The behavior of joining in the fun, regardless of time or place, always attracts a large crowd whenever there's something exciting to watch!
And that's exactly the case now! There are too many people here, both those who came to buy things and those who just want to join in the fun. But as the crowd grows, it will continue to attract more and more onlookers!
With no other choice, Homura had to lead the girls to keep retreating! They kept going until they couldn't see the store anymore.
Everyone wiped their sweat, but he was especially worried! He didn't expect the number of people would grow so fast!
'What if there's an accident?' Homura thought to himself and decided to call his father Kosuke.
"Dad, have you received the news? I think you should contact the police just in case!" Homura got straight to the point.
"Well... I just received the news too. I didn't expect your publicity will cause such a big commotion! I'm afraid the game copies for sale won't be enough!" Kosuke laughed.
Homura was speechless. "This is not the right time to worry about the game's sale, don't you think?"
Kosuke laughed, "Don't worry! I've already contacted the police! If I had waited for you to notify me about this, it would have been too late!"
"Sigh... then what do you mean earlier? Should we order more copies for sale?" Homura asked.
"Of course! This is such a great opportunity, we must seize it!" Kosuke replied.
"Then if it's such a great opportunity, you can deduct the cost of voice-over recording and the distribution fee yourself! Just give me what's left!" Homura said.
"Do we, father and son, need to be so clear on the division? Do I really need your distribution fee and processing fee from my own son?" Kosuke's voice was a bit unhappy.
Homura didn't hesitate, "Of course, we need to be clear! I still need to ask you to make an anime movie later, and I don't have enough talented people under me, so I have to 'outsource' it to you again!"
"Damn son! Outsource?!" Kosuke almost burst out in disbelief over the phone. He was left speechless; the brat had sought his help, yet now treated him like an outsourced worker!
Homura suppressed his laughter, "If you're having someone else outside your company or business do work for you, what else would you call it besides outsourcing?"
Kosuke: "..."
"Never mind! Do whatever you want! I don't have time to waste with you!" After saying this in a bad mood, Kosuke hung up the phone directly.
"Homura-kun, the police are here." Megumi pulled on his clothes and pointed to the distance.
"Wow, that was quick!" Homura exclaimed. They had only talked for a few minutes, and the police had already arrived! Well, his father already said he had contacted them already, so it was as expected.
Turning to Utaha, Eriri, Mashiro, and Elf who had played the biggest role, he asked, "So, what do you think, ladies? Did you expect this scene?"
Everyone shook their head, including Elf who sighed and said, "This lady's servants are really lovely!"
The others automatically replaced "servants" with "fans" in their minds, and Utaha nodded in agreement. "Yes, fans are such lovely people!"
Homura said, "Of course, I think 'Your Name.' is the best reward for them! They will all be the happiest today."
Nanami looked disappointed. "I was hoping to listen to their discussion up close! It looks like I won't be able to hear it today."
Eriri said to her, "Nanami, I think that's no need."
"Why?"
Eriri explained, "Because they haven't started playing yet. What discussion?"
Nanami suddenly realized and nodded again, then looked at Homura again. "When will your new manga be announced?"
Homura thought for a moment and replied, "Either Monday or Tuesday!"
"Monday and Tuesday?" Utaha seemed to remember something. "At the end of the month? Is it their first performance?"
Homura confidently admitted his idea. "That's right, it's on Monday. I'll record the idol performance and announce it together with my manga! But I think only me and Ayano will go that day to watch their performance."
Eriri was surprised. "Why? Even if people outside their school don't go, shouldn't the students from their own school be able to go?"
"Because without any publicity from me, nobody in their school will be interested, and I don't want to promote it in advance because, without anything to show, my promotion will only hurt them."
Megumi couldn't help but ask, "So, Homura-kun, you didn't release your manga today?"
"Yeah! If I had published it today, who knows if someone would have gone there to look directly and then discovered that the idol hadn't even practiced their dance and song well? What do you think, is this a good or bad thing? So, without any promotion, I think only Ayano and I will go there."
Mashiro poked him and blinked, "I want to go..."
Homura: "..."
He looked at Eriri, "Eriri, do you think all of you should go too?"
She frowned, thought for a moment, and without hesitation said, "We shouldn't go!"
Mashiro was immediately disappointed, and Nanami leaned over to pat her head to comfort her.
"Why?" Nanami asked, puzzled.
"Nanami, if you were an idol, and your first performance had no audience, what would you feel?" Eriri asked her.
"Huh? I... I don't know!" Nanami was flustered.
Homura laughed, "Nanami would probably hold back tears, do her best to finish the performance, and then quietly pick herself up!"
Eriri nodded, "So, those girls are the same. It's also mental training for them! If they had a lot of support from the beginning, who can guarantee that they would work even harder from then on?"
"Will they be too discouraged to pick themselves up?"
Eriri smiled and said, "If what Homura drew in the manga is truly according to their true character and personality, then there's no need to worry at all!"
Nanami and Mashiro both understood, but Nanami still had one final question.
"Then why did Homura-kun go?"
Homura shrugged and replied, "Me? Because they all know I'm there to draw their manga. So, even if they think I'm an audience of their performance, I'll just take out my paper and pen in front of them and pretend to focus on drawing instead of watching their performance..."
"That is too much," The girls said.
"What can I do? I'll bear the sin if it means they can be reborn from the ashes. This is for the greater good," Homura replied solemnly.
In truth, he was still afraid that someone stubborn might receive the flyer that Honoka and the others had distributed and come directly to their performance. That's why he specifically requested that the 'Love Live!' manga not be featured in this week's magazine issue, to prevent any unexpected occurrences.
Then, he secretly contacted Nozomi and shared his idea with her. The two immediately hit it off, and she agreed to cooperate with him by intercepting any outsiders and their school's students, ensuring the first performance of Honoka, Kotori, and Umi would be exclusive to Muse members only, without any outsider audience! Except for him and Ayano, of course!
Only Nozomi and Ayano knew about his plan; not even Eli was aware!
It can be said that playing with people's feelings is not a good thing. But as he said, this is for the greater good.