Time: 11:30 PM.
Haruno let out a languid yawn. Between her chronic sleep deprivation and the late hour, she was genuinely running on fumes.
She glanced at Mashiro, who was lying on Mio's bed reading manga, then sidled up to Mio. Bending down, she rested her chin on Mio's shoulder and murmured, "Kouhai~ I want to go to sleep~"
And then, for good measure, she blew softly into Mio's ear.
In what was clearly a very satisfying moment for Haruno, Mio's ear turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even her fair cheeks flushed with a delicate pink.
Mio had been in the middle of a game, and the sudden ambush caused her to get blindsided by a mob lurking around a corner, sending her straight back to the respawn point.
"Senpai, my ears are very sensitive," Mio muttered, then glanced at the clock before continuing. "It is getting late. Let's go to bed."
She set down the controller, stood up, and led Haruno to the bed. Pointing to the right side, she declared, "Senpai sleeps here. Mashiro takes the other side. I'm in the middle. And that's that."
"Huh?!"
Genuine surprise flickered across Haruno's face—a rare sight.
Honestly, the moment she'd seen Mashiro, she'd given up on the idea of actually sleeping here tonight. That little stunt just now had only been meant to tease Mio.
What she hadn't expected was for Mio to actually let her stay.
Wasn't she afraid a certain blonde would get jealous?
With that thought, Haruno shifted her gaze to Mashiro.
She could see that Mashiro did look slightly reluctant after hearing Mio's arrangement. But then Mio leaned in and whispered something in Mashiro's ear, and the girl shifted over, making room—albeit with a little wiggle of protest.
Mio slipped under the covers with practiced ease, then patted the space beside her. "Senpai, weren't you the one who wanted to sleep? What are you standing there for?"
Haruno had every reason to suspect Mio was banking on her not actually getting in—that this was all a bluff.
But it was equally possible that Mio wanted her to think it was a bluff, which was precisely why she'd said it.
After a moment of deliberation, Haruno climbed into bed. She was curious to see what exactly her kouhai was scheming.
Once she'd settled in beside Mio, Haruno noticed a look of surprise on Mio's face—as if she genuinely hadn't expected Haruno to go through with it.
But knowing Mio as well as she did, and reading the micro-expressions carefully, Haruno had a strong feeling that surprise was completely fabricated.
What Mio didn't know, however, was that Haruno's reason for getting in was dead simple: she just wanted to sleep next to her.
This move? Stratospheric.
As the lights went out, Mio quietly exhaled in relief. She'd been a little worried Haruno would call her bluff.
Not that it would've mattered. She'd had backup plans. She could've set Haruno up in the guest room and then, in the middle of the night, stumbled in "half-asleep" pretending she'd gone to the wrong room.
But she'd been concerned Haruno might lock the door, so having her in the same room was the safest bet.
To pull this off, she'd had to promise Mashiro a homemade dessert tomorrow.
Perhaps because of her accumulated sleep debt, or perhaps because of Mio's presence beside her, Haruno drifted off shortly after lying down, sinking into a deep, sound sleep.
Mio had been bracing herself, fully expecting Haruno to pull some kind of stunt before falling asleep. She'd even prepared countermeasures.
But after a good while, she realized Haruno was already out cold. She'd essentially been strategizing against thin air.
Mashiro, on the other hand—maybe because of Haruno's presence—had latched onto Mio like an octopus, treating her as a full-body pillow.
Being cuddled by a beautiful girl was nice and all, but with arms clamped around her this tightly, there was no way she was falling asleep.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she finally drifted off, only to be jolted awake by the morning alarm.
Her eyes weren't even open yet, but her hand was already reaching out on instinct to hit the snooze button—only to land on the back of someone else's hand.
Mio slowly opened her eyes. Filling her vision was Haruno's beautiful face, complete with her signature amused smile.
"You're up early, senpai," Mio said, then couldn't help yawning.
Even with a card that reduced her required sleep time, she'd gone to bed way too late last night. She was genuinely exhausted.
"Thanks to you, I actually got a good night's sleep for once~"
"Hm?"
Mio tilted her head, not quite understanding what Haruno meant.
She didn't have time to dwell on it, though. After carefully prying Mashiro's arm off her body, she tiptoed out of bed and got started on her morning routine and breakfast.
It was at that moment—as Haruno was about to get up herself—that she suddenly froze. The System's familiar voice chimed in Mio's ear.
"Congratulations, Host. Task complete. Yukinoshita Haruno's conquest rating with the Host has increased by 3 points. Please select your reward."
The reward options this time were all cards from the Yukinoshita Haruno series. Mio went with Yukinoshita Haruno's Disguise without hesitation.
The moment Mio made her selection, the flow of time resumed.
Haruno followed Mio out of the bedroom. After freshening up, she watched Mio bustle around the kitchen, and for a fleeting moment, she felt a pang of envy toward Mashiro.
If she could wake up every morning to someone making miso soup for her... that would be pretty nice.
Something crossed her mind, and Haruno's lips twisted into a rare, bitter smile.
As the heir to the Yukinoshita family, what was she even thinking?
Noticing Haruno's gaze, Mio assumed she was just hungry and picked up the pace. "Senpai, just a little longer. Breakfast is almost ready."
"No rush. I've got nothing going on this morning, so take your time. Actually, could I borrow an outfit? I'd rather not walk out in that thin dress and freeze to death."
"Sure."