Translator: Flowingcloud Editor: Arocks141
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Theater 3: Genius Beauty’s Acting Showdown With Best Friend’s Papa!? – Scene 2
Breathing.
??? (?)
—Haa, haa, haa…
I walked in the darkness. The flashlight that I held in my hand trembled, and I was unsteady from the creaking footsteps.
—Haa, haa, haa…
My vision was blurred and I could see traces of blood. I was at the limit of my exploration.
—Haa, haa, haa… Kuh.
My eyelids suddenly closed, perhaps from pain. I wiped my eyes and looked ahead, trying to shake off the fear—
“Hey, where are you going?”
—A voice called out to me from behind. I turned around and a hand touched my back.
“Aha, ha, hahahahahhihihihihihi.”
Blackout.
Screams.
The sound of rain.
Noise.
“Awa, awawawa, awawawawa.”
“Tsugumi, you’re bad at this.”
“No, she’s good for her first time.”
I put down the controller at the sound of my young friends’ voices.
“It’s scary. Scary, but interesting. It’s really hard, Juria-chan.”
The school tour was over. There was still time until lunch, so we are now playing games at Rin-chan’s house.
Yoruhata Residence, Living Room (Day)
Tsugumi holds the controller together with Rin, Juria, and Mimi in a row in front of the TV. Thinking about how things got this way.
In the end, we left Kou, who was still at school, and visited Rin-chan’s house. My parents had to go to work (They forcibly opened up their morning schedule. Sorry about that), so only Rin-chan’s father, Yoruhata Kazuma-san, was there to welcome us with a warm smile on his face.
Juria-chan, dressed in a boyish-look like I was today, and Mimi-chan, dressed in a girlish outfit with a soft skirt that catches people’s attention. Then, there was Rin-chan, who looked cute and fashionable in a navy blue dress, but changed into a jersey as soon as she arrived home.
It was daytime on a weekday. The flowers were starting to be in full bloom. In front of Kazuma-san, who was smiling as he watched over us, Juria-chan revealed her horror game with a “tadah” and showed it to us.
“Let’s see, which one do you want to play first?”
“Ugh, t-they’re all scary in the end…”
“You have Biopandemic 9! Let’s play that one, Juria.”
“Sure. Is that okay with you, Tsugumi?”
“Ugh, like I thought, it’s famous for its scariness.”
It’s noisy when three women get together. I know that it is no different even with three children of the same gender. I gently grasped Mimi’s trembling hand and smiled to reassure her. 1
“Tsugumi-chan… will you persuade them with me to—”
”It’s okay. It’s not scary if we play together.”
“—Of course, I knew it’d be like this.”
Mimi-chan hugged a cushion of an unfamiliar character in Rin’s house closely with an expression that indicated she’s given up. Her expression gave me the impression that she must be used to it.
“Where do you put whatever it is in this thing?”
“That’s where we’re starting?”
“Juria, Tsugumi is like a granny.”
“Ugh.”
This time, Mimi-chan comforted me as I curled up into the ‘く’ character. You’re a sweet girl, Mimi-chan…
Then, we go back to the beginning.
Initially, I was surprised by the video quality.
Afterward, the complex controls confused me.
And then, I was grinning at the effects that were more terrifying than I had imagined.
There was no doubt that it was a thrilling time for me, but to my regret, I was really bad at playing games. According to Juria-chan, I don’t have any sense. Gaming sense that is.
Rin-chan brought snacks and juice as we decided to take a break. I had always thought that sweets for children of this age were cheap candies, but there were elegant chocolates and potato chips in the lineup. 2
“Did you get them at the department store?”
“E-Err, you mean at the mall? Nope. They’re sold in convenience stores, you know?”
“It’s easy to forget, but Tsugumi is a rich young miss after all.”
“Nah, Rin, you can’t just forget being escorted in a car like that normally.”
They’re sold in convenience stores.. Well, I’ve never been to a convenience store since I was reborn, even when I was with my parents.
As a matter of fact, I didn’t really go much in my previous life either. After all, it was cheaper by being on good terms with the greengrocer or butcher and having them sell me the scraps. My last resort was to drink brewed chamomile tea, but in the end, I could survive with just water. I used the photocopier at the library, and copied recordings at Tae-chan, my fellow actresses’ place. Phew, I do miss those times.
“Tsugumi doesn’t look like the type that went to preschool.”
“Yup, Juria-chan’s right.”
Digging through my memory, I find that Mikado-san (Koharu-san’s mother) took care of that part. Long story short, Mikado-san was my wet nurse. It was safer than going to nursery school. Well, the tutor that I had gotten in advance concluded in as you know.
“Did the three of you meet at nursery school?”
“Nope. Way before that.”
“M-My mom and Juria’s mother are friends.”
“My mom is friends with Mimi’s mom too.”
Then, Mimi-chan’s mother became a bridge between all of them. Mimi-chan’s mother must be a kind person just like Mimi-chan.
“M-My mom’s often said to be sexy, but she’s cozy and nice at home.” 3
“So that’s why Mimi-chan’s also kind.”
When I said this, she shook her hands and head in a fluster without a second’s delay in between.
“But, didn’t you console me earlier?”
“T-That was, umm…”
Rin-chan patted Mimi-chan, whose face turned bright red, on the back. Juria-chan smiled at Mimi-chan’s blushing. After smiling for a while, Juria-chan looked a little sad and looked down.
“My mom has been busy since way back. Mimi’s aunty used to take care of us since she was always out.”
She’s an actress after all. She sure is busy. However, whenever one asks about a busy actress, it’s in my actress nature to want to know their representative works. I think her name was Asashiro Sasatsuki-san. I’ll bring this homework to the library later.
Hm, wait, I can look it up on my cell phone, huh? This isn’t good, looking it up on my cell phone didn’t come up as my first choice…
“Does everyone know their parent’s debut work?”
When I timidly asked everyone, Rin-chan raised her hand first.
“Yup!”
“Go ahead, Rin-chan.”
“My mom doesn’t have a debut work!”
I held back my wry smile as I was almost thrown off by her excessive energy. Come to think of it, Maho-san is an announcer, isn’t she? When I asked Rin-chan if it was so, she nodded while responding, “That’s right.”
“My dad’s debut work should have been “Detective Hinata Yuma’s Case File”.”
“W-Wasn’t Kazuma-san so cool!? An adult’s charm! Forbidden love!”
Rin-chan answered energetically, but Mimi-chan followed suit with even more passion. Forbidden love (koi), forbidden love (koi), huh? That’s deep (koi). 4
“M-My mom’s debut work is called “Tsubaki ~Love Rendezvous~”.”
“I know. My dad told me. He told me, “Rin, soap dramas are too early for you.””
Ah, Love Rendezvous? It seems like the essence of daytime dramas hasn’t changed since my previous life. Mimi-chan, who was speaking with sparkling eyes, must really love her mother’s acting. I could even feel her passion.
“What about Juria-chan?”
“Me? My parents… uhh, No. I can’t… tell you.”
“…Eh?”
Juria-chan had been happily participating in the conversation earlier, but then, as if to cover up her distress, she lowered her eyebrows and laughed bitterly.
“Mom is… an amazing actress… but to be honest, she doesn’t want anyone to think that even though she’s amazing.”
Juria-chan’s words sounded somewhat sad. I didn’t know what to say to her when she was like that, but for the time being, I tried asking a harmless question.
“…Was her debut work a role she didn’t like?”
“Yeah. I really like it though.”
Juria-chan hugged her knees and the words that came spilling out. Her eyes were dispirited and sinking down, as if avoiding the fluorescent lights. Even now, she seems like she’d break anytime.
“…If it’s something Juria-chan likes, then I also want to come to like it as well.”
“Tsugumi?”
“After all, we are friends, aren’t we? I want to know what my friends like. Right?”
She had small, squishy hands. They were just like mine—a child’s hands. I don’t really like the idea of her hands being hung down like this so weakly. I wondered if I was just trying to act cool. In that manner, I smiled at Juria-chan to the best of my ability, and eventually, I picked up on Rin-chan’s and Mimi-chan’s voices.
“Tsugumi, you’re an amazing person, just like what I thought.”
“Y-Yeah, she’s right. You’re really, really cool.”
The two’s voices were off putting, but right now, Juria-chan comes first. Juria-chan showed numerous signs of hesitation, and eventually, she nodded.
When Juria-chan raised her head, the pain on her face from earlier was gone. She wiped the area around her eyes with her thumb, and I could see her usual appearance.
“My mom says there are no decent adults who are nice to women like that, but Tsugumi’s in the safe zone!”
Satsuki-san… What are you teaching your daughter?
“Ah, but don’t tell others about the title! It’s a friend’s oath!”
“Yes, of course!”
“I’ll also keep it a secret.”
“M-Me too!”
Rin-chan and Mimi-chan took action immediately and shouted after my reply.
“So, the title is…”
Just as she was about to tell us, I heard a melody I had heard somewhere before. This is, if I remember correctly, the main theme song of “The Depths of Evil”, a production in which I performed in in my previous life. She really does like horror, huh?
“Sorry, give me a moment—Hello, mom?”
“—”
“Yeah, Rin’s house.”
“—”
“Eh! Really!?”
“—”
“Yeah! I’ll go right now!!”
“—”
I could imagine what kind of exchange they had. Even so, Juria-chan’s whole face began to smile, and she seemed like she wanted to share her joy, so I asked her, “What’s wrong?”
“My mom said that her meeting finished early, so we can have dinner together today!”
“Really!? That’s great, Juria-chan!”
“Yeah. she’s coming to pick me up, so I’ll be going!”
Juria-chan then hurriedly put on her clothes and ran, yelling, “I’ll lend you all the game!” and ran off. It seemed that Satsuki-san had pulled up in front of the house, and from the sound of voices coming from the front door, it seemed that she was thanking Rin-chan’s father when she arrived.
Juria-chan ran out of the living room with a fierce dash, then fell forward heavily as she made a U-turn back. The moment she ran back towards us, she immediately bent down and secretly lowered her voice so that only we could hear her.
“The Dragon’s Tomb.”
“Eh?”
“It’s a secret! Got it!?”
This time, Juria-chan flew out the door.
“She’s so energetic.”
“R-Rin-chan’s not that different.”
“?”
Two voices.
However, it felt like a hallucination, something that I could only hear from a far distance away somewhere.
After all, the title of that work was—
“The Dragon’s Tomb?”
It was a work that I—Kirio Tsugumi—had performed in in my past life.
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁
- Flowingcloud: The first sentence is a pretty common saying in Japanese.
Arocks141: I maintain that I had either no say or no hand in this. - Flowingcloud: Dagashi refers to cheap candies and snack foods. The Japanese equivalent of American penny candy in a nutshell. You used to be able to get them at Dagashiyas, but you can get them at Japanese convenience stores now. You might have heard of the manga/anime Dagashi Kashi. It’s pretty good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagashi - Flowingcloud: Author uses the onomatopoeic term ぽやぽや which relates to how cozy she is at home, but this also expresses how “fat and plump” someone is. Not sure if this was intended or not.
- Flowingcloud: The character for love used here is ‘恋’, which is read as ‘koi’. I don’t think I need to explain this silly pun any further.
Arocks141: This pun was neither that deep nor lovable. I hereby forbid it.
For those unaware, the Biopanic game mentioned in the chapter is a reference to the real world Biohazard game series. Outside of Japan, it is known as Resident Evil. =D
It’s good to know someone actually read the footnotes. Thanks.
I wonder if anyone will find out that she is a reincarnation of the famous actress? Thanks for the chapter