A few pieces of honey bread, plus a sugar-free coffee, were Miss Jia Na's meal for the entire day.
"After my Charm increased, even my Heavenly Voice talent improved slightly."
In addition to the enhancement of her appearance, details that Miss Jia Na might not have noticed in her daily life, such as her voice, singing ability, posture, and hair quality, all showed noticeable improvement.
Even her behavior, expression, and smile received an invisible positive correction on a Mysticism level due to the enhancement of her high Charm. With just a frown or a smile, she appeared more noble yet approachable than before.
"These improvements are good for the opera audition tomorrow."
As the Nightingale Opera Troupe, which is highly renowned in the City of Turin, the actors in the troupe are all one in a hundred in terms of both appearance and acting skills.
Even if some actors' appearances might not conform to current aesthetics, with the support of their superb singing and excellent performance skills, they radiate astonishing artistic Charm on stage.
This Charm is not related to appearance; it comes more from the power of the emotional core.
"Among the operas I'm currently practicing, in terms of proficiency, I have a firmer grasp of the singing techniques for 'song of the ocean'... However, in terms of plot, I still prefer 'blood shadow rose'."
The story of 'song of the ocean' is very similar to the well-known 'The Little Mermaid' from her previous life. However, the core of the story leans more towards celebrating the cross-racial love between deep-sea merfolk and royalty, which allows Miss Jia Na to empathize but not fully immerse herself.
The reason Miss Jia Na practices this piece the best is also because large sections of 'song of the ocean' are ethereal chants, which perfectly align with the Siren's Chant Witchcraft style that Miss Jia Na has mastered.
'blood shadow rose' has more performance parts. In addition to testing the opera singer's singing skills, it also tests the actor's acting skills more.
The reason Miss Jia Na likes the story of this piece is that she feels the character design of the heroine "Vanessa" in 'blood shadow rose' is very similar to the protagonist in 'Mulan' from her previous life.
Both disguised themselves as men and went to the battlefield, but the story of 'blood shadow rose' leans more towards themes of racial enmity and revenge, unlike the grand and straightforward nature of 'Mulan'.
"I hope tomorrow's audition goes smoothly."
Flipping through the notes, Miss Jia Na was determined to seize this opportunity that she had prepared for a long time...
...
The next day, early morning.
Having woken up early, Miss Jia Na had already completed her vocal warm-up. Since she had an audition today, Miss Jia Na didn't eat breakfast. After washing up, she only brewed a cup of black coffee to prevent swelling in the morning.
"That should be about right."
Looking at the mechanical clock on the wall showing seven-thirty, Miss Jia Na's steps, which were about to leave, slowed down a bit.
"It's still early. Let's wait a bit longer..."
...
"Tick-tock—tick-tock—"
Watching the minute hand point to twelve, at eight o'clock, Miss Jia Na put on a new light green wizard robe and left the door on time.
"Good morning, Miss Jia Na. You are as diligent as ever. Even on this wonderful public holiday, you don't sleep in and wake up early..."
"Good morning, Door Spirit."
The Door Spirit, who received Miss Jia Na's response, had its facial features practically crinkled together with joy, and its two small mustaches also twitched.
"I... the Door Spirit is waiting for you to come home early. Please be sure to be safe—"
"Okay."
Just like in her previous life, before an important exam or audition, Miss Jia Na's mood gradually became calm.
"The audition time is nine o'clock in the morning, and the location is still the Emerald Feather String Tavern."
Looking at the business card David-Berg had given her at the time, she gathered her long hair behind her back, silently recited the content on the card, and Miss Jia Na quickly walked out of the dormitory towards the outside of the White Coral's Mist barrier.
"Rustle—rustle—"
Vines stirred, and the mist dissipated.
As a narrow tree path appeared, Miss Jia Na, holding a mist branch, quickly appeared outside the barrier.
"Thank you, Mr. Tree Spirit."
"You're welcome, apprentice."
After thanking the Human-faced Willow that guided her, listening to the sparse chirping of insects constantly coming from her ears, Miss Jia Na, who had put away the mist branch again, put on the wide hood of her wizard robe and walked along the forest path towards the center of the City of Turin.
"Creak—creak—"
Stepping on broken branches, although the sky was already bright at this time, due to the mist, the sunlight falling in the forest became increasingly thin from the moment Miss Jia Na left the White Coral barrier.
"Finally out."
As people became more numerous, the moment Miss Jia Na stepped out of the Mist Forest, the city's hustle and bustle surged in with the sound of the crowd.
As Miss Jia Na got closer to the Emerald Feather String, the surrounding noisy shouting also grew louder.
...
"Welcome to the Emerald Feather String Tavern. Do you have an appointment in advance, or are you meeting someone?"
Going through the revolving door, the attendant who greeted Miss Jia Na this time was a tall, thin, fair-skinned young male attendant.
"I'm here for the Nightingale Opera Troupe audition. This is my business card."
"Oh, you are a distinguished guest of the Nightingale Opera Troupe... Please follow me to the second floor."
Taking the business card from Miss Jia Na's hand, the male attendant lowered his head, not daring to look at the face under the hood, and just walked quietly ahead, leading the way sideways.
"The Nightingale Opera Troupe audition is in the Fresh Flowers Rendezvous private room. This is the audition waiting area."
Looking in the direction the male attendant indicated, she saw that in the spacious hall to the right of the private room, there were already many auditionees waiting.
"What time is it now?"
"It's eight forty-two, Madam."
The layout of the audition waiting area consisted of five rows of high-backed chairs arranged side by side. And on the chairs, about thirty or more auditionees were already seated.
Among them, the proportion of men and women was roughly equal, and there were many middle-aged actors in their forties or even fifties. Auditionees like Miss Jia Na, who were only fourteen or fifteen years old, numbered less than ten at a glance.
However, what puzzled Miss Jia Na was that among the auditionees waiting in the hall, while some actors had outstanding appearances, others had very ordinary looks, and there were even many with "weird and strange" appearances.
"It seems David-Berg gives out business cards quite often... and his selection criteria are also varied."
David-Berg, as the deputy director and scout of the Nightingale Opera Troupe, finding suitable actors was one of his key tasks.
However, looking at the diverse auditionees in the hall, for a moment, Miss Jia Na was unsure of David-Berg's selection criteria.
"Perhaps I'm being superficial... There are so many roles in the script, and not all of them are handsome men and beautiful women. Moreover, for opera actors, singing ability is the most important..."