How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

Book 1: Chapter 3

Around the time that the commotion from Soumas personnel gathering had settled, a certain ghost story began to spread in the castle town of the capital Parnam.

According to the tales, there was a mannequin that roamed the streets at night. It was the type of doll you could see in clothing shops: faceless, with arm and leg joints. Carrying swords in both hands, it stalked the streets night by night, hunting animals and monsters.

One adventurer said this:

A while back, I took a quest from the guild to escort a peddler and was walking around the streets at night, ysee, when we had the bad luck to get surrounded by some subspecies of gelin (those gel things). Theyre weak individually, but this time there were a lot of them, and the battle was going badly. Then a mannequin carrying swords in both hands tottered along from the direction of the palace and attacked the gelins. It was such a creepy sight that we bolted right away, but... I wonder what was up with that thing.

Another adventurer said this:

It was a week ago. I took a mission from the guild that said, A group of hobgoblins has crossed the border to the north and is traveling southwards. We want you to intercept them. We were waiting in a valley that was along their route to intercept them, but wait as we might, they never appeared. Something seemed strange, so we went scouting for them, and what we found was a mannequin standing in the middle of a pile of brutally killed hobgoblin bodies. Thinking it was some new type of monster, me and my warrior buddy attacked it, but it parried us with two swords it carried. When our mage tried hitting it with fire, it ran off at an incredible speed. That thing... its probably a new autonomous weapon created by the demon king, dont you think?

There were many sightings, and though many said it was a ghost story, it was almost certain that it existed. However, when the adventurers guild recognized its existence and quests to capture or destroy it were issued, all sightings stopped.

After that, some wondered if it hadnt been a prank by someone.

...so, well, there are rumors like that going around in the castle town, you know? Liscia told me.

Oh, yeah, are there now? I asked.

As I lay back on the sofa, my hand with the needle not stopping as I responded to her, Liscia, who was sitting on the bed, took on a slightly upset tone.

...What? Dont stories like this interest you?

No, its not like that, but...

Souma, youre the king, so shouldnt stories that are causing unrest in the castle town be important to you? she said.

You dont need to worry about it. That mannequin wont be showing up again.

...Do you know something about it?

Yeah, sorta...

I packed the cotton in while I gave vague answers. Now, I just had to sew the back closed and it would be done.

...And, hold on, what are you doing there, Souma?

What? Exactly what it looks like. Sewing.

No, Im asking why youre coming to my room to sew!

Well, where else would I go? My rooms still the governmental affairs office, after all.

Recently, the amount of work to be done had settled down a bit, so while my Living Poltergeist pens were working, my main body could rest like this. Though, that said, the governmental affairs office where my bed was always had a lot of officials coming in and out of it, so it was a bit hard to take it easy there.

Besides, you know how Aishas been lately... I added.

I can guess... she said.

Recently, Aisha had become so clingy that she would never leave my side.

When a dark elf pledges their loyalty to someone, they pride themselves on staying by that persons side and protecting them until the day they themselves die, apparently. That was why Aisha had appointed herself as my bodyguard, and whether it was work time, meal time, or sleep time, she tried to follow me everywhere I went, even into the bath and toilet. I thought it was problematic to have someone who hadnt even officially been hired yet so close to the king, but she was beautiful, highly loyal, and her skills were well known, so Ludwin and the royal guards turned a blind eye to her. As for Hakuya, who had taken over the post of prime minister from Marx, he said:

Is it not lovely to be surrounded by such beauties? The princess, Madam Aisha, Madam Juna... it matters not to me which you choose, but please hurry up and give us a child. It will bring stability to the royal house.

Thats a hell of a thing to say so easily. Good grief.

While I was thinking about that, Liscia came over and poked me in the back.

I bet you dont actually mind the attention, do you?

Give me a break. Just when I was finally able to get some rest... Wait, huh? Come to think of it, wheres Tomoe?

Tomoe is over in Mother and Fathers room. Mothers taken a liking to her...

Just a few days ago, Tomoe had come to the castle to live as Liscias adopted sister. Of course, as we had promised, her family had come with her, too.

Incidentally, Tomoes mother worked at the palace daycare facility, which we had set up as an experiment to help encourage the advancement of women in society. She stayed with the wet nurses, caring for other peoples children at the same time as her own. This daycare facility was a hit with the young maids, who said, Now I can get married without worrying.

With maternity leave being nonexistent at present, women were often dismissed the moment they got pregnant. That was why, unless they became a kings mistress, most of the maids spent their entire lives single.

But I digress. Basically, it meant Tomoe had two mothers in the palace. She had seemed a little bewildered at first, but now both of them adored her.

Liscia stood up and, resting her hands on the back of the sofa, she peeked over my shoulder. Still, when you have time off, you sew...? Is that a doll?

Oh, this? Its Little Musashibo.

I finished sewing up the dolls back, presenting it to Liscia.

Little Musashibo?

Yeah. Hes from my world... Something like a rare and exotic beast, I guess?

Little Musashibo was a cute super-deformed mascot based on Musashibo Benkei from the city I lived in. A white silk face. A Buddhist priests stole and prayer beads. Big bushy eyebrows that looked imposing, but adorable acorn eyes underneath. People liked that gap, so he was well received.

By the way, the city where I had lived had absolutely no connection to Musashibo Benkei. So why Benkei then, you might wonder? Well, because long ago Saitama Prefecture was known as Musashi Province. That was the only reason.

Now, you might ask, Then, wouldnt Musashi Miyamoto or Musashimaru have worked just as well? or, If its because of Musashi Province, doesnt that cover all of Saitama? but to do so would be boorish.

You dont think, you feel. Thats just how mascot characters are.

Urkh... It makes me mad how surprisingly cute it is, Liscia said, looking at the Little Musashibo doll. Still, why would you make something like this?

Well, actually... turns out my Living Poltergeists works really well with dolls.

With those words, I focused, and Little Musashibo began to move before our eyes. He used his short little arms and legs to break dance. That he was good at it only made it more surreal.

Liscia stared, dumbstruck. What is this...?

When I use it on a pen, all I can do is make it float around, but with a doll, I can move it around almost as if I were inside it. Whats more, with dolls, the limits on distance go away.

Up until now, I had only been able to manipulate objects up to 100 meters away, but with dolls, I was able to send them not just into the castle town but beyond the walls.

Thats certainly impressive, but... What are you going to do, become a street performer? Liscia looked exasperatedly at Little Musashibo.

Ha ha, now theres an idea. Maybe Ill quit being king and make a living on the road.

Dont be silly. I wont let you abandon the job halfway.

...I know that. Anyway, heres the important bit.

I gave Little Musashibo two short swords. When I did, despite being made of felt and stuffed with cotton, Little Musashibo managed to hold two swords that would have felt heavy in the hands of a grown man. Little Musashibo posed like Musashi Miyamoto with his two swords.

Liscias eyes went wide. No way... Its a doll, right?

It seems that when a doll holds something, its counted as an optional item for the doll. Whats more, it can use any items I equip it with freely. As a test, I gave another doll some weapons and tried sending it to fight monsters. It managed to fight just fine.

A doll fighting monsters. Wait... The mannequin from the rumors!

Yeah. I used a doll I happened to find around the palace to experiment.

I had never imagined there would be rumors about it, though. I had tried to do my tests at night when there wouldnt be people around to see, but maybe that had just made it feel even more like something out of a ghost story.

Thanks to that, I found out they can hold their own against monsters. On top of that, the more experience they gain, the better the dolls get at moving.

As I said that, Little Musashibo spread the arms he was still holding the short swords with wide, spinning in circles fast enough that you almost expected a whoosh sound effect to pop up. He looked like a big spinning top, but he was actually like a revolving saw turned sideways, so he was more dangerous than he looked.

Is the training done by the dolls reflected on your main body? Liscia asked.

If it were, that would make it one broken ability. Sadly, no; even if the doll learns to use a technique, I cant reproduce it myself. Maybe its because I dont have the muscle strength for it? My bodys still weak.

Hmm... Why not work out?

I think its a more effective use of my time to improve my ability to control the dolls than to try to get stronger myself. No matter how much I work out, Im not going to get tough enough that its better than keeping three strong dolls around me.

Thats not how a hero fights. Liscia said, exasperated.

Sadly, I had to agree with that assessment.

In fantasy works from my old world, my job class would have been Doll Master or Puppeteer, probably. Those sorts of jobs tended to be mid-range support types. Thats a long way away from the mid to close-range attacker type impression that most people have of a hero.

When I watch you, I can feel my image of what a hero is falling to pieces... Liscia said.

Ha ha ha... I chuckled. Dont worry. I feel the same.

In roughly a month since I was summoned, all I had done was domestic politics. Since all I planned to do for the next few months was domestic politics as well, could I really call myself a hero? No, I could not. (Rhetorical question.)

Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

Excuse me, someone said, entering with a bow.

It was the palaces head maid and Liscias personal attendant, Serina. An intellectual beauty who was five years older than Liscia, she was as talented as she appeared, a woman who knew how to get her job done.

When Serina saw my face, she lowered her head reverently.

Your Majesty, Sir Hakuya sends word that Sir Poncho and the others have all gathered.

Theyre here, huh? Ive been waiting! I rose from my seat eagerly, taking Liscia by the hand. Lets go, Liscia.

Huh? What?!

When I suddenly grabbed her hand, Liscia blushed.

Oh, my word, Princess, Serina said. To think you would blush just from holding hands... With such innocence, how will you ever attend to your nightly duties with His Majesty?

Serina?! What are you saying?!

Please, let me hold your child soon. You do know how babies are made, yes?

Augh! Youre always teasing me!

...Serina was a capable maid, but she had a bad habit of being downright sadistic to cute girls. Her master Liscia was no exception to that. Well, I guess that meant their bond of trust was strong enough to allow it. So long as she didnt turn that sadism towards me, she was a very capable worker.

Well, were heading off, I said.

Hey, wait, Souma, Liscia objected.

Take care! Serina called. As we left the room, she saw us off with a bow.

We picked up Aisha along the way, and by the time we arrived at the meeting room, all of those who had been summoned had gathered.

At the round table in the center of the room sat Hakuya the prime minister, Tomoe my sister-in-law, Juna the lorelei, and Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta. If we excluded Ludwin, who was occupied with another matter, and Marx, who had relinquished the title of prime minister to Hakuya and now managed the palace, everyone who had been present for the gathering of personnel was here.

Your Majesty, they all said, rising.

Please, remain seated, I told them, holding out my hand. Im the one who called all of you here.

Liscia and I took our seats, as well. Aisha was the only one who remained standing, hovering behind me so that she could act at once in case anything should happen. Honestly, it was bothering me having her stand there, so I asked her to sit, but she stubbornly refused.

Werent you supposed to follow your masters orders? I thought with annoyance.

...Well, well set that aside for now.

Everyone, thank you for coming, I said. I give you my heartfelt thanks.

N-N-N-Not at all! I-I-I-It was nothing! Poncho stammered.

Sire, do not bow your head so easily, Hakuya said. Beside the flustered Poncho, Hakuya had a disapproving look on his face. If the one at the top abases himself so, there may be those who come to look down on him.

Any dignity I can only maintain by acting self-important is dignity I dont need. Besides, all of the people in this room I think of not as retainers or citizens, but as comrades.

Youre too kind, Your Majesty. Juna gave a slight bow. Those little gestures of hers always made for such a pretty picture.

Tomoe, on the other hand, was so nervous she was stiff. Her clothes last time had been falling apart, but now she wore what looked like a miko outfit with a miniskirt, which was apparently a traditional outfit for mystic wolves. A-Am I your comrade as well, my king?

No, no, Tomoe, youre my sister-in-law, remember?

Oh, right.

Yep. So dont call me your king, call me Big Brother Souma.

Ah, no fair! Call me Big Sister, too, then! Liscia cried.

Um... Big Brother Souma. Big Sister Liscia, Tomoe said with upturned eyes.

Nice! Liscia and I both gave Tomoes cute reaction an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Thwack! Thwack!

We got whacked upside the head with a paper fan. It was Hakuya who did it.

You two, its taking us forever to get on with things, so please cut that out.

Were sorry... we both earnestly apologized.

By the way, that paper fan was something I had given to Hakuya when he had taken the position of prime minister, saying, If I act too far out of line, dont hesitate to slap me upside the head with this. It had been a joke to try to get the too-serious Hakuya to lighten up, but as you would expect from a man who was the greatest genius in the history of Elfrieden (or so Marx claimed), he was putting the paper fan to brilliant use.

So how does a retainer slapping his king with a paper fan factor into the royal dignity? I asked.

It pains me to do it, sire, but this is a royal order, you see, Hakuya said with a cool look on his face. That aside, sire, youll have to explain to everyone why theyve been called here.

Oh, yeah, thats right... Poncho.

Y-Yessss!

With the conversation suddenly turning to him, paunchy Poncho stood up so vigorously he almost knocked his chair over. He was as rotund as ever, but he was more suntanned than he had been during the royal audience the other day.

Have you prepared what I asked you for? I asked.

Y-Yes! With your cooperation, sire, I was able to visit all the places it took me eight years to go around to before in a matter of two weeks.

Cooperation... What did you do for him? Liscia looked at me dubiously.

Oh, he means how I cleared things with the countries involved and let him use one of the royal familys royal visit wyverns to get around.

Royal visit wyverns were used by the king when he traveled abroad. The Forbidden Army had only a handful of them. Ponchos task had required speedy transportation, so I had loaned him one. Most wyverns belonged to the air force, but with their general, Castor, being uncooperative, asking him to loan us one of theirs probably wouldnt have worked. ...It was such a headache.

Well then, Poncho, show us what youve gathered, I said.

Y-Yes! In here, sire, I have the ingredients there is no custom of eating in this country that you requested, yes! With those words, Poncho pulled out a big sack.

When Liscia saw it, her eyes went wide. Hey, thats the Heros Sack!

Yeah. It fits a lot more than it looks like it should, and, on top of that, food put inside it doesnt rot as easily. I thought itd be perfect for gathering ingredients, so I lent it to him.

Even so, you shouldnt... Oh, whatever. Liscia slumped her shoulders in resignation. So, what was it? Ingredients theres no custom of eating in this country?

More precisely, it was Ingredients eaten in foreign countries and select regions of our own country, but which there is no general custom of eating in this country, I said.

Different places have different foods, and different people have different tastes. You often hear of things that are thrown away as inedible in one place being appreciated as a delicacy in another. Even in Japan, in some regions you could find things that would make you say, Huh? You eat that? To the point that there have been programs like Ken**n Show that have focused on the subject.

Right now, our country grows things like cotton, tea, and tobacco, so were replacing them with food crops, I explained. However, we wont see the effects of that until autumn, at least. So in order to keep the people from starving until then, a plan with immediate effects is needed.

In order to resolve the food crisis, serious reforms over a long period of time would be necessary. However, during that time there would be people starving, and there was the worry some might starve to death at this rate. What was more, the first to die would be babies of nursing age, with their weak constitutions and high need for nutrition.

Children were a national treasure. I couldnt let them starve to death.

That said, even if I wanted to deliver food to all the starving people of the country, there were limits to how much support the country could offer. That was why, alongside longer-term strategies, short-term countermeasures with immediate effects would be necessary.

And thats these ingredients we dont have a custom of eating? Liscia asked.

Theyre eaten in other countries, but we dont have a custom of eating them here, I said. If we develop those customs, it will make it harder to starve. It simply increases the food supply, after all.

Is there going to be anything so convenient? she asked doubtfully.

Thats what were checking. ...Now then, lets change locations.

Change locations? Where to? Seeing Liscia tilt her head to the side quizzically, I responded with a laugh.

Were deciding whether we can use these ingredients or not. Were off to the cafeteria, obviously.

Hey, Souma. I understand why you want to use the cafeteria, but... dont we have too many people? Liscia asked.

As she had pointed out, the cafeteria was noisy, but in a different way than usual.

In this cafeteria which was used by the guards and maids (and recently, even the king), there were usually more than thirty long tables set up in order to accommodate a large number of people eating at the same time. However, at present, all but one of the long tables had been taken away to make a wide open space. Despite this, the cafeteria was full of people and equipment, and there was only a little free space around the long table.

The massive jewel floating in the room was eating up a particularly large amount of space.

Another Jewel Voice Broadcast? Liscia asked.

Its a horrible waste that they only used a handy thing like this to read out declarations of war, I said. Ive got to put it to better use.

This Jewel Voice Broadcast was kind of like television. It could relay information to the people immediately, so airing some entertainment programs was bound to help win the support of the people. I supposed it did have a couple of faults in that the lack of recording technology meant all broadcasts had to be live, and that the video was only available in larger towns and cities (though apparently sound-only broadcasts were available in even the smallest of rural villages). That was just one thing where I would have to wait for the technology (magic?) to advance.

I had been thinking of starting with Nodo Jiman, the amateur singing contest, as our first entertainment program. Through the singing cafe where Juna worked, I had been calling out to the people who had come to show off their gift of singing during my gathering of gifted people, and we were making preparations to have them debut as singers and idols.

Elfriedens first public broadcaster, huh... I thought. The dreams are limitless.

Whatre you grinning for? Liscia asked coldly while I imagined the possibilities. You look creepy.

I coughed. Ahem. ...For our current project, the goal is to introduce the custom of eating foods that are not commonly eaten in this country. Advertising them to the people at the same time will be more efficient, right? Thats why I brought some beautiful ladies here, as well.

Like Juna?

You too, Liscia. Oh, and Aisha and Tomoe, as well. They say the ABCs of drawing viewership are animals, beauties, and children. Thats why I have Liscia the orthodox pretty girl, Juna whose mature charm belies her young age, Aisha with her healthy dark skin, and Tomoe, who is animal-eared, a beauty, and a child, as well. With this many beautiful specimens here, the peoples eyes will be glued to the screen.

M-Me, too... Liscia was blushing scarlet. As for the other three:

Its an honor, sire, said Juna.

Yes, Your Majesty! I will endeavor to meet your expectations! Aisha added.

Yesh! I-Ill do my best! Tomoe cried.

Each of them showed their enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Hakuya was quickly getting things in order for the broadcast, and Poncho was hastily double-checking the ingredients. When I saw them like this, I felt like I had gotten a good group of people together. Of course, I still wanted more.

I gave the order to everyone. Okay, let the broadcast begin.

That day, every city deserving of the name in Elfrieden was packed with people.

When word spread that the young king who had stirred up the country with his personnel gathering the other day would be using the Jewel Voice Broadcast to do something again, people rushed to the fountain plazas in the cities. (The systems which dispersed mist into the air to project the Jewel Voice Broadcast on were generally installed on the fountain in the central plaza.)

People who lived in villages that could only receive sound went out of their way to come to nearby cities so they could see the video as well, so there were even more people gathered around than usual.

In this world where the only forms of entertainment to speak of were exhibitions, drinking, and gambling, the Jewel Voice Broadcast was beginning to be recognized by the people as a form of entertainment.

And when people gather, money moves. There were already stands out in the plazas of each city. It was beginning to take on a festive atmosphere. Everyone laid out mats or sheets in front of the fountain, waiting impatiently for the broadcast to begin.

Hey, hey, ith jewel voith going to do thomething again? a child lisped.

Yes, darling. I wonder what it will be, a mother smiled, answering her little girl with the slight lisp.

Everyone seems to be having fun. Times sure have changed, another person said.

They certainly have. Why, back in our day, we would never have thought of the Jewel Voice Broadcast as something enjoyable.

The elderly people, who knew the Jewel Voice Broadcast had only been used by generations of kings for declarations of war and public announcements of the current military situation, closed their eyes in silence. In those times, the country had had nearly twice its current territory, but only half its current population.

The Jewel Voice Broadcast had always been things like We have won the battle of X or We must overcome the brave death of X and continue to fight! For those over a certain age, the Jewel Voice Broadcast carried an association with death.

May our new young king be a man who will not make that image

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The old mans voice was drowned out by raucous cheering.

A man and a woman in uniform appeared in mid-air.

Hello, people of Elfrieden, the woman said.

H-Hello, the man added.

Coming to you with the latest from Parnam Castle is our new program, The Kings Brilliant Lunch, or The Kings Brillunch for short. We are your hosts, Juna Doma...

...a-and P-Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta, yes!

...Poncho, theres no need to be so tense.

W-Well, you see, I dont have any experience doing this... Madam Juna, youre so confident at this. Im envious, yes.

Well, I sing in front of customers all the time. If you visit Parnam, please come see our singing cafe Lorelei.

Dont blatantly advertise, please!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha! The contrast between the playful beauty and the flustered fat man brought laughs to fountain plazas around the nation.

Now then, this gentleman will explain the purpose of our program.

Th-The (provisional) 14th king of Elfrieden, His Majesty Souma Kazuya, yes!

Ohhh! a cry went up in the plazas.

The young king they had seen during the gathering of personnel appeared on the screen. I havent been crowned yet, so Im not king yet, strictly speaking, but... Oh, hi. Im Souma Kazuya, the guy whos currently acting as king. Now, to cut to the chase, Id like to speak about the state of this country.

Hes not very kingly, said someone. With the way he was acting, you could hardly blame them.

Not seeming to realize this at all, Souma stood in front of a board that had been prepared for the occasion, explaining things with charts and maps. He was especially thorough about the causes of the food crisis.

...In response to this increase in demand, it created conditions where you could sell as much as you could produce, so farmers shifted from growing food crops to growing cotton, and that is the cause of our current food crisis. Of course, this isnt solely the fault of the farmers. Responsibility also lies with the merchants who coerced them to do it in order to sell their products, the soldiers who benefited from those products, and the royal family for ignoring this until it became a problem. For this, I deeply apologize. With those words, Souma bowed his head.

For a king to bow to his subjects and retainers... this was unheard of. The situation hadnt even been caused during Soumas reign.

At present, our kingdom is making the switch from cash crops back to food crops. However, I dont expect to see the effects of that until autumn or later. We are considering the importation of food from other countries, but the situation there is not favorable, either. One reason is that we have nothing to replace our primary export, cotton, and so we cant secure foreign currency. The other reason is that every country is in a similar situation. They cant sell us what they dont have.

Soumas words were more than enough to depress the people. But they were more surprised that Souma had released this information to the public. Normally, those who stood at the top didnt disclose such information to those beneath them. Sometimes it was because that information included mistakes they themselves had made; many times, they also believed that those below them wouldnt understand even if they were told about matters of national policy.

As a matter of fact, the kings explanation had been simple enough that a middle-schooler from Japan could understand it, and yet only around three-tenths of the people of this country could. However, this young king had disclosed the information.

The more educated a person was, the greater their surprise. Why had he exposed such a national disgrace, one that could lead to his own loss of power, to the people?

Um, er... Is that something thats okay to tell the people? Poncho hesitantly asked the question everyone was thinking. However, Soumas expression didnt change in the slightest.

The more you hide, the more people doubt you. There are things we need to hide when it comes to foreign affairs, but for internal policy, I intend to continue disclosing such things. You see, I want my fellow countrymen to use their heads. What is best for this country? Are my policies correct? I want them to think along with me.

Ive never seen a king like this before... someone whispered.

It was unheard of for a ruler to ask his people to think about politics with him. Technically, even in this country, there was a Congress of the People which represented their will, but it was, to put it simply, a place to decide on the peoples pleas to the king. The king was free to implement or not implement them as he saw fit, and the content of these congresses was limited to things like requests to correct the inflation in prices for X or requests for public works spending. It was about as useful as having a suggestions box, and it was not a place for debating political decisions.

The feudal system was also still strong in this country. To put it at its simplest, the political system in this country was Those below pay their taxes. Those above protect the lives and property of those below. That was all there was to it.

Commoners paid taxes to their lords, and the lords guaranteed their lives and property. Their lords (the nobility) paid taxes to the king, and in exchange for them serving in the military in times of crisis, the king guaranteed their lives and property. It was a society with a complete class system.

When there was rot at the top, the rot risked spreading throughout. However, to look at it the opposite way, so long as the people above them were on the level, the people didnt need to think about national policy; they could think about nothing but themselves. So it was an easy system to be part of in that way.

However, this young king had asked the people to use their heads. He had asked them to think about his policies with him.

There was no clear path yet for political participation from the people. And even if they were to be given that right, it was clear to see that the uneducated citizenry would descend into mob rule. However, even so, he sowed the seeds.

This countrys going to change... someone said.

I envy younguns wholl be able to see that change, an old man added.

Oh, were not done yet, another one said.

While looking at the young king, the old squinted their eyes, as if blinded by his radiance.

Without any way to know this, Souma continued his explanation.

As you see here, we will have to wait until autumn for a fundamental solution to the problem. It goes without saying that we intend to provide support, but there are issues of volume and geography preventing us from reaching every person in the kingdom with it. Not everyone lives in the flatlands, after all.

This was a country with many races living together. From the dark elves who lived in the forest, to the dragonewts who preferred to live at high altitudes like in the mountains, to the dwarves who lived in underground caves, there were those who lived in places supply lines did not pass through, and it would be difficult to deliver relief supplies. It was the same for those who lived in marginal villages deep in the mountains.

That is why I come to you, my countrymen, with a request... no, an order. Here, Souma stopped. Then, after a breath, he said clearly: Everyone, survive until autumn.

When they heard those words come from the young kings mouth, the people gulped. The words meaning was simple. However, his intent behind them was inscrutable.

Because we have no cards to play, you will all need to survive for yourselves, the king said. Go into the mountains, into the rivers, into the sea, in search of food. Cooperate with each other and bow your heads to others if necessary, no matter how humiliating it is, because I want everyone to survive until autumn.

Those words could have been heard as an abdication of responsibility. He was telling those who were suffering to go work hard on their own, after all. However, it was also true that only those who worked hard would be saved.

The young king bowed his head sincerely. Please. When I say everyone, I mean every last one of you. Dont lash out at others because youre suffering; dont send away children because you have too many mouths to feed; do not throw away the old and frail. I want you all to greet the bounty of autumn together. This broadcast is something weve put together in the hopes that it will be some help with that.

Souma went into the objectives of the current broadcast. As a means of buying time until the food crisis could be solved, they would introduce ingredients not commonly eaten in this country and show the ways to prepare them. These ingredients could be obtained cheaply (or freely where they grew in the wild). Furthermore, by eating those ingredients on air, they would demonstrate that they were edible.

Even those citizens who had been indignant at his earlier statement, which had seemed to abdicate responsibility, felt their anger cooling as they listened to Soumas explanation. Because this king truly was thinking about them. They could feel that keenly.

...So, there you have it. Now then, Ill hand the show back over to your hosts, Poncho and Juna. With his explanation complete, Souma returned to his seat.

Souma couldnt have known this, but at that moment, roaring applause erupted through plazas around the country. It was spontaneous applause from those citizens deeply impressed by Soumas words. Without knowing it, Souma was slowly beginning to gain recognition as their king.

The video returned to Poncho and Juna hosting once more.

Now then, lets get right to it, Juna said. Poncho, whats our first ingredient?

Y-Yes! Our first ingredient is right here!

With that, Poncho brought over a cloth-covered box, placing it on the table where Souma, Liscia, Aisha, and Tomoe were seated like guest commentators.

It was a box big enough to hold a largish aquarium.

Pausing a moment for dramatic effect, Poncho pulled back the cloth.

We were in the cafeteria at Parnam Castle for the live broadcast.

Urkh...

Eeeeeeeeek!

Wai What?!

When they saw what had appeared on the table, Aisha, Tomoe and Liscia each let out their own cries of shock.

Juna, on the other hand, looked at it and seemed to be thinking, Ohhhh, so thats it.

Thats an octopus.

It sure is an octopus.

The thing in the box in front of them was the eight-legged wriggly soft-bodied creature you all know to be an octopus.

While many of the creatures in this world had a touch of the fantastic about them, such as even the cows and chickens having armored carapaces, this was just a straight-up (though rather large) octopus. Well, even in fantasy worlds, giant octopuses are often a thing, so I guess its okay?

By the way, in this country, they called octopuses ocatos, but thats just confusing, so well stick with octopuses. I mean, with my mysterious translation ability, the word sounded like octopus to me, anyway.

Huh? You people dont eat octopus in this country? I asked.

We do not! Hold on, Souma, have you actually eaten one of those creepy things before?! Liscia looked at me incredulously.

Come on, its just an octopus, you know? Im having a hard time accepting this reaction.

Well, considering how they look, Im sure theyre only eaten in some coastal regions. My hometown is one of them, though, Juna gently explained.

Well, even back on Earth, in Europe (excluding Italy and Spain) theyre called devilfish, and in some countries people refuse to eat them... I guess? I thought.

But theyre so tasty... I said.

A-Are they? Liscia asked.

Once she heard they were delicious, Aisha was ready to dig in. Her being my bodyguard meant we often ate together, so I already knew this, but this girl was quite the glutton. She had a special weakness when it came to sweet foods (like the snacks that came as offerings for the king and maids), and she would munch away at them to the point that the maids jealously grumbled, How does she eat so much and still maintain that figure...?

Yeah. There are divergent opinions about how good it is raw, but if you just rub salt into it, wash off the mucus, and boil it, its good like that. Cooked, fried, served with rice, its delicious any way you like it.

There was silence.

Aisha, youre drooling, I added.

Whoops... Pardon me.

Honestly, its high-protein, low-calorie, so its great if youre on a diet, too.

High-pro? I-Im not sure what that is, but my ears pricked up when I heard the word diet... Liscia seemed to be ready to dig in now, too.

Honestly though, I thought Liscia could stand to put some more meat on her bones. Maybe it was because she was in the army, but she was pretty slender.

I dont think you need to worry so much about your weight, I told her.

Souma... A girl stops being a girl the moment she stops caring about her weight, Liscia admonished me with eyes that seemed to be staring off into the distance.

Since Juna and Tomoe gave firm nods as well, I guessed that was just how it was. Aisha was the only dissenter, with a face that seemed to say, Forget that, I want to eat already...

Okay, then... For now, shall we get to cooking? I asked.

We moved to the kitchen attached to the cafeteria and began to prepare the octopus. The cooks who worked there protested, If you had just said something, we would have done it for you ourselves... but I liked cooking, so I decided to do it.

First, I put the octopus in a large bowl, cutting out the guts, ink sack, and eyeballs with a kitchen knife. (This elicited an Uwah... from the girls, but I ignored them.) Then I rubbed salt into it, waited for the slimy surface to harden, then washed it well with water. I cleaned the suckers thoroughly, as well, because there can be mud in them sometimes.

After that, I brought water to a boil, dropped it into the pot legs first, and then that very octopus-shaped creature (I mean, it was an octopus) boiled up. Watching until its yellowish-brown flesh turned a firm reddish-purple, I pulled it out, and a fine example of a boiled octopus was ready. After it had cooled a little, I cut the legs into bite-sized pieces. It would already be delicious like this.

Eh, good enough. Time to eat, I said.

Wha?! Liscia and the others were shocked to see me nibbling at it already with zero hesitation.

When I popped a bite in my mouth, yep, it sure tasted like octopus. That slightly salty taste was great. And because it was so great, I couldnt help but lament that there was no soy sauce in this world yet!

...Is that really edible? Liscia murmured.

Come on, Liscia. You could just try it and find out, you know?

Uh, no... Im not emotionally prepared just yet...

You sure? Its delicious.

Ignoring the hesitant Liscia, Juna popped a slice in her mouth.

Ahh, no fair, Madam Juna! Aisha cried. Fine then, me too!

Seeing that, Aisha went chomp, and

Hey, wait! Dont just bite right into the head! Just how much of a glutton is this dark elf?!

Oh! Its crisp and delicious!

...Is it now?

...Okay, time to get back in control of things.

I coated the bite-sized pieces of octopus in wheat flour, egg, and white flour, putting them on skewers three at a time. Then I put the whole skewers into a pot of hot oil. I let them fry until the batter was light brown and crispy. I pulled them out of the pot, and once I had put on the finishing touches with Worcester sauce, which they had even in this world, and a homemade mayonnaise I had made with eggs, vinegar and other things, they were done.

Fried octopus skewers... is what youd call them, I guess. Go on, try eating them. I offered each person one skewer.

Liscia and Tomoe timidly brought them to their mouths. The moment they took a bite...

What is this?! Its delicious!

It really is... very delicious, Brother.

Their eyes went wide at how good it was.

Nice! I thought, giving myself a mental thumbs up.

It really is delicious. The octopus hidden inside the crispy batter is very juicy, Juna said.

I-It really is! Even I didnt know octopus would go this well with Worcester sauce! Poncho cried.

This white sauce goes well with the octopus, too. Splendidly done, sire, Juna added.

Y-You can cook, too, sire! That surprised me, yes.

Juna and Poncho gave commentary like professional food critics. Since both of them had eaten octopus before, they could both take the time to properly savor it. Meanwhile, Aisha was chomp, chomp, chomping away and producing a massive pile of empty skewers.

...Theres nothing more I can say about that.

It really is delicious, the broadcast said. Wrapped outside in a crispy batter, the octopus inside is very juicy.

...Hey, Daddy? a child asked.

Yeah. If you want octopus, a lot of them got caught in our nets today, the father answered.

Really?! I want to try it!

Sure thing. Normally I throw them back, but lets try it.

It seems there were a lot of conversations like this one in many villages by the sea.

Our next ingredient is this.

After we had finished eating the well-received octopus skewers and returned to our seats, Poncho opened a new box in front of us. When we saw the thin brown ingredient covered in dirt inside...

Are these... roots? Liscia said.

I think theyre roots... Juna added.

They dont look so good... Are they really edible? Tomoe asked doubtfully.

Liscia, Juna and Tomoe all acted like they had question marks floating above their heads. Aisha and I, on the other hand, were completely unsurprised.

Oh, burdock root, huh? I said.

Thats burdock root, Aisha agreed.

Well, I had heard burdock root was seen as a strange thing to eat in the West, so I didnt find it strange that it wasnt eaten here, but that Aisha, who looked like a Westerner, knew about it surprised me.

In the forest, we have to eat everything we can, otherwise we would succumb to malnutrition in no time, Aisha said, staring off into the distance.

Perhaps that food situation was what had made her the hungry dark elf she was today.

Since theyre being introduced here, that means you can eat them, right? Liscia asked, to which I nodded.

You can eat them. But rather than enjoy them for their own flavor, you enjoy the flavor of the broth they were stewed in, or their texture. Theyre mostly dietary fiber, which you cant digest, but they have a medicinal effect and can help keep your bowel movements regular. Theyre a good friend to those who are constipated.

...I wish you wouldnt talk about bowel movements and constipation while were eating, Liscia said.

It helps expel waste products from the body. Of course, its good for your health and beauty.

Urkh. When you say that, it sounds tempting, but...

Well, now that Liscias been talked into it, shall we get down to eating? I thought.

This time, I kept it simple. After scraping off the dirt using the back of a knife, I cut the burdock into long, thin shavings, coated it with potato starch, and put it into the pot of oil we had used earlier. Once it was properly fried, I took it out of the pot and split it into two bowls. One of these, I sprinkled salt on, while the other I sprinkled with sugar. With that, the burdock chips (potato chip-style and rusk-style) were complete.

As for everyones reactions after eating them...

Huh, theyre crunchy and delicious. said Liscia.

These... would probably go well with beer, Poncho said.

Liscia and Poncho were munching away at the salted ones like a snack.

The oil that comes out when you bite into them melts the sugar, and the sweetness spreads through your whole mouth, said Juna.

Id sure like to let both my moms try this, said Tomoe.

Juna and Tomoe, who were eating the ones with sugar, gave comments that were worth full points as a food critic and a child respectively.

As for Aisha...

If you eat them together, theyre salty-sweet and delicious! she announced, munching away at both.

Yeah, sure, I guess its okay to eat them that way, too.

The next edible ingredients were red bears paw (bear paw), sword tigers liver (tiger liver), and whole cooked salamandra (whole cooked giant salamander), but we only went as far as introducing them.

It was true that they werent customarily eaten in this country, but rare delicacies that only an adventurer could hope to catch werent something I wanted people going out of their way to acquire. If they happened to get their hands on them by some chance, I just wanted them to know to please eat them, not to throw them away. Besides, even I dont know how to prepare bear paw.

Ah, by the way, at the ingredients selection stage I removed blowfish, poisonous mushrooms, and anything else poisonous from the list. I knew they could be eaten if prepared properly, but if starvation-stricken amateurs were to try their hand at them, it was clear it would only end badly.

Mind you, even the poisonous parts could be eaten if you really wanted to. In Ishikawa Prefecture, theres blowfish ovaries pickled in rice-bran paste, and in Nagano Prefecture, there are regions where they eat the famously poisonous fly amanita mushroom.

...The human appetite sure is something, huh?

Getting back to the story, the next ingredient shocked all of us.

This here is our next ingredient, yes.

Th-This is...

This time, all of our eyes went wide.

Inside the box Poncho opened, there was a bluish-green gelatinous object.

Thats... a gelin, right? I asked.

It was one of the soft-bodied slime creatures that could be found in fields everywhere. They looked and acted just like the enemy from RPGs. Their defining characteristic was how weak they were. If you cut them, theyd die. If you smashed them, theyd die, too. They attached themselves to living (or dead) creatures and sucked nutrients from them. There was no male or female: they multiplied by division. They were probably what youd get if you had an amoeba or other single-celled organism grow to a gigantic size.

Huh? Were eating that? Or, rather, can we even eat that?

Then I noticed Aisha seemed to be cocking her head to the side in confusion.

Hold on. Is that gelin dead?

Yes. This gelin has already been finished off, Poncho said.

That cant be. Ive never heard of a gelin corpse before.

Oh, thats right. Now that you mention it, it is strange, Liscia agreed, seeming to have noticed something.

I, on the other hand, didnt get it. Liscia, could you just tell me whats up already?

Whats with that tone...? Gelins are weak. They have a thin membrane, and if you cut them just a little, gush, out flows all their bodily fluids. Its the same if you splatter them with a club. All you have left is a bluish-green puddle.

Is that how it is?

Aisha nodded, as well. Yes. Thats why such a neatly preserved corpse seems impossible.

I see... Aisha as a warrior and Liscia as a soldier have experience fighting gelins, so they noticed something was odd here.

So, what did you have to do to get the slime like this? I asked.

Well, you see, theres a slight trick to it. This is a technique I learned from a tribe that lives far to the west, in the Empire. They use a thin pole-like object to strike the nucleus without breaking the membrane. If you do that, the gelin will maintain its shape in death. In that area, they called it ike-jime for gelins.

Ike-jime? Come on, this isnt like draining blood from fish... But, still, that makes sense now. It looks like I wasnt wrong to think of them like single-celled organisms.

The fluids of a gelin gradually lose liquidity and harden once the core is destroyed, Poncho added.

Like rigor mortis, I guess, I said.

Yes. If you leave it longer, the fluids will evaporate and it will turn into a dry husk, but around two hours after death, while it has hardened somewhat but the flesh is still supple, it is possible to cook it. That would be the state this one is in, yes.

Hmm... I get that you can cook it, but isnt that a separate issue from whether you can eat it? As I was thinking that, Poncho took out a knife and began making a vertical cut in the gelin.

When the gelin is in this state, you can insert the knife vertically and cut it into pieces without the body collapsing. The fibers of the gelins body run vertically, so doing it this way gives it the best texture, yes.

Poncho skillfully cut the gelin into long thin strips, like making ika somen. It was turning into noodles with an udon-like thickness. Poncho took those and put them into a pot of boiling water.

Now, if we boil them in a pot of water with a little salt, the flesh will firm up more.

Now it was seriously starting to turn into something like soba or udon. As they were boiling, that vibrant bluish-green color had darkened, starting to look something like green tea soba, too. Then Poncho added things like dried mushrooms and kelp to the pot with the boiling gelin.

Is he boiling those to get broth out of them?

Lastly, after adding more salt to adjust the flavor, he served them to each of us in a bowl of soup.

Here you go. This is Gelin Udon.

Hes even calling it udon! I exclaimed.

I-Is something the matter, sire? Poncho asked.

Oh, no, nothing.

I heard this countrys language as Japanese. Udon was probably some other word that had gotten translated into that. How confusing. Though, well, setting that aside, what was laid out in front of us looked exactly like Kansai-style green udon in a clear broth.

Red Fox and Green Gelin, is it? I thought. Yeah... Nows not the time to escape reality by remembering old commercial jingles for instant udon. Huh? Wait, I seriously have to eat this?

When I looked around, everyone was looking at me as if to say, Go ahead, go ahead.

I havent put up my hand and said Okay, Ill eat it, yet, you know!

...Well, I guess Ive been making Liscia eat things shes not used to. It wouldnt be fair for me to be the only one who runs away! Time to dig in!

Slurp...

?!

W-Well, how is it, Souma? Liscia asked with a worried look.

...This is surprisingly good, I responded.

Yeah. I wonder what it is. This is completely different from what I imagined.

I had been imagining something like ika somen, with a slimy texture and fishy flavor, but these were smooth and chewy, no fishy flavor at all. Rather than udon, it was like kuzu-kiri that you cook in a pot, or Malony noodles. However, when you bit into it, there was a unique squeaky texture. Was that fiber, maybe?

If I were to describe it as a whole, I would say, It looks like udon, tastes like kuzu-kiri, with the texture of a regional dish from Kyushu.

Yeah, its not bad. Not bad at all.

Youre right... Its surprisingly good, Liscia said.

Its delicious the way theyve absorbed the flavor of the broth, Juna agreed.

Is this really gelin? Im shocked, Tomoe said.

SLURRRRRP.

That was Aisha.

It seemed everyone who ate after me had a good impression of it, as well. Well, of course they did, because it was delicious. If you were to ask which tasted better, this or normal udon, I would say the question was nonsense. It would be like asking which was more delicious, soba or udon: its just a matter of personal preference.

By the way, what sort of nutrients are in this stuff? I asked.

Nutrients... I dont know what those are, but I suspect that its similar to the gelatin you can extract from bones, Poncho said.

Collagen, huh.

So they have the protein you find in animal bones with fiber like you would find in plants, huh. It really is hard to decide whether gelins are plants or animals.

Anyway, it sounds like it should be fine nutritionally, I said. Gelins are everywhere. If people eat them, it should alleviate the food crisis a fair bit, dont you think?

Yes, I suppose so. Raising gelins is easy. If you just give them raw garbage as food, theyll grow and multiply on their own, Poncho said.

...Uh, no, I dont want to give weird stuff to something Im going to be eating, I said. I dont want to eat a gelin thats absorbed toxic chemicals and have it give me food poisoning.

I-I suppose not.

Anyway, lets try raising them as an experiment. Hunting them in the wild is fine, too, but I wouldnt want to reduce their numbers too much and have it impact the local ecosystem...

I think that would be for the best, Poncho agreed.

All of that aside, we greatly enjoyed the rest of the gelin udon.

Are they really edible? someone asked.

Well, the king and the others seemed to be enjoying them, another person responded.

I think Im going to request a gelin capture quest at the adventurers guild.

Oh, me too, then.

It seems there were conversations like this in fountain plazas everywhere.

Elfriedens signature dish is gelin. Who could have predicted that people would be saying that in the not-too-distant future?

Now then, on to our last ingredient. I have something already cooked and prepared.

When we saw what was inside the container Poncho opened after saying that...

Uwah...

...was our universal response.

Because inside it were insects. What was more, this sort of dish existed in my world... In Japan even, as well.

This is inago no tsukudani, isnt it? I asked.

Yes. This is large locust tsukudani.

Yeah... They certainly are large.

With the inago no tsukudani I remembered, each one was about the size of a cricket. With these, on the other hand, each one was the size of a kuruma prawn.

Though the color suggests they have that spicy-sweet flavor boiled into them and have the flavor properly seeped all the way in... Wait? Tsukudani?

If these are tsukudani, I said, that means...

Huh? Souma, youre going to eat them?

Since I had suddenly stabbed my fork into one of the big locusts, Liscia was now looking at me, shocked. Fair enough; they did look like the sort of thing youd normally hesitate to eat. If I were more calm, I might have eaten it a bit more timidly. But, right now, there was something I was more interested to find out.

Munch, munch...

?!

The texture was like shrimp with the shell on, but there was something more important.

This taste... theres no mistaking it!

This tsukudani... is made with soy sauce!

Soy sauce?

Soy sauce.

Yes, soy sauce.

The flavor of the Japanese heart.

You cant have sashimi or nimono without it. Its the magic sauce that can turn ramen, hamburg steak, spaghetti, and any other foreign dish into a Japanese one. It was the flavor I had probably longed for most since coming to this country. The mystic sauce that, due to its fermentation process, I couldnt recreate as easily as I had mayonnaise. Now, a dish made with it lay before my very eyes! Locusts or not, they were looking like fine cuisine to me.

What? No way, Souma, are you crying? Liscia exclaimed.

How can I not?! This is... the taste of my homeland.

The taste of your homeland...

Brother, they have large locust tsukudani in your homeland, too?

When I looked over, Tomoe was crunching away at the large locust tsukudani and clearly enjoying them. Come to think of it, when everyone else had been recoiling in shock, this kid had been the only one who was unsurprised.

Could it be, this dish is... I said.

Yes. I ate it a lot back in the mystic wolf village.

Then do the mystic wolves make soy sauce?!

Soy sauce... do you mean hishio water, maybe?

Hishio water?

Hishio water is a sauce that the mystic wolves are fond of using, yes, Poncho jumped in to explain. Originally, the mystic wolves would coat soybeans in salt and allow them to ferment, creating a sauce called bean hishio. When they take the clear liquid that is created in that process and let it ferment, that produces hishio water. Both are sauces with a unique flavor not found in this country, yes.

I see.

After that explanation, I was certain of it. I had read in a book somewhere that soy sauce was born from the process of making miso. So, basically, bean hishio was miso and hishio water was soy sauce. (The reason I didnt hear those words as miso and soy sauce may have been because they were similar to, but distinctly different from, modern soy sauce.) Maybe the mystic wolves had eating habits similar to the Japanese... Wait, hold on. This flavor permeating through the locust is...

Hey, Tomoe. Alcohol is used in making these, too, right?

Ah, yes. Its an alcohol made from the seeds of a plant.

What kind of seeds?

Lets see... Its a plant that grows in marshy areas, it has ears that look like the end of a broom, and on them, there are lots of little seeds like with wheat.

No doubt about it! Those are rice plants! My hope for the future!

For the transition from cash crops to food crops, I had wanted to grow rice, because I had heard that paddy fields didnt degrade the fertility of the soil, unlike wheat in dry fields, but because the all-important rice plants didnt exist in this country, that plan had ground to a halt.

Now I see. It grows further north, huh? Id very much like to bring some here and try cultivating it. Still, these mystic wolves... Between the soy sauce, miso, and now rice, their race has a lot of the things Ive been wanting.

I paused.

Okay, that settles it! Ill give the mystic wolves among the refugees a district in Parnam.

Whaaaa?! Tomoe exclaimed.

I wanted them to produce this bean hishio and hishio water there. We had plenty of soybeans, since we had planted them as part of the soil restoration process.

Hold on, Souma, are you serious?! Liscia seemed confused and flustered, but I was as serious as serious gets.

With soy sauce and miso... I mean, hishio water and bean hishio, I can recreate most of the dishes from the country I came from. It sounds like theres rice here, too. Dont you want to try the tasty foods of another world?

Th-Thats...

Yes! I really want to try them! Aisha raised her hand with gusto.

Ha ha... while they may not feel as strongly as Aisha, Im sure our people would like to try them. If I publish the recipes, theyll either gather the ingredients and make them themselves, or go to a restaurant that serves them, Im sure. Either way, it will cause a lot of movement in the economy.

Huge market liquidity would bring prosperity to this country. That, I firmly believed. That was why I said this to the people watching:

My search for the gifted is still ongoing. If people have a gift, I will use them even if they are refugees. This race has superior food production techniques, so I have no reason not to accept them. Oh, I know... For the next five years, I will grant the mystic wolves a monopoly on bean hishio and hishio water. We will clamp down on illicit production by any other parties. However, five years from now, I will lift the monopoly on bean hishio and hishio water to create a free market, so I recommend the mystic wolves create a firm economic base for themselves in that time. That is all.

After this pronouncement, a mystic wolf quarter was built in the capital Parnam, and bean hishio and hishio water were produced there with assistance from the country.

In this world, there had been many cases where refugees had been given a district of their own and it had turned into a slum. That was because the refugees faced economic limitations (lack of jobs, being used for cheap labor, and more) and struggled with poverty.

However, in the case of the mystic wolves, because they had been given a monopoly on bean hishio and hishio water by the king, they were able to build an economic base for themselves, and so their quarter did not turn into a slum, instead becoming an integrated part of the capital by the time the five-year limit was up.

Furthermore, even after bean hishio and hishio water had been renamed to miso and soy sauce and the monopoly had ended, they continued to study it. The miso and soy sauce that the mystic wolves put out under the Kikkoro brand, marked with a hexagonal logo with a wolf in the center, would continue to be loved for a long time after that.

Cheery background music and the soft voice of Juna Doma echoed through the fountain plaza.

Now, it is time for this program, The Kings Brillunch, to come to a close. How did you feel about hosting, Poncho?

Y-Yes. If my knowledge has been able to help our countrymen in the slightest, that would make me very happy. Still, I think hosting was too great a burden for me, yes. Please, have someone else take my place next time.

I wonder, will there be a next time? What do you say, sire? June asked.

If the people demand it.

Well, there you have it. I hope they do demand it, Poncho.

I-I dont think I want there to be a demand for me, yes!

Oh, dont say that. Do this with me again sometime! Juna cried in a singsong tone.

Eeek! Please, spare me! he yelped.

Now then, thank you all for watching. This is your hosts, Juna Doma...

...and Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta, signing off, yes.

Now everyone, I bid you good day.

The music cut out, and the video faded away. It seemed that the program had ended.

From here and there around the plaza, sighs could be heard.

Aww... Its over, huh.

That was more interestin than I expected. Wish I coulda watched it a bit longer.

Yeppers. It dont hafta be every day, but I do hope theyll make the broadcasts semi-regular.

If theres demand, theyll do more, yeah? Well, hows about we send in a request to the Congress of the People?

Oh! Now that theres an idea that wouldntve occurred to me! Im gonna go talk to the mayor about it right now.

Conversations like this one happened in towns everywhere.

The people were completely taken with this new form of entertainment called the variety program. Souma had intended it as an information program about the food crisis, but with Juna and Poncho playing off one another, the cooking program-like aspects, and pretty girls squealing over and then eating bizarre ingredients, you couldnt blame them for seeing it that way.

Later, the Congress of the People submitted a request for the regular holding of Jewel Voice Broadcast programs. With Soumas assent, a time for a public broadcast that would take place every evening was established.

There were those who took a different view of this from society at large.

When the new king suddenly took the throne, I suspected usurpation, but that young king seems to be a surprisingly affable fellow, said one old man.

Youre right, another responded. I can see why King Albert chose to abdicate in favor of him.

The princess seemed to be in good spirits, too. I had suspected she was forced into the betrothal.

They were very natural together. They didnt seem to be on bad terms.

Ho, ho, ho, we may have an heir by next year, I reckon.

A child between the wise and gentle king and the dignified princess, huh. The next generation will be one to look forward to.

It really will. Ho, ho, ho.

The old men laughed quietly together.

A wise and gentle king... that was how they had evaluated Souma. However, about half of that evaluation was wrong.

Souma was not purely a gentle king.

Sitting in my chair in the kings governmental affairs office, I spoke to Hakuya, who stood across from me.

Give me your report on the surrounding countries.

Right now, Hakuya and I were the only ones present in the room. Liscia and the others were elsewhere, probably having a great time at the party to celebrate the launch of the Jewel Voice Broadcast. Even Aisha, who usually stayed at my side at all times, claiming it was to guard me, was busy with the food that had been prepared for the occasion.

We had left the celebration partway through, coming to the governmental affairs office for a secret meeting.

Hakuya spread out a map of the world on my desk.

I will now make my report. First, I will review the surrounding countries. Our country, which is situated in the southeast of the continent, shares a border with three countries: the Union of Eastern Nations to the north, the Principality of Amidonia to the west, and the Turgis Republic to the southwest. Also, across the sea to the southeast there is the Nine Headed Dragon Archipelago Union. In addition, to the west of Amidonia, the mercenary state Zem could also be called one of our surrounding countries. Of these, zero are friendly, four are neutral, and one is hostile.

Were pretty isolated, huh, I said.

With all due respect, given that these are troubled times with the Demon Lords Domain expanding, this is normal. In these days where each nation eyes the others with suspicion, the only countries on friendly terms are those in the relationship of suzerain and vassal state.

You call that a friendly relationship?

If there is no fear of betrayal, it is friendly enough.

He said the most outrageous of things with a cool face. What he had said meant, basically, that he felt a relationship of control and subordination which allowed no room for complaint even if one nation was used like a tool and then thrown away still qualified as friendly, didnt it? Sort of like the alliance between the Matsudaira and Oda clans when Nobunaga Oda had still been alive.

So, which is the hostile one? I asked. Amidonia? Zem?

Not Zem. Certainly, that matter has worsened their impression of us, but not to the point where they would be considered hostile. That said, if Amidonia requested reinforcements from them, I have little doubt they would dispatch mercenaries on their behalf.

Amidonia, huh... If I recall, they sent us an offer of assistance, right?

Yes. The stability of our neighbor Elfrieden is directly tied to our own national defense. If a request is made, we will dispatch forces to help subdue the Three Dukedoms, is what they offered.

Ha ha ha ha... Thats pretty straightforward.

It was plain to see that they wanted to take advantage of the discord between the Three Dukedoms and myself to expand their territory.

It is. The Three Dukedoms have likely been told something similar.

Let us strike down the usurper Souma together, is it? Hard to laugh at that.

Well, I could probably count on the Three Dukedoms to see through Amidonias scheme. They wouldnt let foreigners run roughshod over this country just because they didnt like me. Of course, Amidonia knew that too, so basically...

By making offers of aid to both sides, they want to give themselves a cause to mobilize their troops, I said.

While seizing cities in the west, theyll send reinforcements to the side that won, he agreed. Then, theyll come up with some reason to assume de facto control of the cities they occupied, integrating them into their country. Its an orthodox strategy, but an effective one, I would think.

Well, yeah. There were many examples of it in my own worlds history. Like Soun Hojo with his Borrow a deer hunting trail, steal a castle. The simpler the strategy, perhaps the more likely people were to be deceived.

Amidonia was blatantly trying to deceive us, Zem was tilting towards hostility, and the Elfrieden Kingdom was unable to achieve national unity because of my conflict with the Three Dukedoms. Difficult problems to solve, all of them.

However, this is all part of the scenario you wrote, isnt it? I asked, staring hard at Hakuya.

Hakuya remained unperturbed.

Yes. At this moment, everything about the situation is shifting as it should, he declared. That cool expression of his made me scratch my head vigorously.

You... do realize, right? I asked, referring to the number of people who would be sacrificed by Hakuyas plan.

The scenario Hakuya had laid out would mean great losses for our foes, and great gains for our allies. It was true that I needed a move, no matter what it was, that would let this country rise to be a strong nation. However, to bring it to fruition, this country would also need to shed a fair amount of blood.

Despite that, Hakuya declared this without showing any guilt: Yes. I believe we should take everything that this opportunity offers us.

I was silent.

Sire, you should understand, the result will save many of your countrymen.

...I know that. But, still, Im only going to accept doing this once. I looked Hakuya straight in the eye. A political thinker from my world, Machiavelli, wrote about it in The Prince. If a ruler does this just once, and in doing so finishes everything, never doing it again, he will be regarded as a great ruler. On the other hand, should the one time he does this fail to be decisive, he will sooner or later face his end as a tyrant.

...This Machiavelli had a terrifyingly realistic view of things. Hakuya was slightly taken aback.

Yeah. That was why I liked him. I had been enthralled by the endless realism of Machiavelli, and reread The Prince many times. Though I had never expected the knowledge to come in handy like this someday.

Regardless, I have deemed your plan to be an example of doing that, I said. So...

If we are to do it, let it be in one stroke.