Chapter 207: Changing Name?
"What?! You can understand people's emotional pain upon first meeting them? How well does Minamiya-san grasp people's psychology and feelings?" exclaimed Rizu, astonished.
"Oh, it's nothing!" replied Homura, cooking while explaining. "At that time, Nayu clearly showed signs of nervousness. Her speech was stuttering, and she even displayed some stress responses—it's likely due to prolonged lack of social interaction."
"A seemingly ordinary girl who avoids contact with others for extended periods? What could be the reason?" Rizu expressed disbelief.
Elf wore a helpless expression. "Only someone like you could understand a person completely upon first contact."
Homura had a wry smile. "Are you praising me or mocking me?"
"Praising you, of course. I bet you already have a good understanding of all of us just from our first meeting." Elf replied casually.
'First meeting? I understand all of you without needing to meet! But of course, that's a secret...'
"You are exaggerating..." Homura tried to argue.
"Let me ask the person involved." Elf turned to face the others. "Come on, think about it. When you first met Homura, did you feel he knew things about you that you hadn't told him?"
"Now that you mention it... yes..." recalled Miyako. "He complimented Uruka's cooking skill right from the start and said that I... etto, have a kind heart."
As she spoke, Miyako felt a strange sensation, as if she were praising herself.
"See!" Elf wore a knowing expression.
"But..." Uruka expressed confusion. "Minamiya-sensei said it was because of Haru-chan. Right?"
Elf glanced at Haru lying on the sofa, and said, "Oh, kindness and good cooking... those were the two types of people Homura mentioned that Haru-chan would be drawn to. The other type is someone like Nayuta-chan, who makes people worry."
"But I still feel like even without Haru-chan, he would have known these things. After all, someone who makes people worry is also someone Haru-chan would approach, right? How did you know we're not one of those?" Uruka wondered.
"It's obvious..." Homura exclaimed, helplessly. "Takemoto-san, you have a vibrant energy about you. Even if you try to force a smile, it's futile, so you were naturally excluded."
"Shirakawa-san seems to be a cheerful person, with her emotions written all over her face, so the reason is the same."
"See!" Elf maintained her knowing expression. "He simply excluded you as someone who makes others worry. If that isn't understanding someone, then what is?"
They became more and more dizzy as Elf kept talking. In the end, when they looked at Homura's expression, it seemed as if they were looking at someone who could read minds!
"Come on! They're not actors! What's so strange about understanding things at a glance?" Homura felt that if he didn't explain further, these people would probably start avoiding him!
"Indeed... Minamiya-san has a deep understanding of human feeling." Rizu said with some delight. "Inviting Minamiya-san to help with our studies at the beginning was a wise decision."
"Ri-chan is right!" Fumino chimed in. "Meeting Minamiya-kun that night was really fortunate for Rizu-chan. Otherwise, we wouldn't have made the progress we have now."
"Both Rizurin and Fuminocchi found their own studying methods, but what should I do?" Uruka lamented. "Minamiya-sensei's explanations are helpful, but when he lectures..."
"Let's start with your interests..." Homura interjected. "When you're doing something you enjoy, your mood is pleasant, and your focus will be relatively sharp. That's when studying becomes efficient."
"Takemoto-san, you can try studying while doing sports you enjoy. Of course, if you like playing games or other activities that require intense concentration, this method won't work."
Like Yui, if you ask her to play guitar while studying... don't even think about it.
"Eh? How did Minamiya-sensei know that I like sports?"
"See!" Elf chimed in again. "I told you..."
"Skin tone!" Homura quickly interrupted and exclaimed inwardly, 'Elf! Why wouldn't you stop talking about that topic?!'
"First, let's rule out makeup. There's actually a distinction between natural and tan skin, and you're most likely tan. Considering your lively personality, it's highly probable that you engage in outdoor activities."
"Wow, impressive!" Uruka applauded. "Actually, my specialty is swimming!"
"Swimming... does your school have an outdoor swimming pool?"
"Nope!"
Homura shook his head. "So how did you get that tan skin? Can you get such a tan from an indoor pool?"
"Ahaha... Well, I do go to outdoor pools to swim sometimes."
"See, Elf? I can be wrong too." Homura smugly refuted what Elf had said earlier.
"Who knows if you did it on purpose..." Elf pouted, unsure whether to believe him or not.
"Actually, there's something interesting, although it's not directly related to this topic. It's quite a coincidence."
"What?" Rizu asked.
"It's about your names. Think about your best subjects and then think about the meaning of your names."
"Ogata Rizu... Logic?"
"Furuhashi Fumino... Sentence?"
"Takemoto Uruka... Martial? Hey, what does that have to do with me?" Uruka said with a puzzled expression.
"Uruka should be Martial arts, right?" Miyako spoke up.
"Martial arts? But I'm not good at those..." Uruka murmured.
At this point, Rizu was speechless. "Minamiya-san said it was about our best subjects, aren't martial arts associated with physical activity? Swimming is also physical activity."
"That feels quite forced..." Uruka still frowned.
Homura almost burst out laughing. He vigorously shook his head. The more he thought about it, the weirder it got.
"By the way, Fumino, should we change our names?" Rizu suddenly said.
"Huh?" Homura, Elf, and Miyako exclaimed in disbelief.
"Why not give it a try?" Fumino also felt intrigued. "If our less-than-ideal performance in our best subjects is really due to our names, then changing them might be necessary!"
Homura felt like he had an endless supply of sarcasm. He just casually mentioned it, and now they actually believed him?!
"Furuhashi Rizu?" After saying it, Rizu shook her head. "It feels like I got married into the Fumino's family..."
Homura: "..."
"Ogata Fumino? Huh?" Fumino's eyes lit up. "That sounds really nice!"
"Stop!" Homura quickly intervened, otherwise, they might actually change their names!
"I was just kidding! Don't take it seriously, Minamiya-kun." Fumino mischievously smiled.
Homura: "..."
"Eh?! So it was just a joke?!" Rizu exclaimed in surprise.
Fumino: "..."
It seemed this joke had taken a complicated turn.
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