[TSSIM] Chapter 465: Don't You Love Homura?

"Hey, girls... isn't it a little too early to be talking about this?"

Elf suddenly chimed in while rolling her eyes.

"You know, we'll just need to take it one step at a time. Why stress over it now?"

Upon hearing Elf's words, the girls couldn't help but pause, feeling that her words made sense.

Indeed, there was no point in overthinking this kind of thing now. They could take things one step at a time; there was no need to rush it.

Besides, they were all still in their teens, so they had plenty of time.

A few casual hints to their parents over time might do the trick.

Maybe, little by little, their mothers and fathers would come around and agree?

"It's all because of Shi-chan..." Eriri muttered, shrugging her shoulders. "We started talking about how a father is obsessed with his daughter, and somehow it turned into this..." 

"..."

Utaha had no retort.

It was definitely her fault for steering the conversation in that direction.  

Eventually, the girls scattered, each looking for something to do.  

Among them was Eriri, who pulled Nanami into the backyard.  

With Nanami still looking confused, Eriri whispered something in Nanami's ear while covering her mouth at the same time.  

"EHHH?!"

After hearing Eriri's whisper, Nanami exclaimed in surprise, and her face turned bright red. Luckily, Eriri covered her mouth tightly, so no one else heard.

"I'm letting go now, so calm down, okay?" Eriri said, slowly easing her hand away.

"Hahh... You want me to go to Homura-kun's room tonight and d-do that kind of th-thing? I... I can't do that..."

After letting out a deep breath, Nanami didn't care about anything else and immediately whispered this, her face still flushed.

"Why can't you? Don't you love Homura?" Eriri asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well... yeah..." Nanami admitted honestly, feeling beyond embarrassed, her whole body tense.

"Go for it then!"

Eriri seriously persuaded Nanami.

"You'll be going home soon, right? And once you do, you won't see Homura for over half a month, you know? You won't be able to see your crush for that long, don't you want to do something about it?"

Upon hearing this, Nanami hesitated.

"But... why do you want me to do it?"

Nanami asked with a confused expression and voice, not understanding why Eriri would want her to sleep with Homura.

"Why? Well... for a lot of reasons, I think..."

Eriri replied after thinking for a moment.

"One reason is, like I said, you won't see Homura for over half a month, so I'm just pushing you a little."

"Another reason is... we've been hanging out for a while now, haven't we? Even though it's because of Homura, we're almost like sisters, right? So I've already mentally prepared for this harem thing, but I didn't expect you to be so shocked."

"And lastly..."

Eriri's face turned slightly red, and her lips twitched.

"You know Homura's situation... the three of us aren't even a match for him..."

Upon hearing this, Nanami's face immediately turned bright red.

"If you say so... me alone is..." Nanami muttered nervously.

Since three girls couldn't handle him, what good would she do alone?

Eriri glanced at Nanami's face, making an odd expression.

"Could it be... you want us to watch you do it from the sidelines?"

Once Eriri asked this, Nanami felt like she might actually die from embarrassment.

Watch from the sidelines?

She was not an exhibitionist!

"Just kidding..." Eriri said with a slight smile on her face.

Seeing this, Nanami almost cried and couldn't help but feel that what Eriri said didn't sound like a joke at all.

"Anyway, you can have Homura all to yourself for a while, then we'll join in later..." Eriri added shyly.

Nanami: "..."

Wasn't that basically the same as watching from the sidelines?

Eriri seemed to understand Nanami's thoughts and immediately patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, by the time we show up... you'll probably be so tired that you won't even care about anything else. You'll just want to sleep, believe me."

Nanami: "?!!!"

She shuddered for a second.

'Is Homura-kun really that scary?!' Nanami thought in utter disbelief.

"By the way, Mashiro and Nayu... leave them to us." Eriri said, covering her mouth to hide a smile. "Although Nayu is definitely going to be a handful this time..."

Upon hearing this, Nanami was speechless, but she couldn't help but feel a bit impressed by Homura's self-control in this area.

Mashiro, since she didn't really understand feelings like love or affection, Homura hadn't planned to make a move on her until she understood these things better.

As for Nayuta, she was simply something to deal with next year due to her young age.

She always got upset about her young age, and with a grumpy expression and voice, she always muttered something like, 'Why wasn't I born a year earlier? If so, all of Senpai's firsts would've been mine...'

Even Eriri had to admit that if Nayuta had been born a year earlier, considering how passionate she was about Homura, there was a good chance she would have done 'this' and 'that' like crazy.

In any case, there were fewer than five months to go, so Nayuta could still hold off.

Nevertheless, for Nanami, who lived in the same room as Mashiro and Nayuta, if she sneaked off and got found out by the two, someone might really have to talk some sense into them. Otherwise, Nayuta might be poking at Homura every chance she got, and Mashiro might act up a little as well.

For this reason, Eriri said she would take care of Mashiro and Nayuta.

"Good luck!"

Eriri patted Nanami's shoulder again before turning to leave.

Nanami stood in place, her expression a mix of everything—one moment conflicted, the next shy, then uneasy, and finally determined.

She gave herself a little cheery and motivational talk as if making up her mind.

"Haaa... Huuu..."

After taking a deep breath and letting it out, Nanami prepared to head back, but the more she walked, the redder her face got. Just as she was about to step into the living room, she suddenly pulled back with a snap.

She kept lightly tapping her chest, feeling nervous, excited, and worked up.

Apparently, it was going to take a while for her to calm down.

After all, she was the kind of person who got super shy, second only to Uruka when it came to overthinking things.

===

Meanwhile, ten minutes ago, on the other side.

"Homura-san, you should turn up ahead."

Rizu suddenly suggested to Homura while walking.

"Huh? What's up?" Homura asked with a confused expression.

"I'm going home through the back door."

Homura: "…"

"If my dad's waiting at the front, it'll cause trouble for everyone." Rizu continued.

Everyone? More like Homura, right?

Everyone knew that if Rizu's father saw this group, Homura would be the only one in trouble. After all, boys were always the prime target of his intense watch.

"Alright, I get it." Homura nodded, smiling wryly.

"Ahh~ I was in such a rush today, I didn't even bring Haru-chan with me..." Rin muttered with pity.

"Rin-chan really likes Haru-chan, huh…" Hanayo chuckled.

"Of course, nyaa! She's so cute, well-behaved, and thoughtful! Who wouldn't like her?"

"Right?!" Homura quickly chimed in with excitement.

Seeing this, all the girls shook their heads.

Homura really did act like a silly father sometimes.

'If my dad could treat me the way Homura-san treats Haru-chan... it would be nice...' Rizu thought with a dreamy expression.

Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking.

"Alright, I'll take care of this next little stretch of road by myself." Rizu said, halting her step.

"Ri-chan, let me walk you back." Fumino proposed.

"No need, Fumino. I'm worried your stomach might hurt."

"Eh?"

Before Fumino could process what she heard, Rizu said her goodbyes and quickly left.

Homura didn't move nor say anything, just watching from a distance.

Immediately after Rizu entered her house, Homura began walking and led the rest of the girls on their way.