I was really surprised to hear that you and Shioriko are sisters.

Sorry about that. I wasn't meaning to keep it from you, but I thought maybe it wasn't worth mentioning since no one asked.

Ai texted everyone in the Club about it yesterday, and we were all really surprised.

*Chuckle* Sorry!

You've been overseas until now, right? Have you seen any of Shioriko's performances as a school idol yet?

I have videos from the joint event we held recently, if you'd like to watch them.

Ooh, I really wanna see them! But we should probably take care of business first.

Oh, o-of course!

I kinda feel bad for making you help me with everything. Teaching practice, planning the competition, and preparing a training camp are a lot for one person to take on.

It's no trouble! I'm learning a lot. There's so much I wish I had known earlier about planning an event.

If I had known some of this, maybe the School Idol Festival would've run more smoothly…

*Chuckle* You think so? I'm still always learning through trial and error. Let's study up together!

Sure!

So, your new event sounds really interesting. The School Idol Club and Association actually had a joint event just recently.

It was a tournament-style knockout competition, but everyone was really good. Every single performance was passionate, dazzling, and exciting to watch!

It made me reaffirm my appreciation for big events, and all of us at the Club are thrilled that we get to do another event so soon.

Oh, but personally, I'm not sure how I feel about the school auditions. Everyone is my top recommendation already…

*Giggle* You really like school idols, huh.

Do we really need to do the school auditions? I can't pick just one person.

How do I put this… You and I love school idols, so we're aware of what events are happening because we stay on top of the latest information, right?

But the world at large still doesn't really know much about school idols at all.

I just think that if they gave school idols a chance, a lot of people would totally get obsessed with them. They just don't know it yet.

I know what you mean. Ayumu and I didn't know anything about school idols at first, but we loved them from the moment we saw them.

Right? That's why I've been thinking about ways to make more people aware of school idols.

If we hold school auditions, don't you think the students who aren't already interested in school idols will start wondering what's going on?

And this way, we start people on their journey by having them learn about school idols from within their own school.

I think that those people who become interested in school idols through their school could then turn into big fans from there.

And if the school idol they're supporting makes it to the big event, all of their fans'll flock to that event to cheer them on.

It's my hope that the school idol world will grow bigger through that kind of process.

I love it!

*Chuckle* Thanks. But I actually owe it all to you. I came up with this idea while watching the School Idol Festival that you guys put on.

I realized that we need more fans like you, who cheer on the school idols from as close as possible, in order to broaden the world of school idols.

So, how are the Club members feeling? Are they into the idea?

You want to know?

[Fade in/out.]

All right, can I tell her that all of you want to participate?

Of course! I want to share these passionate feelings of mine with everyone across the country!

You're acting like you've already won when we haven't even started the school auditions, Setsuna.

Wait a minute. I want to represent Nijigasaki too. I want to tell everyone all the wonderful things about school idols.

I do too, you know! I got lots of rest by passing on last time, so I'm raring to go.

I want to act out my world in front of the whole country!

I want to make new connections through my promo video. Rina-chan Board says, “On fire!”

I really want to take part and give it my all this time. When I watched the joint event we just had, I kind of regretted not entering…

I want to do my best and be seen by everyone across the country!

We're fired up for the school auditions!

[Fade in/out.]

So that's what they've all been saying. Everyone is practicing so much that it's difficult to get them to go home.

*Giggle* That's the spirit!

Even the girls who didn't participate in the last joint event are really excited.

I was wondering if you guys weren't getting along with the Association, but it doesn't seem that way.

Hmm… I don't know about that. We still butt heads sometimes, but it's kind of fun to overcome these challenges together.

*Giggle* I'm looking forward to the event more and more now!

Knowing you Nijigasaki girls, I have the feeling that all of you might come up with something at your next training camp that blows me away.