'Antagonist? Are you overthinking it? In the future, it will be all about you and your lively performances!' Homura retorted in his mind.
"Ayase-senpai, please touch your own conscience and tell me, if I didn't exist from the beginning, are you sure you wouldn't do and act the same as in the manga?" Homura said with certainty.
"Eli-chi would definitely do it, right?" Although it was a question, the certainty in Nozomi's words was evident!
Eli: "..."
"Nozomi!" Eli exclaimed in frustration to Nozomi. "Whose side are you on?!"
"Me? I'm definitely on the righteous side." Nozomi answered playfully.
'So... I'm really the antagonist huh?' Eli rolled her eyes fiercely.
"I always felt like the vice president is the real antagonist..." Maki murmured quietly.
"Hmm?" With a 'kind' smile, Nozomi turned her head to look at Maki. "Nishikino-san, what did you just say?"
"Nothing! I didn't say anything at all!" Maki answered nervously.
Homura broke into a sweat. This was really an intense will to survive!
"But I didn't expect us to make an appearance too..." The trio supporters, Hideko, Fumiko, and Mika expressed their amazement.
Homura laughed. "Of course you had to make an appearance. Without your support, Muse wouldn't have made it this far."
"That's right! Hideko, Fumiko, and Mika! It's so great to have you all!" Honoka grabbed their hands, her face filled with joy.
"Oh, by the way!" Homura turned to Ayano. "Did you record it?"
Ayano made an OK gesture. "Of course!"
He got a bit too carried away earlier. If it weren't for Ayano, he might have actually forgotten to record the scene.
"Homura-kun, what did you record? Is it our performance?" Kotori's eyes gradually lit up.
"Yeah!" Then he looked at someone. "A certain stubborn girl should also record it, right?"
Eli: "..."
"My recording angles are different from yours, Ayase-senpai, I'll send it to you later. Can you edit it and send it to me later?"
Eli: "..."
'How did you know that I... I did indeed record it...' Eli grumbled and admitted to herself in her mind. She then answered begrudgingly, "...Okay!"
Wasn't she forced to agree? She had been dragged onto this pirate ship and had no choice but to agree, right? Definitely not because of her own free will!
Homura nodded, then looked at Ayano again. "Ayano, when do you think I should upload it?"
"For promotion, right?" Ayano thought seriously for a moment and gave her opinion. "In theory, anytime before the manga's official release is fine."
"But... I think it's better to wait until after your signing event is over." She added.
Ayano purely considered the ways that could maximize his profits because he was currently popular. After the signing event, when the hype subsided, the new manga would become another fuse for the new hype!
Homura rubbed his chin and asked, "On May 1st?"
"Sure!" As long as it wasn't released in the next two days, Ayano had no objections.
"Great, it's decided!" Homura looked at the group of girls. "The first day of the Golden Week will be the release announcement for your manga."
"Yay~! That's great!"
They were all excited!
Even the few girls who hadn't joined Muse yet had smiles on their faces. Among them, Hanayo was the most delighted.
"Oh, Ayano, I haven't seen the recording you made. Let me see it first."
"Huh?!" Ayano was slightly surprised and replied somewhat unnaturally, "Didn't you watch it live? Why do you want to see the recording?"
Hmm? Suspicious...
"Are you hiding something from me?" Homura stared at her skeptically.
"No, not at all," Ayano turned her head slightly, "What could I possibly hide from you?"
"You say you're not, but ever since I mentioned wanting to watch the recording, your behavior has been strange..." Homura fixed his gaze on her. "Could it be that you didn't record it?"
"How could I make such a mistake?!" Ayano refuted without hesitation. It seemed that the issue wasn't in that aspect...
The conversation between the two also attracted the attention of everyone present. Homura reached out his hand and said, "Show it to me."
"...Okay, but let's make it clear that you can't get angry after watching it." Indeed, there was a problem!
Homura snatched it away immediately, while watching, he said, "I'll watch it first, and whether I get angry or not, we'll see..."
Others gathered around as well, and Ayano broke out in a cold sweat, hoping that he wouldn't take it too seriously! It wasn't intentional...
At the beginning of the video, everything seemed normal, but after half a minute, the camera occasionally turned to... Homura!
Everyone, including Homura himself, watched as the Homura in the video occasionally made movements, swaying with the rhythm, and even wiggling his buttocks...
"Pfft~" Several people couldn't hold back their laughter because sometimes his dance moves were even the same as Honoka and her group...
Well... Homura, which appeared full of energy and a bit playful, it was no wonder they couldn't help but laugh!
Nozomi covered her mouth. "I didn't expect Homura-kun to have talent in dancing."
Well! With strong control over his body, that was as expected.
"Those who didn't know would have thought he was the lead dancer down there." Eli's eye twitched from time to time when said this.
Homura didn't feel embarrassed at all, rather, he thought it was quite normal! Besides, any sense of shame had long been thrown out the window with the forbidden magic spell taught by Kotori, and he had no idea where it had gone!
At this moment, he was contemplating some things.
"Hehe~" Ayano approached with a wry smile, "Homura, isn't it a bit inappropriate to upload this video? It seems to affect your image..."
Kotori and the others also felt a bit worried. They felt somewhat guilty for letting his image be tarnished.
"How about..." Kotori spoke up, wanting him to give up on this video. If not, couldn't they rely on Eli's editing skills?
Homura suddenly looked up and turned to Eli, saying, "Senpai, when you edit it, make my appearances in the video fewer, and focus more on the three of them."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but just fewer appearances? Why not remove them altogether?
It seemed like Homura saw through their thoughts, "Don't remove them all. I'll release the video first, which will make people curious and puzzled. (Where did Minamiya-sensei go to watch the concert, and why did he shamelessly dance along?) This way, it will arouse everyone's curiosity to the fullest. And when the discussion heats up, I'll release news about the manga."
Silence fell upon the group. Everyone was a bit surprised that in the short time it took to watch a video, a promotional plan had already been devised on his head.
"But will people know that the person in the video is Minamiya-sensei?" Hanayo asked weakly.
"No problem!" Homura nodded, pointing to the video. "Didn't I keep turning and looking back? Someone will definitely notice, and once someone does, everyone will know."
"Besides, I have a signing event tomorrow and my face will be revealed anyway, so even if it's not an official public appearance, there's no need to worry about not being recognized."
The girls were all impressed. In just a short period of time, a rather good publicity plan had been born!
Truly... abnormal.
===
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Like it ? Add to library!
However, Homura was indeed fearless and just throw caution to the wind. If it were an ordinary person, it's likely that with just a little manipulation from someone with ulterior motives, exaggerated news and gossip would have spread like wildfire, right?
To be fair, Nozomi understood this as well. So she looked at him inquiringly, and he didn't say anything but gestured to reassure her.
Ayano also thought about it, but she was well aware of Minamiya Family's power and influence. Any malicious matters hardly ever occurred, and even if they did, those ill-intentioned fellows would 'bitterly' condemn and reprimand themself publicly, lamenting their own worthlessness. Therefore, she had no worries at all.
"I can't wait! I wish the manga would be released today!"
Umi knocked on Honoka's head and said indignantly, "It's less than a week away! Honoka, why are you so impatient?!"
"Hehe..." Honoka embarrassedly touched the back of her head.
"Speaking of which..." Homura finally remembered the question he had intended to ask earlier but had overlooked it due to various reasons. "Honoka, do you know Kosaka Kirino?"
"Kirino? Why would Homura-kun ask about Kirino?"
Judging by her reaction... do they actually know each other?!
He looked at Kotori, and at this moment, she also remembered Kosaka Kirino, whom she had seen last time at the maid cafe. She instantly froze.
"Huh?" Honoka followed his gaze and saw the strange-looking Kotori.
"Hmm~?" Quite difficultly, Honoka looked at her skeptically, then looked at Homura, and then back at Kotori.
He secretly apologized in his heart. After all, he started this, but he couldn't entirely blame himself. Kotori's behavior was too suspicious!
"Kosaka Kirino?" Ayano muttered to herself, "Isn't she that girl who seems quite sharp-tongued that we met at the maid cafe last time?"
Homura and Kotori suddenly had a bad feeling...
"Kotori-chan should also remember, right?" Ayano seemed to recall something as well. 'Wait! Didn't I promise Kotori not to tell anyone about her working at the maid cafe?'
'Shoot! I completely forgot!' Ayano covered her mouth, but it was too late...
Kotori's round eyes kept darting around, continuously avoiding Honoka's gaze, not making eye contact with her. Cold sweat trickled down her face incessantly. Now others also realized that something was off. Umi joined forces with Honoka, cornering Kotori against the wall.
"...Kotori, you're not hiding anything from us, right?" Due to the lighting, they couldn't see Honoka and Umi's expressions clearly, but overall, it felt gloomy.
"No-Not really... Maybe..." Kotori inwardly complained about Homura for a moment, but she didn't plan to do anything to him either. After all, there would come a day when the truth couldn't be concealed anymore, and she had already mentally prepared herself!
"Really?"
Kotori lowered her head, playing with her fingers, and whispered, "Well... I just... took a part-time... job?"
"Why are you saying with a questioning tone?!" Umi stepped forward, shaking Kotori's shoulder. "You're hiding something from us after all! Kotori, if it's just a part-time job! What's there to hide?! What job exactly?!"
"Could it be... the maid cafe Ayano-san mentioned?" Honoka's reaction at this moment was unexpectedly quick! It surprised even Homura, showing that when it came to her friends, she could also display an extraordinary level of perceptiveness!
"Um..." Kotori reluctantly nodded, "I was dragged into it, tried on a maid outfit, and then ended up working there."
"It was when Homura-kun signed his first manga contract, Ayano-san and Homura-kun were at the maid cafe I work in. It was also around that time that we met. And, not long after, Kosaka Kirino appeared with Homura-kun's friends."
"Kirino is my cousin. She lives in Chiba, but why would she go to a maid cafe?" Honoka was puzzled.
"Let's not talk about that for now. You can ask her directly about it when you have the chance." Homura approached and said mysteriously, "By the way, have any of you heard of Minalinsky?"
"Well, since you've already admitted it, can I say it now?" He added, asking Kotori.
"Minalinsky?!" Hanayo exclaimed, "Could it be that Kotori-senpai is the legendary maid of Akihabara? Minalinsky?!"
"Yes..." Kotori quietly admitted.
"That's just too much!" Honoka shook Kotori in fright, "You should have told us about this sooner!"
"If you had told me, I would have come with you, and I could have had free juice!" She added.
Everyone was speechless. Her bizarre train of thought had returned.
"But... why you kept it secret?" Umi asked.
"...When Honoka-chan initially mentioned forming a school idol group, I wanted to change myself. Unlike Honoka-chan and Umi-chan, I had nothing remarkable."
"Nothing?" Honoka looked puzzled. Where did this conclusion come from?
"I couldn't lead everyone like Honoka-chan could, nor was I as reliable as Umi-chan..."
"Kotori! You are great just as you are! Have some self-confidence, please?" Homura couldn't help but interject, "Can someone with nothing become the legendary Minalinsky?"
"Umu, Umu!" Hanayo enthusiastically nodded when Homura had just finished speaking.
"Since you can become a legendary maid, your work attitude must be impeccable! Smiling, for example, is essential for an idol!" He continued.
"Umu, Umu!" Hanayo continued to agree, making Rin feel a little awkward.
"That's right! Kotori made all these costumes too!" Umi held her hand.
"Yeah, yeah! Kotori-chan is also good at singing and dancing!" Honoka also grabbed her other hand.
"You need to understand that the three of you are indispensable." Homura looked at them and said, "Without any one of you, this school idol group... Muse will never succeed."
"Even if Nozomi-senpai keeps making various plans and arrangements, it won't work. No... I can assure you that as long as any one of you is missing, she won't bother helping you."
Everyone looked over in an instant, and Nozomi just smiled without speaking up.
"So... Don't! Ever! Belittle! Yourselves! Understand?" Homura wanted to dispel the negative thoughts in the minds of the other members too. "Muse... it must be you nine, without any one of you, it wouldn't be Muse anymore..."
"If miracles had colors, they would definitely be the nine colors of Muse." Ayano suddenly walked forward and said while looking at the astonished girls. "This line was spoken by Homura himself before the performance started."
"You must understand the meaning behind this sentence, right? It's Homura's belief that you can create miracles." Ayano said without hesitation in her tone. "So... even if you don't believe in yourselves, please believe in Homura who believes in you!"
Kotori wiped tears from her eyes and smiled brightly. "Yes! I understand!"
"Heh~ I don't expect Homura-kun would say such words..." Nozomi's smile changed slightly, no longer a formal smile she usually used, but a genuine one that came from the bottom of her heart. "How much do you actually believe in us, Homura-kun?"
Homura just calmly smiled and raised his thumb toward her like a typical shonen protagonist. "I believe in you more than you believe in yourselves! Remember that!"
Because in my past life, you nine had already created miracles... So, even without me here, you will still become legends...
===
Support and check advanced chapters at:
pat*reon.com/VALRRR
Like it ? Add to library!
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