"...Hm?"
Watching Shirai Mio sit back down across from her, a flicker of confusion crossed Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes.
A second ago Mio had looked ready to leave. Why was she sitting down again?
"Shirai-san, was there something you needed?"
"Well, you see, I noticed Yukinoshita-san looked a little lonely sitting here all by yourself, so I thought I'd keep you company." Mio said it with a completely straight face.
"That won't be necessary. I'm not lonely. I'm simply enjoying some time to myself."
"No worries. You can still enjoy it just fine with me around."
Inwardly, Mio was counting her blessings. Thank god Yukinoshita Haruno wasn't here; otherwise this task would've been dead on arrival.
But even without Haruno running interference, sticking to Yukino's side for six full hours was going to be rough.
This was supposed to be a starter task. How was it this hard?
Something occurred to her, and she couldn't help grumbling at the System. "I already cleared two tasks this morning. How am I still triggering more?"
"That'd be because you're just so lucky, Host~" came the System's lazy drawl. "Beating odds that low? Impressive, really."
"You call that lucky?"
"Mm, why wouldn't I?"
For some reason, hearing that made her fist start to clench all over again.
"Looks like you really haven't noticed, Host. You didn't forget you're still holding a [Schrödinger's Card], did you~?"
That snapped her out of it. Mio pulled up the System Panel and took a look, and sure enough, today's [Schrödinger's Card] had rolled into a luck-boosting card.
She'd gone to bed early last night, so she genuinely hadn't caught any of this.
Mio hesitated, then decided against using her [Slacking-Off Card]. More than half the day was already gone; burning it now would just be a waste.
Seeing that Mio showed no intention of leaving, Yukino gathered her things, stood, and said, "Since you like it here so much, Shirai-san, then I'll be the one to head out."
"W-Wait a sec." Mio scrambled after her as Yukino made for the door.
"Where are you off to, Yukinoshita-san?"
"Home."
"You know, I don't think I've ever been to your place. Mind if I tag along and check it out?" Mio put on her best wide-eyed, curious-puppy face.
Yukino hesitated, then said flatly, "Suit yourself."
"'Suit yourself' means yes, right? Perfect." Mio cheered and immediately closed the gap to Yukino's side. Couldn't have the distance stretching too far and costing her the task.
On the walk home, Yukino kept sneaking glances at Mio. Something about her today felt... off.
No, Mio was always a little off. Like that time Yukino visited her place: perfectly normal one second, then out of nowhere she'd do something bizarre the next.
Feeling Yukino's gaze, Mio tilted her head. "What's up?"
"Nothing. By the way, where's my sister?"
"Senpai? She headed out first thing this morning. Probably had something to take care of."
Yukino gave a small nod, understanding.
Before long the two of them arrived at the foot of a high-end apartment building.
Compared to the one Mio lived in, this place was even more upscale.
She barely got a chance to take it in before she noticed Yukino had already reached the entrance, and hurried to catch up.
She followed Yukino inside.
Since it was her first time here, Mio found everything around her fascinating.
You could tell at a glance that Yukino was fastidiously tidy. The spacious living room had everything arranged in neat, precise order, and it was genuinely soothing to look at.
While Mio was busy studying her surroundings, Yukino returned to the living room carrying two cups of tea.
She set one down in front of Mio and took a sip from her own.
"Yukinoshita-san, can I ask you something?"
"Hm?"
"Living here all alone, doesn't it ever scare you?"
"Scared? There's nothing to be scared of. If anything, living by yourself means you can do and say whatever you want."
"I guess that's true. Like, when I was home by myself, I loved not wearing any clothes around the house."
"...?"
Catching Yukino's subtly weirded-out expression, Mio cleared her throat. "You didn't actually buy that, did you? I was only joking."
"Who knows. Not that it has anything to do with me." With that, Yukino stood, and before she'd even turned around, she found Mio already on her feet too, watching her.
"Shirai-san. You're not planning to follow me to the restroom, are you?"
"H-How could I? I'm just stretching my legs a little. Sitting too long, is all." Mio forced out a dry laugh. She didn't want to either, but the moment Yukino got a certain distance away, the System would sound the alarm, warning that if she didn't close the gap within a set time, the task would fail.
Once Yukino had disappeared into the restroom, Mio got up and moved to about three meters from the door.
From her earlier testing, that was the outer limit for this task. Stay within three meters and everything was fine.
She'd just settled into place when the door suddenly opened; Yukino poked her head out, glanced at her, then shut and locked it again.
Yukino honestly hadn't expected Mio to follow her over here.
Yeah. No matter how she looked at it, this girl was strange.
Mio let out a soft sigh. She had a feeling that if she actually pulled this task off, tomorrow Yukino was going to peg her as a full-blown pervert.
Noon came around fast. Mio rubbed her stomach, a little hungry now, and asked, curious, "Yukinoshita-san, how do you usually handle lunch?"
"I make it myself." Yukino looked up from her book, glancing at Mio, wondering just when this girl was finally going to leave.
"Huh. Then how about I cook for you? I've got nothing better to do anyway."
"Suit yourself."
She said it casually enough, but at the words Mio's cooking, a flicker of anticipation surfaced in Yukino's eyes all the same.
Once you'd tasted Mio's cooking, you'd be back for seconds. Yukino was no exception.
Seeing that she hadn't been turned down, Mio quietly let out a breath of relief. Looked like she'd survived the morning. Just hang on until the end of the afternoon and the task was hers.
And right then, the doorbell rang.
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