"I'll pick this one."
Mio casually glanced at the three reward options, then chose [Shiina Mashiro's Drawing Technique] without hesitation. The other two were relatively ordinary general ability cards that she didn't need right now. What she needed most at the moment was drawing skills.
If things went as expected, once the [Shiina Mashiro's Drawing Technique] card leveled up, she should be able to finish her doujin a day early.
That way, even if her plan didn't succeed, she'd still have room to maneuver.
The moment Mio selected her reward, time resumed its flow.
Mio reached out and gently shook Mashiro. "Mashiro, if you don't get up now, Chihiro-sensei's going to eat all the delicious breakfast."
At the mention of delicious breakfast, Mashiro's eyes immediately opened. Though she still looked drowsy, her hands were already at the collar of her pajamas, starting to undress without treating Mio like an outsider at all.
After finally helping Mashiro change clothes and finish washing up, both Chihiro and Hiratsuka were already prepared to leave.
Seeing Mio and Mashiro emerge from the room, Chihiro said with a smile, "Mio, I'm leaving Mashiro in your care."
Hiratsuka, standing beside her, couldn't help but comment, "You're a teacher, you know. Are you really okay just dumping your cousin on a student to take care of?"
"What do you know? I'm training her."
Hiratsuka rolled her eyes, then waved the bento in her hand at Mio. "Thanks for the loving bento."
"You're welcome~" Mio gave Hiratsuka a mysterious smile.
Hiratsuka might not know it now, but this was a real loving bento—heart-shaped and everything. She'd understand at lunchtime.
Perhaps anticipating Hiratsuka's expression when she opened the bento, Mio's lips curved into a beautiful smile.
After the two teachers left, Mio finally pulled Mashiro to the dining table and set the prepared breakfast in front of her.
While eating, Mio asked, "Mashiro, when I woke you up earlier, I asked you to kiss me. Why didn't you hesitate at all?"
Mashiro looked up, her tone flat but matter-of-fact as she said, "Why would I hesitate? Or should I have hesitated?"
"Kissing is something you should only do with someone you like."
"Then as long as I like you, there's no problem, right?"
Even though Mio knew that Mashiro probably didn't yet understand what it meant to truly like someone, hearing her say those words still made Mio's heart flutter.
Why hadn't she met such a wonderful girl before she transmigrated?
"The host's conquest rating with Shiina Mashiro has increased by 1 point."
Hearing the System's voice suddenly ring out, Mio thought to herself, "I thought you weren't going to show up anymore."
"We've only been apart for such a short time and you already miss me this much, Host? I'm so touched~"
Though the System had changed its voice again, that familiar, punchable tone was back.
Just as Mio was about to continue her earlier line of questioning, the System cut her off: "Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is 'for fun.'"
"Tch."
Hearing the System's firm tone, Mio decided not to bother asking. Even if she did, she probably wouldn't get anything useful out of it. Better to just finish breakfast quickly and take Mashiro to school.
Today, she was once again dancing on the edge of being late. The moment she walked into the classroom, the bell rang.
After exchanging a glance with Yuigahama Yui, Mio walked over to her seat and sat down.
Although Yui had already written off yesterday's incident as an accident and thought she'd adjusted her mindset, seeing Mio again made the scene from yesterday involuntarily flash through her mind.
Feeling her cheeks heat up, she buried her face in her arms like an ostrich. She probably needed a bit more time to adjust.
With the boost from [Shiina Mashiro's Drawing Technique], both the quality and speed of Mio's drawing had significantly improved. She even got a bit too absorbed in her work and nearly got caught by the teacher. Luckily, Miura Yumiko sitting next to her gave her a heads-up, saving her from social death.
This surprised Mio a bit, though it wasn't completely unexpected.
After all, even though Miura Yumiko looked like the stereotypical mean girl from a TV drama, anyone who'd read the original work knew she was actually a good person. Her heart was quite pure—she was just a bit too straightforward.
As the bell rang for the break, Miura finally turned her attention to Mio and asked in her usual haughty tone, "So what exactly were you drawing during class anyway?"
Mio didn't answer. She just smiled and showed Miura the chibi version of herself she'd just drawn.
"This is... me?" At first, Miura didn't recognize that the drawing was of her. She only realized it after looking more carefully.
"Yep. Just drew it."
"Hmph, I guess it's passable." Miura turned her head away, trying to act dismissive. But after a moment, her eyes couldn't help drifting back to the sketchbook.
It was... kind of cute, actually.
Just then, a warm male voice spoke up: "Is this Yumiko? It's pretty cute."
Following the voice, Mio immediately spotted a handsome blonde guy smiling at her drawing. This normie-radiating blonde was undoubtedly the central figure of this class—Hayama Hayato.
With one sentence, he'd both complimented Miura's cuteness and praised Mio's drawing.
And with him speaking up, the normie group naturally rallied around, starting to discuss her drawing.
Mio wasn't socially anxious, and with the advantage of being a transmigrator, she naturally joined the conversation.
The only problem was that Miura was now looking at her with a hint of wariness.
This left Mio feeling helpless.
Look, even though Hayama Hayato was a handsome guy, she had zero interest in sword fighting. Wasn't Yuigahama Yui fragrant enough? Wasn't Shiina Mashiro good enough?
She had no way to explain this. She could only hope that over time, Miura would realize the truth.
...