Episode 3: Present, the Group Production!

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Unable to receive approval on their first try, were the "St. Theresa Girl's Academy (BFFs Club)" leaving in a single file line.

Chelle
And there we have it! Our real guild debut!

Yuni
Yay, bang bang honk honk!

Chloe
Honk—

Yuuki
1. Good for you guys.

Yuni
Yuuki-kouhai. This guild is essentially, an official organization of St. Theresa Girl's Academy. That is why you, with your standing as a provisional student, are not officially a member.

Yuni
But, anyway, that is purely how it is on the official papers.

Yuni
Henceforth, we all shall hold claim to belonging to the aforementioned guild, and that talk about having you as a provisional member, it's not like a third party will go through each and every piece of documentation.

Yuni
In other words, we have already won the war of words.^[1] Thus, I declare. These four gathered here are the Yunichan's.

Chloe
No, the guild name. In the middle of saying something pretty nice, could you please not nonchalantly revive some old tossed out idea.

Chelle
By the way, about the guild's objective, in the end what'd we put on the application?

Chloe
Dunno. I have no idea, but seems Yuni-senpai just kinda carelessly wrote down something appropriate and pushed it through.

Yuni
"Carelessly" is quite rude. "From an educational standpoint, to elevate the significance of harmoniously conforming to togetherness within our societal structure." quite the unwavering guild ideology, isn't it.

Chloe
So you say, but aren't there a little too many adjectives.^[2]

Yuni
This method of avoiding such a concrete declaration, is merely a demonstration of my elegance. It is a lexical buffer. Flexibility, you could say.

Chelle
She's the type who makes things vague, huh.

Chloe
That's what I mean by careless...

Yuni
Originally, "careless" and "pertinent" shared a similar meaning.^[3] That "become closer" order the adults here at the academy gave us, I simply reworded it using pertinent language.

Chelle
She's right Chloe-senpai. The objective or whatever, who cares about that.

Chloe
Uh, you brought it up first yourself, so can you not just nonchalantly take her side.

Chelle
Anyway! From now on we're allies who shall share food from the same pot! Now, let's do a Chelle and get closer!

Yuni
Oo—!

Yuuki
1. Oo—!

Chloe
...sure, whatever.

Female Teacher
Good afternoon.

Female Teacher
The scholarship candidates are... good, everyone has assembled. Now then, please take your seats.

Female Teacher
Let's see... That task from the academy that I previously conveyed to you, it seems that you all have clear understanding of what that entailed.

Yuni
Yes, about us four, including that boy over there, deepening our friendships.

Yuni
About that matter, I have good tidings; it is going extremely favorably. So favorably, in fact, that it seems we have established a new guild.

Female Teacher
That is enough. Now then, in one week, I will call the other teachers here to perform a final evaluation.

Chloe
Evaluation. Right. Of what.

Female Teacher
Between you all and the special exchange student, just how strong the bonds between you have formed, we want to witness your progress in this area.

Yuni
I see. Once we pass that evaluation, we can help ourselves to that promised scholarship.

Chelle
Eh, then, in plain words what kind of evaluation is it? What should we do for it?

Female Teacher
I shall not answer. For coming up with that, too, is part of your task.

Female Teacher
In other words, the evaluation has already begun.

Chloe
Uwah, again with this...

Yuni
Keeping things vague.

Chloe
That.

Female Teacher
And that does it with the briefing. Now then, until next week. Good afternoon.

Yuni
Now, with all that being said. The second Exerting One's Self for the Scholarship Payment Emergency Meeting shall commence.

Yuni
The order to display the form of our "Closeness" has once again been placed upon us Yunichan's.

Chelle
That's right. The order to display the form of our "Closeness" has once again been placed upon the St. Theresa Girl's Academy (BFFs Club).

Yuni
Still, at the moment, that "visualization of our closeness" is the most pressing matter for us Yunichans.

Chelle
That's right.

Chloe
Uh, fine but... Eh, what is this development. Deja vu? Didn't we do something related to this just a bit ago?

Yuni
We did. We did and reached the previous conclusion to form a guild, however, it seems merely that was not enough to pass the evaluation in one go.

Yuni
And so, it is finally time for the final evaluation. As always, Mother Hilda's orders were kept vague, but... What shall we do?

Chloe
Uh, well, thinking about it normally? Some art or handicraft, some kind of, group composition? To make something like that was what they meant, I dunno though.

Chloe
I see. This development is indeed in line with what would please an educator. Okay, let us continue that line of thinking.

Chelle
For everyone to draw a picture?

Yuni
That is but one prospect. Hmm, for a group composition, what else is there? There's a stage play or drama, then there's an ensemble or a chorus.

Chelle
Chorus! In that case, Chelle wants to perform a live concert!

Chloe
Huh? What's this suddenly, your brain melt?

Chelle
Man, that time I went to see Carmina, seeing their performance in person was really the & greatest! I really admire that kinda stuff~!

Chloe
Ah, you're an idol otaku huh.

Chelle
Yeah that's right, Chelle loves female idols~! Well, you might say I've just watched and never actually been one, but I've often been mistaken for one~!

Chloe
Wait up, who and where. Quit spoiling this one so much.

Yuni
Caramina...? What is that, something tasty?

Chelle
Eh!

Chloe
Well, I do recall that Carmina is uhh, pretty special. I've got no interest in stuff like idols, but I've heard that those girls are pretty highly recommended.

Chelle
I know right! I really really love them! Their singing, dancing, outfits– they're the embodiment of cuteness!

Chloe
Uh, no, that they're strong. That they take out monsters and stuff in an instant, really really crazy crazy.

Yuni
Hmm, putting it all together, this Carmina seems to be a renowned military band. Yuuki-kouhai, do you know of them?

Yuuki
1. Who were we talking about?
2. Nozomi-chan and them, right?

Option 1.

Chelle
Eh, lame... That you don't know about Carmina in this day and age is kinda unbelievable. Yuuki-senpai, it's that bad, you know.

Option 2.

Chelle
Eh, show some respect... What's up with that warm and friendly expression as though you know them... Yuuki-senpai, you really need to know your place.

Yuni
My, calm down, Chelle-kun. You've conveyed your interests and passion, but we've diverged from the topic at hand. Right now we need to discuss our steps toward claiming that—

Chelle
Chairman, I've got it! Chelle's come up with something good!

Chelle
For that final evaluation, why not perform a live cover of Carmina's stuff, whatcha think? Look, we've even got precisely three people.

Chloe
Uh, no, you forgot one person. The objective, objective. You forgot to use the single most important part.

Chelle
...Huh, could it be, you want to sing too, Yuuki-senpai?

Yuni
It's not something to let out such a blatantly annoyed low voice about.

Chelle
I mean, it's Carmina, you know? Yuuki-senpai, aren't you being a little too shameless? Eh, what part, even? The producer?

Chloe
Wait a sec, no matter what, something like singing is outta the question. Putting on some frilly clothes and enthusiastically singing some idol songs in front of those dour teachers, that's just a public shaming.

Yuni
Agreed... Putting on a live performance with no shred of hesitation is certainly a youthful thing to do, but even if we take into account our circumstances, I imagine it would still be hell.

Chelle
But, it's better if we throw in some musical component right now, so that we'll be able to more easily release audio disks in the future, you know?

Yuni
Hold on, Chelle-kun. Why is the idea of our selling point as a unit on your mind?

Chelle
Of course at the end of our story, our character song gets played, right?

Yuni
And why's a movie adaptation already part of your outlook.

Chloe
That's nice and all, but normally a live performance is out of the question. That gathering of teachers who can't take a joke will just lecture us to "do it properly" in a serious tone and end it there.

Chelle
Eeh—? Then what should be do—?

Yuni
That's what we've been discussing this whole time. The only ideas we came up with in the end are, art or song.

Chloe
Like I said, songs are out.

Yuni
In that case, by process of elimination it shall be art.

Chelle
Art... will we "all" draw it?

Chelle
So?

Yuni
Whoa, sounds fun!

Chloe
This senpai goes all Chelle in the head once in a while, huh.

Yuni
It is decided. Now then, tomorrow we assemble at a suitably wide space for the operation. And there, we shall commence our first joint operation!.

The next day.

Chelle
Good chellning! ☆

Chloe
...so? We've brought the tools, and opened up that big paper... Now what.

Yuni
Hmm... according to this manual, it seems we should first use a lighter color to paint a rough sketch.

Chloe
Rough sketch, huh. Eh, who's the one with the most artistic talent among us? I'm pretty bad at it... you, Yuni-senpai?

Yuni
There was once a time where I would command a brush to pass the time.

Chloe
Oh, so you draw.

Yuni
The arts are different from the sciences, in that there is no single definite conclusion. I feel a certain a fondness for the works that I myself produce, however, there is not always a guarantee that you will share the same feelings as another.

Chloe
That's enough of that. Here, a brush. Just draw something for now.

Yuni
Brush brush brush...

Yuni
Here, something like this. How is it?

Chelle
Eh, the heck is this? Some kind of dark ritual to summon a demon?

Chloe
Uhh, anyway... Yuni-senpai, wouldn't it be for the best if you paid a visit to the counselor?

Yuni
Quit fooling around, this isn't an expression of a troubled child's psyche who carries a darkness within their heart. This is simply a portrait of Yuuki-kun.

Chloe
Huh, this is Yuuki...? Is this grotesque monster the one we were supposed to deepen our friendship with? What species did we have a close encounter with? This is a number one biggest spectacle.

Chelle
If we show this to the devout Mothers back at the academy, before even judging our closeness, we'll be judged to be demon-worshiping heretics and be exiled for all eternity.

Yuni
I am an impressionist, after all. How sad, that other people cannot comprehend my art.

Chelle
Then how is your drawing ability, Chelle-kun?

Chelle
Uhh, I wonder... I don't know, but it's probably gotta be better than this.

Yuni
Those who do not climb mountains have no conception for just how high mountains are. Chelle-kun, I will not shame you for the haughtiness brought upon you by youth, but you will sooner or later come to realize it yourself. That you are by no means a genius.

Chelle
Here, done! Chelle drew Yuuki-senpai, too!

Chloe
Good! Freakin' good!

Chelle
While I was at it, since he isn't attractive enough to use as a model as is, I went and made him look three times better~!

Yuni
Ahh, I seem to recall... She was a genius, this girl...

Chloe
Okay–, the rough is done. Chelle, good work.

Chelle
No, no, thank you senpais for your support as well.

Yuni
Hmm, I was wondering how this hour would go, but now that I have experienced it once, this group operation is quite fun. Perfectly youthful.

Chelle
Right!? I know, right!?

Chloe
Well, it's fine.

Chloe
Now, time to add color. Let's finish up before it gets dark.

Yuni
Agreed. Now, as discussed previously, everyone take their appointed place with mops in hand.

Yuni
Ready... begin!

Chelle
UUUURYAAAAAA—!!!

Chloe
Heey, don't run too much, ‘kay? I know the tension's ramped up from getting to this point, but—

Yuni
What's this? Fired up aren't you, Chelle-kun. As your senior I will not lose!

Yuni
DOORYAAAAAA—!!!!

Chloe
This one too, huh. Ah jeez, they're gonna fall over and splash paint everywhere and then like kids...

Yuuki
1. Seems like everyone's enjoying it, though.

Chloe
...Yeah, guess so. Well, that's fine, then.

Chloe
Huh? No it isn't... It's not like I want to join in and run around too, that's kinda, y'know.

Chloe
But, like, there's that? Being the only downer is kinda lame, too? Just for a bit, I can...

Chelle & Yuni
Aaa!

Chloe
Ah? What's up—

Yuni
Howaa sorry Chloe-kun the paint's!

Chloe
.............yeah?

Chelle
The bucket too! Dodge–!

Chloe
Uh, I can't see any—

Chloe
—gohaa!

Chelle & Yuni
Chloeeee-kuuun (-senpaiii)!

Yuni
A-Are you alright, Chloe-kun!? My deepest apologies, my Chelle-kun's blunder sent it flying!

Chelle
A-Are you alive, Chloe-senpai!? Sorry, my Yuni-senpai is but a clumsy girl!

Chloe
..........

Yuni
Hey, she's not responding. What should we do, Chelle-kun!?

Chelle
She fell face first and hasn't moved at all, what are we supposed to do, Yuni-senpai!?

Yuni
What...shall we do...?

Chelle
This, isn't this that ...? where she can't even muster the energy to stand, because she's so beyond mad, that pattern...

Yuni
Howawawa, hurry and apologize Chelle-kun!

Chelle
T-t-t-that's right! Hurry up and start prostrating, Yuni-senpai!

Chloe
.......Huhu.

Yuni
O-oh! Look, she's laughing! Her shoulders are trembling and shaking a bit! She really is forgiving, just laughing off something like—

Chloe
Huhu, huhuhuhu....

Chelle
Huh? It seems she's writing something out with her finger while her face still in the ground, you know?

Yuni
H-hey hey. Isn't that just like one of those dying messages? Hahaha, don't make such a foreboding joke, Chloe-kun...

Chelle
W-what is it she's writing...? Leeet's see... "challenge accepted"?

Chloe
Kukuku..... Huhahahaha.....

Chelle & Yuni
Aba, abababababa...!

Chloe
Bring it on..... I'm ready to take you....

Chelle & Yuni
H-Hii—!

Chloe
You punks, I'm gonna murder you!

Yuni
Gyaaaaa!!

Chelle
S-s-s-sorryyy!

Chloe
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!!

Yuni
W-wait! Stop, Chloe-kun! Everybody getting along with love & peace is our, the Yunichans', motto is it not!?

Chelle
That's right, that's our motto as the BFFs Club!

Chloe
Well then, let's all get along in our fight to the death! Come on!

Yuuki
1. Everyone's such good friends.

Chloe
Rest assured, Yuuki. You're one of us, too!

Female Teacher
Good afternoon. The four of you have arrived, yes?

Female Teacher
I wonder what it is you all have decided to show us. For this whole week, we have been looking forward to seeing it. Now then, please promptly present your group composition.

Yuni
Uh, it is unfortunate, but that won't be possible.

Female Teacher
Excuse me?

Chloe
This isn't some kind of excuse. It's just, after all, in this world, they say there are thing with a form and things without form.

Yuni
Idolatry is but a way to distort faith's true form. That is the conclusion we reached within this one week.

Yuni
What is most important, is what resides within our hearts. It is not something that we can display to others. As long as we believe it, then it remains true.

Chelle
Exactly! And so, this is our answer!

Chelle
"Our bonds do not possess a form"!

Yuni
How's that.

Female Teacher
... haa.

Female Teacher
Is that so, I understand. You were unable to complete it, yes?

Female Teacher
Well then, we shall re-evaluate you some time in the future. Please continue putting forth your best efforts. That is all.

All At Once
E...

All At Once
EEEH!?

In a classroom after school, the unified cries of anguish of the "St. Theresa Girl Academy (BFFs Club)" resounded.