"Wh-Why do you suddenly want to try this?" Yuigahama Yui asked quietly.
"Just chalk it up to my curiosity."
Sitting in Yuigahama Yui's lap, Shirai Mio felt like she might be overthinking the whole heartbeat thing. Even like this, she still didn't feel her heart racing.
Did she really need Yuigahama Yui to kiss her, or for her to kiss Yuigahama Yui?
Mio's gaze unconsciously drifted to Yuigahama Yui's lips, and her mind couldn't help but recall that accidental kiss from before.
Hearing Mio's answer, Yui blinked. She felt like normal people wouldn't be curious about this kind of thing, and it seemed more like Mio was making excuses for herself. As for why she'd do that...
Yui's thoughts drifted back to those study materials.
She wondered—could Mio be hinting at something?
Just thinking about it made Yui's heart start racing uncontrollably again.
After she finally managed to calm down, she realized Mio had moved her face closer at some point. Just a bit more and they'd be kissing.
"Wait—wait, this is the classroom!"
"I know it's the classroom. I just wanted to take a good look at you. Did Yui think I was going to do something weird to you?" Mio said with a pleased expression.
"I—I did not!"
Yui puffed out her cheeks in protest, then defiantly leaned her face forward.
That one movement brought them even closer—just the slightest shift and they'd touch. Even the atmosphere became strangely tense.
However, this situation didn't last long before Mio surrendered. She was the type with high attack but low defense—fine when others didn't take initiative, but completely overwhelmed the moment they did.
Dammit, Yui was acting all submissive just a second ago. How'd she suddenly get so bold?
As Mio admitted defeat, the system's voice rang out: "Host's heart rate just accelerated. Yuigahama Yui's conquest rating of the host has increased by 1 point."
At the same time, the counter in Mio's vision changed from 0 to 1.
"Wait, why does this increase the conquest rating?" Mio couldn't help complaining to the system.
"Of course it's because your heart just skipped a beat, host! Do you need me to list out all your physiological reactions just now?" The system's tone was full of glee.
"Never mind." She wasn't a masochist—she wasn't about to put herself through that kind of torture repeatedly.
Why was it that despite completing one-third of the task, she didn't feel happy about it at all?
Seeing Mio's defeat, a pleased smile curved Yui's lips. She felt like she'd just discovered Mio's weakness.
Next time Mio tried to tease her, she'd use this exact counterattack. It'd definitely work.
Their little interaction had actually drawn quite a bit of attention. Many of the boys quietly sighed in relief when the two didn't actually kiss, though there was also a hint of disappointment.
Noticing this, Mio quickly left Yui's embrace to avoid any further misunderstandings. Looks like next time she tried something like this, she'd need to find somewhere people wouldn't notice.
She didn't mind, but she couldn't let Yui get caught up in rumors because of the tasks.
With less than three minutes until class started, Mio returned to her seat. Only the break after the next class would be available now, but she still had two more heart-racing moments to achieve. She had a bad feeling about this one.
Miura Yumiko beside her asked curiously, "What were you two doing just now?"
"Nothing much, just trying something out. Want to give it a try too, Yumiko?"
"What?"
Before Miura could react, Mio suddenly brought her face close to hers.
Unlike Yui's reaction, faced with Mio's sudden attack, Miura's first instinct was to nervously execute a tactical lean-back. Sure, they'd done way more intimate things during their date, but this was the classroom—she couldn't just ignore everyone's stares like Mio did.
"What... kind of weird experiment is this?"
"Just wanted to see if it'd make my heart race. Did yours speed up just now, Yumiko?"
Hearing Mio's explanation, Miura instinctively replied, "Are you kidding? There's no way something like that would make my heart race."
That's what she said, but Miura knew full well that the moment Mio leaned in, her heart had sped up.
Her heart actually raced... because of a girl!
Miura had reason to suspect she was suffering from aftereffects from that date with Mio. Otherwise, how could her heart possibly race over a girl?
"If that level can't make Yumiko's heart race, want to try something more exciting?" Mio licked her lips—it looked ridiculously flirty, yet somehow filled with temptation.
Even Miura found herself staring.
Of course she knew Mio was just teasing her, so Miura simply shot her a cold glance without saying anything.
As if remembering something, Mio asked curiously, "By the way, have you made any progress with Hayama-kun these past couple days?"
"Not... not yet." Miura's momentum instantly deflated.
Actually, she'd already arranged to go eat with Hayama Hayato yesterday, just the two of them, but it ended up the same as always—no change.
It probably had to do with her not using any of the techniques Mio had taught her. It wasn't that Miura didn't want to—she just felt like she couldn't.
"No worries, there's still plenty of time and opportunities. If it really doesn't work out, you can always come find me again. I can transform into Yumiko's cute girlfriend anytime~"
Though Mio's voice could only be heard by the two of them, Miura still nervously glanced around to make sure no one had noticed before quietly relaxing.
But she did kind of want Mio to help her out again. Last time when they went on that date, all her attention had been on how to date Mio—she didn't actually learn many dating techniques.
Maybe... she should find some time to have Mio play her girlfriend again?
Actually, that doesn't sound so bad.
······