Chapter 4

“Ugh, come on! Why won’t you get it?!”

“They’re building a dam! This shrine’s gonna be torn down any day now! If you stay here, you’ll disappear too!”

“Even so, I care not!”

“It is my duty to guard this land! If I can no longer protect it, then I shall perish alongside it!”

“You… You are so stubborn!”

“I don’t care anymore! Just perish if that’s what you want!”

“…I shouldn’t have said that before, I just…”

“I still want to be your friend!”

“I’ve gotta hurry!”

“I can't let them tear down that shrine!”

(....Nice, everyone’s in the zone.)

(They’re way more fired up than during rehearsal.)

(Now all that’s left is for me to step in front of the workers and stop them…!)

“Insolent fools! I shall not move an inch!”

“My strength may be gone, but I shall bury you all under the earth if I must!”

(Now…!)

“—Wait!!”

(…Huh?)

.........

Ah…..

............

......ah.

“Who’re you, kid? We’re about to start construction, it ain’t safe here!”

Do you need something here?

Um, I—uh…..!

("This isn’t right!"....no, that’s the next scene! "Please forgive me!"......no, that’s not it either…...!)

(Everyone’s trying to cover for me…)

(…But my words just won’t come out!)

Hey hey, what’s wrong with that girl?

Shh… she probably forgot her lines…

Poor thing…..

........

(…Huh? Where… am I?)

"—It's all pointless."

(I'm..... on stage....?)

(Why am I spacing out now, of all times!?)

(Say your line, hurry…!)

(Huh…?)

(Why can't I remember anything...… even after all that practice…...!)

(It’s fine..… just breathe! I’m not that same girl anymore..…)

(I’ll remember… I know I can——)

(I know I can—!!)

Hey hey, what’s wrong with that girl?

Shh… she probably forgot her lines…

Poor thing…..

(…Why?)

(Why do I always end up like this…?)

(Why does it always turn out this way...…?)

——*Gasps*!!

Hah… hah… hah… hah…...

…Was that… a dream…?

…ah…...

Th-thank… goodness…

Ugh… I need tissues…...

(…It’s been a while since I felt that…)

(That numb and cold feeling…... when everything else fades out, and all you hear is your own heart pounding…..)

(…I swore I’d never fail like that again…)

(…I don’t want to let everyone down again… I can’t…)

(This time, I’ll get it right.)

(For everyone’s sake...… I will succeed.....!)

Okay, let’s go through the second half today.

Got it!

........Huh?

Nene-chan feels kinda..... buzzy! today. Is she nervous?

Really? She doesn’t look that different from yesterday… Maybe she’s just extra fired up today.

You think so…?

“Bless… can we not go to that island?”

“Hm? Why not? And you were looking forward to it too.”

“Because the people are still suffering, even as we speak!”

“We can’t just waste time playing around.”

“—Listen to me, Bless.”

“What the fairy said earlier is true. You’re..… under a curse.”

“Cursed? Heart, what are you—”

“Try to remember, Bless!”

“The Bless I knew would never say something so cold about his own people!”

—Sorry. Can we pause for a second?

........Yeah, I was just about to say the same.

Huh.....?

Seems like Emu was onto something…

You’re a little different today, Nene. Just a bit… more tense than usual.

Yeah. I thought it was just tension from the upcoming show, but even after several takes, there doesn't seem to be any improvements.

......Nene-chan, did something happen?

Something? No, not really…

Ah…

…Could it be…

You thought of something?

…The truth is—

I see… So meeting an old friend made you dream of something like that.

Yeah…

But... I’m not feeling down like before, or wanting to run away.

If anything, I’m more determined than ever to succeed!

Then why do I feel like this…....

...Maybe your nerves are working against you this time.

Hweh?

I mentioned it before, right? A little nerves can boost your performance.

But if your mental balance tips, that can quickly turns into stiffness.

It’s something both actors and athletes deal with.

Of course, your acting right now isn’t bad. It’s more than acceptable. But…

Right now, I feel like you are not at your peak performance.

No way…

Then we just gotta take that scary kinda nerves and poof!—turn it all soft and fluffy instead!

Ah…

Right. Let’s work out how to fix that together.

In that case... How about we rehearse to the limits until you can stand tall with confidence?

After all, nervousness are born from fear! So we’ll practice until there’s not a trace of it left!

Yeah! Let’s do our best together, Nene-chan!!

Yeah…!!