"Senpai, I knew I'd find you here."
Mio stepped out onto the rooftop and looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was sitting on a bench reading. Her gaze was quickly drawn to those long legs sheathed in black tights.
As expected—nothing beat long legs in black tights.
Hearing Mio's voice, Utaha lifted her eyes from her book to look at her. "Did you need something?"
"I just have something I wanted to give you, senpai."
Utaha raised an eyebrow at the beautifully wrapped gift in Mio's hand. "What's this?"
"Chocolate, of course." Mio said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. "As your fan, it's perfectly normal for me to give you chocolate, isn't it, senpai?"
"While I'm at it, I wanted to ask—how's your new book coming along? Roughly when should I start on the illustrations?" Mio took the opportunity to sit down beside her.
"Give it a while longer. I'll let you know when it's ready."
Utaha idly tore open the gift box and popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth without much thought.
It wasn't the cloying sweetness she'd expected, nor was it bitter—just the right balance. For someone who'd skipped lunch, it hit the spot perfectly.
After a few pieces, Utaha noticed Mio was still there. "Was there something else?" she asked evenly.
The truth was, Mio had planned to slip away the moment she handed over the chocolate. But just as she was about to bolt, the System's voice suddenly sounded in her ear.
This time it wasn't a snide remark—it was an actual mission.
The content was simple enough: before parting ways with Utaha, Mio had to make her hand come into contact with Utaha's leg, for no less than three minutes.
Practically identical to last time's mission.
But a mission like this was nowhere near as simple for Mio to pull off as it sounded.
The problem was that she and Utaha weren't close enough for this—if she just followed the System's instructions, she was pretty sure Utaha would peg her as some kind of pervert.
But she didn't want to waste her [Slacking-off Card] on a mission this minor either, which left Mio thoroughly torn.
The internal struggle didn't last long, though. She worked up her courage and said, "Um, senpai—I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"Could I put my hand on your leg?" Even Mio couldn't help feeling a little mortified saying that out loud.
Utaha's expression turned strange at the words. She turned to look at Mio. "Are you really a fan of mine, and not some pervert with weird ideas about my legs?"
A flicker of melancholy crossed Mio's eyes. Misunderstood again, just as she'd feared.
Well, since she'd already been misunderstood, Mio didn't bother explaining. She just rolled with it. "I won't lie—I really am your fan, senpai. But I also have a thing for legs, and yours are just too gorgeous. I was hoping I could sketch them, which is why I'm asking."
"Leave it to the Host—you gave yourself a leg-fetish setting without a moment's hesitation."
"And how do you know I wasn't into legs before I got transmigrated here?"
For once, the System had nothing to say to that.
"You... really just want to draw them?"
"Saying it's purely about drawing would be a lie—there's a little selfish desire mixed in too." Mio worked to keep her expression as sincere as she could manage.
Looking at that earnest face, Utaha hesitated, then gave a small nod. Mostly it was because last time Mio had only rested her hand on Utaha's leg without doing anything strange, which was why she agreed.
The moment she had Utaha's permission, Mio eagerly placed her hand on Utaha's thigh.
She would have loved to stay perfectly still to prove she had no funny ideas, but she'd just said she wanted to sketch Utaha's legs—so obviously staying frozen wouldn't do.
So Mio could only "force" herself to move her hand a little.
She had to admit, Utaha's long legs really did feel wonderful under her hand. If she weren't so worried about being taken for a pervert, Mio might not have been able to resist a few more strokes.
The instant three minutes passed and the System announced the mission complete, Mio decisively pulled her hand back.
"Done already?"
"Done already."
Mio gave Utaha a grateful look. "Thank you for humoring me, senpai. I'll head down now—if there's ever anything I can help you with, just let me know anytime."
With that, Mio walked off toward the stairwell with a light, breezy step.
The instant she vanished from Utaha's sight, Mio switched into a full sprint. To avoid triggering another mission, she raced back to her classroom at top speed.
Utaha was taken care of. That left only Yukinoshita Yukino.
Mio pulled out her phone and checked the time—a little under ten minutes until class. More than enough to get the chocolate to her.
At that thought, Mio, who'd just sat down, stood right back up. Then she headed straight for Yukino's classroom.
Mio's luck held out. Yukino happened to be in the classroom reading. Mio had meant to greet her from the window, but Yukino was clearly too absorbed in her book to notice anything else, so a resigned Mio ended up finding a girl she was on good terms with and asking her to get Yukino's attention.
With the girl's nudge, Yukino finally noticed Mio standing out in the hallway.
She frowned, then rose and stepped out of the classroom, coming over to Mio. "Did you need something?"
"This is for you." Mio had barely pressed the chocolate into Yukino's hand when the bell for class rang.
"What is this?"
"Just ordinary chocolate." Mio left her with that and hurried back toward her own classroom. She'd already spotted the teacher's back—if she walked in after the teacher, she'd never hear the end of the lecture.
Back in her classroom with the chocolate in hand, Yukino looked at what Mio had just shoved at her. Even now she couldn't work out why Mio would give her chocolate.
What did it mean when her sister's girlfriend gave her chocolate on Valentine's Day?
It was probably... friendship chocolate, or something like that... right?
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