章 290: Another Signing Event

"Unexpected."

Seeing the public's reaction, Homura raised an eyebrow, clearly amazed.

While it started due to Elf's boredom, the culmination of various coincidences and inevitabilities led to some rather positive results!

"Huhum! You can thank me!" Elf proudly patted her chest.

"What does it have to do with you?" Muramasa rolled her eyes.

"How could it not?" Elf countered. "If it weren't for me, Homura wouldn't have created this dance and song! And if Homura didn't create them, how would things have turned out?"

"Even without you, I think Minamiya-kun would have created them eventually." Muramasa calmly shot back.

She was actually correct.

Homura would have created 'Kill Me Baby Dance' sooner or later, so Muramasa had a point.

"Even if that's the case, the effect now and in the future will be completely different!"

Elf adamantly disagreed with Muramasa.

"In the future, Muse will be even more popular. By then, a mere dance won't make a big difference to them. It won't be as significant as it is now."

"Hmm... that makes sense." Homura pondered, then shook his head and left to do his own thing with the others.

===

The next day, Sunday.

It was the scheduled signing event of 'The Promised Neverland' and also the day of Nayuta's novel debut.

At this moment, Homura, Nanami, Elf, and Nayuta had left the Minamiya residence.

Nanami was off to her voice acting school, never giving up on her studies, even with Homura's guidance—truly a dedicated girl.

Nayuta, in disguise, snuck into the signing event covertly with her editor and watched her novel debut.

Elf, on the other hand, was out because of boredom, ready to join Homura's signing event to find some excitement.

Because of this, Homura had prepared quite a lot of bento today—three servings, including a late-night snack.

Just like the last time, Homura and Elf secretly entered the event from behind the venue and found Ayano.

"Homura, you're here!"

Ayano greeted Homura before turning to Elf.

"I didn't expect Yamada-sensei to be here too."

"Since the game's script and my novel are both done, there's nothing else for me to do." Elf shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I'm bored, so I thought I might as well come along."

"I feel like you'll be even more bored here." Homura sighed.

"Well, Yamada-sensei can't appear alongside Homura, so you're on your own. It must be pretty dull." Ayano agreed.

"Nah, no problem." Elf chuckled. "I'll just wander around, listen to people chatting, and see if anything is interesting."

"Alright." Homura shrugged. "As long as you don't cause any trouble, do as you please."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. Okay, I'm off." Elf adjusted her sun hat and happily slipped away.

"...Homura, do you think she will be alright?" Ayano seemed a bit concerned as she watched the crowd.

"I've told Elf to stay near the venue and... I trust my fans. Well, they're not the type to stir up trouble." Homura answered calmly.

Ayano nodded and didn't anything say more.

Afterward, Homura and Ayano took a brief stroll around.

"It feels like there are more people than last time." Homura remarked as he observed the crowd.

"That's obvious, you're more famous than last time." Ayano laughed.

"With this many people, even if we start in the morning, I doubt we'll finish signing by midnight..." Homura said with worry.

"What are you afraid of?" Ayano grinned. "Just take a nap and ask for an extension on your blog. You can even delay it by a day."

Upon hearing her suggestion, Homura had a bewildered expression.

He couldn't help but feel like her idea was unreasonable.

===

At the same time, Elf strolled casually along the side of the queue, listening to the chatter of the people.

Occasionally, if something piqued her interest, she would stop.

Passerby A: "The Promised Neverland is really awesome! I still can't believe that mind-blowing twist at the beginning!"

Passerby B: "Yeah! Even though they're just a bunch of kids, they live in such a world... facing all sorts of challenges and adventures at such a young age... that's what drew me in."

Passerby A: "I don't know why... I can't bring myself to hate that mother. So many children died because of her..."

Passerby B: "Maybe it's because, in that messed-up world, no one has it easy... She's just trying to survive, and if we're to hate anyone, it should be that world."

Passerby A: "But Minamiya-sensei created that world... shouldn't we hate him?"

Passerby B: "Man, I'm conflicted."

"Pfff—!"

Elf instinctively laughed but quickly covered her mouth.

Under the strange glances of the people nearby, she hurriedly left the scene.

'Heehee... Homura, that guy makes it hard for those guys to decide whether to hate him or not.' Elf thought happily as she walked away, eavesdropping on more chatter.

"...When will Minamiya-senpai fulfill his promise to create works about little sisters and magical girls?"

'Hmm? That voice sounds familiar...' Elf stopped in her tracks, narrowing her eyes.

"...You and your little sister's obsession, there's no hope for you. Minamiya-senpai's current manga is still ongoing. If you want your wish to come true, you'll have to wait for it to finish."

Just as she suspected, it was someone she knew!

"Well, don't be so impatient, Kiririn-shi. Isn't Homura-shi working on a new game right now? There might be little sisters or magical girls in there!"

Elf's lips curled into a playful smile as she headed towards the source of the voice.

"Saori, Kirino, Kuroneko, yo!"

Suddenly, Elf popped out next to the three, startling them.

"Who?!" Saori carefully scrutinized the person who had suddenly appeared.

Despite Elf's face being partially obscured by a sun hat, Saori recognized Elf by her body shape and some of her golden hair that wasn't covered.

"Oh, it's Elf, de gozaru... You really scared us, you know!" Saori sighed in relief and was glad it wasn't a suspicious person. "Anyway, long time no see, de gozaru!"

"Why were you hiding your face? I thought you were a stalker just now!" Kirino asked with confusion.

"What else? It's obviously because of Homura. He's afraid someone will recognize me and cause a stir." Elf explained, gesturing toward the venue.

"Yeah, that does make sense." Kuroneko nodded. "Your popularity right now is quite high. It's normal for Minamiya-senpai to worry about that."

"Umu, it's just a little awkward..." Elf shifted her body.

"By the way, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be busy with the game?" Saori asked curiously.

"Well..."

Elf leaned in a bit closer to the three and lowered her voice.

"Actually, the script is all finished now. Some of us still have things to do, but I've got nothing going on for now. So, with nothing better to do, I decided to come out with Homura."

Upon hearing that, the three girls were surprised.

They must admit, the development speed of Another Dimension was truly astonishing.

How long had it been since they announced the game? It hadn't even been two weeks!

"But, in other aspects, we're a bit behind, especially the voice-over. That's why Homura decided to delay the release date." Elf added, keeping some details to herself.

"Even so, the release date is not far off..." Kuroneko muttered, recalling the information Homura had shared about the game. "My favorite plot and genre..."