The Pressure from One’s Peers

“Listen to me. In this world, no one can help you except yourself.”

“If even you decide to give up on yourself, then you really will never have the chance to return to reality again.”

“So… do not let go of my hand, understand?”

Inside the recording booth, Kazakami Ritsu looked at the line art displayed on the demo screen and read her lines in a sincere tone.

On the screen, a girl composed of rough lines lay on the edge of a platform, clutching the hand of another girl with the same art style who was hanging off the platform.

Teraoin Hane, standing to the side brewing emotions, had a very serious expression on her face. After Kazakami Ritsu’s lines ended, she spoke in a low, depressed tone.

“Clearly I didn’t do anything wrong… Why are you all forcing me to do things I don’t want to do!”

Teraoin Hane’s originally gentle voice became somewhat sharp in the second half due to the loss of emotional control.

But this was exactly the effect Sound Director Arashima wanted to achieve. The two previous failures were precisely because he felt the emotions displayed by the two did not meet his expectations.

Sound Director Arashima looked expectantly at the two across the soundproof glass. This scene could be considered a minor climax of the entire movie.

As long as they could pass this time maintaining this state… then the two takes reserved previously wouldn’t be needed.

When it was Kazakami Ritsu’s turn to speak her lines, her eyes sharpened, and the aura around her began to rise continuously.

“Stop making trouble unreasonably! What can you change by just escaping reality? Pull yourself together for me!”

Accompanying the continuous rise in tone, the girl in the demo footage used all her strength and finally succeeded in pulling up the self who had lost the will to survive.

In the demo footage, both lay on their backs on the platform, breathing greedily in large gulps like survivors of a disaster.

At this moment, Sound Director Arashima’s heart also rose to his throat.

The difficult parts in the whole previous section were all very good. You two better not collapse at the final wrap-up point.

After a brief pause, Teraoin Hane’s voice, laced with sobbing, rang out in the headphones.

“Why save me… Wouldn’t it be fine for someone good-for-nothing like me to disappear here?”

“No one has any expectations of me… No one cares about my feelings. I have nothing left!”

The girl in the demo footage covered her face with her wrist. After finishing the full sentence, there was a low, distant weeping sound.

Just as Sound Director Arashima let out a long breath in his heart, thinking this take was secure, a light sigh suddenly rang out in the headphones.

His eyes widened, looking at Kazakami Ritsu across the soundproof glass who had emitted this sigh.

This sigh was not in the script, which meant it was the voice actor’s improvisation.

But placed in such a scene, this light sigh was simply like a stroke of genius.

Kazakami Ritsu had closed her eyes at some point, not even looking at the script or the time code on the demo screen.

“You are not good-for-nothing. You said before that you envied me, right?”

“The me right now, who is omnipotent in your eyes, was created by you. So, you are not left with nothing now either.”

“With an ideal self as cool as me, as long as you want to make a change, you will absolutely be able to succeed. I believe in you, idiot…”

After Kazakami Ritsu finished the final line of this scene, Sound Director Arashima, flushed with excitement, forcefully pressed the pause button and issued instructions simultaneously.

“Good! Perfect performance! The third time finally found the desired feeling. Kazakami, that sigh of yours was simply divine!”

Sound Director Arashima praised the two sincerely. The current dubbing progress was quite gratifying.

With just two or three more recording sessions, the dubbing work for this movie would be about officially finished.

When that time comes… it will also be the time to officially test the results of everyone’s efforts.

Inside the recording booth, Kazakami Ritsu finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the instruction to keep the recording.

Although Sound Director Arashima looked gentle, his requirements for such important plots were exceptionally high.

Teraoin Hane reached out to wipe the sweat seeping from her forehead, her eyes slightly red due to the emotional immersion just now.

‘Finally… finally passed?’

As the first highlight moment for Akira and Shu in the plot, this scene indeed made her feel unparalleled pressure.

However, what made her feel more pressured was actually Kazakami Ritsu, whose condition was getting better each time.

Her partner seemed to have understood what to do starting from the second recording.

Moreover, her own wonderful performance just now was actually partly due to being led by her partner to invest emotions.

Teraoin Hane turned her head carefully, glancing at Kazakami Ritsu beside her who was drinking bottled mineral water.

The girl beside her as a partner… her exquisite face seemed to be shining under the illumination of the overhead lights.

After replenishing her hydration, Kazakami Ritsu noticed the gaze projected by her partner.

Kazakami Ritsu tilted her head slightly, smiling as she cast an inquiring gaze at her partner.

‘What’s wrong? Looking at me like this.’

Although it was a silent inquiry, it made Teraoin Hane lower her head with a swish. Not only that, even her ears began to turn slightly red.

“G-good work, Kazakami-san.”

Listening to the low murmur ringing in her ears, the content of which was completely inaudible, Kazakami Ritsu picked up another bottle of mineral water.

She handed over the mineral water in her hand, just like the day she first met Teraoin Hane.

“Replenish some water. In our line of work, we have to take good care of our throats.”

Teraoin Hane lowered her head and took the water. The two walked out of the recording booth one after another.

Sano Nana, who had been waiting outside the recording booth for a long time, immediately came up to them, her gaze sweeping over the bangs of the two, slightly dampened by sweat.

“Good work, you two… Really amazing. That performance just now should be the top among rookies…”

Sano Nana said this, looking at Teraoin Hane, who also served as a female lead in the work along with her roommate.

She originally thought Kazakami Ritsu was already the most amazing among this batch of rookie voice actors, but she didn’t expect…

‘Why are there so many monsters in this batch! Like this, how can I catch up to Kazakami!’

Thinking of that almost flawless performance by Kazakami Ritsu and Teraoin Hane just now…

Sano Nana felt as if she were enveloped by invisible pressure.

Kazakami Ritsu noticed the disappointment flashing through Sano Nana’s eyes and tugged at the corner of her mouth somewhat helplessly.

“Okay, to celebrate our excellent performance today, let’s go eat together.”

She said this in a monotone voice, walking toward the waiting room on her own.

Teraoin Hane stunned for a moment before hurriedly following, and seeing their actions, Sano Nana also hurriedly chased after them.

“Wait for me! Didn’t you say we’d go eat together!”