| 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 | Oh? So you were here, Sakuya-kun. |
| Sakuya | Ah, 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 troupe... |
| 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 this dormitory 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 theatre award? |
| Izumi | You don’t know? |
| Sakuya | Huh? |
| Izumi | I’m sure you’ve already experienced it, Sakuya-kun. |
| No matter 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 it’s called the Fleur Award. |
| 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] |
