"All right. Since you've already said that, I'll stop thinking about it for now."
Yukinoshita Haruno really was very curious about Shirai Mio's situation, but the worried look on Mio's face was clearly genuine. That meant if Haruno kept digging, something might very well happen to her.
After all, Shirai Mio's secret was rather fantastical.
Only after hearing Yukinoshita Haruno's answer did Shirai Mio quietly breathe a sigh of relief. She really had been worried that if Yukinoshita Haruno discovered the truth about the System, Haruno's memories would be forcibly erased.
As for something like a Ten-Pull, Shirai Mio did not particularly care.
She had completely given up worrying about that.
"So where are we going next?"
"Food is today's theme, so of course we're still going to eat. But before we eat anything else, let's walk around for a while and digest what we already had."
"No problem."
After the two left the restaurant, Yukinoshita Haruno immediately linked arms with Shirai Mio. In China, two girls walking arm in arm seemed perfectly ordinary, so there was no need to worry about people mistaking them for a couple.
Though as far as Yukinoshita Haruno was concerned, that did not matter at all.
If anything, she rather wanted people to misunderstand.
Although Shirai Mio kept having the feeling that she was revisiting old places, this was a different world after all, and there were still some differences. Because of that, she occasionally found things surprisingly fresh.
Strolling, shopping, taking photos—the two of them looked almost as if they were on a date.
Since they had been eating things constantly, even when lunchtime arrived, neither of them felt like having a proper meal.
Yukinoshita Haruno rubbed her stomach and said softly, "I feel like I'm going to gain a lot of weight on this trip."
"It's fine. You can just exercise properly after we get back." Shirai Mio comforted her gently.
"Then work out with me when we get back, Kouhai."
"No way. I can't get fat anyway." Shirai Mio smiled smugly.
Some of the System's missions might be extremely annoying, but the abilities it had given her were pretty good.
Seeing Shirai Mio's smug expression, Yukinoshita Haruno chuckled. "Are you sure you want to brag about that in front of me?"
Sensing danger, Shirai Mio decisively changed the subject. "Senpai, it looks like there's something tasty over there too. Let's go take a look."
With that, Shirai Mio pulled Yukinoshita Haruno toward the next Street Food stall.
At that moment, the System's voice suddenly rang in Shirai Mio's ear. "It's rare for you to spend time alone with Yukinoshita Haruno. I feel like it would be wrong for me not to stir up a little trouble at a time like this."
"You're not even pretending anymore, are you?" Shirai Mio complained silently.
Given her current relationship with Yukinoshita Haruno, Shirai Mio had not used the [Slacking-off Card] to restrict the System. In her view, as long as Yukinoshita Haruno cooperated, she could easily complete just about any mission.
That was why even after hearing the System announce that it was about to cause trouble, Shirai Mio remained completely relaxed.
"Before midnight tonight, fulfill every request Yukinoshita Haruno makes. The Host has three chances to refuse. If the number of refusals exceeds three, the mission will fail. Success may grant you a Yukinoshita Haruno Series Deck or an item. Failure will require you to draw from the Penalty Deck."
"A mission like this should still be pretty easy for the Host, right~?"
"Easy? Easy, my ass!"
If it were a mission where Yukinoshita Haruno needed to cooperate with her, then it really would be easy for Shirai Mio.
But this type of mission was anything but easy to complete, especially when the target was a bad woman like Yukinoshita Haruno. Who knew what kind of strange requests she might suddenly make?
Even with three chances to refuse, Shirai Mio still felt that it was nowhere near enough.
But it would probably be fine as long as Yukinoshita Haruno did not discover the mission's contents.
Shirai Mio did not dare imagine what would happen if Yukinoshita Haruno figured out what the mission required.
While Shirai Mio was communicating with the System, Yukinoshita Haruno also noticed the change in her mood.
Shirai Mio had been about to lead her over to buy more food, yet she had suddenly gone silent. Yukinoshita Haruno had reason to suspect that Mio had once again fallen into a situation where she could not act of her own free will.
She simply did not know what Mio needed to do this time, or what sort of cooperation Haruno herself might need to provide.
Noticing Yukinoshita Haruno's gaze, Shirai Mio also realized she had been far too obvious while communicating with the System. There was a very high chance Yukinoshita Haruno had already noticed that some kind of mission had been triggered.
With that in mind, Shirai Mio put on a slightly embarrassed expression and whispered to Yukinoshita Haruno, "S-Senpai, can you do me a favor?"
"What favor?"
"Hold my hand for one hour. Just don't let go at any point."
"That's all?" Yukinoshita Haruno narrowed her eyes. She had clearly noticed the shock in Shirai Mio's expression just now. If the requirement were merely holding hands for an hour, then given Mio's personality, she would never have reacted with such surprise.
Could her white-haired little kouhai be hiding something?
"That's all." Shirai Mio did her best to look innocent, though inwardly she felt utterly exasperated with Yukinoshita Haruno. She had not expected Haruno to notice clues even from something like this. That was Yukinoshita Haruno for you.
"I can help you out, but I'm not doing it for free."
"Then what does Senpai want?"
"Let me think~" Yukinoshita Haruno pretentiously stroked her smooth chin, then leaned close to Shirai Mio. "How about you give me a kiss, Kouhai? Kiss me once and I'll help you out."
Hearing Yukinoshita Haruno's condition, Shirai Mio quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "I can do that, but we just ate Stinky Tofu. Are you sure you want me to kiss you right now?"
"You can owe me the kiss for now. Make good on it after we return to the Hotel."
As Yukinoshita Haruno finished speaking, she tightened her grip on Shirai Mio's hand.
Just as Shirai Mio relaxed slightly, Yukinoshita Haruno spoke again. "Somehow, kouhai agreed a little too readily this time. Usually when you hear a condition like that, you look much more troubled."
A flash of panic passed through Shirai Mio's eyes, but her acting skills let her recover instantly. Pretending to be calm, she said, "Maybe it's because before this, I always thought you were trying to tease me, Senpai."
"Wait. I just remembered—I don't think I ever offered you a condition like this before."
Shirai Mio's smile froze completely.
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