Thread by @RinmeikanGranny

Each of us nurtures our own unique talents, and a desire to display them on the world’s grand stage. When obstacles force us back, do we accept our fate, or do we craft a new stage of our own making?

名門、落つ
An Institution's Demise
Ichie’s Chapter
Yuyuko’s Chapter

Chapter 5 (the first half of Ichie’s story) begins, as usual, with Rui, who thinks she’s finally getting the hang of these regular curriculum classes.

As Rui takes a moment to wonder how Tamao-senpai is doing, the classroom door slides open and a literal crowd of second years comes through the doorway. Rui wonders what all of them are here for...

A second-year from the basketball club is the first to accost her: “Hey, you’re first-year Akikaze Rui-kun, aren’t you? The Acting Department is getting shut down, so you’re probably free, right?”

“We totally want you to join our basketball club and help us chase our dream of appearing in the national tournament!"

However, the Tennis club also has its sights on Rui: “Fufu, what kinds of dumb things are you saying? Akikaze-san will aim together with us for Tennis Japan!”

Volleyball: “What are you saying? She’s choosing the Volleyball club, isn’t she?”

Handicraft: “No, the Handicraft Club.”

Lacrosse: “Um, if you’re ok with being a second, join the Lacrosse club!”

Rui, overwhelmed, asks the Thirst Squad to stop pulling on her hands and then tries to make her getaway: “I need to go to where Tamao-senpai is--”

Meanwhile, Tamao and Fumi are plotting something in one of the other rooms.

Tamao: “It’s finally the end of the school day--. Shall we get started shortly?”

Having finally escaped her many admirers, Rui suddenly bursts in like a lost child. “Senpai….! Tamao-senpai!”

Tamao and Fumi are taken aback at first, but Tamao regains her composure. “Rui-chan. I told you, don’t come to me anymore…”

Rui can’t accept any of this. “....I can’t understand it after all…. Remembering those sparkling days, calling it painful….!”

Rui: “Our days weren’t like that…! Losing things now might be sad but---”
“It should have been an irreplaceable treasure! For me, and for Tamao-senpai!”

Tamao clearly regrets her words, but she continues on regardless.

Tamao: “...Those were sweet, beautiful days. But, for that reason....”
“Beyond this...let’s stop entrusting important things to me.”

Rui is shocked into silence, and Tamao gathers Fumi with her and leaves. As they leave, Rui mulls over Tamao’s words about no longer entrusting important things to her, and meanwhile Fumi observes that things are particularly painful between Tamao and Rui right now.

As Fumi considers the situation, Tamao admits the truth: “What I said earlier, ‘stop entrusting important things to me,’ it looks self-important, but--”
“Really, I was the one entrusting important things to Rui, I think. Rui trusts me, so it’ll be ok.”

However, Tamao saw the pained look on Rui’s face. Even as she clearly fights against her guilt, Tamao tells Fumi she thinks she’s doing the right thing. Surely, Rui will be ok. Fumi agrees with her, and suggests they move on to their next task.

Next, we move to Rinmeikan’s rooftop, where Ichie has set up a solo video recording session for her web channel, “Ichi-Ichi Channel” (who knew she was on YouTube?😹)

As the camera rolls, Ichie dives into her monologue. “A former idol and current stage girl, Ichie-chan may have a name that means ‘silent,’ but I’m sending off a lively transmission that’s anything but quiet!”

Ichie explains that she’s launching an official project to launch the Rinmeikan Acting Department. The department is getting shut down, and she won’t allow it! Although she doesn’t have a program or a place to practice, she’ll make it happen, so she asks for everyone’s support.

With that being said, Ichie decides it’s time to answer her mailbag. The first letter comes from someone with a pen name of “Japanese Cuisine Girl” (wow, that’s not suspicious at all…😹)

“Japanese Cuisine Girl” says it’s the first time she’s writing in, and also the first time she’s heard of Ichie’s “Official Rinmeikan Acting Department Startup Project”. She thinks it’s amazing that Ichie is planning to continue the stage all by herself even with the shutdown.

Ichie takes it all in stride. “After all, I went as far as giving up Idol activities to aim for this road. The department may have shut down, but I can’t throw away my passion that easily~!”

However, as Ichie continues reading the letter, it gets even more suspicious. “By the way, I have a suggestion--sorry for making you wait, Ichie. Perform with us. Rinmeikan’s lost program--’The Rinmeikan Record’...”

As Ichie tries to wrap her head around the strangeness of the letter, Tamao and Fumi arrive on the rooftop, right on schedule. “So this is the kind of place you’ve been doing your video recording, Ichie,” says Tamao.

Fumi is less generous, however. Annoyed and concerned, she says, scoldingly, “Honestly...transmitting video from the rooftop, what are you thinking?”

Ichie responds cheerfully that recording under the blue sky makes for a grander story, but then she realizes that Fumi and Tamao have snuck into the shot, so now she can’t use that footage at all. However, Fumi says she won’t have time for that sort of thing moving forward anyway

Tamao gets down to business. “Ichie, our feelings are just as it says in the mail from earlier.”

“We’ll revive the lost drama of ‘The Rinmeikan Record’ and the Acting Department.”

“For that purpose, Otonashi Ichie...we want you to lend us your power.”

At this, Ichie says, “‘The Rinmeikan Record’ revival....it’s that ‘Rinmeikan Record,’ isn’t it?”

Fumi is surprised, and Tamao asks if Ichie knows of the play, to which Ichie says yes, but that’s beside the point--Ichie wants to know what made Tamao have a change of heart.

Tamao admits that because they couldn’t make a stage to convince the adults and teachers to prevent the shutdown of the department, she won't say they'll simply be standing on stage this time…

At this, Tamao suddenly gets extremely Metal: 🤘
“I won’t let it be said! Just like ‘The Rinmeikan Record,’ our words will be like spitting blood, our play like cutting flesh, a stage where life is at stake, we shall perform!”

Tamao: “We will perform the real, genuine ‘Rinmeikan Record.’”

“Spitting blood, cutting flesh, a stage where life is at stake--I’ll show you how to take it back.”

“Our--’My’ Acting Department.”

Ichie wonders what kind of play it’ll be and how they can put it together. The Rinmeikan Record was thrown away years ago by old students, after all. Tamao is impressed with Ichie’s knowledge and says it can be reborn--with their blood, they can create an entirely new stage.

Of course, Ichie will have to put in plenty of effort in this as well. Tamao says Ichie will be in charge of songs, choreography, and stage costumes.

Ichie, a bit worried, balks at this. “Um, but, ‘The Rinmeikan Record’ is a dark story, isn’t it? In the end everyone ends up dying, don’t they!?”

But Tamao understands this. Precisely because the Rinmeikan Record is such a story, they’ll need to lay their life out on the stage. It’s not something that can be grasped twice.
Tamao: “Staking everything on a single moment of brilliance, that’s the way of life for a stage girl”

Ichie is still worried. She wonders where they’ll perform it, if there's a script, direction…
Tamao says that one way or another, the three of them will do it.
Tamao: “Even dropping out of school...nothing is scary anymore. If I perform on stage and die, I’ll be satisfied.”

Tamao once again requests Ichie to lend them her strength, and to show how serious she is, Tamao kneels completely on the ground in a traditional Japanese show of deference, the Dogeza. The chapter comes to a close as Ichie is completely taken aback in surprise...

Chapter 6 picks up right where the previous chapter left off, with Tamao still bowing on the Rinmeikan roof, begging Ichie for her help in putting together the Rinmeikan Record. Ichie is shocked, and Fumi tells her that’s how far Tamao is willing to go, as their leader.

At the same time, Ichie wonders aloud whether Tamao’s proposal of including a singing show in the Rinmeikan Record and giving Ichie exclusive stage options was for the premeditated purpose of soliciting her help.

Tamao admits that’s part of the case, but she also legitimately thinks including those things and having Ichie’s help will allow them to craft a better stage.

Delighted, Ichie says she’ll definitely think of ways to make the stage more interesting.

After all, Ichie admits, she’s been having regrets. There were still so many things she wanted to do. She knew she had to do something to keep things going, even if it looked like the Acting Department was set to disappear from everyone’s hearts...

Fumi and Tamao are surprised at Ichie’s honesty. Tamao says, “Ichie, you were thinking those things and tried your best on your own…”

But Ichie tries to quell their worries. “You don’t have to say it like that again~☆ Besides, I’m not alone anymore~!”

With that said, we dive into Ichie’s stage lines:

“The one and only stage that I searched and wished for is a precipitous cliff!?”

“However, from here I can turn things around on a once-in-a-lifetime stage!”

“Rinmeikan Girls’ School Acting Department, Otonashi Ichie! I’ll let you hear and I’ll charm you with the sound of life!”

And thus Ichie is now recruited into their team.
“Those feelings, I received them with a Whack! We’ll work together, for Tamao’s ‘Rinmeikan Record’!”

The scene switches to a park at night (this must be Tamao’s favorite nighttime lurk spot), where Ichie excitedly looks forward to gathering again in their old club classroom. However, Fumi warns her not to expose their movements to the teacher. If she learns what they’re up to…

Tamao jumps into the conversation and mentions that she’s surprised that Ichie knows of the Rinmeikan Record. Fumi, too, wants to know how Ichie knows about it, since Fumi had no prior knowledge of the play at all.

Ichie: “Well, I said I used to do Idol activities, right?”
“In the ‘Sweet Pleats’ Idol Group, yeah. With 110 members, it was a big unit.”

Fumi: “That’s certainly a big unit, for sure.”

Ichie: “Right--? Honestly, I ended up hating it.”

Ichie: “My very own songs, my very own stage...thinking those kinds of things, I aimed to be an Idol, but--”
“With 110 people, there weren’t many chances to sing… Plus, the people on Staff were careless in a lot of ways.”

Ichie: “The higher-ups couldn’t even be bothered to remember our names. They called me ‘the one with the dumb hair’ and things like that….”

Tamao: “That was your given name?”

Ichie: “It’s cruel, isn’t it!? Even for work, all they could think about was sending out the designated number of people for the scene.”
“Also… the music was entirely lip-synched.”

Fumi: “If the choreography is intense, haven’t you heard that they do that sort of thing?”

Ichie: “Mm, in SuiPri’s case, it was lip-synch all the time.”
“Even though everyone worked hard on their lessons every day, and there were lots of girls who were great at singing.”

Ichie: “I didn’t like that carelessness, so I constantly clashed with the higher-ups.”
“But, most of the other girls were different from me, docile.”
“Even if you’re displeased, keep quiet...but, one day, they suddenly stopped coming to lessons.”

Ichie: “Like that, one person went away, two people went away… in the end, it couldn’t help but dissolve.”

“For the adults, it doesn’t seem serious, I’m thinking. Surely, it feels like buying a lottery ticket…”

Ichie: “Because of that, if things didn’t go well, it’s not our fault, it’s because we missed the lottery.”

“At least on the last stage we had a direct talk about wanting to sing with our own voices, but the higher-ups didn’t pay us any attention.”

Ichie: “Thinking of it now, we shouldn’t have had a direct talk, we should have just switched on our mics without saying anything.”

Ichie: “....It was just a little before that last stage.”
“In the program dressing room, I met an older idol by chance… She was watching a video on her smartphone.”
“Very very old...a video of a student performance from long ago.”

Ichie: “Even though it was a tragic tale where everyone died in the end, all of the characters were living in the moment.”
“The people performing on that stage--I could see they were sparkling marvelously.”
“Even if they had a lot of lines, or a few lines, it didn’t change.”

Ichie: “Even with the spotlight shining for just a moment, their own lines, their own role, they staked it all with their full body and full spirit.”
“And what surprised me the most...the performers were no different from me in age.”

Ichie: “I thought, even though I love the Idol world, performing on stage like this is amazing.”
“I felt like I’d really met something. It completely shattered my world.”

Tamao and Fumi are both rendered speechless by this tale, but Ichie continues on.

Ichie: “By the way, I asked that senpai. ‘That play, what is it?’”

Tamao: “At the Rinmeikan Girls’ School Acting Department, performed for generations--’The Rinmeikan Record.’”

Ichie: “Yes! That’s right! That senpai was a graduate of Rinmeikan’s Acting Department. That’s why she had such an old video.”
“So, that’s why when it was time to go to high school, I settled on Rinmeikan’s Acting Department. ...But.”

Ichie: “When I heard that the ‘Rinmeikan Record’ is no longer performed, I was so surprised!”
“But...thanks to that, I was able to meet everyone, so, I thought, that’s good, isn’t it.”

Tamao: “A senpai that graduated from the Acting Department and became an Idol, leading Ichie, who was aiming to be an Idol, to the Acting Department...”

Fumi: “What a mysterious turn of events.”

Tamao and Fumi both muse on the fact that they never knew all this about Ichie, and how they all know so little about each other. Ichie tells them they’ll need to fix that and the Acting Department, and they have a laugh. However, Ichie then wonders...what about Rui and Yuyuko?

The mood suddenly turns sober, and Tamao tells them that she thinks it would be better if they didn’t get the first-years involved. If Rui and Yuyuko were to spend time worrying about them, and something were to happen, that wouldn’t help anyone.

Ichie, understanding Tamao’s concern, tries to lighten the mood by focusing on what’s next. They’ll work as a Trio starting tomorrow, and Tamao suggests they start working on the script…

The chapter ends as the trio of second-years heads off through the park, and we catch a glimpse of the Acting Department club room at night, where Yuyuko sits alone in silence...

Chapter 7 begins, as usual, with Rui. She thinks today’s lessons went well, and she may even have time for reviews--time, she realizes, she has because there’s no Acting Department practice.

Sadly, Rui realizes this is the first time she’s gone this long without hanging out with anyone from the Acting Department...

As Rui considers her newfound afterschool free time, the classroom door opens (yet again), and today, instead of a flock of admiring girls, it’s Ukashi-sensei looking for some help. She asks if anyone is free, and all the others girls are busy with clubs, so she “volunteers” Rui.

It turns out Ukashi-sensei needed some help with pruning trees. She says it’s a good thing that Rui is so tall, as she was a big help.

However, Rui is a bit surprised. She never realized that there are Empress Trees being nurtured within the school grounds.

Ukashi-sensei: “In our school, each year when the new students enter, a new Empress Tree seedling is planted.”
“Lately it’s been difficult to get new seedlings, but...the Empress Tree is a symbol of our school.”
“And...this school has been preserving tradition for 100 years.”

Rui muses on this.
“Rinmeikan’s tradition….”

(Also, I’m going to leave this here…)

https://twitter.com/RinmeikanGranny/status/1179614913439899654

Quietly, watching Rui, Ukashi-sensei says, “...everyone in the Acting Department is probably feeling resentful, aren’t they. Towards the Board of Directors’ decision, towards me.”

Almost as quickly as she says it, however, Ukashi-sensei brushes it off and asks Rui how everyone is doing.

Rui: “Well, that’s...since the Acting Department is no longer around, I haven’t really been meeting with the upperclassmen...”

Ukashi-sensei appears to have a bit of remorse over the whole deal. “Ah...is that how it is. That sounds unfortunate.”
Trying to switch to a better topic, she asks how Tanaka-san is doing.
Rui realizes she hasn’t seen much of Yuyuko, either. “Speaking of which..how is Yukko...?”

Yuyuko is doing just sleepily, as usual. She dozes in class while some girls gossip about her.

Girl Student D: “Yeah, even though they were both formerly in the Acting Department, she’s different from Akikaze-san.”

While another girl chides them for being too loud, Yuyuko meanwhile hears everything that’s going on.

“(I’m hearing everything perfectly… Sigh…, won’t you all do me a favor and go off somewhere soon)”

Yuyuko: “(The Acting Department is gone, and I can study my favorite classics as much as I like, and in the middle of class sleep as much as I like...)”
“(Speaking of a wish come true, it may be, but...)”
“(It’s boring, isn’t it...)”

Yuyuko: “(I lost the Acting Department, and I’m no longer a stage girl. Is this what I really look like...)”
“(...The real me is pretty boring, isn’t it?)”

Next, we see the Acting Department room, where the second-years continue their scheming. Ichie and Tamao both loudly announce their entrance into the room, and Fumi scolds them, worried the teacher might find out.

Tamao: “It’s better to be brazen about it than hide it weirdly.”

Concerned, Fumi asks Tamao what to do if they’re found out, and Tamao calmly responds,
“If we say we’re cleaning the classroom due to our eviction, we won’t be found out.”

Fumi: “...Honestly, you’ve got guts and confidence.”

With that, Tamao proposes they start working on the script. Ichie wonders what setting they should pick--the Heian era, Kamakura, the Warring States period, or even the Bakumatsu.

Tamao replies that she wants a stage that depicts their way of life.

Tamao wants a stage where, having lost something for the first time, they realize the value of what they’ve lost.

Tamao: “In our foolishness, our naivete, our immaturity, we die once, and are reborn anew--that’s the stage I want. ”

As Fumi considers how to start laying out the plot with those points, Ichie laments that this is when it’d be good to have Yuyuko around. Fumi agrees, saying Yuyuko’s scripts are always on-point, but Tamao warns them not to get the first-years involved. They’ll do this as a trio.

However, we next find the three of them sitting in the classroom at night, still hashing things out over the script. As Tamao and Fumi argue over the plot consistency and wording, Ichie worriedly declares that scripts really are as difficult as she thought.

Fumi sees that they’re not making much progress, and it’s late, so she suggests they take a break and pick this up again tomorrow. Tamao is unhappy about this, since time is of the essence, but she agrees. They’ll think about the script again tomorrow.

However, as Fumi and Ichie go on ahead, we see Tamao sneaking into the practice room on her own, despite the late hour. As the chapter ends, Tamao makes a promise:

“Even if I collapse...I don’t want to waste a single minute or second. I have to find it...our Rinmeikan Record--!”

Chapter 8 (the second half of Yuyuko’s chapter) begins where we left off, with Tamao furiously rehearsing her lines from the Rinmeikan Record in the practice room at night.

Unfortunately, Tamao realizes the lines are a bit on the cheesy side and are lacking a certain something..

From behind, we hear a familiar, sleepy voice, quoting as if from a play, but in reality observing the truth of the situation:
“‘Our readiness, nothing can be conveyed’ ...is that right? That’s a new ‘Rinmeikan Record’ isn’t it?”

Yuyuko shows up in the practice room appraisingly. “‘The body is capital,’ you were saying, weren’t you? And yet you’re secretly working overtime…”
“You’re going to make Fumi-senpai and Ichie-san angry, you know.”

The two of them have some friendly back-and-forth, and Tamao says she feels a bit nostalgic, talking like this. Yuyuko mentions that back then, the one performing and the one watching were reversed, and Tamao can’t believe it hasn’t even been a year since then…

That being said, Tamao gets down to business and asks Yuyuko why she’s here. Tamao wants to get back to practice, after all…

Yuyuko: “...I wanted to have a little talk, with you, Tamao-senpai.”
Tamao looks away, a bit guiltily: “Right now I don’t want to waste even one minute, one second.”
Yuyuko: “...it’s not a waste.”

Yuyuko: “I, too…. Please, let me also participate in the ‘Rinmeikan Record’. Together, please, let me work on making the stage!”

But Tamao says she can’t allow it, which makes Yuyuko furious. Tamao explains that to make this stage, they’re going to die once and be resurrected. They’ll throw away their old foolish selves and face down the school’s decision with their blades, their punishment unknown.

Regardless of the outcome, Tamao and the other second-years are going to perform the Rinmeikan Record.

Tamao: “And that determination--for you first-years, who have a future ahead of you, you can’t afford to be burdened with that.”

Yuyuko: “...A bit selfish, isn’t it...keeping me away from the stage for Tamao-senpai’s convenience….”
“The one who pulled me up onto the stage was Tamao-senpai, was it not?”

“Creating the stage together with Tamao-senpai and everyone, and sometimes getting strict pointers from Fumi-senpai..
And even though I said the stage gradually came to be important..department shutdown, eviction..
Not letting me help with the Rinmeikan Record..I can’t stand it!”

Just as Yuyuko reaches the peak of her fury, the door to the training room clatters open and Ichie and Fumi enter. They’re happy they’ve tracked down Tamao, but they’re surprised to see Yuyuko here, too, at this late hour.

With this, all of Yuyuko’s suspicions are confirmed.
“I knew it...the upperclassmen are hiding the fact that they want to perform from Ukaji-sensei.”

Suddenly, Yuyuko hands them something.
“Here, this--written with Tamao-senpai, Fumi-senpai, and Ichie-san in mind, the ‘Rinmeikan Record’ script.”
The others are shocked.
Ichie: “The Rinmeikan Record..script!?”
Yuyuko: “I make the stage with everyone. This is the least I can do.”

Tamao asks if Yuyuko did this all alone.
Yuyuko: “Yes...is what I want to say, but I realized that alone I was out of my league, so...”
“My friend at the entertainment hall has a wife who’s a fan of theater. When I consulted with her, she knew of the Rinmeikan Record.”

Yuyuko: “So while I received pointers from her, I was able to finish it.”

Ichie and Fumi are incredulous.

Fumi: “You wrote this kind of book in that short amount of time...?”

Yuyuko: “Even though it’s a bit much...I just pulled a few all-nighters, that’s all.”

Yuyuko: “...However, now I wonder if I showed my full potential.”
“Tamao-senpai, I ask once again. Please let me participate in your stage!”
“Even the script, even as a performer--I’ll show you my maximum contribution. So--!”
“Please, let me rise on this stage!”

Ichie and Fumi are both rendered speechless by Yuyuko’s impassioned plea. Yuyuko continues, more solemnly:
“I like Rakugo and classical theater, and until now, there was nobody who bothered to understand, but--”
“But, in the Acting Department, there was. People who accepted me.”

Yuyuko: “Tamao-senpai, my Rakugo--my beloved ‘stage’, you praised it.”
“Everyone’s praise, and occasional scolding...standing on the stage...feeling myself grow--”
“On that stage of Rinmeikan, I want to stand there again.”

Yuyuko: “All I do is sleep in class. I’m a weirdo who likes classics.”
“The plain, unremarkable Tanaka Yuyuko, allowed to shine by her upperclassmen, will go to this stage with them.”
“So for that purpose, I’ll show you who I really am. To protect my stage--!”

Finally, Tamao sees how serious Yuyuko is about all this.
Tamao: “So this is Yuyuko-chan’s resolution.”
“Is it really ok? Ignoring the school’s decision and standing atop the stage--”

Yuyuko: “Let’s not say such unsophisticated things to each other.”
“A Rinmeikan without an acting department is like Rakugo without the punchline. There’s no reason for it to stick around.”

With this, we get Yuyuko’s stage entrance lines.
Yuyuko: “One, the thoughts hidden within people”
“Two, the stage tied them up”
“Three, for the drama of the future”
“I’ll enchant with the spirit of the classics!”

Yuyuko: “Rinmeikan Girls’ School Acting Department, Tanaka Yuyuko! A crucial moment where life is at stake, come now, take a look!”

Having said her piece, Yuyuko promptly falls asleep in the middle of the practice room. The second-years are a bit puzzled, but Yuyuko seems to have gotten her fiery resolution across to them. Ichie muses that this is the first time she’s seen Yuyuko so determined.

With not much time left before their performance of the Rinmeikan Record, Tamao suggests they all begin practicing from the script that Yuyuko penned for them. They all agree as Yuyuko sleepily tells them to keep on praising her...

The scene switches to the next morning, where the gang is clearly having a good time going over their play preparations. They discuss the script, how costumes and background art is coming along, and Yuyuko tells them to continue praising her so she can grow…

As Tamao considers the things still left to do for their final stage, all of that levity is cut short when Ukaji-sensei comes through the door to check up on how their classroom eviction clean-up is going.

Tamao, having learned through her Rinmeikan Record journey how to become a true wheeler-and-dealer, starts lying through her teeth without skipping a beat.
“As you can see, it’s going well. Before long, we’ll be able to vacate.”

Ukaji-sensei has eagle eyes, however, and notices a highly suspicious script lying out in the open. “This is… the ‘Rinmeikan Record’ script? Why is something like this here!?”

Tamao is unflustered. “When we were cleaning the classroom, it turned up by accident.”
“Although I’ve heard that the ‘Rinmeikan Record’ materials were all discarded previously by upperclassmen--”
“This...luckily it looks like it survived.”

Ukaji-sensei: “I see… even considering that, this appears surprisingly new…”

Tamao: “...Of course, that’s a copy. The original script is in safekeeping.”

Ukaji-sensei: “So it was. And yet, this kind of thing...”

Tamao: “As a valuable document of the Rinmeikan Girls’ School Acting Department… we’d like to keep it as our treasure.”

“Will you give us permission, Ukaji-sensei?”

The teacher seems to consider it for a moment, and then relents.
Ukaji-sensei: “Please take good care of it.”

With that, the teacher asks them to continue their clean-up of the room and departs, and everyone breathes a huge sigh of relief, having dodged a major bullet.

As they all regain their composure, Fumi compliments Tamao’s superb bullshitting skills.

Fumi: “Anyway...that’s some nerve, being able to make up nonsense so smoothly like that.”

Tamao: “Fufu, it was a great performance, wasn’t it? It’s because I’m the chairperson.”

Having narrowly avoided their teacher’s suspicion, they once more focus on the task at hand.
Tamao: “Fufu! Well, let’s stand firm once more!”
“At dawn, the curtain rises--”
“Let’s begin...my, our ‘Rinmeikan Record’!”

The chapter comes to a close as the rest of the group gladly falls in line with Tamao’s suggestion. However, they’re still only four strong, and there’s a fifth member who’s yet to join them...