Unlike Rin, who had her attention focused on Haru, Honoka and Hanayo, especially Hanayo, were fixated on the sandwiches!
After swallowing her saliva once again, Hanayo couldn't resist and took the first step forward, with Honoka following closely behind.
"Wow~ so many varieties!" Hanayo exclaimed with surprise. "Just a glance, and there's ham, corn, eggs... and is this... tuna?"
"It's a lot of choices! I also saw apples, tomatoes, and plenty of meat!" Honoka chimed in.
Their conversation attracted more curious glances.
"Nanami-chan, is this something everyone prepared together?" Megumi turned to Nanami and asked.
Nanami chuckled and shook her head. "No... After we woke up, Homura-kun had already prepared the sandwiches... But I truly had no idea that he would prepare so many varieties by himself..."
Her words left them shaking their heads again; Homura always managed to surprise them with his natural ability to do astonishing things.
"All made by Homura-kun himself?" Chika's eyes lit up. "I have to give it a try!"
She had a deep affection for all sorts of foods after all.
"Hmm~ Which one to choose? Ham?" Chika pondered, then shook her head. "Seems like I always go for that. Let's try something different... Yosh! I'll go with this chicken one! Itadakimasu!"
Unwrapping the plastic wrap, she took a bite.
"Ahh~ This is so delicious~" Chika's face was beaming with utter happiness, "Completely different from what I've had before. Even the bread carries an exceptional aroma... Haah~ I feel like melting~"
Chika's atmosphere at this moment was tempting, constantly making everyone mouth-watering. Kaguya and Moeha exchanged a glance, nodded, and joined the foodie brigade!
"Oh, right!" Ayano remembered something. "Homura mentioned that, besides ham and lettuce, he personally prepared the rest of the ingredients by himself."
As soon as she said that, everyone felt the scent of the sandwiches became even more amazing!
Should they have one? Let's have one!
After exchanging glances multiple times, almost everyone eventually took a sandwich from the cooler box.
To not disturb Rizu while she ate, Haru jumped down from her embrace.
"It's my first time having such a delicious sandwich!" Kirino was surprised.
"Ayano-san just said that earlier de gozaru~" Saori said while munching. "Considering Homura-shi's skills, all the ingredients being handled by him, this being so delicious isn't surprising at all."
"Absolutely!" Nayuta vigorously nodded. "I've never eaten anything tastier than what Senpai has made!"
"Really unexpected, the eldest son of the Minamiya family is this skilled in cooking..." Moeha's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Kaguya nodded; she also thought their family chef couldn't compare to Homura's skills at all! But this was something she found puzzling.
Why did the eldest son of the Minamiya family have such incredible cooking skills?!
In the end, she gave up on trying to figure it out. Right now, she must enjoy the sandwiches!
"Making fast food like sandwiches exceptionally tasty... Besides Homura-kun, no one else could do this." Utaha sighed.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Is this something like OCD (Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder)?" Elf chuckled. "A foodie's compulsion? Well, this kind of compulsion isn't bad at all..."
As they ate and chatted, Homura and Haru watched the girls eating on the side.
"Little one, do you want something to eat?" Homura leaned over and asked Haru.
Haru glanced up at him, thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"I'm not hungry now, I'll eat later."
"Sure, later we'll go to the school we visited before. We will have lunch there."
Haru nodded. For her, as long as there was food, it didn't matter where she ate.
Homura got up, grabbed two sandwiches, and walked to a spot about ten meters away behind a billboard. He stood behind a prying figure of a woman.
"Hey..."
"Kyaaa—!" The woman shouted cutely after hearing a sudden voice pop up from behind, almost making her jump out of her skin!
"Here you go." Homura handed the two sandwiches to her.
Without time for her head to process, the woman instinctively took them.
The woman looked around in panic, then took a breath of relief. She looked at the sandwich in her hand, then looked up at the boy in front of her.
"Question... Why are you giving this to me?"
"Though I'm not sure when you got here..." Homura shrugged nonchalantly. "There were too many people before, so I didn't notice you at first. But now, since most people have left, and you're still staying here, observing us... You've been watching them, probably Furuhashi-san's group? Aren't you going out to talk to them?"
"Confused... I don't know what you're talking about."
The woman's gaze wandered, and Homura could tell she wasn't telling the truth.
With a slight smile, Homura continued.
"I'll call out Furuhashi-san then..."
"Goodbye!"
*Whoosh!*
The woman bolted away in an instant!
Homura shook his head.
'Obviously a teacher, yet her expression looks so guilty as if she got caught red-handed doing something wrong.'
'Is it because she thinks following someone is wrong, so she feels guilty? Or is it because of the awkward relationship between her and Fumino's group, so she's hesitant to face them?'
'Both seem possible...'
Homura walked back, and all the girls had finished eating their sandwiches.
"Ahh, it's so delicious!" Chika patted her stomach and then looked a bit regretful. "I never expected Homura-kun to be such a good cook! But... it's a bit sad to think that we can't eat this often."
Homura laughed.
"No worries! I've said it before, you're all welcome to come over to my place for meals anytime. So, whenever you want to eat, just come. You know where I live, right?"
"Eh? Really?" Chika looked pleasantly surprised.
"I did say that, right?" Homura looked at Saori and Tsumugi.
Saori and Tsumugi nodded, while Chika bounced up excitedly.
"Yatta! That's amazing!"
Kaguya glanced at Chika, sporting a helpless expression. No one else could match Chika's enthusiasm for food. One was a foodie, and the other had amazing cooking skills. It was a match made in heaven.
Shaking her head vigorously, Kaguya decided not to delve any deeper.
"What a pity I live in Chiba..." Saori said somewhat frustrated.
"The distance isn't that far, right?" Homura reassured. "You can come over on weekends to have fun and play. Everyone's also the same. If you want to play or eat, you can come over anytime. If you don't know my address, you can ask me. Of course, you can come for food even when I'm busy with my circle, but skip the having fun and play part."
"By the way, Homura, did I see right just now? Did someone rush out from your side earlier?" Ayano suddenly asked a question.
"You also saw right..." Homura turned to look at Fumino's group. "Probably followed you all, I guess?"
"Ehh?!" Uruka looked incredulous. "Followed us? Could it be a stalker?!"
"..."
Everyone fell silent.