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HotaruHaa... Haa...

Hotaru(Huh?)

Hotaru(In the end, I... made it all the way to the finish...)

HotaruAh...!

NagiMahoro...!

NatsumeHey—! Oh, come on!

HoukaThat was millsage. Thank you very much.

NagiWait, hey, wait! ...Calm down, Mahoro!

MahoroI am calm.

MahoroCompletely calm.

MahoroSo... please don't look at me with those pitying eyes.

Nagi...! Mahoro—

NatsumeThat's enough. If you're going to fight, do it back in the dressing room. We've got a mountain of things to reflect on.

NagiCould you please stay out of this? Right now I'm—

MahoroNatsume-chan. I think I understand things perfectly well.

MahoroThe crowd was incredibly fired up. The only one who couldn't deliver... the only one who needs to reflect is me.

MahoroSorry for causing so much trouble.

NatsumeWhat?

NatsumeWho gave you permission to wallow in self-pity like some tragic heroine?

NatsumeAnyone can make a mistake during a live show. It just happened to be you this time.

NatsumeI don't mean to blame you for—

MahoroI said I get it!!

Natsume...!?

MahoroAll of it, all of it—I get it perfectly well!

MahoroThat none of you blame me! That Hotaru-chan hasn't done a single thing wrong!

MahoroI get it! I do get it!

MahoroThat I don't have the skill! That I have no talent!! That I could never possibly take Kanata's place!

MahoroI'm the one—!! Who knows that best of anyone...!!

Nagi...!

NatsumeLike I said! That's not what this is—

HotaruUm... I...! I'm the one who...

NatsumeYou're not to blame either. You did exactly what you had to do.

HoukaThat's right. Hotaru-san, you saved this live until the very end.

HoukaThere's no need for you to apologize—

NagiYou're the one, Houka.

HoukaExcuse me?

NagiThe one who should be apologizing is you, Houka.

NagiYou're the one who suggested bringing Hotaru into the band, and you're the one who pushed for her to sing, aren't you...!

NagiWere you scheming for it to turn out like this from the very beginning!? Otherwise, you'd never care this much about the band—

NatsumeNagi!

Nagi...!

Houka*Sigh*...

Houka—And what if I was?

HotaruHuh?

HoukaIt's true that I've been acting according to my own objectives.

HoukaBut as a result, hasn't millsage been revitalized up to this point?

HoukaBesides... it's not as if everything went exactly as planned. Even I couldn't have predicted what happened today.

HoukaI swear to you, I have no intention of hurting anyone.

NagiThat's not what this is about...!

HoukaYou want to say that scheming is evil, don't you? Well then, Nagi-san, what about you?

Nagi...!

HoukaThe moment you agreed to the idea of having Hotaru-san sing too, you must have understood it meant reducing Mahoro-san's singing parts.

HoukaWhich means you, yourself, are what one would call an accomplice.

Nagi...!

NatsumeI said that's enough! Both of you, be quiet!

(Huh?)

(I was supposed to bring everyone happiness, wasn't I?)

(How did it end up like this—)

Encore! Encore!

Huh...?

Wha—? You're kidding, right? Today's live is a band battle event!?

It seems... the audience was quite pleased.

No... this is impossible...!

The vocalist—!! You were the best!!!

This millsage revival is way too dramatic!! That vocal was way too passionate!!

Haha... I knew it.

Huh?

They're calling for you, vocalist.

Mahoro...!

Wait! Please wait!!

Nagi、Houka...

NatsumeHey, what are you two just standing there for! We're going after her!

HoukaThat's not really my role, is it?

HoukaSince I already seem to be the bad guy here.

NagiYou are the worst... I... I knew it all along...!

NagiAnd I told myself it was for Mahoro's sake...!

NatsumeAaarrgh...! You're all just a noisy mess!

NatsumeFine, I'm going alone! You two handle the audience! You can at least manage that much!!

Road Along the Shore

HotaruMahoro-san! Please wait, Mahoro-sa—

MahoroDon't come any closer!!

Hotaru...

MahoroIf you hadn't done that, the live couldn't have gone on.

MahoroI think what happened back there was for the best.

HotaruB-but... I... you, Mahoro-san...!

HotaruI never meant for any of this...!

Mahoro...That's right. All of that was for the band's sake, wasn't it?

MahoroBut hey... did you even notice?

Hotaru...?

MahoroYou were smiling, Hotaru-chan.

MahoroRight up to the end of the live. Until you finished singing, the whole time.

MahoroYou were smiling, like you were having so much fun.

Hotaru...Ah.

Hotaru(...No...)

Hotaru(Because I...)

Hotaru(I wanted to help Mahoro-san.)

Hotaru(I wanted her to find happiness...)

HotaruI... I'm sor—

Mahoro...

MahoroJust leave me alone now.

HotaruAh...

HotaruWait...

HotaruPlease wait...!

Hotaru...Uuu...

Hotaru(I'm such an idiot.)

Hotaru(A complete idiot.)

Hotaru(Those rainbow colors... they were the color of my own selfish desires.)

Hotaru(My desire to simply enjoy music for my own satisfaction...)

Hotaru(My wish to just stay steeped in it forever...)

Hotaru(That's why I kept singing.)

Hotaru(Because that space felt more comfortable than anything else...)

Hotaru(Fooling myself into thinking I was saving someone...)

Hotaru(In the end, it was all just about me...)

HotaruUuu... uwaaaaaaaah...!!

NatsumeHotaru! Finally, I found you...!

Natsume...And Mahoro?

Natsume...I see.

HotaruUuu... waaaaaaah...!!