[TSSIM] Chapter 390: Chapter Nine

"But... now that I think about it, Monthly Girls's Nozaki-kun is being adapted into an anime, so isn't it normal to have auditions?" Eli mumbled to herself.

Shortly afterward, everyone's gaze focused on Maki.

Maki pondered for a moment before speaking up.

"Why me?"

"Well, you see..." Homura began, organizing his thoughts. "If anyone's interested in any character, they're welcome to give it a shot. But Monthly Girls is pretty much an all-comedy anime, so, at least for now, Hanayo, Umi, and Eli wouldn't quite fit. You girls can't pull off that vibe yet."

"So, in your eyes, I'm just a clown?" Maki suddenly looked puzzled.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Homura blinked his eyes. "Sure, Chiyo's a bit quirky, but where's the clown in her? And even if she does some goofy stuff, it's because she's a victim. She's always getting dragged into other people's messes."

Upon hearing his reason, the other girls began to ponder.

Every time Nozaki or someone else had some weird idea, Chiyo ended up suffering. After all, she just wanted to hang around with the man she liked. It didn't mean she was a clown herself.

"Okay... my bad..." Maki apologized.

"Wow... First time seeing Maki so honest..." Nico looked surprised.

Upon hearing that, Maki furrowed her brow.

"It really was my fault... I've been focusing on learning all aspects of voice acting, but I haven't made an effort to understand the character itself..."

"Well, why not give it a try then?" Homura smiled. "You've all mastered various voice-acting techniques by now. If you feel like auditioning, just let me know. In the end, it depends on your skills, and whether or not to go is totally up to you."

In the end, whether or not to do the voice acting was everyone's own decision.

"Don't feel any pressure. I'm just saying." Homura shrugged. "And as for the final decision, I've left it to the anime company."

"Umm... I'll think about it some more..." Maki nodded gently.

"Take your time, but for now, let's start practicing!" Homura smiled and clapped his hands.

===

Evening.

"The response to chapter six of Love Live is pretty good!" Elf suddenly remarked, holding her phone.

"With Muse's influence deepening, it's natural that the manga's reception would improve." Utaha chimed in.

"Come to think of it, hasn't Homura-kun only drawn up to chapter eight?" Nozomi pondered. "And it's been quite a while since you last drew..."

"Yeah..." Homura shrugged casually. "That's why Ayano started nagging me... though, I've already finished chapter nine."

"Chapter nine?" Kotori muttered. "Homura-kun, what's chapter nine about? It's not about voice acting, is it?"

"Nope, using voice acting for idol activities is too rare; I wasn't planning on doing that." Homura stood up. "Wait till I bring it, and you'll see."

Before long, he presented chapter nine of 'Love Live!' to everyone.

"Wonder zone?" Honoka blurted out. "Isn't this chapter about Kotori-chan?"

"Eh?" Kotori was taken aback.

"Just look, and you'll find out." Maki jumped right in, flipping through the manga manuscript.

"It indeed seems to be about Kotori-chan..." Nozomi said with a smile.

"And also... the nine of us all covered up like this..." Maki's mouth twitched.

"Ehh?" Hanayo's eyes lit up.

"Hmm?" Nico also joined in.

""Merch?""

Hanayo and Nico simultaneously turned to Homura.

"There's merch already?!"

Watching their surprises, Homura nodded.

"Yeah, some decorations and stuff, also some postcards and posters, but almost all of it is cropped from my manga, and for the others, I directly drew some; didn't plan on using your actual photos."

"It's not like there's much of a difference, nyaa~" Rin remarked, recalling the drawing of herself hanging in his room.

"No figures of us?" Kotori couldn't help but ask.

"None!" Homura answered firmly.

"Hmm~ why not, I wonder?" Nozomi smirked teasingly as she watched his reaction.

"Why do you think?" Homura countered.

"Fufufu~" Nozomi just smiled at him without saying anything.

Even so, most of them quickly figured it out.

"Indeed, unlike posters, if there were figures of us, just imagining how it would feel for others to hold them would be a bit weird..." Eriri nodded with a wry expression.

By now, everyone understood why Muse didn't have figures.

"It feels weird for us to think about it ourselves... but what about Homura-kun?" Utaha suddenly pointed out with a suggestive tone. 

"So, you guys better not think about these figures." Homura shrugged.

The girls smiled at him before continuing to flip through the manga manuscript he brought.

"This part where Kotori keeps her part-time job hidden, hehe..." Umi chuckled as she looked at the manuscript. "If Kotori hadn't come clean earlier, this would've been the development, right?"

"But won't your mom find out?" Honoka glanced at Kotori.

"Umm..." Kotori shook her head. "It's fine, I've quit the job already, or else it would cause trouble for the cafe."

""Oh..."" Umi and Honoka nodded understandingly.

"This concert scene really reminds us of when we were in Akihabara, but Homura-kun only chose Wonder zone..." Umi muttered.

"Of course." Homura grinned. "This way, the readers can relate more, better effect."

"It seems like Homura-kun has something planned." Nozomi pondered for a moment, spotting some clues.

"Nyaa~?" Rin looked at Nozomi, waiting for an explanation.

"The number of Muse members has gradually increased since the beginning of the manga. It wasn't until Eli-chi and I joined that Homura-kun directly helped Eli-chi resolve her problem within the manga." Nozomi chuckled. "Though it's not exactly how it happened in real life, I'm sure Eli-chi must have had a similar situation."

"After Eli-chi's problem was resolved, it's clearly Kotori-chan's turn..." Nozomi glanced at Homura. "Coupled with the already resolved problems of Hanayo-chan and Umi-chan... I feel like Homura-kun wants to solve everyone's problems."

With everyone's gaze on him, Homura casually spoke up.

"Isn't this the essence of idol manga?"

"Yeah... that's true." Nozomi nodded thoughtfully. "And Homura-kun depicts everyone's problems very realistically... I wonder how you will portray my character's problem?"

Homura thought for a moment, then chuckled.

"Do you want to guess the order?"

"Order? You mean, my character's turn?"

Homura nodded.

"Last?"

"..."

Although it sounded like Nozomi was probing, Homura didn't seem like it at all. He had nothing to say except to give her a thumbs-up.