgrade to the next level)

Kendo Level: 4 (9,000 Fame Points needed to upgrade to the next level)

Cooking Level: 3 (6,000 Fame Points needed to upgrade to the next level)

Calligraphy Level: 5 (27,000 Fame Points needed to upgrade to the next level)

Fame Points: 320,000

Kotomi had allocated points to all her unlocked skills, except for cooking. There was no real need to level it up since she wasn't aiming to become a professional chef, and most meals were prepared by her aunt. Plus, she hadn't done any cooking herself since she'd been reincarnated, aside from making instant noodles.

For now, level 3 cooking was enough.

Then her attention was drawn to the mysterious question mark floating in the sixth skill slot. She had yet to unlock this skill.

Her fingertip lightly tapped the question mark, and a prompt appeared, just like when she had unlocked the fifth skill:

[Insufficient points. 500,000 points are required to unlock a new skill.]

500,000 points… still short by 180,000.

Though earning points wasn't too difficult, it wasn't easy to earn such a large amount in a short time.

Still, Kotomi wasn't too worried. Once Sword Art Online's volume was released next month, it would not only generate income but also boost her popularity.

Once that popularity converted into points, hitting the 500,000 mark would be a breeze. Who knows, she might even have points to spare afterward.

I wonder what the sixth skill will be? Kotomi thought excitedly.