Hmm...

I wasn't able to give Nene any good advice...

I wish I could do something for her since she helped me with becoming Rio...

(Nene's always had confidence in her singing, so I doubt she foresaw any of this happening...)

(It seemed like quite a shock to her...

But she may be moving in the right direction since she went over to speak to the director about what he told her.)

(Which means all we can do is believe in what she does...)

(Knowing that you have friends supporting you can make a huge difference. It definitely did when I was learning to play Thorpe and Rio.)

(But this is different from learning to play a character. She has to break some old habits, which isn't going to be easy...)

(I hope she figures out what she needs to do...)

Good morning!

Morning, Kusanagi!

Let's do our best again today!

(Nene's just putting on a face...

Saki does the same thing whenever she tells me that “everything's fine” when it really isn't...)

(She even has bags under her eyes...)

(I have a feeling that she's still stuck...

Hmm... If only there were some way we could help her...)

Tenma, would you mind if we had a quick chat about the scene we'll be working on today?

Sakurako Seiryuin!

...!

Of course! You might know what to do!

Huh?

I see. I didn't realize you were all so worried about Kusanagi.

We are. We couldn't even figure out what these habits of hers are when we discussed it as a troupe.

She's unaware of any such habits, which means the onus was on us to know what they are...

I understand what you're trying to say, but you may not have the experience necessary to spot these habits of hers...

What...?!

Does that mean you know what she needs to fix, Seiryuin?!

...

Yes, I think so...

Excellent! Then, would you mind talking to Nene for us?!

That I won't do.

Wha—?! Why...?!

You really have to ask?

It's the other way around. She has to come and ask me.

...!

I prefer not to toot my own horn...

But when it comes to singing, I'm more knowledgeable and technically skilled than Kusanagi. She's well aware of this fact.

However, she's currently trying to solve this problem under her own power.

True...

I'm sorry...

I didn't mean to demean you or Nene in any way. Please forget what I just said.

I shall.

But keep in mind that I am simply keeping my distance for now.

When the time comes, whether or not she wishes to hear it, I am going to tell her to hard truth.

Right. We don't have much time left until our show opens, so we can't wait for her to find an answer on her own...

I need to thank you for believing in Nene and giving her time to figure this out.

Believe in her? I simply wish to focus on practicing my own role.

Also, where does this all leave you...?

Yes, you're doing a wonderful job of expressing your emotions... But you still have quite a few things to work on, including your character's more nuanced mannerisms, the timing for your lines and such, no...?

Oof...

Yet your mind is preoccupied with the business of others. Do you not see a problem with that?

You're absolutely right, Sakurako Seiryuin.

I have no rebuttal...

(As much as I want to help Nene, I need to keep working on my own character...!)

Sakurako Seiryuin! Let's discuss that scene we'll be doing today!

That's what I like to hear.

First, about the opening portion...