| Sakuya | … |
| Sakura | Sakuya-sensei. |
| Kaede | Hey, hey! |
| Tsubaki | Sensei! |
| Sakuya | …!! S-Sorry! |
| Sakura | Are you lovesick? |
| Sakuya | L-Lovesick…!? How do you even know that word!? |
| Kasumi | Good eve… Wait, what!? Sakuya-kun's love story?! |
| I feel conflicted as your fan, but… I want to hear it too! |
| Sakuya | N-No, I'm not lovesick! Please calm down! |
| Sakura | Boo~. |
| Kaede | But you're out of it today. |
| Tsubaki | Right~! |
| Sakuya | I'm not in love, it's just… Banri-kun… |
| Kasumi | Oh… |
| Sakuya | I ended up spacing out while trying to come up with something I can do to help. |
| Kasumi | …Just act like usual, you don't need to do anything. |
| I think an actor will feel the most reassured if their comrade stands by their side and takes the stage with them no matter what happens. |
| Sakuya | …You have a point. |
| Kasumi | To be honest with you, my company told me to either wait a little bit longer, or to just not publish our recent interview altogether. |
| Putting aside whether or not the rumors are true, I understand why the company wanted to hold it off until the commotion dies down. But as a fan? I'm not sure… |
| I want to reassure the fans and tell them that you're still going ahead with the upcoming play. |
| With that in mind, I'm thinking of discussing it again with Director-san. |
| In any case, no matter what happens, the editorial department will do everything we can to support the troupe. |
| Sakuya | Thank you very much. |
 |
| Banri | They really published the interview… |
| (Look at all these troll comments we’ve already gotten in such a short time. I bet one of them is the original uploader. Damn, there’s really no such thing for them as giving up.) |
| (At any rate, I still ended up causing them trouble…) |
| *sighs*… |
| (Look at the time. I've gotta call a taxi and head out…) |
 |
| Zen | For the appetizer, I made some special California Rolls. |
| Banri | I don't remember this being on the menu. |
| Zen | Omi told me that this is your favorite. |
| Banri | Damn, to think you'd open your restaurant on your day off and even make me a special menu item like this. I couldn't have asked for more. |
| Zen | I'm still gonna charge you for the special service, though. |
| Banri | Oh, no. I wonder how much it'll cost. |
| …It's tasty. |
| Zen | I'm thinking of putting it on the menu since it came out pretty well. |
| Banri | …Darn. This is easily one of the top three dishes I've ever eaten. |
| Zen | I'm not surprised. |
| Banri | (I feel like I'm on cloud nine after eating such good food…) |
| |
| Thanks for the food. That was so freakin' delicious. |
| Zen | You can just pay me next time. |
| Banri | Haha. I wonder when that’ll be. |
| Zen | This isn't my first time serving you like this, is it? |
| Banri | Oh, yeah, right. |
| (I don't think much time has passed since then, but for some reason, I feel like it happened a long time ago.) |
| Zen | …You're not going to quit the troupe, are you? |
| Banri | Nope, I won’t go to that extent… |
| Considering how much this scandal affects the troupe, I did think of quitting the play or changing my role to one that doesn't appear much. |
| I don't want to cause them even more trouble than I already have. I don't want to throw a wrench into a play that we’ve produced with such great effort. |
| It's different from our usual plays. We're aiming to be nominated for the Fleur Award with this play. |
| For that purpose, we’ve all been working hard to accumulate achievements. However, just when the opportunity finally came around… |
| Because of me, we're now all being seen in a bad light. If we fail to receive a nomination, all our efforts will have gone to waste. |
| Zen | …It really is troublesome to deal with things not related to acting, huh. |
| I know some people who couldn’t continue acting despite their talent because of their bad behavior, or because they're not good with people. |
| I also actively hire dancers or performers who can't continue their activities due to certain circumstances. |
| Well, one of the reasons why I opened this restaurant was to create a place where anybody could feel like they belonged, just like MANKAI Company. |
| Banri | Heh… |
| Zen | While my performers come from different backgrounds, they all look like they're having fun. |
| I don't think there is an issue with your way of life as long as you're able to choose the next career that you can be satisfied with. |
| You see, even when you think your life is over, there will always be a surprise waiting for you. It's not good to think too much. |
| When you're stuck, there's a big difference between thinking that you only have that one way of living, and thinking that there are other possibilities out there. |
| Trust your feelings. If you find it really hard to stay in the troupe, you can always come here. |
| Banri | Did you just scout me? |
| Zen | I'm sure you can take on the protagonist’s role, right? |
| Banri | That's easy. |
| Zen | Well. Despite all that, I want you to stay in the troupe. |
| …Even if you become an old fart, your real value that you've amassed doesn't change, you know? |
| I want to see your real value. |
| Banri | …I’d intended to do that all along. |
| Zen | Hmph… I guess it's true that you become nosier the older you get. |
| Banri | I've been thinking that I can count on the old men whenever life gets tough. |
| Zen | But first, you really need to stop referring to us as old men. |
| Anyway, you've gotta follow your heart. |
| Because you're going to stay in the troupe, you better make a decision that you can be satisfied with, whether it is to keep your role or to let it go. |
| Banri | OK. |
 |
| *door opens* |
| … |
| (Follow your heart, huh…) |
| (But it ain't like I can just follow my heart in this state.) |
| (Considering the current situation, it'll be best to ease the commotion--even if it means I have to let go of my role.) |
| *sighs*… |
| (Guess I've gotta discuss it with Director-chan again…) |
| Izumi | Oh. Welcome home, Banri-kun! I've been waiting for you. |
| Banri | ? |
| Izumi | I have something to ask you… Can you let me meet your parents? |
