Thirty minutes before the movie ended. Inside the cinema room located behind the audience seats.
Madam Schroder had completely transformed the performance hall for the sake of Léon: The Demon’s movie premier. One of the things she did was the setting up a cinema room behind the performance hall.
The originium crystal containing ‘Léon: The Demon’ was placed in the center of this not very large cinema room.
Madam Schroder had dispatched her two most trusted aides to guard the originium crystal inside the cinema room. A group of sword-wielding guards were stationed outside. They served to prevent any strangers from approaching the room.
The enormously high standards of treatment Madam Schroder had for the originium crystal was akin to the protection of a treasury containing countless gold coins and gems.
But, the sample crystal for ‘Léon: The Demon’ was most definitely worthy of this treatment.
Among Madam Schroder’s two trusted aides guarding the originium crystal inside the cinema room, a certain leader of the Black Dove, the dark elf lady known as Thousand Faces, had infiltrated into the room.
“Why would that demon refuse to accept Miss Gallolei’s confession...? Sigh, this is truly a pity!”
The other trusted aide in the cinema room was a fifty-some year old looking mage. Judging from the magic aura he emits, he should be a rank seven mage.
But, the dark elf was not concerned with the strength of this mage. When the mage was completely immersed in Mathilda telling Léon that she might be in love with him, the dark elf had stealthily extended her hand toward the originium crystal placed in the center of the room.
“Stop! Ron! Don’t touch that originium crystal! If you break it, you wouldn’t be able to make up for it your entire life!”
The old mage immediately detected the rash behavior from the young man in the room with him and loudly shouted at him.
But, after being stopped by the mage, a rune inscription appeared on the Dark Elf’s finger.
The rune does not possess any offensive nature at all. The instant the old mage saw that rune, he felt a feeling of sleepiness sweeping through him. Before he could use his magic power to disperse the sleepiness, he smelled the scent of a special incense.
That scent had actually filled the entire cinema room before the movie premier even began. But, he only noticed the scent after the Dark Elf activated her rune.
After the mage fell to the ground and lost consciousness, the Dark Elf revealed her real appearance. The first thing she did after revealing her real appearance was to wipe clean her tears.
Her goal in entering the Farucci’s Mansion this time around was to steal the movie sample for ‘Léon: The Demon’ and then bring it back to the demon realm.
Originally, she was able to start working over a dozen hours ago. But, after pondering carefully, the dark elf decided to sit down and finish watching the movie first.
But, during the movie, she discovered that her tears were rolling down her eyes excessively.
She was already imagining herself as Léon. Far before the movie’s end, her ice-cold heart has been moved by the movie multiple times. She ended up shedding tears in an instant on many occasions.
After she changed her appearance to that of someone else, she was unable to have tears or sweat. That was not a good thing. Holding back her tears and sweat was something extremely uncomfortable for her.
Because of that, she had no choice but to act before the movie ended.
The dark elf finished wiping away her tears and adjusted her state of mind. She prepared herself to do the business in coming here.
She placed her hand on the originium crystal located in the center of the cinema room. But, she felt resistance the moment she touched the originium crystal.
There’s a magic barrier!
Madam Schroder actually placed such a thorny barrier all for the sake of safeguarding an originium crystal.
But, a magic barrier of that caliber was something that the dark elf could breach should she concentrate on it.
After all, decoding and undoing the various barriers set up by the mages were her speciality.
But, she would not be able to continue watching what would happen in the movie should she turn her focus onto the magic barrier.
Maybe... she should work on the magic barrier after she finished watching the movie? But, the dark elf was not certain how long her magic will keep the rank seven mage unconscious.
At the moment when she was feeling intertwined, someone opened the door to the cinema room.
She immediately shifted away. Like a cat, she gracefully landed on the other side of the door.
She was staring at the door and holding a dagger covered in poison.
The poison was not fatal. It was only able to tranquilize the target. Originally, the dark elf would not hesitate to kill for her missions.
But, the movie ‘Léon: The Demon’ brought her back to her maiden’s heart that she had tossed away tens of years ago. Because of that, she chose a comparatively friendlier method of attack.
The moment the person who opened the door walked in, her dagger would press against that person’s neck.
While she was on full alert, the movie was still going on. Time and time again, her focus would be shifted to the movie’s progress.
But, she soon turned her focus back to the person entering the room.
“Why are you bothering to hide?”
A familiar voice sounded. When the dark elf saw that person, her movements immediately grew stiff. In the end, she helplessly placed away her weapon.
“Miss dark elf, if you wanted to participate in the movie premiere, I could arrange a seat for you in the audience seatings. There was no need for you to hide here at all.”
Joshua pushed open the cinema room’s door and saw the dark elf standing next to the wall.
The dark elf did not respond to Joshua. She took several steps back and looked to Joshua’s side. No other person was with him. But, there were several Day Banshees floating around him.
Even if the Day Banshee’s battle power were insufficient, the aura of death emitting from the imprint on Joshua’s hand was more than enough to make the dark elf give up on all resistance.
“I did not come here to watch a movie.”
Indeed, the dark elf did not come here to watch the movie. Rather, she came to steal the originium crystal that contains the sample for ‘Léon: The Demon.’
As such, she was not lying. Neverthless, her eyes would shift to the movie screen outside the viewing room from time and time again. Seeing that, her words became extremely unpersuasive.
Joshua was able to see how tangled this dark elf lady was. In the end, he let out a sigh and made a ‘please go ahead’ gesture toward her.
Even though this dark elf lady had entered the cinema without purchasing a ticket, Joshua still regarded her as a guest.
“How about... we finish watching the movie before talking?” suggested Joshua.
The dark elf revealed a slight frown. She seemed to be having some sort of mental struggle. But, when the movie reached the part where the Law Enforcement Army arrived and surrounded Léon and Mathilda, she ended up silently nodding her head.
Even though she had accepted Joshua’s proposal, her taut expression remained unchanged. Joshua decided to quietly stand to the side and wait for the movie to finish.
When Léon died, the dark elf lady seemed to be holding back something. Her eyes were twitching slightly.
The movie continued even after that. Léon’s death did not manage to affect the emotions of this ice-cold dark elf assassin.
After Mathilda buried the potted plant on the ground and said ‘I think we’ll be okay here, Léon,” that the dark elf seemed to still be holding back something. Her throat seemed to choke with emotions.
Finally, when the melody for ‘Shape Of My Heart’ began playing, she finally lost control of her emotions. The dark elf girl who has maintained an aloof attitude the entire time ever since Joshua entered the room started tearing up.
But, for the purpose of acting brave, this dark elf was using her hand to wipe away her tears continuously. Unfortunately, perhaps because she hasn’t cried for tens of years, she ended up crying out all the sadness she had held in her heart over the years.
The painful appearance of the dark elf shocked Joshua momentarily. The impression Joshua had of this dark elf, the leader of the Black Dove, was that she was reserved, aloof and slightly cunning. She seemed like a person who would never expose her real self to others.
Perhaps that was the reason why her nickname was Thousand Faces.
That said, her tolerance before crying was much lower than Joshua expected. Or perhaps... the movie ‘Léon: The Demon’ resonated with her?
Regardless, Joshua’s impression of this dark elf had shattered completely like his impression of the frost elf.
“Use this to wipe your tears.”
Joshua does not carry a handkerchief with him. Because of that, he could only find a random table cloth and toss it to the dark elf.
Joshua felt that to be slightly unfortunate. If he had a handkerchief, he would likely be able to receive much more of a favorable impression from the dark elf. After all, women are most vulnerable when they’re crying.
The dark elf did not refuse Joshua’s offer and took the tablecloth he offered her. Using it, she wiped away all the tears from her face.
She didn’t want to cry herself like this either. She didn’t want to reveal her vulnerable side to a stranger like Joshua.
Unfortunately, the tear bomb Joshua tossed at her, that ‘Léon: The Demon,’ was simply too strong.
No matter how the dark elf resisted it, she was unable to withstand the infectious power of the song ‘Shape Of My Heart.’ In the end, she ended up exploding with tears she saved up the entire movie.
It was the same for Joshua. During his first time watching ‘Léon: The Professional,’ he was not too affected by the entire movie. But, when the movie ended, all his tears came rushing out.
Even though the movie caused the dark elf to expose her vulnerability to Joshua, she was an accomplished professional intelligence agent and assassin. Thus, she quickly adjusted herself.
The tablecloth was like a magician’s cover cloth in that dark elf’s hand. The moment earlier, she was crying nonstop. Yet, the moment after, her face returned to her previous ice-cold expression.
But, the red corners of her eyes served to prove that she was extremely sad only a couple seconds ago.
“Is that the only possible fate for Léon?”
Before Joshua could say anything, the dark elf suddenly voiced her question.
“Let me think. In the real story, Léon didn’t die. Instead, he established a hotel on Squirrel Street. He also took in two gray-cat beastmen and half-dragon children... does this outcome satisfy you?”
What Joshua spoke of was what happened to Léon’s performer, the Deceiver Pluk.
After hearing what Joshua said, the dark elf suddenly smiled.
This was Joshua’s first time seeing her smile. All the smiles she showed in the past were pretense she used in order to negotiate with others. But, this smile of hers did not last for long.
She walked over to the window. Through the window, she was able to see what was happening in the screening hall.
A little girl that looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old discovered the villain of the movie, Stansfield, was sitting next to her. Without any hesitation, she chose to avenge Léon and began to chant a dangerous lightning magic.
Fortunately, the person seated next to her, a mage that seemed to be her teacher, stopped her. Only with that did the actor for Stansfield, Sir Weissenasche, manage to escape the tragic fate of having an afro-style hairdo to get on stage later.
“If I was her, I’d do the same purely so that I can vent myself,” said the dark elf.
“Then... I’ve obtained my goal. I’ve won our wager.”
Joshua was looking at the audience below through another window. When the credit scene for the performers started rolling on the screen, the movie premier has yet to completely finish.
Madam Schroder got onto the stage. Then, all the actors for the movie ‘Léon: The Demon’ began to walk onto the stage one after another.
When the two final performers, the Flower of Farucci who played the female lead Mathilda and Deceiver Pluk who played the male lead Léon got on the stage together, practically all the audience started clapping. Their applause was even more enthusiastic than when the movie ended.
Their applause continued for a very long time.
Joshua looked to the dark elf. She seemed to be pondering something.
At this moment, the dark elf was fully certain that those applause were for the demon standing on the stage!
Those humans were giving a standing ovation to a demon. Many people were also feeling extremely moved by that demon being alive.
Had this been before, if someone was to describe this scene to the dark elf, she would definitely think that person was telling her a joke, an unfunny joke.
But, the reality was before her very eyes. A demon was standing on the humans’ stage. Furthermore, he was the focus of the entire stage.
In the end, even the dark elf started clapping her hand.
Even though she knew that the story in the movie was fictional, anyone who had just watched ‘Léon: The Demon’ would be extremely moved by seeing Léon standing together with Mathilda.
After the dark elf finished clapping, she turned to look at Joshua.
The person who made all this a reality was Joshua. Joshua accomplished what she refused to believe would happen.
He had allowed a demon to be accepted by the humans.
“Even though they are applauding for the movie’s fictional demon hitman, the fictional movie had, at the very least, influenced the real world, no?” asked Joshua.
This was the ‘destructive powers’ of culture. It was essentially a magic that could reconstruct a human’s senses, values and outlooks.
“You’ve won, Lord Joshua.”
The dark elf candidly admitted defeat in her wager with Joshua.
“Then...” Joshua was prepared to recruit this new ‘heroic’ character.
But, at this moment, a rune inscription appeared on the dark elf’s fingertip. The moment Joshua saw that rune, sleepiness assaulted his senses.
Joshua’s vision began to blur... Could this be a ‘Yax Lizard'[1] Magic?
As Joshua’s eyelid grew heavier and heavier, he couldn’t help to place his weight on the window to support himself.
So the dark elves of this world were established with the settings of being cunning too? Are they also believers in the Queen Mother Lolth like the Drows?[2]
“My apologies. Lord Joshua... I am unable to work for you right now.”
The dark elf watched as Joshua’s body swayed back and forth before collapsing. Only then did she turn around to walk toward the originium stone.
But, the next moment, her hand was grabbed by someone. She immediately turned around in shock.
“How...”
She did not expect for Joshua’s resistance toward sleep magic to be that strong.
“Don’t underestimate a programmer’s ability to stay awake,” said Joshua.
[1] [Reference to Chinese internet meme]
[2] [Reference to DnD’s dark elves.]