"Yui."
"Mm?"
"Let me kiss you."
"Hm?"
Yuigahama Yui stared at Mio, completely lost. She didn't know what was going on, but Mio being the one to ask—that was something she would never say no to.
She took a breath. Stood still. Closed her eyes.
She waited.
The kiss, when it came, was not what she'd been hoping for. Just a quick brush against her cheek—so brief she barely caught it before it was already done.
She opened her eyes. "Mio, what's gotten into you today?"
"Nothing much. I just felt like it." Mio smiled. "By the way, Yui—you've made another step toward conquering me."
"Really?"
"Didn't you see the Affection +2 pop up over my head?"
Yui looked instinctively at the top of Mio's head—then immediately felt her face go warm.
This isn't a dating sim. There's no floating affection counter. What am I doing.
She'd known that. And yet for one completely inexcusable half-second, she'd actually looked.
Watching Yui's ears go red, Mio's expression softened into something genuinely fond.
A thought occurred to Yui. "Mio, do you have anything going on today? If not, you could come over."
"I actually have something this afternoon. Sorry."
Yui was curious—but she stopped herself before asking. Everyone had their own life. Knowing that Mio was busy was enough. She didn't need every detail.
"That's okay then. Come find me whenever you're free, yeah?" Yui gave a little wave, the reluctance in it clear even to her, and turned for home.
Mio headed back to the apartment.
By the time she'd gotten breakfast ready, Mashiro had materialized in the kitchen doorway, drawn by the smell—or perhaps by some internal alarm that food was nearby.
Mashiro rubbed her eyes, noted that Mio was already dressed, and said: "Mio's going out?"
"Just for a few hours this morning. Should be back by afternoon."
"Mm."
Before heading out, Mio stopped by Sengoku Chihiro's room and asked her to keep an eye on Mashiro while she was away. Chihiro, already awake and reading, agreed without fuss.
The café Mio had chosen was a short walk from campus. She arrived just as it opened, ordered a drink, and sent Tanaka a quick message: she'd arrived early, and her hair was white—couldn't miss her.
With that sorted, Mio pulled out her phone and started scrolling through the news.
About fifteen minutes later, the door opened with a chime, and a woman in professional attire swept in with the specific energy of someone running slightly behind schedule.
She scanned the café. Found Mio immediately—because of course she did.
Mio was beginning to suspect this was why [Kato Megumi's Presence Concealment] wasn't working on her. The hair was a hard counter to any stealth-adjacent ability.
"Shiro-ke-sensei?"
Tanaka looked at the girl in front of her. She'd braced herself ahead of time—the author could be very young—and still found herself slightly unprepared for just how young, and how pretty.
"Yes. You must be Tanaka-san."
"That's right. I'm so sorry—I should have been here earlier. My navigation sent me completely the wrong direction."
"We're still before the time we agreed on, so it's fine~"
Tanaka only processed that after a beat, then laughed, a little flustered.
"Shiro-ke-sensei should know why I'm here, right?" she ventured.
"Before we get into the serious stuff," Mio said, "why don't you sit down and have a coffee first? There's no rush."
"Then I'll gratefully take you up on that."
Tanaka settled in, and it became quickly apparent that she was a genuine fan. Before they'd even gotten to the formal discussion, she was asking about the plot—what was coming next, whether certain characters would develop in certain directions. She talked about it the way a reader talks about something they've been following, not the way an editor frames a business conversation.
Mio listened, and found herself quietly pleased. She's going to cry her eyes out when the story gets going.
She was already looking forward to watching her ugly-sob over a bowl of ramen.
After the coffee, they moved on to contract specifics. Most of it had been ironed out beforehand—today was mostly confirmation. It didn't take long.
Tanaka packed up afterward, glancing at her phone. "I need to head back to the office. Thank you for making time, Shiro-ke-sensei."
"Of course. Thank you for coming out."
Mio watched her leave, then checked the time. Just past ten.
Plenty of day left.
She was nearly finished with her coffee, about to call it and go home, when she noticed a familiar figure at a corner table—sitting alone, coffee in hand, a book open in front of her.
Yukinoshita Yukino.
Mio hesitated. Should I say something?
She'd already had two tasks triggered today. Odds were low that approaching Yukino would set off anything else.
Then again, if the System wanted to give her a task, it would give her a task regardless of whether she walked over there. That was not how she could control it.
With that reasoned out, Mio crossed the café, stopped beside the table, and said: "What a coincidence—Yukinoshita-san. What are you reading?"
Yukino looked up from the page, composed as always, and closed the book. "Classical literature. You're welcome to borrow it, if you're curious."
"I appreciate it, but my focus isn't really good enough for that."
She was about to say her goodbyes when the System spoke:
"Host—look at Yukinoshita Yukino sitting here all by herself. Don't you feel a little sorry for her~?"
"Task: Keep Yukinoshita Yukino company. Duration must be no less than six hours. Success may reward a Yukinoshita Yukino series card or task reward. Failure draws from the punishment deck."
"Do your best, Host~"
"Go to hell," Mio said, under her breath.
She looked at Yukino's calm, faintly unreadable face—and found herself caught in a dilemma.
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