"Mio? You okay?"
Yuigahama Yui had been quiet for a while. Too long.
"I'm fine! I was just trying to think of what to do."
She was clearly trying to hide something. Mio caught it immediately.
She scooted backward until she was pressed against the wall, pulled the blanket up, and put on her best scandalized expression.
"You're nervous about that? Yui... are you planning to do something weird to me?"
Yui nearly lost it.
But she wasn't going to let Mio have that one. Not tonight. She was done being the one who got flustered. She'd leveled up.
She climbed onto the bed, swept aside the blanket, and planted herself right on top of Mio—sitting on her, looking down at her from above.
"Yes," she said, completely straight-faced. "Exactly what you're imagining. This is my room. You can scream all you want—no one's coming to save you."
Mio hadn't been that concerned. Yui's bark was loud but her bite was basically nonexistent. She'd talk a big game and then—
Then Yui put her hand on Mio's waist.
Oh.
The effect was instant. It was like having a gun pressed to her head. Mio's entire composure evaporated. Her expression went soft and helpless in a way that was deeply embarrassing, and even her voice came out different—small and slightly strained:
"Yui—I'm sorry, I take it back—"
That voice.
That voice was a mistake to make, because the moment Yui heard it, she couldn't help herself. She reached down and poked Mio's side.
"Ah!"
Mio flailed like a fish flung onto dry land—thrashing with real effort and generating significant noise while accomplishing absolutely nothing. Her combat power in this body was essentially decorative.
They were still mid-chaos when the door opened.
Mrs. Yuigahama stood in the doorway, looking confused—then looked at her daughter sitting on top of Mio, and then at Mio's flushed face and thoroughly rumpled pajamas, and something clicked in her expression.
"Ah," she said. "I see. It's, um—it's late. I sleep very deeply, by the way. Very deeply. So you two can just..." She gestured vaguely. "Continue."
She closed the door with great care.
"Wait—wait!"
Yui stared at the closed door with the expression of someone watching a natural disaster unfold in slow motion. She felt Mio shift under her.
"Sorry." Mio's voice was quiet. "That's kind of my fault. Should I go explain?"
"No—don't. Explaining right now would only make it worse." Yui exhaled slowly and slid off Mio, lying down beside her. "It's more on me anyway. I'll handle it later."
She stared at the ceiling for a moment, then turned her head to look at Mio lying next to her.
"Mio. What do you usually do at this time of night?"
"Write or draw."
"You keep mentioning this novel you're writing. What kind is it? Can I read some?"
"Wholesome, uplifting content—you'll love it, I promise. I'll send you the manuscript when we get back."
The faint smile Mio wore as she said it gave Yui a bad feeling she couldn't quite name. But it was just a novel. How bad could it possibly be?
The System's voice appeared in Mio's ear again.
"I know it's not great timing right before bed, but I don't control when tasks trigger."
"Host, please have Yuigahama Yui kiss you on the lips before 6 AM. Succeed and you may receive a Yuigahama Yui-series card or item reward. Fail and you'll draw from the punishment deck."
She thought about it for about two seconds.
Yui's conquest rating was at 43. She could do this. But she'd already done one kiss task today. Completing another one, in bed, at night, would be... a lot.
She let it go.
The decision made, a wave of relief hit her. She yawned, pulled the blanket up, and nudged closer to Yui.
"You already slept this afternoon," Yui said, "and now you're tired again?"
"Maybe because I feel safe when you're here~"
Mio burrowed in, and that was the last thing either of them said for the night.
She woke up to the System at exactly 6 AM.
"Congratulations, Host! Yuigahama Yui's conquest rating with you has increased by 2 points. Please select your reward."
Mio lay there in the paused world, blinking at the ceiling.
"...Say that again."
The System repeated it, cheerfully.
"Hold on." She sat up slightly. "I thought the task required Yui to actively kiss me. I didn't do anything last night."
"Well—isn't it possible that Yuigahama Yui kissed you while you were asleep~?"
"No. Absolutely not. There's no way."
She said it with confidence.
But even as she said it, she knew the System's theory wasn't impossible.
She ruled out the accidental-sleeping-position explanation immediately—the odds were too low.
Which meant there was a real possibility that Yui had waited until Mio was asleep and then, quietly, deliberately...
Mio lay back down.
If that was true—if Yui had actually done that—then something had shifted. Something that might be a bigger deal than either of them was ready to admit.
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