| Izumi | Eh? You already bought all your gifts? |
| Sakuya | We don’t have that much free time, so I thought this was my chance. |
| Izumi | Oh, right. You were asked to buy all sorts of things. |
| Chikage | Oi, hurry up. Everyone else gathered already. |
| Hisoka | ...One more. |
| Chikage | You’re buying too much. That can’t even taste good. It’s just sugar. |
| Hisoka | ...Your taste buds are rough and careless from eating too much spicy food, Chikage. |
| Chikage | You’re the last person I want to hear that from—your taste buds have been paralyzed from eating too many sweets. |
| Izumi | Ah, there they are. |
| Chikage | Sorry we’re late. |
| Hisoka | ...It’s Chikage’s fault for buying too many extra-hot spices. |
| Chikage | It’s your fault for buying too much candy. |
| Izumi | You’re both carrying a lot of stuff. |
| Itaru | Chikage-san, were you actually fond of the spice Citron snuck into your curry? |
| ??? | Hey there~. |
| Izumi | ? |
| Sakuya | Ah, are you.... |
| Tsuzuru | Aniki—. |
| ??? | Oh, it’s been a while, my little brother. Did you get taller again? |
| Tsuzuru | Of course not! I’m way past my growth period. |
| ??? | Huh~, really? |
| Izumi | (I-I see... He’s a different type from Tsuzuru-kun.) |
| Tsuzuru | Director, this is my older brother, Minagi Tadoru. |
| Tadoru | Nice to meet you~. Thanks for taking care of Tsuzuru~. |
| Izumi | Nice to meet you. I’m Tachibana. |
| Guy | Looks like everyone is here. Let’s head inside. |
| |
| Waiter | <<I apologize, sir. The whole restaurant has been reserved for today....>> |
| Guy | <<That’s strange. We should have made a reservation....>> |
| Guy’s subordinate | <<Guy-sama!>> |
| Guy | <<Ah, Mika.>> |
| Mika | <<I’m so glad you’re safe.>> |
| Guy | <<Sorry for causing you all this trouble.>> |
| Mika | <<Please don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.>> |
| <<I’m Ilham. I placed the reservation.>> |
| Waiter | <<I’ve been expecting you. Let me guide you.>> |
| Sakuya | There are no other customers. |
| Guy | Apparently he reserved the whole restaurant. |
| Izumi | Eh!? Really!? |
| Guy | It’s safer that way—nobody will see us. |
| Azuma | That’s splendid. |
| Mika | <<Guy-sama. Are they Prince Citronia’s....>> |
| Guy | <<Yes, that’s right.>> |
| Everyone, let me introduce Mika, my subordinate. |
| Mika | <<Nice to meet you. Welcome to Zahra Kingdom; thank you for visiting.>> |
| Izumi | ??? |
| Guy | He’s saying “Welcome to Zahra Kingdom.” |
| Tasuku | I don’t understand Zahran at all. |
| Tsumugi | Thank goodness we have Guy-san. |
| |
| Izumi | It’s delicious! |
| Tsuzuru | It’s easy to eat. |
| Azuma | It’s pretty hot and heavy on the spice, but it’s a familiar taste. |
| Chikage | ...I want to stay here forever. |
| Izumi | I understand how you feel. |
| Itaru | You’re so obvious. |
| Tadoru | This dish is good too~. Oh, let’s order this one too. |
| Sakuya | Eh!? Can we really eat that much? |
| Tadoru | Don’t worry about it. We’ve got so many big guys here; let’s finish the whole menu~. |
| Tsuzuru | What is this, a competitive eating challenge!? Can you sit still for one second? |
| Chikage | He sure does what he wants. |
| Masumi | He and Tsuzuru have pretty different personalities. |
| Chikage | Actually, you could say that Tsuzuru turned out the way he did because his older brother is like that. |
| Itaru | Makes sense. |
| Guy | <<Mika, what is Citronia doing?>> |
| Mika | <<He just finished his rehearsal for the coronation ceremony.>> |
| Chikage | The coronation ceremony? |
| Guy | Yes. Citronia apparently finished his rehearsal for the coronation ceremony. |
| Sakuya | So Citron-san really intends to become king.... |
| Tsuzuru | Actually, Chikage-san, you understand Zahran? |
| Chikage | Well, if it’s just conversational. |
| Tasuku | You really are good at everything. |
| Mika | <<But something’s been bothering me....>> |
| Guy | <<The second and third princes?>> |
| Mika | <<May we speak of them with everyone here?>> |
| Guy | <<It’s fine. It’s better if we explain to them what’s going on.>> |
| Everyone. Can I have a word? |
| Izumi | ? |
| Guy | Some of you might know this already, but Citronia has three younger brothers. |
| Zahra Kingdom allows polygamy; the current king has three concubines in addition to his main wife, the queen. |
| Citronia and his three siblings are half-brothers, born from different concubines. |
| In the event that the queen has a child, that child would be first in line for the throne. But the current queen was unfortunately not blessed with children. |
| So the right of succession is determined by birth order. Citronia is currently first in line to succeed the throne. |
| Citronia was born to the fourth lady, a commoner, so there was some debate at the time over his right to succeed the throne. |
| But Citronia was always wise, even at a young age. He gained the people’s support in no time, silencing the voices of criticism. |
| Izumi | (...Citron-kun must have worked so hard.) |
| Guy | The people support Citronia’s ascension, but within the Royal Palace, some continue to favor the second or third prince. |
| That’s why Citronia and those two princes do not get along. |
| Some of their supporters are extremists. As the coronation ceremony grew closer, suspicious events began occurring repeatedly around Citronia. |
| That was when Citronia fled abroad. |
| Izumi | ——. |
| (Now that he mentions it—Citron-kun had to hide from suspicious people that one time....) |
| Sakuya | Does that mean he’ll be in danger on the day of the coronation ceremony as well? |
| Guy | I don’t know. I don’t expect them to do anything too extreme, but.... |
| Homare | For brothers to fight among each other like that.... It must be sad, being royalty. |
| Guy | But the youngest brother, Prince Tangerine, is very attached to Citronia, and they get along well. He soothed Citronia’s heart. |
| He might be a little similar to the Little Prince... to Sakisaka. |
| Tsumugi | Citron-kun might have thought of Muku-kun like a little brother. |
| Tsuzuru | I didn’t know Citron-san... was raised under such severe circumstances.... |
| Tadoru | I feel~. It’s real tough being the oldest brother~. |
| Tsuzuru | You always did whatever you wanted! |
| Tadoru | Eh~? |
| Izumi | (H-he’s so laid back....) |
| Chikage | This is giving me a good sense of Tsuzuru’s origins. |
| Izumi | So this is how he trained his tsukkomi[1]. |
| |
| Itaru | ...Ah, could I get one more of the same? |
| Waiter | <<Of course.>> |
| Tadoru | Huh? Why are you here drinking alone~? |
| Itaru | I can’t speak the language, so it’s easier to order at the counter. I just have to point. |
| Tadoru | I see~. |
| <<Could I get another beer?>> |
| Waiter | <<Of course.>> |
| Itaru | So you can speak Zahran too, onii-san. |
| Tadoru | I use it for work, so just a smattering~. |
| Itaru | For work? |
| Tadoru | I’m actually a curator for an art museum. My job is to check out works of art from all over the world. |
| Itaru | Wait, so you go all around the world for work? |
| Tadoru | Did you think I was just a wandering free spirit~? |
| Itaru | To be honest, from how Tsuzuru speaks of you.... |
| Tadoru | Well, it’s not too different~. |
| What’s Tsuzuru like in the troupe? Is he doing okay? |
| Itaru | ——. |
| Tadoru | ? |
| Itaru | No, I’m sorry. You’re laid back, but you really are his onii-chan. You could just ask him. |
| Tadoru | No, well~. It’s kind of embarrassing—kind of awkward to act like an older brother now, you know? |
| I was wandering all over the place when our family was going through their toughest times, too. I forced all the bothersome work onto Tsuzuru. |
| That’s also why I’m really happy that Tsuzuru is doing what he wants now, though.... |
| But I honestly think Tsuzuru feels bitter about me. |
| Itaru | ...I don’t think he feels that way about his aniki. |
| Tadoru | Tsuzuru is considerate when it comes to things like that, so~. It sure sucks being a middle child. |
| Itaru | No, that’s not what I mean... When he was talking about you on the plane, he was making his usual busybody expression, you know? |
| He might think it’s a pain, but I don’t think he’s bitter about you. |
| Tadoru | I wonder~.... |
| Itaru | Tsuzuru has accepted all his circumstances up till now; if anything, he uses them to fuel his work. |
| Tadoru | ...I see. Tsuzuru is writing scripts now, huh. |
| That makes me kinda happy~. He always loved writing stories, so~. |
| You relieved my guilt a little. Thanks. |
| Itaru | You’re welcome. |
| Tadoru | I’ll give you this in return. |
| Itaru | A mini bottle set of Japanese sake? |
| Tadoru | Take a sip when you miss the taste of Japan. |
| Itaru | No, I’m headed back in three days. |
| Tadoru | Or if you give it to someone who helped you out in Zahra Kingdom, they’d be insanely happy. I recommend it. |
| Apparently it’s a luxury item that’s difficult to get hold of over here, so you can use it as a bribe. |
| Itaru | A bribe.... |
| Tadoru | You know, like, for a sacred area you’re not really supposed to enter, or for a work of art that’s usually not on display~. All sorts of things. |
| Itaru | You really aren’t just wandering around for show. |
| Tadoru | Right~? |
| |
| Tsumugi | We won’t even get time to rehearse, right? |
| Guy | The Royal Palace is only open to the public for the day of the coronation ceremony. |
| There should be many theater troupes; I don’t know if we’ll even have time to rehearse short scenes. |
| Tasuku | If only we could get a practice area.... |
| Guy | I’ll ask Mika to sort things out for us. |
| Tsumugi | It’d be nice to include Zahran words, too. |
| Azuma | That sounds like it’d make the locals happy. |
| Homare | I have an idea! What if I read a poem dedicated to Zahra Kingdom! |
| Tasuku | They won’t get it. And not because they don’t understand the language. |
| Homare | What do you mean by that! |
| Hisoka | ...All sorts of things. |
| Homare | Not you too, Hisoka-kun! |
| Waiter | <<Thank you for waiting. Here’s your chickpea soup.>> |
| Izumi | What’s this? |
| Chikage | Chickpea soup. |
| Izumi | Huh~. Chickpeas are pretty common in Japan, too. |
| Guy | Chickpea.... |
| Homare | Piyo piyo piyo piyo.... |
| Guy | Pfft.... |
| Tasuku | We came all the way here and you’re bringing that up again? |
 |
| Guy | Ahahaha. |
| Azuma | Pfft... Ahahaha, you’re laughing too much, Guy. |
| Homare | Piyo piyo piiii—.... |
| Hisoka | Alice, don’t look this way... Pfft, ahahaha. |
| Tasuku | Ahaha. |
| Tsumugi | Ahahaha, Homare-san, you’re as hilarious as always. |
| Izumi | (Winter Troupe is getting infected with laughter...!) |
| Tsuzuru | I didn’t know Guy-san could laugh like that. |
| Hisoka | He got a version upgrade lately. |
| Izumi | (I want to show Citron-kun the current Guy-san. I want to show him Guy-san’s acting....) |
| Let’s do our best during the performance. That way I’m sure our feelings will come across, even if they don’t understand the language. |
| Tasuku | You’re right. |
| Tsumugi | Let’s do our best. |
