Chapter 24 - Director
The small Mocanally Village by the edge of the mountains welcomed a brand new day.
The sorrow and grief brought upon by the bandit raid and the demon's arrival were totally dispelled by the villagers as they celebrated the safe return of their loved ones with song and dance
A beautiful girl had even come to the village; when she first appeared on the streets, she immediately became everyone's focus.
"It's a quiet village..."
Ynor slowly walked out of the house and sang the song that Joshua had given to him. He practiced the whole night and pretty much possessed a talent for singing. All succubi had the talent to sing as their voices were melodious, to the point they could seduce any man who listened to their song.
Music rang out in the air. No one knew where the music came from, and everyone simply took it for granted as they listened to Ynor's singing.
His ability as a succubus was most brilliantly displayed at that moment as his voice entranced the villagers to follow his bidding.
"...full of little people, waking up to say..." Ynor had walked through the entrance of the village market, where she could see the only clock tower in the village.
The clock tower's bell tolled, heralding the coming of morning for the villagers to wake up.
"Bonjour." The villagers opened their doors and windows as they greeted each other.
A vibrant and lively ensemble officially began at that moment.
Ynor walked around in the village as the conversation of the villagers became a song with the music in the sky. The scene was surreal even when Ynor knew that it was because they were influenced by his charm.
The villagers warmly greeted Ynor, and although they were calling him Belle, Ynor was still very happy.
Aside from being happy, he was also worried. He could feel that the skies above had been taken over by sinister powers. The powers were different from the aura of a demon; they gave off an aura of death and decay.
It was an aura exactly opposite of the town's, yet none of the villagers could sense them even though it was right beside them.
Ynor could only faintly detect them, like how two different auras had been following him since the beginning.
Nevertheless, Ynor still played his role as Belle after he took into account Joshua's instructions.
Ynor lifted the hem of his skirt as he skipped across a small creek toward the only place in the village that could be called a library. It was the location Joshua had indicated in the script.
When Ynor walked in, he paused a little.
"The only bookworm in town is here." The librarian stopped cleaning and descended the steps to greet Belle.
"Tell me, where have you traveled to now?
"Two cities in Ishtar, the Land of Frost. Are there any more new places for me to go and see?"
Ynor recognized that the librarian was Joshua. While his appearance had changed into a fake librarian, Ynor quickly calmed down and uttered the lines according to the script given.
"That's it I'm afraid. Perhaps you can reread your favorite book again."
"Thank you, your collection has made this small place larger." Once Ynor uttered all of his lines, he breathed a small sigh of relief.
"And, cut."
Immediately after, the librarian took off the ring on his finger and changed back to Joshua. Meanwhile, a banshee holding a camera suddenly appeared and made the young succubi tense.
"Your Highness... was there any part that wasn't good?"
Ynor held the book in his hand as he looked carefully at Joshua.
The stench of death brought on by a creature like a banshee was no joke. The damage her wails could cause was much, much greater than Ynor's charms and seduction.
"No, I'm very satisfied with your work, so Ynor, put this on."
Joshua took out a pendant and handed it over to Ynor. The latter looked on curiously at the pendant and noticed unknown magic flowing within it.
"This pendant strengthens your spirit. Hide it under your clothes."
The pendant was one of the little, insignificant items in the Duke of Bones' collection, and Joshua had purposedly taken it to ensure that Ynor's charms ensnared the entire village.
Ynor obediently put on the pendant and covered it with the collar of his shirt. With the pendant's help, he found his mind to be a lot clearer, and even his mental strength greatly increased.
"Your Highness... this is such a valuable item..."
Only when Ynor put it on did he realize how precious the item was. To have a magic item that could greatly increase his mental strength without any after-effects like that... It was impossible for him to buy it even if he sold himself back then...
"It is not. Ynor you need to know that your charm isn't just for captivating the villagers in this place. No, this entire country and even the whole world will be enchanted by you! Don't look down on yourself," Joshua said.
Joshua's high praise flattered Ynor, and he felt uneasy.
"Now, you only need to act out this movie like before."
With Joshua's comforting encouragement, Ynor finally calmed down a little. Finally, Joshua patted him on the shoulder as he sent the succubus back into the camera lens again.
"Camera One, stand by. The heroine has already left the library. Long-range Camera 3, where are you? Short-range Cam 2, follow her too!"
Joshua walked out of the library as he began to coordinate the banshees' positions.
He had brought twelve banshees from the Duke of Bones' domain, and one of them had a will of her own while the other eleven were all under Joshua's command. The camera itself was only a medium, and as long as the camera was in the center, the originium crystal's recording function would be activated automatically.
It was not until the actual shoot itself that Joshua realized how convenient it was to have the banshees as the camera operators. They really could do everything, and if the camera was small enough, Joshua could take all of the shots he wanted.
Joshua's experience as a director was only the several microfilms he had made during university. Joshua did think that he had some talent in being a director, but the only thing he could rely on for now was his memory.
With the banshees' help, Joshua had successfully taken every single shot and angle of the first scene like the original movie.
Joshua even purposedly got a banshee to shoot the behind-the-scenes reel. If the movie was full of vitality and vibrancy, then the behind-the-scenes would be rather ghastly.
With over a dozen banshees with the aura of death all around Belle, those not in the know would have thought that Belle was a necromancer who had appeared out of nowhere...
Even if this beautiful girl's warm and lively temperament did not look anything like that of a necromancer.
Now that the pendant, which Joshua gave him had succeeded in strengthening Ynor's ability to charm, the whole village started a whole day's worth of activities around Belle under Ynor's mental suggestion.