Ramona: Phew...I suppose I'll call it a day. The scene where I sentence my wife, should I let sorrow seep through the sternness...

Ramona: Hm?

Koyomi: Thank you for today. Being able to speak with all of you seniors was a humbling experience.

Koyomi: Well then.

Koyomi: ...

Koyomi: Oh?

Ramona: You look tired. Were you just in a meeting with the upper management?

Koyomi: No, I was speaking with the OG members. Since it's a performance within the Horoscope Season, they told me to stay focused.

Ramona: I see...good work.

Koyomi: That's my role. You're the one who deserves praise for your hard work, Ramona-san.

Koyomi: Self practice? It's unusual for you to be alone.

Ramona: A-Ah...well, yes.

Koyomi: ...Ramona-san, shall we go to the common area? Even if we're resting, the hallway might get in someone's way. For both of us.

Ramona: Yeah, understood.

Koyomi: Here, some coffee.

Ramona: Thank you, Koyomi.

Koyomi: ...

Ramona: ...

Ramona: (T-This is awkward...)

Ramona: (Even if I wanted to start a conversation...it's almost unheard of to have Koyomi keep me company for a break like this.)

Ramona: (...How much does Koyomi know? About my future, about the kind of Gingaza-like actor I'm being asked to be.)

Koyomi: ...Have you been resting properly lately? If you stay tense all the time, the thread of tension might snap at a crucial moment, you know?

Ramona: ...Um, Koyomi...did you hear that from the upper management or the director? How much do you...know about my current situation?

Koyomi: ...Well, I've heard most of it.

Koyomi: That your job is on the line for the next performance. That you're being asked to show yourself as a suitable actor for Gingaza.

Ramona: I see...

Koyomi: Well, even without hearing about it, I would have noticed something was wrong. Lately you've been...somewhat frantic.

Ramona: Frantic...yes, I'm frantic...

Ramona: ...Ha ha, Hikari, Lilja, and Xue noticed too. Am I really such an easy to read person?

Koyomi: At least more than I am. Since you're usually bright and open, you're easy to read.

Koyomi: I'll...listen to what you have to say, at least.

Ramona: Koyomi...?

Koyomi: I'm not the leader, but I'm one of the performers in this production. If the king is wavering, we can't hope for the performance to succeed.

Ramona: Koyomi...

Ramona: ...

Ramona: I...I don't know what I should do anymore.

Ramona: Lilja told me...that fighting is my beauty within this troupe.

Ramona: Xue scolded me...that if I've gotten them to acknowledge me through acting up until now, I should say I'll do the same this time too, otherwise there's no point in standing on stage together.

Ramona: Hikari smiled at me. She said there are more people who have been helped by my being here than I think.

Ramona: Everyone values who I've been up until now. ...They said they liked me.

Ramona: When I think about that, I should take a step forward with what I want to do this time too. Coordinate with everyone and improve the quality of the performance.

Ramona: What I've been doing...what I can be useful for. I understand that too...

Ramona: Even though I understand...! When I think I might not be able to stay here anymore, I'm scared to take that step...!

Ramona: Pathetic...! After saying it was all for everyone, here I am! Am I going to turn away from everyone and my own beliefs out of self-preservation...!?

Koyomi: Ramona-san......you've been crying a lot lately.

Ramona: ...Sorry, Koyomi...sorry...

Koyomi: It's fine, I have experience lending a shoulder before. Really, you're such a handful...

Ramona: Sorry...

Koyomi: ...I want you to stay at Gingaza without quitting.

Koyomi: That's because you've contributed to the troupe in your own way up until now. ...But that's not the only reason.

Iroha: I asked mum and the others myself. Dad and grandma both said "that would be good".

Koyomi: Why is that? You said it yourself, didn't you?

Koyomi: That someday you wanted to stand on Gingaza's stage together, that the two of you wanted to bask in lots of applause together.

Shiori: Sorry I couldn't keep our promise to perform together someday.

Koyomi: I had two people who said they wanted to stand on stage with me too. But those people disappeared from in front me...

Koyomi: You're about the only one. The only one who said you'd stand beside me, that you'd surpass me, and is still in this troupe.

Ramona: Koyomi...

Ramona: (So that's how it was...Koyomi said it before. That she didn't want to disappoint those who had left.)

Ramona: (Even now she's shouldering that burden, there's no way she wouldn't worry about those who leave. Then, shouldn't I just stay as I am and do nothing...?)

Ramona: (If it would just disturb Koyomi's heart needlessly...wouldn't that be the real contribution I could make to Gingaza...?)

Koyomi: However, with you as you are now, having lost the axis you should believe in...there would be no meaning in having you stand beside me.

Ramona: ...!

Koyomi: That meddling nature of yours, that attitude of coordination that's unlike a Gingaza actor.

Koyomi: The new wind that blew in when you joined brought such things, and it's undeniable that it pushed Gingaza to even greater heights.

Koyomi: What you've done wasn't meaningless. ...Please don't forget that, at least.

Ramona: Koyomi...

Koyomi: You're going to surpass me, aren't you? You'll never surpass me by just following behind.

Ramona: Right...that's right. That's how it was.

Ramona: I swore I'd stand alongside you and surpass you in my own way. And yet, if I'm cowering, there's no way I could stand alongside you.

Ramona: Even though I decided it myself, I was about to forget. ...Thank you, Koyomi.

Koyomi: Yes, please be careful.

Koyomi: (Ramona-san, you should just charge forward as you are. Because that's who you are as the actor Ramona Wolf.)

Koyomi: (If anything happens, I'll be your shield. I'll brush away any sparks that fall on everyone-that's what I decided.)

Edit

Pub: 04 Feb 2026 21:20 UTC

Edit: 06 Feb 2026 19:25 UTC

Views: 10