| Izumi | I wonder if Kumon-kun is okay.... |
| Tenma | He’s been getting pretty tired in the second half of the performance lately. |
| Izumi | So you noticed too, Tenma-kun. |
| I wonder if he’s exhausted from practice and the pressure of playing the lead.... |
| Tenma | We don’t have much time till the dress rehearsal. The best we can do now is let him relax and rest as much as possible. |
| Izumi | You’re right.... |
| Muku | Director-san, Tenma-kun—. |
| Izumi | Ah, Muku-kun, how is Kumon-kun doing? |
| Juza | We need to talk to you about that. |
| Izumi | ? |
| |
| Tenma | ...A fever from pressure? |
| Juza | That’s right. The first time it happened was when he was in elementary school. |
| He was chosen as a starting member for a Little League game for the first time, but on the day of the game, he got a fever and couldn’t play. |
| That was the beginning. Since then, he’s always gotten a fever whenever there was a baseball game. |
| He was the kind of guy who rarely even caught a cold, so when there was no game, he was perfectly healthy. He’s never missed a single practice. |
| He’ll even practice on his own when there’s no practice—but when there’s a game, he always gets a fever. |
| Izumi | .... |
| Juza | At first it was just baseball games, but it eventually started happening elsewhere too. |
| When he’s put in positions like group leader or executive committee—any role with responsibility—he gets a fever during school activities, too. |
| Izumi | And it’s all because of pressure...? |
| Juza | Yeah. It’s not a cold, so he’s always right back to normal the next morning. He always looked like he was suffering more from guilt than from the fever itself, and it got worse each time it happened. |
| It all came to a head at his last baseball game in middle school. |
| He had the crucial role of carrying the team as the ace pitcher. But he got a high fever the day before the game, and his team lost in the first round.... |
| He was really upset and said he didn’t know how to face his teammates. |
| I think he quit his high school baseball club for the same kind of reason. |
| Muku | ...I heard about that from Kyu-chan the other day. |
| He said that he just couldn’t give up on his dream of going to the Koshien, so even though the thought he might fail again, he joined the baseball club in high school. |
| Apparently his first year went well. Nothing happened. A second-year senpai was the team’s ace pitcher, and Kyu-chan enjoyed club activities. |
| But they had high expectations for him as their next ace. He became a second year, and when he had to stand on the mound for the first time during a practice game.... |
| Izumi | I see.... |
| Juza | ...Apparently his fevers are psychogenic. Every time he thinks he might fail again, it puts a strain on his heart. |
| The more it happens, and the greater the responsibility, the heavier the burden on his heart becomes. |
| Muku | Kyu-chan realized that his symptoms were getting worse, so he quit the club right away.... |
| He said that his teammates are still mad at him because he never told them anything. |
| It seems like the catcher who formed a battery with him was especially harsh towards him. |
| Izumi | ...That kind of sounds like the script for this performance. |
| Tenma | More like it’s identical. |
| Juza | That’s because I asked Tsuzuru-san. |
| Izumi | Eh? |
| Juza | He turned out that way because of baseball, so I wanted to give him a chance to overcome it on the stage. |
| If he can do it just once, he can change. He can overcome his past. That’s what I thought, so—... |
| I’m sorry for acting so selfishly. |
| Izumi | ...No, it’s fine. So that’s why you were so opposed to him joining to the troupe. |
| Tenma | Pressure, huh.... |
| He must work himself up and end up with a fever because he wishes too hard to succeed—because he wants good results no matter what. |
| ...I’ve felt that way myself. |
| Izumi | (Tenma-kun also couldn’t perform to his full capacity on stage because of his past trauma.... He probably understands Kumon-kun’s feelings very well.) |
| Tenma | There’s no need for you to apologize, Juza-san. You had to do it for him to pull through this performance to the end, right? |
| Juza | ...I’d be grateful if you could see it like that. |
| Tenma | But you could’ve at least told us about his fever. |
| Juza | ...I stayed quiet because I thought you guys would pay extra attention to him if I told you. |
| People at school thought he was sickly and always took extra care of him because of his fever. So that winds up being a burden for him too. |
| That’s why I wanted you guys to face Kumon without knowing. I didn’t want you to hold back. |
| Izumi | ...I see. |
| Juza | That’s why I ended up deceiving you. I’m sorry. |
| Tenma | I truly understand that you treasure Kumon as your family. |
| But Kumon is an important friend and family to us—to Summer Troupe—as well. There’s no reason for you to apologize to us. |
| Juza | ...I see. |
| But let me fulfill my responsibility as his older brother. |
| Izumi | Responsibility? |
| Juza | If Kumon can’t stand on stage at any point during the run of the performance, I’ve memorized his lines so that I can perform as his standby. |
| I’ll fulfill his duty in his stead. |
| Muku | Ju-chan, is that why you made a copy of the script...? |
| Juza | Yeah. |
| Izumi | ...You’re right. We do need to have a standby in case something happens. |
| Banri | Oi, oi, this guy’s gonna be the standby for Summer Troupe’s lead? |
| Juza | ? |
| Banri | Like hell you can perform a comedy. |
| Juza | What are you butting in for.... |
| Banri | Look, anyone would notice with you muttering away in the middle of the night like that. |
| At first I thought you were gonna try and act all big-brotherly by giving him some lessons, but now I see how it is. |
| Juza | Shut up and stay out of this. It’s got nothing to do with you. |
| Banri | And if you ruin their show, you’ll destroy your reputation as his older brother, and Summer Troupe will beat you to the ground. By which I mean Yuki will. |
| Tenma | Yeah.... |
| Izumi | Th-that’s.... |
| Juza | I’m practicing. I’ll fulfill my role as standby. |
| Banri | You can’t handle it, you’re too clumsy. |
| Juza | What? |
| Banri | But I can. |
| Izumi | Eh? |
| Tenma | Wait, you’re gonna memorize the lines now!? |
| Banri | Piece of cake. But let’s do a run-through later to get the hang of our pace and all. |
| Izumi | Banri-kun really might be able to handle it on such short notice, but.... |
| Juza | ...Settsu. |
| Banri | ...Aah? What is it? Are you still gonna insist you have do it as his older brother? |
| Juza | Thank you. I owe you one. |
| Banri | ——. |
| Tenma | Did Juza-san just thank Banri-san....? |
| Muku | That’s the first time I’ve seen it happen...! |
| Izumi | How unusual. Maybe this means the two of you will get along a little bett—. |
| Juza | But we can’t have a baseball boy with one-length hair. I’ll bring you a hair clipper from home. |
| Banri | Fuck off, Hyodo! I’ll shave your head first! |
| Juza | I’m not gonna be on stage, so there’s no need. |
| Banri | That’s not the problem! |
| Tenma | ...Geez. |
| Muku | It turned out like this anyway. |
| Izumi | Well, at least we won’t have to worry about the standby now. |
| Tenma | Now we just have to do our best to calm his nervousness.... |
