Translator: Flowingcloud Editor: Arocks141
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Theater 2: Genius Child Actor Meets Genius Child Actor!? – Scene 2
Hinomoto Television (Day)
Tsugumi introduces herself.
Tsugumi looks over the script.
—Starting spring, Mizuki Sana, a new teacher appointed to Private Shikidai Affiliated Elementary School, got lost in the vast grounds on the very first day. A child with a hood on called out to the wandering Mizuki. The child, with a young voice that could be described as a girl’s or a boy’s, guided Mizuki. Mizuki was captivated by the child’s mysterious air, but the child’s voice suddenly brought her back to her senses.
“Be careful, Onee-san. From here on, it’s the devil’s home.”
The wind blew violently and Mizuki shut her eyes reflexively. As she was about to ask in detail what they meant, she stopped herself from asking. Because when she opened her eyes, there was no child in sight.
“I see.”
After the face-to-face meeting and the assignment of roles finished, we were informed of the shooting schedule, including script reading and rehearsals. Normally, even the last episode of the drama could be filmed first due to the scene and the cast, but for this drama, they wanted to keep the real emotions of the cast (the child actors) in mind, so they will only film scenes up to a certain point.
The reason why they limited it to the child actors only is simply that they don’t want to tell the development of the story to the child actors. They give out regular scripts to the adult cast. Well, we are kids after all…
(I am acting as the mysterious child, but it’s definitely the same person. Does she have a split personality? But, I want to act like a completely different person, so it’s a mystery.)
It would be interesting if they were different people, however, the mysterious child, the character named Lillia, does not appear in the same scene as the villain, Hiiragi Lily. With that in mind, I could imagine what would happen.
Thus, I guess my role is to act in a way that makes the audience think I’m a completely different person, often seen in horror movies where the character is actually an evil spirit but pretends to be a good person.
“Tsugumi-sama, you seem to be having fun, aren’t you?”
“Koharu-san… I am!”
Meeting in the morning. After a lunch break, I met with the other cast members in the afternoon. I don’t know a single actor who is active in this day and age, but I wonder if they’re doing well. I wonder if I will be fine, I am a child after all.
…Come to think of it, there doesn’t seem to be a woman named Kiritani Ouka in the cast. Too bad.
“Your bento has already been prepared. Would you like to eat in the car?”
“Is it okay if we eat in the staff cafeteria?”
“! No, I see. Understood.”
The only thing that was regrettable was the fact that I couldn’t eat together with Rin-chan since she had to meet up with her manager, but in exchange, let’s deepen my relationship with Koharu-san.
I would appreciate a meal with Koharu. I am grateful, but I can’t bring myself to eat in a luxury car since it made me feel out of place.
“[This is Lowolf-04. Secure seats in the staff cafeteria.]”
“Koharu-san, if there are no seats, we can just give up, you know?”
“[Abort mission.]—Understood. But, are you sure?”
“Yes. The back of the stairs will be enough!”
“What… how admirable. Well then, let’s do that.”
If I sat down on a seat that was suddenly secured by people of unknown affiliation, it would literally be conspicuous in a bad way, Koharu-san… As I thought, I’m still not used to this sort of feeling.
I received my lunch from a man in a black suit who seemed to be a member of my staff, then went to the staff cafeteria, and sure enough, it was full. At the cafeteria, I was introduced to a vacant room where the transportation staff sometimes took a break, so I ate my lunch there.
“Wow… Temari sushi!” 1
This is the first time I’ve ever eaten such a cute and luxurious lunch box.
But since I had the chance, I asked Koharu-san about many things while enjoying my lunch. Her hobbies are going on a stroll and bird-watching. Her favorite food is sushi and her least favorite food is avocado. The more information you have, even if it’s just a trivial detail, the more you can see about a person’s personality. All of this will become the accumulation of experience.
“That’s why, when you’re bird watching, the atmosphere and clothes that don’t draw attention are important.” 2
“I see.”
As I was listening to Koharu-san’s words, I realized that it was a good time, so we changed locations.
I had thought that Koharu-san was a very uptight person, but after talking to her, I realized that was not the case. She was very serious about her work but also cherished her personal life.
“This is the room.”
“Excuse me.”
I entered the room before Koharu-san and bowed, then found several men and women gathered in the room. The number of people in the room was sparse, indicating that not everyone has yet assembled.
One of them, a woman with brown hair and peach-colored lips, looked at me and smiled. She has a mature face, but when she smiled, she looked like a little girl.
“You’re the fairy I’ve heard so much about, aren’t you? You’re even cuter than I’ve imagined!”
“Errr… thank you very much. I am Sorahoshi Tsugumi.”
“Yeah, yup. Ah, I’m Aikawa Mizuho. I’m playing the role of Mizuki Sana, the new teacher. I look forward to working with you.”
“Yes, I look forward to working with you!”
“You’re very energetic, aren’t you? That’s a good thing. Mhm.”
Aikawa-san patted my head with a friendly smile. I wonder what it is, but I felt the same atmosphere as Rin-chan coming from her…
“Aikawa-san, aren’t you troubling that girl?”
“No, I’m not. Right?”
“Yes. You patted me very gently!”
I replied to the man further in the back. He was a man with black hair and sharp eyes. His neat appearance and sharp sanpaku eyes conveyed a sense of scariness despite his good looks. When he’s acting, he could probably play a very impactful role, but right now, he’s more of a young man in the neighborhood type of person. He has a soft air about him.
“I’m Tsukishiro Tougo. During the drama, I’ll be acting with you all as a teacher named Kurose Kimihiko. I look forward to working with you.”
“Got it!”
Newbies should be cheerful. The lessons I learned as a rookie naturally operated my body.
However, I wonder if it was fortuitous that I was able to greet the two main cast members. Hm? Do kids use the word “fortuitous” nowadays? Oh, whatever. I reek of an old woman anyway. 3
It seems that because of their previous schedule, the two of them were especially early. Juria-chan, Mimi-chan, then Rin-chan came afterwards. Then, there was Minauchi-san. Then, Kakinuma Sozo-san, a famous actor playing the role of principal in this drama. There are many actors, including Asada Fuyo-san, who’s playing a teacher.
…I am meeting some of them for the first time, but Kakinuma-san is my senior from my previous life. I’m nervous.
“I-I look forward to working with you!”
“Hahaha, it’s good that you’re so energetic. You don’t need to be nervous, I won’t eat you so it’ll be okay.”
“Okay.”
I couldn’t help but stammer in nervousness. No, but I feel like his personality has mellowed up compared to my previous life. Well, I was thirty when I died in that accident. Kakinuma-san was thirty-six at the time. It must have been a tough time for him. This brings back memories.
“I don’t agree with your method. Wouldn’t it be best to let a stuntman handle it?”
“With all due respect, Kakinuma-san, there is no stuntman capable of inspiring more fear than me.
“Hm? It’s as if you don’t trust the producer. How about you know your position?”
“You will understand if you let me act. You can confirm for yourself.”
“If you’re going so far, convince everyone in this place. If you can, that is.”
…Thinking back, I’m pretty sure he scolded me harshly and a lot. Well, but this was only for the actors on the scene. In his private life, he treated me very well, such as treating me dinner, barhopping until the morning, and drinking until we were wasted.
He was very caring, but at the scene, he was fiercer, stricter, and more respectable than anyone else. It sounds good to say that he’s mellowed up, but I’m a little sad that I can’t see Kakinuma-san from those days.
“Everyone, you’re all here.”
The people who entered the room were Kuramoto-kun, Director Hiraga, Akasaka-kun, and the other staff. Today is the get-together. Afterward is the script reading. 4
However, since they wanted to see how the actors would act, they were going to have a rehearsal (a reading of the script with the actors standing around, using desks and tape as a set) as well.
The name of this drama is still tentative, but it will be generally decided by this.
Kuramoto-kun wrote the title on the whiteboard: “Fairy’s Box”.
“The story is about a new teacher, Mizuki, who is assigned to a combined school deep in the mountains. As she deals with various problems among the innocent elementary school students, she meets four of her main students: Natsukawa Akari, Harukaze Minaho, Akimi Kaede, and Hiiragi Lily, as well as a mysterious child named Lillia. The story revolves around solving the problems around Lillia and the rest. In the process, they overcome various hardships, such as the love between Mizuki and Kurose and incidents in the past.”
The setting is just as I heard from the beginning. Also, the title was basically decided, which means, they’re probably going to proceed as is.
Then, after each of us introduced ourselves and our characters, we decided to conduct the script reading of the first episode. Before we started, however, Kakinuma-san raised his hand with a troubled look on his face.
“Director.”
“Yes. How may I help you?”
“You say the children will proceed without knowing the truth, but shouldn’t you tell Sorahoshi-kun, who has a special role to play, to some extent of the truth?”
“We took that into consideration, but for now, we decided to give it a try first.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Is this what I think it is? Letting me freely try first? Hahaha, this Tsugumi here has a reputation for satisfying people with unreasonable expectations from her previous life. There was no set and the script was in my hands. Even so, I was not sitting on the chair like usual, but since this is also a rehearsal, I can read the script today standing up. If that’s the case, let’s do my best to exceed your expectations!
Kakinuma-san didn’t seem to be convinced one way or another, but he seemed to agree that they should take a look first. The script I was given in the morning was mostly memorized by my body, which is far more high-spec than my previous life. It would be suspicious, so I held my script, but I can probably behave normally.
“Well then, let’s start from the beginning. Aikawa-san, Tsugumi-chan, please go ahead.”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
The first scene is an important one that gives the impression of the atmosphere of the story, where Mizuki, a new teacher, is warned by a mysterious child when she gets lost in the large, dense school grounds. In this scene, the director gave me instructions on the intonation and acting style, and I made adjustments, so I have to take my acting seriously. I have to nail my role.
Well now, I wonder what the circumstances are. For the time being, shall I act as the good persona of Hiiragi Lily? Hiiragi Lily is possessive and a child hungry for love. Then, the reverse side of her personality is self-sacrifice and giving love?
“Well then, scene—”
A kind-looking new teacher.
The hardships that are to arise.
The disaster that my reverse personality will bring.
Ahh, I have to save this person.
“—start.”
I don’t care what happens to me after this.
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: This is not sponsored, but this recipe site provides a pretty good explanation of what temari sushi is. Also, this website’s recipes aren’t bad. Temari sushi is considered to be high-class food (fit for our princess Tsugumi-sama).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/temari-sushi/
Arocks141: WHAT? FLOWY!!! Why are you inadvertently advertising a site which doesn’t eve-… Wait a second, I know this site… Ah, I see, nevermind, continue. - Arocks141: Why do I get the feeling Koharu isn’t talking about watching ‘birds’?
- Flowingcloud: The term used was ‘僥倖’ meaning fortuitous, luck, windfall, godsend, good fortune, etc. It’s a pretty outdated term that isn’t often used, especially by the younger generation. More common to see it in writing than speaking.
- Flowingcloud: Here to advertise one of my most favorite novels: “Life, Once Again!” The reason why I mentioned it is because, in the novel, the protagonist becomes an actor. The novel goes more in-depth about the production of dramas and films. This is more in a utopian world type of situation (or Tsugumi’s dad is too stronk) and does not provide a full look at how dramas are produced.
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/life-once-again/
Arocks141: *Ahem* Sellout. *ahem* But seriously, check it out. (Another sellout)
Damn, the hype is real XD Thank you for the chapter