Filming

The village that had been raided by bandits was called Moka Nali Village. It lay at the foot of the mountains northwest of Magic City Nolan, and most of its buildings were wooden houses.

Before the bandits had come to raid the village, a large portion of the villagers had hidden in the forest. Only a small number had been taken away by Zennas.

So when Joshua rescued those villagers from the Demon Realm, countless moving reunions unfolded in this tiny village.

After the embraces and tears came a wild celebration that their families had returned safely. The villagers gathered in the largest wooden house in the village and began celebrating.

"Why not stay a little longer? There's all the fresh goat milk you can drink."

Unfortunately, Ciri did not stay at the party for long before she had to leave with Joshua.

"Because I've already filmed all the footage I need."

A Source Crystal Stone in Joshua's hand had already recorded a great deal of footage.

This footage came from Joshua's interactions during the villagers' celebration. In Beauty and the Beast, there was a tavern scene dedicated to praising Gaston, so Joshua had taken this opportunity to successfully film the villagers' admiration for "Gaston."

Filming was progressing more smoothly than Joshua had expected, and even the part he had anticipated being the most difficult had been resolved.

The presentation of Beauty and the Beast possessed a hallmark feature common to Disney films: using operatic songs to depict parts of the story.

And the opening of Beauty and the Beast began with a "chorus" between the townspeople and Belle.

Joshua did not want to ruin the original charm of the Disney film. While adapting it, he also hoped to recreate the original atmosphere as much as possible.

Fortunately, this problem that had troubled Joshua seemed never to have existed in the first place.

Because the villagers here truly could... sing and dance.

Joshua had just listened to an elderly villager recounting his experiences in the Demon Realm in a manner resembling opera.

Joshua had never studied traditional opera, so he could not judge whether it was good or bad. He could only say that it sounded quite pleasant.

That meant Joshua no longer had anything to worry about. I Nuo was a succubus, and like the Sirens of legend, a succubus's voice could influence the minds of living beings. Joshua's racial resistance was simply too high, so he had not felt much of anything.

But ordinary humans truly would be affected by I Nuo. This influence was merely suggestive in nature; for example, the sexual impulse one felt upon seeing a succubus was the most direct manifestation.

So as long as these villagers heard I Nuo's singing, they would surely join in despite themselves.

All Joshua needed to do next was film Belle and her father—or rather, her mother—before he could officially begin filming the Beauty and the Demon portion. That was the most important part.

Joshua took out a jar of invisibility powder from the Suitcase. This powder had not been made by the Third Prince; it was a crystallized remnant left behind after certain powerful ghosts died, commonly known as monster material.

This powder was extraordinarily expensive in the human world and had many uses. Besides rendering anything it adhered to invisible, it could also serve as a costly alchemical material.

"Y-you're really using all this Ghost Dust!?"

Ciri clearly recognized what was in Joshua's jar. A tiny pinch of the stuff could cover this poor girl's living expenses for ten years.

Yet Joshua ruthlessly fed her ten years' worth of living expenses to some unknown Magic Mechanical Device!

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Joshua scooped up a handful of invisibility powder from the jar and scattered it over the Camera. Before long, the Camera blended into the surrounding scenery like a chameleon.

"No..."

It was not hers, anyway. Ciri had no reason to feel bad about it.

"Then close your eyes." Joshua lifted a second handful of invisibility powder and spoke to Ciri.

"I think... that's probably more than necessary."

Ciri truly wanted to throw an alchemical materials guide in Joshua's face and tell him just how precious this stuff was.

"A necessary investment."

Aside from some excellent low-budget films and cult movies, what blockbuster did not have an investment in the tens of millions? For some producers, when they wanted the best possible result, the budget was simply not something they needed to consider.

Although Joshua did not possess that kind of spend-without-restraint resolve, he had always believed that no matter how expensive something was, if it served no purpose, it was not worth a single coin!

The alchemical powder in Joshua's hand was mercilessly scattered over Ciri's pale gray hair. The instant the silver-white sparkling powder touched her long hair, her strands began to turn transparent... To put it scientifically, the powder refracted the light.

But this was a world of magic, and Joshua had no intention of using his former common sense to speculate about this world. Take that magic-powered Camera, for example: without the great many Runes inscribed upon it, it was at most a useless box.

Once Joshua and Ciri were both covered in the powder, Joshua finally got to experience the fun of Harry Potter's invisibility cloak.

"Time to work."

Joshua hoisted the Camera by feel, tossed Ciri a Source Crystal Stone dusted with invisibility powder, and headed toward the edge of the village.

Ciri glanced at her now completely transparent arm. If not for the crystal around her neck restricting her movements, perhaps she would have taken this chance to escape—or... taken this chance to knock out the Demon Prince?

She looked at Joshua's back, drew her staff from her mage robe, hesitated for a moment, then ultimately gave up on such a suicidal act.

"You hired me just so I could help you carry these things?"

Ciri quickened her pace and ran to Joshua's side, unable to stop herself from asking. Though Joshua had become transparent, she could still determine his location from the footprints in the grass.

"For now, yes. But there may be more unusual work in the future."

"More unusual..."

It couldn't be serving him in bed, could it? Ciri covered her unimpressive chest, but on second thought, that seemed impossible. Ciri did not think she was particularly beautiful. At the very least, compared to the succubus by Joshua's side, her charm was not worth mentioning.

"In any case, it'll be more interesting than being a mage. That's all the explanation you're getting. It's time to start your work, Miss Ciri."

Joshua led Ciri to the edge of the village.

The room where the merchant Ma Linna was temporarily staying stood beside the forest. She could only be considered an outsider in the village, so she had not chosen to join the villagers' revelry.

Under Joshua's script arrangement, I Nuo was staying with her. Through the window, Joshua could see I Nuo talking with Ma Linna about something.

With her acting skills, I Nuo had successfully won that merchant woman's trust. More accurately... perhaps her favor?

Joshua did not have anything like a continuity script on hand for the moment, so he could only rely on his own memory to note down every shot he needed to film and compare it with the original version.

The next scene: "Belle and Her Mother." Action.