章 277: Progress

After Homura arrived at the convenience store, he picked up a chicken and some seasonings, bought a few medicinal herbs, and headed back.

He knocked on the apartment door and waited for Mafuyu to open it.

"Welcome back..."

However, after those words came out of Mafuyu's mouth, both she, who spoke the words, and Homura, who heard them, were somewhat taken aback.

Homura quickly smiled and responded.

"Yeah, I'm back."

After hearing his response, Mafuyu couldn't help but blush, and even started asking herself inside her mind.

'Confused. Mafuyu, why are you blushing so much today?'

But that question had no answer, perhaps because there was no answer, or maybe she didn't want to answer.

Only she knew...

Glancing at the kitchen, although it was hardly used, the utensils were quite complete.

Homura began to get busy, preparing a healthy and nutritious chicken soup.

Nevertheless, chicken soup took quite some time to cook, so to save time, after preparing all the ingredients, Homura stuffed the medicinal herbs into the chicken's belly and placed it in a pressure cooker. Soon after, he made some rice, and the next step was to wait.

Homura and Mafuyu chatted casually, avoiding discussions about Fumino and Rizu, and instead talked about everyday life and hobbies.

As they chatted, Homura suddenly felt like there was some sort of awkward tension.

Why did it feel like they were on a blind date?

On the other hand, Mafuyu also seemed to have noticed this and felt like everything she did today was wrong.

What was happening?

Eventually, they both thought of a solution—change the topic!

'What should we talk about for the rest of our time together? How about I introduce her to my interests?'

As Homura thought like that, he pulled out a game from his trusty backpack.

"Kirisu-sensei, this is for you. It's a game made by my circle. Whenever you have time, you can give it a try."

Upon hearing his words, Mafuyu became interested all of a sudden.

If nothing seemed right in their conversation today, maybe doing something else would be a good idea.

Much to Homura's surprise, Mafuyu promptly installed the game on her laptop.

"I'm looking forward to it... let me take a look." Mafuyu said calmly as she embarked on her journey into the world of gaming.

Considering her personality, could gaming turn her into an avid gamer? Thinking about her usual lazy habits, it was hard to say.

However, as a good teacher, Homura had faith in Mafuyu. For the sake of her students, she would surely be able to control herself.

===

As time passed, Mafuyu's enthusiasm grew, and she quickly mastered the simple game without the need for Homura's guidance.

As she delved deeper into the storyline, she couldn't help but be deeply captivated by 'Your Name.'

Forty minutes later, Homura didn't disturb her and went to complete the remaining steps of his cooking.

The pressure cooker had cooled down, and all the medicinal herbs were discarded. The chicken and broth, seasoned just right, simmered on the stove.

Returning to the room, Homura decided to take his leave, since it was already 5 PM.

Looking at Mafuyu, who was deeply engrossed in the game, Homura spoke up.

"Kirisu-sensei, I'm heading back, so let's exchange phone numbers."

Mafuyu instinctively handed her phone to Homura.

"..."

Homura was utterly perplexed! It was not what he meant by 'exchange' at all!

Nevertheless, he accepted her phone, dialed his own number with it, and saved her number.

"Alright, I'll take my leave now."

"Eh? Are you leaving?" Mafuyu finally realized. "I haven't had a chance to thank you properly, not just for today, but also for the sandwich from the last time..."

After saying that, she suddenly felt embarrassed. She hadn't properly thanked him for the previous incident, and now he was helping her again.

She felt like a useless teacher.

"Nah, it's no big deal, no need to thank me for small stuff." Homura said, shaking his head and picking up Haru. "Alright, I'm leaving. The chicken soup is still simmering; remember to turn off the fire and have your meal in half an hour. Don't forget, okay? Alright, goodbye."

"Goodbye..." Mafuyu muttered as she watched the door close.

Turning her head, she looked at the stove still in operation and the pleasant aroma in the air, her face blushing slightly.

"No... A teacher shouldn't act like this!" Mafuyu shook her head.

Thinking about what Homura said regarding turning off the fire in half an hour, Mafuyu decided to return to her game.

And as expected, she forgot about the time, and so, her phone rang.

As Mafuyu picked up the phone, she soon heard Homura's voice.

"Kirisu-sensei, did you forget to turn off the fire?"

Mafuyu instinctively glanced at her phone with a surprised expression. 'Surprised. When did I exchange numbers with Minamiya-san?!'

"Of course... not. How could I forget..." Mafuyu retorted, trying to sound confident.

"Alright then, have your meal quickly. I specially made a medicinal meal that will be very beneficial for your recovery." Homura didn't expose her lie, just reminded her.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. Well, I'm almost home now. Oh, by the way, if you need anything, just call me. Goodbye."

Mafuyu hung up the phone, thought for a moment, and then rushed to the kitchen.

After a while, with the game running in auto mode, she started eating.

One hour later.

"Unbelievable. Where's my chicken soup?"

After saying that, Mafuyu looked at the nearly empty rice cooker, the completely empty dish, and a pile of chicken bones on the table.

Her face turned pale.

"NO! MY WEIGHT—!!!"

Mafuyu's cute lament echoed through the sky.

===

Meanwhile, Homura, who was eating at home, frowned.

Was it just his imagination, or did he hear someone scream again?

However, he quickly dismissed it.

It probably wasn't anything serious, and calling someone to ask who was screaming seemed risky.

Homura had to admit that his intuition was quite accurate.

Now, if he called and inquired about the screaming, Mafuyu might just break down.

Who would have thought that his cooking was so delicious?

Checking the day's progress of everyone in the circle, Homura nodded in approval.

It seemed like they were one-fourth of the way there. Besides the characters' voices, they had achieved progress in all other aspects!

Eriri had finished Rin and Medusa's character designs, while Sakura had made some progress. With adult Sakura in the works, it meant Sagiri's design for young Sakura was complete.

As for the script, they were already halfway.

Another Dimension's scriptwriters were truly dedicated.

Regarding the artwork, as long as it wasn't the amount needed for the anime, Mashiro and Izumi could keep up with the script and main character design progress. Moreover, when it came to action scenes, Homura personally posed as the model, resulting in some truly impressive movements.

The remaining tasks that others couldn't handle were Homura's responsibility.

After updating the information on Another Dimension's website, Homura couldn't help but muttered.

"It looks like I'll have to notify Kosaka Akane tomorrow..."