| Yuzo | ...Hmm. |
| Izumi | W-what do you think? |
| (I had Yuzo-san watch at an earlier stage than the usual, but I wonder if that was the right decision...) |
| Yuzo | They’re the most ready out of all the troupes. I don’t see any problems as long as you work out some minor details. |
| Izumi | Really? Great! |
| (As I thought, it was for the best that I had him check up on the Winter Troupe earlier.) |
| Yuzo | ——However. |
| Izumi | !? |
| Yuzo | Oi, leader. Have you gone drinking with all of the members yet? |
| Tsumugi | Huh? No... |
| Yuzo | I can still feel some distance between you guys. That type of thing shows when you’re acting after all. |
| Tsumugi | ... |
| Izumi | (I thought they’ve gotten considerably closer, but I guess they really haven’t fully solved that problem yet.) |
| Tsumugi | Um... Why don’t we go drinking tonight? |
| Tasuku | Let’s do that. |
| Homare | That is fine with me. |
| Hisoka | ...I’ll go. |
| Azuma | I know a great place. I’ll make a reservation there. |
| Tsumugi | Director, you can also join us if you like. |
| Izumi | With pleasure! |
| |
| Izumi | As one would expect, Azuma-san knows a place like this. |
| Tsumugi | I’ve never gone to a bar like this before. |
| Homare | It’s a bar that displays excellent taste. |
| Azuma | It operates as a café during the day too. It’s a quiet place where you can relax, so I thought it’s the perfect spot to talk about all sorts of things. |
| Izumi | Now then, why don’t we get things going and have a toast! |
| Tasuku | To what? |
| Izumi | Let’s celebrate Azuma-san staying in the dorm once more—— |
| Azuma | We’re celebrating that? |
| Tsumugi | Now now, isn’t it fine? |
| Izumi | Cheers! |
| Tsumugi | Cheers. |
| Tasuku | Cheers. |
| Hisoka | ...*gulp gulp* |
| Azuma | Hisoka can surprisingly drink. |
| Izumi | Come to think of it, Yuzo-san coming in to check things today turned out well. He’s not usually that nice. |
| Tsumugi | Is that so? |
| Izumi | He’s straight to the point and he’s always slicing people in half one by one with a katana after all![1] |
| Tasuku | Really? He was meticulous though. |
| Tsumugi | Yeah. I really learned a lot. |
| Izumi | The Winter Troupe got ready fast. |
| Azuma | We have two reliable experts after all. Hisoka could’ve been an experienced actor too. |
| Tsumugi | You two are also cut out for acting, Azuma-san and Homare-san. You must be suited for being on stage. |
| Tasuku | That’s true. For someone who’s inexperienced, you improved quickly. |
| Izumi | But our goal right now is to beat GOD-za, so the level we need to aim for is as high as Mount Everest. |
| Tsumugi | You’re right. And for that reason, we need to shorten the distance between us members. |
| Homare | Hm... Although, how should we do that? |
| Tsumugi | Why don’t we talk about private matters? |
| Tasuku | There’s nothing to talk about after all this time. |
| Tsumugi | Between you and me, yes. But there are things we don’t know about everyone else. |
| Tasuku | What did you mean by private matters? For example? |
| Tsumugi | Hmm... |
| Azuma | Like our love life? |
| Tsumugi | Come to think of it, at the leader meeting, the other troupes said that they talked about love... |
| Homare | Love, huh... |
| Hisoka | ...Seconds please. |
| Izumi | Hisoka-san, you sure are chugging it down!? |
| Tasuku | Who’s going to talk first? |
| Tsumugi | Umm, let’s start from the Director. |
| Izumi | Me!? |
| Azuma | I’m certainly curious. Any talks about marriage? |
| Izumi | What!? No, nothing at all about marriage... Never mind marriage, my head is already full from theatre alone. |
| Tsumugi | Have you dated anyone before? |
| Izumi | I have. We were colleagues from the same theatre troupe, and somehow it just didn’t work out.[2] |
| Azuma | It’s in past tense. |
| Izumi | I’m devoted to MANKAI Company now! |
| Tasuku | I see. |
| Izumi | Okay, next up is Tsumugi-san! |
| Tsumugi | We’re nominating people? |
| Izumi | I shared so it’s just as well! |
| Tsumugi | I guess so... |
| When I once distanced myself from theatre and was job hunting, I went out with a girl for the first time. |
| Tasuku | What!? |
| Tsumugi | Huh? I never told you? |
| Tasuku | Well, we lost contact for a while. Never mind that, you never had a girlfriend until then? |
| Tsumugi | I didn’t. You know that I’m not popular. |
| Tasuku | It’s you after all, so I thought you just hid it well. |
| Izumi | So it’s a new piece of information that even Tasuku-san didn’t know. How many years were you together? |
| Tsumugi | One year... I decided that I wanted to do theatre again, so I told her that I couldn’t be with her the same way as it had been until then. So we broke up. |
| Hisoka | ...So easily. |
| Tsumugi | Right... It’s not like we broke up because we came to dislike each other, so she was understanding about it. |
| Okay, next up is Tasuku. |
| Tasuku | Me... I’ve been in three relationships so far. They lasted pretty long, and I think they were good relationships. |
| Tsumugi | Tasuku sure is popular. Both with women and men. |
| Izumi | Even with men!? |
| Tasuku | It’s not that I’m popular; there are just guys that tell me they’re my fans. |
| Tsumugi | Whenever we perform, Tasuku is the only one who receives lots of gifts so he always has lots of stuff to carry. |
| Tasuku | It’s because you don’t help me carry stuff at all, saying that it’s the price of fame. |
| Tsumugi | Everyone got those gifts just for you, so you have to take responsibility for them. |
| Azuma | Popular people have it rough too. |
| Tasuku | Next up is... Mikage. |
| Hisoka | ...I don’t remember. |
| Izumi | Right. |
| Tasuku | Then just tell us your thoughts on love. |
| Tsumugi | Like your type. |
| Hisoka | ...An independent person. |
| Tasuku | Huh. So does that mean you prefer mature partners? |
| Hisoka | ...I don’t want them clingy. |
| Azuma | I kind of get what you mean! |
| Izumi | Who should go next? |
| Hisoka | ...Azuma. |
| Azuma | Me? |
| As for me... There’s quite a few people I’m not sure whether I can call lovers, so it’s difficult. |
| Izumi | Huh? That means... |
| Azuma | Oh, you know... There are relationships where you only do xxx and xxx, and relationships where you’re satisfied with just doing xxx, right? |
| Izumi | !! |
| Tasuku | Azuma-san, you can stop there... |
| Tsumugi | Please restrain yourself. |
| Azuma | Oh? Was that not allowed? |
| Tsumugi | Then, last up is Homare-san. |
| Homare | ...I have nothing. |
| Izumi | Huh? |
| Homare | I have nothing to share. |
| Tasuku | You mean you don’t have any experience with romance? |
| Tsumugi | In that case, you can talk about your type and such. |
| Homare | ...I have none. |
| Izumi | What!? No thoughts on love either? |
| Homare | None. |
| Izumi | (That’s surprising. He seems like the type to get the most excited to talk during times like this.) |
| Azuma | Oh? Homare, could it be that you have a hidden feti...[3] |
| Tasuku | Okay, stop right there. |
| Homare | I’ve got it! |
| Izumi | ? |
| Homare | A piercing eyeliner, a sniper that shoots through me... A dangerous fragrance, scandalous sunglasses! |
| Izumi | What does that mean!? |
| Azuma | Creative as always. |
| Tasuku | I don’t get it. |
| Homare | Poems are things you feel, not think about. |
| Tsumugi | Now now, our objective today is to get to know each other, so please enlighten us. |
| Homare | I suppose I must... Lately, it feels like someone is watching me with a piercing gaze. When I am at the dorm and when I am outside. |
| Izumi | Watching you!? |
| Azuma | Come to think of it... I’ve been feeling it too. |
| Tsumugi | Now that you mention it, the other day I also had a feeling I was being followed. |
| Izumi | Everyone else too!? |
| Tsumugi | I wonder why. |
| Azuma | I wonder if we’re being observed. |
| Tasuku | All of us? What for? |
| Azuma | That, or it’s a ghost... |
| Izumi | P-please cut that out! |
| Tasuku | There might be a ghost in the Seven Mysteries. Let’s ask. |
| Tsumugi | I hope it’s not harmful, but we should probably be a bit more careful. |
| |
| Izumi | It’s gotten really late. |
| Tsumugi | I had fun though. |
| Homare | That bar was also excellent. |
| Azuma | Let’s go there again sometime. |
| Tasuku | Yeah. |
| Hisoka | ... |
| Izumi | Hisoka-san? What’s wrong? |
| Hisoka | ... |
| Izumi | Is there something over there? |
| Azuma | Maybe, a ghost... |
| Izumi | Enough of that! |
| Hisoka | ...It’s nothing. Probably a dog. |
