Chapter 23: The Theatrical Project
The pitch-black ravens circled around the old mansion, and the location where the headless knight and Wiz were situated happened to be on the outskirts of Norsrick. At this moment, this usually deserted and eerie place was crowded with people. This was because Durin had just obtained Beldia's consent and summoned all his people here.
As soon as they arrived, Beldia's appearance immediately caused a commotion among the crowd. These people, who had never seen an undead before, now looked around with expressions akin to those observing a gorilla in a museum. Durin quickly explained the situation with Wiz and Beldia, and also mentioned that they would be participating in the filming process.
So, although it wasn't easy for everyone to accept it all at once, they chose to trust Durin's decision. Winry even made dinner in the kitchen of the old mansion, which Wiz had purchased.
"Wiz and the Headless Knight, as undead, can't eat, can you?"
To Durin's question, Wiz replied with a smile, "I can actually, but Mr. Beldia here can't. After all, if a lich can barely retain a semblance of humanity, the headless knights, like Beldia, are more like zombies. Their organs have long since decayed."
Understanding the situation, Durin, who had initially wanted to say something, stopped when he saw the headless knight and Zat happily chatting about knight swordsmanship in the distance.
At night, when most people went to sleep, Durin had no intention of resting. As the events of the past few days continued to swirl in his mind, he sat under the oil lamp and started modifying the script for the upcoming film.
Originally, Durin had planned to film an entire series before releasing it in episodes. However, now that he had enough actors to shoot the movie, he realized that the storyline they could film only seemed to cover the part up to defeating the Headless Horseman.
Ignoring the significant expenses required for the later parts of the story, such as the Winter Shogun and the giant machine castle bosses, the latter parts of the storyline seemed challenging to accomplish. They still needed to find a mansion for the protagonist group to live in. In short, it didn't seem feasible to complete the entire series smoothly.
Therefore, Durin ultimately decided to abandon the idea of filming a series and instead planned to produce a movie that ended after defeating the Headless Horseman, condensing the preceding plot into one feature film.
"It'll be about an hour and a half in total, which can be considered a movie length. I just wonder if the people of this world can accept such a long film."
Due to Durin's lack of exposure to stage plays and theater productions in the past, he wasn't sure how long the people of this world could tolerate watching a film. Nevertheless, he believed that an hour and a half would be the most suitable duration. After some adjustments and refinements to the plot, Durin finally had a draft of a theatrical version screenplay that he was reasonably satisfied with.
At that moment, Beldia walked over from the side, the undead who didn't need sleep, and approached the table, where he noticed the stack of scripts. He exclaimed in surprise, "Is this the script you mentioned, Durin? Can I have a look?"
"Sure thing, but try not to disturb them, okay? After all, regular folks need their sleep."
"Haha, I still have some self-control, you know."
The headless knight placed his head on the table, adopting a eerie angle to peer at the script. With the ambiance of the old mansion and candlelight, Durin was confident this scene could terrify many.
Soon enough, despite his earlier claims of not laughing, Beldia achieved the impossible feat of holding back laughter for a mere three minutes. Trying to stifle his laughter with hands clutching his stomach, separated from his body, Durin quickly cast a soundproof barrier.
Seeing the barrier in place, Beldia, unable to contain himself any longer, continued to laugh heartily as he read the script. Between laughs, he managed to say, "Haha! This is truly hilarious! I thought after hundreds of years, I had lost all human emotions. But, Durin, are you implying I should play the role of the headless knight in this story?"
"Well, more or less. But my filming process isn't like a play; it'll be recorded by specialized memory crystals and then projected to thousands of people in this world through imaging crystals."
This revelation surprised Beldia, whose head was still on the table. He chuckled as he took his seat and nodded, saying, "In that case, while I'd prefer a more dignified role, I guess I can't ask for too much."
"Haha, despite being portrayed as a villain in the story, the headless knight is quite charming. Most people won't despise the character."
"Yeah, that's true."
As Beldia perused the script again, he suddenly asked, astonished, "Durin, why isn't there a mention of the church in your story? Although there are people who worship the goddess, why isn't there any mention of the Holy Light Church? Those folks are quite narrow-minded; they might even label you as a harbinger of evil and declare that your work doesn't conform to their doctrine."
In response to Beldia's words, Durin simply replied, "I've considered this, but for now, there's no solution, or perhaps it's unnecessary to solve it. After all, I haven't planned to screen the finished film outside the Southern Border. It's still under Duke Victor's jurisdiction, and those zealots haven't reached there yet."
"..."
Surprised by Durin's directness, Beldia paused before bursting into laughter. "Well said! Those guys are just charlatans. The Empire's establishment has nothing to do with their so-called deities. These self-proclaimed messengers of the gods have no right to judge anyone!"
Clearly, Beldia had been chased by the Church for years, and despite understanding it was due to his undead status, he still harbored resentment towards the Church. Durin's disregard for the Church's influence seemed to resonate with him, providing a sense of liberation.
"Anyway, let's go back and rest for now. We'll officially start filming tomorrow!"