238 Muse! Music! Start! (II)

"'Wonder zone'! We hope you all enjoy it!"

*Music Playing*

"Wonder zone~"

"I was called to you and I came running~"

"Without a doubt, a mysterious dream is beginning~"

"Hi! It's beginning (Wonder feeling)~"

"This special dream is so mysterious (Wonder feeling)~"

As the performance continued, the internet was already buzzing!

...

"Gah! Dammit! Why didn't I go?!"

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die! I can't live without Muse's concert!"

"Minamiya-sensei is too much! Keep this concert a secret!"

"Oy! Are you joking? You were told there would be surprises. If you didn't come, then blame yourself, how can you blame Minamiya-sensei?"

"I figured it out. Those who can attend such situations are probably all true fans of Minamiya-sensei, right?"

"(Sad emoticon) True fan benefits..."

"From now on, I'm a devoted fan of Minamiya-sensei! No matter what he says, I'm going!"

"Whatever, we still can't see the concert anyway."

Seeing this situation, some fans at the venue reveal wicked smiles.

"Want to see the concert? Hehehe... Take a look! (attached video)"

A few minutes later.

"...Holy shit! Is this some kind of devilry? This just makes me want to go even more!"

"Why do I have a knife in my hand?"

"You! Stay calm! Huh? Why is there gasoline in my hand?"

"Bro, you're really something! Shall we get acquainted?"

"Yo! Let's get to know each other. I'll visit your place!"

"Count me in!"

"But damn, I still really want to see the concert!"

...

Back to Akihabara.

As 'Wonder zone' finished, the breaths of the nine girls became uneven.

Homura pulled out several bottles of mineral water that had been prepared in the car and jumped out.

"Have some water, catch your breath." Homura handed the bottles to them.

"That's right! Just take a break! We're not in a hurry! We've got plenty of time!" Someone in the crowd shouted. There were quite a few kind-hearted spectators around.

"Thank you everyone! Then, let's have a little chat as we give them time to take a break!" Homura said to the crowd.

As he said that, everyone felt better. They indeed have many questions for him.

Just as Honoka and Kotori were about to say something, Homura waved them off and sent them to rest.

"Does anyone want to ask me something?" Homura smiled. "But of course... Let's avoid questions about privacy."

He issued a precautionary shot, otherwise, how would you handle it if someone asked some nonsense like the color of your underwear? Just make something up? But what if they don't believe you? Would you need on-the-spot proof?

As that statement came out, quite a few people instantly felt disappointed. Homura wiped off his sweat, fortunately, he reacted in time!

The crowd didn't immediately ask him questions, but instead, they discussed for a while with each other.

Soon, a girl with glasses took the lead and asked.

"Minamiya-sensei, can you tell us how you got to know the members of Muse? And how did you come up with the idea to draw manga of them?"

Many secretly nodded, thinking that this was a good question as most people were quite interested in it.

"Well..." Homura pondered for a while. "Come to think of it, it was when I discussed my first contract with my editor, Iida Ayano."

"About a month ago, I participated in the newcomer mangaka contest held by Manke Bunko. The day after I submitted my entry, Editor Iida contacted me. You all know the work I submitted, right?"

"Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun!'"

The crowd's voices surprisingly harmonized. The scene felt like a teacher giving a lecture to the students.

"Yup! We arranged to meet at a cafe to discuss the contract. Interestingly, our fellow student Minami Kotori was working there."

"What kind of cafe?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Homura chuckled.

""Hahaha!""

Laughter erupted again.

Kotori shook her head helplessly, at this point, there was no harm in revealing it.

"We had a simple chat, discussing their appearance as school idols and the reasons behind it. Soon, my editor's professional habits kicked in!"

Ayano rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Don't you think this is like a manga story in real life? My editor is quite something. She convinced Kotori to become the main character of the manga in no time, took care of the communication with the school, and got my involvement as a male student all sorted."

"Just like that! What you see in the manga is the result."

Honoka playfully nudged Kotori. Even though all of Muse's members knew what happened, Kotori still played it vague. It turned out, that's how it went down!

"Did the plot really happen in real life?" Someone asked again.

Homura pondered for a moment.

"Hmm, it's mostly accurate. I've discussed these plots in detail with them, and they felt like a faithful representation of them after reading. Of course, it's not a perfect match since that's definitely not possible."

"Why didn't Minamiya-sensei appear in the third chapter of the manga?"

"Ahh, I find it a bit awkward for the mangaka to appear in their own manga, so I excluded myself."

The people chuckled, feeling like their question was a bit pointless.

"Okay guys, one last question. Today's main character isn't me after all." Homura said with a smile.

"Minamiya-sensei's pen name! I want to know about that."

"My pen name?" Homura was momentarily puzzled. "What's there to ask about?"

"Just why did you choose that pen name?"

He nearly burst into laughter as he heard the question.

'What a cutie, asking such a question.' Homura said inwardly, then suddenly turned to Honoka behind him. "Honoka, why do you think I chose that pen name?" 

"Eh? Isn't it your surname?" Honoka answered instinctively, then stuck out her tongue.

The crowd was dumbfounded. Was it really that simple?

Some people nearby even gave the one who asked that question playful punches. Who told him to ask such a silly question?

Homura shook his head while smiling.

"Okay then! The stage is once again Muse's!"

Soon, the nine girls stood in formation.

"Thank you, everyone! We're all rested now! Next up is 'Aishiteru Banzai!' for all of you!" Honoka exclaimed cheerfully.

When Homura heard the song title, he was momentarily stunned. Hearing all nine of them sing this song simultaneously in real life was truly a dream come true!

"Now!~"

"Cheers for the love!~ (Aishiteru Banzai!~)"

"I'm glad to be here, our present exists right here~"

"Cheers for the love!~ (Aishiteru Banzai!~)"

"It's only just begun, I'm counting on you again tomorrow, we've yet to reach our goal~"

===

As the song finished, all nine members of Muse breathed slightly harder than before; after all, they didn't start with full energy like the first song.

Honoka suddenly chuckled, and the crowd looked puzzled at her.

"The next song is somewhat special! Can anyone guess what's unique about it?"

Homura's mouth twitched. Was she buying everyone some time to catch a breath with this trick? Who taught her this?

Probably, Nozomi's doing.

As for the song, as expected, it was 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Gokuraku Jodo)'!

This song was the one he gave them, and it was exactly what Honoka described as special in her guessing game with the crowd.

'So, that song was about to be unleashed, huh?'

Homura muttered to himself as he watched Muse preparing for the next song.