| 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 | You must have already experienced it, Sakuya-kun. |
| No matter how unskilled an actor is, everyone has their own bud. |
| When one goes on stage, even if they have a minor role that’s like an unnamed flower on the roadside, they 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] |
