| Manager | Thank god, thank Yukio-sama, thank Yukio-san’s daughter-sama! The heavens truly sent the help we needed. Thanks to you, the troupe is saved! |
| Did you see his face back there? His temples were twitching. Pffft. |
| Izumi | (H-his attitude is completely different from before...) |
| Sorry to burst your bubble, but we need to find new troupe members now! |
| Manager | Eh!? But didn’t you say you had your father’s connections and the bible of theater...? |
| Izumi | That was a bluff to get us out of there. |
| Manager | Eeeh!? |
| New Troupe Member | It was a lie!? |
| Izumi | (When he looks at me with such earnest eyes, it hurts my heart a little...) |
| W-well, it was an act. Something like a street act, you know... |
| Manager | But then.... What about the new troupe members... |
| Izumi | There are none. |
| Manager | Eeeeeehh..... |
| New Troupe Member | So is the troupe going to be destroyed after all....? |
| Izumi | If we want to avoid that, we need to find new members as if our lives depend on it. |
| Manager | It’s impossible~! We don’t have time~! |
| Izumi | We won’t know unless we try! |
| Manager | It’s impossible. All of our old members are gone, and in the end we only got one new member... |
| I’m not popular at all, and the troupe’s reputation is horrible... Nobody will want to join our troupe now... mope mope. |
| Izumi | (...I’m starting to get a little irritated.) |
| New Troupe Member | Um, I don’t know what I can do, but please let me help! |
| I don’t want to lose the troupe I managed to join, and it’s better than doing nothing, right! |
| Izumi | (Compared to him, he’s such a good boy...!) |
| See, look at him—... um, wait, what was your name? |
| Sakuya | Sakuma Sakuya! “Saku” like flowers blooming! |
| Izumi | Sakuya-kun, huh. Let’s get along! |
| Sakuya | Yes! Nice to meet you! |
| Izumi | See, even Sakuya-kun, our newest troupe member, is trying his best. Pull yourself together, manager. |
| Manager | Uu... fine. I know we’re going to fail anyway, but let’s give it a shot. |
| Izumi | (Why does this person’s every word have to be so irritating?) |
| Sakuya | So how should we look for troupe members? |
| Manager | Should we hand out flyers or something? |
| Izumi | H~m. Calling out to random people seems ineffective, so... |
| (A quick way to gather people interested in theater... rather than calling out to people one at a time, we should draw a lot of attention at once....) |
| That’s right! How about we perform a street act? |
| It’ll be a good way to advertise the troupe, and we can grab the attention of people who are interested in theater. |
| Sakuya | I see! Sounds good! |
| I’ve never performed a street act, but it’s essentially an etude, right? |
| What kind of performance should it be? Do we just play by ear? |
| Izumi | I think it’s better to at least decide on a theme. Let’s make this a street act that will convey the troupe’s appeal! |
| Sakuya | The troupe’s appeal.... |
| Izumi | Manager, are there any merits to joining this troupe? |
| Manager | Well... we have dorms for troupe members, and I provide two delicious meals a day—breakfast and dinner! |
| Izumi | New troupe members won’t be making much money, so saving on living costs is a significant benefit. |
| Sakuya | Well, it might be a benefit, but... |
| Izumi | (? He seems a little unsure) |
| Manager | Plus, we have our very own theater, so we’re never short on practice space! |
| Izumi | Hmm, I see. Well, let’s perform a street act that presents all those advantages. |
| The three of us will play the following characters: the manager will be the manager, and I’ll be the director. Sakuya-kun, you’ll be the aspiring new troupe member who came to audition. |
| Let’s have this take place in the middle of an audition. |
| Sakuya | Understood! |
| Manager | As expected of Yukio-san’s daughter. You’re used to this. |
| Izumi | I used to be part of a theater troupe, so I’ve performed street acts before. |
| Manager | I see. Experience makes all the difference, huh! |
| Sakuya | You’re so reliable! |
| Izumi | (I know how to set things up, but after that... well, I’ll just have to do what I can.) |
| |
| Manager | Hey! I’m the manager of the theater troupe MANKAI Company. We’re about to begin auditions. |
| Izumi | (He started off with an introduction....) |
| (Now that I think about it, the play back there started off he same way. He must’ve written the script for that...) |
| Manager | Now, will the first person step forward and give their name and a brief introduction? |
| Sakuya | Y-yes! Number one! Sakuma Sakuya! 17 years old! |
| My hobby is practicing lines from my favorite plays by the riverbed, and I’m good at remembering people’s names and faces! |
| Manager | Why do you want to join this troupe—? |
| Sakuya | I was always interested in theater, and one day, I happened to come across an advertisement for this troupe that welcomed live-in members, so I decided to give it a shot! |
| Manager | Huh~ so that’s how it was~! |
| Izumi | (He’s actually amazed... Could it be he never even held an interview?) |
| Manager | Well then, Director, please give us the topic for the entrance exam! |
| Izumi | Eh!? Ah, that’s right, yes, well then—I’ll hand out—no, I’ll give you the topic for the entrance exam! |
| (No good. My voice is all high-pitched and monotonous.) |
| Passerby A | They’re awful. |
| Passerby B | What is this, some kind of punishment game? |
| Passerby A | Maybe it’s just that kind of set-up? |
| Izumi | .... |
| (I thought so. Someone like me isn’t cut for the job....) |
| Sakuya | Director? Is something wrong? |
| Izumi | Sorry. I used to be part of a troupe, but no matter how much I practiced, I was such a daikon[1] that I was never any use as an actor. |
| Sakuya | You’re not a daikon at all! |
| Manager | If we’re talking daikon levels, I’m confident in mine. |
| Izumi | You two... |
| You’re right, now’s no time to complain. Let’s do what we can! |
| Sakuya | Yes! |
| Manager | We’re not going to succeed anyway, so no worries about failing! |
| Izumi | (I can’t tell if the manager is optimistic or pessimistic....) |
| Let’s do our best! |
| Youth in the Audience | ..... |
