"Alright, first, let's start with singing."
After calming down and discussing, everyone decided to choose the leader based on singing and dancing.
Thinking that there wouldn't be any problem if the leader was someone excellent in these two areas, everyone agreed to the plan.
So, they all decided to go to a KTV. On the way, because Yoshino was so incredibly cute, many otaku men and women on the street wanted to take pictures of Yoshino or ask Toujou Nozomi if they could hug her.
At first, they could refuse, but later, as more and more people gathered, they had no choice but to run away with Yoshino in their arms.
Running all the way, they quickly booked a large private room at the KTV reception and immediately entered the room.
Finally able to catch their breath, they still felt a lingering sense of relief, thinking how lucky they were to have escaped.
Their gaze then focused on Yoshino, who was being held by Toujou Nozomi.
"Yoshino's charm is indeed immense. I didn't expect so many people to chase us in the end. Didn't they say otaku don't have much stamina?"
Why were they all so hyped up? Or had they eaten Mentos, and couldn't stop?
"I thought we'd be caught by them, meow. Rin was very confident in her stamina, but now it seems Rin is still too young, meow~" Wiping away a cold sweat, Hoshizora Rin stated that the world was vast, and she still needed to work harder.
'If only I could use spiritual power, if only I didn't want to cause trouble for gaia and alaya. I would definitely freeze all those guys!' Shiina, filled with gloomy thoughts, emitted a black aura and thought fiercely.
"So, future training plans still need to be strengthened. Look at how exhausted you all are now. What will you do during actual performances later?"
Sonoda Umi stood in front of everyone and spoke the incredibly cruel truth, making Kousaka Honoka display an expression like the famous painting "The Scream."
"How was it? You weren't scared, were you?" Toujou Nozomi gently patted Yoshino's back, comforting the slightly startled Yoshino.
Toujou Nozomi, like Sonoda Umi, wasn't out of breath, but no one noticed that Toujou Nozomi was also comforting Yoshino.
"I'm fine, Sister Nozomi. I'm much better."
Yoshino, feeling recovered, rubbed her face against Toujou Nozomi's before getting down and smiling at her.
"Is that so? That's good then." Toujou Nozomi gently smiled, touching the cheek Yoshino had rubbed.
"Ah~ ooh~ meow~" Feeling very comfortable, Yoshino unconsciously let out a meow, making Toujou Nozomi unable to resist reaching out with her other hand to scratch her chin. A somewhat pleased Yoshino's eyes curved into crescent moons.
Inside the private room, everyone was excitedly picking familiar songs, while Yazawa Nico chose easy-to-sing, high-scoring songs she had planned out long ago. Shiina, on the side, gave a disdainful smile towards Yazawa Nico, who seemed to think she had already won.
However, it's worth noting that each person had their unique characteristics, and the emotions of all nine individuals could be clearly felt.
As expected of the members of the Muse goddess idol group, everyone's solo performances were wonderful.
The final scores showed Koizumi Hanayo with the highest score, and Minami Kotori with a slightly lower score, but everyone's scores were above ninety points.
At this moment, Yazawa Nico was sprawled on the floor in an ORZ pose, looking as if she was questioning life itself.
"Why? Why is this the result? This isn't what I imagined."
Her plan had been so perfect, so flawless.
Yazawa Nico declared that the people here were too terrifying; it wasn't that she didn't try hard, but that her enemies were too formidable.
She had already lost the first round, but there were still more competitions to come, and she absolutely would not fail again.
"Now, only dancing is left, right?" Yazawa Nico skillfully led everyone to a corner of the mall, which seemed to be designated as an entertainment area.
Here were dance machines, claw machines, photo booth machines, and more, with colorful neon lights flashing continuously. Why did it feel a bit like a nightclub?
As everyone was drawn to the numerous machines, Yoshino fell behind and approached a claw machine alone, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the blue rabbit doll inside, her hands pressed against the glass. She was just short of pressing her face against it too.
"What's wrong, Yoshino? Do you want the doll inside?"
At this moment, Yoshino felt her head sink, then she was gently embraced from behind, and a very pleasant voice spoke.
It was Minami Kotori.
"Kotori. Yes, Yoshino wants this doll. But Yoshino is very clumsy; she can never pick anything up with these kinds of machines."
Her eyes held a hint of disappointment, as if even with her spiritual power, she couldn't change her clumsy nature.
In her previous life, she had never succeeded in grabbing the anime figures she wanted from anime stores. (Are you sure you can really grab such a heavy box containing a figure?)
"Then, Yoshino, shall we try together? Even if we fail, we can try again, right?"
Looking at the somewhat dejected Yoshino, Minami Kotori smiled and comforted her. It was time to show off her true skills.
And so, Minami Kotori put aside the dancing competition and began to struggle with Yoshino at the claw machine.
She even ignored Kousaka Honoka, who came to call her.
Yoshino stood by, hands clasped in front of her, cheering on Minami Kotori. Faced with Yoshino's encouragement and support, Minami Kotori intently focused on the claw machine.
She analyzed bit by bit how to grab the doll, applying all the math formulas she had learned in her life.
Minami Kotori said she had never been this serious, even during exams.
"Just a little bit more, just a tiny bit more..."
After spending over a dozen coins, Minami Kotori, sweating coldly, finally grabbed the doll.
However, it was not yet time to relax; it was still uncertain whether it would suddenly drop.
Yoshino, at some point, had her arms around Minami Kotori's arm, looking at the mechanical claw with anticipation.
Finally, the blue rabbit doll was successfully grabbed. Yoshino looked at Minami Kotori with admiring eyes.
She was much more amazing than her; no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't succeed, nor did she want to cheat with spiritual power.
"Here, Yoshino, this is the doll you wanted." Taking the doll from the prize chute and handing it to Yoshino, Yoshino happily took the doll and hugged it, revealing a joyful smile. Shiina watched, a little displeased, and turned her head away.
"Thank you, Kotori." Yoshino hugged Minami Kotori for the first time, deeply touched that she would even skip the group competition to help her with the claw machine.
Minami Kotori looked at Yoshino in her arms with a slight surprise, then showed a satisfied smile.
This was a worthwhile endeavor. She also reached out and hugged Yoshino.
'...Is Minami Kotori here to increase Yoshino's favorability?'
Shiina saw the expression of a successful plan on Minami Kotori's face and thought with a bit of helplessness. Truly, city schemes run deep.
'But she succeeded, so there's nothing to say.' Anyway, this would only be beneficial for Yoshino, not harmful.
Like Sonoda Umi, Yoshino injected her spiritual power into Minami Kotori. In the sea, land, and air trio, only Kousaka Honoka was left without it.
Now, she was a 'salted fish'.