"Finally, it's over."
As the movie ended, Mio could finally relax.
Although her task had been completed when the movie was about halfway through, in order to maintain her character, she had forced herself to keep acting until the movie ended.
This wasn't simply a matter of acting scared—she had to adjust her emotions in coordination with the movie's plot, so she had to stay completely focused on watching the film. Her reactions also had to be quick. After maintaining this for an entire movie, even she was exhausted.
But the exhaustion was worth it, because this task's reward was pretty good.
[Time Management Master]
Can slightly improve the host's sleep efficiency, thereby reducing required sleep time. Can be upgraded by selecting this card repeatedly.
This was the reward Mio chose this time. For someone who often stayed up late like her, it was quite practical. She just didn't know how much the efficiency would improve.
"Mio, let's go too."
Hearing Yuigahama Yui's words, Mio nodded gently, then stood up and prepared to follow the crowd outside. That's when she realized she was still holding Yuigahama Yui's hand.
After all, she'd been holding her hand for the entire movie, and she'd just been distracted, so she'd completely forgotten about it.
Mio released her hand somewhat bashfully and said: "Thank you. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done."
"It's... it's nothing."
Yuigahama Yui looked at her left hand, feeling like something was missing.
She shook her head gently, then caught up with Mio and walked out of the screening room together.
By the time they left the shopping center, the sky outside had already begun to darken.
Yuigahama Yui had originally wanted to take Mio to a family restaurant she frequented for dinner, but Mio declined, using the excuse that she had things to do at home.
She'd already completed two tasks today. If she continued staying with Yuigahama Yui, who knew whether the system would suddenly pop up and make her find a way to get Yuigahama Yui to voluntarily take her home or give her a goodbye kiss or something.
When Mio returned home carrying bags large and small, she suddenly remembered something important—she seemed to have forgotten to buy safety shorts.
She'd clearly been thinking this morning that she absolutely couldn't forget, but this afternoon she'd been so focused on how to complete her tasks that this matter had been completely thrown to the back of her mind.
Whatever. As long as she didn't forget next time, it would be fine.
Just as Mio was thinking about what to eat for dinner, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Standing outside the door was Mashiro Shiina, holding a stack of storyboards in her hands.
After seeing Mio open the door, Mashiro immediately handed over the storyboards and said: "The storyboards for the first chapter are finished. I'm hungry."
"We'll look at the storyboards later. I'm hungry too, so let's make something to eat first." While checking the ingredients in the refrigerator, Mio asked: "By the way, isn't Chihiro-sensei home?"
"She went out. To a mixer."
"I see." Mio nodded thoughtfully. That seemed like something Sengoku Chihiro would do.
"We already told Ayano about our collaboration. She agreed."
Mio's cutting motion paused for a moment, then she said helplessly: "Even though it's a perfectly legitimate matter, why does it sound like you're saying you told your parents about us dating and they approved of our marriage?"
"Mio, you want to marry me? Then I'll call my mom right now."
"???"
Although marrying Mashiro Shiina was a very tempting option, to prevent her from actually calling her family, Mio confiscated Mashiro's phone and put it in her own pocket before continuing to prepare dinner.
After finishing a simple dinner, Mio finally picked up the storyboards Mashiro had drawn.
She had to admit, Mashiro Shiina was a genuine genius. Using only text descriptions, she'd drawn excellent storyboards, and it had only taken her one day. If this wasn't genius, what was?
No wonder spending too much time around her could easily make people feel inadequate.
After flipping through the storyboards several times and confirming there were no problems, Mio returned them to Mashiro and said: "Just draw according to these storyboards. If you need any help with anything, you can tell me anytime."
"I remembered. Ayano told me to come up with a pen name."
"Just use your name." Mio said nonchalantly.
Mashiro continued as if she hadn't heard Mio's words: "Shiina Mio. That's the pen name."
"???"
This pen name sounded kind of strange. If she married Mashiro Shiina, using this name wouldn't feel awkward at all—the problem was she hadn't married her yet.
Although Mashiro's face still showed no expression, Mio could tell she was serious.
"Are you sure?"
Mashiro nodded earnestly. In her view, this was her and Mio's manga, so combining both their names together was perfect.
"Then let's go with that."
"Is it okay?"
"Mm, as long as you like it." Mio reached out and gently patted Mashiro's head.
You could tell that Mashiro was quite satisfied with this pen name. Even her steps seemed lighter when she went back.
After Mashiro left, Mio began working on her doujinshi.
Three days of the week had already passed. Drawing a complete doujinshi in four days would be difficult even for a short one, but drawing a half-finished version was something she could try her best at.
After all, she was someone who had read countless doujinshi.
Although that's what she said, when she actually started working, even with the support of [Mashiro Shiina's Drawing Technique], she still struggled quite a bit.
Just then, the system's voice chimed in with maximum smugness: "Aww, hitting a wall? You've got a literal drawing genius living next door. Ever thought about, y'know... asking for help?"
"Please find a way to ask Mashiro Shiina for advice on drawing doujinshi before midnight tonight. Success grants a chance at Mashiro Shiina series card sets or item rewards. Failure means punishment deck time."
"I am begging you to have a shred of humanity."
How did this system even come up with tasks this cursed? She was already being paranoid as hell drawing this thing, terrified of getting caught and dying of embarrassment. And now it wanted her to march over and ask Mashiro Shiina—pure, innocent Mashiro—for tips on drawing porn?!
That wasn't a task. That was assisted social suicide.