Director Edward

Chapter 199: The New Movie Project!

After delivering the message from the Duke of the Southern Territory, Roy once again vanished as mysteriously as before.

Watching him leave, Durin couldn't help but rub his chin in curiosity. By now, he was growing increasingly intrigued by this enigmatic senior of his.

In contrast, Scar's reaction was entirely different. Instead of curiosity, his expression showed fear.

"What's wrong with you?"

Noticing Scar's attitude, Durin looked over, confused.

Realizing his slip, Scar quickly replied, "It's nothing. I just remembered some rumors about this army mage. To be honest, besides the Archmages, everyone else in this academy is terrified of him. People like me are actually handling it pretty well."

"What do you mean? Are you talking about Roy? Is he that scary?"

"Don't you know the rumors about this army mage?"

"What rumors? The Empire must have more than one army mage, right?" Durin asked, perplexed.

After all, in his mind, mages generally disliked the military and were reluctant to join the army, yet the Empire had no shortage of mages willing to enlist.

And in times of war, under the Empire's top-level war mobilization order, all mages would immediately be drafted to participate in the conflict.

So, even if mages were averse to the military, they'd inevitably have various connections with it.

Roy, despite being a mage who voluntarily joined the army and became an aide to the Duke of the Southern Territory, officially still retained his status as an imperial mage, which seemed far better than Durin's own experience of being expelled from the Mage's Tower.

Scar, sensing Durin's thoughts, replied with a sigh, "Regular army mages, while disdained by most mages, don't face open hostility; everyone understands that people are free to make their own choices. But Roy is not just an army mage. He holds another title in the mage community: Heretic Executioner."

"Heretic Executioner? What's that?"

"Simply put, he's an enforcer who deals with mages who stray off course due to various reasons, those who secretly delve into forbidden magic—the Fallen Mages."

"Throughout history, human society has never been short of such obsessive madmen. After the establishment of the Mage's Tower, there have been multiple campaigns to eliminate Fallen Mages and their hideouts."

"Although the number of Fallen Mages within the Empire has decreased significantly since that infamous conflict in the mage community a century ago, there are still a few remaining. Roy's job is to eliminate them."

"I see."

Durin was genuinely shocked to discover that this genius senior of his held such a position. He couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, he should be doing good work. Why would you fear him?"

"The reason is simple. During one of his missions, he burned down an entire village of over a hundred people—men, women, children, all without exception—to eradicate a dangerous Fallen Mage!"

"What?"

"And that's not all. Later investigations revealed that he could have held back or chosen a more cautious approach to ensure the villagers' safety, but instead, he annihilated both the Fallen Mage and everyone in the village."

"Afterward, thanks to the Dean Hohenheim's guarantee, he was acquitted in the imperial court, but the resulting outrage even reached the Mage's Tower."

"…"

"Since then, the name Roy Mustang has become notorious throughout the Imperial Magic Academy and even across the entire Empire. Naturally, it's a reputation tainted by infamy. Compared to what you faced, the public pressure on him is on an entirely different level. Aside from the military, there's nowhere left in this Empire where he belongs."

"I see… I understand."

After hearing Scar's account, Durin roughly grasped the situation surrounding his senior, Roy.

While he wasn't personally involved in the incident of the burned village, deep down, Durin felt there might have been some misunderstanding involved.

Yet, whether or not it was a misunderstanding, the fact remained that hundreds of lives were lost at Roy's hands—a shadow that would undoubtedly haunt him forever.

…

Upon rushing back to Edward Castle from the Imperial Mage Academy, Durin barely had time to rest before learning from Winry that the Duke of the Southern Territory's annual gathering would be held in a week.

Realizing this, Durin was promptly pulled aside by Winry for a crash course in noble etiquette and social skills.

Although he had received this training as a child, he had been away from noble society for so long that he needed to start from scratch.

In addition to brushing up on etiquette, Durin prepared for something else as well: the potential future of the film and television industry in the Southern Territory.

He hadn't previously broached this topic with the Duke overseeing the South, but now seemed like the perfect opportunity to discuss it.

Back at Edward Castle after a long absence and without the burden of his many film projects, Durin took a moment to sort through his countless memories.

Although he still had numerous ongoing projects—season two of KonoSuba had yet to start filming, Fate/Zero and Steins;Gate had their latter halves still to be aired, and several episodes of The Garden of Sinners remained—Durin knew he needed to decide on the next project to produce.

After all, only by doing so could he begin preparing for the spring season release in advance.

However, given the sheer number of anime series in his mind and the news from the capital that the film industry might soon expand Empire-wide, he found himself struggling to choose the next project.

If films were truly going to be promoted beyond the South, he couldn't produce content as freely as before. This time, he needed a film capable of making a powerful impression.

Furthermore, to achieve a wide-scale promotion, the film should align with the Empire's worldview, one that the majority of citizens could resonate with.

After careful consideration, Durin narrowed down his options to two potential works: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1 and Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World.

Both films could meet his requirements in every way.

Just as Durin was contemplating which of the two to choose to expand the film industry's influence, the Duke of the Southern Territory's envoy finally arrived at Edward Castle.

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