Although Hokuto spoke with confidence, Kalpas stayed silent for a long time and ultimately didn't directly agree in front of everyone. Instead, they stepped aside.
However, Hokuto was not worried at all.
After all, if Griseo was the little darling of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, then Elysia was the big darling. It was her sincerity and charm that tightly connected all thirteen individuals, each with their own distinct personalities—or perhaps, excessively distinct personalities, including herself.
So, Hokuto believed Kalpas would eventually agree.
Well, back to the main topic.
The discussion about the character song for To Elysia was finished.
Next up was the official voice acting work.
"Alright, Mei, stay behind. The rest of you, as usual, please step outside and wait for a bit."
Following the usual routine, Hokuto prepared to ask everyone to leave the recording studio. It didn't matter that they were aware of the event and fanfic plot in advance. But for the main storyline—especially such a classic and iconic chapter as Chapter 31. To Elysia—it was crucial that they didn't know ahead of time.
"Ugh, Mei's voice acting again? When will it be my turn?"
Elysia asked, having been coming to MiHoYo every day. But other than voicing event plots, she hadn't had any direct interaction with the main storyline related to Elysia.
Wasn't it To Elysia?
Elysia was getting bored.
"Soon, soon," Hokuto replied, trying to calm her.
"You always say that..." Elysia murmured, a bit frustrated.
"This time it really is soon." Hokuto said with sincerity, "The scene you're voicing will be up next, don't worry. Even though you're free now, when the time comes, you might not even be able to keep up."
"Not able to keep up?" Elysia crossed her arms playfully, "Don't underestimate me~~"
"Heh, then I sincerely hope your voice acting for Elysia's part goes smoothly," Hokuto replied with a light laugh.
If, during the recording, Elysia couldn't control her emotions and failed to perform, that would be even better. He looked at the confident Elysia, hoping that would happen.
"Alright, time's running out, we need to get started, Elysia and you..." Hokuto steered the conversation back, ready to usher everyone out.
"But... I really want to stay and listen~~ Hokuto, can you make an exception? I promise I'll sit quietly and not make a sound!"
Elysia clearly didn't want to leave, and to emphasize her point, she raised two fingers in a promise.
"Elysia, do you think it's possible?" Hokuto asked with a deadpan expression.
"...Really not?" Elysia asked reluctantly.
Hokuto shrugged, "Really not… Come on, don't hold us up anymore. You don't want the main storyline's release to be delayed because of you, right?"
With that, Elysia reluctantly left the recording studio with the others. Only Mei stayed behind.
The voice recording officially began.
Now, Mei was just about to record a very crucial scene.
In the game, it was Mei's first attempt to reassemble Elysia in her memory space. To help Mei get into the right headspace for the voice acting, Hokuto gently read the narration aloud beside her.
"Mei recalled all the moments she spent with Elysia. The fragments of those memories came together in her mind like warm sunlight."
Mei bit her lip, slowly recalling all the events from earlier in the plot, and she developed a nearly identical yearning for Elysia, just like in the game.
The synchronization rate gradually increased.
With true emotion, she began:
"Although we've only known each other for a short time, she's always like this—appearing unexpectedly in every situation, leaving varying impressions in people's hearts."
"No one has ever been more sincere than her, and no one has ever been more pure..."
"She always remembers everything that was left in Elysian Realm… so, she shouldn't disappear from Elysian Realm's memories..."
"..."
"You will keep your promise, right?"
"You promised to reveal everything about Elysia to me, and all about the Thirteenth Herrscher... Now, I've come before you, so..."
"Respond to me, Elysia…"
(There's a slight edit, but this is the original text, and the voice acting effect in the original was quite good.)
Mei spoke with a soft, affectionate tone as she gently called out Elysia's name, and her voice moved anyone who heard it.
To describe it with one word:
These lines were so romantically spoken by Mei, leaving Hokuto, who already knew the next part of the plot, in thought.
For the first "Respond to me, Elysia," Mei's voice needed to carry a sense of hope and unease, so it should be soft and affectionate.
For the second time, "Respond to me, Elysia," Mei should project an attitude of "I can do anything," so her voice must be loud and full of power.
Unfortunately, the second "Respond to me, Elysia" in the Flower Language voice acting version had an issue—probably because the voice actress had just recovered from illness.
However, the Japanese voice acting was quite good, gradually building up to an emotional explosion, successfully conveying that sense of power.
As expected, Miyuki Sawashiro, a veteran voice actress, nailed it.
Hokuto quickly brought himself back from his drifting thoughts, clapping his hands.
"Clap, clap~~"
"This is great, Mei's getting more professional. I almost forgot your main job is as a designer."
Facing Hokuto's teasing, Mei didn't respond. After silently staring at the script for a moment, she suddenly asked:
"Will Elysia really respond to Mei this time?"
"Elysia will always respond to everyone's expectations, no matter when or where."
Hokuto replied, reciting Elysia's lines.
"So, does that mean this time too?" Mei let out a slight sigh of relief.
But just as she relaxed, Hokuto quickly added:
"Unfortunately, Mei, Elysia won't be responding to you this time."
Mei: "..."
"Can you stop sighing like that?"
Mei muttered, her expression growing a little heavier.
"Elysia won't respond to Mei? As expected... it's not that simple."
"Don't worry, someone will come to help Mei," Hokuto reassured her.
Mei turned a page in the script, then proposed a guess.
"Is it Eden?"
"You guessed it?"
"Because…"
"Eden and Elysia are best friends, so it's just the right time for her to show up, right?"
Before Mei could finish her reasoning, Hokuto quickly guessed what she was about to say.
Mei blinked at Hokuto, then shook her head gently, pointing to the script.
"Because... the next scene is Mei and Eden's conversation, so Eden must be the one to help Mei, right?"
"Well... that makes sense."
Hokuto hesitated for a moment but nodded lightly.
Mei continued flipping through the script, but it only covered the scene where Eden and Mei finished their conversation. There was no further script yet.
What's this? Are we cutting off the script too?
(╯°Д°)╯︵ ┻━┻
She couldn't help but ask aloud:
"Will Elysia respond to Mei this time? Will Mei and Eden succeed?"
"Of course."
Hokuto replied quickly.
After all, if he didn't say it, Mei would definitely guess it.
All the "bets" had already been placed on the table—if Elysia didn't show up now, when would she?
"That's good."
Even though the answer was predictable, Mei still breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing a definitive answer. Her expression relaxed significantly.
She began to compose herself and prepare to continue recording the lines.
"Let me take a moment, then I'll continue with the next lines."
Hokuto thought for a moment before deciding not to say the words he had planned, "After the reunion..."
Some things are better left unsaid.
[The tragedy is not the end, but the beginning of hope.]
Let them experience it themselves in the story.
Meanwhile, Hokuto had already found his spot, ready to quietly watch.
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium