I Always Feels Like the Antagonist

"Ahh, right! Thank you so much, Homura-kun!" Finally, Honoka remembered to express her gratitude.

Umi heard Honoka and could only endure her embarrassment, coming over to thank him along with Kotori.

"Thank you very much for protecting us Homura-kun!" (2x)

Homura smiled and said to the three of them, who were still bowing their heads, "Well, I'll accept this gratitude! But in the future, before taking action, you should think more. I can't always be by your side to protect you after all."

Their faces slightly flushed, feeling that his words were quite flirtatious.

Hanayo and Rin blushed even more, their eyes sparkling as if they had heard words they longed for.

'Minamiya-sensei is really amazing!'

'This boy is really amazing!'

Hanayo and Rin exclaimed in their mind simultaneously.

"Right..." Nozomi spoke up, "Homura-kun was indeed impressive just now! Your reaction was so quick, and you successfully saved them. Could it be... Homura-kun is unexpectedly a hidden martial art expert?"

"Whether I'm a martial art expert or not is hard to say!" Homura shook his head with a smile. "But I have never been hiding anything."

"But you never said anything about it!" Ayano retorted.

Homura argued, "Was there a need to brag about it everywhere? Besides, my exposure is too high already, so I don't need these little things, right?"

Ayano agreed with a nod, "That's true... You're amid a huge popularity surge right now, and there's also a signing event tomorrow. Your exposure is already too high."

"A signing event?!" Honoka exclaimed in surprise.

Umi and Kotori also had expressions of 'hearing it for the first time'.

Homura: "..."

'Are you serious? Just when I said my exposure is too high... you girls really don't pay much attention to the person drawing your manga huh...'

Seeing his somewhat strange expression, Ayano couldn't help but laugh secretly. It seemed that Homura always had someone to keep him in check.

"They were probably too busy with practice and didn't know about your news, right?" Surprisingly, it was Eli who said this so frankly to comfort him.

Nozomi was slightly surprised; it was the first time she had seen Eli so straightforward.

Homura also came back to his senses and smiled at her...

"Hmph~" Eli snorted and indicated that she didn't want to talk to him.

"Tomorrow... a signing event?" Maki who was silent since the beginning, heard it and muttered to herself. "It seems familiar... I feel like I've heard it somewhere."

"Could it be..." Rin's eyes shone even brighter. "Is this the real form of Minamiya-sensei, nyaa~?"

'By the way, Koizumi-san, did you not mention me to her?' The corners of his mouth twitched again, but it was heartening for him that Rin actually knew about him.

"That's right!" Honoka exclaimed proudly. "This is Minamiya-sensei!"

"Although I don't know what you're talking about..." she then murmured softly, but it didn't escape his ears.

He felt like his heart had been struck by arrows repeatedly today...

"Well, although it's a bit late, let me introduce myself. I am Minamiya Homura, a student and a mangaka. I am also the circle founder of Another Dimension."

"You're really Minamiya-sensei, nyaa~! I'm Rin! Hoshizora Rin!" Rin exclaimed with excitement, but also with some confusion. "Why is Minamiya-sensei here today?"

With a louder voice, Honoka said, "Minamiya-sensei personally drew manga for us! Today is...?" Turning her head, she secretly asked Umi, "Umi-chan, which chapter is it today?"

*Smack!* Homura covered his face with his hand.

Umi's mouth twitched, and she was about to answer when she noticed his reaction. She froze as well. He must have overheard, right?

'Honoka! What did you do?! So embarrassing, so embarrassing!' Umi shouted in her mind.

Witnessing this chagrin, Eli suddenly regretted her decision for acknowledging them.

With a pained expression, Homura spoke up himself. "...Chapter three."

'Ahh!!! He did hear it! So embarrassing!' Umi continued to shout in her mind, her face showing a very strange expression... Her talent for facial expressions was starting to show!

"Right! Chapter three!" Honoka exclaimed, realizing it all of a sudden, and clapped her hands. "Homura-kun, let us see it quickly!"

Why did Honoka seem so naturally airheaded today?

Homura was a bit puzzled. He should have caught her perfectly fine from the fall earlier, right? There was absolutely no possibility of a head-on collision from the fall, right?! Right?!

Thinking this, he took out the completed manga manuscript and handed it to her.

Honoka eagerly took it and was about to open it when she looked up at the three first-year students and her three friends, smiling brightly. "Let's all read it together!"

Seeing that smile, Homura nodded and thought to himself, 'As expected of Honoka, her smile is always so infectious!'

Returning to his previous seat position and just as he sat down, Ayano smiled and asked, "Homura, what's the deal with your outfit?"

Homura tugged at his T-shirt. "This? I made it myself, just fooling around."

"Haha! You really are talented in many ways!" Ayano couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, covering her stomach in joy.

"Wow~! Amazing! She really looks exactly like Rin, nyaa~! No! it's identical! No wonder you're called Minamiya-sensei!" exclaimed Rin in astonishment.

"Of course, aren't all the senpai also identical?" Hanayo commented sarcastically.

"By the way..." Maki spoke somewhat awkwardly, "It's truly identical, even down to the height and other details... It feels kind of creepy."

"And... why did he know everything I did before?!" she continued.

"Oh~ Maki-chan! I told Homura-kun about it!" Honoka's expression was full of pride.

Maki: "..."

"So, this is how we look from different angles on stage!" Kotori nodded occasionally. "Hmm... The costume's effect seems pretty good from every perspective."

"But it's really embarrassing! It's actually got portrayed in the manga..." Umi blushed, enduring her embarrassment as she looked at her depiction in the manga.

"Hehehe... Hanayo-chan appeared at just the right time! According to Homura-kun's manga, if Hanayo-chan hadn't shown up suddenly, the performance would have probably been forcibly canceled, right?" Honoka gazed at Hanayo, who had a big smile on her face. "Indeed, it would be too strange if Hanayo-chan didn't join us!"

Hanayo shyly dodged the topic but didn't verbally refuse. Perhaps she had already agreed to join in her heart?

Naturally, Honoka could tell and laughed happily.

"By the way, why isn't Homura-kun here?" Honoka curiously asked.

Homura walked over, looking helpless. "What logic is there for a mangaka to appear in their own manga?"

"...You're right! Te~he~" Honoka stuck out her tongue, apologizing sheepishly.

"Minamiya-sensei... I also have a question." It was Eli, but she seemed quite displeased?

"Please, go ahead..." Homura said while discreetly taking a step back, feeling danger.

"Why do I always feel like I'm the antagonist in this manga? Is it just my imagination?"

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