[TSSIM] Chapter 495: Thorns' Club?

One had to admit, Ritsu's moves felt almost like a mix of coercion and temptation.

If one wanted to improve their relationship with Homura, one had to do these things, and if one didn't, things wouldn't change.

It could be called temptation, but it felt more like manipulation.

As for telling Tsumugi that she was the heroine of Homura's drawings, that was undoubtedly pure temptation.

Even though Ritsu wasn't the one who originally came up with the idea, she still managed to use the situation to her advantage—it was like a complete shift from her usual carefree, absent-minded self.

Ritsu came across as the kind of person who might seem unreliable most of the time, but when it mattered, one could count on her.

Even Mio's opinion of Ritsu had changed a little.

Meanwhile, Ui, who was sitting nearby, glanced from one person to the other, clearly lost in her thoughts.

However, judging by the faint blush on Ui's ears, it was clear she hadn't missed much, especially since Ritsu had made things pretty clear in her last words.

===

"Why isn't she replying...?"

Elf spoke with a hesitant tone, looking helpless.

"Tsumugi can't be shy, right? It's just about flying into the sky once with her Homura-niisan. Is it really necessary to be this shy?"

Upon hearing this, Homura's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

Eriri, however, rolled her eyes and then spoke up.

"I don't know if she's shy right now, but those words of yours are probably just gonna make her more shy."

"Oh, here it comes!"

Noticing that Tsumugi had replied, Elf didn't bother responding to Eriri and immediately turned her attention to the reply Tsumugi sent.

[Kotobuki Tsumugi: Well, it's nothing special. I just flew up into the sky while playing with Homura-niisan.]

[Yamada Elf: That's it?]

[Kotobuki Tsumugi: Yeah.]

[Kotobuki Tsumugi: I guess there were some petal-like things floating around me? Anyway, when that kind of scene popped into my head, it felt nice.]

"Petals?" Elf murmured, then glanced back at the picture Homura had drawn. "Oh my, there really are..."

"Honestly, you can think of it as something else if you want." Homura chimed in and explained. "It doesn't have a specific form—it can be petals floating up as you fly or just light spots around you. Anyway, it's just meant to create an atmosphere. Since we flew up from a sea of flowers, I just thought that petals were more fitting."

"So what she described is actually really close to what you drew..." Elf nodded in understanding. "Looks like you were right! She really does understand you well."

"Well, they've known each other since they were kids, so it's pretty normal for her to understand Homura-kun better, right?" Utaha said with a knowing tone.

"I don't have any music talent, but if you asked me to draw based on that song, after thinking about it, I'd probably end up drawing something pretty close to what Homura did..." Eriri said while pouting.

She knew Utaha was teasing her, referring to her own role as Homura's childhood friend, so she chose a different way to retort, making it clear that she and Tsumugi had different talents, so there was no need to compare them.

If this were the old Eriri, she probably would've exploded right then and there, but now she could calmly respond like this.

Eriri really had grown mature a bit, though just a little since if Utaha pushed harder, Eriri would still snap.

Elf chuckled and continued chatting in the group chat.

[Yamada Elf: Amazing, what you described really looks like what Homura just drew!]

[Kotobuki Tsumugi: Um, Homura-niisan's drawing, can you upload it?]

[Furuhashi Fumino: I wanna see too. I wanna see if Homura-kun's drawing matches what I imagined.]

[Takemoto Uruka: Fuminocchi, you can imagine the scene too?]

[Furuhashi Fumino: I imagined it through the lyrics since there's actually a part that's really similar to what Tsumugi said.]

[Yamada Elf: Oh, that's pretty impressive.]

[Yamada Elf: Hold on, I'll send it now.]

Without missing a beat, Elf grabbed her phone, started taking pictures of Homura's drawings, and then sent them one by one. 

Five minutes later.

[Yamada Elf: Done!] 

[Furuhashi Fumino: Wow, it's really close!]

[Furuhashi Fumino: I think the only thing missing is the little stream, but since the lyrics didn't mention it, I guess Homura-kun added it spontaneously.]

[Minamiya Homura: Looks like nothing can stump you, Miss Sleeping Beauty of the Literary Forest.]

[Furuhashi Fumino: Wait, how does Homura-kun know about that?!]

[Minamiya Homura: Why wouldn't I know? (smirking emoji)]

[Furuhashi Fumino: Well, I only discovered it by accident, and somehow that nickname just stuck with me.]

[Minamiya Homura: Is that so...]

[Minamiya Homura: Then you probably don't know about the Thorns' Club?]

[Furuhashi Fumino: Thorns' Club? What club is that? I know about the wall of thorns from the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, though.]

[Minamiya Homura: Wall of thorns, huh.]

[Minamiya Homura: I guess that works too.]

At this moment, the girls around Homura were all looking at their phones, seriously reading the conversation between him and Fumino, which had sparked their curiosity.

It looked pretty interesting, so they really wanted to know what Homura was talking about.

[Minamiya Homura: It's fine if you didn't know before, but since I brought it up, you can probably guess it now.]

[Minamiya Homura: Take a guess. What do you think the Thorns' Club is?]

===

Meanwhile, at the Furuhashi residence.

"Fuminocchi, what exactly is this Thorns' Club?" Uruka asked curiously.

Fumino bit her lip lightly and shook her head.

"I don't know... But Homura-kun said I could guess, so it probably has something to do with me, right?"

"Does Rizurin not know either?" Uruka turned to Rizu.

Rizu shook her head.

"I don't even know what the 'Sleeping Beauty of the Literary Forest' is, so how could I know about this other thing?"

"Ugh... Don't bring up that nickname, please. It's a bit embarrassing..." Fumino muttered as she touched her slightly flushed cheek. "Sleeping Beauty and all that..."

"Does it have something to do with you liking to sleep in during class?" Uruka asked while grinning.

Fumino, feeling a bit embarrassed, nodded.

When she heard that nickname, she figured out where it came from since she indeed frequently slept during class.

"Sleeping Beauty... Thorns..." Fumino suddenly started murmuring. "In the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, the thorns are a barrier that prevents anyone from getting close to the princess who's turned into a sleeping beauty..."

"Is that so? So if you're called Sleeping Beauty... does that mean the Thorns' Club is...?" Uruka said, a little shocked.

"Is it to keep people from getting close to Fumino?" Rizu added, continuing Uruka's guess.

"Uhh... Could it be Fuminocchi's fan club or something?" Uruka guessed.

Fumino: "..."

In fact, Fumino had already figured it out, but she was too embarrassed to say it.

In the fairy tale, since the thorns were meant to block the princes from rescuing the princess, the Thorns' Club must naturally exist to keep boys from getting close to her!