Do I really have a thing for female voice actors?

Mika Takagi explained the information she knew to Toru Tazaki in great detail, while Toru Tazaki's expression remained unchanged.

After all, he had already performed at the Vienna Golden Hall when he was 18 years old.

"Sorry, I've been talking about the venue the whole time. It must have been boring." She lowered her voice and looked apologetic.

She always seems to prefer placing herself in a lower position, which is a sign of a lack of self-confidence.

"No, I am also curious about stage plays, but I am more curious about what those people are holding in their hands."

"In your hands?"

Following Tazaki Toru's gaze, Takagi Mika saw several middle-aged men holding mysterious plastic short sticks and couldn't help but laugh.

"That's a light stick."

"Of course I know that thing is a light stick. I mean, aren't we here to see a stage play?"

Just as Mika Takagi was about to speak up to explain, the surrounding lights suddenly went out, plunging the theater into darkness, so Mika Takagi immediately shut her mouth.

The azure stage lights came on, and the sound of pattering rain drifted from the surrounding speakers.

Stage play, *Remains* (Middle School Edition)

it has started.

15. Hard work will not let you down. (Two-in-one)

on the stage.

A young girl dressed in red is showcasing her excellent singing voice to the audience.

This piece is very familiar to Toru Tazaki; it is a classic piece from Mozart's "The Magic Flute".

The Queen of the Night's Aria

Arias cannot be lowered in key; their musical brilliance and power are extraordinary. They showcase the high level of technique and expressiveness of the coloratura soprano voice and are considered among the most difficult parts of the opera repertoire.

To Tazaki Toru's surprise, Aoki Hina's singing ability was quite high.

Her vocal registers were unified, her larynx position was stable, her resonance was skillful, and even her German pronunciation was something that a girl her age could not possibly master.

It must be admitted that such a solid foundation cannot be obtained simply by putting in effort; in other words, effort is merely the most basic threshold.

Many people give their all, pouring out all their efforts and sweat, yet they still cannot appreciate even a fraction of the scenery they see.

People often use this word to describe this type of person:

genius.

Among the actors on stage, Hina Aoki was the shortest, yet she possessed an unparalleled presence.

No one in the audience could take their eyes off her.

These girls standing on the stage are all shining brightly at this moment.

The lights were dim. Tazaki Toru glanced sideways and saw Takagi Mika sitting next to him, her eyes glued to the performance on stage, her lips moving silently.

Their positions were fairly close to the front, only a few meters from the stage.

She suddenly thought of Mount Fuji.

At dusk, standing on the Okamoto Pier in Minamiboso, listening to the waves crashing on the shore, I gazed at Mount Fuji in the distance.

It seems to be this far away.

Exquisitely beautiful, yet unattainable.

……

……

A 100-minute stage play passes in the blink of an eye.

Tazaki Toru thought the performance was over, but after Takagi Mika reminded him, he learned that there was a live segment afterward, and now he finally understood what the light sticks were for.

Looking around, he saw that more than half of the people in the audience were young men and middle-aged men, and he roughly understood that this stage play should also be considered a kind of idol project.

With Aoki Hina's face, she's certainly suited to be an idol.

The songs they sang during the live performance were somewhat unremarkable and failed to showcase Hina Aoki's beautiful vocals, which Toru Tazaki found very disappointing.

He clearly liked it quite a bit.

After the performance, the audience left in an orderly manner. As soon as they stepped out of the Flying Ship Theater, the girl next to me still had excitement on her face and kept talking about the actors.

Apart from Hina Aoki, Toru Tazaki didn't remember any of the other actors' names, but that didn't stop him from thinking they acted very well.

Especially when he saw Mika Takagi's bright, hopeful eyes, he couldn't help but want to cheer her on.

"Wow, that girl who played the lead role is amazing!" she exclaimed, showering the actress with praise.

"Seeing them shine on stage makes me feel like I have a surge of energy. Thank you for inviting me to come today."

The lead actresses were all girls around her age, and while she was impressed, she couldn't help but feel envious.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Of course I like it, stage plays, reading plays, and rakugo, but what I like the most is being able to perform on stage myself."

Tazaki Toru thought for a while and then asked, "Are you suggesting we put on a stage play at the Budokan?"

"How could that be!"

Mika Takagi blushed deeply, unsure whether she was angered by Toru Tazaki's words or by his unabashed use of the word "budokan," which reminded her of her own boastful words that night.

The two walked side by side through the streets of Ueno at night, the evening breeze caressing their faces, a truly pleasant experience.

Today she was wearing a light gray, lightweight wool coat, and her long brown hair was braided into several thin three-strand braids that hung down to one side, revealing her left ear.

Maids handing out flyers on the street, singers playing instruments and singing on the roadside—in this bustling city, it seems everyone has something to do.

"Everyone is working so hard," she murmured softly.

She often says that hard work will never let you down.

So if you work hard enough, maids won't have to show their faces in public, and street singers will surely be able to appear on the big screen in Shibuya.

"Tazaki-san, have you decided what you want to do in the future?"

"Yes, I've thought it through."

"Excellent and decisive answer!"

"I'm the type of person who, once I've made up my mind, won't overthink things," Toru Tazaki replied.

"So cool..."

Is it cool?

Tazaki Toru didn't quite understand the logic behind this.

Mika Takagi smiled faintly, as if recalling something, and slowly said, "I've loved watching anime since I was little. When I was a child, I would imitate the characters in anime and do some weird and silly things."

Tazaki Toru turned to look at her and listened quietly.

"When I was a child, I always thought that those characters only existed in the picture. But later I saw that the voice actors of the characters in my favorite anime were able to cross the dimension and appear on the stage of the real world to hold concerts."

"That was truly! It's hard to describe how I felt at that moment. I was just thinking... Ah! This is it! It has to be this!"

“I want to become like that in the future, shining on the stage, and one day, when a child sees my performance, she will think, ‘Ah! This is the only one!’”

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke of her dreams.

"Ms. Takagi will realize her dream someday."

"Does Tazaki-san truly believe this from the bottom of his heart?"

The traffic light turned red, and countless vehicles shuttled back and forth in front of me.

Standing in front of the sidewalk, Mika Takagi turned her face to the side and looked up at the handsome young man beside her.

“I’m neither pretty nor have a distinctive voice. A director at a previous audition told me that my voice wasn’t suited for older female characters, which made me feel disappointed for a long time.”

"Even if I were incredibly lucky and got a chance to stand on stage, would anyone really be willing to push an ordinary girl like me?"

"It will happen."

Tazaki Toru spoke without hesitation, and with utter casualness, as if he were stating something perfectly natural.

Mika Takagi seemed a little dissatisfied and puffed out her cheeks: "Seriously, the voice acting world isn't as simple as Tazaki-san imagines. There are more pretty girls than there are ema hanging in my shrine!"

"Why are you so certain?"

Tazaki Toru pointed to himself and said frankly:

"I will definitely push it."

"...Huh?"

She stood frozen in place, staring unblinkingly at Toru Tazaki.

The pedestrian crossing signal turned from red to green, and the pedestrians beside them crossed over to the other side, leaving them standing there.

"I will attend every one of your live performances. When I make a lot of money writing songs, I will also buy your handshake tickets and Polaroid photos."

"If you fail to meet your monthly targets and your manager scolds you, I will buy all your CDs and force those big shots to create a theme song for you."

Mika Takagi was so nervous at first that she almost stammered, but as Toru Tazaki's words became increasingly incoherent, she finally came to her senses and blurted out:

"Tazaki-san, are you confusing voice actors with underground idols?"

"Really? I thought I had done my homework. Don't voice actors shake hands with fans?"

Seeing Tazaki Toru's serious and reflective expression, Takagi Mika's initial shock subsided, and she burst out laughing.

The girl laughed so hard she almost fell over, like wheat stalks swaying in the gentle spring breeze.

She wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes: "Tazaki-san, I have never met anyone as interesting as you."

"...I was being quite serious when I said it."

"Yes, yes, pfft hahaha... Ah! The light's green! Quick, Tazaki-san, let's go!"

She gently tugged at Tazaki Toru's sleeve and, before the red light, ran with Tazaki Toru to the other side.

……