"Can I ask what exactly you're planning to have Mashiro try?"
"That kind of… huh!?"
Sensing that something was wrong, Rita instinctively turned around and saw Shirai Mio smiling pleasantly at her.
"Aren't you supposed to be cooking?" Rita stared at Shirai Mio in horror.
"Cooking has breaks too. I saw you sneaking into Mashiro's room just now. You really were trying to fill her head with strange ideas again, weren't you?" As Shirai Mio spoke, she reached out and lightly pinched Rita's cheek.
"No, I wasn't. I didn't. Don't make things up."
Shirai Mio sighed helplessly, then said to Shiina Mashiro, "Mashiro, don't just listen to Rita's suggestions, okay?"
"Okay." Shiina Mashiro nodded lightly.
Shirai Mio still had things to do, so she did not stay in the room for long before leaving.
After Shirai Mio left, Rita moved in front of Shiina Mashiro and copied Mio by lightly pinching Mashiro's cheek. "You didn't even try to help me argue my way out of that just now."
"I feel like Mio would have seen through it even if I tried." Shiina Mashiro explained quietly.
"Forget it. Talking about this stuff really is too dangerous when she's around. I'll find time to give you a proper lesson after we get back to England." With that, Rita stood up and left the room as well, intending to see whether there was anything she could help with.
The kitchen did not need Rita, but there was no problem with having her act as a server.
With the three of them working together, dinner was soon brought to the table.
Even the two drunks who had been sitting in the living room drinking and chatting showed up at the table without needing to be called.
Only after Shirai Mio and Yukinoshita Haruno came out of the kitchen did dinner officially begin.
"To celebrate Spring Break, cheers~" Shirai Mio raised her glass of orange juice and clinked glasses with everyone.
"By the way, what are you two teachers planning to do over the break?" After setting down her glass, Shirai Mio looked curiously at the two aging bachelorettes.
"Do you even need to ask? Mixers, obviously. I've already scheduled seven mixers, one a day. I refuse to believe I won't find someone." Sengoku Chihiro spoke with a completely serious expression.
"What about you, Shizuka-sensei?"
"Me? What else can I do? I'm going with her, of course. I don't have anything else to do over the break anyway," Hiratsuka Shizuka said lazily.
"That sounds nice. I've never been to a mixer before."
The moment Shirai Mio finished speaking, Yukinoshita Haruno's voice followed. "Does little kouhai really need to go to mixers?"
For some reason, Shirai Mio suddenly sensed danger. She blinked, then said quietly, "I'm just a little curious, that's all. Ahahaha."
Seeing Shirai Mio's reaction, Rita lightly nudged Shiina Mashiro beside her. Even as a Yuri Outsider, Rita could feel a sense of crisis in the air.
Shiina Mashiro, however, was completely focused on eating.
After all, she would be returning to England tomorrow. If she wanted to eat food Shirai Mio personally cooked for her again, she would have to wait until she came back from overseas.
It was only about a week, but to Shiina Mashiro, that already felt like a very, very long time.
Watching Shiina Mashiro focus entirely on her meal, Rita blinked and suddenly found herself speechless.
Forget it. Even if Rita warned Shiina Mashiro now, with that blockhead of hers she probably would not know how to respond anyway. Rita could teach her properly when she had the time.
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Ten o'clock that night.
In Shiina Mashiro's room, Shirai Mio zipped the suitcase shut, then stood and stretched. "Mashiro, I've packed everything for you. You probably don't need to bring your drawing supplies, right?"
"Mm. There are some over there." Shiina Mashiro nodded lightly.
"Good. You have to get up early tomorrow, so let's go to bed early tonight too."
"Okay."
Shiina Mashiro answered, then followed Shirai Mio back to Mio's room.
Shiina Mashiro threw herself onto the bed and buried her face directly in Shirai Mio's pillow. Even she felt a hollow sensation inside when she thought about not being able to see Shirai Mio for around a week.
Once Shirai Mio climbed into bed, she felt Shiina Mashiro immediately press close against her.
They usually slept like this as well, but normally Shirai Mio was the one holding Shiina Mashiro. This time, it was Mashiro who wrapped her arms around Mio.
Shirai Mio could more or less understand why Shiina Mashiro was doing this. She said softly, "It's only about a week. We'll see each other again soon. And if you miss me, we can still video call, can't we~"
"Mm." Shiina Mashiro answered softly, then buried her face against Shirai Mio's neck and took a deep breath. Shirai Mio's familiar scent gradually put her at ease.
Just then, Shirai Mio turned over to face Shiina Mashiro. After hesitating for a moment, she leaned in and kissed Mashiro on the lips anyway.
Originally, Shirai Mio had only planned to give her a single kiss and leave it at that.
But before she could react, Shiina Mashiro responded.
The silence was suddenly broken by indistinct sounds, and the breathing of both girls gradually grew heavier.
······
"Knock, knock, knock!"
While Shirai Mio was asleep, she suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
She slowly opened her eyes, threw off the covers, and sleepily stumbled toward the door. Just as she was about to open it, she seemed to notice something and went back to the bedside to feel around.
She found a nightdress beside the bed and pulled it on.
Only after putting on the nightdress did she finally open the door.
Standing outside her room was Rita, already fully dressed.
Seeing Shirai Mio looking as though she had not fully woken up yet, surprise flashed in Rita's eyes. "I didn't think even you could oversleep."
Shirai Mio yawned. "What time is it?" she asked quietly.
"It just turned six in the morning. It's time to wake Mashiro up." After saying that, Rita suddenly noticed that the nightdress Shirai Mio was wearing looked familiar.
Wait. Wasn't that Shiina Mashiro's nightdress?
But then she remembered that these two could even mix up each other's panties, so she did not think much of it. Rita simply reminded Shirai Mio to watch the time, then turned and went back to the room to make her final checks.
After Rita left, Shirai Mio finally turned on the light in her room. Now fully awake, she looked at the clothes scattered beside the bed, and a faint blush appeared on her face.
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