"Kuroneko-shi still has two little sisters to take care of at home, and she can't be separated from them. Besides, she is quite shy. If it was just you, Homura-shi, it would be fine, but with your friends there..."
Homura understood. The matter of her little sisters was secondary and easy to solve; the key issue was Kuroneko herself.
As a severe chuunibyou patient, Kuroneko's sharp tongue was no less impressive than Kirino's!
Fortunately, she only unleashed her sarcasm on people she was relatively familiar with.
Moreover, she was a particularly shy person and had a strong guard against strangers. She rarely initiated conversations with unfamiliar people, so her sharp tongue was not a problem.
"Kuroneko..." Homura pondered and then asked, "Saori, why don't you ask them if they want to go? It would be better if Kuroneko's sisters could also join us."
That seemed to be the only solution. Let Kuroneko bring her sisters along.
"Alright! I'll go and ask!" Saori agreed, "By the way, Homura-shi, what about the location? We can go there ourselves."
"Oh, the location. I didn't ask for the specifics. I'll send you the address later. Oh right, Kirino's cousin will also go, so you can inform her as well."
He thought it was a good idea, considering Kirino and Kuroneko's relationship was as close as that of frenemies. If Kirino decided to come, there was a high chance that Kuroneko would join as well.
"Kiririn-shi's cousin?" Saori was stunned. How long had it been since they last met? How did he even know her cousin?
"Yeah, I found out about their relationship by accident. Because they have the same surname, I casually asked."
"...What a coincidence." Saori didn't know what expression to make, so she settled for a smile.
"Pfft...! What is this?! Why did Minamiya-sensei upload this?"
Homura suddenly heard Kirino's exclamation!
"What's happening on your end?" Homura asked curiously.
"I don't know. I'll go and ask." Before she could ask, Kirino rushed over.
"Saori! Are you talking to Minamiya-sensei? Quickly ask him what's going on?!"
Saori looked utterly bewildered. 'What are you talking about? I don't understand a thing de gozaru~?!'
She added, "Kiririn-shi, you have to explain clearly first. If you don't explain, what should I ask!"
"This!" Kirino held up her phone to show her. "This video! Why is my cousin singing and dancing? Since when did she become an idol?!"
Saori: "..."
What the hell? Just as I want to mention your cousin, you suddenly brought it up yourself?
"Homura-shi?" Saori asked cautiously, "Did you hear that?"
"I heard it, but I will keep it a secret for now," Homura smirked.
So that's how it is! Kirino must have seen the blog post he just made. She must be following his blog, right?
"Since you join us later, won't you find out in the end?" Homura invited them again, "Alright, I still have to invite others. I'll let you know the good news later."
After hanging up the phone once again, Homura muttered to himself, "It's not easy to confirm if Kuroneko will come, but with Kirino, who discovered the video, there's a high probability she'll come. What a great opportunity."
Who else can we invite next? He pondered carefully and realized that the only ones he could possibly invite were Rizu and Fumino.
However, the probability of them accepting the invitation was low. After all, they had only known each other for a short time, unlike Kirino and Kuroneko who had acquaintances like Saori. Moreover, Rizu's family owned an udon noodle shop, so she probably couldn't go.
Nonetheless, let's just invite them. And while he is at it, ask them about their grades.
"Who... is looking for my little angel at home? Is there something you need?"
Homura facepalmed... What the hell! Riru's father was quite a character! He actually had his daughter's phone in his possession?!
And he picked up immediately after just one ring. Was he possibly keeping an eye on her phone at all times?
"This is Minamiya Homura. Uncle, is Ogata-san available?"
"That voice... Kid, you must be the one from last time, right?! Kidnapping my angel once wasn't enough, now you're calling again... Do you want to turn into udon?"
Homura chuckled, "Uncle, you must have answered the call while hiding it from your daughter... Is it really alright if she finds out?"
"Kid, don't underestimate me! I've been keeping an eye on Rizutama's movements. How could she possibly catch me?"
Homura: "..."
This guy is also so bizarre!
"I'll tell you! Today... Ahhh!!!" A cry of agony came through the phone, and he couldn't help but laugh. As expected, he was discovered.
"Don't touch my phone anymore. How many times have I said this?"
"N-No, it's not like that! Papa is just protecting Rizutama from the devil's harassment!"
"For now, you're not allowed to stay within five meters of me!"
"No, please! Anything but not that?!"
What a comedic family. He almost wanted to record it.
"Um, Minamiya-san... sorry for earlier, someone else took over the call."
"Uncle... he protecting you." It was awkward. He wanted to praise her father, but remembering his behavior just now, Homura couldn't bring himself to do it, so he squeezed out this sentence instead.
"Well, I guess so... but this method is pretty disgusting."
Well, that may be true, but only a daughter like you can say such things. Who knows how many troublemakers he secretly shielded you from?
His thoughts were likely the reality. While it may only be one aspect of the reason, only by constantly protecting her like this could such excessive behavior of her father be nurtured, right?
But there was no need for him to say that. Rizu didn't understand people's feelings, and even if he did say it, it would probably only further confuse and distress her.
"By the way, did the manga have any effect?"
"Effect..." Riru pondered, "It seems to have had some effect. After all, my grades have improved somewhat. They're no longer in the single digits."
Holy moly! That's a significant improvement! And a fast one at that!
Homura was amazed. Rizu, who had been hovering between two, three, and four points, had actually scored more than two digits.
"Although I still don't quite understand why the characters in the manga had such emotions at that time, I still tried to memorize their behaviors and the correlation with their mindset."
"Rote memorization, huh... Well, it's not surprising for you to have a perfect score in science and math, but it's still a short period of time, and you haven't read many books. You should definitely read more like manga or novels, especially with psychological descriptions as the focus. They would be most beneficial for you, including some detective novels."
"Yeah... Thank you so much, Minamiya-san. I owe it all to you."
"As the saying goes, the master can only show you the way. The rest is up to you."
"But without you, Minamiya-san, I wouldn't even be able to improve."
"Alright, enough with the formalities. We're friends after all." Homura got back to the point, "So, here's the thing, my friends and I are going on a trip this afternoon. Will you and Furuhashi-san come along?"