"You... I..."
Yui stood frozen in place, staring at Mio in utter disbelief. She simply couldn't figure out how Mio had known she'd been waiting downstairs for ages.
She hadn't done anything suspicious!
When Mio came downstairs and looked surprised to see her, Yui had even felt a little happy about it.
Now, in hindsight, she realized she'd basically performed a live social death right in front of Mio.
The thought made a rosy blush creep across Yui's fair cheeks. Adorable as always.
Watching Yui stammer without getting a single coherent sentence out, Mio let out a soft laugh. Honestly, with all the observation-boosting cards she had—many of them upgraded, no less—she'd known the moment she spotted Yui downstairs that the girl had been waiting there for quite some time.
Truth be told, Mio hadn't expected Yui to pull something like this.
She could've just sent a text or made a phone call, but instead she'd camped out in front of the building. Was she trying to surprise her?
Reining in her wandering thoughts, Mio flashed Yui a sweet smile. "Alright, stop standing out here in the cold. Go on up. I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"...Mm. See you at school."
Yui watched Mio's figure disappear into the distance before finally turning around and heading home.
Seeing her daughter leave the house all bubbly and come back looking troubled, Mama Yuigahama asked curiously, "Yui, what happened?"
"I'm considering whether I should flee the planet overnight."
"???"
Mama Yuigahama tilted her head, completely unable to decipher what her daughter meant. Before she could even ask, Yui had already bolted to her room at maximum speed, slammed the door, locked it, dove onto her bed, pulled the covers over herself, and lay there in perfect stillness—the picture of serenity.
She couldn't stop wondering whether tonight's performance had made Mio realize something.
The thought sent her rolling back and forth under the covers, so agitated that she completely misjudged the edge of the bed and tumbled straight to the floor with a dull thud.
Meanwhile, after parting ways with Yui, Mio headed straight back toward her apartment. She'd barely reached the building when she spotted a familiar figure standing beneath a streetlamp.
Mio had been planning to pretend she hadn't seen anything, but before she'd taken more than a few steps, Yukinoshita Haruno's voice rang out. "Hey, kouhai~ You clearly saw me already. Why are you pretending you didn't? Am I not attractive enough for you?"
Hearing her, Mio let out a quiet sigh, then turned around with a practiced look of surprise. "Senpai, what are you doing here?"
"Didn't feel like going home. Didn't know where else to go. Just walked and somehow ended up here." Haruno finished with a playful blink of her gorgeous eyes, as if hinting at something.
The excuse sounded absurd, but it was actually the truth.
As Mio got closer, she noticed Haruno was wearing a thin formal dress. She had a coat draped over her shoulders, but it didn't seem to be doing much in terms of warmth. On top of that, there was a faint scent of alcohol lingering on her—she'd clearly been drinking.
Mio abandoned her plan to give Haruno a hard time and said instead, "Well, if you don't know where to go, why don't you come up to my place for a bit?"
"Oh, I couldn't possibly. It's so late."
That's what Haruno said, but she was already sidling up to Mio, bumping her shoulder as if to say hurry up already.
Mio brought Haruno into the apartment. While waiting for the elevator, she asked curiously, "Senpai, why were you standing out there dressed like that?"
"I was at a banquet at a hotel nearby. The driver who was supposed to pick me up got stuck in traffic, so I figured I'd take a stroll and sober up a bit. Somehow I ended up in front of your building. Maybe I was just craving my cute kouhai's home cooking."
"You really haven't come over to mooch a meal in a while. I was starting to wonder if something had happened to you."
"Believe me, I'd love to come by more, but it's the end of the year, you know? So many things to deal with." Haruno stifled a yawn as she spoke.
Once inside Mio's apartment, the warm air enveloped Haruno like a blessing. Between that and the hot water Mio poured for her, she felt like a whole new person.
After warming up, Haruno asked curiously, "Oh right, I forgot to ask—why were you coming home so late?"
"I was out for a walk."
"A walk? In this cold?"
"What's wrong with that?"
With her Cold Resistance skill, the current temperature didn't feel particularly cold to Mio. That was exactly why she could still keep up her daily walks.
Without that card, she figured she'd be just like Chihiro-sensei—collapsing onto the sofa after dinner in a portrait of blissful laziness.
"Nothing at all. Whatever makes you happy, kouhai."
Just then, Haruno's phone buzzed. It was her driver calling—probably having arrived at the location only to find her missing.
Haruno glanced at Mio, then answered the call and told the driver to head back on his own.
"So senpai's not planning to go home tonight?"
"Mm. My place is so empty. It's much more fun here with you~"
"And you're not worried I won't let you stay?"
"Kouhai, have you forgotten who lives right next door to you?" Haruno wasn't the least bit fazed by the threat.
"Never mind then."
Mio got up, went to her room, grabbed a set of clothes, and handed them to Haruno. "You can use these for tonight. I hope you don't mind."
"Mind? I'm thrilled to wear my kouhai's clothes~"
"Senpai, that makes you sound like some kind of perverted stalker."
"Ehehe~"
Just as Haruno took the clothes and headed into the bathroom, Mio heard the familiar chime of the System in her ear.