Movie Production
Fertilizer factory construction had begun.
Selene sent several people along with Seoric to assist me.
Engineers, scientists, mages, and alchemists came swarming in, and I hired every one of them.
We decided to build the fertilizer factory in Portu Commercial City.
The plains area had plenty of usable land, and since all imperial logistics passed through there geographically, sourcing materials for fertilizer production would be easy.
"Three months. We have to finish it within three months. Money is no object."
Even now, peasants were streaming in from across the empire seeking new jobs and opportunities.
To make use of that workforce, we needed to clear the Golden Plains as quickly as possible.
I poured out gold coins without restraint, and the countless peasants who had come to Portu Commercial City hoping for jobs became excellent laborers.
"We need a new reactor. But to build one this size, the cost will be..."
"I'll provide it!!!"
"We should expand the factory site a bit more. We'll need a bit more funding..."
"I'll provide it!!"
And once again, money was magnificent.
When that massive sum—which was truly trivial from the merchant guild's perspective—poured in, fertilizer factory construction proceeded at a speed faster than bullets.
A collaboration between the merchant guild, peasants, Magic Tower scientists, alchemists, and mages was creating the continent's first fertilizer factory.
If things went according to plan, it would be completed before the three months were up.
"Karl. Send ten million gold to Princess Selene."
"Ten million gold? Why so much?"
"Research funding. As you'll see this time, our merchant guild will owe the Magic Tower a ton going forward. Think of it as a preemptive investment."
In the past, Karl Hansen might have given me a suspicious look and grumbled at such an order.
But after the land trade route opened and the Sultan Saladin persuasion incident, Karl and everyone in the merchant guild trusted my words absolutely.
He sent the massive sum of gold to Selene without a word of protest.
"Understood."
Karl sent the ten million gold to Princess Selene, and I went to see her again with the funds.
"What research do you plan to support first with this?"
Selene gaped at the enormous pile of gold coins.
Snapping out of her shock from the overwhelming amount, she finally answered my question.
"Teleportation technology and magic stone processing technology. I was planning to invest heavily in those two areas."
"Excellent. Please proceed. And I have one more favor to ask."
Selene scowled at the word "favor," so I quickly explained.
"About Illusion Stones. I'd like to know more. The Magic Tower is developing tech related to them, right?"
"......Illusion Stones?"
It seemed like an out-of-left-field question.
But I nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes. I want to try a little cultural business with them."
I explained the movie industry to her.
Selene's eyes lit up after hearing me out, clearly finding the idea novel.
"......That's unique. I never even thought of a business like that."
"Lots of people will want to watch. How about Illusion Stone tech? Is mass production possible?"
"It's a simple device even with low-purity magic stones. Magically speaking, it's very basic. Any mage or alchemist with standard training could mass-produce them in no time."
True to form as a tech expert, the brilliant Selene quickly got excited and started brainstorming technical improvements.
"You said it'd be shooting movies and then screening them, right?"
"That's right."
"Then we'll need separate devices for screening and shooting. We can use image stones for the shooting device. Later, extract the image stone from the shooter, insert it into the screening device, and use an Illusion Stone to replay the recorded scenes inside."
"That sounds perfect!! How high-quality will the replayed footage be through the Illusion Stone?"
"Give me a moment. We've never thought of handling footage that way before........ I can prepare a demo right away."
Selene eyed me skeptically but clearly found my idea so fun that she got a bit excited and called over her mages and alchemists.
They were techies too, and they took an interest in my idea.
"It's not that hard. Just a sec. We can tweak the magic circuits."
"For shooting, we need to record everything within a certain range........ Like this?"
I chimed in from the side.
"We also need a way to edit after shooting."
"Edit........?"
"Cutting out specific footage segments or splicing them together, that sort of thing."
"Haha!!! That's a brilliant idea!! Got it! We'll add that function too!!"
Selene was right—it really was simple technology.
Before even an hour had passed, the mages and alchemists produced a crude but functional shooting device using image stones and a screening device to replay it.
"Want to test it?"
I took the crude shooting device the mages handed me and filmed the lab surroundings, Selene, and the mages for about ten seconds, storing the footage in an image stone.
Then I replayed it through an Illusion Stone.
And I couldn't help but be astonished.
"My god."
The footage emerging from the Illusion Stone was so crystal-clear it was indistinguishable from reality.
Not even IMAX cameras could produce footage this sharp.
In terms of video tech, magic clearly outclassed science.
"It's pretty fun. We usually use image stones for academic purposes. Like recording rare monster growth processes or special magic phenomena."
"But we never thought of shooting footage this way. We've only ever used them to meticulously record reality itself."
"You're going to make movies with this?"
"That sounds fun. I definitely want to see it."
The mages and alchemists chuckled haha, and I chuckled haha too.
"Princess Selene."
"Yes."
"Can I take these folks with me like Seoric? I'll pay fat salaries and bonuses. I'll also pay the Magic Tower proper royalties on Illusion Stone tech."
Selene stared at me for a moment, then nodded with a tone of can't stop you.
"I can't refuse after receiving such an enormous ten million gold sum. Take them."
"Thank you."
I grinned at the mages and alchemists staring at me dumbfounded by the unexpected turn.
Did these people know the word "profit"?
If not, they'd learn soon enough.
"Alright!! Let's go!!! To the great commercial city of Portu!! We'll set up a company under the merchant guild there. A company making shooting and screening devices!! We'll call the shooting device a camera and the screening device a hologram projector!!"
I rubbed my hands together with a thrilled expression, eyeing the mages and alchemists doomed to be ground to dust before long.
"Let's work hard, everyone!!!"
Along with the fertilizer factory, a new company building soon rose in Portu Commercial City.
It was emblazoned with the name Illusion Company.
"Karl. You said you had all the theater troupes, singers, and circus troupes rounded up, right? Bring them all here."
"Understood."
Portu Commercial City was practically the merchant guild's home base.
The top theater actors, singers, and circus leaders from across the nation, whom Karl Hansen had gathered months ago, were all summoned to the guild headquarters building.
After wining and dining the puzzled commoners—who wondered why they'd been called—I won them over with lavish meals and snacks before diving into the business talk.
"We're going to shoot something called a movie."
I'd already pre-shot footage of them eating meals and snacks using prototype cameras and hologram projectors from Illusion Company.
When I screened it via hologram projector, everyone gathered marveled at the novel spectacle.
"Amazing. What principle is this based on?"
"Hahaha!! There's even a scene of me devouring that cake!!"
"Oh my god!! Such a lifelike illusion!!!"
Various reactions erupted, and I calmed them down before explaining the movie industry I planned to launch.
The response was explosive.
As showbiz veterans, they instantly grasped movies' audience-drawing power.
"Intentionally edited plays shot with a camera, screened in front of everyone!!!"
"This'll draw huge crowds!!"
"Fascinating! Very fascinating!! This is definitely gonna work!!"
I smiled as they applauded and cheered.
"Bring your best-selling theater scripts."
Theater troupe leaders rushed over with ten scripts at bullet speed and laid them before me.
I consulted with them and began selecting ones that would work as movies.
"Baron Lord and the Golden Lighthouse. How about this? It's a famous straight play."
"A five-hour movie is too long. Aim for one and a half to two hours basically."
"Then how about this? It's a play called Long Live the Great Hero! Written by a young actor, and it's popular."
"Oh? What's the story?"
"A comedy mocking nobles who exploit peasants. It's hilarious, and lots of people love it."
"This one looks good."
After three hours of meticulous discussion, I narrowed it down to two scripts.
The comedy Long Live the Great Hero! and the straight drama The Empire's Beginning, chronicling the life of the Ailam Empire's founding emperor.
"Alright!! These two should hit big. Theater directors, adapt them into movie scripts. Don't just film stage performances. Movies need to shoot these stories realistically, with editing techniques for dramatic flair. Got it? Consult Illusion Company's techs for anything unclear or additional tech needs."
"Understood!"
The excited troupe leaders shouted, and I turned to the singers.
"You all will compose and perform songs fitting those two plays. Something grand and heavy for The Empire's Beginning. Fun and lively for Long Live the Great Hero! Clear?"
The singers nodded.
"Finally, circus leaders. You'll shoot a separate movie."
"Pardon? What kind?"
"We'll film your best circus show as a movie. Get ready."
The circus leaders cheered and nodded at my words, thrilled at the opportunity for us lowly commoners.
Then one theater leader hesitantly spoke up.
"Um....... Lord Landor. So, about salaries.......?"
For day-laborers like them, this was crucial.
Their eyes suggested they'd be thrilled with just five silvers per person for such a big project.
But I wasn't thinking that small.
"Production budgets: 100,000 gold for Long Live the Great Hero!, one million gold for The Empire's Beginning, and 100,000 gold for the circus shoot. Separately, appearance fees for each troupe, singers, and circus: 5,000 gold for leads, 1,000 for supports, and one gold per day for extras."
Everyone's jaws dropped.
It was an enormous investment and sum, but pocket change compared to the guild's daily trade route earnings.
"So give it your all. Create an unprecedented spectacle. If the movies succeed, the troupes, singers, and circuses get 60% of profits. We take the remaining 40%. The better they do, the more your appearance fees become chump change."
I slammed the table.
"I'll emphasize again: give it your all! You here are the empire's top entertainment experts! Amaze the empire!! Amaze the world!!!"
"Waaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Applause and whistles filled the headquarters.
I smiled contentedly at the sight.
I bundled the circuses, theaters, and singers into yet another massive company called McGuffin.
The McGuffin building stood side by side with Illusion Company.
And production began on three monumental works to stun the world.