| October 19th.
We were given a mission in Asia. |
| April slipped into a Japanese trading company, while I made my way into the organization of a certain country as a double agent, doing undercover work in Japan.
August was our backup. |
| “Have you both mastered Japanese?” |
| “...I’m good.” |
| “It was a pain, but yeah.” |
| “Differentiating between kanji, hiragana, and katakana is sure difficult. Have you thought of your names?” |
| “...Not yet.” |
| “Same here.” |
| “Thought so. That’s why I, your Japan hand, came up with cool names for both of you.” |
| “We don’t need cool names. The whole point is for us to be inconspicuous.” |
| “Now, now. First, December—.” |
| Mikage Hisoka... The pseudonym August gave me felt strangely perfect. |
| I wrote it over and over again on paper so that my body would memorize it.
It felt much more like my real name than the codename the organization gave me. |
| “I brought this today so you guys could get more familiar with Japanese culture.” |
| “Green tea?” |
| “It’s matcha. I found it at the Asian market by chance. I bought the tools you use to make tea back when I visited Japan.” |
| “Huh.” |
| “Bitter...” |
| “This is normal.” |
| “...I don’t want any more.” |
| “You’re going to be a softie forever because all you eat is fluffy sweets.” |
| “And you’re all twisted and hot-tongued because all you eat is spicy food, April.” |
| “What’s with that reasoning...” |
| “Pfft....” |
| “Stop laughing, December.” |
| |
| |
| Fresh blood spills before my eyes. |
| “Listen closely...” |
| “Don’t speak!” |
| “Hey, this way!”[1] |
| “—hh.” |
| (Our pursuers are here. No, I need to drink the potion—.) |
| I tear the pendant off with shaking hands. In my arms, August is saying something.
The moment I try to respond to him, my head lurches. |
| |
| |
| Izumi | Huh? A pack of marshmallows. Did Hisoka-san forget to take them with him? |
| Homare | Oh, it seems you’re right. I’ll pass them on to him later. |
| Tsumugi | It’s rare for Hisoka-kun to forget his marshmallows. |
| Tasuku | He might have collapsed by the roadside by now. |
| Azuma | He’s been forgetting his bags of marshmallows all the time lately. |
| Izumi | Eh? Really? |
| Homare | Yes, Hisoka-kun has been behaving a bit strangely as of late. |
| He consumes fewer marshmallows now, and he no longer falls asleep everywhere. |
| Tasuku | True. I haven’t seen him sleeping on the floor. |
| Izumi | I wonder what’s wrong... |
| Tsumugi | We should keep an eye out for him just in case. |
| Azuma | I think Homare is ideal for the job. |
| Homare | Yes. We’ve been living in the same room all this time, after all. Leave Hisoka-kun to me. |
| This might be my chance to get double payback for Hisoka-kun’s meddlesome kindness during our second performance. |
| Azuma | You make it sound like you’re out for revenge. |
| Tasuku | Don’t overdo it, okay. |
| Chikage | .... |
| |
| Sakuya | Ah, Chikage-san. Are you headed out somewhere? |
| Chikage | For a bit. |
| Sakuya | You’re going to come back today, right? |
| Chikage | Yup. I’m just going to the convenience store. |
| Sakuya | I see. Please be careful. |
| Chikage | .... |
| |
| Chikage | .... |
| ...Established 27 years ago. The head of the troupe was Tachibana Yukio? So he’s the Director’s father. |
| The troupe was nominated for the Fleur Award because of its talent and popularity. But fell into a continuous decline when the head, Tachibana Yukio, disappeared nine years ago. |
| The former troupe fell apart because the head disappeared, huh... Then if they lose their Director, the core of their emotional support, once more... |
| .... |
| The troupe members’ plans for tomorrow are.... |
| .... |
| I guess it’s about time. |
