I Thought This Was a Slice of Life

Then she went straight to the clerk to ask what Uesugi Yuichi had bought.

Uesugi Yuichi had no idea that the clerk was actually a close friend of Yuzuki Sasaki, and her presence at the bookstore was simply because she was waiting for the clerk to get off work so they could go shopping.

Section 10: The Great Demon King Inoue Shuya

In this shot, Yuzuki Sasaki's face was flushed red, and while she fought back her shyness, she had prepared herself to accept Uesugi Yuichi's hobbies.

However, upon hearing the genre of the book, Yuzuki Sasaki's face turned pale in an instant.

Next was a close-up of her face.

Yuzuki Sasaki froze in shock, her eyes shimmering with tears, her lips parting and closing as she found herself unable to speak.

Hanazawa Sakura held the script in one hand and blurted out, "Eh---?"

Everyone shuddered.

With just that one syllable, Hanazawa Sakura's transparent, trembling voice contained a heart-wrenching intensity, like the moment right before a volcano erupts.

The girl's expectations and longing for love, shattered in an instant.

A moment both sweet and bitter.

Yuzuki Sasaki clenched her fists in disbelief, then loosened them.

Her left hand gripped her skirt, while her right hand clutched tightly at the clothes over her chest, her expression one of utter bewilderment, as if she were suffocating.

"Teacher Uesugi, he..."

Hanazawa Sakura fought back a sob, her voice filled with heartbreak.

Her world was collapsing.

Yuzuki Sasaki watched Uesugi Yuichi's pathetic, retreating figure, tears streaming down her face.

"Already, has a child---?"

Her sobbing voice carried a soul-crushing hoarseness.

The second episode ended; if this were the actual broadcast, the ending theme would have kicked in perfectly here.

Shuya couldn't catch his breath, gripping his chair tightly; it was his first time hearing his own mother perform at full power.

Are voice actors truly monsters?

Shuya couldn't help but recall this phrase he had heard in his past life.

Just by listening to Hanazawa Sakura's voice, he felt a resonance that made him want to cry.

What soul-stirring acting.

It was truly divine.

The young voice actresses sitting in the recording studio stood up in a rush, excitedly crowding around Hanazawa Sakura to shower her with praise.

Strictly speaking, none of them had debuted yet; they were merely voice actor trainees, so they naturally lacked field experience, let alone seeing such spine-tingling acting in person.

These young women called her "Senior Hanazawa" one after another, asking her how she managed to pull off such a performance.

Hanazawa Sakura wasn't arrogant at all and answered them very kindly.

She smiled and said, "Acting, aside from talent, is really just about diligent practice. If I had to say, it's about immersion."

"Perhaps many people think that anime is just a fake work created by humans, but I don't think so. To the people within the work, it is still a life they are living with all their might; they are individual, real worlds."

Hanazawa Sakura sighed, "We must always maintain a humble and reverent heart, and no matter when, go all out to perform these individual lives well; only then can we do them justice. Perhaps this mindset is the key to improving one's acting."

The young women's eyes were filled with the starry-eyed look of little fans.

Hanazawa Sakura smiled:

"Actually, these are words my father once told me, so I'll pass them on to you now... Well, I have things to attend to, excuse me."

After she finished speaking, she didn't care about the excitement of the young women and pulled Shuya out, as the agreed-upon time was almost up.

The young women also had to go to their part-time jobs; although the wages for voice actors in this world had indeed risen, they hadn't debuted yet and couldn't earn much money.

Hanazawa Sakura pulled Shuya along and exchanged a few words with Inoue Hikoo, just as the front desk announced that the representative from the children's clothing company had arrived at the reception room.

Hanazawa Sakura hurriedly took Shuya over.

As they walked, Shuya silently thought about the information on this company.

When he rode in Inoue Hikoo's car to the company this morning, Hanazawa Sakura had already introduced this company to him.

According to her, this children's clothing company was incredibly famous, ranking in the top ten of the Earth Federation.

Originating from the Great Britain Administrative District, it was a brand with a long history.

It was called Children's Dream.

Shuya heard from his mother that when news first broke that the company was looking for a spokesperson, countless talent agencies nearly fought until their brains spilled out.

Who would have thought that the company didn't pay them any mind at all and pointed directly at Inoue Shuya.

The reason they gave was also quite convincing.

Inoue Shuya undoubtedly had the most seniority among child stars, having debuted for five full years.

He could no longer be considered a newcomer; his credentials were the strongest not just in the Japan Administrative District, but among all child stars across the Earth Federation.

Next, his appearance was sufficiently striking, the type that could rely on his looks alone. Yet, the awards he had won were enough to prove that he could also become famous through talent.

Popularity was also an important reference point, and his popularity was top-tier among child stars in the Earth Federation.

Finally, there was the matter of his personal reputation.

Inoue Shuya had no childish temper (because he truly wasn't a child), was humble and polite, never acted like a diva despite his achievements, and spoke in an interesting and pleasant way, earning him extremely high praise within the industry.

The adults who had worked with him all spoke highly of him; his composure and eloquence, which far exceeded his age, were also significant bonus points.

Children's Dream had decided on Inoue Shuya as their spokesperson from the very beginning.

The person in charge of Children's Dream in the Japan Administrative District had openly told all the agencies that came knocking that the headquarters had stated from the start: if they were looking for a spokesperson in the Japan Administrative District, there was no one else to consider but Inoue Shuya.

Once that was said, all the talent agencies could not object and had no choice but to accept it.

The title of "child prodigy" had been attached to Inoue Shuya for five years without a single person objecting, so they naturally held an attitude of tacit approval.

Their own child stars were simply not on the same level as him.

However, Children's Dream was still being fawned over by various agencies because this time they weren't just looking for a boy to represent them; girls were needed as well.

That was where the opportunity lay.

Among the child actresses, there was no "demon king" like Inoue Shuya who could suppress all the heroes, so there was still a chance to compete.

Children's Dream was also quite reasonable, saying they would consult Inoue Shuya's opinion before making a decision, only asking the agencies to submit their materials.

After hearing Hanazawa Sakura finish, Shuya also felt that this company was very sincere.

Moreover, the sincerity of the money was even more substantial.

Shuya was a bit puzzled as to why this company was so easy to talk to, but after hearing from his mother later, he understood: it was a company run entirely by women.

It turned out they were all subjects who had fallen under the spell of his child-sized trousers.

Inoue Shuya could only say that his careful management over the past few years had finally... ahem, finally blossomed into results.

Hanazawa Sakura and Shuya soon arrived at the meeting room.

Inside, two middle-aged women were waiting; one had blonde hair and blue eyes, while the other had black hair and black eyes.

There was no need to guess that the blonde woman was from the headquarters.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Hanazawa Sakura bowed and said.

The two women also stood up, greeting and shaking hands with Hanazawa Sakura respectively.

After the three adults finished their greetings, the two women's gazes couldn't wait to look toward Shuya.

Shuya observed the two of them for a moment and could see that they were already excited.

He immediately understood that these were two "mommy fans."

Shuya was far too experienced in dealing with fans like this.

He skillfully revealed a smile that was both cute and handsome, and said with a sweet mouth:

"Good afternoon, big sisters."

I'm dying!

The two women's breathing quickened for a moment.

Shuya then used English to say to the blonde woman: "Hello, I have always liked the clothing from Children's Dream, but it's a pity it's too expensive! I am very happy to be able to cooperate this time."

Shuya was speaking nonsense with a straight face, his gaze appearing very sincere.

However, the blonde woman did not respond for a moment.

She was plunged into immense joy.

Because...

It was rare to find someone in the Japan Administrative District who could properly pronounce "Dream" correctly!!!

Section 11: Sakurajima Mai

Blaise had been to Japan many times.

She could accept the air, food, culture, and all other aspects here, but the only thing she found awkward no matter what was...

This godforsaken Japanese-style English!

Why did such an anti-human thing exist in this world!

Even that American dialect, which wasn't even English, was ten thousand times better than it!!!

Yes, as a pure Brit, Blaise had well inherited the sharp, cynical nature of the British to criticize everything under the sun.

She wanted to solemnly declare that the American dialect, which deserved a kick in the pants, was not English at all!

Ever since she came to the Japan Administrative District, she realized there were demons even more terrifying than the American dialect.

That's right, I'm talking about you people!

Japanglish!

Dream!

Driver!

Training!

What the hell kind of nonsense is this?

However, at this very moment, Inoue Shuya gave her a massive surprise.

Blaise could tell that Shuya's English was unpracticed and stiff, but the accent was definitely British, not Jap—damn it, she didn't even want to mention that name!

"Shu-chan, so you actually know English."

Blaise stood up excitedly and awkwardly tried to pronounce the name Shu-chan.

"Only a little."

Shuya maintained his innocent smile.

"Hehehe, for your age, you speak it very well."

If Blaise's favorability toward Shuya had originally been one hundred, it was now one hundred and twenty.

She hugged Shuya affectionately and kissed his cheek.