Chapter 77: Could You Please Perform a Suicide for Us?
The audition for the Heroic Spirits proceeded swiftly, focusing solely on external appearance rather than the troupe's internal dynamics. Typically, Durin selected actors based purely on looks, with acting skills being a secondary consideration. As long as their acting abilities weren't egregiously lacking, candidates generally passed.
Moreover, these actors had recently viewed the film with General Wilhelm, granting them a basic understanding of the movie's requirements.
Although there appeared to be only seven slots for Heroic Spirits in "Fate Zero," in reality, if Assassin was included, the number of slots was unlimited. This was why Durin had initially informed General Wilhelm that he required as many actors as possible. Additionally, since Caster's character wasn't a warrior, Durin had no intention of selecting actors from among the knights.
At present, after finalizing the selections for actors to portray Saber Artoria, Archer Gilgamesh, and Rider Iskandar, the roles still awaiting confirmation were Lancer Diarmuid, Berserker Lancelot, and the Assassin team.
The casting process had been relatively straightforward up to this point. Durin simply scanned the crowd and identified several knights whose appearance suited the roles. After a round of auditions, they were successfully recruited.
And now...
"Next."
Prompted by Durin, a strikingly handsome knight stepped forward from the crowd. He exuded confidence and was well-regarded within the knight's circle for his blend of strength and appearance.
"What do you need me to do?"
Since Durin hadn't provided a script for the Heroic Spirits, the auditions were entirely impromptu. For instance, during Rider's audition, Durin simply requested the actor to be bold and speak grandly, which the actor executed successfully. Similarly, Saber's audition was straightforward; Durin asked the actor to demonstrate swordsmanship, and the candidate, Lyra, the vice captain of the Imperial Knights, effortlessly passed with her exceptional skills.
However, the only slightly delicate moment arose during Archer Gilgamesh's audition. Durin's sole request was for the actor to laugh loudly with enough majesty and charisma to pass the audition.
The actor was thoroughly embarrassed at the time, as they typically appeared approachable and didn't have a particularly volatile personality. However, with some kind of innate talent or perhaps a hidden persona, they awkwardly slipped into character, shocking their usual friends.
Now, facing the knight's question, Durin simply said, "Could you perform a suicide scene, please?"
"Huh...?"
Suddenly, the knight auditioning displayed a subtle expression of surprise, wondering if they had misheard.
Maintaining his smile, Durin continued, "Because the final fate of the Lancer you're auditioning for is being forced to commit suicide. So, if you choose to take on the role, could you perform a suicide scene?"
"..."
Finally, realizing that Durin wasn't joking, the knight twitched the corners of their mouth and asked tentatively, "Um, are there any other roles available?"
"Well, there's also a Berserker entirely clad in pitch-black armor and a large group of dark-skinned Assassins. Would you like to audition for those? In that case, I can adjust the audition requirements."
"..."
"I'm dead!"
"That's too exaggerated. Suicide isn't like that. Try it again!"
"..."
"Ah, I'm dead!"
"That's too forced. You need to imagine a spear piercing through your heart and express the most hateful resentment!"
"..."
About five minutes later, watching the knight, who had initially been eager to act, leave looking somewhat dazed, Durin continued to smile and nodded, "Next!"
...
Soon, after all the knights present had completed their auditions, Durin turned to General Wilhelm, who still seemed a bit puzzled, and said, "Can I keep the people I just rejected in this city temporarily? I'll need them when we start filming."
"Um, there shouldn't be a problem for a short period. After all, I'm planning to stay in the Southern Region during this time," General Wilhelm replied.
Hearing the general's response, Durin nodded. Then, he watched as the Headless Knight led the group of knights away to train in acting. Although Beldia's acting skills were only average, he had previous experience in the field, and, most importantly, he was a transcendent-level individual. With him as their coach, even if the knights harbored any ulterior motives, they wouldn't dare to act out of line, making him the perfect instructor.
Before dismissing the others, however, Durin stopped a female knight named Lyra.
"Is there something you need, Director Durin?"
Though Lyra still felt a bit awkward about the title, she had somewhat come to terms with this extraordinary new phenomenon of movies, especially after General Wilhelm had taken them to watch "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!" earlier at the cinema. By the way, right after watching the movie, these usually restless knights were now enveloped in a sense of "Don't stop me, I'm going to save the world."
If it weren't for the Headless Knight startling them and dousing their excitement with a reality check right after leaving the cinema, a significant portion of them would probably have already signed up at the adventurer's guild.
As the usual manager of the knight order, Lyra tried to maintain rationality as much as possible. However, even she felt a desire for adventure after watching the movie, marking the first time she had experienced a desire other than serving the empire.
"Lyra, right? You're playing the role of Saber, one of the Heroic Spirits. Because the filming location for the scene where the Heroic Spirits are summoned is quite remote, I want to make things clear in advance," Durin explained quickly.
"Remote?"
Lyra tilted her head in confusion, unsure why Durin was mentioning this.
Durin then briefly explained that the filming location for the Einzbern Castle scene was in the Chaos Domain north of the Northern Region, where they would be heading for filming.
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