"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?
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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?
Mashiro remained silent, simply nodding heavily, but the fire in her eyes was evident to everyone!
Eriri was now fired up as well!
She admitted that, when it came to drawing, she couldn't hold a candle to Mashiro right now. But character design? Mashiro had a long way to go to beat her!
Seeing the two's reactions, Homura's lips curled into a smile and turned to Sagiri and Izumi.
"Do you two want to join in?"
Izumi clenched her teeth and nodded, even though she didn't believe she could win, this was about gaining experience. If she had the chance to participate, she would.
Sagiri also nodded, more confident in herself. After all, she had made a name for herself through character design!
"Yosh! All our circle's artists are in! Why does this feel like it's becoming a big deal so suddenly?" Homura was getting excited. "If we contact a TV station, they might even consider making a special show out of this, right?"
Though his statement left the girls somewhat puzzled, they couldn't deny the possibility.
"Alright, I'll pick a character. Let's skip the Heroic Spirits for now, you probably don't know much about them... Hmm, let me think..."
Homura pondered for a moment before a spark of inspiration hit him.
"It's her!"
He pointed at a name.
"Illyasviel?"
"Yup." Homura nodded. "You've all seen the outline of the story. You should have some understanding of Illyasviel, right?"
The four artists furrowed their brows and fell silent. Without a script, grasping the essence of this character from his rough descriptions alone was quite challenging.
"I'll give you half an hour. And last but not least, remember, combining various pieces of information is the best approach."
Homura stated with a smile, then ushered everyone else to leave.
===
In the backyard.
"Homura-kun, who do you think will come out on top?" Utaha asked.
Homura thought for a moment.
"It's probably either Sagiri or Eriri. Personally, I'm leaning towards Eriri. Her experience gives her an edge."
After saying that, he posed another question to the four writer girls who were with him.
"As writers, how do you envision Illyasviel in your minds, different from how artists see her?"
The four exchanged glances, and Elf was the first to speak.
"Judging from her name, I'd say her hair shouldn't be black."
"Considering the world-building and some of the information Homura-kun shared, Illyasviel is a homunculus, right? So her body should have some distinct features." Utaha added.
"Her parents are gone, she's seen as a tool, and with all the complex psychology, Illyasviel's personality should be twisted." Nayuta offered her opinion.
"Given her Heroic Spirit, Heracles, Illyasviel would be best as a loli-kind, which aligns with what Utaha-san just mentioned about her having a unique body." Muramasa concluded.
"So, a silver-haired loli with angelic and demonic aspects?" Homura nodded.
"Heh..." Homura chuckled to himself. "Well summarized. You guys are something else. It took no time for you to get close to the true Illyasviel."
"Oh? Our summary is quite accurate it seems." Elf giggled.
"So... we'll see who comes closest to this image later?" Nanami asked.
Homura nodded and looked at Nanami.
"Yep, leaving aside my expectations as the leader, what you all just discussed, you must think it's a good idea too, right?"
"Yeah... the way everyone described it, I already have a vague image in my mind." Utaha nodded.
"Senpai!" Nayuta asked eagerly. "Can you draw Illyasviel just like the one we just discussed?"
"I can, but I won't." Homura nodded, then shook his head.
"Why?" Nayuta was confused.
"Because I have high hopes for them..." Homura looked at the others who had already started sketching. "If I draw it, they might get influenced and it'll be difficult for them to come up with something unique and better."
He thought that letting them shine on their own was the best.
Hearing his words, Megumi couldn't help but nod in agreement. 'Homura-kun can surely do it, even if it's just him. But this way, everyone gets to grow. Since meeting him, everyone has changed so much...'
Time slowly passed.
Half an hour later.
"How's it going?"
Homura and the rest walked over and asked the four artists.
"Done." Eriri nodded.
"I'm done too." Mashiro chimed in.
"Umu, it's finished." Sagiri also confirmed.
"Minamiya-senpai, I've only finished the upper body..." Izumi frowned.
"No worries." Homura laughed. "The upper part of the character is what matters most. You can just describe the body a bit."
"Alright then..." Izumi nodded in relief.
"So, let's reveal your work."
First was Izumi, but, how to put it...
"Looks like Chiyo, no?" Nanami wondered.
"Yeah, Izumi hasn't really broken out of this circle yet. She instinctively drew a character she's more familiar with." Homura explained. "But that's also a lack of experience issue. Just get more involved in this kind of thing, and you'll get the hang of it."
He comforted her again as he saw Izumi seemed a bit down.
"Your room for growth is still quite big, so don't be down, okay." Homura said while patting her head, which lifted her mood.
Next up was Mashiro.
Seeing her drawing, Homura raised an eyebrow.
"Mashiro, this expressionless blonde girl, looks a lot like you..."
"Homunculus." Mashiro responded simply.
He understood what she meant. Because Illyasviel was a homunculus, her setting was that of an emotionless being, but still...
He pointed to a line in the project plan.
"The culmination of alchemy born from the womb of the homunculus, Irisviel. She is both a homunculus and a human."
"Mashiro... did you miss this line?"
Hearing that, Mashiro's gaze instantly wandered.
"Well, I guess you didn't see it, huh..." Homura rolled his eyes.
Next, Sagiri.
"A golden-haired loli?" Homura muttered. Most lolis were flat anyway, which meant this seemed to be quite close.
Finally, Eriri.
"Another golden-haired loli?" Elf exclaimed.
"No, look at the eyes." Muramasa said calmly.
Elf looked directly at Illyasviel's eyes and found they were blood-red, with a hint of coldness in her gaze, but her face still bore a smile.
"So, who do you all think won?" Homura grinned.
Everyone, except the four artists, pointed to Eriri's drawing!
"Any objections from the three of you?"
Sagiri, Mashiro, and Izumi all shook their heads, but Mashiro spoke up.
"Explain."
"I just discussed it with the four scriptwriters. The ideal image is as if an angel and demon in one body, a silver-haired loli."
Hearing his explanation, they all understood.
Eriri's drawing was the closest match to Illyasviel, followed by Sagiri, while Mashiro and Izumi were quite far off.
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