[TSSIM] Chapter 474: Race?

Over time, Nozomi noticed that every member of Muse had this incredible passion and so many qualities that drew her in, yet she couldn't bring them together, missing that one crucial opportunity.

It was when Honoka and the others decided to become school idols that the chance finally arrived.

Ultimately, Nozomi had completely become the 'mastermind behind the scenes,' subtly pushing and influencing the eight girls.

In the end, their fates were irrevocably intertwined by her.

Meanwhile, the appearance of Homura was just a catalyst, making the connection between the nine of them happen faster.

For Nozomi, Muse was an incredibly important emotional pillar, and now, Homura had also become another one of her pillars.

Given the position of the other eight members of Muse in Nozomi's heart, could her seemingly usual joke of 'all nine of us together' really just be a joke?

By now, Eli was sure of it—what Nozomi always said was not a joke at all!

Looking at Nozomi's circumstances, once it was clear that she really liked Homura, moving into the Minamiya residence and living there like Utaha and the others seemed almost inevitable.

However, since Nozomi didn't move in, Hanayo's speculation should be spot on.

Even in this situation, Nozomi hadn't moved into the Minamiya residence—or rather, she hadn't planned to for now.

Why?

It was clearly because of the other eight.

"Nozomi..."

Eli muttered with a complicated expression as she looked at Nozomi.

"Fufu, I told you I won't be sneaky."

Nozomi, noticing Eli's concern, slightly shook her head and laughed lightly.

As soon as Eli and the others heard Nozomi's words, they confirmed that Hanayo was indeed right.

"What's the connection between being sneaky and whether or not you move in?" Nico asked, curling her lips.

"Because once I move in... I might not be able to resist..."

Nozomi, who usually said whatever was on her mind, felt a little embarrassed as she said this.

Everyone: "..."

Elf's lips twitched for a moment before she pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere and started to draw.

"So, what you're saying is... once Nozomi confirmed that no one objected to her eventually being with Homura..."

Her words made a few people blush, but she didn't care and kept drawing and talking.

"She wanted to achieve her final goal, and maybe it could be described like this?"

"If we consider everyone's interactions with Homura as a long-distance race... when everyone met Homura, that was the starting line. As for the finish line..."

Even though Elf's description was amusing, everyone instantly understood even without her finishing saying it.

"Among the nine of you, Kotori jumped the gun." Elf continued.

Kotori's face turned red before she made an awkward expression.

Truthfully, this was the first time she had been described like that, though it was true that she had met Homura earlier than the rest of them.

"And then, the race officially began, but everyone naturally went at different speeds. Kotori, Honoka, and Umi took the lead, with Eli and Nozomi in second place, while Nico, Rin, Hanayo, and Maki ran at the back."

Although everyone felt strange, Elf's description was pretty spot-on. 

Seeing no one speaking, Elf continued.

"And just like that, this went on for a while until Rin suddenly made a sharp turn and overtook everyone!"

"Nyaa..." Rin let out her catchphrase, not knowing what to say.

"Because of that, the others started to speed up too. Honoka, Umi, and Kotori quickly followed, Nozomi caught up with the leading runners, but the last four didn't give up, still chasing closely."

Seeing Elf even managed to make it sound intense, Homura rolled his eyes.

"Nozomi kept her speed up for a while, leading the way with Rin, but as they got closer to the finish line, she remembered she still hadn't achieved her goal."

"What goal, you ask? Of course, it's getting everyone to cross the finish line together!"

"So, Nozomi decided to take charge of the race, falling back to help push everyone at the back forward."

Everyone: "..."

Nozomi pushed everyone forward?

Seriously?

"Sadly, the strength of one person is ultimately limited..." Elf continued.

Everyone: "???"

"Nozomi, who realized she was struggling with pushing everyone forward, suddenly accelerated and dashed to the finish line!" Elf said with a grin.

Nozomi: "???"

While Nozomi was confused, every member of Muse was surprised, staring at her with questioning eyes, conveying something like—When did she cross the finish line?

"However, she didn't actually cross the finish line! Instead, she picked it up and started running again, shouting to the others behind her like—hurry up and catch me~ if you catch up with me, I'll let you have it! Heehee~!"

""Pffft!""

Homura and the others instantly burst out laughing.

Pick up the finish line?

They had to admit, that was a smooth move!

As for the 'heehee' part, it wasn't surprising, as even Nozomi herself couldn't help but laugh, though awkwardly.

Sure, that was what she intended, but the way it was described was way too weird and ridiculous!

"I don't think I said anything wrong, right?" Elf dropped her pen and clapped her hands with a grin. "So, what do you all think?"

"Think?" Nozomi smiled, touching her cheek with her index finger. "Yeah, we think—Eiii!"

"Kyaaa!"

Needless to say, Nozomi was doing her usual move again, but this time to Elf.

"Let go of me! I wasn't wrong in my description!"

Under Nozomi's vicious claws, Elf exclaimed in panic and started squirming, just like Nico had earlier.

"Besides, you didn't have to make them chase you after you picked up the finish line! You could've just run in circles! When they all gather together, you can face them! Wouldn't that work?!"

Everyone: "..."

Clearly, Elf's idea was crazier than the last, but honestly, wasn't Nozomi doing exactly that—picking up the finish line and waiting for the others to catch up?

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing right now~" Nozomi said with a smile.

Her acknowledgment only made the others blush even harder.

Just imagining themselves doing what a couple did with Homura was already embarrassing enough, but doing it with the others?

They were about to die from embarrassment!

Homura, seeing the atmosphere grow vibrant, spoke up.

"By the way, you'll need bags for your swimsuits, right? I should also go grab the stuff I forgot last time."

Homura stood up and walked toward his room, but as he passed Haru's scratching post, his eyes twitched.

"Looks like the tree stump can't wait... I'll get one tomorrow..."

Not long after, Homura returned with over ten shopping bags.

"What's this?"

Nozomi, who had already infused Elf with her 'Nozomi Power', curiously leaned in and asked as soon as Homura returned.

"Support T-shirt." Homura shrugged.

"Support T-shirt? This many?" Kotori asked, looking puzzled.

"Now that I think about it, I don't think I told you girls about this, right?" Homura said, pausing to think. "It's something we talked about while you were performing at the school festival. Sagiri said I only made one for myself, but I actually made one for everyone. I got worried about Honoka that day, so I had to leave in a hurry and completely forgot about it."

Hearing this, Honoka shyly rubbed her nose.

"Alright, here you go. Time to hand them out." Homura smiled.

"We get one too?" Umi asked, pointing at herself.

"Why wouldn't you? Isn't it common for idols to wear their own support T-shirts?" Homura replied and started handing out the bags.

"Huh? They're different."

Eriri noticed a small difference between her T-shirt and the T-shirts for Muse.

"Yep." Homura nodded. "Ours have Muse's name stitched on the front, while theirs... Muse is on the back, and their names are on the front."

From this detail, it was clear that Homura had really put a lot of thought into it.