"You two really get along well~"
Yukinoshita Haruno watched Shirai Mio and Shiina Mashiro sitting beside her. The relationship between them seemed great, almost like sisters.
If only I could get along with Yukino like that...
Yeah, probably not happening.
Hearing Haruno's words, Sengoku Chihiro-sensei let out a light chuckle. "They transferred in on the same day. Plus, Shirai lives right next door to me—thank goodness she's been helping me look after Mashiro. Honestly, I'd have no idea what to do on my own."
"You're a teacher, and you're not embarrassed about making your own student help you take care of someone?" Hiratsuka-sensei delivered the perfectly timed retort.
"Ehehe~" Chihiro-sensei lightly bonked herself on the head and flashed that signature Fujiya mascot expression.
"You're way too old to be doing that cutesy-girl act. It's kinda creepy."
"You're about the same age as me—you've got no room to talk!"
"Don't forget, I'm still younger than you."
Watching the two women who had just been harmoniously drinking together suddenly start bickering, Haruno didn't show a hint of surprise. After all, this wasn't her first time witnessing this.
Whenever these two drank together, this kind of scene was basically guaranteed.
Just then, she noticed Mashiro feeding Mio again. Though Mashiro's face remained as expressionless as ever, Haruno could tell—the girl seemed to be genuinely enjoying this feeding ritual.
Haruno figured it was mainly because of Mio. Every time she was fed, she'd break into a sweet smile.
Even Haruno had to admit—this silver-haired beauty was stunning. And even more so when she smiled.
Though being fed by Mashiro put Mio in a decent mood, she still hadn't figured out how to complete the task at hand.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't imagine Yukinoshita Haruno voluntarily feeding her—unless the act of feeding her was somehow interesting enough to pique Haruno's interest.
Mio had never imagined she'd end up stuck on a feeding task of all things. If she couldn't even complete something like this, what would she do if more Yukinoshita Haruno-related tasks came up in the future?
Perhaps thinking about the miserable consequences of failure, Mio couldn't help but sigh.
At that moment, she noticed someone passing her a skewer of grilled chicken. Without thinking too much, she simply opened her mouth and ate the meat right off the stick.
And in that instant, Mio suddenly realized time had stopped. The System's somewhat puzzled voice rang in her ears: "Strange. Host clearly didn't do anything, so why did Yukinoshita Haruno feed you?"
Hearing this, Mio finally registered what had happened—that chicken skewer was from Haruno.
"You're asking me? I don't know either."
"Well, regardless—congratulations, Host, on completing the task. Yukinoshita Haruno's conquest rating has increased by 2 points. Please select your reward."
[Yukinoshita Haruno's Housekeeping Expert]Enhances Host's housework abilities. One of the Yukinoshita Haruno series cards.
[Yukinoshita Haruno's Self-Defense Techniques]Allows Host to master some Aikido techniques. One of the Yukinoshita Haruno series cards.
[Schrödinger's Card]After obtaining this card, at midnight each day, Host will automatically receive the effects of a random card for 24 hours. If a one-time-use card is selected, it will be used immediately and its effect will take place.
Golden.
This was Mio's first time seeing a golden card.
And its effect was incredibly powerful—gaining a random card bonus every day. Mio figured the "random" part probably meant there was a chance of rolling a punishment card. But whether it was a buff or a punishment, it would only last twenty-four hours. There'd be some impact, but nothing major.
Most importantly, this card could randomly roll one-time-use cards, and once used, the effects wouldn't disappear.
If it gave her a [Pocket Money] card every day—no, even every week—she'd never have to worry about earning money again. And if her luck was even better than that... she didn't even dare imagine.
But... did she really have that kind of luck?
Whether she did or not, Mio didn't hesitate for a second and selected [Schrödinger's Card].
She couldn't wait to see what this card would do.
As Mio made her choice, time resumed its flow.
Already prepared, Mio didn't react immediately when time started moving again. Instead, she continued eating as if nothing had happened. Only after a while did she seem to "notice," looking at Haruno with a face full of surprise.
Seeing Mio's startled expression, Haruno smiled and said, "Your reaction's a bit slow, kouhai~ I thought the way you were eating looked kinda cute, so I couldn't help feeding you. You don't mind, do you?"
Mio shook her head nervously. Mind? How could she possibly mind? If anything, she was thrilled! Both of Yukinoshita Haruno's tasks had been completed out of nowhere, and she'd even gotten a golden card out of it.
But Mio didn't let her guard down. If Haruno's tasks could be completed so inexplicably, they could probably fail just as inexplicably too.
For some reason, after Haruno fed Mio, Mashiro suddenly started feeding her much more frequently. Sometimes Mio hadn't even finished swallowing before Mashiro was already bringing more food to her lips.
Haruno, who'd had no intention of feeding Mio again, found herself intrigued watching this scene. While drinking and chatting, she'd occasionally sneak in another bite for Mio as well.
"I can't anymore—I'm completely stuffed." Mio clutched her slightly bulging tummy. She might not gain weight easily, but that didn't mean she couldn't get full.
Hearing this, Mashiro silently recalled and confirmed that she had indeed fed Mio more. Only then did she pop the food she'd just picked up into her own mouth.
She'd been so focused on feeding Mio that she only now realized she hadn't even eaten her fill yet.
As the dinner was winding down, Haruno's phone suddenly rang. She got up to take the call and quickly returned to her seat. "Sorry, something's come up. I might have to head out early. Let's hang out again next time~"
"Oh, and—kouhai." Haruno turned to look at Mio, then took out her phone and waved it with a smile. "Let's exchange contact info~"