Thank you all! The fire in your eyes has set me alight!

Welcome our next performer to the stage… Rina!

Hello. Thank you all for coming today. I hope you'll enjoy this with me.

…Just as I thought, they've gotten even more new fans.

Sorry?

Oh, nothing. It's just that all of the School Idol Club girls have been very active recently.

They're doing stuff like taking part in the Game Creator Contests or live streaming, and didn't Karin go to some modeling audition?

Whoa, you sure read up on all of them!

A girl in my class was talking about them and I happened to overhear it. That's all.

That's still great to hear! I'm glad you got to know more about them!

Oh, and thanks for getting us stuff from the convenience store during the contest. It really made a huge difference.

…Did it? That's good.

So we were all able to connect again today. I had so much fun. Rina-chan Board says, “All smiles!”

Next up is Shizuku.

Hello everyone! From this moment on, this will be our after-school classroom, bathed in a crimson glow. Allow me to lead you by the hand into this tale!

Shizuku's theatrical performances really do pull you in…

Uh, you sure know a lot about these school idols, huh?

…To tell you the truth, I love it all. I used to be a fan of school idols.

There was a school idol that I gave all of my support to. She was an amazing singer, so I wanted more people to listen to her music.

I would bake up macarons for her, hoping they'd be even a small source of strength. I was so pleased when she loved them…

Macarons?

Do you know the meaning behind the names of all of the different sweet treats? Macarons are meant to be given to someone special.

She was very special to me, so I did my absolute best to make the most delicious macarons I could for her.

Sorry, can I just stop you there? It's just that, um… By any chance, are you Tsumugi?

Huh? Yes, that's me.

Now I see! So you're the one Kanata was talking about!

She told you about me?

Yeah. She said the sweets you made were so amazing that when she ate them, she felt like she was floating on a cloud. They made her determined to keep doing her very best!

She said you loved baking, and despite already having the skills, you kept working hard at it. She couldn't believe a girl in the same year could make stuff that delicious.

…She was being too kind. That's not the case.

Um, do you mind if we move a bit closer to the stage? Would you cheer them on with me?

Me? Cheer them on?

How was that, everyone? Am I cute, or am I cute?

*Giggle* Thank youuu!

Being called cute by you all boosts my cuteness to even higher heights!

And I'm delighted to see so many new faces in the crowd here today! You'd all better fall deeply in love with me, you hear?!

Now then, everyone give a warm welcome to your next performer, Setsuna!

Is everyone excited?!

Let's turn this place into an explosion of love once more!

All of you, please show me your love!

[Fade out.]

…I also should have just expressed my love. But instead, I ended up trying to force my ideas onto her.

[Fade in.]

Like telling her she should go sing somewhere where she'd get a bigger crowd if she wanted more people to hear her.

Or that her songs should be more about her true feelings.

But all that did was cause her to suddenly wake up one day and quit being a school idol. Even though she seemed to truly love and enjoy singing.

All that my support amounted to was selfishly imposing my wishes onto her and stealing her school idol life from her.

Someone like me doesn't have any right to support anyone.

Wait, Tsumugi!

She left…

Imposing your wishes, eh?

I think I might be doing the same thing. Does that mean it'll have the same effect?