Homura carried Haru back to his room, not intending to sleep outside again today. He preferred to rest in the warmth of his own blankets.
"You know, these rooms in the villa are quite spacious," Homura commented as he looked at a room big enough to accommodate several people.
Of course, he wasn't referring to the beds. The room was also furnished with tatami mats, making it suitable for multiple people to stay together.
"I suppose the other rooms are probably the same," Homura shook his head. After arranging the bedding, he played with his phone for a while, briefly scrolling through the blog. There didn't seem to be any major changes in what people were saying; it was similar to before.
"Time to sleep," Homura murmured, diving into the covers.
"By the way, little one, do you feel cold at night?" Homura turned his head to look at Haru, who was lying next to the pillow.
"No... I still have plenty of warm fur on me," Haru shook her head and stretched her body.
"Alright then," Homura nodded. "If you do feel cold, just come into the covers."
"Okay."
"Goodnight, little one."
===
The next day, everyone who had finished breakfast was now gathered at the front entrance.
Homura glanced at them before speaking up, "Our circle should be returning today. What about the rest of you?"
Ritsu looked at Mio's expression and cautiously replied, "We... should be fine, right?"
Mio glanced at her sideways and retorted, "You think two days of fun aren't enough?"
"Never enough!" It slipped out of her subconsciously, and then she realized it wasn't right. "Uh... Mio, I was just joking! Hehehe!"
"You were the one who said we should start a band, but it seems like you're the one who always fooling around and having the most fun after all. Maybe you were just all talk back then..." Mio remarked.
"Nonsense!" Ritsu countered directly, "The one having the most fun is obviously Yui!"
"Eh?" Yui questioned.
"Ricchan..." Yui wore a 'disbelieving' expression on her face, pointing at her while trembling. "You... betrayed me..."
Ritsu gave a 'cold-hearted' smile. "Sorry... Ouch!"
"Why are you hitting me again?"
Mio withdrew her fist and looked at her with annoyance. "If I don't hit you, who will? Yui, we're just joking."
Ritsu: "..."
Yeah, it seems like it!
Homura forced a bitter smile and decided not to watch this comedy show. These people were really lively. 'And... Mugi, what are you trying to achieve by looking at Ritsu getting hit with such an envious expression?'
"Saori, what about you?" Homura turned to Saori.
"Well..." Saori pondered for a moment, thinking carefully, then looked at Kirino and Kuroneko. "Kiririn-shi! Kuroneko-shi! What do you think?"
The two exchanged a glance, and Kuroneko patted her sister's head, saying, "Personally, I'm inclined to go back home... We've been away for two days, and there might be some things we need to take care of at home."
Saori nodded and then turned to Homura. "Homura-shi, we've also decided to go back today. It's not just because Kuroneko-shi has things to attend to at home, but also because we were brought here by you. If you leave, I don't think the others will want to stay much longer either."
"Saori is right," Eli stood up and spoke. "Our purpose of this trip was already achieved, which was to bring the Muse members closer to each other. So since you, the initiator of this activity, are leaving, it's only natural for us to leave as well... After all, we still have a performance to prepare for."
Homura nodded slightly. "Speaking of the performance, is the song lyrics for Kotori ready?"
"Yes!" Kotori exclaimed happily. "Thanks to Homura-kun's guidance, I finished writing it yesterday during our practice."
"Can I take a look?" Homura asked.
Kotori didn't hesitate and went straight to their room to fetch the lyrics.
"...Wonder zone."
Just as expected!
While Homura was reading the lyrics, the others started asking Muse about the performance.
"Honoka, when is the performance you mentioned earlier?" Eriri asked.
"It's on the last day of this break! The location is Akihabara!"
"Then we will go and support you!" Elf chimed in happily.
Mashiro's eyes lit up at this moment. She had been wanting to attend the live performance of Honoka and the others for a while now. However, Homura deliberately arranged things in such a way that the others kept stopping her. But now, things were different! Surely, no one would stop her from going!
"I'm going, I must go this time!" Mashiro exclaimed.
"Then we must go too." Kirino looked at Saori and Kuroneko. "Even if it's not because of my cousin, we should still go, right?"
"Yes..." Kuroneko agreed. "It would be such a shame not to witness their hard work."
"That's right! I also think we should go!"
"Then... should we go too?" Tsumugi looked at the other members of the Light Music Club.
"Yeah! I want to go!" Yui nodded vigorously. "It's a concert, you know! We'll also have our own concert in the future, right? And I've never been to Akihabara! And also..."
Yui kept rambling on, and Mio smiled helplessly. "Of course, we have to go. Whether it's because of this meeting or being fellow music enthusiasts, we can't be absent, right?"
"Oh! It's decided then! Let's all go together!" Ritsu hugged the other three and smiled.
""Everyone, thank you for your support!"" The Muse members exclaimed together and were all filled with joy.
"Then shall we go back today?" Mio asked. "It's not really interesting to just stay here by ourselves, right?"
"...Alright." Ritsu's mood sank as she spoke with a lack of energy.
At this moment, Homura finished reading the lyrics of the song, and it was exactly as he had remembered.
"I'm looking forward to seeing you perform this song live," Homura handed the lyrics back to Kotori. "This will be your true first performance, your first concert together as a group of nine."
"Oh, by the way..." Homura suddenly remembered something. "You must be planning to announce it publicly this time, right?"
"Yes, why?" Honoka asked, puzzled.
Homura had an expression of disbelief. "You probably forgot that tomorrow is Saturday, right?"
"Saturday? What does Saturday have to do... Ahh!" Honoka exclaimed. "It's the official release day for our manga!"
"So..." Homura continued, "If I were to mention it on my blog, do you know how many people would come?"
Everyone fell into silence. It was indeed a point they had overlooked.
"That's right, with Homura-kun's current influence, it wouldn't be surprising if we had an audience of tens of thousands..." Nozomi said, causing the first one to panic to be Umi.
"T-T-T-Tens of thousands of people?!" Umi nervously stammered, "There would be that many?!"
"It's very likely..." Eli added, "Even if everyone doubts us, just the mention of Minamiya-sensei's name will attract countless people."
This situation really caught them off guard...