Samael, one of the kittens who had been napping on my lap, suddenly woke up, hopped down to the floor, and gave a long, leisurely stretch.
Which meant the Demon King was about to arrive.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the Demon King and Beezel stepped through the door leading from the courtyard.
Samael dashed toward the Demon King immediately. A moment later, the other kittens followed suit. As always, they were incredibly fond of him. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy—and my lap felt quite lonely now.
Suddenly, the Demon King was sent tumbling as Sougetsu, the tiger, side-swiped him with a playful tackle.
I wondered if he was all right. It seemed he was.
"Sougetsu, I know Miel and the other older sister cats riding on your back were probably rushing you, but try to move a bit more slowly next time."
The tiger looked at me, then back at his guest.
"Ah, don't mind me. Go ahead and play with the Demon King. I have things to discuss with Beezel."
The reason for their visit today was to film a scene depicting a reconciliation with the Inferno Wolves. Tiselle had informed me of the plan via letter, and I had received a formal request from Ire and the rest of the filming team, so there were no objections from the village side.
The filming crew had already been staying in the village for several days to prepare, but it seemed they had run into a bit of a snag regarding the location.
"There are simply too many things here that shouldn't be caught on camera," Ire explained.
I tilted my head. "Is that so?"
In response to my doubt, Ire showed me some test footage she had recorded.
The video showed a typical village landscape, but Dos and Giral in their dragon forms kept flickering into the background. Did they want to be in the movie that badly?
"I did ask them, just in case," Ire sighed. "But they claimed they had no such intention."
"I see."
Well, I had an idea. "Maybe you should just draft a plan to film a video with Dos or Giral as the stars. I have a feeling that would satisfy them."
"I’ll look into it. However, that’s not the only issue. There are many other things we can't show."
"Such as?"
"Village Four—the Sun Castle."
I nodded. That made sense.
"The World Tree."
To those unaware, it might look like a normal tree, but to anyone with a modicum of knowledge, it was an unmistakable landmark. It would certainly be a distraction in the footage.
"Besides," Ire continued, "with the giant silkworms living on it, I don't think anyone would mistake it for an ordinary tree. It has far too much presence. And finally, the biggest problem of all: the fields."
"The fields? What's wrong with our fields?"
"The sense of season is... well, non-existent."
I couldn't argue with that. Our fields followed their own magical logic.
Ultimately, Ire decided to move the shoot to the forest near Village Five. The filming team was currently scouting for a suitable site in that area.
I relayed this information to Beezel.
The Inferno Wolf participating in the shoot was the newcomer who had actually encountered the Demon King. After obtaining the Demon King's permission, we relocated to the forest near Village Five.
The newcomer was unlikely to cause trouble, but I went along as a sort of trainer just to be safe. Since Beezel provided transportation via teleportation magic, it wasn't much of a burden.
While watching the filming team work, I moved to give the newcomer a quick brushing, but a former Civil Official Girl on the crew stopped me. She explained that they didn't want to lose his "wild" look, so grooming was forbidden. I suppose that made sense.
While waiting for his turn, I decided to chat with the wolf. I asked if he was adjusting well to village life and if he was getting along with his partners.
He let out a low whine. It turned out he was actually quite shy around females. Apparently, he had been aggressively pursued by them in the past and found the experience traumatizing.
And yet, despite his fear, he now had four persistent partners.
"If anything happens, tell me immediately," I told him. "Thinking 'I'm still okay' is often the first sign of danger. It’s perfectly fine to rely on those around you."
He let out a huff that sounded like agreement. Shortly after, it was his turn. He did a great job and finished his scenes without any issues.
Perhaps driven by the crew's sheer enthusiasm, a preview screening was held that very evening.
The content was essentially a propaganda piece for the Demon King: the Demon King working tirelessly on domestic affairs, the Demon King training hard, the Demon King resolving crises. It ran for about thirty minutes and was surprisingly dense.
However, one thing bothered me. It wasn't the content itself, but the way a specific scene was directed.
In the scene where he responded to a crisis, he was simply sitting in a conference room while subordinates presented issues, to which he would state solutions or policies. Compared to the scenes of him moving around during training or administrative work, this part felt static and awkward. Yet, as soon as the report of an Inferno Wolf arrived, he suddenly sprang into action.
It felt like a forced narrative beat. Perhaps I was being too picky, but it sat wrong with me.
"No, the Village Head is exactly right," Ire admitted. "I wanted to fix that conference room scene, but I was told that's how things actually look in practice..."
"Couldn't you use some creative liberty to make it flashier?" I asked. "The training and domestic scenes were dramatized, weren't they?"
"Eh? No, he's actually like that normally."
So he really did act that much like a "proper" Demon King in his daily life. I felt I understood just a little better why he needed the cats to soothe his soul.
Regardless, I suggested we spice up the presentation for the movie. Since it was a crisis response scene, I offered an alternative.
In my version, the Demon King strides quickly down a grand corridor. He is flanked by six subordinates walking at the same brisk pace.
"This is an emergency," the Demon King says. "Drowa, gather the troops."
"Understood." Count Drowa stops, bows, and immediately heads off in the opposite direction.
"Gritch. Take command of the East Gate guards. Don't let them act on their own."
"Yes, Sire!" Just like Drowa, Count Gritch stops, bows, and peels away.
"Pugyal. What is the status of that matter?"
"Everything is proceeding exactly as planned."
"Good. No changes. Continue as you were."
"Leave it to me." Count Pugyal stops and bows.
"General. The enemy nations may try to exploit this chaos."
"The western border, I assume?"
"If they move, handle it as you see fit. Don't worry about the fallout."
"As you command!" Gratz stops and renders a sharp salute.
"Doresten. The interior will be in an uproar."
"Undoubtedly. My men are already in position. Shall I suppress the dissent?"
"I permit it. Go."
"At once." Count Doresten stops, bows slowly, and then vanishes into the shadows.
Only one subordinate remains at his side.
"And what of me?" Beezel asks.
"You have the hardest task of all."
"Meaning I'm to stay by your side?"
"Exactly. I'm leaving my back to you."
"Understood. Then let us settle this quickly."
The scene was re-shot with this new direction. The concept was "The Demon King Giving Instructions While Walking," and it added a much-needed sense of urgency and momentum.
Ire and the filming crew loved it. Even the Demon King and Beezel seemed quite pleased with the result.
However, when the daughters of the featured nobles saw the footage, they had rather complicated expressions.
"Ugh... he looks so cool I can't believe that's my father."
"I didn't think my father was actually capable of looking competent."
"A father who doesn't constantly panic? That's not the man I know..."
The feedback on the film itself was overwhelmingly positive, so I considered it a success.
I'll keep the fact that the fathers had a petty, undignified argument over the order of their lines and the length of their screen time a secret from their daughters.
Ronana: "Gratz, you were so handsome!" Gratz: "O-oh, it was nothing, really."
Dos: "Make sure you include a scene like that in the movie where I'm the star." Giral: "Me too! Exactly like that!"
Ire looked at me with pleading eyes.
"Don't look at me," I told her. "You're the director."