Chapter 100

EP.100 The Bad Saintess Who Makes the Director Cry

I was now standing inside the set in the building.

My first impression upon seeing the interior of the set was,

"Wow…."

The vast, cave-like set, with its intricately crafted interior, was truly awe-inspiring.

Clearly designed to resemble a church, with elements like a Bible, a cross, and wooden chairs, it was strewn with flesh models, bone replicas, and blood-soaked dummy corpses.

Anyone would assume this was a scene of a brutal massacre.

This place would really make you feel like you're right here when seen through the camera.

Impressed, I was approached by a red-haired woman, the actress who had just entered the waiting room, in an explanatory tone.

"The set was completely changed just for one additional shot. The director, I mean, Director."

"Yes."

I had no backbone to say I didn't ask, looking at the beautiful woman with her sparkling eyes.

I wasn't particularly curious, but I appreciated her guiding me here.

There were three of us who had arrived at the set, including me.

The explainer, who had returned after reporting to the higher-ups, the beautiful actress, and me.

It was hard to understand how these three, with completely different professions, ended up in the same place.

The explainer kept glancing at the actress, trying to read the situation.

"Ms. Hira. Why…."

"What is it?"

"Never mind."

The explainer, who looked like he would have had a huge sweat drop on his head if this were a manga or game, was now trying to communicate with me through gestures.

I could almost understand what he was trying to say.

Why is she following me?

I responded with a look.

I don't know.

Whether he understood or not, the explainer let out a small sigh.

Regardless, the actress didn't stop looking at me.

Her gaze was so intense, it felt like she was shooting laser beams from her eyes.

She was going to burn a hole through my face.

Feeling uncomfortable, I met her gaze, and she said,

"Oh. Finally."

Was she trying to mimic a manga line?

Finally, you're looking at me.

She spoke with a naturally curved, pretty face.

"My name is Han Hira."

I couldn't possibly misunderstand that she was telling me her name, but I was so flustered that I missed my chance to respond.

The explainer, as if to help me, introduced me from the side.

"She's the Saintess."

"Why are you answering for her? You asked her. What did you say? Saintess?"

She looked at me as if she hadn't heard correctly, and I felt embarrassed.

Suddenly, I was introducing myself with a game nickname.

If someone introduced themselves with a name like Paladin or Golden Sun, I'd be pretty surprised too.

What kind of nerd does that?

But it seemed she wasn't questioning it in that sense.

She looked me over from head to toe again and said,

"Wow. It suits you."

Wow, that's ridiculous.

After that, she started following me around, calling me "Saintess, Saintess."

I was embarrassed and wished she wouldn't call me that in real life.

I should have introduced myself, but I missed my chance.

"..."

To be honest, I didn't want to give my name.

It wasn't that I didn't like her,

or that she had done anything wrong,

it was just,

well,

for some other reason.

If I said I had a mental illness, it wouldn't be a big problem.

If I didn't want to give my name to a stranger to the point of being called "Saintess" in real life, that's a mental illness, right?

Anyway, I swear I didn't do anything to this Han Hira.

She just kept following me because she liked me, and I couldn't tell her to stop, so I was stuck with her.

She asked me again,

"Are you going to act?"

"Me?"

"In this shoot."

"Oh. Yes."

"Director will be pleased."

"Will he?"

"Of course. He always sings about wanting the person in the video."

"..."

"Be careful, though."

Careful?

Oh, she meant he's strict.

"If you make a mistake, he won't let it go."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Even though she didn't have the ability to read my mind,

she looked genuinely concerned.

It was a bit funny that a professional actress was warning me,

but I didn't sense any ill intent.

It was a bit awkward being with a complete stranger,

but it felt good that she cared.

And apart from that,

hearing everyone talk about the director made me increasingly nervous.

Did I make a mistake by agreeing to this?

I had only been told I'd appear in a few shots and thought it would be a one-day part-time job, but now I was getting anxious.

What if I mess up?

I've never acted before, and I've never even tried.

From what I heard in the waiting room, the director might have had other reasons for wanting me.

If that's the case, I might have intruded without realizing it, and he might be annoyed with me.

What if I get yelled at and pushed around by the director during the shoot?

I'm scared….

"Oh. You're here."

As she said, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap started walking towards us from a distance.

His face was mostly covered by a beard that seemed to symbolize him, shining in the light.

He was holding a small megaphone, but it seemed to be more for decoration as he was shouting at the staff in a loud voice.

His voice was so powerful that we could hear him from the other side of the set.

"Who turned the lights up so high! I said to keep them minimal! Where's the light panel? What? You were on break? See me after this."

"Clear away the Steadicam and body mount! We won't need them anymore!"

"Clear away the microphones! Lower the jib more! No, if you lower it too much, it'll be in the shot! Do I have to explain everything?"

"The concept is white! White, red, gold! Have you already forgotten? Clear away those wooden planks! Get rid of everything that stands out!"

Wow.

It's not easy to shout like that, with his neck veins bulging.

I could almost guess his personality.

As the director arrived, the explainer and the actress led me to him,

but my feet wouldn't move.

Was this how a pig feels being led to the slaughterhouse?

I had a bad feeling that I was going to get a lot of trouble from this person.

But I couldn't just not go.

I couldn't break a contract I had already signed.

Ugh. Right. I have to go….

The time it took to move from one side of the set to the other felt like an eternity.

But we finally reached the director.

The director, who was checking various equipment, seemed not to notice our arrival.

The other staff members were just staring at us,

but it didn't seem strange to them.

Finally, the actress spoke to him with a meaningful smile.

"Director, sir."

"Ms. Hira. Did you rest well? Can we finish with the next shot?"

"Yes, yes. But I brought someone here."

"What?"

"What else? The mademoiselle you were calling for."

"What are you talking about? If you're joking…."

The director, who had been half-listening and avoiding eye contact, finally stopped checking the equipment and looked at us.

Now I noticed he was wearing a vintage monocle.

He had a somewhat nervous expression.

He was the quintessential middle-aged director.

His frowning face, which had been scowling, suddenly changed when he saw me.

His skin seemed to tighten, and all his wrinkles disappeared.

His eyes widened more than anyone else's I had ever seen, and he looked around as if he had seen something he shouldn't.

Sir, your eyes are going to pop out.

"Oh… Oh…."

He started examining me frantically,

but I didn't feel particularly bad, as it didn't seem like he had any ill intentions.

It was almost like a churchgoer's reverence for a cross.

He stared at me for a long time.

Finally, as if to check if this was real or a dream, he shook his head.

When he confirmed that I was still standing there,

he started crying.

He burst into tears like a chicken.

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Uhhhhhhhh!"

"…."

Eh, eh.

Why are you crying like that?

Who cries like that these days?

Even game characters don't make such forced crying sounds.

But I'm here for the shoot, so I have to be in this person's shot.

No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem normal,

…is he okay?

Author's Note

Thank you, Heungbil, for the 10 coin donation.

Thank you, NicknameNotShort, for the 100 coin donation.

I'll update the donation announcement later. Thank you again.

It's been a while since I've done a serial update, but it's not that long.

I wanted to show how beautiful the Saintess is, so I wrote it quickly, but it ended up being longer than I thought,

so I split it into a few parts.

Just to let you know, this part is a continuous comedy and fluff from start to finish. There are only a few more parts left, but anyway.

I don't have much expertise in video production, and I know I can't match the level of other professional novels even if I try.

So, think of this as a carrot for the Saintess, who has suffered through this.

After all, mindless fluff is