Joshua was sitting in the office of the Norland’s Law Enforcement Agency’s chief.
There were two record books placed in front of him. Judging from their thickness, the books were each a hundred or so pages.
The content recorded on the two books were mostly about the multiple ‘heroic undertakings’ Joshua made after coming to Norland.
Seeing such detailed records, Joshua felt like he became a fiendish criminal.
He felt like the entire Law Enforcement Agency will be dispatched to take him down the moment he entered Norland.
Even though Joshua, as a demon, was a major threat to human mages, Joshua dared to say with full conviction that he did not commit any shameful acts after coming to Norland.
“It would appear that Norland’s Law Enforcement Agency pays awfully close attention to me.”
Joshua found a chair in a very natural manner and sat down across from Saik and Yellow Mage Croshere.
“It’s because the things you’ve done have affected Norland tremendously, Joshua Annerlaude.”
After Joshua arrived, Saik returned to being a proper Law Enforcer Chief. As Yellow Mage was sitting on his seat, he had no choice but to stand next to Yellow Mage.
Joshua’s sudden visit caught Saik off guard. But, he decided to use this opportunity to learn more about this... demon.
Even though the Law Enforcement Agency had recorded a lot of things that Joshua did, the only personal information they had of him was that he’s a Chaos Demon, a dangerous race of demons.
In the past, the image of demons the humans had remained in the propagandas spread by the Holy Church’s missionaries. Saik’s image of demons also came from those rumors. Even though movies had changed his viewpoint somewhat, Saik still firmly believed that demons were not creatures friendly toward humans.
But, Saik didn’t know how to evaluate the person before him.
The things Joshua did could be said to have changed the lives of the citizens of Norland. Whether it be the movies or the magic network...
Should Joshua die in the future, merely his title as the ‘Creator of the Magic Network’ would be enough to make him stand on par with the Sages in the records of history.
Regretfully, Saik was unable to feel the aura of ‘greatness’ from the young-looking demon before him.
The Chaos Demon’s every movement and action seemed to be saying ‘I understand very well.’
No... a demon capable of creating movies and the magic network should be much more ‘ancient’ than him. That innocent appearance of his must be a disguise.
Saik, the Chief Law Enforcer who had dealt with countless people, immediately tagged Joshua as a dangerous existence.
“The emergence of the Flying Airships and the Arcanotech Vehicles has also brought upon great influence toward Norland, no, toward the entire world. Humanity has never once stopped progressing, no?” said Joshua with a smile.
“You believed the things you created could be compared with the Arcanotech Vehicles?”
Yellow Mage spoke suddenly. Surprisingly, he was extremely calm facing the mastermind Joshua.
“Not at all. I believe that both movies and the magic network are ‘luxuries’ for civilization. The things that will truly propel civilization forward should be the magic propelled machineries that appeared on the World Expo.”
“Luxuries, was it?” After hearing Joshua’s exposition, Yellow Mage raised his head to look straight at the young demon, “I do not believe your creations to be ‘luxuries’ for humanity. Rather, they’re ‘poisons’ that could corrode humanity’s mind and spirit.”
After saying those words, Yellow Mage calmly waited for the young demon’s response.
Even though he was not aggressive and forceful when speaking with Joshua, he was so calm that even he found it surprising, his words were not pleasant at all.
If this demon truly insisted on making all the humans of Norland fall prey to the poisons known as movies and magic network, he should be expressing anger or contempt right now.
Indeed, there was no reason for a demon to be concerned with the feelings of humans. Furthermore, Joshua was not afraid of Yellow Mage being one of the Seven Sages.
“Poison of the mind and spirit, was it? I admit, a portion of what you said is true,” said Joshua.
“A portion?”
Joshua’s answer surprised Yellow Mage again.
He brazenly admitted that Yellow Mage was right!
Yellow Mage Croshere looked straight at the demon before him. He was unable to sense any negative emotions from Joshua.
“I cannot negate the potential dangers brought forth by the movies, magic network and Hearthstone,” Joshua spoke frankly.
“A portion of Norland’s mages believed the movies they’ve watched to be real. That is a fact. As for the magic network, the citizens are able to communicate with excessive freedom. Because of that, it’s possible for all sorts of accidents to occur. As for Hearthstone, I’ve encountered multiple mages who sold all their fortune just to purchase card packs.”
As Joshua listed the various misdeeds and abuses, an uncontainable bitter smile was present on his face.
“But, Yellow Mage, it is possible for the Arcanotech Vehicles to get into accidents too. With the speed they’re going on the street, it’s possible that they might collide with others and take away people’s lives. That holds even more true for the Flying Airships. If I remember correctly, the current technology for Flying Airships is still not mature. A risk of falling accompanies every flight...”
Joshua stared straight at the eyes of the old man seated across from him. Without cowering in the slightest, he asked, “Are you planning to put a halt to the development of the Arcanotech Vehicles and Flying Airships should they encounter those accidents? Are you planning to declare them to be worthless and toss them into the garbage pile?”
“Of course not!” Shouted Yellow Mage Croshere right away.
Both the Arcanotech Vehicles and the Flying Airships were arcanotech machineries that would majorly influence the future of humanity. Even though they were extremely dangerous machineries, Yellow Mage wouldn’t possibly abandon them. It would be even more of an impossibility for other alchemists to abandon them.
“I am of the same opinion. I’ve also heard from Gray Mage that you’ve seen ‘Beauty and the Demon’ too. Even though you found the plot to be unreasonable, I believe it could be said to have piqued your interest. Else, you wouldn’t be talking about it so frequently.”
“This has nothing to do with whether or not it’s interesting!”
Finally, Yellow Mage’s emotions started fluctuating. But, he soon managed to calm himself.
“Joshua Annerlaude, I approve of what you’ve said. But, I still do not approve of your conduct and deeds. Because of that, I might still have Norland’s Law Enforcement Agency tear down your ‘televisions.’ The things you said earlier will serve as a strong evidence for my decision,” Yellow Mage Croshere continued to examine Joshua. He discovered that Joshua was still calm and collected. “I believe you should know that would be the case. So, why did you bother to speak of those things that will be detrimental to your cause?”
“That’s because I did not come here for my own interests. Instead, I came here for the interest of Norland’s citizens. Or perhaps I should say, I came here for the future of this city.”
Joshua placed an invitation letter on the desk and pushed it toward Yellow Mage.
“Since you believed the minds of Norland’s youth has been corrupted by the Voice of Norland program, why not personally correct them? I believe that the young mages will encounter multiple temptations for things detrimental to themselves in their lives. Only their teachers and parents will be able to guide them toward the right path. Right now, what you should do is to fulfill your duty as a Sage; not becoming a demolitionist,” said Joshua.