| Izumi | Okay then, I will announce the final results~! |
| First place: Azuma-san! 50,000 points! |
| Fuyuki | Man~ You’re good at mahjong, Azuma-san. |
| Tasuku | Way too strong. |
| Azuma | It was a fluke. |
| Izumi | Second place: Fuyuki-san, 30,000 points! Third place: Guy-san, 20,000 points! |
| Hisoka | ...Guy is also surprisingly good. |
| Homare | He fought rather bravely for someone who didn’t know the rules. |
| Izumi | And then in last place is Tasuku-san! |
| Fuyuki | Haha, it’s decided who’ll do the punishment game. Tasuku. |
| Tasuku | No one told me about that. |
| Tsumugi | Now, now. It’s an essential part to these kinds of things. |
| Azuma | I wonder what would be good. |
| Tasuku’s Mother | Everyone, I made tea. |
| Tsumugi | Ah, thank you very much. |
| Izumi | I’m sorry to intrude with such a huge crowd. |
| Tasuku’s Mother | Not at all. It’s like I’m back to Tasuku’s student days; it’s lively and fun. |
| Fuyuki | They gathered here a lot for practice after school. |
| Tsumugi | That’s right. After club practice he’d call me and say “Let’s do self-training at my house.” |
| Homare | How very committed. |
| Guy | I can picture it. |
| Izumi | So, what should the punishment game be? |
| Tasuku | You haven’t forgotten about that, huh. |
| Fuyuki | That’s right——! Hold on for a sec. |
| Tasuku | ...I have a bad feeling about this. |
| |
| Fuyuki | If it’s a punishment game for Tasuku, it has to be this. |
| A DVD of Tasuku’s first lead role in GOD-za! |
| Tasuku | What!? |
| Izumi | Wah, I want to watch it! |
| Azuma | His first lead role, huh. How valuable. |
| Tasuku | Oi aniki, where did you get that—— |
| Fuyuki | I make sure to buy and collect DVDs of your lead roles. |
| Tasuku | Don’t collect them. And even if you guys watch that, it won’t be interesting at all. |
| Tsumugi | I don’t think so. |
| Tasuku | If you’re going to watch, there are other—— |
| Fuyuki | You’re wide open! |
| Tasuku | —— |
| Fuyuki | Now, Tsumu! Set it up! |
| Tsumugi | Got it. |
| Tasuku | Oi, let me go——! |
| Fuyuki | Urgh—— You got stronger again, Tasuku. |
| Guy | I will assist you. |
| Hisoka | ...I’ll hold him down. |
| Tasuku | Do not! |
| Tsumugi | I’m playing it. |
| Tasuku | ...Dammit. Do what you want. |
| This is why I didn’t want to celebrate at my house. |
| Azuma | He’s a good brother. He’s supporting you, isn’t he? |
| Tasuku | ...Well, that’s true. |
| Azuma | Cherish him. |
| Tasuku | ...Yes. |
| Homare | Ah, it’s begun! |
| Izumi | Uwah~ It’s so sparkly. |
| (Tasuku-san’s acting here is a little undeveloped compared to now; this somewhat clumsy feel is fresh.) |
| Azuma | He really is the prince. The costume is also glamorous.[2] |
| Homare | Mhm. The stage set is elaborate as well. |
| Izumi | It’s really like what you’d expect from GOD-za. |
| Tasuku | ... |
| |
| Izumi | That was interesting! |
| Guy | The script was good too. |
| Hisoka | ...Tasuku was glittering. |
| Homare | In the physical sense. |
| Tasuku | Shut up. I’m glad you found it funny. |
| Homare | No, it was honestly quite helpful as a reference in many ways. |
| Izumi | Yup yup! The staging was fresh too! |
| Azuma | But still, even Tasuku was nervous in his first lead role. |
| Izumi | Ah, I thought so too! |
| Tasuku | Huh? |
| Hisoka | ...During the opening, you were stiff. |
| Homare | Midway through, it seemed as if you were about to drop your prop. It was my first time seeing you like that. |
| Guy | Being the lead for the first time was nerve-wracking even for Takato. My impression of you has changed again. |
| Tasuku | ...You noticed? |
| Azuma | Well, yeah. |
| Homare | How many times do you think we’ve stood on the same stage? |
| Hisoka | ...You’d notice if you look. |
| Guy | When you act next to each other, you can see many different things. |
| Tasuku | —— |
| Fuyuki | ...Huh, you’re the same as Tsumugi. |
| Izumi | The same? |
| Tasuku | Everyone is like that in their first lead role. Sorry that I was shabby. |
| Tsumugi | But I like the way you said that one line. |
| “Even if I am torn apart, my vow shall never perish. For all of eternity I shall live with you, and when that body of yours rots I shall sleep alongside you.” |
| Tasuku | I’m surprised you memorized that, considering you’ve only seen it once. |
| Tsumugi | Well, I’ve watched it many times on video—— |
| Tasuku | Huh? |
| Tsumugi | —— |
| Azuma | So you’ve seen this performance before. |
| Homare | If you have it on video, then perhaps you also went to watch it on stage? |
| Hisoka | ...Weren’t you fighting? |
| Izumi | If I remember correctly, you said that you were fighting and were apart when Tasuku-san was in GOD-za. |
| Tsumugi | ...Umm. |
| Tasuku | You watched it? |
| Fuyuki | Haha, that’s rare that you dug your own grave. Just spill it. |
| Tsumugi | ... |
| Fuyuki | Actually when Tasuku played the lead on stage for the first time, Tsumu went to go see it too. He even made me fill the questionnaire sheet on his behalf; he said he’d be found out from his handwriting. |
| There wasn’t even any space left to write anymore. It was so much. |
| “That’s how much I want to tell him,” he said, so I thought, “How much praise does he have for him?” But more than half of it was harsh criticism. I was so surprised. |
| Tasuku | Really...? |
| Tsumugi | ...I didn’t think you’d still have it with you even now though. |
| Tasuku | Huh? Then—— |
| Izumi | Ah, could it be the questionnaire sheet that was inserted between the pages of the script? |
| Homare | Ahh, that sheet of paper among the belongings that had been sent. |
| Tasuku | That was you...? |
| Tsumugi | ...Sorry about that. |
| Tasuku | *sigh*... |
| Guy | But the fact that Takato held on to it must mean that the contents of that questionnaire were just that important to him. |
| Tasuku | ...When I got that questionnaire, I was simply happy. I did think it was annoying too though, since it was nothing but criticism. |
| The only one who noticed I was nervous and pointed out my trivial mistakes was the one who filled that questionnaire. |
| I thought, I want to act with someone like this –– someone who watches my acting closely, and really takes it in. |
| I thought that if I did, I’d be able to create a better stage—— |
| Tsumugi | Tasuku... |
| Izumi | ...And that’s why, that became Tasuku-san’s reason for staying in Mankai Company. |
| Tasuku | ...That’s right. The things I was searching for that time are here in this theater troupe –– right here in the Winter Troupe. |
| Homare | Good grief. In that case, you should realize that sooner before you draw out your worries for so long. |
| Hisoka | ...So slow. |
| Azuma | We’ll be in your care from now on too, leader. |
| Guy | We still have much to polish as we head towards the final performance. |
| Tsumugi | We’re counting on you, leader. |
| Tasuku | Of course. |
