Pretty Big

"Homura-kun~! We're here!"

Honoka's voice echoed from the distance as she approached Homura's group.

"Ahh, Yukiho and Alisa-chan are with Homura-kun too!"

"Alisa, how do you feel?" Eli asked with a faint smile.

"It's amazing!" Alisa's eyes lit up instantly. "Everyone in Muse is so awesome! I knew I still loved Muse the most!"

"Uhh..." Eli was somewhat taken aback and the corner of her eye started to twitch. "Uh, Alisa... I was asking how you feel about the school..."

"School..." Alisa pondered for a moment and replied, "Hmm... because Muse is here, it's perfectly fine!"

Homura couldn't help but turn his face away, afraid his suppressed laughter might be noticed.

However, Eli still noticed, causing her expression to darken.

Clearly, all that was in her sister's head right now were just idols—truly beyond help.

"If you want to laugh, go ahead! Why are you holding it in?" Eli said impatiently.

"Ahem!" Homura coughed nonchalantly. "By the way, there's something I wanted to discuss with all of you."

"What is it?" Kotori asked.

"Do you think it's a good idea for Yukiho and Alisa to study with you?"

"Study with us?" Hanayo tilted her head, confused.

"What study, nyaa?" Rin asked, puzzled.

"I think Homura-kun means tutoring, right?" Nozomi, with a knowing smile, chimed in.

"Yukiho, what did Homura-kun mean when he said to study with us?" Honoka asked, skipping any guessing games.

"Voice acting." Yukiho replied.

"Oh, I see... studying voice acting with us..." Honoka's voice trailed off, and she stared at her sister with wide eyes. "Wait, have you agreed to it?"

Yukiho shook her head.

"Not yet... Minamiya-senpai mentioned it briefly before your performance and said we would talk about it after the performance."

"You should say yes! Why even think about it?" Honoka said hurriedly. "Homura-kun is an amazing person! He said it's because you are a perfect fit!"

Seeing Honoka, Homura was genuinely surprised.

She seemed to know him quite well!

"Moreover, you can also ask Homura-kun for help in subjects you're not good at!" Honoka continued. "I was planning on doing that myself."

"Well, that's something I intended to do." Homura said to them with a smile. "Since studying voice acting will surely consume a lot of your study time, it's only natural that I would help you catch up."

""Yatta!""

Honoka and Nico high-fived, celebrating Homura's willingness to tutor them.

"Onee-chan..." Alisa looked at her big sister, seeking her opinion.

"Homura-kun, can you tell us your specific ideas for the future?" Eli asked to confirm.

"It's pretty simple." Homura shrugged. "Alisa and Yukiho both admire school idols, right?"

Eli and Honoka nodded.

While Alisa's admiration for idols was exceptionally clear, Yukiho's plan to attend UTX was also influenced by A-RISE.

Because of this, there was no doubt that both of them truly admired school idols.

"You know, their voices are equally pleasant, so it's a no-brainer that they won't become school idols. In fact, it seems like they've always wanted to be one." Homura continued.

To his words, Yukiho and Alisa nodded in agreement.

With that said, everyone understood that since they were definitely going to become school idols, it was perfectly fine to learn some voice-acting techniques.

"I'm on board with Alisa's idea." Eli shared her opinion.

"Okay, now that we're all in agreement, let's confirm the time and place." Homura nodded.

"Evenings are the only option, I guess..." Nozomi suggested. "We're all students, so it'll have to be after school. As for the place..."

At this point, everyone started brainstorming.

Homura raised his hand.

"Hai~ hai~ Student Minamiya! What's your take?"

Kotori called on him in a comical tone.

"Answering Minami-sensei! I just wanted to say that no matter where we decide, I'll personally drop all of you off at home." Homura also responded in a comical tone.

Seeing their antics, the girls visibly relaxed, even though their homes weren't actually far away. Still, at night, especially after hearing about Homura dealing with some gangsters in the past, they couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

In the end, the discussion shifted to the location.

"Only Maki's place can accommodate this many people, right?" Nico suggested, folding her arms and thinking.

"Wait... Honoka's place could work too, right?" Maki countered.

"My place..."

Honoka considered, but Yukiho shook her head and spoke up.

"No, it won't! While our house has a lot of rooms, they're not big enough to fit this many people!"

"Maki..." Nico's eyes shifted. "It has to be your place, doesn't it? Or is there some inconvenience?"

'There's none, but bringing a boy home... even if it's not for anything inappropriate, who knows how my mom would look at me!' Maki complained inwardly.

"Could it be... because of Homura?" Nico cautiously asked.

"Uhh... can't we just go to Homura-kun's place?" Maki turned her face slightly.

Seeing her reaction, everyone finally understood.

It was clear that Maki felt uncomfortable bringing a boy home.

"But going to Homura-kun's place might inconvenience others, right? Isn't the game still in development?"

Umi made a valid point, one that none of them had considered at first before she brought it up.

"Have you all misunderstood something?" Elf asked, looking puzzled. "Homura's house is pretty large, and we only work together in one room. Even if his place doesn't work out, right across from it is my house. You're all welcome to use any room in my place except my writing room."

"What? Elf-chan's house is right across from Homura-kun's?" Honoka looked surprised. "I've never heard of it!"

"Elf moved not too long ago," Homura explained with a smile. "Her house is old, but it's pretty spacious. By the way, Elf paid for it in full with the royalty from her light novel's anime adaptation."

"Paid in full..."

After hearing his explanation, the eleven girls' mouths twitched in unison.

One must know that Elf was only fourteen, yet she was already so rich!

"So, should we go there?" Hanayo couldn't help but ask.

Regardless of whether it was the places of Homura or Elf, it was all in the same neighborhood.

"Rin wants to go! Because Haru-chan is there, nyaa!"

Rin, busy petting Haru in a squat position, chimed in right away when she heard Hanayo's question.

Muse's nine members and the two little sisters exchanged glances and nodded after a brief moment.

"I guess we have no other choice, right? After all, none of our houses are suitable..." Umi remarked.

"Still, just how big is Minamiya-senpai's house?" Yukiho asked curiously.

"It's definitely not smaller than mine." Maki answered, resuming her normal demeanor now that she didn't have to bring them to her home.

"Senpai's house is pretty big."

Nayuta explained to the girls, though with only a few adjectives like 'big', 'many rooms', 'good soundproofing', and 'comfortable to stay in', among others.

"Could it be... a castle?" Honoka quipped.

"Well, it's definitely bigger than the hot spring villa we went to last time!" Nayuta concluded with a frown. 

Muse: "..."

Yukiho and Alisa: "???"