Itaru Chigasaki/Beautiful Princess

Salaryman Magic Show

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Izumi	(Today's the day that the original blend of spices will be stocked.)
	(They always sell out fast, so hopefully there's still some left.)
	(Hm? The person who's in front of the seasoning corner is...)
	Itaru-san?
Itaru	You surprised me, Director-san. GW~.
Izumi	I'm the one who's surprised. What are you doing here?
Itaru	Ahh, yeah. The truth is...
	*flashback*
Department Boss	... And that's all for details about the project. Next, about the company's end of the year party...
Itaru	(End of the year parties are so troublesome...)
	(But since I'm acting at Edo Park this year-end, I've been able to avoid most of the parties. Good, good.)
Department Boss	... And so, as you all know, our department is in charge of entertainment this year.
	Yamashita was supposed to be the entertainment, but unfortunately, he has influenza and has been off since yesterday.
	So, I've been looking for someone who can take Yamashita's place, but...
	... Chigasaki, could I ask you to take his place?
Itaru	(And there it is... Are you serious...)
	(I want to turn him down vehemently. I want to... but.)
	(Since I've turned down so many year-end parties because of acting, this is really hard to turn down...)
	The entertainment is, if I remember correctly...
Department Boss	It's magic tricks.
Itaru	Are you sure about me handling this? I'm the very definition of a beginner.
Department Boss	In the end, it'll just be the level of a year-end party's entertainment. Plus, if a handsome guy like you's doing it, you can cover stuff up by directing attention to your face.
	This is part of what they call misdirection.
Itaru	Ahaha...
	(So cold...)
Colleague A	Chigasaki-san, do your best!
Colleague B	I'll be looking forward to it!
Itaru	(This atmosphere... It's an impossible game to turn this down...)
	... Understood. I'll do my absolute best. So, what kind of magic trick should I perform?
Department Boss	It's simple. That thing, you know, the one where a pigeon flies out.
Itaru	... Excuse me?
Izumi	I see...
Itaru	So, when you're talking about magic tricks, at home there's my cheat senpai who's good at them, right.
Izumi	Yeah, Chikage-san.
Itaru	Yep, yep.
	For now, I've been putting super spicy snacks that Senpai seems like he'd like one after another into my basket, and I'm going to use them as an offering to him, but...
	Just to make doubly sure, I was thinking of buying some spices.
Izumi	Even if you don't go that far, I think he would teach you, though?
Itaru	Naïve. Do you really think Senpai would teach me for free?
	He'll say "You owe me one" or something, but he'll obviously be expecting something in return.
	Anyway... I don't really want to owe him a favor. If he settles for a super spicy bribe, then it would be pretty cheap, see.
	Ah, if it's okay with you, will you tell me what kind of spices you would recommend? I don't know anything about spices.
Izumi	I only know about things that are used in curry, but if you're okay with that, then alright.

Itaru	I'm home~.
Chikage	Yeah, welcome home.
Masumi	...
Itaru	Masumi, you're here. Is Senpai teaching you magic again?
Masumi	... I'll become the best magician in the world and cast a magic spell on her.
Itaru	His motives are devilish.
Masumi	Shut up. It's something that I need, so it has nothing to do with you.
Itaru	...
Masumi	... What?
Chikage	Perhaps something like "I'm going to do magic tricks as entertainment, so I'd like you to teach me as well"?
Itaru	... Have the rumors spread that far already?
Chikage	Well, yeah. For now, I'll hear out the details.
Masumi	Misdirection with your face...
Itaru	Is that what got you? Well, I get why you feel so put-off, though.
Chikage	Suddenly telling a beginner magician to do a trick where a pigeon flies out of a hat... As expected of your boss.
Itaru	It's definitely a killer pass, right. With that, please accept this.
Masumi	... The packages are all red and black. Just looking at it, it's spicy.
Itaru	It's a festival of super spicy snacks. Ah, I have spices, too.
Chikage	This is the spice that was stocked today. Heh, it's a pretty good choice coming from you, Chigasaki.
	I thought I would make you clean the room, but. ... Well, I guess I'll take this.
Itaru	... Heck yeah. Director-san, thanks.
	... So, why are you still here, Masumi?
Masumi	... No reason in particular.
Itaru	You're definitely here to laugh at me. Well, it's whatever, though.
Chikage	Okay, then let's start right away.
	First of all, you have to be friendly with the pigeon you're using. You're a beginner, and I can't exactly say you're very skillfull either, so that's impossible for you.
Itaru	A sudden game over.
Chikage	So, this time, I thought we should ask him to fulfill the role of the pigeon.
Kamekichi	Time for Kamekichi-sama's appearance!
Itaru	A parrot in place of a pigeon? It's not very magic trick-like, but... I guess there's nothing we can do about that.
Kamekichi	I'll settle for my performance fee being a bag of walnuts!
Itaru	Okay, fine. I'll make it high-grade walnuts, so don't say any unnecessary things at the venue, okay.
	Don't say any unnecessary things at the venue, okay.
Masumi	... Insistent.
Itaru	It's something important, so saying it twice——.
Chikage	The rest is omitted. Let's start.
Kamekichi	That hurts! Be more careful!
Masumi	... The trick is so obvious. You suck.
Chikage	Your facial misdirection won't work here.
Itaru	Grrr...
Chikage	It's important to do precise movements with your body when handling magic tricks. If you're clumsy, with just that, they'll see that you're bad at magic tricks.
Masumi	If it was me, I would be able to do it better, though.
Itaru	Then you take my place and be the entertainment at the year-end party.
Masumi	No way. My magic tricks are for her only.
Chikage	Okay, once more from the top.
Kamekichi	Do it right next time!
Itaru	... Okay.

Itaru	*sigh*...
Izumi	Good work. Your magic trick practice seems pretty tough.
Itaru	The grueling training of the demon coach is intense...
Izumi	Please drink something warm and take a short break.
Itaru	It smells good...
Izumi	It's a cafe au lait. I made it a little sweet. ... Would cola have perhaps been better?
Itaru	... No, I wanted to drink something warm. Thank you.
	Ahh... The warmth is soaking in...
Izumi	Hehe, that's good.
Itaru	... Director-san, touch the back of my hand three times.
Izumi	Umm... Like this?
Itaru	1, 2, 3... Here you go.
Izumi	Wow, it's a flower!
Itaru	This is the first simple magic trick that I learned. ... Thank you for helping me pick out the spices.
CHOICE 1: "If it's about spices, ask me anytime!" [+] Izumi If it's about spices, ask me anytime! I could talk all night. The world of spices is so profound that I could talk until morning and still not have talked enough. Itaru Hmm... I wonder if it'll be useful for when I mix herbs in games?
CHOICE 2: "I'm glad that I was able to help you" [+] Izumi I'm glad that I was able to help you. Itaru I'd like to thank you somehow. Oh, I know. Want to go somewhere together sometime? Izumi Is there somewhere in particular you want to go? Itaru One of my online games is holding an IRL event right now. Wanna dress up in cosplay with me and go? Izumi Uhh... That would be a little... Itaru Kidding. But I was telling the truth about wanting to go somewhere together. I'll look for a place that you seem like you'd enjoy.
	Okay, an invincibility buff has been casted on me, so I guess I'll go back to the demon coach.
Izumi	Do your best.
Itaru	Thank you. Thanks for the cafe au lait, too.
Chairman	... Then, next is the corner you've all been waiting for! It seems like this year there will be some magic tricks on display.
	Now then, please go ahead!
Itaru	Hello, good work, everyone. I'm Yamashita-san's substitute that was decided out of the blue, Chigasaki.
	I'm just a beginner at magic, so please go easy on me. By the way, if I make a mistake, my boss told me to cover it up by using my face.
Female Company Workers	Chigasaki-sa~n, do your best!!
Male Company Workers	Handsome guy, fail!!
Itaru	Ahaha. Thank you for cheering me on, everyone.
	Well, then——.
	This is an empty silk hat. There are no tricks to it, either.
	I would like to use this silk hat and a walnut to call on my friend. 3, 2, 1... Alright.
Female Company Worker A	Whoa, a parrot!?
Male Company Worker A	A parrot flew out of the silk hat!
Itaru	Where's your greeting to everyone?
Kamekichi	I'm Kamekichi-sama! As expected of a trading company, everyone's a beauty!
Female Company Worker A	So cute!!
Female Comapny Worker B	Chigasaki-san, you're amazing!
Itaru	... And that wraps it up for magic tricks. Thank you very much.
	*applause*
Female Company Worker A	Chigasaki-san was so amazing~.
Female Company Worker B	He was like a real magician!
Itaru	Thank you.
Male Company Worker B	Who's that parrot? Is he your pet, Chigasaki-san?
Itaru	Yeah, he lives at my theater's dorms.
Kamekichi	Hope you'll come see MANKAI Company!
Female Company Worker B	Hey, Kamekichi-kun. What's the usual Chigasaki-san like?
Female Company Worker C	Ahh, I'm curious!
Kamekichi	Let's see. He's always pla-...
Itaru	Okaay, that's enough. Talking unnecesarily isn't allowed.
Female Company Worker B	Ehh, I wanna hear~.
Female Company Worker C	Kamekichi-kun, tell us! I'll give you these peanuts.
Kamekichi	He wears a jersey, has a topknot head, and he pla-...
Itaru	Hey, Kamekichi——.
Kamekichi	!
Itaru	What's wrong?
Kamekichi	... Chikage!
Chikage	Hey, Kamekichi. Good work out there.
Female Company Worker D	It's Utsuki-san!
Female Company Worker A	Now that I think of it, Utsuki-san is in the same theater troupe as Chigasaki-san, right?
Itaru	Chikage-san is always taking care of me back at the dorms, too.
Chikage	Haha, Chigasaki's actually the one who's the senpai when it comes to the theater troupe. I'm the one who's in your care.
Itaru	That's not true at all. You're always helping me out, right.
	... You're always helping me out, right.
Kamekichi	Is Itaru broken?
Chikage	Who knows? Maybe it's something important.
	Right, Kamekichi. There seems to be some delicious fruits over there, but do you want to try them?
Kamekichi	I do!
Chikage	Alright, Chigasaki, see you later.
Itaru	... I'm in your debt.
Chikage	Well, you owe me a favor... I suppose?
Itaru	*sigh*... So it still ends up like this in the end...

Kou