Kumon | Pant, pant.... |
Juza | ...I’m gonna give you a new one[1] to put on your forehead. |
Kumon | ——. |
| Nii-cha.... |
Juza | What is it. Need something to drink? |
Kumon | I’m so...rry.... |
Juza | .... |
Kumon | ...I really should’ve listened to you, nii-chan. I shouldn’t have joined the troupe.... |
| I’m no good... after all... I ended up causing everyone all this trouble... I haven’t changed at all.... |
| Why am I so, so weak...? Why can’t I be strong like nii-chan...? |
Juza | Kumon.... |
Kumon | Even after the first day, somewhere in my heart I was afraid that things would turn out the same as before.... |
| That I would cause everyone trouble right when it mattered most.... |
| It really... was impossible for me. |
| A weak guy like me has no right to be cool and stand on stage like nii-chan.... |
Juza | —Listen, Kumon. |
| You don’t need a right to dream; you don’t need a right to stand on stage. To hell with that. |
| If we needed that sort of thing, I never would have been able to act with everyone in Autumn Troupe. |
Kumon | Nii-chan.... |
Juza | Don’t give up. The performance hasn’t ended yet. |
| Don’t think “it’s going to be the same as before.” You’re going to pull through this time for sure, right? |
Kumon | ——. |
Juza | Just focus on getting your fever down. |
Kumon | ...Yeah. |
| |
Azami | So he got a fever again. |
Izumi | Yeah.... |
Yuki | You’re sure it’s not a cold? |
Izumi | Yeah... Juza-kun and Muku-kun said it was the usual.... |
Tenma | I see.... |
Kazunari | I’m worried.... |
Tenma | Yeah; we can manage the performance with a standby, but I’m worried about him. |
Juza | .... |
Izumi | Ah, Juza-kun! How is Kumon-kun doing? |
Juza | Muku and Misumi-san are with him right now. But his fever isn’t going down at all. |
Izumi | I see.... |
Tenma | I guess it’s unlikely that his fever will go down by the final performance tomorrow.... |
Banri | ...Guess I’ll have to go on, huh. |
Izumi | (Banri-kun looks frustrated too... He was watching Kumon-kun work hard all this time; he must want him to stand on stage till the very last moment.) |
| (Of course I feel the same way. But I can’t let an actor go on stage if he’s ill.) |
| (I need to make the decision here for Kumon-kun’s health—.) |
| We’ll have Banri-kun play in tomorrow’s final performance—. |
Juza | Please. Could you please wait. |
Izumi | Eh? |
Juza | ...I know it might be impossible. But could you please let him stand till the end. |
Izumi | Juza-kun.... |
| (If Kumon-kun steps off stage now, it’ll leave an even bigger wound in his heart.) |
| (That’s why Juza-kun is desperately bowing his head.) |
| (I want to let Kumon-kun stand on stage till the end, too.) |
| (I know how hard Kumon-kun has been working to accomplish that. I understand how much it means to him.) |
| (But....) |
| (Letting Kumon-kun stand on stage with a high fever will be dangerous to both Kumon-kun’s body and the performance as a whole.) |
| (I can’t risk that....) |
| ...As the general director, I can’t let him stand on stage unless his fever goes down. |
Juza | ——. |
Yuki | I think that’s the right decision. |
Tenma | Dammit.... |
Izumi | But if his fever goes down, it’s a different story. |
Yuki | There’s no way a fever that high will go down by tomorrow. |
Izumi | (If this were a regular fever, that’s true. But maybe—.) |
| If Kumon-kun’s fever is caused by pressure, then if we get rid of the source of stress, it might go down. |
| If we can just change his feelings, then maybe—. |
Juza | ——. |
Izumi | Don’t give up just yet. There still might be something we can do for Kumon-kun. |
Tenma | ...You’re right. |
Yuki | We have nothing to lose. |
Kazunari | It’s better than doing nothing! |
Banri | But he was fine till now. Why the sudden fever right before the final performance? |
Yuki | You’re right. I can see why you’d feel more pressure for the final performance, but.... |
Azami | ...Now that I think about it, he said he was worried about ad-libs the other day. |
Tenma | Ad-libs? |
Izumi | Kumon-kun mentioned it before he collapsed, too. He wanted to know how he could get better at ad-libs.... |
| He was worried he would disappoint Summer Troupe’s fans and ruin the show. |
Juza | He was thinking like that.... |
Tenma | .... |
Juza | What is it, Tenma? |
Tenma | ...Can I ask you guys to do something. |