| Chikage | We’ve arrived at the dressing room at last. |
| Azami | We’ve gone through so much just to get here. |
| Sakyo | ...We’re getting ourselves in troubles at the same time, though. |
| Izumi | … |
| |
| Person in charge | But I have one request. |
| Izumi | Request? |
| Person in charge | I want the audience to not realize that you all are men. |
| |
| Muku | I wonder if we can perform without getting caught. |
| Izumi | (Considering they will be playing female roles, it’s only natural that we hope the audience will, at the very least, see them as girls during the play.) |
| (But it’s a whole different story as we can’t absolutely let the audience realize they’re actually men.) |
| (I hope they don’t feel too pressured because of this…) |
| Itaru | How about we offer them some sake first? Pouring sake is our specialty, right, senpai? |
| Chikage | I hope you know the audience seats are not going to be filled by old men only. |
| Azami | I’m gonna apply heavier makeup on you guys. |
| I’ll use greasepaint to hide your adam apples as much as possible, but the rest is on y’all. Try covering them up with your movements. |
| In the first place, it’s hard to show your body line in kimono. I think we’ll manage. |
| Tsumugi | What should we do about our voice? |
| Muku | I’ll do my best to speak in high-pitched voice! Uhhh, let’s try it out… |
| P-Princess! Where are you going~!? |
| Tsumugi | I think you don’t need to change your voice, Muku-kun. |
| Sakyo | Being too conscious will only make ourselves look strange instead, so let’s not do that. The only thing we can do is changing our tone and how fast we speak. |
| Homare | Aah… To think that the difficulty level has been raised, it’s making me more motivated! I can’t believe this play has turned into a challenge that I’ve been looking for! |
| Izumi | (...Thank goodness. I think I don’t need to worry.) |
| Chikage | By the way, how about our costumes? You sure we don’t need to worry about that? |
| Azami | You have a point. Since a female-only theater troupe was originally set to hold a performance here, I’m sure the outfits are in women’s sizes. |
| Izumi | …! That’s right! We need to try them out…! |
| |
| Here you go. Can you try putting them on? |
| Tsumugi | I think mine fits just fine… |
| Muku | Same here. |
| Itaru | ...The sleeves are too short. |
| Azami | Mine too. |
| Sakyo | It doesn’t fit over my shoulder. |
| Homare | Hmm… The length of the hem seems okay for me, but the sleeves are too short. |
| Izumi | I knew it… |
| Homare | I don’t think we’ll look like the ladies of the inner palace at this rate. |
| Chikage | ...Mine is also a little bit too small. |
| Izumi | Eh!? Even Chikage-san…!? |
| Tsumugi | Hannari Company is a female-only theater troupe, right? So the staff probably assumed that a female actress would play the Shogun. |
| Azami | That’s possible. |
| Izumi | Ah, excuse me! Do you have any bigger kimono? |
| Staff | Bigger kimono…? |
| Unfortunately, kimono worn by the ladies of the inner palace is popular among the visitors. Other than the ones we have provided for you, they are all currently being rented out. |
| Izumi | I, I see… |
| Sakyo | ...We’ve got no other choice but to wear these kimono. |
| Staff | All the kimono we have prepared for you are of high quality, so I can assure you will still look good even though they’re a little bit too small. |
| Both the uchikake[1] and the sash are made with Nishijin brocadeーー. |
| Homare | Nishijin brocade? |
| ...Ah! |
| Izumi | What’s the matter, Homare-san? |
| Azami | This isn’t the time to recite a poemーー. |
| Homare | I’ve got an idea! Please leave this matter to me! |
| |
| Izumi | We make sure to come back as soon as possible. I’ll leave the rest to you, Tsumugi-san, Muku-kun. |
| Muku | We’ll handle the preparation over here! |
| Homare | We’ll be going, then. |
| Tsumugi | Umm, Homare-sanーー. |
| Homare | …? |
| |
| Female store clerk | Homare-san, thank you for coming…! |
| Homare | Thank you for the delicious sweets you sent the other day. |
| Izumi | Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Tachibana from MANKAI Company. |
| Female store clerk | You’re from the theater troupe Homare-san is in, right? |
| Homare-san’s grandmother has always been using our service. She’s a fan of our products. |
| Azami | Homare-san is a rich kid, huh. |
| Itaru | Look at yourself. |
| Chikage | All of these kimono look expensive. I wonder what will happen if we accidentally spill coffeeーー. |
| Sakyo | If you know what’s gonna happen, don’t ever do that. |
| Homare | I realized I haven’t stopped by in a while after reading the poem you included in the package. |
| Female store clerk | Fufu. I know Homare-san would understand my intention. |
| Homare | I’m sorry to ask you this so suddenly when I haven’t visited in a while, but… can you lend us your help? |
| Female store clerk | Absolutely. If it’s for Homare-san, we’ll do anything. |
| We shall lend you the finest Nishijin brocade kimono that is suitable for the ladies in the inner palace. |
| |
| Izumi | Whoa, you guys look very beautiful! |
| (...They’re so beautiful that I wouldn’t believe it if someone tells me they’re men.) |
| Azami | ...Just as I thought, you look really good, Itaru-san. You’re a real beauty. |
| Homare | You’re a worthy opponent for me. |
| Itaru | Thanks. But I look like my sister so hearing that compliment doesn’t make me feel good. |
| Izumi | Homare-san looks just like a classic Japanese beauty. So elegant and beautiful! |
| Homare | Thank you, director-kun. |
| Itaru | You too, Azami. You give me cool beauty vibes with that black hair. If you were a mobage character, you’ll be freaking popular. |
| Azami | Don’t compare me to female characters in your mobage. By the way, Chikage-san, you look like a real shogun in that outfit. |
| Itaru | You mean he looks arrogant? Then again, he has always looked arrogant. |
| Chikage | Haha, thanks. |
| Azami | ...You also look perfect, shitty Sakyo. |
| Sakyo | Hey, this ain’t the time to compliment each other. Let’s hurry up and go back. |
| Itaru | ...Is he a yakuza wife or what? |
