Because he needed to prepare for the manga book signing event, Homura didn't go to school and took an early leave.
Early in the morning, Ayano brought him to the pre-announced venue.
Upon arrival, he secretly sneaked a glance at the main entrance...
"...They're all my fans! They even brought tents! Is it necessary to queue up so early? And... don't these people have jobs?" He grumbled, but in truth, he was quite happy. Didn't this mean everyone loved 'Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun'?
Back inside the venue, he found Ayano, who was in command.
"By the way, did you hire people to maintain order this time?"
"Of course! We hired Minamiya's security company." Ayano replied without turning her head.
Homura: "..."
They probably got a discount, right? After all, it's under the Minamiya family's umbrella.
Shrugging his shoulders, feeling like he was getting in the way, Homura moved to the side and started scrolling through his blog.
===
"I'm currently in line under the tree in front of the convenience store nearest to the venue. If anyone else is bored, come and chat with me."
"Who would go there? Who's responsible if you lose your spot?"
"That was close! If I hadn't seen the comment above me, I would have gone there!"
"By the way, why are there so many people? I thought I arrived early until I saw a pile of tents..."
"How many people took leave from work specifically for today?"
"I actually wanted to take leave, but surprisingly our boss is a huge fan of Minamiya-sensei. He brought all the employees from our company."
"Damn! That's really enviable! I had to lie to my boss about going on a blind date just to get out!"
"LOL, what a chad."
===
Homura glanced at the comments of the group from the entire company and couldn't help but break into a sweat. Although he didn't know which company they belonged to, there were at least dozens of them! This was probably not a secret matter.
With this in mind, he thought it would be better to post something on his blog.
Minamiya: Thank you all for your support. I'm extremely happy and amazed! I never expected that so many people would take leave from work to come and support me. I wonder if it was a mistake to schedule the book signing event on a workday instead of a holiday?
I hope everyone has a clear understanding and remains rational. Don't force yourself to take leave, which could cause trouble or even anger your bosses. I would feel guilty if that happened!
Send!
That was all he could do. After all, they were all adults, and everyone had to take responsibility for the choices they made.
But... would there be any students?
Taking leave as a student wasn't so easy unless it was due to illness. For other reasons, teachers would contact parents.
Of course, special students like Homura were an exception.
Before long, his blog received various replies.
===
"Minamiya-sensei online!"
"Did everyone see what Minamiya-sensei said? Those who took leave, hurry back to work! That way, I won't have to wait so long... ('3')"
"The comment above is really shameless! By the way, besides those from the entire company, most of them are on leave, right?"
"...Yes! Yes! Why made it on a working day not on holiday?! (>.<)"
"It's precisely because it's a working day that it's good, isn't it?! If it were a holiday... I can't even imagine... the situation would be worse than it is now, and it's hard to say if our turn would ever come."
"That makes sense."
===
Homura shook his head, thinking these people were hopeless and beyond saving.
He had been killing time by browsing blogs, but now, after he and Ayano finished their lunch, the book signing event was finally about to begin!
"Homura, are you really not going to put on any makeup?" Ayano asked him once again, seeking confirmation.
"What's the problem?" Homura wondered. Why did he have to put on makeup?
Ayano scratched her cheek awkwardly and said, "Perhaps... the hairstylist and makeup artist were itching to work?"
Homura: "..."
What the heck was this silly reason? He thought there was something strange about his face.
"No need. It's not like I'm an eyesore."
For Homura, as long as he looked presentable, everything else was secondary. After all, he had sufficient handsome looks of his own, so he didn't need a bunch of random stuff.
"Is there anything I need to be mindful of?" Homura asked. "It's my first book signing, so I might not be familiar with certain aspects."
"Ah, it's okay." Ayano casually replied. "As long as you're not nervous, it's more important to interact well with the fans."
Homura nodded. "Alright, then there's no problem. We can start whenever."
Ayano took out a walkie-talkie and said, "Attention, all staff members. The book signing event will begin shortly. Please return to your respective positions. Especially those responsible for maintaining order, make sure there are no mistakes! Remember, the one signing inside is none other than Young Master of Minamiya!"
Homura was speechless. Was it really necessary to emphasize that?
===
Outside the venue,
Although the weather wasn't too hot, the crowd that had been exposed to the sun felt somewhat restless.
"The book signing event should start soon, right? After all, lunchtime has already passed."
"Who knows! I hope it starts soon."
"This is the first appearance of Minamiya-sensei, correct? Although he rose to fame recently, he has always been mysterious."
"Yes... What kind of person is he, I wonder?"
"Look! It's starting!"
Among the crowd, excitement and anticipation were abundant, but they quietly formed queues while observing the burly man responsible for maintaining order.
Inside the venue, the manga fans purchased their respective books, and after buying their books, they could join the queue to get their books signed by Homura.
The first person to approach Homura was a tall girl with round glasses.
Homura almost thought it was Saori!
"Wow! Is this Minamiya-sensei? He looks so young!" The crowd began to stir.
"By the way, he's obviously a student, right?!"
"What's wrong with being a student? Kasumi Utako is a student too, so there's nothing strange about it."
Homura smiled and looked at the girl in front of him, who seemed a bit nervous. He said, "Please, don't be nervous. If anything, it should be me who's nervous, right?"
"Hahaha!" A wave of friendly laughter echoed through the crowd.
The girl blushed, her voice trembling slightly as she said, "Minamiya-sensei! I really love your manga! Not just the manga, but also the games from Another Dimension..."
As she spoke, her words became smoother, and the girl gradually stopped being nervous.
"Well! Thank you all for your support. It's precisely because of the existence of all you lovely people that I can make the determination to bring you more and better works! So, please continue to support me!"
"Yeah!" The fans, upon hearing these words, spontaneously applauded.
Homura took the manga book handed to him by the girl and flipped to the reserved page for signing... With a few swift strokes, he signed his pen name and even drew a chibi version of Chiyo Sakura.
This chibi drawing of Chiyo was a standard addition to his signature this time, given to everyone, unlike the Muse members who had their own version of chibi drawings.
With an excited expression, the girl received her book and unexpectedly received an additional surprise.
After shaking hands with him, she cherished her book and slowly left the venue...
===
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