"What a strange combination..."
As expected, when she saw the introduction, Wen Li immediately questioned it, and Du Lin smiled and asked her to continue reading, and then...
“Hahahaha!!!”
Even Wen Li, who is usually serious and calm, burst into laughter when she saw the ridiculous behaviors of the characters in the story, and this was when the script was not localized.
Seeing the girl trying to maintain her dignity in front of her master but unable to hold back, Du Lin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart with a smile on his face.
Although Du Lin likes this anime very much, considering cultural differences and other issues, he actually does not have the confidence to bring these stories that were very popular in the past world to this world and make them interesting.
A lot of the memes in "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" are things that only modern people can understand. In such a Western fantasy world, it can be said that a large part of the story in "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" will be confusing.
But now, seeing Wen Li burst into laughter just by reading the unrevised script, Du Lin breathed a sigh of relief and made up his mind to bring this anime to this world.
"Although this story feels strange to read, it is very interesting. Lord Edward, do you have the talent to be a novelist? Oh, Lord Durin is planning to become a novelist to repay the loan? I think this work will be very popular if it is written into a novel! If I can get the royalties, it should be able to solve the family's urgent needs..."
As Wen Li wiped away the tears from her eyes and sighed, Du Lin just shook his head silently and said, "I'm not cut out to be a novelist, but in order to save the current Edward family, I will find a way to present this story!"
"Presenting it? You obviously don't plan to write a novel?"
Obviously, Winry didn't know how to present a story other than through novels. It couldn't be told verbally.
As for this, Du Lin, who didn't want to explain too much at the moment, just smiled and said, "Anyway, Wen Li, please help me draft a letter first."
"A letter? Where is it sent to?"
"The Mage's Tower."
"What?!"
Wen Li didn't expect to hear the name of that place from Du Lin's mouth. She was stunned and seemed a little at a loss. Finally, under Du Lin's constant urging, she ran to the study and took the drafted letter.
In response to this, Du Lin sat in his seat for a long time. After he finally sorted out his thoughts, he picked up the pen and slowly began to write.
—To dear Miss Huilinda Helena.
Long time no see, how are you doing, Miss Helena? I heard that you have made a new breakthrough in your research on fire elemental magic, which is really a cause for celebration. According to the timeline, you are also about to graduate, which really makes me envious.
But Miss Helena, have you successfully completed all the credits for graduation in Elemental Magic? Have you paid off the huge amount of money you owed because of your extravagant spending on magic crystals in the past? Are you still being put in a small dark room by the teacher for randomly casting fireballs, large fireballs, and explosive fireballs in class
Haha, no matter what, as a friend who used to skip classes and go crazy together, I sincerely wish you a happy life now.
I still remember that year, you and I made a vow together in a barbecue restaurant two streets away from the Wizard's Tower, saying that we would change the current situation of the magic world blindly following authority and let the light of fire and alchemy illuminate the world. Thinking about it now, I still feel my blood boiling.
It’s just that you haven’t paid me back the money for the barbecue yet, which is really regrettable.
Of course, I also know that you who can only use Fireball, Big Fireball and Exploding Fireball can't find a decent job to pay me back, so I have no intention of initiating legal proceedings. I just want to give you a chance here.
During the long vacation of the unified Mage Tower, please come to the Edward Family Castle in the South Territory where I am. There is a plan full of business opportunities waiting for you here. The basic salary is five gold coins a month, and you will not be short of five insurances and one fund. You can also get a salary increase depending on the level of your work. I hope you can come.
May the light of magic shine upon the world.
Your former classmate who was kicked out of the Mage's Tower, Baron Durin Edward.
Chapter 4: Determination to Change the Times
Chapter 4
Watching the servant take the letter to the special post station, Du Lin stretched his muscles a little, and lay lazily on the chair as if to release all the fatigue of the past five days.
On the other hand, Winry, who had read the script of "KonoSuba: A Wonderful World" again, couldn't help but ask, "Lord Edward, are you planning to spread this story in some way to make money?"
"Well, that's roughly what I mean."
"But why do you want to film such a story? Although I don't read many novels, I have read some of the popular chivalric novels and adventure novels of this era. The protagonists in those novels have to go through numerous hardships and dangers, gather various partners, and finally make great sacrifices before they succeed in defeating the devil and gaining the favor of the princess. Lord Edward, although your story is very interesting, I always feel it is very strange..."
Hearing Wen Li's words, Du Lin, who was still thinking about how to localize the script, couldn't help but smile and raised his head and said, "Yes, it's very strange. Normal people would probably react the same way as you when seeing such a strange story, but this is our opportunity and our selling point! Because, although the stories about heroes fighting demon kings that you mentioned are genuine orthodox novels with a very stable audience, in fact, these audiences have long been tired of such stories."
"But the game we are going to launch, 'KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World', is a genuine evil story. It doesn't have the thrill of Dragon Quest, nor the romantic encounter of a hero saving a beautiful girl. The protagonist in the story even lives a very miserable life for various reasons. But don't you think this story is very interesting?"
After hearing what Du Lin said, Wen Li thought about it carefully and nodded: "That's right, this story is indeed very interesting."
"That's right! As long as it's interesting, it's enough. In this era of lack of entertainment, anything interesting will catch people's attention and be loved by people. No matter whether it is a royal way or a heretical way, only interesting stories can attract the audience and can be promoted faster!"
While Wen Li didn't quite understand and could only nod continuously, Du Lin became excited on his own.
He even forgot his previous fatigue and stood up, looking around and said loudly: "The world now is too boring! Even though the papermaking industry is developed, the novel industry is still at its most primitive stage. Even though magic technology is very advanced, only a few people have magic that cannot benefit ordinary people at all! Although I don't have the ambition to change the times, I still want to change this situation, or I must find a way to change this situation!"
Faced with Du Lin's passionate speech, Wen Li, who didn't know what to say, could not help but stand there in a daze. Du Lin, whose emotions were completely aroused, could not allow himself to continue to be lazy like this, and stood up immediately.
The more he wrote scripts these days, the more Du Lin could feel the lack of prosperity of the world's cultural industry. Obviously, the human kingdom had no external enemies, and the internal economic development was constantly expanding under the effect of magical progress, but everyone's life was very boring.
The nobles held banquets, sang, danced and rapped all day long, but the common people really only gathered in taverns to chat apart from work, and there was no entertainment at all.
Although it has been mentioned before that this world has a certain level of papermaking technology and novel industry, those boring knight novels are basically the same old Dragon Quest novels. It feels like the occasional BL novel is considered innovative.
As a modern man, Du Lin can tolerate the world's poor diet and poor hygiene, but he absolutely cannot tolerate the boredom of this world!
Obviously, there are so many ideas from another world in my mind, and I obviously have the ability to change everything. In this case, who would choose to do nothing and watch time pass by day by day? !
Thinking of this, Du Lin calmed down and asked, "Winry, I remember there is a young man named Zat among the squire knights of our castle. What is he doing now?"
After hearing Durin's words, Wen Li thought for a while and then answered silently: "Are you talking about the squire knight who followed his father to join Edward's family when he was a child? It's a good thing you still remember him. If I'm not mistaken, he should be managing a village near the castle now. I heard that he manages it quite well. Not only can taxes be collected steadily, but the people have also always supported him."
"Really? Then call him over. I have something to talk to him about."
Durin knew this young man named Zat. When Durin was young, he often came to play with him and his younger brother as the son of a knight. He could be said to be Durin's childhood playmate.
However, when Durin went to the Mage's Tower and his younger brother Al went to join the army, Zat stayed alone in the Edward family. It was said that he later became an official squire knight, but Durin at that time no longer had the energy to pay attention to it.
At this moment, when Du Lin began to consider the lineup of the main characters of "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Beautiful World", the other person's figure appeared in his mind.
According to Durin's memory, the young man named Zat had been very smart since childhood and was particularly good at acting. In the past, Durin and Al were able to run out of the castle to play, largely because of Zat's acting skills that deceived the guards guarding the city.
Although he didn't know what Zat's situation was now, after getting the general information from Winry, Durin also believed that this young knight with good character could meet his requirements.
After a while, when Du Lin made some localized modifications to the beginning of "KonoSuba: God's Blessing for a Better World", the door of the living room slowly opened.
"Lord Edward, Zatt is here."
Hearing what Wen Li said, Du Lin, who was still thinking about the plot, stood up immediately, looked at the gray-haired young man in the distance who seemed a little frightened and was far from being as carefree as he was when he was a child, and smiled: "Long time no see, Zat, it seems that you are doing well now."
"Yes, sir, all this is thanks to the old lord's promotion."
Obviously, Zat was more nervous than ever before. Du Lin, who probably understood that he was at a loss because of the difference in status, smiled slightly and shook his head, saying, "Forget it, it seems that you are not in the mood to reminisce about the past. In this case, I will just say it directly, Zat, how is your acting?"
Unexpectedly, his former friend, now the lord, would say such a thing. Zat couldn't help but recall that time in his childhood and nodded quickly: "Lord Durin, you know that although I think this is a useless ability, my acting skills are indeed very good."
"Haha, I don't think this is a useless ability."
After confirming the other party's situation and realizing that Zat had indeed become an outstanding knight, Durin smiled and said, "Although I still have a lot to say to you, now is not the time to reminisce. Let me tell you the truth, Zat, I need your acting skills. If you are willing to agree, I will promote you to my guard, and your salary will also be improved. How about it?"
Unexpectedly, Durin, whom he had not seen for a long time, would say such a thing. With a surprised expression on his face, Zat half-knelt down the moment he reacted and said, "Of course, it is my honor, Lord Durin."
Chapter 5 This is indeed a mentally retarded
Chapter 5
After Zat agreed to Durin's request, he was kept in the castle. During this time, Durin asked Winry to measure his body shape in order to prepare the clothes for him to wear during the subsequent filming.
During this period, Du Lin made some localized modifications to the beginning of the story of "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!". For example, the original protagonist Sato Kazuma was a time traveler, but that was the culture of another world, which must have been very difficult for the people of this world to accept.
After thinking for a while, Du Lin decided to modify and design the protagonist into an ordinary merchant's son. Because his family had enough property, he had never thought about his future and lived in a daze all day long.
It was this protagonist who encountered what he considered an "accident" on his way out to buy something. Later, when he tried to save a little girl who was almost hit by a donkey cart, he died of a myocardial infarction because he had not exercised for too long...
The shooting of this scene was very simple. With Zat's acting skills, it was no problem for him to play a otaku who had not exercised for a long time. However, the problem came after that. Who should play the role of the heroine in the original story, that is, the mentally retarded goddess
Yes, even if we don’t consider the subsequent issues for the time being, his biggest problem right now is still the casting of actors.
Where can I find a girl who has great acting skills and a decent appearance
Just as Du Lin was thinking about this, Zat, who had already measured his body, slowly walked over from the door and said immediately: "Lord Du Lin, I heard that you seem to be looking for someone with acting skills?"
Realizing that the other party had heard his idea from Wen Li, Du Lin nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, after all, I haven't met many people in these years, and it also requires acting skills, which is a little difficult."
Hearing the other party's words, Zat's expression was immediately tangled. After thinking about it, he said with determination: "If this is the case, I may be able to recommend a suitable candidate."
"Oh? Do you know anyone like this?"
Unexpectedly, the other party would say such a thing. The somewhat surprised Du Lin immediately showed a curious expression, while Zat sighed and said, "Actually, I didn't want to recommend it, but I heard that this seems to be a very important matter to you, so..."
Although he wanted the other party to be less reserved many times, Du Lin knew that his words alone could not change the strict social structure of this world, so he finally said nothing and listened silently to the other party express his thoughts.
According to Zat, she was a very strange girl. She first suddenly appeared in the village he managed. Then, because she stole the chickens raised by the village tycoon, Mr. Ford, she was tied up by Mr. Ford, who was old but still strong, and taken to the knight's station.
During this process, although the other party acted very scared and even begged him with tears to give her a lenient punishment, when Zat really chose to release the other party, the girl immediately ran away with a smile on her face. The whole process was so continuous that Zat couldn't even react.
But on the next day, Zat saw the other person tied up and shivering on the ground at the door of the Knight's Station. According to witnesses, she seemed to have snatched a lollipop from a child at the entrance of the village and was discovered by the child's parents. She was beaten up and thrown into the Knight's Station.
Although Zat had worked diligently over the years and had been helping the villagers solve their problems as a knight, he seemed helpless when faced with such a shameless guy.
In the end, after realizing that the other party seemed to have lost his memory and had nowhere to go, Zat, as a knight, still softened his heart and took him in into the knight's inn.
But even so, because the other party seemed to be born with no common sense, she would cause trouble in the village almost every few days. Not only did the people in the village feel very helpless, but even Zat himself was annoyed. He made up his mind to wait until the other party recovered her memory and then send this Buddha back to its original place.
Now, when he heard that the lord was looking for a girl with good acting skills and beautiful looks, Zat immediately thought of her. Although that girl lacked common sense in all aspects, with her acting skills and her beautiful looks, Zat still chose to recommend such a candidate.
After listening to Zat's narration, Du Lin, who couldn't help but become interested in the girl, nodded and said, "Very good, what's the girl's name?"
"She couldn't remember her own name because of amnesia, so I named her Aya. Actually, I wanted to call her mentally retarded, but she rejected it..."
"A normal person would probably refuse."
Unexpectedly, Zat also had a talent for comedy. Du Lin smiled and stood up and said, "Then, Zat, go and call this Aya over."
... ...
Next, when Zat was away from the castle, in addition to continuing to revise the script, Du Lin also took out the magic version of the camera.
After all, to make a movie or TV series, in addition to the script and actors, there are many other problems to be solved, such as the effects of the lenses, the rendering of special effects, the background of music, the playback of editing, the arrangement of lighting, etc.
In such a different world where magic exists, there is no need to worry about special effects. For example, the explosive magic in "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World" can be achieved by asking the great wizards in the Mage Tower to achieve similar effects. In addition, as for music, this world has many famous musicians, and editing can also be done through the fusion bridge of imaging crystals.
So in this case, the biggest problem seems to be the sense of the camera. After all, there is still a big gap between anime and real people. Many of the grand shots and screen switching that can be completed in anime are still very subtle when they are transformed into real people. Although this world has the assistance of black technology called magic, it is still a little insufficient for Du Lin to accomplish it at his level. After all, he is just an ordinary otaku who has done editing, and this other world has nothing to offer him to learn.
Just as Du Lin was struggling over how to take a good shot, there was a knock on the door. He suddenly came out of his thoughts, tidied his appearance a little, and waited for the arrival of Zat and the girl he mentioned.
Then, when the door slowly opened, he immediately saw the girl following Zat who walked in first.
Her long light blue hair spread behind her. Although the ordinary cloth shirt concealed her feminine features, it could not completely hide her beauty. As Zat said, this mysterious girl named Aya was indeed very beautiful.
This was Du Lin's first thought, and then the next moment...
"My Lord! I was really wronged! I stole Mr. Ford's chicken, snatched little Amy's lollipop, trampled Aunt Tifa's crops, broke Timmy's piggy bank, ate all the chicken legs that everyone gave to Zat, woke up by Zat's snoring at night because the soundproofing of the room was too poor, and planned to sell Zat's knight's sword for revenge... None of these have anything to do with me!!!"
"What chicken legs? What long sword are you selling?!!"
Seeing the girl lying on the ground with tears in her eyes, almost grabbing her trouser legs and crying, and Zat who was almost pinching the girl's neck to ask her a question, Du Lin raised his eyebrows tremblingly, and a second thought came to his mind...
This is indeed a mental retardation.
Chapter 6 Test shooting!
Chapter 6
In the dim little room, a faint light came down through the magic crystal on the top of the room, creating a slightly stable source of light in the room. In the center of the room, two figures sat facing each other.
"Mr. Zat, welcome to the world after death."
The blue-haired woman in slightly revealing clothing smiled slowly and said, "Just now, you unfortunately died. Although it was only a short life, you are indeed dead."
Facing the strange words spoken by this beautiful girl, Zat, who realized where he was belatedly, raised his head in surprise, and then muttered to himself: "I see, in this case, I only have one question... the girl I bumped away..."
Seeing the other party's concerned look, the blue-haired goddess smiled and replied: "She is still alive."
"That's great..." Zat heaved a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart, and said with a Madonna-like smile: "My death was not in vain."
"???"
As if she didn't understand what the other person said, the blue-haired goddess replied in surprise: "What do you mean? In fact, even if you didn't knock her away, the girl wouldn't be hurt at all."
"??!!"
Seeing Zat's surprise, the goddess just flipped through the book in the manual subtly and said helplessly: "The donkey cart would have stopped in front of the girl."
"Donkey cart??"
"Yes, donkey cart."
"What happened? Was I crushed to death by a donkey cart?"