Shizuka
Phew...

Shizuka
(I've been able to go through the scenes I wanted to practice. After this, if I solidify the role through image training...)

Yae
Shizuka-san, here's a towel.

Shizuka
Y-Yae-chan, you brought this for me!?

Shizuka
You didn't have to do that!

Yae
Don't worry about it. I was just about to take a break myself.

Yae
Besides, it's just the two of us today. Let's not be too formal with each other, shall we?

Shizuka
Th-thank you...

Shizuka
But...thinking about being alone with Yae-chan makes me a bit nervous...

Yae
Really? But we've been alone together before, haven't we?

Shizuka
The situation is different from before!

Shizuka
Now I'm facing Yae-chan as a fellow actor. We're rehearsing together, and I can even stand on the same stage...

Shizuka
It feels like a dream...! When I think about it, I can't help but feel excited!

Shizuka
Sigh...I'm looking forward to the Peter Pan performance! I can finally act with Yae-chan on stage as "Shizuka"!

Yae
Fufufu.

Shizuka
Ah...s-sorry! I got carried away on my own...

Yae
No, it's not that...I just thought that you feel the same way I do.

Shizuka
Huh...?

Yae
I'm excited and looking forward to it too. Standing on stage together with you, Shizuka-san.

Yae
In "The Demon's Friend," I wasn't blessed with that opportunity.

Shizuka
That's...

Yae
It's not something you need to worry about. I failed the audition because my thinking was still immature.

Shizuka
...You admit it right away. That it was your fault.

Yae
Yes. There's no other reason.

Shizuka
(Yae-chan is really amazing. Can I acknowledge my own immaturity like this...?)

Shizuka
(No, I have to be like her. If I'm aiming to be a Dai Star like Yae-chan...!)

Yae
Shizuka-san, may I ask you something?

Shizuka
W-what is it?

Yae
How did it feel to stand on stage as an actor?

Shizuka
...!

Yae
I wanted to properly hear how you felt about it.

Shizuka
...That's obvious.

Shizuka
It was really...really fun!

Yae
...If that's how you felt, then your performance makes sense.

Yae
It's late to say it, but your performance in "The Demon's Friend" was amazing. I was captivated, both visually and emotionally.

Shizuka
T-that's an exaggeration, isn't it...

Yae
Not at all. By watching from outside the stage, I could clearly feel it. The brilliance of your acting.

Yae
Seeing your acting as yourself, not as Kokona-san's example...I thought, I want to stand on stage with you soon.

Shizuka
Auu...to think Yae-chan would say such things...

Yae
Fufu. Shizuka-san, your face is bright red.

Shizuka
Being praised for my own abilities is still embarrassing...

Yae
Please have confidence. I would want to watch your Asmodeus again and again.

Yae
So...

Yae
Mr. Demon? Hey, Mr. Demon?

Yae
...He's not here. Of course. I guess what I saw yesterday was just a hallucination...

Shizuka
(This is a line from "The Demon's Friend"...?)

Yae
Would you indulge me for a bit?

Shizuka
Eh...?