| Tasuku | ——Yo, ——tto.[1] |
| Phew... |
| ... |
| The lead role, huh... |
| (I’ve been the lead many times if you include the time when I was in GOD-za, so it’s not like I have strong feelings about it after all this time...) |
| (But playing the lead in Mankai Company feels strange for some reason.) |
| (Am I nervous? No, that’s not it. I don’t think it’s excitement either. What’s this feeling...?) |
| Tsuzuru | Takato-san? |
| Tasuku | Hm? |
| Tsuzuru | Playing soccer by yourself? |
| Tasuku | I was doing some lifting to help with digestion. Come practice passes with me. |
| Tsuzuru | Sure thing. |
| By the way, I heard you’ll be playing the lead in Winter Troupe’s fifth performance. Congratulations. |
| Tasuku | Yeah. |
| Tsuzuru | I’ll take requests if you have any. |
| Tasuku | Let’s see... If I had to choose, I’d want something that requires physical movement. |
| If anything, most Winter Troupe plays have been calm and still, so I’d like something that requires both still and dynamic acting. |
| Tsuzuru | I see... When you think about it, the Winter Troupe contrasts with the Autumn Troupe, which mainly does action. |
| Any preferences for the theme? Like gas station workers, for example. |
| Tasuku | Jumping right into a realistic route, huh. Rurikawa and Izumida might complain that the costumes and the hair and makeup would be too boring. |
| Tsuzuru | That’s true. A soccer story, then——? |
| Tasuku | ——tto.[2] |
| The Winter Troupe members playing soccer, huh... They were terrible back when Autumn Troupe and Winter Troupe faced off in a soccer match. |
| Tsuzuru | H-hmm, I see... |
| Tasuku | Besides, if I’m going to do a soccer play on stage, I’d want to do it with you guys. |
| Tsuzuru | ——! |
| You’re right. |
| |
| Tasuku | Okay, next up is—— |
| Tsumugi | ...Phew. |
| Azuma | Can we take a short break? |
| Homare | Perhaps we can stop here for today? |
| Hisoka | ...Zzz. |
| Izumi | E-ermm, everyone is exhausted... |
| Tasuku | Looks like the strength training menu we did at the beginning is starting to kick in. I was even going easy on you, too. |
| Guy | I can still keep going. |
| Tasuku | I guess Guy-san is the only one who can keep up. |
| Izumi | (I wanted Winter Troupe to challenge themselves with something new this time around too, but I guess action is out of the question in terms of physical ability...) |
| Tasuku | How’s the script coming along? |
| Izumi | Right now, it seems like Tsuzuru-kun has started working on it and is basing it off Tasuku-san’s request. I’m planning to put it into practice as soon as it’s done. |
| Tsumugi | Tasuku, aren’t you starring as a guest in a performance right now? |
| Tasuku | Yeah. |
| Izumi | Then we’ll do it once that’s over. |
| |
| Troupe Member A | Good work, Takato-san! |
| Tasuku | Good work. |
| Troupe Member A | Man, thank you so much for your help, Takato-san. Please, accompany us again in our next performance. |
| Tasuku | Sorry. This time I’m playing the lead in my theater troupe, so I can’t come help until that’s over. |
| Troupe Member A | Oh, I see. I’ll definitely come watch! |
| Tasuku | Yeah. |
| ??? | Sorry to intrude. |
| Tasuku | ——Shinozaki-san? |
| Shinozaki | Good work, Takato. It’s been a while. |
| Tasuku | I haven’t seen you in a long time. |
| Shinozaki | Not since I quit GOD-za? |
| Tasuku | I think so... What brings you here today? |
| Shinozaki | An acquaintance of mine gives me tickets sometimes. I was so surprised that you’re part of the cast. |
| I’ve seen you perform several times when you were still the top actor in GOD-za, but your acting has gotten even better than before. |
| Tasuku | ——Thank you very much. |
| Shinozaki | I actually wanted to reach out to you when I heard that you left GOD-za. |
| I’ve always acknowledged your skills, and I’d been hearing that you were troubled over various things. |
| When I heard that you went ahead and joined a different troupe, I thought, “Someone beat me to it!” I should’ve contacted you sooner. |
| Tasuku | I’m grateful just from hearing that. |
| Shinozaki | But, on a serious note——won’t you come join my troupe, Takato? |
| Tasuku | Huh...? |
| Shinozaki | Things have calmed down now, and Reni-san doesn’t have that pressure anymore, right? Plus you seem to be in great demand for guest appearances here and there. |
| To be honest, it’s strange; I don’t know why you’re still in Mankai Company. |
| It’s not a bad troupe, of course. But unlike the first generation, isn’t it a young, developing troupe now? |
| It’s full of young actors that were complete novices until just recently; they pale in comparison to you who has a career. |
| Tasuku | ... |
| Shinozaki | Well, I guess because of that, your presence there has been helpful to the troupe. But you’re not planning to stay there forever, right? |
| Tasuku | ...I haven’t made up my mind regarding that. But, through my acting, I want to return the favour to the troupe for taking me in. |
| Shinozaki | When will you finish returning that favour? If you’re talking about reviving the troupe, then that’s been heading to a promising direction by now. |
| I think you should be thinking more about your own career from now on. |
| Tasuku | ... |
| Shinozaki | In order to expand my troupe’s scale, we need people like you, Takato. |
| We have a lot of veterans who have been acting for far longer than I have. I think there’s lots to learn there as an actor. |
| Tasuku | I’ve heard about your troupe’s reputation. |
| Shinozaki | If you’re playing the lead in your next performance, then doesn’t that give you the perfect timing to end things? |
| Please think about it. |
| Tasuku | ... |
