I live my life in Tokyo

The next person to enter was Chizuru Ichinose.

"Have you ever played the game Sword Art Online?"

"Ah, a senior I know took me to play before, but my level is not high, only level 24, and I spent most of the time farming monsters and pets." Ichinose Chizuru answered, and she seemed to remember something, and quickly added, "Ah, I joined the Blood Knights Guild, and I plan to develop into logistics."

Yuuki Koichiro turned to Sakakibara Kaede again, this time with a fake smile on his face, "You brought Ichinose-san into this trap?"

"Yes, but compared to others, Chizuru-san likes training monster levels and collecting pet mounts more."

"How come you brought all these actresses into this trap?"

Chapter 7: Luck

Sakakibara felt that Yuuki Koichiro's sneer was like he was doubting his character, so he said casually, "Senior Yuuki, the largest guild in Sword Art Online is the Knights of the Blood. Of course, these newcomers want to join the largest guild for safety. What's more, our guild has a complete system for training newcomers. It seems normal for newcomers to choose our guild after comparing prices among three guilds, right?"

Koichiro Yuki's eyes were wide open, and the pen in his hand was tapping on the notebook unceremoniously.

"More than fifty! There were only seventy-two actresses auditioning for the lead female role, and more than fifty of them joined the Knights of the Blood Alliance!"

Sakakibara nodded, feeling quite proud. He sighed, "This is the influence of the Blood Knights among new players. Although I don't know how many actresses will stay to play in the end, this makes me see the future of the guild. Even if one day I stop playing Sword Art Online, there will be someone who will take up the banner and continue to lead the Blood Knights."

Koichiro Yuki sneered to himself without saying anything. He obviously underestimated the evil ambition of Kaede Sakakibara. If the guild held a face-to-face event one day, wouldn't this junior Sakakibara do something to let Asuna down!

The fifty-odd actresses who entered the Blood Alliance Knights were a minor problem, but it made Koichiro Yuki see the big picture and gave him a chill.

"Sakakibara-san, how many members of the Blood Knights are female?"

"Well... about 30 to 40 percent. Of course, most of them are doing logistical supply, but even on the front line of land reclamation, there are quite a few female members. As you know, Asuna is one of them." Sakakibara Kaede glanced at Yuuki Koichiro and said.

Koichiro Yuki took a deep breath. If the meeting he had imagined before happened, wouldn't this junior Sakakibara do that?

Kiyoshi Takenaka noticed the internal struggle of Yuki Koichiro. He thought he was just thinking about which actress was better. He nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Yuki, which actresses do you think will make it to the next round of auditions?"

Koichiro Yuki raised his head, his glasses became clear again, he returned to work and handed over his notebook.

In terms of selecting roles, Yuuki Koichiro is not a professional crew member. He has little experience in auditions and leaves the resume and background to the Sword Art Online production team, including Takenaka Kiyoshi, to decide. He can only screen the actresses based on their appearance and the expressions of a few simple words to see if they look like Yuuki Asuna.

"What about you, Sakakibara-san? Which actress do you think stands out among the crowd?" Takenaka Kiyoshi asked with a smile, a hint of laughter in his tone. "Because Sakakibara-san and several actresses who auditioned this time were partners before, I wonder who Sakakibara-san will prefer?"

"Sakurajima-san, Higuchi-san, Ichinose-san, Kashima-san..." Takenaka Kiyoshi sighed, "These are all from STARS agency, and there are many actresses from other agencies..."

"How can I say this?" Sakakibara Feng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he still coughed twice and said seriously, "No matter who my partner is, I have no problem with it."

"Okay, I'm just asking out of curiosity." Takenaka Qing shook his head and left with a smile.

While the crew was discussing quietly and quickly, Yuuki Koichiro took a sip of water and said, "Speaking of standing out, there is one actress who impressed me deeply."

"Who?"

"Mai Sakurajima-san." Yuki Koichiro recalled the expression on her face when she answered the question, "Maybe it's because she and Asuna have lived together for a long time. I feel that the character she just played is indeed very similar to Asuna in every move."

"Of course, on a personal level, I am also very grateful to Sakurajima-san. Asuna told me that when she lived in the apartment, Sakurajima-san took good care of her and treated her as his own sister. If the role of the female lead is given to him, I have no objection, but it would be unfair to other actors to decide now."

Upon hearing this, Sakakibara Kaede slowly nodded.

"Well, let's talk about it in the second round of interviews."

The two of them hurriedly ended their conversation and browsed their phones for a while. The crew discussed for more than ten minutes and came up with a list that everyone could agree on. The list was handed over to the staff, who walked towards the lounge after receiving the list - Sakakibara Kaede had already imagined the expressions of those actresses who were not selected.

That's how auditions work. The next one-on-one auditions will be conducted by Kiyoshi Takenaka himself. Sakakibara Kaede just glanced at the list and found several familiar names on it, so he didn't say much.

Even if you want to congratulate them, you have to wait until they get the female lead role.

"The cast list should be announced tonight."

Takenaka Kiyoshi came and sat down in front of the two of them. He nodded to Yuuki Koichiro first and said, "Mr. Yuuki, I'll leave your publicity to you."

Koichiro Yuki said, "This is an opportunity for RECT Enterprises, I understand."

"From STARS Agency... I've already contacted Sakakibara-san's agent Iida-san in advance, so I'll ask you to forward it when the time comes."

"No, no, this is my job."

The three of them chatted briefly, and the next round of auditions soon began. Yuuki Koichiro and Sakakibara Kaede leaned back on the sofa again, and the tips of their pens rested on their notebooks for a moment.

The questions asked in the second round were more tricky. Perhaps because Kiyoshi Takenaka was present in person, some actresses paused for a very long time before answering the questions, and then spoke fluently.

Mai Sakurajima naturally had no fear in the face of such occasions. Her qualifications allowed her to chat with Kiyoshi Takenaka with a natural smile, rather than simply answering questions like some other actresses.

"What do you think are the difficulties in filming Sword Art Online?"

Mai Sakurajima heard Takenaka Kiyoshi's question and nodded slowly, "I think part of it may be a matter of exercise volume."

"Oh?"

The smile on Takenaka Kiyoshi's face deepened, and he stretched out his hand to signal her to continue.

"In the information released so far, although the monsters and bosses will be produced in the form of CG, it does not mean that the actors do not need to exercise in the play. In Sword Art Online, simply using swordsmanship requires a lot of physical fitness and strength."

Takenaka nodded, that's right. In such a grand shooting range of Sword Art Online, there are naturally scenes where the male protagonist and other players team up to attack. In this case, stuntmen are used. They have outstanding physical activity, which is an innate advantage.

For the action - swordplay, there are many action directors in Takenaka Kiyoshi's crew, including Miyamoto Fumiaki, an old acquaintance of Sakakibara Kaede.

With their guidance, the fighting scenes between people or people and monsters can make people's blood boil.

"Based on the plot, what kind of game do you think Sword Art Online is, and how do you view it?"

Mai Sakurajima took a deep breath and thought for a moment. She remembered the moment when Asuna Yuuki's eyes were shining when she was playing Sword Art Online, the pride in Asuna Yuuki's eyes when she helped her, and the shyness and happiness in Asuna Yuuki's eyes when he introduced her and Kaede's home.

Would these things change if Sword Art Online was a death game?

Mai Sakurajima asked herself, entering the death game, the body was separated from the human mind and soul, as if she was trapped in a different world.

At the beginning, I definitely felt like I didn't belong here. That kind of loneliness and despair seemed to be able to devour a person completely.

Then, she met him.

Just like in real life, Mai Sakurajima met Kaede Sakakibara. She believed so much that if the Sword Art Online incident really happened, the first person to reach out to her would definitely be Kaede Sakakibara.

"At the beginning... I was definitely afraid, hesitant, and felt desperate. There were too many things in real life that I hadn't completed. The intersection in my heart was burning like a ball of black flame—"

Yuuki Koichiro pushed up his glasses.

"But, after living in Sword Art Online for so long, I also have the idea of ​​treating it as a home." Sakurajima Mai smiled, "What's more, I met him in such a death game. That kind of happiness will make me gradually forget the fear of death. Maybe I won't be afraid if I really die, because he has always been by my side... Although Sword Art Online is a death game, somewhere in my heart, I must have regarded it as my home."

Koichiro Yuki straightened up and took a breath. His glasses shone like an incandescent lamp under the light. Kaede Sakakibara, who was sitting next to him, suddenly felt difficulty breathing.

"She's the one." Yuki Koichiro pointed at Sakurajima Mai with confidence, his eyes showing strong self-confidence, "There is absolutely no problem letting Sakurajima Mai play the leading role. Her answer is exactly the same as the answer in my mind."

Seeing how excited Koichiro Yuki was, Sakakibara Kaede was very impressed with Mai Sakurajima. She was already shining among all the actresses, and this answer touched the hearts of the investors, which was really amazing.

Kiyoshi Takenaka paused for a moment, and he seemed very satisfied with the answer. The crew members already had a copy of the story, and the actors only got an incomplete version. The fact that they could give exactly the same answer as the correct one in this situation could only show that Mai Sakurajima had an extremely talented understanding of the character and plot calculations.

Mai Sakurajima's position as the heroine is set in stone, and Kaede Sakakibara is happy for her. At the same time, she is also eager to try. It has been a long time since she has acted opposite Mai Sakurajima in a TV series, and she wonders what kind of fierce battle it will be this time.

The audition for the heroine was over, and the crew had almost no discussion and had agreed on Mai Sakurajima as the heroine. Of course, this was also related to the decision of Koichiro Yuki. After the staff announced the results in the lounge, the next step was to audition other female characters.

These female characters are the people the male protagonist meets in the game, and they have more or less formed bonds with him. According to Koichiro Yuki, they all have a certain degree of love for the male protagonist.

Those actresses who did not get the leading female role began to try other types of roles, but this time the interviewer was naturally not Kiyoshi Takenaka.

When the male and female lead actors were confirmed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and felt that this result was what everyone expected. Sakakibara Kaede is the most successful actor who has debuted in recent years. He is a successful actor and a successful musician. The number of his fans is increasing at a very fast rate, and the amount is as large as the spray after eating Wallace.

Needless to say, Mai Sakurajima debuted as a child star, and she is the best in her age group in terms of appearance, personality, and acting skills. When the two worked together before, there were already some CP fans for Sakakibara Kaede and Mai Sakurajima. No matter which drama they were in, there were scenes of them smiling at each other, which made those CP fans say they were so touched.

Koichiro Yuki was also very satisfied. He patted Kaede Sakakibara on the shoulder and said nothing.

The two continued to observe the selection of the remaining female leads. The speed of deciding on the subsequent female roles was not slow. In one or two cases, Koichiro Yuki took out the manuscript and discussed the character settings with the crew members. It took almost ten minutes before the final decision was made.

After a busy day, Sakakibara Kaede finally got the list of several main actors when she left.

The male protagonist, Kaede Kiritani: Kaede Sakakibara.

The heroine Asakura Haruna: Sakurajima Mai.

Lisbeth: A trip to Deer Island.

Silica: Chizuru Ichinose.

Mei Kiritani: Nakano Ichika.

Lucky: Higuchi Enka.

. . .

"Who is this Xing?" Sakakibara Feng pointed at the list and scratched his head, wondering, "It seems that the female character Xing doesn't appear in the story that was sent to me?"

Yuuki Koichiro and Takenaka Kiyoshi looked at each other, and both of them burst into laughter like the midnight snack of the Soul Palace Reverend.

"Jie Jie Jie Jie Jie!"

"Jiejiejie——"

"Nothing, I just thought of something happy." Takenaka Kiyoshi stepped forward and patted Sakakibara Kaede's shoulder, then ruffled his hair fiercely, "It's an important role, and Higuchi-san has to play it."

"Uh, okay."

Seeing that there was nothing strange about the two men except their strange and cheerful smiles, Sakakibara Kaede gave up. He put the list back into his bag and bowed slightly to the two men.

"Please give me more advice."

"We are the ones. Thank you for your guidance in the future."

Takenaka Kiyoshi and Sakakibara Kaede shook hands, and Yuki Koichiro pushed his glasses, smiled faintly and nodded.

"Do you need me to take you there?"

"Just drop me off near the subway station if that's convenient for you."

Kaede Sakakibara nodded, and Koichiro Yuki walked behind him with a smile. Before he completely walked down the stairs, he suddenly looked back.

Takenaka Kiyoshi's face looked like bronze in the setting sun, with half of it hidden in the shadows.

The two looked at each other, saw some emotions in each other's eyes, and the corners of their mouths curled up slightly.

"Jiejiejiejiejie——"

Two JKs who were passing by after school spilled their milk tea on the ground. Along with the girl's cry, the flock of birds was startled and flew away with flapping wings.

Chapter 8: Student Union Member Line

"This is just a game, but it's no joke."

After finishing dinner, Kaede Sakakibara and the Konno family were washing dishes when they heard Konno Kapok running down the stairs excitedly and showing her cell phone to Kaede Sakakibara.

The young man squinted his eyes and saw that it was a new update released by Toei. Although it was only released less than ten minutes ago, it already had hundreds of likes and dozens of comments. He wiped his hands, took the phone from his sister, clicked on the comment area, and found that the fans in the comments were a bit mixed.

There are fans of different actors, fans of Toei, and players of Sword Art Online.

"So, brother is really going to film Sword Art Online? I'm so looking forward to it!" Konno Kapok smiled and clung to Sakakibara Kaede's shoulders, and the latter rubbed her head helplessly.

"But is this the only information released?"

She tapped the screen of her phone, which only showed the actors filming Sword Art Online, without even the time period or the release date of the first episode.

Kaede Sakakibara knew that this was a tease, so he took out his phone and found that the RECT company he followed had also posted an update. After his previous update previewing the version update, there was a new message celebrating the film and television adaptation of Sword Art Online.

The young man pondered for a moment, saved the makeup photo they sent, removed the watermark, and re-posted it with his own words.

"Brother, come on!"

"Okay, okay, go do your homework."

"I've finished writing it a long time ago, and I'll be reviewing the new lessons later."

Konno Kapok agreed obediently. Mrs. Konno was taking a break from work in the room. In the huge living room, only Sakakibara Kaede was watching TV and slowly tidying up the dishes.

Seeing his sister walking quickly up the stairs, Sakakibara Kaede quickly withdrew his gaze.

The casting has come to an end and he can take a break for a while. Tomorrow is a weekend and he doesn't have to get up at 7:30 in the morning, but can sleep until 11 o'clock.

He yawned, turned off the TV and left a light on, then went upstairs to do some work. Today was Friday, and he could go online and play some games after finishing his work.

Of course, it was another matter entirely when they discovered that Yuuki had quietly come online during the game and then Kaede Sakakibara entered the Konno Cotton Season and arrested the two sisters for playing the game.

The next day, Sakakibara Kaede took a nap and when she opened her eyes, it was almost twelve o'clock. The Konno sisters had rehabilitation classes today, and Mrs. Konno was responsible for picking them up. During the class, she would also meet with some of her friends, and they would have dinner and chat with each other.

The young man reluctantly left the quilt, washed up and went to the living room, where he found breakfast prepared for him by Mrs. Konno.

Sakakibara took a sip of iced milk from the refrigerator and took out his phone to check the messages. He didn't really check Twitter. In the past, he could interact with his fans one-on-one, but now that the number of fans has increased and the media is bigger, he can no longer interact with fans as closely as before.

Most of the time, Twitter is handled by the agency, otherwise Sakakibara Kaede will be completely unable to deal with the fans who send private messages and chat with her.

There are two chats on line, sent one hour ago.