"Mio."
At the sound of Yuigahama Yui's voice, Mio turned automatically.
Yui was jogging over in her own set of running clothes.
Well, there it is.
One task would have been manageable. Two at once, with both targets present—Mio genuinely wasn't sure how she was going to pull this off.
Yui slowed as she got close, and her expression shifted. Something was off about Mio's face—that look of barely-contained distress.
"Mio, are you okay?"
"Yeah—I'm fine."
Mio looked away from Yui, then back to Megumi. Both of them were here. Both were looking at her. Attempting either task with the other watching felt impossible.
But splitting them up meant abandoning one task entirely.
Between losing one and losing both, losing one is better.
She didn't move. Just waited, watching to see who would leave first.
While Mio was busy spiraling internally, Yui noticed Megumi.
She'd seen this girl around. Low presence, hard to place—same class, maybe? Something like that. The name started with K...
"Kato," Megumi supplied. "Kato Megumi."
"Right—Kato-san! I remember now." Yui produced a politely sheepish smile, the kind that meant I definitely forgot and am very sorry about it.
The fact that they'd discussed her before, specifically because of how easy she was to forget, didn't make this less awkward.
Mio, meanwhile, had quietly revised her read of the situation. She hadn't gotten the task-failed notification yet. Which meant—maybe there was still a window.
She just had to figure out how to use it.
As they stood there, Mio glanced around out of habit. If Sablé were here, that dog would have made a beeline straight for her by now.
"Hey, where's Sablé?" Mio asked. "Didn't you bring him?"
Yui looked down at the leash in her own hand—empty.
"He was just—" She stared at it. The leash was there. Sablé was not. "...Huh?!"
"Don't panic," Mio said. "He couldn't have gone far. Let's split up—Megumi, come with me."
Keeping Megumi close was the only way to hold both tasks alive at once.
"I'll help too," Megumi said.
"Sure—come with me."
Mio had expected that once Yui moved far enough away, the second task would fail automatically. She waited. No notification came.
So there's still a chance.
She focused on finding the dog first. Tasks aside—Sablé mattered.
They hadn't walked far when Sablé's familiar figure shot out from nowhere and made a beeline for Mio's feet, circling her excitedly, tail going a mile a minute.
Mio crouched down and ruffled his ears. "Where did you wander off to?"
"Woof."
"Oh, a female dog caught your eye? Sablé, you really need to reconsider your options, because you're also—" She paused, then reconsidered. "...actually, you know what, never mind."
Megumi watched Mio hold up her end of a conversation with a dog. "Mio. Can dogs actually understand you?"
"I was making that up," Mio said with a dry laugh. She dialed Yui's number and let her know the situation was resolved.
One to two minutes. That was probably how long before Yui got back.
Mio thought about the task. Then she looked at Megumi.
Megumi looked back at her, expression neutral. "What?"
"Megumi, you have something on your face."
She stepped in closer as she said it.
The gap between them closed to almost nothing. One more inch forward and she could—
But she stopped. Hesitated.
Then Megumi spoke, still perfectly calm: "If Mio wants to kiss me, she can just do it."
"...What?"
Mio stared. How did she know? How could she possibly have known what Mio was about to do?
"Your expression," Megumi said. "It was obvious."
She'd been watching from the start—Mio's usual ease at the beginning, the slight stiffness that crept in sometime after that, the way her eyes kept gravitating to Megumi's face. The whole thing had the exact texture of someone who very suddenly wants to do something and is fighting themselves about it.
"Your observation skills are terrifying," Mio said.
A beat.
Then she leaned in and pressed a soft, brief kiss to Megumi's cheek. Feather-light. Over almost before it had started.
The System chimed:
"Congratulations—task complete. The host's conquest rating with Kato Megumi has increased by 5 points. Please select your reward."
Mio selected [Kato Megumi's Presence Concealment] again.
The card was currently at level 5. Still felt like it wasn't doing much. But she'd committed to it now—if level 5 wasn't enough, she'd push it to level 10.
Time resumed.
They waited. After a minute or so, Yui came jogging back from the other direction. She re-clipped the leash with the expression of someone who was deeply tired of losing this dog.
"Isn't that leash new?" Mio asked.
"It is. Somehow it keeps happening anyway—new or old, nothing makes a difference."
"Might just be a you thing. Like it's written into your character settings."
"???"
Yui blinked at her, puzzled. Mio smiled at the complete sincerity of her confusion.
"Anyway—since we've found him, I should probably head back."
"I'm done too," Yui said quickly. "We can walk together."
Their shared route wasn't long. But for Yui, any stretch of time beside Mio was worth having.
"I'll go back to my run." Megumi gave a small nod and set off at a jog.
As she ran, she found her thoughts circling back—to the unusual moment earlier, and to Mio in general.
What kind of secrets is she carrying?
Megumi was curious. She wouldn't pry. But she was curious.
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