Arc-3 Ep-18

 “Well then, see you, Mikuri.”

“Yes, Suzuka-san. Good work.”

Following Tomomi-san, Suzuka-san, who had also received the new song data, left the meeting room. The only ones remaining were me and Niikura-san.

“Now then, shall we talk while I transfer the files?”

“Understood.”

I handed her my smartphone, and she connected it to the laptop, moving the mouse around.

After a short wait, she let go of the mouse and looked directly at my face.

“…Well, I think you have already guessed, but a personal job offer has come in that we would like Kayanuma-san to accept.”

“Ah, yes.”

“It is for a movie appearance, but our side’s owes the director a small favor from before.”

“I see…”

Apparently, in a previous work that director was involved in, an actor affiliated with Fortissimo caused a bit of trouble. The matter was settled quietly so that it would not become public knowledge.

“The offer was for either Kayanuma-san or Takechi-san, but this time we would like to ask Kayanuma-san.”

“I do not mind, but I heard that Rina-san is also starting to take on acting work.”

“Yes. She has finally begun taking on actress roles as well. However, this particular offer is not for a main role, so the commitment period is short and the burden on Kayanuma-san should be minimal.”

“I see.”

“Takechi-san already has a confirmed appearance in a work that does not require particularly difficult acting but has longer shooting days.”

Since the offer specified either me or Rina-san, it must be a role that requires a top-tier beautiful girl.

Yet it is a supporting part, which means there is a high likelihood that the main heroine is a beautiful girl who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us.

Thinking that way, there is no option to turn down this request.

“Understood. Has the shooting schedule already been decided?”

“Yes. Around this period, I believe.”

The part of the calendar that Niikura-san pointed to in her schedule book was mid-December.

That would place it roughly halfway between the end of the overall concert and New Year’s Eve, when the major nationwide music program airs.

“What is the role?”

“It is a youth movie centered on a group of six high school students, equal numbers of boys and girls. You would play the younger sister of the main heroine.”

“The younger sister role… So that means my on-screen older sister would be…”

“Yes. An actress with beauty on par with Kayanuma-san, Kaori Kishikawa-san.”

“K-Kaori Kishikawa-san!?”

Hearing that name, I was genuinely shocked.

It was only natural, since this was the name of someone I absolutely, no matter what, wanted to become close with.

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Kaori Kishikawa.

She is nineteen years old and a hugely popular actress renowned as a pure and innocent type.

Of course, since she is a woman I want to get close to, she possesses beauty that rivals mine to the point where it is hard to say who is superior.

I want to call her Onee-sama and be pampered by her like a little sister.

In the works she has appeared in, most of her roles are refined and ladylike, earning her the reputation among men as the ideal Yamato Nadeshiko.

[T/N- Yamato Nadeshiko (やまとなでしこ / 大和撫子) is a traditional Japanese term that refers to the personification or archetype of the idealized Japanese woman.] 

Her most distinctive feature is her impressively thick chest armor.

The exact size is not publicly disclosed, so it remains unknown, but from visual estimation I judge it to be at least on par with Erika-san’s or larger.

That said, those large breasts are hidden so thoroughly beneath her clothing that not even a hint of cleavage shows, an ironclad defense.

Thanks to that, she has gained evaluations such as modest and refined in every way except her body or the ideal Yamato Nadeshiko, breasts excluded.

She enjoys massive support from many men and stands as a potential rival to me in the acting world.

Due to the difference in breast size, our roles might not overlap too much in terms of competition.

“…Indeed, if it is her younger sister, there are probably very few people who could pull it off convincingly.”

“That is true. Within our entire agency, it is likely only Kayanuma-san or Takechi-san who could manage it.”

“The only other person I can think of is Miho-san, whom I co-starred with in a commercial.”

“The only one that comes to my mind is about the same level.”

Conversely, that also means the pool of people who could play my older sister is extremely limited.

This could become an obstacle when seriously pursuing acting.

If it were something like Nozomi-chan’s real-life situation, where the sisters do not resemble each other at all, it would be fine.

No, actually, even in my case, she probably would not look too out of place playing my older sister.

“Besides that… the script will apparently take a bit longer to complete. It is an original newly written work.”

“Understood.”

“The number of scenes and lines is not expected to be very large, so for Kayanuma-san it should not be a problem. If there were no double-booking, it might have been good as Takechi-san’s debut, but…”

“…By the way, is it all right if I ask what kind of work Rina-san will be appearing in?”

I was curious what kind of project someone who is said to struggle with acting would take on.

There was also the possibility that if Rina-san found herself unable to act and gave up, the role might somehow come back around to me.

“Hmm… Well, I suppose it is fine. The information will probably come out soon anyway. But until then, please keep it strictly confidential.”

“Of course.”

“I am really counting on you… The work Takechi-san is scheduled to appear in is based on a currently popular manga…”

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“…and that is it. Do you know it, Kayanuma-san?”

“Yes, more or less… Indeed, for a first-time role for Rina-san, that seems like something she could manage. There are no romantic elements, and it should be good for her idol image as well.”

“Yes. That was also taken into consideration when selecting it as her debut work.”

In the manga the character is a cool beauty who rarely shows emotion, so the performance does not demand an extremely high level of skill.

Conversely, if she cannot handle even this casting, it would be fair to say that Rina-san lacks talent in the acting department.

That said, considering her singing talent combined with her looks, even after graduating from Schus Sola she should be more than capable of succeeding as a solo singer.

“So this will serve as… a touchstone for Rina-san.”

“Yes. However, for a middle school student, you know some quite difficult words, don’t you, Kayanuma-san.”

“Do I? Perhaps because I read a lot of books.”

If you add my previous life, I am older than Niikura-san, who is in her thirties, so it is not strange that I know words an ordinary middle schooler might not.

It might be better not to use them too much so as not to seem suspicious, but I do not need to be overly nervous about it.

The entertainment industry involves many conversations with older people, so I can just act as though I studied hard.

More importantly, there is the movie shooting next month.

Will I be able to become close with a beauty who is like an enhanced version of Erika-san?

I hope I can strengthen our relationship in the same way, I thought, as I pictured Kishikawa Kaori standing in my mind.