'Now that I think about it... Why is this kindergarten starting so early?' Homura thought, puzzled.
This kindergarten was even earlier than his own school.
What was going on?
With that in mind, he signaled to the three girls, and they immediately walked over to investigate.
It was not that Homura wanted to do anything specific, he just wanted to get closer and take a look to satisfy his curiosity.
Arriving at the entrance of the kindergarten, the children were facing his way, while the teachers faced the children.
Homura spotted a man watching from outside and approached him.
"Hello there, why is this kindergarten open so early? We high schoolers haven't even started school yet." Homura asked politely.
The man glanced at Homura in his school uniform and chuckled.
"Isn't this because of the dance craze? These little kids are really into it. They've been clamoring to come and dance since early in the morning. See, that kid over there is my little brother."
'Does 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss' really have this effect?' Homura couldn't help but think with a smile.
"Well, that's really interesting..." Homura said, watching a large group of children preparing to dance.
He pondered and stroked his chin before finally taking out his phone.
The man next to Homura also took out his phone when he saw what Homura's doing and then focused his phone on recording his younger brother.
As the music started playing, the children's movements began.
===
Several minutes later.
Homura, who was impressed by the music, finished recording some segments, bid farewell to the man next to him, and left with the three girls, who were still smiling.
On the way, Homura fiddled with his phone and uploaded a video about the children's dance.
...
[Minamiya: Guess what I found, everyone? The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss's dance troupe! (Attached video)]
[Comment 1: I'm first!]
[Comment 2: Oh? Which kindergarten is this? They are amazing!]
[Comment 3: Aw man, just chomping down on my cereal... Now I've got milk all over my dad's face thanks to this!]
[Comment 4: I gotta get in on this kindergarten too!]
[Comment 5: Hey, dude above! You're decades too old for this!]
[Comment 6: Haha, that kid on the front is pretty good! Check out those sick moves!]
[Comment 7: Totally, not too shabby! This kid gonna be the savior of the dance world!]
...
Homura, with a satisfied expression, put away his phone.
"This kindergarten is probably going to be viral..." Utaha sighed.
"They probably intended for it to be..." Homura replied. "Otherwise, they wouldn't let so many people record them."
"Are you just going to let them do that?" Eriri raised an eyebrow. "And you even posted a video yourself."
"Nah, no big deal. If they were using a different song and dance, I might not have posted it, but with 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss', it's a different story."
Megumi thought for a moment before chiming in.
"Perhaps this will help Muse take another step forward."
"Oh? You really get what I mean, Megumi." Homura nodded.
Utaha and Eriri, upon hearing that, thought carefully before understanding Homura's idea.
The audience for the 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss' was young people, but this trend might pique the interest of even more people of different ages. Especially the children and their parents; for the sake of their child, they might secretly learn this dance and join in!
'That's when you can't avoid Muse...'
Thinking like that, Homura believed that with the unique charm of Muse's members, attracting more people to like them would be a piece of cake!
===
Noon.
Otonokizaka High School, School Idol Research Club.
"Ahhh! Something big happened~!" Hanayo's scream rang out.
"Hanayo-chan, what's wrong this time?" Honoka asked with a hint of curiosity.
Every time something happened, Hanayo reacted like this, so it was essential to find out what was going on.
"It's about Muse! Muse's ranking! Right now... it's..." Hanayo struggled to get to the point, leaving everyone else anxious.
"Ranking? What happened to the ranking... it can't have dropped, right?" Nico came up behind Hanayo, her eyes fixed on the laptop screen as she muttered.
"Otonokizaka High School's idols, Muse, ranking... twenty... one?"
""Twenty... one!"" (7x)
"Yes! Twenty-one!" Nico's spirit shook.
Rin looked stunned for a moment, then finally reacted.
"Twenty-one... if we move up one more place..."
"Then we can perform in Love Live!" Kotori continued.
"That's amazing, nyaa~! We're so close to our goal!"
"But why did this happen?" Umi puzzled. "Yesterday it was twenty-four, and today it's up three spots?"
"Maybe we should check the comments..." Maki toyed with her hair. "There might be some clues."
"Yeah, let's check!" Nico nodded. "Hanayo, please."
"Okay!" Hanayo simply switched to another page.
Everyone crowded around to see.
"Let me see..." Honoka murmured.
...
[Comment 1: It's because of the 'Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss' hype!]
[Comment 2: Oh, the vid of the kindergarten's dance, right?]
[Comment 3: Totally! It's like, super addictive, can't tear myself away from it!]
[Comment 4: It's my first time here, and it took me a lot of effort to find this idol website, but this Muse seems like a bunch of really nice kids.]
[Comment 5: Oh, check out the tone in that comment up there. Could this fellow be middle-aged or what? If that's the deal, then it looks like Muse's fanbase might be about to level up in age.]
...
""Video?""
The girls exchanged puzzled looks.
"Oh, this!" Kotori pulled out her phone.
"This is... the kindergarten mentioned in the comments?"
They finally understood.
"It's Homura-kun again... Even a random video of his helped us a lot..." Umi marveled again.
"Heehee, these little kids are so cute!" Kotori watched the dancing children on her phone screen and chuckled. "No wonder they can attract so many people..."
Honoka suddenly dashed off.
"Honoka, where are you going?!"
"I'm going to tell Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan..."
"It's a good idea to let them know. Our school open day isn't far away, and as the student council president and vice president, they're the ones who know the process best. We really need to plan our concert well." Maki nodded.
"I'm back!" Honoka entered the room again.
Seeing Honoka, everyone looked puzzled. Why did she come back so quickly?
"Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan are on their way. I saw them not far from here." Honoka explained, and just as she finished, the two student council members arrived.
"We have some good news to share." Eli smiled.
Everyone exchanged glances.
"We already know." Honoka said with a smile.
"Huh?" Eli looked puzzled. "Alpacas were just confirmed to be having babies. How did you already know, Honoka-chan?"
""Ehh—?!"" (x7)
"Didn't you say you already know? Why are you all so surprised?" Nozomi raised an eyebrow.
"No, no!" Nico quickly shook her head. "We're talking about something else!"
Amidst a clamor of explanations, Eli and Nozomi finally understood what had happened.
"Just because of a video? Our ranking went up by three spots?" Eli was still somewhat bewildered.
Didn't Muse become more and more famous? Didn't this mean their school was saved?
"Yes!" Honoka nodded emphatically. "I wonder if these kids will be interested in our school in the future. Wouldn't that save our school for the next ten years?"
'Ten years later?'
All the girls sweatdropped when they heard that.
"That's too far! Let's focus on saving the school for next year first!" Eli said with a hint of annoyance.
"..."
Honoka fell silent.