Reluctant?

Homura may draw quickly, but it's only in the realm of comics like manga, manhua, etc. As long as the art is beautiful, the level of emotional investment in the work doesn't vary much, regardless of the form it takes.

"How did everyone's photos turn out?" Homura decisively asked for everyone's photos. "Oh! Not bad! These are all important materials!"

Homura lovingly held the camera and kept flipping through the pictures.

"Huh? Nanami's photo is quite good!"

Nanami actually took a selfie!

The sakura petals flying around her were much better than those of the others in the photos!

"Really?" Nanami blushed again. Her habit of being shy was probably something that couldn't be changed, but he didn't expect that Nanami, who was shy, would take a selfie!

This really surprised Homura!

"Of course it's real! I'm extremely satisfied!" Homura secretly decided to get another copy and keep it for himself.

"As long as Homura-kun likes it then..." Nanami held her face and secretly felt happy. "... that's great!"

Being outdone by Nanami, the others looked at her happy expression with regret. Why didn't they think of taking a selfie themselves?

After reluctantly putting away the photos and drawings, Homura clapped his hands and said, "We should be eating now, right? It's breakfast time already."

After saying that, he laid out all the food in the thermos and basket and said to Nana, who was also getting something to eat, "Nana, let's eat together. Take whatever you want."

"Okay!" Nana smiled and put their food together with Homura's.

"Also, this is Haru's portion!" He took out another box and opened it in front of Haru.

"Meow~ (Can I share it with my brother and Roku?)" Haru asked Homura, truly a good big sister! She had been thinking about her little brother all along.

Homura reached out and touched the little one, nodding and saying, "Of course, you can. This is your food, you can decide for yourself. If you're not full later, let me know and I'll make you more when we get home!"

"Meow~! (Okay! Thank you!)" Haru happily thanked Homura.

"Haha, what are you thanking me for? We're family, remember little one? If someone else helps you, you have to thank them, but I'm the only one you don't have to thank at all!"

"...Meow (Okay, I know.)" Haru nodded silently, but in her heart, she said while staring at Homura, 'Thank you, thank you for meeting me, thank you for giving me a special name, thank you for always taking care of me, thank you for being with me, thank you for finding my brother, thank you... my family.'

"Meow! (I won't thank you anymore!)" The little one suddenly became proud.

Homura was taken aback for a moment, then smiled happily.

"Nana, Haru wants to share some food with Hachi and Roku. Can you see if that's okay?" Homura told her. This was necessary, after all, it was important to make sure someone else's cat wasn't eating something unfamiliar.

"No problem at all! They have a good brother-sister relationship. How could I object?" Nana replied understandingly.

"Same here. If Haru's food isn't enough, she can eat Hachi's food!"

Homura agreed. After telling Haru about it, everyone started eating and chatting like they were at a party.

"Wait!" Homura stopped Ayano, who was about to open a can of what may or may not be alcohol. "This isn't alcohol right?"

"...No it's not, I have to drive you to get the manga materials later! You don't think I'm that unreliable, do you?!" Ayano retorted indignantly.

"Sorry, just in case. I'm worried about your safety," he said with an "I'm doing this for your own good" expression.

"Okay, I know it's for my own good. So let's just eat!" Ayano decisively moving on.

"Huh? Does Homura want to get some manga materials? With Editor Iida?" Nanami couldn't help but ask as she listened to the two talks.

"Yeah, she told me yesterday, and then I mentioned Hanami, or else she wouldn't have shown up today!" Homura explained to Nanami.

Ayano laughed haughtily, "I'm so lucky! I wanted to try Homura's cooking last time, and now the opportunity has come to me!"

"How is it?" Homura asked.

"Don't rush me! I haven't even had a chance to eat it yet. I'll try it right away." Ayano said casually then eat the food.

"...Oh, Homura, your cooking is really good! It's much tastier than I imagined!" Ayano had thought that Homura's cooking skills were only average, but it turned out that they were on par with some well-known chefs! And this was after the dish had been sitting for a while. It would probably taste even better right after being cooked!

"As long as it suits your taste, eat more," Homura said. After that, he didn't say anything else to her and joined the others in eating and chatting.

===

After the outdoor breakfast, Nana's group bid farewell to the group of people led by Homura.

"Homura-kun, we will be leaving first. I need to go back and open the store!"

"Okay, Nana, if I have the chance, I'll bring Haru to visit you guys."

"Okay, I welcome you!" After saying that, Nana bid farewell to the group of people with her little brother and two cats.

Watching their backs, Utaha approached Homura and asked, "Are you feeling reluctant to separate?"

Homura: "..."

'So, she was waiting for me to ask this question?'

Homura stroked little Haru's fur, then calmly said, "Yeah, you see, Haru has separated from her little brother again!"

Haru was also looking in the direction of their departure.

Utaha didn't plan to give him a chance to dodge the question this time and said directly, "I asked you, I didn't ask about Haru-chan!"

"It's not that I'm reluctant. It's normal to see friends off, isn't it?" This time it was Homura's honest answer. Although he had a good impression of the kind and gentle Nana, most men would also have a good impression if they were in his position, right?

It was Utaha's way of asking that was wrong.

If she had asked Homura if he had a crush on any of the girls in their club, he could have confidently answered while patting his chest with, "Yes!"

But unfortunately, she didn't ask that! If only she decisively asked a straightforward question, Homura would definitely not lie about this!

Seeing Homura's calm expression, Utaha secretly wondered, 'Did I really overthink this?'

She gave up her attempt at this point.

Seeing this, Eriri, who was planning to ask Homura why he called Nana by her first name directly, also gave up. After all, if he said they were just friends, it was normal to call them by their first name.

Ayano beside them looked disappointed. How could the drama end so quickly? It was too short!

However, Homura didn't know about their thought, otherwise, it would have been fun.