[TSSIM] Chapter 425: A Tearjerker

Near noon, Homura and the others had already returned from the animation company.

Muramasa, who was helping with lunch, spoke to Homura.

"Minamiya-kun, we're running out of things to do. Can you tell us about the next work?"

Upon hearing her words, the other girls perked up their ears, eager to hear what Homura had to say and whether there was indeed a next work.

Homura shrugged, twirling the spatula in his hand.

"Well, I've got a lot of works prepared, but we can only pick one, right?"

Muramasa's eyes immediately lit up.

Indeed, having many works was good.

Moreover, she no longer doubted whether the works Homura came up with would be interesting.

"I was originally planning to talk to you all about it after we finished this anime..." Homura paused for a moment before continuing, "However, since Hana can't wait, I'll provide a few options for everyone to choose from."

Muramasa: "..."

Hearing him suddenly call her by her real name, she shot Homura a glance but said nothing.

"What do you all think?"

Homura asked for the others' opinions.

Soon, the girls exchanged a few words, and after a while, Utaha spoke.

"There's no problem, actually. But, Homura-kun, are all those works ready?"

"Yep." Homura shrugged casually, but after seeing the girls' eyes light up, he quickly added, "But let's pick a direction first. We'll look at the work afterward."

If he showed them all the works he had prepared at once, how would they choose?

He was sure everyone would want to do everything!

Just thinking about it made Homura shiver.

Truly, one work was already exhausting enough, if they pushed themselves even more, their bodies wouldn't be able to handle it!

"First option, there's 'Fate/Zero'..." Homura pointed out. "After the buildup from 'Fate/stay night', everyone's curiosity about the Fourth Holy Grail War has reached a peak, so it's a very fitting choice."

Upon hearing this, the girls thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. They had all known about 'Fate/Zero', and now was indeed a good time to launch it.

Especially Elf and Muramasa—they were more inclined toward this option.

"As for the other option... it's a tearjerker."

""A tearjerker?""

Everyone spoke in unison.

Of course, it was a tearjerker, as Homura himself leaned toward this option.

While 'Fate/stay night' had its emotional moments, it wasn't primarily focused on emotions. After all, the vast world-building and meticulous setting took precedence.

Besides, releasing a tearjerker now would be good for the fans too.

At the moment, the fans were all immersed in the Fate series, with most of their lingering emotions being excitement and thrill. If he and the others didn't hit them with a tearjerker to cleanse those emotions, the impact of the next big work might be slightly diminished.

"Homura-kun, what do you mean by a 'tearjerker'?"

Umi asked, noticing that Homura had stopped talking.

"I mean it literally." Homura nodded. "It's a work that focuses on romance and drama, and after that, we'll move on to a big fantasy scene."

"Is it to prevent the fans from getting bored with the same thing?" Eriri pondered.

After hearing her words, Elf found it made sense.

Even though Muramasa preferred working on fantasy, she had to admit that it was something worth considering.

"A tearjerker, huh..." Nico muttered. "I hope it's not that sad..."

"It looks like everyone is leaning toward this?" Homura said with a smile. "But I've also got two options for this."

"C'mon, stop keeping us in suspense already." Eriri raised an eyebrow. 

"Alright then..." Homura continued. "First option, an anime movie for 'Your Name.'."

"I choose the second!" Eriri blurted out without even thinking.

Homura: "..."

"C'mon, it's another work that requires a ton of drawings! I mean, I love 'Your Name.' but give us artists a break, will you?" Eriri said with a hint of exasperation. "Besides... I'm more excited about seeing something new."

Hearing her words, the others laughed, realizing that this was the main point—everyone wanted to see a new thing.

"Well, once the anime of 'Fate/stay night' is done—"

"Don't even think about it!"

Elf cut Homura off before he could finish.

"You've kept us in suspense long enough, and now you want us to wait even longer? Homura, you can't do this to us!"

"Yeah, yeah! If you do that, it'll be too cruel!" Sagiri chimed in, also expressing a protest.

"Exactly! Homura-kun! We have the right to know!" Honoka joined.

"Homura-kun, looks like I can't help you this time." Nozomi shrugged her shoulders.

Although she tried to look helpless, it was clear she was quite happy about the situation.

Homura: "..."

Suddenly being accused by everyone, he could only sigh in defeat.

"Can we at least finish lunch first?"

As soon as Homura said this, the result was that today's lunch was finished in half the usual time.

Homura: "..."

With everyone staring at him like this, he had no choice but to speed up his eating as well.

After they finished eating, before Homura could even move, the girls quickly cleaned, tidied up, and finished all the post-meal chores in record time, then continued to stare at him expectantly.

"Alright, alright! Jeez, I never said you couldn't see it!"

Homura surrendered, feeling a bit awkward under their intense stares. What's worse, they just kept staring without saying anything!

""Yay!""

Elf and Eriri high-fived in celebration.

Homura shook his head with a smile.

"Just make sure that after you've seen it, you don't get distracted and mess up the task at hand."

"Don't worry, we've got it under control." Eriri nodded confidently.

"Actually, I think if you don't let everyone see it now, they'll get even more distracted..." Megumi chimed in.

'Seriously, if they really want to see it, then let them see it.' Homura thought tiredly.

He quickly got up and went back to his room.

Before long, he returned with a folder in hand.

"English title?"

Utaha raised an eyebrow as she saw the work's title.

"Kanon?"

Clearly, this tearjerker was essential to the seasonal trilogy!

In Homura's past life, this trilogy had brought countless people to tears.

They were 'Kanon', 'Air', and 'Clannad', which took place in different seasons—winter, summer, and spring, respectively.

That was why it was called the seasonal trilogy.

Among them, the most influential one was, of course, 'Clannad', because it made most people cry. Describing it as a river of tears would not be an exaggeration, as it was known to torment players and viewers alike to the point of emotional exhaustion!

Surprisingly, even after being tormented like that, 'Clannad' remained an undisputed masterpiece in everyone's hearts.

Homura must admit, the tear-jerking in 'Clannad' reached such a peak that it could be called the pinnacle.

It truly deserved all the praise!

Of course, precisely because it was the pinnacle, Homura couldn't just start with it right away.

After all, the fans needed some time to warm up, right?

Besides, even the 'Kanon' he brought out now wasn't bad at all. With everyone's combined efforts, he believed it would become even more of a tearjerker!

'Be prepared, I'm about to make you cry your hearts out.'

Homura thought with eagerness as he saw the girls reading the draft of 'Kanon'.