Chapter 253: Task Assignment

"Wait a minute!" Nico suddenly widened her eyes. "Having our manga and Love Live share the same name, won't it cause a problem?"

Everyone was startled; it was entirely possible!

"Ahh, that shouldn't be a problem." Maki chimed in.

"Why?" Nico asked confusedly.

"Minamiya family has been actively developing the entertainment industry, and Love Live, as a new event for entertainment, with the Minamiya family's influence... You know what I mean..."

Maki closed her left eye and played with the tip of her hair.

"So that's not a problem at all..."

"..."

"…We kinda forgot about the Minamiya family." Nozomi smiled and said.

"Because Homura-kun doesn't give off that rich kid vibe, nyaa~" Rin said with a realization.

"Rin-chan... is that a compliment?" Hanayo asked, puzzled.

"Of course! Because Homura-kun is our friend! Rich kids are hard to get close to, but Homura-kun is different, nyaa~"

"Hard to get close to... just like the old Maki-chan!" Honoka chuckled.

"I did not?!" Maki retorted in a hurry.

"Well, it's not as obvious now..."

"Whatever..." Maki rolled her eyes.

"Heehee~" Honoka smiled happily.

===

Homura and the girls searched for various videos and, after watching, couldn't help but marvel at how fast things spread on the internet.

Even those who didn't know about Muse might have come across a few of their songs, especially 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss'!

True to its name, it spread like wildfire.

"Homura-kun, you released something incredible..." Utaha muttered.

"It's not a bad thing, is it?" Elf chimed in. "As long as everyone likes it."

"Yeah, you're right. In the end, there's not much difference between novels and songs. There's always that one work that becomes a hit."

Later on, they all played some board games to pass the time. After all, it was the only way they could all join in since everyone was familiar with the games already.

Time passed quickly, and even the carefree Yui and Ritsu kept an eye on the clock, not wanting to overstay their welcome. After all, they had school the next day, and people were waiting for them at home.

Yui had her little sister at home. The rest also all had their parents waiting, which meant it wouldn't be good to stay out too late.

"Homura-shi, we should get going!" Saori stood up and stretched.

Homura glanced at the time; it was already 3:30 in the afternoon.

"Yeah, you guys live a bit far away, so you should leave a bit earlier." Homura nodded.

"Any later, and it'll be rush hour. No matter what mode of transport you use, it'll be crowded." Kuroneko added.

"Woah, I totally forgot about that until you mentioned it!" Ritsu exclaimed in surprise.

"Kuroneko is surprisingly dependable at times like these, huh..." Kirino chimed in.

"At times like these?" Kuroneko furrowed her brow. "Am I not dependable at other times?"

"Ma~ ma~!" Saori intervened. "Let's not argue now. You can continue your quarrel when we leave."

""Who quarreled?!""

Kuroneko and Kirino glared at Saori.

Seeing this scene, Homura sighed. This was an interesting way to calm things down.

"Well then, Homura-shi, we're off!"

"Alright..." Homura saw them to the door. "Have a safe journey!"

Suddenly, he noticed the other four were ready to go as well.

"Are you all leaving now?" Homura asked Tsumugi.

"Yes, Homura-niisan, we won't disturb you any longer. After all, you will be busy with your circle's work, right?" Tsumugi smiled.

"Alright, like I said before, feel free to come and visit anytime."

"Homuhomu-senpai, next time, I want to eat tea eggs!" Yui said cheerfully.

Homura chuckled.

"Sure thing. Just let me know a day before you come, and I'll prepare them for you."

"Deal!" Yui said while extending her pinky finger.

"...Pinky promise, huh?" Homura said, extending his hand.

"Tied by the pinky, can't change for a hundred years!"

"Well then, we're off." Mio gave a slight bow to everyone.

""Goodbye!""

Everyone waved as they left.

===

"They left..." Nanami sighed softly.

"Nanami, no need to be so melancholic. They can come several times a day if they want." Elf, sprawled on the sofa, comforted Nanami as she heard her words.

"Even if they don't come, we can still contact them through the phone..." Sagiri said, holding her phone and gesturing.

"That's true..." Nanami nodded. "But farewells are always like this, aren't they?"

"What a sentimental girl..." Utaha remarked and made a call. "Hello, Saori, ah, it's nothing, Nanami is feeling a bit down, so I just think that you guys should chat..."

Utaha handed Nanami the phone.

Nanami: "..."

Everyone: "..."

Utaha's move was so smooth!

Nanami mechanically took the phone while Homura held back his laughter.

===

After dinner, everyone sat on the sofa.

On the coffee table lay out the plan that Homura had made.

"Even though the official work begins tomorrow, for those who can't wait, let's assign the tasks now..." Homura suggested.

Muramasa couldn't help but nod.

"For the script, there are five of us—Elf, Muramasa, Utaha-senpai, Nayu, and me." Homura continued. "Since it's a script with fantasy elements, this time, Elf and Muramasa will take the lead, with Utaha-senpai, Nayu, and me as support. Is that okay?"

"No problem!" Elf agreed.

"After all, I'm not good at describing battle scenes..." Utaha added.

"Breaking it down further, for modern combat scenarios, Muramasa will take the lead, and for the memories of the Heroic Spirits, Elf will lead. After all, some of the Heroic Spirits existed in an era close to the Age of Gods, which is Elf's forte."

Although Muramasa wasn't content with Elf's role, she agreed.

"For character design, handed to Sagiri and Eriri, I'll take care of some too."

"What about me, Homura?" Mashiro couldn't help but ask.

"Mashiro, of course, you'll be doing the original art, and you'll go with Izumi."

"Eh?" Izumi pointed at herself. "I'm doing original art too?"

Homura nodded without hesitation.

"That's right, you are. Although being in the same position as Mashiro will put a lot of pressure on you, it will also rapidly improve your skills."

"But..."

"Don't worry." Homura patted her little head. "Do you lack confidence? Impossible, right? Weren't you so enthusiastic before, showing me your doujins? Or perhaps, are you anxious because you're not part of Another Dimension?"

"If that's your worry, it's alright. You won't leak anything, right? Besides, Kosaka Akane is helping us out, so there won't be any problems. If you really can't handle it, just join Another Dimension then."

Izumi's little face suddenly became entangled again.

The girls looked at Homura, who was poaching Izumi, with speechless expressions.

"Because there are combat scenes, the pressure on the original artists is very high. Sagiri and Eriri, after completing all the character designs, try to help with the original art as much as possible."

"No problem..." Eriri said nonchalantly. "After all, wasn't I in charge of character design and original art before?"

"Yeah, I trust you."

"Homura, I want to do character design too." Mashiro said again.

Homura thought for a moment and decided.

"Alright. Since you asked, I'll let you do character design as well. But... how about a little competition with Eriri? If you win, you can choose to do the character design for all the characters. But if you lose, the main characters will be out of reach for you, how?"

Hearing that, everyone got excited.

They knew that Mashiro's talent in drawing was almost unparalleled. That being said, could she handle character design?