Amway

The Patent Council's main hall.

"Are you really not going? Helan, those are Premium Seats tickets. I heard they're going for over a thousand gold coins now—that's more than two months' worth of my pay."

Helan's classmate Sansa had just finished her morning's work. She pulled Helan into a corner of the Patent Council's hall and spoke in a low voice.

"How long have you even been working here? Besides, I'm really not interested in that Black Swan Troupe."

Or rather, I can't muster any interest in stage plays anymore, Helan silently added.

Rather than watch that stage play, Helan would rather go see Beauty and the Demon again. Wait... see it again?

Helan suddenly realized that today was the day Joshua's film officially opened to the public.

Helan did not know much about performing arts. She only knew that Beauty and the Demon was far more interesting than those dull, tedious stage plays—more moving than any stage play she had ever seen.

Even now, whenever Helan thought of the scene where the demon died in Belle's arms, her nose still stung.

That left Helan with a cruel question: once the White Thorn Flower Theater began promoting it, would she still be able to get a ticket for a second viewing?

The answer was... impossible!

The fact that tickets to the Black Swan Troupe's performances were worth a thousand gold yet impossible to find was enough to show that the people of Nolan would never scrimp in this regard.

Even getting a ticket for an Ordinary Seat at a Black Swan Troupe performance now depended on luck—or a certain status and the right connections...

Helan had neither status nor standing in this city. She was just an ordinary student at a higher academy, at most a somewhat eye-catching top student.

"Sansa, I know of a theater performance that's far more... breathtaking than that Black Swan Troupe thing. Interested in going to see it together later?"

After thinking it over, Helan could only use the word "breathtaking" to describe this thing called a film. Aside from moving her, that movie had filled her with an overwhelming sense of awe.

"Another theater? White Thorn Flower... hasn't that theater gone ages without putting on anything new?"

Sansa seemed to follow news about stage plays quite closely.

"Your information became outdated yesterday, Miss Sansa."

Joshua had returned to the hall. After quietly listening to Helan and her classmate for a while, he chose that moment to join their conversation.

"You seem to be... Helan's friend. Could you be her boy—"

Before Sansa could finish her guess, Helan immediately covered her mouth, while also glancing at her Younger Sister, Ciri.

The moment Ciri noticed her Elder Sister's gaze, she understood why Helan had done it—Helan was considering her feelings. Ciri promptly shook her head to indicate that there was no relationship whatsoever between her and Joshua.

"Miss Helan and I are business partners. And Miss Sansa, allow me to update your information: the White Thorn Flower Theater debuted a new production yesterday. If you're interested, you may go enjoy it."

Before the official promotion began, Joshua could only rely on verbal Amway. And Helan's classmate Sansa was an excellent target for verbal Amway.

From what he had observed just now, Sansa had the sort of personality that loved showing things off. Put simply, if this world had things like Weibo or WeChat, Sansa would probably take pictures and post them on Weibo even when she went out for a meal.

Joshua naturally would not let such a pure, harmless, self-sustaining source of publicity slip away.

"A new production? What's it called? Which troupe is performing it?" She seemed rather interested.

"The production is called Beauty and the Demon. As for which troupe it belongs to, I'll keep that secret for now."

Before people of this era saw a film for themselves, Joshua found it difficult to explain what a film was through words alone. The best way to explain it was to bring them into a cinema.

"I was already planning to go. What about you?"

Helan did not want to have to spend an entire day in line the next time she came, only to possibly fail to get a ticket anyway.

"Li Kaer's ticket is for tonight anyway. It'll be a good way to pass the time."

Sansa did not take Joshua's Amway too seriously. It was nearly one in the afternoon, and there were still several hours before the Black Swan Troupe's next performance.

Stage plays generally only had a performance every few days, so a theater would rotate through several troupes. But Nolan's audiences now wanted to see only the Black Swan Troupe; every other troupe had paled into obscurity beneath the radiance of the "Flower of Falosi."

"This way."

This time, Joshua took on the role of guide, leaving the Patent Council and heading toward the White Thorn Flower Theater.

After roughly twenty minutes, Joshua arrived at the entrance to the White Thorn Flower Theater.

The theater entrance still looked rather deserted, but Rune light flickered on the other side. Several mages in brown robes were using the Mud Puppet Technique outside the theater to construct the backdrop wall for promotional posters.

Joshua entered the theater, where White Thorn Flower Jazz was surrounded by a group of women dressed in elaborate gowns.

"White Thorn Flower Jazz! Why did the demon have to die in the end?!"

"Belle truly is such a pitiful child."

"Where did those ignorant Villagers even come from?"

"Ladies, please calm down, calm down... This is only part of the film. It isn't real."

White Thorn Flower Jazz wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as he explained to the noble ladies before him. They were devoted fans of the White Thorn Flower Theater. After Beauty and the Demon officially opened, White Thorn Flower Jazz had specifically written to invite them to watch it. The result was that these noble ladies were now wiping away tears while righteously condemning the unjust treatment the demon had received.

"The demon? Why are they so angry over the demon's death?"

Sansa heard the noble ladies talking. When she had first heard the title Beauty and the Demon, she had immediately imagined a cliché tale of rescuing a princess from a demon.

"About that... you'll understand once you see it." Helan conscientiously refrained from spoiling it for Sansa.

"Don't worry. Even after I see it, I won't pity a demon. I believe in the God of Holy Light and Justice Monicar. Helan, have you forgotten that I'm a citizen of the Holy Country of Messiah?"

As if to prove it, pale golden Runes appeared on Sansa's hand.

Joshua had not expected this girl to be a Holy Knight. The glow emitted by the Runes on Sansa's hand resembled holy light capable of purifying evil. It stirred a faint response from the mark left by the Bone Duke, though it was only a barely perceptible reaction. The Bone Duke's power could not possibly be threatened by such a tiny trace of holy light.

"Messiah's Holy Army is the vanguard against demonic invasions. As a citizen of that nation, my faith is firm. How could I possibly pity a demon?"

Sansa said it dismissively.