Chapter 141 – Josh Kenny Beer Festival
The Josh Kenny Beer Festival is one of the four major collective events in Magnolia, and most people have heard of it, but most people can’t participate in it: it’s so inaccessible that Hill has recorded a program to broadcast on the magic phone: three days in a row, starting at 9pm every night – exactly when “Cardcaptor Sakura” finishes playing.
Cardcaptor Sakura was nearing its end, Hill had explained in advance in Demon Realm Magazine, and its fans were naturally a little bit sad to see it go. As for what the next anime will be, Hill already has a plan.
After the end credits were played on this day, it was time for the Beer Festival special.
Because it was advertised in advance, many people watched it in front of their magic phones, and those pubs and restaurants also had public screenings.
The first thing that appears is the opening credits, with a song by Super Girl in the background, a chibi-version of a human male and a chibi-version of a black dwarf appear on the screen, and they simply squirm twice – time is tight, so the production is very minimal. Then the title of the show appears in the middle of the screen: Josh Kenny’s Beer Festival.
Then a human and another non-human appeared on the screen, standing on the deck with the ship and the sea in the background.
The audience was frozen.
Next to that human was… a short man only a little taller than the other’s waist, but both his robust muscles and his long beard excluded him from the children. His reddish-brown beard was braided into three twists, with delicate metal clasps tied underneath, soft and lustrous, making the ladies of Magnolia City a little jealous… cough. He was heavily armed, iron armor, and held a huge axe in his hand, which looked very dangerous.
“Wow is that… a black dwarf?” someone in the tavern exclaimed out.
“It’s a black dwarf! This is the first time I’ve ever seen a dwarf. Oh, they’re so short.”
“But he looks really strong, and the hammer he’s holding is so scary.”
“Why are there black dwarves here? Ah, I forgot, that’s what the demons produce.”
At that moment, the human in the screen opened his mouth and asked, “Has it started?”
The black dwarf said, “It seems to have started.”
“Oh, oh, then let’s hurry up and introduce ourselves,” the human said.
This beginning amused many viewers.
The black dwarf cleared his throat and spoke, “Hello everyone, I’m the black dwarf Copper Teeth, and by the way, I’m a handsome man of the Black Dwarf clan.”
The human said this, “Hi everyone, I’m Grant the Bard, and by the way, I’m also more handsome than the one next to me.”
This introduction once again made the audience laugh out loud.
“I think you’re looking for a fight.” The black dwarf Copper Teeth said with dissatisfaction, “You’re so tall, and you have the nerve to talk to me?”
“Ah, are you dwarves beautiful for being short?” Grant asked rhetorically.
“Don’t you think it’s ugly to be tall? Like a bamboo pole, not fit at all.” The black dwarf Copper Teeth looked at him, “I swear by my beard, you’ll never find a pretty girl.”
“If the pretty girl you mean is the kind that’s half my height and can break my waist with one punch, I might as well let it go.” Grant the bard whistled, “I just like women who are like bamboo sticks.”
“What a lack of taste.” The black dwarf Copper Teeth said.
Grant rolled his eyes, “The thought of me actually having to partner with you in the future gives me a headache. Okay, okay no more wasting time, let’s get back to business! Today, we are going to a very classic event! That’s the Josh Kenney Beer Festival!”
The black dwarf Copper Teeth swung his axe and said, “I heard that you can drink wine from everywhere in this festival, and we black dwarves are very interested in it!”
“First, let’s change into a set of civilian clothes, and then, let’s go!” Grant snapped his fingers, and then the picture changed, the two had changed into Josh Kenny style clothes, but the Black Dwarf Copper Teeth’s clothes were obviously of special quality.
The opening is carefully designed by Hill, in which a small joke is made with the aesthetic difference between races, which in effect brings humans and demons closer together. The black dwarves are not handsome and beautiful compared to the fallen angels and succubus, so Hill has tried to make them look more honest, simple, straightforward, and cute, so that they can give humans a more comprehensive impression of the demons.
Next Grant and Copper Teeth went down from the deck, and Grant continued with his introduction: “The ship we just took is the famous Deathbird, and her captain is Captain Jack Sparrow, who we all love, and Captain Jack’s real identity in our world is one of the four pirate kings, and he’s very famous in Josh Kenny’s generation – of course, the movie has made him now popular around the world.
As for why he became a pirate? It seems to have a sad story, but he wouldn’t tell me. I tried to ask his men, his men said if I dare to ask questions again then they will rip off my head and use it as a night pot. I laughed and said you’re kidding, right? His men said: you have a lot of guts. Then I said: I heard that pirates will directly solve it in the sea, no need for night pot, so I concluded that you are joking. Then I was almost thrown overboard.”
“It’s a good thing I stopped that.” Black Dwarf Copper Teeth said, “But seriously, you’ll die sooner or later with that mouth of yours if you don’t shut it up.”
“Then we’ll talk about it when the time comes.” Grant said pleasantly, “Well, we’re into Josh Kenny now! How to control this projection stone, let me see…”
Then the screen appeared the image of Josh Kenny Beer Festival.
Crowds on the streets, open-air pubs, waiters holding glasses filled with beer with bubbles on top walking through the crowd, girls in tropical style summer clothes walking by from time to time. Grant whistled: “I really like it here!”
Black Dwarf Copper Teeth stared at the unseen wine over there and said, “I like it here, too!”
Entering the streets of Josh Kenny, you can immediately feel the joyful atmosphere, the streets and alleys are playing light music. In previous years, a large number of bards would come here, and this year it was obvious that the demon realm’s gramophone had stolen some of the bard’s work.
They soon sat down in a tavern, and several noblemen ran over to take a picture with Black Dwarf Copper Teeth and complimented him on his really majestic muscles. Black Dwarf Copper Teeth haughtily said a few words, but agreed to their invitation. After a while, a number of young girls also came to ask for a photo, which made Grant very envious: “Wow, this is too much, why does no one ask me for a photo?!”
The audience kind of wanted to laugh at this, both the black dwarf Copper Teeth and this bard Grant were funny, and the Josh Kenny Beer Festival was very interesting, everyone looked like they were having a good time and everyone had a smile on their face.
At this point, Grant and the tavern owner chatted, and the barkeep gave the audience a history of the Josh Kenny Beer Festival. It originally used to celebrate a great harvest, then it gradually expanded each year, and today, it became the whole town’s carnival. Each day, there are public performances and tournaments, and at the end, the town mayor selects the bravest men and the most beautiful women, giving them the titles of Son of the Harvest God, Warrior God, Queen of Beauty, and God of Wine.
There were also water fights in the central square of Josh Kenny, which used water mixed with wine – the productivity of this period could not reach the point where you could have water fights with beer.
Viewers outside of Josh Kenny initially watched the show because they were bored, and many were not interested in festivals elsewhere, but after seeing it, the entire Magnolia Empire, plus Mülheim, became interested in the Beer Festival.
The last episode of the program showed the live public performance of Super Girl, the cheerful melody, the passionate and flirtatious dance, the song amplified by the magic circle, and the crowd screaming from below. All of these made the viewers in front of the magic phone jealous to the point of almost flying.
They want to see the live version too!
From the point of view of the effect of the show, Super Girl’s public performance was a great success.
In fact, the effect is even more exaggerated – because of the succubus’ charm magic bonus, the audience is so excited to the point of fainting.
At the end of the third episode, Grant and the black dwarf Copper Teeth returned to the Deathbird.
“It really feels quite good to be on deck with the sea breeze, drinking beer and reminiscing about the past few days.” Grant said, “Right, Copper Teeth?”
“Yes,” said Black Dwarf Copper Teeth, “I’ve made a few human friends too, and they’ve invited me to come back and hang out later.”
“You can come over more often later,” Grant said.
The black dwarf shook his head: “Most humans are still not friendly to the demons, and I have received some discrimination and cold eyes these days. Yesterday I was walking in the street, and suddenly someone poured stinky water all over me and shouted ‘demons get out of the human world’ at me. I was very angry at that time, but I held back, because if I acted, the demons would be discriminated against even more.”
Grant gave a somewhat sad expression, “It’s okay, at least you made a few friends, and at least you had fun most of the time at the Beer Festival, didn’t you?”
The black dwarf Copper Teeth nodded heavily, “Even though you’re ugly, you still talk sense sometimes.”
Grant lost his smile, “Okay, okay, I’m ugly.”
“And I understand that no matter which race, there are bad people. I should hate a certain person, not a certain race. Lord Demon King has always taught us the same thing, that prejudice and racism is a sign of lack of intelligence,” the black dwarf said.
“That’s a wise saying,” Grant said.
“Hmm. I look forward to the day when demons and humans can go wherever they want, I look forward to the day when humans and demons can walk comfortably in the streets together, and I look forward to the things told in the movies coming true,” the black dwarf Copper Teeth continue to say. If the knowledgeable people heard it, they’d know it must be Hill who wrote the lines.
Grant nodded: “I believe there will come a day when humans and demons will be here chatting and drinking in harmony, just like you and I. Cheers, to Beer Festival, to the future of humans and demons!”
The black dwarf Copper Teeth raised his glass, “Cheers!”
Beer mugs collided, liquor splashed out in the sunlight, and the background sound was waves and seagulls.
The Beer Festival special program was officially over.
These three-episode program seem to cause much less heat than the movies, anime, and novels, but it is also far-reaching. Many people have developed the idea of “the world is so big, I want to go and see”, before that, although many people have begun to yearn for the demon realm, they feel that humans are impossible to go to the demon realm, so they did not take it to heart. But Josh Kenny is not the same, it is possible to go to Josh Kenny.
Such a step-by-step guide over the past is also conducive to Hill’s future development of tourism in the demon realm.
The dialogue between the black dwarf and the bard at the end of the program also caused a lot of people to think.
The straightforward and lovely black dwarf has gained a lot of fans in the previous two days, so after he said he was splashed with stinky water, many people were immediately filled up with righteous indignation. Then the black dwarf said again that he did not want the demon race to be discriminated… This effect is naturally quite good.
Josh Kenny can be said to be the most friendly city on the Magnolia Continent in treating the demons, but there are still some people who loathe the demons, which is inevitable. The black dwarf Copper Teeth in these days indeed also suffered some stares, so the words he said are also sincere.
Of course, these three episodes of the show were also shown to the upper echelons of the demon realm. Hill doesn’t want the humans to have a good attitude to the demon race only to be hit by ‘expectations vs reality’. Hill himself has always felt that big forests naturally should have so many birds, of course, since the birds are big so are the forests… Cough, let’s stop thinking dirty and continue talking about the business. It is the simpleton who should be discriminated against, not a certain group.
He also consciously instilled these ideas to his subordinates, but there is a premise that when dealing with strangers, whether of the same or different ethnicity, vigilance is certainly necessary.
一一
The third album of light music by the Fallen Angels was released shortly after the Josh Kenny Beer Festival. This album contains the music of Paul Mauriat Orchestra, one of the world’s top three light music ensembles, famous in the last century. Hill’s father loved music and often played their cassettes in his study, and the light music became an important part of Hill’s childhood. Hill remembers when a tape cost more than twenty yuan, and a popsicle was only twenty cents.
Paul Mauriat is known as the God of French music, this light music master combines classical music and pop music skillfully, forming his unique and beautiful melody. The music itself is harmonious and beautiful, there is no lack of vivid and lively parts, so it can be widely accepted by the public.
This time, Hill put up “The Pearl Fishers”, “Love is Blue” and “Godfather”, of which “Love is Blue” was originally a not very successful pop song, but when it was adapted by Paul Mauriat, it immediately took the world by storm. The song is really melancholy and beautiful to the point of being intoxicating.
The “Godfather” is the theme song of the movie “The Godfather”, which is not really in the category of light music anymore. The whole song is somber and elegant, dangerous but beautiful, with a dark ambiance. Hill himself likes this song, but he understands that this music is not for the public, the degree of singing is necessarily less than other lively and pleasant light music. But it doesn’t matter, this music will be liked by certain people, Hill believes. There is a reason why a classic is called a classic.
The booklet that came with the album carefully described what the songs described, and also explained that “Godfather” was composed for that novel. The magazine received many more letters to the effect of why “The Godfather” is so prestigious! I want the theme music for “A Song of Ice and Fire” too! I want it too! I want the theme music for “A Song of Ice and Fire”!
Hill didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, “A Song of Ice and Fire” was made into a TV series “Game of Thrones”, the theme song can indeed be found, but he can’t just find one for the “Mage’s Book of Songs” ah. He gave the letter to the Fallen Angels and Eric, the author of the “Mage’s Book of Songs”, said he would try writing his own music. He is a bard by profession anyway.
Hill thinks this is fine, you can’t always take songs from Earth, you have to let the other world create an original.
He asked Eric to stay in the Fallen Angel territory for a while so that they could work together to complete the theme song of “Mage’s Book of Songs”. Eric was shocked when he saw the Floating Island for the first time, and he was shocked for several days, so much so that he couldn’t even write. Hill felt it reasonable to suspect that Eric was there to cheat food and drink… but in the end, he finished writing the music, and during the temporary stay, he also wrote a column draft for the magazine about the demon realm. The content was compliments and praises for the fallen angels and the demon realm. This made Hill very satisfied and forgave him.
一一
The Magnolia Continent was still immersed in the afterglow of the Beer Festival. And Hill was devoted to the cultural industry when the Borel family of the Magnolia Empire made their move.
They took the initiative to hand over some of the people involved in the corruption of the charity, followed by raising the significance of the charity to the Magnolia Empire, and then tried to stuff Kevin Borel, the cousin of Princess Delia, into the charity.
Prince Tuttle Borel told King Magnolia that the Princess was having an affair with a commoner. This was the Borel family’s revenge against Princess Delia.
King Magnolia was naturally shocked, and after hearing that the commoner was the protagonist of “The Evil Monarch”, he even relocated his anger to Hill, thinking that if it wasn’t for Hill making the movie, the princess wouldn’t have gotten entangled with that kind of commoner.
The dark elves that Hill had previously sent to protect Theodore fled from Magnolia City, and Hill couldn’t help but shake his head when he heard the news.
“The Borels, ah, they probably think they’re being brave, but they don’t know that they’re actually wielding the knife to castrate themselves,” Hill said.
Joan Baker gave Hill a rare thumbs-up: “That’s a cruel enough statement from you.”
