With a moment of silence, Homura wondered why Elf was so quiet after his blog announcement. But then she made her presence known.
"How will everyone respond to your blog post? I'm dying to see!" She exclaimed with excitement.
"..." Homura was speechless, then couldn't help but retort, "If you want to see it, just look. I'm not stopping you."
"It's more fun to read comments together. You just posted for a while, so there are only a few comments right now. It's not interesting at all."
"Well then, why don't you share my post? Attract more people, and then there'll be more comments. I bet there are already thousands of them by now. Just watch, the more you watch, the more there will be."
Elf nodded in agreement. "You're right... you have a ton of followers now, and it's still a holiday. The reactions should be quick."
"Let's see, I'm curious about their response too."
...
Comment 1: "Has Minamiya-sensei gone crazy recently? Why are there so many and such fast updates?"
Comment 2: "That's great, these days are so boring anyway. More interesting news would be better, right?"
Comment 3: "But this time it's really a big deal, y'know! Senju Muramasa-sensei isn't any ordinary novelist! Did she actually join Another Dimension? This is truly exciting!"
Comment 4: "Yeah! A new work is about to start production too, and Minamiya-sensei specifically pointed out the two main characters. There must be some deep meaning behind it, right?"
Comment 5: "I've already guessed that. The script is definitely filled with fantasy elements."
Comment 6: "I really hope they can finish it soon..."
...
"Hehe, Homura, they say you've gone crazy." Elf said with a smile, looking at Homura.
Homura shrugged nonchalantly. "If they think I'm crazy, then I might as well go all out."
He was ready to release the news he had planned for a long time.
"About tomorrow?" Elf asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Yep. Dropping it now only gives them half a day's prep time. Only people who are seriously into it will show up—maybe around a thousand people? But that's basically confirming they're the real fans anyhow. Let's think of it as a little something special for them."
Nodding, Elf agreed with his explanation.
...
Minamiya: By the way, here's an additional message. Tomorrow morning, a mysterious surprise awaits everyone on the streets of Akihabara. The location isn't fixed, but it's on the streets of Akihabara. If you're interested, go find it yourself.
...
"Just that?" Elf gave him an unexpected look.
"Just that." Homura nodded. "Less is better in this case. Compared to the previous long and detailed announcement, if I say less, people's attention won't be as high. They might think it's just some little game I've come up with. This way, only those who go are genuinely interested."
"The more you say, the more attention it gets, huh..." Elf mumbled to herself.
Picking up the phone and looking at the responses from the netizens, since many were still discussing the previous topic, Homura's post quickly received numerous comments.
...
Comment 1: "... A mysterious surprise? What's that?"
Comment 2: "I don't know, Minamiya-sensei seems pretty casual about it, so it shouldn't be anything important, right?"
Comment 3: "Hard to say, but it looks like a game? Or maybe a random fan appreciation?"
Comment 4: "@Minamiya, come out and explain to everyone!"
Comment 5: "What are you thinking? If he explains it, then it won't be mysterious anymore."
Comment 6: "@Yamada Elf, shouldn't Yamada Elf-sensei be with Minamiya-sensei? Any insider information?"
Yamada Elf: None. This guy keeps everyone in the dark.
Comment 7: "Alright... it's probably just some little game, even though I want to go, I'm busy tomorrow."
Comment 8: "Same here. But it's really a shame I can't come..."
Comment 9: "I don't have much to do, but it's a bit far. I don't know whether to go or not."
...
Homura gave Elf an unexpected glance. "You replied too?"
"No worries, I've got it under control. I won't spill the beans." Elf chuckled, toying with her phone. "But honestly... they all saying all sorts of excuses, I haven't seen anyone saying they can make it."
"Well, most people probably won't show up, but a thousand or so should be fine. Curiosity is hard to resist." Homura didn't mind. Going too much would be a mess and the road management personnel would have trouble.
"Honoka and the gang... they're probably still practicing, right?"
"Heh, you guess?" Homura grinned. "Considering you've interacted with them, you could totally guess what they're up to, right?"
Elf sighed. "Yeah... even though it's only been a short two days, they're all pretty amazing people. Maybe... they're not even planning to check out your blog at all."
"That's possible." Homura agreed. "Maybe they don't want to get distracted by this. After all... meeting everyone's expectations is what they'd want the most."
"Speaking of which..." Homura pondered for a moment. "Should we invite Ogata-san and others?"
"Huh?" Elf was surprised. "Isn't her family running a shop? Can she get away?"
"I already told her last time to give herself some free time. If she talked to her dad about it, considering his obsession with his daughter, he'd probably agree, right?"
"A daughter-obsessed father? Rizu's dad is like that?" Elf raised an eyebrow. Didn't they just meet a daughter-obsessed guy recently? Never thought there would be another one!
"Yeah, that's right. That's why I was thinking of inviting them. Because of Nayu, inviting Shirakawa-san together would be a good idea too. Might as well invite the rest."
"Hmm..." Elf nodded. "Then go ahead and invite them. Whether they come or not, extending the invitation is only fair."
With that said, Homura sprung into action and made a call.
"Furuhashi-san? Busy?"
"Minamiya-kun? I'm out with Ri-chan, Uruka-chan, and Miyako right now. What's up, Minamiya-kun?"
"Hmm? So, Ogata-san convinced her dad already?" Homura was surprised. He knew that once Rizu spoke, her father would definitely agree, but he didn't expect her to talk to him so soon.
"Mhm! That's why we decided to go shopping today. We're taking a break on the benches by the street."
"I see... since you're all together, let me ask this. Do you guys have time to come to Akihabara tomorrow morning?" Homura got to the point.
"...Akihabara? Is it related to the blog post you just made?" Fumino quickly caught on. But this also meant she was keeping a close eye on Homura. Even though he did just post that blog recently, she was really up-to-date.
Raising an eyebrow, Homura clarified. "Exactly, there's an event tomorrow. I wanted to check if you guys could make it."
"...Hold on a sec, Minamiya-kun. Let me ask everyone."
Without disconnecting the call, Fumino started asking the others, who were all focused on her.
"Everyone, Minamiya-kun is asking if we have time to attend an event tomorrow morning."
Fumino had plenty of time herself, but she had to check with her friends.
If no one could make it, going alone wouldn't be great either.