[TSSIM] Chapter 481: Would You Like to Eat First, Take a Shower First, or Maybe...

Homura remembered how, last time, when Honoka and the others had just entered the hugging stage, Nozomi had immediately kissed his cheek.

Meanwhile, after Honoka and the others had finally kissed his cheek earlier, Nico and Hanayo overtook them by kissing his mouth directly.

Aside from Nico, who had done that because she was stubborn and unwilling to lose, the rest of them, including him, had just let things develop naturally, going with the flow.

Somehow, it had all progressed to this point on its own.

It was just that aside from Nozomi, Nico, and Hanayo, Honoka and the others had taken their time, letting things develop slowly.

Nozomi, Nico, and Hanayo, however, seemed to have taken a shortcut, as if directly teleporting to the finish line.

For Nozomi, it was because she had gotten used to being lonely that she craved friendship and love even more. Because of this, she was especially proactive with him, so it wasn't surprising that things moved quickly.

Hanayo, on the other hand, was different.

If Rin hadn't pushed her to make up her mind, forget about shortcuts—Hanayo would've probably gone in circles endlessly. Knowing this, Rin could only take the initiative and carve out a shortcut for Hanayo.

As for Nico, she was simply taking a bold leap.

While everyone else was driving steadily along the mountain road, Nico took a shortcut involving leaping over a cliff.

However, thanks to his help, she landed safely.

Now that he thought about it, Nico wasn't all that different from the others in just going with the flow. It wasn't like she had been planning this all along—she was just too stubborn to back down.

"I wonder what Honoka and the others would think if they knew about Hanayo's situation now?"

Homura muttered to himself, then shook his head and chuckled.

"I kinda want to see, but I guess I won't be able to, huh..."

===

"I'm back."

As Homura returned home and entered his house, he saw Eriri leaning against the wall in the foyer.

"You're really late today…" Eriri said calmly, staying in place.

Now, she didn't rush over to Homura's side to sniff his scent like she used to. 

It was understandable. 

Considering so many girls liked him and always hung out around him, it would be weird if there wasn't any girl scent on him. 

Naturally, the main reason was that their relationship had already reached another level, so she didn't really pay much attention to that kind of thing anymore. As long as it wasn't some strange woman she didn't know, it was fine. 

Besides, the girls around him were all her friends now, so even if they shared him, it would only be with her friends.

"Yeah, I guess I did solve a bit of their problems today. I'll give them the day off tomorrow to completely wrap everything up." Homura explained briefly.

Eriri nodded, about to say something, but Homura spoke again.

"By the way, Eriri, were you waiting for me?"

"Nope, just a bit curious why you came back so late. I thought maybe you were staying at someone's place." Eriri replied while pouting.

Homura: "…"

"Staying at someone's place? Who could I stay with?" Homura asked with twitched lips.

"Kotori… No, Kotori's probably a no-go, but Nozomi's fine, right?" Eriri said with a smirk. "If not, you could always swing by Kirisu-sensei's place."

At this, Homura nodded, looking like he had an epiphany.

"What a brilliant idea... Maybe I'll try it next time..."

Eriri: "…"

Slap!

"You rascal!"

Eriri slapped Homura's shoulder lightly, clearly annoyed.

"You know, I was actually kinda looking forward to hearing that sentence." Homura said, shrugging.

"Sentence? What sentence?" Eriri asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know it too. It's something like, 'Darling, welcome back. Would you like to eat first, take a shower first, or maybe...'" 

"STOOOOPPP—!!!"

Eriri's face turned bright red as she waved her hands around, shouting frantically.

"I'd never say something like that, okay?!"

"Plus, let's not forget you've already had dinner, and I... I can't cook anyway..."

"A-And... Darling or anything... HOW COULD I EVER SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

Hearing Eriri's pretty loud words, Homura had to cover his ears, feeling like he was getting a slight ringing in them. 

"Geez, calm down..." Homura sighed and then spoke innocently. "Aren't you an otaku? You should know it's just a joke for fun. It's not like I'm actually asking you to do it, so what's the problem?"

Upon hearing this, Eriri gritted her teeth.

'If I really said that, wouldn't he just use it to mess with me?' 

Eriri was lost in thought, pondering what she should do.

'Still, maybe it's worth a shot?'

'But what if he says he wants to eat me first?'

'Yeah, if he said that, I'd totally bite him!' 

As Eriri made her decision and wanted to speak, someone spoke first.

"Excuse me, are you two playing some kind of role-play? Can I join?"

Utaha's voice came from the living room, her head poking out with a playful look.

"Who's role-playing? Hmph!" Eriri turned her head away, acting all tsundere. 

"Alright~" Utaha shrugged, then turned to Homura with a grin. "Homura-kun, welcome back. Would you like to eat first, take a shower first, or maybe..." 

"AAAHHH—!!!"

Eriri quickly interrupted Utaha, her heart racing. 

She had been just about to try saying that sentence, but this woman had already beaten her to it!

"Hahaha, though it's a shame I didn't get to hear the whole thing, I'm still pretty satisfied!" Homura said with a laugh.

"Well, in that case, Homura-kun..." Utaha said, intending to repeat her sentence.

"AAAAHHHH—!!!"

Looking at the frantic Eriri in front of her, Utaha was utterly speechless. 

They had already seen each other naked and even slept with the same man together, and yet this girl was still shy?

"Why do you always interrupt me? If Homura-kun wants to eat me, I'll bring you along anyway." Utaha said, rolling her eyes.

Eriri: "..."

"Why do you have to bring me?! Can't I bring you instead?!" Eriri blurted out.

Utaha looked at Eriri in surprise, then shrugged her shoulders. 

"Sure."

Eriri: "..."

Seeing this, Homura shook his head, feeling sorry for Eriri. 

Dealing with someone like Utaha, who didn't follow the usual rules, it was hard to even get one win.

"Alright, enough with this. Let's go inside first. I've got something to say." 

Homura interrupted their stare-off and walked into the living room. 

Utaha and Eriri didn't say anything and just followed him in. 

As Homura walked over to the gathering girls, Haru opened her eyes, glanced at him, and then yawned.

Click!

"Nice! Got a photo of the little one yawning!" Homura exclaimed with a smile.

Haru: "..."

Girls: "..."

Seeing everyone staring at him in silence, Homura cleared his throat.

"Ahem, anyone wants one?"

"Homura-kun... I think everyone wants one..." Megumi replied, feeling a bit speechless.

Everyone liked Haru, who wouldn't want her photos?

"Alright, I'll send it to all of you." Homura nodded as he fiddled with his phone. "By the way, I've given Muse tomorrow off since they've got some stuff to deal with."

"What's going on? Are they in trouble or something?" Elf looked up and asked.

"It's Nico's trouble. As for the others, I've helped as much as I can, and for what I couldn't help with, I've already warned them. All we can do now is watch... Alright, sent!"

"Nico-chan? What happened to Nico-chan?" Sagiri asked, looking confused.

"It's not that something happened to her, but rather something she caused herself, so it's best if Honoka and the others handle it. If we help, it won't work out."

Homura explained briefly, then reached down to pat Haru's little head. 

It seemed like Haru had been getting more comfortable with everyone, as, in the beginning, only he, Sagiri, and Megumi could get close to her. 

In the next moment, Haru licked her paw, rolled over, and started playing high-fives with Homura using her little paws.

"Cute~!"

Nanami exclaimed with sparkling eyes, feeling like she was melting from how cute Haru was. 

Click!

'Hmm?'

Hearing a camera shutter sound, Nanami turned and saw Megumi taking a photo of Haru. 

Nanami snapped back to attention, quickly pulled out her own phone, and took several quick shots of Haru.

"Video..." Mashiro said, raising her phone.

At this point, no one cared to keep asking Homura questions. After taking several photos of Haru, the girls switched to video recording.

Homura, meanwhile, was fully enjoying himself, playing high-fives with Haru.

Eventually, Homura thought he might as well treat this as a workout for her, so he started picking up his pace, making Haru do the same.

Eventually, the girls watched in a daze as a human and a cat swung their limbs together, leaving behind blurry afterimages.