The movie theater in Village Five had earned quite a reputation. However, as its popularity grew, several problems began to surface.
The first was the issue of seating capacity. Putting aside the booths along the walls, several customers suggested that we could fit more seats onto the floor. It was true that we could have crammed more in if we really wanted to, but I had opted for a spacious layout specifically to account for racial differences.
If I carelessly packed the seats together and a row of the Minotaur race ended up sitting in the front, what then? The people in the rows behind them wouldn't be able to see a thing. On the other hand, I felt a certain resistance to telling members of taller races that they were restricted to the back or the far ends of the theater. Therefore, I decided to keep the seating as it was.
The next issue involved food and drink. While there were occasional mishaps like spilled drinks, they were mostly a non-issue. The food was the real problem. I had tried to prepare dishes that made minimal noise and had faint aromas, but a growing number of people were requesting a total ban on eating during performances. Of course, there were voices in favor of snacks as well.
The "no-food" faction eventually gained the upper hand due to a rather unfortunate incident. One of the voice actors caught a whiff of a meal being eaten in the audience, and their stomach growled so loudly that the sound was picked up and amplified by the magic microphones for the whole theater to hear. A growling stomach broadcast to the masses... it was quite the situation. Apparently, some people enjoyed the movie even with those kinds of mishaps, but for the time being, eating during the show was prohibited.
In exchange, I improved the food and drink options in the waiting room. People didn't have to worry about noise or smells there. That said, considering they would be heading into the theater afterward, the menu still avoided items with strong odors like curry or garlic.
Then there was the matter of health management for the voice actors. The residents of this world didn't catch colds easily, but three of them had gone out for drinks in high spirits after a performance and lost their voices the next day. Another was approached by a fan, which led to a double-dating scandal being exposed and the actor getting injured in the fallout. On top of that, many others had strained their throats from over-practicing.
I had prepared understudies just in case, but there was a limit to how many we had. Furthermore, the fans tended to get angry when an understudy took the stage. While audiences usually accepted mistakes or technical troubles as part of the live experience, they felt a jarring sense of dissonance when the voice of a character changed.
I wondered if the current style of the theater was the problem. Should we try to move closer to how movies were originally intended to be? As a temporary measure, I hired a manager. It wasn't one manager per person, but rather one person overseeing several actors; even so, it was better than the chaos we had now. At least, I hoped it would be.
Regarding the movie format itself, I requested help from Ire and the rest of the filming team. Currently, a performance required the crystal's footage, the voice actors, and the musicians to all be present. I asked if it would be possible to record the voices and music while filming the footage from the crystal.
"Filming the footage inside a crystal is impossible," Ire replied.
It seemed the world wasn't quite that convenient. When I asked for details, she explained that if you tried to film the crystal’s projections, the result would be a pitch-black image. The cause was interference from magic and magic power.
Just as I thought we had hit a dead end, a different idea was proposed. While the crystal's visual footage couldn't be filmed, the audio could still be recorded. The suggestion was to record the audio and then play it back in sync with the timing of the crystal's visual projection.
I thought the idea had merit, but it came with its own set of problems. To record and play back the audio, we needed the specialized equipment that Ire’s team used. If they helped us with the movie theater, the filming team would become almost entirely dedicated to the cinema. Ire didn't mind helping out once or twice, but she couldn't do it permanently. I also felt bad about monopolizing their time like that.
In theory, the camera that had been found in the box with the story crystals was capable of recording and playing back audio, but we were currently using that very camera to play the crystal’s footage. We would need another camera, as well as recording crystals. It seemed possible to repurpose the story crystals for recording, but we lacked the technology to do it safely. Furthermore, any attempt to do so would likely destroy the story already stored inside.
We were at a stalemate until a savior appeared: Versa, Progenitor-san's wife.
"I believe I have some cameras and recording crystals at my house," she mentioned casually.
Following her lead, I went to her home and secured six cameras and a massive hoard of crystals. Apparently, about half of the crystals already had stories inside them. Gucci appeared out of nowhere to audit the contents, and the story crystals were promptly isolated.
Wait, none of them were left? Not a single one was suitable? That’s impressive in its own way. Hahaha.
Versa, I wasn't complimenting you.
Thankfully, there were plenty of blank crystals left over. This alone was a cause for celebration, but we found something even better: playback devices. They were magic tools specifically designed to play back the recordings stored on the crystals. There were twenty of them in total.
I was incredibly grateful, but I had to ask, "Are you sure about this, Versa? These are part of your precious collection, aren't they?"
"Don't worry about it. I've kept enough for myself, and I intend to collect a proper payment."
Of course, I intended to pay her. Wait, it wasn't money? Hold on—I have no intention of cooperating with your "hobbies."
Oh, that wasn't it? And she wanted payment in advance? That sounded ominous.
"Fufu. I'll be doing my own filming over here, so I was hoping you could lend me a venue for screenings."
I see. So that was her angle.
"I'll be limiting the audience to a select few, so there won't be any 'victims' among the general public."
"I-It's a promise, then. Don't drag in anyone who isn't willing."
At any rate, I was relieved that we finally had a way to record and play back audio. Furthermore, with multiple cameras and playback devices, we could even build a second movie theater. This would solve the seating issue as well.
Ire was also thrilled with the new equipment. Wait, if Versa could record things, that meant Ire's team could as well. Did this mean we could produce our own movies right here? Ire and her crew seemed incredibly motivated. I looked forward to seeing what the filming team would come up with.
The budget? I wanted to give them whatever they needed, but I asked them to submit the details first. It was village money, after all. I would have to consult with the Civil Official Girls before giving the final approval.
That night, one of the Civil Official Girls brought me a report.
"In Shashato City, the Goroun Company is already moving to secure land for a movie theater."
That was strange. I thought I had told them at the start that building multiple theaters was impossible. Had the news of us acquiring playback devices already reached them?
"No, I suspect they simply assumed that you would find a way eventually, Village Head."
Such excessive expectations were a bit much.
"Furthermore, we received a message from Lady Tiselle in the Royal Capital. She says she has finished securing the sites and would like you to send personnel capable of constructing the theaters."
She was fast, too. Wait, from Tiselle? Not the Dalfon Company? Perhaps she had heard about the theater from the Academy Director. Even so, hadn't she heard that making multiple theaters was supposed to be impossible? It worked out fine now, but without Versa's help, the money spent on those sites would have been wasted.
I decided to send her a letter of caution. I would praise her for securing the land so quickly, of course, but I needed to tell her to be more careful.
Oh, she had even sent over a detailed construction budget and a profit distribution document for the films. I wondered if Tiselle had drafted these herself? No, she probably consulted with Asa or Earth, or perhaps someone from the Dalfon Company. It was good to see she was applying herself, but...
She hadn't forgotten about her actual schoolwork, had she? As her father, that was my biggest concern.
Tiselle: "A movie theater? So Father made one... I see. Secure the land. Find three locations. Make it top priority."
Ridley: "Eh? But the rumors say it's impossible to make more than one."
Tiselle: "Father will find a way, so it's fine. Once the land in the Capital is secured, we move on to the other cities. It's a race against the Goroun Company."