On the next day, Homura, who had taken a leave of absence, once again organized a voice actor audition.
Some suitable voice actors had already received notifications the previous night, and when Homura arrived, the audition started right away.
However, this time, there weren't many important roles to audition for, so they wrapped it up quite easily in the morning.
As expected, this news inevitably reached the internet.
[Comment 1: Hey guys, I've got some news!]
[Comment 2: What's up? Did some lolicon get busted or what?]
[Comment 3: Nah, it's about Minamiya-sensei holding auditions for voice actors.]
[Comment 4: Seriously? That's a huge surprise!]
[Comment 5: LOL, looks like the new work is coming soon.]
[Comment 6: But I heard Minamiya-sensei's only picking male voice actors this time.]
[Comment 7: What? For real? There are so many female characters, why just guys? Maybe Minamiya-sensei already finished the auditions for female voices?]
[Comment 8: Is the secrecy that tight? Seems like Minamiya-sensei's planning a big surprise. Man, I'm so hyped right now!]
[Comment 9: Same here! C'mon, drop it already! Can't get any sleep with all this excitement!]
'Well, well, this is really something.'
Homura shook his head as he read the online discussion.
'If it weren't for the confidentiality agreement, some dialogues would probably have leaked.'
===
In the afternoon, Homura brought the selected voice actors to the recording studio where he had previously recorded voices for 'Your Name.'
With the assistance of some staff, they managed to complete all the minor characters and extras with a few lines in just a few short hours. Even for characters like Cu Chulainn and Gilgamesh, who had a lot of lines, it took only a little recording time.
By the next morning, it was all done in less than half a day.
As for Emiya Shirou and Archer, it was Homura who came in person. After all, these two were basically the same person, which served as proof of the fans' speculation about the relationship between Shirou and Archer.
===
After school.
Following the locations provided by Homura, the girls found the recording studio.
"Amazing, nyaa!"
Rin, as she entered the recording studio, looked around, showing a lot of interest in everything.
"...I never thought I'd end up using this kind of equipment."
Megumi remarked as she touched the microphone stand, feeling that it lacked a tangible sensation.
"By the way, Homura-kun, what's this?" Honoka asked, pointing to a large box.
"Oh, that? It's our bento." Homura replied.
"So... you mean this is our dinner for today?"
"Yeah, we can't wait until dinnertime. Let's eat this first and then come back later."
Upon hearing this, Honoka hung her head.
Although she knew he was right, the taste of bento wasn't as good as freshly cooked food.
"No worries. I've considered the taste, so it shouldn't be too bad." Homura said with a smile, then thought, 'Is this even a problem? Just keep the soup and food separate so the food stays good.'
Today, he had prepared wontons, so they could heat up the soup in the microwave, add the wontons, and resolve the taste issue.
"All right! Next, I'll introduce you to the equipment, and then we can begin!"
Homura declared and began explaining the recording equipment.
===
"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg. The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulates."
"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Simply, shatter once filled."
"I announce! Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword. In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer."
"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead. You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance!"
As Nanami flawlessly recited the lengthy summoning chant, the most critical part of the recording began.
At this moment, all the girls seemed transformed. Watching their professionalism during the voice acting, it was hard to believe they had only received five days of training from Homura.
Except for Umi and Hanayo, who had to repeat their lines due to nervousness, the others got it right on the first try.
Homura also played his own recordings, as well as those of other male voice actors, to help them get into character even more.
During this time, Homura's bento also brought the girls a pleasant surprise. With satisfied stomachs, everyone's spirits stayed high.
After today's recording session, most of the female side characters with fewer lines were finished. However, characters like Medusa and Medea still had a few lines left to record, and the female main characters had only completed a small portion of their lines.
By the way, young Shirou was voiced by Yukiho.
===
On the way back home.
"Hahh... I was quite nervous before, but it's funny how I didn't feel that way when I actually did it." Honoka remarked with a smile.
"It's just like being on stage, right?" Homura chuckled. "You guys, who thrive on adrenaline, find that the nervousness just fades away once you're actually up there."
"After actually doing the voice acting, I feel like I've learned a lot..." Umi sighed. "Watching those anime shows, I used to think it was no big deal, but when you're the one doing it... all I can say is that voice acting is really not easy."
"Today was just me." Homura said, shaking his head. "If you were recording with real professionals and other voice actors around, you'd see what 'not easy' really means..."
After hearing this, the girls fell silent and couldn't imagine what the genuinely challenging situations were like.
Since their current routines were still at the level of school idols, they had only experienced a small part of the professional idol world, where there was a significant class difference.
In Elf's words, sales were everything, and the same was true for idols and voice actors, where popularity was everything.
"I can't even imagine..." Kotori muttered to herself.
"Is it really that scary, nyaa?" Rin shivered.
Hanayo and Nico exchanged knowing glances, as they knew much more about this side of the industry than the others.
Yukiho and Alisa, on the other hand, had the most relaxed attitude because their current lives were far removed from that world.
"Either way, it's not a big deal, and you guys don't need to stress about it. Don't you get how Another Dimension does things?" Homura said calmly. "Unless you want to take it on as an external job, then you'll need to be more serious and understand it better."