Tokyo: Oreimo

Ryosuke looked at the price list and nodded. Two million one hundred thousand yen. Although it was a little over, it was still acceptable.

Thank you.

"Not at all, I'm so grateful for your help these past few years, this is nothing."

Ito put away his pen and leaned back in the sofa. "What are your requirements for the voice actors? I can have my staff compile a list."

Ryosuke pulled out a few sheets of paper from the folder he carried with him. “The character settings and dialogue samples are all here. There are five characters, two men and three women. The male protagonist and the two female protagonists have the most lines, and the other two are supporting characters.”

Ito took the documents, flipped through a few pages, and raised an eyebrow slightly. "This script... isn't the kind of fan-made game you're talking about, is it?"

"It's an original project of our club."

“Interesting.” Ito closed the file. “As for the voice actors, I can recommend a few recently signed newcomers for the male lead. Their voices are youthful and suitable for student roles. As for the female lead…”

"If we're talking about the female lead, could we have Kujou Sumika come?" Ling Nai suddenly asked.

Ito paused for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work."

“Kujou’s situation is different now than it was two years ago. Since she voiced Saber, her schedule is booked until next spring.”

“Animation, games, and radio dramas are all long-term projects. To be honest, her asking price for a new role now is probably more than double your entire budget.”

"Mr. Takashiro should also be aware of this."

Ryosuke nodded.

In fact, most of the work arrangements that Ito mentioned were related to Aniplex, because Artoria is currently very popular in the market and has long been at the top of the 'Future Dimension' popularity chart.

Just like Ayako Kawasumi in her previous life, this role is enough for her to live off for a lifetime.

Of course, Ryosuke also knew that if he made a serious request, Kujou Sumika would most likely accept his job even without payment, but that would break the rules.

“However,” Ito opened another folder, “the agency recently signed a few promising newcomers whose voices are similar to Kujo’s. I can arrange for them to audition.”

“It’s okay if it’s a newcomer,” Ryosuke said. “As long as they’re suitable.”

Ling Nai raised an eyebrow and did not insist any further.

“Then it’s settled.” Ito wrote a few lines on a sticky note. “The audition is scheduled for next Wednesday afternoon. I’ll send you the list of candidates in advance.”

Ryosuke stood up, and Ryouno followed suit, getting up from the sofa.

Ito escorted the two to the door of the reception room. In the lobby, he suddenly stopped, his tone more casual than when they were discussing business.

"By the way, President Takashiro. Is there anything you can reveal in advance about Aniplex's new project?"

"It's still in the preparation stage," Ryosuke said.

“Then I’ll be waiting.” Ito smiled and extended his hand. “Dream Chaser is still getting requests from fans to add more shows for the theme song of Steins;Gate. If you have any new projects that require music collaborations, feel free to contact me.”

"Will do."

Ryosuke grasped his hand and shook it briefly.

As they stepped out of the SP agency, the sun was already setting. Ling Nai opened the parasol, shoved the handle into Ryosuke's hand, and stood under it herself.

"Is that Ito trying to get some benefits from you again?"

He was just asking casually.

"I wouldn't go to the door just to ask casually," Ling Nai snorted. "But whatever, you're used to it anyway."

Ryosuke did not deny it.

In the years I've dealt with Shinpei Ito, he is indeed a shrewd person, but also a trustworthy partner.

This level of probing is perfectly normal in the industry, there's no need to overthink it.

The two walked along the sidewalk toward the station.

“It’s a bit of a pity,” Ling Nai suddenly said. “I think Kujou Sumika would be a good match for the beads.”

Ryosuke glanced at her sideways, tilting the umbrella slightly to face her, exposing his shoulder to the sunlight.

"There are advantages to being a newcomer. Kujo was a newcomer back then. Maybe he'll find a hidden gem?"

......

Chapter 284 Club Work Completed

On Wednesday afternoon, Ryosuke received the candidate list from Shinpei Ito in the manga club activity room.

There are six people in total: three female voice actors, two male voice actors, and one newcomer who is marked as "capable of playing supporting roles".

Each person's profile included an audio sample of their audition.

Tian Zhongxue leaned over to look at his phone screen, his eyes wide open. "Is this the official voice actor list from SP Agency? That company that regularly collaborates with Aniplex, if I remember correctly, DC Idol Group is also under their umbrella, right?"

"Gao Cheng, where did you meet him?"

"Recommended by Kadokawa editors." Ryosuke smiled, making up a lie on the spot. He handed his phone to Ayumi, "Take a look and see if there are any suitable candidates."

Ayumi took the phone and gathered with the other members to discuss it.

This kind of voice actor resume seemed very novel to everyone, and they chatted about it enthusiastically.

"The audition is scheduled for next Wednesday," Ryosuke said after they had finished their discussion. "We'll need someone to go and hear the sound effects. President, would you like to go?"

"Absolutely!" Tian Zhongxue slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

Takeda shook his head, indicating that he didn't have much time and needed to catch up on the testing schedule.

The others, however, all expressed a desire to broaden their horizons.

Ayumi concluded, "Then let's all go except for Takeda. Anyway, it's Wednesday afternoon, and no one has class."

That's how it was settled.

.....

On the day of the audition, the group of anime fans lined up in the lobby of SP Agency.

Tian Zhongxue looked up at the Dream Chaser poster on the wall, his eyes shining as he looked around.

The receptionist led them into a small recording studio. Behind the glass of the monitoring room, the microphones in the recording booth were already set up, and an engineer wearing headphones sat in front of the mixing console.

Shinpei Ito was already waiting inside.

He saw a large group of people following behind Ryosuke, his eyebrows twitched, but he quickly regained his professional smile.

"Please have a seat."

Auditions were conducted in groups according to the roles, starting with the supporting roles and ending with the male and female leads. One by one, the new voice actors entered the recording studio and read out the assigned lines into the microphone.

At first, Tian Zhongxue was excitedly giving his comments in hushed tones, but he fell silent after the third voice actor finished his audition.

He discovered that his ears couldn't distinguish those subtle differences at all; he couldn't understand any of the terms like "thickness of voice," "emotional control," or "handling of the ending sound."

He glanced at Ryosuke, who was sitting calmly next to the monitoring station, occasionally writing a few words in his notebook.

Ayumi was also observing Ryosuke.

She noticed that after each voice actor's audition, Ryosuke would first listen to the opinions of the other members of the manga club before giving his own judgment.

His judgments are often incisive, such as "the emotional outburst scenes are not controlled cleanly enough" or "the rhythm of daily dialogue is good, but the emphasis of key lines is off."

These words sounded exceptionally professional coming from a freshman.

When it was the female lead's turn to audition, the door to the recording studio was pushed open, and a young woman wearing a white shirt and a dark blue long skirt walked in.

She looked to be no more than twenty years old, with her hair tied in a low ponytail and a pretty face. She took a deep breath as she stood in front of the microphone.

"I'm the last auditionee today." Her voice came through the speakers in the monitoring room, clear and steady, with a natural penetrating power. "The role is the female lead, Kuonji Aratsu. Nice to meet you."

Ryosuke looked up.

It wasn't because of her appearance, but because of her voice.

It feels so familiar. Even before I saw their face, just hearing them speak gave me a sense of disorientation.

"Very similar."

Like a voice actress named 'Kana' from a past life.

Ryosuke glanced at Ryouno beside him and noticed that the girl's eyes lit up.

The audition began. The first segment was a casual conversation, which the female voice actress delivered naturally and smoothly, with a perfectly balanced sense of distance in her tone.

The second part is the key line of emotional outburst. She paused for three seconds, and when she spoke again, the calmness in her voice was torn open, revealing the surging emotions beneath.

Ryosuke glanced down at the name on the file.

Kana Matsumoto, 19 years old, signed with SP agency three months ago, currently has no official works, graduated from Musashino University Faculty of Letters.

“It’s her.” Ling Nai’s voice rang in his ear.

Ryosuke turned around and saw Ling Nai standing behind him with her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on Matsumoto Kana, who was bowing and thanking him behind the glass.

Noticing Ryosuke's gaze, the girl gave a soft snort.

.....

After the sound checks were all finished, Ito walked into the monitoring room with a summary sheet in his hand.

"So, is anything you're satisfied with?"

Tian Zhongxue was the first to raise his hand, pointing to Matsumoto Kana's file, "This one! This is the one for the female lead!"

Ayumi, Takeda, Kobayashi, Okubo, and Asakura nodded almost simultaneously.

Ryosuke said, "The female lead will be Matsumoto Kana. As for the remaining roles, you can discuss them further, President."

Tian Zhongxue cheered and immediately pulled Ayumi and Okubo to start discussing the candidates.

Ito looked at Ryosuke with a meaningful smile, but he said nothing. He simply nodded and handed over the confirmation list for Ryosuke to sign.

After signing the papers, the members of the manga research group gathered in a circle in the lobby of the agency, still excitedly discussing the audition they had just experienced.

Tanaka exaggeratedly imitated a male voice actor's delivery of lines, making Ayumi laugh.

As he left the recording studio, Ryosuke's gaze inadvertently swept across the end of the corridor.

A familiar figure was walking out of the practice room at the end of the corridor, his blue-streaked bangs standing out under the lights.

Shizuka Hayakawa.