"Nii-san, are you going to draw?"
Sagiri squeezed behind Homura and watched his actions from his shoulder.
"Yep. Kotori's design should be coming in any moment now." Homura nodded.
'Kotori? Did this guy make a move on Kotori?' Eriri thought silently but didn't say anything, just continued watching the group chat.
[Minami Kotori: Are you sure you want me to post it here? Doesn't that kind of spoil the surprise?]
[Minamiya Homura: Nah, it's cool. It's better if everyone sees it together.]
[Tojou Nozomi: Hmm, looks like something went down after we got home.]
[Minami Kotori: OK, I'll send it now.]
[Minami Kotori sent a picture.]
[Minami Kotori: How does it look?]
[Minamiya Homura: Amazing! You're seriously awesome at fashion design!]
[Yazawa Nico: Seriously, this is way too beautiful. It looks like a wedding dress.]
[Yazawa Nico: Wait, is it a wedding dress?]
[Nishikino Maki: Yeah, it's really beautiful.]
[Minami Kotori: Thanks! I did think about wedding dresses, but I'm not sure if this really counts as one.]
[Minamiya Homura: Alright, it's my turn now.]
After typing this, Homura got busy drawing, but the group chat conversation didn't stop.
As a result, Eriri didn't bother asking Homura what had actually happened and continued reading the group chat to find out.
[Hoshizora Rin: What's everyone talking about? Rin has no idea.]
[Tojou Nozomi: Oh, look, the protagonist finally shows up!]
[Sonoda Umi: Rin, didn't you notice the model in Kotori's pic looks a lot like someone?]
[Hoshizora Rin: Wait, is it just me or is that Rin?!]
[Yazawa Nico: Took you long enough to realize?]
[Minami Kotori: I don't have Homura-kun's drawing skills, so it's kind of hard to recognize.]
[Hoshizora Rin: Why? Why use Rin as the model? Wouldn't someone else be better?]
[Koizumi Hanayo: No way! No one's more perfect than Rin-chan for this! Kotori-chan made it just for Rin-chan!]
[Kousaka Honoka: By the way, Hanayo-chan, did you know what happened after we went home?]
[Hoshizora Rin: Kayo-chin didn't know anything!]
[Koizumi Hanayo: I didn't know?]
[Tojou Nozomi: Sus…]
[Yazawa Nico: Sus…]
[Nishikino Maki: Hanayo, let's chat privately. You can tell me there.]
[Kousaka Honoka: Add me too! I wanna know!]
[Hoshizora Rin: Kayo-chin, don't!]
Looking at the lively group chat, especially at Rin's reaction, Utaha and the others sensed that something was amiss.
They couldn't help but think that if Homura really had the guts to make a move on one of Muse's members, it had to be Rin—no doubt about it!
"Who would've thought it was Rin-chan?" Megumi mumbled before turning to Homura. "Homura-kun, did you make a move on Rin-chan?"
Hearing her question, Homura answered as he drew.
"Back when Rin was little, a bunch of brats told her she wasn't suited for skirts and mocked her for lacking femininity, saying she looked like a boy..." Homura explained while sighing. "Imagine the consequences for a six- or seven-year-old girl being told such things frequently... Since then, unless absolutely necessary, Rin hasn't worn a skirt even once."
Upon hearing this, the girls around him fell silent, especially Nayuta, who empathized deeply with Rin's situation.
"Adding Rin's extraordinary athletic skills, even surpassing most boys, made her fall into deep self-doubt..."
Homura continued his explanation as his hand kept drawing.
"Even though she desperately wanted to be like any other normal girl, wearing a skirt and dressing up nicely... she didn't dare to do it."
"She could only secretly envy the beautiful skirts other girls wore, admire their femininity, yet she didn't dare to show her envy... because she was afraid of being mocked again."
"Unbelievable... that was too much for a little girl..." Mafuyu muttered while frowning.
Being a teacher and yet unable to help a student in trouble made her feel helpless.
If both teachers and parents had provided better education for the children, they wouldn't have said such harsh things, right?
Whose fault was that?
"So... is that why things ended up like this?"
Eriri asked while looking at the drawing that was already taking shape in Homura's hand, a drawing of Rin in a wedding dress.
"Yeah, something like that..." Homura nodded. "Words can be sharper than knives, so the mocks Rin's heard every day have become her emotional wounds. That's why, to help her heal her heart, I need to showcase her femininity."
"I see now... So you want Rin to see for herself and hear the compliments people have for her." Utaha nodded, understanding his intentions.
"Still, this is just one aspect of why you made a move on Rin-chan, right, Homura-kun?" Megumi asked calmly.
"Well, yeah..." Homura nodded with a wry smile. "Maybe it's because I understand everyone so well? You know, when you understand someone so much—understanding their strengths and flaws—how can you not fall for them? And given Rin's situation back then, it was only natural for me to confess to her."
Upon hearing 'confess', the girls wore no surprised expressions, as they knew Homura was always like this.
Moreover, what could be more telling of a girl's appeal than having a boy confess to her?
At least, it must be very impactful for a girl with an inferiority complex like Rin.
"Ahh, Mou—!" Eriri scratched her head in frustration. "Rin got ahead of me, but I can't feel angry about it..."
"But, Senpai, doesn't that mean you also know Kirisu-sensei well?" Nayuta suddenly asked. "Your time knowing Kirisu-sensei should be the shortest, right?"
Seeing the topic suddenly shift toward her, Mafuyu felt a bit nervous.
Honestly, she really wanted to hear Homura's thoughts about her, but she was also afraid that he didn't actually know her well enough since they had only met a few times.
However, if Homura knew her well, didn't that mean he knew her lazy side?
"I actually think there's a good chance Homura knows Kirisu-sensei very well." Elf said with a smile on her face. "Forget about Homura's strange sources of information for now. Just the way he can always analyze so much information about us from even the smallest clue... as long as you're with him, he's constantly learning about you."
"Oh, that's quite the compliment for me..."
Homura smiled and stopped what he was doing.
"All done! I'll share what I know about Kirisu-sensei in a bit... as long as Kirisu-sensei doesn't mind, of course."
As soon as Homura finished saying this, he winked at Mafuyu, causing her face to darken.
Seeing Mafuyu's expression, Homura secretly chuckled, knowing why she had reacted like that.
Even though it was fun to tease someone serious like Mafuyu, he naturally wouldn't mention her lazy side, as it would be too disrespectful.
Feeling the silent atmosphere, Homura suddenly realized that everyone had fallen silent.
Curious, he looked over and saw that they were all staring at the drawing he had made.
""Beautiful...""
Mashiro and Muramasa spoke in unison.