During break, a sharp gaze hit her from the direction of the hallway window.
Mio turned her head.
Students passing. Nothing obviously out of place.
"Mio, what are you looking at?" Yui asked.
"I just felt like—" She stopped. Being a novelty around here meant eyes on her weren't unusual. She shook her head. "Never mind. Where were we?"
"I was asking if you've started studying for the mini-test in a few days."
"Already done."
With the system's help, every textbook had been fully committed to memory. She'd gone over Yui's notes as a bonus. There shouldn't be any problem.
Yui gave her a skeptical look. "When you first transferred in, your scores were pretty rough. Sciences were okay, but humanities were... not great."
"If you need help, just ask! I'm actually really good at studying." Yui patted her chest confidently.
"I'll take you up on that if it comes to it." Mio gave her a warm smile.
...
What Mio didn't notice was that out in the hallway, someone had been pacing back and forth past her classroom for quite a few laps now.
Yukinoshita Yukino.
She wanted to know who Mio was. But observation only got you so far—direct conversation was the only way to get the information she actually needed. The most straightforward approach was just to talk to her.
She simply didn't know how to take that first step.
Mio didn't look like anyone she'd naturally have anything in common with.
Yukino exhaled quietly, glanced at her phone, and turned back toward her own classroom.
She sat down just as the bell rang.
And right on cue, the system chimed in.
"Hey, host—you there?"
"No. Go away."
"Sure, sure. Just let me get through the task details and I'll disappear immediately."
"The host is requested to find a way—before the end of today's school day—to have Yukinoshita Yukino approach and speak to you first. If the host initiates conversation with Yukinoshita Yukino during the task period, the task will be marked as failed. Success may reward the host with a Yukinoshita Yukino series card pack or item. Failure will result in drawing from the punishment deck."
Mio read the system panel. Then read it again.
Yukinoshita Yukino. They'd never even spoken. So why was there a task involving her?
Before she could ask, the system beat her to it. "You may not have approached her, host. But has she kept her distance from you?"
"Why would she have anything to do with me?"
The system offered no further clarification.
Mio frowned. Based on what she knew about Yukino, a random transfer student wouldn't normally register on her radar at all. Mio had been actively keeping her distance this whole time. There was no logical reason for a task like this to appear.
So what changed?
She put the question aside and started thinking through her options. She knew Yukino's general daily routine—she'd mapped it out specifically to avoid her. And she had contacts in every class of every year. Dropping by J-class under the pretense of visiting an acquaintance would give her a perfectly natural reason to be there.
After that, she just needed to set up the right opening.
...
The last class of the morning ended. Lunch break began.
With the temperature dropping and the wind picking up today, the Great Sage (Chinese fandom nickname for Hikigaya Hachiman — possibly referencing his reclusive, philosopher-loner image) had skipped his usual window-seat throne and was quietly working through a bread roll at his own desk instead.
Almost immediately, Yui appeared with her bento.
"Mio, let's eat together!"
She'd already divided it in half without asking.
Before Mio could say thank you, Miura Yumiko materialized beside them.
"Here, have some of mine. Don't get any ideas—I'm just on a diet and can't finish it all anyway."
"Miura-san has such a great figure though. Definitely doesn't need to diet."
"I told you to stop calling me Her Majesty!" Miura glared, looking like she was already regretting her decision.
Mio was entirely unbothered. If anything, mildly tempted to push a little further.
Come to think of it—I wonder how things are going between Miura-san and Hayama-kun.
She glanced over at Hayama. He was looking back at her with an expression that hovered between wanting to say something and not quite getting there.
Mio didn't know what that was about—but something about it gave her a bad feeling. A distinctly unpleasant one, even.
She shivered, shuffled closer to Yui, and focused on her food.
Hayama watched the inexplicable wariness cross her face and tilted his head.
I haven't done anything. Why does she look at me like that?
...