Chapter 36: The Premiere Begins!
Evening, Nosrick Grand Plaza.
Children who had just finished dinner were playing and laughing in the open plaza, couples strolled slowly along the roads, and performers who were ready to put on a show were gradually unloading their props from carts…
Though this was a world where magic existed, compared to the grand adventures often depicted in fantasy stories, such a mundane life was the daily reality for everyone, or perhaps, their boring routine.
Yes, compared to the other world that had already developed into the internet age, where one could enjoy all sorts of entertainment without leaving home, ordinary people in this world could hardly experience any form of entertainment.
Children, with their innocence and creativity, could still play simple games to pass the time, but the slightly older adults really had nothing to do.
When the day’s work ended, they would spend the evening aimlessly wandering around the plaza to kill time.
However, compared to the past, today in Nosrick seemed a little different.
Suddenly, amid the curious gazes of the young people in the plaza, a cart carrying a huge white cloth was slowly moved in by several staff members.
Behind it was a young blond boy, not particularly tall.
Facing the crowd’s confusion, the boy, who was Edward, didn’t give much of an introduction.
He simply took out a prepared imaging crystal, found a suitable angle, and gently placed it down, injecting it with magic power.
“Aren’t those the people from Nosrick Grand Theater? What are they doing here?”
Soon, someone recognized the staff members, but even after identifying them, they still couldn’t understand why something as unrelated to common folk as the Nosrick Grand Theater would appear in this plaza at this time.
As the entire plaza gradually filled with curiosity and confusion, Edward, sensing that it was dark enough, expertly projected the image stored in the magic crystal.
In an instant, as the trailer Edward had edited began to play in the plaza, everyone gathered there showed expressions of shock.
The once quiet plaza was suddenly set ablaze with various exclamations and disbelief.
This reaction far exceeded Edward’s expectations.
After all, while he, as a modern person, was already accustomed to movie ads and trailers, and perhaps even tired of them, for people in this world who had never encountered such things, even an advertisement was something new and interesting—maybe even too interesting!
“Mom! What’s that?!”
“Uh, it looks pretty interesting…”
“Nosrick Grand Theater? That must be expensive…”
“But it wouldn’t hurt to check it out, right? After all, I’ve never seen something like a moving picture in my life!”
“…”
As various discussions spread across the plaza, Edward quietly signaled to the people behind him.
Immediately, several adventurers who had been on standby blended into the crowd.
At this moment, the only task these adventurers had was to act as plants, using their experience from the preview screening at the Adventurers’ Guild to hype up the movie to the crowd, who had no prior movie-watching experience.
Although considering the quality and historic nature of the film, it would eventually gain popularity through word of mouth even if Edward didn’t do anything, he saw no reason to refuse the adventurers who volunteered to help.
The reason these adventurers were willing to help, in fact, was their overflowing sense of superiority.
As the first audience to watch a movie, they were eager to share their excitement with those who hadn’t seen it yet, or, in other words, they were just looking to show off.
In short, at this moment, in three places across Nosrick, similar scenes were unfolding. As groups of ordinary people who had never seen a movie were drawn to the trailer for KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World, they all quickly decided that they had to go to Nosrick Grand Theater to find out what this so-called “movie” was all about.
…
Joseph was an ordinary young man.
Like most young people in Nosrick City, he had various dreams in his childhood, such as becoming a hero sung by bards.
But under the pressure of family and the harsh realities of life, he had to settle for a job at the Nosrick Grand Theater through his family’s connections.
Today, as usual, he arrived at the theater for his night shift, but unlike before, the theater seemed different.
Not only had the performance stage been moved outside, but the decorations and props that Baron Baniel once valued so highly were now discarded like trash at the entrance.
Seeing this, Joseph thought the theater might be closing down, but the bustling scene at the entrance left him rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
“What’s this? I don’t recall any troupes coming in recently.”
Joseph’s confusion was shared by the other staff members around him.
These employees, who were only on the night shift due to the scheduling, had no idea what had happened during the day.
It wasn’t until the supervisor called out their names that they belatedly started guiding the chaotic crowd to form a line.
Then, after observing the crowd for a moment, Joseph was even more shocked to find that the people lined up outside weren’t the usual wealthy women and upper-class patrons who loved theater, but rather ordinary citizens who would never normally set foot in the Grand Theater!
As these ordinary people, who had nothing to do with the word “art,” chatted excitedly at the theater entrance, Joseph overheard that tonight, Nosrick Grand Theater was going to host an unprecedented performance—a movie titled KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World.
Having never heard of such a strange thing, Joseph grew even more curious and, driven by his curiosity, quietly acquired a ticket using his status as a staff member.
Then, taking advantage of a break in his shift, he slipped in with the first group of ticket holders into the theater.
In the past, Joseph had often had the opportunity to sneak into the theater, but since he couldn’t understand the plays and even fell asleep during one, he never watched another.
But this time, looking at the word “Movie Ticket” written in large letters on his ticket, Joseph couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anticipation and quickly found his seat.