Recording in Progress

Under Sound Director Haneda’s instructions, the few people appearing in the first act entered the recording booth together.

Kazakami Ritsu took one last look at the script in her hand, confirming the lines against the corresponding time codes once more.

As the screen displaying the demo footage lit up, the stick figure representing the male lead appeared first in the frame.

Shikano Kaede held his script and spoke with the gentle voice consistent with typical Japanese male leads.

“My name is Koukain Ryumei, a second-year student at Aoki High School…”

The monologue where the male lead explains his identity slowly passed. Soon, the scene shifted to his basement, where his attention was drawn to a broken blade that had snapped off at the final third.

“What is this… why is something like this in the junk pile?”

The stick figure in the demo footage reached out and, from the pile of sundries drawn with simple lines, picked up the broken blade represented by merely one or two lines.

When a hum sound effect played, Kazakami Ritsu, who had long been prepared, spoke, hitting the time code perfectly.

“Was it you who found me…? Judging by your soul, you seem to be a gentle person.”

As the slightly ethereal voice rang out in the recording booth, Shikano Kaede glanced at Kazakami Ritsu in surprise.

“The sword, the sword spoke?! Are you a ghost residing inside it?”

Accompanying Shikano Kaede’s slightly astonished voice, the stick figure in the footage fell backward in time with the sound effects.

And in front of the stick figure representing the male lead, a short stick figure of a different color appeared.

Looking at the abstract visuals displayed on the screen, Kazakami Ritsu suppressed her thoughts that were slightly breaking her immersion and continued reading her lines along with the time code.

“I never imagined that I, the victor, would ultimately meet such an end…”

As the words laced with regret fell, Kazakami Ritsu immediately followed up with the next line.

“Hmm… You ask who I am? That guy called me Meihime, so you may address me as such too. It is just that… my time is running out.”

With the progression of the time code, black dots representing light particles appeared above the light blue stick figure.

To the side, Umemiya Hiro watched their performance with a face full of appreciation. Judging by their current performance, there was even a possibility of getting this recording done in one take.

“Wait! What exactly is going on?”

Shikano Kaede paused here, waiting for the information alert representing the BGM cut-in to appear.

When a musical note appeared on the screen, Shikano Kaede had already brewed his emotions.

“What do you mean by that? Why are you here? I haven’t…”

“Nameless youth, you are the chosen one, shouldering the destiny of continuing the battle.”

The cold, ethereal voice interrupted the boy’s question, and immediately following that, the voice underwent some changes.

“However, you are currently far too weak. Therefore, I have decided to entrust ‘Destiny’ to you. I believe that with ‘Destiny’ in hand, you will be able to achieve final victory, just as he and I once did…”

After finishing the last line of the second half using the “Destiny” vocal range, Kazakami Ritsu lowered her script and looked toward the female lead, who had been waiting by the side for a long time.

Umemiya Hiro picked up right after this line.

“I sense an evil aura. Youth, fight with me for the sake of victory!”

When Umemiya Hiro finished this line, the visual representing the Opening Theme cut-in appeared on the screen.

Sound Director Haneda pressed pause, holding his headset and praising everyone’s performance with great satisfaction.

“Okay, Act 1 is over. You all performed very well.”

After receiving permission to pause, the people standing in front of the microphones sighed in relief one after another.

“It’s hard to imagine—Miss Kazakami, are you really a rookie? Your performance is simply…”

Shikano Kaede turned his head immediately, seemingly trying to find an adjective to praise Kazakami Ritsu.

However, Umemiya Hiro beat him to it, smiling as she finished the second half of his sentence.

“Simply too skilled and seasoned. You give me the feeling of a senior who has been in the industry for several years.”

Listening to the praise from the male and female leads, Kazakami Ritsu waved her hand somewhat awkwardly.

“You two flatter me. I was able to perform like this because I received guidance from you, Shikano-senpai.”

Kazakami Ritsu said this, guiding the topic onto the male lead.

“If not for Shikano-senpai’s wonderful performance, I probably wouldn’t have found the emotions so easily.”

After a brief rest pause, Sound Director Haneda’s voice rang in everyone’s ears.

“Prepare for the recording of Act 2. Kazakami can exit now; switch Evil Spirit 1 in.”

Receiving the instruction, Kazakami Ritsu exchanged places with the voice actor for the evil spirit with a relaxed face.

After she left the recording area, the recording for the second act’s footage continued.

Just as she walked out of the recording area, Kazakami Ritsu saw Koconoe Tooru, who had been waiting outside for a long time.

The manager’s face was full of joy, her expression looking as if she had won a grand prize.

Upon seeing her voice actor, Koconoe Tooru leaned forward and began to praise her performance without holding back.

“Ritsu-chan! You performed well, you performed so well!”

“Uh-huh, okay, okay. Why are you here, Big Sister Koconoe?”

Kazakami Ritsu crossed her arms, looking with half-lidded eyes at her manager who had said she would come to the recording studio together this morning but ended up standing her up halfway.

Unexpectedly, Koconoe Tooru didn’t seem guilty at all; instead, she revealed an expression begging for praise.

“Heh heh heh, I have a reason for standing you up this morning. Do you want to guess what I was actually…”

Before Koconoe Tooru could finish speaking, Kazakami Ritsu started walking toward the waiting room with a face full of indifference.

‘Hiss, this child is truly unlikable!’

Seeing that Kazakami Ritsu had no intention of asking, Koconoe Tooru quickly chased after her steps and began to confess voluntarily.

“Under the President’s maneuvering, we got you an audition for a heavyweight role!”

Hearing this news, Kazakami Ritsu’s footsteps paused.

‘Hmm? New work? If you’re talking about that, then as someone aspiring to be the industry’s model worker, I’m interested.’

“So, my beloved Big Sister Koconoe, what exactly is this heavyweight role audition you speak of?”

“Shh, keep your voice down. It’s like this…”

Koconoe Tooru lowered her voice and briefly recounted the events.

The general situation was that after shooting the official profile photos and uploading the sample recordings, President Rimukudo had activated her connections as the president of an industry agency.

Kazakami Ritsu’s excellent performance in the sample recording attracted the attention of a Sound Director for a small-budget animated film.

Consequently, that Sound Director came directly to them and nominated her to participate in the audition for one of the two female leads.

As for why there were two female leads, it was because the story told by that animated film was a light Yuri style work.

But regardless of the genre, Kazakami Ritsu could clearly distinguish the difference between a lead role and a bit part.

“Where is the script? When does the audition start?”