Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

Chapter 2: Let’s Create an Educational Program A

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Translator Corner

Minasan oideyasu. This is Yukkuri demasu!

Sorry for being late, yesterday stuffshappened and I being late as result……

Also an announcement:

I planned to buy the LN of “Jui-san no Oshigotoin Isekai” to provide the RAW for any possible translator. There are 9 LN long,and while at it buying new Takarakuji LN7 and hikiNEET LN4. It will cost about 220$.Using the donation money I received before, my Patreon, and my leftover “pocketmoney”, I already a.s.sembled 152$.

DISCLAIMER: There is noguarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I waswrong.

Author:

Dozeumaru(どぜう丸)

Translator:

Yukkuri Oniisan

Editor:

So-Chintzy

Enlightenment Arc

Chapter 2: Let’s Create an Educational Program A

Author Note:Because it has become difficult to understand the chronological order of thestory, I have set a calendar timeframe (although it had been decidedbeforehand……).

The year that Soumawas summoned is 1546 Continent Era (its usage is shared with other countries).

Please remember that「Souma arrived on 1546」[1].It won’t appear on the test.[2]

✦✧✦✧✦

――― 1547 Continent Era, Month 1 Day 1

Since 『ElfriedenKingdom』 annexed the 『AmidoniaDukedom』 and became the 『United Kingdom of Elfrieden and Amidonia』(popularly nicknamed as the 「Friedonia Kingdom」), thenew country greeted its first New Year’s Day. Whether it was in the CapitalCity of Parnam or the former Ducal City of Van, in each city with a Royal VoiceBroadcast receiver installed, there were crowds of people gathering once more becausethey heard that His Majesty Souma will use the Royal Voice Broadcast and make aNew Year’s Greeting towards the citizens. To hear this greeting, a lot ofpeople had gathered even though it was New Year’s Day.

There wasn’t any particularcoercion to make them listen to it, but even so, the people who gathered inthis place did so because every time the Royal Voice Broadcast was used, HisMajesty Souma only did astounding things like talent gathering event, the edibleeducation program to reduce food shortage, or creating a music program. What doeshe intend to do again? This was what attracted the interest of half of the citizens.The other half just thought that “a gathering →food stalls appearing to make a nice profit →festival revelry” and simply came for these events.

「Whatwill the King plan to do this time?」(Boy)

「That’strue. What will he do, I wonder.」(Mother)

A mother and her child had this kindof conversation while waiting for the broadcast. Then, the fountain-shapedreceiver displayed Souma’s image. Behind him were his fiancées, Princess Lisciaand the former Ducal Princess Roroa, whose engagement with Souma was announced atthe same time as the Amidonian annexation. Both of them showed a smile, giving peaceof mind to the citizens of both Elfrieden and Amidonia who had become part of aUnited Kingdom.

King Souma’s image began to speak.

『Mybeloved citizens of the United Kingdom of Elfrieden and Amidonia. “I wish you aHappy New Year.”[3]』

After saying this, Souma, Liscia,and Roroa bowed their heads down at the same time. That the King himself bowedhis head down for the New Year, this caused the citizens to become noisy, but thenSouma raised his head and smiled teasingly.

『Thisis a New Year’s greeting from my world. I am thankful for your help last year, andI am happy to be able to greet the New Year safely and to give my best regardsfor this year, too…… This greeting has this grat.i.tude put into it.』

From thereon after, the standardNew Year’s greetings in the Friedonia Kingdom changed to 「Iwish you a Happy New Year」.

『Nowthen, it seems that in the Amidonia “Region”[4],there is a practice that during the New Year, the ruler will declare thecountry’s policy for that year. I also received counsel from Roroa to do that practice,too…… So now, I will attempt to perform it.』

The moment Souma mentioned this, anxietyflashed through the audience that was listening in the Amidonia Region. The peoplewho were once the citizens of the Amidonia Dukedom, remembered the face ofGaius VIII giving his policy declaration during the New Year. His visage with agrim face, swearing revenge towards Elfrieden and advocating the recovery ofthe lost territories. That’s why for the Amidonian people, 「NewYear’s Declaration = Propaganda」. It was understandable that they had become tensed, wonderingwhether or not a new war will happen.

However, King Souma himself couldbe said to be the opposite of Gaius, and while having a bit of a troubledexpression, he continued his speech with a relaxed tone.

『Sofor now, the policy for the country this year will be……』

The audience held their breath. Wherethe country will head to? Enrich the state, strengthen the military[5]?Attack another country? Overthrow the Empire and aim for a hegemony in theContinent? Or perhaps, invade the Demon Lord Realm and liberate the north? …… Theaudience was waiting while holding their breaths. Finally, Souma opened hismouth.

『「Createa good country」. I plan to go with this.』

(((It’s so vague‼)))

Everyone in the audience had thatsame thought. As if antic.i.p.ating that, Souma laughed.

『Youmight be thinking that this is too vague. However, this is an important thing. First,what does it mean to make 「a good country」? It’s easy to think it’s simply the opposite of 「abad country」.』

When he mentioned this, Soumaraised a finger while explaining.

「First,a “country where the people are starving”. Second, “a country where the peopleare freezing”. You might say this using other phrases like a “poor andstruggling country”. That the people died from hunger or cold because they couldn’tbuy food or obtain shelter or clothing. It goes without saying that this is abad country. A citizen wouldn’t be able to feel secure in a country where theycould die from hunger or cold.」

Both of the citizens in Elfriedenand Amidonia agreed with this statement. After all, both countries hadexperienced food shortage. The Amidonian citizens especially felt it moreintensely. At that time, they had turned their eyes away from it and insteadtowards the fanned grudge against Elfrieden, but since the situation had improvedthanks to the aids from Souma’s side, they had a strong desire to not return tolast year’s state.

『Third,a “country with bad public order”. Even if the country isn’t under the threatof hunger or cold, it is unthinkable to live in a country that was rampant withrobbers, bandits, or pirates. In the first place, the source that brought forththis lawlessness was the poverty that I had mentioned earlier. In my world thereis a saying, 「The poor can’t afford manners」.[6]They are already doing their best to stay alive, so they lost the heart to carefor other people.』

『Fourth,a “country that does nothing but wage war”. Even if she is ever-victorious in combat,war is a burden for on the nation’s finance and people will always die in war. Ifshe loses even just once, it will be even more disastrous. If the othercountries hate her, then their people might perform terrorist acts and her publicorder will worsen as a result, potentially s.n.a.t.c.hing away your treasuredthings. Fifth: The opposite, a “country that couldn’t defend herself”. Even if shedoesn’t want to go to war, if a country neglects her national defense, then theother countries will exploit this weakness. The results will be same as the war-wagingcountry. Much less to say at our current era, since there is also the unpredictablethreat from the Demon Lord Realm.』

While explaining this, his hand wasfully opened and then he turned his opened palm to the citizen.

『Thisis just a rough count, but these five countries are bad countries, isn’t they?Then, a good country should be the opposite of these bad countries, don’t youagree?』

Souma turned his hand back andforth, alternating between the palm and the back of the hand.

『Not havingher citizens starve to death, not having her citizens shivering from the cold, havinga good public order, not attacking other countries indiscriminately, and is undauntedwhen attacked by other countries or against the threat from Demon Lord Realm. Aself-reliant country. Perhaps this what is called 「agood country」, the shape of the country that this unified kingdom strivesto become.』

Then, Souma waved his hand. Itwas as if he was ordering the army to march.

His hand movements during thisspeech were then mimicked in adapted play and dramas in the far future. To makea comparison to Earth, it might be similar to how people, when mimickingMichael Jackson, would often copy his famous hat pose.

『Eachof these five aspects can be said as something that should be the norm however,it is really difficult to have all of these five to be present together, sspeciallyas the world is currently wrapped in chaos. Even though these five should bethe norm, it is hard to achieve what should be the norm, this current era isthat kind of era. To achieve it, a “power” several times more than what is thenorm at peacetime is needed. An extraordinary “Power” that even stronger than whatwould be needed to dominate this continent.』

Then Souma once more stopped hiswords and inhaled a long breath.

『…… Soaccordingly, there is something that I want you, the Citizens, to do, by allmeans.』

The audience held their breathsagain. To obtain the “power” that Souma had mentioned, there was something thathe wanted them to do. At the beginning, they thought that it would be 『TaxIncrease』. With a high tax, then the country’s income willincrease, so that the military spending could be increased, too. Depending on thesituation, this might not be a mistake, but the citizen’s livelihoods wouldbecome more difficult. The next thing that they thought was 『Conscription』. Thiscountry already possessed career soldiers[7],but they feared that there will be a forced recruitment of citizens to be trainedas soldier.

This was the result of themthinking that the power Souma had mentioned was “Military Power”. However, thecitizens had misunderstood. “Power” doesn’t just means military power alone.Souma then spoke.

『It’sthe encouragement of learning.』 [8]

　◇　◇　◇

「It’sthe encouragement of learning.」

At a certain room in ParnamCastle, the 『Royal Voice Room』, where the Royal Voice Broadcast orb was installed inthe middle of that room. I spoke out those words towards the citizens of the FriedoniaKingdom.

「I’llgive you an example. Two men holding swords are fighting. In most cases, theone who wins is the one with the stronger muscles or the one who has a better sword.Then, what if two people with similar strength and similar swords fight? Perhaps,the outcome will only depend on luck? …… No. The one who “knows” the most aboutthe sword will win. For example, even if the strength and the weapon used aresame, if a chef and a blacksmith fought each other using a swords, then perhapsthe blacksmith will win. The blacksmith was used to seeing swords every day, sohe is familiar with a sword’s length and reach.」

I then tapped a finger against myforehead.

「Ifyou “know” more than other people, then this could become a weapon. A greatcommander can win 100 times in 100 battles because he understands what is war, knowthe strength of his own army, and has a clear grasp of the opponent’s power. Thus,he could completely avoid waging a losing battle and would only wage a battlethat he could win. A mediocre commander will lose in a critical moment becausehe doesn’t understand war and doesn’t even know his own army’s power as well ashis enemy’s power. Thus he only battles thoughtlessly and repeats the cycle of victoryand defeat that he can’t even pay attention to at those critical moments.」

It’s like what Sun Tzu had said, 「Ifyou know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundredbattles.」[9]

「Thisis not a story that only happens in the fields of battle. Even if they aredealing with a same commodity, the first merchant could be making profit whilethe second merchant doesn’t, simply because the first merchant knows more aboutbusiness. Even when using the same materials, the work of a skilled artisan couldbe several levels above a work from a common craftsman, since the artist knowsabout the materials’ properties better.」

「Eventhough you are raising the same crops, the harvest of the crops in yourneighbor’s field seems much better than the harvest in your field. This isbecause your neighbor, from a farmer family, knows about the proper method togrow crops. The food that a chef cooks tastes more delicious than what you cookedby yourself, because a chef has the knowledge about the ingredients’characteristics and the culinary skill to process them properly.」

「Anexcellent hunter returns each time from hunting with his prey because he knowthe lay of the land and the habits of the animals. In the fields of entertainment,a great actor will instill deep emotion in other people during every show,because he knows the subtleties of people’s hearts and how to move their emotions.It’s the same with the King and the n.o.bles. A King that can be called as a WiseRuler has a thorough knowledge about how to manage a country properly withoutcausing opposition from the kingdom’s citizens or the local fief population. Forme? …… I still have much to learn, and therefore I continue in endeavoring toobtain that knowledge.」

f.u.kuzawa Yukichi had said so inthe 『Encouragement of Learning』. Eventhough there was a phrase: 『The heavens do not create one man above or belowanother man』, in reality, that difference appeared from one’s wealthand social position. But this was just the difference in whether or not theyhad threaded the way of learning. The uneducated ones could only do manuallabor and so their social positions will be low. The educated ones could dodifficult job and so they became prominent …This might sound a bit like an irrationalargument, but if you kept reading the book, there are some parts that you couldagree with more or less.

「Thatprocess to make yourself more knowledgeable is called 『studying』. Studywith the people that have knowledge and skill greater than your’s. If you haveknowledge or skill greater than others, then teach it. The ones who ask for knowledgerespect the ones who teach, and the ones who teach care for the ones who ask. Studyeach other in this way and it will usher in a new ability that will exceed whatwe have right now. By doing so, no matter what the field of work will be, you canhave a much more prosperous livelihood than what you have today, this is what Ibelieve.」

The ones who ask for knowledge respectthe ones who teach, the ones who teach care for the ones who ask for knowledge……The reason why this line was inserted into the speech was because I was consideringthe effects od privilage. As a policymaker, it is necessary was to prevent theteaching side to have a one-sided disadvantage (not getting paid). Well, fornow, even if I mentioned this to the citizens, they wouldn’t understand, so Idon’t intend to explain this in detail. Well, at least right now anyway.

「Iplan to increase the standard of the living of each and every one of thecitizens in this country. By doing this, then the country’s “power” will beincreased too. If each and every person becomes affluent, then the tax yieldwill naturally increase, too. If the tax yield increases, then it could be usedas funds for military armaments or for promoting new industries. The wholecountry will become powerful and prosperous as a result. For that reason, Ilook forward to you, the Citizens, to study by all means necessary. As thefirst step, I hope you start with reading and writing. If you can read andwrite, then you can communicate even with people living far away. After that, calculation.If you can calculate, then the range of learning will become remarkably wider.」

When I said this, Liscia who waswaiting behind me, came forward and unfolded a paper whith the word 『文(study)』 writtenon it.

「Iwish that every adult in this country could read, write, and calculate. At thepresent, in every city inside our country, an integrated educationalinst.i.tution, called a training school will be established. Meanwhile at everytown, there will be a simplified cla.s.s.[10]This 『文(study)』 markwill be the sign of a state licensed training school and cla.s.s. It will only teachchildren during the day, but it will educate adults at night. If you have sparetime and strength after a day’s work, then I wish for you to come and studyeven for a little while.」

「Bythe way, a place that has this 文(study) mark only offers free education in reading,writing, and calculation, so I am not condemning any individuals that open up privateschools. Please note that that is not what I have in mind. …… Then, I want to inform the people who alreadyknow how to read, write, and calculate. I hope that you aren’t satisfied just withthat. We still “don’t know anything”.」

This time Roroa came forward andshowed the map of this world.

「Asyou all know, the Demon Lord Realm appeared in the northern part of thiscontinent. However, we don’t know anything about this Demon Lord Realm. Thereshould be a Demon Lord…… or so they say, but there is no one who can confirmhis appearance. In the first place, what is the Demon Lord Realm? Are themonsters in the Demon Lord Realm any different from the ones that come out fromDungeons? Or are there no differences at all? What is the connection betweenthe Demon Lord, the Demon Race and the Monsters in the Demon Lord Realm? Arethey subordinate? Or hostile? …… We don’t know anything. As a result, when we previouslyattacked the Demons, even when don’t know anything, we only invited a seriouslycrushing defeat. Perhaps if we had understood the difference of the powerbetween us and them, then we wouldn’t have waged such a thoughtless battle and increasedthe number of pointless casualties.」

I made Liscia and Roroa sit downand then I continued my speech.

「Notonly just the Demon Lord Realm, but there are many other things that areunknown in this world. A good example would be magic. Even though it is sofamiliar to us, we don’t know anything about magic. In the first place, what ismagic? Why can everyone use it like it’s something natural? In my world, thereis no magic, so it’s a mystery to me. How can fire come out from an empty s.p.a.ce?Does mana, or a magical source, actually exist? Then, what IS mana? Is it agas, a liquid or a solid? Even the Three Eyed Tribe, who could see germs andmicrobes that are so miniscule that the other races couldn’t see them, can’t seeanything that could be “mana”.」

I then put more power into myvoice as I spoke.

「Likethis, the world is full of mysteries. Stop thinking that these mysteries aresomething normal! Stop believing simply because the legends say so! Stop beingdeceived by the opinion of the vocal minority! Stop excusing it by saying that it’sthe G.o.d’s work so no mortal can truly understand! Stop blaming it as the Demon Lord’s fault! Findthe truth by doubting everything, researching everything, and exchangingopinions with others! A heart that pursues the truth is the definite proof thatwe are intellectual beings!」

I stopped at that point to catchmy breath, and then I ended my speech.

「Thisis the planned policy for this country. I am thankful to you all for listening.」

　◇　◇　◇

The Royal Voice Broadcastfinished. After confirming that the broadcast had been terminated, I sank downto the floor.

「Ah~so tired……」(Souma)

「Goodwork. Don’t you think it’s a splendid performance?」(Liscia)

「Yupyup. Just lik’ a proper King. Ah fell in love again, Darlin’♪」(Roroa)

Both of them might be saying this,but I had reached my limit. I had gotten used to hosting the program, but givinga grand speech in a Kingly manner in front of the citizens still made menervous. If this was an emergency situation, then I wouldn’t have this way ofthinking. However, now wasn’t a such a situation. Putting on the persona maskof a King during peaceful times was incredibly exhausting.

「Ah,please get me water.」(Souma)

「Un.」(Liscia)

「Ayeaye, Sir.」(Roroa)

Roroa brought back a tray with a waterpitcher and a cup that had been placed in the corner of the room. I receivedthe cup and then Liscia poured water into it. I drunk down the cup in one gulpand finally felt relaxed.

「Willthis method transmit the importance of studying how to read, write, andcalculate to the citizens?」(Liscia)

While still holding the waterpitcher, Liscia asked that question.

「……Idon’t think so, it wouldn’t be that simple. Studying is like always: somethingthat is tedious and boring. Especially for the fundamental parts. If I only agitatedthem a bit, then it wouldn’t last long.」(Souma)

「So then,that speech doesn’t have any meaning to it?」(Liscia)

「I onlywanted to make them understand…… Well, there is a way.」(Souma)

「Away?」(Liscia)

「Amethod to make studying more enjoyable and smooth.」(Souma)

Then, there was a knock from thedoor. After I replied, 「Come in」, Juna-san and Aisha, who was carrying a big box forsome reason, entered the room.

「Ihave arrived as requested, Your Majesty.」(Juna)

「Ihave brought the thing you asked for, Your Majesty.」(Aisha)

Aisha placed the box that was astall as she was on the floor. Roroa looked at it curiously.

「Nee, Ai-nee(sis),what wi’ th’ box? It’s crazy big.」(Roroa)

「Whoknows. His Majesty only told me to bring this here……」(Aisha)

Both of them turned to look atme, so I smiled at them daringly.

「Well,this is something to enjoy for later.」(Souma)

☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽

Next time in: A Realist Producer’sEducational Program Reform!

New mascot! And the debut of Juna-oneesan!

Also, footnotes heavy…

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