Arc-2 Ep-40

 And so, today we were filming episode 4.

From this episode onward, my character finally had lines and began interacting with the protagonist childhood friends.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“…Alright. Cut!”

I prepared usucha (thin tea) at the tea ceremony seat and served it to the protagonists and a few other participants. The scene, in which we exchanged light conversation, concluded without a single NG.

Well, all I had to do was speak naturally, so it wasn’t particularly difficult for me. The greatest challenge was probably for Tsujii-kun, who had to act flustered in front of the girl he had fallen in love with at first sight.

Watanabe-san had to act exasperated toward him, but I imagine that was easier than what Tsujii-kun had to do. Since both of them began as child actors, they completed the shoot without issue. Their talent, of course, is evident, but their experience up to now must have helped as well.

“Phew…”

“Good work, Mikuri-chan.”

“Ah, yes. Good work today.”

When the cameras stopped rolling and I finally exhaled, Tsujii-kun spoke to me. He’s a high school boy as well. Naturally, he’d want to talk to an ultra-beautiful girl like me as often as possible.

“Was my acting okay?”

“It looked fine to me. What about you, Watanabe-san?”

“I didn’t see any issues either. In fact, you’re so relaxed that it hardly feels like your first time.”

“Yes, well… I guess I just don’t get very nervous by nature.”

Thank you, god-level cheats.

Memorizing the script is effortless, and even during the actual takes, I can remain completely composed.

“You’re perfectly suited to be an actor.”

“It seems you’ll be getting more acting work from now on.”

“If that happens, I’d be delighted.”

As expected, even Watanabe-san, my same-sex co-star, spoke to me naturally. I think that’s because there is little overlap in our roles. Most of the parts offered to me will probably be for beautiful-girl roles.

It would be difficult for Watanabe-san to take on those roles. Conversely, I could never play the kinds of roles Watanabe-san has done until now.

If we swapped roles in this drama, the story would lose all plausibility. In other words, Watanabe-san doesn’t feel threatened by me as a fellow actress.

Anyway, my shooting for the day was finished. The two protagonists still had remaining scenes, so I prepared to leave.

“Kayanuma-san, it’s about time…”

“Understood. I’ll be going now. Good luck with the rest of the shoot.”

Taneyama-san noticed my demeanor and prompted me to head back. We’ve been working together for almost a year now, so we are quite in sync.

“Yeah. I want to make this a good production.”

“Please take care of me in the next shoot as well, Kayanuma-san.”

After bidding farewell to Tsujii-kun and Watanabe-san, who remained behind, I greeted the director, the scriptwriter, and the rest of the staff before returning to the dressing room.

First, I had to change out of the kimono and back into my regular clothes. Since putting on the kimono had nothing to do with filming, I left it entirely to the kimono staff.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

“…Kayanuma-san.”

“Yes?”

“I just spoke with the scriptwriter, and it seems your appearances in this production will increase.”

“Really!?”

“Yes. The director feels the same way; apparently, they made that judgment after seeing your acting.”

We were speaking in the agency car on the way back to the office building. If the production side thinks so highly of me, then my acting must be genuinely competent. Though, it is likely also thanks to my beauty, which is rare even in the entertainment world.

“I’m glad the number of episodes I appear in will increase.”

“…You do get rejected in the end, though.”

“My character isn’t in love with him, so I don’t mind at all.”

Well, if someone fell for you unilaterally and then ended up with someone else, it would feel strange in real life. I suppose it would bother me because it would feel like losing in a part I wasn’t even involved in.

“This drama is eleven episodes, right?”

“Yes. Depending on the ratings, it might be extended by one episode.”

“Then the additional appearances will probably be in the second half?”

Even a popular scriptwriter would find it difficult to make changes to the very next episode, episode 5. I also have mini-lives on weekends, so increasing shooting time would be difficult, and weekdays will likely get busier.

“…It looks like my lesson time will decrease even further.”

“For now, drama filming will take priority. At the latest, it should finish by mid-August. Once summer vacation begins, shooting hours will increase as well.”

“During summer vacation, both I and the two main actors can be available from the morning.”

Right now, they are taking our school schedules into account when planning filming times. We began filming in May with plenty of buffer time for a drama airing from July to September.

“Once the Reitaisai in August is over, we’ll have you working full-throttle.”

“Will there be more acting jobs as well?”

“Yes. The higher-ups are considering pursuing them actively. Because Rina-chan keeps turning down acting work.”

So that is the current strategy of Sistema Solare’s management. Since I have god-level cheats and my acting talent is unfairly strong, I should aim to become a national-level actress in this field as well.

That said, in this production my role is simply “the girl the male protagonist falls for at first sight,” so I probably don’t need exceptionally advanced acting skills. I only have to act like a girl the male protagonist could reasonably fall for.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

By the way, for my birthday we had a family-only party, and the male members of my family (Dad and my brothers) made a huge fuss. I received all sorts of presents, but with the release of the comprehensive concert video this month as well, they apparently spent quite a lot.

Incidentally, Nozomi-chan’s birthday is in May.

For almost a full month, she gets to be the older big sister. I had drama filming on the actual day, so I gave her present early, but I’m sure her birthday celebration was grand.

That’s just me imagining the birthday of an ultra-rich young lady, though. Chie-chan’s birthday is in February.

That time she invited me, and I celebrated with her and her parents at her house. Since next year will probably be busy, I’m glad I could celebrate with her this year.