"Mmn~"
In the middle of a dream where she was on a date with Mashiro at a love hotel, Mio suddenly heard her familiar alarm go off. Eyes still closed, her hand reflexively reached for her phone.
After turning off the alarm, she reluctantly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Mashiro's innocent, angelic face. If she could wake up to Mashiro's face every morning, even with the system around, every day would still be full of hope.
Just then, Mio felt... something. She shifted her legs uncomfortably, then carefully tried to slip out of bed. She wanted to take a shower before Mashiro woke up.
Normally, even if you blasted a movie at full volume next to a sleeping Mashiro, she wouldn't react. But today, for some reason, the moment Mio climbed out of bed, Mashiro's eyes opened.
"Good morning, Mio."
Mashiro rubbed at her eyes, still clearly sleepy.
"M-Morning, Mashiro. There's still some time before breakfast—you can sleep a bit more if you want."
Mashiro shook her head lightly. "Went to bed early last night... don't feel like sleeping right now."
"Then... then just wait in the room for a sec. I'm gonna take a quick shower. I'll be right back."
"Mm?" Mashiro tilted her head in confusion. "Why would Mio shower this early in the morning?"
"I had a nightmare last night and woke up all sweaty, so I want to rinse off." As she spoke, Mio opened a drawer in her closet, grabbed a fresh pair of panties, and bolted into the bathroom without looking back.
Good thing it was Mashiro. Even with such a flimsy excuse full of holes, she'd believe it without question.
But it was precisely because of that trust that Mio felt so guilty—which was one of the reasons she went out of her way to take care of Mashiro.
Feeling the warm water cascade over her body, Mio let out a quiet sigh of relief. She hadn't even looked at any doujins last night—so why on earth had she dreamed something like that?
"I think the host should look for the cause within herself," the system's voice chimed in, dripping with amusement.
Mio could understand why the system said that. When she'd created this character, she'd done it with the mindset of playing an adult game—so naturally, she'd adjusted all the stats to make herself easy to... well, push down.
Like sensitivity and stuff—she'd cranked those way up.
Mio was just grateful she hadn't maxed everything out. Otherwise, instead of leisurely showering right now, she'd probably be locked in someone's basement going at it for the hundredth time.
If only she'd known this would happen... well, forget it. There's no such thing as "if only I'd known." If there were, she wouldn't have touched that game in the first place.
After a quick rinse and washing her underwear, Mio finally brought Mashiro back next door.
Chihiro, already dressed and ready, grinned when she saw the two of them walk in like an old married couple. "I heard the door open last night and wondered what was up. Turns out Mashiro went to your place."
"If you heard something, you could've at least gotten up to check. What if Mashiro got lost?"
Mashiro tugged on Mio's sleeve, her tone flat but serious. "Mio, I won't get lost."
Mio just smiled at that. The reason she always held Mashiro's hand when they went out wasn't to take advantage—it was genuine concern.
"Guess why I was so chill even after realizing Mashiro wasn't here?"
Chihiro seemed pretty satisfied with how much Mio cared about her cousin. But honestly? Last night, after hearing the noise, she had snuck a peek. Once she confirmed Mashiro was just going to Mio's place, she'd gone back to sleep.
Still... Mashiro seemed a bit too reliant on Mio. What if Mio suddenly got a boyfriend?
After all, Mio was super popular at school. In less than two weeks since transferring, her popularity was already on par with people like Yukinoshita Yukino and Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Plus, her personality was way nicer than those two. It wouldn't be surprising if she got a boyfriend—or girlfriend—tomorrow.
If... if Mashiro and Mio could be together... that'd actually be pretty nice.
"Chihiro, your expression's really weird."
Hearing her cousin's comment, Chihiro laughed awkwardly. "Don't worry about it. I'm just thinking about mixers."
"Oh."
"Morning, Yui~"
Walking into the classroom, Mio greeted Yuigahama Yui, then turned to the girl beside her. "And you too, Queen."
Hearing Mio's nickname for her, Miura Yumiko frowned. "Don't call me that!"
"Sure thing, Queen. No problem, Queen."
If it were anyone else, Yumiko would've definitely thrown a fit. But seeing Mio's radiant smile, even she couldn't get mad.
After setting down her bag, Mio looked at the two curiously. "What were you guys talking about just now?"
Yui glanced at Yumiko first. After confirming she had no objections, she leaned close to Mio's ear and whispered, "We were talking about Yumiko and Hayama-kun."
Yui's voice was soft, but Mio could still feel her breath tickling her ear.
Though the sensation was a bit... odd, Mio didn't dislike having a pretty girl whispering in her ear.
After briefly explaining, Yui suddenly noticed Mio's ears had turned red at some point. She paused, then quickly realized—oh, Mio's ears are pretty sensitive, huh?
She should remember that. Might come in handy someday.
Wait... I'm not gonna do anything weird to Mio. Why am I even memorizing this stuff?
Yui's emotions, which had been stable just moments ago, suddenly got complicated. Because she'd realized something: her thoughts had issues. Big issues!