The beginning of KonoSuba is straightforward with a brisk pace. It's essentially about how the shut-in protagonist is duped by a goddess into becoming an adventurer in another world.
Of course, it wasn't without its perks. The goddess promised the protagonist that he could choose any one thing to take with him, be it a powerful weapon, extraordinary wisdom, god-given luck, and so on. And our protagonist, living up to all expectations, chose the smug, condescending goddess standing right in front of him as his one wish, thus beginning his miserable life in another world.
There were few technical difficulties in filming this opening. The main challenge was the props. Durin had to personally create the numerous magic circles and the magic crystals used for special effects. It was a good thing he was a former prodigy from the Tower of Mages, the youngest person to ever reach the level of a fifth-rank Archmage. Otherwise, drawing so many magic circles would have completely drained him of his energy.
As for the wings for the angel who would succeed the goddess, it took Winry a long time to create a pair that looked decent, and that was with her maxed-out tailoring skills. It went without saying that she would also be the one playing the angel.
…
Early the next morning.
"You two should have memorized your lines last night," Durin began. "When you're acting later, I want you to be as exaggerated as possible! Give me facial expressions! Gengei! The more over-the-top, the funnier it will be, and the more the audience will laugh!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the two actors, who clearly had dark circles under their eyes from staying up late. "May I ask what you two were doing last night? Don't tell me you got so engrossed in the script that you couldn't sleep."
"…"
Zatt and Aya, having been found out, immediately looked away in a panic. They only recovered after Durin sighed and had Winry apply some makeup to cover their tired faces.
To be honest, Durin understood them completely. He had been in a similar state when binge-watching anime himself, only realizing the sun had come up when the ending credits rolled. For people in this world, whose reading material was limited to knight novels, the script for KonoSuba was likely the most interesting thing they had ever read. Staying up all night was perfectly understandable.
But no matter how much he understood, he wouldn't lower his standards for their acting. In fact, it was the opposite. Now that they had read the script and understood their characters, they had to embody them even more perfectly!
And so, the group returned to the familiar small room, and this time, the official filming began.
…
In the dark room, the scene where the protagonist is being tricked had reached its second half.
After various forms of inducement and persuasion, the protagonist, Zatt, was gradually drawn in by the goddess's words and began to seriously consider how he would cross over to another world and reach the pinnacle of his life.
As the magic crystals suddenly flared to life, the goddess rose from her chair, struck a rather dramatic pose, and declared, "Come, choose! Let me bestow upon you an invincible power!"
At that moment, Winry, from a skylight above, began dropping cards with various abilities written on them.
Zatt, though surprised, earnestly looked through the cards, finding himself unable to decide which cheat ability he should take with him.
However, as he was deep in thought, the goddess, sitting on a stool nearby, was eating a roasted sweet potato she'd gotten from who-knows-where. "Hey, hurry up," she said with an impatient look. "It doesn't matter what you choose anyway. I have zero expectations for a shut-in who never leaves his house."
"I-I'm not a shut-in!!" Zatt retorted, though his voice lacked conviction. "I just happened to die when I went outside! I'm not a homebody at all!"
The goddess licked her fingers, completely ignoring him. "Whatever. Can you just hurry up? There are a lot of other dead people waiting for me after you."
"!!"
This girl! Just because she's a little cute, she gets to be this arrogant!
Unable to tolerate her attitude any longer, Zatt clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and slowly stood up, gritting his teeth. "Decide quickly, you say? Fine, I've decided… The thing I'll take to the other world, right?"
"Yes, yes, hurry up and decide!" The goddess snapped, swallowing the rest of her sweet potato and turning her head away as if she had completely lost her patience.
Zatt slowly extended a finger and said, "Then, I choose you."
"…"
"…"
A long silence followed. It wasn't until the magic circle for transmigration began to glow that the goddess, who had just been designated as carry-on luggage, finally processed her situation, standing frozen in stunned silence.
"What did you just say—?"
Before she could finish, a flash of light erupted. Winry, now wearing two pairs of large wings, crushed a magic crystal in her hand and descended from the skylight. Amidst the brilliant light, she recited her memorized lines. "I understand. I will take over Lady Aqua's duties from now on. As per the rules, Lord Zatt's wish has been granted."
"Eh… EHH?!!!"
The magic circle erupting from the floor completely ignored Aqua's shock, enveloping both her and Zatt. The goddess, finally realizing what was happening, shrieked, "No way! You're kidding, right?! No, no, no, wait…"
But the angel, played by Winry, simply shook her head with a stoic expression.
"No way!! This is too weird! How can you take a goddess to another world?! That's invalid! This choice has to be invalid!! Wait, wait a minute!!"
"Farewell, Lady Aqua. On the day you safely defeat the Demon King, I will send someone to bring you back."
"I can't do it! I may be a goddess with healing and recovery powers, but I have no combat ability! I can't defeat a Demon King!!!"
No matter how much Aqua struggled, the activating magic circle showed no signs of stopping.
At the same time, Zatt burst into a wild, triumphant laugh. "Hmph, hehehe, how does it feel to be taken away by a man you looked down on? Mwahaha, you've been designated as the thing I'm taking with me! Since you're a goddess, you'd better use your divine powers to make my life easy!!"
In that instant, the facial contortion Zatt produced was so perfect that even Durin, watching from the shadows, almost lost his composure. He was certain the spirit Zatt captured was on par with the original anime protagonist.
And seeing Zatt's expression…
"NOOOO, I have to go to another world with a man like this! I DON'T WANT TO!!"
"AHAHAHAHA!"
With a brilliant flash of light that seemed to tear through time and space, the first segment of the story was filmed.
"Cut! Fantastic! I could feel your facial expressions from here! It was like you completely became the characters! Zatt, that triumphant grin when you screwed her over, and Aya, your look of pure agony—it was like you were the real characters from the story!"
The two actors in the room didn't respond to Durin's earnest praise. Instead…
"Hahaha, you idiot! You fell for my trap! Now you have to come with me to the other world!!"
"No way, you useless knight! I will absolutely not go to another world with someone like you!"
"…"
Witnessing this, Durin could only manage a wry smile. He then suddenly hurled the magic crystal in his hand towards them and yelled, "Getting into character is a good thing, but you'd better be back to normal by dinnertime!