Chapter 366 - The Envoys
The following day, in a theatre called the Danube, in the royal capital of Farucci.
"Madam Schroder, perhaps I failed to specify to you the number of envoys that will visit the royal demon capital," Joshua said as he rubbed his brows, feeling a headache coming. "The delegation to the demon capital should only consist of what is usual, around two to five diplomats, with a few guards if necessary."
After saying this, Joshua looked at the audience in front of him. He was currently standing on the largest stage in the theatre, which had a capacity of around a thousand people.
Coincidentally, the auditorium in front of him was completely full!
Of the 1,000 or so 'audience members', the 100 or so actors of the Black Swan theatre troupe only made up a very small part of it. The rest consisted of armoured knights and staff-wielding mages as well as some middle-aged men dressed as butlers.
Many of the members of the Black Swan troupe were born into nobility. Many of them were even of prestigious standing in Farruci.
When the parents of these actors found out that their sons and daughters were going to perform in the Demon Realm, it was only natural that they would send guards to protect them.
The result was this: a group of thousands of envoys visiting the Demon Realm. A number of knights and mages who, when combined, could form a small army.
"Mr. Joshua, don't we have to shoot the film in a city in the Demon Realm?"
"No." If Joshua remembered correctly, there was currently a famine in the royal demon capital.
His elder sister Cecily had gone to great lengths to contact Joshua in Norland, asking him to buy food so that the people of the city wouldn't suffer from the famine.
However, according to the messages Cecily sent him, the food imported from Norland could only temporarily alleviate the famine.
Under such circumstances, if Joshua were to bring an army of thousands of humans, Joshua had suspicions that his elder sister would invite him to a private 'little talk'.
"Most of the filming of Avatar will take place in the wilderness."
Joshua began to explain his filming plans to everyone in the auditorium.
"And my lifeward has built a portal that allows you to travel between Farruci and the Demon Realm. The Black Swan troupe will be able to shoot in the Demon Realm during the day and then return to the royal capital of Farruci at night to rest."
Joshua's voice echoed throughout the theatre. It was only a brief explanation, but for some reason Joshua heard applause.
"I too think it's ridiculous to send thousands of messengers to the Demon Realm.
"I was worried that something might happen to my honey if she were to stay in a demon city, but it turns out she doesn't have to."
Joshua caught the murmuring from the audience, most of which came from the actors' parents.
Even though they had tried hard not to say anything offensive to Joshua, he could hear from their conversations that their impression of the Demon Realm was still that of wariness and danger.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Joshua, but there is a small group of noblemen in Farruci who are too old-fashioned in their thinking," Madam Schroder whispered to Joshua.
"Give them some time. Attitudes can be changed slowly. We can start this change with the envoy visit."
Joshua did not keep his voice down when he replied to Madam Schroder, and everyone in the audience could hear what he was saying.
"I wonder if Madam Schroder or His Majesty Klund III have already decided who will go to the Demon Realm."
As Joshua asked this question, a momentary silence fell among the audience.
It reminded him of back when he was in primary school and the teacher suddenly recited the forbidden spell "I will now pick a student to answer the following question", upon which the whole classroom would immediately become silent.
No parent in their right mind would want their child to spend a week or two in an unknown city, even less one that was rumoured to be a 'den of monsters'.
"Mr. Joshua!"
While the Earls and Viscounts deliberately remained silent, averting their eyes from Joshua and Madam Schroder, one brave girl raised her hand.
"Heidi, what are you doing?"
Beside the girl sat a stout man, the very same General Rockmont that Joshua had seen in the parliamentary court yesterday.
General Rockmont's voice sounded very serious and contained a trace of warning, as if reminding her to not continue attracting attention.
But instead of lowering her arms, the girl stood up.
"Mr. Joshua, I have something to ask you."
"Please ask, Miss Heidi."
As well as being the director of Avatar, Joshua was also the third prince of the Demon Realm.
Although normally he was not a fan of noble etiquette and the sort of conversations associated with it, Joshua currently had to make himself look a bit more elegant.
"I would like to know … whether Mr. Zenarth's hometown is in the royal city of the Demon Realm?" The girl mustered up the courage to ask this question right beside her father.
"Zenarth? You mean the Sin Demon?"
Joshua observed an interesting phenomenon when he uttered the word "Sin Demon".
The parents of the actors looked bewildered and frightened, while most of the women in the Black Swan troupe looked expectant.
Madam Schroder had told Joshua that many of the women in the Black Swan troupe were loyal fans of Zenarth, but Joshua had not expected such a level of 'loyalty'.
"Unfortunately, Miss Heidi, Zenarth's homeland is located in a canyon behind the royal capital, where Sin Demons gather and where they are supposed to defend the city from foreign enemies." Without reservation, Joshua revealed to the noble ladies where they could catch a sight of the demons in the Demon Realm.
"Oh! Madam Schroder! I would like to apply to be a member of the envoy group," the girl suddenly said.
"Heidi! You sit down!"
General Rockmont's voice rose a few notches, having personally experienced the horrors of Sin Demons back when he was a young man.
They were creatures with greenish flames that could easily tear his daughter to pieces!
General Rockmont absolutely did not want his daughter to come into contact with such a monster.
"But father, I saw a little girl climbing on Mr. Zenarth's back yesterday, and even that little girl wasn't afraid of the Sin Demon." The girl, Heidi, seemed to have reached the rebellion stage in her life and resented her father's brusque rebuke.
"That's not the same." General Rockmont could not discipline his daughter in such a public situation.
After all, Klund III himself was sitting in a private room in the theatre, watching everything that was going on.
