On the Way

"Um..." Izumi cautiously spoke, "Kani-sensei... Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Huh? What's the matter?" Nayuta responded with a strange look of confusion.

Bruh... This girl is completely clueless!

Still holding onto Elf's face, Homura suddenly didn't know what he should do. It wasn't until Elf shook her head that he finally stopped.

He approached Nayuta and sat down beside her, taking slow steps. "Why would you envy something like that, Nayu?"

"Shouldn't I?" Nayuta replied.

Homura paused. It seemed like this conversation couldn't proceed any further. She was completely on a different wavelength than everyone else.

Scratching his head, he awkwardly said, "As for touching your face, you should forget about it. It's only something I do when we're fooling around. If you want me to do it willingly, I can't bring myself to do it."

Upon hearing this, she became somewhat disappointed.

"However..." Homura reached out and gently touched her head and patted it.

Hmm! The feeling is quite nice!

"If it's like this, sometimes, it should be fine..." he said.

"Hehehe~ Minamiya-senpai's headpat~" Nayuta narrowed her eyes, looking incredibly comfortable. He almost thought he was patting a cat!

Observing Nayuta who was oozing cuteness, Eriri and Utaha opened their mouths but didn't say anything.

They remembered his words earlier. If they were to interrupt, who knew if Nayuta would associate it with being bullied?

"Oh, right!" Homura stopped his actions. "Sagiri, do you want to ask Megumin if she wants to come? I don't have her contact information, but you should, right?"

"Nii-san, there's no need to ask. That girl went out to play with someone else a long time ago." Sagiri the loli, gave this news, making him realize that Sagiri must have invited her beforehand. However, he had no knowledge of it, and it seemed like Sagiri didn't really care about it either.

"Alright then! Let's go..."

Just as he was speaking, his phone rang.

"Young Master, I am the person arranged by the family head to pick you up. The car has already arrived outside the Minamiya residence."

"Okay, please wait a moment. We'll be right out."

"No trouble at all, Young Master."

After putting down his phone, Homura addressed everyone, saying, "The car is here, quickly bring your luggage!"

"Hurry, hurry~ Let's go!" Homura carried his small suitcase with one hand and held Haru in the other, leading the way outside.

"Huh?" Homura paused. "Why does it feel like a school bus?"

Even if it wasn't, it was pretty close!

Well, after all, there were too many people on his side. Unless they brought a few more cars, they had no choice but to use a larger one.

"Well, it's not bad." Homura nodded. "It can fit everyone, including the luggage, and we can chat while being together."

"Young Master," the driver got out of the driver's seat and greeted him.

"How should I address you, Driver-san?"

"No need to be so formal! Just call me Yamada, Young Master!"

Homura: "..."

Elf, who had just taken her luggage from her house: "..."

It was clearly a very common surname, so why did it feel strange when he heard it?!

The corners of his mouth twitched, and Homura said, "Alright, Yamada-san, can I ask if you know if anyone has gone to pick up the people from Otonokizaka High?"

"Ahh, over there, my girlfriend went to pick them up."

Why did he feel salty upon hearing that?... Never mind, let's not dwell on it!

Homura nodded and turned around to shout, "Make sure the door is locked! Let's go!"

"Don't worry, Nii-san! It was Megumi-nee who locked the door!" Sagiri struggled to run over, carrying a small bag.

He reached out to take it, but Sagiri swiftly dodged!

"This is a girl's personal item, I won't trouble Nii-san..." Sagiri blushed, panting heavily.

He was left speechless. What's the big deal with a personal item? He wouldn't open and look at it anyway!

"We're all outside," Elf said, glancing at him.

"Then let's get in the car. We're off!"

"OHHH~!"

===

In the car.

"So, is there anyone here who is prone to motion sickness?" Homura asked the girls. "I brought some motion sickness medicines. If anyone needs them, just let me know."

"Probably..." Nanami glanced at the others. "I don't think anyone gets motion sickness."

"What about you, Sagiri?" Homura reached over and patted the head of the little girl sitting next to him. "You never ride in cars at home. Is there anything uncomfortable for you?"

Sagiri, who was looking out the window, turned around. "I don't feel anything strange."

"That's good... Oh, by the way, here's a camera for you." Homura pulled out a camera from somewhere. "Take pictures if you see anything nice."

"Yes, got it!" Sagiri replied eagerly. As soon as she finished speaking, she took a photo out the window, but it turned out blurry.

Sagiri: "..."

Homura stifled a laugh and ruffled her head.

*King called me to patrol the mountain~*

'Honoka?' Homura answered the phone.

"Homura-kun! Guess where we are right now?" Honoka's excited voice came through the receiver.

"In the car, of course. Where else~?" Homura's voice was playful. "Or... are you on the roof of the car or something?"

Honoka: "..."

"That was not what I meant! What I meant was, guess our location!"

Homura glanced at the road ahead, which was flat and devoid of any cars.

Without hesitation, he said, "Behind our car, I suppose."

"...How could you know?!" Honoka exclaimed in surprise.

"Honoka-chan, I told you that you can't outsmart Homura-kun, right?" It was the resigned voice of Kotori.

"Homura-kun probably guessed it as soon as he got Honoka's call since he already knew Honoka's character too well," added Umi.

"If it were the sly Tojo-senpai, there might still be a chance to deceive him..." whispered Maki quietly.

"Maki-chan, once we arrive, I'll make sure you'll have a great time~" Pitifully, Nozomi heard her whisper.

"Hiii-!!!" At that moment, Maki recalled the fear of being dominated by those demonic hands.

"You all sound so happy," Homura chuckled. Poor Maki always gets played by Nozomi.

"Of course! This is our first group outing trip!" Honoka's voice always brimmed with energy.

"Oh, I just remembered something. Kirino is planning to come too, I think she saw the video I posted."

"Really?!" Honoka sounded delighted. "It's been so long since I last saw Kirino-chan. I wonder how she's doing now..."

'Sorry, Honoka... Kirino has become a weirdo... I hope you can handle it... Wait? Maybe the airhead Honoka won't even notice...' Homura thought silently in sympathy. He then spoke, "Well, let's hang up for now. We'll arrive soon, and once we get off the car, we'll have plenty of time to chat."

"Okay! See you soon, Homura-kun!"

Suddenly, Sagiri asked, "Whose energetic voice is that?"