Chapter 90: Filming Begins in "Fuyuki City"
A lich is a special existence where the physical body naturally decays, but the soul successfully maintains its existence through internal factors or external forces.
Generally, liches are not naturally born; the most common scenario is a powerful mage who, unwilling to accept their soul's demise along with their body, chooses to free their soul from the constraints of the flesh. After undergoing a special process of undeath, they become liches.
However, since human society generally does not accept the existence of undead, most of these mages, after becoming liches, tend to hide in remote places. Otherwise, they are likely to be hunted down by the Holy Knights or the Imperial's Knights.
Instances like Wiz, who became a lich due to special magical experiments, or cases where the soul and body are still bound together, are quite rare. Whether that individual can be considered a lich or not is something Durin isn't quite sure about. After all, the most prominent characteristic of a lich, the decay of the body due to the departure of the soul, is not evident in that person.
On the other hand, although Laetitia may appear to be a lich in the conventional sense, Durin realized upon closer inspection that something was off about her. The most obvious manifestation is her inability to recognize even a single word, despite being a terrifying entity with soul energy far surpassing even the archmage. It's hard to believe that such an entity could become a lich.
Yet, in reality, she is indeed a lich, and an abnormally powerful one at that... Ultimately, Durin concluded that there are only two possibilities.
First, she might be deceiving him. This lich was actually a true mage who surpassed even the archmage during her lifetime. However, this possibility is quite low, as Durin finds it hard to believe that the lich would deceive him, especially considering her various behaviors. Moreover, such deceit would not bring about any meaningful change.
Second, what she said is true. This would mean that before becoming a lich, she was not a mage, or she was engaged in some profession that did not require literacy but still honed the soul. However, this also means that she became a lich not through external catalysis but through the natural occurrence of death, which is unbearable for ordinary people.
As descriptions of innate liches floated through his mind, Durin vaguely sensed a possibility. However, he quickly halted these thoughts. After all, he had the lich's phylactery in his hands; there was no need to worry about her betraying him. Furthermore, delving into her privacy without her consent is something Durin finds quite reprehensible.
As for Laetitia's identity as a lich, Durin ultimately chose not to disclose the truth to the members of the troupe. It wasn't a matter of mistrust; rather, ordinary people find it difficult to accept the existence of undead.
In the end, he opted for a compromise, informing everyone that she was an actress disguised similarly to the Headless Knight.
In such a scenario, most humans who couldn't perceive the undead aura wouldn't be particularly surprised if they happened to glimpse Laetitia's skeletal visage under her hat. After all, the neighboring Headless Knight, who was roaming around without his head, was more attention-grabbing.
With matters resolved in this regard and all scenes related to the Einzbern Castle filmed, Durin could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He belatedly realized that he had forgotten to address the aftermath of cutting off the live broadcast earlier.
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Imperial Capital, at a banquet hosted by the royal family.
Nearly half a day had passed since Durin Edward had cut off the live broadcast. Given the party's planned duration until late into the night, nobody had left their seats yet. However, after the recent incident, most attendees had lost their appetite for revelry and were quietly gossiping about what had transpired.
Beside Emperor Habbard, General Wilhelm had changed into formal attire. Since the recent events, the two had discussed several times whether to send troops to the Chaotic Realm. However, due to the suddenness of it all, even with an emergency summons, it would likely take two to three days. By then, if Durin had indeed met with foul play, they might not even recover his body.
"Any news from the Mage Tower?" the emperor inquired anxiously.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Scar, who had just returned from the tower, responded hastily, "The Dean has mobilized most of the mages from the tower to search. However, due to the chaotic magical field in the Chaotic Realm, conventional locating spells are ineffective. We can only wait for further updates."
Clearly, news of Durin's disappearance had nearly mobilized the entire Mage Tower. Of course, it wasn't because Durin was the youngest grand mage or anything like that. In this world, there was no system for master-apprentice relationships among mages, and most mages wouldn't vie for apprenticeships based solely on talent. The primary reason these powerful mages were frantic was because Durin still held the monopoly on magical recording devices and imaging crystals' technology.
These individuals had just paid the patent fees to the dean a few days ago, and now the inventor of the patent is missing. This has left them extremely frustrated, with some of the more hot-headed ones even considering marching straight into the Chaotic Realm.
Upon hearing the news that the Mage Tower had mobilized, the emperor let out a slight sigh of relief and planned to continue discussing matters regarding Baron Durin Edward with General Wilhelm. Throughout this process, the entire venue remained highly attentive, with the only absence being a certain bishop who had already departed at some point.
Suddenly, with a surprised expression on Scar's face, everyone, including the emperor, turned their attention to him.
In response, Scar slowly produced the alchemical device that caused the reaction, and upon opening it, Durin's smiling face appeared before everyone present.
...
Back in Norsrick, after introducing the corporate culture of Edward Productions to a newly arrived lich, Durin immediately resumed working overtime to prepare for the film. Not only did he summon all the previously prepared actors, but he also instructed Chase to gather the troupe members who were still preparing, almost intending to rush to the next filming location the moment he returned.
Of course, apart from Durin's slight professionalism, the main reason for this is his reluctance to spend time dealing with the dual inquiries from the Mage Tower and the royal nobility. Instead of wasting time on these social formalities, he'd rather be a hands-off manager, delegating these tasks to others while he focuses his time on the noble pursuit of filming anime. Why not make the most of it?
In fact, due to Durin's sudden resurrection, many mages who had planned to organize a rescue mission to save him or retrieve the epoch-making inventions of the magical recording device and imaging crystal were now thoroughly enraged.
After all the commotion, finding out that he was perfectly fine felt like being played. Thankfully, Dean Hohenheim intervened in time to quell the anger of many senior mages. Otherwise, Durin would have surely faced a barrage of questions the next time he visited the Mage Tower.
As for the royal family, despite the debacle, Emperor Habbard breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Durin was unharmed and was looking forward to the video communication technology Durin had promised.
In the midst of stirring up a heap of trouble, Durin himself had no inkling of self-awareness. Eager to finish filming before the next batch of freshmen arrived at the Mage Tower, he promptly brought the troupe to the predetermined filming location in Winter City—a coastal port city in the eastern border, the same city used for filming "Goblin Slayer" before—Arkance, the port city closest to the western border of the empire.
Feeling the gentle sea breeze, Durin, who had been here before, took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Alright, everyone, get ready. We're starting the filming of 'Fate Zero' shortly!"
Hearing his words, the others slowly emerged from the teleportation array, not even realizing they had arrived at Arkance, the coastal city near the western border of the empire, designated by Durin as the filming location for Fuyuki City.
By the way, the geographical location of the empire can be said to bear some resemblance to the country before Durin's traversal. The eastern coast, mostly plains to the south, severe cold climate in the north, and adjacent to various ethnic groups in the west. The only difference is that the capital of the empire, Imperial City, is located in the center of the entire map plate.
When Durin was contemplating the filming conditions for Fuyuki City, he took into account the coastal aspect. After much consideration, he chose Arkance, a coastal port city, as the filming location. One reason was familiarity—he had been here before. Another reason was that it was indeed a suitable place to serve as the setting for the alternate version of Fuyuki City.
Not to mention the bridge spanning the harbor visible from afar, just the forest in the background was indeed a fitting location for filming the Einzbern Castle in Fuyuki City.
Due to Durin's prior reconnaissance, the actors who hadn't been to the site were chattering about how to proceed with filming in such an unfamiliar place. He promptly interrupted them, saying, "Quiet down! We'll be starting the first scene of the Holy Grail War shortly. Everyone, stay focused and get ready!"
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