Without so much as an inkling of what was going on, Souma continued hosting.
"Now then, let's get this show on the road. Our first lorelei has the body of a child
and the spirit of an adult. She's a legal loli from the kobito race, Pamille Carol."
"Madam Pamille's greatest pleasure is taking an afternoon nap," added Aisha.
"However, recently, we've had such pleasantly sunny days that she's been sleeping
through until morning, and then sleeping in on top of that. ...Um, sire? Is this
information really necessary?"
"Now, let's hear her sing," said Souma. "Here is Pamille Carol."
When Souma said that, the lights dimmed and a relaxed tune began to play.
The next thing to appear on the projection was a balcony in an atrium. There,
wrapped in a frilly dress, was a girl who looked for all appearances to be around
twelve years old. This was Pamille Carol. Pamille clasped her hands in front of her
chest, then began to sing with a voice that, as befitted her appearance, was as
adorable as a ringing bell.
There was a cute girl singing a cute song. When they saw that scene, the people of
Amidonia thought she was cute. However, rather than debate the quality of the song,
they were simply at a loss for what to make of it. What to make of the fact that the
Jewel Voice Broadcast was being used to show a little girl singing, that is.
"Who is that girl? She's absolutely adorable."
"Well, yeah, sure, she's cute, but... is it really okay to use the Jewel Voice
Broadcast for this?"
"Don't ask me. It's not like I know."
"Lord Gaius barely ever used it, you know."
"Maybe this is normal in Elfrieden?"
Conversations like this one were springing up all over. Was this the difference
between Amidonia and Elfrieden? Were broadcasts like this what defined the
Elfrieden Kingdom? they asked. The people of Van, under occupation by the soldiers
of the Elfrieden Kingdom, were strongly impacted by what they saw.
"I see... Is this place part of Elfrieden now, then?" one of the viewers in Van
whispered.
That off-handed comment seeped into the crowd, like water poured into a vast
dry plain.
"Has Van become part of the Elfrieden Kingdom?"
"Well, we are under occupation, after all."
"So, then, this isn't part of the Principality of Amidonia anymore?"
"Well, then does that means it's okay to broadcast this sort of video?"
Even as the people of Van reacted with confusion, the broadcast continued. When
Pamille finished singing the song with lots of charm, Souma and Aisha came back on
screen.
"That was Pamille Carol," said Souma. "My, isn't music a wonderful thing?"
"Why is it, do you suppose?" Aisha asked. "Hearing it made me think, 'That can't
possibly be music.'"
"Now for a change of tune, we'll have an energetic song sung by this person here,"
said Souma. "Having trained her singing voice in a fishing village with nothing but
men, the power of her voice is incredible. She's a simple and innocent cat-eared girl
from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago. Nanna Kamizuki."
"Madam Nanna's favorite fish is the giant spearfish, and her dream is to eat one
whole someday, but because they're worried she'll snack on the day's catch, the
fishermen won't let her on the ocean-going ships..." Aisha began. "Um, again, was
this information really necessary?"
"Now then, let's hear her sing," Souma announced. "Here's Nanna Kamizuki!"
"...You're just ignoring me, aren't you."
The next person to appear on screen wore a lightly punk outfit. She was the
energetic cat-eared girl, Nanna Kamizuki. Her sleeveless top and short pants left her
healthy arms and legs exposed, while the way her bellybutton would occasionally
peek out helped accentuate the appeal of the cuteness she had not lost even with her
androgynous appearance.
Then, as Nanna started to sing, she leapt off the balcony.
"Wha?!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"H-Hey..."
The viewing masses gulped when they saw that scene. It must not have been in
the program plan.
They could see the staff were rushing to move the fixed jewel. They could still
hear her singing, so they knew she must be all right, but Nanna didn't appear on
screen again for a little while. When she finally reappeared, Nanna was having a
great time dancing by the stairs on the floor below. Even as the crowd sighed in
relief, they were gradually being drawn into the rhythm of her song and dance.
"You go, girl! Keep it up!"
"The song's nice, too. It really cheers you up."
With this being the second time, perhaps they were getting used to it, because
voices like that could be heard even from the tense crowd in Van. There was a cute
girl enjoying herself singing and dancing. No man wouldn't enjoy watching that. And,
surprisingly, it had an even stronger impact on the women of Amidonia than it did
the men.
What drew the women's attention was Nanna's fashion.
"Isn't she cold dressed like that?"
"She's indoors, so it's probably fine."
"But, if she dresses like that... won't they get upset with her because it distracts
and seduces men?"
Amidonia was, more than anything, a militaristic country. Men were expected to
be strong first and foremost, while women were there to support them, and the
greatest virtue sought from them was modesty.
As a result, in the Principality of Amidonia, except on special occasions, public
opinion would not allow women to dress up. This stemmed from the idea that it
would be a problem if they tempted men, making them become weak. To say
nothing of the fact that if they wore an outfit that showed so much flesh (even an
outfit that showed the shoulders or thighs was seen as showing too much here) in a
public place, they ran the risk of being arrested for offending public morals.
"Do they not get angry about that in the kingdom?" one woman wondered.
"Well, it is another country. Their king seems gentle, too."
"...I'm so jealous."
In the minds of the women who wanted to dress up and be pretty, borders and
race did not exist.
Pamille's frilly dress had been cute, and they admired the more liberal outfit that
Nanna was wearing now, too. If they could do it, they wanted to try wearing those
outfits and dancing. The outfits those two wore began to kindle a fire in the hearts of
the women living in the principality. Especially for the women in Van.
"This isn't Amidonia anymore, right?" one woman asked.
"Then, can we dress up if we want to?"
"I guess? All the soldiers who would have gotten mad have left now."
And, well, they even started saying things like that.
By the time Nanna's energetic song came to an end, the people of Van gave a
round of applause. None of them cared if Souma was just trying to buy their loyalty
anymore.
When Nanna finished singing, the video cut out for a while. The jewel must be
being moved back to its original position. When the screen came back up, it showed
Souma and Aisha with wry smiles on their faces.
"...We were underestimating just how much energy Nanna has," Souma said.
"...Indeed," Aisha agreed.
"To think she'd go out of frame on a fixed-camera... Nanna, what a terrifying girl!"
"Why did you say that line like an old woman...?" Aisha asked.
"Now then, let's get things back on track," said Souma. "Now, now, we've kept you
all waiting. Next up, the pride of our country, the Prima Lorelei, makes her
appearance!"
"Madam Juna is incredibly popular even in this first broadcast, isn't she?" asked
Aisha.
As the two of them had just said, Juna had already secured the position of
Elfrieden's top lorelei for herself during the last Jewel Voice Broadcasts. Her
popularity had surprised and confused even Juna herself.
"When the Congress of the People, which collects petitions, issued me a request
saying, 'Broadcast programs more often and let us hear Juna's singing,' even I was a
bit weirded out," said Souma.
"Wow... err, Madam Juna has been looking for a good herb tea to help with stiff
shoulders lately..." said Aisha. "It's not easy when they're so big, it seems."
"...Anyway, let's hear her sing," said Souma. "Here's Juna Doma."
"What was that pause for?" Aisha demanded.
"...I wasn't imagining anything, really."
"You inadvertently let that slip, I see."
The adorable image of Souma turning to look away and Aisha staring at him as he
did so faded out, and now the blue-haired Juna Doma appeared on screen.
On her upper half, she wore an outfit that looked like she had just wrapped a
piece of fabric around herself, while on her bottom she wore loose white pants that
tightened around her ankles. Wearing a thin, veil-like piece of silk on top of her head,
she looked like a dancer girl who had escaped from the world of One Thousand and
One Nights.
Her beauty captivated every last member of the audience, man and woman alike,
while her singing voice would indiscriminately intoxicate the peoples of both
Elfrieden and Amidonia.
The viewing masses were made to see why Souma had called her the Prima
Lorelei. Juna's voice didn't have a unique character to it like Pamille's did. However,
her expressive control of her pitch was carved even deeper into people's memories
than Pamille was. Juna's voice also lacked the power that Nanna's had from training
with the fishermen. However, thanks to that, her gentle timbre was able to seep
deeper into the hearts of people than Nanna's had.
The viewing public were certain of it. Certain that Juna Doma was the lorelei who
stood above all loreleis, the Prima Lorelei.
The viewers in Amidonia had all been completely charmed by the three singers.
They were surprised to find out that the Jewel Voice Broadcast could be such an
enjoyable experience. At this point, none of them were concerned if this broadcast
was Souma's way of trying to win them to his side anymore.
In Japanese, the word "music" was written "to enjoy sound." They were enjoying
it for its sound. That was why no one noticed Souma's true aim.
—With one exception.
◇ ◇ ◇
"That king, he sure pulled a nasty trick..."
In Nelva, a fortress city in the southwest of Amidonia, one individual who had
mixed in with the viewers to watch the broadcast muttered. This person wore a
hooded cloak which covered their entire body, making it impossible to read their
expression. All that it was possible to discern was that, compared to those around
the person, this person had a small build, and a voice that was most likely female.
A similarly hooded man standing beside her asked the girl in the hooded cloak a
question. "A nasty trick?"
"It's nasty," said the girl. "After all, he's takin' all the things my old man
deliberately kept away from the people and then suddenly givin' 'em to them all in
one go. There ain't any hope of my brother gettin' himself reinstated after this.
...Well, for the people, that may be for the best."
With those words said, the hooded girl shrugged as if to add, "Good grief."
The hooded man beside her looked at her with confusion. "Um, princess, what
are you saying Lord Gaius stole from the people?"
"Freedom, that's what, Mr. Colbert," said the hooded girl.
The hooded girl was Gaius VIII's daughter, Roroa Amidonia. The man beside her
was the former Minister of Finance, Colbert.
Roroa pointed at the video. "Usin' the Jewel Voice Broadcast like that, women
dressin' up fancy, and men lustin' after cute young girls in broad daylight, none of
that woulda been allowed in the principality before now, yeah? That was because
neither the prince or the people wanted the ideologies of weaklings to spread. But
that king, he's showin' them with this broadcast that all of that stuff is allowed in the
kingdom."
"In other words... showing off their 'freedom,'" Colbert said.
Roroa nodded. "That's right. That's what makes it nasty. Freedom is 'free.' Givin'
it away doesn't cost Souma anythin'. Now, if ya try to take it away, there'll be
resistance. Even if he borrows the Empire's power and manages to get Van back, do
ya see my brother bein' able to let them keep that 'freedom'? ...I don't. Under my
brother, it'll be a rehash of how my old man was rulin' the place. There'll be chaos,
no two ways about it."
"No... do you mean to say Souma calculated all of that before making this
broadcast?!" Colbert exclaimed.
"That's what it's lookin' like to me."
Colbert's eyes went wide. He was shocked that this girl, who when she pulled
back her hood had adorable beady little eyes like a tanuki, had seen through the
designs of King Souma, the man who had played Gaius VIII for a fool.