[TSSIM] Chapter 427: Suspense

Seeing Elf's reaction, Homura felt helpless and could only turn to Utaha.

"Utaha, you didn't miss it, right?"

"Hmm, I wonder~ Did I see it or did I not?" Utaha replied with a playful smile.

"Oh? Really didn't see it, huh?"

Homura also smiled playfully, glancing at Elf as he did so, sending a clear message with his eyes.

Elf: "..."

She clearly understood Homura's message. What he meant was basically, 'So, the so-called greatest novelist couldn't even notice this? Did I overestimate you?'

Even though she knew he was trying to provoke her, this was exactly the kind of thing that got to her!

"Mou! Fine, here!"

Elf pointed at a spot, clearly annoyed.

"On Monomi Hill, a big fox and a little fox are gazing into the distance?" Hanayo unintentionally read aloud. "Is this supposed to be a suspense?"

"Of course, it's a suspense." Nayuta explained to everyone. "It all depends on how you interpret it. You can totally think of it as Makoto turning back into a little fox and standing on Monomi Hill with her family, looking at Yuuichi!"

"Can you really think of it that way?" Honoka couldn't help but ask.

"Why not?" Nayuta tilted her head.

"So... did Makoto turn back into a little fox or not?" Honoka asked again, looking at Homura.

"I don't know either." Homura shrugged.

Upon hearing this, Kotori couldn't help but give him a light smack.

Homura: "..."

He immediately pulled Kotori into his arms before explaining to everyone.

"You know, this kind of suspense at the end is designed to make readers think. Whatever they interpret is the right way. Some people will see those two foxes as just Makoto's family, but others might think the little fox is Makoto. Regardless of how you interpret it is fine!"

"..."

'Why's there no reaction? Was my explanation that shocking?'

Homura suddenly realized their eyes weren't focused on his face but on someone in his arms.

When Homura looked down, he saw Kotori nestled in his arms, her face completely red. Her expression was a mix of surprise and delight, but she also seemed flustered, her eyes darting around nervously, unsure of where to put her hands.

With that kind of reaction, it was no wonder she drew everyone's attention.

'Your shyness is almost on par with Umi's now.' Homura thought amusedly.

Umi suddenly shivered and rubbed her arms, feeling an ominous chill for some reason.

"Ahem! Was my explanation satisfactory?" Homura coughed, snapping everyone out of their daze.

"Huh?"

Honoka had a confused expression like she had no idea what he was talking about.

Homura: "..."

Helplessly, he explained it again.

"It still feels kind of sneaky..." Hanayo muttered.

"It's just a common storytelling technique. It's not really sneaky." Muramasa shook his head.

Ultimately, the girls reluctantly accepted the explanation. Although they still felt uneasy when thinking about the tragic ending, imagining that the little fox might actually be Makoto made them feel much better.

Seeing this, Homura also breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't want countless people condemning him, so leaving that suspense was definitely necessary.

"By the way, about the CG... I wonder which artist had this scene pop up in their mind?"

Homura smiled as he looked at the four artists.

Mashiro raised her small hand.

"Well then—nah, forget it, we haven't even finished the anime yet."

Halfway through his sentence, Homura gave up and decided to focus on finishing their current work first.

In the next moment, Homura casually ruffled Kotori's hair.

Girls: "..."

'It seems she had no intention of leaving Homura-kun's embrace, huh?'

Nozomi smiled as she watched Kotori in Homura's arms.

"Jeez, for a second, I thought we were going to start working on this right away!" Elf pouted, exasperated.

"Of course, we're going to start it right away. As soon as we finish Fate, we'll work on this." Homura grinned.

"Is it just one? I mean, there's no other suspense?" Maki had been holding back this question for a while.

"Yeah! Is there another?" Honoka realized and eagerly pressed for more.

Since they asked, Homura didn't plan to keep them in suspense.

"Well, there is indeed another one but this other one is for the artists. At the end, add a CG of a girl sitting on the hill at Monomi Hill, resembling Makoto. Make it so that at first glance, she looks like a girl silhouette, but upon closer inspection, she seems to be Makoto."

"Homura-kun, you're so bad..." Utaha's mouth twitched. "You're deliberately making it ambiguous to keep people from both sides arguing endlessly, right?"

"Isn't this a common thing?" Homura shook his head slightly.

Clearly, this kind of debate would always exist, so instead of letting them argue over trivial matters, it was better to guide them appropriately. In this way, it would create a bigger impact.

"Does anyone think there's anything that needs to be revised?" Homura asked, changing the topic.

""Yes!""

""No.""

The ones who said 'yes' were, of course, Honoka and the others, while the ones who said 'no' were naturally the four writers.

Honoka: "..."

"If the little fox had completely disappeared, we might have thought that writing it this way would be too much. However, since there's still a bit of suspense left, there's really no need to change anything."

Utaha explained to Honoka and the others.

"Yeah..." Honoka sighed, holding the script in her hands.

"Actually, if Homura-kun didn't leave this bit of suspense, it might have been better, y'know..." Utaha shook her head.

"What do you mean?" Eriri asked.

"Did you know that most great works are about tragedies? Tragedies are special to humans after all."

Utaha answered and looked at Homura.

"If Homura-kun can bear the endless criticism from people, making this a classic wouldn't be a problem."

Upon hearing this, Muse's members were a bit shocked.

However, when they thought about it carefully, weren't there plenty of famous and great stories about tragedies?

For example, there was a story of 'Romeo and Juliet'.

It was a story that had been adapted and performed in theater countless times, yet no matter how many times it was done, it never lost its charm! Every year, at various school festivals, countless students also perform this story!

As for comedies, while there were many famous ones, these students just didn't seem to have the same affection for comedies as they did for tragedies.

Compared to other genres, tragedies always managed to stir an emotional resonance in people because, after all, they were emotional beings.

Given this, why didn't Homura do as Utaha suggested and instead insist on leaving some suspense, some hope?

"Perhaps Homura-kun doesn't want everyone to be too sad because of this story, or to think that he is being too cruel..."

As if understanding their thoughts, Megumi calmly explained.

"I see... It's actually because of us...?" Umi said with a complex expression.

Homura smiled gently at Megumi before speaking up.

"Honestly, I do have some concerns about that. Also, I really can't bring myself to completely crush Makoto's hope, even though I know it's just a fictional story..."

As he spoke, he was still playing with Haru's paw.

At his words, the girls seemed to misunderstand a bit again.