"We're back~"
Rita pushed open the front door with Shiina Mashiro in tow, and there in the living room, besides Mio, sat a slender, black-haired beauty. Even she had to admit the girl was genuinely gorgeous. And something about her looked oddly familiar, as if she'd seen her somewhere before.
"Dangerous Woman: Youth Edition!" The moment Shiina Mashiro saw Yukinoshita Yukino, she quietly delivered her nickname for her.
"'Dangerous Woman' I'll let slide, but what's 'Youth Edition' supposed to mean?"
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned. She could sense nothing but ill will in the nickname Shiina Mashiro had given her.
"So, where did you two go today? Why are you only getting back now?" Mio asked curiously. On the surface she looked no different from usual, but inside she was quietly weeping—she'd only needed about another minute and a half for the task to be complete. She never imagined Shiina Mashiro and Rita would pick this exact moment to come home. The head-patting had been interrupted, which meant the clock reset. A reset she could live with—the trouble was that now she couldn't find another opening to get Yukinoshita Yukino to pat her head.
"To buy clothes for Mashiro, of course~" Rita gave the shopping bags in her hands a little shake, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Seeing that look on Rita's face, Mio knew she was up to something again. But that could wait until she had time later; right now, what she needed to figure out was the task at hand.
"Um, Yukinoshita-san, want to come take a look at my room?"
Sharp as she was, Yukinoshita Yukino of course knew exactly what Mio was after with that question. After a moment's hesitation, she gave a small nod and followed Mio into the bedroom.
Once the door was shut, Mio said with a helpless look, "So, about the head-patting—could you do another three minutes?"
"Didn't we already get through a minute or so just now?"
"It doesn't count once it's interrupted. Please?"
Seeing how pitiful Mio looked, Yukinoshita Yukino gave a soft sigh. "Fine. Come here."
Once Mio came over and sat down beside her, Yukinoshita Yukino once again rested her hand on Mio's head. As she stroked her hair, she curiously looked around the bedroom. There didn't seem to be anything particularly special about it—except that she noticed quite a few golden hairs on the bed, the same color as Shiina Mashiro's. It was easy to tell the two of them must sleep together often.
Her own sister's girlfriend, regularly sharing a bed with another girl. Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't help feeling something about it was off. But thinking it over, maybe there was nothing so strange about it. They were all girls, after all—it wasn't as if the world was full of girls who liked girls.
This time, no surprises came up. Three minutes passed, and the world before Mio's eyes came to a complete standstill.
The System's voice sounded in her ear. "Congratulations, Host, on completing the task. Yukinoshita Yukino's affection score toward the Host has risen by 3 points. Please select your reward."
Mio skimmed the rewards and picked a [Slacking-Off Card] this time. If she used up all the [Slacking-Off Cards] she had on hand, she could give herself a nice little vacation—but every time the moment came to use one, she couldn't bring herself to, as if she were playing one of those hoarder games where you never spend your loot. As Mio made her choice, time resumed its flow.
Mio, feeling Yukinoshita Yukino's hand stroking her head, wondered whether she ought to remind her that the time was up.
"Looks like the time's up." Yukinoshita Yukino stopped her hand and looked at Mio.
"Mm, that's plenty. Thank you so much, really."
"You really can't tell me why you sometimes come out with these strange requests?"
"That, I really can't." Mio gave a dry laugh. If she could have said, she'd have done so long ago. Even so, she was a good deal bolder now than before. In the past, there was no way she'd have flat-out asked Yukinoshita Yukino to pat her head; she'd have cooked up some other scheme and completed the task in a roundabout way. Really, though, it mostly came down to being short on time. She'd been worried Yukinoshita Haruno might suddenly come home, in which case the task would basically have been a wash. With the clock against her, the most direct approach was the only option.
Reining in her wandering thoughts, Mio stood and stretched lazily. "Yukinoshita-san, why don't you stay for dinner tonight?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was about to decline, but after a moment's hesitation she nodded. "That works out, actually—I still want to play with Cake for a while."
"I'll go get started on dinner, then."
After walking out of the bedroom with Yukinoshita Yukino, Mio headed straight into the kitchen to start preparing the evening meal. Yukinoshita Yukino, meanwhile, scooped up a thoroughly unwilling Cake, sat down on the sofa, and began petting the cat. Even though she'd already spent the better part of the day at the cat café, she could never get enough of it.
Perhaps because she'd just finished patting Mio, as Yukinoshita Yukino stroked Cake now, her mind drifted back to the blissful look on Mio's face earlier. She gave her head a little shake, deleted the strange image from her mind, and turned her attention back to the cat.
Off to the side, Rita watched Yukinoshita Yukino pet the cat. By now she'd learned that Yukinoshita Yukino was Yukinoshita Haruno's biological younger sister. What concerned her more, though, was whether Yukinoshita Yukino might be another of Shiina Mashiro's rivals in love. But watching how she and Mio interacted, it didn't quite seem that way. Probably not. After all, both sisters falling for the same person felt a little too unrealistic.
Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang. Rita went to open the door herself and found none other than Yukinoshita Haruno standing there—the Dangerous Woman. After tossing Rita a casual greeting, Yukinoshita Haruno strolled into Mio's home with practiced ease.
When she caught sight of her little sister, even Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't help but be surprised. "Yukino, what are you doing here?"
"I came to see Cake."
"Ah, so it's Cake you came for. And here I thought you'd come to see me~" Despite her words, there wasn't a trace of disappointment on Yukinoshita Haruno's face.
"What's there to see about you?"
"I'd say I'm quite the sight, personally. Don't believe me? Ask her." Yukinoshita Haruno pointed at Mio.
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