Chapter 6: Test Shooting!
In the dimly lit room, faint light streamed down from the magical crystal at the room's ceiling, providing a stable source of illumination. In the center of the room, two figures sat facing each other.
"Mr. Kazuma, welcome to the afterlife," said a blue-haired woman, dressed in slightly revealing attire, with a slow smile. "Just moments ago, you unfortunately met your end. Though brief, your mortal life has come to an end."
Facing the bizarre words spoken by the beautiful girl, Kazuma, who belatedly realized where he was, raised his head in astonishment and murmured, "I see. In that case, I only have one question... What about the girl I collided with?"
Seeing Kazuma's concerned expression, the blue-haired goddess replied with a smile, "She's alive and well."
"Thank goodness..." Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief from the depths of his heart, his face adorned with a saintly smile. "My death wasn't in vain."
"Huh?"
Appearing somewhat puzzled by his words, the blue-haired goddess responded in surprise, "What do you mean? Even if you hadn't collided with her, that girl wouldn't have been harmed at all."
"What?!!"
Observing Kazuma's astonishment, the goddess subtly flipped through the pages of her manual, then sighed, "The cart was actually supposed to stop in front of the girl."
"The cart?!"
"Yes, the cart."
"What's going on? Was I crushed by the cart?"
"Well, yes. By the cart."
"No, no, you weren't crushed, you were scared to death. You thought you were crushed by the cart, which triggered a sudden heart attack, ultimately leading to your demise."
"Scared... scared to death?!!"
Seeing Kazuma fall off his seat in shock, the blue-haired goddess completely dropped her previous composure, bursting into laughter with a mischievous grin. "Pfft! Hahaha!! Hahaha! I've been doing this for so long, but this kind of hilarious death is a first for me! Pfft~ Kusukusukusu!"
"You thought you were crushed, got scared to the point of losing control, then lost consciousness. You were later taken to the nearby church by passersby, where your soul ascended to heaven amidst the laughter of the priests and nuns!"
Hearing the cruel words pouring out of the girl's mouth, Kazuma, on the verge of breaking down, couldn't believe it and covered his ears, shouting, "Stop it!!! I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it!!"
However, even so, the girl with a wicked grin continued to taunt him, approaching him with a smirk. "Now, your family has arrived at the church, learning of your cause of death. Everyone, including your family, burst into laughter!"
"Ahhh!!! Stop, stop, stop!!!"
.....
"Cut! Aya's performance was excellent, completely immersing herself in the role. But Zat, you still looked too tense, and some of your movements were too rigid. Let's practice again later, and we'll reshoot then!"
With Durin's words echoing in the dark room, the two who had been grappling with each other stopped, and seemingly too immersed in their roles, even as they walked out of the room, they still appeared deeply engrossed in their characters.
Especially that certain blue-haired girl, who had always been arranged by Zat, never thought she would have a chance to retaliate. At this moment, with her eyebrows raised, she seemed to truly consider herself a goddess.
"Lord Durin, why did you depict the goddess in such a manner? I'm afraid that every time I go to the church to pray, that Aya's face will pop up in my mind. How can I find peace?"
"Who are you calling stinky-faced?!"
Seeing the two about to argue again, Durin, with a smile on his face, just shook his head and looked at the magical recording device in his hand. The first filming session went very well. Even though he was a novice who hadn't learned much about filming, with the various unreal angles and focal lengths of this magical prop, he felt like he had captured many great shots!
Indeed, unlike cameras in Earth, the magical recording device could almost present any angle within a certain range. Far from being advanced technology, the magic in this world simply defied reason.
With the problem of the camera angles solved, the other issues naturally fell into place. The location was a vacant room in the Edward family castle, and lighting could be adjusted with magic crystals. Costumes were no problem for the detail-oriented Winry; upon hearing Durin's request, she simply modified some existing castle garments.
With these issues resolved, the only remaining concern was the actors. Durin realized after the first shoot that while Aya easily got into character due to her natural portrayal, Zat struggled to embody the essence of the protagonist, a young shut-in, leading to several retakes due to his inability to capture the essence of the original character.
However, with continuous training, Zat gradually awakened to his acting talent, and Durin could clearly sense his improvement. Hence, the actor problem was no longer a problem.
"The script, cinematography, actors, costumes, props, and location have all been sorted out. It seems like the first segment will end soon," Durin remarked.
Upon hearing Durin's words, Winry, Zat, and Aya, who were watching the recorded footage through the magical imaging device, all expressed surprise.
Especially for Zat and Aya, who were acting, they could hardly believe that everything they had just done had been captured by such a machine. According to Durin, this recorded footage would be shown to everyone in crowded places in the future!
While Zat, loyal to the Edward family, could accept this extreme embarrassment playfully, Aya, who had been completely deceived into coming here, immediately showed a resentful expression. However, when she heard Durin mention the reward of "five gold coins per month, plus a share of the profits from the film's release," her resentment turned into determination.
This person had completely transformed into an actor now, to the extent that even when speaking, she unknowingly projected herself into the role of Aqua.
"Alright, Winry, why don't you go prepare dinner first? And you two, don't forget to continue rehearsing later. I've already arranged for the script to be printed and will give it to you later. Let's aim for a single run-through tomorrow, and then we'll finalize the shooting locations and cast for the subsequent scenes."