Re-written date: 7 / 2 / 2025
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Chapter 24: Back on Set
Early the next morning, Edward gathered everyone together. However, as he glanced across the group, he noticed a few unfamiliar faces and turned to Winry, who clearly seemed to know what was going on.
"Who are they?" he asked.
Winry replied promptly, "Didn't you ask me to put up a request at the Adventurers' Guild to recruit new actors? These ladies responded to that call. But given how few adventurers there are in the South right now—especially female adventurers—these are basically all the available candidates."
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Did you tell them the actual content of the job?"
"I couldn't be too specific, but I did explain the general idea. They came to the interview knowing roughly what to expect."
Satisfied that Winry had followed his instructions properly, Edward glanced at the new faces and quickly judged their potential.
"Hand out these scripts to them," he instructed. "Have them rehearse for now. I'll review them myself later."
Winry nodded and quickly set off to carry out his orders, while Edward remained behind, flipping through the now heavily edited and worn-looking script in his hands.
"Looks like it's almost finished," he murmured to himself.
Under normal circumstances, filming a full production would take an enormous amount of time—between reshoots, camera work, and post-production effects, even a short project could stretch on for weeks or months. But for Edward, none of those were actual issues.
For one, acting wasn't even a profession in this world yet. So Edward's standards weren't particularly high—so long as the actors could convey the general mood, it was enough. As for camera angles and effects? Magic took care of all that. Once he finalized the cast, he was confident he could finish shooting the rest of the scenes in just a few days.
The only hurdles left were polishing the script… and handling the soundtrack.
Especially that one scene—the part with the flying cabbage. It was a pivotal moment that couldn't be cut, and trying to revise the script in a way that made it feel natural had practically driven Edward to collapse from exhaustion.
As for music, well, that wasn't too difficult. This was a fantasy world, after all. And if there was one thing it didn't lack, it was bards. With the right coin, you could walk into any tavern and have a bard play a custom background track tailored to your scene. Those guys could turn just about anything into music.
But in the end, the one who unexpectedly solved the music problem wasn't a bard at all—it was Viz, who just happened to overhear Edward muttering to himself.
"Music, you say? If it's music you need, I could help out," Viz offered with a small smile. "I am from a noble family in the Imperial Capital, after all. I was forced to learn all sorts of instruments as a child. I'm a bit rusty now, but I'm sure I can still be of use."
"Wait, seriously?"
Edward was genuinely surprised by the offer—but jumped on it right away. He had Viz perform a short piece on the spot, and sure enough, her musical skill was every bit as refined as she claimed.
In fact, maybe because she was now a lich, her emotional focus seemed even stronger, and her performance came through with chilling precision and clarity.
She wasn't just good—she was perfect.
With that, the one part of production Edward had worried about the most was suddenly resolved. After recalculating the timeline in his head, he realized he could probably finish filming the entire theatrical cut within the week.
Despite everything, this theatrical version was still just Edward's trial run. Compared to the other, far more ambitious productions he had in mind for the future, filming KonoSuba was relatively simple.
But even so—if this first attempt failed, then Edward would have to face the reality that he couldn't change the times with his own hands. Success here wasn't just a win—it was the only way forward.
. . . .
Adventurers' Guild — During Filming
Exhausted, Zat half-collapsed into a chair, absently petting a lazy black cat on his lap when Aqua came skipping over with a beaming smile and a giant bucket of leftover food in her arms.
"Look, look! The guild kitchen had extra food today, and they let me bring it back! Total score!"
Zat stared blankly at the cheerful grin on her idiotically beautiful face. The more he looked at her, the more annoyed he got. He muttered flatly, "Hey, Aqua… I really hate to say it, but I think we've got no chance of catching the Demon King."
"Huh…?"
She blinked in confusion, but Zat kept going with a deadpan expression.
"Look, I'm not like those other protagonists who get overpowered skills and cheat weapons. I'm just a regular guy. Why not leave the Demon King stuff to those other summoned heroes who actually got good starting gear?"
"..."
A heavy silence followed.
Then, suddenly, Aqua snapped her head around, tears welling in her eyes. "No way! You have to fight him! If you don't, I'll never be able to go back home!"
"Oh yeah?" Zat shot back. "Try saying that after you've done something worthy of a goddess—like guiding your hero, sealing the Demon King with divine power, or actually being useful. Right now you're just a party clown with a party trick!"
"Uwaaaaaahhh! You're so meaaaaan!"
Aqua's wails echoed through the guild hall, drawing the attention of nearby adventurers. Even Megumin, who had been munching on her meal, looked over with a raised brow.
"Zat, your attack power is too high," she said. "If you keep spitting out your true feelings like that, any girl would cry."
Meanwhile, Darkness—recently added to the party—crossed her arms with a strange flush rising on her cheeks.
"Hm... if the emotional pressure's building up too much, I wouldn't mind being insulted in Aqua's place..."
She looked just a little too hopeful.
Edward had personally selected the actress playing Darkness from the handful of female adventurers who answered the casting call. In truth, it wasn't so much "selection" as "she was the only one left." Still, she didn't freeze up in front of the camera, and for Edward, that was enough.
As for the rest?
Well, that's what suggestion magic was for.
Was it a bit sketchy to magically implant the belief that she was a masochist? Sure. But for the greater good of cinema, Edward didn't hesitate in the slightest.
"Emergency Alert! All adventurers, arm yourselves and gather at the city gates in combat formation!"
The sudden shout from the guild receptionist froze everyone in place. Even Edward, who had been filming from the side, calmly lowered his recorder, as if he had expected this.
"Perfect timing."
He hadn't told the receptionist or the other adventurers about the filming. Naturally, none of them had any idea this "emergency" had been orchestrated.
That, too, was intentional.
After all, extras played a huge role in a film's quality. Paying amateurs to act rarely went well—they'd fumble through their lines and look completely unnatural. So instead of asking them to "act," Edward decided to let them be themselves, reacting as if the threat were real.
Of course, he'd already bribed the guards at the gate and the guild's upper staff to keep things under wraps. With their lips sealed, there was nothing to worry about.
And so, as all the adventurers hurried to the city gates, various thoughts racing through their minds, they found themselves face to face with a looming figure on horseback.
A towering knight, clad in black armor… with no head atop his shoulders.