NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: Trial Filming!
In a dimly lit small room, a faint light filtered down from the magical crystal at the top of the room, providing stable illumination. In the center of the room, two figures sat facing each other.
“Mr. Zat, welcome to the afterlife,” said the blue-haired girl, dressed somewhat provocatively. “Just a moment ago, you unfortunately met your end. Although your life was brief, you did indeed die.”
In response to this bizarre statement from the beautiful girl, Zat, who had only just realized where he was, lifted his head in astonishment. He muttered to himself, “I see, in that case, I have only one question… what about the girl I accidentally knocked over…”
Seeing Zat’s concerned expression, the blue-haired goddess smiled and replied, “She’s still alive.”
“Thank goodness…” Zat heaved a sigh of relief from the depths of his heart. With a motherly smile, he continued, “I didn’t die in vain.”
“Huh?”
Seemingly puzzled by her response, the blue-haired goddess flipped through her handbook and said in a resigned tone, “Even if you hadn’t bumped into her, the cart was supposed to stop in front of that girl.”
“A cart?”
“Yes, a cart.”
“What happened? Did I get crushed by the cart?”
“No, no, you weren’t crushed; you were scared to death. You thought you were run over by the cart, and it seems you suffered a sudden heart attack, so you died of fright.”
“S-scared… to death?!!!”
Seeing Zat, who had fallen from his seat in shock, the blue-haired goddess completely abandoned her earlier composure. She responded with a burst of laughter, a mischievous expression on her face. “Pfft! Hahaha! Hahaha! I’ve been in this business for so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a funny way to die! Pff~ Kusukusukusukusu!”
“You thought you were crushed, got scared, lost control right there, and after losing consciousness, you were taken to the nearby church by people on the roadside, all while the priest and nuns laughed at you as your soul ascended!”
Hearing the cruel words continuously spewing from the girl’s mouth, Zat, on the verge of a breakdown, incredulously covered his ears and shouted, “Stop it! I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it!”
However, even so, the goddess with a wicked smile approached him, taunting, “Now, your family has arrived at the church, learned of the cause of your death, and everyone, including your family, burst into laughter!”
“Ahhhh! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”
……..
“Cut! Aya’s performance was excellent, completely immersed in her role. But Zat, your expression is still too tense, and some of your movements are too stiff. Practice a bit more, and we’ll reshoot later!”
With Edward’s words, the two people who had been grappling with each other in the dark room also stopped. It seemed that they were so immersed in their roles that, even after leaving the room, they still appeared deeply engaged.
Especially the blue-haired girl, who had been arranged by Zat in various ways. She hadn’t expected that she would also have a day when she could retaliate against him. At this moment, with raised eyebrows, she seemed to genuinely see herself as a goddess.
“Lord Durin, why did you cast the goddess in such a role? I’m afraid that whenever I go to the church to pray, I’ll see Aya’s annoying face in front of me. How can I concentrate?”
“Whose annoying face are you talking about?!”
Seeing the two on the verge of starting another fight, Edward, with a smile on his face, shook his head and looked at the magical video camera in his hand. The first shoot seemed very successful, and even though he was a newcomer without much experience in videography, he felt that he had captured many fantastic shots with this magical device!
Yes, unlike the cameras in another world, once placed, this magical video camera could freely change angles and focal lengths within a certain range. It was not just advanced technology; the magic in this world didn’t play by the rules.
With the camera angle problem solved, other issues naturally fell into place. The location used was an empty room in the Durin Family castle, and lighting could be adjusted with magic crystals. Clothing was not a problem for the meticulous Winry, and, following Edward’s request, she quickly improvised some costumes from the available clothes in the castle.
With these issues resolved, the only remaining problem was the actors. After the first practical shoot, Edward clearly felt that, although Aya easily got into character due to her natural acting, Zat struggled as he had to play the role of a completely different young otaku. The reasons for several retakes were that he couldn’t quite capture the essence of the protagonist’s loser demeanor.
However, with continuous training, Zat seemed to awaken to his talent in acting, and Edward could sense his improvement in acting. Therefore, the actor problem was no longer a problem.
“The script, photography, actors, costumes, props, and location have all been sorted out. It looks like we can finish the first segment quickly.”
With Edward’s words, Winry, Zat, and Aya, who were watching the recorded scenes through the magical imaging device, all showed expressions of surprise.
Especially Zat and Aya, who, as actors, couldn’t believe that everything they had just done had been captured by this magical machine. According to Edward’s earlier statement, this recorded video would be shown to everyone in crowded places in the future!
For this extremely embarrassing play, Zat, loyal to the Durin Family, could tolerate it. But Aya, who had been completely deceived into coming here, immediately revealed an indignant expression. However, when she heard about the promised reward of ‘five gold coins per month and a share of the profits after the film is shown,’ her resentment turned into excitement.
At this point, she had completely transformed into the shape of an actress. Even when speaking, she unwittingly immersed herself in the character of Aqua.
“Alright, Winry, go make dinner first. The two of you, don’t forget to continue rehearsing later. I’ve already had someone print the script; I’ll give it to you later. Let’s try to go through it once tomorrow. By then, we need to decide on the shooting locations and cast for the subsequent plot.”