VALRRR
patreon
[TSSIM] Chapter 337: The Ship Had Already Sailed
🕑 Added 2024-01-25 21:25:13 +0000 UTCMinamiya Residence, Kitchen.
"Homura-kun... about what everyone mentioned just now..."
Nanami discreetly spoke to Homura while blushing.
"Alright, I'll be honest, I like every one of you." Homura said with a serious expression. "Each of you is just too outstanding, so how could I not be drawn to you? I'm just a normal guy, after all."
Seeing Nanami's hesitant behavior, Homura guessed that this was the topic she wanted to ask about.
"I know I'm being greedy, but I'm just a stubborn guy and don't wanna give up, so it is what it is."
"..."
Nanami fell silent for a moment, then muttered softly.
"Feels like that's a bit unfair... If you put it like that, we definitely won't give up now that we know we all have a chance..."
"...In the end, Homura-kun will probably get his way." Megumi chimed in from the side.
Hearing this, Nanami was speechless, feeling like Megumi's statement strangely made sense.
Even though not everyone spent as much time with Homura as Eriri and Utaha, their relationships were surprisingly solid. Even after hearing about his somewhat greedy thoughts, the idea of abandoning or giving him up never crossed their minds.
Perhaps it was because they had some psychological preparation beforehand?
===
Although everyone's current moods were complicated, it didn't affect their appetite.
Eating delicious food, no matter the mood, would always make things better.
"Really... I can't imagine days without Homura-kun's cooking..."
Honoka spoke for the first time since the topic started, revealing her thoughts.
Kotori and Umi glanced at each other, a bit surprised, but felt it suited Honoka's personality.
As for themselves?
Cough Cough
Yukiho choked a bit after hearing her big sister's statement.
"Nee-chan..."
"Hmm? What's up?" Honoka asked with a clueless face.
"No... Nothing..."
Looking at her big sister's clueless face and feeling nothing unusual, Yukiho replied while shaking her head.
'Minamiya-senpai is truly sinful... By the way, what will happen to me and Alisa in the future? Can't imagine at all... Well, whatever. Let's worry about it later!'
With such a thought, Yukiho continued to enjoy her delicious meal.
===
"I'll send you all home. Since there are a lot of you today, we’ll need to leave a bit earlier."
Homura addressed the girls.
"Anyway, since Kirisu-sensei is staying over tonight, we can discuss things later."
Upon hearing this, the girls nodded in agreement.
Homura looked at Muse's members and Fumino's group for a moment, then continued.
"By the way, the places you girls live are roughly divided into two areas, a bit far apart, so... do you want to walk together or split into two groups? If you wanna split, I can take one group home first, then the other one later."
Due to school reasons, the homes of both Muse's members and Fumino's group were spread across two different areas since not many people intentionally attended a school far from their homes.
Both Otonokizaka High School and Ichinose Academy were roughly equidistant from the Minamiya residence, forming an almost equilateral triangle, so if Homura wanted to send them home, he had to choose one side first.
"Let's go together. We can take a leisurely stroll." Fumino suggested. "Plus, if we go together, Minamiya-kun can walk a shorter distance and won't have to come back here midway."
"Hmm, I don't mind, but you girls would have to walk a bit more. Is that alright?" Homura asked with raised eyebrows.
"It's okay, we can handle that much." Fumino nodded with a smile.
"But Fumino-san, you're Kirisu-sensei's student, right?" Nozomi asked with a smile, interrupting Fumino. "It's not often you get to meet with her outside of school. Don't you want to chat with her? Building a better understanding sounds great, doesn't it?"
"..."
Fumino was silent for a moment, then began pondering the hidden meaning behind Nozomi's words.
'What does Nozomi-senpai mean? Chat with Kirisu-sensei? No, it's not urgent. I can talk to her anytime, and there's no need to bring it up now…'
'Does Nozomi-senpai want me to test Kirisu-sensei's attitude? See if she's interested in Minamiya-kun? But it's probably better for Nozomi-senpai to do that herself…'
"Could it be... she wants some alone time with Minamiya-kun and has something to say to him? If we're all there, it might be awkward for her to speak up..."
'Out of the three possibilities, it's probably the last one, right? Well, that's okay. I can talk to Minamiya-kun later.'
Finished with her pondering, Fumino nodded and agreed with Nozomi.
"Alright, then let Minamiya-kun take Muse home first."
Hearing Fumino's sudden change of mind, Homura raised an eyebrow.
Homura glanced at Fumino, recalling her momentary silence after Nozomi spoke, and then turned to the smiling Nozomi.
As if understanding something, Homura shrugged.
"Okay, it's no big deal. Let's go."
After saying their goodbyes, Homura led Muse and the two little sisters away, while Fumino's group stayed behind.
Haru didn't follow this time, remaining in Mafuyu's arms, thinking that being by her side was the right thing to do for now.
As soon as everyone heard the front door close, Eriri turned to Utaha inquisitively.
"So, what's your take on this? Why the sudden change today?"
"Well, I don't see anything wrong with it..." Utaha replied, seemingly picking up Maki's little habit, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Being upfront is like adding a catalyst. Otherwise, who knows how long this would drag on..."
Eriri silently watched Utaha for a moment, then spoke again.
"Why didn't I see you planning to add this so-called catalyst before? Why now?"
"At that time, Homura-kun still hadn't made his feelings clear... I'll be blunt—I just don't want Another Dimension to collapse." Utaha explained patiently.
"I think it has a lot to do with Nayu-chan too." Megumi chimed in.
"Nayu?" Miyako asked, looking a little confused since she couldn't quite understand why Megumi would involve Nayuta.
"Me? I just happen to like Senpai the most. What does that have to do with me?" Nayuta, equally puzzled, asked.
"Mm, Nayu-chan likes Homura-kun the most, so you wouldn't leave him no matter what, right?" Megumi asked back.
"That's right!" Nayuta nodded without hesitation.
"That's how it is..." Megumi nodded.
Everyone instantly fell silent and eventually understood her meaning.
They knew that each of the girls present liked Homura and obviously wanted him to choose them. However, Nayuta, who had that kind of mindset, clearly would never give up, even if he chose someone else.
If that happened, what would the outcome be?
Conflict would arise.
"Although it makes sense... I can't shake the feeling that you're hiding something..."
Eriri spoke skeptically while looking at Utaha.
Utaha, however, pretended not to hear and turned her head away.
"Because of Kirisu-sensei."
Mashiro suddenly chimed in, clarifying everything.
"!!!"
Utaha shot a surprised look at Mashiro before swiftly returning to her usual self.
Eriri, who had been watching Utaha closely, immediately noticed the fleeting surprise on her face.
"I see..." Eriri nodded in understanding.
"Etto... Why is it because of me?" Mafuyu asked with resignation.
She couldn't help but feel like the conversation always seemed to end up involving her.
"You must feel threatened, huh?" Eriri asked Utaha. "But then again, I get it. Kirisu-sensei is just too unique, inside and out. If I weren't a girl, I'd probably have fallen for her too. Added with Homura's heroic act today, thinking about it, I suddenly get why you're acting like that."
If this had been brought up earlier, some might have reconsidered and backed off, but unfortunately, the ship had already sailed.
