| Musashi | “Sorry, but I want to borrow the front of your house for a little while.” |
| Orin | “You will get wet if you stay there. Please, come inside.” |
| |
| Musashi | “Orin asked me to relay that she will no longer impose upon you.” |
| Tojiro | “——I do not intend to part with Orin-san.” |
| Tasuku | (I see. Arisugawa created a pretty strong-willed Tojiro.) |
| Musashi | “By no means at all?” |
| Tojiro | “No.” |
| Musashi | “Then let’s settle this with a duel.” |
| |
| Kojiro | “The right to strike——!” |
| Musashi | “——gh.” |
| Kojiro | “Hah!” |
| Musashi | “*exhale*——” |
| Tasuku | (Guy-san’s acting changed a lot. He was already great at sword fights, but everything else beyond that is also impressive.) |
| (Interesting. Then, I’ll also——) |
| |
| Kojiro | “Last night, my master was attacked by someone. It couldn’t have been anyone else but you.” |
| Musashi | “You belittle me. I don’t need to do such a thing; I just have to win the duel.” |
| Kojiro | “——” |
| |
| Musashi | “——Hah!” |
| Kojiro | “Haah!” |
| Assassin | “Tch——” |
| Tasuku | (As expected, Mikage is good at fight scenes; his movements are sharp, like a real assassin. Musashi will be killed if he doesn’t get serious——) |
| Musashi | “Haah!” |
| Tojiro | “What demon-like, ruthless swordsmanship...” |
| |
| Musashi | “I got your hired assassin to confess. So you’re the one who’s after Tojiro, Heiroku.” |
| Heiroku | “——” |
| “I did it for Orin-san’s sake——!” |
| Tojiro | “Do you really believe that such dirty tactics would make Orin-san happy!?” |
| Heiroku | “——gh.” |
| Tasuku | (So Tsumugi created a good-hearted Heiroku who’s not really a bad person by nature. The contrast between him and Tojiro is very marked.) |
| Tojiro | “Orin-san, will you come with me?” |
| Orin | “Tojiro-sama...” |
| Tojiro | “I will cast aside my family. Please, let us become husband and wife.” |
| Tasuku | (Azuma-san is really expressing Orin’s hesitation well. Thanks to their scene, the duel scene right after this will stand out...) |
| |
| Kojiro | “Musashi, why do you fight?” |
| Musashi | “To earn a place to die... To be judged as somebody worth dying!” |
| Tasuku | (Guy-san’s aura is different. He’s so full of spirit that I could be overwhelmed if I lose focus——) |
| Musashi | “Haaah!” |
| Kojiro | “Haah!” |
| Tasuku | (That’s right. Musashi has—— No, I–– for this, for this moment——) |
| |
| Tasuku | —— |
| Grade Schooler A | They were all so cool! |
| Grade Schooler B | That was interesting! |
| Tsumugi | We did it! Taa-chan! |
| Tasuku | Tsumu... |
| —— |
| (It’s over... huh.) |
| Guy | Takato, are you all right? |
| Azuma | Tasuku? |
| Homare | Tasuku-kun, get a hold of yourself. |
| Hisoka | ...Tasuku is asleep. |
| Izumi | Tasuku-san, please snap out of it; it’s the curtain call! |
| Tasuku | ——Y-yeah. |
| |
| Tasuku | ——Thank you very much! |
| (That’s right. The reason why I’m staying here in Mankai Company is——) |
| |
| Tasuku | ... |
| Tsumugi | Tasuku, we’re returning the key soon. |
| Tasuku | ——Yeah. |
| Tsumugi | Good work. |
| Tasuku | Good work. |
| Tsumugi | This brings back memories. |
| Tasuku | It does. When the performance ended, it was like I returned back to those days for an instant. |
| Tsumugi | Me too. It brought back my feelings from that time. |
| Tasuku | Yeah. |
| Tsumugi | Tasuku, you look like you’ve broken through. |
| Tasuku | I guess so. |
| Izumi | Ah, Tasuku-san. So you were here after all. |
| Homare | Still atop the stage, I see. |
| Azuma | Maybe he’s reluctant to leave. |
| Hisoka | ...I’m sleepy. |
| Guy | Will you be ready to go soon? |
| Tasuku | ...Before we go, can I have a bit of your time? |
| ... |
| First off, sorry for making you worry. |
| Homare | Seriously. |
| Hisoka | ...One year’s worth of marshmallows. |
| Azuma | Your room would be filled with boxes of marshmallows. |
| Tasuku | That’s too much. |
| ...The truth is, I received an offer to join another theater troupe. |
| When I was asked why I’m staying in Mankai Company, I replied that it was to return the favour to the troupe for taking me in. I couldn’t think of any other reason. |
| And so, I was in doubt the whole time. I couldn’t even focus on acting. |
| ...Azuma-san, didn’t you ask me the same thing before? You asked me if I was staying here because of Tsumugi. |
| Azuma | Yeah, during the Nocturnality performance. |
| Tasuku | At that time I also thought, “It’s to return the favour,” but I couldn’t confirm nor deny that Tsumugi being here was the reason I’m staying here. |
| I think that now I finally understand the feelings I couldn’t sort out back then. |
| Azuma | I see... So you’ve found your answer. |
| Tasuku | Acting is fun. Playing many different roles, acting out many different lives –– no matter how many times I do it, I never get tired of it. |
| I think the applause and cheers I receive after a performance are amazing. But that’s not the only thing I want. |
| I want to polish my acting and aim high as an actor. |
| At the same time, I want to have fun exchanging lines with comrades I can trust, and create the best stage ever. |
| I want to stand on stage not by myself, but together with my comrades. |
| I love theater precisely because I can do that. I remembered that when I stood on stage today. |
| Homare | Mhm, in other words? What does that mean? |
| Tasuku | ——What I’m saying is, in other words, I love acting together with all of you in Winter Troupe. That’s my reason for staying here in Mankai Company. |
| Hisoka | ...So long-winded. |
| Homare | No big difference from me. |
| Azuma | But it was the best answer. |
| Guy | Your doubts are gone. |
| Izumi | Tasuku-san, I look forward to working with you from now on too! |
| Tasuku | But I’m not satisfied with our performance today. There’s a lot of aspects to reflect on, and we should be capable of something better than that. |
| Let’s train hard to make up for the break. |
| Homare | That’s just what I was hoping for. |
| Azuma | I knew it would come to that. |
| Guy | No problem. |
| Tasuku | You’re full of confidence. |
| Homare | It’s the fruit of my self-training. |
| Izumi | ——All right, let’s head on home. |
| Tasuku | Don’t we have something to do before that? |
| Izumi | Huh? |
| Tsumugi | Don’t tell me we’re starting practice right now...? |
| Homare | I hope you don’t suggest that we go running for stamina training. |
| Tasuku | We’re going to celebrate, right? |
| Hisoka | That’s what you meant. |
| Tsumugi | I see. |
| Homare | That sounds wonderful. |
| Azuma | That’s more like it. |
| Guy | I agree. |
| Izumi | Let’s go! |
| |
| Izumi | Phew... |
| (I think I drank a little too much today.) |
| Guy | —— |
| Izumi | Ah. Guy-san, would you like some water too? |
| Guy | I’ll have some. |
| Izumi | Everyone sure drank a lot today~ |
| Guy | Director, I have a favour to ask. |
| Izumi | A favour? |
| Guy | Can you give me a ticket to the performance? There’s someone I want to invite. |
| Izumi | Sure. I’ll reserve one for you. |
| Guy | Well, I’m not sure if they’ll come even if I give it to them though... |
| Izumi | ? |
| (I wonder who he’s inviting...?) |
