Chapter 368: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes, Lumine
It didn't take long for Zosimos to actually bring out his script.
It was said that he was inspired after seeing Kokomi.
"After adding the female protagonist, the story has become complete and smooth. Take a look at the script, everyone. Next, we're going to complete it together."
[Script killing?]
[Can Klee even read this?]
"Big Brother Zosimos, how do you read this word? What's '栖之所...'"
Sure enough, Klee ran into trouble...
"Let me see. It's '栖' (qī), meaning a little bird resting on a tree branch. When you read it, make your expression a bit cuter."
Mu Yang walked over to help, both gentle and patient.
Because Mu Yang's cool and aloof character setting wasn't very suitable for this script, his role wasn't large.
So he was responsible for explaining things to the various actors.
Just like how he was helping Klee right now.
"Umm, Big Brother Mu Yang, Klee doesn't know how to read this word either..."
"It's okay, Klee. I'll teach you again later and have you read it a few more times. It'll feel natural once you get used to it."
Zosimos walked over. He now felt only gratitude toward Mu Yang.
"I'm really troubling Mr. Mu Yang."
"I felt earlier that you seem very experienced with acting. Did you used to be an actor?"
Mu Yang replied, "I've never been an actor. I was just occasionally dragged by friends to listen to storytelling and singing."
"After listening to a lot, I naturally picked up some techniques for performance."
[@Zhongli, do you have any thoughts?]
[Who said drinking tea and listening to music is a waste of time? It's useful now.]
[Lord Zhong has lived for so many years and sees through everything. How could he mislead you? Learning from him is never wrong.]
Mu Yang pointed at Kaeya. "Compared to me, Mr. Kaeya is more suited to the path of an actor."
Zosimos smiled and said he thought so too.
From the audition performance, Kaeya was clearly better than the others.
This wasn't just because he had more lines.
It was also because he delivered his lines with rich emotion.
His body language, expressions, and other details were also slightly better than Mu Yang's.
If Mu Yang knew what the director was thinking, he would probably complain about him.
Because he was acting every single moment right now — acting as a sword immortal who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside...
After talking about Kaeya, Zosimos left.
He still had to design the stage.
Once the stage was set up, Lumine and Paimon were also drawn over.
"It's quite a grand stage. Is the performance going to be held here later?"
Zosimos confirmed, "Exactly. You two, come closer and take a good look at this stage. It was carefully designed by me personally."
Paimon flew around once. "So the director's job also includes designing the stage?"
Zosimos proudly puffed out his chest. "Then you should really admire me. For this production, the director, scriptwriter, and stage designer… are all just me."
[It's designed pretty well.]
[I'm somehow looking forward to this.]
[This guy feels like the one who's working the hardest, playing multiple roles by himself.]
Only after hearing this did Paimon realize Zosimos had so much work.
"It sounds really tiring. Idyia definitely wouldn't be able to handle it."
Unexpectedly, this casual remark was publicly refuted by Zosimos.
He gave a comment that went against everyone's impression.
"Miss Idyia isn't relaxed either. She's my only audience member… Though I often get criticized by her."
Lumine found it novel. Someone with Idyia's personality would actually criticize others?
"It's all things like 'I don't know what you wrote,' 'This is so confusing,' etc." Zosimos scratched his head.
"It might also be because I used the pre-rendered image method, which went against her original intention."
However, Idyia didn't just criticize.
She also helped Zosimos a lot.
In Zosimos's words, Idyia was somewhat like the theater's agent.
Once he started talking about Idyia, Zosimos couldn't stop.
"I'm very grateful to her, because only after coming here did I get the chance to become a real director."
Paimon rested her chin on her hand. "Then what were you before?"
Zosimos replied, "I've had the dream of painting since I was a child."
Every time Zosimos went home after watching a performance, he would repeat that story over and over in his mind.
Over time, he also developed his own wish.
Unfortunately, his only real strength was his hands-on ability.
So most of the time afterward, he worked as a prop master.
He also did stage scenery work.
Lumine did not hold back her praise. "The stage setup and props you made are really good."
Zosimos was naturally delighted to hear this.
"But just personally making the stage isn't enough…"
"Only by directing the performance yourself is the most satisfying."
After chatting for a bit, Lumine noticed that Zosimos had been looking for something while talking.
She asked if he needed help.
"That would be great. Actually, I don't know where I put the master script for the upcoming performance."
Paimon was stunned. "Didn't you just finish writing it?"
Zosimos laughed awkwardly. "Yes, yes. After I distributed your parts, I took my master script around to check everything… I don't know where I left it."
"If it's not here, it's probably in the attic. After finishing the script, I only went to these two places."
[I was just using my phone to look for my phone earlier.]
[You're truly something else.]
Zosimos still needed to check the stage, so he asked Lumine and the others to go to the attic.
The two ace adventurers lived up to expectations and brought the complete script back.
At this moment, Zosimos no longer had his previous pride and confidence.
Instead, he seemed a bit deflated...
"Thank you. You really helped a lot."
Lumine asked, "Is there a problem with the stage?"
"Sigh… Time was too tight. The stage couldn't be restored to its best condition. We can only take it one step at a time."
"Whatever, whatever. What's important isn't the stage, but the performance. Even if something goes wrong with the stage, as long as the show can continue…"
Paimon put her hands on her hips. "Hey, hey, hey, why do you sound so unconfident?"
Zosimos tried to use the same reasons he used to convince himself on Lumine.
Unfortunately, he couldn't convince her...
Lumine asked him to tell the truth about how to achieve the most perfect performance effect.
Klee and the others were so excited.
She didn't want her friends' performance experience to be greatly diminished.
Only then did Zosimos reveal his little idea.
Actually, what he thought was for Lumine to bring props into the [pre-rendered image] stage and operate the props within the stage...
This completely backwards approach was no wonder Idyia had opinions about him before.
Other people used pre-rendered images to create 'objects,' but he wanted to make the things first and then bring them into the pre-rendered image...
"I just asked Idyia for her opinion, and she reluctantly agreed..."
Lumine didn't refuse either. How could she refuse something so fun?
"Haha, now we've become the masterminds behind the scenes."
"Huh?"