"Little kouhai, you're finally back~"
Shirai Mio had only just gotten home from school when she immediately spotted Yukinoshita Haruno sitting in her living room.
Ever since Mio gave Haruno a key to her place, it felt like the woman had become increasingly brazen, dropping by all the time whether she had a reason to or not.
Still, Shirai Mio was no longer particularly wary of Yukinoshita Haruno. Even if Haruno triggered some kind of mission, Haruno still owed Mio a condition, so Mio had leverage over her, and more often than not, Haruno would even cooperate with Mio of her own accord to help her complete missions.
Compared with the perfectly calm Shirai Mio, Shiina Mashiro was much more guarded.
After all, Yukinoshita Haruno posed quite a serious threat.
"Senpai, why are you back so early today?"
"I didn't have any classes this afternoon, and I didn't have any social engagements either, so I came back early."
She had originally considered preparing dinner for Shirai Mio, but after thinking about it, she decided it would be better to wait until Mio came home so they could cook together.
She rather enjoyed cooking with Shirai Mio.
After casually chatting with Yukinoshita Haruno for a bit, Shirai Mio put down everything she was carrying and went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.
Yukinoshita Haruno immediately followed her in and helped while saying, "Little kouhai, Spring Break is coming up soon. Do you have any plans?"
"Not yet. Does Senpai have something in mind?"
"Want to use the break to go on a trip?" Yukinoshita Haruno suggested.
Before transmigrating, Shirai Mio had loved traveling, so when Yukinoshita Haruno brought it up, a hint of longing flashed in her eyes. "Where to?"
"China."
"Hm?"
Shirai Mio stopped what she was doing and stared at Yukinoshita Haruno in surprise. She genuinely had not expected Haruno to choose China as their travel destination.
"Senpai, why did you suddenly think of traveling to China?"
"Of course it's because of you."
Ever since Yukinoshita Haruno moved here, she had often helped Shirai Mio in the kitchen. She could tell that Mio's specialties were all Chinese dishes, and the longer she spent around Mio, the more obvious it became that Mio seemed extremely familiar with Chinese culture.
Based on her experience, Shirai Mio would probably be very interested in traveling to China.
Spring Break happened to give them the time, so Haruno had thought of taking a trip around China with Shirai Mio.
"Because of me?"
Yukinoshita Haruno did not beat around the bush and directly told Shirai Mio the conclusion she had reached from her observations.
After hearing it, Shirai Mio could not hide her surprise. Sure enough, Yukinoshita Haruno really was terrifying. Then again, Mio truly had never paid much attention to those little details herself.
"So? It's a rare opportunity, and it'll only be seven days. I haven't decided exactly where we should go yet, though. I was planning to let you decide."
"I think… that works."
In truth, Shirai Mio had wanted to go back to China for a long time. It was not because she wanted to look for this world's version of herself or anything like that—there was no need. She simply wanted to experience again that familiar feeling from before she transmigrated.
Walking around and exploring sounded pretty nice. She could treat it as a chance to relax as well.
Seeming to think of something, Shirai Mio asked curiously, "Will it just be the two of us?"
Yukinoshita Haruno leaned close to Shirai Mio's ear and whispered, "With such a rare opportunity, does little kouhai really think I'd invite someone else along to be a third wheel? Besides, Shiina Mashiro is going back to England, isn't she?"
Just as Yukinoshita Haruno said, Shiina Mashiro needed to return to England after the break began, and that was precisely why Shirai Mio had accepted Haruno's invitation so decisively.
Otherwise, she really would have been a little worried about leaving Shiina Mashiro behind.
Even regarding Shiina Mashiro's return to England, Shirai Mio had specifically asked Rita about it. Mashiro was only going back to visit her parents; they were not planning to make her stay there.
"Besides, isn't having me enough, little kouhai? Even if something really happens, I can cooperate with you too~" Yukinoshita Haruno's voice took on a seductive tone.
"All right."
"Then it's settled. We should decide exactly where we're going as soon as possible. There's still quite a bit of paperwork to take care of, after all."
"Got it. Just leave that to me." Shirai Mio spoke with complete confidence.
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"Huh? You already have plans for seven days of the break?"
Yuigahama Yui was lying on her bed talking to Shirai Mio on the phone. She had originally wanted to discuss their plans for the break with Mio.
Shirai Mio had clearly said just that morning that she had no plans, yet before the day was even over, she was already saying she would be going far away after the break started—for a full seven days, no less.
Spring Break was only about two weeks in total. That was already half of it gone.
"Um, can I ask where you're going?" Yuigahama Yui asked quietly.
"Traveling abroad. With Senpai."
When Shirai Mio said "Senpai," Yukinoshita Haruno's figure immediately appeared in Yuigahama Yui's mind.
Although they had only met a few times, Haruno had still left Yui with a distinct sense of danger.
Yuigahama Yui's instincts told her that Yukinoshita Haruno was very likely one of her romantic rivals. The thought of letting a rival spend seven whole days alone with Shirai Mio made Yui's sense of crisis grow stronger and stronger.
But there was nothing she could do about it for now. She could hardly follow Shirai Mio abroad.
If she could not go with her, then she would just have to make the most of the time that remained.
At that thought, Yuigahama Yui said without hesitation, "Then you'll have time after you get back, right?"
"I should. Do you already have something in mind?"
"I just looked it up online. By the time you get back, it should be the best time for cherry-blossom viewing. Let's go see the cherry blossoms then."
"Cherry-blossom viewing? That sounds pretty nice." Shirai Mio leaned back in her chair. Before transmigrating, every time she had traveled to Japan, it had never been during cherry-blossom season. Now she finally had the chance.
"Mhm! Then it's settled. I'll look into the exact location later."
Originally, Yuigahama Yui should have waited until everything was fully planned before bringing it up with Shirai Mio, but the situation suddenly felt urgent, so she had no choice but to lock down Mio's time in advance.
She was worried that if she moved even one step slower, someone else might beat her to it.
"Yui, did you know? Cherry blossoms fall at five centimeters per second."
"?"
"Nothing. I'll leave choosing the place to you."
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