"At that time, your leg moved a bit. I guessed that you heard Chihiro-sensei's voice and realized that you were at school and being watched by many people, so you woke up feeling embarrassed, right?" Homura roughly guessed the girl's psychological state.
The girl in front of him trembled a few times.
"Moreover, the words that Chihiro-sensei said when she left just now, you can't pretend anymore, can you?" The words, like a demon whisper, entered Nanami's ears and made her tremble again.
"After all, your face was blushing just now. I don't think I was mistaken."
"Since you know that I'm shy, can't you stop it?!" Nanami, who threw off the blanket, blushed and spoke with a Kansai accent, which could have been from either shyness or anger, but most likely from shyness.
But this sentence feels a bit off. Is it an illusion?
Homura smiled slightly, "Can't you come out of the blanket?"
"... Did you do it on purpose?" Nanami said stiffly.
Homura changed the subject directly.
"Speaking of which, do you remember how you fainted?"
Nanami, whose thoughts were completely led astray, said subconsciously, "It seems that I was afraid of being late, and then I suddenly bumped into something while rushing..."
As she spoke, she looked at Homura, who nodded, "That's right, you bumped into me, and then you fainted."
Looking at Nanami, who was blushing again, Homura hurriedly said, "But it's not all your fault. I was thinking about some things at the time and was distracted."
"I'm Minamiya Homura. Can I call you Nanami? Chihiro-sensei called you Nanami-chan."
'Do you call someone by their first name right off the bat?' Nanami blushed, wanting to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything and nodded, agreeing to let Homura call her that.
"By the way, are you hungry?" Homura turned around and took out a bento box from his bag and handed it to Nanami.
"No, no, this is your bento. I absolutely can't take it!" She kept refusing, but her stomach didn't agree with her.
*GROWL~~~*
The two of them froze, and Homura casually put the bento in her hand and said to Nanami, who was already embarrassed and about to faint again, "You didn't have breakfast yet, did you? It's not good for a girl to be hungry like this. Eat quickly! I still have some!"
As he spoke, Homura patted his bag.
"... You're lying. Who would bring two bento!" Nanami didn't believe it.
"I would!"
"Then let me see!" She reached out to grab the bag.
Homura sidestepped and smiled, "Can't let you see the inside. There's a big secret here."
Without waiting for her to object, Homura said firmly, "Alright! Eat quickly!"
Watching his serious expression, Nanami was no longer embarrassed but rather moved. She didn't expect someone she just met to do so much for her.
She no longer refused Homura's kindness and opened the bento to eat like a squirrel, quickly and with small bites. She secretly decided that she must repay him in the future.
Indeed, other people like Homura might also give her a bento, but they wouldn't force her like him if she didn't want it.
However, Nanami is different.
This girl was just too heartbreaking. She worked hard for her dream, and while other students only had school courses and club activities, Nanami either studied at the Voice Acting School or worked part-time. She worked before school, after school, on holidays... She used all of her free time to work!
What's more, because of paying for the Voice Acting School's tuition, she often went hungry and skipped meals.
As for Nanami's personality... Homura thought she was similar to Haru, principled, serious, extremely independent, and never seeking help voluntarily. Even if someone helped her, she always repaid the favor. She was considerate and caring, with a slight tsundere side. She was ordinary yet cute, except for being too shy.
As Homura thought more about it; he realized that Nanami and Haru were very similar! With so many good traits, she was truly amazing! Who wouldn't feel heartbroken for her after getting to know her?
Looking at Nanami silently eating her food, Homura made a decision!
'I want to adopt her! Oops! No, I mean to invite her!'
Homura almost laughed out loud. Where did the idea of adoption come from?
Since a voice acting career is her dream and Nanami's voice is very pleasant, she could be a perfect fit for Miyamizu Mitsuha!
Homura suddenly thought that this was a great idea! Plus, Nanami has a bit of an accent, but with a little practice, she could be qualified.
However, even if the invitation is successful, can Homura directly help her? After all, it takes about half a month for their game to be completed. What should they do during this time?
Rubbing his chin and pondering for a while, Homura looked at the girl who had already finished eating her bento and asked, "Are you full?"
*BURP!*
Nanami quickly covered her mouth, blushing, and said with a voice that was only slightly louder than Sagiri's, "I'm full, or rather, I'm too full."
"That's good!" Homura tentatively said, "By the way, Nanami, your voice is very pleasant!"
"Huh?" Nanami asked with some surprise, "Really?"
"Yeah! With a little more effort, I think you could be a voice actor!"
Feeling the warmth on her face with her hand, Nanami felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Actually... I'm studying at a Voice Acting School."
Hearing this, Homura could finally get to the point, "So, that's why you've been working so hard, right? You didn't have enough money for food because of the tuition; you were starving yourself? Your body honestly showed the effects of hunger and fatigue, and that's why you fainted when I bumped into you, right?"
"!!!"
"How do you know everything?" Nanami looked at him in shock. Could he be a stalker?
Looking at Nanami's shocked expression, Homura found her quite cute, but luckily he didn't know that she had imagined him as a stalker...
"I guessed it," Homura prepared to make his point. "But do you think this is a good idea? Even if you achieve your dream of becoming a voice actor, do you think your body can support you to continue down that path?"
Silent, she had never thought that far ahead before. She had only been charging forward without considering the consequences, and for this, she had given up all her free time.
But is this really a good idea? Nanami was a little conflicted and didn't know what to do. Should she give up?
Her thoughts turned, NO! She couldn't give up! Absolutely not! She had worked so hard to get to this point, how could she possibly give up now?!
Looking at Homura with a firm gaze, she was about to speak when he spoke up first.
"Would you like to join us?"
'Join what? Why did this guy feel like a scammer luring an innocent girl?! Suddenly blurting out something vague like this, how was I supposed to understand?' As expected, Nanami was full of question marks and looked at him with confusion.
Homura also realized that his words were a bit off and quickly explained, afraid that she might misunderstand.
"Etto, what I mean was, do you want to do voice acting for our club's project?"
Nanami was even more confused now, what did he mean? Why she still couldn't understand?
Homura had no choice but to explain in one breath.
"My club is working on a game that will be finished in less than a month, so I'm inviting you to do voice acting for our game. Can you do it?"