"Are you sure you want to try this?"
Yuigahama Yui bit her lip, eyes fixed on Shirai Mio, who was right there—right there—close enough to count her eyelashes.
She was doing her best to keep her expression under control, but the nerves were bleeding through anyway. Her heart was going way too fast.
"I don't really mind," Mio said, her voice easy and unhurried. "We're both girls, so whatever. But if you don't want to, that's fine too—you'd just owe me a kiss on the cheek as punishment."
Under the kotatsu, Mio's fingers quietly closed around the hem of her skirt. Honestly, she still wasn't sure whether Yui was joking or dead serious. But watching her face... Yui looked like she was actually considering it.
"I... want to try."
The words came out barely above a whisper.
"Then let's try."
Mio shifted her position, turning to face Yui directly. Everything about her posture said I am completely unbothered by this.
But the moment Yui began to lean in—slowly, inch by inch—Mio's eyes slid shut on their own.
She caught herself immediately.
Wait. Why did I just close my eyes? That makes me look like I'm the one waiting for it.
Well... technically the task required Yui to be the one taking initiative, so being passive was probably fine. Still, something about this felt off.
She'd gotten used to being passive. When had that happened?
She was still turning that over in her head when she felt it—a soft, familiar pressure against her lips. Then Yui began to move, clumsily mimicking the kissing techniques she'd seen in movies.
In her past life, Mio had been an actress. Under normal circumstances, a beginner like Yui shouldn't have been able to get any traction against her. But there was the small matter of the sensitivity adjustments she'd made during character creation...
And then there was the punishment deck: [Body So Soft You Could Push Her Over With One Finger].
Forget taking initiative. She couldn't even manage the tiniest resistance.
Time passed—she wasn't sure how much.
Eventually Yui pulled back.
Mio sat there with half-lidded eyes, lips slightly parted, chest rising and falling. The flush on her cheeks had deepened to something unmistakably pink. She looked way too tempting like this—enough that Yui felt a sudden, very inconvenient urge to keep going.
Not that Yui was in much better shape. She couldn't see her own face, but she could feel how hot her cheeks were.
She pressed her fingers lightly to her lips.
So that's what a kiss feels like. Different from those two accidents entirely.
She was still processing that when the System's cheerful voice chimed in Mio's ear—and the movie paused like someone had hit a button.
"Congratulations, Host! Yuigahama Yui's conquest rating with you has increased by 5 points."
"And even though the task didn't specify where the kiss had to land... Host went for the most exciting option anyway. This System is genuinely moved."
The System said it like a proud parent watching their kid take their first steps. Mio's eye twitched.
"Skip the commentary. Reward screen. Now."
"Right away~"
Three reward cards appeared.
[Yuigahama Yui's Tender Affection]Activates when Yuigahama Yui is nearby. Improves the Host's mood and slightly enhances the effects of all Yuigahama Yui-series cards and items. Part of the Yuigahama Yui series.
[Fortune Surge]Greatly increases the Host's luck for 24 hours. Single-use. Disappears after use.
[Affection Amplifier]Increases conquest rating gains after task completion. Stacking this card improves the effect.
Mio gave all three exactly one second of consideration before picking [Yuigahama Yui's Tender Affection] without hesitation.
She already knew what [Fortune Surge] did—it paired well with her [Slack Off Card], but she didn't have many of those left and needed them for emergencies.
[Affection Amplifier] wasn't even worth thinking about. She was trying to slow down the conquest rating growth. Why in the world would she make it go faster?
The moment she made her choice, the movie resumed.
She looked at Yui's slightly flushed face. Any other day, Mio would have absolutely teased her about it. But right now... she was the one in worse shape, no contest.
Yui opened her mouth, then closed it. She clearly felt like she should say something, but couldn't figure out what.
Watching her waver like that, Mio smiled.
"Say whatever's on your mind. It was just an experiment—don't overthink it."
Yui knew that, of course. The problem was that not overthinking it was basically impossible.
Still, seeing Mio so relaxed seemed to help. She settled down a little, and after a moment, said quietly:
"I was just wondering... is what we're doing really okay?"
"There's definitely a 'not okay' element to it," Mio said honestly. "But it's already done, so there's not much point dwelling on it. Same as last time—let's just keep it as our little secret." She pressed one finger to her lips, the lingering pink on her cheeks giving the whole pose an annoyingly soft energy.
That was the sensible answer.
But Mio was privately aware that the situation had a lot of problems baked into it. The fact that Yui had agreed to something that outrageous in the first place was already suspicious. She was half wondering if she'd accidentally... pushed Yui in a certain direction.
She hadn't done anything that dramatic, had she?
...Okay, she had done a lot of weird things to Yui because of System tasks. So if Yui's preferences had shifted, Mio was one hundred percent responsible for that, no question.
On top of that, Yui's conquest rating had hit 45. The 50-point threshold was dangerously close, and Mio knew she needed to start managing the growth more carefully.
The two of them turned back to the movie.
When the onscreen leads kissed again, Yui tilted her head curiously.
"Hey, Mio... can I ask what it felt like? The kiss, I mean."
Mio went very still for a beat. Then she touched her lips, composed herself, and said in her flattest voice:
"...Average."
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