Nice work today, you guys♪

Yeah, good work.

...

(Our practices are going rather smoothly. That just leaves whether or not Tsukasa will be able to join us...)

(No, he will...)

(KAITO mentioned how he seems to be on the right track, so now's not the time to fret.)

Okay, let's clean up and...

<Hey! Emu, Nene, Rui♪
Anyone home?>

Oh, it's Miku!
Lemme grab my phone!

Got it!

Already...?!

Incredible! Now that's efficiency!

<Wahoy♪ Thanks, Emu☆
Oh, Nene, Rui, you're both here too!>

Yes, we are. What brings you here all of a sudden?

<Oh, about that!
There's something I wanna ask you, Rui♪>

Ask me?

<Which is why I wanna try “looking for something in common” like Tsukasa's doing...>

<For that other show you did as ambassadors, you noticed that Nene and the Little Mermaid both like to play video games, right? Is it similar to that?>

Oh, I wanna know too!
Rui, please tell us!

Yes, of course.
I'll explain in order.

First, Miku's example.
About how “Nene and the Little Mermaid both like to play video games”...

Your interpretation is correct in terms of “finding something in common”.

<In terms of just that...
So it's not perfectly correct...?>

Yes. The perfectly correct answer begins with asking, “Why do Nene and the Little Mermaid both like to play video games?”

So, Nene, mind telling Miku and Emu about how you went about taking on the role of the Little Mermaid?

What?!
You're dumping this on me...?

Um... I started with how this Little Mermaid was pretty shy but wanted to see something new because she was tired of seeing the same stuff every day.

Okay, and...?

But the outside world... The world of humans is dangerous, so I figured that she'd prefer to discover new places by immersing herself in video games.

Books can provide similar enjoyment, but I thought video games would be better since you can control where you explore and what you do on adventures...

Also, you can play them for hours on end. And the more games you have, the more worlds you can effectively explore.

<That makes so much sense♪
But was any of that in the actual script?>

Ah, no, it wasn't.
But this “love of video games” gave Nene the connection she needed to become the Little Mermaid.

Whoa... That's so cool, Nene.

Oh? Emu, you went through quite a lot to play the role of Shao, didn't you?

Shao had lost her parents to the war, but Miles took her in to become both her mentor and only family.

That show was also inspired by what your grandfather had to go through when founding Phoenix Wonderland...

You felt a strong connection in terms of protecting something that was entrusted to you by another family member, no?

*Gasp*
Yeah!

<I had no idea...!>

<It isn't just about acting the same. It's really about being the same and filling their shoes!>

Yes, that's perfectly correct.

But Thorpe's a tricky one.
I mean, you and he are essentially polar opposites in terms of personalities.

That's the layer of added difficulty Tsukasa is currently facing.

<Hmm... Yeah, it's easy to say how we differ, but this is about finding common ground...>

Exactly.
Do you think you can handle it...?

<To be honest, I'm not sure...
But I wanna give it a try!>

<Especially since Tsukasa's trying his best already♪>

I couldn't agree more...

<Thanks for teaching me all this, Rui!>

<Thank you both too, Emu, Nene!
I promise to do my best!>

Okay! Bye bye!

And she's gone like the usual storm she is.

Hehe. She and Tsukasa seem to have that in common.

Yeah... So who do you think is gonna figure out Thorpe first? Tsukasa or Miku?

I really can't say.
This may just come down to some sort of serendipity.

Serendipity?

Yes. A chance discovery that leads one to a profound realization.

(Will our dear troupe leader be able to make such a discovery...?)

(We'll be awaiting good news, Tsukasa...)