Chapter 24: Restarting Production
Early the next morning, Durin gathered everyone together and noticed a few unfamiliar faces among the crowd. He turned to Winry, who seemed to be well-informed, and asked, "Who are they?"
In response to Durin's question, Winry quickly replied, "Lord Edward, didn't you ask me to go to the Adventurer's Guild to post a commission to find actors? These individuals are the ones who came to apply. However, adventurers in the Southern Border are extremely scarce, especially female adventurers. These few are the only candidates we have."
"Did you inform them about the specific job requirements?"
"Um, although I couldn't explain it very clearly, they roughly knew what they were coming for and still came for the audition."
Nodding, Durin realized that Winry had indeed followed his instructions and looked towards the figures in the distance. After making a rough judgment in his mind, he said, "Give them these scripts and let them rehearse now. I'll come to review later."
Upon hearing Durin's instructions, Winry nodded and quickly went to carry out the task he assigned. Meanwhile, Durin, staying in place, muttered to himself while looking at the script he had revised countless times, "It seems like it will be completed soon."
Yes, under normal circumstances, film and television production would require a significant amount of time, considering the need for numerous retakes, shot arrangements, and special effects production. However, these issues did not exist for Durin.
Since the profession of actors had not yet emerged in this world, Durin had no specific requirements for acting skills. As long as the actors could roughly portray the characters, it was sufficient for him. Additionally, due to the existence of magic, there was no need to consider camera work and special effects. Once the actor selection was completed, Durin was confident that he could shoot the remaining scenes within a few days.
The only aspects that troubled him slightly were the script that still needed polishing and the issue of background music. Since flying cabbages did not exist in this world, and this particular scene was essential and couldn't be removed, modifying this part of the script to eliminate any sense of dissonance had been quite taxing for Durin.
As for the music, there shouldn't be any problem, as this fantasy world was abundant with minstrels who could play various musical instruments. They could easily compose suitable background music for a fee at any tavern.
However, what surprised Durin was that the person who ultimately solved the music problem was not a minstrel but Wiz, who had overheard his murmurs.
"Music? If you need music, I can help. After all, I come from a noble family in the capital city and was forced to learn various musical instruments since I was young. Although I'm a bit rusty now, I should be able to assist."
"Really?"
Unexpectedly, with hardly any effort, Durin was surprised and quickly asked Wiz to perform. As expected, Wiz's performance was truly remarkable. Perhaps due to becoming a lich, her emotional expression and spiritual concentration were heightened, making her a perfect performer!
Realizing the situation was even smoother than he had imagined, Durin calculated that he could likely complete filming the theatrical version within a week.
Ultimately, this theatrical version was just Durin's trial piece. Compared to what he planned to film later, the difficulty of shooting "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!" was quite small. Only if this theatrical version succeeded could Durin have the confidence to continue. Otherwise, he would have to admit he couldn't change the era with his own efforts.
...
Adventurer's Guild, filming in progress.
While exhausted, Kazuma reclined in his seat, petting a cat. Aqua, carrying a large bucket of leftovers, approached with a smile. "Look, look! There are leftovers from the restaurant today. They said I could bring them over. Profit!"
Unmoved by the girl's innocent smile, Kazuma casually remarked, "Hey, Aqua, although I hate to say it, realistically, I think catching the Demon King is impossible. Think about it. I'm not like the protagonist in stories with great power. Fighting the Demon King's army should be left to those who came before me and received powerful abilities and weapons..."
"..."
With a moment of silence, Aqua, turning abruptly with tears in her eyes, exclaimed loudly, "How can you say that?! Then I won't be able to return home, will I?"
"Heh, such lines are for when you guide the hero like a true goddess, sealing the Demon King before the hero grows, buying time. You, the food-loving party girl, can handle that!"
"Sob~ Sob sob sob!"
Faced with Aqua's tearful display, Kazuma showed no mercy. "So, think of any easy ways to make money, and teach me your only useful skill—Healing magic!"
"No~ Just healing magic won't do! Don't take away my only reason for existence! With me here, you don't need to learn anything, right?! Sob sob sob~"
The girl's loud crying caught the attention of the nearby adventurers, and Megumin, who had been eating, couldn't help but look over, saying, "Kazuma, your blunt words are too harsh; most girls would cry if you speak your mind so recklessly!"
Meanwhile, Darkness, a newly joined adventurer in the team, crossed her arms and murmured, "Well, if the pressure gets too much... I don't mind being scolded in Aqua's place by you!"
As she spoke, there was a subtle blush on her face...
Durin had carefully selected Darkness from the applicants, although in reality, there weren't many options. At least her performance was acceptable, not prone to stage fright. And as long as that was covered, Durin could fill in the rest with suggestive magic.
Though using suggestive magic to make someone believe they're a masochist was quite delicate, it was all for the noble cause of filmmaking, and Durin had no hesitation!
"Emergency notice, emergency notice! All adventurers, arm yourselves immediately and assemble at the main gate of the town in combat formation!"
The sudden announcement from the receptionist stunned all the adventurers present, while Durin, who had been filming nearby, anticipated this and promptly set down his recording equipment.
"The timing couldn't be better."
He didn't inform the receptionist of the filming he was conducting or the other adventurers. Naturally, they also had no idea what caused this sudden situation.
The reason for this approach was to achieve a more authentic effect in filming, as the quality of extras to some extent determined the quality of a production. Instead of spending money to make them act unnaturally, it was better to let them act as themselves. Besides, he had already arranged with the guards at the city gate and the adventurers' administrators, paying them off to keep silent, so there shouldn't be any issues no matter what.
So, accompanied by adventurers with various thoughts, they all arrived at the city gate, where a knight on horseback, with nothing on his neck, appeared in front of them.
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