Meanwhile, on Homura's blog.
[Minamiya: Hey, check this out! (Attached picture)]
[Comment 1: Oh, Minamiya-sensei is here! Is this a manga cover for Love Live? Dang, Minamiya-sensei's on fire! Your circle's game just dropped yesterday, and today you're diving into your manga already!]
[Comment 2: Dude, this is lit! Wait, is that Rin-chan?!]
[Comment 3: Rin-chan is legit stunning! A goddess!]
[Comment 4: Duh, Muse is obviously a group of goddesses! They've got the looks and the talent!][Comment 5: Yo, Rin-chan in a dress looks incredible. Does that mean the next chapter's about Rin-chan?]
[Minamiya: Not the next one, but it's coming, so stay tuned!]
[Minamiya: BTW, Kotori personally designed this dress for Rin, so show them some love, both the designer and the model.]
Immediately after posting this comment, Homura paid no attention to the other comments anymore and went back to Muse's chat group.
[Minami Kotori: Ahh, I got mentioned.]
[Tojou Nozomi: You're the designer, after all. If Homura-kun doesn't mention you, wouldn't everyone think he did it? As if he'd do something like that.]
[Koizumi Hanayo: Just posted, and there's already a ton of praise for Rin-chan!]
[Koizumi Hanayo: Rin-chan, everyone's words say it all!]
[Nishikino Maki: Now Rin can confidently wear skirts.]
[Yazawa Nico: Yeah, just forget everything those ignorant brats said!]
[Hoshizora Rin: Rin's okay now, actually.]
[Minami Kotori: By the way, what exactly happened after we went home, Hanayo-chan?]
[Koizumi Hanayo: Eh? Not much happened, right? I mean, you also knew that after Homura-kun confessed, Rin-chan passed out.]
"Passed out? Why passed out?"
Utaha, who read Hanayo's chat, asked in wonder.
"From embarrassment..." Homura replied with a wry smile.
'Passed out because of embarrassment?' Eriri thought in surprise. 'Is Rin's tolerance just low, or is Homura's attack too strong?'
She was truly curious.
Seeing the girls lost in thought, Homura smiled lightly and then spoke up to shift the topic.
"Alright girls, let's continue our talk from earlier."
Upon hearing this, the girls snapped out of their thoughts and looked at Homura with eager expressions.
"Let's talk about how much I know about Kirisu-sensei."
Mafuyu: "..."
'So, he hasn't forgotten about that?!' Mafuyu thought with twitching lips.
She felt conflicted, wondering whether she should say something.
"Firstly..."
'Ah... it's too late...' Mafuyu sighed and gave up.
"Kirisu-sensei is undeniably a good teacher who cares about her students, though her approach to educating them is a bit strict and stubborn."
Hearing this, the girls nodded in agreement, and even Mafuyu herself couldn't argue since she knew it was true.
"But then... I found out something..." Homura smiled and picked up a pen.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he began to draw, and before long, a complete picture emerged—a strikingly accurate depiction of Mafuyu herself performing figure skating.
"Why... do you know about this?"
Mafuyu asked with wide eyes, unable to contain her curiosity, though inwardly, she was already piecing it together.
'Was it from that time?'
Seeing Mafuyu's expression, Homura smiled faintly, then responded.
"Did you know, Kirisu-sensei? Eli-senpai is actually a ballet prodigy. She won countless awards but... she doesn't compete in ballet anymore."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Unlike you, though, Eli-senpai gave up ballet willingly, and she's genuinely passionate about being an idol now. But you... you regret it, don't you? Even now, you still regret it."
"You gave up figure skating, the thing you excelled at the most, on an impulse. And later, when it was too late, the regret crept in. Sadly, there was no going back."
"Because of that, you're so harsh on Fumino and Rizu. You don't want them to end up feeling the same way, so you're willing to play the villain, willing to be disliked, just to guide them toward the paths where they can truly shine."
Upon hearing Homura's revelation, everyone turned to Mafuyu, and judging by her expression, every word he had spoken was apparently true.
"But... why does Kirisu-sensei have to be the villain?" Izumi couldn't help but ask. "Can't you just explain things properly to them?"
"Because Fumino and Rizu have their own reasons they can't give up on."
Homura explained with a sigh.
"Not only are both of them already incredibly determined, but they also have motivations that they absolutely refuse to abandon. You know what, if Kirisu-sensei didn't harden her resolve, she'd probably end up being convinced by Fumino, the genius of liberal arts, instead."
"Besides, isn't this approach not so bad?"
At this point, Homura chuckled.
"We all know that people our age, more or less, tend to have a rebellious streak when it comes to teachers and parents. I mean, the more they tell you not to do something, the more you wanna prove them wrong."
"Fumino and Rizu are exactly like that. If anything, Kirisu-sensei's method is making them even more determined."
"You know, if Fumino and Rizu refuse to give up, and they manage to stick with their goals throughout these three years of high school, then it's clear they won't give up in the future either. People like them are bound to succeed."
"And if they do give up... going back to the things they're already good at isn't a bad outcome either. It's still not too late for them, anyway."
All of these words had been Homura's thoughts for a while, but he had never spoken them aloud, so Mafuyu was hearing this perspective for the first time.
Nevertheless, it aligned closely with Mafuyu's own thinking.
Meanwhile, the girls looked at Mafuyu with a mix of surprise and admiration, having to admit that teachers like her were truly rare these days.
"By the way, what I just said should be kept a secret from Fumino and Rizu, okay?" Homura reminded.
"No worries, it's for their own good, so we won't spill the beans." Eriri nodded seriously. "But seriously, I didn't expect you to know so much about Kirisu-sensei..."
She crossed her arms, staring sharply at Homura as if trying to see through him.
"I told you, as long as you're with Homura, no matter what you do, he can know everything about you like it's nothing." Elf said with an 'I knew it' expression.
"But... how did you find out that Kirisu-sensei is a figure skating athlete, Homura-kun?" Nanami asked with a puzzled expression.
"What else? It's clearly another piece of information from an unknown source, as always..." Utaha shook her head helplessly.
"Not this time, though..." Homura chuckled, shaking his head. "It was when Kirisu-sensei sprained her foot after we met at Fumino's place..."
He began explaining the time when he had escorted Mafuyu back to her home after she had sprained her foot.
"So... when you escorted Kirisu-sensei home, you found some kind of clue or something?" Elf asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup, something like that." Homura nodded.
Although Mafuyu had blocked the trophies, Homura was the one who helped her clean her room, so there was no way he wouldn't notice them.
It was just that Mafuyu probably thought Homura either didn't see them or didn't care, so she simply forgot about it.