Chapter 350: Luv Letter
[Minamiya Homura: Don't worry, I'll still take responsibility for everyone's insomnia problem.]
[Minami Kotori: What are you gonna do?]
[Minamiya Homura: A sleep magic item! I'll send it to you all now.]
[Nishikino Maki: Let me guess, it's another song, right?]
[Minamiya Homura: Bingo!]
[Minamiya Homura: BTW, it's an instrumental song, just put it by your pillow and don't turn it up too loud. It'll make you fall asleep easily.]
[Hoshizora Rin: Homura-kun, hurry up and send it! Rin wanna try it right away!]
[Minamiya Homura: Okay, wait a sec.]
Homura immediately sent them an unnamed music file to the group chat.
As for why it was unnamed?
Considering the song's name was 'Luv Letter', also known as 'Love Letter', if they knew the name, instead of helping them sleep, Homura was afraid it might make it even harder for them to sleep.
[Minamiya Homura: Alright, hurry and go to sleep, I'm heading to bed too.]
[Minamiya Homura: Goodnight.]
[Hoshizora Rin: Good night.]
[Minami Kotori: Good night, Homura-kun.]
[Kosaka Honoka: Good night!]
Homura stood up from the computer desk, approached his bed, and then lay down with a faint smile on his lips.
"Today was a lot more fun than yesterday..." Homura murmured quietly.
Feeling Haru snuggle up to his neck, Homura closed his eyes and then drifted into sleep.
===
The next day, at the Minamiya residence.
"Good morning, Kirisu-sensei. Did you sleep well?"
Homura, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, greeted Mafuyu as she came down the stairs.
"Good morning... I slept well and... felt peaceful." Mafuyu nodded softly.
"Glad to hear that." Homura sighed in relief.
"Once again, thank you for saving me yesterday, Minamiya-kun." Mafuyu expressed her gratitude, bowing her head slightly.
"I won't tell you not to thank me, since I know you wouldn't listen..." Homura sighed and shook his head. "However, you gotta be careful when you're outside, Kirisu-sensei. If you feel any danger, call me as soon as possible, okay?"
Mafuyu fell silent for a moment, then nodded gently.
"Um, I know."
After breakfast, Homura personally handed Mafuyu a bento he made, since take-out couldn't possibly compare to the food he made.
And just like that, everyone in the Minamiya residence went their separate ways and began a new day.
===
After school, on the rooftop of Otonokizaka High School.
At this moment, Honoka and the others gazed at Rin, now dressed in a new skirted practice outfit, with happy and relieved smiles.
It seemed like Rin had completely moved on from her past.
"Umu, everyone looks in great spirits, seems like you all slept well last night." Eli nodded with a smile while observing everyone.
"It must be thanks to Homura-kun..." Kotori said with a dreamy expression. "You know, that song was just so beautiful... Once I started listening, I got completely absorbed, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep."
Upon hearing this, Maki's expression was a bit more complicated.
"Can't deny it..." Maki nodded in agreement. "I must admit, the melody of that song was so stunning. It was really easy to relax and drift off to sleep."
"But it's a shame it doesn't have a name..." Hanayo sighed with pity.
"Umm..."
As everyone reminisced about the instrumental song Homura shared last night, Honoka raised her hand.
"I actually asked him..."
"You asked him?" Umi blinked her eyes, then turned to Honoka. "When did you ask?"
"Well... this morning..." Honoka smiled awkwardly. "I mean, such a beautiful song without a name, it just seemed like a waste, right? But at first, Homura-kun wouldn't tell me! He said he was afraid that if we knew the name, we might not be able to sleep!"
"But of course, you didn't give up, right? Giving up is not really your style, after all." Nozomi said while chuckling.
"Um..." Honoka nodded, her face a bit conflicted and somewhat shy.
Seeing her like this, everyone became curious.
What name could possibly make Honoka show such an expression?
Was it some sort of vulgar name or something?
"C'mon, Honoka! Tell us already!" Nico urged with an impatient expression. "You've only told us half the story! Don't keep us in suspense over the most important part, for god's sake!"
"It's called... Luv Letter..." Honoka revealed the song's name, though her voice was barely audible.
"What? Honoka-chan, I couldn't hear you..." Kotori said with a helpless expression.
"Luv Letter..." Honoka repeated.
Now that everyone heard Honoka's words clearly, they instantly became silent.
"Luv Letter... Love Letter... Is it because it's like the soft whispers of a lover in your ear, sharing their feelings? I see... that's why the melody was so beautiful..."
Maki, lost in thought, muttered subconsciously before coming to a realization.
'Wait... What did I just say?!'
It seemed like she had just muttered something pretty shocking.
"So... when do we start practicing?" Maki asked while tilting her head, playing with her hair again, and acting as if nothing had happened.
Eli glanced at the red-haired girl, smiled, and then replied.
"Let's start now. Even though there's still some time before the preliminaries of Love Live, before that, we have the school festival and tasks from Homura-kun, so we can't slack off."
With Eli saying this, the girls didn't pay much attention to Maki's earlier mutter, making her breathe a sigh of relief.
"By the way, I'm planning to go buy fabric and accessories after practice. Anyone wanna come with me?" Kotori asked everyone.
"I'm in!" Hanayo nodded with a smile. "It's for Rin-chan's outfit, right?"
"Let's all go together!" Honoka smiled cheerfully. "Didn't we agree on this yesterday? We're all helping out!"
Rin, on the other hand, was acting like she wanted to go but was too shy to—after all, she was the one who had to wear that outfit.
"By the way, Homura-kun gave us a few days off, so we can use this time to do other things." Nozomi said while looking at Rin. "But Rin-chan... Aren't you gonna go see Homura-kun these days?"
"...Why would I go see Homura-kun?" Rin replied in a stiff tone, sounding unnatural.
"Eh? Does that mean you haven't accepted Homura-kun's confession yet?" Nozomi asked with a confused expression. "You obviously didn't wanna leave Homura-kun's arms, but you haven't accepted his confession yet? What's going on?"
Even though Nozomi looked confused, her delight was practically overflowing as she spoke.
Upon hearing Nozomi's words, Rin stiffened, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked at the embarrassed Hanayo.
"Kayo... chin..."
"Sorry, Rin-chan! I got cornered by everyone! I had no choice!"
"Nyaa—!!! Why did you tell them?!"
Today, Muse also had a great time as always.
===
Meanwhile, on Homura's side.
"Phew... finally home. It's been a week, but those guys are more enthusiastic than before..." Homura sighed faintly, sitting on the couch.
"Now, everyone at school knows the famous Minamiya Homura is also the famous Minamiya-sensei, so isn't it normal for them to be a little more enthusiastic?" Megumi shook her head, smiling faintly.
"They knew before, right? Why has it changed now?" Homura asked tiredly.
"Are you seriously asking that, Homura?" Eriri rolled her eyes. "Your fame has grown like a snowball, can you really compare the current you to before?"
"...You're right." Homura nodded in realization and began to smooth down Haru's fur.
"By the way, when is everyone's school festival?" Nanami asked curiously, changing the topic.
Upon hearing this, Homura thought for a moment before looking at Megumi.
"Our Toyogasaki should be a while away, right?"
"It's in November, so yeah." Megumi nodded.
Nonetheless, while the school festival of Toyogasaki High School was still a while away, the other schools might be different.