Well, that's everyone.

At least it went off without any issues, more or less.

I don't know if we can say “without any issues”…

Aside from the numbers situation, Setsuna's explanation was easy to follow and it got everyone who came pretty hyped, right?

About the numbers… Did we make a mistake in how we recruited volunteers or something?

We got 1,000 so fast, so we thought that meant we'd done everything right and it worked.

But now we're right back where we started.

We still have time to recruit more. We can try again. Rina-chan Board says, “Serious!”

Yeah, we don't have time to be getting down on ourselves.

That's right. We can overcome this together! Don't you agree?

Huh? Oh, yeah… Yup, you're right. We just have to try harder.

So, shall we put everything back in order? First, we need to collect all the packets that were left on chairs.

Collect them… Rina-chan Board says, “Sad-face.”

We only needed enough for the front of the auditorium…

What should we do with the leftover ones?

We'll hold onto them in the clubroom. I'm sure we'll need them again later.

Yeah. I think we have some extra cardboard boxes, so we can put them in those.

Oh, I need to return the projector.

I'll take that back. I know you're all tired, so let's call it a night here. Thank you for your hard work, and good night!

Oh, okay… Good night.

[Fade in/out.]

Shioriko said people want someone else to do it and they believe someone else definitely will.

Hmm. I might have gotten caught in the same kind of thinking. I thought that because people signed up, they'd make good on it for sure.

I got so fixated on believing they'd pull through that I didn't consider their enthusiasm levels when signing up, or what kinds of people they were.

I needed to really focus on making sure we were actually getting people who would commit, but I ended up just assuming it would work out.

I can't let everyone's hard work and dreams up until this point go to waste. We have a little bit more time, so I've got to stick the landing this time for sure!

[Fade in/out.]

She's taking today off, too?

How many days has it been since she told us she won't be able to come to club meetings because she has something to do? It's so boring without her!

Yes, we do miss her, but she's being a responsible club president and working hard on our behalf. So we mustn't whine about it.

What exactly is she doing?

I heard she's contacting everyone who didn't show up to the info session.

Whoa… But that's so many people. She's contacting every single one of them?

And she's not just calling them. If she can, she's going to meet them in person.

She's been working so hard until late every single night. I feel pretty worried.

Ayumu, have you heard anything? You're neighbors, right?

Yeah, but lately I haven't gotten to talk to her… She's leaving the house early every morning. She'll text me back at night, but doesn't seem to ever have much time to talk.

I do hope she's not running herself ragged.

I'm worried…

I'm definitely worried too, but more than that I miss her! If she's watching, then I feel like I can work even harder!

Yeah, I agree. And there's been almost no new entries in that notebook of hers lately.

Even though just the other day, we were laughing about how it's almost completely filled up…

Whenever I looked at that notebook, I'd feel such a rush of inspiration. I loved it.

I really do want her here with us.

[Fade in/out.]

Yes? Oh, I see. No… Thank you. I'm sorry for bothering you.

*Sigh*

There you are!

Huh?

I heard a voice outside and wondered if it was you. Were you on the phone?

Oh, yeah, I was… Was I so loud you could hear me? Sorry about that.

No, I wasn't thinking that at all. It's more like… It's been a while since we got to talk like this. You haven't been coming to the clubroom, and everyone misses you.

Oh… I'm sorry about that. I've been making you handle everything. But right now, there are other things I have to do.

About those other things… Would you let us help you with that? I think it'd go much faster if we could all work on it together.

You think that… But what you think might work is just too uncertain.

I know you're worried about me, and I'm grateful for that. But this is my job to do.

Oh, but…

If we're too naive again, we'll just end up right back where we are now. If I don't take this seriously, we won't get 1,000 people. That's why I want to do this properly.

And it isn't your job to help me, right? I just want you to focus on what you should be doing, Ayumu.

Anyway, I've got to get back to sending out messages. Good night, Ayumu.

Oh…

She's acting strange… She wouldn't look me in the eyes once. She didn't even glance my way…