Just then, a voice came from beside them.
"Um... these are your plushies. Please take them."
The two turned around to see the ring-toss stall owner tearfully stuffing handful after handful of plushies into a plastic bag.
Holding the pile of plushies, which stood taller than she did, in both hands, she handed it over to the still-bewildered Lingmeng.
"Good grief... what am I supposed to do with all this stuff...?"
Lingmeng's lips twitched as she looked at the plushies in her arms.
If she had known this would happen, she never would have shown off...
After the two returned to the Maid Café, the staff were all shocked by the enormous bag of plushies Lingmeng was carrying.
They crowded around her, asking, "Did you rob a plushie store somewhere?"
Lingmeng could only respond with a wry smile.
After explaining that she had won them all at ring toss,
she handed all the plushies over to the staff to give to the customers, under looks that said, "We hope the stall owner's okay."
A few more hours passed after that. To start getting ready for their performance, the two returned to the lounge backstage.
Well... they called it a lounge, but it was startlingly spacious.
That made sense, though. Apparently, it had originally been a small banquet hall behind the central stage and was now open for use as a lounge.
For that reason, the room also contained a full drum kit, an electronic keyboard, and other instruments.
The only members from Raizen High School there to prepare for the competition were Lingmeng, Shiori, and Tohka.
Leaving aside Origami, who had never shown up in the first place,
even Ai, Mai, and Mii were missing.
"Seriously... what are those three doing?"
Shiori grumbled with her arms folded across her