Then I dropped the lighthearted, joking attitude and adopted a more serious tone.
“There’s a lull right now, but eventually every country will have to face the Demon Lord’s Domain. These words are something I’m laying down now to prevent that from turning into an utter quagmire that won’t end until one side or the other is exterminated. Between Tomoe’s ability and the information we’ve exchanged with the Empire, we’ve learned that we can’t lump everyone in the Demon Lord’s Domain together. If possible, before there’s any fighting, I’d like to hold talks with those that seem amenable to them, like the kobolds who spared the mystic wolves.”
“Right…”
“I feel like, when that time comes, the number of adults in this country who are strong, kind, and willing to not give up on understanding the other side will decide this country’s fate,” I said. “If most of them can only think, ‘Exterminate the demons,’ we’re headed straight for total war. The more people there are who think, ‘There must be demons who can understand us,’ the more of other paths we’ll be able to see.”
When I said that, Liscia laughed a little, then poked me in the shoulder. “I’m satisfied with the explanation, but… isn’t this all a bit idealistic for you?”
“It’s a kids’ show, okay? I want the kids to have ideals. Wouldn’t you? I mean, when kids are strangely realistic about things, that’s just unbearable to see.”
“…I suppose you’re right.”
“Besides, it’s an adult’s job to look at reality so that the children can continue to talk about ideals.”
It was the job of a king, too. While searching for a brighter future, I had to prepare for the possibility that a dark future might come, too. In order to remain kind, strength was an absolute necessity. I needed to raise the strength of the nation, expand our arsenal, and set things up so that we could endure a total war if it came to that. To create a nation that was like a great tree with its roots firmly in the ground, one that wouldn’t shake even when the storm came.
While I was thinking about that, it looked like the exercises had finished. Ivan said, “Well done!” and patted a nearby kid on the head. The host, Juna, took over from there.
“How did you like the program we just brought to you, Singing With Big Sis? This time, we are shooting inside the castle, but we’re thinking about doing live broadcasts from theaters around the country in future, too. When we do, we’ll be looking for children to sing and exercise with us, so all you mommies and daddies out there, bring your kids to come play with us! Now, until next time, everyone together now…”
When Juna gave the signal, the children, Roroa, Ivan, and Little Musashibo, who’d subtly snuck back in for the ending, all faced the camera and waved.
“““Bye, bye!”””
With everyone’s voices, this world’s first educational broadcast came to a close.
“It’s so hot… Just let me die…” Pamille moaned.
“Good work out there, Pamille,” Juna told her.
Pamille, who had been inside Little Musashibo, was now groggy from the heat. The kigurumi suit must have been pretty hot inside. Juna was there fanning her.
Next to Pamille was Carla, holding her knees and sobbing in the fetal position.
“Having to be broadcast in that getup… I’m so embarrassed I could die.”
It seemed that having that super skimpy Miss Dran outfit broadcast had left her in a state of shock.
…Yeah, I could kind of sympathize. Serina could be such a complete and total sadist.
“Whose fault was this?” she burst out. “Yours, master?”
“You’re turning on me?! That costume was Serina’s decision, okay?!”
“Ahahaha…” she laughed in a strange voice. “Well, you know, they say a superior is responsible for decisions their subordinates make, don’t theeeey?”
Carla had eyes like some sort of yandere character. I was worried I might get taken out with a squish, or a crunch, or a stab, stab! (I was scared to even describe what I was imagining, so I tried using onomatopoeia instead.)
“Calm down, Carla!” I shouted. “If you kill me, you’ll die, too!”
“I’m so embarrassed I could just die… I’ll take you with me…”
Oh, crap, I thought. That look in her eyes, she’s kind of serious.
“Aisha, help!” I yelled.
“Madam Carla! We’re in the castle, in the castle!” Aisha shouted.
“Don’t stop me, Madam Aisha!” Carla screamed. “If I don’t kill him, I can’t die myself!”
While Aisha was holding her in a pinion, I made a hasty retreat.
Why was I catching all the flak for Serina’s sadistic tendencies? Well, it was just Carla venting her hopeless embarrassment as anger, no doubt.
…Probably.
Now, to get straight to the point, Together With Big Sis was a hit.
Especially with the adults.
I know I’d made it with children as the target audience, but for some reason their parents, guardians, and even adults with no children at all were even more passionate about it.
For the women, it was Little Musashibo’s adorableness, and the slightly-too-passionate-but-still-hot Ivan’s appeal.
For the men, it was the coolness of the first tokusatsu hero they’d ever seen, paired with the sexy villainess played by Carla.
Well, even in Japan, there were sometimes mothers who got even more hooked on a program than their children because they were watching it for the hot actors. It was probably something like that.
That being the case, in the Kingdom of Friedonia, on days when Together With Big Sis was on, rather than children begging their parents to go see it, you would often see parents begging their children.
W-Well, either way, kids were seeing the program, so it was all good, but I got a cold look from Liscia when she found out the situation.
“‘It’s an adult’s job to look at reality,’ he says.”
“W-Well, hey, what’s wrong with adults having dreams?” I stammered.
Liscia stared at me silently.
“…No, seriously, how did it turn out like this anyway?” I muttered.
I felt like the bizarreness level of Friedonia had gone up just a little.
Intermission 1: The Black Robed One and the Little Sister General, Now Negotiating
— One day in the 2nd month, 1547th year, Continental Calendar
On this day, the pride of the Kingdom of Friedonia, the Black-robed Prime Minister, AKA Hakuya Kwonmin, was holding a meeting with the Gran Chaos Empire’s Little Sister Princess and commander of the great armies, Jeanne Euphoria, over the Jewel Voice Broadcast using simple receivers. In negotiations between the Kingdom and Empire, any matters deemed not important enough for King Souma and Empress Maria to hold direct meetings over were generally handled by these two.
Today, the meeting began with an apology from Jeanne.
“Sir Hakuya, first, allow me to apologize for the delay in selecting the Empire’s ambassador to Friedonia.” She went on, “There is no one who seems especially fit for the post, you see. If we’re looking for someone trustworthy enough that we can reveal our secret pact to them, yet able to see the Kingdom as an equal partner in the alliance, it’s just not easy…”
“The general opinion is that our country is not fit to be called your equal, you’re saying?” Hakuya asked.
“If I’ve offended you, I apologize.”
“Not at all. It’s a matter of fact that there is a clear difference in strength between our country and the Empire, after all.”