"Did you need something from me?"
Yukinoshita Yukino had only just arrived at the clubroom and sat down. Before she could even open her book, she heard a knock on the door.
Then she saw Shirai Mio walk into the classroom.
"Um, if I said I came here just to see you, would you believe me?"
"Do you think I would believe that?"
Shirai Mio casually pulled over a chair and sat down. "Yukino, you created this club to help people who are having difficulties, right?"
"Yes. Are you trying to say that you're having some kind of difficulty?"
Shirai Mio gently nodded, then carefully asked, "If I wanted you to help me by being my girlfriend for one day, would that be okay?"
Even Yukinoshita Yukino's expression changed subtly when she heard that. What on earth did she mean by being her girlfriend for a day? Wasn't Shirai Mio already in a relationship with her older sister?
If Shirai Mio needed a girlfriend, why not just ask her older sister? Why had she come to Yukino for something like this?
"Do you really think I'm an appropriate person to ask for this?"
"This isn't about whether it's appropriate or not. It has to be you!"
"W-why does it have to be me? If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, I won't help you with this."
Shirai Mio had expected Yukinoshita Yukino to reject her without hesitation. She had not expected Yukino to actually give her a chance to explain herself.
But even if Yukino gave her that chance, there was no way Shirai Mio could explain the truth.
"This really is hard for me to explain. And you'd only be pretending. I'm not actually asking you to become my girlfriend."
Just as Yukinoshita Yukino was about to refuse, she suddenly remembered some of the things that had happened before. This was not the first time Shirai Mio had ended up in this sort of strange situation, and then there were the things her older sister had said.
"So I only have to pretend to be your girlfriend for one day?" Yukinoshita Yukino finally asked after a long while.
"Mm. This weekend. Just pretend for one day. In return, I'll agree to any one thing you ask of me, as long as it's within my ability."
"Fine."
"Then it's a deal." Shirai Mio seemed to remember something as she spoke and moved close to Yukinoshita Yukino again.
Looking at Shirai Mio, who had suddenly leaned closer, Yukinoshita Yukino quietly shifted to the side and asked flatly, "Is there something else?"
"Um, could you not tell your sister about this?"
For some reason, Shirai Mio's request made Yukinoshita Yukino feel as though she were secretly doing something strange with her older sister's girlfriend. Even so, she nodded.
After all, she did not want her older sister to know that she had agreed to pretend to be Shirai Mio's girlfriend for a day either.
"Thank you! I knew you were the best~" Shirai Mio immediately pulled Yukinoshita Yukino into a big hug.
Unsurprisingly, Yukinoshita Yukino reacted with obvious dislike.
"Then I'll head back to my club. I'll message you later."
After saying goodbye to Yukinoshita Yukino, Shirai Mio left the Service Club.
Looking at the door after it closed again, Yukinoshita Yukino gave a soft sigh and began thinking about how exactly one was supposed to pretend to be another girl's girlfriend.
Having never been in a relationship before, her knowledge in that area was basically zero. And on top of that, the other person was a girl just like her.
At that moment, the classroom door slid open again. This time, however, it was not Shirai Mio who entered, but the club's advisor, Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"Yo. How come there's no one else here?"
"The school term has only just started. So, Hiratsuka-sensei, did you need something from me?"
"Nothing in particular. I just came to see whether you had any work to do."
Yukinoshita Yukino had originally been about to say that she did, but after thinking about it, she decided against it. She felt that pretending to be Shirai Mio's girlfriend was something better kept to herself.
Meanwhile, when Shirai Mio returned to the Art Club, she discovered that Isshiki Iroha was there as well.
Curious, she walked over to Isshiki Iroha and asked, "Has my little kouhai already made her choice?"
"Mm. I've decided. I'm joining the Art Club."
Isshiki Iroha had spent a long time thinking about it earlier. She had visited plenty of clubs yesterday, but none of their activities had interested her very much.
The only thing she was interested in was probably Shirai Mio.
After thinking it over again and again, she had decided to join the Art Club. That way she could spend more time with Shirai Mio. She wanted to learn more about this white-haired senpai.
The club president, who had been hovering nearby the entire time, heard Isshiki Iroha say she wanted to join and somehow immediately produced a club application form from who knew where. Smiling brightly, she said, "Since you've decided to join our club, kouhai, fill out this application."
"Okay."
Isshiki Iroha was decisive as well. She took the form and immediately began filling it out.
Eriri, who was sitting nearby, heard their conversation too. She narrowed her eyes at Isshiki Iroha. For some reason, she felt quite threatened by her.
She even began to suspect that Isshiki Iroha's reason for joining the club had quite a lot to do with Shirai Mio.
Noticing Eriri's gaze, Shirai Mio walked over in confusion and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?"
"Nothing." Eriri pouted and put on an air of complete indifference.
Just as Shirai Mio was about to say something, she heard Isshiki Iroha call out, "Senpai, can you show me how I'm supposed to fill this part in?"
"Coming."
Seeing that somehow made Eriri inexplicably irritated.
Deep down, she actually knew why she was irritated. It was just that she still did not know how to express her feelings. She felt that she could not keep going like this. She had to become a little more proactive.
Not long after Shirai Mio finished helping Isshiki Iroha with the application form, club activities ended as well.
Because Isshiki Iroha wasn't headed the same way home as Shirai Mio, and her things were still in the classroom, she had no choice but to leave first.
Eriri, meanwhile, deliberately slowed down what she was doing. Only when Shirai Mio and Shiina Mashiro stood up to leave did she get to her feet and follow them.
Looking at Eriri beside her, Shirai Mio asked curiously, "Eriri, why does it feel like you're moving slower than usual today?"
"Because I'm doing it on purpose." Eriri avoided Shirai Mio's eyes as she answered.
Even Shirai Mio had not expected such a direct answer from her and, for a moment, did not know what to say.
Seeing Shirai Mio momentarily at a loss, Eriri gave a faint smile. "Weren't you the one who taught me before? I can't keep being tsundere forever."
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