Nighttime, 11:55 PM.
Having finished her writing session, Shirai Mio sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for midnight to arrive.
She was curious to see what [Schrödinger's Card] would randomly give her.
Honestly, her expectations weren't even that high. Something like [Pocket Money] would make her perfectly content.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Without question, the only person who'd ring her doorbell at this hour was Shiina Mashiro.
Mashiro stood outside the door in her pajamas. Seeing Mio open up, she spoke in that signature monotone voice of hers: "Mio. I want to sleep with you tonight."
"You said the same thing last night."
"Did I say that yesterday? I forgot."
"Seriously, what am I gonna do with you... Come in."
With Mio's permission, Mashiro stepped inside with a spring in her step, navigating the familiar path to Mio's room before diving straight onto the bed.
And right at that moment, the clock struck midnight.
A semi-transparent card materialized before Mio's eyes.
[As Your Heart Desires] (23:59)Upon selecting this card, Host will have a very small chance in daily life of acting on their innermost desires. Repeated selection increases the trigger probability.
This card wasn't unfamiliar to Mio. It had been one of the three punishment cards that appeared after her first failed task.
I really shouldn't have trusted my luck. First random and she immediately rolled a punishment card. At least it only lasted twenty-four hours—shouldn't be too big of a problem.
But then, Mio's gaze landed on Mashiro, who was already sprawled on her bed.
She started worrying whether [As Your Heart Desires] might make her do something weird to Mashiro.
Sure, she often slept in the same bed as Mashiro without anything happening, but to say her mind never wandered? That'd be a lie.
Sharing a bed with an adorable, completely defenseless blonde beauty—she wasn't a saint, nor was she some kind of... fencer. How could she not have the occasional stray thought?
Asking Mashiro to leave now wasn't really realistic. Looked like she'd just have to steel her mind and try not to let her imagination run wild.
Good thing she'd only been writing tonight, not working on her doujinshi. Otherwise, she really wouldn't have had much confidence.
Perhaps noticing that Mio still hadn't come to bed, Mashiro's little head poked out from under the covers. "Mio, aren't you going to sleep?"
"I'll be right there!"
Mio went to the bathroom first, splashing cold water on her face before returning to the room.
After turning off the lights, she used her phone's glow to navigate her way under the covers.
Mashiro seemed to have been waiting for exactly this moment. The instant Mio got into bed, she expertly pressed herself against Mio's body.
A soft, fragrant, adorable beauty now lay nestled in her arms. Mio took a deep breath and did her best to empty her mind.
The card said there was only an "extremely small chance" of triggering, but with her luck, "extremely small" might as well mean "guaranteed."
Thankfully, Mashiro fell asleep quickly after snuggling up to her.
But Mio—maybe because of the cold water or maybe because she was consciously suppressing her thoughts—felt unusually alert. She even felt like she could get back up and write a few thousand more words.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Mio felt an overwhelming urge to get out of bed and write.
And then she actually did just that—quietly slipping out to go write.
Fortunately, Mashiro slept like a log. Even hearing the sounds of Mio's keyboard clacking away, she didn't stir.
By the time Mio finished writing, it was already 4 AM. Exhausted, she had no energy left for any wayward thoughts. She crawled back into bed, closed her eyes, and immediately drifted off.
"So this is what 'extremely small chance' means? I love it." That was Mio's last thought before falling asleep.
"Mio, did you not sleep well last night?"
Mashiro looked at Mio's tired appearance and began wondering if it was somehow her fault that Mio hadn't gotten proper rest.
Hearing Mashiro's concern, Mio gently patted her head. "It's not because of you. After you fell asleep last night, I suddenly came up with a good idea, so I secretly got up to write."
"Staying up late... is bad." Mashiro repeated something Mio had once told her.
"Yeah, I know."
While speaking, Mio started changing Mashiro's clothes.
Unlike her usual casual approach, Mio found herself consciously thinking about random, unrelated things to keep her attention diverted.
This significantly slowed down her morning efficiency. She didn't even have time to prepare their bento to avoid being late.
Even so, she still almost didn't make it in time.
Taking advantage of the teacher not yet entering the classroom, Miura Yumiko looked at Mio's exhausted face and asked, "Did you pull an all-nighter or something?"
"Pretty much. By the way, how's it going between Your Majesty and Hayama?"
"I... still haven't figured out what to do." Yumiko showed an unusually guilty expression.
Yesterday, she and Mio had chatted for a long time. Mio had suggested she find opportunities to spend time alone with Hayama and had even taught her quite a few techniques for one-on-one situations.
Yet she still hadn't taken any action. Yumiko couldn't help feeling like she'd let down Mio's earnest guidance.
Seemingly having anticipated Yumiko's answer, Mio didn't look surprised at all. She said lazily, "Your Majesty, are you free this weekend?"
"I can be."
"Then let's go on a date."
"Huh?!" Even Yumiko hadn't expected Mio to say something like that.
Before she could react, Mio quickly added, "You don't know what to do, right? I can demonstrate for you. But demonstrations need a partner—I can't exactly ask Hayama to help me role-play, can I?"
"Oh, so that's what you meant. Could you please explain yourself more clearly from the start?" For a second there, she'd thought Mio had some kind of interest in her.
"Is Sunday okay?" Yumiko thought it over—she should be able to free up her Sunday.
"Works for me."
When it came to playing someone's fake girlfriend, Mio was getting more and more practiced.
As for why she was bothering with something so troublesome—well, it was fun, obviously. Plus it was a way to relax her constantly tense nerves. When she was with Miura Yumiko, she didn't have to worry about the System suddenly popping up to mess with her.