Chapter 151: Auditions for the New Actors
"A new movie?"
Seeing the student council president and vice president completely losing their composure, Edward simply said calmly:
"Fate/Zero and The Garden of Sinners will be released on schedule. Right now, I'm working on a new film, and I need your help to recruit enough actors."
"Oh, leave that to me!"
The blond-haired president responded immediately. But then, as if suddenly realizing something, he quickly added:
"Oh, right! I forgot to introduce myself. I am White Watts, the current student council president of the Imperial Mage Academy and a third-year student in the Special Element Branch."
"Oh, so you're the so-called theory genius who scored a perfect mark on the Magic Fundamentals Exam when you entered the academy? I've heard of you."
Hearing Edward's words, White smiled shyly and replied:
"I wouldn't call myself a genius. Compared to you, Senior Edward, who broke through to Grand Mage level while still a student, my mid-tier mage status is nothing worth mentioning."
"No, no, for an ordinary student, reaching mid-tier magic at your age is already considered genius-level."
"No, no, it's really not that impressive—"
Just as the two of them were about to enter a full-blown flattery contest, the black-haired girl standing next to them decisively interrupted:
"Alright, enough of that. I should introduce myself as well. My name is Diana Francis, the current vice president of the Imperial Mage Academy's student council and a third-year student in the Elemental Branch. It's an honor to meet you, Senior Edward."
"Francis?"
Hearing the name, Edward was slightly taken aback.
As a noble himself, he was well aware that the Francis family was one of the Empire's most powerful aristocratic houses, second only to the Four Grand Dukes.
Their ancestors left behind a vast fortune, making them one of the rare influential noble families in the imperial capital.
If the girl in front of him was truly from House Francis, then her status was high enough that even the Grand Mages of the academy would have to pay her personal respects.
Sensing Edward's thoughts, Diana simply said calmly:
"The glory of my ancestors is nothing special. Compared to that, I admire you far more, Senior Edward. You became a member of the Mage Tower at such a young age, standing on equal footing with the Empire's highest nobility. You are truly a role model for people like us."
"Haha~ it's really nothing."
Just as another round of mutual compliments was about to start, White quickly spoke up:
"So, Senior Edward, you need to recruit actors from among the students, right? As the student council president, I will fully support you! I'll post a notice on the school's bulletin board right now!"
"I'll also notify all the branch heads immediately!"
Seeing how enthusiastically White and Diana started helping, Edward couldn't help but smile wryly as he collapsed onto a nearby sofa.
However, before he even had a moment to rest, the other student council officers all stared at him eagerly.
Their eyes were filled with one unmistakable message—
"Director Edward! What's the new movie about?!!!"
<+>
At the same time, while Edward was busy recruiting actors at the Mage Tower, an amusing incident was unfolding inside Edward Tavern.
It all started when Viz messed up the accounts yet again—this time causing the tavern to suffer its biggest financial loss in history.
A staggering 200 gold coins were missing from yesterday's earnings.
Upon discovering this, Belldia was instantly furious.
Grabbing a wooden stool, he immediately started chasing Viz around the tavern.
After all, ever since these two undead beings opened the shop, they had barely made any money. Now, with constant losses, they would soon end up starving to death—again—if not for Edward's financial support.
So, after yet another mistake from Viz, Belldia was furious to the point of murder.
On the other hand, Viz felt completely wronged. As she ran for her life, she shouted:
"Sir Belldia, please calm down! This really wasn't my fault!"
"Calm down?! How the hell am I supposed to calm down?! If we keep losing money like this, we're both going to end up being sold as sword slaves to pay off our debts! Viz, for the love of everything holy, get your act together! Running a business with other people is supposed to make money, but running one with you is a death sentence!!!"
"But— but—"
Before she could finish, Viz had to dodge another attack from Belldia.
In truth, as a high-tier lich, Viz being able to evade the attacks of an advanced undead like Belldia was already proof that he was holding back significantly.
No matter how harsh his words were, the two of them had been inseparable companions for years. There was no way Belldia would actually go all out—he was just venting his frustration.
Meanwhile, Saeki minded his own business, continuing to draw maps at the tavern table.
After taking care of his kids at home, he had re-registered as an adventurer, planning to start again from the lowest porcelain rank and embark on a new, thrilling adventure.
Zat and Aya, who were the actual staff of the tavern, didn't even bother interfering.
They had seen this scene way too many times, and at this point, even making an effort to stop it felt like a waste of time.
Meanwhile, Winry had already left the tavern, returning to Durin Castle to handle administrative affairs.
Helena had also temporarily departed, saying she was going back home for a while but promised to return once the TV adaptation of Konosuba began filming.
Daphne and her bodyguard had also left, since their brief escape from the Duke's estate had come to an end, and they had to return.
Chase, in preparation for the filming of Fate/Zero's second chapter, had gone back to his theater troupe. He was taking this project very seriously, clearly placing all his hopes and dreams on filmmaking once again.
Latisha, however, had not left.
She simply stayed upstairs on the second floor of the tavern, with no intention of coming down. What she was doing up there, nobody knew.
At the moment, Edward Tavern was eerily quiet, to the point where Viz and Belldia finally noticed that no one was stepping in to stop their fight.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, they awkwardly stopped.
At that moment, Zat finally asked:
"So what actually happened? Even if Viz makes accounting mistakes all the time, isn't this loss a bit excessive?"
Hearing this, Viz sighed helplessly and replied:
"That's what I've been trying to say! This time, it really wasn't my fault. To prevent mistakes, I actually handed the accounts over to Juno and asked her to manage them. But last night, she suddenly disappeared. Since I forgot to double-check everything, we had no way to sort out the pending payments today, and that's how this mess happened…"
"Juno?"
At the mention of Juno, everyone suddenly realized that the Beastkin girl who had joined Edward Tavern was now mysteriously missing.
Looking around at each other, they quickly confirmed that no one knew where she had gone—not even Viz herself.
"I gave her the account books last night, but this morning, she was just… gone."
Hearing Viz's words, Saeki couldn't help but express his concern:
"Could something have happened to her?"
In response, Aya, completely indifferent, said without a second thought:
"How is that possible? This is the southern territory, not the northern one. There's no real danger here. Anyway, another drink, please!"
"You heartless idiot!"
Zat scolded her while grabbing her hair, making Aya struggle desperately to break free.
On the other hand, Belldia finally calmed down and said slowly:
"That kid is a Beastkin, after all. She's far stronger than the average person. We shouldn't be worried about her safety. If anything, we should be more concerned about whether she's gone and attacked someone else."
"Alright, I'll go into town and ask around later."
With that, the group gradually dispersed.
What they didn't know was that at this very moment, Juno was holed up inside one of Nosrick's few TV taverns, glued to the screen as she binge-watched The Garden of Sinners—so much so that she had completely lost track of time.
<+>
Imperial Mage Academy
After Edward's casting call was posted, a massive wave of students from the academy flocked to audition.
There were two major reasons for this:
The sheer allure of movies—most students were extremely interested in being part of one.
Hohenheim had enthusiastically helped Edward promote it, announcing that students who participated in the film would earn academic credits based on their work hours.
The temptation of both a movie role and free credits was simply too much to resist, and nearly the entire student body showed up.
However, Edward showed no mercy.
Strictly following his selection criteria, he eliminated nearly 90% of them.
Even though these were magic academy students, actual acting ability was rare, as hardly anyone had put any effort or talent points into that skill.
As a result, aside from a few standout students that Edward immediately recognized as fitting certain roles, most were cut—some not even fit to play extras.
Yet despite this, Edward still hadn't found the perfect leads for his male and female protagonists.
None of the candidates so far had met his expectations.
Just as he was considering going to Chase and asking the Snow Flower Troupe Troupe for actors, a knock came at the student council office door.
Shortly after, two figures in white lab coats strode in.
"Let go of me, Clatalis the Thirty-Fourth! Stop dragging me around! The dark organization's invasion is imminent—how can I waste time on something like this?!"
"For the last time, stop calling me that ridiculous name, Gebrun, you idiot! Do you even know how many credits you're still short for graduation?! If you don't catch up soon, we'll be in the same grade next year!"
"Even so, becoming an actor is just—"
"I don't care if you want to or not! This is a rare chance to earn credits. You will seize this opportunity, no matter what!"
Meanwhile, seeing these two loud and energetic newcomers, Edward's lips curled into a knowing smile.
His director's intuition told him—
The ones he needed had finally arrived!
<+>
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