"It's just tights. What's so fascinating about them?"
Feeling Shirai Mio's gaze lingering on her, Miura Yumiko tugged self-consciously at the hem of her skirt. It didn't actually hide anything more than before—if anything, it only made her look even more alluring.
She didn't even know when it had happened, but somewhere along the line, she'd started caring about how another girl was looking at her.
Mio cleared her throat lightly. "It's your first time wearing them, so I can't help wanting to look a little longer~"
In moments like this, Mio felt the full benefit of being a girl. If her pre-transmigration self had stared at a girl this brazenly, he'd have been written off as a pervert in a heartbeat.
Yumiko studied Mio's expression closely. After confirming there was nothing unusual, she let out a quiet breath of relief.
So that kiss last night really hadn't shaken Mio at all.
Whether she should be happy or hurt about that—she genuinely didn't know.
At that moment, Yui leaned in with a curious tilt of her head. "Yumiko, what was the present Mio gave you yesterday? Can you tell me? I promise I won't tell anyone else."
Yumiko stiffened. "It's… it's just something ordinary. Nothing worth mentioning."
"Hmm?"
A flicker of suspicion crossed Yui's eyes. If it had truly been ordinary, the Yumiko she knew would've just blurted it out. And there was no missing how tense Yumiko had gone.
Plus, Mio had said something specific when handing over the gift: better to open it when you're alone.
It had to be something weird, didn't it?
Yui's gaze quietly drifted over to Mio. The curiosity in her eyes made the question obvious.
Catching Yui's stare, Mio just smiled. "I gave the present, so of course I know what's inside. But if I tell you, Yumiko's going to kill me."
Yui had also noticed that the entire time she'd been pressing Mio, Yumiko had been watching Mio with an unnervingly pleasant look in her eyes.
She'd half-expected this, honestly. So she wasn't all that disappointed. She'd just have to corner Mio one-on-one later and pry it out of her.
Mio's arrival meant there were fewer than five minutes until first period. The four of them chatted idly for a bit longer before the bell rang.
Mio pulled out her textbook, set it on her desk, and glanced toward the front of the classroom. The teacher hadn't shown up yet. She turned with a sly little smile and said to Yumiko, "Yumiko, do you notice anything different about me today?"
Yumiko narrowed her eyes and gave Mio a careful once-over.
She studied her from head to toe—and found nothing out of the ordinary.
But Mio definitely wouldn't ask a question like that for no reason.
After thinking for a moment, a possibility surfaced in Yumiko's mind. She asked, half-disbelieving, "You… didn't actually wear that set of sexy lingerie, did you?"
"Got it in one."
When Mio confirmed it that easily, Yumiko was momentarily lost for words.
She'd only said that as a way of teasing Mio back—she hadn't expected Mio to actually do it.
Saying she wasn't curious would've been a lie. But if she let her curiosity show, wouldn't Mio start thinking she was the pervert?
No, wait. The one shamelessly bragging about wearing that kind of underwear was clearly the bigger pervert here!
"Yumiko, want to see for yourself?" Mio pinched the hem of her skirt and lifted it up just slightly—looking, frankly, as tempting as humanly possible.
"N-No thanks. Wait—is it really okay to wear that to school?"
"It's underneath, no one can see it. Doesn't matter~" Mio said breezily.
"Except… we have P.E. today."
"Eh!?"
At that, Mio paused and actually thought about it—and yes, today did have P.E. on the schedule.
In that instant, Mio felt a sudden pang of nostalgia for her pre-transmigration high school. Back then, when finals were around the corner, P.E. classes basically got hijacked by every other subject in existence.
And more importantly, back then, P.E. didn't require changing clothes.
If she'd known, she wouldn't have tried to be cute and worn that lingerie to school.
Seeing the stiff expression on Mio's face, the corners of Yumiko's mouth curled up. "Relax. Worst-case, just say you're not feeling well. Girls have, what, twenty or thirty days a month when they shouldn't be exercising, right?"
"That's… true."
Mio had nearly forgotten she could pull that card now.
Just as Mio was about to say something else, the teacher walked in, and she had no choice but to do her best impression of a diligent student.
The morning passed quickly. Soon enough, it was fourth period—P.E.
Yui was about to head to the changing room when she noticed Mio still sitting at her desk. She walked over, looking puzzled. "Mio, if you don't change soon, you'll be late."
Looking at Yui's pure, earnest face, Mio just couldn't bring herself to explain her actual problem.
That would be instant social suicide.
So she sighed and put on a weary expression. "Um, I'm not feeling great. I was going to go ask the teacher for permission to skip."
"Eh!? What's wrong?"
The moment she heard Mio wasn't well, Yui's face tightened with worry. Her gaze swept over Mio's body, searching for any sign of distress.
The more concerned Yui got, the guiltier Mio felt. But there was nothing she could do right now—she'd just have to find a way to make it up to her later.
"It's nothing serious. My stomach just feels a little off. I'll go to the infirmary and get checked. You go to class."
"Should I come with you?"
"No, no, really, it's nothing serious."
After much insisting on Mio's part, Yui finally left for class—glancing back every few steps on the way out.
Mio then headed to the staff office to ask the teacher for permission. Given how well-behaved she usually appeared, the teacher didn't suspect a thing—just gave her a quick reminder and sent her on her way.
When she arrived at the infirmary, Mio found that the school nurse wasn't in. But there was someone else there. A familiar figure.