'How could I know!?' All the girls thought to themselves at the same time.
In reality, even if Suiko had any impressive male students; Nanami, being in the regular division, wouldn't have come across them, and with Mashiro's personality; she wouldn't have bothered to get to know them anyway.
Homura's words were correct, and the girls understood that he was deliberately doing it. Even if there were people who met the requirements, he would have other explanations and excuses.
But out of their fondness for Homura, they accepted his explanation, thinking to themselves that they couldn't possibly invite another boy. That would make them uncomfortable!
Therefore, the commotion that Utaha wanted to cause to make Homura tone down his behavior ended with Homura's complete victory.
"Can we eat now?" Mashiro's voice came as she stared motionlessly at the Ultimate Pineapple Bread.
Homura laughed and said, "Go ahead!"
"Ultimate Pineapple Bread." Mashiro took a piece, and with one bite, her eyes slightly closed, her expression much like when she enjoyed the food in the sun, looking entirely blissful.
"What is this?! It's so delicious!" Nanami exclaimed, surprised as she tasted something this good for the first time.
Homura laughed at her reaction and said, "If it's delicious, eat more! Eat until you're full!"
*King called me to patrol the mountain~*
It was Homura's phone again.
Homura glanced at it, signaling for everyone to eat first, then took a few steps back to answer the call. "Hey? What's up, Ayano?"
"Are you at a mixer party? There seems to be a lot of girls' voices," Ayano asked without any sense of formality.
Homura was speechless. A mixer party? Didn't that mean he was a scumbag that always played with girls, even when he already had this many of them at home?
"I'm at home. It's just a welcome party for new members of my club," he said.
"By the way, Homura, I don't think I've ever asked you this, but are all the members of your club girls?" After a moment of silence, Ayano asked, somewhat unnaturally.
"But I'm a guy, aren't I?" Homura said.
"I'm not joking with you. You said you have a club and a project that's almost done, but they're all girls... Are you serious?" Ayano was afraid that Homura's club was just an excuse for a harem, so she wanted to make sure.
Homura was straightforward, "If I tell you about the members, you'll understand. All my members are big shots."
"First is Kasumi Utako-sensei..." Homura began.
"Wait a minute!" Ayano interrupted, "Kasumi Utako-sensei? The author of "The Metronome in Love"?"
"That's right. Next is Kashiwagi Eri-sensei..."
"Wait!-" Ayano interrupted again but...
Homura cut in, "That's right! And next is Eromanga-sensei..."
"..."
Homura asked strangely, "Why didn't you interrupt me?"
"I will just wait until you finished speaking before I expressed my surprise," was her reply.
"Can your heart endure this surprising news?" Homura scratched his head. "Okay, then next up is Shiina Mashiro..."
"Hold on!!!"
"Bruh, who was the one who said will wait until I finished..."
Surprised, Ayano's voice came from the phone. "Am I hearing correctly?! Did you just say Mashiro? Shiina Mashiro?!"
"Come to think of it, you also know Mashiro, and if I remember correctly, Mashiro's reason for coming back is to draw manga right? Then, do you think I will let her run away to you?" Homura's tone was full of playfulness.
"You... I knew Mashiro had returned and I was about to contact her, but I didn't expect to hear the news from you." Ayano said with irritation. "But, indeed, with your guidance, Mashiro's manga's plot and story problems can definitely be solved."
"Of course, that's why I invited her to join my club, and she's preparing to draw the manga part of our club's masterpiece!" Homura affirmed.
"Really? Then tomorrow you have to let me appreciate it." Ayano said, her words filled with humor.
Homura raised an eyebrow. "Are you coming tomorrow? Is it for... The Promised Neverland?"
"Boring, you guessed it right away," Ayano said unhappily. "I'm coming to sign a contract with you tomorrow, and by the way, I have good news to tell you... Oh, before that, do you still have a certain "sensei" who can surprise and challenge my nerves again?"
Homura was about to ask what good news it was, but Ayano resumed the previous talk. He smirked, "Of course I do! That is... the mangaka Minamiya-sensei!"
"..." Ayano was speechless. 'Is this guy really that shameless? But I do appreciate your enthusiasm.'
"Okay! You continue with your welcome party! See you tomorrow!" Ayano hung up the phone.
Homura was speechless. What? Can't Minamiya-sensei surprise you? Such a small reaction!
Shaking his head and laughing, he returned to his seat.
===
After dinner, when everyone finished their tasks, Homura went to the yard for his daily exercise, punching a few times before returning to his room with Haru, who had just finished sharpening his claws on the post.
Feeling like he hadn't checked his status in days, Homura opened the system.
[Character Name]: Minamiya Homura
[Level]: 9 (530/900)
[Identity]: Student, Mangaka
[Title]: Newcomer Mangaka (Increase the attractiveness of manga works by 1%)
[Life Skills]: Programming LV6→LV7, Piano LV3→LV4, Guitar LV3→LV4, Choreography LV1→LV3, Reasoning LV1→LV2
[Skill Points]: 5
===
[Main Mission]: Increase the sales of Manke Weekly.
[Mission Description]: Manke Weekly is declining, use your manga to make it great again.
[Mission Objective]: Boost the sales of Manke Weekly within a week.
[Mission Status]: Incomplete.
[Mission Reward]: Unknown (to be evaluated based on the degree of mission completion).
===
[Pet Name]: Haru
[Level]: 16→17
===
"!!!"
Why does it feel like something has changed drastically?!
First, there is an additional title as a Mangaka. This isn't surprising, and it's only natural to have an extra title. However, this title seems to be quite effective! Despite being only 1%, manga never lack readers, so 1% is still a significant number with a large audience!
Next, all the skills with the most significant changes were automatically leveled up without any active point allocation from Homura. His highest and only skill brought from his past life, Programming, has already reached Level 7. No wonder he recently felt like he had a sudden breakthrough in programming. It turned out because the skill had leveled up!
But how did the other skills level up? Homura silently contemplated this and analyzed it through Reasoning and Investigation Skills.
After flashes of images crossed Homura's mind about other skill upgrades, he finally pulled up a picture. It was the night when Homura sent the three girls home when he had leveled up his Tai Chi to Level 6.
Therefore, the upgrade of the Piano, Guitar, and Choreography skills was due to Tai Chi which strengthens the body's control and coordination.
Homura felt pleasantly surprised that there were still such unexpected benefits. However, he smiled happily as he realized that although the System did not have spirit or fairy to guide him; it was not as rigid as he had imagined. There is still a connection between skills!
Perhaps, no... surely! The System definitely has wonderful features that Homura has yet to discover!