| Izumi | Summer Troupe’s performance has ended, so next is Autumn troupe… I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of person joins! |
| Chikage | Our scriptwriter Tsuzuru never gets a break—it must be hard. |
| Tsuzuru | You’re right…. |
| But I have more freedom now that there are six members in the main cast, so writing is fun. It’s not a chore. |
| Kumon | Autumn Troupe’s next play is also gonna be cool, right!? |
| Tsuzuru | We haven’t decided on anything, but it’s probably going to be action-themed too. Same as before. |
| Itaru | It’ll probably be dangerous, too. Same as before. |
| Chikage | You mean visually? |
| Itaru | Yup yup. It’s obviously impossible to do a fairy-tale motif with those faces. |
| Izumi | Our new member will have to fit in visually with those members. He’ll also need to not be intimidated by them…. |
| Chikage | So like a bear? |
| Itaru | Why does nothing feel wrong with that. |
| Tsuzuru | That’s not even human…! |
| Izumi | We might have some trouble finding a new member for Autumn Troupe…. |
| Azami | Ah, about that…. |
| Izumi | ? |
| Sakoda | A~za~mi~!! |
| Izumi | !? |
| Azami | Ken-san? |
| Sakoda | We’re in trouble! The chairman has finally lost his patience! He says he’s gonna take some men along to make you come back! |
| Azami | ——. |
| Sakoda | He asked me where you were, so I lied and told him you were at Shifuto’s place, but I didn’t think it would become this big—. |
| You need to go back or do something now, or else! |
| Izumi | (The chairman himself? And he’s bringing members of the yakuza with him…!?) |
| Itaru | So this is what they call a raid. I didn’t think they were real. |
| Chikage | If it’s something similar, I see it happen fairly often. |
| Itaru | Seriously? Your private life is too much of a mystery as usual. |
| Kumon | Both of you, now’s not the time to be all relaxed! What are you gonna do, Azami!? |
| Azami | Well, if it’s Shifuto, he’ll probably find a way out somehow. |
| Izumi | Shifuto? |
| Azami | My childhood friend. He knows what’s going on, and he’s a sharp guy. |
| Tsuzuru | But if the entire Ginsenkai is gonna be out looking for you, they’ll probably find out where you are in no time. |
| Sakyo | ...What’s this fuss about? |
| Sakoda | A-aniki! We’re in trouble! The chairman is finally trying to bring Azami back—. |
| Sakyo | ...Well, he waited pretty long, didn’t he? |
| Bon. Even if you manage to cover up for now, it’s just a matter of time. You should give up and go home. |
| Azami | ...I refuse. |
| Sakyo | You think it’s fine to cause other people trouble? |
| The members of the group don’t have that much free time on their hands. You’re not a kid, so don’t cause them trouble. |
| Azami | Shut up. You’ve got nothing to do with this. |
| Sakyo | Aah? Who do you think you are? You’re here as a freeloader. We can kick you out right now. |
| Izumi | S-Sakyo-san, please calm down. We’re responsible for taking him in; should I get in touch? |
| Sakyo | There’s no need for you to go so far, Director-san. This is a problem he needs to solve on his own. |
| Got it? Hurry up and go home—. |
| Azami | Well I’m gonna join Autumn Troupe. |
| Sakyo | What? |
| Izumi | Eh? |
| Kumon | Seriously!? You’re gonna join Autumn Troupe, Azami!? Yay~!! |
| Sakyo | Don’t mess with me. You’re not even serious. Stop using the troupe as a hiding place. |
| Azami | You have no right to decide that I’m not serious. |
| Sakyo | You just want to leave your house. |
| Azami | Shut up! I won’t listen to you! |
| Sakoda | O-oi, Azami…. |
| Sakyo | I refuse to let you join the troupe. |
| Azami | ——. |
| *Hit* |
| Sakyo | …gh. |
| Izumi | !! |
| Sakyo | Who the fuck do you think you’re hitting? You better be prepared. |
| Azami | Shut up! I’ll beat you in seconds, you fucker! |
| Sakyo | ——. |
| Azami | There! |
| Sakyo | —ha! |
| Izumi | H-hey, both of you—! |
| Azami | Hah! |
| Sakyo | —tch. |
| Chikage | They both have pretty nice moves. |
| Itaru | This is like an action game. Where’s the controller? |
| Kumon | Again, why are both of you so relaxed!? |
| Sakoda | Aniki really is strong at fighting…. |
| Izumi | Not you too, Sakoda-san! Please stop them! They’re both going to get injured—. |
| Sakoda | No worries. They know when to stop, so it won’t be a big deal. This is a daily occurance at the Izumida family. |
| Izumi | Eeh!? |
| Azami | Die! |
| Sakyo | I’m fed up with you, you shitty brat! |
| Izumi | (This is a daily occurence….) |
| Chikage | Well, if you need me to stop them I can do that, but I can’t assure you they’ll come out alive. |
| Izumi | I kind of need you to assure that much…! |
| Omi | Now, now, both of you, calm down. How long are you going to keep fighting? |
| Kumon | Omi-san, it’s dangerous if you get in between them—! |
| Azami | —gh. |
| There, there, now. Sakyo-san, you too. Please calm down. |
| Sakyo | —tch. |
| Azami | …. |
| Tsuzuru | Fushimi-san is amazing. Walking in like that…. |
| Chikage | Guess he’s a bear. |
| Itaru | No wonder nothing felt wrong with that. |
| Sakyo | ...What’s the point of becoming an actor. That’s not your dream. |
| Azami | —You have no right to decide that for me. You won’t even support me. |
| You’re the only one who gets to do what he wants…. |
| Sakyo | …——. |
| Izumi | (Does Azami-kun have a different dream…? If it’s as Sakyo-san says, it might be better to stop him from joining the troupe, but….) |
| (Why is he denying him outright when he says he wants to join?) |
| Kumon | I have a good idea! |
| Izumi | ? |
| Kumon | Hey, if Azami wants to join, why don’t you hold a test like you did for me? |
| If Azami qualifies, then it means he’s serious! Right!? |
| Sakyo | I already know that he’s not—. |
| Yuzo | Hey there. |
| Izumi | Huh? Yuzo-san, what’s wrong? |
| Yuzo | I was passing by, so I thought I might check in to kill some time. |
| Azami | …. |
| Sakyo | …. |
| Yuzo | What’s going on? Are you having a fight? |
| Izumi | Ah, well, about Autumn Troupe’s new member…. |
| |
| Yuzo | Huh. Sounds good. Let him audition. |
| Sakyo | What? |
| Izumi | I agree with you. |
| Sakyo | Not you too—. |
| Izumi | Regardless of his reason for joining the troupe, it’s unfair to deny a chance from only Azami-kun. |
| There’s a member of the Autumn Troupe who joined solely out of rivalry, after all. |
| Sakyo | ...Settsu, huh. |
| Izumi | Someone else joined because he wanted three meals and a room. |
| Itaru | ...Me, huh. |
| Chikage | If we’re talking about reasons for joining the troupe, I can’t criticize anyone. |
| Izumi | (For revenge… because he was homeless… when you list it out like this, they’re all pretty awful….) |
| In any case, regardless of how they came in touch with theater, I don’t want to flat-out deny anyone the chance of joining the troupe. |
| Sakyo | ——. |
| Izumi | As the general director, I approve of Azami-kun’s audition to join the troupe. |
| Sakyo | ...tch. |
| Kumon | Yay~! If Azami joins the troupe, the quality of our make-up will improve! |
| Tsuzuru | Azami will fit right in with the Autumn Troupe members, too. |
| Sakyo | It’s impossible for him. |
| Izumi | That all depends on Azami-kun’s will. |
| Azami | I’ll definitely get accepted. |
| Sakyo | ...Hmph. What will his test be? |
| Yuzo | Why don’t we go with the “portrait” that everyone else in Autumn Troupe did? |
| Azami | “Portrait”? |
| Izumi | A one-man act using one’s past as a theme. Everyone in the Autumn Troupe did theirs during their debut performance. |
| Azami | ...Including shithead Sakyo? |
| Izumi | Of course. |
| Azami | ...I’ll do it. It’ll be even better than his. |
| Yuzo | Then your theme is “a memory from boyhood.” It’ll be ten minutes long total. |
| Sakyo | You’re too kind in giving him a theme. |
| Yuzo | Why do you think I chose this theme? |
| Izumi | ? |
| Yuzo | In one week, I’m going to make the new members of a troupe I’m taking care of perform their portraits an opening act. It’s the same theme. |
| Omi | Déjà vu…. |
| Izumi | Could it be…. |
| Yuzo | Join them. |
| Kumon | A real stage!? In one week!? |
| Tsuzuru | For a new guy to stand on stage in just one week—isn’t that a bit too hard? |
| Yuzo | If you push him that hard, you’ll know for real if he’s serious or not. |
| We’re gonna have a poll like before, so you can make coming in first place as the requirement for joining the troupe. |
| Kumon | First place!? |
| Tsuzuru | A demon…. |
| Omi | As expected of Yuzo-san…. |
| Azami | …. |
| Yuzo | You’re gonna become greater than Sakyo-boy, right? Then you’ll need to at least come in first. |
| Azami | ...I’ll do it. |
| Izumi | Sakyo-san, these conditions will satisfy you, right? |
| Sakyo | Yeah. It’s impossible for him anyway. |
| Izumi | (He’s right. These are really strict conditions….) |
| Azami-kun, can you join practice starting today? We need to start with teaching you the basics of acting. |
| Azami | ...Got it. |
| Izumi | (I’m concerned about his home situation, too, but for now, we’ll have to do what we can.) |
