"I knew it."
Looking at Shiina Mashiro clad in the Seduction Lingerie, a helpless expression came over Shirai Mio's face.
The moment she'd learned that Rita had taken Shiina Mashiro out shopping for clothes today, she'd figured that, given Rita's personality, she was bound to stir up trouble.
And now it looked like her hunch hadn't been the least bit wrong.
Though Shirai Mio's face was full of resignation, her eyes couldn't help but come to rest on Shiina Mashiro.
Honestly, Shiina Mashiro in that set of lingerie was almost dangerously alluring to her.
It was just that Shiina Mashiro hadn't noticed the look in Shirai Mio's eyes; she'd only seen the resignation on her face.
Shiina Mashiro said in a small voice, "Mio, is my new lingerie not pretty?"
"It's actually quite pretty. It's just that I'm worried if I keep looking, I won't be able to control myself."
"That's fine. If it's you, Mio, then you don't have to hold back!" There was nothing but earnestness in Shiina Mashiro's tone.
"I was only joking. I've seen you in the buff who knows how many times already; even you wearing sexy lingerie like this is no big deal to me."
That was what she said, but looking at Shiina Mashiro like this, Shirai Mio still couldn't help feeling a little dry-mouthed all the same.
Shiina Mashiro, however, was a touch too naive; after hearing Shirai Mio out she found it made a fair bit of sense, and in the end she pulled a nightdress on over herself.
Which let Shirai Mio quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
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"I'm... going back to England tomorrow."
Over breakfast, Rita announced the news that she'd be returning to England the next day.
She'd been hoping to watch Shirai Mio and Shiina Mashiro look all reluctant to see her go, but upon hearing the news of her departure, neither of them reacted in any particular way.
Shiina Mashiro she could let slide, but why did Shirai Mio have to copy Shiina Mashiro and give a flat little "Oh" too!
Just as Rita was about to say something, Shirai Mio seemed to hit upon a thought and said with a perfectly straight face, "Sorry, my attitude just now was a touch too cold. It's mainly because there's been a question nagging at me this whole time—I'm not sure whether I should bring it up?"
"If you've got a question, then just ask it."
"Why is it that you're mooching meals at my place right up until tomorrow before finally heading back to England?"
"???"
Watching Rita puff up with indignation, Shirai Mio gave a light laugh. "All right, I was only joking. It's your own fault for always teaching Mashiro strange things lately."
"I'm paving the road to victory for Mashiro!"
Given Shiina Mashiro's personality, if she didn't find some way to be more proactive, there was no telling when Shirai Mio might get snatched away by someone else.
If it weren't for the fact that she had business to attend to back in England, Rita would have wanted to stay here a while longer—even until Shiina Mashiro had won Shirai Mio over completely.
"Since you're heading back to England tomorrow, is there anything you need to take back with you?"
"I'd like to take Mashiro back with me."
"No," Shirai Mio said without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing how nervous and on edge Shirai Mio looked, the corners of Rita's mouth curved up in a pleased little arc. "Then do explain—why not?"
"Because there's no way Mashiro would go back with you."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Rita silently looked over at Shiina Mashiro, then waggled her eyebrows in an attempt to get Shiina Mashiro to play along—yet Shiina Mashiro nodded without the slightest hesitation and said, "I'm... not going back. I want to be with Mio."
Shirai Mio, who had only meant to tease Rita a little, realized upon hearing Shiina Mashiro's words that she herself had just been ambushed!
As the System's voice rang out, Shiina Mashiro's conquest rating toward her rose by another point.
By now Shiina Mashiro's conquest rating toward her wasn't far off from 75 points.
Once it reached 75 points, the tasks relating to Shiina Mashiro would ramp up in difficulty accordingly, and by then a mere kiss wouldn't cut it—she might well be required to do something that went a step further.
Though Shiina Mashiro hadn't played along, seeing the faint blush on Shirai Mio's cheeks, Rita felt she had already accomplished her goal.
Judging by Shirai Mio's reaction, Shirai Mio must have feelings for Shiina Mashiro.
That one piece of information was already enough.
Having finished breakfast, Shirai Mio said to Rita, "I'll leave the dishwashing to you. Mashiro and I need to get going. While you're at it, give some good thought to what you need to bring—I can still take you shopping for it when I get back tonight."
"I've already got the souvenirs and all that ready. How about you recommend a few 18+ doujinshi to me instead~" Back when she'd been picking out study materials for Shiina Mashiro, she'd looked through quite a lot and found them rather nice.
"???"
Even Shirai Mio was at a loss for what to say. Should she chalk it up to this being exactly what you'd expect from a foreigner?
Still, since Rita had gone and said as much, Shirai Mio sincerely recommended Kashiwagi Eri, a well-known 18+ doujin artist in the industry.
Meanwhile, standing at the intersection slacking off and scrolling on her phone, Eriri suddenly sneezed.
Eriri rubbed her nose. The weather today wasn't even all that cold, so why did she feel a bit of a chill?
More than that, what she cared about was that Shirai Mio was running a little late today; normally, she should have arrived over here by now.
She couldn't have gone on ahead to school already, could she?
Wait—it wasn't as if she was deliberately waiting here for that white-haired little bitch. She'd just happened to have some material she wanted to look up, which was why she'd stopped here; after all, walking while messing around on her phone was a bit too dangerous.
Mm, that was it, no doubt about it.
After waiting another five minutes or so, Eriri finally caught sight of Shirai Mio's figure appearing in her line of vision.
Once Shirai Mio had drawn near, Eriri blurted out on reflex, "You're so slow today!"
The instant the words were out, it dawned on her—saying something like that was as good as telling Shirai Mio she'd been waiting here just for her, wasn't it?
But the words were already out, so all she could do now was try to salvage the situation.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I just had something I wanted to see you about, that's all."
Hearing Eriri, Shirai Mio curved her lips into a faint smile and then nodded indulgently to show she understood completely.
Seeing Shirai Mio's expression, Eriri couldn't help clenching her little fists. That white-haired little bitch's expression—why did it look more and more like it was begging for a spanking the longer she looked at it?
"So, what did you want to see me about, Eriri?"
Eriri glanced at Shiina Mashiro standing beside Shirai Mio, and what she was trying to get across went without saying.
"You could've just come to find me later, so why did you go out of your way to say it here, Eriri? Don't tell me—"
"There's no 'don't tell me'! There isn't!"
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