"Come to think of it, Eriri, why did you suddenly decide to learn how to make bentos? Don't tell me you learned just so you could make them for me?"
Shirai Mio leaned against Eriri with a smile. She could practically already see Eriri blushing, getting flustered, and coming up with some tsundere excuse.
To Shirai Mio's surprise, however, Eriri actually blushed and nodded. "Mm. You guessed right."
Her new work was already finished, so she needed a new reason to bring Shirai Mio here. After thinking about it for a long time when she got home yesterday, she finally decided on making bentos.
If she called Shirai Mio over every day to taste the results, she would get to spend time alone with Mio and let Mio eat food she had made herself. Two birds with one stone.
Seeing the slightly dazed look on Shirai Mio's face, Eriri chuckled. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"N-no. I just didn't expect you to admit it so directly."
"Didn't you say before that being tsundere is useless when it comes to certain things? Besides, I've realized that being straightforward works better on you."
Shirai Mio might usually tease Eriri and act all shameless and flirty, but the moment Eriri became even slightly forceful and proactive, Mio would immediately fall onto the defensive. She was the classic type with high attack and low defense.
And she still had the nerve to call Eriri a tsundere.
Hearing Eriri's words, Shirai Mio smiled awkwardly. Eriri had still been acting like her usual tsundere self yesterday. How had a single night caused such a dramatic change?
Did this mean she would not be able to tease Eriri anymore?
Shirai Mio carefully observed Eriri's expression. Thanks to her many cards that enhanced her powers of observation, she could easily tell that Eriri was only pretending to be calm. Deep down, she was still at least somewhat nervous and embarrassed.
Eriri had gone this far for her?
Just then, the System's voice suddenly rang in Shirai Mio's ear. It was not issuing a mission. It was simply informing her that Eriri's conquest rating toward her had risen by three points.
After lunch, if this had been any ordinary day, the two of them would have left the clubroom and gone back since they had nothing else to do.
But Eriri had finally gotten a chance to be alone with Shirai Mio. There was no way she would let it go to waste.
She leaned directly against Shirai Mio's shoulder. "I'm feeling a little sleepy. Let me borrow your shoulder."
"If you want to sleep, don't lean on my shoulder. You might as well use my lap as a pillow."
"Moving chairs around would be too much trouble. Besides, I'm not going to sleep. I'm just resting my eyes," Eriri said quietly as she leaned against Shirai Mio's shoulder.
"Fine."
Since Eriri had already said that much, Shirai Mio did not argue. She simply let Eriri keep leaning against her shoulder until fifteen minutes before afternoon classes began.
After Shirai Mio woke her up, Eriri sleepily rolled her neck a few times before leaving the clubroom with Mio and returning to their respective classrooms.
Shirai Mio had barely sat down when Miura Yumiko's voice sounded beside her. "Mio, what do you usually go out and do at lunchtime?"
Whenever Eriri came looking for Shirai Mio, Mio would invariably disappear and not return until five minutes before class. It all felt very mysterious.
Shirai Mio blinked at Miura Yumiko's question, then replied, "We're both in the Art Club. We just go over some drawing-related things together."
"If you're only talking about drawing, there shouldn't be any need to be so secretive about it, right?" Miura Yumiko muttered.
Still, she did not continue asking. Shirai Mio was entitled to her privacy. If Mio did not want to say, Yumiko was not going to keep prying.
Miura Yumiko had originally wanted to ask Shirai Mio whether she wanted to go to karaoke after school, but she quickly remembered that Mio still had club activities. By the time club activities ended, their own outing would practically be over too.
"What's wrong? You look like you want to say something."
"It's really nothing. I was going to ask whether you wanted to go sing after school, but then I remembered you still have club activities, so I didn't bring it up."
After hearing Miura Yumiko's explanation, Shirai Mio leaned sideways toward Yumiko's ear and whispered, "Our club doesn't require mandatory attendance. So if you want to ask me out to have fun, you can just tell me directly."
"R-really? That's okay?"
"Mm."
"Then how about we go sing this afternoon? Just the two of us."
"Sure."
It had been quite a while since she transmigrated here, and she had already come across plenty of good songs. On top of that, she owned a card called [Yuigahama Yui's Singing Voice], which could improve her singing ability.
Shirai Mio was now quite confident in her singing.
After receiving Shirai Mio's affirmative answer, Miura Yumiko quietly clenched a small fist.
She had even already begun thinking about which songs she should sing that afternoon.
Time quickly passed until the end of school.
Once the teacher announced that class was over, the students packed up their things and left one after another.
Because she had accepted Miura Yumiko's invitation, Shirai Mio did not leave immediately after packing. Instead, she waited for Yumiko.
To keep the rest of the popular clique from barging in on their plans, Miura Yumiko deliberately slowed down while packing her things. Only after the others had all left first did she walk out of the classroom with Shirai Mio.
Watching Miura Yumiko sneak around like a cat, Shirai Mio could not help teasing, "Yumiko, I feel like you're playing some kind of stealth game."
"Take a guess whose fault that is."
Miura Yumiko turned her head and gave Shirai Mio a very "friendly" glare.
It was all because Shirai Mio was too popular. If Yumiko was not careful, her little plan to spend time alone with Mio would fall apart.
Thanks to Miura Yumiko's caution, it took the two of them more than ten minutes just to get out of the school.
When they reached the karaoke place Yumiko often visited, she immediately booked a small private room.
It was a small room, but there was still more than enough space for two people.
While Miura Yumiko was choosing songs, the System's voice suddenly rang in Shirai Mio's ear. "In a small, enclosed space like this, with two girls all alone together, shouldn't there be at least a few sparks flying?"
"Before the host leaves the karaoke..."
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