"Hmm?"
Just as Mio was thinking about whether she should do something, she suddenly noticed that Haruno, who'd been maintaining distance, had suddenly moved to her side and even linked arms with her.
Then Haruno's almost coquettish voice rang in Mio's ear: "Kouhai, I want to eat fried chicken tonight. Will you make it for me~?"
"Of course. As long as senpai wants it, I'll make it for you." Mio agreed without hesitation.
Haruno, who'd been observing Mio the whole time, noticed that when she first approached, Mio had looked surprised for just a moment before acting like nothing happened—completely different from her previous exasperated reaction.
So this white-haired kouhai deliberately distanced herself from me on purpose.
But why would she do that?
After thinking for a moment, Haruno came up with a somewhat unlikely answer.
Maybe Mio did all that to make her take the initiative to get close—in other words, to deliberately pique her interest.
If that was true, then she had reason to suspect this white-haired beauty harbored impure thoughts about her.
But... something still seemed off.
The three minutes passed quickly. With Mio deliberately stalling, the time flew by. As the countdown in her vision hit zero, everything around her instantly stopped, and the system's voice rang out: "Congratulations on completing the task, host. Yukinoshita Haruno's conquest rating of the host has increased by 3 points. Please select your reward."
[Yukinoshita Haruno's Social Skills]
Can slightly reduce the host's social awkwardness and slightly improve the host's affinity. This card is part of the Yukinoshita Haruno series.
[Yukinoshita Haruno's Domestic Expert]
Can improve the host's housework abilities. This card is part of the Yukinoshita Haruno series.
[Monthly Salary Card]
On the 1st of each month, the host can randomly receive between 100,000-1,000,000 yen. Selecting this repeatedly will increase the amount received.
Though Haruno-related tasks were incredibly difficult to complete, the rewards after completion were also quite good.
Mio felt her social skills were already decent, and her housework wasn't bad either, so she didn't hesitate long before choosing the [Monthly Salary Card] as her task reward. Who wouldn't want free money?
As Mio made her choice, time resumed flowing.
Though there was no longer any need for Haruno to keep holding her arm, to avoid arousing suspicion, Mio didn't pull away. She let Haruno continue linking arms with her.
After buying the ingredients needed for fried chicken, Mio pushed the cart toward the checkout without delay.
She was afraid if she dawdled any longer, another task would trigger.
Haruno noticed that once she'd linked arms with her, Mio suddenly seemed happier.
Though Mio's face always wore a smile, Haruno could tell the difference between a polite smile and genuine happiness.
So it really is because of me?
But she still couldn't jump to conclusions. Maybe she could test it out a little.
Thinking of something, a mischievous smile full of twisted amusement curved Haruno's lips.
Back at the apartment.
She could see that Chihiro Sengoku had already returned. Also in the living room was Hiratsuka Shizuka.
These two female teachers who commanded such authority at school were now sprawled on the couch without a care for their image, drinking.
Seeing Mio return, Chihiro looked completely listless as she said, "Mio... hungry... food..."
Before Mio could comment, Hiratsuka couldn't help but say, "You're way too old to be talking like a little girl. It's disgusting. Are we drinking this or not?"
"Who are you calling old?! I'm not even thirty yet!"
"I'm pretty sure you said that exact same thing last year." Hiratsuka's retort was merciless.
"Can you really say that kind of thing?!"
Watching the two bicker like children, Mio—already used to this—just smiled and carried the bags into the kitchen.
This time, Haruno was very proactive about helping.
Since Mio didn't have any tasks this time, she didn't need to worry about Haruno's sudden attacks, so her movements looked much smoother than last time.
"By the way, I've been following your manga, kouhai~" Haruno said while handling ingredients.
"Senpai likes reading manga?"
"Not really, but since it's a story my kouhai wrote, I'm reading it~"
The tone and expression Haruno used made it sound like she was confessing to Mio.
However, Mio's expression didn't show any particular change. She simply replied calmly, "Thanks for your support, senpai."
Seeing Mio's reaction, Haruno raised an eyebrow. If her earlier theory was correct, hearing words like that shouldn't have resulted in such a calm response.
It didn't look like an act either. Had she been overthinking things?
Or was this level of stimulus just not enough?
As Mio focused on cooking, she suddenly noticed that Haruno, who'd been a meter away, had appeared right beside her. They were incredibly close—one wrong move and she would've accidentally kissed her.
While keeping an eye on the heat, Mio calmly moved away before asking, "Do you need something, senpai?"
"Not really, I just thought you looked really attractive when you're cooking seriously, so I couldn't help wanting to look more closely."
Haruno narrowed her eyes. Mio's expression and reaction didn't seem fake. If she was interested in her, there's no way she'd react like this.
Had she really been flattering herself?
After two failed tests in a row, Haruno restrained herself quite a bit after that.
Though "restrained" was relative. While helping Mio, she'd still deliberately make physical contact—like brushing her fingertips when passing things.
Feeling Haruno's fingertips lightly trace across the back of her hand, Mio pursed her lips. Why did today's Haruno feel so weird?
Earlier she'd suddenly gotten close, said some suggestive things, and deliberately pulled all these little moves. Could this bad woman have some strange ideas about her?
······