Player
(…I noticed something after talking with everyone.)

Player
(Ever since I joined the School Idol Club, my memories are all about them.)

Player
(About how hard they're all working and how much that makes them shine.)

Player
(None of my memories are about something I did myself…)

Kaoruko
Can't sleep?

Player
Oh… Yeah.

Kaoruko
Doesn't seem like it's because you're too excited to settle down.

Kaoruko
What's on your mind? I can tell something's bothering you. You can tell me… Everyone's sleeping, after all.

Player
Wow. How could you tell?

Kaoruko
We teachers have a sixth sense, you know.

Kaoruko
So what's bothering you? Come on, let's hear it.

Player
Well…

Kaoruko
So you're having trouble figuring out what you want to do, huh? Ah, youth!

Player
C'mon, I'm really struggling. Don't make fun of me!

Kaoruko
I'm not! Honestly, it seems to me like you've already found the thing you want to do.

Kaoruko
I mean, you're having lots of fun every day, aren't you?

Player
I am, but lately I'm worried that this is only temporary. I've been feeling like I'm different from everyone else…

Player
Everyone else has things they enjoy that are unique to them, but I'm just being swept along in the fun everyone else is having.

Kaoruko
Hmm. I don't think they're all that different to you.

Player
But they are! It's making me feel so anxious.

Kaoruko
I see.

Player
Um, if you don't mind, I'd like to hear more about you. You already know what you enjoy and what it is you want to do, right?

Kaoruko
Me? I'm just living life as I please and following my instincts.

Kaoruko
Oh, I know. How about I tell you about when I started the School Idol Festival?

Kaoruko
Back then, hardly anyone had even heard of what a school idol was.

Kaoruko
And that included me, too. But that all changed one day. I still remember it vividly.

Kaoruko
It's the same for you, isn't it? You'll never forget the first time you encountered the sparkling magic of school idols, right?

Player
Yeah.

Player
For me, it was when Ayumu and I saw μ's and Aqours perform together. I was captivated instantly.

Kaoruko
In my case it was an outdoor performance in a small park. There was a girl there singing her heart out and having a blast doing it.

Kaoruko
There were so few people watching her. And even then, most of them just happened to be sitting there taking a break while the show went on.

Kaoruko
But she was giving it her all the whole time. She looked like she was really focused on her performance, and she kept looking the spectators in the eyes.

Kaoruko
Speaking, singing, and dancing in front of everyone… The sight of her there absolutely captivated me!

Kaoruko
Without even realizing it, I'd drawn closer to the stage to get a better view.

Kaoruko
That was my first encounter with a school idol. Even just the memory of it is really precious to me.

Player
I know what you mean. The memory of the moment I first encountered school idols is precious to me, too.

Player
So, what did you do after that? Did you talk to that girl?

Kaoruko
You betcha! After her show was done and she started walking away, I rushed right over to her!

Player
*Laugh* That does sound just like you.

Kaoruko
I didn't even stop to think when I asked her, “What was that just now?! Are you an idol?!”

Kaoruko
And then she told me she was a school idol.

Kaoruko
From there, we became friends. She told me all kinds of stuff about school idols.

Kaoruko
The more she told me, the more interested I was. After that she introduced me to other school idols.

Kaoruko
From then on, I would go to all sorts of places to watch different school idols every week.

Player
Talk about taking the initiative, huh?

Kaoruko
I think you might have me beat when it comes to that. I mean, you're the one who got the School Idol Festival started up again after it was discontinued, right?

Kaoruko
Oops, let me get back to my story.

Kaoruko
Well… You know how school idols are super energetic, right? I figured it would be fun hanging out with all of them.

Kaoruko
Like, surely with these girls I'll get to experience something I've never experienced before!

Kaoruko
That's why I got them all to come together to talk about what we could do, and what they wanted to do.

Player
So…that's how the School Idol Festival got started?

Kaoruko
More or less.

Kaoruko
It wasn't easy at first. Nobody knew where to start, you know?

Kaoruko
Nothing we did worked out! *Laugh* But it was still really, really fun!

Kaoruko
…Oops. We're almost at the next service area. I'm gonna make a quick stop.

Kaoruko
We're doing great on time, so let's take a little nap here. I also wanna be at my best for Aqours' live show, after all.