After chatting for a while, everyone left, leaving Homura alone. The rest of them went to soak in the hot springs.
Although it had rained, the hot spring pools had a fast circulation system, and now they had returned to their normal state.
Today, Homura chose a different spot and didn't lie on the same stone as the previous day because it was a bit chilly.
He brought a lounge chair and placed it by the back door of the villa. He lay there comfortably, hugging the little one, listening to the voices of the girls chatting that reached his ears.
"It's so comfortable to soak the entire body in the water..."
Hmm, it was Elf's voice.
"Yes, the air is still a bit cool. After all, it just rained."
Was that Megumi?
'Everyone seems a bit silent today. Could it be because of me?' Homura rubbed his chin, doubtful.
"Oh, by the way, Kotori!" It seemed like Eriri remembered something. "What did you say yesterday? Something about Homura catching you?"
Then there was silence, and Homura could imagine that Honoka must feel a little embarrassed at this moment since she was the cause of the fall.
"On the day of the performance. The three of us fell from the stage, but Homura-kun caught all of us." The Kotori briefly explained, probably to prevent Honoka from feeling guilty.
"Fell from the stage?! That dangerous!" Eriri was stunned. Wasn't that too much of a risk?
"We truly experienced Homura-kun's strength back then..." Nozomi spoke up. After saying it, she seemed to recall the scene.
The girls were all understanding people. They looked at the somewhat awkward Honoka but didn't inquire about how they fell. But what about other things?
"Senpai caught three people..." Nayuta muttered, then asked carefully, "I want to know how Senpai caught you all. Reacting to the height from the stage to the ground should be difficult, especially catching three people."
Upon hearing Nayuta's question, the others became curious as well. They all stared at Honoka, Kotori, and Umi, waiting for their explanation.
"...I'm not really sure either." Umi blushed slightly and thought carefully for a moment. "I didn't even have time to react, and Homura-kun already held me with his arms."
"Me too! It felt like I spun around, and then I was caught while feeling dizzy!" Honoka nodded, giving the same answer as Umi.
The attention turned to the remaining members of Muse. Eriri said, "The person involved can't remember, but what about you, the bystanders?"
Eli and the other members exchanged glances, and in the end, they decided to push Nozomi forward.
"Speaking of it, Homura-kun's reaction was really quick at that time. It felt like he rushed over just when there were signs that Honoka-chan and the others were about to fall from the stage." Nozomi explained. "Then his movements were so fast that we couldn't see clearly. In just a moment, his arms caught Honoka-chan and Umi-chan separately."
"Wait!" Elf interrupted, "Homura is physically strong, I know that, and catching one person with one arm is no problem! But... what about Kotori? His two hands were already occupied by the two right? Don't tell me he threw the first two and caught her afterward?!"
With a smile, Nozomi said, "It's quite interesting how Kotori-chan was caught. Homura used his neck."
""His neck?!"" Everyone bewildered.
"What kind of weird position is that?!" Eriri mocked. "Is it caught between his chin and chest?"
The girls' minds conjured up the image described by Eriri...
"Haha... That's so strange! Hahaha!"
After they laughed enough, Nozomi continued to explain, "It's not in the front, it's in the back."
"In simple terms, it's like giving someone a piggyback ride on the shoulder, nyaa~!" Rin summed it up.
Now the girls had a clear image in their minds, but it also made them more astonished. This was truly something that an ordinary person couldn't do! How quick and sharp must his reactions be!
"But... no one really saw it clearly..." Nanami murmured softly. "We know the result, but we also want to know the process!"
"Why don't we just ask Homura directly?" said Mashiro while tilting her head.
"Yeah!" Nayuta cupped her hands around her mouth. "Senpai! Can you hear us?"
"Loud and clear!" Homura shouted.
"Tell us about it!"
"Sorry, but explaining it is too tiring!"
The girls exchanged glances.
"Well, he's right," Kirino said speechlessly. "Having a shouting conversation like this is indeed tiring."
"Then... why don't you come in and tell us?" Nayuta suggested.
Homura: "..."
Could he really go in?! She really said it so casually.
""No way!"" The girls shouted simultaneously.
"Or... how about leaning against the wall of the hot spring and telling us?" Nayuta took a step back.
"Can't we just wait until we're outside to hear it?" Sagiri looked perplexed. She always felt that Nayuta's common sense was different from most people's.
'...the feeling of waiting for something that we could know right away...' The girls pondered.
True... it's a dilemma.
"Attention, everyone inside! Since you all are so torn about it, I'll throw the answer to you right now!" Homura exclaimed.
Throw?
The girls looked puzzled as a plastic bag flew in from outside the wall.
Confused, they glanced at each other until Nayuta wiped her hands on a towel she had put aside and went to retrieve the plastic bag.
"What's this... a rough sketch?" Eriri's eyebrow twitched. "The hell, did this guy just draw it when we talking!"
"So, this is the answer Homura-kun mentioned?" Nanami looked at the lines on the paper. "Once it's colored, it'll be a manga!"
"And it looks like it's from Homura-kun's perspective!" Utaha commented.
"Let's see the content!"
The girls gathered around Nayuta and quietly examined the sketch on the paper...
Homura depicted his own position clearly and even drew a circular arrow pointing to the moment when he caught Honoka, indicating the rolling motion.
"I see, he had them roll on his arms to reduce the force of impact," Elf nodded in understanding.
"That's how he caught us!" Honoka looked astonished at the content of the drawing.
"No wonder why Homura didn't want to talk it out, drawing it seems more intuitive..." Eriri realized his intention behind the drawing.
"Then there's Kotori... huh? This angle seems peculiar..." Utaha curiously asked, "Isn't it Homura-kun's own perspective? Why is it from the side? Is it to show us the overall posture and position?"
Homura outside the wall twitched his mouth. 'I have no choice but to change it okay? Even though I didn't pay attention at the time, after all, my head was under the skirt. I mean, you can't really believe me when I say I didn't see them, right?!'
On the other hand, Kotori seemed to understand something. Her face turned slightly red, but since they were in the hot spring, it wasn't noticeable, and no one noticed.
"In just a brief moment, he effortlessly saved three people! He's truly amazing!" Mio exclaimed.
The girls nodded in agreement with Mio's words.
Homura... truly amazing.