Tea Time

"And so, the two of us meet by chance~"

"Carrying red, bright red, large flowers~"

"And so, the two of us meet by chance~"

"The next time we meet, we'll be different people, yes?"

===

The performance concluded smoothly and flawlessly, leaving everyone in disbelief.

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

Homura and the others showered the girls' performance with applause, clapping madly!

"Oohhh~~~! That was amazing! So impressive!" Honoka and Rin couldn't help but shout out.

Yui and Tsumugi were gasping for breath at the moment. When they played together, they felt as if they had received divine assistance. It was as if they had become one entity, and the more they played, the more exhilarating it became. Therefore, after this performance, they were too exhausted to continue.

"You all did an amazing job this time!" Homura approached them. "Remember the state you were in just now. With that state... you won't fail!"

With sweat streaming down their faces, they nodded with smiles.

"The most important thing for you now is to... have a song of your own. And Yui, you need to learn how to read sheet music."

"Yes, I also think that's what we must do next! Then we'll practice hard!" Mio nodded affirmatively. "And I'll make sure to supervise her learning how to read sheet music!"

"Ehh~" Yui just collapsed on the ground. "No need to rush... relaxation is important, you know."

"That's right!" Ritsu also lay down next to Yui. "We should go have some fun! We rarely get the chance to come to such a big villa, it would be a waste if we didn't enjoy ourselves. We can practice anytime..."

Mio clenched her fist, veins popping on her forehead. "You two...!"

"Come on, Mio-chan! I'll go make some tea. Let's all have some tea, and we can discuss the rest later." Tsumugi suddenly said.

"Tsumugi... even you..." Mio weakly lowered her head.

"Oh! Let's have some tea then!" The two energetic girls who were lying on the ground stood up and rushed back to the front hall.

Mio: "..."

Homura chuckled and shook his head. They really had their own shenanigans.

He turned his head and looked at Umi, who was reminiscing about something. He asked, "Umi, how do you feel?"

"Probably... feels alive..." Umi let out a sigh of relief. "Their performance swept me along, and I couldn't help but completely immerse myself in it. I even subconsciously ignored the presence of the audience, including all of you."

"Yeah, I just told Eli-senpai and the others. This group is like Muse, a miracle. However, they are completely spontaneous, not fond of practice, love to slack off, love to drink tea and even think of playing around everywhere. But once they step on the stage, they seem to be in sync, as if their hearts are connected..."

"That's right... just like all nine of you..."

Umi sweated. "We don't like to slack off... at least most of us don't. It's hard to say about Honoka though."

"Umi-chan! That's mean! You're talking behind my back!" Honoka suddenly appeared from the side.

"Haha~ I just meant that you all have the same spirit of unity! But it's okay to slack off occasionally. It's not good to be too tense all the time. At least when you relax, inspiration is most likely to appear, and it helps when you're writing your own songs."

"But..." Umi wanted to say something more.

"Let me give you an example! Let's say you want to write lyrics. One scenario is you're by the seaside, feeling the ocean breeze and immersing yourself in the atmosphere. The other scenario is sweating and shouting slogans during training... Which mindset is more suitable for writing a song?"

"Of course, it's the first one..."

"See, that's why, I'm not asking you to completely relax. Moderate relaxation is also essential."

"After all, you're not machines..." He added.

Umi nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. From now on, I'll arrange... no, half an hour for everyone to relax!"

Homura: "..."

Honoka: "..."

"Umi-chan is indeed a devil..."

"Hmm? Honoka, did you say something..."

"I didn't say anything! Let's go! Mugi-chan's tea should be ready soon! I really want to try it!" Full of survival instincts, Honoka pushed Umi away while speaking and left.

"Huh? Did everyone leave?" Homura looked around dumbfounded and realized he was the only one left.

With a helpless shake of his head, he turned off all the equipment and left the practice room with Eli's laptop.

===

"Oh, Homura is back!" Elf's eyes lit up. "Homura, come and taste this black tea! It's truly a rare and exquisite discovery!"

Homura shrugged. "After all, it's black tea brought by Mugi. I'm not surprised at all."

He walked over to Eli and returned the laptop to her. "Thanks for lending me your computer, Eli-senpai."

Eli shook her head. "No need to thank me. After all, I also saw something good. Umi has overcome some of her shyness."

"They've truly become a unified group..."

"No doubt about it!" Nozomi said with a smile. "Eli-chi now has become quite protective of everyone! She's thrilled with any little progress they make."

"Huh! Nozomi, when are you ever going to stop blabbering?" Eli became a little frustrated. Was it really fun to keep exposing her like this?

If Homura and Nozomi knew what she was thinking at that moment, they would undoubtedly nod without hesitation and say, 'It's really fun!'

Unfortunately, neither of them had mind-reading abilities...

"Homura-niisan, this is yours." Tsumugi held a cup of black tea and handed it directly to him.

"Thank you, Mugi!" Homura took it and smelled it, immediately recognizing it as a top-notch product. After taking a sip, he sighed, "Although the tea is of premium quality, Mugi's brewing skills are impressive too."

"Homura-niisan, you flatter me. I just brewed a bit too much. It's a habit of mine," Tsumugi modestly replied.

"Eh?" Ritsu froze. "Could it be... is this a super high-quality tea?"

"That's right." Homura nodded. "Although it's not the absolute best, it's definitely considered a super high-quality tea."

"Could it be..." Ritsu's hand trembled.

"Our Light Music Club..." Mio's heart trembled.

"Are we drinking super high-quality black tea like water every day?" Yui's voice trembled.

Everyone: "..."

"Truly worthy of the Kotobuki Family..." Eriri sighed.

"Yes, Kotobuki Family uses this kind of black tea in many of their shops, right?" Homura agreed.

"Homura-niisan, how did you know?" Tsumugi asked in surprise. "This was given to me by the manager of a cafe I visited."

"Because only shops would have this level and quantity, right?" Homura smiled. "If it were in your home, you would be drinking something even higher-quality, but definitely not as much."

"That's amazing..." Tsumugi clapped her hands. "That's correct."

"On this day, we once again realized... the fact that Mugi is truly a real Ojou-sama from a powerful family, hahh..." Ritsu sighed.

"Mugi-chan, what a scary person..." Yui's face turned serious.

"These two... are at it again..." Mio shook her head helplessly.