"One minute's up."
Hearing Yui's words, Mio reluctantly let go of her arm. Actually, the minute had been up ages ago—she'd just shamelessly deployed the acting-cute-and-clingy technique one more time to squeeze out another minute. All in all, she'd managed about three minutes total.
In those three minutes, she'd already pulled Yui around for a whole lap of the area, yet most of the people around them had their attention glued to the discounted products. No one really noticed their existence.
Why wasn't this working?
A white-haired, red-eyed beauty walking around here, and she still couldn't compete with discount merchandise for people's attention.
For the first time, Mio began to doubt her own looks.
Even after all that, the task still wasn't complete. She couldn't seriously be expected to kiss Yui right here in front of everyone, could she?
She wouldn't mind, but if she actually did that, Yui would probably explode on the spot.
Just then, a familiar figure appeared in their line of sight.
It was a guy who looked reasonably handsome but had a pair of dead fish eyes—none other than the legendary "Great Teacher" himself, Hikigaya Hachiman.
Actually, by the time the two girls noticed Hikigaya, he'd already spotted them first.
The white-haired, red-eyed beauty was that transfer student who'd just joined the class. The other flashy-looking beauty was also a classmate. He remembered these two were always huddled together during breaks, chatting about something, and they'd often do stuff that gave off serious yuri vibes. Just now he'd even seen them walking arm-in-arm through the supermarket like a couple.
Two beautiful girls together? Not bad at all.
In Hikigaya's view, while he recognized those two beauties from his class, they probably didn't recognize him. The best move here was to pretend he'd seen nothing.
Going up to greet them was out of the question. What if they responded with "Who are you?"—that'd be way too awkward.
With that thought, Hikigaya naturally shifted his gaze to the discounted products nearby.
Mio herself didn't even realize that the moment she spotted Hikigaya, her first instinct was to glance at Yui beside her.
Using her people-reading ability, she observed that Yui's expression only showed a bit of surprise. Only then did Mio inexplicably breathe a sigh of relief.
Just then, time froze. The System's voice suddenly rang out: "Task complete. The host's conquest rating with Yuigahama Yui has increased by 3 points."
[Yuigahama Yui's People-Reading Ability]
Host can more easily gauge others' thoughts through their words and expressions. This card is part of the Yuigahama Yui card set.
[Can't Gain Weight]
Host will possess a metabolism that prevents weight gain. Note: This doesn't mean you can binge eat recklessly—please maintain proper nutrition.
[Enhanced Memory]
Host's memory will be strengthened, making it easier to recall past experiences. If selected repeatedly, this card's effects will be enhanced.
Looking at the three cards floating before her eyes, Mio was still a bit dazed. She'd been holding onto Yui for so long without completing the task, but the moment she let go, it mysteriously completed itself.
Mio glanced at the Great Teacher in the distance. She wondered if the task had completed because of him.
Well, regardless of why it completed, a completed task was a good task.
And the rewards this time were excellent. If not for the [Can't Gain Weight] card, Mio would've chosen [Enhanced Memory] without hesitation—that one was crucial for her money-making plans, after all.
But in her previous life as an actress, she'd needed extremely strict dietary management. She'd always been so jealous of people who could eat whatever they wanted without gaining weight. Now that opportunity was finally right in front of her—how could she possibly pass it up?
Even though her current appetite wasn't particularly large, Mio still chose [Can't Gain Weight] without hesitation.
As Mio made her choice, time resumed flowing.
"Isn't that Hikigaya-kun from our class?"
"Huh? You can actually recognize him? You just transferred in—don't tell me you've already memorized everyone's names in class?" Yui said in surprise.
"Pretty much."
Mio smiled. She wasn't bluffing—after all, with her looks and the gentle, approachable persona she'd established at school (the kind who could chat with anyone), combined with the memory enhancement card, she'd genuinely memorized most of her classmates' names.
Though she wanted to go say hi to the Great Teacher, she figured he probably didn't feel like greeting people right now. So Mio simply led Yui past him.
Then they headed toward the checkout counter.
Since the task was complete, there was no need to waste more time in the supermarket. What surprised her, though, was that Yui hadn't proactively gone to greet the Great Teacher either. Well, that worked out fine.
"We're leaving already?"
"Yeah, I thought about it and realized there's nothing else we need to buy. Might as well head back and start teaching you how to make cookies~"
"Um... I'm really not confident in my cooking abilities. You might want to mentally prepare yourself."
"Don't worry." The massive amount of ingredients Mio had bought was her mental preparation.
The two quickly returned to the apartment from the supermarket, and Mio began seriously teaching Yui how to make cookies.
Before her reincarnation, in preparation for eventually getting a girlfriend, she'd put significant effort into learning not just cooking but also dessert-making. Cookies were naturally a piece of cake.
Though she knew Yui had zero talent for cooking, Mio figured that as long as Yui strictly followed her instructions, there shouldn't be any problems.
Originally, that's what she thought.
Until she saw the cookies Yui had made. Despite being made under Mio's supervision and strictly following the procedure, the final product was somehow... subtly wrong.
This defies science!
Unwilling to give up, Mio picked up a cookie and popped it into her mouth.
Seeing this, Yui quickly said, "Mio, you probably shouldn't eat that..."
"It's fine. The taste is a bit weird, but it's not inedible. We'll just try a few more times. Next time, let's make them together—you can follow my steps slowly."
"...Okay."