"It's nothing, really. I was just worried I might suddenly disappear, so I came to check on things."
"Worried you'd disappear?" Yuigahama Yui blinked, momentarily unable to grasp what Mio meant.
Just as Mio was about to explain further, the bell for class rang, and Yui had no choice but to shelve her confusion for the time being.
The morning flew by. Mio didn't use the breaks between classes to seek out Katou Megumi. Instead, she spent the entire time racking her brain over how to get Megumi to invite her out first.
By the end of the morning, she still hadn't come up with a decent plan. Fortunately, she had plenty of time left. If the system had demanded she complete this task by the end of today, she'd probably have stressed herself into losing hair.
Figuring there was no rush, Mio stopped dwelling on it. Just as she pulled out her bento to start lunch, her phone buzzed—a message from Katou Megumi.
Mio instinctively glanced up toward Megumi's seat. Sure enough, Megumi was quietly watching her. Her expression was as composed as ever, but Mio figured she wanted her to check the message.
"Shirai-san has been staring at me all morning. Is there something you want to say?"
The message didn't come as a surprise. After all, Mio hadn't even tried to hide the fact that she'd been watching Megumi—she'd even locked eyes with her several times.
If it were anyone else, they'd probably crack under ten seconds of sustained eye contact and look away. But Megumi was different. If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't exactly stare at each other during class, Mio genuinely suspected Megumi could maintain eye contact with her until the end of time.
Besides Megumi, probably only Yukinoshita Haruno could pull off something like that, right?
Reining in her wandering thoughts, Mio considered for a moment before her fingers danced across her phone screen: "Megumi, did you know? There's a sale going on at the shopping center nearby~"
On the other end, Megumi looked at Mio's reply and furrowed her delicate brows slightly. That wasn't what she'd asked at all.
And another thing—Mio had been calling her "Katou-san" before. When did she start using her first name?
Also, she'd noticed that Mio seemed to have this strange habit. Whenever she had something to say, she wouldn't just say it. Instead, she'd silently stare. Last time was like this, and this time was exactly the same. Who knew what was going on inside that white-haired beauty's head.
"???"
"I also heard there's a new Chinese restaurant there that's gotten great reviews."
"???"
"I'm free this weekend."
After reading this last message, Megumi finally understood what Mio was getting at. No wonder the girl had been watching her with those expectant little puppy eyes this whole time.
If you want to go to the shopping center, just say so.
Language exists for communication, not for playing guessing games!
After silently roasting Mio in her head, Megumi quickly typed back: "Is Shirai-san asking if I'm free this weekend to go to the shopping center together?"
This time, Mio didn't reply via text. Instead, she gently shook her head at Megumi, indicating that she'd gotten the wrong idea.
Megumi was Megumi, after all. Based on Mio's previous behavior, it didn't take long for her to figure out the real issue. She typed back, somewhat exasperated: "You want me to be the one to invite you to go shopping this weekend?"
Seeing Mio give her a small, satisfied nod, Megumi let out a soft sigh. She truly could not comprehend what difference it made whether she invited Mio or Mio invited her.
Still, she didn't actually have any plans this weekend. Going shopping with Mio didn't seem like a problem.
With that thought, Megumi continued typing: "So, Shirai-san, would you have time to go shopping with me this weekend?"
"Yes!" Mio replied without a shred of hesitation.
She genuinely hadn't expected Megumi to understand things to that degree. If it were Yukinoshita Haruno, she'd probably have figured it out just as quickly—but knowing Haruno's personality, she'd have used it as an opportunity to tease her instead.
Megumi was different. Once she understood what Mio wanted, she simply acted on it. Just like now.
If there weren't so many people in the classroom, Mio would've loved to shout her pre-transmigration battle cry:
First came the saint, then came the heavens above—my Megumi's beauty puts the immortals to shame!
Noticing Mio's barely contained excitement, Megumi tilted her head. She really couldn't understand why just going shopping together would make Mio this happy.
Yuigahama Yui, who had already dragged her chair over next to Mio's desk, glanced curiously at Mio grinning at her phone like an idiot. "Mio, what's going on with you?"
"N-Nothing." Mio cleared her throat twice. She felt like she might've gotten a little too carried away. But hey, it wasn't like her persona at school was some cool, aloof beauty—she was just a cute, ordinary girl. Being a bit goofy was perfectly forgivable.
Yui eyed her suspiciously. "Mio, you weren't secretly texting a boyfriend just now, were you?"
"Come on, I already told you—I've been single since birth! Where would I even find a boyfriend?" A thought seemed to strike her then, and Mio leaned in toward Yui with a playful grin. "How about you be my boyfriend, Yui? I think we'd be a pretty good match."
Caught off guard by the sudden proposition, Yui froze for a second before recovering with feigned composure. "Well, considering you're this pretty and you can cook, I suppose I could consider it."
Seeing Yui's reaction, Mio pouted in mild disappointment. Ever since Yui had figured out she was all bark and no bite—a paper tiger with high offense but zero defense—it had become nearly impossible to fluster her.
In fact, more often than not, Mio was the one getting teased.
How embarrassing.
The two of them hadn't bothered keeping their voices down, and quite a few classmates around them had overheard. But the vast majority didn't bat an eye—they simply thought the two were close friends messing around.
Having unexpectedly resolved the task issue, Mio felt noticeably more relaxed.
After happily finishing lunch, she broke from her usual routine of sticking around the classroom to chat with the popular crowd about nothing in particular. Instead, she grabbed a document folder and walked out of the classroom.
As she headed toward the club's activity room, she called Eriri and asked her to come meet her there.