What exactly had happened?
Homura was also eager to hear it.
Just what had Megumi done to make Utaha say that?
"I remember you even went over to check by Megumi's side back then..." Eriri thought for a moment, then said to Utaha. "I used to think I was just overthinking it... Didn't expect Megumi had already planned it out the day before... What the heck really happened?"
Utaha let out a sigh, then began explaining.
"From where Megumi was lying, I noticed her head wasn't sticking out from under the blanket when she was sleeping, which seemed odd, so I pulled the blanket back to check, and she was lying there perfectly fine."
"But... Megumi was actually awake at that time, wasn't she?"
Utaha shook her head.
"Or maybe right after we went out, she followed us for a bit and came back earlier than us to set herself up like that."
A moment of silence permeated the room.
Everyone here was smart.
After hearing this much, they had pretty much figured it out.
If on the first night, when Utaha and Eriri failed, Megumi hadn't come back, Utaha would've definitely noticed, and the two of them would've rushed straight to Homura's room to drag her back without a second thought.
But on the second night, Utaha had clearly let her guard down—thinking Megumi was just sleeping again, she didn't pay attention, which ended up letting Megumi successfully slip past everyone's notice.
Nanami and Izumi were even dumbfounded, staring blankly at Megumi.
She had actually thought all that through?
Homura was only a little surprised.
All of them were sneaking around anyway.
Weren't Utaha and Eriri doing the same?
"It was just a spur-of-the-moment plan..." Megumi said calmly. "But honestly, the choice wasn't even in my hands."
No one could argue with that.
Since Megumi was acting after the others, if Eriri had been bold enough to go first, Megumi would've just quietly turned back to her room.
"Geez... guess I wasn't decisive enough in the end..." Eriri laughed at herself, then turned to Megumi. "Megumi, even if you snagged first place—hey, don't fall asleep now!"
Seeing Megumi's condition, Eriri was almost stomping her feet in frustration.
"Ah... sorry, I really can't handle Homura-kun at all..." Megumi rubbed her eyes. "Feels like even two or three people wouldn't be enough to deal with Homura-kun. Honestly, there's no way to make him surrender, so I'm seriously worn out..."
As she spoke, it looked like she was about to doze off again, but the info in those few sentences couldn't be ignored by anyone!
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Nearly everyone's gaze locked onto Homura.
Even with his thick skin, under all those curious, amazed, and amused stares, he started to feel a little embarrassed.
However, there were still a few pure little flowers left.
"What do you mean?" Sagiri looked completely confused when she heard Megumi's words.
Meanwhile, Elf and Mashiro had already learned quite a bit through Eriri and Izumi, so they weren't as confused.
"It's nothing important!"
Homura shot a glance at everyone, clearly signaling not to tell her, which immediately killed Elf's excitement because she had just been about to explain it to Sagiri.
"Oh..." Sagiri nodded obediently.
Homura, however, gave his little sister a suspicious look.
Was this little brat scheming something?
Under the table, Sagiri and Nayuta were busy exchanging intel.
Nayuta was writing something on Sagiri's palm with her finger, and after Sagiri processed it, she started writing her own question on Nayuta's palm.
Before long, Sagiri's face was bright red.
'Hmm?'
Homura suddenly leaned down to peek under the table, but just then, the two of them had finished exchanging info and weren't doing anything suspicious, so Homura didn't catch a thing.
'Did Sagiri figure it out on her own?'
Seeing Sagiri still not moving, Homura started thinking.
"Homura... what're you doing?" Elf asked curiously.
"Nothing. Sagiri's face got super red just now, so I was checking if she was asking someone something down there..." Homura straightened up, speaking while watching Sagiri's expression.
Sagiri slowly turned her little head to the side.
"Hehe... come on, who was—"
Homura had barely finished speaking when Elf chimed in again.
"Oh, I see... I was even thinking about lifting my skirt for you to see..." Elf muttered.
Homura: "???"
"Go ahead and lift it if you want... I'm just eating my food." Homura rolled his eyes.
Elf: "..."
"Can't you at least react a little more interestingly?!" Elf exclaimed in frustration.
"Alright, alright, I know you just love messing around..."
Homura spoke helplessly, and then, after a bit of buildup, he started performing an exaggerated, dramatic act.
"Huh?! Why are you lifting your skirt?! And why the hell are you even talking about it?!"
In the next moment, Homura's tone suddenly changed.
"At the very least, let me grab my camera first!"
"Pffft!"
Homura looked at the group, who all burst out laughing, and grinned.
"So, how was that reaction?"
"Let's not even talk about the over-the-top acting, but seriously, what's with the camera?!" Elf asked incredulously.
"How could watching it once be enough? Of course, I gotta take pictures and relive the moment whenever I want!" Homura said while laughing.
"Homura-kun... acting like a perv really doesn't suit you..."
Even though Megumi looked tired, she still managed to throw in a jab.
With that, the atmosphere, which had been kinda awkward, felt a lot more normal now thanks to Homura's antics.
After everyone finished eating and before heading off to school—
"Megumi, why don't you stay home and rest today?" Homura asked Megumi, who was changing her shoes.
"No... I'm just a little tired, that's all." Megumi shook her head. "It's not like I'm sick... I still need to show up."
"It's no big deal, right?" Utaha chimed in. "With Megumi's stealth mode fully activated, I bet even if she sleeps through class, none of the teachers would notice."
"Pretty sure that's more of a passive skill though? Doesn't seem like she can control it." Eriri added.
"If I had the choice, I wouldn't really wanna have this ability either..." Megumi remarked with a flat tone.
As Eriri and Utaha chatted, they headed out the door, while Homura gave Megumi's head a gentle rub.
"Alright then, don't push yourself. If you do doze off, I'll help you catch up later."
"Okay..." Megumi softly replied.
===
Noon, Toyogasaki High School's Rooftop.
Homura, Eriri, Utaha, and Megumi gathered here, eating their lunch together.
"Megumi... back then, what did it feel like?" Eriri scooted over next to Megumi and whispered while glancing around sneakily, looking like some spy on a secret mission.
Meanwhile, Homura was carefully counting how many grains of rice were left in his bento box because this was definitely not a conversation he could jump into.
"Tiring..."
Eriri: "..."
Utaha: "..."
Homura: "?!"
"That's it?! Just tiring?!" Eriri's eyes widened.
"At first... then... in the end... well, Homura-kun saw how worn out I was and finally gave up..."
Megumi shared her experience without a care.
Utaha and Eriri, their faces flushing red, sneaked a glance at Homura, who was still focused on his rice, then exchanged a glance between themselves as if they had come to some kind of decision.