Chapter 2

What should I do for lunch today? Should I make it myself? Whatcha think, Yuuta-kun?

I’ve already got my ticket for the ultra-spicy mabo curry. It comes with chili peppers on top… ♪

Yeesh, just hearing about it makes my mouth all tingly~

But in that case I’ll get the pork curry with fried veggies.

…Anyway, I was pretty shocked to hear that Chocolat Fes might not be held.

Yeah, it’s crazy to think that things happening in countries we don’t even know about can affect the lives of idols like us.

In a weird way, it makes you remember everything is connected. Well, I already knew that before I had to consider the whole world…

There’s two paths for this to take: One, Chocolat Fes will happen just like every other year, and two, it won’t.

We really should be considering our plans for each path, don’t you think? Since we’re a powerhouse unit ♪

Oh, absolutely. The student council did come to us for this, after all. Since we’re a powerhouse unit ♪

It’s not until next year, so we’ve got time. But now that we’ve heard all of this, don’t you wanna sit down and come up with a plan for Chocolat Fes over lunch?

If we act like the future’s set in stone, it’s gonna come back to bite us, right? It’s a bit much to say we should be coming up with plans, though, so let’s just brainstorm while we talk.¹

Okay~ ♪ Then I’ll start.

Chocolat Fes is an event where idols make their audience happy and send them their love, right?

So I’m thinking the most important thing to do here is let everyone who comes to our live cozy up to us. Am I right or am I right?

So something in line with the theme of the event, huh. It’s a good idea, but it’s not like the newer units don’t already have that covered.

It’ll be their first time participating, so they’ll probably want to keep in line with the theme without getting too daring.

Besides, Chocolat Fes is an event where everyone’s pretty much doing the same thing—even Akatsuki would get up on stage and do fanservice.

So if possible, I want us to do something that only we can do. So maybe we should think of something that’s only possible because we’re us.

Mm~ Even if the contents of the lives have some overlap, we should still be able to show off what we’re made of during our performance, right?

That’s exactly what I mean. They’re calling us a powerhouse now, so I really want to flaunt that.

Maybe we could use a big, elaborate set like how Valkyrie does it! Or we could surprise the audience with a flashy performance that’s never been seen before in Yumenosaki history!

…Let’s switch topics for just a sec. We still need to figure out how to solve the sweets dilemma!

I’d like to avoid having any sweets other than chocolate, since we’d be losing the feel of Chocolat Fes.

But at the same time, there’s such a strong image of “chocolate” that using other kinds of sweets might leave a big impact… maybe?

It might even be seen as a nice change of pace. But when you think about Valentine’s Day, you think about chocolate! When you think about chocolate, you think about Valentine’s Day! So like…

Honestly, wouldn’t the fastest way to get our hands on them be to ignore the relationship between the manufacturer and Yumenosaki Academy?

Yeah, probably. We could always try asking the VP to smuggle in some chocolate for us through his own secret routes, even though he doesn’t have anything to do with this.

But if we do that, we’re just taking the easy way out. The big issue there is that we won’t leave a very good impression on the other students…!

The student council just asked us to procure the chocolate. Honestly, if we do manage to get it, I’m expecting some kinda praise.

…Oh, what about chocolate-scented cards? We can give out message cards with a few words from us on them.

Letting our fans know how we feel would be perfect for Chocolat Fes… ♪

We can convey our feelings, sure, but don’t you think that’s playing things too safe? It wouldn’t look like we’re doing anything different from the new students.

I want us to be a lot more showy, so we come off as a powerhouse unit.

We’re the only unit enrolled at Yumenosaki who’s also part of CosPro…

So do you think we could get an increase on our budget if we get the VP to help us? We can make an excuse like us wanting do what we can to show the agency’s appeal.

What would you wanna do with an increased budget and the VP’s help, though?

Well, umm… umm… Like, get a cool set made, and stuff…?

If you’re talking about an elaborate set like the ones Valkyrie uses, you already said that. Isn’t there anything else you want?

Urghhh… I can’t think of any specifics for a stage or set when you put me on the spot like that.

Can’t get any more vague than that, can you Yuuta-kun…

Maybe we’re just not seeing eye to eye here? I feel like if we keep talking, we’re just gonna end up going in circles…!

I think so, too. And if we keep talking, our curry’ll get cold.

Then for starters, we should finish eating. There’s still time before Chocolat Fes, and there’s a lot we just don’t know yet.

We can think about our ideas and talk it over once we know what’s going on!

Agreed. If we’re not on the same page right now, it just means we won’t be able to find common ground even if we do think about things on our own.

You got that right…

But if you’re having trouble thinking up a plan or checking things over with the VP, just come to me! I’ve got a little more experience than you, after all.

Yeah, sure. I know, I know, the leader of our unit is sooo dependable.

…All right, let’s switch gears and dig in! Sorry to keep you waiting, my ultra-spicy mabo curry… ♪

Me too! Let’s see how this fried veggie pork curry tastes… ☆