Chapter 9：Writing

Joshua used half an hour to write a simple English alphabet program that could type out "Hello World". That proved his theory right.

Joshua tapped the pale light before him, and that reminded him of the first time he had used a computer. It was when computers were booted using DOS commands.

Just as Joshua entered "1" in the program he had created, the pale runes quickly turned into a series of letters that said, "Hello World".

It was a true greeting to the birth of a new world.

If that was the case, Joshua was confident that he could create a simple operating system with the runes in just a few months' time.

Using his brain as the host, CPU, hard disk, and RAM, while his eyes served as the monitor with his hands in place of the mouse and keyboard...

He could do it!

Embedding a computer in a human brain and letting programs replace the human brain for computation processes could take centuries on Earth. Yet, Joshua realized that it was within reach in this world of magic.

However, Joshua's current knowledge was not enough to realize it, and his understanding of the runes was still too shallow.

While Joshua's knowledge allowed the runes to appear before him, Joshua had only been a mage for barely half a day.

Even so, it was not a problem for Joshua to use his newfound magical powers to fuse the footage within the originium crystals. He could record various footages in the crystals before he transferred everything into a single crystal.

Although that method was a bit more troublesome, considering that it was an era without electrical light bulbs, the prince's invention was already many centuries ahead of its time.

"Ciri, I suggest that you do not stray too far away. That thing on your neck will automatically detonate if it is more than twenty meters away from me." 　　

After he completed his research on the runes, Joshua picked up his pen and paper as he prepared to continue writing the script for "Beauty and the Demon".

Before that, Joshua felt the need to remind the little mage not to run around someone's room.

" I... I was not..." 　　

Ciri pulled her hand away from the doorknob and looked at the demon who was facing the desk.

After Joshua had learned the god of order's runes, he simply sat at the table and began to study them intently, totally ignoring her in the process.

That gave Ciri the illusion that she could use the opportunity to escape.

So, Ciri used a pretty long time to sneak her way to the door, but before she could even open it, Joshua's words made her return to her original position in resignation.

Ciri did not want to die by having her head blown off. No... If the crystal on her neck did go off, her death would be even worse than having her head lobbed off.

For that reason, Ciri simply stood there for a good ten minutes without any new instructions from Joshua.

As she got bored, Ciri peered at Joshua's back, and finally, her curiosity got the better of her. She took a few steps forward and ended up next to Joshua's desk.

A human's fear of demons usually revolved around their menacing appearance, but once Ciri had calmed down, she noticed that Joshua's appearance was no different than a normal human's.

That slightly eased Ciri's anxiety about staying in that place. Her attention was then drawn to the script that Joshua was writing.

When the plot developed to the point where Belle was imprisoned by the demon to save her father, Ciri found herself in a similar situation to the heroine, except for the fact that she had been abducted.

Ciri could already imagine the kind of horrible deeds that would be inflicted upon Belle by the demon, the same way she could imagine her own fate.

Yet, what happened next was totally beyond her expectations as the story changed from the moment the demon saved Belle from a pack of dire wolves. From Belle's first dinner with the demon to their very own ball in the castle, no matter the scene, Joshua's writing was enough to evoke a romantic longing in every woman.

"This is just a story, right?"

Ciri continued to look at the script, and her curiosity trumped her fear again as she asked Joshua directly.

"Of course. There is still a big difference between fiction and reality. For instance, Belle, the heroine is in much better shape than you, Ciri." 　　

Joshua clearly knew what the little mage was thinking. Her current experience bore a close resemblance to Belle's in the story.

If Joshua had not realized that she might pass out the moment she saw a demon like Zenarth, Joshua would have considered casting her for the role.

Ciri immediately understood what Joshua was referring to as she covered her chest and took a few steps back. Her face was beet red. Before she could come up with the words to snap back at him, a knock on the door made Ciri swallow everything she wanted to say.

"Find a place to hide."

Joshua pointed at the only bookshelf in his room where someone could hide in—barely.

Many demons in the Demonic Realm were prejudiced against humans. It was fine if it was his own servant, but the person outside the door was not Joshua's servant.

When it came to the matter of her survival, Ciri obediently hid behind the bookshelf.

Joshua then made his way to the door and opened it.

"I do not recall performing any recent experiments that are worthy of your supervision, Sister."

Standing at the door was Princess Cecily Annerlaude.

Compared with his eldest brother who lived at the frontier all year round, Joshua's sister, Cecily was the sentinel of the Royal Capital. She managed the law and order in the city.

In the prince's memories, this Princess Royal's personality was so uptight that she did not seem like a demon. She took up the role of the sentinel at the age of fifteen and had been handling cases large and small with brutal efficiency. She was the very model of a praiseworthy police officer.

"I sensed human magical aura from your room." 　　

Cecily's hair and eyes were a different shade of crimson from Joshua's, and they had the hue of flames. Under her gaze, any person who tried to lie to her would shudder from within.

It was a wordless pressure.

"I was carrying out some experiments using human magic." 　　

Runes formed out of a faint white glow that appeared on Joshua's hand. They lasted for barely a second or two before they disappeared as the runes were eaten away by Joshua's chaotic gray magic. He then turned to Cecily.

"But that isn't the reason for your visit, right?"