episode_0066

Just like I did last time in the club room, I was able to easily change my outfit by myself.

The experience of wearing it once was helpful, and I was able to put on the armor faster than last time.

I pulled on my gloves, put them on, and tried to sweep the armor over my chest.

In the mirror, the clean armor plate looked great without any fingerprint marks.

After fully arming myself, I came out of the dressing room and returned to the staff room, where Jenna was waiting.

I don’t think the manager has come out yet.

As the armor and shield made a metallic sound, Jenna, who had been looking at her cell phone, turned her attention to me.

“Hmm? oh… .”

“Trigram, are you okay?”

“Ah, what should I say about this… . Maybe it’s because I’m naturally impressionable. It doesn’t seem like it would suit blonde hair, but it looks good with a boyish look.”

You say things that are embarrassing to hear without any change in your expression.

Jenna got up from her seat and took a spin with me at the center.

“This. The reproducibility is pretty good. The model is good too.”

“… Thank you?”

“Special words.”

I felt a little embarrassed seeing Jenna nodding her head in admiration.

… Although I wasn’t conscious of it. I’ve met this person for the first time, not even half a day, let alone a day.

However, maybe I was the only one who felt awkward being alone together. Jenna showed interest in my cosplay by asking if she could take a picture.

“Yes. Would you like to cosplay as a team with me later?”

“… If possible, I hope this is the last time.”

“I see, it’s a shame. But if you change your mind, will you contact me? Can you take my number?”

“Ah. Yes.”

Suddenly, I was given a cell phone and we exchanged numbers.

I guess it could be said that I had no choice because I didn’t have the courage to say no to his face… .

Until the manager came out, I talked to Jenna about cosplay.

Director… … . Please come out quickly.

After a while. The manager who had been waiting appeared in the staff room.

I think I was a little late this time because I had to do my hair.

The girl’s normally neat hair had changed into soft wavy hair.

I opened the door to the staff room, which was a modern setting, and a witch from a fantasy world came out.

“Ta-da! Irina appears!”

“Wow.”

“Wow.”

The manager seemed not to like the soulless applause and cheers from Zena and I and waved his cane.

“Eight. What is that reaction?”

“It’s a joke. It suits you well.”

Jenna’s skillful consolation soothed the manager.

The last time I saw it, I honestly wasn’t very impressed.

… I need to stay quiet and not talk for nothing.

Anyway, the manager came too, so we followed Jenna back to the pub.

In front of the door leading to the counter, Jenna stopped us.

“ character. Shall we practice from the moment we appear?”

“… … ?”

wait for a sec. Has it already begun?

“Arara will take care of it… . Did you say Seojin? For now, let’s just keep it simple.”

Jenna pulled me by the arm and made me stand in front of the manager.

“Grandpia’s Crowd is usually a cheerful guy, but his characteristic is that he gets serious when he enters battle. Let’s use the concept of appearing while protecting Irina.”

“Yes, yes.”

“I know you’re nervous. Still, it’s better to do this practice while you can. If you want to film a video anyway, you have to keep repeating it, so try your best.”

Jenna, perhaps aware that I was a little stiff, smiled and tried to ease my tension.

“If acting like this is difficult, there are other alternatives. Let’s do it one by one first.”

I nodded.

Zena entered the store first, and I stood in front of the manager, raising my sword and shield as if to protect her.

“Can I do it like this?”

“Yes! I feel reassured!”

Protecting is protecting, and although that’s the concept, it shouldn’t completely overshadow the manager, so the manager, looking at me standing at an angle, tapped his cane and clapped instead of applauding.

As I was moving my body around for a while, trying to find a suitable posture, I heard Jenna calling me.

After making eye contact with the manager and nodding our heads to confirm our intention, I turned the door handle, took my stance, and pushed the door with my body to go inside.

With as serious a look as possible… . With the thought of protecting Buchou and Irina… .

As we exited through the door next to the counter, we saw a group of people sitting in a circle in front of us like an audience member.

I kept my distance and took a seat near the center.

I try to strike a pose that I did the last time I tried on clothes for the first time.

As soon as it stopped in that state, cheers were heard from the audience.

“Oh! what. You’re good at it, right?”

“Eyes pass.”

“Gaze handling is also okay.“

“Ohh.”

When I heard that sound, the tension in my body eased and my posture relaxed.

Immediately after, I covered my face with a shield due to the overwhelming embarrassment.

“Eh~ Why are you like that? It’s cool.”

Yumi spoke with regret.

This is still my limit… .

The manager supported me as I covered my face.

“If you just practice being a little more shameless, you will be able to do well on stage.”

“Woo~ Show me your handsome face~”

It took quite some time for my shame to subside.

* * *

After finishing a show that wasn’t a show, we sat down and talked.

“When you came in, was pushing the door open and coming in the direction you were thinking of?”

“Yes. What.”

My hands were uncomfortable, and I tried to come in naturally while covering my front with a shield, so it ended up like that.

“It was okay. Were you trying to think like a crowd as much as possible?”

“Yes… You can see that it is.“

After hearing what I said, Jenna placed her cheek on the table and said.

“Mmm. I think it would be a good idea to practice using method acting.”

“What does that mean?”

“Simply put. Just, if you think you can become that character, that’s method acting.”

Yumi joined in on Jenna’s explanation and added additional explanation.

“On the contrary, there are many people who act the character by melting it into themselves. That must be difficult, right?”

Considering my true self, I’m more of an introverted person, so it might be a bit difficult for me to show off through acting on stage.

When I nodded, the cosplayers gathered together and started chatting.

Taking advantage of that opportunity, the manager and Yoo Seol came to talk.

“Junior, you don’t have to worry too much. There’s still a lot of time until the preliminaries end. You don’t have to overwork yourself by thinking that you’ll finish everything today.”

“Yeah, yeah. And, you’re doing well enough now, and you’re really cool. Have confidence.”

I thanked both of them for their encouragement.

“Thank you. Don’t worry. I’ll do my best.”

I still don’t know what it’s like on the actual stage, but I think I’m feeling better now in front of people I know.

If you keep practicing, you will get better.

The manager breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what I said.

“I’m glad. You’re not angry, are you, junior?”

I smiled brightly at the manager.

The manager also looked at me and smiled.

The blonde knight and the black-haired wizard smiled at each other.

“The manager will eat today’s meal.”

“………yes.”

… How about just passing by?

* * *

We devoted ourselves to practice until late lunch time.

We got here before lunch time, so we knew we had been doing it for quite some time.

In the meantime, not for practice. Even when I asked them if they were meeting to have fun, their passion did not die out.

Yumi is in charge of analysis.

Twins are intellectual.

Jenna is in charge of proofreading.

There was no time to rest as the four of us took turns hitting repeatedly. You have to do it Spartan style like this to improve your skills… .

I thought Yoo Seol, the vice director, and the secretary would be boring, but Yoo Seol actively helped with the practice and gave various advice from the audience’s perspective.

The vice-president and secretary seemed to spend a good amount of time looking around for a while or working on something on their laptops.

I continued filming videos, posing, and practicing acting until I was exhausted.

Around the mid to late stages of practice, I felt somewhat rewarded and proud of myself improving.

… After that, I wondered if I was going to enjoy some kind of wealth or fame by staying here on the weekend, and right before my mind was sucked into the world of selflessness, Jenna stopped my practice.

“It’s a little late, but shall we have lunch?”

As soon as those words were out, my manager and I collapsed to the floor, leaning on each other.

“Ugh….”

“Huh….”

I’m at a point where I’m losing stamina, but I wonder if the manager was young.

As we collapsed to the floor, Yumi approached us with a sly voice.

“Oh. Are you already starting to act like a couple? I was planning on doing it after eating.”

After hearing those words, I reflexively turned my head and made eye contact with the manager.

I was startled and woke up because the distance was closer than I thought.

The manager looked like Yumi was holding his hand and helping him up.

“Oh my, Arara. Your face is red~”

“Ugh, ugh. Ha, don’t do that….”

“Hehe. Both of you, go change your clothes. You don’t have to wear any more clothes today. You need to eat too.”

After hearing Yumi’s words and looking at Jenna, Jenna nodded and gestured that it was okay to go.

“We’ll decide the lunch menu! There’s nothing to choose, right?”

My manager and I didn’t have the strength to respond, so we nodded slightly and headed toward the staff room.

After closing the door, the two of us were left alone, and the only sound we could hear was the sound of footsteps in the quiet, small hallway.

I broke the silence and asked the manager a question.

“…Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes? What! Oh, it’s nothing! Huh, junior, aren’t you really surprised!?”

“…No, that’s not it. I was asking if you were having a hard time.”

“…….”

The manager, whose face turned bright red again, quickly ran away to the locker room.

In the silent hallway, I felt embarrassed and went into the next room to change clothes.