"Eriri, do you want to try some of my hamburger steak? It's really good~"
Looking at the piece of hamburger steak Shirai Mio had already held to her lips, Eriri did not think much of it. She opened her mouth and ate it, and it really did taste quite good.
Then again, why did it feel as though Shirai Mio had suddenly become much more forward?
She had never taken the initiative like this before.
Could she be acting like this on purpose because Aki Tomoya was here?
Eriri studied Shirai Mio carefully and noticed that her gaze really did drift toward Aki Tomoya from time to time. Each time she looked away from him, a pleased smile appeared on her face, as though she were plotting something wicked.
As for why Shirai Mio was doing this, Eriri guessed she was probably trying to stake her claim or something along those lines.
They were not even dating, so was it really appropriate for her to do that?
Wait. Eriri suddenly felt that there was something wrong with her own line of thought. Shirai Mio was already behaving this way, so as Aki Tomoya's childhood friend, should Eriri not be stopping her?
At that thought, Eriri took a deep breath and said, "Shirai, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"Hmm?" Shirai Mio gave Eriri a puzzled look, then quickly understood. By "on purpose," Eriri probably meant that Mio was deliberately watching Aki Tomoya.
Then again, Shirai Mio had made no effort to hide it, so it was perfectly normal for Eriri to notice.
With that thought, Shirai Mio nodded lightly. "Yeah. Is there a problem?"
"You and Tomoya don't have any grudges against each other, do you? Why are you doing this?" Eriri asked curiously.
The main reason Shirai Mio targeted Aki Tomoya like this was that she had read the original work before transmigrating, but she could hardly explain it that way. After thinking seriously for a moment, Shirai Mio tentatively said, "How about this reason: I can't stand watching him disregard Eriri's feelings?"
"That sounds pretty good."
"Hmm?"
A trace of surprise flashed through Shirai Mio's eyes at Eriri's calm reaction. She had expected Eriri to respond in classic tsundere fashion and insist that she had no feelings for Aki Tomoya.
"What?" Eriri narrowed her eyes. She had the distinct feeling that Shirai Mio was thinking something very rude.
"Nothing, nothing."
If Shirai Mio said what she was thinking aloud, Eriri would probably fly into a rage on the spot.
Since Eriri had already noticed, Shirai Mio became even bolder. She moved from the seat opposite Eriri to the one beside her, occasionally feeding Eriri or sampling food from Eriri's plate.
When Aki Tomoya saw this from not far away, an inexplicable sense of discomfort suddenly welled up in his chest.
He even made several mistakes at work.
After the two finished dinner, Shirai Mio originally wanted to order dessert, but Eriri dragged her away.
Acting so intimately with Shirai Mio in front of Aki Tomoya simply felt strange somehow.
After leaving the restaurant, the two slowly walked toward Eriri's house.
"Is that all for today's reference gathering?"
"Mm. I still wanted to take a look at a love hotel, but Eriri definitely wouldn't go with me, right?"
Eriri shot Shirai Mio a sidelong glance and replied without hesitation, "Of course not. Why would I go somewhere like that with you? Besides, there's nothing worth seeing there. If you really need reference material, you can just look it up online."
At that point, Eriri seemed to remember something. She looked at Shirai Mio seriously and said, "And don't just ask some random person to go to a place like that with you. If you really have to go, then come ask me when we both have time."
"Really?"
"Mm. Let me make this clear first: I'm only concerned about you as a friend. There is absolutely no other reason, so don't read too much into it."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm." Hearing Eriri's tsundere tone, Shirai Mio's lips curved into a lovely smile. Now that was the Eriri she knew and loved.
"You're thinking something rude again, aren't you?" Eriri narrowed her eyes at Shirai Mio.
"Of course not. You're overthinking it."
Without changing her expression, Shirai Mio avoided Eriri's gaze.
Soon, Eriri arrived at her front door. She turned toward Shirai Mio and said quietly, "I-It's already so late. Why don't you stay at my house tonight? We can organize the material we gathered today while we're at it."
What in the world was she saying? Inviting Shirai Mio to spend the night at her house felt somewhat inappropriate.
But she truly was looking forward to Shirai Mio staying, and that was why she could not stop herself from extending the invitation.
To be honest, Shirai Mio genuinely had not expected Eriri to ask her to stay the night. After freezing for a moment, she immediately nodded. "Since Eriri has invited me, I'll gladly impose."
"By the usual script, aren't you supposed to politely hesitate first?"
"No way. What if I act polite and you suddenly take back the invitation?"
Eriri gave a cold snort, then brought Shirai Mio inside.
To Eriri's surprise, no one was home today.
In the living room, she found a note from her mother saying that she and Eriri's father had left on a business trip that evening and would not be back for several days.
Eriri was already accustomed to this sort of thing.
But with her parents away, did that not mean she and Shirai Mio would be alone together tonight?
Whatever she imagined made a faint blush spread across Eriri's cheeks.
"Eriri, it looks like no one's home." Following behind Eriri, Shirai Mio looked around as she spoke.
"Mm. My parents left on a business trip. It'll just be the two of us tonight."
At Eriri's words, Shirai Mio feigned tremendous surprise. "Could it be that Eriri knew her parents were away and deliberately invited me to spend the night? What am I supposed to do? I didn't wear my lucky underwear today."
"???" Eriri angrily bonked Shirai Mio on the head. "You little bitch, don't get horny here! Who would want to do that kind of thing with you?!"
Despite what she said, for one brief moment, Eriri had actually wondered how two girls would go about doing something indescribable together.
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