"I just knew it. When it comes to anything involving Shiina Mashiro, the host always finds a way to work things in her favor."
Three minutes passed, and the system's voice rang out, tinged with exasperation. The host's conquest rating with Mashiro had been so close to entering the next stage. If the task hadn't triggered, the rating might have crept up on its own over time.
But of course it had to trigger at this critical juncture. Even the system couldn't do anything about it.
Hearing that distinctly aggrieved tone, Mio wanted to laugh—but in the time-stopped world, she couldn't form facial expressions. All she could do was let out a few triumphant ha's to express her current mood.
She hadn't expected to feel this happy about failing a task. That was a first.
"Don't think I don't know you're stalling. Hurry up and show me the options." Mio hadn't forgotten—she only had five minutes of time-stop after a failed task.
If the system managed to run out the clock, who knew what random punishment card she'd end up with.
"Fine, fine. Congratulations on your task failure, host. The host's conquest rating with Shiina Mashiro has decreased by 1 point. Please make your selection."
[Acrophobia]
This card will make the host afraid of heights. Selecting this card again in the future will intensify the effect.
[Scaredy-Cat]
This card will make the host afraid of ghosts and the supernatural. Selecting this card again in the future will intensify the effect.
[No Sense of Direction]
This card will make the host prone to getting lost. Selecting this card again in the future will make it significantly worse.
When it came to post-failure punishments, Mio was always extremely cautious. At first glance, all three options seemed somewhat manageable—but she eliminated [No Sense of Direction] immediately.
Mashiro was already terrible with directions. If she picked up the same trait, the two of them would end up leading each other straight into a ditch.
That left a choice between [Acrophobia] and [Scaredy-Cat].
Remembering the persona she'd established in front of Yui—specifically, the "afraid of ghosts" bit—Mio thought it over and ultimately went with [Scaredy-Cat].
This way, the next time she watched a horror movie with Yui, she wouldn't have to waste energy faking her reactions.
Besides, a card that hadn't been upgraded shouldn't have too severe an effect.
After Mio made her selection, time resumed its flow.
Looking at Mashiro sitting before her with her eyes still closed, Mio smiled warmly. "You can open your eyes now."
At Mio's words, Mashiro slowly opened her eyes. Then, with a puzzled expression, she asked: "The kiss?"
"???"
"In manga, when the male lead or female lead tells the other person to close their eyes, isn't the next part supposed to be a kiss?" Mashiro said this with complete, unironic seriousness.
"I told you to stop applying manga logic to real life!" Mio protested—while her eyes involuntarily drifted down to Mashiro's lips. Honestly? She kind of wanted to go for it.
"Oh."
Mashiro nodded gently. Her face remained as expressionless as ever, but Mio could've sworn she detected a hint of disappointment.
Seeing that, Mio hesitated for a moment... then leaned in and planted a kiss on Mashiro's cheek.
Feeling the soft contact, Mashiro tilted her head, then pointed to her own lips. "Why not here? In manga—"
Before she could finish, Mio was already on her feet. "I-I need to go do homework! Mashiro, keep up the good work with your drawings!"
With that, she turned and practically bolted out of Mashiro's room. She was convinced that if she stayed any longer, the conquest rating she'd worked so hard to lower would shoot right back up—possibly with interest.
Back in her own room, Mio had just sent her manuscript to Eriri's email when a message from Eriri popped up.
"Got the files. ヾ(≧▽≦)o"*
"Remember that artist group chat I mentioned? I just talked to the admin—she said it's fine. I'll add you right now."
"Sawamura-san isn't the admin?" Mio had always assumed Eriri ran the group.
"Of course not."
While they were chatting, Eriri sent over an invite link. Mio tapped it and was automatically added to the group.
The moment she joined, she saw someone with the username "Eromanga-sensei" venting in the chat: "AAAGH! How the hell do you even draw big boobs?!"
"I've never had that problem, actually. I just take my clothes off and draw what I see in the mirror."
This reply came from someone called "WannaCuddleCuteGirls"—and according to her tag, she was the group admin.
"Then send me reference pics!"
"You can find that stuff anywhere online, can't you? More importantly—we've got a new member in the group."
"New person! I demand boob pics!" Eromanga-sensei immediately redirected her target toward the newly arrived Mio.
Knowing that these unhinged words were coming from a white-haired loli gave Mio... complicated feelings, to say the least.
"Sorry, my photos are for Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's eyes only."
Mio's message instantly sent the group into a frenzy. Eriri, who had been peacefully sipping tea and spectating the chaos from her computer, nearly did a spit-take when she saw it.
She scrambled to type: "Don't get the wrong idea! She and I know each other IRL!"
"So it IS a girl? Didn't expect another female member besides the admin. So, new person—what's your relationship with Kashiwagi Eri-sensei?"
"The kind you can't tell other people about."
"Say no more."
"No—you DON'T understand!" Eriri retorted, exasperated. Even she didn't understand what was going on. How could some random stranger claim to?
She'd been a little worried that Mio might have trouble fitting in, but she quickly realized her concern was entirely misplaced. Mio had barely been in the group for a few minutes and was already getting along with everyone like they were old friends.
Eriri also noticed that Mio had changed her display name to "Xiao Bai." Curious, she sent Mio a private message: "Shirai, you're not planning to use 'Xiao Bai' as your actual pen name, are you?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Don't you think it sounds like... a name you'd give a cat or a dog?"
"Hmm, it kinda does. But whatever—I'll just go with it." Mio, afflicted with terminal naming inability, couldn't be bothered to think of anything else.
"Fine, it's your call. Just don't come crying to me about it later!"