"Um, Eriri, don't you think a Ferris wheel is the perfect place to do something?"
Eriri, who had been looking at the scenery outside, replied flatly after hearing Shirai Mio's words, "Doing that kind of thing on a Ferris wheel would make the gondola shake like crazy, okay?"
"No, I didn't mean that kind of thing. I meant something like kissing."
"Kissing?"
"Yeah. Don't you think kissing on a Ferris wheel sounds really romantic?"
Seeing the expectant look on Shirai Mio's face, Eriri raised an eyebrow. "You're not asking me to help you gather reference material, are you?"
Shirai Mio nodded lightly. "Let's just try it. All you have to do is kiss me on the cheek. Please~?"
In the past, Eriri would have refused without a second thought. But now, as she looked at Shirai Mio gazing at her so eagerly, she suddenly found herself unable to voice a rejection.
Or rather, a tiny part of her was looking forward to it too.
Shirai Mio had originally only intended to give it a try, but Eriri's hesitation made her feel as though she might actually have a chance to complete the quest.
So Shirai Mio pressed her advantage. "It's only for reference gathering. If you help me with this, then the next time you need anything from me, I'll absolutely do whatever it takes to help—even that kind of thing is fine~"
"W-Who wants to do that kind of thing with you?!" Eriri reflexively shot back before lowering her voice. "Just once, okay?"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
Shirai Mio leaned slightly toward Eriri and even closed her eyes, making it clear that she was ready.
At the sight, Eriri took a deep breath before cautiously leaning toward Shirai Mio.
Her gaze was unconsciously drawn to Shirai Mio's inviting lips.
Kissing them would probably feel really nice, wouldn't it?
That strange thought suddenly surfaced in Eriri's mind.
But she quickly forced her gaze elsewhere, then planted an extremely quick kiss on Shirai Mio's cheek and immediately pulled away.
Although Eriri now looked as though she were calmly admiring the scenery, her bright-red cheeks and ears had already betrayed how she truly felt.
She genuinely had never imagined that she would one day take the initiative to kiss Shirai Mio. Even though it was only on the cheek, it was still an enormous thrill for her.
Only after choosing her reward for completing the quest did Shirai Mio look back at Eriri and say sincerely, "Thank you."
"Were you… really gathering references?" Eriri still could not stop herself from asking the question in her heart.
"O-Of course I was. Ahaha."
Shirai Mio was a good actress, but even she could not entirely hide her guilty conscience at a time like this.
Eriri noticed that trace of guilt as well.
Just as she had thought, Shirai Mio had invited her on a date under the guise of reference gathering.
But if this was a date, Shirai Mio had genuinely seemed to be gathering references while they were down below.
That left Eriri unable to tell whether this was a date or genuine reference gathering.
Once the Ferris wheel completed its circuit, the two left the gondola and headed straight for the exit instead of continuing around the park.
As they walked, Eriri asked, "Did you come all the way to an amusement park just to ride the Ferris wheel?"
"Didn't we gather references earlier? Besides, taking one ride on the Ferris wheel with Eriri is already enough to make me happy."
Eriri had built up some resistance to Shirai Mio's suggestive lines, but after what had happened on the Ferris wheel, she still could not help feeling embarrassed.
To stop Shirai Mio from continuing, she hurriedly changed the subject. "So where are we going next?"
"First we'll find somewhere to eat, then we'll head to the next place to gather references."
"And the next place is?"
"Karaoke." Shirai Mio seemed to remember something, then smiled. "Come to think of it, I don't think we've ever gone singing together."
"Then you'd better pay close attention to my performance." Eriri spoke with complete confidence.
To maintain her image as a proper young lady at school, Eriri often went singing with her friends after classes, so she had a certain amount of confidence in her singing skills.
"Then I'll look forward to it."
After leaving the amusement park, the two casually found somewhere to have lunch, then immediately hurried to their next reference-gathering location: karaoke.
Since there were only two of them, Shirai Mio booked a small private room.
After entering, they did not start choosing songs and singing like normal customers. Instead, they huddled together and discussed what sort of things could happen if they used the room as a setting in a doujinshi.
Eriri did not dislike this kind of conversation. In fact, she was having quite a lot of fun.
Most importantly, inside a private karaoke room, she and Shirai Mio finally did not have to whisper as they had before.
There was nothing inherently wrong with whispering, but the sensation of Shirai Mio's breath brushing over her ear whenever she spoke was simply too strange.
Eriri suspected Shirai Mio had the same problem.
Every time Eriri whispered to her, she could see Shirai Mio's ears turn red.
Come to think of it, what kind of reaction would Shirai Mio have if Eriri blew softly into her ear while whispering to her?
At that thought, Eriri could no longer suppress the impulse. She leaned close to Shirai Mio's ear and gently blew into it.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Shirai Mio shuddered and instinctively shifted aside.
Seeing Eriri's triumphant, mischievous smile, Shirai Mio said helplessly, "Eriri, please don't spring surprise attacks on me like that. This counts as sexual harassment, you know!"
"I thought you'd calmly turn around and tell me to stop messing around. I didn't expect you to have such a normal reaction~"
"I-I just wasn't prepared," Shirai Mio explained quietly.
Eriri tilted her head. Shirai Mio normally loved making suggestive remarks, yet when someone else did something like this to her, her reaction was unexpectedly submissive.
The next time Shirai Mio teased her, Eriri would simply counterattack like this again.
Sensing that Eriri seemed to be thinking about something strange, Shirai Mio hurriedly changed the subject. "Um, didn't you say you wanted to show off your singing before we came here? You can sing now."
"I know~"
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