After resting for two full days, Edward finally left Durin Castle under Winry's reluctant farewell. He immediately rushed to the filming site at the Imperial Mage Academy.
To his surprise, despite his absence, the movie production had not been delayed at all. The shooting process continued exactly according to the original plan.
Though there were some flaws in the results, Edward was still quite impressed.
"Who has been directing the film in my absence?" he asked.
At his question, Gebrun immediately stepped forward, laughing loudly:
"Hahaha! Who else could it be? Of course, it's me—the evil sorcerer of the Dark Dimension, reborn in flames—"
Before Gebrun could finish his dramatic declaration, his junior, Chris, kicked him and said coldly:
"If you dare to finish that ridiculous title, I'll make a hundred copies of your embarrassing, cringe-worthy diary and auction them off ten years from now!"
"You— Are you a demon?!"
Just as the two were about to start their usual antics, Edward quickly intervened and, in surprise, asked:
"Senior Gebrun, you actually know how to shoot a film?"
"Huh? Shoot a film? Of course not! But for someone like me, who has mastered the study of the soul and spirit, every shot simply needs to be infused with essence, and it naturally becomes the perfect scene!"
"Uh… What is he talking about?"
Edward was confused, and Chris also seemed equally lost. She could only reply:
"Although it sounds incomprehensible, once you see it in action, it makes sense. Senior Gebrun actually seems to have a great talent for this..."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Edward's curiosity was piqued, and he immediately asked Gebrun for a live demonstration.
Soon, after watching Gebrun's filming technique, Edward exclaimed in astonishment:
"Perfect! The only word to describe this is perfect! Senior Gebrun, how did you know to shoot from that angle?"
Gebrun simply smiled and replied:
"Of course, it's thanks to my unparalleled wisdom, my mind beyond the reach of the gods, my—"
"You idiot, speak normally!"
Once again, Chris interrupted him with an attack.
But Gebrun quickly and skillfully picked himself up from the ground and explained properly:
"Well, in simple terms, I've spent a long time studying psychology in the field of soul and spirit magic. By analyzing the characters' mental states in the script and how different scenes connect, I can instinctively capture the best possible shot for each moment."
"Yeah… I still don't get it at all."
Despite Gebrun's detailed explanation of his reasoning, neither Chris nor Edward could grasp his method, which clearly surpassed the limits of common human understanding.
In the end, Edward had to admit that some geniuses in this world simply defy logic.
As a result, Edward immediately invited Gebrun to be his film's cinematographer. However, he was flatly rejected.
After all, even if Gebrun was somewhat eccentric, he was still a high-level mage. Someone of his caliber was no small figure in the Empire, and it was unlikely he would abandon magic to pursue filmmaking.
Moreover, Gebrun's thirst for magical knowledge was insatiable. Until he completed his research, he would not allow himself to be distracted by other pursuits.
That said, he did mention that he could occasionally help out whenever he had free time.
With that, the production of Steins;Gate resumed.
Previously, the story had been left off at the point where the protagonist, Rintarou Okabe, had begun using emails to send messages into the past—recklessly altering history in the process.
Before Edward could resume filming, Ska suddenly ran out from the Alchemy Tower and approached him, saying:
"I've been watching you all shoot this movie for a while now. That little prop you have that can transmit messages over long distances—can that actually be made?"
"You mean… a cell phone?"
Edward was stunned for a moment by Ska's question.
But in the next second, he realized something—this was a world where televisions already existed. The idea of mobile phones appearing here wasn't all that shocking.
Or rather, the fact that he had only now thought about making mobile phones meant he had been far too slow to realize their potential!
After all, this was a magic world!
. . . . .
Edward didn't personally put too much effort into the development of mobile phones, instead entrusting everything to Ska.
When it came to inventions like this, Ska had far more experience than him. As the Alchemy Tower Master for decades, Ska had a deep foundation in alchemy and was no less capable than Edward in fundamental research and development.
As for whether to release the phones after they were created, and in what form they should be marketed, Edward wasn't entirely sure.
After all, this was a feudal kingdom—one where the emperor wasn't the sole authority. Numerous high-ranking nobles and the church held significant power to counterbalance the monarchy.
Making overly radical changes—especially a major revolution in communication—would have consequences far beyond what Edward could predict.
In the end, he decided to limit the initial rollout of mobile phones to the Southern Territory.
At the very least, films had already taken the South by storm, and the Grand Duke of the Southern Territory had never once opposed any of Edward's endeavors. That gave him confidence that this would be a relatively safe testing ground.
Additionally, Edward had no intention of selling mobile phones to mages.
The reason was simple—when televisions were first introduced, their core components had been patented, but many mages had already created similar communication devices for their own use.
Of course, since those devices required magical energy to function and could only be used by mages, they weren't exactly "mobile phones." They were more like magic-based extensions of television technology.
Since they had no potential for mass adoption, only a small group of mages could entertain themselves with these magical gadgets.
. . . .
After assigning the phone's development to Ska, Edward threw himself back into filming the four ongoing projects.
By the end of September, he successfully completed the fifth episode of The Garden of Sinners.
By early October, he had wrapped up production on the TV adaptation of KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!.
Since these two series were TV releases, their production process was relatively less demanding, allowing them to be completed without much difficulty.
More importantly, the major projects—Fate/Zero (Part Two) and Steins;Gate: The Butterfly's Flap of Fate—were both nearing completion.
. . . .
As time marched toward mid-October, the hype began to build.
The release of The Garden of Sinners's fourth episode had been long confirmed, and Fate/Zero's second part was scheduled for a winter broadcast.
Major television taverns and cinemas across the Southern Territory had already started promotions for the upcoming releases.
At the same time, news of the Frost Film Festival had already spread like wildfire throughout the various towns and cities—becoming the single most hotly discussed topic across the entire Southern Territory!
<+>
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