Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 53 Becoming Ah Jian's Female Lead
Early in the morning, Natsume Mio got up.

After warming up, breathing, and practicing each line in front of the mirror, I finally slung my shoulder bag over my shoulder and headed out.

It was still 8 a.m. She had scheduled her interview with Enoshima Voice Actors Agency for 10 a.m. via email, but she planned to leave early.

For her, this was not an ordinary interview, but a crucial moment concerning whether she could win the role in Ah Jian's book and become the female lead in his story.

Although it's just voiceover for a promotional material, it's still Ah Jian's character after all!
Sitting in her train seat, Natsume Mio held her notebook filled with copied lines, repeatedly pondering the character's emotions.

She meticulously copied down every line of dialogue from every character.

She highlighted Machima and Pawa's lines with different colored highlighters.

The blank space next to her was filled with her understanding and interpretation of the character's emotions, tone, and even breathing rhythm.

"I like people like Denji-kun."

"I like people like Denji-kun~"

"I like it like..."

Machima practiced this sentence over a hundred times, using different tones.

As for Pava, she put in all her effort during practice, displaying an arrogant and domineering attitude.

"Kneel before me, humans! I am Power!"

She believed that with such preparation, she would definitely land the role.

She even practiced the lines of the little girl who appeared as an extra in the second episode.

In short, everything is foolproof.

Before I knew it, the tram arrived at the station.

Following the navigation, Natsume Mio found her destination.

This is just an ordinary office building. On the first floor, there is a sign that reads: Enoshima Voice Actor Agency.

Seeing that she still had some free time, Natsume Mio sat on a chair in the lobby on the first floor for a while. Half an hour before her interview, she went upstairs.

I never expected that such an unremarkable promotional material for a new comic would have several competitors for voice-over.

Each of the people present held the same script, and soon the staff brought one to Natsume Mio as well.

Natsume Mio politely accepted it. The lines written on it were not exactly the same as those in the main manga, but what made Natsume Mio feel confident was that there was only one female character in the script, Makima.

That's fantastic! She practiced Machima's lines the most.

Mio Natsume ignored the scrutinizing gazes around her. She simply sat quietly in the corner, closed her eyes, and replayed Machima's lines in her mind over and over again.

Now, I am the heroine in A-Jian's novel!

"Next up, Natsume Mio."

……

The interview only lasted for about ten minutes. After all, it was just a voice-over project for promotional materials. I saw someone go in first and come out in just five minutes.

In the recording studio, Natsume Mio was instructed to first read a narration in her own voice, and then perform her lines in Machima's voice.

Although she wasn't given a result on-site and was told to wait for an email notification the next day, she felt confident that she had a good chance.

As night deepened, she leaned against the headboard and, timing it perfectly, opened the JUMP+ webpage.

At midnight, which is just a few minutes away, Chainsaw Man will be updating again.

Natsume Mio refreshed the page repeatedly, and finally, episode 6 appeared in the list.

As she turned the pages, Natsume Mio frowned.

"Your job is to train the dog and use it; don't get emotionally involved."

This is what the higher-ups said to Machima. So, Machima brought A-Jian... no, I mean, Dianci back, actually for some other purpose?
A bad woman?!

I had a feeling about this before, and seeing this page makes me even more certain.

Machima is just trying to take advantage of Denji-kun!

But then again...

Since the comic explicitly states "do not get emotionally involved," does that mean there will definitely be a plot twist later on?

Actually, the bad guys aren't Machima, but the "big shots" behind Machima!
As she continued flipping through the pages, she was even more stunned when she saw that Denji and Pava had actually pulled out weapons and started fighting.

No, what is this expansion?

Didn't Pawa promise to let Dianci massage her breasts?!

They actually handed Denji over to the devil just for the sake of the cat...

Bad woman!
Pawa is a bad woman, Machima is a good woman. You've really misunderstood Machima!

After reading today's update, Natsume Mio had reached a conclusion in her mind.

Luckily, I got Makima's hairstyle; Makima is the real female lead in Ah Jian's story!
The comic ends here. Natsume Mio flips to the last page and sees a text panel at the bottom.

Ken Sakamoto, author of *Chainsaw Man*, will be a guest on JUMP's official livestream on March 13th (Friday) at 8 PM to discuss the creation story of *Chainsaw Man*! Stay tuned!

Huh? Ah Jian is going to go live.

It seems that Ken's comics are really popular. JUMP will definitely be promoting his work.

Mio Natsume quickly exited the JUMP+ page, opened her phone's calendar, and set a reminder for Friday night at 7:30 PM.

She placed her phone next to her pillow, then pulled over a nearby cushion and hugged it tightly.

The little face rubbed against the pillow and took a deep sniff.

Of course, she couldn't smell Ken's scent, but that didn't stop Natsume Mio from having a sweet smile on her lips, as if she wanted to meld the pillow into her own body.

I covered myself with the blanket and put one leg on the cushion, so my whole body was pressed against it.

With a slight friction, the girl felt her body getting warm. Lying on the bed, she closed her eyes, her mind filled with the image of a certain person, and soon fell asleep.

……

However, on the other side of Tokyo.

In Bunkyo Ward, at the University of Tokyo's Hongo Campus, the laboratory lights are still on.

Ai Hoshino rubbed her slightly sore eyes and entered the last set of experimental data into the computer.

After finishing her work for the day, she leaned back in her chair and stretched.

It was late at night, and all the graduate students she was supervising had gone home, leaving her alone in the lab.

Before going home, she habitually opened her email account to deal with some backlogged emails.

My inbox is mostly filled with subscription notifications for academic journals, as well as various shopping and promotional spam emails.

Ai Hoshino's habit is to scan through all emails from beginning to end, only looking at the useful ones, and then marking them all as read with a single click.

She quickly scanned the page, but suddenly an email from the "Netflix Future Stars Committee" made her stop.

"A future film star?"

She clicked on it with a bit of curiosity.

The email contained a very formal invitation, inviting her to serve as a judge for the "Future Film Stars" writing competition's campus star track.

The letter began by addressing her as "Teacher Hoshizora Future".

(End of this chapter)