Departure

"Okay, now let's talk about the trip. If you only go on the trip for a day or two. Can you convince your family, Muramasa?" Homura looked at Muramasa and asked.

"Well... no, definitely not a problem! I'll convince... my father!" Muramasa's face was slightly flushed, probably because she was thinking about her own father. Moreover, the idea of others going home with her after the trip and seeing how she and her father look at home... it's truly embarrassing!

Seeing her reaction, he seemed to imagine that scene as well. Hmm, Homura was getting a little excited!

"This lady alone is enough, right?" Elf said somewhat defiantly, thinking that he didn't trust her enough.

"After all, I am the leader. Therefore, it is more suitable and appropriate for me to handle such an important matter, don't you think?"

"Yeah~ Yeah~ I get it!" Elf sighed. "But where should we go exactly?"

"Let's check it at home first, and if that doesn't work, we can ask my dad if he has a suitable villa. If not, we can just borrow one." There was a hint of extravagance in his words.

"Villas? My family has one too, a hot spring villa!" Elf wasn't backing down. "But it's by the seaside, so it would be more suitable to go in the summer."

"Well, I want to find one in the mountains, suitable for camping." Homura decided.

Elf clapped her hands. "Let's go with that requirement then."

Watching Muramasa, who was completely lost while listening to their conversation, Homura smiled and asked, "Muramasa, you have school in the afternoon, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, but it doesn't matter if it's a little earlier or later."

Homura suggested, "Then come with us first. Even if we don't have circle activities for now, you should know where we'll meet before the trip."

===

After receiving approval from Muramasa, the three of them quickly returned to Minamiya residence.

Homura intended to invite Muramasa inside his house, but seeing her shy expression when it came to entering a boy's house, he had to temporarily give up on that plan.

"But if you're so shy, what will you do once the project starts?" Homura scratched his head and asked in confusion.

"I just didn't expect it! Is the circle activity really conducted at Minamiya-kun's house?!" Muramasa took a step back.

His forehead twitched. 'My house is not some kind of demonic cave, and I'm not a devil either. Is it really that bad?'

"If you can't accept it for now, you can come to my crystal palace." Elf patted Muramasa's shoulder and pointed behind her, saying, "It's right across."

"Crystal palace?" Muramasa was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "Ohh, your house, but... I'll think about it."

Surprisingly, there was no immediate rejection. It seemed that she was genuinely considering it.

"By the way..." Elf curiously asked, "Muramasa, have you always been coming to deliver the manuscript by yourself? Even though your home is so far away?"

"Hmm? Ah, no, this time I came because there was something else, so I brought the manuscript along. Usually, it's Editor Kagurazaka who comes to my home to pick it up."

"Wow, what a treatment for a great author!" Elf commented sarcastically.

Originally, Elf had thought about teaching her the skill of delivering manuscripts without leaving the house, but now she gave up on that idea.

By the way, she herself had an editor personally come to collect the manuscript... Well, of course, it was because she had delayed her work and the editor had no choice but to come and urge her.

"Speaking of which, Elf," Homura suddenly said, "how about you show Muramasa a bit of 'Your Name.'? Let her experience the charm of other forms of work besides novel books."

This was something he had wanted to do all along. Since she had come all the way here, how could he not let Muramasa give it a try?

When she read the novel version, she only found it 'interesting in a normal way', but with the right original artwork, music, and voice acting, the effect would be several times stronger. Fortunately, he had already taught Elf how to use the computer in advance.

"I see..." Elf smiled with great interest. This should be pretty good, right?

"What about you?" Elf asked again, then quickly realized, "That idol's performance?"

"Yep, I should be leaving soon. Ayano will probably come to pick me up shortly." Homura looked at the time, then said, "Sagiri huh... Elf, if possible, try to let her have some contact with Muramasa. I want to see if she can handle this level of interaction with a stranger without me around."

"Okay!" Elf laughed, "Leave it to this lady. Go ahead and attend to your business."

"Great, you've been a great help. Then, I'll go take care of some things first." Homura bid farewell and after preparing some necessary arrangements in his room, he waited for Ayano to arrive.

===

The wait was always filled with nervousness and excitement. He was about to witness the most crucial turning point of Muse's story in real life. He felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. And then, his phone rang...

*King called me to patrol the mountain~*

"...Ayano," Homura's composure wavered slightly.

"Oh? Your voice sounds shaky," Ayano teased, her tone playful. "Could it be that Minamiya-sensei is worried about something?"

"I'm not worried at all!" Homura replied without hesitation. "I'm just happy. Because this day has finally arrived, isn't it?"

"That's true..." Ayano smiled. "It sounds quiet over there on your end. Even though it's Monday, shouldn't Eromanga-sensei be at home?"

"Sagiri went to play at Elf's house across the street," Homura smirked. "And Senju Muramasa-sensei is there too."

"Ahh~ Speaking of which, I just heard from Sonoko," Ayano said, "You really moved fast, Homura! You managed to capture Senju Muramasa-sensei at that speed!"

He frowned. So Ayano knew about it too? Wait, she even know Machida Sonoko?

"No fun, the news leaked!"

"So you wanted to see my surprised reaction, huh? Should I play along with you?" Ayano said, giggling.

"Never mind! When should we set off?"

"Now! Come out, let's go!" With that, Ayano hung up the phone.

Homura stepped out of the room and looked at his empty house. He called out, "Haru? Where are you?"

There was no response. He scratched his head and opened System to check the mini-map.

"So she is together with Sagiri and the others?" Homura muttered to himself. "Since that's the case, I won't bring you this time!"

He walked out of the house, and Ayano's car was parked near the gate.

"Hey~!"

Looking up, he saw Elf waving at him, and Sagiri beside her, holding Haru, was also looking at him.

"Nii-san~ Come back early~" Sagiri's voice was soft, but he still heard it.

"Yeah! I'm leaving~!" He waved at them with a smile and got into Ayano's car.

As soon as he got into the car, Ayano unexpectedly said, "I didn't expect Eromanga-sensei to be able to go out as well."

She seemed to know a lot about his family situation.

Homura shook his head. "It's just across the street, and she is already familiar with the others. Though, it probably wouldn't work without me accompanying her if she was outside and far from the house."

"I see..." Ayano pondered for a moment, then put aside other thoughts and started the car. "Let's go! We've been waiting for this day for so long!"

"Yeah!" Homura nodded firmly.

===

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