"Check one more time. Are you sure you have everything?"
Standing in the parking lot beneath the apartment building, Shirai Mio reminded Rita as she stood beside her.
"I should have everything. And even if I forgot something, it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm never coming back. Besides, you can always mail it to me."
"True. Then all I can do is wish you a safe trip."
Shiina Mashiro, standing nearby, followed Shirai Mio's example and wished Rita a safe trip as well.
Shirai Mio had originally planned to take Rita to the airport, but Rita refused, saying there was no need to go to all that trouble.
To put it simply, Rita just didn't want Shirai Mio fussing over her too much. She was afraid that if she let herself sink any deeper into this atmosphere, she might stop wanting to leave at all.
After watching the taxi carrying Rita disappear into the distance, Shirai Mio took Shiina Mashiro's hand and asked, "Mashiro, do you want to go back and draw, or would you like to take a walk?"
"I want to take a walk."
If she were by herself, she definitely would not have wanted to go walking. But having Shirai Mio beside her made all the difference.
"Then let's walk around nearby."
"Mm."
Holding Shiina Mashiro's hand, the two wandered casually through the nearby streets and alleys like a couple.
Shirai Mio had originally thought Shiina Mashiro simply wanted to go out for a walk. That assumption lasted until Mashiro pulled her into a convenience store.
Looking at the shopping basket piled full of snacks, Shirai Mio said helplessly, "If you ran out of snacks, you could've just told me. I really thought you wanted to come out for a walk."
"Don't eat so many snacks!" Shiina Mashiro said, imitating Shirai Mio's tone.
Even while imitating her, Mashiro's voice remained as flat as ever. It did not sound very similar at all, but somehow it carried a uniquely Shiina Mashiro sort of cuteness.
Shirai Mio smiled helplessly. Hearing Mashiro say it like that, why did she suddenly feel like an overbearing mother?
After buying the snacks, the two of them returned home.
Shiina Mashiro eagerly carried the snacks back to her studio, preparing to enjoy them while she worked on her drawings.
Shirai Mio returned to her own room as well and continued drawing the pictures she needed for the MAD.
Although she had been preparing for it constantly lately, her progress could hardly be called fast. After all, she was doing everything by herself.
Still, even on her own, she wanted to recreate the feeling of an animated short as closely as possible.
To speed things up, Shirai Mio had even started staying up late recently. Fortunately, thanks to the System, she could still maintain good sleep quality even when she went to bed late.
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"Good morning, Mio."
The moment Shirai Mio walked into the classroom, she heard Yuigahama Yui's energetic voice.
Yuigahama Yui's greeting helped the somewhat listless Shirai Mio perk up a little. "Good morning, Yui~"
Yuigahama Yui came over to Shirai Mio's seat and studied her carefully. "Mio, have you been staying up late recently? You look like you don't have any energy."
"I actually didn't stay up very late last night. I'm just on my period."
As Shirai Mio spoke, she placed a hand over her lower abdomen.
She had been in this world for quite some time, but periods were still something she had trouble getting used to.
Hearing that, Yuigahama Yui realized that these past few days did indeed line up with Shirai Mio's period.
"Does it hurt badly? I have painkillers. Do you want some?"
"No, it's okay. I can still handle this much."
Shirai Mio laid her head down on the desk as she spoke, looking utterly listless.
Yuigahama Yui seemed as though she wanted to say more, but the bell rang just then. With no other choice, she returned to her seat for the moment.
After Yuigahama Yui left, Miura Yumiko seemed to remember something and quietly said to Shirai Mio, "I remember you drank quite a few cold drinks yesterday."
"Yeah. I forgot when my period was supposed to start."
Her body had given her the corresponding warning signs, but Shirai Mio had not paid any attention at the time. To put it bluntly, this was simply something she did not have much experience dealing with.
She still found herself missing her pre-transmigration self a little.
Time soon passed until lunch break.
Eriri came to find her right on time again that day. According to Eriri, she wanted Shirai Mio to taste the bento she had made herself.
Though Eriri called it homemade, most of it had been completed under her mother's guidance.
There was no helping that. She had only just started learning, after all.
"So... how does it taste?" Eriri looked at Shirai Mio expectantly.
"It's still a little behind mine, but for your current level, it's already very good."
"Why do I feel like that wasn't actually a compliment? Whatever. I'll just take it as one."
After lunch, Eriri moved close to Shirai Mio just as she had the day before. Right as she was about to lean against Mio's shoulder, Shirai Mio suddenly stood up.
Caught completely off guard, Eriri toppled straight onto the chair.
She raised her head and looked at Shirai Mio. "Next time you're going to stand up, can you warn me first?"
"Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to bring over a few more chairs."
As she spoke, Shirai Mio gathered the nearby chairs. Before long, she had pushed them together into a simple makeshift bench.
Shirai Mio sat down on the bench, then patted her thigh. "If you want to rest, Eriri, lie down with your head on my lap."
"Actually, you didn't have to go to all this trouble."
Despite saying that, Eriri still rested her head on Shirai Mio's thighs. The familiar, comfortable feeling quickly made her drowsy.
She had no idea how much time passed before the sound of a door opening rang out.
Eriri slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw upon waking was Shirai Mio's beautiful sleeping face as Mio leaned back against the chair.
She had not expected Shirai Mio to fall asleep too.
But that was not what she needed to worry about right now. The real question was who would come to the Art Club room at this hour.
Other than the club president, Eriri could not think of anyone.
As it turned out, Eriri's guess was correct. When the clubroom door opened, the club president appeared in her field of vision.
Eriri reacted quickly, but the club president still saw her lying with her head in Shirai Mio's lap.
In the past, Eriri would have hurried over to explain herself. Now, however, she could not even be bothered. If the president wanted to misunderstand, then let her. Eriri no longer cared.
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