Although it was their first time meeting Su Yan, everyone present looked extremely nervous.
In the Xia Nation's television industry, Su Yan might not yet be the greatest figure in history—but he was unquestionably the most influential figure of the present.
Perhaps Su Yan himself didn't feel it.
But after collaborating with him, Shen Liqian had gone from a fading, nearly forgotten actress to the most popular female star in the Xia Nation's television scene, all thanks to her role as Akana Rika. That story had already become a staple case study used by major talent agencies to motivate their artists.
Not to mention Gu Qingyuan's example.
So even though more than a hundred people were competing for a single role today—and all had paid their own airfare to Tokyo—no one backed down.
After all, becoming the female lead in a Su Yan drama meant skyrocketing in the Xia Nation's television industry.
A 1% chance at fame—who would retreat?
That was still better than the Xia Nation's lottery scams.
Inside the audition room—
Shinozaki Ikumi had already taken her seat beside the main chair, organizing documents.
"Morning," Su Yan greeted.
"I brought you breakfast. Eat quickly. If we move fast, we can hopefully finish all the auditions before 10 p.m.," she said, handing him a bag of steamed buns and soy milk.
"Thanks." Su Yan smiled.
He took the files from her and began flipping through them casually.
"I've highlighted the most promising candidates," Shinozaki Ikumi said rapidly. "First, these nine have the strongest visuals. Purely in terms of appearance, they'd stand out even among celebrities. Then these few have solid acting experience—I've reviewed their previous performances, and they're impressive. And these—about the 'righteous aura' you mentioned, I'm not entirely sure how to define it, but at first glance, they give off that upright and heroic beauty."
She didn't hold back at all—bombarding Su Yan with information the moment he sat down.
After listening for a while, Su Yan sighed softly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
As a producer, Shinozaki Ikumi was far more diligent and responsible than he, the screenwriter, was.
He continued reviewing the files.
But none of the candidates she highlighted truly stood out to him.
For Saber, beauty was secondary.
The key was temperament.
Photos alone weren't enough. Different cameras and lenses could distort many subtle details.
Some people were stunning in real life but looked bulky and awkward on a professional camera. Others were average in person yet appeared radiant on screen.
So today's auditions would be evaluated both live and through professional camera footage displayed on his laptop.
"Alright. Let's begin," Su Yan said after checking the time.
Soon, the candidates outside received notice.
For Saber's audition, Su Yan selected two scenes.
The first was her debut—
The classic line: "Are you my Master?"
That was mandatory.
The second was after her battle with Lancelot in 'Fate/Zero', when she returned to her era and wept in regret.
These two scenes had left the deepest impression on Su Yan.
The lines totaled barely more than ten sentences.
But the acting difficulty was extremely high.
The script included brief notes on Saber's emotional state in both scenes.
One by one, the auditions concluded.
Most left Su Yan with the same impression—
Unnatural.
They were beautiful.
But beauty alone was nowhere near enough to portray Saber.
A couple of them gave him a brief spark of hope—
But still fell short of the Saber in his imagination.
Though this outcome wasn't unexpected.
Anime characters were inherently fantastical.
Every fan subconsciously reimagined them in their own minds—adding filters, idealization.
Expecting a live-action actor to reach ten out of ten was impossible.
Even achieving five or six was already commendable.
After all, even in Su Yan's previous life, Artoria had only ever been a fictional character.
The historical "King of Knights" was a mythologized, obscure figure—Arthur of legend.
Where could one possibly find a 100% perfect match?
Su Yan understood this clearly.
But when the auditions actually began—
He still couldn't help feeling hopeful.
That evening, after the auditions ended—
Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi sorted through the materials.
"Well? Any favorites today?" she asked.
"These three," Su Yan said, pointing to the files. "Natasha Benson, Euniel Smith, and Bettina Peyton. If full marks are ten, based on those two scenes, they're around six or seven."
"Six or seven? That low?" Shinozaki Ikumi said in surprise.
"Not high, but not bad either. Six or seven is at least passing."
"This is the female lead of a series with over 100 million invested," she frowned. "And even you only rate them that?"
"At the very least, we should aim for an eight."
Su Yan paused.
"How about this—we keep these three as backups. Let's distribute the 'Fate/Zero' audition script to film academies. If any students are interested, they can submit audition videos online."
He continued,
"This is just a slim chance opportunity. Maybe some talented student actors couldn't afford to fly here, or lacked confidence. If we find better candidates through video submissions, we'll reimburse their travel costs and invite them to Tokyo for an in-person audition."
"If you think it's worth the trouble for this role, I'm fine with it," Shinozaki Ikumi said after a moment's thought.
"But it will delay the filming schedule. 'Fate/Zero' has already begun shooting. Some supporting scenes are underway. Saber can't be absent for too long."
"We'll set a deadline this week," Su Yan said decisively. "By next Monday, no matter what, we finalize Saber."
He tapped the three shortlisted files.
"If nothing better appears, we choose from them."
As it turned out—
His suggestion worked.
Over the next few days, Shinozaki Ikumi's inbox flooded with short audition videos.
After work each evening, she and Su Yan reviewed them together.
The mythical "ten out of ten" candidate Su Yan had never imagined that it would magically appear.
But by widening the search, he found four candidates who impressed him more than the original three.
He considered expanding the search internationally—
But the time cost was too high.
Su Yan recalled an essay from his previous life titled "The Largest Ear of Wheat."
A group of people walked through a wheat field searching for the largest ear, but each person could pick only one. Many would pass up a large ear, believing an even larger one awaited ahead—only to find that, after a certain point, none they encountered surpassed the one they'd abandoned.
In the end—
Many walked away empty-handed.
With billions of people in the world, Su Yan couldn't examine everyone.
He wouldn't make that mistake.
He quickly made his decision.
Invitations were sent to the four.
Two were eliminated after failing the camera test.
Of the remaining two—
After dressing them in Saber's knight armor costume—
Only then did Su Yan finally make up his mind.
On Saturday morning, he stopped hesitating.
Zhuang Yuxin.
A student at the Imperial Capital Film Academy.
Her father was from the Xia Nation; her mother was Western.
After she agreed to sign with Dimensional Pictures—
The official website updated the 'Fate/Zero' homepage that very day, announcing Artoria's casting.
That same day, news that Imperial Capital Film Academy sophomore Zhuang Yuxin had secured the female lead role in 'Fate/Zero' shot to the top of trending searches across major video platforms in the Xia Nation.
When people learned the full story—
From casually submitting an audition video,
To have her travel expenses reimbursed to attend a Tokyo audition,
To sign the contract—
All within less than five days—
The Xia Nation's entertainment industry exploded.
What kind of blessed koi luck was this?
So many A-list actresses struggled just to compete for a second female lead role in a Su Yan project—
And the female lead of a 100-million-investment drama went to a student with zero acting experience?
Su Yan, do you really just pick actors however you feel like?
A complete newcomer as the female lead of an S-tier drama—
A first in the Xia Nation's television industry.