Afterward, Kaguya narrated everything she had just experienced to everyone one by one in detail.
It was clearly a very thrilling situation, but why did Homura seem so relaxed in her narration?
"Is that really something a person can do?" Nico muttered, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
"Most people probably couldn't pull it off, but Homura is just too abnormal." Elf shook her head.
"Speaking of which…" Kotori chimed in. "Now that we're all here and Shinomiya-san is also Homura-kun's friend, do you think they'll suspect that Shinomiya-san came to Homura-kun's home too?"
"It's precisely because of that that Homura-kun chose to expose himself voluntarily." Eli speculated. "Homura-kun has been doing morning exercise, and Shinomiya-san has always been at home."
"Indeed..." Utaha nodded. "It's just suspicion, and no one can find any evidence. Besides, who would even think someone could sneak Shinomiya-san out without making a sound?"
"Maybe no one will suspect at all?" Eriri chimed in, shrugging her shoulder. "Homura did that just to be safe. Besides, Kaguya's maid is also covering for her over there. As long as we don't spill the beans, Kaguya is still at home right now."
"Yeah, the key is not to mention it." Mio nodded in agreement. "In that case, we need to watch our words carefully. Otherwise, it could be accidentally leaked."
After saying this, she glanced at Ritsu.
"Ritsu... this is a very important matter, understand?"
"Don't worry, Mio, I'm very reliable at crucial moments!"
Although she felt a bit helpless, Ritsu took Mio's words seriously.
"Sorry for causing trouble..." Kaguya said softly.
"We are friends! What trouble could there be?" Honoka said with a smile. "Rather, we feel regretful that we couldn't help you. Thanks to Homura-kun for successfully bringing you out, or else everyone would be very sad today."
"Friends...?" Kaguya murmured to herself.
"Isn't this great, Kaguya-san? You have more friends now!" Chika approached and said with a smile.
'Fujiwara-san... Yeah... She's right!'
Kaguya's heart warmed and a smile appeared on her face.
"Everyone, thank you... and... you can call me by my first name if you want..."
Everyone looked at each other and smiled.
===
Homura, who was practicing boxing in the park, slowly retracted his movements.
He only did normal things this time and didn't make as big a commotion as in the past to avoid attracting a crowd again.
"Ayano, are you done with your business?"
Homura dialed Ayano's number, and after the call connected, he immediately asked, getting straight to the point.
"All done! I purposely made myself busier these past two days, but I've finally cleared my schedule for today."
"In that case, hurry up and come to my place. I'm heading back too."
"Heading back too?" Ayano asked curiously. "Wait, aren't we all supposed to gather at your place today? How come the host is running around outside?"
"It's a bit complicated."
"What? Domestic violence? Did someone kick you out? Is it Mashiro, by any chance?"
Upon hearing this, veins pop on Homura's forehead.
"Domestic violence, my ass! As I thought, Mashiro definitely learned bad habits from you!" Homura exclaimed, annoyed.
"Hey, why are you blaming me?" Ayano protested. "In the first place, why are you suddenly blaming me for Mashiro's bad habits?"
Homura rolled his eyes.
"Mashiro has become more and more cunning and teases me for no reason. Although she still doesn't talk much, when she does, it's enough to leave me defenseless."
"Oh? Isn't that great!" Ayano giggled. "Doesn't that make Mashiro more expressive and interesting?"
Originally, Mashiro was born for the sole purpose of painting, so apart from painting, she was like a machine with no other distinguishing features.
However, ever since she moved into the Minamiya residence, she had genuinely become more humanlike.
"I'm almost there. How about you?" Homura asked, changing the topic.
"I'm almost there as well."
Two minutes later, Homura and Ayano met in front of the Minamiya residence.
"So, you went to exercise today? What kind of exercise are you doing?"
Ayano couldn't help but ask as she looked at Homura in a tracksuit.
Homura briefly explained the whole situation.
"As long as you act like you've never seen Kaguya after leaving my place today, there won't be any problems." Homura reminded.
Upon hearing this, Ayano looked at Homura with a complex expression.
Considering his status as the eldest son and heir of the Minamiya family, did he actually do such things?
Had he never considered the consequences of being exposed?
It could lightly affect the relationship between the two families, or it could be more severe.
If his actions became public, what would happen?
Did he genuinely not think about it, or did he truly not care?
Or perhaps he was overly concerned about that young lady from the Shinomiya family?
Did they have some special relationship, like Romeo and Juliet?
At first, Ayano was just worried about Homura, but soon enough, her thoughts were all over the place and going wild.
Luckily, Homura didn't have mind-reading powers. Otherwise, who knew what kind of weird expression he would have if he read Ayano's mind?
"I'm back!"
Homura declared as soon as he entered his house.
As always, the first to greet him was Haru, but soon, a large group of girls came running out.
"Hey, everyone is here alre—"
"Homura-kun! You're amazing!" Honoka exclaimed excitedly, her eyes sparkling.
"Senpai is so cool! If you brought me out like that, it would be so romantic!" Nayuta said with a dreamy look.
"I won't comment on the correctness of your actions, but your skill—it's really like Robin Hood." Rizu remarked.
"But, Ri-chan... Robin Hood's most impressive skill is archery, right?" Fumino chimed in.
"..."
"Still, Nayu is right..." Miyako chimed in. "When I was listening to Kaguya's narration, I felt a romantic sensation coming at me."
"Ehh? Is that so...?" Kaguya said, confused.
"Kaguya-chan..." Tsumugi sighed and shook her head.
Were everyone's girlish hearts, except for Kaguya, acting up?
"...I haven't even finished my words, and you girls are bombarding me with questions..." Homura sighed. "Ayano is here too, by the way."
"Oh, Ayano-san, hello!" Yui greeted Ayano, who stood behind Homura.
"Hi! You girls are the protagonists today, right? I'm looking forward to your performance!" Ayano greeted back.
"Being looked forward to, what should I do? I'm so nervous!" Mio suddenly felt nervous.
Seeing Mio like this, Ritsu put her arm around her shoulder.
"No need to be so nervous, Mio! Everyone here is already familiar with each other, and it's just a few more people than when we were at the hot spring villa, anyway."
Ritsu gestured with her hand, indicating the size of a fingernail to illustrate 'just a few more people'.
"By the way, how did everyone come so early? Saori, Kirino, and Kuroneko, you all coming this early really surprised me." Homura asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Heehee... Homura-shi, we came early because we wanted to mooch off some food, de gozaru." Saori smiled sheepishly.
""Yeah!""
Kirino and Kuroneko agreed without shame.
"..."
Homura fell silent, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"So, you three came early just because of that?"
"Ahahaha..." Saori laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of her head.
"Okay... Next time, just let me know in advance so I can prepare for all of you." Homura said with a smile.
"Since you're back, come help me quickly, Homura!"
In the distance, Elf's frustrated voice resounded.