Wow! This park is huge!

I could really use a nap.

[Fade in/out.]

*Sigh*

Hey, what's wrong, Emma? You don't seem to have any energy today.

Everyone's been giving their all at practice lately, so maybe she's just fatigued.

Maybe we should wrap it up for today. There's still time before the event, so there's no need to rush, Emma.

Oh, sorry, sorry. It's not because I'm tired. There's just something I'm worried about.

Worried? I'm here for you if you want to talk about it.

I wanna hear about it too! And so do you, right Shizuku?

Of course! You can tell us anything, Emma!

I-It's not that big of a deal. Actually, I'm embarrassed to tell anyone since it's so minor.

The thing is, I'm not sure what kind of school idol I want to be anymore.

What do you mean by what kind of school idol? I think you should just be yourself, Emma.

I'm not sure I know what that means anymore. I've started wondering what exactly it is that makes me, me.

[Fade in/out.]

(Worrying about it in the club room wasn't going to help, so to take a break and help Emma understand what makes her unique, I brought her someplace green, like her hometown.)

I didn't realize there was such a big park in the city.

Oh, wow. You can even set up camp or have a barbecue. I'll have to bring Haruka here sometime!

(Everyone looks like they're having fun. I'm glad I decided to bring them here.)

*Sigh* Wide, open spaces like this remind me of my hometown. The ranch I grew up on was really spacious, too.

A ranch? So were there cows and stuff?

We had a lot of sheep and goats. All of us kids were carefree, so we would play by singing and dancing for the animals while we pretended we were school idols.

That sounds just like you.

Totally!

Ahaha. You think so?

All right, let's enjoy every minute of this beautiful day! It looks like there's even a bird-watching area over there.

[Fade in/out.]

I hear them, but I don't see anything.

Hmm. Bird-watching can be quite difficult. Maybe we need binoculars.

Oh, I see one! On that top-right tree, it's a great spotted woodpecker!

A great spotted what?

You can identify them by the red patch near their tail.

Oh, and there's a blue-and-white flycatcher! I've never seen one in person before! It's so pretty.

Wow, you know a lot about birds, Emma.

I used to read illustrated reference books for kids to help me learn Japanese.

It's nice being back among nature, though. I feel so relaxed here. Oh, see this wildflower? I used to eat these a lot back in Switzerland.

Henbit? Isn't this that flower that you can suck the nectar out of?

In Switzerland, we'd cook it with potatoes and make a really delicious soup. Now I'm starting to get hungry!

Oh, should we eat lunch then?

Yay! Lunch time!

[Fade in/out.]

Mm-mmm. What is it about eating food outside that makes it taste so much better?

It's so true! And it's a beautiful day, too. Everything's perfect!

Feel free to have some of these sandwiches. I made them using the cheese my family sent me. It's homemade!

They make their own cheese?! That's amazing!

A lot of people back home do. I made cheese and honey sandwiches with black pepper sprinkled on the cheese. It's really scrumptious.

It's certainly a very tasty combination! The saltiness of the cheese combined with the sweetness of the honey is out of this world!

I promise to visit Switzerland when I'm all grown up!

Maybe you can even perform in Europe as school idols someday.

What?! That's pretty ambitious of you.

But wouldn't it be great if we really made it there? Maybe my family could even come watch me.

Stages are nice and all, but it'd be fun to sing in a wide-open place like this under the sun!

Emma, you look much more relaxed now. I'm so glad!

Our old, cheerful Emma is back! Believe it or not, I was really worried about you.

K-Kanata! Shizuku! Thank you! I love you both! Hugs, hugs!

[Fade in/out.]

Did you learn anything that'll help you work through your worries?

Hmm. I'm not sure yet, but I'm definitely feeling better.

I'm still not sure what it is that makes me unique, but I do like to be carefree. I think knowing that is enough for now.

Ahh, I'm really in the mood to sing now!

Right after saying that, Emma burst into song, and many children gathered around her.

They surrounded Emma with the most radiant faces.

Maybe this is the kind of person Emma is?

She's a natural, down-to-earth girl who can admit she wants to be carefree. Children accept her because they can see she's genuine. She soothes them, and me, too.

But I'll tell her all of that after the picnic.