106. Before the sails are even raised, is it to be stillborn?

Nishikino Maki breathed a sigh of relief, yet somehow felt a subtle tightness in her chest—he... is acquainted with the senpais?—such a question naturally surfaced in her mind. However, her well-bred upbringing told her that now she should answer the other's question directly.

Letting out a soft breath, Nishikino Maki nodded under Jiang Yu's nervous and expectant gaze, saying, "It's in the school auditorium. The welcome ceremony ended there this morning. I'll take you there."

Incidentally, Nishikino Maki, who had just been hesitating over whether to go watch the senpais' performance, found herself a reason to go.

I'm merely escorting him there, nothing more, okay~

Jiang Yu sighed with relief upon hearing this, nodded gratefully, then made a "please" gesture, indicating for Nishikino Maki to lead the way.

Nishikino Maki strode ahead, with Jiang Yu following closely behind... well, actually, he was a step behind. And goodness, the curious gazes of the passing girls around them truly made cold sweat run down Jiang Yu's back.

Weren't girls at an all-female school supposed to be shy around boys?! Sure, a few girls might be bashful, but when a whole crowd of them gathers together, it's the stray boy who wandered in who ought to feel out of place, right?!

Having never been subjected to so many girls' stares at once, Jiang Yu steeled himself and followed Nishikino Maki through the short distance from Otonokizaka's school building to the auditorium.

When Jiang Yu pushed open the door and stepped inside, what he found were three girls standing on the stage, looking utterly lost, on the verge of tears. Each of them wore matching brightly colored cute outfits, and the one standing on the far right was none other than the Minami Kotori he knew so well.

Quickly scanning the empty auditorium, Jiang Yu instantly understood the situation... and now was the time to respond. Facing the three girls' gazes drawn by the sound of the door opening, Jiang Yu touched the bridge of his nose and said, as if to ease the awkwardness, "Um... am I late?"

...

Kousaka Honoka had woken up early this morning—much earlier than the training time they had agreed upon. Even though they had a Live this afternoon, they hadn't given up their daily practice.

As she dressed and came downstairs, Kousaka Honoka ran into her mother, who was preparing breakfast bright and early. Facing her mother's astonished look, Honoka responded cheerfully, "Good morning!"

"G-Good morning... Honoka, don't you want to go back and sleep a little more?" Mrs. Kousaka seemed not yet to have recovered from the shock of her most sleep-loving daughter waking up so early all of a sudden.

Kousaka Honoka shook her head and said, "Mom, I'm going to grab a few wagashi and head out, okay?"

Mrs. Kousaka nodded blankly, watching her daughter walk out the door with a wagashi in one hand and her school bag in the other.

Honoka left the house and headed straight for Kanda Myojin Shrine to do her usual morning exercise. Ever since she'd decided to become an idol and Sonoda Umi had drawn up a training plan for her and Minami Kotori, she'd been getting up earlier than before—just never quite this early.

Arriving at the shrine, before she'd even had a chance to put her things down, Honoka heard the voices of her two close friends behind her.

"Good morning, Honoka / Honoka-chan!"

Honoka turned around and answered with full energy, "Good morning! Kotori-chan, Umi-chan!"

The three then exchanged smiles and began their usual daily training.

After finishing their exercise and sharing the wagashi Honoka had brought, the three slowly made their way toward school.

Since Otonokizaka Academy was holding its welcome ceremony today, there was practically no class schedule to speak of. This was completely different from Toyonozaki—perhaps that was the difference between a public and a private school.

When the three arrived at the school auditorium, the welcome ceremony began under the hosting of the student council president whom Honoka found a little intimidating—Ayase Eli.

During the ceremony, the topics were nothing more than the usual clichés: welcoming the new students, introducing the school, reminding the examinees, and so on.

Finally, the ceremony ended with Ayase Eli encouraging everyone to actively sign up for clubs. Honoka and the other two filed out of the auditorium with the crowd and began preparing for the afternoon's First Live.

Watching students choose clubs that interested them and sign up one after another, Honoka gave herself a little boost of encouragement—we can't lose to the other clubs! Then she continued earnestly handing out flyers.

Kotori watched Honoka's determined expression and smiled. As the world's number one Honoka fan... as Honoka's best friend, Kotori naturally had to support her decision, not to mention that she herself was quite excited about becoming an idol.

Even Sonoda Umi showed no trace of yesterday's shyness, smiling as she diligently handed flyers about Muse's performance to every passing student.

During a break, Honoka was found by her classmates Mika, Ikuko, and Yoshiko. The trio of helpers offered to assist Muse, and Honoka naturally agreed with a delighted expression.

Backstage, changing into her costume and getting ready to take the stage, Honoka looked at herself in the mirror and thought silently: Today will surely be a success, right? Everyone's trying so hard!

In this world, hard work is never betrayed, right?

Hey~ isn't that right?

Then, after Honoka and Kotori sorted out Umi's blunder of wearing sweatpants over her stage outfit, the three were ready to take the stage.

Seeing Umi's trembling hand on her right, Honoka smiled and grasped it, saying softly, "It'll be fine! We're all here—it'll definitely be fine!"

Umi looked at Honoka in surprise and couldn't help murmuring, "Honoka..."

Kotori watched the two of them and laughed lightly, changing the subject: "Generally speaking, what should we do now?" Of course, she was referring to how to ease their nervousness.

Honoka's eyes lit up, and she said with a grin, "Let's count off! One—!"

"Two!" Kotori followed immediately, then Umi: "Three!"

After their playful exchange, the three closed their eyes, waiting for the stage curtain to slowly rise. But when they opened their eyes... what they saw was an auditorium with not a single person in it.

The expressions of the three girls were identical—expectation turning to disappointment, perhaps mixed with a hint of dejection.

So... not all efforts are rewarded after all?

It seems... even if you give it your all, things like this just can't succeed?

He... didn't come either?

The three girls wore dazed looks, their nostrils fluttering slightly, their eyes rimmed with red, as if they might burst into tears at any moment.

Just then, the sound of the auditorium door being pushed open suddenly came from behind. The three girls froze, then instantly fixed their expectant gazes upon the person who walked in through the door.

"Um... am I late?" He touched the bridge of his nose and said, as if to ease the awkwardness.

A boy? Who is he? Honoka and Umi thought at the same time.

So you really didn't break your promise~ Tears still glistening at the corners of her eyes, Kotori suddenly broke into a radiant smile—in that instant, it was as if a hundred flowers bowed before her, and the sun and moon dimmed in comparison.