| Dear sir, |
| The sudden arrival of a letter like this must come as quite the surprise to you. |
| Even now, I wonder whether it was right to contact you like this. |
| But I so wanted to apologise that I was unable to set aside my pen. |
| I have always, always, regretted that time. |
| It may be that despite my apology, it cannot be forgiven. |
| Yet there is something I have to tell you at any cost. |
| ―― To now, and from now, I am your number one fan. |
| |
| Mizuno | ......So, will you allow our company to support you in this fashion? |
| Izumi | In this fashion......!? |
| Sakyo | ...... |
| Mizuno | There are plenty of areas to improve upon, so I'd like to flesh out the details as we hold discussions. |
| Izumi | Areas to improve upon......this is more than adequate. |
| With this, we can reform the theatre and increase the budget for the plays. |
| Mizuno | That's good. |
| Sakyo | ......Mizuno, was it. |
| Mizuno | Yes. |
| Sakyo | MIZUNO Enterprises is the biggest name in the entertainment industry. It owns talent agencies as well as theatres and music labels. |
| Why would such a large company invest in a small theatre troupe like ours? |
| Does your father, the president, really agree to support us? |
| Mizuno | Of course. This decision has gone through all the proper channels. |
| Investing in troupes that shoulder the hope of the future is necessary to liven up the world of theatre. |
| This will also serve to improve our company image. |
| I myself may be difficult to believe in, as a student still, but this time I truly pressed my case hard. |
| Sakyo | ......Why is that? |
| Mizuno | In truth, I am personally a fan of MANKAI Company. |
| Ever since I saw the Winter Troupe's Showdown ACT against GOD-za, I've been coming to see every play. |
| Izumi | I see. Then ――. |
| Mizuno | Yes. If you would like, I can bring another person along. |
| Sakyo | ...... |
| Mizuno | Incidentally, do you have a writing office for your playwright? |
| Izumi | Eh? |
| Sakyo | A writing office? |
| Mizuno | What makes the charm of MANKAI Company even more charming is undeniably the strength of the scripts! |
| In order to further showcase the playwright's strengths, is it not vital to give them the greatest environment? |
| Izumi | In terms of environment, Tsuzuru-kun always writes on his PC in his own room in the dorms...... |
| Mizuno | In the dormitory!? Not an office? |
| Izumi | That's right. They're two-person rooms, and we don't have any more spare, so...... |
| Mizuno | On top of that, a two-person room!? |
| That's no good! A playwright can't focus on writing in that sort of environment! |
| If you accept our offer of support, let's make a splendid, completely soundproof studio just for your playwright in the dormitories! |
| We'll have to prepare a high-spec machine, a top-grade desk and chair, and a sofa for naps. |
| Izumi | Ah, an office......It's true that it might be a help to Tsuzuru-kun. |
| Mizuno | Then I hope that you will look favourably upon our offer ――. |
| Sakyo | No. |
| Mizuno | Eh? |
| Izumi | Why, Sakyo-san? It's an extremely good proposal. |
| Sakyo | By accepting their support, it gives them the right to meddle in our affairs. |
| Mizuno | That won't happen! In terms of the plays and your operations, we won't interfere at all. We're happy for your troupe to continue freely as you have until now. |
| Sakyo | You might not have that intention, but you don't know what the other bigwigs are thinking. Nor how things will change in the future. |
| Mizuno | We can include a clause prohibiting us from interfering in the contract. Please, consider it. |
| Sakyo | ...... |
| Tsuzuru | Director, are you there? |
| Izumi | ? Tsuzuru-kun? |
| Mizuno | ――. |
| Izumi | Excuse me, may I leave for a moment ――. |
| Mizuno | Ah, no, I'll take my leave here. Thank you for giving me your time. |
| Izumi | Eh? Really......? |
| Mizuno | Then ――. |
| Sakyo | He left rather easily. |
| Izumi | He did...... |
| Tsuzuru | Ah, there you are. |
| Izumi | What is it? |
| Tsuzuru | I've come up with the plot for the Spring Troupe's third play. |
| Izumi | Really? I want to read it! |
| Tsuzuru | Here you go too, Sakyo-san. |
| Sakyo | ...... |
| This time, it's about the friendship between an alchemist and a homunculus, is it. |
| Tsuzuru | Yes. |
| Izumi | (A socially awkward alchemist, and a slightly odd homunculus who knows nothing about common courtesy......) |
| Citron-kun would be suited to the second-lead role, the homunculus. |
| Tsuzuru | Honestly, I wrote it with him in mind. |
| Izumi | Ah, so it was like that. |
| Tsuzuru | I thought if Citron-san acted it, he'd give off a nice, slightly alien aura. |
| Izumi | Yeah yeah, that's nice! Citron-kun's Japanese has improved recently too, so giving him a big role might make for a good opportunity! |
| Sakyo | ...... |
| Tsuzuru | How is it, Sakyo-san? |
| Sakyo | It's refreshing, like the Spring Troupe. Good. |
| Tsuzuru | Thanks! |
| Sakyo | So, friendship again, huh. |
| Tsuzuru | Does it overlap with the plays we've done so far? |
| Sakyo | Well, when it's a male-only troupe performing, friendship is the easiest to work with. |
| It's well received by the audience, and it's easy for the actors to carry their own emotions across. It fits with the atmosphere of the Spring Troupe too, so there's no problem. |
| Tsuzuru | But I'm worried about keeping on with the same theme. They won't get tired off it? |
| Izumi | Even if the theme is the same, the motifs are completely different, and I like the friendships you write. |
| Tsuzuru | ......Then that's fine, but. |
| When I compile it into a book, I'll try to figure something out so it doesn't overlap with what we've done so far. |
| Izumi | Will you? |
| If you're troubled, chat to me about it, okay. |
| Tsuzuru | Yep. |
| Izumi | ...... |
| (It seems Tsuzuru-kun is unusually worried about a lot of things.) |
| (This makes the ninth play in total, so I guess he's started to worry about having variation.) |
