"Your beloved senpai is staying the night. You can't exactly make her sleep on the floor, can you?"
"Please find a way to get Yukinoshita Haruno to share a bed with you. Success may reward you with a Yukinoshita Haruno series card set or item reward. Failure will result in a penalty card draw."
"Do your best, Host~"
Haruno's conquest rating with Mio was only at 12 points, so the task difficulty hadn't been raised at all.
That was why such a seemingly simple task had appeared.
And why was it only seemingly simple? Because lately, Mio had been sleeping with Mashiro almost every night.
She could hardly kick Mashiro out of bed tonight out of nowhere, could she?
Any other type of task would've been fine, but it just had to be about sharing a bed with Haruno. Was this System just looking for trouble?
And of all the times to trigger a task, it had to be one related to Haruno. What she desperately needed right now was a Mashiro-related task to fail, so she could lower that conquest rating.
Mashiro's conquest rating with her had already hit a whopping 48 points. It could break through 50 at any moment.
Half an hour later, Haruno finally emerged from the bathroom, toweling her hair dry while saying to Mio, "Kouhai, the clothes you gave me seem to be a teensy bit small. I'm definitely not implying anything, though."
If it were some other girl, hearing that might have stung at least a little. But Mio was different. She merely glanced at how Haruno's figure was stretching the pajamas, and the only thing in her heart was gratitude toward the goddess of generosity.
As for feeling stung? Not even a little bit.
Seeing Mio's utterly unfazed reaction, Haruno pouted slightly. Her silver-haired kouhai apparently didn't care much about figure comparisons. Then again, Haruno had never once seen Mio watching her diet, yet her figure remained flawless. Even Haruno felt a twinge of envy.
Not that she minded. If teasing Mio were easy, she wouldn't find her so interesting in the first place.
After drying her hair, Haruno plopped down lazily beside Mio and said in a coquettish tone, "Kouhai~ I'm a little hungry."
"If I'm not mistaken, senpai, you just came from a banquet?"
"You think a banquet actually fills you up?"
As the heir to the Yukinoshita family, Haruno had spent the vast majority of the evening networking and socializing. By the time she'd finally dealt with everyone, the banquet was already winding down.
At this point, she was practically running on an empty stomach—which might have been exactly why she'd gravitated toward Mio's place.
Having been an actress before transmigrating, Mio nodded in complete understanding, then stood up. "In that case, I'll start prepping the ingredients for tomorrow's bento and make you a late-night snack while I'm at it."
"Kouhai, I suddenly have the urge to grab you and plant a kiss. What do I do?" Haruno said with a mischievous grin.
Mio, already halfway to the kitchen, heard this and turned right around without a moment's hesitation. She walked back to the living room, leaned in close to Haruno, and said, "Well, since senpai put it that way, I suppose I could let you have one."
Haruno clearly hadn't expected that reaction. She blinked, then a faint smile spread across her face.
Did this silver-haired kouhai actually think she wouldn't dare?
They were both girls, and Mio was a gorgeous one at that. A kiss was a kiss—no big deal.
With that thought, Haruno leaned in and planted a big mwah right on Mio's cheek.
Anyone else would've been at least a little flustered by that, but Mio showed no particular emotional response. She simply went back to the kitchen and got to work.
Listening to Mio hum some unknown melody, Haruno got the impression that being kissed had actually put her kouhai in a pretty good mood.
Wait. Had she just walked right into a trap?
Oh well. It wasn't like she'd lost anything.
Something crossed Haruno's mind, and her fingertips gently brushed across her own lips.
Mio worked fast. In under thirty minutes, a piping hot late-night snack was set in front of Haruno.
Haruno started off maintaining some semblance of decorum, but whether it was because she was too hungry or because the food was just that good, her eating gradually became more... uninhibited.
Mio seized the moment to ask, "Oh, by the way—where are you planning to sleep tonight, senpai?"
"Anywhere is fine. If it's inconvenient for you, I'll just go stay with Chihiro."
"It's not inconvenient at all. It's just that the guest room hasn't been cleaned in a while, so if you're staying here, you'd have to share my bed."
The prospect of sharing a bed with Mio immediately brought back memories of the last time they'd slept together. Haruno answered without a shred of hesitation. "Then I'll stay here tonight."
Watching Haruno continue eating her snack, Mio couldn't shake the feeling that when Haruno had answered just now, there'd been a hint of... excitement in her voice.
By the time Haruno finished eating, it was past ten at night.
With Haruno around, Mio didn't work on her doujinshi or novel. She simply finished her homework, then sat with Haruno on the living room sofa, idly watching TV.
That was when the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the front door, and Mashiro walked in.
The moment she spotted Haruno, a flash of wariness crossed Mashiro's eyes. She immediately moved to Mio's side, positioning herself like a mother hen protecting her chick.
Feeling Mashiro's gaze, Haruno narrowed her eyes. Mashiro had always been somewhat guarded around her, but tonight, the hostility felt noticeably stronger.
Was she worried Mio would be stolen away? Or was there some other reason?
With Mashiro's arrival, Mio began strategizing. How could she complete tonight's task without making Mashiro leave?
There was actually one very simple solution—they could all sleep together.