"Why the surprised look, kouhai?"
Haruno took in Mio's startled little expression, the corner of her mouth curling into a pleased smile.
"I thought you were going to kiss me here." Mio tapped her own lips.
"I doubt you'd want to sample a yakiniku-flavored kiss, kouhai. But if you really want me to kiss you there, I can go brush my teeth right now."
"Never mind, never mind. I was only saying. Get some rest, Senpai—I should be heading back too."
Judging by Haruno's reactions and behavior, Mio figured she'd already pieced together a fair amount—at the very least, she knew Mio sometimes did things she couldn't help doing.
As for the System's identity, Haruno probably hadn't worked that out yet. Otherwise Mio would've been hit with a Glorious Ten-Pull long ago.
That Haruno was willing to play along like this made Mio happy, sure—but it also meant she could deduce the System's existence at any moment.
Eh, so what if it was a ten-pull? She still had plenty of cards she hadn't used. Even if she really did trigger a Glorious Ten-Pull, Mio honestly wasn't all that scared of it.
Back home, still reeking of yakiniku, the first thing Mio did was grab a change of clothes and duck into the bathroom.
After a nice, relaxing hot shower, she finally returned to her room—only instead of doing her usual drawing practice, she started hammering away at the keyboard.
She kept at it until nearly midnight. If Mashiro hadn't wandered in, Mio felt like she could've kept going even longer.
Mashiro swayed her way over to the edge of Mio's bed, then flopped face-first onto the soft mattress.
"Mio. Aren't you going to sleep?"
"Give me a minute."
Mio glanced at the bottom-right corner of her computer screen—less than five minutes to midnight.
She was waiting for the [Schrödinger's Card] to refresh, to avoid a repeat of today.
That card had been quiet for a good while now; lately it kept rolling into self-buffing cards, which had gradually lulled her into forgetting the threat it posed.
The five minutes passed quickly, no nasty task triggering in the meantime, which let Mio quietly relax.
As the card refreshed, what appeared before her was one called [Chance Encounter].
Its effect was simple enough: it raised the odds of running into people registered on the System List. For Mio, it was a card with basically no impact.
After all, she spent every day with these people already—no chance encounters required.
Confirming there was nothing to worry about, Mio finally set her mind at ease, then climbed into bed and switched off the light to sleep.
The main light was off, but a small nightlight was still on for late-night trips, so Mio could see that Mashiro wasn't asleep—she was staring right at her.
"Can't sleep?"
"Mn. Can't sleep without my goodnight kiss from Mio."
"Where do you even pick these things up?"
"Manga."
"Stop reading weird manga."
Mio said it, but she still leaned over and pressed a kiss to Mashiro's forehead.
Even so, Mashiro showed no sign of settling down to sleep. Those big, bright eyes seemed to be reminding Mio: you kissed the wrong spot.
Mio hesitated, then finally kissed Mashiro on the lips.
With that kiss delivered, Mashiro at last obediently closed her eyes.
Watching Mashiro drop off almost immediately, Mio gave a helpless little laugh. She had a feeling that even without that last kiss, the girl would've been out just as fast.
But the kiss was already given. No use dwelling on it now.
Breathing in Mashiro's sweet scent, Mio slowly closed her eyes too.
······
The next day, early morning.
Mio woke early as always, though today she skipped the usual morning walk, lounging in bed and playing on her phone instead.
She kept at it until nine, getting up only after Mashiro woke, then washed up and started on breakfast.
Today Mio had a rare stretch of free time, so she decided to spend the whole day relaxing at home—maybe play some games with Mashiro while she was at it.
What Mio didn't expect was that today, of all days, Mashiro was going out.
Not alone, mind you—Sengoku Chihiro was taking her along, apparently because a teacher from England had come to visit her.
And just like that, Mio was the only one left in the apartment.
She sat on the living room sofa, flipping listlessly through TV channels. Where was this lonely-old-hermit energy coming from?
Shaking the strange feeling out of her head, Mio got up, went back to her room, and changed into going-out clothes.
Hunting someone down would've been a fine option right about now, but after a moment's thought, she decided to just head out on her own and wander a bit.
Find somewhere for lunch, then come back for a nice, blissful afternoon nap.
Leaving the apartment, Mio walked along, mulling over where to go next.
That was when she heard hurried footsteps behind her. She turned on instinct—and saw a familiar figure barreling straight toward her.
That familiar figure was none other than Isshiki Iroha.
By the time Mio thought to dodge, it was already too late; the two of them collided again—except this time Iroha had spotted Mio in advance and eased up at the last second.
So Mio didn't end up flat on the ground.
"If it isn't Isshiki-kouhai. How come every time I see you, you're in a mad dash?"
At Mio's words, Iroha twirled the ends of her hair, a little embarrassed. "I made plans with a friend to catch a movie, but I overslept, so all I could do was sprint for it."
"Well, in that case, better hurry. Don't mind me—and stay safe, okay?"
"Mn."
Just as Iroha was about to take off, she felt her phone buzz. She pulled it out for a look, and her expression suddenly fell.
Noticing, Mio asked, puzzled, "Something wrong, kouhai?"
"My friend just texted—something urgent came up, so they're bailing. And I already bought the tickets."
"In that case, how about I go watch it with you instead?"
Hearing that, Iroha found herself sneaking a look at this pretty, white-haired senpai—and thought that actually didn't sound half bad.
······