Enlightenment ArcChapter 2: Let’s Create an Educational Program E 「Then everyone! So that we won’t lose to the villains, let’s train your bodies with me in 『Silvan’s Healthy Exercise』! So that you won’t b.u.mp into the other children near you, keep a bit of a distance from each other.」(Ivan) The moment after Ivan said this, rhythmical music started to play. Juna-san and Roroa timely separated the children from each other. Then, matching the rhythmical music, Ivan started to move his body. 「First, move your upper body. Everyone, do the Pongo!」(Ivan) Ivan moved his body and the children began to mimic him. For this exercise, Juna-sad sang a comical lyric about the movement of the animals in this world. The content of the song was tailored for the children, but the content of the exercise was based on the familiar j.a.panese radio exercises, so it should be worth doing. 「Souma often did crazy things, but…… I don’t really know what is happening now.」(Liscia) Liscia saw the exercise and muttered in a whisper. 「This is educational program, right? Does the skit just now and this exercise have some kind of meaning?」(Liscia) She looked straightforwardly to my face. Not long ago she would ask, 「What is the meaning of this?」, but right now Liscia asked, 「Does this have some kind of meaning?」. The phrasing was not so different, but the nuance behind them had changed. In the former, she was implying, 「This is meaningless」, but in the latter, she was asking to confirm that 「It has a meaning」. This difference was subtle, but I was a bit happy. 「The skit and the physical exercise aren’t just meaningless actions. The skit is to draw attention, so it would attract the attention from many people to see it. Then, the exercise is good for health and children’s development, so I plan to popularize them…… However, the biggest meaning above them all, was to transmit the “Hero’s Words”.」(Souma)「Hero’s Words?」(Liscia) Precisely at that time, the 『Silvan’s Healthy Exercise』 in the hall reached the interlude part. Then, Ivan spoke while facing the children. 「Everyone is a good child! Then, there is something I want you to listen to. To become a truly strong people, physical strength alone is not enough. If you forget about kindness, then you are just a ruffian.」(Ivan) This time, he turned to face the Royal Voice Broadcast Orb, in other words, the viewers and began to talk. 「From now on, Silvan will honestly try to get along with the Dark Society. If we properly talked to each other, then there might be no need to cross fists. That’s why, no matter what kind of enemy there will be, I hope that you don’t give up trying to understand each other. But then, what if you receive an unreasonable violence? That’s right! So that you can protect the people important to you, there is 『Silvan’s Healthy Exercise』!」(Ivan) Just as the interlude time was over, Ivan once more began to exercise, matching with the song. Liscia, who heard Ivan’s words, was closing her eyes for a short while, and then, 「Strength alone is no good. Don’t forget about kindness. Don’t give up on trying to understand each other…… These are, the words that Souma wanted to tell, right?」(Liscia) As if reflecting on the words, she muttered them quietly. I nodded. 「You strangely remembered the words from an adult that you had heard when you were a child, right? Much more if they were the words that a Hero had said. It would remain in the corner of the heart even when we become adults. Incidentally, by making the children hear this, I also hope that it reaches their guardians’ ears too.」(Souma) Then I spoke in a serious tone. 「……Currently, we are in a temporary lull, but sooner or later, every country will face the Demon Lord’s Realm. These words are the groundwork so that time won’t become a total annihilation war quagmire that doesn’t end until one side is destroyed. We know that from Tomoe-chan’s ability and the Empire’s information network, that we couldn’t just simply a.s.sume that the ones in the Demon Lord’s Realm are one single ent.i.ty. If I could, before we fight them, I want to hold a reasonable negotiation with people like the kobolds that helped the Mystic Wolf Tribe.」(Souma)「That’s true……」(Liscia)「At that time, I don’t know how many adults, who are be strong, kind, and won’t give up on understanding each other, will be left in this country in the future? But I fell that they will change the fate of the country. If there are many who just simply think 『Destroy the Demon Race』, then we would be headed to a total war at full speed. But if there are some people who think 『Even in the Demon Race, there should be people that can be reasoned with』, then we could see another way.」(Souma) When I finished talking, Liscia slipped out a chuckle and laughed. 「I understand that, but…… considering Souma is the one who speak about this, isn’t it a bit lean too much on the ‘idealism’ scale,?」(Liscia)「What we created is still just an educational program for children, right? Shouldn’t we hope that the children will hold the ideals? To make the children look at the weird reality would be something that they wouldn’t want to see, after all.」(Souma)「……That’s also true.」(Liscia)「Furthermore, so that we can show the ideals to the children, it’s the duty of the adults tolook at the reality.」(Souma) And that is the duty of a King. Even while continuing to explore around for a brighter future, he still must be prepared when the dark future arrives. Even to maintain kindness, strength is imperative. Improving the national power, augmenting the armaments, it was necessary to create a framework that could endure even when the country falls into a total war. To spread its roots around all directions on the ground, a large tree that wouldn’t be shaken by the wind, that is the country that we will build. When I was thinking about this, it seems that the exercise finally had finished. Ivan was saying, 「Good job!」 and patted the heads of nearby children. Then, Juna-san took over as the program moved to the next part. 「Thus we have reached the end of our program 『Together with Onee-san.』What do you think about it? This time we are broadcasting from the Royal Castle, but for the next time, we are also considering doing a live broadcast from theatres in various places. On that occasions, we will be taking applications for the children for singing and exercising together, so the fathers and mothers could take their children and play together. Then everyone, all together~」(Juna) With Juna-san’s signal, the children, Ivan, and the Zenpoko-kun, who nonchalantly joined them, waved their hands at the broadcast orb. 「「「『 Byeby~e♪」」」』 Together with their voices, the pilot broadcast of the world’s first children program ended. ◇ ◇ ◇ ―――Post broadcast 「Hot…… I’ll die……」(Pamyu)「Thank you for your good work, Pamyu-san.」(Juna) The person inside Zenpoko-kun, Pamyu, was so exhausted that she felt groggy. The inside of the costume was considerably hot. Right now, Juna-san was fanning Pamyu with a folding fan. Beside the 「It’s so hot, I’ll die」 Pamyu, was the sobbing 「It’s so embarra.s.sing, I’ll die」 Carla. 「To be broadcasted in this form……」(Carla) It seemed that she was shocked from having her Female General’s figure, that was risqué at various places, being broadcasted on the program. …… Yeah, I could sympathize with her. Serina-san, you are really a Super-S. 「Whose fault is this? Is this His Majesty Souma’s fault?」(Carla)「Why are you blaming me!? The one who decided on the costume was Serina, you know!?」(Souma)「About that, there is a saying that a subordinate’s responsibility is the superior’s responsibility.」(Carla)「That’s a bizarre reasoning!」(Souma) Carla’s eyes somehow looked like those of a yandere. For some reason, it was as if she wanted to *swoosh*, *swash*, *slush*slush*! (The depiction would be too dreadful, since I imagined a gory scene, so I expressed it with sound effects) 「Calm down, Carla! If you kill me then you will die too, you know!」(Souma)「I’m so embarra.s.sed that I’ll die, so…… WE WILL DIE TOGETHER!」(Carla) c.r.a.p. Her eyes looked a bit serious. 「Aisha! Help!」(Souma)「Carla-dono! We are inside the castle! We are inside the castle!」(Aisha)「Let me go Aisha-dono, I can’t die before killing him!」(Carla) While Aisha was restraining Carla from the back, I left that place. Why am I getting mixed into Serina’s S-ish actions? …… Well, it was understandable that Carla was so embarra.s.sed, so she was only venting her anger to me. She might not be serious (…… She is not, right?) If she wanted to complain, then it would be better if she said it to Seri-……. Ah, she can’t, so that’s why she redirected it to me. If she said something to Serina, then Serina will return it back several folds. Goodness gracious…… ◇ ◇ ◇ In conclusion, 『Together with Onee-san』 was warmly received.Especially, with the “adults”. Even though I produced the program for the children, for some reason, it was not only the main target audience, the children, but their parents and the unrelated adults, too were waiting for it. For the females, it was because of Zenpoko-kun’s cuteness and the slightly sultry ikemen, Ivan. For the males, they were captivated by the coolness of a Tokusatsu Hero that they saw for the first time and the s.e.xy appearance of the Female General that was played by Carla. Even in j.a.pan, not only the children, but their mothers, too, became addicted to watching the Hero shows, because of the handsome ikemen actors. Perhaps something similar happened. Because of that, on the broadcast day of 『Together with Onee-san』 in the Friedonia Kingdom, the children didn’t need to pester their parents 「Let us go and watch it」, but it was mostly the parents who said 「Let’s go to watch it」 to their children…… Ah well, either way, since the children watched the program in the end, the result could be considered as an “alright” one. Although when Liscia knew about this, she looked at me with a cold looking stare. 「It’s the duty of the adults to look at the reality *smile*ッ」(Liscia)「W-well, you see, it’s a good thing for adults to have a dream, right?」(Souma)「(*stare*)」(Liscia)「…… No really, why did it end up this way, I wonder.」(Souma) I felt that the Friedonia Kingdom’s messiness increased just a little bit.