Interesting Group

"This much won't make me laugh, thanks to my professional training," Elf said expressionlessly.

Homura quickly added, with a mischievous grin, "But that goes out the window when my jokes are involved!"

"Pfttt... Haha!" The awkward atmosphere among the Muse members, as well as Nanami and Megumi, who hadn't intended to laugh, finally broke when they heard the interaction between Elf and Homura.

Nico was quick to realize that it wasn't her that they were laughing at, but the response from Homura.

That remark hit the funny bone of everyone, causing even the 'professionally trained' Elf to burst into laughter.

"Yosh! After a good laugh, it's time to introduce everyone!" Homura announced, putting aside the joke.

"We are already familiar with the members of Muse, so now the focus is on introducing the members of Another Dimension."

"I'm Minamiya Homura, and you all know me, so I won't say much."

*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*

Honoka clapped her hands cheerfully, giving face to him. But she was the only one, which made the applause a bit over-the-top.

"Ahh... how embarrassing..." Homura cleared his throat. "Ahem, Another Dimension has grown significantly after all, so this introduction is necessary."

"First! We have the tearjerker scriptwriters, currently represented by Kasumi Utako-sensei and Kani Nayuta-sensei!"

"What the heck is a tearjerker script?!" Utaha said irritably.

Then, the two of them stepped forward and nodded.

"The hot-blooded scriptwriters are Yamada Elf-sensei and Senju Muramasa-sensei!"

"What does hot-blooded have to do with me?!" Elf exclaimed.

"It means the script can really make one's blood boil with excitement." His remark instantly made everyone feel it made perfect sense.

The speechless Elf and the composed Muramasa nodded to the Muse members.

"They're amazing!" Hanayo couldn't help but exclaim. After all, there were several god-like figures in front of her!

"Next is the art department, including character design, manga adaptation, and original artwork, all handled by these few."

"Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, Eromanga-sensei, Shiina Mashiro-sensei! And our new recruit, Hashima Izumi."

"Wait... Homura! Give me some time to prepare!" Eriri exclaimed in frustration.

"I-I don't know anyone with that name!" Sagiri said and immediately hid behind him.

"I... I don't really consider myself a member of Another Dimension though." Izumi had a conflicted expression, but since he called her a recruit, it felt awkward to her.

Only Mashiro maintained a calm expression.

"Sawamura Spencer Eriri! Call me Eriri or Sawamura, but not Kashiwagi Eri absolutely!"

"Same here... Just call me Sagiri. Don't use that name, please."

The Muse girls looked at Homura with confusion, and he shrugged, saying, "Just consider it as a young girl's shyness, I guess."

Eriri gritted her teeth in frustration but didn't say anything.

"Moving on, we have the voice actors, Aoyama Nanami, and... everyone from Muse!"

"..."

The room suddenly fell silent. What did they just hear?

""Eh?... EHHH?!!!"" Muse group exclaimed in surprise.

"Why are you so surprised?" Homura chuckled. "We agreed on this, remember? Don't go back on your word!"

"When did we agree on that?!" Honoka asked Kotori, looking surprised.

"It was... when we were discussing sponsorship for our idol activities," Kotori weakly replied. She seemed to remember then, how Homura could count on them for help when he needed it.

But how did they end up being the voice actors?!

"Besides, once your promotion comes out, the public might start seeing you all as part of Another Dimension, right?"

No kidding, that's actually a possibility. So far, Homura has only promoted works related to the members of Another Dimension. So naturally, if he start promoting Muse, people would associate them with him and his circle.

And there's also Honoka's signature in her manga book. Netizens have realized that the signatures of Another Dimension's people are custom-made. Honoka's signature was practically a confirmation, right?!

Muse girls looked at each other, and they couldn't help but admit that they were indeed connected to Another Dimension.

But then, Nayuta suddenly thought, 'Could it be that the signature I received was special? Does that mean Minamiya-senpai had already decided to invite me to join from the start?'

Thinking of this, she suddenly burst into a giggling fit.

It really makes no sense...

"Then there are the programmers. Only Kato Megumi and I are responsible for it."

"Well... I only helped a little. Most of it was done by Homura-kun," Megumi said, not taking credit. She wasn't the type to hog the limelight.

"But you learned quickly and worked hard. You're not far from being independent."

"That's easy for you to say... Obviously, your contribution is much bigger than anyone else's..."

"Alright, alright, I am the leader after all. Everything I do is for our circle's sake, including recruiting and taking up various positions. It's my responsibility and what I should do, so it's not really a big deal." Homura waved his hand.

"Ara?" Utaha raised an eyebrow. "Homura-kun, if you put it that way... are you saying that we are unnecessary and shouldn't contribute anything to the circle? Isn't it our responsibility as well, and something we should be doing too?"

"That's right!" Eriri added with a hint of annoyance. "You're clearly treating us as outsiders, aren't you? You should rely on us more."

"Sorry!" Homura promptly apologized. "I misspoke! Everything in the circle relies on each and every one of you!"

"But it's not wrong though... You're the one with the most tasks," Eriri muttered.

"Okay..." Homura clapped his hands. "Since we are done discussing the current members. Now let's talk about some of the preparatory and the remaining vacant positions."

His words caught everyone's attention.

"First, there's music. Currently, it's just me who handles this, so we'll definitely need the help of Nishikino Maki-san."

"Me?!" Maki pointed to herself in astonishment.

Homura nodded. "As a Muse member and a composer, your musical skills are perfect."

"But..." Maki hesitated.

"Don't worry. Although I'll ask for your help later, it will ultimately depend on your mood at that time. I won't force you."

"Force...?" Mashiro's eyes lit up as she looked at the radiant Homura.

At that moment, his expression changed to an expressionless one as he looked at Eriri, Elf, and Sagiri.

"Spill it... Who taught Mashiro some strange knowledge?" He suddenly became frustrated. "It was a perfectly normal sentence, so how did Mashiro manage to say that word with an ambiguous meaning from it?!"

The three, along with Mashiro herself, awkwardly averted their gazes.

Homura: "..."

So all of you taught her, huh? And why is Mashiro averting her gaze too? Did she learn it on her own?!

Maki, who had just been feeling exasperated by Mashiro's comment earlier, suddenly smiled.

What an interesting group of people...