Translator: Flowingcloud Editor: Arocks141
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Theater 1: Horror Actress Reincarnated as a Genius Child Actress – Scene 6
Audition Venue (Day)
Tsugumi calls out to the absent-minded Mimi.
After finishing the first performance, I called out to Mimi who was beside me.
“Good work. Thanks, Mimi-chan.”
“Tha—ah, hm, y-yeah. I-I’m all right. Good work, Tsugumi-chan.”
My words were the signal for everyone to come out from this atmosphere. Uh-huh, I was probably a misfortunate, good little girl. It would not feel out of place if she died in an unforeseen accident and appeared as a ghost after this… Wait, this is different.
“ Huh? I’m in the classroom… This isn’t it, I’m in the middle of an audition. Huh?”
“…I’m dreaming. I’m going back to sleep.”
“Y-You can’t go to sleep, Rin-chan.”
The time it takes to get out of a role is quite different among actors. Some cannot get out of the role while the camera is on. Some actors live as their character’s personalities during the scene. Some actors, like me, get out at the end of a scene with a signal. Some just get out naturally.
I guess everyone was gradually getting out of their role by now. The rustling sound of footsteps filled the area around me. I waved to my father and mother and they waved back with a smile. Huh? Are you two crying? Huh?
“—I’d like to sleep with this lingering feeling, but there’s one more thing I need to figure out. I’m going to tell you the subject of the next test, so I want you to listen carefully.
Director Hiraga’s words brought everyone together. The director looked at the monitor room then surveyed us.
“We’ll be in the same classroom next time. However, this time I want you to divide it into two.”
“Are we going to do it twice?”
“Haha, no, that’s not what I mean, Tsugumi-chan. It’s simple. Good and evil. I want you to split into good children and bad children and perform as four. I’ll leave it to you all to decide on the direction. However, if there is something you really don’t understand, I want you to ask me.”
“Okay.”
I see. Well, I guess this is acceptable if you wanted to see the extent of our acting. As I thought so and looked at the three, they all had stiff expressions on their faces. I wondered if something happened. They had been so carefree just now.
Ah, could it be that they don’t want to play the bad child role? That’s—no, let’s think about it. I’m starting to enjoy this.
“Then, the four of you can discuss it.”
Once again, we met face-to-face. This time, however, no one said a word. As we were pondering what to do, suddenly, Julia-chan muttered something.
“—child.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to be the bad child!”
That was unexpected. I thought she was the girl who did not mind going out in front of others.
“B-But, Julia-chan, someone has to do it.”
“That’s right. Julia performed the role you wanted to play just now.”
“Then, Rin should do it! I-I, I actually—”
“Mmm. Fine, I’ll do it then.”
Rin-chan said, but there was a bit of hesitation in her expression. Additionally, Mimi-chan extended her hand out, calling out to her nervously, however, there was no power behind her voice and it faded out.
For just a moment, Julia-chan looked like she was regretting it… but in the end, she bit her lips and turned away. I wonder if there were some circumstances. Uh-huh, in that case, Onee-san (my body age was younger though) here should pitch in and help as expected.
“Then, Rin-chan, you wanna be the bad children together?”
“Eh—you sure? Tsugumi.”
Rin-chan was very surprised for a moment, then after, she timidly agreed. Of course, this was going to be the case. I was even thinking of doing this from the beginning. However, since I have the opportunity, let’s make use of this situation.
“Of course! In return, can I decide on the contents of the play?”
“Sure! Mimi and I are the good children, okay? Leave it to us!”
“G-Geez, Julia-chan.”
“You suddenly became full of spirit. Julia sure is a calculating person.”
With my proposal, what seemed to be a tense situation dispersed. Needless to say, it goes without saying that it succeeded since the three of them were good friends in the first place.
I only informed the three of the direction of the play. If you could not elaborately prepare for your part of a play, then you should freely act following the flow of the play after all.
“First, I’m going to bully Mimi-chan.”
“Eh! Ah, s-sure, I’ll do my best to be… bullied?”
“Then, Rin-chan, do you wanna be me, the bully?”
“I am a member of the bad children crew. Leave it to me.”
“Then, it should be fine if I enter the scene and save her!”
Everyone understood my simple explanation without any issues. Even Julia-chan seemed to be more energetic than usual.
Then, here comes the real part.
“Yup. Then, Mimi-chan, no matter what I say, you should express your dislike like saying, “No!” or, “I don’t wanna!” and stuff like that.”
“Y-Yeah? Got it.”
“Rin-chan actually does not actually want to be with me, but instead wants to play with Julia-chan and the rest, however, you don’t want to leave me alone so you stick with me since it can’t be helped.”
“Okay.”
“Julia-chan hates being the bad child, but you like Rin-chan.”
“? Okay! Rin and I have always been good friends.”
All right, now we’ve decided on the foundation. What should I do with Mimi-chan? It’s not like I could hit her, and it would be a problem if she caught a cold after I splashed water on her… I had a talk with her and we decided I would push her. I would push her with both hands, then she would fall onto the ground.
When I suggested this to Mimi, she nodded enthusiastically. She was overenthusiastic, so I better make sure that she doesn’t hurt her bottom.
“—Oh, are you done?”
When I looked towards the director, he tilted his head with a smile. I don’t know if it’s the effect of his passion or something else, but I feel like I’m getting more childish every time I talk to him.
“Yes.”
“Good. All right, everyone, let’s get ready! Let’s do this!”
Evil, evil, evil, huh? I wonder what kind of reason this girl has for becoming evil. A reason out of her control? I guess so. Some kids are probably like that. Parental education? The most likely reason. However, in any event, the cause that “frightens” me the most more than anything would be:
Irrationality.
Near the Audition Venue (Day)
Hiraga calls out to the broadcasting station’s bigwig.
Kuramoto Kouji, a producer who worked his way up Hinomoto Television.
Akasaka Mitsunori, the mainstay script, broadcast, and composition writer who has been continuously supporting Hinomoto Television.
In addition, there’s Minauchi Ran, the niece of ‘that famous actress’ and her cherished child.
While Minauchi is still relatively unknown, the other two were big-shots of the big-shots. The TV station invested quite some money to arrange for these pure-bred, child actresses.
There was an unexpected arrival and she brought out results beyond imagination. The staff was in a fluster and contacted their superiors. Producer Kuramoto and Akasaka-sensei learned of this and responded, “I see, how interesting,” then came to me with footwork that did not reflect their age.
As for me, if I could get these two to watch the audition, it would make it easier for me as the director of this drama in the future. The reason that people were hailing Hiraga Daisuke, the promising new face, was just curiosity that stemmed from his work that just happened to be a hit. I want to steal everything I can from the bigwigs while they’re still giving me a budget.
“Hey, Kuramoto-san, their acting just now was quite good, wasn’t it?”
“Hahaha, it was, wasn’t it, Akasaka-sensei. This reminds me of “that”.”
“If Kuramoto-san is mentioning it, it’s that person, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, you’re right. Minauchi-kun, you know what I mean, don’t you?”
“Umm—do you mean my aunt, Kiritani Ouka?”
“Ouka-kun, huh? No, she was also magnificent. However, there was another person.”
Producer Kuramoto always wore thick sunglasses, so I could not read his expression. However, Akasaka-sensei next to me was scrutinizing her wrinkled eyes a little, looking somewhat nostalgic.
Producer Kuramoto laughed at Minauchi, who had her head tilted. It was his characteristic attractive voice. That voice of his, this time, was directed at me in a merry tone.
“—Hey, Director Hiraga…”
“Yes?”
“What kind of performance do you think people give when they have to play a role that they don’t like or a role that makes them hated?”
Kuramoto asked me in a somewhat expectant voice.
“Wouldn’t it be an unwilling, crude performance?”
“There’s also that. But you see, they aren’t serious and they don’t put their soul into it. Right? Akasaka-sensei.”
“Yes, that’s right, that is a thing. Villains always leave a bad impression after they are aired.”
When they talked about this topic, I suddenly remembered what had just happened. When I heard them talking from a distance, I heard someone did not want to be the villain. It seems that the aforementioned child had been nominated to take the role, but I wonder if she was really okay with it.
I’ll let her play a role they don’t like. Oddly enough, this was exactly what I had in mind. Will they deal with this begrudgingly or will they take it seriously? This was the test I proposed to see if they would take this seriously and not underestimate the audition just because they were children.
“But you see, Director Hiraga. The person I knew when she was still unknown would appoint herself to the role that people hated the most.”
“Ahh, I remember that too, Kuramoto-san! If I remember correctly, that’s right—”
““It would be such a shame not to perform such an interesting role!””
The voices of Producer Kuramoto and Akasaka-sensei overlapped.
What’s with that? A role that makes you hated is the role of a villain or a hated person. How gutsy did they have to be to boldly declare that when they were a nameless actor? How much were they in love with their life as an actor?
The inside of my heart tingled. It was as if my soul was trembling, wanting to work side by side with such a person, such an actor.
“From her point of view, we were also rookies too, weren’t we?”
“Of course, Sensei. I was still an assistant director at a production company back then. Even Sensei was sort of a “Sensei” apprentice at the time, weren’t you?” 1
“Ahahaha. That brings back memories. But, I never thought they would leave us so soon.”
“Eh? Um, you don’t mean…”
Minauchi’s eyes opened wide as she reacted to their words. They were a person who died early, who took the initiative to play roles people hated, who was mourned for more than anyone else, not to mention they were probably enjoying their life even after death.
Just remembering is terrifying. The first time my father took me to the movie theater to see a movie with “her” in it, the two of us spent the night without sleeping a wink in horror.
“Come to think of it, they have the same name, Kuramoto-san.”
“Hahaha. The situation is also very similar. Maybe they’ve come back, Akasaka-sensei.”
“Please stop. My wife is already getting old. It must be hard to be treated as a body pillow.”
“Uh-oh, I have the chills too now. I’ll have my daughter comfort me. She’ll be furious though.”
Just as I was about to say their name, I was called for. The discussion seemed like it was about to end. I better be on standby. The staff made the right move.
“Well then, I will be over there.”
“Right. We’ll be watching from here with Minauchi-kun.”
“There are two nursing patients here after all.”
“…Both of you are still young, geez.”
Minauchi left and walked towards the children.
Looking back, her acting at first was amazing. Her gaze, expression, movements, and gestures. It was as if she was controlling everything then and there.
Now, she’s going to play a villain? That child gave a pitiful performance as if she was an angel. As expected, it would be tough. On the other hand, the words of the mainstays lurked in my mind.
“It would be such a shame not to perform such an interesting role!”
Is this an interesting role for her to play? Or could it be?
I picked up her gaze searching for me. I wondered what kind of “evil” would be portrayed in her clear, watery eyes. When I thought about it, I seemed to have snapped out of it from excitement.
“—Oh, are you done?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Well then, everyone, let’s get ready! Let’s do this!”
They got into position. It seemed that Asashiro Julia would be entering in the middle. There was no hallway because we had brought an unfinished set in a hurry. They were informed that they would have to jump in from behind the set when she caught onto their voices.
In the same way after school cleaning, the chairs were raised onto the desks, making the floor of the classroom appear wider. Sorahoshi Tsugumi and Yoruhata Rin stood side by side, with Yuugao Mimi standing in front of them. They were just checking their lines and direction and were ready to go.
“Well then, show me what you can do. Lights, camera—”
I held my breath.
I could hear my heartbeat.
The camera was rolling, the microphone was set up, and the lighting faintly flickered.
“Action!!”
The seal was released the same time I shouted. What kind of performance will she give us? The first one to move in front of us was Tsugumi. She had a bright, lovely smile on her face like a fairy.
“I knew it. There’s no way a good girl like her could be a villain.”
A young staff member muttered in a soft voice. I nodded my head in agreement with her opinion. However, my evaluation would be realized by the kind of performance she would give from now on. After all, Rin is also a villain. She may be the one taking the lead.
“Hey, could you give me this brooch?”
Sweet coaxing, however, I felt a little sense of discomfort. The air, the atmosphere, it was as if it changed.
“N-No.”
“Why?”
“It’s something important, so I can’t give it to you, Tsugumi-chan.”
That’s right. If you want someone else’s precious thing, why are you smiling so innocently? What are we being shown?
While the audience was puzzled, the gears turned. As if a switch was suddenly flipped—Sorahoshi Tsugumi’s expression caved in.
“I don’t know about that. I said I wanted it, didn’t I?”
“Eh? —Kyaah!”
The moment Tsugumi said so, she pushed Mimi down. Spontaneously, Tsugumi put both her hands on Mimi’s cheeks, while Mimi herself had fallen down, then her lips approached close to Mimi’s ears, as if whispering, as if warning her.
“Listen up. You’re an insect. You’re just an insane that gets crushed. If you do what you’re told, I’m telling you I’ll give you some sweet nectar, but why don’t you like it? All of you, everything, how about giving me all of you? —If you say, “Yes,” I won’t crush you.”
“Eek!”
—Ahh, Yuugao Mimi is really an insect to her, not a girl. Cold-hearted eyes and a completely chilled voice. The fingers that stabbed on her cheek might be trying to bite a hole through Mimi. Even so, she made me think.
Well then, how is the other villain doing? If you look at her, Yoruhata Rin is desperately averting her eyes. She doesn’t help her frightened classmate who was in pain. I see, that is, another evil.
“Mimi!? Tsugumi, what are you going to Mimi!? She doesn’t like it, don’t you see!?”
“Hm? Eradicating the insects. Do you want to join, Julia-chan?”
“No way! Let go of Mimi!”
Julia forced her way through between Mimi and Tsugumi. Then, she looked at Rin in a complicated way, afterward, looked at Tsugumi with indignation in her eyes. She didn’t like Tsugumi, but not so much for Rin?
“Phew. Hey, Mimi-chan.”
“…”
Tsugumi called Mimi by her name for the first time now. There was a smile on her face. However, the pupils in her eyes that were chilly and frozen still noticed her surroundings.
“Hit Julia-chan. If you do so, I’ll make Julia-chan the insect. You will be my friend. You don’t want to be crushed, right?”
How…
How innocent and cruel. She’s telling her that if you sell out your friend, she’ll help you and stop bullying you.
“Hey? Mimi-chan—”
“(I need to see that I don’t want to) …No!!”
“—Hmm. I see, you’re fine with being an insect.”
In response to Mimi’s refusal, her expression caved in again. Her eyes were cold. In her mind, even Asashiro Julia was already an “insect” a long time ago.
“No matter what you say, I will protect Mimi!”
“Do as you like. This is boring now. —Let’s go, Rin-chan.”
“Ah— …yeah.”
Julia and Mimi turned their backs on them. Tsugumi turned her back on them as well. Rin tried to say something to Julia and Mimi, but she shook her head, bit her lower lip, and turned her back on Julia and the rest. The bully’s partner. The only person that she (Tsugumi) trusts, thus she responds with deep affection.
However, from her expression and behavior, her heart cried that she really wanted to be friends with Julia and the others, and it resonated into the void.
“This is an… acting test? After, this is…”
The clammer made me come back to my senses. Ahh, I understand what the staff is trying to say. After all, this—this sort of performance, was not within the frame of an acting test.
“It’s too dramatic.”
My hands that called for the cut trembled. I never knew that there would be a scene that I did not want to end. Ahh, even so, I could not shake off the excitement at the thought that from today, the history of television will be rewritten.
“—Cutttttt!! …I believe it is my good fortune that I was present here today.”
I mumbled to myself, forgetting that this was an audition to select for a role. But of course, no one pointed that out.
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁
- Flowingcloud: If you’re not a weeb, the title “Sensei” does not only refer to teachers but many other occupations, including authors/writers. Akasaka-sensei, the bigshot scriptwriter is also a “Sensei”. What Producer Kuramoto meant was that Akasaka was probably under another scriptwriter at the time or a position something similar.
Damn, that gave me the goosebumps… Thanks for the chapter