Yumemi was still thinking too optimistically.
Although they had what seemed like a "perfect start," capturing the attention of all the audience members below the stage, by the time the theme song ended and the third song performance began, many in the audience gradually lost interest in their performance.
This was not the fault of Yumemi Yumemite and her teammates.
They also felt this was a grand stage, a rare opportunity, and had been performing diligently, not slacking off under the spotlight.
After a few group songs at the beginning, Yumemi then had each member of the group perform solos in turn, followed by pairs teaming up for collaborative songs and dances, with completely different musical styles and dance types, striving to give the audience enough freshness.
Before each performance, they would change into an outfit matching the musical style, but within just half an hour, each of them had already changed three or four outfits.
They sang passionately and tried their best to liven up the atmosphere. Yumemi believed this concert was her best stage performance of the year, with no shortcomings in lighting or sound effects, and her teammates were all performing their best.
Yumemi herself even wore hip-hop attire and performed a "rap" song that was very different from her usual image.
The stage effect they presented was excellent, but unfortunately, the audience below the stage this time was not their target audience.
Most of the audience members were there to observe Yumemi Yumemite, the new Student Council member, wanting to see why she had gained the favor of the Student Council and hoping to find inspiration for "promotion" from her.
They did not expect that Yumemi's concert would truly be, as she advertised, a very serious idol concert, completely devoid of any "gambling" elements, which greatly disappointed them.
Although the performance was wonderful, they were not interested and did not respond to the interactions on stage.
Isn't it just singing and dancing? What's so special about that?
It felt somewhat fresh at first glance, but they quickly grew bored, lowering their heads and starting to scroll on their phones to pass the time.
They weren't pure young men who couldn't bear to look away when they saw girls dancing; if they wanted to, they could easily use connections or money to find a small idol to perform explicit dances just for them.
Those still interested in the stage performance now were mostly girls, ordinary students who rarely attended concerts, and otaku like Tanaka Yuzuna, whose combined numbers were less than sixty.
After all, the tickets for Yumemi's concert were expensive; only wealthy scions with spare cash would truly buy them.
So, aside from Tanaka Yuzuna and the crowd he brought to fill seats, who showed some enthusiastic reactions, other areas were quiet. Although Ayanokouji Kiyohira and Meari also supported her, their numbers were too small in comparison and still unhelpful.
Halfway through the concert, Yumemi Yumemite and her team's young ladies gradually grew tired; beyond physical exhaustion, there was more emotional disappointment.
The reason these young girls wanted to become idols was to gain fame, have a fanbase that liked them, and become idols who were the center of attention on stage.
For them, the more enthusiastic the reaction from the fans below the stage, the more motivated they would be to perform.
On their way here today, although Yumemi had already given them a heads-up that this performance might not have many supporters, seeing the lively atmosphere of the Ryōran Festival on their way to the theater had infected their spirits, inspiring them to put on the best performance and conquer the students of this school.
The performance effect itself had actually satisfied them, but the audience's reaction… truly made them feel frustrated and a sense of disparity.
They were no longer small-time idols; although they hadn't developed as well as Yumemi, they at least had a certain level of fame and quite a few loyal fans.
They hadn't encountered such a "cold reception" in a long time.
Yumemi's mood was also heavy; although she had guessed it would be like this, reality still slapped her hard, telling her that merely singing and dancing could not establish her in this school.
Sure enough, to pique the audience's interest, must she still use that trick…?
Yumemi's mood was somewhat heavy, but she still made up her mind.
After one song and dance, Yumemi sent her young ladies off the stage to rest for a while, while she remained on stage as the host controlling the flow.
She first thanked her teammates, introduced their group to the audience, and then shared some interesting anecdotes about being an idol to liven up the atmosphere, but the result was not as she wished; the audience below still showed little reaction, with only Tanaka Yuzuna's side actively responding.
Yumemi scanned the audience and suddenly said, "I know, dear audience members, you didn't come to this concert just to see this. So… let's directly enter the gambling segment you've all been looking forward to!"
Gambling? The audience's interest was immediately piqued. They looked up at the figure on the stage, wanting to see what she would say.
Compared to song and dance performances, gambling was far more capable of stirring their emotions; this was what they wanted to see!
Seeing the enthusiastic atmosphere below the stage, so different from before, Yumemi Yumemite felt truly disappointed.
She had clearly wanted to move everyone with her performance, but she didn't expect she would still have to rely on gambling…
Shaking off the frustration in her heart, her face still wore a brilliant smile: "Next, Yumemi will invite one lucky audience member to come on stage and gamble with me. If you win against me, you can get one-third of this concert's revenue!"
One-third of the concert's revenue…
It was a universally acknowledged fact that Yumemi could earn a lot of money from this concert, as they were all the "suckers" who had paid a high price for tickets.
Tickets were 100,000 Japanese Yen each; Yumemi sold over three hundred and gave out over a hundred.
For this concert, both the staff and the venue were provided free of charge by the Student Council; she only needed to pay her specifically invited friends for their labor.
Excluding labor and publicity costs, the net profit from this concert alone could reach around 30 million Japanese Yen.
One-third of the revenue, which is 10 million Japanese Yen, was quite a "high-stakes gamble."
They didn't expect Yumemi Yumemite, this new Student Council member, to make her first public gamble so grand. Everyone's curiosity was piqued, and they eagerly wanted to see who would be the "lucky audience member" to gamble with her.
"This lucky audience member will be randomly selected. Soon, I will ask the lighting technician to sweep the lights across the stage below. I will turn my back to the audience, and when I say 'stop,' the person illuminated by the light will be the lucky audience member!"
Yumemi briefly explained, then looked up and shouted to the stage above, "Lighting technician, please!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire venue darkened, with only a single beam of light illuminating Yumemi's feet on stage. Then, a spotlight also lit up in the audience seating area.
Everyone looked over and saw that the light was shining at Sachiko Juraku's feet.
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