"This game looks pretty good too~"
Eriri stood before a shelf, eyeing the games on display while debating whether to buy one.
Just as she was about to ask for Mio's opinion, she noticed that Mio had wandered off to another section. She was staring curiously at the 18+ curtain, looking for all the world like she was dying to know what lay beyond.
A guy who'd been about to go in spotted Mio, then quietly retreated.
Eriri walked over and tapped Mio's shoulder. "Give it up. You're not old enough."
"Actually, I'm plenty old enough," Mio muttered under her breath, then asked, "Did Sawamura-san need something?"
"I was going to ask your opinion on a game I wanted to buy, but never mind now."
"Why?"
"Setting aside the game we just bought today, I've got a bunch of unfinished games sitting at home. Even if I bought another one, it'd probably just collect dust."
Mio felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Before transmigrating, she'd been just like Eriri—buying tons of games on a certain Steam-like platform after watching content creators play them, only to forget about them after a few days.
Very few ever got completed.
The two continued browsing the game store. Though Eriri didn't buy anything, Mio picked up quite a few games.
After leaving the maid café, she'd played a crane game on a whim and casually won the latest gaming console. Even Eriri had been stunned.
Mio figured this must be another perk of the [Strong Luck Card]. If it didn't keep triggering missions, this card would actually be pretty nice.
Too bad she hadn't realized from the start that this card would cause missions to trigger so frequently. Otherwise, she would've used the [Slacking Off Card] right away.
Using it now would just feel wasteful.
"Shirai, are you okay? You look really tired." After leaving the game store, Eriri looked at Mio with concern.
When they'd left the maid café, Mio had been full of energy—she'd even won a gaming console from a crane game. Her mood should've been through the roof. But now she seemed inexplicably exhausted.
"I'm fine. Just a bit tired. Probably because I don't exercise enough." Mio rubbed her legs. She wasn't faking it.
Before transmigrating, she'd exercised regularly to maintain her figure. But since arriving in this world, she hadn't had the time. Plus, with the [Can't Get Fat] card in her possession, she'd lost all motivation to work out.
The other reason was that during the past hour or so of shopping with Eriri, her luck had been 'good' enough to trigger yet another mission. Though the mission had been simple, combined with everything else today, she was mentally drained.
"Then······ should we find somewhere to rest?"
"No need. As long as Sawamura-san is by my side, I have an endless supply of energy!" Mio clenched her small, pale fist.
Normally, Eriri would've had some choice words in response. But after spending the whole day with Mio, she'd started getting used to her flirty remarks.
Despite Mio saying she didn't need to rest, Eriri still brought her to a nearby park.
The weather was nice today—pleasant temperature, no harsh sun. Even sitting on a park bench felt comfortable.
Mio leaned gently against Eriri on the bench. "Sawamura-san is really so thoughtful~"
"D-Don't get the wrong idea! I only came here because I wanted to rest!" Eriri instinctively turned away, refusing to admit it.
"Sawamura-san right now looks exactly like a tsundere character from anime~"
"Hah!? Who's a tsundere!? You're the tsundere!" Eriri shot back.
"Yes, yes, yes. I'm the tsundere." As she said this, something seemed to occur to Mio. She hesitated for a moment before speaking seriously. "Sawamura-san, being tsundere can be a charm point, but sometimes, being tsundere only backfires."
Seeing Mio suddenly turn serious, Eriri almost didn't know how to react. "Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
"Just a passing thought."
Eriri gave Mio a strange look, then pulled out her phone to check the time. "It's already past three. Do you want to browse around more, or head back?"
"Let's rest a bit more, then head back." Though she really wanted to keep exploring, she'd promised Mashiro this morning that she'd be home early.
"Okay."
······
"We're back~"
Stepping out of the station with Eriri, Mio lazily stretched. Her thin summer dress did nothing to hide her graceful curves.
Even Eriri couldn't help sneaking a few glances—to say nothing of the passersby.
"It's still early. Want to come over for a bit? You can grab those doujinshi I prepared for you."
Just as Mio was about to suggest another time, the System's voice echoed in her ears.
Perhaps because today's missions had been triggering too frequently, this time the System didn't even bother with small talk. It cut straight to the point: "Before parting ways with Eriri, please find a way to have her voluntarily kiss you on the cheek. Success may reward you with Eriri series cards or item rewards. Failure will result in drawing a punishment card."
"I'd like to say something comforting, Host, but you probably don't want to hear my voice right now. Anyway, do your best."
"Your timing is impeccable, as always." Mio couldn't help but mutter.
And this time, the mission even specified exactly where the kiss had to land. This could be a bit tricky.
Completing this kind of mission at a busy train station with people coming and going was obviously impossible. So Mio had to adjust her original plans slightly. "I'd really like to visit Sawamura-san's place, but I have some other things to take care of. Picking up those doujinshi should be fine, though."
Eriri's home wasn't far from the station. It only took them about ten minutes to reach her front door.
Eriri jogged inside and quickly returned with a large bag, which she handed to Mio. "These are all my works—everything from my debut piece to my latest one."
"Thank you." Mio accepted the bag, then put on a shy expression. "Sawamura-san, there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"Could you kiss me? Just on the cheek."
"???"
······