Battle Royale

Listening to Eriri's statement, Mafuyu looked utterly confused.

"Kirisu-sensei, what exactly do you feel about Minamiya-san?"

With a curious expression, Uruka directly asked Mafuyu.

She had witnessed quite a drama today.

So far, her feelings toward Homura were somewhat positive but not particularly special.

Nevertheless, as a girl, she couldn't help but be interested in this kind of topic and wanted to know more.

In essence, it was just the gossip bug biting her.

"...Just a regular teacher-student relationship." Mafuyu replied, shifting her gaze slightly.

She wasn't lying.

They had only met a few times, and they were just a teacher and a student.

Why should there be any special feelings?

However, if she were being honest, their few encounters did seem a bit unusual.

She still remembered that their first encounter had been in Akihabara.

At that time, aside from her students, she couldn't help but notice a large number of girls surrounding Homura and wondered if he was that popular.

Out of concern for her students, she continued to observe until Homura suddenly appeared behind her and gave her two sandwiches out of nowhere.

Nonetheless, she had to admit that it was the first time she had eaten something so delicious.

As for their second encounter, it was when they argued over Fumino and Rizu's situations.

Despite their different perspectives, Homura's intentions were ultimately for the two's well-being, so she ultimately compromised, allowing both girls to continue their efforts.

It couldn't be helped.

No matter how she looked at it, her students benefited from it.

Following that, however, she couldn't help but be amazed by Homura's magical teaching abilities.

He was a born teacher, more impressive than any teacher she knew.

She wondered at that time, why was this boy so extraordinary?

After bidding farewell to Fumino, they walked home together, and through online information, she got to know Homura better.

However, a series of unexpected events during their walk exposed her hidden side to him, and in her injured state, he took her home and cared for her diligently.

Maybe from that moment on, his place in her heart subtly changed.

Finally, their third and latest encounter was today when Homura saved her from a stalker.

Why did she have to encounter something so terrifying?

Was today her bad day?

A stalker had followed her?

Was she in danger?

In a state of panic, she stupidly ran into an empty alley, making it even more dangerous, but it was too late, and she couldn't turn back.

Fortunately, the somewhat special boy, Homura, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and before her once again.

For some reason, seeing him made her heart feel at ease.

Naturally, as always, he didn't disappoint, effortlessly driving away the stalker and possibly scaring him off for good.

However, she had to admit that Homura's strength was truly terrifying.

He bent a metal pipe with his bare hands and smashed it into the cement ground, directly causing it to crack. She knew his hands must have hurt, yet he pretended to be alright until the end to put her mind at ease.

His kindness was something she probably wouldn't forget for the rest of her life.

Recalling all of this, Mafuyu suddenly felt a bit guilty.

She probably did have feelings for Homura—quite special ones.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Uruka asked, clearly unsatisfied with Mafuyu's answer. "Minamiya-san isn't Kirisu-sensei's student, right?"

"As a student... you shouldn't be thinking about such things..." Mafuyu said with a lack of confidence.

"Hmm... suspicious..." Uruka looked at her teacher with suspicion but didn't press further.

'Kirisu-sensei really... Homura-kun, why do you have to be so outstanding?' Utaha thought with a mix of frustration and melancholy.

However, if he weren't this outstanding, no girls here, including her, would have been attracted to him in the first place.

It was truly contradictory.

"Speaking of which, where is Kirisu-sensei going to stay?" Rizu suddenly asked. "I mean, whose room?" 

Mafuyu shook her head, unable to decide. 

"How about sharing a room with me?" Izumi suggested. "I can lend you my little bunny to cuddle." 

"Bunny?" 

Seeing Mafuyu's puzzled expression, Izumi explained.

"It's a stuffed animal." 

"I can lend Kirisu-sensei my Torajiro too..." Nanami chimed in. 

"Well, that's settled then." Eriri nodded, sighing with relief. "Kirisu-sensei will stay in our room, with Izumi." 

"In that case, Kirisu-sensei can use my pajamas; our body shape should be similar." Utaha offered her sleepwear. 

Hearing this, Eriri rolled her eyes.

"You're always sleeping naked anyway, so whether or not you have pajamas doesn't matter."

"Eh?! Really?!" Fumino blushed slightly, looking surprised at Utaha.

"Is that a big deal?" Utaha asked with raised eyebrows.

"Normally, that kind of thing... is supposed to happen in one's own home, in one's own room, right?" Uruka asked with an astonished expression.

"Well, Homura-kun's home is pretty much no different than my home, just bigger." Utaha shrugged nonchalantly.

Was she asserting her dominance with that statement?

"It's the same for everyone else too, okay?" Eriri added with an annoyed expression.

Watching this scene, Megumi couldn't help but get lost in thought.

'It looks like things are going to get even more lively from now on.'

===

Meanwhile, on Homura and Muse's side.

"Nozomi-senpai has something to tell me, right?"

On the way, Homura suddenly asked, catching everyone's attention.

Upon hearing the question, a slight smile appeared on Nozomi's face.

"Just ordinary chit-chat, nothing else."

"Chit-chat, huh? Chit-chat about what, I wonder?"

"Homura-kun must know what I want to talk about, right?" Nozomi asked with a smile. "I bet today caught you off guard. Who would've thought Kirisu-sensei would become the spark for this whole thing?"

"Of course, I was caught off guard." Homura shrugged. "I'm not a god, how could I predict everything?"

"So, what do you plan to do from now on, Homura-kun?" Nozomi asked.

Hearing this question, the others, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, perked up their ears even more.

"What am I gonna do?" Homura thought for a moment, then answered. "Probably the same as usual, I guess?"

"Why?" Nozomi asked, her expression finally showing surprise.

At this, Homura gave a bitter smile.

"In any case, it's still my fault, right? Everyone now knows what I think, but because of that, you girls definitely won't let me get away with things easily, right?"

"Fufu, that's true." Nozomi chuckled.

"Plus, there are some who are particularly competitive and love to stir things up." Homura continued, shrugging his shoulders. "Even if they agree with my idea and don't mean any harm, they'll definitely still interfere with each other. So... doesn't that just mean it'll stay the same as usual?"

"Hmm..." Nozomi pondered for a moment before responding. "I wouldn't say that, though. After all, everyone will have some alone time with Homura-kun, no~?"

Suddenly, her smile turned into a mischievous grin.

"But what I'm sure about is... it's going to be a battle royale starting today!"

"Ahaha..."

Laughing awkwardly, Homura scratched the back of his head and began to ponder.

'Battle royale, huh... Others should be fine, but most likely, the troublemakers are probably Utaha-senpai and Eriri, right?'

'Well, they were rivals from the beginning, but honestly, this kind of trouble... isn't too bad.'