"Hello, I'm Nakajima Momoka from J.P. Agency. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Her golden hair was tied into twin sections with black ribbons, and she wore a cute white Western-style dress. Petite and looking like an adorable high school girl, the girl bowing in greeting before Tōgi Yūko was a rookie voice actor named Nakajima Momoka.
Correction.
She did not merely look like a high school girl.
She actually was one.
Tōgi Yūko sat at one side of the recording studio, wearing a dark-colored dress paired with a deep blue jacket. Her long black hair fell to her waist, and the casual motion of brushing the hair beside her ear made her look like an intellectual female novelist, the sort who could calmly handle any situation.
Her gaze shifted from the script in her hands to the cute blonde girl before her. After hesitating briefly, she frowned.
"Didn't we already introduce ourselves last time?"
It was not only the voice-acting industry. Japanese society as a whole placed great importance on seniority.
Generally speaking, when voice actors met for work, the more junior voice actors were expected to greet their seniors.
Tōgi Yūko did not like the blonde girl in front of her.
The first reason was her voice acting.
Although Nakajima Momoka had a distinctive voice and was technically quite professional, her frivolous attitude toward performing a character and her lack of care were obvious the moment one listened.
It could not be said that Nakajima Momoka looked down on voice acting, but Tōgi Yūko was certain she had no real interest in the profession.
During the time they had spent together recently, Tōgi Yūko had unintentionally learned a little gossip about Nakajima Momoka.
Both of her parents were major figures in the industry.
Her mother was a retired veteran voice actor, and this particular role had been secured for her through her mother's efforts.
Tōgi Yūko was responsible for Saber's main voice work, while Nakajima Momoka voiced Saber during her childhood.
How could someone like that possibly appeal to Tōgi Yūko, who had fought her way forward through her own efforts?
Compared to her, even Amamiya Kae, whom she had worked with on 'Fate/zero', seemed far more likable, despite Amamiya Kae being fairly unserious herself.
The blonde girl asked with a giggle, "Really? I already forgot. Can I sit beside you?"
"Do as you please."
Nakajima Momoka sat down, rested her cheek on one hand with her elbow propped on her knee, and simply stared at Tōgi Yūko.
After a while, Tōgi Yūko, unable to continue concentrating on the script because of that gaze, turned toward her in irritation.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. Actually, what I said earlier was a lie. I just wanted to learn more about you, so I used such a clumsy way to strike up a conversation," Nakajima Momoka said with great interest.
Tōgi Yūko became even more displeased and replied coldly and bluntly, "I don't think there's any need for us to learn more about each other."
Nakajima Momoka acted as though she had not heard and continued asking, "Say, Senior Yūko, why did you choose to become a voice actor? Weren't there better paths available to you? Someone as talented as Senior Yūko could easily have become a singer or something."
Tōgi Yūko put down the script and glanced around the recording studio.
There were quite a few senior figures from the voice-acting industry present, so she could not say anything too harsh to Nakajima Momoka.
Frowning, she replied, "I chose the performance department."
"But singing is pretty important for voice actors too, isn't it?"
Tōgi Yūko answered coldly, "I'll work hard to learn."
Nakajima Momoka spoke in a strange tone.
"Ehh... even though you graduated at the top of your class from Kyoto Music Academy."
Rustle!
The paper script tightened in Tōgi Yūko's grip.
Her voice turned cold.
"If there's nothing else, could I ask Miss Nakajima not to disturb me while I'm studying the script? This is very important for the job."
"It's only the second PV. The character doesn't even have that many lines. What's the big deal?"
Nakajima Momoka gave her a sweet smile.
Tōgi Yūko's expression became calm.
Instead, that sentence made her laugh lightly.
"That's true. For you, perhaps it doesn't matter."
Nakajima Momoka's words made Tōgi Yūko completely understand that the two of them lived in entirely different worlds.
There was no point in continuing the conversation, nor was there any need to let herself be shaken by the girl's almost provocative arrogance.
"Senior Yūko really is interesting~."
Nakajima Momoka straightened her posture and said softly with an ordinary expression, "I'm not interested in voice-acting work. I only accepted this job because my mother arranged it and I had no choice. So I really can't understand voice actors like Senior Tōgi, who clearly have better options but insist on clinging to this industry."
"Voice acting isn't as boring as you imagine, nor is it as easy as you imagine."
Tōgi Yūko glanced at her.
Nakajima Momoka tilted her little head, golden hair falling across her forehead.
"Really? Hehe. To me, it's just saying a few lines along with a character and then easily earning everyone's recognition. I actually like that part, because I like hearing people praise me."
The thick, specially made wooden door of the recording studio opened.
Tōgi Yūko's manager, a capable-looking woman, walked over and quietly reported to her.
"Yūko, Mr. Kamiyā will also be coming over for the recording work later. He'll be attending as the representative of the original work."
"Director Kamiyā!"
Tōgi Yūko put down the script in surprise.
After thinking for a moment, she stood up.
"Then I'd like to greet Director Kamiyā as well. When will he arrive?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but he'll definitely be here before recording starts," her manager replied confidently.
Tōgi Yūko nodded.
"Then I'll wait in the lounge in the hallway."
With that, she ignored Nakajima Momoka and left the recording studio.
Part of the reason was genuinely to greet Kamiyā Yuu. After all, she was still one of the main voice actors in 'Fate/zero'.
The other reason was that she wanted to escape Nakajima Momoka's pestering.
Nakajima Momoka watched Tōgi Yūko's departing figure.
After thinking for a moment, she also left the recording studio and dialed a number on her phone.
"Hello, Mom?"
"Momoka, did something happen?"
"No, not really. I just came across something I'm curious about. The anime I'm voicing is adapted from a light novel, right? I wanted to ask about Mr. Kamiyā, the original author."
"Mr. Kamiyā Yuu?"
"Mom knows him?"
"It would be strange if I didn't. Momoka, at the very least, you should learn about the background of the work you're doing. I called in quite a few favors to get you one of the main voice roles in this anime. If you do well with this job, it'll be very helpful for your future in the voice-acting industry. The original author is named Kamiyā Yuu. Look him up online, and you'll understand. You're good at that sort of thing."
A gentle, doting female voice came from the other end of the call.
"Ehh... but it feels more reliable hearing it from Mom."
"I'm telling you to look it up yourself because even I can't explain everything. In any case, if you meet Mr. Kamiyā, you absolutely must remain polite. You always like competing with people and trying to come out on top."
"Yes~ yes, I understand. Then I'll look him up now."
Nakajima Momoka hung up.
Why was even her mother so cautious about this so-called Mr. Kamiyā?
Wasn't that Mr. Kamiyā simply the original author of the light novel 'Twilight of the Knights'?
Nakajima Momoka had taken similar voice-acting jobs before, and her impression of light novel authors was not particularly good.
They were uniformly chubby, with expressions that were either shy or sleazy.
One look and you could tell they were virgins.
"Ka-mi-yā~ Yuu. Input complete. Search!"
"Let's see... famous animation director?"
Nakajima Momoka stared at the information displayed on Wikipedia, puzzled.
"Wasn't he a light novelist? Someone with the same name?"
She continued scrolling on her touchscreen phone.
Before long, all kinds of information about Kamiyā Yuu appeared.
Nakajima Momoka's eyes widened slightly in astonishment.
When she saw that 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had been directed by Kamiyā Yuu, she suddenly understood.
"Oho~ So that's how it is. No wonder Senior Yūko was acting so serious."
She closed her phone, patted imaginary dust from her dress, and stood up with a light laugh.
"Then I'll go greet that original author too. Director Kamiyā Yuu, huh? Interesting."