"Don't be so nervous, little kouhai. I was only joking."
Isshiki Iroha pursed her lips before saying softly, "Sometimes, Senpai jokes like you're serious, and when you're serious you sound like you're joking. It's impossible to tell the difference."
"Sorry. Force of habit." Shirai Mio gave a couple of dry laughs.
Only after Isshiki Iroha finished her dessert did Shirai Mio leave the dessert shop together with her.
It was exactly five in the afternoon now. It still seemed fairly early, but it was about time to head home.
"How about I walk you home?"
"No need to trouble yourself, Senpai. Your home shouldn't be in this direction, right?"
"I happen to have something to do over your way, so it's no trouble."
Since Shirai Mio had already said that, Isshiki Iroha had no reason to refuse.
A little over ten minutes later, Shirai Mio had escorted Isshiki Iroha all the way to the entrance of her home.
"My place is right here. Senpai, do you want to come up and sit for a while?"
"I'd like to, but it's about time for me to head home too. Let's save it for next time."
"Didn't Senpai say you had something to do over here?" Isshiki Iroha asked in confusion.
"Walking you home was what I had to do."
With that, Shirai Mio waved at Isshiki Iroha and turned to head back.
The truth was, she had not originally planned to walk Isshiki Iroha home. The longer she stayed with her, the easier it was to trigger missions.
But the System had stirred up trouble again just now. Fortunately, the mission was very simple: all she had to do was walk Isshiki Iroha home. Now that she had completed it, naturally it was time to leave.
After watching Shirai Mio disappear into the distance, Isshiki Iroha finally turned and went upstairs.
Back in her room, Isshiki Iroha flopped straight onto her bed. All she had done was eat dessert with Shirai Mio, yet her emotions had been thrown into turmoil several times.
Shirai Mio was a girl just like her.
And in front of Shirai Mio, none of the little tricks she normally used seemed to come out properly—or rather, they did not seem to have much effect.
After all, those little tricks were meant for dealing with boys.
Still, being with Shirai Mio really did feel pretty nice. It gave her the distinct impression that the two of them were on a date.
She wondered what it would feel like if she actually went on a real date with Shirai Mio.
Isshiki Iroha could not help imagining it.
Before long, a faint blush appeared on her fair cheeks.
Meanwhile, Shirai Mio had also returned home.
Looking at Rita sprawled on the sofa, she asked softly, "Did you bring Mashiro back?"
"I brought her back ages ago. Don't worry, I wouldn't forget something like that." Rita lazily rolled over, then asked curiously, "So, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
"Let me see what ingredients we have first."
Just as Shirai Mio was about to head into the kitchen, the doorbell suddenly rang. Curious, she walked to the door and opened it, only to find Yukinoshita Haruno standing outside.
"Senpai, you're back pretty early today."
Because Yukinoshita Haruno had all sorts of things to deal with, it had already been several days since she had last come back for dinner.
"I finally finished dealing with all the work that piled up while we were traveling." As Yukinoshita Haruno spoke, she leaned against Shirai Mio.
"Now that you're done, get a good rest tonight."
"What if I can't sleep by myself?" Yukinoshita Haruno murmured softly beside Shirai Mio's ear.
"Why are you asking me? I don't know either."
Shirai Mio pushed Yukinoshita Haruno away, then turned and walked into the kitchen.
Although she had told Yukinoshita Haruno to rest, Haruno still insisted on coming into the kitchen to help with the little things.
While they were cooking, Yukinoshita Haruno seemed to remember something. Smiling, she said to Shirai Mio, "Actually, I should've been back more than an hour ago, but Hayama said he had something to ask me."
"Hayama?"
"That's right. He asked what kind of relationship you and I have."
Yukinoshita Haruno's words successfully made Shirai Mio stop what she was doing. She turned to look at Haruno, curiosity filling her eyes.
"I told him we were a couple, but he didn't believe me. He said you're also very close with other girls at school and so on."
All of a sudden, Shirai Mio felt as though she might be in danger. But she quickly noticed that Yukinoshita Haruno was not showing any unusual emotion and looked just the same as always.
Seeing Shirai Mio's nervous look, Yukinoshita Haruno chuckled. She gently pinched Shirai Mio's cheek before saying, "I more or less know about your secret, so you don't need to worry."
"Seriously, Senpai, you can't keep guessing. If you dig any deeper, you'll be in danger." Shirai Mio looked at Yukinoshita Haruno with complete seriousness.
"I know."
As she drew closer and closer to the truth, Yukinoshita Haruno had also begun to feel a faint sense of danger, almost like a warning from some unknown existence.
She had stopped trying to think any further for now, but thoughts were not always something you could control just because you wanted to.
"What would happen if I learned the truth?"
"You'd probably lose all your memories related to me."
"That won't do. My memories with my little kouhai are very important to me."
Just then, Rita's voice suddenly sounded. "What are you two talking about? Can I join in?"
Shiina Mashiro was still drawing at the moment. As Mashiro's good friend, Rita truly could not allow Yukinoshita Haruno to keep spending time alone with Shirai Mio, so she jumped in and decided to sacrifice herself.
"Nope. This is a secret between me and my little kouhai." Yukinoshita Haruno smiled as she spoke, and there was a faintly dangerous edge to that smile.
"Then I guess it can't be helped."
As Rita spoke, she leaned against the edge of the kitchen and watched Shirai Mio cook with an earnest expression, looking for all the world like a diligent student eager to learn.
As long as she was here playing third wheel, Rita was confident the two of them would not be able to act as unrestrained as they had just been.
In truth, the two had already said everything they should and should not say. Even if Rita had not been there to play third wheel, they would not have continued the conversation.
"Since you've got so much free time, you can help me peel this garlic."
"Eh!?"
Rita looked at the garlic in front of her with open disgust. She hated peeling garlic more than anything, because every time she did, the smell lingered for ages afterward.
But when she thought of Shirai Mio's cooking, she gritted her teeth and started peeling anyway.
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