And… Cheers!

*Gulp* Ahhh! That's delicious!

Chika, you sure know how to drink! Have another!

You're both acting like old men.

How do you even get so excited over some juice?

You should eat your fill, too! This is your welcome party, after all!

Thanks. Don't mind if I do.

Aw, you're so formal. Meanwhile Chika-chi and Hanamaru and the others are being really laid back, too!

But Mari, you guys are all my seniors.

Don't worry about stuff like that. We don't pay attention to that stuff even within our own group.

Are you s-sure? Okay, I guess I'll relax.

Which flavor of potato chips do you want? Consommé or salted seaweed?

Why not both?

Let's open the dorayaki, zura! I brought three different flavors: strained and coarse red bean paste, and chestnut-filled!

Everyone! There are guests in other rooms, so please keep it down!

Fiiine.

[Fade in/out.]

Hey, what's your school like?

My school?

I have a question too! Are the girls who were in the contest all the members of the School Idol Club?

What's the level of netherworld activity in Tokyo right now?

Are there really super delicious restaurants everywhere in Tokyo, zura?

Um, the Setsuna Yuki from the contest is the same, super popular school idol Setsuna Yuki, right?!

Come on now, everyone! How do you expect so many questions to be answered at once?

I-It's fine.

Um, the school I go to, Nijigasaki, is in the Daiba district in Tokyo. They have a lot of extra classes you can take there.

Extra classes? That sounds so cool! What kind of classes do you take?

I take music classes. We study about music and learn its history, learn to play different instruments, and even compose songs.

Do you compose the songs for your club?

Yeah. My job is to write songs everyone can perform to be greater idols!

Such passion. The members of Nijigasaki High School Idol Club must be so alluring.

They are!

Ayumu is my old friend, and always stays positive and tries hard.

Kasumi is very competitive, but always honest and everyone loves her.

Shizuku has experience performing in plays, so the range of her expressiveness is amazing.

Karin is very mature and calm, always bringing everyone together.

Ai is always full of energy and brightens everyone up. Kanata always seems sleepy, but she watches over everyone.

Emma's smile is so soothing, and although Rina doesn't show it, she's very in touch with her emotions.

And Setsuna is everyone's senior as a school idol, so we learn a lot from her.

They're all so great, I think they're too good for me. I want to do everything I can to help them succeed.

…

Could it be…?

Seems like a serious rival has appeared!

Rival?!

Hearing about such incredible people makes me want to meet them! I want to meet the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club!

Words from someone with a real connection definitely have weight to them.

Here I thought you were a little demon hopeful, but you're really a threat to Yohane's majesty. So be it. You are sufficient to be our opponent! Come at us!

You made up the little demon stuff on your own, Yoshiko.

It's a little late to explain all that.

W-We definitely don't deserve praise like that from Aqours yet!

What on earth do you mean? I saw the video of the show in Tokyo. Nijigasaki performed admirably. You're suited to perform at a national level.

It gave me the tingles! After we saw you, we were all talking about how we won't let you guys beat us.

Seriously? But you guys are so awesome! Your collab shows and other shows are all so perfect. It's captivating.

Not at all. We're still on our way to the top. I told you this at the school, but with each performance, we're looking for our own charm.

Yeah. Like Dia was saying, we practice every day, thinking this will be the day we find our true shine.

(When I saw them on the collab stage, they were shining brighter than anything I've ever seen. It was like a whole different world.)

(It made me feel deep in my heart that μ's and Aqours were all out of this world.)

(They aren't though. They're incredible, sure, but they're just like us, always aiming higher, trying their best.)

(Maybe it's because they continue to look for their own way to shine that made the collab live so great.)

Um, please let me stay around!

Wh-Whoa! What's with you all of a sudden?

I'll help with whatever I can in the Summer Festival! So please, let me hang around everyone for a while!

That's some crazy spirit. Seems reliable!

Yup! I want to search for our own ways to shine with all of you.