And that was the first music video I'd ever made...

I see...

So you discovered the music Kanade and Mafuyu had made, as well as Ena's art, during a time when you didn't want to go to school?

Why didn't you want to go to school, Mizuki...?

...

(I suppose she couldn't help but ask.)

(Which is only natural...
Mizuki goes to school only when absolutely necessary, while talking about it like everything is normal.)

(Which means whatever issue Mizuki was dealing with before still hasn't been resolved...)

(However...)

Why...? Well, a lot of reasons...
Most of all, it just felt like such a drag...

I see...

(I'm guessing we would've gotten a real answer if whatever this issue is had already been resolved...)

And what happened after you sent Ena that message...?

Oh, after I sent it...

See you again, Miku, Luka.

See you...
Thank you for telling us that story, Mizuki, Ena...

You're welcome.
We'll see you later.

We were treated to a very interesting story today...

It was nice to learn more about everyone.

I agree. However, it also raised more questions.

Is this about Mizuki...?

Yes... Remember when you asked Mizuki about not wanting to go to school, Miku?

Yes...
There were a lot of reasons and it became too much of a drag...

Are you wondering what Mizuki meant by “a lot of reasons”, Luka...?

Yes. Well, there's that, and...

Mizuki gave us a fairly quick answer and didn't seem to think much about what to say.

I can't get that out of my mind.
It felt like Mizuki was giving us a preprogrammed response to your question.

Pre...?

Like how you teach a robot to move and behave.

But I understand your confusion.
To be a little more precise...

After being asked the same question so many times, instead of going through the trouble of coming up with something to say each time, one may rather use a boilerplate response, like a robot.

Mizuki's response was so brief...
On the surface, it sounded like Mizuki meant it. But upon closer inspection, it felt like a preprogrammed response.

At least, that's what I heard.

Oh, I see...

Hehe. I may be reading into things too much.

However, I'm also convinced that we won't know how Mizuki actually feels unless we do.

Right. I think I know what you mean...

But I'm still a bit surprised...

Hm?

Because you didn't ask Mizuki anything, even though you always seem to have a lot going through your head...

Yes, well...

(I may've asked something if I hadn't overheard what MEIKO told Ena that one time.)

(She'll wait until Mizuki's ready to talk...)

(Ena's decision gives Mizuki less inclination to actually say anything.)

(I can't say if that's a good or bad thing for Mizuki... However, for some reason, it seems like there's been progress...)

(Could it be because Mizuki never really met anyone until this point who was willing to simply wait?)

(That may be why it feels like things haven't stagnated.)

Hehe...

(People are so interesting...
Mafuyu in particular, but also Mizuki, Kanade and Ena.)

(I'm looking forward to seeing where their choices take them.)