Killing Two Birds with One Stone

"But... what about my dad..."

"No problem! Leave it to me!" Fumino patted her chest confidently.

"Hello, Uncle! Yes, it's me, Fumino! Can I have dinner with Ri-chan today? Okay, okay, thank you, Uncle! Goodbye!"

"Done!"

Everyone watched in astonishment as Fumino effortlessly handled everything, from making the phone call to persuading Rizu's father, and then hanging up the phone.

However, she intentionally withheld some information!

If Fumino mentioned having dinner with Rizu and a boy, especially at the boy's place, Rizu's father would show up at Fumino's doorstep in no time and whisk his little angel away!

Both Homura and Fumino were absolutely certain about this, which was why she didn't mention it! And she wasn't lying either.

Homura gave Fumino a thumbs-up in front of everyone.

"Well... I don't have anything to say..." even Rizu was speechless.

"Oh~! Then let's go!" Fumino's excitement seemed to be growing.

"Okay." Homura nodded. "Let's go, and check on Haru first."

===

When they arrived at the backyard, Haru was still lying in her usual spot, but there was no sound from the neighboring house this time.

To the surprise of everyone, Homura jumped onto the wall again and looked at the other side.

"It doesn't seem like someone is at home in this quiet situation..." Then he noticed two small cats sleeping by the window.

"Furuhashi-san, did the family next door go out?" Homura asked.

Fumino paused for a moment and replied, "I'm not sure, but it seems like there's someone at the house in the evening."

"That's good... at least those two little cats are being taken care of." Homura turned to Haru. "What do you think? If you're worried, I can talk to them about adopting the two kittens."

Haru shook her head and meowed, "Meow~ (No need, I just saw them waking up and eating, and they were full of energy.)"

"Alright." Homura shrugged. "Let's go home then."

Then came the familiar routine. Homura jumped off the wall, and Haru landed on his shoulder.

"Amazing! You were really communicating just now!" exclaimed Miyako in amazement.

"That's what I've been saying! Myaa-san! I've already said that the Senpai can understand cat language!" Nayuta shook her little fist.

"But Nayu, you never mentioned that Haru-chan can understand human language too!"

Nayuta shook her head. "Haru-chan doesn't understand human language, she just understands what Senpai says!"

"I actually think that Minamiya-sensei's abilities are amazing!" Uruka's eyes were still sparkling.

"He went up with a swoosh! And came down with a swish!"

"Of course..." Nayuta proudly said, "Even if three people fell from the stage, Senpai could easily catch them!"

Okay, Nayuta took credit for all the showmanship of Homura.

Shaking his head, the group followed Homura as they walked towards the Minamiya Residence, listening to Nayuta who recounted his incredible feats.

Homura felt a little awkward—after all, he was the protagonist in her stories!

They deliberately avoided passing by Rizu's shop. Instead, they stopped at the supermarket to buy a few more things before finally arriving at the Minamiya Residence.

===

"Wow, it's huge!" exclaimed Uruka as he looked at the Minamiya Residence. "It's much bigger than Fuminocchi's house!"

Homura didn't have much to say and could only invite everyone inside.

"Oh, Homura! You're back!" Elf leaned out of her own house's window.

"Come over! I'm about to cook, and we have guests!" Homura waved at her, then turned around, opened the door, and took the opportunity to explain a few things to the others.

"That was Yamada Elf-sensei. Senju Muramasa-sensei is visiting her house, and they will be joining us for dinner."

"Yamada Elf-sensei is surprisingly young!" Fumino exclaimed. "She lives across from the Minamiya-kun's place huh..."

"She just moved here not long ago. The previous house had been vacant for several years. Alright, let's get inside. I'm back!"

"Excuse me." (x4)

===

Except for a few who were not at home, Homura briefly introduced them to each other and started preparing dinner.

"Furuhashi-san, come... let's start cooking."

"Yes, Minamiya-kun, please teach me!" Fumino wore a serious expression.

"I'll help too!" Uruka said to Homura.

"No need, Takemoto-san, you're a guest. Guests shouldn't work." Homura tied his apron and threw another one to Fumino. "You guys can chat in the living room. We'll be done soon!"

Muramasa and Nanami assisted with the preparations. Occasionally, when Homura was busy, Nanami would explain things to Fumino.

Elf, however, was not in the kitchen. She was chatting with a few people in the living room.

"So... this is your first meeting, but you two are already getting along so well?" Elf exclaimed while gazing toward Nayuta and Miyako. She knew just how reserved Nayuta could be when meeting new people.

"Ehehe..." Nayuta just smiled.

Miyako pondered for a moment and explained, "It must be fate, right? I really feel close to Nayu."

Elf nodded thoughtfully, thinking to herself, 'Could it be that Homura foresaw something again? It seems that he made the right decision to bring Nayuta-chan along this time.'

"Now that you mentioned it. Yesterday, me and Miyako planned to meet Minamiya-sensei as agreed with Fuminocchi. But then, Fuminocchi suddenly mentioned that Minamiya-sensei would be accompanied by a girl. I never expected Nayuta-chan and Miyako to hit it off so well on their first meeting." Uruka explained.

"Oh? Yesterday?" Elf touched her chin, unable to suppress a smile. 'As I thought, Homura really had his own plans after all! That's why he wanted to bring Nayuta-chan. Not only did he provide tutoring, but he also helped Nayuta-chan heal from her trauma. Killing two birds with one stone!'

Elf marveled at Homura's actions!

"So, does that mean... even if I didn't come today, Senpai would still have told me to go?" Nayuta wore a complex expression.

She still felt like she hadn't been fully understood. But Homura had actually already considered so much?

"That's right." Rizu nodded. "Fumino informed us yesterday that Minamiya-san would be bringing someone, so we were mentally prepared."

"Did Senpai already know that Myaa-san and I would get along well?"

"That's hard to say..." Elf shook her head. "Maybe he just wanted to give it a try. After all, when Homura saw you at the book signing event and met you for the first time, he knew you were hurting inside."

Nayuta looked at Homura, who was busy in the kitchen, and her eyes sparkled with a peculiar brilliance.