The next day.
Izumi Sagiri woke up from her sleep.
After finally following a normal human sleep schedule for once, she felt refreshed and full of energy!
She jumped out of bed, her soft, pale feet landing lightly on the wooden floor.
Standing in front of the mirror, Sagiri examined her reflection.
Her long silver hair seemed shinier than usual.
Her normally pale skin even had a bit of a rosy glow.
"Hmm… I do look a lot better, don't I?"
Sagiri's lips curved into a small smile.
After all, she was a blooming young girl.
Even if she used to stay up all night gaming and drawing, just a little proper care could quickly bring back her beauty.
Then she looked down slightly.
Being able to see her toes without obstruction made her feel slightly discouraged.
Compared to Kuzeha's other little sisters, she had no advantages whatsoever at the moment.
So, as a girl still in her growth phase, she set herself a goal—to defy fate!
"Come on! As long as I eat well and sleep on time, I'll definitely get bigger!"
Sagiri clenched her little fists and encouraged herself.
At 8 a.m., she stepped into the studio outside.
Unsurprisingly, her mother was still seated in front of the computer.
"Mama, you're not a teenage girl like me anymore. If you keep staying up all night, you'll start aging early…"
The newly self-disciplined daughter tried to educate her mother.
But when she saw her mother's current state, her sky-blue eyes widened.
Her skin looked radiant and dewy—smooth as silk!
Her blue eyes sparkled with beauty and confidence.
The same mom who usually came across as a bit scatterbrained and sloppy… now looked seductive and alluring.
Even her gestures and subtle expressions carried a mature, womanly charm.
Wait a minute—how did someone who stayed up all night look even better than someone who got proper sleep?
"Mama, what exactly did you do last night?"
Sagiri stared at her mother suspiciously.
Mrs. Izumi's heart skipped a beat.
What did she do last night…
She thought she had remembered to bite down on a towel to stay quiet…
"W-what could I be doing… I was drawing, of course!"
Mrs. Izumi quickly pulled out a few draft pages as evidence.
Sagiri leaned in for a look—and froze.
"These are your old drafts, aren't they?"
Mrs. Izumi's hand stiffened.
Damn it.
She was too nervous and forgot these pages were the ones she used last night as visual references…
As her eyes skimmed the drawings, memories of the night before came flooding back into Mrs. Izumi's mind.
Her heart began pounding, and her snow-white skin blushed a visible shade of pink.
Even just replaying it all in her head made her brain go fuzzy.
"I'm sleepy—I'm going to bed!"
She changed the subject and bolted for the bedroom.
"Mama, why are you going into the storage room?"
"I'll be moving into that room from now on… bam!"
The door slammed shut before she could finish her sentence.
Sagiri stood puzzled at the tightly closed door, then looked down at one of the… racier drafts she had once drawn herself.
For a moment, she had the strange feeling that her mom's expression just now… looked oddly similar to the main character's in that final scene.
...
Kuzeha Residence.
When Kuzeha woke up, he was immediately met by Sora Kasugano's suspicious gaze—she'd failed her surprise visit the night before.
"Yuu, why weren't you in your room last night?"
"Oh, the pipes were clogged. I went to clear them out."
Kuzeha answered honestly.
After all, Mrs. Izumi was a famous doujin artist.
While raising her daughter alone, she had to constantly reference massive amounts of, well, material.
Living that kind of life… wasn't easy.
So as a passionate, capable young man with a strong sense of neighborly duty, Kuzeha had stepped up.
To help solve some… difficulties.
He glanced out the window instinctively.
Through the drizzle outside—
He happened to meet that familiar pair of pale blue eyes again.
But this time, Mrs. Izumi quickly looked away like she'd touched a hot stove.
Kuzeha smiled and sent her a message.
"Aunt Izumi, we won't need to move anymore."
Her reply came almost instantly.
"Really? That's great! Moving would've been such a hassle…"
"Yeah. We'll be neighbors for a long time, so I'll be counting on your guidance from now on!"
It was an ordinary greeting—but to Mrs. Izumi, who was holding her phone with trembling fingers, her heart started racing.
After the huge leap in their relationship last night…
And now Kuzeha said "counting on your guidance"… wasn't that just—
She looked toward the opposite window again. Kuzeha was no longer there.
But outside, the rain was falling harder and harder.
Then she remembered something she still needed.
She opened her shopping app and searched for a small umbrella.
Rain pelted the windows, splashing droplets onto her face.
She shut the window, then tapped repeatedly on the item quantity.
After placing the order, Mrs. Izumi leaned back and sighed softly, her face flushed red.
"Looks like we'll have another big expense added to the household budget…"
TL: Sorry about the repeated chapters! Normally inkstone gives a warning if a chapter is repeated, but it didn't give one this time for some reason. Anyways, here's the new chapter as I deleted the repeated one.
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