[TSSIM] Chapter 418: He Doesn’t Want Anyone Else Seeing Mio’s Cute Panties?

After hearing Homura's question, Yui's gaze wandered, and sweat started to bead on her forehead.

"Alright, alright, stop looking so guilty." Homura said with a wry smile. "I was just asking. If all of you had pounded your chests and told me you'd practiced for ages, then I'd be surprised..."

Upon hearing this, Yui, Tsumugi, Mio, and Ritsu exchanged awkward glances.

Were they really that unreliable?

As they thought about it carefully, indeed, they were pretty unreliable!

"By the way, don't you have anything going on in your class? How come you're all just hanging out here?" Homura wondered.

Mio, feeling a bit embarrassed, answered, "...I sort of forced them to practice for a while, and when everyone saw how 'serious' we were, they told us to focus on our practice and they took over our class duties…"

""Ahahaha...""

Ritsu and Yui both awkwardly scratched the back of their heads.

Homura: "..."

Recalling their guilty expressions from earlier, Homura finally understood why.

"When are you guys performing?"

Homura awkwardly changed the subject.

"Ahh... it's in the afternoon, so there's still plenty of time." Mio sighed in relief and explained.

Homura thought for a moment, then smirked slightly.

"Mio, you need to watch your step during this performance. Don't trip again."

Mio immediately froze, her face turning beet red at an unusual speed!

"Di-Did Minamiya-senpai see that last time?!" Mio said, blushing and almost ready to run away.

Homura just smiled and stayed silent.

"Ahh! I can't face anyone now!"

Mio immediately buried her face in Yui's arms.

Yui, with a big grin, patted her head, while Tsumugi, as expected, watched the scene with a flushed face.

"Why bring it up now?" Ritsu sighed.

"Only in this way will Mio remember." Homura shrugged. "So, even if she's completely focused during the performance later, she'll still subconsciously watch her step."

"I'm more worried that Mio might be too scared to go on stage now..." Ritsu muttered.

"I don't believe Mio can't overcome this." Homura shook his head.

From his memories of his past life, Mio had handled a small tea party for a sudden fan club without a hitch, so this level of embarrassment was definitely manageable. Although he wondered if that weird fan club would show up again if she didn't trip this time.

"Feeling a bit embarrassed is better than tripping again... And it's not just me watching the performance this time, y'know... I really don't want to see that kind of situation when many people watching. I'm sure Mio doesn't want that either, right?"

"Of course!"

Mio suddenly lifted her head from Yui's arms, looking determined. Yui, nearly having her chin bumped, quickly moved out of the way.

"Eh? Minamiya-senpai not wanting to see that situation means he doesn't want anyone else seeing Mio's cute panties?" Ritsu wondered aloud.

Mio's face turned red again as she listened.

'Just like Megumi-chan said... But can Homura-niisan really handle so many girls?' Tsumugi thought to herself.

As she thought about it, her face involuntarily turned red.

Yui, meanwhile, looked completely puzzled.

'Why are they blushing?'

"Heh~"

Ritsu looked at Homura with a strange smile.

Homura, clearly annoyed, ruffled her hair.

"What's with the 'heh'? And don't you dare fall over, okay!"

"Wha—!" Ritsu exclaimed, flustered.

"Of course, Mugi and Yui are the same." Homura added.

Tsumugi, still lost in thought, blinked and nodded slowly when she heard his words.

"Don't worry, Homura-senpai, I won't fall at the crucial moment!" Yui patted her chest confidently and made a promise.

"Won't fall at the crucial moment but fall at other times, right?" Homura rolled his eyes.

"Huh? How did you know?" Yui's eyes widened.

"Of course, you zone out all the time. It'd be weird if you didn't fall." Homura shook his head in exasperation.

Mio glanced at Homura with a complicated expression. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed Ritsu removing her headband.

Curious, Mio watched as Ritsu, who was adjusting her hair, noticed Mio looking at her. Ritsu paused, then silently put the headband back on.

Mio: "…"

She suddenly wanted to laugh.

"Pfff... Hahaha..."

In the end, Mio laughed out loud.

She always thought that Ritsu, who was so carefree, wouldn't care about this kind of thing—at least not now.

However, she didn't expect Ritsu to care.

Seeing Mio laughing, Ritsu's eyes twitched.

She had already guessed why Mio was laughing.

'Dammit! I'm a girl too, y'know! It's only natural to think about these things!' Ritsu complained inwardly and turned her head away.

Tsumugi and Yui, on the other hand, were still puzzled about why Mio suddenly laughed.

Since Mio and Ritsu didn't plan to explain, the little incident passed just like that.

In the end, the four of them continued strolling around the food stalls with Homura and ate quite a lot.

In this kind of event, the food made by the students surprisingly had a unique flavor.

"Well… I think we've eaten enough, but we still can't catch up with Chika, huh…"

Homura gave a strange look at Chika, who was happily gorging herself not far away.

"It's okay, I can keep eating!" Yui patted her stomach. "It seems like I can eat more if I walk and eat."

'Well, your digestion must be really fast…' Homura rolled his eyes.

And so, they continued to eat and stroll, running into Honoka and the others along the way. After exchanging greetings, they went back to eating and strolling.

===

"Ahh, it's been so long since I've eaten this well..."

Ritsu spoke as she leaned back on a bench, looking completely satisfied.

"But, it seems like Mugi ate a lot more than I did."

"…No, not really." Tsumugi denied it.

"Yeah, Tsumugi definitely ate the most." Mio nodded from the side.

"Ugh… I wasn't really paying attention..." Tsumugi said, pouting with a slightly flushed face.

"What's wrong with eating a lot? Besides, your 'natural strength' needs energy to keep it up." Homura said with a chuckle while giving the pouting girl a headpat.

"I just have a bit more strength, that's all…" Tsumugi mumbled.

"Right, just a bit more." Homura said, shaking his head with a smile.

"Ugh… I wonder if eating so much will make me fat…" Mio sighed, looking a bit worried.

"It won't! I have a body that doesn't gain weight!" Yui chimed in, making things even worse.

As a result, Mio angrily grabbed Yui's cheek.

"I think the important thing is that it doesn't affect your singing, right?" Homura said, shrugging.

Mio: "..."

"I guess it should be fine? We'll digest it when the time comes…" Ritsu said hesitantly.

"From now on, until the performance is over, we can't eat anything else!" Mio said sternly.

"Ehh?!" Yui exclaimed in despair.

"Yui, aren't you afraid of suddenly burping while singing?!" Mio gave a glare. "Singing on a full stomach is really not a good idea! It affects your breathing, and burping isn't a small problem at all!"

"We'll just eat after we're done." Ritsu said, finding it a bit amusing.

"But don't we have to hurry back?" Tsumugi checked the time on her phone. "Didn't Sawa-chan-sensei ask us to come see her early?"

Slap

Ritsu slapped her forehead, looking as if she had just remembered.