"The senpai you've been admiring is right here in the kitchen with you. I know you definitely wouldn't want to do anything weird to such a beautiful senpai."
"So, please find a way to avoid any physical contact with Yukinoshita Haruno before she leaves. Success may reward you with a Yukinoshita Haruno series card or item. Failure will result in drawing from the punishment deck."
"See? Isn't this task totally in line with what you wanted? Go on, praise me~"
Hearing the system's cutesy, saccharine tone, Mio felt absolutely nothing. In fact, she kind of wanted to grab a kitchen knife and give that little bitch a good whack.
Sure, this task was different from the previous ones and seemed simpler on the surface, but reality was far from it.
Given Haruno's personality, the moment Mio showed even the slightest hint of distance, she'd definitely get a kick out of it and deliberately close the gap—maybe even press herself right up against her.
Of course, Haruno only did this to people she found interesting. If it were someone boring, she wouldn't even spare them a second glance.
And right now, Haruno clearly had considerable interest in her. Plus, they were both stuck in the kitchen together. This task was going to be hard.
Noticing that Mio had suddenly frozen in place, Haruno leaned in curiously and asked, "What's wrong, kouhai?"
Hearing her voice, Mio casually took half a step back, establishing a safe distance from Haruno before smiling and saying, "Maybe it's because Senpai is here—I got so excited I forgot what I was supposed to do. I just remembered."
Mio continued speaking while she started prepping the ingredients.
To avoid any physical contact with Haruno, she'd have to stay on high alert and make sure Haruno didn't catch on.
This was going to be a test of her acting skills.
Haruno let out a soft chuckle. Mio's acting was quite good—if it weren't for that half-step retreat, she might've actually bought it.
Just yesterday at the izakaya, she'd sat right next to Mio, and Mio hadn't deliberately kept her distance then. So why now?
Haruno was curious.
Was Mio afraid she'd eat her or something?
As if something had occurred to her, Haruno began assisting Mio while gradually inching closer. When she was about to enter within half a meter of Mio, Mio suddenly seemed to think of something, then naturally turned and walked toward the fridge, muttering to herself, "Hm? Where did I put that butter I bought last time?"
"Want me to help you look~?" Haruno naturally moved toward her as well.
"No need to trouble yourself, Senpai. Found it." Without missing a beat, Mio pulled the butter out of the fridge.
She'd already sensed something off about Haruno's behavior. If she wasn't mistaken, Haruno had probably figured something out.
As expected of Yukinoshita Haruno, huh?
At first, Haruno thought Mio was just deliberately keeping her distance. But after a series of subtle tests, she realized Mio seemed to be specifically avoiding physical contact with her.
For instance, whenever Haruno handed something to her while helping out, Mio would avoid letting their hands touch at all. She made it look natural, but after enough repetitions, the pattern became obvious.
Haruno glanced down at her own hand. For a split second, she wondered if Mio had some kind of germaphobia. But Mio's behavior didn't seem like that of a germaphobe—it was more like she was simply trying to avoid physical contact with her specifically.
As for why, even she couldn't quite figure it out.
If Mio were a guy with a girlfriend, that would at least make sense. But Mio was clearly a girl, and she didn't seem to be dating anyone.
As if something had crossed her mind, the corners of Haruno's lips curled into an amused smile. Then she silently moved toward Mio.
Mio had been keeping an eye on Haruno the whole time. When she noticed Haruno approaching, her beautiful crimson eyes practically tremored. That expression on the scheming woman's face—she was clearly about to stir up trouble!
But she was in the middle of cooking right now; she couldn't just walk away. And even if she did, where would she go?
As Haruno drew closer, Mio's heart rose to her throat. But her professional acting discipline kept her looking completely oblivious.
Just as she was wondering what Haruno was planning to do, she suddenly caught a familiar scent of perfume. Then she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind.
The instant Mio was embraced, the flames on the stove froze in place, and the system's voice rang out: "Task failed. Yukinoshita Haruno's conquest rating has decreased by 2 points."
As the system's words faded, three semi-transparent cards appeared before Mio's eyes, along with a five-minute countdown in her field of vision.
[Unmistakable Excitement]
Select this card, and when experiencing certain emotions, heart-shaped effects will appear in your eyes, slightly amplifying that emotion. Selecting this card again will further enhance the effect.
[Masochist Constitution]
Select this card, and your XP will be somewhat affected, along with the way you complete tasks. Selecting this card again will further enhance the effect.
[Opposite-Sex Repellent]
Select this card, and your attractiveness to the opposite sex will slightly decrease, while your attractiveness to the same sex will slightly increase. Selecting this card again will further enhance the effect.
After carefully reading each card's effects, Mio quietly let out a breath of relief. Then, without hesitation, she selected [Opposite-Sex Repellent].
She even felt like this card didn't belong in the punishment deck.
For her, this card was all benefit, no harm.
If this were a game, she might've picked [Unmistakable Excitement]. A white-haired, red-eyed beauty with hearts in her eyes? Who wouldn't love that?
But in real life? Yeah, no. Hearts in the eyes were not happening.
As Mio made her selection, time resumed its flow.
Haruno, still hugging Mio from behind, rested her chin lightly on Mio's shoulder and remarked, "My kouhai's quite skilled~"
"If Senpai says things like that, I'll get embarrassed."
Originally, Haruno had wanted to see how Mio would react to being suddenly embraced. But she quickly noticed that aside from a subtle shift in expression the moment she'd been grabbed, Mio didn't have any particularly noteworthy reaction.
Wait, no. Even though Mio hadn't stopped what she was doing, she somehow looked... like she was enjoying it?
?
A question mark popped up above Haruno's head.
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