Nervousness

Nine people squeezed onto a single screen, and it did seem a bit crowded. Mainly because Homura's phone screen was too small.

"Everyone looks to be in good spirits, just a little too excited." Homura nodded.

"Because we're performing in front of everyone tomorrow..." Honoka said, starting to fidget.

"But the second-year senpai should be fine, nyaa~!" Rin disagreed. "Didn't you already perform on stage before, nyaa?"

"That was just being on stage, nothing more. Since there weren't many audiences..." Honoka retorted.

Watching them nervous, Homura spoke up.

"You can't think that way. It doesn't matter how many audiences there are. Haven't you all mentally prepared yourselves for your performance before? Whether it's the mental preparation for no one showing up or the mental preparation for full audiences, you've all considered it to some extent... and this is a way to improve your mental strength."

"Homura-kun is right." Nozomi sat on the couch, pulling over a cushion. "Honoka-chan and the others have an advantage. Even in similarly nervous situations, they'll adapt faster."

"Likewise...." Homura continued. "I guess Nozomi-senpai and Eli-senpai are the ones who care about this matter the least?"

"Why?" Hanayo curiously asked.

"Because we're the student council president and vice president." Eli explained calmly. "We often have to hold meetings for the whole school, so we're used to being in the spotlight."

"That makes sense, nyaa~! But I still feel like Nico-chan doesn't care much either. Why is that?" Rin said, glancing at Nico and scratching her head in puzzlement.

"Does it even need to say?" Nico patted her chest, brimming with pride. "Of course, it's because I'm a natural-born idol!"

"I always feel like Nico-chan has a thick skin... " Honoka mumbled. "Maybe that's why she's not nervous?"

"What did you say?!" Nico lunged toward Honoka, but their positions, one in the upper left and the other in the lower right meant that before Nico could stand up, Nozomi had already thrown a cushion on her embrace, replacing it with Nico!

"Wait! Nozomi, are you taking advantage while chaos reigns? Get away!"

"Heehee... Nico-chan, give up! You can't escape once caught by me!"

Homura felt like Nozomi's smile was a bit wicked.

Ignoring the 'playful' pair, Homura spoke to the others.

"Actually, no matter what anyone says beforehand, you'll all still be nervous."

"Is there really no way?" Maki frowned.

"The solution is to just get on stage."

"..."

Although no one spoke, Homura still understood what they meant.

"I'm not joking with you. You're now truly a single being. On stage, even if some of you were nervous, they'll be carried away by the others and give their all in the singing and dancing."

"So..." Homura shrugged casually. "Your worries about nervousness are a bit unnecessary. As long as you all sleep well tonight, that would be perfect."

Honoka nodded seriously. Homura made sense, but the sleep issue was a problem.

"Homura-kun, do you have any suggestions about sleeping?"

"Sleeping..." Homura thought for a moment. "During your training camp, everyone probably slept late, right?"

"How do you know?!" Honoka looked surprised, then said suspiciously, "Could it be..."

Homura quickly waved his hand. What the heck was that 'Could it be'?

"After all, there are always people who can't fall asleep. When they can't sleep, they want to chat with others, and then everyone else gets caught up and can't sleep either."

Instantly, the gazes of the nine people became somewhat uneasy, as if they were all habitual offenders.

"Well then, since that's the case, let's not sleep in the same room tonight." Eli expressed her opinion.

"That's fine..." Homura laughed. "Chatting and sleeping together deepens your bond. Compared to a bit of sleep deprivation, I think the bond is more important."

"..."

'What's the point of discussing this matter then?!' All the girls exclaimed inwardly.

"Don't roll your eyes at me! I'm just analyzing the pros and cons for you guys!"

"Well..." Kotori wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "Homura-kun, maybe you could talk about something that helps with sleep."

"Then let's play soothing music at a low volume. That can be helpful, and as for the rest... I can't have you all exhausting yourselves with training, right? There's a concert tomorrow."

"It feels like you've talked a lot, but it's as if only this one sentence is useful..." Maki grumbled though everyone heard her.

"Don't be like that~ Maki-chan, Homura-kun's words are all useful y'know~" Nozomi said, wiggling her finger. "Hasn't everyone's mood already calmed down a lot by now?"

"..."

Nico was a bit puzzled. "Right, it seems... there's been some change? I don't feel as nervous and excited as before."

"That's so strange, nyaa! Why is that?"

"Simple, I just diverted everyone's attention for a moment..." Homura shrugged. "With only you nine thinking about the concert, having me join in, shifts the topic naturally."

"But didn't you call us to discuss the concert?" Honoka couldn't help asking.

"Who said that? The focus should be on sleep, right?" Homura patted Haru's head and placed her in front of the phone. "C'mon everyone, let Haru's warmth heal your body and mind, it'll help you too."

Haru raised her head, glanced at him, and then licked her paw to clean her face.

"So cute~!" Rin immediately took out her phone and started snapping pictures of Haru on the tablet's screen. "Ahh~! It's not satisfying enough through the screen, nyaa!"

Encouraged by Rin, the others exchanged glances and took out their phones to start snapping pictures too, even the 'Tsundere' Maki did the same.

Homura chuckled and suddenly said, "Since you all seem so interested, let me show you something lovely."

Nozomi's face darkened. Why did this sentence sound peculiar?

Then, they received the same picture as everyone from Another Dimension, the one where Homura used all the System's skills on Haru and she was smiling like a human.

"This is?! Haru-chan's smile!"

As Homura expected, they were all surprised. Seeing the smile of cat-faced Haru was indeed astonishing.

"Indeed, it's adorable, nyaa!" Rin's eyes shone as she promptly set it as her phone wallpaper.

"Want more?"

"More?!"

Homura nodded. "Of course, I never said there's only one picture."

"We want it!"

"Alright then." Homura sent another one. "This one is more impressive."

"Ahh~! This one is so sweet!" Kotori's eyes glazed over, and the image on her phone showed Haru holding a penguin plushie.

"It's really cute! But why does it seem familiar?" Hanayo looked puzzled, feeling like she'd seen it somewhere.

"Isn't this the logo of Another Dimension?" Nico exclaimed. "It's just that the plushie turned into a planet."

Watching them discuss, Homura nodded in satisfaction.

As long as there was enough to talk about, there was no way anyone would be nervous.