Early the next day, Homura received a call from his father.
"Son, I have to give you and your friends some credit. You guys really pulled off something incredible this time."
Kosuke started the conversation with praise.
"Dad, spill it already." Homura said with interest.
"Our animation company will be even more famous this time, surpassing our previous reputation."
Homura raised an eyebrow and thought, 'Well, the most famous one is still Another Dimension, and Kosaka Akane, along with your animation company, is just riding on its success.'
"Last night, I handed over the game installation you sent to them for burning. We're following the same method as last time, right?" Kosuke said with a slight smile. "Judging by your posts on the blog, that's what you meant."
"Yeah..." Homura replied. "I wanted to bring together Another Dimension and Manke Bunko. Everyone is already used to buying Another Dimension's stuff from Manke Bunko anyway, so I just went with the flow. Besides… I guess you could say I'm helping Manke Bunko expand its business, adding another product to the mix."
Upon hearing this, Kosuke had a dark expression.
"Helping? You just flap your lips and Manke Bunko's workload shoots up! So many things need to change, and it all ends up on my plate! If I weren't your old man, I wouldn't even bother cleaning up your mess!"
"Hah, I've brought quite a bit of profit for the family, haven't I?" Homura grinned. "So what's wrong with giving a little extra benefit?"
Hearing the reasonable excuse, Kosuke was speechless.
Truthfully, ever since Another Dimension appeared, it had indeed brought in quite a bit of profit, not to mention saving Manke Weekly and helping it rise to new heights!
As Kosuke thought about it carefully, cleaning up his son's mess was nothing compared to the benefit it brought.
"By the way, let me ask you about the anime schedule." Kosuke changed the topic. "Which route first?"
"Hmm?"
Homura felt something strange upon hearing the question.
"Well, there are plans for all of them, but we're starting with the Fate route, which is Artoria's route."
"Oh, My King, is it? Ahh, that's great—Ahem... I'll hang up for now."
*Toot* *Toot*
Homura listened to the busy signal with a bewildered expression.
'What the heck? Is he Artoria's fan?'
Homura shook his head, imagining his father watching the anime and getting excited over Artoria.
Wouldn't Shizuka scold him for it?
His eye twitched, pushing the thought out of his mind.
===
Afternoon.
Otonokizaka High School, Idol Research Club.
"Aaaah~"
Honoka let out a yawn.
Soon, it spread quickly, causing others to yawn in succession.
"Why are you guys like this?" Eli asked with a puzzled expression on her face.
"No choice..." Honoka replied wearily. "Every time I closed my eyes last night, scenes from Fate/stay night involuntarily appeared... I couldn't sleep until almost midnight."
"Rin too, nyaa..." Rin raised her hand, saying with a lack of energy.
"Looks like everyone is in the same boat, huh..." Nico said, yawning again.
"It can't be helped, right?" Maki rubbed her eyes. "It's everyone's first time participating in voice acting work, so feeling excited and tired is to be expected."
"Fufu, I've got an idea to perk everyone up!" Nozomi suddenly chimed in.
"What?" Rin perked up a bit.
Looking at Nozomi's expression, Eli suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Homura-kun's vegetable juice! One glass, and you'll be wide awake!"
"Are you a devil?!" Nico shrieked.
Everyone shuddered at the thought of that abomination drink.
Just imagining it made them feel energized!
"Eh? Isn't that a good idea?"
Nozomi looked 'surprised', but everyone could see the mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Hellish training... so scary..." Hanayo's eyes lost their luster.
"Oh no! Hanayo-chan is broken!"
Kotori panicked, shaking Hanayo's shoulders.
Eventually, everyone was in chaos!
After a while, they settled down and felt a bit more awake.
"By the way, Homura-kun hasn't been to school all week, right?" Umi asked, somehow bringing up the topic.
"Mhm, Homura-kun has been really busy this week." Kotori nodded. "He said before that being a student is an essential life stage for everyone, but it turns out he spends the least time at school."
"Eh?" Honoka tilted her head sideways. "By the way, Elf-chan and Muramasa-chan don't even go to school, right?"
"Their circumstances... seem a bit different..." Umi replied with a frown.
Although she said this, it was unclear exactly how they were different.
Soon enough, the bell for class rang.
"Not good, we're going to be late!"
===
Sakuragaoka High School.
"Yui, how's the practice going?"
Ritsu, sprawled on the table, lazily inquired.
"Don't worry, Ricchan, it's all good." Yui responded just as lazily.
"I suddenly feel a bit worried..." Mio shook her head in resignation, observing their sluggish demeanor.
"It should be fine, right? After all, it's Sawa-chan-sensei who teaches Yui-chan." Tsumugi reassured.
'But Sawako-sensei is also the reason for my concern... what if she turns Yui into a heavy metal enthusiast?' Mio thought worriedly. 'I hope the plan for Sunday goes smoothly... we've already agreed on everything.'
Today, she couldn't help but let her mind wander into chaotic thoughts.
===
Evening.
Elf suddenly walked up to Homura and handed him her phone.
Homura took it with a puzzled expression.
[Comment 1: Guys, guess where I am? (Attached image)]
As Homura read the comment, he saw that the attached image clearly showed someone at the entrance of the Manke Bunko Store.
Homura turned to Elf with a confused expression.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?"
It was clearly just a picture of someone at the entrance of the Manke Bunko Store. It seemed like the person in the picture wanted to spend the night there.
However, what did this picture have to do with him?
"Not this one, the next one." Elf shook her head.
Homura continued reading.
[Comment 2: Hey folks, I've got some intel for you! Minamiya-sensei might show up on the release day. So when you see a guy with a cute cat on his head, that's probably Minamiya-sensei!]
"..."
Homura was speechless.
How did his habit get exposed?
"Is this guy serious? Why would anyone want to find me?" Homura sighed tiredly while his right eye twitched repeatedly. "Goddammit, if you have that much time, go buy the game and play at home!"
"Actually, I don't think many people would actively look for you, but there might be some." Elf shrugged her shoulders.
"..."
Homura was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Should be fine, right? I feel like the person sharing this info might lead to another outcome... we might end up with a bunch of guys with cats on their heads."
Upon hearing this, Elf widened her eyes, suddenly realizing that what Homura said might come true.
After all, causing chaos like that was something quite a few people enjoyed!
"So, just go with the flow."
Homura shrugged, glancing at Elf calmly.
"Worst case, let Sagiri hold Haru."