"That should be about long enough."
Mio glanced at the time. She'd been holed up in her room for nearly twenty minutes now.
Figuring enough time had passed, Mio carefully eased the door open and poked her head out for a look. She couldn't actually see the living room from here, but doing it made her feel a little more at ease.
Stepping out, she cleared her throat and worked to put on a composed face.
When she reached the living room, both sisters were still sitting there, seemingly chatting about something.
Spotting Mio, Yukinoshita Haruno broke into a radiant smile. "Kouhai~ you finally decided to grace us with your presence."
"What are you talking about, Senpai? I don't follow. I just had a little something to take care of."
"Something like writing your new feelings into a script?"
That nearly made Mio bristle. But as a former actress before she transmigrated, she still had the basic mental composure to handle this—and even in a spot like this, Mio kept her expression from shifting.
It seemed Yukinoshita Haruno already knew about the favor she'd just asked of Yukinoshita Yukino.
No matter, though. She was the one who'd gotten pushed down, after all—it wasn't like she'd done anything to Yukinoshita Yukino.
Acting guilty right now would only deepen Haruno's suspicion.
In the space of a single lightning flash, Mio settled on her strategy. She gave a light nod. "Yeah. Thanks to Yukinoshita-san's help."
Even Yukinoshita Haruno hadn't expected Mio to admit it so readily. Could it be she really had just asked her sister for a simple favor?
"Time to cook again." Mio stretched, then headed into the kitchen.
Opening the fridge, she turned the question over in her mind: should she even bother trying to finish the task? With Yukinoshita Haruno on high alert, making a move on Yukinoshita Yukino was a poor choice.
It'd be all too easy to crash and burn.
After a moment's hesitation, Mio decided to try anyway.
She'd see if she could get Yukinoshita Haruno out of the way.
"Senpai, we're low on ingredients. Could I trouble you to run to the supermarket for me?"
"Sure. Send me the list and I'll have someone pick it up."
At that reply, Mio pursed her lips where Haruno couldn't see. So this was the leisure of a rich young lady, huh?
No matter—she hadn't pinned much hope on it, so she wasn't all that let down.
The plan to send Haruno shopping had failed, but Sengoku Chihiro would be back soon, and unless something went sideways, Hiratsuka Shizuka would probably be with her.
Once those two were here, there was a high chance they'd drag Yukinoshita Haruno off to drink.
And if they could pull her away, Mio's window to finish the task would open right up.
Just then, Yukinoshita Haruno walked into the kitchen too and started helping Mio out.
Watching the two of them work in perfect sync in the kitchen, Yukinoshita Yukino thought they looked an awful lot like a married couple of many years.
Just as Mio had predicted, in under half an hour Sengoku Chihiro came through the door with Hiratsuka Shizuka in tow, both of them carrying cans of beer.
"Don't go rushing into the beer—dinner's almost ready," Mio called over to them.
Sengoku Chihiro nodded. "Got it."
After setting her things down, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over to the edge of the kitchen, looked at Yukinoshita Haruno, and said, "Didn't think you'd actually move over here."
"If I didn't, mooching meals would be such a hassle."
"Heh. Is that really all it is?"
"Take a guess~"
Of course Hiratsuka Shizuka wasn't going to guess. And she didn't need to—she already knew why.
With Mio and Yukinoshita Haruno working at it together, dinner came together fast.
Once dinner wrapped up, Mio finally brought out the drinking snacks and said to Sengoku Chihiro, "These are the ones I promised to make for you. Just remember not to drink too much."
"Mm, I know." Sengoku Chihiro's eyes lit up at the snacks in front of her, and she turned to Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukinoshita Haruno. "Next door?"
"Let's go." Hiratsuka Shizuka said just the one word, but she was already at the door putting on her shoes.
As for Yukinoshita Haruno, she shot Mio a quiet glance and said, "I'll help her clean up the dishes and then head over."
"No need. I've got the cleanup here," Mio said, ever so considerate.
After a moment's hesitation, Yukinoshita Haruno finally nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you."
Once Yukinoshita Haruno was gone, a faint curve crept onto Mio's lips. Now all that was left was figuring out how to hold Yukinoshita Yukino's hand for ten minutes.
How exactly was she supposed to get Yukinoshita Yukino to let her hold her hand—and for ten whole minutes, no less?
If she just grabbed it outright, she'd easily come off as some kind of perverted creep.
Yukinoshita Yukino, who was helping tidy up, noticed Mio watching her with a conflicted look and frowned. "What is it? Is something wrong with me?"
"N-no, it's nothing."
With no plan in mind yet, Mio could only keep cleaning and keep scheming.
She did have one idea—like maybe "accidentally" nicking her hand while washing the knife. But on second thought, she dropped it. She hated pain, and besides, it wouldn't come to that.
With Yukinoshita Yukino pitching in, Mio had the kitchen squared away in no time.
Yukinoshita Yukino had been about to take her leave, but when she saw Mio walk over carrying Cake, she made a snap decision to stick around a little longer.
From what Mio had observed, Yukinoshita Yukino's guard dropped while she was petting the cat.
Mio seized the moment. "Yukinoshita-san, can I see your hand?"
"Why?"
"Because I think your hands are really pretty, so I want to take a look. Don't worry, I won't do anything weird."
After hesitating a beat, Yukinoshita Yukino extended her right hand to Mio anyway.
Mio just cradled it lightly and made a show of examining it. The instant Yukino pulled her hand back, the task would be toast—but in a situation like this, this was the most fitting move, and the least likely to cause a misunderstanding.
Now all she had to do was hold out for ten minutes.
Seeing that Mio made no other strange moves, Yukinoshita Yukino turned her attention back to Cake, a happy little smile curving her lips.
Thank goodness Cake was there to keep Yukinoshita Yukino occupied. Otherwise, things wouldn't have gone half so smoothly for Mio.
The seconds ticked by, and when the countdown in Mio's eyes had just one minute left—
the doorbell suddenly rang.
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