*Sigh* I suppose that even someone as perfect as me has a lot to learn about this world we live in.

I don't just mean the concept of friendships, but also a certain girl in particular. The Club president sure is a mystery to me.

What I've said to her probably sounded pretty mean, yet she still treats me the same way…

Huh? Lanzhu?

Ayumu! What are you doing here? Are you on your own?

Yup, I came to buy a drink. Are you by yourself as well?

Yeah, there was just a little something that I wanted to think through…

Oh, I know! Say, Ayumu? Are you free right now? Could you tell me about that best friend of yours? I want to find out more about her!

My best friend?

You know, the Club president. I was just thinking about how strange she is.

*Chuckle* She's not strange at all.

Really? But I'm pretty sure that I've said some mean things to her, yet it's like she's forgotten all about it.

Like, after the live show the other day, she was the first person to rush over to me, give me a big hug, and gush over my performance.

*Giggle* She's got a heart of gold, right?

The thing about her is that she loves school idols.

So, maybe she got so filled with emotions after seeing your performance that she really did forget.

She's always been one to praise you, and I don't think that she sees you as a mean person. I've never heard her mention you picking on her or anything.

She really is strange then, don't you think?

Hmm. If you mean that she's got a mysterious charm to her, I might agree with you there.

Are you saying that she's special in a way that I don't know about?

She's someone who's really, really special to me.

I wouldn't be who I am today without her.

What?

She was the one who invited me to start my journey of becoming a school idol.

She's lent me an ear and offered me advice on so many occasions, and she writes us beautiful songs…

I don't think I'm the only person who thinks she's special. She means the world to everyone in the Club.

I just don't get it. Are you saying that she's special because she's in charge of writing your songs?

No, that's not what I mean. She would still be an important person in our lives, even if she couldn't write songs.

You're saying that she'd be special, even if she were useless?

I would never say that she's useless. She does so much for me.

Let me ask you something, Lanzhu. You fell in love with us after seeing the School Idol Festival, right?

Yup! That event and your performances were amazing!

Thanks. But you know what? I'm pretty sure that the person who moved the biggest mountains for the School Idol Festival is actually the girl you find so strange.

She did?

Yes. That event had been canceled at one point.

But she didn't want to give up and insisted on making it happen, so she swept us all up into it and really did manage to pull it off.

It was a long and hard road to make it happen. There was so much to figure out and some things that we just couldn't get done on our own.

There were even times when we almost gave up. To tell you the truth, I once got overwhelmed by everything and actually ran away from it all.

Yet, despite that, she would never quit.

She even brought me back into the fold. I reaffirmed my love for school idols and my desire to perform as a school idol with her right there with me.

She's always cheering us on louder than anybody else, and she's always on our side.

We're only able to be school idols because she's there for us and she gives us strength. That's why we can give it our all on stage.

Because she's there for you and gives you strength…

You get strength from support?

Uh, that's just how I feel personally, so…

Um, sorry for steering the conversation into an awkward place.

No, that's fine. What you were talking about now was a bit complicated for me to understand, but I want to find out as much about her as I can, even if it's just a little bit.

Because I want to become proper friends with everyone.

I made a promise with Shioriko and Mia that we'd talk things through and argue them out.

*Giggle* They sure did make a huge scene when you decided to fly back home.

Ack… Um, were they really angry?

Yeah… They were angry, but I'd say that they were probably more sad to lose you than anything else.

So, I really did do a terrible thing then. I regret that.

It's nothing to get all gloomy about. I had a huge fight with my best friend as well, but we've patched things over, and now we're closer than ever.

You two sure do have a great relationship.

…

It's not like me to rack my brains like this. I've made up my mind! I'm gonna go talk to her!