Part 3: Until Our Ways Part
Panda: Woah! Just as youʼd expect of New Yearʼs Day! Itʼs so lively here!
Chisa: Cotton candy, chocolate-covered banana, castella cake*, yakisoba**, fried chicken… I wonder if there are somen churros too.
Kokona: Right! Sasuga-chan, I remember you bought somen churros the other day too. Oh, maybe there are some exclusive New Year flavors?
Chisa: Exclusive flavors… It should be datemaki*** then. Alright. Kokona, let’s go check it out.
Kokona: Yeah!
Kokona: Ah! Sasuga-chan, don’t pull me so hard.
Panda: Hey, where are you going, Sassu?! Wait up! Sorry, Oshizu-chan, Kathrin! Iʼll catch you later!
Shizuka: Wait! Sasuga! Kokona!
Shizuka: And there they go… I hope Sasuga and Panda wonʼt do anything weird.
Shizuka: Anyway, itʼs really crowded here. Kathrina, how are your feet?
Kathrina: Fine… However, I didnʼt think it would be so difficult to move in a kimono.
Shizuka: Oh? You seemed to have no issues with that in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
Kathrina: Itʼs not like it was easy for me. I just practiced a lot, because I didnʼt want to lose.
Kathrina: Besides, walking on the floor is completely different to walking on the ground. I didn’t expect you all would make me wear a kimono all of a sudden.
Shizuka: But it looks good on you, don’t you think? Who could have thought Sasuga was so experienced at dressing up others too, though.
Kathrina: Haha, true. I was surprised when she brought so many towels****.
Kathrina: Feels like we performed The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter forever ago. Though in fact it hasnʼt even been a year.
Shizuka: Indeed, past year was rather eventful.
Kathrina: First, you appeared out of thin air, then disappeared without saying a word, and then returned just as suddenly.
Shizuka: Ugh… If you want to bring that up, one could say, a lot happened during the production of The Little Mermaid too.
Kathrina: Hey, shut it. It doesnʼt matter, since Iʼve put on a great performance.
Shizuka: With our support, that is, right?
Kathrina: Yeah-yeah. Iʼm eternally indebted to you. Honestly, though, I had no idea life would take such turns.
Shizuka: Anyhow, I think this year will bring along plenty of twists, too. Kokona will probably become a World Dai Star…
Kathrina: Oh, thatʼs rich, given she hasnʼt even become a Dai Star yet. In that case, Iʼll become a World Dai Star too.
Shizuka: Kokona will be first!
Kathrina: No, I will!
Kathrina and Shizuka: …
Kathrina and Shizuka: Pfft, hahaha!
Panda: Ohoho?~ Look at you two getting all friendly while we were away.
Chisa: There were no somen churros…
Kokona: But instead we bought cotton candy everyone can enjoy! Here you go!
Shizuka: Thanks, Kokona! Kathrina, try it too.
Kathrina: Huh? Thanks.
Kathrina: Oh, itʼs great.
Panda: Impossible!~ Oshizu-chan and Kathrin have become so close, they even share sweets with each other.
Shizuka: What are you saying?
Panda: Donʼt get worked up! Itʼs just that isnʼt that nice? When we’ve just met I couldnʼt have imagined something like that.
Kathrina: Hey, what’s the big deal… Itʼs just a cotton candy. Thereʼs only one, so why not eat it together.
Kokona: Right-right! Iʼm also happy to see you two getting along.
Shizuka: Kokona, now you too!..
Kathrina: Well, enough about that! Letʼs go to the shrine!
Chisa: Someone’s getting embarrassed~
Kathrina: Bow twice, clap twice… Bow once more after making a wish…
Shizuka: I noticed that back at Siriusʼs welcoming party, but you seem to be really serious about such things, Kathrina.
Kathrina: Well, isn’t that a standard practice? When you’re trying to do something you’re unfamiliar with youʼd rather not mess it up.
Kokona: Umm, I think it’s okay not to be so uptight? Now itʼs Panda-chan and Sasuga-chanʼs turn.
Shizuka: I wonder what those two are going to wish for?
Chisa: This year Iʼd like to learn how to boil the most delicious somen in the world…
Kathrina: So her wish isnʼt about acting…
Kokona: Ahaha! Thatʼs just like Sasuga-chan. Now, Panda-chan…
Panda: …
Panda: …
Shizuka: She sure takes her time, isn’t she?
Kokona: What’s she wishing for, I wonder?
Panda: Alright! Sorry to keep you waiting. Next, please.
Kathrina: Umm, bow two times, clap two times…
Kathrina: Now, the wish…
Kathrina: (It’s already decided. Iʼll become a World Dai Star. I’m not going to rely on divine power for help, I’ll make it happen no matter what.)
Kathrina: (Thatʼs what any actor would absolutely wish for. Well, Sasugaʼs the exception, but Panda probably wished for that as well.)
Kathrina: (I suppose, Kokona and Shizuka, who stand holding their hands behind me, are thinking about that, too?)
Kathrina: (Weʼre rivals. We’ll never be simply good friends.)
Kathrina: (Yeah, thatʼs how it is. But, for now…)
TL note
* Castella cake is a sponge cake brought to Japan by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century. The recepie was then slightly adjusted by including some local ingredients to suit the taste of the Japanese.
** Yakisoba is a traditional Japanese noodle stir-fried dish.
*** Datemaki is a sweet rolled omelette mixed with fish paste or mashed shrimp, one of traditional Japanese New Year dishes.
**** Apparently, when wearing a kimono, the ideal shape is considered to be a cylinder shape, so towels are used to eliminate the curves around the waist and sometimes in the small of the back.