"So what you're saying is, the two of you still haven't officially become a couple?"
"Mm."
Shiina Mashiro nodded obediently, then fixed Rita with an expectant look, clearly hoping she'd teach her some reliable methods.
"Don't rush. I'm not heading back to England anytime soon this trip, so let me observe things carefully for a while first."
"Oh."
Just as Rita was about to ask something more, a knock came at the door, followed by Mio's voice: "Excuse me—may I come in?"
"Come in."
Mio pushed the door open, glanced at the two silent girls, and got the distinct sense she'd cut off some conversation of theirs mid-sentence—the kind of silence where neither one knows what to say next.
Setting the odd déjà vu aside, Mio turned to Rita. "Miss Rita, I don't imagine you brought a change of clothes with you—if you don't mind, you're welcome to borrow mine for now."
"Sure, thank you."
"I'll leave them here, then. Carry on." With that, Mio pulled the door shut again. She was admittedly a little curious about what the two of them had been discussing, but after a moment's thought, she decided against eavesdropping and returned to her own room to start on today's homework.
Homework done, Mio naturally moved on to her drawing practice.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard another knock, and Rita's voice again: "Excuse me—may I come in?"
"Come in."
Mio paused what she was doing and turned to look at Rita as she entered. "Did you need something, Miss Rita?"
"Nothing in particular, really—I just wanted to have a look at your room. Oh, and by the way, you can just call me Rita. Drop the 'Miss'—it sounds a bit odd."
"No problem. Then you can just call me by my name too, Rita."
Rita gave a small nod and started taking in Mio's room.
Just as spotless as before. She found quite a few of Mashiro's belongings scattered around, too, and got the distinct impression that Mashiro's own room was more like her studio, while this was the room Mashiro and Mio actually shared.
Before long, her gaze landed on Mio's computer screen. Taking in the unfinished piece displayed there, Rita raised an eyebrow.
Because she could see Mashiro's fingerprints all over it—and deeply, at that.
"Your art style—it looks like you've been imitating Mashiro?"
"Mm. Mashiro's style is beautiful."
Her [Shiina Mashiro's Drawing Skill] was already at a high level, and with constant practice on top of that, her grasp of technique had climbed another rung.
Still, compared to Mashiro herself, there was quite a gap.
Beyond Mashiro's technique, there were also traces of Eriri in her work—though since [Eriri's Drawing Skill] sat at a lower level than [Shiina Mashiro's Drawing Skill], it wasn't nearly as pronounced.
"How long have you been learning to draw?"
"A few months, I guess."
Rita had been about to say something more, then abruptly lost the urge. Was this Shirai Mio cheating somehow? A few months, and she'd already reached this level of skill.
If Mio had been at it just a little longer, she might well turn out to be another Shiina Mashiro–tier talent.
No wonder someone like her could stay by Mashiro's side without feeling an ounce of pressure.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing—I just feel a bit demoralized, is all. Oh, and one more thing: the traces of Mashiro's style in your work are far too heavy. Keep going like this and it won't do you any favors."
"I'll take that to heart."
Rita walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, then asked, with feigned nonchalance, "I hear you and Mashiro transferred schools together?"
"Mm. It was quite the coincidence, actually—not only do we live close by, we transferred on the very same day." Recalling the first time she'd met Mashiro, a faint smile tugged at Mio's lips.
"Let me ask you—how's Mashiro been doing at school?"
"Pretty well, though it feels like she doesn't really have any friends." Mio said it with a note of concern.
"By the way—Mashiro's fairly popular at school, isn't she?"
"Mm."
True, at Sobu High it was Mio who was better known—famous for her gentle, easy-to-talk-to personality, after all—but that didn't mean Mashiro wasn't popular.
Mashiro was actually quite popular at school: a beautiful girl to begin with, and a renowned prodigy painter. It was just that her quirky personality made her hard to approach.
"I wonder if Mashiro has any suitors at school?" As Rita finished, her gaze slid from the corner of the room over to Mio.
"She does, I'd say—though Mashiro couldn't care less about them. Come to think of it, one time when I went to find her, I happened to see someone confessing to her. At the time I..." Mio's tone hitched for a beat before she continued. "At the time I was actually a little worried she'd run into someone with bad intentions—but Mashiro turned them down, so you don't need to worry too much either."
"I see."
Rita nodded thoughtfully, then asked a few more questions about how Mashiro had been lately before rising and leaving the room.
Back in Mashiro's room, she glanced at Mashiro, who was busy drawing manga, and smiled. "I just went and did a little probing on Shirai Mio. Made a few discoveries."
"What discoveries?"
"Just some small ones. Give me a bit more time to observe, and I'll fill you in later. Oh—one question. Are you certain Shirai Mio doesn't have someone she likes?"
"I... I'm not sure."
"That's a bit of a problem, then. But no matter—even if she does like someone, so what? We just steal her away."
"Anyway, I'll stop interrupting your drawing. I'm going to go take a bath first."
"I... want a bath too."
Hearing that, Rita turned back. "With me?"
Mashiro shook her head. "With Mio."
And with that, Mashiro strode off at a brisk, cheerful pace and burst straight into Mio's room.
"Mio—bath time!"
Mio checked the clock, then rose and stretched lazily. "Fine. Same rules as always, though—no funny business with the hands."
"What about the mouth?"
"Also no!"
"Mio, you're so stingy."
"This is not a question of being stingy or not!"
As she spoke, Mio pulled Mashiro's change of clothes out of her wardrobe.
Meanwhile, Rita had just finished a nice, relaxing hot bath. The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, she caught Mio's voice drifting out of her room: "Mashiro—did you put on my panties by mistake again?"
"Mio put on mine last time by mistake."
"...Fair enough. Let's just pretend nothing happened."
"..."
These two really aren't dating?
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