Translator: Yang_Wenli
Early morning. Hearthstone Tavern.
So heavy...
Joshua did not wake up this morning on his own. Instead, he was forced awake by a choking sensation.
An unbearable weight was crushing down upon his body. But, together with the weight was a cozy feeling.
Joshua turned his head around and saw Ciri’s face. She was tightly hugging him like an octopus.
If this world had cigarettes, then perhaps Joshua should be lighting one now.
But, seeing how comfortable the mage lady appeared in her sleep, Joshua did not disturb her. After spending some time to escape from her ‘death embrace,’ Joshua got up from the bed and changed his clothes.
Today, he needed to go to the Weissenasche Theater to interview the performers recommended by Sir Weissenasche. It was all to prepare for his next movie ‘Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale.’
After Joshua finished changing clothes and his morning bathroom routine, he saw that Ciri was still deep in her sleep. He walked over to the bed and gently touched her silver-gray hair. But, Ciri remained asleep.
Perhaps she’s too tired?
Joshua stopped disturbing Ciri’s rest and left the room. After telling Mrs. Melina what she should do today, he passed through the noisy main longue and entered the streets of Norland.
“Mister Joshua.”
The carriage arranged by Sir Weissenasche was already waiting outside the tavern. Sir Weissenasche was sitting in the carriage. Without hesitation, Joshua entered into the carriage.
“Mister Joshua, have you seen the new post made by Miss Gallolei in her camp this morning?”
Sir Weissenasceh immediately mentioned that to Joshua with excitement the moment Joshua got on the carriage.
“Her camp?”
“Dragon! Miss Gallolei took a picture with a giant dragon! My goddess... the giant dragon in that photo is much more shocking than the paintings of any giant dragon.”
After being called to his attention by Sir Weissenasche, Joshua opened up the Mage Forum and entered Gallolei’s camp.
A new post was made on Gallolei’s camp.
That post caused great fanfare among the followers of her camp... It was a joint photo between the petite Flower of Farucci and a giant dragon!
It was not only Gallolei’s fans that were in utter astonishment. That photo also caused a stir among the mages of the Mage Forum.
But, it must be said that the latest photo posted to Gallolei’s camp was truly shocking.
A giant dragon covered with golden scales had lowered its head beside the girl. Even though the person who took the photo had stepped back at least twenty meters, they still didn’t manage to capture the dragon’s entire body in the photo.
With the Black Swan standing next to that giant dragon, people couldn’t help but wonder if the dragon would eat her in one swoop.
Joshua had always wanted to experience dragons for himself too. After all, in any world with magic, dragons were creatures at the top of the food chain.
But, Joshua never expected his first witness of a dragon’s appearance would be on another person’s ‘twitter.’
Joshua tapped at the thumbs up symbol on the lower right corner of the post. There was already close to ten thousand replies beneath the joint photo.
Generally, Gallolei’s post would only receive between five and seven thousand replies. But now, the post was approaching twice her usual amount in less than three hours since it was posted.
To the mages of Norland, giant dragons were rare, powerful and legendary creatures.
Joshua began to skim through the replies...
‘Oh God of Lightning! That giant dragon will devour Miss Gallolei! Someone must go and rescue the powerless Flower of Farucci!’ Replied by: Moratti’s Last Descent
‘Miss Gallolei’s rescue! Recruiting brave warriors to slay the dragon! Please come to the Mercenary Guild for details.’ Replied by: Armor and Sword
Sure enough, it was as Joshua expected. A large portion of the replies were people worried about Gallolei’s safety. Another portion of replies were mages that started dissecting the information provided by the picture. They began analyzing the race of the giant dragon, its habitat and... what sort of rare alchemy ingredients its carcass will be able to provide.
At this moment, the power of the Mage Forum was put into full effect. The Mage Forum contained the knowledge of a portion of Norland’s mages. Among them, the user ‘Ash-colored Owl’ replied the most.
‘From the luster of the scales, that dragon is likely a Brass Dragon, a type of Metallic Dragon. From its size and the dak golden pupils, that Dragon is over a thousand years old... I’ve never seen such an ancient Metallic Dragon before. But, everyone, you all need not worry. Brass Dragons are dragons that are more reasonable. The girl in the photo seemed to be interacting pleasantly with the dragon. That dragon will not attack humans for no reason. Apart from that, regarding the materials that a Brass Dragon’s carcass could provide, I’d roughly estimate that...”
Joshua did not finish reading the entire reply. But, seeing that Ash-colored Owl had typed out a reply of over three hundred words, he decided to sticky it on top of the post.
But, compared to the giant dragon, Joshua noticed an even more fascinating creature in the photo... a black kitten.
The black kitten was hidden in a corner of the picture. If one didn’t look carefully, one wouldn’t be able to find the cat in the picture with the Metallic Dragon.
Joshua recognized the black cat. It was the embodiment of the Blackwood Elves’ World Tree’s consciousness.
‘Miss Gallolei, are you in the Blackwood Forest?’
Joshua sent a message to Gallolei.
Even though Joshua now possessed the Frost Elves’ World Tree, the World Tree was simply too young. With the current pace, it might not take a hundred years for it to mature into a giant ancient tree. But, it will still take five to six years.
Five to six years was a period of time that Joshua cannot afford to wait for. Besides, it would be impossible to cover the entire world with the magic network using only one World Tree.
‘Mmhmm. My mother had me come to the Blackwood Forest to receive the Blessing Ceremony. Also, Mister Joshua, you don’t have to worry. The Brass Dragon is the Protector of the World Tree. He is very friendly toward me. Right now, he’s discussing the movie ‘Léon: The Demon’ with the Blackwood Elves.’
Gallolei’s reply revealed a lot of information.
Joshua did not wish to obtain the rights to use the World Tree through violent means.
Furthermore, the Blackwood Elves’ World Tree was guarded by a Brass Dragon. On top of that, the Blackwood Elves themselves were not to be looked down upon. As such, diplomacy with the elves was absolutely necessary.
‘How are... they evaluating it?’
Joshua was not surprised by the elves and a Brass Dragon being attracted to the movie ‘Léon: The Demon.’ After all, it is normal for intelligent creatures to become interested in novel things.
What he needed to know was whether or not they liked the movie.
‘The elves seemed to be considering the movie to be something that happened in reality. After they finished watching the final scene, they walked over to comfort me while crying themselves. I wonder what their reactions would be once they found out that Léon is still alive. As for the Brass Dragon... he had simply too much to say about the movie. I’m unable to list everything.’
Reading Gallolei’s reply, Joshua could imagine her prideful expression as she showed off her accomplishments.
But, her reply verified that a good movie was capable of stirring up emotions in any intelligent creature similar to humans.
If Joshua wanted to engage in diplomacy with the Blackwood Elves, he must first present a favorable impression of himself to them. He must make sure their impression of demons was not the mistaken one preached by the church.
One method to do so would be to convert the elves into movie fans. ‘Léon: The Demon’ seemed to have initiated the process. But, ‘Léon: The Demon’ was nowhere near sufficient to convert the elves.
“Mister Joshua, I am very curious as to what you’re planning to film for your next movie. If it’s something that you need to keep confidential, please disregard my rude question. Nevertheless, I am truly curious.”
After Sir Weissenasche heard from Joshua yesterday that he was preparing to film a new movie, he became so excited that he didn’t even know how he fell asleep last night.
“It’s an emotional tale narrating the affection between humans and animals. Trust me, it’s going to be a very ordinary but also very comforting story,” said Joshua.