"Riiing~"
The end-of-class bell rang out, and Yuigahama Yui gently rubbed her cheeks before rising from her seat and making her way over to Mio's desk—same as always.
She glanced over at Miura Yumiko, who was still catching up on sleep, then leaned in and asked softly, "Mio, how was your weekend?"
"Not bad, I guess. Just a bit tired." Mio stretched lazily, propping her cheek on one hand. She looked at Yui with an amused glint in her eye. "This morning it seemed like you had something you wanted to say to me. I actually thought you were going to confess—turns out that's all you wanted to ask?"
"C-Confess!?"
A faint blush bloomed across Yui's fair cheeks, making her look unbearably cute. Mio's words had apparently been too bold—Yui forgot to fire back, and even forgot what she'd originally wanted to ask.
It took a while before she calmed down enough to puff up her cheeks and mutter, "I'm not confessing anything. It's just... I feel like the vibe between you and Yumiko has been kind of weird lately, but I can't quite put my finger on what's different."
"That's probably because we tried going on a date last Saturday."
"A-A date!?"
Yui stared at Mio in wide-eyed shock, her voice jumping loud enough that half the class turned to look. Realizing she'd made a scene, she quickly ducked her head and pretended nothing had happened.
Mio laughed. "I haven't even finished explaining yet. What are you so worked up about?"
Since Yumiko was still asleep, the popular clique hadn't gathered around to chat like usual. After confirming that Hayama Hayato was a safe distance away, Mio gave Yui the rundown on what the "date" had actually been.
Once she heard the full story, Yui finally understood—it had been a practice date. A simulation.
Of course. Yumiko clearly had feelings for Hayama-kun. There was no way she'd suddenly go on a real date with Mio.
Yui hadn't even noticed it herself, but the quiet tension she'd been holding in her chest slowly began to ease.
Right at that moment, Mio's voice came again: "Looking at how worked up you were just now, Yui—don't tell me you were jealous?"
"I-I wasn't! Why would I be jealous?"
She said the words, but Yui's heart was genuinely confused.
If she thought of Mio purely as a close friend, then hearing that Mio had been on a date with Yumiko—shouldn't her first reaction have been surprise?
So why had she felt nervous? Why that quiet ache of something unnameable?
Something's wrong with me.
Mio noticed the dazed look on Yui's face and was just about to say something when the System's voice chimed in her ear:
"Oh my~? Yuigahama Yui seems to have gotten herself lost in a little fog of confusion. As her bestie, shouldn't the host do something about that?"
"Task: Help Yuigahama Yui recognize her own true feelings. No time limit on this one. Success may reward a Yuigahama Yui series card or item. Since there's no time limit, this task cannot fail."
"Hm?"
Mio had braced herself for another one of the System's obnoxious setups—but once she heard the conditions, she frowned. This task is... kind of weird.
No time limit. Can't fail. She'd never gotten one like this before.
The objective was clear enough, but how was she supposed to help Yui recognize her own true feelings? She wasn't even sure what Yui was confused about in the first place. She'd probably have to figure that out before she could help with anything.
Not that she had to complete the task. With no timer and no failure state, she could just leave it alone. But she was curious—curious about what exactly had Yui so tangled up inside.
So she asked, naturally: "Yui, you look like you've got something on your mind. Want me to help you work through it?"
"N-No, it's fine. It's not a big deal."
Yui looked at Mio with visible nerves. Whatever I was just thinking about, Mio absolutely cannot find out.
Mio read her expression immediately. Even if she kept asking, Yui wasn't going to say anything. That was fine—no rush. She smiled easily and said, "Alright. But whenever you do need someone to talk to, I'm right here."
"...Okay."
The bell rang for the next period, and Yui hurried back to her seat.
Yui wasn't the type to zone out in class. But she zoned out all the way through that lesson—because of a certain someone.
She stared at the blackboard for the entire period and retained absolutely nothing. If it weren't for the math formulas written up there, she wouldn't have even known what subject she'd just sat through.
Then, while she was still lost in her own thoughts, a notebook appeared on her desk.
She turned her head—and found Mio smiling warmly at her.
"That's the notes from last period. You looked like you were spacing out, so I took a copy for you too."
"Th-Thank you."
Yui took the notebook and looked at the neat, graceful handwriting on its pages. The corner of her mouth curved up in a small, quiet smile.
She was paying attention to me even during class.
For some reason, just knowing that made her feel—a little happy.
"Is the host trying to win Yuigahama Yui's trust through consistent small acts of care, so she'll eventually open up on her own? When did you get so proactive~?" the System teased in her ear.
"You're reading way too much into this."
Sure, she was a little curious about what was weighing on Yui. But it was just plain curiosity. The task couldn't fail anyway—she could afford to just let things run their course.
As for giving Yui her notes—that was just looking out for a friend. She would've done it even without any task involved.
Still, judging by how distracted Yui had been all period, whatever was on her mind was clearly hitting her hard. If she could, Mio genuinely wanted to help her sort it out sooner rather than later.
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