Multiple choice system: Conan World

"Alright, send—"

Misaki Itakura raised her slender index finger in the air and lowered it, and the mouse in her hand made a "click" sound.

At the same time, the computer screen in front of her displayed the words "Email successfully sent."

"Ah~"

She exhaled a long sigh, then turned to look at Akikawa Kyousuke and smiled:

"I always feel more nervous than when I submitted my college entrance exams."

Two hours earlier.

Misaki Itakura and Kyousuke Akikawa had confirmed the roles they would be auditioning for.

Then, Misaki Itakura started preparing artist resumes and registration materials for Akikawa Kyousuke.

Although the registration materials and application forms are tedious, they are not complicated.

As for Itakura Misaki's biggest challenge,

It was how to embellish Akikawa Kyousuke's extremely sparse resume without violating the facts.

For instance, Misaki Itakura replaced "My dance skills are terrible" with "Has great potential for growth in dance."

"Dark personality" was replaced with "calm and reserved."

This kind of thing was easy for Itakura Misaki.

But in terms of academic qualifications, it gave her a headache for a long time.

Although artists don't pay as much attention to academic qualifications as other professions,

Akikawa Kyousuke's academic record—dropping out in elementary school—was really too bleak.

No matter how she embellished it, anyone who saw it would probably frown at first glance

and then think preconsciously that Kyousuke Akikawa had a very poor background.

Finally, just now.

Misaki Itakura prepared all the materials and sent them via email to the official review mailbox of the play *Voice of the Dead*.

"All the registration materials have now been sent by email. If it passes the preliminary review, you can participate in the audition."

"Since we're from Wonderful, which is the official partner company of *The Lost Lady: Voice of the Dead*, if our company's artists pass the preliminary review, they can skip the preliminary audition and go directly to the final full audition."

"If you pass the final audition, you'll successfully get the role."

"I hope I don't get rejected in the first review," responded Akikawa Kyousuke.

He also knew that his resume as an artist wasn't impressive.

If he didn't pass the initial review, it would be perfectly normal.

Akikawa Kyousuke didn't pay much attention to this matter.

On the other hand, his manager, Miss Itakura Misaki, seemed even more nervous than Akikawa Kyousuke himself.

"It seems like Miss Itakura chose this play for a special reason."

Akikawa Kyousuke quietly came to a judgment in his heart.

"Mr. Akikawa, no more delays, let's go!"

Itakura Misaki suddenly stood up.

"Where to?"

"To buy books, of course!"

Said Misaki Itakura.

"Since we registered too late, we don't have much preparation time."

"If you pass the preliminary review, there will be an on-site audition next week!"

"So go buy the novel *The Lost City Detective: Voice of the Dead* now and thoroughly understand the character you're about to audition for, Mr. Akikawa!"

"Alright," Akikawa Kyousuke nodded.

Half an hour later.

Misaki Itakura and Kyousuke Akikawa walked out of the bookstore and returned to the company.

At that moment, the bag in Misaki Itakura's hand contained two Bunko books of *The Lost City Detective: Voice of the Dead*.

"This book was already very popular, and recently it was adapted into a play, so it sold out again."

"As expected of Mr. Yusaku, he's amazing!"

Itakura Misaki couldn't help but sigh at the influence of Kudo Yusaku, the world-renowned mystery writer.

"But I finally understand why Miss Itakura cares so much about this audition. It turns out Miss Yoko is the lead."

Kyousuke Akikawa had just seen the promotional poster for the play in front of the shelf where *The Lost City Detective: Voice of the Dead* was displayed in the bookstore.

Okino Yoko, who plays the heroine in the play, was also positioned at the center of the poster.

Upon hearing Akikawa Kyousuke's words, Itakura Misaki's cheeks flushed red, and she nodded.

"After all, this is a chance to be in the same workplace as Miss Yoko, so I want to fight for it."

"Speaking of which, what surprised me the most was that Mr. Akikawa, knowing he might have the chance to perform on the same stage as Miss Yoko, didn't seem excited at all."

"I'm not like you, chasing stars so enthusiastically."

"But regular people usually get excited when they see a big star, right? And Miss Yoko is so beautiful, I find it hard to believe there are men who don't like Miss Yoko."

Hearing this, Akikawa Kyousuke also remembered the scene when he returned to the original owner's home for the first time four months ago after escaping the "matricide case."

At that time, he discovered that only the idol discs of Okino Yoko had not been rented out in the original owner's house.

From this, it could be concluded that the original owner and his mother considered those discs very valuable and even took them with them when they moved.

And this morning,

The agent next to him also said that Okino Yoko seemed very surprised when she saw him.

"Could it be that Okino Yoko knows me?"

"When I was burying the ashes of the original owner's mother, someone heavily wrapped was watching me secretly... Could that person have been Okino Yoko?"

"Wait... it seems I overlooked something..."

"The person was heavily wrapped and afraid that I'd approach, so she ran away."

"So, I concluded that it was because the other party was familiar with the original owner, and if they exposed even a little, their identity could be revealed."

"In fact, besides this situation, there is another possibility."

"It means that the other person is a big star whom anyone would recognize anytime, anywhere."

"Now it seems that the person who watched me secretly at that time was Yoko Okino."

"In that case... I still have to maintain the image of a child who has been under house arrest all year and hasn't had much contact with society."

"If it's discovered that my personality has changed too much from before, although there's no evidence, it will inevitably cause unnecessary trouble."

"Fortunately, probably not many people actually know the original owner."

Akikawa Kyousuke sighed silently in his heart.

Although he was a bit helpless, he had long been accustomed to this kind of thing.

Akikawa Kyousuke looked at the agent in front of him.

He always felt that, given the extent of Misaki Itakura's obsession with Yoko Okino, she would probably reveal everything about herself as long as Yoko Okino asked.

And the observation skills he demonstrated in front of Itakura Misaki this morning were obviously not in line with the original "Akikawa Kyousuke" image.

"You still need to plant the seeds around the people close to you."

Akikawa Kyousuke thought in his heart and at the same time nodded slightly toward Itakura Misaki.

"Actually, I quite like Miss Yoko."

Hearing this, Itakura Misaki looked at Akikawa Kyousuke with an "I knew it!" expression and felt very satisfied in her heart.

After the two returned to the company, Misaki Itakura took out the book she had just bought.

"Alright! Let's start reading now! You must fully understand the character and plot today!"

"Alright, Miss Itakura, I have a request..."

"Out with it! What's up?"

Misaki Itakura patted her chest and said confidently.

"Well, could you help me label the kanji characters in the book with kana?"

"Huh?"

*(End of the chapter)*