Following the group, Priestess Oranka entered the screening theater.
She was not used to... being near all these humans. The other eight elven priestesses seated themselves to one side of Priestess Oranka.
Elder Safran slowly walked up to Priestess Oranka and seated himself next to her. Using a voice that only Priestess Oranka can hear, he said, “I’ve examined the surroundings. It’s safe.”
“It seemed... our Daughter of the Forest is truly fortunate.”
Priestess Oranka sighed in relief. She has never once relaxed since entering this human city. Like her, Elder Safran has been on guard the entire time too.
After entering the small dark theater with a bunch of humans, their alertness has risen to their highest level.
But now, Priestess Oranka felt like her alertness was unnecessary.
“Elder Safran... say, are the movies created by humans truly that fascinating?”
Priestess Oranka took a glance at the rows of humans seated behind her. They were all concentrating their attention on the screen ahead.
It was not only the humans. The other young elven priestesses were also acting in the same manner. Priestess Oranka was able to see emotions of expectations and joy in their eyes.
Those were emotions Priestess Oranka rarely saw in her sisters’ eyes since the burning of the Blackwood Forest...
“I am unable to understand either. Perhaps we’re too old, Oranka.” Elder Safran sighed at the question.
Elder Safran was one of those people that did not feel any emotion from watching ‘Léon: The Demon.’ In fact, he even felt sleepy watching it.
“...”
Priestess Oranka didn’t continue on with the conversation as the screen brightened up. All the surrounding conversations and whispers also quickly came to a halt.
The first scene that appeared on the screen was a blackboard used by teachers in the magic academies. Written on the blackboard was a prompt: ‘My Hero.’
My Hero.... The only hero Priestess Oranka could think of was the Holy Tree Narushi. The World Tree was what nurtured the Blackwood Elves. It was no longer something that can be described as a mere hero. Instead, to them, it was akin to god.
On the movie screen, a boy standing before the podium started giving out his answer. However, the answer he gave was his grandfather’s pet, a hunting dog named ‘Hachiko.’
As the boy continued to speak, the movie slowly unfolded to a new scene.The bustling Klia Stage Station located to the north of Squirrel Street appeared on the screen.
“That puppy... it feels familiar,” said Gallolei.
“It’s a fields hunting dog from the Eastern Kingdom. A fourth of its blood belonged to the Mrak Wolf... Daughter of the Forest, I know who you’re thinking of. But... it’s very unlikely,” Elder Safran quietly said to Gallolei who was seated next to him.
Elder Safran felt emotional upon seeing that the main character was an animal. He was not the only one, Gallolei also couldn’t help but remember the brown bear that had just passed away when she heard the name ‘Hachi.’
As the movie continued, Elder Safran and Priestess Oranka became focused... They hoped to be able to find any merit or pleasure from the movie in hopes that they will be able to use the movie as the topic of conversation to break the ice in their negotiation with Joshua later.
But... as the movie continued, Priestess Oranka discovered that she was somewhat disappointed in it.
It had nothing to do with the quality of the movie. As an elf, she was very fond of the warm and peaceful village ambience portrayed by the movie. The characters in the movie were all living in harmony with one another.
But, harmony meant that there were no conflicts. Compared to ‘Léon: The Demon,’ this movie was simply too dull. There were no ups and downs with the plot at all.
Practically, the movie was only a narration of the warm and comforting interactions between Parker, the grandfather of the narration boy, and his hunting dog Hachi.
Priestess Oranka could even faintly hear someone yawning. It would appear that she was not the only one... Even the humans around her were feeling bored by the story line.
Most fatal of all... the movie’s music was simply too outstanding. Some unknown instrument was playing very pleasant and... cozy background music.
Priestess Oranka believed that there must be people on the verge of falling asleep due to the music. She turned to look at the other elven priestesses seated next to her. They were smiling from the interactions between Professor Parker and Hachi.
The warm setting might be the only thing motivating the crowd to continue watching the movie.
Unfortunately, even though she was a lover of animals, Priestess Oranka felt that while the movie’s production was outstanding... it was not at all interesting.
While she had never had a hunting dog as a pet before, she had deers, squirrels, doves and various other animals as pets...
“Does your field hound come to the stage station to wait for your return everyday?”
“That thing only knows how to come find me when it’s time for food...”
Right at this moment, Priestess Oranka’s sharp ears captured the conversation between two human audiences. At this point of the movie, Professor Parker’s carriage has arrived at the stage station near his house. Hachi was standing before the stage station waiting for him.
Priestess Oranka was not surprised by Hachi’s behavior. As the elves had the ability to communicate with nature... having a hunting dog wait by the stage station at the same time every day would be a simple task to them.
Was... the story going to end here?
Priestess Oranka was not very familiar with movies and didn’t know how long a movie would generally be.
But, she felt that it would be about time for the movie to end now that it had reached this scene. After all, a loyal field hound waiting for its master’s return everyday would fit the movie’s title.
A warm story. Priestess Oranka remembered what Gallolei said to her before. After seeing this much, she must admit that she was quite fond of this dull story.
But, among the human audiences, a portion of them showed no interest in nature. Priestess Oranka could even capture the sound of someone sleeping. But, that audience was immediately woken up by the people seated beside him.
It should be the end, no?... The end to the story was very beautiful.
Priestess Oranka watched on as Professor Parker prepared to get on a carriage at the stage station. But, Hachi’s behavior was slightly strange.
No... the story should’ve ended at this point. Surprisingly, Priestess Oranka actually had the desire for the movie to remain dull.
Unfortunately, the reality proved that the director of the movie had never intended for it to be a ‘simple’ story.
“It seemed to have seen... death in its eyes,” Elder Safran suddenly spoke with a quiet voice.
“No, the Daughter of the Forest said that movies are all fictional. That hound shouldn’t be able to....”
At this moment, Priestess Oranka’s slightly relaxed heart was once again stressed.
The movie did not present to her the dull yet happy ending she desired for. After Hachi saw Professor Parker off at the stage station, Professor Parker suddenly held his chest and collapsed while giving a lecture in the magic academy.
In the movie, the students shouted in alarm. In reality, Priestess Oranka could hear some audiences shouting in the same manner.