"You're too slow."
Looking at the neatly dressed Shirai Mio, who was even wearing light makeup, Eriri muttered under her breath.
Of course, she spoke so quietly that only she could hear. It was only nine-forty, fifteen minutes before their agreed time.
If Shirai Mio heard her, the white-haired little bitch would definitely think Eriri couldn't wait, then seize on it to tease her.
"Good morning, Eriri~" Shirai Mio gave Eriri a sweet smile.
With light makeup on, Shirai Mio's smile was considerably more devastating than usual. Even Eriri was momentarily dazed.
This was all thanks to Shirai Mio adding Miura Yumiko to the System's list. After completing a quest related to Miura Yumiko, she had obtained a card called [Miura Yumiko's Makeup Skills].
Although the card had never been upgraded, it was already more than enough for Shirai Mio.
"Good morning. You're pretty early."
"Of course. We made plans, after all. There's no way I'd be late," Shirai Mio said earnestly.
At that moment, Eriri suddenly thought of yesterday, when she had waited at the station for a certain someone for more than half an hour.
No, no. She could not compare Shirai Mio with Aki Tomoya. It felt as though there was no comparison to make at all.
Pulling back her wandering thoughts, Eriri asked as casually as she could, "So, where are we going to gather references today?"
"There are quite a few places I want to visit for research. An amusement park, karaoke, a love hotel, things like that," Shirai Mio said with a completely serious expression.
At Shirai Mio's words, Eriri could not help growing wary. Why did she increasingly feel that Shirai Mio was using reference gathering as an excuse to take her on a date?
Still, Eriri had already agreed. Even if it was a date, she could not back out now.
With that thought, Eriri forced herself to sound composed. "Are we leaving now?"
"I'm ready whenever. Is there anything you still need to prepare?"
"I'm all set." While waiting for Shirai Mio, Eriri had already checked everything once and confirmed that she had forgotten nothing.
"Then let's go."
Shirai Mio's first destination was an amusement park.
Since it was the weekend, there were quite a few passengers on the train, and Shirai Mio and Eriri were squeezed into a small corner.
At that moment, Eriri suddenly saw Shirai Mio lean toward her.
Wait. Was this white-haired little bitch planning to do something strange to her in full view of everyone?
Before she could react, Shirai Mio leaned close to Eriri's ear, and her gentle voice followed. "Eriri, I suddenly think a train would make a pretty good setting too."
The panic in Eriri's eyes quickly gave way to helplessness. She genuinely had not expected that to be what Shirai Mio wanted to say.
She carefully looked around. As two beautiful girls, they had naturally attracted plenty of attention, but no one should have been able to hear what they were saying.
So Eriri also leaned close to Shirai Mio's ear and whispered, "A train is a classic setting. I've drawn it before."
"I saw the one you drew. Before reading it, I honestly never imagined people could do that sort of thing on a train."
"Hmph, hmph. Do you have any idea who I am?" Eriri gave a smug smile.
Since the subject of their conversation was highly questionable, they could only whisper into each other's ears. To everyone else, their interaction looked excessively intimate.
Some of the other passengers had even begun speculating about their relationship.
After more than half an hour, the two finally reached their destination.
Even after arriving, however, they still did not end their discussion about doujinshi.
To make whispering easier, Shirai Mio even held onto Eriri's arm, making the two of them look still more intimate.
After buying tickets and entering the amusement park, Eriri had assumed Shirai Mio would take her to some thrilling attractions. As it turned out, she had gotten ahead of herself.
Once inside, Shirai Mio did not go on any rides. Instead, she took out her phone and began taking pictures.
"You really came here to gather references?"
"Hmm? What did you say? You were too quiet. I couldn't hear you."
"I said, is this how you gather references?" Eriri pointed at the phone in Shirai Mio's hand.
"Is there a problem? I'm looking for suitable attractions and taking a few photos to use as material while I'm at it."
As she spoke, Shirai Mio took another photo of a roller coaster as it slowed down. Then she leaned close to Eriri's ear and whispered, "I feel like a roller coaster isn't really suitable for anything to happen on it."
"The ride itself might not work, but the queue would," Eriri said, glancing at the densely packed line.
"Eriri."
"Mm?"
"You're a genius, aren't you?"
Eriri froze, then smiled. "You only just noticed?"
And so the two walked around while discussing various possibilities.
Eriri truly had not expected that after traveling all this way to an amusement park with Shirai Mio, they would not go on a single ride and would simply stroll around instead.
Even more incredibly, she did not feel bored. She actually found it rather interesting.
For Eriri, the feeling was quite strange.
While chatting with Shirai Mio, she had also gained plenty of inspiration. Eriri recorded each idea in her phone's notes app. Writing inspiration down immediately was a good habit.
After completing a circuit of the amusement park, Shirai Mio looked at the Ferris wheel, whose line was not particularly long. "Should we try that?"
"Sure. We won't need to whisper inside, and we can rest our legs at the same time." As she spoke, Eriri rubbed her legs.
Since the line was short, their turn came quickly.
They entered the gondola. As it slowly climbed higher, Shirai Mio was just about to say something when the System's voice suddenly sounded in her ear. "You're riding a Ferris wheel with Eriri. Wouldn't it be a terrible waste if nothing happened at a time like this?"
"It wouldn't. It wouldn't be a waste at all!"
"Before leaving the Ferris wheel, please have Eriri kiss you of her own initiative. The kiss must land somewhere on your face. Success may award an Eriri Series Deck or an Item Reward. Failure will require you to draw from the Penalty Deck."
"Do your best, Host~"
"Tch."
Shirai Mio sighed gloomily. She had just been thinking how quiet the System had been today, only for it to pull this the moment she stepped onto the Ferris wheel.
Worse, the quest required Eriri to take the initiative.
What was she supposed to do?
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