[TSSIM] Chapter 449: Absurd Speed

"What do you mean 'two'? Are you saying you still have more draft of this?"

Eriri shook the manga draft in her hand while asking Homura.

Instead of answering Eriri's question, Homura turned to Honoka and asked another question.

"Honoka, when you grabbed this folder on my desk, it was lying flat, right?"

Honoka blinked her eyes, thinking for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yeah... it was flat."

"Did you notice what was lying beneath it?" Homura's smile grew wider.

Honoka: "..."

Her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"...Are you telling me those were the drafts of this manga too?!"

"Well, the length of WorldEnd isn't too long, after all. I spend some time each day drawing a couple of pages and finished it in about ten days."

""Finished?!""

All the girls exclaimed in shock, though it was understandable.

One should know that this was a completed manga!

Even though it was a short series, finishing it like that during such a busy time? Maybe only Homura could do it.

"Yeah, once The Promised Neverland is about to end, I'll send everything to Ayano." Homura nodded.

With this confirmation, all the girls stared in silence at the freshly drawn manga draft of Love Love!.

Even though they thought they had gotten used to Homura's absurd speed in doing something, it seemed they hadn't fully gotten used to it, after all.

"Uh... can we see it, nyaa?" Rin asked cautiously.

"Of course you can." Homura nodded again. "I was just asking which one you want to read first. Love Love! or WorldEnd?"

Upon hearing this question, Megumi realized something.

Needless to say, Homura was clearly teasing them, wanting to see them struggle over the decision.

Knowing the alternative story of Love Live! had been cut off right when Honoka was about to leave Muse, how could they not be curious about what happened next?

However, WorldEnd had just stirred up their emotions, and they were dying to know what would happen next.

"I've made up my mind! We're reading this one first!"

Honoka immediately snatched the freshly drawn manga draft of Love Live! that Homura had just slid across the table.

"Huh? Honoka-chan, don't you want to read the other one?" Kotori asked curiously, then thought, 'Is Honoka-chan scared and doesn't want to see it anymore?'

"Of course I do, but this one is closer..." Honoka scratched the back of her head, grinning sheepishly.

Homura: "..."

Girls: "..."

Didn't that mean she was just being lazy?

"Besides, this is a story about us, right? I kinda want to read it more..." Honoka added.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Her added explanation made a little more sense but given her usual unreliable personality, her previous answer felt more believable.

"Go ahead, there isn't much left in this one anyway."

Homura gathered the manga draft of WorldEnd that the girls had already seen and stood up while holding Haru.

"Alright, I'll grab the rest for you—oh, and remember, let's just take it easy today. Since there's only a little bit of the conclusion left, we have more than enough time."

Homura mostly didn't want the manga of WorldEnd to affect the girls' moods. If their minds were filled with nothing but sadness, that would be a problem.

Watching Homura's back as he left, Eriri glanced at Utaha, Elf, then at Mashiro.

"How about... we finish reading that manga tonight?"

"If he really finished it, I dare say I'll read it all!" Elf clenched her fist. "Seriously, doesn’t he know how addictive his manga is? How could anyone resist reading it once they start?"

She seemed to be joking, but what she said actually made a lot of sense.

If it was something that truly captivated you, who could resist reading it?

"If Ayano-san finds out, she'll probably freak out, right?" Kotori said with a cheeky grin.

"No way." Homura chimed in, walking in with a folder. "It's not like you guys would leak anything to her, so why would she freak out?"

"Freak out because she couldn't find out sooner." Mashiro retorted with a flat tone.

Homura: "..."

Watching Mashiro leave Homura speechless, the girls couldn't help but chuckle.

After the chuckling died down, they all began reading the latest chapter of Love Live!'s alternative story that Homura had just drawn.

===

"Well... this is a pretty classic plot arrangement..."

Elf remarked as she read the latest chapter of Love Live!'s alternative story.

"But... this part is kinda bizarre..."

"Which part?" Homura raised his eyebrows.

"Here, the sudden singing..." Elf pointed to a certain manga panel. "Kotori, who's all the way at the airport, just joins in somehow..."

Kotori: "..."

It would have been fine if Elf hadn't mentioned it, but now that she had, things felt a little awkward.

Even Umi thought the same and felt that suddenly breaking into song wasn't quite her style either.

"Really? I think it's great."

Nozomi chimed in with a slight smile.

"If I remember correctly, this song was used at the very beginning of the main manga, right? Homura-kun had Honoka-chan sing it."

She then placed her index finger on her chin.

"In my opinion, bringing it back at the end ties everything together nicely."

"Yeah!" Honoka nodded with enthusiasm. "I think so too! But... how do we even sing this song? We haven't even written the song yet..."

She looked over at Homura, but he was currently looking at Maki.

"Maki's already written it, y'know." Homura said briefly.

""Huh?!""

Honoka, Umi, and Kotori were shocked.

"It's basically your second-year group's exclusive song. I didn't plan for anyone else in the manga to sing it, but whether or not the others can sing it is up to you." Homura shrugged.

"I like this part better..." Hanayo pointed to another manga panel. "When Honoka-chan first said this, all nine of us were there."

"One day... One day, we'll definitely fill up this place and show you!"

Homura suddenly imitated Honoka's voice and spoke the line from the manga panel that Hanayo had pointed out, causing all the girls to look at him with exasperated expressions.

"We don't need you to do the voice-over!" Eriri huffed.

Homura just shrugged casually and gave a smile.

"Filling up the auditorium, huh…" Honoka sighed. "I did it in the manga, but in reality, I haven't…"

"Actually, you're just one step away from doing it." Homura reassured.

"..."

Everyone remained silent.

"What I mean is, you can achieve it easily if you want, so don't worry too much about that one little detail." Homura chuckled. "Now, if you held a concert in the auditorium, there's no way it would fit everyone."

"Umm... that's true..." Honoka nodded, but she still seemed a bit torn.

"How about we follow Homura-kun's manga?" Eli suddenly suggested. "Let's hold a concert on the day before the holidays start."

She pointed decisively at the manga draft in front of them.

"Eli-chi really came up with a good idea!" Nozomi smiled brightly, clapping her hands. "Anyway, the class on Fridays is only half a day, so we've got time."

"Agreed!" Nico raised both hands in support.

"Rin's in too!"

Seeing this, the others exchanged glances, and finally, Honoka nodded firmly.

"Yosh! Let's do it, everyone!"

Seeing their determination, Homura nodded quietly, expecting this to happen.