False Beauty

The logs in the fireplace crackled. Ma Linna sat beside it, watching the dancing flames. The warmth radiating from the hearth drove away the dampness and chill clinging to her body, reminding her that she was still alive.

Ma Linna was already too old—too old to celebrate like the young. Having lost both her home and family, she had lived on only to fulfill her husband's final wish. She had been prepared to end her miserable life in the Demon Realm, yet she had survived.

Not only had she survived, but fate had given her a new goal—a reason to keep living.

"Belle, I'm planning to go into the city the day after tomorrow."

Ma Linna turned to look at the girl sitting on the other side of the fireplace. I Nuo was sitting before the fire with a book in her hands, flipping through its pages.

Something as precious as books did not exist in this tiny village. This one had come from the few goods Ma Linna still possessed.

The bandits' raid had destroyed almost all of her property, but a few things remained, such as a cargo carriage and an aged old horse.

Fortunately, Ma Linna had kept her money on her person. Even without her goods, she still owned a house in Magic City Nolan.

As long as one was alive, there was always a way to carry on. But Ma Linna did not merely want to survive—she wanted this book-loving girl to go to school.

"The city? Aunt Ma Lina... are you taking me with you?"

I Nuo lifted her gaze from the book. To put it sadly, she could not actually read human writing, nor did she understand demon script.

Back when she had lived at the very bottom of the Demon Realm, let alone studying, all she could think about each day was how to survive under coercion and harsh treatment. So the book in I Nuo's hands was only there to help her play Joshua's assigned role and deceive the human woman before her.

Ma Linna had not shown the slightest suspicion so far, and her feelings toward I Nuo had only grown deeper. They had gone through one of the hardest periods of their lives together. Though it had lasted less than half a day, Ma Linna had already begun treating I Nuo as her own daughter.

"Yes, but not for a while. That carriage can only carry two people. Don't worry, I'll definitely come back for you and take you to live in the big city. There are libraries there filled with books, and I'll let you properly attend a school and learn whatever knowledge you want."

Ma Linna's servant was still in the stable, caring for the old horse and carriage. With Ma Linna's frail body, she was no longer fit to drive the carriage herself. She could only rely on the servant she had hired to take her to Nolan.

It would take about three days to travel from this little village to Nolan. A round trip would take around nine days.

"Thank you, Aunt Ma Lina... I don't even know how to thank you."

I Nuo did not know where the human woman's kindness came from. After living in the Demon Realm for so many years, no one had ever treated her so well.

No... perhaps it was only because her identity was different now. Because she was Belle, a beautiful and kind human girl.

If Ma Linna learned her true identity—that she was a lowly succubus—she would surely treat her like the people in the Demon Realm did, as though she were garbage, with utter disgust.

So I Nuo did not think too much about it. She simply did her best to complete the task Joshua had given her. That was how she could survive as I Nuo, not as the fictional character Belle.

"It's all right, child. If you can achieve excellent grades in school someday, that will be the greatest thanks you can give me."

Ma Linna had already begun looking forward to her future life in Nolan.

I Nuo, meanwhile, was suffering through the torment known as being watched by one's boss while working.

Her succubus bloodline allowed I Nuo to vaguely sense Joshua entering the room. She could feel Joshua's gaze... that feeling of being watched by a higher demon was one she knew all too well.

"Belle, what's wrong?"

Ma Linna noticed the fleeting unease on I Nuo's face. She assumed I Nuo had been reminded of some painful memories, such as her parents being killed by bandits, so she reached out and placed her hand over I Nuo's.

"It's nothing."

I Nuo froze slightly. Feeling the warmth from Ma Linna's hand on the back of her own, the unease in her heart was instantly soothed by Ma Linna's concern.

So this was what care felt like? It was... incredible.

Although I Nuo knew everything before her was nothing but an illusion, and that she would lose it all once Joshua's task ended, it did not seem so bad to enjoy this brief warmth while she still could.

"Is it really all right for you to deceive an old woman like this?"

Ciri had just walked out of Ma Linna's house when a light rain began to fall outside. It drizzled over Ciri, washing away all the invisibility powder on her body.

"Deceive her? By your humans' standards, that's exactly what demons specialize in."

Joshua stuffed the Camera and the Source Crystal Stone that had finished recording into the Suitcase. With Ciri's help, Joshua had spent nearly the entire afternoon roughly recreating the scenes from the film.

Though the set arrangement was far from ideal, recreating the breathtakingly beautiful scenes found in Disney was simply unrealistic in a small village like this.

"That... does seem true."

Ciri recalled humanity's impressions of demons. Aside from brutality and evil, they were also known for being cunning and despicable.

Ciri had heard rumors about people hearing Whispers of the Demons and being tempted into corruption, but those had only been hearsay.

Yet today, Ciri had finally witnessed a real example—one so real that she could probably write a record of it herself and call it The Old Woman Deceived by a Succubus.

"And I don't think there's anything wrong with this deception."

Joshua stood at the edge of the forest and looked toward the wooden house where Ma Linna lived. Ma Linna and I Nuo could still be heard talking inside.

Judging from the merchant woman's behavior just now, she truly had begun to regard I Nuo as family, and she greatly enjoyed spending time talking with her.

And I Nuo seemed to be getting a little too immersed in her role.

Joshua did not want I Nuo to develop any genuine feelings for the merchant woman. This affection gained through deception was like a poppy—beautiful, but deadly.

Once filming ended, the character Belle would no longer exist... No, wait...

Why couldn't she continue to exist?

If the merchant woman could accept I Nuo's true identity, Joshua would not mind letting I Nuo live with her.

"Maybe we could even develop a demon-summoning business someday."

Joshua did not believe there was anything evil about the rumored rituals for summoning demons. Everyone simply took what they wanted according to the terms written in the contract. In modern terms, they were business partners.

It was only that the rumored price of summoning rituals—offering up one's life—was rather horrifying.

But in reality, human lives were of no use to demons. They could neither be eaten nor used to increase one's power. So if the price were changed to something more practical... such as money, it would be much easier to accept.

"A business?"

Ciri had already lost count of how many strange words Joshua had casually thrown out.

"Demon Helpers, Demon Brokerage, Demon Odd Jobs... something like that. Maybe it could even stimulate the economies of the Demon Realm and the human world. The slogan could be, 'One summoning circle can solve all your problems.' Hmm... it's just an idea."

It was only an idea of Joshua's, and it depended on humans being able to trust demons.

Achieving that goal would take Joshua a long time, but for now, the first step was to finish filming the movie.

At present, only Belle's daytime "singing" scene with the villagers remained in the village. But it was already close to dusk in the human world, so Joshua could only continue filming that scene tomorrow.

"It's time to check on the other Film Set."

The next location was the most important one: the castle. The Imperial City in the Demon Realm was far too different from the castle Joshua had envisioned, so before filming officially began, Joshua had found a more suitable castle on a map of the Demon Realm.

However, whether that castle's owner would be willing to let Joshua use it as a filming location was still a problem—one Joshua had to solve.