It was late at night, and all the girls gathered together to soak in the hot springs.
Even those who were reluctant to join because of embarrassment were dragged in forcefully.
The hot springs were located in the backyard of the villa, surrounded by wooden walls.
At this moment, the lone Homura was lying on a large stone not far from the hot springs' enclosure. It might be inappropriate to call him lonely because the little one was lying on his stomach.
He gazed up at the night sky, observing the countless stars... and incidentally listening to the chatter and laughter coming from the hot springs.
Well, it was truly incidental! His main focus was still the stars! Honest!
But that sound kept drilling into his ears...
"Why is it so big?!"
Wasn't that the voice of Eriri?
Homura could tell because her voice tone was similar to Muramasa's, but the intonation was definitely Eriri's.
By the way, what was she talking about?
"I... I don't know..." The voice was so soft that if he didn't have keen ears, he wouldn't have heard it! But this must be Izumi's voice, right?
So... this was a battle between the well-endowed and the flat-chested boobs huh?
"Ah~ damn it! She's only in the third grade of middle school, but what's with this cup size?!" Why did this statement always carry a sense of a defeated dog's whimper?
"What?! Is Izumi-chan really just a middle school third grader?" Hmm, that was Nico's voice. It was her voice of disbelief.
"Even though I'm already in my final year of high school..." Nico's voice sounded a bit hopeless.
"Nico-chan, do you want me to help you?" There was no need to think twice, it was Nozomi.
"No need! Get lost!"
"Don't be shy~!"
"Iyaa~! Go away!"
"Ah~! Nozomi, you!"
"Oh? Has Eli-chi grown a bit more, I wonder?"
The sound of splashing water continued, accompanied by laughter and screams.
"Ahh! Demi-human! What are you doing?!"
"Hehehe... Muramasa-chan is really unexpected~!"
"Sagiri-chan, should we hide?" That was Nayuta's voice.
"Hide? Why should we hide? Muehehehe..." Hmm, Sagiri's voice was gradually becoming sinister. Her 'Ero' side was emerging.
"Nanami, what is everyone doing?" It was Mashiro's voice, sounding confused yet flat.
"Well... I guess it's because... everyone has a good relationship?" Nanami's voice sounded awkward.
"A good relationship? Is this what having a good relationship means?"
"Hey... wait a minute! Mashiro, what are you planning to do?"
"I want to improve my relationship with Nanami."
"No, no, this won't do! Mashiro! Kyaaa~!"
"Nee-sama, what are the other Onee-chan doing?" It was the adorable voice of Tamaki, the little loli.
"Tamaki, don't mind them. Such behavior is not good!"
"Oh? It seems interesting, right? Then let's join in too! Kiririn-shi! Kuroneko-shi!"
"Wait a minute! What are you thinking, Saori? Kyaa~!"
"Huh? Can a tsundere like you make that kind of sound too?"
"Kuroneko! Just you wait!"
"Hmph! There's no way I'll let you catch me... Huh? E-Elf?"
"Hehehe! Kuroneko-chan, I'm coming~!"
===
The hot springs were in chaos. It was a riot provoked by Nozomi!
Homura felt a peculiar itch in his nose. He rubbed it vigorously and silently recited 'Amithaba'...
'The heck?!' Homura scratched his head. 'It's not working at all!'
'Maybe I should check the System and shift my attention!'
[Character Name]: Minamiya Homura
[Level]: 72 (1969370/**)
[Skill Points]: 63
[Pet Name]: Haru
[Level]: 30
[Main Mission]: Save Otonokizaka High School from closing
[Mission Status]: Incomplete
[Main Mission]: Increase Fame (1)
[Mission Description]: As a well-known figure in the industry, you need to further increase your fame. Do everything in your power to let more people know the name of Minamiya Homura!
[Mission Objective]: Achieve a fame rate of ten percent among the population of Penglai.
[Mission Status]: Incomplete
[Mission Reward]: Unknown
===
Homura stroked his chin, murmuring to himself, "This mission is a bit absurd..."
It wasn't the mission itself that was absurd, but the parentheses of (1) that made him feel something was off.
Where there's one, there must be two! Who knows how many levels this mission has?
'The first ten percent may not be difficult, but what about the next mission? Will it be twenty or thirty percent? And after that? It might not be Penglai anymore, but rather the entire Huaxia, or even the whole world...'
'Although it's challenging, it's something I must do, right? So it's like getting a reward for free.'
With that thought, he suddenly felt more at ease.
He patted Haru's head and, his attention no longer focused on the System, Homura heard the voices from the hot spring.
"Well, it seems like quite a commotion..." Utaha's voice sounded somewhat helpless.
"If you all like this, Homura-kun should be able to hear our voices, right?" Megumi said casually.
Her words made Homura's hand, which was touching the little one, freeze for a moment.
Haru looked up at Homura, puzzled.
Several seconds later, Homura continued patting Haru. He realized he hadn't done anything wrong since it wasn't intentional, so he felt justified! It's just that his hearing was a bit too good, that's all!
"No problem, right? It's not like he saw anything..." Eriri said indifferently.
"Ara? On this matter, Sawamura-san surprisingly seems open-minded and mature." Utaha said in surprise.
"So what? It's not a big deal if he hears us." Eriri said casually.
"But it's highly likely! Homura-kun even heard my scream that time!" Honoka said mysteriously.
"Hmm? Why do I feel like I've heard this before?" Elf said, confused.
"That time Homura-kun said he heard Honoka-san's scream, and then he went out to check." Nanami reminded them.
"Oh... no wonder it sounds familiar..." Elf muttered to herself, "Wait a minute?! Honoka, did you really scream?!"
"Yeah! I thought Homura-kun had superpowers like an esper! I screamed because Umi-chan wanted to make the training more intense. Not long after I screamed, Homura-kun called."
"Isn't that superpower then?!" Kirino scoffed.
"Maybe... since Homura can understand cat language too. He might be capable of some kind of telepathy or something." Elf said in a 'serious' tone.
"Yeah, it's quite possible! Homura-kun always has some strange sources of information. He can gather detailed knowledge about someone even though he just meets them. I can't comprehend how he knows everything!" Utaha suddenly said.
Hearing this, Homura broke out in a cold sweat!
'Holy cow! How the hell did I get exposed just because this group of girls decided to soak in a hot spring?!'
"Strange sources of information?"
'That voice... Nayu? Is she interested too?!'
"Mm? Nayu-chan is interested too?" Megumi asked in surprise.
"Yes! I'm very interested in everything about Senpai!"
Homura: "..."
"It probably started with Nanami, right?" Utaha pondered.
"Me?" Nanami was a little confused.
"That's right! Previously, Homura-kun sent Mashiro to school and suddenly announced that he wanted you to join us."
"What?! It's the first time I've heard about this!" Nanami's voice was full of surprise.
'When will this topic come to an end?!' Homura screamed in his mind.