| Izumi | …Phew. |
| (I might have drunk a little too much. I think I’ll go stand in the evening breeze for a little bit.) |
| |
| Sakuya | … |
| Izumi | Huh? So you were here, Sakuya-kun. |
| Sakuya | Oh, Director… |
| Izumi | Is something wrong? |
| Sakuya | …For some reason, seeing everybody have fun in the party reminded me of back when I was the only member of this theater… |
| It made me happy, and I felt like crying a little, so I escaped. |
| Izumi | I see… |
| At the beginning, it was just you, me, and the manager. |
| Sakuya | Yes. This place was empty. Even in this dormitory, it used to be all just vacant rooms… |
| Izumi | Things have changed so much since then… |
| Sakuya | Somehow, when I remember those days, the present almost feels like a dream— |
| Izumi | But we’re only getting started! Let’s aim for the Fleur Award! |
| Sakuya | You’re right… I’ll work hard! |
| Izumi | That’s the spirit. |
| Sakuya | Um, there’s something I’ve always been curious about… |
| The ‘fleur’ in Fleur Award means ‘flower’, right? Why a flower for a theater award? |
| Izumi | You don’t know? |
| Sakuya | Huh? |
| Izumi | I’m sure you’ve already experienced it, Sakuya-kun. |
| Regardless of how unskilled an actor is, everyone has their own bud. |
| When one goes on stage, no matter how minor the role is – like an unnamed flower on the roadside – an actor must breathe life into that role and bloom into a dignified flower. |
| The stage is where you can watch actors blossom in full glory, so I think that’s why the Fleur Award is called as such. |
| I’m truly happy to be able to watch everyone bloom like that from backstage. |
| I want to keep watching everyone blossom in full glory forever. |
| Sakuya | ―― |
| Director, we want to bloom on stage again and again. |
| Will you make us bloom lots more from now on too—? |
| Izumi | —Of course! |
| (I’ll make you bloom time and time again. This is only the beginning of our MANKAI Company…!) |
| To be continued…[1] |
