Life Is Like a Play

"Hold out your hand," Cecily said.

Joshua generously held out his hand. He had nothing to feel guilty about, so there was nothing to hide from this Overseer.

Even if the Female Mage in his room were discovered, Cecily would only have him deport the human back to the human world for the sake of the Imperial City's safety.

That was right... deportation, not immediate execution.

Cecily was one of the leaders of the conservative faction in the Demon Realm. As an Overseer, she had always despised pointless slaughter.

Cecily took Joshua's hand and pulled back his sleeve, exposing his arm.

Joshua had the strange feeling of visiting a traditional Chinese doctor and having one of those Old Chinese Medicine Practitioners take his pulse.

"Your magic power isn't in disorder..."

Cecily pressed her hand against Joshua's chest again. The motion brought her closer to him, and Joshua could even smell the fragrance drifting from her body...

It was somewhat like a blend of blackcurrants and cloves.

"Good. There don't seem to be any lingering effects."

"Elder Sister, what are you trying to do?" Joshua pulled down his sleeve and glanced at Cecily.

What Cecily was doing now felt less like searching for a criminal and more like checking on Joshua's physical condition.

"Have you forgotten about the accident when your magic power went out of control during an experiment?"

"Of course not."

Joshua remembered that this had happened before the Third Prince left for the human world. During an experiment, he had lost control of his magic power and nearly been swallowed by Chaos along with it. Although he eventually subdued the rampaging power, both his soul and body had suffered severe damage.

It was after that accident that the Third Prince resolved to go to the human world and study new magic. Joshua's memories after that point became somewhat hazy.

He vaguely remembered that when the Third Prince used the last of his soul power to summon Zennas, his crumbling soul had encountered another version of himself from another world.

"Don't worry. I've recovered well."

Though Cecily still wore a stern expression, Joshua could see the concern in her eyes, so he spoke in hopes of easing her unnecessary worries.

"Don't... let there be a next time."

Cecily straightened Joshua's collar and spoke to him in a severe tone.

"Mm."

"I still have work to do. Deal with the human in your room, as well as the humans you put in prison, as soon as possible. The prison isn't your hotel."

The Overseers' jurisdiction did not lie within the Imperial City. They spent all year moving through the darkest corners of cities, dealing with all kinds of vicious criminals.

So Cecily had specifically returned to the Imperial City to see Joshua.

Joshua watched Cecily's departing figure and realized that the relationship between the Third Prince and his siblings was not as tense as he had thought.

He even had memories of his eldest brother teaching his second elder sister and the Third Prince magic when they were children.

Setting aside their identities as royalty and demons, they had once been an ordinary family, supporting and caring for one another.

But that relationship... had gradually faded as the siblings grew older.

Joshua wondered whether everyone was like this. Had they become so cold-blooded that they could ignore familial affection?

Joshua felt the answer was no.

He remembered a passage from the renowned writer Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance: You have to become an adult who doesn't show their emotions. No being emotional, no secretly missing anyone, no looking back. Go live another life of your own. Be good. Not all fish live in the same sea.

That was right... not all fish lived in the same sea.

His eldest brother Nogs had grown up in a fortress and armed himself with the identity of a great general, all for the day when he could use war to make humanity acknowledge the demons' status.

His second elder sister, meanwhile, had inherited authority over the capital. She wore the mask called Overseer and used that identity to maintain order throughout the capital. Yet her attitude toward humans remained conservative; compared to war, she preferred preserving the current peace.

For their respective ideals, now that they had become adults, they had no choice but to stand on opposing sides. Joshua could already foresee the bloodshed over the succession two years from now.

From Joshua's perspective, both the victor and the loser would be pitiable.

Those forced to raise their hands against their own family for power were the most pitiable of all.

Joshua believed there was still a chance to change things. Changing a person's way of thinking was not difficult, as long as the right opportunity arose.

Just as many people could believe in love again after watching Titanic.

The essence of films, music, and novels was to give their audiences strength.

That was enough sentimentality for now. Joshua figured Miss Mage's legs had probably gone numb from crouching.

"She's gone, Miss Ciri."

Joshua closed the door to his room, walked over to the bookshelf, and found a Parchment Scroll at the far left end of it.

"Are you planning to execute all those humans?"

Ciri stepped out from behind the bookshelf. She had been eavesdropping on Joshua and Cecily's conversation the entire time.

She had clearly heard those executioner-like words: "deal with them."

"Execute them? Too troublesome. I plan to let them all go."

"Let them go...?"

Ciri repeated the question, seemingly to make sure she had not misheard.

"Food is scarce in the Demon Realm. I have no reason to feed a group of humans I don't know. In a few days, I plan to send those Villagers back to their original village—or rather, rescue them personally."

There had been fifty-seven humans Zennas had abducted from the Demon Realm. Apart from Ciri, who had luckily escaped, the rest were imprisoned in the Demon Realm's prison.

Most of those humans were survivors from the village that had been raided by bandits. Joshua had already decided how to deal with these Villagers.

He would send them all back! No, not send them back—Joshua would personally rescue them from demonic captivity!

The film Beauty and the Beast had three major settings: the small town at the beginning, the snowy mountains on the way to the castle, and finally the castle itself.

The small town where Belle lived was second in importance only to the castle, the primary setting.

There would certainly be townspeople living in that town. They would all be extras, and although extras had pitifully little screen time in a production—

A good film could not do without a group of excellent extras. They were among the most important elements in creating the overall atmosphere of a film.

In a world that did not even have actors, where could he find extras?

Even if Joshua randomly pulled in some humans for cameo roles, their acting would surely be a problem.

The conclusion, then, was simple: a person's acting was always best when they were playing themselves!

Joshua decided to use those Villagers and their village as "the town where Belle lived."

And in Beauty and the Beast, there was also a hunter named Gaston living in the town. Tall and handsome, he was quite popular with the townspeople and had always tried to court Belle. But because he was crude and arrogant, Belle had never accepted him.

Gaston was likewise an indispensable character in this production. Joshua no longer intended to look for another actor; he would personally take on the role.

All Joshua needed to do next was play a human hunter who had accidentally entered the Demon Realm, broken into the prison holding those Villagers, and rescued them all.

The Villagers' admiration for Joshua—or rather, for the character Gaston—would naturally follow.

The saying that life was like a play and a play was like life truly was not wrong.

Perhaps even after filming ended, those Villagers would never know they had been living in a story written by Joshua.

But as long as the story was happy enough, they would not mind even if they found out, right? Like the Female Mage standing before him.

"Then can you rescue me while you're at it?!"

Ciri began to regret why she had so rashly used that ring. It had cost her three years' worth of food money.

"Unfortunately, I can't."

Joshua shook his head in refusal.

"Why?! I was kidnapped by you too!" Ciri was nearly in tears.

"Because you know too much."

After thinking for a moment, Joshua answered her with an exceptionally classic line.