Feeling the silent atmosphere, Homura suddenly realized that everyone had fallen silent.
Curious, he looked over and saw that they were all staring at the drawing he had made.
""Beautiful...""
Mashiro and Muramasa spoke in unison.
"Oh? Even you couldn't resist being drawn in, Hana?" Elf remarked, looking at Muramasa in surprise.
"Mashiro too..." Nanami added.
In Homura's drawing, Rin was dressed in a dress that looked like a wedding dress, her head slightly lowered, eyes closed, and a faint smile on her face, posing like a praying bride.
"Mm, this is the most beautiful moment in a girl's life, after all." Muramasa nodded slightly.
"Homura... amazing..." Mashiro praised, her eyes sparkling. "If I hadn't been staring up close, I'd think this was a photograph."
"Mashiro's right. The quality of this drawing is off the chart." Utaha nodded in agreement.
"Has he reached the pinnacle of drawing...?"
Eriri muttered to herself, then suddenly, her competitive spirit kicked in.
"As expected, you were always holding back! You'll never let anyone see through your true skill!"
Eriri glared at Homura with gritted teeth.
"You... don't think you can pull away from me!"
'What the heck is with her? Are those double-meaning words?' Homura blinked his eyes speechlessly, then responded, "Don't worry, our 'distance' is surely closing in."
Upon hearing this, Eriri paused for a moment before her face flushed.
Seeing this, Homura was speechless once again.
'Okay, so she wasn't using double meanings? I was overthinking it then...' Homura thought, rolling his eyes. 'But her reaction was quick. She caught on to my meaning right away.'
"Hey, save the flirting for when we're not all here, please..." Utaha waved her hand dismissively. "Though it wouldn't matter if you flirted with me, Homura-kun."
Hearing this, Homura raised his brows.
It felt as if, after opening up, Utaha unexpectedly became more eager and bold. Maybe this was the original personality of Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had been intentionally suppressing herself before.
Now that Utaha had decided to pursue Homura and not leave him, she could finally let go of herself completely.
"Please save that nonsense for when you're sleeping, woman..."
Eriri instantly regained her expressionless face and spoke in a flat tone as she glanced at Utaha.
Homura shrugged his shoulders, took a photo of his drawing, and returned to the chat group.
[Minamiya Homura: I'm back.]
[Kousaka Honoka: We've been waiting forever!]
[Minami Kotori: Homura-kun, is it done? Hurry up and upload it! We can't wait!]
[Koizumi Hanayo: Yes! Rin-chan will look so beautiful in that outfit, it'll make everyone swoon!]
[Hoshizora Rin: Kayo-chin, don't say such embarrassing things! And that's not the outfit I wore! It's just a drawing!]
[Minamiya Homura: No worries, if Rin wears this dress, or better yet, a wedding dress, you'll look even more beautiful!]
[Hoshizora Rin: Uhhh...]
[Nishikino Maki: Hurry up! Stop dragging it out!]
[Minamiya Homura: Alright, keep your eyes wide open.]
Homura uploaded the completed drawing of Rin in a wedding dress to the chat group from his phone, and as he expected, the chat room instantly fell silent.
[Koizumi Hanayo: Rin-chaaaaan! When did you go take wedding photos?!]
[Hoshizora Rin: Rin doesn't know!]
Reading their chats, Homura chuckled.
[Minamiya Homura: Yup, I just took Rin's photo.]
[Yazawa Nico: What? Rin is actually at Homura's place now?]
[Hoshizora Rin: No! Rin isn't! Rin is at home!]
[Minamiya Homura: Alright, alright, it's just a joke. It's my drawing using Kotori's design.]
[Minami Kotori: Seriously, that scared me.]
[Minami Kotori: But Rin-chan in this outfit is really beautiful.]
[Sonoda Umi: Yeah, even though we all knew Rin would look amazing in this dress, we still underestimated her. She's both beautiful and cute.]
[Hoshizora Rin: But can Rin really look like this?]
[Ayase Eli: What are you talking about? Isn't it obvious? When you actually wear it, you'll look even more beautiful.]
[Tojou Nozomi: If you still have any doubts, then let's all help out! Kotori-chan will take the lead, and we'll actually make this dress!]
[Kousaka Honoka: Great idea! I agree!]
[Koizumi Hanayo: Amazing idea!]
[Nishikino Maki: It's decided.]
[Minami Kotori: Yes, I'll go buy the materials after school tomorrow!]
[Hoshizora Rin: Why are you all going this far?]
[Kousaka Honoka: Why? It's because Rin-chan is the most important member of Muse and our best friend, of course! What else do you think?]
[Nishikino Maki: It's exactly because it's Rin that we're like this. If anyone needs help, isn't it only natural for the other eight to jump in and help?]
[Hoshizora Rin: I see...]
[Hoshizora Rin: It's so great to meet everyone. I'm so happy to be a part of Muse.]
Homura read their chats with a pleased expression before typing again.
[Minamiya Homura: By the way, do you think I should make this drawing look fancier before posting it on my blog? What if everyone thinks Rin took wedding photos?]
[Yazawa Nico: Yeah, sounds like a good idea. If not, it could totally cause a commotion. Not gonna lie, your drawing's just way too realistic, Homura.]
[Minamiya Homura: Okay, my bad. But honestly, Rin could totally pull it off, so what I drew is totally realistic.]
[Hoshizora Rin: Homura-kun, can't you just not post it?]
[Koizumi Hanayo: No way! We have to! Everyone needs to know that Rin-chan looks absolutely perfect in a dress! It's such a waste if cute Rin-chan doesn't wear dresses!]
[Hoshizora Rin: It's embarrassing.]
[Tojou Nozomi: Feeling like a bride?]
[Hoshizora Rin: Nyaa!]
[Kousaka Honoka: Oh, Rin-chan's got a totally girly vibe now! So cute!]
Elf, reading Muse's chats, found it amusing, truly entertaining.
"By the way, Homura, when are you uploading it?" Elf casually asked.
"I'll tweak it a little—" Homura said halfway, then suddenly shook his head. "Forget it, no edits! I'll just draw another one!"
"Draw another one? Why?" Nanami asked curiously.
"If I draw another one, it could be used as the manga's colored page or something. As long as I add the logo of Love Live!, everyone will be amazed and won't be making wild guesses."
Homura explained while nodding.
"And this one... I was gonna keep it for myself, but after thinking it over, I'll just give it to Rin. It's also the start of her overcoming her trauma."
With that, Homura drew another, not only making slight changes to Rin's pose and expression but also adjusting some elements in the background while adding the logo of Love Live! at the end.
Finished with the new drawing, Homura posted it directly in the chat group.
[Minamiya Homura: How about posting this one?]
[Sonoda Umi: Posting this one?]
[Sonoda Umi: Wait, did you draw another one?]
[Sonoda Umi: Forget it, I'm used to it. I can't be shocked anymore.]
[Yazawa Nico: Oh, this one's great! It totally has the vibe of a manga colored page.]
[Minamiya Homura: Okay, I'll leave the original one for Rin.]
===
Meanwhile, Rin, who was lying under her blanket, smiled with happiness.