Riko, do you start with the music or wait for the lyrics to be made first when you compose songs for Aqours?

Hmm, the lyrics come first. That's why I get a little anxious when Chika is having trouble writing them.

*Laugh* I can see why. You can't get to writing any music if the lyrics aren't settled.

But she comes up with such wonderful lyrics when she mulls over them. The words are packed with her hard work and intense desire to shine.

I get that sense, too. My heart lights up when I listen to Aqours' songs. That includes both Chika's lyrics and your music, Riko.

*Giggle* Thank you.

Not only do your songs cheer me up, but I also learn a lot from your songs as a songwriter myself.

I understand why you use certain chords in certain places and get surprised by the different combinations of notes you come up with.

I mostly listened to and played classical music before I came across school idols, so everything about school idol music is new and interesting to me!

The same goes for me, too. There was so much I didn't know about school idols, so I often found myself perplexed when I first joined Aqours.

It felt as though my whole concept of music began to change when I listened to some of the school idol songs Chika recommended to me.

And now it's the music I listen to and make practically every day.

It just goes to show that you can't predict what might happen. I make new songs by researching music every day and thinking about what songs will match everyone, too.

[Fade in/out.]

Now that you mention it, the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club that you're in performs solo, rather than as a group, right?

That's right.

That means you're always composing songs for nine different people. Isn't that tough?

Well, I can get away with writing fewer songs when only some of the members have scheduled live shows.

But when everyone is performing at the same event, I have to write nine songs at once, which can be… *Laugh* Yeah, it's pretty tough.

I'll bet it is. For Aqours, all nine of us sing the same song, so we usually only have to write one song. Even then it takes a really long time to finish composing it.

But writing nine songs all at once… I can't even begin to imagine what that's like.

I'm so exhausted at the end of it that I wonder how I'm even managing to breathe.

I don't blame you. It does seem like it'd be quite satisfying, though.

It definitely is! All the Nijigasaki members tell me they love the songs I write, and it feels amazing to hear the girls finally sing them on a spectacular stage.

And then, the audience goes wild for their performances. Seeing all of that makes me glad I wrote the songs and could have the girls perform them.

I know how you feel. That's exactly what I thought when I performed the first song I ever composed on stage with all of Aqours.

When Chika's and You's voices filled the stage with the melody I created, it felt like that was enough to wash away all of my troubles.

Hey, Riko? Do you wanna come hang out at Nijigasaki High School some time? There's still so much I want to talk to you about.

Can I? I might just drop on by, then.