"Yo, where'd you two run off to so early in the morning?"
Sengoku Chihiro spotted Mio and Yukinoshita Haruno walking into the inn together, and she quickly noticed that Mio's hand was tucked inside the pocket of Haruno's coat.
Catching Chihiro's gaze, Mio suddenly remembered—she'd finished her task and forgotten to pull her hand back out.
All she could say was, Haruno's hand was warm. So warm she'd completely forgotten all about it.
A little flustered, Mio withdrew her hand. "We just took a stroll around the area. Did you need us for something?"
"Nope. Just didn't expect the two of you to be up this early on a day off."
"Can't help it. My sleep quality's terrible, and she's just used to getting up this early," Haruno said with a smile.
"Oh, that reminds me—Mashiro seems to be awake already, and she's been looking for you. Want to go check on her?" Chihiro said, glancing at Mio.
"Then I'll head back to the room first and come back for breakfast in a bit."
Without her, Shiina Mashiro basically couldn't make it out the door. It wasn't that she didn't know how to dress herself—it's that she put her clothes on so crookedly there was a very real risk of a wardrobe malfunction.
To head off any unnecessary trouble, Mio hurried back to the room—and there was Shiina Mashiro, locked in mortal combat with her yukata.
She'd figured a yukata was about as easy to put on as clothes got—so how on earth had Mashiro managed to wind up in this state?!
Seeing Mio back, Mashiro tugged at her clothes and shuffled over. "Mio, this outfit won't let me wear it."
"I don't even know what to say anymore. Forget it—let me do it."
Helping Mashiro into her clothes, Mio said, "When you've got time later, you really should learn to dress yourself neatly. I can't be by your side forever, you know."
"It's fine. If Mio can't be by my side, then I'll just be by Mio's side instead," Mashiro said, dead serious, delivering a line straight out of a flirt's playbook.
Even though Mio had built up something of a resistance to lines like that, she still couldn't help feeling a little shy.
This time, though, the conquest rating didn't go up—which, as far as she was concerned, was a good thing.
"Did you wash up?"
"Mm."
"Then let's go get breakfast."
Bringing Mashiro to the dining hall, she went over and sat down where Sengoku Chihiro and the others were.
As everyone ate breakfast, they hashed out the day's plans.
Chihiro and Hiratsuka Shizuka wanted to soak in the hot spring, then go get a massage.
As for Shiina Mashiro, there was no need for her to say a word—wherever Mio went, she'd go.
And as for Yukinoshita Haruno—she, with that wicked sense of humor of hers, actually went and mimicked Mashiro's flat, toneless delivery, putting on a cutesy act as she said the exact same line to Mio.
There wasn't a shred of dignity in the performance.
Then again, Mio wasn't really in any position to talk.
In a way, she and Haruno really were a perfect match.
Mio gave it some serious thought, then said, "In a bit I want to go check out the town, pick up a few things."
"Then good luck to you all. I'm definitely not going out to get blasted by cold wind," Chihiro drawled.
Before heading off, she still wasn't ready to give up, and turned to Haruno. "Haruno, are you really not coming to soak in the hot spring with us?"
"No way."
Sharp as she was, how could Haruno fail to see that Chihiro was angling to set up an assist for her cousin?
After breakfast, Mio first took Mashiro back to the room and changed her into a fresh set of outdoor clothes, then called Haruno along and the three of them headed out of the inn.
Earlier that morning, she and Haruno had already wandered through plenty of spots—it's just that most of the shops had been shut at the time. Now, though, the shops lining the street were basically all open, and you could spot no shortage of tourists about as well.
"The atmosphere here is really nice. Feels like a great place to retire," Mio said, glancing around with a soft sigh.
"How old even is my little kouhai, and you're already thinking about retirement? I'd say you'd be better off thinking about romance first."
"No way."
Mio threw Haruno's own earlier words right back at her, then took Mashiro's hand and strode briskly ahead.
Watching Mio's retreating figure, a thoughtful glint flickered through Haruno's eyes.
Mio liked girls, and there were girls who liked her in turn—and yet she'd never once given dating a thought. Was it that she didn't want to? Or was there some reason she couldn't?
Haruno was very curious.
Walking up ahead, Mio suddenly felt a chill run through her—even bundled up in thick clothes, she couldn't suppress a shudder.
What was this prickling sense of a dangerous task locking onto her?
The only one around here who could qualify as a "dangerous task" was Yukinoshita Haruno, wasn't it?
Mio cautiously turned her head, and at a single glance caught Haruno watching her with a smile, who-knew-what running through her mind.
Even after knowing her for so long, much of the time Mio still couldn't make heads or tails of what Haruno was actually thinking.
Anyway—as long as it had nothing to do with the System, it was fine.
Buying the local specialties went off without a hitch. Mio nearly lost herself amid the shopkeeper's endless stream of praise, and if not for Haruno at her side, she'd have bought far too much.
Even so, by the time the three of them lugged their haul back to the inn, they were thoroughly worn out.
For the rest of their time there, apart from eating, sleeping, and soaking in the hot spring, Mio mostly spent it painting alongside Shiina Mashiro.
She'd originally thought that, having leveled up [Shiina Mashiro's Painting Technique] quite a bit by completing tasks, she might be able to grasp at least a sliver of Mashiro's skill.
But the facts proved the gap between her and Shiina Mashiro was still enormous.
Still, these two days of painting alongside Mashiro had bumped her own painting skill up a little further—or rather, given her a firmer command of the card's ability.
What surprised Mio was that, while she'd expected Yukinoshita Haruno to run out of patience, Haruno watched for exactly as long as she painted, without the faintest hint of restlessness.
Though Mio couldn't shake the feeling that what Haruno was watching wasn't the painting—it was her.
Time quickly arrived at the morning of the fourth day—the day they were due to head back.
Sengoku Chihiro and Hiratsuka Shizuka had already left ahead of them, so naturally the ride that had brought them here was gone too.
But it didn't matter—because with a certain young lady by the name of Yukinoshita Haruno around, Mio and Shiina Mashiro successfully scored seats in the young lady's private car.
After a nap in the car, Mio woke to find they'd already pulled up downstairs at the apartment building.
Haruno climbed out of the car right along with her.
Just as Mio assumed Haruno was about to come mooch a meal at her place or something—what she absolutely did not expect was for Haruno to walk straight up and open the door to the apartment directly across from hers.
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