Re-written date: 7 / 2 / 2025
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Chapter 26: The Possibility of a Theater
The Headless Knight's debut wrapped up smoothly. Though a chunk of time was eaten up adjusting the holy light's special effects—and poor logistics chief Winry had her hands full calming adventurers trying to report the incident to the Southern Knights—the filming ended successfully all the same.
"Just a few more short scenes, then the final showdown with the Headless Knight, and our first production will be complete! Don't slack off now—give it your all and let's make this film the best it can be!"
"Yes, Director Durin!"
Everyone answered in unison, already used to calling him "Director." With that wrapped up, Edward returned to the inn where he was currently staying and laid out the pile of imaging crystals they had filmed so far on the table under the candlelight.
With a gentle infusion of mana, the contents of the crystals began to project into the air. Understanding the playback operation quickly, Edward redirected the projection onto a curtain, using it as a makeshift screen.
In an instant, it felt like being a kid again in his past life, watching old movies projected onto sheets in the town square. The scenes of their filmed story played clearly before his eyes.
"Once this movie is released, people interested in this technology are going to come swarming in…"
That was something Edward had anticipated from the beginning. After all, these magical cameras and imaging crystals held near-limitless potential. To Edward, they were just filmmaking tools—but to the Empire, this tech could revolutionize both civilian life and the military. This world didn't even have cameras yet, and he had just jumped straight to video recording.
"Well, I'll worry about that when the time comes. I mean seriously, I transmigrated to another world and didn't even get a cheat skill. All my memories from my past life—I had to reconstruct them with my own mental discipline as a mage. It's been rough…"
Muttering to himself, Edward slowly siphoned the remaining mana from the imaging crystal. As the projection vanished from the curtain screen, he frowned and muttered:
"I was originally planning to distribute these crystals like DVDs and create a whole home-video market… but looks like that's not gonna fly. These things need magic power to work. The idea of every household having a personal mana line in this era… yeah, way too ambitious."
Shaking his head, he put those long-term dreams aside for now. No point thinking so far ahead when he hadn't even finished a single film.
Konosuba was already about 60–70% done. All that remained was the Riverhead Lake quest, the fight scene with the former reincarnated hero, and the final battle with the Dullahan.
Of the three, the purification quest wasn't too hard to shoot. Sure, it might be a bit much for Aya, the actress playing Aqua, but with Edward—the Grand Mage—on standby, it wouldn't get dangerous. If anything went wrong, he could skip the chant and instantly freeze the lake with a fifth level Grand Spell like Frozen Cataclysm. Worst case scenario, Aya might get frozen too, but she'd probably just catch a cold. No biggie.
As for the duel with the ex-hero and the background extras, Edward had already found the necessary actors. This world, like many others, was one where money solved most problems. Even if the acting quality was questionable, Edward could simply use his suggestion spell to help them slip into character instantly, no training required.
With that in mind, filming resumed in full force the very next day.
. . . . .
Beside the lake near Nosrick City, the entire cast and crew had gathered.
Once everyone was in position, Edward had Viz cast a corrosion curse into the lake. After all, not even Edward could use undead-type spells. Only Viz, who had learned necromancy naturally after becoming a lich, could pull that off.
As the lake's color gradually shifted from clear blue to a mix of murky black and purple, Edward turned to Lawrence and gave a command:
"Go ahead and release the alligators. Don't worry—it's just a basic-level necromantic curse. At worst, your monsters might get a little diarrhea for a day or two."
"Haha, Director Durin, you already explained that to me earlier."
With that, Lawrence cheerfully opened the cage on the cart. The alligators, which he had been keeping in captivity, eagerly leapt into the water, totally oblivious to the fact that the lake had been altered in any way.
Edward tilted his head. "By the way, why alligators? Are they some rare kind of monster?"
"Not really," Lawrence replied with a smile. "I just really like monsters, that's all. These guys in particular are easy to keep—they eat anything, not picky in the slightest. That's why I captured and raised them."
Looking at Lawrence's happy, beaming face, Edward could only respond with a strained, polite smile.
He genuinely couldn't understand that man's taste.
Shaking off the discomfort, Edward turned to yell toward the actors' staging area:
"Are the actors ready? Has Aya finally gotten her head in the game yet? If she's still being difficult, drag her over here—I'll slap a curse on her!"
"!!"
That got a reaction. From across the way, at the actor prep tent, Aya—who had up to now been extremely reluctant—finally crawled into the metal cage, though the look on her face said she'd already resigned herself to death.
"Ugh… Do we really have to do this? Can't someone take my place just this once?! And why is it always me who gets the terrible roles? Just let Zat do it!"
"Stop throwing a tantrum. This world doesn't have stunt doubles, so get in there and do your job. Or do you want me to cast a curse on you?"
"Eep!!"
In the end, with a look of sheer despair, Aya was unceremoniously tossed into the lake. Fortunately, the water level wasn't too deep—sitting inside the iron cage, she remained above the surface.
And so, filming began.
. . . .
"…I feel like a used tea bag steeped in lukewarm water…"
Having sat there for over two hours with no monster attack in sight, Aqua (Aya) gradually relaxed and even started chatting with Zat and the others watching from the shore, their expressions still tense.
Just then, Megumin, wearing a slightly awkward expression, muttered, "So… the Brutal Alligators haven't shown up yet. I hope it just ends peacefully like this…"
The moment those fateful, flag-raising words left her lips—
"AAAAAAHHHH—!!! THEY'RE HERE!! THEY'RE ACTUALLY HERE AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
As if summoned by that cue, a horde of alligators surged toward Aqua's iron cage, chomping violently at the bars with a horrific crack-crunch-crunch that echoed across the lake.