The Two Great Empires

Chapter 1: Rainy Skies

The Beginning

(From intro video):
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Let’s go.
Yaotome Gaku: Yeah.
Kujou Ten: Good evening. We are TRIGGER. Thank you for coming here tonight.

Takanashi Tsumugi: TRIGGER, singing on the streets in the midst of a heavy downpour…….
Takanashi Tsumugi: No one could’ve imagined this sight just a few months prior.

Nanase Riku: Good evening! We’re IDOLiSH7!
Audience: Kyaaaaa…!
Nanase Riku: We have an announcement for you guys tonight! IDOLiSH7 will be going on a first anniversary tour!
Audience: Kyaaaaa…!
Nanase Riku: So many things have happened in just one year since our debut, but thank you for cheering us on!
Nanase Riku: This time, it’s our turn to cheer you guys on and give you energy!
Nanase Riku: All your worries will be gone if you listen to this song! Let’s all embark towards a brighter tomorrow!
Nanase Riku: Please listen! RESTART POiNTER!
Audience: Kyaaaaa…!
Audience: IDOLiSH7, we love you…!

Announcer: Today we’ll be taking a special look at the male idol groups causing the current, massive idol boom! In particular, we’ll be going into great detail on what makes them so appealing.
Announcer: The legendary male idol Zero’s holy ground, the Zero Arena, has been extensively renewed. There hasn’t been a stop to the momentum behind male idol groups ever since then!
Announcer: The three groups that have especially captured the attention of women across the nation are….

Momo: Good evening! We’re Re:vale!
Yuki: Good evening.
Audience: Kyaaaaa…! Yuki-san…! Momo-chan!
Momo: We’ll be live streaming tonight’s episode of “NEXT Re:vale!” Let’s all make some noise and be happy, okay!
Yuki: As happy as we are– and we’ve passed our fifth anniversary.
Audience: Kyaaaaa…!

Momo・Yuki: For people who like the outdoors, and people who like being indoors! A stylish, new-wave car will be making its entrance soon– the Revale! (1)
OL: Woah! It’s Re:vale’s new commercial! Yuki-san’s so handsome! Momo-chan’s so cool! Re:vale’s the best!
Housewife: My husband’s new car has to be this one!!
High School Girl: Hey, hey! Have you heard IDOLiSH7’s new album yet!?
High School Girl: I have! It was sooo good! I was super frustrated that I couldn’t snag a 1st Year Anniversary Tour ticket though….

Mister Shimooka: This group is a new star in the idol world! Give it up for the uber popular IDOLiSH7!
Nanase Riku: Thank you!
Izumi Iori: Thank you.
Audience: Kyaaaaa…! Riku-kun! Iori-kun!
Audience: MEZZO" ー!
Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: Thank you.

Audience: … Waaaaah …….
Audience: Three, two, one! Onii-san!
Nikaidou Yamato: Ahaha! Okay, okay. Thanks.
Audience: Nagi-kun! Wink for us!
Rokuya Nagi: Of course, my girls!
Audience: Anikiーーーーーー!
Izumi Mitsuki: Aw come on, I’m not your older brother! Let’s go! Louder, louder!
Audience: … Waaaaah …….

College Girl: Yay! TRIGGER’s musical got some more dates added in……! I wanna watch it again!
Yaotome Gaku・Kujou Ten・Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: A fin de siècle musical: “Last Dimension ~Who Pulled the Trigger~” Who will be the last one standing in this city of desire– angels, demons, or humans? (2)
Yaotome Gaku・Kujou Ten・Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Who will it be?
College Girl: I saw LastDim during its first run! At the Zero Arena reopening ceremony!
College Girl: What, that’s so cool! The Zero Arena reopening ceremony is already the stuff of legends! Re:vale, TRIGGER, and IDOLiSH7 were all there, right?!

Reporter: Congratulations on “Last Dimension ~Who Pulled the Trigger~” getting more performance dates, Kujou-san! It’s so big-scale!
Kujou Ten: It’s all thanks to the fans. Thank you very much.

Girl: You’re Tsunashi Ryunosuke from TRIGGER, aren’t you!? I’ve always been cheering you on…!
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Thank you. Please keep cheering us on from here on out too.

Audience: Kyaaaaa! Gaku-san!
Yaotome Gaku: Haha.
Yaotome Gaku: We’re gonna keep on going! Follow us!

College Girl: Did you guys know that Re:vale, TRIGGER, and IDOLiSH7 were already friends with each other!? Even before the reopening ceremony!
College Girl: From back then!? No matter who you follow, you end up curious about other groups too!
College Girl: They’re all super close to each other, it’s really cute! They’re never awkward or tense around each other, even though they’re rivals! I feel relieved when I watch them.
College Girl: I have no clue what Zero’s era was like, but things are definitely more exciting now compared to back then! I mean, everyone’s super cool!
College Girl: Right? Yuki-sama’s so handsome!
College Girl: I hope they’ll stay friends like this forever and ever!
???: …….
???: ‘Stay friends forever,’ huh.
???: What fools. The end will come to that soon.
???: And to you as well…. Kujou Ten.

To be continued….

TL Notes/comments:

ALRIGHT HERE WE GO!!!

(1) whenever Re:vale shows up in story they’re always addressed as Re:vale, but for this specific instance they went with リヴァーレ (?? why suddenly re:vale in katakana???) so it’s either a typo (doubt so) or stylized like that on purprose bc the car is named after them? or smth. Anyways, that’s why “Revale” is stylized like that, because it’s not quite their formal name but still sounds like that? i dk!!!
UM also i am not a car person so google ワゴン to get an idea of what that style of car looks like! I don’t think there’s any word in English that fits with that perfectly, though SUV is sort of close, but not really.

(2) “An end-of-the-century musical” sounded 2 weird so i put in the french thing (thank u jisho) because it sounds Fancy and Cool. also because it refers to a set of themes commonly seen in those works (pessimism, ennui, cynicism, civilizaton –> decadence) and said works are typically abt the end of the 19th century! YEAH

Thank u @kuriiii for proofreading!!

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

 

New Manager

Takanashi Otoharu: IDOLiSH7! Good job preparing for your first anniversary tour! The tickets have been completely sold out!
Nanase Riku: Yay! Thank you very much!
Rokuya Nagi: Congratulations! Everybody loves us, as well as Haruki’s songs!
Izumi Iori: As the center, Nanase-san’s singing has stabilized as well.
Ogami Banri: The shows you guys star on also get really great ratings! I do hope that “A Lovely Night with IDOLiSH7!” will surpass the numbers for TRIGGER’s show sometime this year.
Izumi Mitsuki: At least once would be nice!
Nikaidou Yamato: Mitsu’s an expert at MC-ing now, so it’s definitely possible!
Takanashi Tsumugi: There’s an important announcement I’d like to make before the first anniversary tour. President, if you will.
Izumi Mitsuki: From the President!? It’s that important!?
Takanashi Otoharu: First, allow me to apologize. I am truly sorry if I have inconvenienced any of you by keeping our agency’s numbers so small.
Takanashi Otoharu: Many of the boys here have very particular circumstances, so we have carefully screened everyone. We’ve selected those whom we trust to work with.
Takanashi Otoharu: They’ve all finished their training, so nine new staff members will be a part of the company starting tomorrow.
Takanashi Otoharu: We will have five people for office work and two people on business and sales. There will also be two more people assisting the manager. Once they’re used to the job, we intend on having them accompany you boys on scene as well.
Nanase Riku: You mean we’re getting a new manager? But what about our current one….
Takanashi Tsumugi: I’ll still be everyone’s manager! I’ll just be getting some support, that’s all.
Takanashi Tsumugi: However, for the time being I will most likely be in the office more in order to train the new hires. That being said….
Takanashi Tsumugi: I will field IDOLiSH7’s work, but there will also be a new manager primarily focused on supporting MEZZO".
Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: Huh…?
Izumi Mitsuki: Isn’t that great! Both of you guys are really busy, and wasn’t it rough for Sougo?
Osaka Sougo: Indeed…….
Izumi Iori: Getting Yotsuba-san from school to other places will also be much easier. That’s good.
Yotsuba Tamaki: Yeah…….
Nikaidou Yamato: What, aren’t you two happy?
Osaka Sougo: I am happy, but just when I’ve finally figured out how to maintain an appropriate distance from Tamaki-kun …. (1)
Yotsuba Tamaki: … If it ends up being some weirdo, I feel like everything’s gonna get messed up all over again …….
Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: A new manager, huh…….
Takanashi Otoharu: Oh? You guys don’t want one?
Ogami Banri: Ahaha. It’ll be hard for the new manager to come out if you guys react like that.
Osaka Sougo: Ah– Are they already here?
Yotsuba Tamaki: What are they like?
Ogami Banri: It’s me.
Yotsuba Tamaki・Osaka Sougo: Thank god……!
Izumi Mitsuki: It’s Banri-san!?
Ogami Banri: I will also be following you guys on-scene. Yuki and the others have seen my face now, so there’s no reason for me to hide anymore.
Rokuya Nagi: OH! I feel very at ease with Banri as our manager. He always plays anime songs in the car for me.
Nikaidou Yamato: He’s dropped me off and picked me up a couple times before, and Banri-san’s a really good driver. He also knows a ton of good places to eat!
Takanashi Tsumugi: That’s true! I’ll go research restaurants so I can recommend good places to everyone as well, just like Banri-san!
Yotsuba Tamaki: But you know tons of good cake shops, Manager! I like you more, Manager!
Ogami Banri: Is that so…. Even though I put King Pudding plushes in the company car so Tamaki-kun would be happy…?
Yotsuba Tamaki: Ah– No, no! It’s not that I don’t like Ban-chan!
Izumi Iori: What are these factions….
Nanase Riku: Isn’t it kinda like that! The thing that what happened back when switched centers!
Izumi Iori: That……. Danger has passed, true, but I cannot believe you’re talking about it so gleefully. (2)
Nanase Riku: It’s because we’re even better friends than before! There’s a lot I gotta thank you for, Iori!
Izumi Iori: Tha– That’s……. Well, I guess so…….
Izumi Mitsuki: You didn’t have to get that flustered.
Ogami Banri: We get along too. Right, Tsumugi-san?
Takanashi Tsumugi: O-of course! We’ll do our best to get along!
Takanashi Otoharu: The reason why our agency was able to grow so much is because of you boys. I am truly grateful.
Takanashi Otoharu: Black or White is at the end of the year. Last year, you won against TRIGGER. This year, you’ll be fighting new challengers as the previous winners.
Takanashi Otoharu: Nevertheless, don’t push yourselves too hard. Just be your carefree selves and do your best.
IDOLiSH7: Yes, sir!

Anesagi Kaoru: What an amazing number of people. I expected nothing less from Akebono TV’s 50th anniversary party– everyone here is famous. (3)
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Man, I get really nervous in places like this…….
Kujou Ten: Ryuu, don’t drink tonight.
Yaotome Gaku: Re:vale and IDOLiSH7 were invited as guests too, right? Just where are they?
Anesagi Kaoru: Gaku! A message from the President:
Anesagi Kaoru: “Don’t be swayed by what the masses are saying. Refrain from being overly friendly with idols from other agencies.”
Yaotome Gaku: …What an earful…….
Anesagi Kaoru: This year, the goal is for TRIGGER to overwhelmingly surpass IDOLiSH7 and win against Re:vale at Black or White.
Anesagi Kaoru: You are the only group who can take them down!
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I see…. We’re singing to be Grand Winners this year, huh.
Yaotome Gaku: We gotta get nominated into the Grand Winner division first before we can face off against Re:vale, though.
Kujou Ten: Other than Re:vale, Hanamaki Sumire will also be a formidable enemy. That hit female singer who guested on our show.
Kujou Ten: We’ll give it our best shot, no matter who we’re up against– we’re going to surpass Re:vale, and stand at the top.
Izumi Mitsuki: –I told you, stop flirting already!
Rokuya Nagi: No! How cruel, Mitsuki!
Yaotome Gaku: It’s IDOLiSH7. Ahaha. Noisy as usual, I see. Hey, over here!
Anesagi Kaoru: You. Did you even listen to a word I said!?
Nanase Riku: Ah! Ten-ni–
Kujou Ten: It’s good seeing you again, Nanase-san.
Nanase Riku: Ah…. Kujou-san, it’s nice to see you again too! Have you tried the cake over there? Te– Kujou-san, I thought you’d like it so I brought some over!
Kujou Ten: Oh? Really?
Anesagi Kaoru: Hey! Don’t act like you’re at home!
Osaka Sougo: Everyone look so cool. May I take a picture with you all afterwards?
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: We can take one right now! Three, two, one….
Anesagi Kaoru: Now, now. Stop making peace signs!! [CG]
Momo: Kaoru-chan, what’s wrong? You’re all grumpy even though we’re at an anniversary party!
Yuki: Rejected by an Akebono TV employee, perhaps?
Anesagi Kaoru: …The most excessively friendly pair are here now…….
Momo: Ah! Mitsuki! Ryuunosuke! Yay!
Izumi Mitsuki: Yay!
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Yay!
Momo・Tsunashi Ryuunosuke・Izumi Mitsuki: Yay! Yay yay!
Anesagi Kaoru: Ah, this is no good! No good at all! This is the epitome of being too friendly with each other!! (4)
Nanase Riku: Wow, they get along really well! I wonder what happened?
Izumi Mitsuki: Momo-san added us to his celebrity sports team, and we made a male idol team from there! We call over our friends and play sports together!
Momo: Let’s go to Ryuu-chan’s place and go kayak fishing! Akajin, akajin!
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Akajin, aka– ouch!
Anesagi Kaoru: You are being way too intimate with them! Just as intimate as my high-class foundation is with my skin! What in the world is an akajin!
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Akajin. It’s a fish about this big, and it’s really good. It’s good simmered with vegetables, but I like it served as sashimi.
Anesagi Kaoru: I didn’t ask!
Yuki: Haha…. Sports club, huh. Momo’s always full of energy, from sun up ‘til sun down. It must be troublesome.
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Not at all! When he’s with us, he’s really mature, and also cool and collected. If anything, we’re the ones who are talkative.
Yuki: What…?
Izumi Iori: Nii-san’s very put together, so I’m sure he’s a very dependable person even within the sports club. Correct?
Momo: Not quite! He lets other people spoil him, and feels like a really friendly kouhai! Everyone gives him lots of love!
Izumi Iori: What…?
Yaotome Gaku: Well, Ryuu’s a really chill guy. Don’t push him too hard, 'kay?
Izumi Mitsuki: Not at all! He gets really fired up and greedy when it comes to sports, and he also hates losing a lot! That’s the Beast, alright!
Yaotome Gaku: What…?
Momo・Tsunashi Ryuunosuke・Izumi Mitsuki: Yay! Yay yay!
Yaotome Gaku: Why do I feel so isolated…….
Izumi Iori: I feel a little lonely…….
Yuki: You guys are fine……. I’m the only one left behind, in my case. (5)
Anesagi Kaoru: See, look! Getting too friendly is a bad thing! It’s like a prelude to disbanding!

Okazaki Rinto: Good evening. Congratulations on tonight.
Anesagi Kaoru: Wait a second. You! Where were you!
Okazaki Rinto: Takanashi-san and I just watched since we didn’t want to interrupt such a smooth conversation.
Takanashi Tsumugi: You get along so well with everyone. I’m jealous, Anesagi-san!
Okazaki Rinto: I ought to learn from you as well!
Anesagi Kaoru: ……. Not at all….
Yaotome Gaku: Huh? Where’s Nikaidou?
Nanase Riku: Yamato-san? He was just here a second ago….
Izumi Iori: …It’s because we’re in a place like this. Remember…?
Osaka Sougo: …Ah, right…….
Rokuya Nagi: Hm….. Yamato sure likes to move around in secret.
Izumi Mitsuki: Come on, don’t say that. He’ll come back once he’s done with whatever he’s doing.
Rokuya Nagi: You’re a very good, honest, and virtuous person, Mitsuki. Those who carry secrets with them aren’t of such noble character. They’re the same as the timid and cowardly….
Nikaidou Yamato: Who’s a coward?
Rokuya Nagi: OH…….
Nikaidou Yamato: I’m glad your plane made it on time, Nagi. You just got back from Northmare, right?
Nikaidou Yamato: You’ve been going back to your country quite a lot lately. I wonder what’s happening over there…. Is it like a disturbance, or uproar over something? ……Is that the reason why you’ve been going back?
Rokuya Nagi: ……Secrets are but a part of a gentleman’s manners.
Nikaidou Yamato: OK. Hey, long time no see. What were you guys talking about?
Yuki: They were just discussing how excited they are to watch us act together.
Yaotome Gaku: ……We were?
Kujou Ten: ……Didn’t we?
Nanase Riku: I love your “Mission” series a lot too, Yuki-san!
Nanase Riku: I can’t wait to watch the new movie!
Yuki: Thank you.
Yaotome Gaku: What’s your role this time, Nikaidou?
Nikaidou Yamato: An elite, corpse-collecting doctor.
Yaotome Gaku: Huh. You sure get a lot of villain roles. Maybe it’s because you look the part.
Nikaidou Yamato: I don’t wanna hear that from you. Ah…….
Man in a Suit: Wow, everyone is matching. Congratulations on tonight. Well, do you mind chatting with me for a bit, Nikaidou-kun…….

To be continued….

TL Notes/comments:

(1) 距離感 is a weirdass phrase, kind of hard to express in english. Went pretty direct here (lit. sense of distance). In this case, remember that MEZZO" had a lot of trouble getting on the same page and got to a good truce only recently.

(2) Iori says part of an idiom: 喉元過ぎれば熱さを忘れる (Danger past, God forgotten).

(3) Akebono means dawn/daybreak, and lowkey I feel like this is a TV Asahi spinoff LOL… asahi means morning sun SO….

(4) is2g there was an idiom for people being overly friendly with each other in english but it flew outta my head but

(5) “I’m the (pin) that was left behind.” uH? idk if he means like 'pin’ the noun (ex. hairpin) since that was written in katakana….? apparently it can also mean 'one’ (as in 'one’ on dice, cards. thanks jisho bro:^)) so tl;dr i kind of? ignored it. lmk if there’s any alternative meaning to..,……………… pin……. also LMAO the bg chatter is in english

Thank you as always @kuriiii​ for proofreading and catcHING MY 999 DUMB TYPOS

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

 

The Two Great Empires

Man in a Suit: Wow, everyone is matching. Congratulations on tonight. Well, do you mind chatting with me for a bit, Nikaidou-kun…….
Nikaidou Yamato: Ah, I’ll be with you in a moment. ……Sorry, I’m gonna step out for a bit.
Izumi Mitsuki: Sure thing.
Yaotome Gaku: …I feel like I’ve seen that man before. Isn’t he the director of some organization?
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Yamato-kun sure knows some amazing people….
Yuki: …….
Yuki: All because he wouldn’t just say it……. (2)
Okazaki Rinto: Ah! My apologies, I forgot to tell you that Hoshikage Entertainment’s Hoshino-san was looking for you, Yuki-kun.
Yuki: Understood.
Okazaki Rinto: And someone named Tsukumo wanted to speak with you, Momo-kun. It wasn’t the President, it was the younger son…….
Momo: Ah, so he’s here. Got it, I’ll go talk to him for a bit.
Momo: Sorry, let’s chat later!
Izumi Iori: Hoshikage Entertainment and Tsukumo Productions…. As expected of Re:vale….
Nanase Riku: What’s so amazing about those agencies?
Yaotome Gaku: Hoshikage and Tsukumo are the two leading agencies in the Japanese entertainment world, and have been ever since the era of movies. Tsukumo Productions used to be Tsukumo Motion Pictures. (3)
Yaotome Gaku: You know Chiba Shizuo? He’s part of Hoshikage Entertainment. Mister Shimooka’s from Tsukumo, though.
Nanase Riku: They’re both full of famous people…. You sure know a lot about this, Yaotome-san!
Yaotome Gaku: It’s because that old man drilled it into my head.
Yaotome Gaku: Back in the day, they had so much power that it was impossible to get on TV unless you were part of Hoshikage or Tsukumo. They used to be called the entertainment world’s Two Great Empires, if I recall correctly.
Yaotome Gaku: Their power has waned a lot since then. That’s why we can promote as flashily as we want nowadays.
Izumi Mitsuki: Re:vale sure is amazing…. They’re on good terms with such massive agencies….
Okazaki Rinto: If anything, it’s the opposite. We only cause trouble for those two companies since we’re such a tiny agency.
Izumi Mitsuki: What do you mean?
Okazaki Rinto: Haha…. It’s kind of pathetic, but our agency is so small and there is so little to our name, that even the tiniest of things could blow us out of the waters. (4)
Okazaki Rinto: As such, bigger agencies look at us with contempt because we’re home to top idols. They’ve tried to scout them from us countless times.
Okazaki Rinto: However, even if Hoshikage tries to recruit Yuki-kun and even if Momo-kun is close to the Tsukumo people, they can’t force anything on us.
Okazaki Rinto: The reverse is true as well. We have to maintain a delicate balance with them, but somehow stay at the forefront.
Rokuya Nagi: Excellent! What a prudent strategy. It’s just like engaging in diplomatic negotiations with smaller countries.
Nanase Riku: It sounds really hard……. Your talent and motivation aren’t the only things that can affect your activities, there’s a bunch of other stuff too.
Okazaki Rinto: That’s why agencies exist. We’re also aiming to make it big like you guys, and become a major company that has influence and power.
Okazaki Rinto: The harder we work, the more places our idols can promote!
Anesagi Kaoru: Exactly! Now, all of you. Go out there and talk to some important people. Politely, of course.
Yaotome Gaku: I know, I know. Later guys.
Kujou Ten: If you’ll excuse me.
Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I hope you enjoy the party.
Izumi Mitsuki: We should go get food.
Yotsuba Tamaki: Hell yeah! Is there pudding?
Nanase Riku: Manager, we’re gonna go too. Okay?
Takanashi Tsumugi: Of course! Good luck out there! ………

Okazaki Rinto: Even so, Yaotome Productions manages their stars quite strictly. Maybe it’s because they’re confident in the marketing strategy they’ve laid out….
Takanashi Tsumugi: There’s a lot to be learned from them……. We’re currently in the middle of shoring up our agency in preparation for their first anniversary tour.
Okazaki Rinto: There’s seven members in IDOLiSH7, and each one is starting their solo activities. Isn’t the workload too much for you to handle by yourself, Takanashi-san?
Takanashi Tsumugi: We’ve increased the number of staff members at our office, and Ogami-san is also a manager now. But, I’m sure we ought to hire more people.
Takanashi Tsumugi: I’ll only cause trouble for everyone if I try to shoulder too much– and that’s something I cannot do. That’s what I thought, but….
Takanashi Tsumugi: To be honest, I don’t want to let go of everyone and entrust them to somebody else….
Okazaki Rinto: Ah…. I see.
Takanashi Tsumugi: I understand that I have to divide up the workload. But…. I’ve watched IDOLiSH7 grow to where they are today, and I’ve seen everything since the beginning.
Takanashi Tsumugi: ‘What if they get hurt on site? What if they make them take on a job they don’t want? Is it really okay to leave this to someone new to the team?’ It’s things like that…….
Takanashi Tsumugi: Even though my head understands, my heart isn’t on the same page. I know this is just me being selfish, but…….
Okazaki Rinto: I understand how you feel. We also have one manager for each member, who follows them on site.
Okazaki Rinto: I used to do everything myself. It was quite an ordeal and oftentimes, it made my head spin. And yet….
Okazaki Rinto: I was proud of the fact that I knew those two the best out of everyone.
Okazaki Rinto: Haha…. I know this sounds a little strange, but it was kind of like how a parent or relative would’ve felt.
Okazaki Rinto: That’s why it was hard when I heard about the things Momo-kun and Yuki-kun did with the other managers.
Okazaki Rinto: I had all sorts of gloomy thoughts, like ‘I feel so lonely,’ or 'I would’ve never done that,’ or 'I could’ve handled that better’…….
Takanashi Tsumugi: …It was like that for you too, Okazaki-san?
Okazaki Rinto: I was really, really lonely. The more you love something, the harder it is to let go. I’m sure it’s the same for any agency.
Okazaki Rinto: There are times when managers will step into an idol’s personal life. When they’re feeling down, you cheer them up. When problems arise, you go and apologize in their stead.
Okazaki Rinto: If you’re careless, you may end up thinking about your idol more than they do themselves. Being a manager is a job that cannot be done without love and trust.
Okazaki Rinto: That’s why there are times when things may go awry….
Takanashi Tsumugi: …Awry?
Okazaki Rinto: There are managers and agencies that obsess over their stars and try to control them in every aspect.
Takanashi Tsumugi: …….
Okazaki Rinto: Hoshikage Entertainment and Tsukumo Productions are the prime examples of that– it’s how they ended up being called the Two Great Empires.
Takanashi Tsumugi: …What were their methods?
Okazaki Rinto: Hoshikage Entertainment forges strong bonds with their stars, and operates much like a family business would. But on the other hand, they have a tendency to bind their stars with that love, with obligation.
Okazaki Rinto: Tsukumo Productions is the polar opposite. They do not obsess over their stars at all– instead, they treat them like merchandise. Stars under Tsukumo have seen both heaven and hell.
Okazaki Rinto: The industry has sarcastically nicknamed the two agencies as such:
Okazaki Rinto: Once you’re indebted to them, they’ll never let you go: the Hoshikage Family. They treat their entertainers just like consumer products: Talent Factory Tsukumo. (1)

Tsukumo Ryou: Hello, Momo! Just the man I wanted to see!

To be continued….

TL Notes/comments:

(1) translating the 'nicknames’ was difficult af, but here is an explanation of sorts: 一座 refers to a (family) theatre troupe, kind of how you see family lines in the traditional performing arts. Putting just 'troupe’ or 'company’ are misleading in a way, and I think that 'family’ fits the nature of the agency more. Just know that there’s that additional connotation there! As for Tsukumo, i’ve been translating タレント as either idol, entertainer, or star up to this point depending on who’s being talked about,etc. BUT for this instance, I feel like Talent Factory fits really well. Star Factory sounds like some cute sanrio thing, Entertainer factory sounds weird too so. Yeah. exposition heavy chapters are always tiring to translate

(2) oops out of order but yes, this is supposed to be vague. who knows wtf yuki is referring to???? def not me rn!!! def not okazaki either bc i think his line after is him misconstruing yuki’s LOL

(3) Tsukumo went from being in kanji (月雲, lit. moon cloud) to katakana (ツクモ) lmao. That’s the distinction.

(4) the original metaphoric/idiomatic phrase was smth like, ‘even the faintest of winds would blow it away’. Uhhh i switched elements but same idea!

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!