"Damn it, so close."
Watching her character get knocked out on the TV screen, Mio Shirai let out a frustrated groan.
A rare day off, and since she wasn't going out, she naturally needed to find something to do.
Mio's mind went straight to games, and so she'd started up a fighting game against Mashiro Shiina.
She'd figured that, with her own skills, steamrolling Mashiro shouldn't be any problem.
And at first, that was exactly how it went. But after a few rounds, it was as if Mashiro had completely figured the game out. She'd gone from a hopeless disadvantage, to being evenly matched, to her current slight edge, all in under ten rounds.
Hearing Mio's groan, Mashiro said with a perfectly serene look, "Mio, you're too weak."
"You've only beaten me twice and you've already got the nerve to say that? I wasn't even playing seriously just now!"
After that bit of bluster, Mio picked the controller back up and said, refusing to admit defeat, "Come on, let's keep going. If I lose this time, I'll... I'll..."
Mio had meant to throw out some bold ultimatum, but then she remembered Mashiro's rate of improvement and suddenly had no idea how bold she could afford to be.
"You'll?" Mashiro tilted her head, curiosity flickering in her orange eyes.
She was very much looking forward to whatever Mio said next.
"I'll... I'll just stop playing." Mio delivered the most spineless words in the boldest possible tone.
Perhaps because she noticed the little look of disappointment on Mashiro's face, after a moment's hesitation, Mio said helplessly, "If you win this round, I'll make you dessert this afternoon. How's that?"
Dessert was nice and all, but that clearly wasn't the answer Mashiro had been hoping for.
Still, being someone who loved dessert, she got serious all the same.
The match began.
Even though Mio was already playing with total focus, a serious Mashiro seemed to climb another tier in skill. No matter what Mio did, she couldn't turn the tide.
Watching Mio's character's health bar tick down bit by bit, the corner of Mashiro's mouth curled into a faint arc. It was as if she could already smell the dessert in the air.
But it was right at that moment that Mashiro suddenly felt someone lean against her. There was no one else it could be but Mio.
Leaning on her was one thing, but Mio even nuzzled her cheek against Mashiro's.
This threw Mashiro's inputs ever so slightly off, and Mio seized the opening, ending the match with a single special move. The score was now one to one. The next round would decide it all.
During the interlude, Mashiro turned her head, looked at the smug expression all over Mio's face, and said, "Mio, that's cheating."
"I did not. I did no such thing. There was no rule before the match saying you can't win by means outside the match."
Mashiro had been about to say something more, but right then a thought struck her: if Mio could use that method to mess with her, why couldn't she use the same method to mess with Mio?
Soon the interlude ended, and the third round began.
Mio came out swinging hard at Mashiro right from the start, trying to take the whole match in one decisive push.
As it turned out, her reckless, brute-force play actually worked. Mashiro, caught off guard, got half her health knocked out right away.
Just as victory seemed within reach, Mio suddenly felt a soft, familiar sensation land on her cheek.
She didn't even need to look to know Mashiro had given her a kiss.
Pulling something like that during a game? That was seriously cheating, okay!
Though, she was hardly in any position to say so.
The flustered Mio's inputs slipped into the same slight disarray that Mashiro's had earlier, and Mashiro grabbed the chance to launch a counterattack.
Watching her advantage about to be thrown away just like that, Mio steeled herself and, during the brief invincibility window while her character was knocked to the ground, leaned in toward Mashiro beside her.
Mashiro, however, seemed to have anticipated this. Rather than dodging, she suddenly turned her head.
Seeing Mashiro abruptly facing her, Mio instinctively froze. If she didn't stop, what she'd be kissing wouldn't be Mashiro's cheek anymore.
But what Mio hadn't expected was that even though she'd stopped, Mashiro moved.
Before Mio could react, Mashiro pushed her flat onto the floor. She found Mashiro right there inches away, the softness pressing against her lips.
In that moment Mio even forgot about her inputs.
Or rather, at a moment like that, no normal person could possibly keep playing.
By the time Mio came back to her senses, the game was already over.
Looking at the big letters KO on the screen, then at Mashiro, Mio honestly had no idea what to say.
And it was right then that the System's voice suddenly sounded in her ear: "Congratulations, host. Mashiro Shiina's conquest rating toward the host has increased by 1 point. Mashiro Shiina's conquest rating toward the host has reached 50 points. The task difficulty now enters the next stage. Do your best, host~"
"By the way, the host has finally triggered the task you've been dreaming of. Aren't you just thrilled~"
"The host is to find a way, before today is over, to get Mashiro Shiina to kiss you of her own accord, with the kiss lasting no less than one minute. Success may earn you a Mashiro Shiina Card Set or an item reward; failure will mean drawing from the Penalty Card Set."
Faced with that barrage of System voice lines, it took Mio a good while to process it all.
"The conquest rating already broke 50 and then you trigger the task for me? Why don't you go die?"
"Well, I'm honestly not sure whether to say the host's luck is too good or too bad. In any case, please do your best."
As the System's voice trailed off, Mashiro's voice rang out: "I won."
Hearing Mashiro's words, Mio really wanted to say something, but thinking it over, she'd been the one to break the rules first. She really wasn't in any position to complain.
This was probably what she got for asking for it.
She'd anticipated that Mashiro might mess with her, but she'd never imagined Mashiro would do it by kissing her.
That was just playing dirty!
Mio let out a soft sigh and said, "Yes, yes, you won. Next time we have a match like this, no outside interference allowed. And no kissing as a distraction either!"
Mashiro seemed to be in a pretty great mood right then, whether because she'd won the match or for some other reason.
After hearing Mio's words, she gave an obedient little nod.
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