Part 2A
After another day at General Education, Rui thinks back at what Tamao said to her. That Tamao without the stage that everyone built together is merely Tamao, not the Stage Girl that Rui looked up to, and to spend time with Rui now just makes her feel guitly. As she continues thinking about Tamao, a girl from her class tries to get her attention. Finally after getting Rui's attention, the girl tries to invite Rui to go out with her group to a cafe near the station. Besides, as another girl said, there is a special jumbo pancake set there that everyone should absolutely try. They were absolutely enamoured by her height, her propriety and her beautiful voice and wanted to be friends with her. And without any input from Rui, the girls basically drag her along all the way to the cafe as Rui tries to call out for Tamao to help her.
Meanwhile at the cafe, things are not looking great. The cafe is closing down due to a general recession and a poorly thought-out summer menu item that has resulted in an operating loss. Apparently selling the jumbo pancake set for only 500 yen isn't a good idea as the management thought, even if it was popular with the customers. After a very cold joke that they have been eaten by the pancakes instead of eating the pancakes (Sind Sie das Essen? Nein, wir sind die Jäger!) the manager thanks Fumi for the hard work and assures her that she will still get her salary at the end of this month.
Fumi exits the cafe and wonders about the shops closing down at the shopping district. From bakeries to pizza shops and general eateries. No matter what they have been selling, whether gyudon, chicken cutlet, hamburgers, Italian, Mexican, Mongolian, all the places that have meals provided for their workers are closing down. Not just Theatre Performance, even her workplace is shutting down. Fumi wonders if she is fated to arrive at places that end up dying. Well, time to drown her sorrows with a ponzu party...
Or not, considering the ponzu is sold out. Fumi arrives at the shop to find out that her favourite brand of ponzu "Hanamaru brand natural yuzu ponzu" has not only sold out, it is possible that there may no longer be any more shipments of that brand of ponzu since the manufacturer went bankrupt.
She returns home, laughing at herself at the absurdity of what happened. Maybe she really does herald decline and ruin after all. From her workplace, to her ponzu, to Theatre Performance, which is now scattered. Looks like her hotpot will have to make do with bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms and eggplants in plain water only. What a sad state of affairs without any ponzu to liven up this hotpot. It makes her laugh, and cry at the same time. Just then, the door bell rings. Fumi wonders who it would be to ring the door bell so late at night. She invites the mystery visitor in only to find that it's Tamao. She is surprised at the turn of events, but Tamao leads with her knowing about Fumi's cafe closing down, and that Fumi's favourite brand of ponzu has sold out. Fumi impatiently asks if Tamao is just here for some schadenfreude, but Tamao counters that she is here to scout Fumi to be part of the main cast of a new production of the Rinmei Chronicles, and explains the history of the Rinmei Chronicles to Fumi. Fumi is surprised that she had never heard of such a storied production before, and Tamao continues, saying that she joined Rinmeikan to be part of the production of the Rinmei Chronicles. This is not a production for General Education; this has to be done by Theatre Performance. Tamao then asks if that particular brand of ponzu is so important for Fumi that she will die if she cannot get some, to which Fumi replies that it is not exactly the case. Tamao continues that with the closure of Theatre Performance she has come to realise that while she has been spending a carefree life there with her friends, she never quite performed like her life depended on it. With the production of the Rinmei Chronicles, this is a do or die moment. She will not accept Theatre Production closing down, not without having first performed the Rinmei Chronicles. That's why Tamao needs Fumi's help. Fumi asks why Tamao didn't ask the other girls first, especially considering Rui has always been so close to her, and Tamao replies that she doesn't want girls who just fawn over her, and Fumi is her only choice. Fumi asks if it's so that she will be doing the
Part 2B
Of course, this isn't just some vague platitude, Tamao continues, and she passes a small bottle to Fumi. Tamao asks her to open the bottle, and Fumi finds out that it is ponzu. Fumi, thinking that it is a setup, guesses that it is not just any random sort of ponzu. And yet, she still cannot resist its allure, even if she only recognises Hanamaru brand natural yuzu ponzu as the ponzu for her. Tamao understands Fumi's feelings, and asks Fumi to taste it if she still doesn't trust Tamao, and Fumi gives it a try.
With one taste, Fumi tastes the soy sauce, delicately fermented to perfection, the gradually expanding sourness of citrus, topped with the exquisiteness of katsuoboshi. This is some very good ponzu. Fumi quickly puts up her guard again as Tamao tells her not to worry about her. With this, Fumi acquiesces to Tamao's offer and adds it to her hotpot, which no doubt has been stewing for quite some time, and brings back life to her hotpot. Tamao is happy at seeing Fumi being brought back to life, and Fumi demands where Tamao got this from. Tamao replies that it is a special blend from "Tomoe Cuisine" [2], and it is a recipe that has been passed down generations of master chefs. It is said to be formulated with a breed of Jabara citrus from the historic Kinokuni region [3]. Fumi asks what the "Tomoe" name means, wondering if it is related to Tamao, to which Tamao replies that a vacancy has just opened up there. Tamao continues, telling Fumi about the meals provided, shift scheduling, and the hourly pay, leaving the offer on the table, while reiterating that this is neither a bribe, nor an attempt to win over Fumi. What she only needs out of this is Fumi's help as a professional cast member. With that, everything she has to say has been said. Fumi replies that since Tamao asked so nicely anyway, this is the least she could do. Yet, Fumi still harbours doubts, considering everything she touches apparently turns into dust. Tamao tells Fumi to perish that thought and bring back what is rightfully theirs, togther. Fumi notices the fire in Tamao's eyes, and knows that
They go to the nearby park to begin practice for the new Rinmei Chronicles. It's not much, but it is still a start. Tamao knew that Fumi would return to the stage, to protect Starlight, and now, to bring back the Rinmei Chronicles, and thanks Fumi for agreeing to help out. Fumi refuses, saying that she should be the one thanking Tamao, and begins her story...
A long time ago, in a certain kingdom, there lived a knight. He was strong with the lance, and his rode far and wide on his horse. Not only was he adept in battle, he was also well-versed in poetry...
The knight was recognised for his talents by the King, and was bestowed the Jade as a recognition for his power. His future was smooth-sailing... and many people said that he could be the successor to the King.
With all this surrounding him, the knight grew haughty.
At the same time, the knight had a younger brother. No one pampered the brother more than the knight. The younger brother had a weak constitution, but he admired his older brother, and continuously trained. Many people thought that the younger brother might one day surpass the knight.
...This dismayed the knight to no end. The fear that he may lose his hard-earned status to his younger brother caused him to make mistake after mistake on the battlefield. Eventually he couldn't hold his lance nor ride his horse. The other knights he previously beat back with his pride now laughed at how hard he had fallen.
The now weakened knight had no one to save him, and it was all his own fault. No one... except his brother. It was then, he made a prayer. That his own brother would be struck by an arrow.
"Is this how ugly I have become? Is this how weak I have become?" In despair, the knight exiled himself from the kingdom, throwing the Jade aside. He then crossed the seas to arrive at an ancient, but declining, kingdom. There he encountered a people who accepted him, and a pure-hearted lord. For this lord, he will serve with his life. The knight, now healed, returned his stride and became this lord's warrior.
The end
With that, Fumi ends her story, telling Tamao this is something she had seen before. Fumi ends off by saying that she likes Tamao, and how she carries herself on stage. That just maybe, with her, she can return to the stage. The stage that she ran away from. And because of this, she will help Tamao reclaim her status as a Stage Girl, and makes her proclamation:
『心を妬かれて 逃げ堕ちし身が
再びのぼるは 滅びの舞台
過ぎたあの日に 栞を挟み
新たなこの日を 果てなき舞台に
凛明館女学校演劇科 夢大路文
謳い上げます 命の夢を！！』
"From jealousy and flight
To a rebirth on a stage of ruin
From a mark [4] in the days past
To a stage that may not see another day
Rinmeikan Girls School Theatre Performance - Yumeoji Fumi
The dreams of life will be extolled!!"
With that, Fumi declares that she will help Tamao achieve her dreams, for the Rinmei Chronicles. Tamao thanks her for being such a loyal warrior, and Fumi returns the thanks. Tamao then gives a reminder to Fumi that tomorrow's job will start at 5, and she will be rewarded with lots of ponzu for lunch later on. For such an early start time, just ponzu is not enough, and Fumi would like to have some daikon skin as well for that, to which Tamao replies that this will be up for negotiation later. Anyway, she will help with producing the Rinmei Chronicles with Tamao as thanks for the new job and the ponzu anyway.
Continue on to Part 3: The Former Idol
[1] saikang: Hokkien for 屎工, literally "shit job". Means any unpleasant jobs or busywork.
[2] "Tomoe Cuisine" is stylised with a ゑ hiragana in place of an え as would be written in modern times.
[3] The Kinokuni region was a historic Japanese region that covers what is now most of Wakayama Prefecture and the southern part of Mie Prefecture.
[4] The word is the same word as that for Shiori's name: 栞
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