| Reni | Plagiarism… you say? |
| Shifuto | I’ve heard it from a member of MANKAI Company. Seems like some lines were completely plagiarized. |
| Reni | So you didn’t confirm it by yourself? |
| Shifuto | Well, that’s true, but… |
| Madoka | However, I think it’s true. |
| Reni | Who are you? |
| Madoka | My name is Madoka Ikaruga. I’m the son of Kusumi Ikaruga, who wrote the script. |
| Reni | Ikaruga’s… |
| Madoka | I’ve been seeing my father suffering due to his slump up-close for so long. |
| From what I’ve seen, he can’t write what he wants to write, and writing seems to be giving him nothing but pain. |
| Naturally, in order to prevent his progress from going slowly and to make a satisfactory complete piece… I’ve been writing as his ghostwriter. I apologize for keeping quiet about this. |
| Reni | … |
| Madoka | I couldn’t believe the final draft was written by my father. It was totally different from his writing style. |
| Furthermore, my father seemed different than usual when he finished writing the script. If someone were to tell me he plagiarized it, I’d believe it. |
| Reni | I see… |
| Shifuto | What should we do? |
| Reni | ...There’s no need for you to be worried. We’ll be going as planned for tomorrow’s show. |
| Shifuto | Eh!? |
| Haruto | With all due respects… didn’t you say you’re going to make them surrender with our real ability this time? |
| Reni | —. |
| Realistically speaking, we couldn’t prepare other scripts beside that one. And if we have to take out those lines, it will create inconsistencies in some parts. |
| It’s the core of our play this time. We can’t revise it now. |
| Fortunately, with us performing first, this will be an advantage for us. There shouldn’t be any problems if it’s for victory. |
| I’d rather eat a poison and show the audience a beautiful play than show them an ugly play filled with patchworks. |
| Shifuto | … |
| Reni | ...What is it? |
| Shifuto | This is the first time I see you being evasive, Reni-san. |
| Reni | —. |
| Madoka | —I’ll make it in time. I’ll make an even better script overnight. |
| Reni | —You… |
| Madoka | That’s why I’m begging you. Please give me a chance. |
| Shifuto | I’m begging you too! |
| Reni | I refuse. |
| Be it the staging plan or everything else, it’s impossible to perform an entirely different play now. |
| The three of you are not the only ones involved in this play. We will put a burden and risk on many staff members and other actors. |
| ...No matter what happens, we can’t afford to lose tomorrow. |
| Shifuto | Reni-san! |
| Reni | This conversation is now over. Get out. |
| Madoka | Please wait—. |
| Shifuto | We still haven’t finished talking! |
| Haruto | Cut it out, you two. Let’s go. |
| |
| Shifuto | Why did you stop us, Haruto-san!? |
| Haruto | It’s no use telling him anything more. |
| Shifuto | No way… I’ve made a promise with Azami to fight fair and square, but… |
| If this is how it’s going to end… I’ll step down as the top actor. |
| Madoka | Eh!? |
| *slaps* |
| Haruto | —Who the fuck do ya think ye are!? Even if we have to fuckin’ bind it, we’re gonna pull the fuckin’ play! |
| Didn’t ya hear what Reni-san said just now!? This ain’t just yer freakin’ play! |
| Madoka | I’m also at fault to begin with. If only I suspected my father of plagiarism… |
| Haruto | ...Did you mean what you said just now? |
| Madoka | ? |
| Haruto | You said you’re going to write a brand new script overnight, didn’t you? |
| Madoka | To tell you the truth… the script that Shifuto-san encouraged me to write is almost finished. My hands are unusually moving on their own… |
| Shifuto | Do you mean, the script you really wanted to write? |
| Madoka | Yes. It’s a short script, but if I can refine the whole thing, I can somehow finish it. |
| Haruto | A short script will be convenient for us. How about the characters? |
| Madoka | Uhh… there’s only two… |
| Haruto | Go home and finish it right now. Once you’re done, send the file to me. |
| Madoka | But… |
| Haruto | But what? |
| Madoka | ...The story is based on my relationship with my big brother. |
| I can finish it with no problem if I try pouring out my longtime feelings of guilt towards my brother in my writing… |
| But is it alright for me to have you two perform a play that I wrote for my own satisfaction… |
| Moreover, my brother will surely come to watch the play tomorrow. I don’t know how he’ll react if he watches it… |
| Haruto | What are you saying now… |
| Madoka | ...I apologize. I ended up saying such things before because I was surprised, but the truth is, I don’t have any confidence. |
| Shifuto | Rather than thinking about how your nii-chan will react, do you want him to watch the play? |
| Madoka | ...I want him to watch. |
| Haruto | So are you saying Shifuto and I can’t be trusted to act out such an important story? |
| Madoka | No way—. |
| ...That’s not what I meant. I’m sure the two of you—if it’s the two of you—you will take good care of the thoughts I’ve written. |
| I watched your performance during the dress rehearsal. It was so wonderful. |
| If I have to choose someone to act it out, I’ll choose the two of you. |
| Shifuto | It’s decided, then. |
| Haruto | If so—get yer butt movin’! |
| Madoka | Y-Yes! I’ll be going. |
| Haruto | Come with me, Shifuto. |
| Shifuto | Haruto-san is truly like a different person when you enter this mode. It’s so funny. |
| Haruto | ...It’s Yamada. |
| Genta Yamada. My real name. |
| Shifuto | Ooh! What a fabulous name! |
| Haruto | Bullshit! Are ya makin’ fun of me!? |
| |
| Staff A | Haruto-san, did something happen? |
| Haruto | Sorry for calling you all so suddenly. |
| Staff B | Well, it’s fine. |
| Haruto | The truth is, we found plagiarism in the script for this play. |
| Staff A | Eh!? |
| Staff B | Seriously… |
| Haruto | Alright, be quiet. We’ll get a new script soon so calm down. |
| The cast will be the top actor and the semi-top actor. |
| I apologize for drastically reducing the cast members, but I want the members who will not be appearing to support us in any way. |
| Reni-san is busy dealing with various related parties right now. He’s tied up. |
| I’ll be his substitute and instruct everything here, from the cast to each operation. |
| Shifuto | Eh? You can do that? |
| Haruto | Obviously. I’m not the same as you. How long do you think I’ve been performing Reni-san’s plays? |
| Staff A | Now, huh… |
| Staff B | This is tough, right? |
| Haruto | ...Even during my trainee days, I’d never have thought we would encounter such a crisis like this. |
| But this Showdown Act is a very important play with GOD-za’s honor on the line. |
| I want to deliver a perfectly beautiful play that Reni-san has produced up until now. |
| From the top actor to the behind-the-scene staff, I want all of us to unite and make efforts to protect GOD-za’s one and only fabulousness until the end. |
| Staff A | Yes. |
| Staff B | For GOD-za—. |
| Troupe Member A | —For Reni-san! |
| Troupe Member B | We will follow Haruto-san! |
| Troupe Members and Staff | Must Be Fabulous! |
| Shifuto | ...Haruto-san, you’re awesome. |
| Haruto | Reni-san is the awesome one, not me. GOD-za that Reni-san established… |
| Though it looks like I’m deceiving you. Sorry about that. |
| Troupe Member A | I’m sure Haruto-san can do it. |
| Troupe Member B | Yeah, Even Shifuto is amazing, to be promoted to the top actor that fast… |
| Haruto-san too. There’s no other actor that has been in GOD-za this long, let alone being Reni-san’s right-hand man. |
| Troupe Member A | He’s the one who rehearsed the most after being demoted as the top actor. |
| Shifuto | ...Me being promoted to the top actor was pure luck. I’m still far from good. |
| But at the very least, I have to deliver a worthy performance as the top actor tomorrow. |
| Haruto | That’s obvious. |
| Alright, once the script is done, we’ll come up with the lighting and sound plan. And you, Shifuto, memorize the lines right away. |
| Shifuto | OK! |
| |
| Kusumi | No… I’m not wrong… I’m not at fault… |
| GOD-za must win tomorrow… If we do, everyone will recognize my talent… those who make fun of me… |
| Madoka | Pardon my intrusion. |
| Kusumi | I-I’ve told you not to come in as you please! |
| Madoka | I’ve already told Kamikizaka-san about your plagiarism. |
| Kusumi | W-W-W-W-W-W-What did you say!? |
| Madoka | We’ll be performing the play I wrote tomorrow. I’ve already talked about it with the people at GOD-za. |
| Kusumi | What the heck did you—!? |
| Madoka | Please don’t do something like this again. |
| Kusumi | —eep! |
| Madoka | I’m going to write what I want to write from now on. I won’t write for Father again. |
| Kusumi | No way… please wait! Wait, Madoka! Are you also going to abandon me!? |
| Madoka | ...Please excuse me. |
| Kusumi | No, no way… |
| T-That’s right. If… If I talk with Kamikizaka-san… No. He went all the way to pick me up… What will he say… |
| *phone buzzes* |
| Eep—. |
| H-Hello… This is Ikaruga. |
| T-Tomorrow’s Showdown Act…? |
| N-No… I’m done for…! They found out everything… I made a mistake…! |
| At this rate, I can’t continue working as a scriptwriter… Just why… Why does this have to happen to me… uugh… |
| What should I do… |
| ...He-Hello? |
| No…. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! |
