"Wow~ Should I congratulate you on completing the task, or congratulate you on receiving a kiss from a beautiful girl?"
The system that had just claimed it'd had enough entertainment for the day now sounded positively gleeful.
"Enough already. Just give me my rewards."
"Fine, fine. Shiina Mashiro's conquest rating with the host has increased by 3 points. Please select your reward~"
[Shiina Mashiro's Eidetic Memory]
The host's memory will be moderately enhanced. This card is part of the Shiina Mashiro series.
[Upgrade Card]
Randomly upgrades one of your existing cards by one level. Single-use; disappears after use.
[I Want It All]
After using this card, completing the next task will grant ALL reward cards. However, failing the task will require accepting ALL punishment cards. Single-use; disappears after use.
Mio had been ready to make a quick decision, but seeing these rewards made her hesitate.
These rewards were genuinely excellent. [Shiina Mashiro's Eidetic Memory] went without saying—it would help her remember more things from before she transmigrated and would be a huge help academically.
The [Upgrade Card] was also a solid choice, especially now while she had the [Lucky Card] active. Using it might upgrade [Schrödinger's Card] another level.
But [Schrödinger's Card] was too unstable. After upgrading, if it randomly picked a buff card, great. But if it landed on a punishment card... that would be rough.
Looking at it that way, choosing [I Want It All] might actually yield the best returns.
After all, she could complete almost any Mashiro-related task. And with the [Lucky Card] active, the rewards would definitely be good. Even if she encountered an impossible task, she still had a [Freebie Card] that could complete any task unconditionally and claim the rewards.
There were still over three hours until midnight. She should be able to trigger one more task.
With that in mind, Mio chose [I Want It All] as her reward and immediately used it.
As soon as she made her choice, time resumed.
Mashiro propped herself up slightly and looked down at the wide-eyed Mio, then asked in her signature flat tone, "Mio, did I do it wrong?"
"No, you didn't do anything wrong. I just didn't expect you to kiss me on the lips."
"Lips... not okay?" Mashiro gazed at Mio, seemingly contemplating whether she should do it again.
Noticing this, Mio quickly stopped her. "That's enough already."
"Oh."
Mashiro acknowledged with a sound, then stood up and returned to her computer.
She remembered Mio once telling her that kissing was something you only did with someone you liked.
But to this day, she still didn't know what it felt like to like someone.
Wanting to be with that person every day, wanting to hear their voice, wanting to eat their cooking, wanting to sleep while holding them—was that "like"?
Lying on the bed, Mio watched Mashiro's back and smiled helplessly. If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn't be this calm after what just happened. Even Mio couldn't help but overthink things.
Probably only someone as innocent and unworldly as Mashiro could be this unfazed.
After calming herself down a bit, Mio got off the bed and returned to her own room to write, while waiting for the next task.
But strangely, Mio waited until almost 11:30 without a single task triggering.
Just when she thought the day might end like this, the system's voice finally rang in her ears: "Hehe~ Bet you've been dying to hear my voice, right, Host~?"
"Cut the crap. Just give me the task."
Even though triggering it tomorrow would be about the same, Mio still wanted to get task rewards while the [Lucky Card] was active.
"It's rare to see you so eager, Host. Alright then, this task should be pretty easy for you."
"Please find a way to maintain any form of physical contact with Shiina Mashiro for no less than 30 minutes before today ends. Separating will reset the timer. Success may reward you with a Shiina Mashiro series card or item. Failure will require drawing a punishment card."
"That easy?"
Even if this type of task triggered outdoors, it would be a piece of cake for Mio—let alone at home.
But experience told her that the easier a task seemed, the more vigilant she needed to be.
Right now it was 11:28. No time to waste.
Without hesitation, Mio rushed to Mashiro's room at top speed. Before Mashiro could even react, Mio had already placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Mio?"
"Nothing, just came to check on your progress. We have class tomorrow, so you can't stay up too late." Mio smiled.
"Mm, almost done."
Mio casually surveyed the room. Nothing unusual in the familiar space. Sengoku Chihiro had already gone to bed. There didn't seem to be anything that could interfere with her completing the task.
But just to be safe, Mio had Mashiro stand up first, sat down in the chair herself, then had Mashiro sit in her lap. This way, there wouldn't be any problems.
Though Mio's behavior seemed a bit odd, Mashiro didn't mind. In fact, she found sitting in Mio's lap quite comfortable.
Ten minutes passed quickly. Mio shifted uncomfortably—she suddenly felt the urge to use the bathroom.
Sensing Mio's fidgeting, Mashiro asked curiously, "Mio, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing. Just focus on your drawing." Mio took a deep breath.
"Oh."
I knew it. She knew the task wouldn't be that simple.
But it was fine. Just twenty more minutes. She could hold out. It would pass before she knew it!
Twenty minutes wasn't long, but for Mio right now, it felt like several centuries. Especially with Mashiro in her lap occasionally squirming around. She should've known better than to hold Mashiro like this.
This was probably karma.
...