By the way, when I use the word "idol" here, I mean it in the sense of "A pretty
woman who sings well." The sort you would have seen a few decades ago in the
Showa Era. If I tried to introduce a modern-style idol group to a country that didn't
even have the concept of an idol, they weren't going to understand.
If I went with a single singer format, however, they would likely recognize it as
an extension of the traveling minstrel, the busker on the street corner, or the
songstress in a singing cafe or bar.
"I see, so that's Project Lorelei, huh," Liscia said. "But is that something you really
ought to be doing now? When there's trouble over the fact that we're occupying
Van?"
Liscia looked perplexed. She probably didn't see the point in starting an
entertainment program now, right after we had just seized the capital of Amidonia.
However, she was wrong.
"This is precisely the time for it," I said. "Now then, Juna, could you do the
introductions?"
"Yes, sir," Juna said with a bow, then began to introduce the girls.
She began with the one standing furthest to the right, the light elf girl who wore
her hair up.
In this world, fair-skinned elves like her were called light elves, while brownskinned elves like Aisha were called dark elves. In the country I came from, elves
were usually imagined as blonde-haired, but now that I thought about it, I had seen
elves with hair like hers in foreign films. She had pale skin and orange eyes. Judging
by her appearance, she looked to be in her mid-twenties, perhaps. She held herself
with a certain dignity, like a career woman.
"This is Chris Tachyon," Juna said. "She's a light elf, as you can see."
"Hello, Your Majesty. I'm Chris Tachyon."
Chris put her hand in front of her belly, bowing to me at a forty five degree angle.
That gesture and the mature vibe she gave off made me think of an airplane cabin
attendant from my old world.
Juna went on to explain Chris's talents. "She is a former minstrel and has a
beautiful singing voice, but her poetry reciting is especially marvelous. She has a
pleasant voice and is able to read smoothly, so her poems are as vivid as if she had
cut out a piece of the scenery. In my personal opinion, rather than have her debut as
a singer, she would be better suited to a program for disseminating information like
the one we broadcast before."
"I see," I said. "You want her as an announcer, not a singer."
It was true that, from what I could hear, she seemed to have a clear voice and
speak smoothly. A female announcer could have an idol-like presence on a news
program, and there was no problem with the way she looked. I had Hakuya prepare
a pen and paper, then I had him write down a certain short statement and hand it to
Chris.
"Could you try reading that for me?" I asked.
"This? Let's see... 'This story is a work of fiction. The people, organizations, places,
and events depicted have no connection to anything in reality.'"
"Yep, sounds good to me," I said. "Let's have you work on a news program like
Juna suggested."
"Thank you very much," Chris said with a smile, bowing once again.
Liscia asked me in a whisper, "What was that statement you just had her read?"
"Some magic words from my old world," I said. "If you say them, you can get
away with practically anything."
When I told her that, Liscia cocked her head to the side, looking like she didn't get
it at all.
While we were talking about that, Juna moved on to introducing the next person.
This time, it was the adorable girl who looked not much older than Tomoe. That
frilly lolita-style outfit she wore suited her well.
"Her name is Pamille Carol," said Juna. "She is a kobito."
"I'm Pamille. Nice to meet you." Pamille bobbed her head. It was a cute gesture,
but...
"What's a kobito?" I asked. "A little person?"
"No, she isn't a hobbit, she's one of the ever-young," said Juna. "Not many races
stop aging like the elves, but that trait is especially pronounced in the kobitos. Even
once they reach full maturity, they only look like twelve-year-old children. Pamille
may not look it, but she's far older than I am."
"Seriously?!" I exclaimed. "To think there's a race like that in this world..."
It's like the ultimate race of lolis and shotas, I thought. I dunno... I feel very
concerned for their entire race. Maybe I should create a protected district for them, put
up a sign that says "Yes, loli-shota. No, touch," outside it, in order to protect them from
a certain type of gentlemen and ladies out there.
Also, I nearly missed it, but I guess there are hobbits in this world, I thought. Here's
hoping there aren't any strange rings out there, too...
As I was thinking about that, Juna continued her explanation. "She has a voice as
clear as a bell. She's especially good at singing cutesy songs in a way that makes
them even more adorable. ...People always see me as being older than I am, so I'm illsuited to singing songs like that myself. I envy that gift of hers a little."
"Well, I envy you, too, Juna," said Pamille. "When I heard we would be appearing
before His Majesty today, I wanted to wear a sleeveless dress, but I have nothing for
it to hang on, so I was told I couldn't."
Juna and Pamille both seemed to be staring off into the distance.
It makes sense for Pamille to feel that way, but is Juna bothered by the fact she
seems older than she actually is, too? Setting her appearance aside, with the mature
way she acts, it's hard to believe she's nineteen years old, after all.
Now that I thought about it, I remembered a line in a movie I had watched a long
time ago that said, "Treat an older woman like she's younger than you, and a
younger woman like she's older than you."
Juna's a year older than me, so rather than having her indulge me all the time, I
need to find ways to let her rely on me once in a while, I thought.
Juna cleared her throat in an attempt to get us back on track, then continued with
the introductions. "Now, last but not least, this is Nanna Kamizuki. As you can see,
she's a beastman."
"Heeeey! ♪ I'm Nanna! ♪" the cat-eared girl cried with a toothy grin.
She looked to be around fifteen or sixteen. Compared to the other two, she had
dressed up less, wearing a simple tube-like outfit. On her face she wore face paint,
like a soccer fan. If I were to judge solely on her appearance, she looked like a girl
from a tribe that made their living fishing.
Glaive was about to tell her off for the simple and innocent way she was behaving
while before the king, but I gestured for him to stop. That was because I detected an
odd accent.
"Is she not used to the speaking the language of this continent, maybe?" I asked.
Juna rushed to cover for her. "That's exactly it. It seems she immigrated to
Elfrieden from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago and has been living with a
group of hardy fishermen in a seaside village ever since. So, if she acts a little rude at
times, please forgive her."
I see... So she's an immigrant from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, huh?
Many of the countries on this continent used a common language in addition to
their national languages, but there were isolationist countries too, like the ones in
the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, which only used their national language.
"I understand her situation, but... can she sing like that?" I asked.
"Have no worries on that front," Juna assured me. "She's been singing sea
shanties while out fishing, so she has a powerful voice, one that's both feminine and
masculine, and if you give her a cool song to sing, she can easily outdo me. I believe
she's a good match for those 'anisongs' you taught me, sire."
"Oh... Can she sing something?" I asked wistfully.
"Yes," said Juna. "As a test, I taught her one. Nanna, could you sing for us?"
"Sure! ♪ Just leave it to Nanna."
At Juna's request, Nanna enthusiastically burst out singing. The song was the
opening to a mecha anime sung by a female vocalist. Setting aside the choice of song,
the stirring melody was a good match for Nanna's voice.
"By the way, Liscia, do you understand what the lyrics mean?" I asked.
"I don't," she said. "It's like listening to a song in a language I don't understand.
But I can tell that it's a cool song."
"Well, as long as that comes across, it's fine... I guess?" I said.
I can have Juna come up with lyrics for it in this world's language later, I guess.
When she finished the song, Nanna looked to me with a broad smile. "Your
Majesty! ♪ How was I?"
"...Yeah," I said. "You were amazing."
"Glad to hear it! ♪"
Nanna waved her hand as if to say, "My turn's over now, right?" and then quickly
went back to her position.
She's a unique girl... She isn't timid, she's not like anything they'll have seen, and the
way she moves in broad motions is bound to look impressive on screen. She might just
be the most suited to being an idol of everyone here.
With the introductions now finished, I thanked Juna. "You've brought in a good
group of people. Thank you."
"You're too kind," she said.
"Okay, all the actors have gathered now," I went on. "With these three, as well as
Juna who can handle the soft, mature songs, we're going to create Elfrieden's first
entertainment program. We won't just be broadcasting to Elfrieden, though, we'll
broadcast to the Principality of Amidonia, too."
"To Amidonia, too?" Liscia asked.
In response to the questioning look on Liscia's face, I nodded. "Yeah. I mean, we
did manage to get our hands on Amidonia's jewel, after all."
Of all the things that had fallen into our hands when we'd taken Van, the one that
had pleased me the most had been a jewel for the Jewel Voice Broadcast. This was
the only broadcast jewel Amidonia had, and it could be used to deliver a signal to
every receiver in this country.
The broadcast jewels were apparently artifacts from an ancient civilization.
While they still couldn't be manufactured, there were a good number of them out
there. With the exception of the small countries, like the ones that made up the
Union of Eastern Nations, and the self-ruling territory of the wise dragons in the Star
Dragon Mountain Range, most countries had them.
However, fundamentally, you couldn't receive transmissions from another
country. Of course, that made sense, otherwise information intended for a domestic
audience would leak outside the country's borders. Although technically, if you
changed the wavelength settings on the receiver or jewel, it was possible, so maybe
it was a little like radio frequency in that way.
In other words, now that we had obtained Amidonia's only jewel, that meant that
we had a monopoly on broadcasting rights to every receiver in Amidonia.
If we used a jewel brought from Elfrieden, too, we would be able to simulcast
Elfrieden's first entertainment program in two countries. What sort of changes
would this broadcast bring to Amidonia? Or would it have no effect at all?
We would have to wait until the actual broadcast to find out.
◇ ◇ ◇
The capital of the principality, Van, lacked a fountain plaza with viewing
equipment for the Jewel Voice Broadcast like the one in the royal capital Parnam.
The receiver was on the edge of Van, in an open field that was a plaza in name
only. That was because, in this country, the Jewel Voice Broadcast was only used
once at the beginning of each year when the Prince would say, "We must never
forget our resentment towards Elfrieden. The retaking of our stolen lands is a
national priority," or something like that, stating the general direction of the
country.
Because those who failed to attend the broadcast at the opening of the year could
be charged with the crime of disrespecting the state, even if they were sick, even if
they were old and bedridden, everyone needed to view that broadcast even if it
meant they had to be strapped to a chair and carried there. And so, today, the young
king of Elfrieden who had captured Van said he would be using the Jewel Voice
Broadcast.
Most of the people, having undergone decades of indoctrination, did not have a
favorable impression of the kingdom. However, now, many of those same people
were gathered in the field to watch the broadcast. They likely believed that if they
didn't watch, they would be charged with a crime, as years of custom had dictated.
There were even some who tried to carry in their sick, only to be told by the guards,
"Don't push yourselves so hard," and be turned away.
In the evening light, with the sun low on the horizon, the gathered people of Van
wore expressions half of apprehension and half of indignation. Because those of the
knighthood and nobility had all pulled out of Van, only the general populace who
had nowhere else to go remained.
Here and there throughout the crowd, the masses could be heard whispering to
one another about their worries for what was to come.
"Damn the King of Elfrieden... What does he plan to do, making us all gather
here?"
"I caught a glimpse of him when he was entering the castle, but he didn't look
very strong..."
"Don't be deceived by appearances. This is the man who made Prince Gaius dance
in the palm of his hand."
"He's using the Jewel Voice Broadcast, right? What the hell does he want to say to
us?"
With no proper information to go off of, their speculation took increasingly wild
turns.
"No... Don't tell me he's planning to conquer all of Amidonia, so all of us men will
be conscripted and sent to the front lines..."
"No! Without me here as the breadwinner, what'll my family do?!"
"We're an occupied people. We can't be surprised if that's what happens."
"No, that's not even the worst thing that could happen. He might demand we
hand over our women and children as slaves. Or that we hand over every beautiful
woman in this domain."
"I've heard strong guys tend to have strong urges like that, after all."
"Seriously? I shoulda hid my wife before coming here."
"You dolt. Nobody's ever gonna want your wife."
"What'd you say?! ...Ah! Hey, it's starting."
Suddenly, the receiver in the middle of the field began displaying an image.
The people thought they would see the uniform-clad image of that young king,
but contrary to their expectations, they saw a beautiful woman with dark brown
hair and elven features sitting in a chair. She rested her crossed arms on the long
table in front of her, and, for some reason, the broadcast showed her not straight-on,
but from an angle to her left. Naturally, this meant that her head was turned at an
angle.