How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

All the chapter listed is only after-story of main story line. The chapter is not following any time sequence.

“A new broadcast program, huh…”

The story rewinds once more to Parnam Castle a little while earlier. Around the time that production of the Mini-Orb, utilizing the Cursed Ore that Mao had suggested, was on track, Ivan’s father, Moltov Juniro, visited Souma. Apparently, while the Mini-Orbs made it possible to increase the number of broadcast programs, they were short on program types and production personnel.

“The Mini-Orb does not have a recording function. The broadcasts will primarily be live, just like the initial use of the Orb, but that limits the content we can air. Currently, we broadcast short plays, but if we increase the number of programs, we won’t have enough theater troupes, and we’ll also lack the manpower to create different plays every time.”

“Well, plays with a set format, like Silvan, would be easier to mass-produce,” Roroa, who was present as a sponsor, murmured, crossing her arms after hearing Moltov’s explanation.

Indeed, a hero show like Silvan has a fixed story template, allowing a new episode to be produced by simply changing the script and the enemy fiend. And precisely because the template is fixed, there is no need to worry about continuity between episodes, allowing each episode to be enjoyed as a standalone story.

This was crucial for plays that would be broadcast live every time. Since there were still no recording devices like home televisions or VCRs, and people had to watch the live broadcasts in places like fountain plazas, viewers would tune out if the content was such that missing one episode meant being completely lost in the next. Conversely, broadcasting the exact same episode for a week would bore the audience.

For this reason, hero shows with a fixed template that could be enjoyed even if an episode was missed were highly popular. A hero show targeted at girls was already being planned, too.

Listening to the two, I recalled the broadcast programs of my original world. Shows that were frequently re-aired without needing to worry about the sequence were…

“Shows that have a fixed story template, like hero shows, and where each episode is self-contained… would be period dramas or detective shows.”

Period dramas about an elderly lord revealing his Inrō (seal box) or detective dramas about a veteran detective partnered with a hot-blooded rookie, or a female researcher at a forensic science lab, seemed to be frequently re-aired in the afternoon or evening. Even if the season was different or the episode order was wrong, they could be broadcast without issue because the story template was fixed.

“Ah, but detective shows that require complex mystery tricks might be difficult right away. So, the more realistic option is a period drama. And a story of clear-cut good and evil.”

“Darling. What is ‘clear-cut good and evil’?” Roroa asked.

I answered while quickly sketching the key points on a piece of paper. “Um… to put it simply, an important person from the past—a king or something—hides their identity, goes out among the common folk, and punishes those who commit evil against the suffering people… something like that.”

“But wouldn’t it be easier for a king to use his authority to punish criminals? And isn’t the fact that criminals are rampant under the castle due to the king’s poor oversight?”

“Well, when you put it like that, it does sound like it…” Roroa’s point was so spot-on that I momentarily stumbled over my words. “W-Well, there’s also the point that they won’t miss the evils that would be overlooked if they stayed within the castle, and it’s faster to storm the crime scene and punish the culprit in the act than it is to gather testimony and evidence to track them down.”

“Hmm, hmm.”

“Ah, and the twist where a seemingly insignificant person who hid their true identity turns out to be a great and powerful person is a kind of pleasure. In hero shows like Silvan, the bigger the gap before and after transformation, the more the power and coolness of the transformed hero stand out.”

“Ah, that explanation makes more sense.” Roroa seemed convinced by this explanation.

Though, thinking about how the precursors to early hero shows like Gekkō Kamen (Moonlight Mask) were characters like Kurozukin (Black Hood) and Kurama Tengu (a mythical figure), it felt like the order was reversed.

Then, Moltov, who had been listening, clapped his knee. “A period drama! That’s excellent! We can use the old buildings in the villages around Van, and we won’t need to introduce elaborate fiends like in the hero shows; we just need to rotate the cast of villains. If we just decide who the main character—the great person—is, we can start production right away.”

“Hmm… Why not Darling? We often go out incognito in the castle town, right?” Roroa suggested.

Moltov looked ready to agree, so I quickly intervened. “No, no, no! A drama about the current King as the main character in a good-versus-evil story? What kind of dictatorship propaganda is that! Besides, I don’t have the martial prowess to cut down enemies one after another, and if we broadcast such scenes, the citizens might get the wrong idea.”

“Mmm, I still think it would be good, though,” Roroa chuckled naughtily.

“…You sly fox.”

“Then, how about Roroa as the main character? Like, The Wandering Chronicles of the Tanuki Queen.”

“…No, a drama starring a current queen wouldn’t look good,” Roroa quickly dismissed.

“You’re saying the exact opposite of what you just said!”

She clearly didn’t want to be in the firing line. For similar reasons, even if they had martial prowess, Liscia or Aisha couldn’t be the main character. Other important people… maybe Ludwin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Force, or Excel, the former Commander-in-Chief? Ludwin is currently active, so that’s out. Excel… I’m actually worried that she might be too eager.

“Hmm. Then, how about the former Queen?” Moltov suggested.

I tilted my head. “My mother-in-law, Elisha? She certainly is a former Queen and an important person, but I don’t think the public views her as a martial figure, do they?”

“That’s true… Ah, then how about the former Queen Consort? I heard that when she was young, she was quite a ja… ahem. Quite an active person, similar to Her Highness Queen Liscia.”

Did he just try to say “headstrong woman”? But Elisha, my mother-in-law, I thought. I had heard that Liscia’s spirited and strong-willed nature came from her mother, Elisha. If so, could my elegant, beautiful sorceress mother-in-law also perform action scenes?

Roroa burst into laughter. “That sounds interesting! Since we’ll likely only be using her name, and an actor will play the part anyway, why don’t we ask Lady Elisha?”

“Don’t say that so easily. What will Liscia say when she hears about it…”

“Ah, we should definitely keep this a secret from Big Sis Sia. If we tell her beforehand, she’ll definitely object, and Big Sis Sia’s face when she finds out from the broadcast will be priceless.”

“…I’m telling her you instigated this,” I warned.

“Nyahaha. Let’s get scolded together, Darling.”

And just like that, the production of the historical drama The Shadow Queen, starring the former Queen Consort Elisha, was decided. The story base utilized period drama knowledge from Souma’s mind. Souma had watched period dramas with his grandparents and possessed surprising knowledge. Furthermore, as the planning progressed, it was decided that the role of Elisha in the first season would be played by Elisha herself. This happened when Souma approached Elisha about the program; Elisha, upon hearing the idea, said:

“That sounds interesting. I definitely want to be in it, my son-in-law.” “Eh…”

Thus, her approval for starring came even before he could ask her to simply lend her name. This meant that in the period drama The Shadow Queen—where many characters, like Shadow-Lion, Shadow-Wolf, and Plump Poncho, clearly had real-life counterparts but were played by actors—Elisha was the only one playing herself.

The fact that Souma and Roroa were thoroughly scolded by Liscia later on, when she found out, is another story entirely.

“Lord Diac Kahn. It is utterly outrageous that you have so cleverly deceived honest farmers into accepting loans and tormented them with exorbitant interest rates. Be prepared for a harsh judgment from my son-in-law, Souma.”

“Y-Yes, Ma’am…”

To defy the royal crest after it had been shown would be an act of treason, a serious crime that would affect one’s entire family. Even the boss of the villains had no choice but to surrender before the crest, lowering his head with a scowl.

After the villains were dragged away, Elisha smiled gently at the farmer and his daughter. “You are safe now, my dear.”

“Lady Elisha! Thank you! Thank you!”

After gently patting the shoulders of the father and daughter, who repeated their thanks, Elisha said, “Lord Shadow-Lion, Lord Shadow-Wolf, let us be on our way,” and boarded the carriage. Poncho jumped onto the back of the moving carriage, waving vigorously at the family.

Where there is light, there is shadow, and within it, evil stirs, and people are overlooked. To judge the evil in places beyond the reach of the King’s authority and to wipe away tears, Elisha journeys today. People call her the Shadow Queen, with respect and awe.

The story concluded with this narration and powerful music.

“And, cut! Good work, everyone!”

At the sound of the crew’s voice, Lombard and Yomi, who had been engrossed (and somewhat stunned) by the story, returned to reality. Suppressing the urge to abandon their thoughts and simply wonder what they had just witnessed, they racked their brains to extract some meaning. Otherwise, there would be no point in having come to the Kingdom to study.

Meanwhile, Ivan called out to the villain boss who had returned. “Hey, Father. I brought our guests.”

“Hm? Ivan? The guests are the people from the Kingdom of Remus?”

The villain boss, Diac Kahn… no, Ivan’s father Moltov, walked over. It seemed Moltov played villains not only in the hero show but also in the period drama. Moltov stood before Lombard and his wife and bowed with his hand on his chest.

“You must be the King and Queen of Remus. I am Moltov, Ivan’s father.”

“Ah, the pleasure is mine. I am Lombard Remus.”

Lombard extended his hand and shook Moltov’s. Moltov, who had just worn the face of a conniving villain, now looked like a benevolent old man.

“What do you think? Has my foolish son been a good guide?”

“Yes. We have seen various things, and it has been very enlightening.”

Lombard looked at the filming site, where the crew was packing up. Siena, Nanna, and Yomi were chatting cheerfully with the filming staff, while Ivan and Margarita stood straight, looking tense as the former Queen Elisha spoke to them. The races of the people on site were diverse, typical of a multi-ethnic nation, and their statuses ranged from common citizens to the former Queen Consort. Yet, their gathering and pleasant conversation felt incredibly natural and warm.

Lombard couldn’t help but let a smile soften his face as he watched them.

“Amorphous… I feel that is the strength of this country.”

“Hmm. What do you mean by that?” Moltov asked.

“They do not fixate on a single model, nor are they bound by one. They utilize anything that is useful, and they refuse no one’s participation if they have the will. Instead of aiming for a perfect final form from the start, they simply take whatever has been achieved, however distorted, as the final form, and build upon it. …This approach is the complete opposite of Lord Fuuga’s Great Tiger Empire, where everyone worked tirelessly toward a single ideal, or Lady Maria’s Grand Chaos Empire. But… no, it is truly thrilling.”

Lombard smiled warmly and told the perplexed Moltov, “I realized that our country, too, should strive for such a state.”

After this, upon returning to their country, Lombard and Yomi governed the Kingdom of Remus by discarding their fixed notions, widely recruiting talented people, and maximizing the advantage of their proximity to Mao City, where the gate to the Northern Hemisphere was located. They successfully generated foreign currency by establishing a city in the northern desert region of the Kingdom of Remus, which served as a training ground for adventurers heading north (supported by other nations) and a hub for stockpiling supplies.

Using that capital, they established Remus University in the city, under the guidance of Ginger University, to research the artifacts and knowledge flowing in from the Northern Hemisphere. They flexibly absorbed new discoveries and technologies, growing the university into one of the top five academic institutions in the world. This policy was passed down to the next generation of children born to Lombard and Yomi, and thus, the Kingdom of Remus began to walk the path of a solid, middle-tier nation that was in no way inferior to its neighbors.