"Hmm, you want me to give a speech about my ambition to study abroad for a short time, is that it?"
"Yes, that's right."
Dean Dipetra wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he watched the first prince's reaction. He then started to speak again with a slick tongue.
"It is an infinite honor for our academy to have someone like Your highness, the first prince, come to study here."
'You don't seem very welcoming, though.'
Ignoring Eurius's doubt, the dean continued.
"So, I would like you to give a special speech at the opening ceremony, where all the students will gather at the start of the September semester."
The origin of this proposal was the pile of protest letters behind the dean.
"I'm sure Your highness won't express it, but there is quite a backlash from the academy's faculty and students."
"Hmm…"
…
The first prince of the empire came to study at the academy for a short time!
This fact spread throughout the academy without a sound, and brought a lot of interest and resistance.
Of course, he was the first prince of the empire. No matter how much the status of ordinary citizens and intellectuals had risen after the era of players, they couldn't openly oppose him.
[The first prince of Scharnos Empire, suspected of special case of studying abroad!]
To get rid of this gossip, Dean Dipetra had to rack his brains.
'I also have to think about the relationship with the empire.'
Among the professors and outstanding students of Savior Academy, there were not a few who had eccentric personalities as verified geniuses.
They wouldn't dare to be rude to the first prince unless they wanted to die, but you never know.
'It's fortunate that he doesn't seem to have a born temperament that is arrogant.'
So what the dean thought was a kind of 'guest' treatment.
'He only needs the experience of graduating from the academy, not studying sincerely!'
That was also the intention of the emperor who sent Eurius.
"Of course, we will prepare the speech manuscript for you. Your highness only has to go out and say a few words."
He also planned to create a competent image with a speech written by one of their outstanding talents, in order to dispel the suspicion that he came in with power.
If he did that, he could minimize the resistance to his special case of studying abroad, at least to some extent. That was the dean's plan.
Eurius gladly accepted it.
"Good! How hard can it be to go out and say a few words?"
'What a relief.'
"But!"
A sound like thunder struck Dean Dipetra's ears.
"I don't think you need to give me a speech manuscript. I have something I want to say, so I'll do that."
"Your highness, but giving a speech is surprisingly difficult."
Eurius frowned.
"Oh! Do I look like someone who doesn't know that much? I have prepared something myself."
Unexpectedly, Eurius insisted strongly and the dean had no choice but to flounder.
"Your highness…"
'Ah! Why are you doing this when things were going well?'
Giving a speech is not an easy thing.
Even professional politicians who have been in politics for decades find it difficult to express their opinions in front of many people.
He planned to make Eurius read the best script he could get with his connections.
But his plan was shattered.
He tried to persuade him several times after that, but Eurius refused as if he was annoyed.
'Marius! I did everything I could for you. Don't blame me.'
Dean Dipetra had no choice but to give up and hope that he wouldn't cause a big accident when he gave his speech.
'This is a good opportunity!'
Eurius was happy without caring about the dean's worries.
He was planning to impress the students of the academy and scout for talent, but they offered him an opportunity to give a speech without him asking for it.
He had unlocked [Achievements] as a player just a few days ago.
Giving a speech was not difficult for him who was an emperor in his previous life, but it was not his specialty either. It might be better to get help from professional speakers like the dean.
But Eurius had something he believed in this time.
It was his new ability that he gained from unlocking player information due to his increased level.
The most important thing when meeting someone for the first time is the first impression.
Usually, if you start off badly on your first meeting, unless something extraordinary happens, that impression will remain.
It's similar to attracting talent. In this speech, he had to show them 'something' that would catch the eyes of the continent's talents.
Finally, the fall semester of Savior Academy begins.
Since the city itself was a school, tens of thousands of students gathered!
Not all students were obliged to participate, but today the central square of Savior Academy was crowded with students.
"I have some news to share with all the students of the academy this semester."
Dean Dipetra coughed once and brought Eurius to the stage.
"It is an honor for us to have His highness Eurius von Sharnos, the first prince of Scharnos Empire, stay at the academy for this semester."
Buzz buzz.
Various stories were floating among the crowd of students.
"Isn't the first prince not someone who is famous for his academic achievements?"
"But I heard he's a disciple of the famous Marius."
.What would the first prince of the empire say to them in this place?
The attention of the hall quickly focused on Eurius, who had climbed up to the podium.
But the hall was too noisy because of the many students who had gathered. Would they be able to hear the first prince's words clearly?
But their expectation was shattered without a doubt.
"Hello, everyone. I am Eurius, the first prince of the empire!"
A loud voice echoed through the square, making it tremble.
"...!?"
The students were so surprised that the square, where tens of thousands of people had gathered, became silent for a moment.
[Opening help – speech, presentation section]
[Step 1: The first step of a speech is to catch the audience's attention. Make everyone look at you.]
What he had just used was one of the fairly difficult force control techniques, [Force Echo]! It was a skill that temporarily amplified his voice. He had executed the first advice of [Help] brilliantly.
"Oh? Did I speak too loudly? I'm sorry, I'm not used to this kind of situation."
"Pfft!"
Eurius smiled sheepishly and eased the tension in the hall. His casual demeanor, unlike that of an emperor, made some laughter erupt among the students.
[The basics of presentation – easing the audience's tension is also one of the good techniques of speech. And...]
Eurius's speech that started like this was not very impressive in terms of content.
"Player Scharnos, our ancestor and the great emperor of the imperial family, loved talent and established various educational institutions, including this Savior Academy."
'...!?'
But there were quite a few people who were surprised among the professors of the academy, including Dean Defet.
'He doesn't seem to have done this once or twice?'
The reason they were surprised was that Eurius created a rather familiar atmosphere that did not match his status.
Usually, a speech should have good content, but more importantly, it is the skill of the speaker.
The atmosphere that leads the hall from small gestures to proper endings is the key!
The first prince acted like a seasoned speaker in this field (?) and every move caught the students' attention.
Dean Dipetra analyzed it and nodded his head.
'The content of his speech is not particularly special, of course. But....'
Objectively speaking, the prince was not a great speaker.
The biggest reason why the students were focused on his speech was his status.
He was arguably the most noble person in the continent as the first prince of the empire.
Such a person was appealing to them in front of them in a 'skilled' manner.
Noble status, young age, and most importantly, surprisingly skilled speech ability!
These three things combined to make Eurius's ordinary speech attract the students' attention.
"Currently, the empire is in a new era of development along with the development of the north. As an first prince of the empire, I hope that talents like you will choose the empire!"
As Eurius's speech finally ended, there was a moment of silence in the hall, and then applause began to pour out without a word.
"Clap clap clap!"
Receiving applause from the students, Eurius quietly came down from the podium.
The core of Eurius's speech was simple!
I need talent!
It was a short time that lasted only a few minutes, but at least Eurius succeeded in impressing that part deeply into the students' minds.
'I didn't know [Help] had such a function.'
He paid attention to [Help] because he was worried about finding talent at the academy.
'There must be these people at this point in time.'
There were also some people he had marked in advance. But the problem was 'how to make them his own?'
'I'm afraid my head is not good enough to get along with them.'
To persuade smart people, you have to be smart yourself.
But Eurius objectively judged that he lacked scholarship to attract them.
It's not like he can just kidnap them to another country as an emperor.
So he paid attention to [Help].
In fact, Eurius still didn't fully understand this function.
'It's just a function that lets you view data like a library. What did they make it for?'
But as his achievements increased, [Help] added new features.
"Ding!"
[Your access to [Help] information is unlocked further.]
[You can view some of the knowledge that is only allowed to players.]
'Player's knowledge?'
Eurius opened [Help] as if he was fooled.
[How to recruit talent – Do you want to view related information?]
'...!?'
Unlike usual, it didn't explain some random words, but related information popped up.
[Data on talent – key talent acquisition strategy, learn from XXX how to succeed with talent, hunt talent!!]
"..."
Eurius slowly looked through the contents and couldn't help but be surprised.
'There are many amazing things in the players' knowledge!'
He couldn't understand everything, but there were many parts that he could relate to.
This speech was also based on such data.
[Help – techniques for a successful presentation]
He practiced the content in advance with a help that only he could see, and then followed it while giving the speech!
This was the secret behind his skilled speech today.
The result was also successful as expected. He got a very positive response from the students, even though it wasn't a touching speech.
'There is no useless function in the player's [System]!'
Eurius was able to appreciate the value of [Help] today.