"Honoka, it's okay to do your best, but don't overdo it, okay? If you collapse from exhaustion, I won't go easy on you." Homura, who had stopped his banter with Saori, spoke up again.
"Ehh~?" Honoka frowned.
"Who told you to be so stubborn?" Homura quipped and continued. "If Eli-senpai hadn't talked to you last time, you would have been ready to charge in right away, no? Everyone, please watch over Honoka, all right? Tell me if she's being stubborn and overdo herself, I'll punish her myself."
"Let me think of a punishment... Ah, I know!" Homura grinned. "I'll make you sneeze in the manga, and a big snot bubble will appear. How's that?"
"..."
Honoka was speechless.
"That punishment is way too harsh!"
Not just her, everyone was shocked upon hearing the punishment, but then they all burst into laughter simultaneously.
After all, it was Honoka who was being punished!
This kind of punishment seemed quite funny, looked like they would have to keep an eye on Honoka, after all.
Honoka seemed to sense the malice.
"Anoo, Homura-kun, could we change the punishment?"
"Change it?" Homura pondered. "By the way, in the manga, it seems kinda cute when a girl has a bubble of snot, no?"
'That's because, in reality, no one does that...' Honoka retorted in her mind.
"How about two bubbles? One from each nostril?"
"..."
Silence ensued.
As soon as Homura said his idea, the girls couldn't help but imagine that scene. A single bubble might be cute, but two bubbles together?
Honoka's face turned green!
"No more change! The earlier one is fine!" Honoka firmly declared while nodding repeatedly.
"Huh? No more change? I thought it was quite good though." Homura teased.
"No change!" Honoka affirmed, stubborn as ever.
"Alright, alright, I'm hanging up. We're almost there."
And with that, he hung up his phone.
Honoka sighed in relief, that pressure earlier was enormous for her!
"Don't worry, Honoka-chan..." Kotori consoled her. "As long as you don't exhaust yourself from being too reckless, I doubt Homura-kun would really do something like that."
After saying that, she thought secretly.
'I think Homura-kun wouldn't actually punish Honoka-chan and just bluffing. Only someone like Honoka-chan would believe Homura-kun.'
"Um? Wasn't Homura-kun just bluffing?" Honoka looked surprised as she looked at her best friend. "Kotori-chan, did you actually believe him?"
"..." Kotori fell silent.
'This doesn't make sense! How did Honoka-chan figure it out?! Is she really Honoka-chan I knew?!' Kotori struggled to smile. "...I just didn't expect you to see through it..."
"Kotori-chan... Do you think I'm a fool?" Honoka pouted.
"Not really..." Kotori quickly replied, then thought. 'Not a fool, just someone who acts directly without thinking about the consequences...'
"We're here! Cousin's school!" Kirino said excitedly, looking out of the car window.
"Another all-girls school?" Tsumugi smiled. "I'm kind of excited, though I could quite see from Homura-niisan's manga."
"Let's see for ourselves then." Nozomi invited everyone. "Let's go..."
===
Once they entered Otonokizaka High School, guided by Muse, they split up, despite having seen all in Homura's manga. Each had their own interests, but the place with the most people was where the two alpacas were.
Looking at Chika's joyful smile, Homura was puzzled.
'Are these alpacas really that appealing?'
Upon closer inspection, he firmly shook his head!
'Nah, there's no way they can be more appealing than my Haru.'
While thinking like that, he contentedly hugged Haru, stroking her fur gently.
After a stroll, Homura ended up back in the front yard, finding a big tree to sit under.
'So... it's about time, right? The online reactions should have reached their 'harvest' time!'
What harvest? Harvesting the pleasure of watching people get salty, of course.
He proceeded to check his phone to see the online reactions.
...
Netizen 1: "Yo! Got some dope stuff, wanna check it out?"
Netizen 2: "What? I'm flagging you for sharing fake vids!"
Netizen 1: "Oh, come on, dude! Selling what vids? They're from Muse's concert in Akihabara. You in or what?"
Netizen 3: "Wait, what? Lemme peep!"
Netizen 1: "Hehehe, these are top-notch picks."
...
Homura looked helpless while reading this conversation.
Why did these people seem creepy?
He continued scrolling down, it was clearly about the 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Gokuraku Jodo)'!
...
Netizen 2: "Hey, gotta say, this song and dance combo is fire! It's like, a bit saucy, ya know? Totally not their usual groove!"
Netizen 1: "Here's a scoop. This song was composed by Minamiya-sensei."
Netizen 4: "Is that supposed to impress us? Peep my vid! I bet your jaw's dropping!"
"..."
Netizen 5: "???"
Netizen 6: "Did Minamiya-sensei join Muse?"
Netizen 7: "Whoa, so handsome! I'm getting some serious feels here! Is this what love feels like?"
Netizen 4: "Hey, you up there! When I was on the scene, some dude said the same thing about Minamiya-sensei. Don't tell me you're a dude too?!"
Netizen 7: "A dude?! Nah, I'm a full-blown big sis, alright!"
Netizen 4: "For real? Prove it! Let's hit up a video call!"
...
Knowing the truth, Homura shivered involuntarily!
He hadn't noticed before due to the loud music. Did some guy say something like that about him?
"Man, that was so risky!" Homura glanced around. "Not just women; being a guy out and about, you gotta look out for yourself too. Luckily, those dangerous types out there can't really do a thing to me."
Shaking his head, he continued looking at his phone, feeling a bit puzzled.
Why was there so much hype around the 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Gokuraku Jodo)'? Could the power of the song and dance really be that huge?
Homura soon continued reading the online discussion.
...
Netizen 2: "OMG, those girls are legit awesome! I'm officially a fan now!"
Netizen 6: "Totally! Every song is, like, crazy catchy, and they've got mad talent! Other school idols just got, like, one or two bops."
Netizen 8: "No wonder Minamiya-sensei is hooking them up with drawing manga and promoting them... Even without his push, I'd still be vibing with them if I caught their show."
Netizen 2: "Yeah, Muse's page spills some cool tidbits about them. Each of those girls rocks such a unique vibe!"
Netizen 9: "Ugh, why the heck didn't I go today?! Screw me!"
Netizen 2: "Feeling the regret too! If I'd been there today, it would've been so lit! Just thinking about skipping out makes me wanna cry!"
Netizen 9: "(Cry emoji) Next concert better roll in quick!"
Netizen 2: "Sad (Cry emoji)"
...
"Oh well, that was satisfying. This is exactly what I wanted to see."
Homura was thoroughly content, pocketing his phone and stretching lazily.
"Homura, you're here!" Ayano walked over.
"Yeah, checking out all the online wails was quite fulfilling." Homura grinned.
Hearing that, Ayano had a vein popping on her forehead. Was Homura really this mischievous?
"Oh yeah, Ayano, what did you need me for?"
"...You're such a rascal, I almost forgot! Come with me!" Ayano said and started walking.
Homura looked puzzled, but he followed her with Haru in his arms.
Once again, they were back at the alpaca's location.
"Wow! Did it just spit water?" Yui was startled by the brown alpaca's sudden spit.
"Hmm..." Ritsu pondered. "Probably disrespecting you, telling you to keep your distance."
Homura's eye twitched. It really did mean keeping a distance, but where did this disrespect come from?
"Why would it disrespect me?" Yui pouted in frustration. "Ricchan, you try it too!"
"Me?" Ritsu looked smug. "I definitely—Oh, c'mon! What gives!"
"Hahaha~ Ricchan, you're being disrespected too!"
"I talked with Kotobuki-san and Akiyama-san earlier, then looked at their conversation and interactions..." Ayano said straightforwardly.
She glanced at Yui's group again, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"Homura, don't you think this would make great material for a manga?"