H-Haruka, is that true...?!

We stopped receiving offers because of ReLight...?

Yeah. The truth is, I ran into Mr. Hiiragi by accident over at the TV station the other day. I decided to ask him straight out...

I'm sorry for not telling you all sooner.

There's no need for you to apologize.
We get that telling us this wasn't easy for you.

Still, I don't think any of us were expecting this...

But... If what Haruka just said is true, then there was nothing that we could've done.

That rumor about Mr. Hiiragi is one thing, and so is the fact that we don't have the backing of a big agency...

But the real problem we're facing right now is that we lack the ability to fight back.

Right...
We're in a pretty tough pickle.

If things end up continuing like this indefinitely...

Oh no...

(Everyone looks so sad...)

(But...)

Then, let's figure out a way!

Yeah, ReLight is a really amazing idol group... And I admit that I don't stand a chance against them right now...!

But the last thing we should be doing is feeling bad for ourselves!

I know that turning this situation around isn't going to be easy, and I have no idea if we'll actually get more work...

But I don't want us to give up...
I want us to take this opportunity to figure out a way to keep our dream of spreading hope to as many people as we can alive!

Minori...

Hehe.
You took the words right out of my mouth.

Huh?

I was actually just about to say the same thing.

R-Really?!
I'm so sorry, Haruka...!

Don't apologize.
If anything, I'm glad you did.

Because now I know that you feel the same way, Minori.

We really are in a tough situation right now.

But I think I can safely say that we all want to keep spreading hope to others as idols...

It's probably going to take us a while to come up with a good plan...

But I also want us to figure out a way that allows us to keep spreading hope to others...

Haruka...

Yeah...
We shouldn't just dwell on our problems here.

We should be running straight towards our dream instead!

Yes, and...
It's times like these when we need to remind ourselves of our ultimate goal.

Let's keep being ourselves, inspire as many people as we can and spread more hope than any other idols out there!

Thanks, you two.

Then, let's start thinking about how we're going to keep spreading hope to everyone.

So, for now, we need to work on raising our standards.

Right. We were able to punch above our weight during Idol Lovers because we got to perform with ReLight...

We have to learn how to consistently perform like that—no, even better than we did that time—if we want people to invite us to their events.

Then, why don't we start by overhauling our workout routines?

Agreed. We all excel at different things as performers, so it might be good for each of us to train with our different strengths in mind.

I'll come up with some new exercises for all of you.

Thanks, Haruka!

Also, we've been relying mostly on Saito to find work for us, but I'll start being more active in that department.

Right.
I'll try asking around as well.

Then, while you guys do that, I'll come up with stream ideas for us!

Thanks.
Oh, speaking of which, we may also need to start rethinking our streams a bit...

As important as it is to think about our existing viewers, we have to start thinking about how we're going to get more people to start watching us.

This seems like a good list of ideas for now.

Yeah... But to be perfectly honest, none of them seem like a definitive solution to get us back on our feet.

Still, it's better than doing nothing at all.

I agree. This is going to be a process of trial and error. We'll try the things we talked about today, see what works and what doesn't and try to make progress bit by bit.

Yeah...!
So, let's do everything we can for now!

(I do agree with Airi...
None of these feel like they'll lead to the breakthrough we need.)

(But we have to keep moving forward.)

(We have to believe that we'll get out of this jam and keep spreading hope to others...!)

(No luck again today...)

(Saito, Airi and I have been asking around a lot, but... It's been really rough.)

(I mean, people are rejecting us outright. Very few have been willing to even hear us out.)

(I knew this wouldn't be easy.
If this isn't working, we just need to try something else.)

(We just have to keep trying everything we can right now.)

Alright, the others are currently practicing, so I should get changed and go work out...

A visitor?
But we're not scheduled to meet anyone today...

Who could it be? Wait, huh...?

Ms. Arisawa...?

Hello. Do you have a minute?