In the afternoon, everyone who came to the hot spring villa gathered in the courtyard with their luggage.
It was time to bid farewell...
"Homura-shi, we're gonna take off now. We'll come over to your place sometime for a free meal!" Saori stood by Homura's side, bidding him farewell.
"Sure. Feel free to come over for a meal anytime, everyone is more than welcome." Homura replied. Seizing the moment when nobody was paying attention, he swiftly snatched Saori's round glasses off her face.
Everyone was stunned, their eyes fixed on Saori, whose face turned visibly red. She covered her face and crouched down.
"So beautiful..." the other girls whispered to themselves, making Saori even more embarrassed.
"I was wondering why Saori-chan never took off her glasses even when soaking in the hot spring. I didn't expect her to look so pretty without them!" Honoka exclaimed in astonishment.
"Homura..." Saori's muffled voice came through. "Why did you suddenly take off my glasses..."
Homura chuckled. "Since we rarely get the chance to meet each other, even if these glasses are something precious given to you by Kanata, everyone should have the chance to see your face..."
"Umm..." Saori slowly stood up and removed her hand covering her face. It was evident that she was still blushing uncontrollably.
"You really get shy without your glasses, huh... well, let me put them back on for you." Homura reached out and placed the glasses back on her.
"Ohh!" Saori instantly perked up. "Homura-shi, that was such an unexpected attack!"
"Haha... I just wanted to satisfy everyone's curiosity. Besides, I think you need to work on this shyness issue of yours, right?" Homura teased.
Saori scratched her head. "It's not that bad actually... it's just that you took me by surprise..."
"Well, my bad."
"By the way... who is Kanata?" Eriri asked curiously.
"Saori, can I talk about it?" Homura asked Saori for permission first.
"Well, there's nothing important to be said... it's just some information, and besides... many people should already know about Kanata-san..." Saori replied.
"Kurusu Kanata... Saori's mentor. Saori's appearance and catchphrase are both inspired by her, who is now a well-known mangaka with seven pen names. The most frequently used pen name is 'Yamanashi Ganma'. That's some information for you..." Homura explained.
"What?!" Those who were familiar with that pen name couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Saori's mentor is the original author of 'Maschera: The Lament of a Fallen Beast'?" Kuroneko couldn't help but be astonished because it was her favorite anime! The outfit she liked to wear was from a character in that anime—Queen of Nightmare!
Homura smirked. "By the way... do you know who the prototype for the Queen of Nightmare is, Kuroneko?"
"...Could it be?" Kuroneko looked at Saori in disbelief.
Saori quickly waved her hands. "No, it's not! The prototype for the Queen of Nightmare is my sister, Kaori!"
"Hmm... Kurusu? Where did I hear that name?" Kirino couldn't help but speak up.
"Ah... speaking of which... Kanata's younger sister has a name similar to hers, it's... Kanako." Homura muttered to himself.
Now Kirino was at a loss for words. Was the world really that small?!
"Yamanashi Ganma is also the famous artist who draws a lot of doujinshi featuring Meruru, right?" Eriri added some information.
Kirino, who loved Meruru the most, remained silent.
Homura looked at Saori and the other three girls and said, "So, do you realize how amazing it is that you became good friends without knowing about these connections?"
Saori suddenly realized, "Homura-shi! Now that you mention it, we actually met without knowing about any of these obvious connections! It's truly a great coincidence!"
"Exactly. So, you should cherish this bond between you." Homura sighed. It was strange that they became friends even before triggering these connections, despite having such clear ties.
The girls listened to his words, filled with astonishment. Fate and bonds were things that always inspired envy.
They also hoped that the three of them, who now clearly understood this bond, would continue to have a better relationship in the future.
"Oh, right. I just remembered something!" Homura slapped his palm with his fist. "Saori, who was the manager of the maid cafe I went to when I signed the contract that day?"
"Eh?" Saori looked at him with a puzzled expression. "It's Hoshino? What's wrong?"
"Hmm... Why I didn't see her that day?"
"Well..." Kotori interjected, "The manager had some personal matters to attend to that day, so she wasn't at the cafe... Homura-kun, do you know the manager too?"
"Yeah... Hoshino Kirara, the eldest daughter of the Hoshino Family. She used to be in the same club as Kaori-nee and Saori back in our old school days."
Kotori nodded knowingly.
"Oh, and by the way..." Homura said something that made everyone want to hit him. "Her sister, Hoshino Kurara, is the voice actor and singer for Meruru's theme song."
"Saori!" Kirino's eyes lit up as she grabbed Saori's hand. "You have to take me to meet Hoshino Kurara!"
"I got it, I got it!" Saori felt like her arm was about to be shaken off. "I'll take you to meet her!"
"I didn't expect that there were such influential people in Saori's former club..." Kuroneko sighed and couldn't help but pat her little sister's head.
"So, Kiririn-shi and Kuroneko-shi, you guys should also become influential people, de gozaru!" Saori adjusted her glasses and gave them a supportive look. "My biggest wish is to form a club that's even more impressive than hers!"
Kirino sweatdropped. "That's a bit too difficult..."
"Don't worry... I believe in you guys!"
Kuroneko: "..."
What about my opinion?!
Utaha raised an eyebrow. "All that information just now, is it from Homura-kun's strange ability again?"
Homura rolled his eyes. "You can ask Saori how I found out..."
"Mwahahaha~ It's actually quite interesting! During a banquet, Kaori-nee took me to sneak into her club to play. At that time, Homura-shi happened to be next to me, so he got dragged along." Saori said while reminiscing about the past.
Homura continued, "But what I didn't expect was... we quickly became friends with them. After all, even though I was young at the time, I was already an Otaku that time. Saori saw that we were getting along well, and she probably couldn't bear the loneliness, so naturally, she tried to mingle and became friends with everyone too."
The girls chuckled, the whole process sounded really fun!
Sneaking into a banquet... doesn't really seem like something a young lady from a prestigious family would do...
The girls thought like that simultaneously.