Poster

The movie was still playing.

Taking advantage of the time, Joshua found White Thorn Flower Jazz outside the Screening Hall and thoroughly asked him about how the theater operated.

"This is the ticket?"

Joshua held a silver-white coin in his hand. Dark gold patterns were stamped onto one side, while the number 38 was engraved on the other.

This coin was not Nolan's currency, but a token similar to those used in arcade halls.

"Yes, my lord. The one in your hand is a ticket for an ordinary seat. There are also tickets for the higher-tier Premium Seats and VIP Seats."

White Thorn Flower Jazz showed Joshua two pale gold coins. The difference between the coins was only the color of their patterns.

In an age before printers existed, using tokens like these as tickets was undoubtedly far more convenient than handwritten paper tickets.

"Ordinary seat tickets are generally priced at one Silver Coin. Premium Seats cost one gold coin, while VIP Seats are usually reserved for guests I personally invite."

White Thorn Flower Jazz's ticket prices were quite reasonable. At least in the economically developed little country of Nolan, ordinary citizens could afford regular seats.

"What about publicity? Handwritten flyers?"

The flyer Joshua had received from Nolan National Theater that day had been entirely handwritten.

"In the past, we never needed publicity. The White Thorn Flower name itself was the best advertisement... but recently..."

White Thorn Flower Jazz had barely spent any time dwelling on his former glory before returning to the cold, cruel reality.

So this theater had survived on word of mouth until now? There was a saying in China: good wine needs no hidden alley. But if someone from another tavern stood at the entrance to your alley every day, luring customers away, then no matter how good your wine was, all your customers would leave.

That was the situation White Thorn Flower Jazz faced now. No... it was even worse. Not only had all his customers been taken away, but Nolan National Theater had even carried off every last one of his "wine jars."

All White Thorn Flower Jazz had left was the theater itself.

"Publicity is essential."

Word of mouth was certainly important, but if you relied on it alone, you would not even know how you died.

"Of course, my lord... I'll hire people to write flyers immediately."

"Flyers are too slow, and I don't think that National Theater will let you distribute them smoothly."

Based on what White Thorn Flower Theater had recently suffered, it was obvious that Nolan National Theater had made up its mind to erase White Thorn Flower from Nolan and become the sole dominant theater in the city.

Nothing was more profitable than a monopoly!

If White Thorn Flower Jazz sent people out to distribute flyers now, they would definitely encounter obstacle after obstacle. Whether the flyers could even be handed out was a major question.

"Then... my lord, what method should we use for publicity?"

White Thorn Flower Jazz wiped the sweat from his forehead. Joshua could already see that he stood at an absolute disadvantage in his competition with Nolan National Theater, and flyers were the only form of publicity White Thorn Flower Jazz could think of.

"Put up posters directly."

Joshua could fully exploit the Source Crystal Stone projection's ability to enlarge images without limit. White Thorn Flower Theater was already a grand building. All they needed was a gigantic white wall hung beside the theater entrance, with one of the most iconic moments from Beauty and the Demon projected onto it, followed by the play's title and cast list. It would be far more effective than any flyer.

Cities on Earth had such enormous posters everywhere.

"Po... posters?"

White Thorn Flower Jazz seemed not to understand what Joshua meant by the word.

"No flyers. That backdrop wall inside the theater's performance hall—I don't know what material you made it from, but I need another one large enough to stand upright beside the entrance to your theater."

"I'll prepare it. It may take two or three days."

After saying that, White Thorn Flower Jazz glanced at Joshua and carefully asked,

"Do you have any other instructions?"

"No. Go back and keep watching. I don't think you've missed too many of the good parts."

"Yes, my lord."

Having received permission, White Thorn Flower Jazz hurried back into the performance hall.

Joshua had actually considered selling popcorn, cola, and other snacks in the theater, but after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea. Beauty and the Demon was not a popcorn movie, and it was not yet time to make money selling movie merchandise.

What Joshua needed to do now was spread the movie's popularity first.

Helan sat in her seat for a long time, unable to say anything.

She had indeed been moved to tears by the story of Beauty and the Demon, but other than emotion, all it left Helan with was deep thought.

Helan's mind was not as simple as Ciri's. Beyond the outstanding plot of Beauty and the Demon itself, what frightened Helan even more was the feeling that the very concept of "movies" had given her.

It had allowed her to see a "new world," something no stage play had ever achieved before. And Helan yearned for that world deeply.

Helan wanted to participate in the world of Beauty and the Demon somehow—to help Belle meet that demon sooner, or help the demon drive away those ignorant villagers at the end.

She truly felt that impulse.

Helan looked at the Tennis for Two game window floating in her vision and recalled the elf Joshua had drawn using her Magic Mechanical Device.

Sylvanas Windrunner. Helan believed that elf possessed more than just a name. There had to be an unknown story behind her, perhaps one as unforgettable as Beauty and the Demon.

Joshua truly intended to tell the world Sylvanas's story, but not in the manner of Beauty and the Demon. He would tell it through Tennis for Two.

Thinking of that, Helan felt a sense of anticipation. She did not know where it came from. She had read many travel journals in the academy library and had once sighed over the experiences of their protagonists.

But she had never wished so urgently to personally take part in a story.

"Big sister, do you think demons can really fall in love with humans?"

Ciri's sudden question interrupted Helan's thoughts. On the screen, the demon and Belle were dancing gracefully in the castle hall.

It was a romantic scene, accompanied by music, enough to make any viewer feel the urge to fall in love immediately.

Helan had been affected by it, and Ciri was no exception.

"Why are you suddenly asking that?"

"It's... nothing. Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Ciri touched the "collar" around her neck. Now that she was alone with Helan, it was the best opportunity to tell her about her true relationship with Joshua and ask her for help. But after hesitating, Ciri ultimately chose to keep it hidden.

Because if she told Helan, she would lose her only connection to Joshua.