Tsuzuru Minagi/Greetings, Dear Sir

Clockwork: Epilogue

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Izumi	Oh, chopped beef is 30% off.
Tsuzuru	Then let’s make gyudon for dinner today.
Izumi	Sounds good! We’re short on onions too, so let’s get some of those.
Tsuzuru	What should we do for side dishes?
Izumi	Want me to make something?
Tsuzuru	If I leave it to Director, our meal is just gonna be curry and gyudon, so don’t worry about it.
Izumi	Eeh~!
Cashier A	Thank you very much. Here’s a raffle ticket.
Tsuzuru	So they’re doing a raffle.
Izumi	I got a ticket before. I think this should be enough for one draw.
Tsuzuru	Go ahead, Director.
Izumi	Can I?
Tsuzuru	Yeah. This sort of thing only gives out consolation prizes no matter who draws—.
Cashier B	Congratulations! You won prize A!
Izumi	Yaaay!
Tsuzuru	Seriously?
Cashier B	Prize A is a toy robot.
Izumi	Thank you!
	Tsuzuru-kun, look, I won!
Tsuzuru	I didn’t think you would...
Izumi	But a toy robot, huh~. I wanted the vacation ticket.
Tsuzuru	No, that’s still amazing.
Izumi	Tsuzuru-kun, do you want this?
Tsuzuru	Eh?
Izumi	There are mechanical dolls in the next play, right? It might be useful.
Tsuzuru	No, that toy robot and mechanical dolls are way too far apart.
Izumi	Come on, take it.
Tsuzuru	Sigh... fine, I’ll take it. You just wanted to get rid of it, right?
Izumi	You found me out.
Robot	“Hello. What should we do?”
Tsuzuru	Where should I put this... it actually stands out a lot.
	Well, it is really well made... as expected of the A prize.
Robot	“Thanks.”
Tsuzuru	You understand what I’m saying? Amazing.
Robot	“I’m amazing? Really?”
Tsuzuru	Yup yup, you’re amazing.
Robot	“Thanks.”
Tsuzuru	Yaaawn... I’m so sleepy... I was up late last night, too....
	....
Tsuzuru	...Hm?
	(Where am I....)
	(Oh, right, I laid down in bed and... I must’ve fallen asleep.)
	(But it really reminds me of our next performance. Am I seeing this because I keep thinking about our play?)
Robot	“Hello.”
Tsuzuru	And I brought this guy with me.
Robot	“What should we do?”
Tsuzuru	Looking at it like this, it sort of does suit the worldview. We might be able to use it as a prop...
Alf	You there. Stop.
Tsuzuru	——.
	Alf....
Alf	?
	So you know who I am. That makes things easier. Hand over what you’re holding.
Tsuzuru	What I’m holding....
Alf	Give it to me now.
Tsuzuru	——.
Robot	“Hello.”
Alf	As I thought... I’m arresting you for possession of a mechanical doll.
Tsuzuru	Eh!?
	W-wait up, this is—!
Alf	You can explain yourself when we get to the headquarters.
Tsuzuru	Eeeeeeh....
???	...?
Alf	Hurry up.
Tsuzuru	...Yeah, yeah, fine.
???	Could that be—.

Tsuzuru	(Why is this happening to me... Come on, self, at least let things go the way I want them to in a dream.)
	Sigh....
Robot	“Hello.”
Tsuzuru	Dammit, it’s your fault.
Robot	“I’m sorry.”
Tsuzuru	It’s fine.
Alf	So you’re the one who made that mechanical doll.
Tsuzuru	!?
Alf	You got away last time due to a lack of evidence, but don’t think the same thing will happen twice, Luke.
Tsuzuru	Luke? No, I’m not Luke—.
	(Oh, I see. I’m the one playing Luke, so that makes me Luke?)
	(But wait, if I go along with it, that’ll just make me a criminal...)
	Let me just say you’ve got the wrong guy!
Alf	Silence. The fact that you know how to control that mechanical doll is solid proof that you are the alchemist Luke.
Tsuzuru	Look, I’m telling you you’ve got it wrong.
Alf	Your words are meaningless.
Tsuzuru	——.
	(I know I’m the one who wrote his character, but man, he’s got a really stubborn and infuriating personality... The fact that he looks like Masumi just makes it worse.)
Alf	I’ll be taking this.
Tsuzuru	Ah, wait—!
	*Crashing noise*
	!?
Alf	What’s this!? Could it be, you—.
Tsuzuru	There’s no way I could do anything like this!
Alf	—Stay here.
Tsuzuru	....
Colt	Are you all right, sensei!?
Boyd	Goodness, do you enjoy being locked up that much? The prison is practically your hotel.
Tsuzuru	Colt and Boyd, too....
Boyd	Hm?
	Oh, it seems we’ve got the wrong person. Let’s go.
Colt	Eh? The wrong person?
Boyd	This thing isn’t my disciple. Therefore I have no reason to save him.
Tsuzuru	Hey hey hey hey, wait a moment!
Boyd	Goodbye.
Tsuzuru	(It’s just a dream, but if I stay locked up like this, I’ll wind up meeting some miserable end. I’d rather avoid that—!)
	—Hey you, if you abandon me here, I’m going to make you die a horrible death on stage!
Boyd	...What?
Tsuzuru	Or I’ll unlock your precious mobile game characters and sell them all off.
Boyd	...I have no idea what you’re saying, but you’ve somehow managed to make me incredibly irritated.
Tsuzuru	(As expected of someone with the same face...)
Boyd	What an interesting guy. I guess it can’t be good for my reputation if I leave you here and word spreads that my disciple was arrested. I’ll help you out.
Colt	So who are you?
Tsuzuru	I’m—someone from a different dimension. In other words, I’m a human from a different world.
Boyd	I see. So you were lost and got caught by the police force.
Tsuzuru	Sounds about right.
Boyd	Then I can lend you my cross-dimension machine.
Tsuzuru	Cross-dimension machine?
Boyd	I made when I was bored. You should be able to return to your world if you use it.
Tsuzuru	Well, thanks....
	(Guess it’s faster than waiting for myself to wake up....)
Boyd	But on one condition.
Tsuzuru	What is it?
Boyd	It’s in exchange for that mechanical doll.

Boyd	It’s in exchange for that mechanical doll.
Tsuzuru	Mechanical doll?
Robot	“Hello.”
Colt	Woah! It spoke!
Boyd	I’ve never seen this type of mechanical doll. I’m fascinated.
Tsuzuru	That’s fine... It’s just a toy, after all.
Boyd	A toy? Like a toy for children?
Tsuzuru	Yes.
Boyd	Hm... I see.
	Then it’s a deal. Let’s head over to my workshop.
Colt	Shouldn’t we tell sensei about him?
Boyd	If this man’s world is parallel to our own, we don’t know what kind of misfortunes will befall us if he and Luke meet.
Colt	So that’s how it is...?
Boyd	Now step inside those doors.
Tsuzuru	(I know this is a dream, but will I really be ok...?)
Boyd	Don’t worry. I’ve tested it out.
Tsuzuru	....
	Like this?
Boyd	But only with a doll.
Tsuzuru	Hey—!
	—.
Masumi	....
Tsuzuru	Woah!?
Masumi	....You’re loud.
Tsuzuru	What!?
Masumi	You’re loud when you’re asleep and when you’re awake.
Tsuzuru	Are you Masumi....?
Masumi	...Sigh.
Tsuzuru	Don’t nod at me with such pitying eyes!
Masumi	Why don’t you just wake up.
Tsuzuru	So I woke up from my dream...
	Sigh... What an exhausting dream.
Robot	“Good morning.”
Tsuzuru	Yeah, yeah, good morning. It’s all your fault, you know.
Robot	“I’m sorry.”
Tsuzuru	...Sigh.
Izumi	Good morning, Tsuzuru-kun!
Tsuzuru	Morning.
Izumi	Huh, what’s wrong? Did you not sleep well?
Tsuzuru	I had a tough time thanks to that robot.
Izumi	???
Luke	....
Boyd	Hello there, you’ve got a gloomy face on as usual. How typical of my disciple.
Luke	What’s this, all of a sudden.
Boyd	No, I was just checking.
Luke	And you’re as rude as usual. How typical of my master.
Boyd	I have a present for my gloomy disciple with no charm whatsoever.
Luke	A present?
Boyd	Apparently this is a child’s toy from another world. I’ve gotten bored of it, so you can have it.
Luke	What?
	Wait, master—.
	Geez, there he goes, leaving something weird again... What is this?
Robot	“Hello.”
Luke	——.
	A mechanical doll?
	After warning me countless times, he went and made one himself.
Robot	“What should we do?”
Luke	No... that’s not it.
	What’s with this energy source?
	....
	...Huh.
	I see.... He said it belonged to another world...
Robot	“It’s time to say good night.”
Luke	Hm?
Robot	“Good night... See you.”
Luke	The light disappeared...?
	Oi, won’t it move?
	...Its energy source ran out.
	A world where a mechanical doll is a child’s toy... What a happy world that must be.
	...Hey, S.
	....
	One day, I’m sure this world too...

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