"A drink? Sure, why not~"
Haruno gave a light nod, then stood and said to Mio, "Want to come sit with us over there, little kouhai?"
"I don't drink, so I'll sit this one out." Mio said it lazily.
Fresh out of the hot spring, all she wanted was to flop down on the bed and laze around—mess with her phone, or curl up with Mashiro for a nap.
After the drinking trio had cleared out, Mio threw herself onto the bed without a shred of concern for how it looked, then said to Mashiro, "Is it going to mess up your painting if I lie here like this?"
"It's fine. I've already memorized everything I want to draw." Mashiro glanced at the unfinished piece, then over at Mio sprawled on the bed.
After mulling it over for a moment, she ultimately chose to set down her brush, climbed up onto the bed, and burrowed expertly into Mio's arms.
"You're not going to paint anymore?"
"I'll paint later. Right now I want to sleep with Mio." Mashiro pressed her face into Mio's chest and nuzzled, savoring that familiar softness as she let out a few sounds whose meaning was anyone's guess.
Mio looked down at her with a touch of helplessness. Every single time it was like this—didn't she ever feel stuffy down there?
Though my cup size probably isn't quite big enough to smother anyone just yet.
Just as the two of them were settling in for their afternoon nap, on the other side, the three women got their drinking session underway.
Haruno took a sip of beer and drawled, "Without my kouhai's little bar snacks, it kind of feels like something's missing from the drinking~"
"So fussy. Before Shirai ever came into the picture, weren't we drinking just fine like this?"
At Shizuka's words, Chihiro's lips curled into a mocking little smile. "And just now, who was it going on about wanting some of Shirai's drinking snacks?"
"Tch—you and that mouth of yours!"
After her habitual back-and-forth with Shizuka, Chihiro seemed to think of something and asked Haruno, curious, "So how'd you end up out here without a word to anyone?"
"For a long-overdue vacation, of course~ Don't tell me you thought I came all this way for you two?"
"Knowing you, there's no way you'd come for us, but... never mind. It's nothing." Chihiro had a feeling the real reason Haruno had shown up here was tied to Mio.
She and Shizuka had invited Haruno out plenty of times before, but apart from drinking and chatting, she basically never agreed to anything.
And yet now—without anyone even needing to ask—Haruno had come running out here all on her own.
Chihiro got the feeling that if Haruno had that kind of interest in Mio as well, then her own cousin might not stand the slightest chance.
Still, that probably wasn't very likely, was it?
After all, Yukinoshita Haruno was the heir to the Yukinoshita family.
Haruno shot Chihiro a glance. Chihiro hadn't finished her sentence, but Haruno could more or less guess what she'd been about to say.
And the truth was, Chihiro had guessed right. She had come here for Mio.
Ever since she'd heard a couple of days back that Mio was coming out here for the hot spring, she'd already made her preparations.
Honestly, she was a little curious about herself, too—that she'd go this far for one girl. It was a first.
Well, it couldn't really be helped. Whose fault was it that she found that white-haired little kouhai so very interesting~
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Deep in sleep, Mio suddenly heard a knock at the door.
She cracked her eyes open, and once she'd confirmed she hadn't imagined it, carefully lifted Mashiro's arm off of her, got up, and walked over to the door.
When she opened it, who should be standing there but Yukinoshita Haruno, dressed in a yukata.
From this distance, Mio could clearly catch the faint scent of alcohol on her—mingling with Haruno's own fragrance into something strangely alluring.
Mio let out a lazy yawn, then said, "Senpai, is your drinking session over already?"
"Mm, all wrapped up. Though my kouhai looks like she slept rather well~"
"What time is it?"
"Four in the afternoon. You've been asleep a little over an hour, give or take."
"Only a little over an hour?" Mio felt like she'd been out for a good long while.
Haruno glanced at Mashiro, still fast asleep, then said, "How about it—want to go out for a little walk?"
Mio looked at the snowflakes drifting down outside the window and quietly shook her head. There was no way she was going out in the cold like this.
As if she'd read Mio's mind, Haruno let out a soft laugh. "When I say go out, I don't mean outside—I mean a stroll around the hotel itself. Besides the hot spring, there are a few other entertainment facilities here."
"Come walk around with me. Think of it as keeping me company while I sober up."
"Didn't Senpai say she never gets drunk?"
"I'm glad you remember what I said—but some things, even once you've noticed them, are better off not pointed out~"
That was something Mio understood perfectly well, of course. It was just that in front of Haruno, there was no need whatsoever to play along.
Grabbing the key card, Mio walked out of the room with Haruno, and at the same time fired off a message to Mashiro's phone, letting her know she'd stepped out for a bit.
That way, if Mashiro woke up, she wouldn't go running all over the place looking for her.
Just as Mio tucked her phone away and was about to ask Haruno where they were headed, the System's voice suddenly piped up in her ear: "Ahh, nice, so nice~ This System wants a hot spring soak too~"
"If you want to soak that badly, start by figuring out how to get yourself a body."
"Don't think I can't tell you want to hit me—this System would never give you that kind of chance."
Hearing that, Mio asked, a little curious, "You won't give me the chance—so does that mean you really can have a physical form?"
"Perverted Host, don't tell me you're getting some kind of weird ideas about poor little me? Your XP is your own business, sure, but I'd still recommend you go see a therapist."
"Who's getting weird ideas about you—I'm just trying to clear up a little confusion. More to the point, you popping up out of nowhere—did you need me for something?"
"As expected of my Host. Bingo. I do feel a bit bad disturbing you while you're on vacation, but it can't be helped—duty calls."
"Host, please find a way to get Yukinoshita Haruno to kiss you of her own initiative before the day is over—and the kiss is restricted to the face. Success may earn you the Yukinoshita Haruno card set or an item reward. Failure means drawing from the penalty card set."
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