Chapter 41: Movie Fanatics
After watching 'Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World' at the Norsrick cinema, Daphne couldn't help but exclaim, 'Movies are truly captivating!'
As the sole daughter of the Duke of the Southern Region, Daphne grew up within the castle walls surrounded by theatrical performances, which eventually became tiresome. While she once relished the puppet-like artistry of these shows in her youth, as she matured, her interest waned in attending opera and theater performances during banquets. Instead, she found solace in reading knight novels brought back by her guards.
The reason was straightforward: characters in stage plays often appeared unrealistic. Despite the actors' skillful portrayals, audiences were always aware of the artificiality, knowing they were merely playing roles. In contrast, while novels lacked visual representation, readers easily immersed themselves in the narratives, believing them to be authentically unfolding somewhere.
Therefore, upon learning about movies, Daphne initially dismissed them as another form of stage play, assuming they compounded all the drawbacks of theatrical performances into one unexciting spectacle.
However, after purchasing a ticket and experiencing a film firsthand, Daphne encountered the inevitable realization that humans cannot evade the 'slap in the face' moment. Contrary to her expectations, movies constituted an entirely distinct realm from stage plays. Compared to the monotonous and artificial nature of theatrical performances that often left her drowsy, movies felt as though they projected a completely different world, one that was vividly real.
Daphne, who had always scoffed at theatrical performances, was experiencing such a "real" performance for the first time! In fact, if it weren't for the cast list shown at the end, she wouldn't have been able to connect this movie with the term "performance" at all!
After watching the movie, Daphne even had the illusion that the protagonist and his companions were still executing simple yet enjoyable adventurer tasks in some village at that very moment. It made her feel like if you became an adventurer, you might just stumble upon them.
By the end, Daphne couldn't distinguish between fantasy and reality anymore. Or rather, she preferred to believe that everything presented in the movie was part of the real world, and those lively characters truly existed in some corner of the world.
Compared to stage plays where the artificiality of the performance is clear, this thing called a movie seemed to project a real world, making the audience involuntarily believe that everything happening in the movie truly existed somewhere in this world.
In short, after enjoying "Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" so much that she couldn't help but laugh until her stomach hurt, Daphne finally calmed down and looked at the long list of names on the cast list, murmuring, "I never expected movies to be such fascinating things. I really want to get involved and see for myself..."
Hearing her words, the guard who had been sitting next to her throughout the entire movie, a woman with her face hidden by a cloak, hurriedly said, "My Lady, I don't want you to interact with this production team."
"Why?" Daphne asked, puzzled.
In response to Daphne's confusion, the guard replied in silence, "Although ordinary people may not distinguish between what effects in the movie are real and what are fake, any extraordinary individual with sufficient abilities can understand how amazing the effects are during the filming process. Whether it's those fourth or fifth-level grand magics or the actors themselves, they're not simple folks."
"Can you be more specific? I don't think I'll encounter any danger without your protection."
Daphne's words showed considerable trust in her guard, but upon hearing this, the woman revealed a troubled expression and then said helplessly, "No, although I might have thought the same before watching the movie, when I saw the skills displayed by the headless knight in the movie just now, I became convinced that it's highly likely that it's the legendary headless knight himself! In the face of such a monster, even I wouldn't have the confidence to protect you, My Lady!"
Clearly, compared to ordinary people who might just enjoy a movie for its entertainment value, only those with real power could understand how amazing the production team behind this movie truly was. And indeed, this was the case. Not to mention Durin, the youngest grand mage, just the fact that Beldia and Wiz, two undead beings, were part of the crew was already beyond what a normal production team could gather.
"The headless knight, huh? I was thinking about it while watching the movie. Is the so-called headless knight truly an irredeemable demon? According to the legend, wasn't he once a blessed soldier, charging into the frontline to fight the enemy? Yet, just because he became undead, he was met with disgust from everyone. Isn't that too heartless..." Daphne's words were quite rebellious. If anyone from the church heard her proclamation, she'd likely be branded as a demon's accomplice on the spot. Of course, Daphne held such views because she grew up in the Southern Region, where the church's influence was weakest.
The guard, upon hearing this, clearly didn't know how to respond at first. Finally, she could only say helplessly, "You're lucky, My Lady, that you're traveling through these lands as a priestess of the Goddess. If the church found out that you, bearing the title of a priestess, were defending the headless knight, you'd probably be headed to the stake right away..."
"Haha, although I believe in the Holy Light, I have no interest in the church, an old and conservative institution. I find Miss Aqua from the story more divine than the Light God advocated by the church. And I just noticed that the director of this movie is Baron Durin. I remember meeting him once at a family banquet when I was a child. I don't think he would harm me."
"... "
Unable to assess her lady's unconventional remarks, the guard ultimately couldn't stop her from wanting to meet the movie production team. So, she reluctantly stood up and said, "Then, when we meet them, My Lady, please let me accompany you closely. Otherwise, if anything happens to you, I won't be able to explain to the Duke."
"Haha, I knew you would agree. Well then, let's go meet the owner of this movie theater first. Oh, and don't inform Father about this, okay? I don't want this interesting journey to end just like that."
"Of course, as you wish, My Lady..."
Seeing the guard's weary expression, Daphne stood up with a smile and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, could you help me book another movie ticket? I want to watch it again tomorrow."
"Um, can I book one for myself too? Honestly, I find it a bit strange. This movie is completely different from the stage plays I used to watch in the castle. I used to feel sleepy during those stage plays, but this time, I actually want to watch it again."
"Haha, of course you can."
Surprised that her stubborn guard would say such a thing, Daphne couldn't help but smile. She glanced once again at the posters surrounding the cinema, wearing a curious and excited expression.