When you say you can't avoid it anymore, does that mean you made a decision?

Hey, I'm in my third year of high school now, you know?

…Yeah.

At school, whether it's students or teachers, someone is always talking about the future. Stuff like going to university or working.

I know we're at that age, of course. Some of my classmates have had their post-high school plans ready since middle school. Amazing, right?

And what do you want to do, Kanan? What did you say in your post-graduation survey or during interviews with your teachers?

University.

Oh, I see.

But I've also told them I'm taking over the family business.

Uh, what?

I went to a bunch of university open campuses and read about some companies that Uranohoshi alumni work for.

But none of that struck me as what I really want to do. I just can't picture myself doing any of those things.

I wonder if it's because I never really gave any thought to my plans after high school. I had my hands full every day with classes, tests, and my school idol activities.

I think I get what you're saying. When you're so focused on certain things, others get put on the back burner.

Yeah. That's exactly what I'm feeling. But I might've been avoiding thinking about all of this on purpose.

What do you mean, “on purpose”?

I practice singing and dancing with everyone in Aqours, then once we find an event to appear in, the people from town come to cheer for us.

And then so many people tell us they love us when they hear our songs. We came this far because we had the support of so many people.

Someone I made friends with through being a school idol even helped me save my family's shop.

There's no mistaking that my days spent with Aqours have become a huge source of emotional support for me. But…that's all going to come to an end.

Wh-What do you mean, come to an end? What? Are you quitting Aqours?!

*Laugh* There's no reason to freak out. That's not happening for a long while. But…next year, I won't be a school idol anymore.

Not just me, either. Dia and Mari are also going to leave Aqours to follow their own paths.

And I won't be able to see Chika and the others any time I want to, either. That includes you.

…

(It's true… You can only be a school idol while you're a student. I knew that from the very beginning. Kanan is in her third year, after all. That means…)

(…there's not much time left that I can spend talking to Kanan as a member of Aqours.)

The shop depends on how hard me and my family work, so it should keep on keeping on.

But when I think about how I only have so many days left to spend laughing, and sometimes fighting, with everyone… It kind of scares me.

What's going to happen to me when I don't have all of that to lean on for support anymore?