[TSSIM] Chapter 498: Shopping with Muse

"Nozomi! What the heck are you doing?!"

Nico flared up, frantically scanning the surroundings.

"Fufu, sorry, Nico-chi. I really can't help it~" Nozomi chuckled lightly. "But don't worry, I made sure no one saw."

Nico: "..."

"Ahh! Nozomi-chan, that was so sneaky!"

Honoka shouted and ran toward Homura—only to get a flick on the forehead from Nico.

"Can you not mess around outside?! Can you see where we are?!" Nico scolded as a vein popped on her forehead.

"Stingy..." Honoka pouted, holding her forehead with a look of grievance.

Yukiho's lips twitched as she watched her big sister's behavior, unsure what to say.

As for the other girls, some looked surprised, while others found this scene amusing.

Homura, on the other hand, was speechless.

Honestly, he hadn't expected Nozomi to pull that stunt, nor for Honoka to react like that.

"Stingy, you say?" Nico muttered in a deep voice as dark energy started to radiate from her body. "Just wait till we get home, I'll make you kiss the floor for half an hour! Let's see how stingy I am then!"

"No! You're so generous, Nico-chan!" Honoka forced a grin.

"Ozone levels must be rising with all this nonsense!" Nico exclaimed and rolled her eyes.

""Pffft!""

Hearing the conversation between Honoka and Nico, everyone couldn't help but giggle. 

Seriously, what conversation was that?

In the end, after goofing around for a while, the group headed to a shopping mall.

Surprisingly, the mall was the same one from last time when Homura had accompanied Fumino and the others to buy swimsuits.

Homura glanced at the ever-smiling Nozomi, then asked a question.

"You girls coordinated this with Fumino and the others, didn't you?"

"Ahh, you caught on." Nozomi replied, winking her right eye playfully.

"Okay, since we're here... let's hit the hat shop first, then we can keep browsing other stuff." Homura suggested, then turned to Honoka. "But with your hairstyle, wearing a hat might be tricky though."

Honoka touched her slightly off-center side ponytail, her eyes darting around before she grinned.

"No worries! I can change my hairstyle anytime!"

Upon hearing this, Homura chuckled, then started pondering.

Should he get another one for himself?

Might as well, since hats were pretty useful—not just for avoiding being recognized but also for sun protection.

With the decision made, it was time to go shopping.

===

After buying hats, the group of twelve wandered around for over two hours.

While Homura sketched quite a few manga drawings during this time, the girls each picked up some small accessories before they finally arrived at the swimsuit shop.

Looking at the cashier inside the swimsuit shop, Homura's lips twitched.

"It's the same cashier as last time... Did she not switch shifts, or is this just a coincidence?"

Upon hearing Homura's mutter, the girls were speechless.

"Whatever, I'm wearing different clothes this time, my hat is different too, and Haru isn't with me. I kinda wanna see if she still remembers me as a returning customer after all this time."

Rubbing his chin, Homura followed the girls into the swimsuit shop.

In the end, it turned out that without Haru around, there was no way the cashier would recognize Homura when he had deliberately disguised himself—unless she had some kind of photographic memory.

Unlike Fumino and the others, Honoka and the others didn't ask Homura to pick swimsuits for them since they knew that the swimsuits he personally made were already the best choices for them.

Instead, they picked their own and just borrowed Homura's judgment to see if they suited them or not, which actually still kind of counted as him choosing for them, just in a different way.

Each of them tried on multiple swimsuits, treating it as a little fanservice for Homura—letting him feast his eyes while making the girls enjoy his appreciative and approving gaze.

It was undoubtedly a win-win situation!

After paying for their purchases, the group wrapped up their three-hour shopping trip and headed back home.

===

""We're home!""

Walking behind Honoka and the others, Homura smiled slightly upon hearing their words. 

Muse and the two little sisters clearly already treated his place like their own home, or else they wouldn't have said that.

"Nyaa? Haru-chan came out to greet us!" Rin exclaimed, her eyes suddenly lighting up.

"I think it's actually because of this..." Homura shook the plastic bag in his hand. "Isn't that right, little one?"

"Meow~! (You bought something tasty, didn't you?! You totally bought something tasty, right?!)" Haru stared at the plastic bag in Homura's hand, her eyes sparkling, practically drooling.

Rin: "..."

"No matter how much time passes, Haru-chan is still just as much of a glutton, especially when it comes to her favorite food." Megumi remarked as she approached and looked at Haru with a faint smile on her face.

"Yeah..." Homura walked to the dining table and took out a box of tuna sashimi from the bag. "I mean, the first time I met the little one, it was thanks to this."

As he spoke, he opened the box, and sure enough, Haru couldn't wait any longer and immediately leaned in.

"Go ahead and eat." Homura didn't tease Haru and just gave her a few pats on the head before letting her dig in and turning to the girls. "You girls keep chatting."

With that, he carried the plastic bag and headed toward his room.

Watching his figure vanish as he walked upstairs, the girls fell silent.

"Haru-chan..."

Rin murmured softly as she and the others saw Haru abandon her food and chase after Homura.

When they turned back, they noticed that Haru had only eaten one piece of the tuna sashimi Homura had prepared for her.

Immediately, their hearts softened even more.

"You know, the bond between Homura-kun and Haru-chan... it's really something special..." Eli said with emotion.

"Haru-chan really deserves to be spoiled like that by Homura-kun. She knew exactly what he was doing and didn't even care about eating her favorite food anymore..." Nozomi sighed with a smile. "A strong connection between a human and a cat, huh..."

"Hey… do you think we should go visit Homura's mom?"

Out of nowhere, Nico suddenly asked something unexpected, which caused the girls, who had just been feeling sentimental, to suddenly turn red with embarrassment.

"What are you saying so suddenly? Isn't that kinda sudden? Feels a little rushed." Maki averted her gaze, sounding a little unnatural.

"You're right. We should pick the right time and do it properly." Nico nodded.

"It doesn't have to be too formal. If you girls wanna meet her, you can go anytime." Homura chimed in as he returned while holding Haru. "As long as you visit, she'll be happy, y'know."

Passing by the group of girls with flushed faces, Homura set Haru down and gave her a few gentle pats.

"Eat up. It won't taste as good if you wait too long."

Haru nuzzled against Homura's palm for a moment before continuing to eat the tuna sashimi at a leisurely pace.

Homura looked at the girls and grinned.

"Why'd you all go quiet?"

"It's just... I don't think we're really mentally ready yet..." Megumi murmured gently.

When it came to Homura's mother, no matter how casual he made it sound, they couldn't just treat it lightly.

"Okay then, just take your time. Whenever you girls are ready, 'our' mom will always be happy to have you over."

Upon hearing this, the girls' faces turned even redder—even the usually calm and composed Megumi couldn't escape the same fate.