"I have to get Yukinoshita Haruno to take the initiative?"
A thoughtful look surfaced in Mio's eyes. On top of that, this task even came with a body-part restriction—it all felt like kind of a pain.
Why couldn't a Mashiro-related task have triggered instead?
No, wait—Mashiro-related tasks might be a breeze to clear, but in exchange, Mashiro's conquest rating toward her would climb that much faster. And as it was, Mashiro's conquest rating toward her was already creeping up on the sixty-point threshold.
As reluctant as she was, Mio still had a way to clear this task without breaking a sweat.
Whatever it was she'd thought of, the corner of Mio's mouth ticked up into a confident little smile.
She turned to Haruno and said, "Senpai, you still remember the three favors you promised me, right?"
Caught off guard by Mio bringing this up out of nowhere, Haruno said, a little surprised, "So you've decided what you want me to do? Think it over carefully, now—I'll agree to absolutely anything."
Hearing that honey-laced tone, Mio sneered inwardly. She herself loved using exactly this kind of line to fluster other people; Haruno was still too green to try teasing her with it.
"My request is simple. All Senpai has to do is give me a kiss on the cheek." As she spoke, Mio leaned her face in.
It seemed Haruno really hadn't expected Mio to put forward a condition like that. She blanked for a second—then quickly broke into a laugh. "You're sure that's all it'll take?"
"I'm sure."
The task's difficulty wasn't all that high; with a bit of effort she could've cleared it without needing to call in one of the favors Haruno owed her at all.
It was just that lazy Mio simply did not feel like exerting herself today.
"All right then. But I'm a little shy—could you close your eyes for me?"
At that, Mio's mouth twitched. She might buy that line from anyone—anyone except Yukinoshita Haruno.
Skeptical as she was, in order to wrap up the task as fast as possible, Mio went ahead and did as Haruno asked, slowly letting her eyes fall shut.
And just as Mio was wondering which cheek Haruno would go for, she suddenly felt a soft sensation land on her lips—along with that faint trace of alcohol.
The sensation hit so abruptly that her eyes snapped open on reflex, and of course the first thing she saw was Haruno's beautiful face. What Mio couldn't wrap her head around was—why on earth had Haruno kissed her on the lips?
And just as Mio sat there reeling, the System's voice rang out: "Congratulations, Host, task complete. Yukinoshita Haruno's conquest rating toward the host has increased by 3 points. Please select your reward."
The rewards for Haruno-related tasks were as lavish as ever. This time, among the three reward options, there was even a [Freebie Card]—which, together with the one Mio had saved up earlier, gave her two chances to claim a task reward for free.
The moment Mio made her choice, time resumed its flow.
Looking at Haruno, who had already pulled back to a proper distance, Mio stammered, "S-Senpai, did you... kiss the wrong spot?"
"Seems like I did. Though that couldn't really be helped, now could it—who told my kouhai to look so tempting with her eyes closed~" Haruno finished, then licked her lips, as if savoring the lingering taste of something.
At first, she really had meant to just give Mio's cheek a peck and be done with it. But the second Mio shut her eyes, her gaze got pulled straight to those lips—as if they were practically inviting her to lean in and kiss them.
She could have reined the impulse in—but there was no need to.
Because Haruno had a feeling that if she went ahead and kissed her, Mio's reaction would be a lot of fun.
And as it turned out, her hunch was correct.
Mio, who'd always assumed Haruno was simply interested in her, was now getting the distinct sense that Haruno wasn't just interested—she might want her in a far less innocent way.
Just as Mio was about to say something, she suddenly noticed a girl over at a corner not far off—a guest, by the looks of her—staring blankly in their direction. The moment she caught Mio's eye, she immediately bolted off in a fit of excitement.
"Senpai, I think somebody just saw us."
"This is all my kouhai's doing. Who told you to spring a request like that on me—so you'd better take responsibility for it."
"You're the one who went and kissed me on the lips."
The two of them traded a look, then, by unspoken agreement, dropped the argument and opted instead to vacate the scene of the crime.
Before long they made it down to the inn's lobby, and after picking a seat at random, Haruno finally asked, curious, "Kouhai, mind if I ask—why did you suddenly make a request like that?"
Mio had long since seen this question coming. With a perfectly unruffled expression, she said, "I just wanted to see whether Senpai would actually say yes to a request like that, that's all. I really didn't think you'd—"
"Is that really all it was?"
"That's really all it was."
Mio had been keeping up the act the whole time, but for some reason she still felt a tiny twinge of guilt. After all, that request of hers had been more than a little out of nowhere.
"What's that supposed to mean—here I was thinking my kouhai had me kiss her because she likes me." Haruno put on a disappointed face.
"Senpai and I are both girls, you know."
"And what about it? As far as I'm concerned, as long as I like them, it doesn't matter whether they're a boy or a girl~"
At Haruno's words, Mio raised an eyebrow. Why did it feel like the woman was hinting at something?
"By the way—that just now was my first kiss, you know. And I barely got to experience it before it was over. Feels like a real loss."
"Senpai's first kiss?" Mio was busy turning over just how much of what Haruno said could actually be trusted.
"Mm-hm. So how about it—why don't you come to my room, kouhai, and we go a little... deeper~"
Feeling the heat of Haruno's gaze, Mio gave an involuntary shiver. The old her would've nodded yes without a second thought—because as far as she'd understood it, Haruno basically would never do something like this.
But after what had just happened, Mio could no longer tell whether Haruno was being serious or just teasing her.
Just to be safe, Mio decisively changed the subject. "How many days is Senpai planning to stay out here?"
"That depends on how many days you stay."
At that, it clicked for Mio—Haruno turning up here wasn't some coincidence. It looked a whole lot more like she'd come out here specifically for her.
No way... Haruno's not actually serious, is she?
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