CH 2

Chapter 2: The East and West Real Song Battle

“...Ngh.”

When I woke up, the person who should have been sleeping next to me was gone.

Not yet fully awake, I touched the space where she had slept, and found it still slightly warm. That meant she hadn’t been gone long. I felt a certain loneliness that the white softness that had been seared into my mind was not there.

I rolled over on to my back, and stared idly up at the ceiling as I reviewed my current situation. I was naked from the waist up, but I was still wearing pants. Then...

“You’re awake now, my darling?”

The voice came from the opposite direction of where I was looking, and when I turned around Juna was waiting with tea prepared. I slowly sat up.

“...Morning, Juna.”

“Hee hee, good morning.”

When I greeted her, Juna responded with a smile.

I could be more casual with her now because... well, we were married. I had promised to try to be less formal when we were alone together, and I was trying to follow through with that.

While pouring hot water into the teapot, Juna said, “I’ve prepared things. Would you like a cup to start the day?”

“Yeah, I would. But before that...”

I got out of bed, and embraced Juna from behind as she put a lid on the teapot to allow it to steam. “Gosh...” she said, with a slightly troubled chuckle. “It’s dangerous when you hug me so suddenly.”

“Sorry. But you’re half to blame here, Juna.”

“Oh, my.”

I was the one who got turned on, but Juna was the one who had provoked me.

Her current attire had more than sufficient power to blow away any reason I might have had. That’s because all she was wearing over top of her underwear was the white shirt I had cast off.

The sleeves were a bit long, but the chest was bursting at the seams. With one look, I was on the verge of losing all control, and I couldn’t resist holding her.

“Darling...” Juna turned just her head around, and reached out to put her hand on my cheek. “I never knew you were so passionate.”

“I mean, now that we’re husband and wife, I don’t have to hold back anymore.”

“You were holding back?”

“Well, you’re attractive, and your occasional coquettish gestures tickled me just right as a man. It was a long battle between my self-restraint and the temptation to give in.”

“Hee hee... That explains why last night was so intense...” Juna smiled, tracing her fingers gently along the arms that embraced her. “It may not be long before we have children at this rate.”

“If we do, Cian and Kazuha will be their big brother and sister, huh? Cian is a gentle boy, so I’m sure he’ll be fine, but Kazuha is too energetic, so I’m a little worried there.”

“Hee hee, I’m sure it will be fine. If she’s inherited Lady Liscia’s personality, I’m sure she’ll make a good, caring older sister.”

“...Yeah. You may be right.”

We laughed, and then flirted with one another until the maid came to inform us breakfast was ready. It’s a good thing we lived in the castle.

If it were just the two of us living together, I suspect Juna’s charms might have turned me into a useless person... Though, it’s still a bit of a shame we didn’t.

— 6th month, 1548th year, Continental Calendar —

It was an afternoon with clear skies. I was in the governmental affairs office looking over some documents that Hakuya had handed to me. As I read them... I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“...He’s finally taken one.”

“Yes. It will be vital to pay attention to the situation from now on.”

“What’s goin’ on, Darlin’? Why the frowny face?”

“Did something happen?”

Because Hakuya and I had difficult expressions on our faces, Roroa and Juna got worried.

Roroa was here to handle financial documents, and Juna was here because, though their heads were more stable and they could sit now, Liscia was still fully occupied by dealing with Cian and Kazuha, so Juna was taking her place as my assistant.

In order to show them there was nothing to fear, I gave a small smile and waved the piece of paper.

“I was just reading the regular report from Julius.”

“From my brother?”

“Yeah. ...It seems that Fuuga’s reclaimed a city inside the Demon Lord’s Domain.”

I laid the documents on the table, and rested my chin on my hands as I explained, “The Eastern Union of Nations is in an uproar over it. Fuuga was no more than the king of a minor nation, but now his name echoes like thunder.”

When I said that, Roroa cocked her head to the side.

“Hmm... Sure that’s impressive, but it’s still just one city, right? When the Empire sent their expeditionary force, they must’ve gone in deeper, but no one ended up makin’ that much of a fuss over it...”

Yeah. I largely agreed, but the way they interpreted it on the ground was different.

“Ever since Madam Maria took the throne, the Empire has been cautious about launching an expedition. If the greatest of mankind’s nations will not act, then we’re all forced to sit quietly and watch. That’s why they’ve worked to maintain the status quo and keep the situation from deteriorating further, but if you look at it another way, it meant there was no chance to break out of the situation. Now they’re getting good news for the first time in a long time.”

“The people are more excited than the accomplishment merits... Is that what you’re saying?” asked Juna.

I nodded to her as Hakuya spoke up, too, “In addition, the Union of Eastern Nations is an amalgamation of many small to medium-sized states. The fear of the demon wave externally, and the haphazard system of alliances and familial ties internally, makes acting with unified purpose difficult. Even if a ruler like Your Majesty, Madam Maria, or Sir Gouran were to try to make their country better, those fetters would get in the way.”

“It’s easy for the nail that sticks up to get pounded down there,” I said.

“Hmm,” Hakuya nodded. “Is that a saying from your world, sire? It’s quite apt... There are limits to what they can accomplish so long as they remain a country of small to medium sized states. They have no bright outlook, and the nation is enveloped in a feeling of entrapment. That is the current situation in the Union of Eastern Nations.”

“And that feeling of entrapment is fertile ground for the rise of a ‘great man.’”

When a society felt trapped, the people would look for a great man who could break through whatever was holding them back. The sort of entity who could use radical means to smash everything and let them stand up anew.

Oda Nobunaga, Cao Cao, Napoleon... These men all held the potential for greatness, but what made them great men was the people of the era they were born into. Their actions, which would have been considered massacres in peacetime, were deemed necessary by their people, and that was the birth of their status as great men.

If I thought about it now, the lack of notable resistance when Sir Albert gave me the throne was a manifestation of the people’s desire to change the plight of their directionless country.

The people placed their hopes in the words, “the summoned hero.”

With Liscia’s support and some words from Maria, I was able to pull myself back from the brink, but if I had kept trying to role-play being a king any longer... I might have been forced into the same “great man” position as Fuuga.

“The report from Julius indicates nearly all the refugee soldiers serving under Jirukoma have joined Fuuga’s forces now as volunteers. With the exception of a small number who, like Jirukoma, married Lastanian women, they all wanted to flock to go to Fuuga’s side.”

“That’s a real hit to the ol’ manpower. Is my big brother and big sister’s country gonna be okay?”

Roroa looked worried. Her relationship with Julius was mending, and she got on well with his wife, Princess Tia, so she must have felt uneasy.

“They’re fine,” I said with a laugh, trying to reassure her. “I told them to flee to the Kingdom if they have to.”

“You told that to Sir Julius, who was once, even if only for a short time, the Prince of Amidonia...? I apologize to Lady Roroa, but I cannot recommend stoking the fires of potential strife like that,” Hakuya said, frowning.

Roroa looked like she wanted to say something, but she must have understood Hakuya’s point and didn’t voice her displeasure.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” I told Hakuya with a shrug. “Machiavelli said, ‘People will forget the harm you have done them, but they will never forget the women and the money you stole.’ Right now, the most important thing Julius has is Princess Tia. For as long as her safety is guaranteed, Julius won’t get his priorities out of order. That’s what I felt when I actually met him.”

“...Very well. Let us trust in your eye for people, then.” Hakuya looked me directly in the eye as he backed down.

He must have wanted to be sure I wasn’t simply being soft on Julius because he was family. I couldn’t have been more grateful to Hakuya for taking on an important role that would only hurt him. If I didn’t have someone like him at my side, I wouldn’t be able to have confidence in my own decisions.

With that conversation sorted, I decided to change topics.

“Now then, partially as a means of preparing for Fuuga, there’s a project I’d like to push forward.”

“Oh! It’s finally time to get movin’ on that, huh!”

“Hee hee, I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I heard about it.”

Roroa and Juna smiled happily.

Hakuya, meanwhile, shrugged in exasperation. “I understand this project is likely important, but is there a need to make it such an overblown affair? It’s an experiment for the country, is it not?”

“Well, sure, but it should make for a fun image. Since we have the opportunity, why not put it on the Jewel Voice Broadcast, and let the people enjoy it, too?”

“...I have to acknowledge my lack of knowledge in these matters, so I will defer to your decision, sire, but please ensure you do not forget the original purpose of all this.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said, standing up as Hakuya impressed his point on me. “All right, now let’s make it a big, fun experiment.”

“Magicium.”

This substance was said to be the key to the appearance of magic in this world.

Magic was divided into six elemental types: fire magic, as wielded by Carla and Hal; water magic, as wielded by Liscia and Juna; wind magic, as wielded by Aisha; earth magic, as wielded by Kaede; light magic, which could heal external wounds; and dark magic, which encompassed all the powers, like mine and Tomoe’s, as they did not fall under one of the other groups.

It was an important element, and yet we knew hardly anything about magicium. Even Doctor Hilde, a member of the three-eyed race, who each bore a shining third eye on their forehead that allowed them to see with the precision of an optical microscope, was apparently unable to see this magicium. I didn’t know if that was because it was invisible, or because it was so incredibly small that even the three-eyed race couldn’t see it, and we would need an electron microscope.

When things were this unclear, I almost began to doubt the very existence of the stuff, but if I considered the connection Mother Dragon had hinted at of continuity between “this world” and “that world” where I had once lived, there had to be some reason for the emergence of magic. There were various feats we could do here that couldn’t be done in my former world.

In that world, there was a cause and effect relationship between all things. There had to be a “cause” that resulted in the “effect” of magic emerging, so I thought that “cause” was magicium.

The other point I had learned about magic was that its power was greatly diminished over the ocean. Even water magic, which was less affected than the other elements, was affected to at least some degree near sea water. This was why Excel had once been called, “the mage who is unbeatable anywhere there is fresh water.”

It had become established as common sense that magic did not work well near the sea. That was also why firearms, which had been ignored for use on land because they were inferior to magic, had still been studied by the Navy.

Because of all this, I had hypothesized that magicium’s effects were limited by nearness to the sea. The fact that magic could be used with fresh water, but not with sea water, was interesting. If fresh water was good, but sea water was bad, it was almost like you-know-what, right? If so, perhaps magicium was... No, I didn’t have enough to go on just yet. I could go on about my conjecture, but I couldn’t be sure of it. It needed to be studied more firmly.

Some months ago, when I was thinking this, a research proposal for a certain experiment came to me from Ginger’s Vocational School. I was in the midst of preparing for my coronation and wedding ceremony at the time.

“The Work Songs Society?” I cocked my head to the side as I looked through the report Ginger had brought to me in the governmental affairs office.

Ginger’s Vocational School did more specialized research, focusing on the kind of things they wouldn’t handle at an academic institution like the Royal Academy. That could be skills like cooking and singing, or more esoteric topics that would be wasted on the Royal Academy.

Though, recently, Ginger’s Vocational School had catalyzed a shift towards supporting more unique research at the Royal Academy. Competition was an important factor for academic development. I wouldn’t tolerate them interfering with each other, but surely a close competition between the two was to be welcomed.

The thing that Ginger had brought to me on this occasion was also something that had been wasted on the Royal Academy, and drifted over to Ginger’s Vocational School instead.

Ginger nodded in response to my question. “Yes. The Work Songs Society. The formal name is ‘The Society for the Study of Work Songs.”

“By work songs, you mean those songs everyone sings while they’re working?”

“That is correct.”

In essence, these were songs that laborers tended to sing in place of shouting as they worked. In terms of ones I would know, there was Asadoya Yunta, which I had learned in elementary school. I seemed to recall that was a work song. Hmm, studying the work songs of this country, huh?

I was a little curious about what there were... but still...

“I think it’s interesting as an object of ethnological study, but was this something you needed to come all the way to the castle about?”

“Oh, no, this isn’t simple ethnology.” Ginger hurriedly shook his head.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“According to the head of the Work Songs Society, some of the songs that the common people sing seem to have the effect of increasing the potency of magic.”

“Singing makes magic more effective, you’re saying?”

It sounds like something out of a game, but is it possible? I thought, but on more careful consideration, from the perspective of my old world, wasn’t this world of swords and sorcery already kind of like a game?

Madam Tiamat had suggested there was some temporal relationship between that world and this world, so was something so absurd possible? I was only half-convinced, but Ginger shook his head strongly.

“No, it seems the effect is gained by listening, not singing. The effect doesn’t affect all magic, either. There are songs suited to specific spells. For instance, a work song used in the quarries affects the magic used when extracting stone. It doesn’t work on other magic... like, say, the enchantments placed on weapons.”

“So listening to the woodcutters’ songs makes you better at magic used for cutting down trees, and so on?”

“That’s right.”

“I see. That’s fascinating.”

Did that mean if they were listening to the most famous woodcutters’ song from Japan, their logging magic would get stronger? No, that was an enka song, not a work song, huh.

Hmm... At the current juncture, I couldn’t really be sure if this was incredible or not.

“It’s an interesting thing to focus on, but... I can’t decide if it’s a worthwhile thing to study or not,” I said. “I’d like to get an opinion from Juna, since she’s a singer, and from an expert on magic, too.”

“That makes sense. I think that would be good.”

“So, could I ask you to come back with the head of this Work Songs Society someday soon? I’ll bring together the people who can make a decision.”

“Understood.”

From there we moved on to a discussion of Ginger and Sandria’s upcoming wedding. They had apparently been having problems, so I gave Ginger some advice, and arranged behind the scenes for things to be set up for him.

With that done, I went back to thinking about the plan Ginger had brought me again.

Now, who was I going to need other than the loreleis...? Ah, I know of one.

“Aisha,” I called out to her as she was standing guard by the door.

“Yes, sire?”

“Send a messenger to Genia’s dungeon workshop. Have them tell Merula, who is involved in the drill research project, to appear at the castle.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

Having left the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan and dappled with a variety of magic cultures, primarily enchantment magic, Merula Merlin was an expert in all things relating to magic.

If I showed her this report, how would she react? I was kind of looking forward to it.

“I do not believe it’s impossible,” Merula said, not seeming particularly surprised.

It had been some days since then, and a new group of people had been gathered in the meeting room at the castle.

The members other than me included Liscia, who had come to help because the children were having an afternoon nap; Juna, who had been called as an expert on music; the high elf Merula; and Souji, the worldly bishop who had for some reason insisted on accompanying her; as well as the central figures of this gathering, Ginger and the head of the Work Songs Society, Morse Butchy.

I was surprised by how large Morse was. He stood easily over two meters tall, and was pretty thick, too. But, more than that, he had the face of a walrus.

He was a member of one of the five races of the snowy plains, which made up the majority of the population in the Republic of Turgis, the walrus race. His family had apparently immigrated to the Kingdom in his grandfather’s time.

This man was more rotund than Poncho, and was wearing an academic uniform, so I couldn’t help but think, What fantasy movie did you escape from, buddy?

On top of that, the moment we met...

“Ohh, Your Majesty. I am most honored to have received your invitation on this occasion,” said Morse. “It is an honor beyond anything I deserve that you know about our research.”

His low voice overflowed with a dandyism that I would not have expected from his walrus face, so I was quite surprised upon meeting him. It was so good I instantly fell in love with it. From what I heard, he wasn’t just a researcher, he was also a bass singer.

From there, I received a thorough explanation of the Work Songs Society’s activities from Morse. They had gathered work songs from all over this country, and had been satisfied just to be able to record them. However, when they tried using magic while singing a work song used in the forge, they got the feeling it had increased the power of their flame magic. Did songs have the power to affect magic?

With that thought, ever since then, the Work Songs Society had been studying which songs had what effects. As a result, they began to learn that the mental image was what was important.

If you listened to a song that made you envision roaring flames, it would strengthen your fire-type magic, and if you listened to a song that made you envision a raging gale, it fortified your wind-type magic instead. The key point here was that songs that were about a quietly burning flame, or a gentle breeze would instead lower the power of the associated magic. That was presumably because of the mental image, too.

“A strong image will strengthen the magic, while a weak image will weaken it,” Merula said, following Morse’s explanation. “And the simplest way to conjure that image in people’s minds must be through song.”

“Is it possible for a song to affect magic?”

“Yes. It’s pretty commonly said that image is important in magic.”

Merula stood up, and began writing on the prepared blackboard.

Person’s Head ? Will ? Magicium ? Reaction ? Phenomenon

Person’s Head ? Strong Will ? Magicium ? Strong Reaction ? Large Phenomenon

“In regards to the system of magic in this world, it is said that first you convey your intention to manifest a spell to the magicium, and then the magicium responds to that will by triggering a phenomenon. Though the all-important magicium’s existence has not been proven, it is clear that magic is manifested by our will. The size of magic each person can use differs, but in most cases, they can adjust their power at will.”

Oh, yeah. My Living Poltergeists had a limit on the number of things it could control, but that didn’t mean I need to control all of them all of the time. I could control just one thing, too.

Satisfied she had convinced me, Merula went on, “This will could also be referred to as the ‘image of using magic.’ With a stronger image than usual, we can see that the magic’s power is increased. This is something that is on display in spell names.”

“By spell names, you mean... the attack names that Liscia and Aisha shout? Ice Sword Mountain and Sonic Wind, was it? Oh, and there was Water God Calling, which Excel showed us in the Kingdom of Lastania.”

“Yes, but... when you say it like that, it’s kind of embarrassing.” Liscia sent me a resentful glance as she blushed.

It apparently was embarrassing to have her attack name pointed out by someone else. My own Living Poltergeists sounded a bit like a name that a kid in middle school would come up with, too.

“But, normally, manifesting magic doesn’t require you to say the spell name aloud,” Liscia commented.

“It doesn’t? Oh, now that I think about it, Aisha was using it without calling the name, huh?”

“When I say the name, it helps me get fired up! Augh, just leave me alone.”

When I looked at her, she was covering her face with both hands. Her ears were red, too. She must have felt pretty embarrassed. If I poked at her any more, I was probably going to get an earful later, so I decided to lay off.

Merula coughed politely and resumed, “What Princess Liscia said is more or less correct. The key point is that how strongly you imagine the result is how well the effect will manifest. That’s why people shout spell names, or chant incantations to help them imagine things more concretely. The latter method takes more time, so it’s actually less effective in battle or when in a hurry, though.”

“Hmm, so it’s not just because they’re cool.”

“Yes. Also, in the sense of forming an image, I think that songs should have the same sort of effect. In fact, there are even types of magic that make use of that. Right, Souji?”

When she suddenly threw the discussion over to him, Souji’s eyes went wide. “Huh? What’re you asking me for?”

“There was magic in the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State that we could infer was making use of song-based effects, right? The reason I had you come here today was so that you could explain that, so do it properly.”

“Songs and magic... Oh, you mean Area Heal?” Souji said, sounding convinced, as scratched his head.

Area Heal... The name suggested it was a mass healing spell.

When I expressed that opinion, Souji nodded.

“You’re not wrong. It’s rare, but among the Orthodox Papal State’s light mages, there are a number who can heal multiple people’s wounds at the same time. When those guys become cardinals or archbishops, they get cloistered away. Then, when a large number of people are hurt because of a disaster or a battle, they’re taken there to heal the wounded. With talk of how it’s ‘Lunaria’s grace’ or whatever.”

“Huh?! They can heal all of the wounded at once?!”

If they could heal multiple wounded people at the same time on the battlefield, I was scared they were going to pull a zombie attack on us. That was too good a match for religious groups, like the Ikko Ikki back in the other world, who believed they would get into paradise if they died for their beliefs.

However, “Oh, yeah, that’s not happening,” Souji said, waving off the idea. “It’s called Area Heal, but for every additional person being affected at the same time, the effect on each individual person is lessened. Besides, all it can heal is gashes up to a certain size and some minor bone fractures. Healing multiple broken bones at the same time, or reattaching severed arms... that’s beyond their power. Of course, it doesn’t work on sickness, either.”

“...I still think it’s plenty threatening.”

They might not be on the same level as zombies, but they’d still be a tough group.

Though, it did seem like the sort of magic that would be useful in disaster areas. I’d have liked to have users of Area Heal in our country, too, but they had probably hidden them and all of their blood relatives away. That’s definitely what I’d have done if I were in charge there.

“Whoops, got off-track there. When they perform Area Heal, the wounded and their families are supposed to sing a hymn. They’re praying to god, basically. I had figured it was a religious rite, but... if Merula’s explanation is correct, it’s to make the magic user’s image of ‘being healed by the power of god’ more concrete, and to boost the power of the spell.”

“I believe that’s the case. Whether or not they are aware that’s what they’re doing is another matter, though.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

When I asked that, Merula raised her index finger and explained, “People have a tendency to focus on the causes when things work well. To take it to an extreme, ‘I walked out of the door with my left foot first today and something good happened, so I’m going to walk out of the door with my left foot first again tomorrow. It’s a sort of wish.”

“Oh, like routines.”

It was like the way athletes would go through the same routine each time in order to elevate their spirits.

Merula cocked her head to the side, looking confused, but she went on without worrying about it.

“Whatever the case, when something works for people, they have a tendency to repeat that action. If that goes on for about a century, it can become a religious or cultural ritual. So, for the hymn sung with Area Heal, they sang it, and the effect seemed to improve. They kept singing because they felt like there was an effect. Then, at some point, it was recognized as a religious rite... I think that’s the sequence of events.”

“I see...” I crossed my arms and groaned.

If the same routine was repeated with a common understanding of it, it would eventually be recognized as a religious or cultural ritual, huh?

“So, you believe Morse’s theory that certain songs can enhance the effect of certain magics,” I said.

“There’s a need to prove it more thoroughly, but I believe there would be value in doing so. I believe there are things we could learn about the nature of magic by studying this, too.”

“Hmm... What do you think as a lorelei, Juna?”

“Well...”

Juna brought her clasped hands up to her mouth, and made a slightly difficult expression.

“As a singer, I’m happy to feel the potential of songs in it. However, as someone who was in the Marines, I also think we may be able to use songs in battle. What if there were songs that could boost the power of offensive spells...”

“...I went straight to that, myself.” Liscia agreed with her. As someone tasked with managing a country and a military, it was an inevitable thought.

“Me, too. Though, depending on how you look at it, it may be more suited to defense than offense. We can’t send a military band out to the front lines, after all. If we were going to run a band, it would probably stay inside a castle or camp. That’s why I intend to prioritize studying defensive music. In order to defend this country... Does that sound convincing?”

It sounded like a fallacious argument to me even as I made it, but Juna still smiled and said, “I already believe in you, sire. No matter what you do, I will simply trust and support you.”

“I’m prepared for that, too. You should do what you believe in, Souma.”

“Thank you, Juna, Liscia.”

This was how the project to study the relationship between magic and songs began.

However, because it was a major undertaking and would require a number of staff, it was decided the experiment to demonstrate it would not be performed until after the coronation and wedding ceremony.

— End of the 6th month, 1548th year, Continental Calendar —

On this day, there was a massive crowd overflowing from the fountain plazas where people could watch the Jewel Voice Broadcast. That was because word had spread that the young king would be doing something interesting again.

Ever since Souma had begun to use the Jewel Voice Broadcast, the number of fountain plazas had grown, and in turn, the content’s popularity as well. The broadcasts drew massive crowds, and so people were gathered in Parnam’s central fountain plaza, waiting with bated breath for the broadcast to begin.

“Whoa! What a crowd. There’s so many people, you could sweep them up and throw them out.”

“Oh, Yuriga. Don’t talk about people like they’re garbage.”

Yuriga’s all-too-frank opinion left Tomoe pursing her lips in dissatisfaction.

The five kids: Tomoe, Ichiha, Yuriga, Velza, and Lucy, were currently on the third floor terrace of the restaurant managed by Lucy’s family, which was near the central park. Lucy had invited them because they could see the Jewel Voice Broadcast from here without getting caught in the crowds.

“What do ya think? It’s a pretty good location we’ve got goin’ on here, huh?”

“It is, yes. It’s a bit far, but I can see the fountain plaza well,” Ichiha said with a small smile as Lucy puffed out her still non-existent chest, with pride.

Velza, who was quietly eating the nut cookies that had been left out, had yet to respond. Unlike Aisha, who devoured her food like a lion, she had more of the look of a small animal desperately stuffing as much into her cheeks as she could.

Lucy looked at Velza and chuckled. “I’m glad to see you’re likin’ the food.”

“Munch, munch... Yes. I am quite satisfied with it,” Velza said shyly.

Ichiha pointed to the fountain plaza. “Oh! It’s starting now.”

The third primary queen Roroa and the kingdom’s first newscaster, the half-elf Chris Tachyon, appeared. Lucy squealed in delight at the sudden appearance of her idol.

“Eeek, Lady Roroa’s super cute today, too!”

“Munch, munch... Whoa, girl.”

While grabbing a cookie and putting it in her mouth with her left hand, Velza tapped Lucy on the shoulder with her right. Then, as the many people watched, the two on screen shouted in unison.

“The—“The East and West Song Battle”—ttle.”

...Correction. They were not quite in unison.

“Hey, Chrisie. We practiced this. Why’re you not matchin’ my timin’?”

“S-Sorry. It’s my first time MCing a program like this.”

“Why’s that? You’re always fine when you’re readin’ the news, aren’t ya?”

“The news has a fixed script, but they only gave us a rough outline to go off of for this kind of thing. Why am I the MC anyway? We had other people to do it before now, didn’t we?”

“They’re more or less all bein’ used for this event, so there ain’t much else we can do. Now then, was the next part of the program the one where we make you strip off some of your clothes and strike a sexy pose?”

“It is not! Seriously, please don’t say things that we haven’t discussed in advance!”

The plaza filled with laughter at the sight of Chris’s flustered response.

Lucy watched Roroa’s mischievous snickering with pure ecstasy. “Not only is she smart, she’s charmin’, too. Is Lady Roroa our cute goddess?”

“““She’s our queen,””” Tomoe, Ichiha, and Velza dutifully pointed out.

Yuriga was the only one to remain silent, apparently having had enough of playing along with their nonsense.

“Now then, getting back to it, I’m Roroa Amidonia, the third primary queen of Friedonia. I’d like everyone to go home at least rememberin’ my name and face.”

“I don’t think there’s a person in this kingdom who doesn’t know your name and face... Erm, I am Chris Tachyon. Along with Lady Roroa, I am here to act as the MC for this project. Please, enjoy the show.”

“Wow, you’re actin’ stiff... Come on, smile.”

“Fake smiles are my specialty, you know?” Chris said with a smile.

“Now there’s a smile that looks like it was stamped on your face, but it’s time to introduce the program.”

“Yes. In regards to the ‘East and West Song Battle’ that will be held, it is fundamentally the same sort of thing as the ‘Red and White Song Battle’ held at the end of the year. The loreleis and their male counterparts, the orpheuses, as well as singers of our country will be divided into two teams, and they will take turns singing.”

“The difference is, unlike with ‘Red and White,’ the National Defense Force’ll be doin’ a trainin’ exercise along with it,” Roroa added. “The National Defense Force will be divided into the ‘East Force’ and ‘West Force.’ During this program, we’ll be showin’ you video as the East Force attacks a certain fortress outside Randel, and the West Force defends it. Basically, the loreleis are gonna be cheerleaders for the opposin’ sides in the battle. Get a good look at our brave soldiers fightin’ as loreleis sing in the background.”

“We hope you will enjoy the show.”

“...They’re up to something weird again. It sounds fun, though,” Yuriga said in dismay as she sipped her tea after hearing what the program would be about. “But are you fine here, Tomoe? If you asked your brother, wouldn’t he have taken you to the event site?”

“Yeah. Well, you’re right, but...”

Tomoe had been invited to come to the event by Souma, in fact.

However, though this was, on the face of it, just a new broadcast program, behind the scenes it was also an experiment on the connection between music and magic. Because the whole nation was being mobilized for the experiment, they couldn’t let exchange students like Yuriga and Ichiha, or a commoner like Lucy, see the full picture. Even if they were her friends, she couldn’t bring them.

“I wouldn’t be any help this time, and besides... I’d rather watch here with all of you than alone by myself.”

“Aw, you’re makin’ me blush,” Lucy said, grabbing Tomoe around the shoulders. “Go on, have another biscuit. Drink some tea.”

“I-I will.”

Tomoe took one of the sweets with a wry smile. Watching them, Yuriga sighed a little, then turned to look straight at the broadcast. Her eyes were too serious to think she was watching a simple entertainment program.

Meanwhile, around that time.

We were in the fortress outside Randel, the city that housed the castle that once belonged to former General of the Army, Georg Carmine. There were a large number of officers from the National Defense Force gathered here.

This place was where the Forbidden Army and the Army fought during my fake confrontation with Georg Carmine. Though, the most intense fighting was between the Forbidden Army and the personal forces of the corrupt nobles and their Zemish mercenaries, so the Army itself had hardly moved at all.

It was made by reviving a long since destroyed castle using military engineers, and had been used as a training facility for the National Defense Force since the end of the war.

“Now then, let us review the rules of this exercise,” I said.

Inside the fortress, I was standing in front of the broadcast jewel wearing my military uniform, explaining the outline to the men who would participate in this combined training exercise and experiment. The only ones watching this broadcast were the officers and soldiers gathered in the fortress as well.

In order to maintain secrecy, we used separate jewels so that the people couldn’t watch. The rules had, of course, been communicated beforehand, but you can think of this like the announcement before the start of an athletics festival.

“In this exercise, you will be split into the attacking team and the defending team. The attacking team will be called the East Force, and will be commanded by Commander-in-Chief of the National Defense Force, Excel Walter. The defending team, meanwhile, will be called the West Force, and I will be their commander-in-chief. But, in actual practice, command will be taken by Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the National Defense Force, Ludwin M. Arcs. The attacking team wins if they can break through the fortress wall and reach where I am within the time limit, while the defending team wins if they are able to protect me the whole time. The winning team will receive a bonus to their pay, so give it your all.”

The moment I mentioned that bonus, the soldiers cheered so loudly I could hear them in the distance.

Yeesh, what a mercenary lot. It’s just bonus pay... Anyway, getting back on track.

“In light of the inherent advantage the defending team has, the attacking team will have double the number of members. In addition, there will be a major magical experiment during this exercise. Because we are observing the power of magic, the attacking team will be limited to using the tactic of attacking by force from all sides. There will be no aerial forces involved in the battle. We’ve gathered people who are used to magic here, so I’d like you to listen to the loreleis, orpheuses, and singers and really let loose with all your power.”

Next, I went over the rules for fighting.

“I know I am repeating myself, but the objective of this exercise is to observe the power of magic. Because of that, those who fight with weapons must use the arms and equipment provided. The weapons are blunted swords and spears, as well as arrows with rounded tips. You must enchant these with magic as you fight. Throwing them without magic is forbidden. The armor is a suit of breastplate that has been enchanted to slightly resist magic. If this armor is destroyed, or you run out of magical power, you are out. You must leave the battlefield at once.”

Incidentally, the one who came up with this equipment was Genia.

While we were discussing the best way to observe magic while also limiting the number of injuries, she proposed these rules and equipment.

When I first heard the rules, I couldn’t help but think, Clothing destruction KOs? But only the breastplate would break, so there wouldn’t be any particularly sexy results.

Well, ninety percent of the soldiers participating were male anyway. I was relieved to know we wouldn’t be showing the people a video where there were half-naked men everywhere. Besides, Aisha was participating as a combatant, too, and I would hate to let others see my wife naked... So, yeah, that about did it for the rule explanation.

“This exercise is a combat experience, and an experiment. At the same time, it is also important that you do not forget the people are watching your bravery. That’s why I have an order for you.”

I thrust my fist skyward.

“Fight hard, and make it flashy! The ones who stand out the most win! If you were especially noticeable, you will receive a special cash prize regardless of if you won or lost! Now give me a heroic display of magic!”

“““Yeahhhhhh!”””

There was cheering from inside and outside the fortress. It seemed I had them good and motivated.

Once I had checked that the broadcast was terminated, I returned to a table set up in the back of the fortress.

“Good job,” Liscia said. “Here, have some water.”

“Thanks... Whew.”

I took a breath, then loosened the collar on my uniform. I looked at the simple receiver placed in the middle of the room. There I could see Roroa and Chris explaining the plan (the one for public consumption) for this event. They were recording in a separate room, so that their jewel wouldn’t pick up the sound of our broadcast.

“Did the sound from when I riled the men up end up getting broadcast to the people?” I asked.

“Roroa did a good job playing it off with a, ‘Sounds like the soldiers are rarin’ to go!’”

“Well, that’s good. Now... we just wait for the report to be done.”

For this experiment, the Royal Academy had dispatched a large number of researchers who specialized in magic and related fields, and they were positioned all around the area to report on minute fluctuations in magical power.

What songs would affect which magic? I was looking forward to finding out.

“Now then...” Liscia smoothly stood up, and put her rapier on her hip.

“Hold up, Liscia. You can’t be planning to...”

“Aisha’s participating, isn’t she? I have Mother watching Cian and Kazuha back in the castle, so I want in on this, too. Between the pregnancy and birth, I’ve been letting my skills get rusty. If I’m going to be a cool mom, I’ve got to get my combat instincts back.”

“Does a mom need combat instincts...?”

There had been signs that Liscia would be a tough mom, and that was exactly what she was shaping up to be. Well, there was hardly any danger involved this time, so I guess it was fine. She had been spending all her time looking after our kids lately, so I needed to let her spread her wings occasionally.

“Have fun.”

“Thanks, Souma.”

Liscia gave me a kiss, then was out of the room in a flash. She was as brave as ever.

“Now then... I guess I’ll go help Roroa.”

I left the room to attend to my own work.

“Juna... Oh, no, Lady Juna.”

With the battle about to start shortly, the lorelei Komari Corda, who was wrapped in a dress of spring colors, struck up a conversation with Juna while they were waiting in the wings of the stage.

Juna, who wore a blue dress, looked very noble and beautiful. Even now that she was married, none of her glimmer had faded.

“Just Juna is fine, Komari,” she said with a smile.

“No, you’re a queen, Lady Juna...”

“It’s really all right. When I’m standing in front of the Jewel Voice Broadcast, I want to be myself.”

“...I understand. Juna.”

Touched by Juna’s soft smile, Komari sensed anew at how great a presence the one they called the Prima Lorelei possessed.

In general, the word lorelei was synonymous with the term idol back on Earth, so Juna, who could no longer be an idol after marrying Souma, was called a singer like Margarita.

However, the people still referred to her not as a singer, but as the Prima Lorelei. As if the words Prima Lorelei had been separated from the concept of what a lorelei was.

The title Prima Lorelei had become Juna’s alone. That showed how great the people’s support for her was, even now.

For Komari, who was referred to as the Post-Juna, her successor, Juna was an ideal she strived toward, but also a great wall she hoped to someday transcend.

That was why she had spoken to her: to convey that resolve.

“I am here because you saw something in me. I couldn’t be more grateful for that. Which is why... I want you to listen to my songs on the opposing team.”

“.........”

In this program, the singers would also be split into two teams, cheering for the attackers and defenders, respectively. In short, they would be competing against one another as well.

Komari was on the attacking side, while Juna was on the defending side. Their voices would collide on the battlefield, and allow the men to fight their hardest.

“I’ll sing with everything I have,” Komari started, placing her hand over her breast. “So that I can pull the music industry as your replacement. So that I can put on a performance that doesn’t make me ashamed to be the one you chose, your successor. I intend to repay that favor by showing you, through this project, just how much I’ve grown.”

“...Is that so?” Juna erased her smile and listened to Komari’s bold proclamation with a serious face. Then, looking her straight in the eye, she said, “I can see your resolve. But there’s one part of what you said that concerns me.”

“...What might that be?”

“That you’re replacing me. Am I already a person of the past to you? Does my marriage to His Majesty somehow decrease my appeal as a singer? Is that, perhaps, what you’re trying to say?”

There was a quiet but intense emotion hidden in those words.

“......!” Intimidated by the air around Juna, Komari gulped.

It was like she was looking at a blue flame. Hot despite looking cold. This dignified air that overwhelmed those who saw her was that of a queen, no matter how Juna might try to deny it.

As Komari stood there speechless, Juna looked to the side. When she did, the air of dignity around her vanished.

What’s going on? Komari wondered as she followed Juna’s line of sight. There she saw Souma talking to Roroa who had just finished presenting. He must have come here when he finished his speech to the soldiers. No sooner had he joined them than...

“Darlin’, I know you just got here, but you’ve got a job to do!”

“...I know, but the schedule’s pretty tight, huh?”

It seemed he would be compiling the reports that came in from around the experiment site. Because Souma’s ability specialized in paperwork, people looked to him to do the work even though he was king.

“Desk work even here, huh? It’s just as tiring as always.”

“Nyahaha, it’d be nice if there were a song that strengthened your magic, though. Know any good ones? Like a labor song for filling out paperwork.”

“Hm... Day-O, maybe?”

“What kinda song’s that?”

“In between the lyrics, there are call and response segments about how they want to go home.”

“Listening to that’d kill your morale...”

...Is being a king that much hard work? Komari was a little weirded out. Then Juna, who had been listening to the two of them, chuckled.

“Um, was there anything in that conversation to laugh at?” Komari asked.

“Don’t you worry. This happens all the time.”

“All the time...?”

“You couldn’t leave him alone, right? That’s exactly why I want to be by his side, supporting him,” Juna said, clasping her hands in front of her chest as if she were singing.

“In meeting him, and meeting all the people around him, I’ve been touched by so many kinds of love. Romantic, parental, familial... It’s an invaluable time, walking with those important to me, and the joy of life itself. Now that I understand that, I can sing even more powerfully than before. About love, dreams, belief, sadness, and the joy of being alive right now.”

They should have been kind words, but they struck deep in Komari’s heart.

This is Juna Souma... she thought. It was a fresh reminder that, even now that her family name had changed, she was still a lorelei loved by the people.

“...Haha! You really are the Prima Lorelei, Juna.”

Komari laughed. It wasn’t a cold laugh, or a laugh of scorn. She was just happy. That Juna, her ideal, and her target, still stood before her as a towering figure.

So she looked Juna straight in the eye, and made a declaration, “Someday, I will transcend you!”

“That’s a wonderful show of resolve. But I won’t clear the way easily, you know? I want you to see me shine. Because we need figures like that.”

“Of course! Now that your shine has grown next to His Majesty, I’ll aim even higher!”

“Hee hee, I’ll look forward to it. Now let’s go.” Juna smiled and extended a hand to her. Komari took it without hesitation.

“Okay! I’ll sing with all my body, all my soul, and all my strength!”

The opening performance of this experiment was a duet by the two loreleis.

As the two loreleis sang, the battle began.

They were singing the passionate opening theme of a relatively new robot anime. Pulled along by their voices, the attacking team opened with a strong offensive.

The defending team desperately shot down the fireballs and magic arrows that arched towards them, or deflected them with shields. In the middle of all that, Halbert was just standing on the edge of the wall.

Though he knocked away the occasional attack that came straight at him, from the look on his face, he seemed a bit out of it. What was dominating his head right now wasn’t the battle, but a single woman.

It had happened just yesterday.

“I’m pregnant, you know, Hal.”

His childhood friend who was now his head wife announced in front of Ruby and his parents.

Kaede had seemed a little off recently, but it was apparently because of morning sickness. They had been given a long vacation after their wedding, and used it to travel around to Venetinova and other places, with all three of them making love to their heart’s content, so... Well, it was kind of the obvious outcome.

Naturally, the House of Magna had been turned upside-down by the furor it caused.

His father, Glaive Magna, was overcome with emotion and started slapping Halbert on the back, while his mother, Elba, got teary-eyed as she congratulated her daughter-in-law.

His second wife, Ruby, was as happy for Kaede as she would have been for herself.

Halbert, meanwhile... was so shocked his mind went blank. He’d known this day would come, and even prayed for it too. Yet it was so sudden, he couldn’t process it.

Then, snapped back to his senses by the pain of Glaive continually slapping him on the back, it slowly dawned on him, and the emotion rapidly welled up inside him.

“Aw... yeahhhhhhhh!” Halbert lifted Kaede up and spun her around.

“Whoa! Hold on, Hal?!”

When Souma discovered he was going to be a father in the Republic, he was disappointed that Liscia wasn’t there in front of him. But Kaede was here, right in front of Halbert, and so he hugged her as he burst with joy.

Though, he’d gotten carried away, so...

“““Take care of her!”””

...Ruby and his parents all shouted at him.

For that reason, Kaede wasn’t participating in this mock battle. There were apparently a large number of people who couldn’t participate for similar reasons.

Two months after all those weddings in the capital, there was an epidemic of morning sickness in the newlywed families. It would be followed by a baby boom the next year.

Now, some days later, Halbert was thinking about it with muddled thoughts. I’m... gonna be someone’s old man, huh...?

“You’re too dazed, Hal.”

The next thing he knew, Ruby was standing next to him. Because there were to be no air forces involved in this mock battle, Ruby the red dragon was only allowed to participate in her human form.

This was the first time in a long time that Halbert would be fighting on the ground alone.

Putting her hands on her hip, Ruby shook her head in dismay. “I’m sure this is about Kaede and the baby, right? Well, get your act together. You’re the ace of the defending team.”

“Well, yeah... I know that, but still.”

“Besides, I’m sure Kaede is watching this broadcast while on maternity leave, you know?” Ruby pointed to the broadcast jewels positioned here and there around the battlefield. “Don’t you need to show off how cool you are? Dad?”

“...Darn straight I do.” Halbert readied his spear, and looked down at the soldiers swarming towards the walls below. “I’m not ready to be a dad yet, but I don’t want to let her see me looking uncool!”

“Hee hee, that’s the way to be. You remember your order, right?”

“Of course. You stay on task, too, Ruby.”

This time, their orders from the commander of the defense team, Ludwin, had them acting independently.

They listened, and the music had changed to a firey song by the orpheus unit, Yaiba.

In terms of the anime songs from Souma’s world, this would be the sort of theme used when rising up against a massive enemy and turning things around. The energetic song spurred on the attacking team, and in turn, made it harder for the defending team to act.

That being the case, the defenders had to go on the offense.

Halbert turned around, giving the order to the Dratroopers who were waiting behind him.

“Hit them where it looks like you can push in! Let’s show the people of this country what the Dratroopers can do!”

“““Yeahhhhh!”””

The men’s morale was high. If they stood out here, the girls out there watching the broadcast might squeal over them. It’d give them something to brag about to women in the tavern, too.

These single men who had been forced to watch all of Halbert, Kaede, and Ruby’s flirting were desperate for partners of their own. Even for the one-in-three who was married, their families were sure to be watching the broadcast, so they wanted to stand out, too.

“And... Drop!” On Hal’s order, Ruby and the Dratroopers threw themselves over the edge of the wall. “Ooh, rahhhh!”

“Whoa!”

“Wh-What is with this unit’s strength?!”

Halbert and the Dratroopers were an elite unit, and they went around to places where the defense seemed ready to break, joining the fray and pushing back the attackers.

The song that had been playing up until then stopped, and a new tune began to play.

This time it was an orchestral piece without singing, included in this experiment to help measure the effect of lyrics. Incidentally, because they were looking for battle songs, many of the pieces were game music from Souma’s world.

The one that just ended played in the castle scenes of a game where you explore a cave and collect treasure. This piece, which rearranged the main theme into something with composure and dignity, made the attackers imagine high walls, and highly damaged their morale.

Halbert destroyed a few enemies’ armor with his flaming spears, then let out a sigh. Because he wasn’t allowed to use the Twin Snake Spears that he always trained with, he was using two spears provided for the experiment.

“This is a cinch. If this’s all they’ve got, we’ll be able to defend until time’s—Guh?!”

Before he could finish that line, Halbert got a bad feeling and doubled over backwards. When he felt the wind rush past his nose, a number of the Dratroopers who had been in front of him moments ago were flying through the air.

Halbert continued to do a backwards flip, and when he landed, he saw a person in front of him who had just finished a full swing of her greatsword.

Tch! I have to fight against that again...? Halbert mentally clicked his tongue.

The music had just changed to the sort of thing used to hype the arrival of an invincible general. The defenders, faced with a person wielding a greatsword, cried out despite themselves.

“““I-It’s Lady Aisha!”””

“...Hahh!”

Facing those soldiers, Aisha slammed her greatsword into the ground. In the next instant, a gust arose that blasted more than ten of them into the air, scattering them like leaves.

“Having to use magic with every attack... It’s a troublesome rule, don’t you think?” Aisha sighed as she watched.

Normally, she fought with a style that relied on the weight of her greatsword and the strength which let her swing it about with ease. Though she did attack with magic blades of wind, too, that was only when there was a distance between her and her opponent, so she wasn’t used to fighting while imbuing every attack with magic.

That was because, if she were using her regular greatsword, she didn’t need to imbue it with magic; her blade didn’t even need to be sharp, she would crush her opponents to death with the weight of the thing.

However, she wasn’t using that sword this time; she was using a sword that looked similar on the outside, but was made of wood from the God-Protected Forest. In order to blow them away effectively, she had to use magic.

“This is not a fight I am familiar with, but to answer his majesty’s expectations of me, I—Ah?!”

Kaching! A sound more high-pitched than anything you’d expect from a training weapon echoed. Two spears of flame swung down on her greatsword, which she had instantly used to block the attack from above.

“Today’s the day I stop you, Young Miss Aisha!”

“Sir Halbert, huh!”

In the instant they traded blows, their eyes met and sparks flew between them.

After their momentary encounter, Aisha swung with all her might, and Halbert made a nimble landing meters away. Her usual dumb strength brought a strained smile to Halbert’s face.

“I didn’t expect you to be on the attacking side. Don’t you need to guard the castle where your husband is?”

“I was told to stand on the attacking side to maintain the balance of power. In order to go be with His Majesty, I will slip past you here!”

“You think it’ll be that easy?!”

Their weapons clashed and grinded as they jostled against one another. If it weren’t for magical reinforcement, both of their weapons would have been shattered by now.

“...Are your wives not with you today?”

“Ruby’s here, but elsewhere. Kaede’s on maternity leave.”

“Ohh, she’s with child. I am happy for you.”

“Thanks... Oh, no, I should say ‘Thank you,’ huh?”

“You’re a friend of His Majesty, it is fine to speak like you normally would. I am naturally inclined to be a bit more formal.”

Their conversation was idle chatter, but their arms never stopped swinging their weapons. It was amazing they could keep up a conversation next to that banging noise.

The conflict continued a while before Aisha began to overwhelm Halbert with her natural strength. Now at a disadvantage, Halbert clicked his tongue, “You’ve got the same dumb brute strength as ever...”

“And you don’t have Madam Carla and Madam Kaede with you this time, either. If I let myself lose to you when you’re not on Ruby’s back, I will never be able to defeat that man.”

“...Fuuga, huh? Then I can’t lose, either!”

Halbert desperately held out against Aisha’s fierce attack.

“““Whoa, whaaaaaaa?!””” The nearby soldiers were blown away by the shock waves of their battle.

“When the time comes, it’s gonna be my job to take that bastard down! So...”

“It is my duty to defend His Majesty from that man! So...”

““I can’t afford to lose!””

“Hey, hey, you two sure are getting worked up.” In the middle of their test of wills, an easygoing voice came down from above. “Ookyakya! Let me in on this, too!”

Kaching! As a cudgel swung down from behind together with those words, Aisha blocked it without turning back, using only her gauntleted left hand. The music had already changed from that of the undefeated general to a jaunty tune from something that might have played in the original monkey’s great adventure.

Aisha glared behind her and said, “If that was meant to be a surprise attack, you shouldn’t have shouted first, Sir Kuu.”

“In this festive atmosphere, it’d feel boorish to launch a sneak attack. That’s why I gave you a shout, Bro’s wife.” His attack parried, Kuu did a flip to land beside Halbert. “I’m gonna take the redhead’s side. That should be a fair handicap, right?”

“Be my guest. It will make this better training for me.”

“Wait, did you get permission from Souma? You’re not from this country, right?”

When Halbert asked, Kuu let out a hooting laugh.

“There’s no way I could stay out of something so fun. I appealed to Bro directly, and got his permission to participate. He gave me some condition about staying away from the experimental observation posts, and the data gatherers, and a bunch of other stuff, though.”

Halbert, who had been having a hard time alone, grinned. “Oh, yeah...? Well, give me a hand then, would you?”

“You got it.”

“Heheh. Very well. I will smash both of you.”

As Aisha boasted, Halbert and Kuu both kicked off the ground towards her.

Meanwhile...

In another place, amidst a raging thunderstorm, the sparks of an intense battle were spreading. It was clear skies a moment ago, and now this sudden thunderstorm? And mixed with sparks? The viewers might have been left wondering, but there were, in fact, sparks flying on the battlefield as it was pounded by the tempest. In the middle of all of it...

“Tahhhhhhhhhh!”

“Daryahhhhhhh!”

Zukabakidokozubashucchuindokan!

In the middle of all of it, the hero with a red and silver scarf traded blows with the Emperor of Evil. It was the protagonist of the Kingdom’s popular tokusatsu show, Overman Silvan, and his ultimate nemesis, the Great Evil Ogre Emperor, Akki Taitei. It seemed like a good opportunity to see how music affected Ivan and Moltov’s illusions or performance.

In addition, because Ivan was known as the actor who played Silvan, we decided it would confuse the children if he was seen fighting normal soldiers instead of monsters and villains, so we had his father Moltov face him in the guise of Akki Taitei. It meant father and son would be fighting for real, but they fought all the time, so that was no issue.

The song currently playing on the battlefield was the Silvan theme song, sung by Nanna. Thanks to it being their own theme music, the two of them were fired up, and sparks flew as their fists collided; their moves left afterimages, and countless phantasmal Silvans and Akki Taiteis appeared around them then vanished. It looked like they were moving at high speed, fighting one another all over the place, and it may have made Souma whisper, “What kind of warrior race are these people from...?”

Rain fell when they stared each other down, and when they collided, sparks flew and lightning struck. Even knowing it was all an illusion, the storm of intense special effects made soldiers on both sides stay away. No, actually, it wasn’t so much fear as a feeling they shouldn’t interfere that kept them from approaching. Sort of like how people feel bad walking in front of a person who’s trying to take a photograph.

There was no reinforcement magic on their bodies, by the way. Though the effects were flashy, all they were really doing was beating the crap out of one another. With no magical armor to decide the winner and loser, their battle had turned into a quagmire.

As Souma thought, The one who runs out of stamina first loses...

The music changed to an ominous melody.

It sounded like a piece that heralded the coming of a one-winged angel, and Silvan and Akki Taitei both stopped. They looked up as the section that celebrated the arrival of a warrior played, and red wings alighted on the wall in front of them.

“Why...? Why?!” the figure cried out.

That person slapped the wall with the reptilian tail that protruded from her rump, clenching her fists as she spread her wings wide. Her highly revealing, swimsuit-like outfit, which was open in the middle, exaggerated her cleavage as she puffed her chest out and shouted.

“Why do I have to dress like this agaiiiiiiiiiiin?!” The cry of her soul echoed across the battlefield, and Ivan and Moltov’s eyes widened.

“Is that Miss Dran?!”

“...Young Miss Carla?!”

The one who had landed on the wall was Carla, in the sexy villain costume of Miss Dran. Her face was red with shame, and her eyes wet with tears.

“Here I thought... I could participate in a training exercise for the first time in so long. I was happy to be able to serve as a warrior once more, so why do I have to wear this getup?! Urgh! I hate myself for underestimating that person. I thought she wouldn’t be so unreasonable while she was pregnant, but I never expected her to have already ordered the other maids to block my escape...” Carla muttered to herself, her eyes like those of a dead fish.

The person Carla was talking about must have been the head maid, Serina. Incidentally, though she just sort of threw that out there like it was nothing, Serina was pregnant with Poncho’s child.

Being the capable woman she was, Serina had predicted the coming baby rush, and taken action immediately, so this was to be expected. As for what action she had taken, please understand that everyone was concerned by Poncho’s sudden weight loss. This was why Komain, who had become pregnant like Serina, had stayed behind in the capital with her.

Given the family of workaholics she came from, it seemed Serina didn’t intend to go on maternity leave until the last possible moment, and the way she was working at the castle, even now, had Poncho and her maids worried.

With all this, Carla had expected to be able to fight without Serina’s eyes on her for the first time in so, so long. However, the next thing she knew, the other maids had hidden her clothes as she slept, and the only thing she had to put on other than her underwear was Miss Dran’s sexy costume.

Her colleagues had put their hands together, begging her forgiveness, as they explained this was on Serina’s orders—who was probably watching the broadcast from the capital with a smile.

Carla looked at Ivan and Moltov with muddy eyes. “I’m sorry, but... I will be taking this sadness out on you.”

“W-Wait, Carla... No, Miss Dran!” Ivan pleaded.

“Calm yourself, Miss Dran!”

They made a point of calling her Miss Dran for the viewers’ benefit, but that ended up enraging Carla.

“Don’t call me that naaaaame!”

Countless balls of fire launched forth from Carla’s arms, and they rained down with a Boom, boom, boom.

These were real fireballs, not illusory ones. Getting hit would leave no trace behind. Ivan and Moltov broke into a sweat as they looked to one another with a nod. They extended their hands forward and shouted in unison, ““Deploy illusion!””

When they did, countless Overman Silvans and Akki Taiteis appeared. At a glance, there had to be hundreds of them. It was almost like a duplication technique. They hid among the illusions as they tried to escape the area. However, it wasn’t going to be so easy.

“Heheheh, we’ve worked on the same program, so of course I know about your abilities. That the illusions you make are without form, and lack the presence of a living person.” Carla narrowed her eyes as she looked around. There were countless Silvans and Akki Taiteis, but she only felt life from two of them. She formed a fireball in the palm of her hand, and the corners of her mouth turned upwards. “...Heheheh, I fouuuund you.”

The ball of fire shot straight toward Ivan and Moltov.

““Nwahhhhhhh?!””

The direct hit blasted both of them into the air. With the originals gone, the illusions vanished, and only Carla’s flames remained.

“Hahaha, burn! Burn away, along with my memories!”

The image of her as an evil queen was burned into the viewers’ memories instead. No one approached the scorched earth, and for some time Carla’s desperate laughter echoed through the area.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes of that intense fighting...

“Sire. I’d like the records of that battle just now.”

“Hm... Does listening to your own theme song increase the power? Maybe I should make theme songs for Aisha, Hal, and the other powerful warriors. Like the themes that play when a pro wrestler enters the ring.”

Souma and his group were carefully recording the results of Ivan, Moltov, and Carla’s battle. When he finished recording, Souma looked up at the simple receiver which showed images of Carla going wild.

“She’s gone too far,” he sighed. “The evil female commander won.”

Both the hero and his nemesis were blown away by Miss Dran. Souma was wracking his brain over how to explain this development to the viewers.

Incidentally, this utter domination by Carla would go on to be discussed by the viewers as the one episode where Miss Dran awakened and, unable to control her great power, went out of control, and even defeated her master Akki Taitei along with Silvan. Silvan would undergo intense training to defeat her in the next episode. But that’s another story.

Now, let’s get back to the battlefield.

Maybe because the battle had been engineered to produce a stalemate, the attacking and defending teams pushed back and forth, neither side achieving dominance.

In the main camp of the attacking team, Excel Walter watched the proceedings unfold with boredom. It might have been hot out, because she was sitting in a chair beneath something like a beach parasol, fanning herself as she watched the battle on a simple receiver.

“Because the focus of this event is on the magic experiment, we haven’t been allowed to use any tactic other than pure force. I have nothing to do. It’s such a pain to be in this position now. If only I could leave someone else to be commander, and go out to fight as one of the common soldiers... Hold on?”

The hand holding Excel’s fan stopped. Looking like she had come up with an idea, she clapped her hands and folded up her fan before rising from her seat.

“Now that I think about it, I was never told, ‘The commanders must sit quietly in their main camps.’ Well, then. I suppose that means I can participate!” With a devilish smile, Excel opened her closed fan once more. “Hee hee, they said the ones who stand out the most win, so maybe I’ll give this battlefield a little more flair.”

“Wh-What is that?!”

“The water’s rising?!”

The soldiers fighting on the south side of the fortress all gulped, regardless of which side they were fighting on. The water in the river south of the fortress suddenly surged upwards. Then the vast amount of water transformed into a great five-headed snake, its heads all poised to strike the fortress.

“I-Is that...?! There’s no mistaking it, it’s the same as from back then!”

“It’s Duchess Walter! Duchess Walter’s magic!”

“I-If we stay here, won’t we attackers get caught up in it, too?”

The water snake was familiar to those soldiers that participated in the battle in the Union of Eastern Nations to divert the incoming monster assault. However, now, standing at the base of the snake, Excel looked dissatisfied.

“I knew it... It looks a little thin. It would be better if it had the volume of water that the Dabicon provided, but I suppose this is the most I can expect from a river like this.”

It was true that the serpent she had given birth to was a size smaller than the one from the Dabicon. The river running by the forest was little more than an oversized stream, and it did not have that much volume. Even so, from the point of view of the soldiers, it was no less of a threat.

Excel refocused, and looked towards the fortress. “Well, if I try to control too much, my magical power will run dry in no time. This is fine. Now... What will you do, defending team?”

As she said that, Excel pointed her fan toward the fortress. When she did, one of the five snake heads rushed towards the fortress like a water cannon.

The song playing at that time came from the most famous kaiju movie in Souma’s old country. Hearing music that seemed to stir terror in people, the defenders felt as terrified as if a massive creature were attacking them. However...

“There’s not much that needs to be done.”

Bwoooooosh...!

Flames suddenly rose from the battlefield to evaporate the snake head in an instant. The next thing she knew, there was a girl in a red scale dress that looked out of place on the battlefield standing in front of Excel with a defiant look in her eyes. Her red hair streamed behind her, and a reptilian tail protruded from her rear.

Excel’s eyes narrowed as she regarded the girl and said, “I believe you’re... from the House of Magna, yes?”

“Yes, Duchess Walter. I am Halbert Magna’s wife Ruby.” As she introduced herself, Ruby produced flames in the palm of her hand. “Sir Ludwin predicted this. Knowing how capricious you are, it seemed likely you would want to come out and play. That’s why I, who have power to rival your own, was ordered to keep you under control.”

“Hee hee, Lord Ludwin understands me well. But you on your own won’t be enough to stop me now.” Excel was smiling, but her eyes shone like a raptor that had sighted its prey. “It’s true that you have considerable magical power as a member of the dragon race. However, under current rules, you must fight in human form. Because using air power is forbidden. And the amount of force you can exert in that form is limited, right?”

“...You know your stuff.”

“I am Commander-in-Chief of the National Defense Force, after all. I am well acquainted with this country’s strengths in war. So let me ask you again. Do you truly believe you can stop me in that form?”

When she said that, Excel turned the remaining four snake heads towards Ruby and had them lunge. Ruby loosed flames from both her hands as she stepped back, causing two snakes to evaporate.

“How naive.”

Before Ruby knew it, one of the water snakes had circled around behind her. Then the last snake came from the front, threatening her with a pincer attack. Ruby dug her heels in, spreading her arms wide, and threw fire at both snakes.

Hisssssssssss...!

“Urgh...!” she grunted.

However, Ruby couldn’t fully evaporate them. That was because Excel kept up the supply of water to them. The power of the flames kept things at a stalemate, but Ruby couldn’t knock the attack aside.

The steam hung in the air around the two of them. Then...

“Do you know they call me, ‘the mage who is unbeatable anywhere there is fresh water?’” Excel said, creating a new snake head to menace Ruby, who was unable to move. Its lips were upturned in a crescent shape. “That’s because, in any place where there is fresh water, I can wield my magic more efficiently. Now, let’s have you step aside.”

“Urgh... To think you can control this much magic when in a human form. It’s not fair...”

“Call it whatever you like. Now, I’m going to strike the final blow.”

The water snake assaulted Ruby from above, when...

Crack!

Lightning flashed through the sky, and the water snake was blown away.

“Huh?!”

Excel took a huge jump back in surprise, and two bolts of lightning came down where she had just been standing. This broke Excel’s magic, and Ruby was finally set free. A black figure who had a tail on her rump and a pair of antlers that were even larger than Excel’s growing through her glossy black hair landed, then turned to Ruby.

“Looks like you’re having some trouble. Want help?”

“...You’re being a busybody, Naden.”

Naden already looked ready for battle, her hair standing on end, and sparks crackling around her as she slapped the ground with her tail.

The sudden intrusion of Naden made Excel chuckle. “Oh, my. The second secondary queen is joining the fray, too?”

“For the same reason as Ruby over there. Souma asked me to stop you if you came out to play. You did help me with those lessons of yours, but I won’t let you go any further.”

“Hee hee, now this is interesting. Both of you come at me together.”

Excel spread her arms and created more snakes. Eight of them this time. When she witnessed Excel’s incredible magical power, Naden spun her arms in circles with a resigned sigh.

“...This is going to be tough if I can’t take ryuu form. Ruby?”

“I know. I’ll take you up on your offer to face her together.”

“Don’t get in my way, stupid Ruby.”

“I could say the same, dumb Naden.”

Even as they argued, they readied themselves for the fight, and then ran towards their joint foe.

Excel sent two water snakes at them, but they nimbly dodged. Ruby launched a great ball of fire toward Excel, who had a water snake coil around her, forming a wall, and blocking the attack. Piercing through the steam created when they canceled each other out, Naden rushed in close to Excel, her body wreathed in electricity.

Excel sent a water snake after Naden and shouted, “Come to me, ancestor of the sea serpent race!”

“I’m not as old as your five hundred years!”

Their attacks collided, and the splash of water sparkled with electricity. The soldiers who witnessed this battle later reported it was like a fight between three massive beasts. Fortunately, the theme playing at the time was the theme song of a film where three kaiju fight a great war.

The excitement on the battlefield was reaching its peak.

I was in a room deep inside the fortress the defending team was protecting, fighting with the reports delivered by researchers from the Royal Academy and Ginger’s Vocational School.

“Your majesty, reporting from Observation Point 8. Track number 28. Effect witnessed on defending side,” said a researcher.

Another followed up with, “Report from Observation Point 14. Track number 52. No effect detected.”

“Observation Point 2! The battle between Duchess Walter, Queen Naden, and Lady Magna has become too loud to hear the music!”

“Also from Observation Point 2! The aftermath of their battle has caused a large number of casualties!”

“Don’t talk all at once! I can write several things at once, but there’s still only one of me!” I shouted despite myself. I might have sounded angry, but it was a cry of desperation. I wasn’t Prince Shoutoku; if they talked at me at the same time, I wasn’t going to be able to hear them all.

If they were talking in front of my note-taking machine, Factory Arm, it would at least be able to think independently. But even if it could do that, it couldn’t respond, so I had to do what I could with my main body.

“I only need the records, so talk to the Factory Arm,” I said. “Also, let them do whatever they want over where Excel is. Even if we told her to lay off, she wouldn’t listen. Oh! But make sure you get all the data.”

“Yes, sir. It will be done.”

Having sent all matters that didn’t require me to talk over to the Factory Arm, the number of people dropped a little, and I was able to catch my breath.

The three simple receivers set up in the room all showed images of the soldiers fighting. They were going all out while listening to the loreleis sing.

I could only smile wryly at the fact that the showiest places were Aisha, Hal and Kuu’s, and Naden, Excel and Ruby’s, all people I knew personally.

...Watching this, it does look like the music has an effect.

Listening to music elevated the power of the imagination, which had an effect on magic. When cheerful music that urged the soldiers to fight played, the attackers pushed forward, and when music played that made you imagine a solid defense, the defenders pushed back.

The most impressive was the orchestral showdown between the theme of “an action-adventure puzzle-solving game that featured a mark similar to the Hojo Clan’s family crest” vs. “the theme that played in the rebel army base in the second installment of a major RPG everyone in Japan would know.” These were the pieces that gave me the strongest sense of offense and defense.

I tried having them played together, and I could clearly see that when the former played, the attackers gained momentum, and when the latter played, the defenders rallied. These two themes could probably be used in actual combat.

From the reports I’d seen, the presence of lyrics made no real difference. That was likely because, on the battlefield, there was no time to listen to them. However, in a situation where they could hear the lyrics, or where they knew the words in advance, like with the Lunarian Orthodox hymn that strengthened healing magic, the outcome might have been different. I wanted to perform tests under a variety of different conditions, and record lots of results.

“Your Majesty, we received a report from the medical team.” The head of the Work Songs Society, Morse, who had initially proposed this experiment, brought me some papers.

“By the medical team, you mean the group that has the legal loli lorelei Pamille Carol with them to test the effect of music on healing magic, right?”

“Legal... Uh, what are you talking about?”

“Uh, never mind that part. How did it go?”

“...It really does seem like their ability to form a mental image is the key,” Morse said as he handed me the report. “When they cast healing magic on the wounded while singing the Lunarian Orthodox hymn, the effect was different depending on whether or not the injured soldiers were believers of Lunarian Orthodoxy or not. This is a fascinating result.”

“Hm? The magic relies on a mental image, right? Wasn’t this the result you anticipated?” I asked.

The ones who had an image of the hymn healing people were the believers, right? If the followers of other faiths were told this was the mercy of Lady Lunaria, it wasn’t going to feel quite so real to them. In the country I came from, everyone sang the hymns during weddings, but unless they were Christian they probably didn’t have any image of the Lord’s grace.

When people prayed for divine intervention, it was either to Amaterasu, or to the Buddha. Or maybe their ancestors. That’s why I had a vague sense that hymns would only work for followers of the same faith, but according to Morse that was not the case.

“Sire. The predicted result was that adherence to Lunarian Orthodoxy would only be relevant for the magic users. If songs have an effect on magic, it should only influence the mages originally casting the spells.”

“Hm... Oh! I see now. As the recipients, the wounded soldiers’ faith shouldn’t matter at all. But it actually is involved somehow, you’re saying.”

“Yes. In short, recovery magic does not only exhibit a magical reaction from the caster, but from the subject, too. It’s truly fascinating.” Morse laughed with that handsome voice of his.

The recovery magic in this world cured external injuries by activating the body’s natural ability to heal. That was the explanation why it didn’t work on illnesses. Though the one elevating the body’s natural ability to heal was the caster, that ability itself belonged to the subject. In that case, the mental image of the subject might be important, too.

“Is that why they have everyone sing the hymn when they use Area Heal? Not to have the casters hear it, but to make the wounded imagine themselves being healed.”

“I imagine that’s likely the case.”

I didn’t know if Lunarian Orthodoxy did that because they understood it. Like Merula had said before, it might have become a custom because it was most effective when they did it that way. From a routine, to a custom, to a tradition, huh?

Then, perhaps having listened to our conversation, Ginger came and handed me a report. “This is a report from that medical team. It seems there were non-religious songs that increased the recovery effect, too. One surprising choice was ‘the song sung by three villains’ from your world. When people heard it, they said, ‘I’m not gonna let them beat me,’ and it actually made them more energetic.”

“Oh, so that sort of image works, too, huh...” I said. “Maybe in addition to divine blessings, songs that make you envision relaxation and health, immortality and indomitable spirit might have an effect, too.”

Those three villains’ song definitely had an image of invincibility and indomitable spirit.

But a hospital (or church) with their theme playing, huh...? That sounded fun, but it would also make this country seem even more absurd. I felt like I’d get another lecture from Liscia, so I crossed my arms and groaned.

“We’ve made a discovery that should be useful to the research magic in an unexpected place. The researchers at the Academy should be thrilled. That alone is enough to have made this experiment worthwhile.”

“Yes, I agree,” Ginger replied. “I believe there is value in continuing the research.”

“I would like to continue with my research as well,” Morse followed up.

This sort of experiment was too big to carry out easily, but they could continue and develop their research using the data gathered here. Morse had drifted to Ginger’s Vocational School because of how preposterous his research seemed, but views of him were bound to change now. If his studies found acclaim, this research that had been overlooked as meaningless by the Academy might be given the chance for further consideration.

That sort of academic development should become a great strength for this country.

Unlike Fuuga’s Malmkhitan, which bordered the Demon Lord’s Domain, we had nowhere to expand our territory without fighting an external war. That was why we needed to develop on an academic and technical level instead. We needed more and more powers, like our knowledge in the field of medicine, and the carrier Hiryuu, which other countries did not possess.

While I was thinking about that, “Ah!” Ginger suddenly mumbled to himself.

“What is it?”

“It seems something has happened on the battlefield.” Ginger was pointing towards the place where Aisha and the others’ battle was unfolding.

“Hahhhhhhhhhh!”

“Whoa?!”

Though Kuu blocked a swing of Aisha’s greatsword with his cudgel, he was still sent flying a good distance. He used his agility to flip through the air and land on his feet, but there was cold sweat running down his cheeks.

“S-Scary, scary. If I hadn’t jumped in time with the impact, I’d have been crushed, weapon and all.”

“Hahh... Hahh... Her strength’s in another league, isn’t it?”

Halbert, who was winded from having been sent flying earlier, lined up beside Kuu.

They were both very capable, and were now fighting together, but were still unable to land a single effective blow on Aisha.

Kuu put on a forced smile as he wiped his brow. “Ookyakya... You’re so strong it’s not even funny anymore, Bro’s Wife #2. Is Bro gonna be okay living the newlywed life with her when he’s such a weakling himself?”

“...Oh, that explains it,” Halbert said.

“Huh?”

“Earlier, I heard him grumbling, ‘My back hurts thanks to Aisha...’”

“...Not his hips? Just what are those two getting up to?”

Kuu seemed a little put off by this revelation, but Aisha must have heard them, because her brown skin turned a brighter shade of red.

“N-N-N-N-Nothing really, I just forgot my promise... and squeezed a little too tight...”

Isn’t it dangerous if she can accidentally injure his back like that?! they both thought in unison.

The two were even more weirded out now. In order to mask her embarrassment, Aisha swung her sword even harder. They still somehow managed to dodge the blades of wind that she produced with each swing.

“Whoa, watch out! She’s not holding back anymore!”

“Ookyakya! Scary, but... it’s not a bad situation. Hey, redhead!”

“What is it, whitehead?!”

“We’re gonna keep Aisha’s focus on us for a while.”

“...Sounds like you’ve got a plan. I’m in.”

They closed in while dodging Aisha’s blades of wind, then, as they swung their cudgel and spear at her, they spoke with their normal voices.

“What do you talk about in bed with Souma?”

“Is Bro ever proactive in bed?”

They decided to use dirty talk to catch her attention. When Aisha heard them, she turned an even deeper red.

“A-A-As if I could ever tell!”

Aisha kept swinging her greatsword, trying to pull the two of them apart. The two had done a brilliant (?) job of getting her attention. Then, sensing now was the time, Kuu raised his left hand.

Just at that moment, the track that began playing was the main theme to the game adaptation of a manga about a hard-boiled sniper. Then...

...Whoosh!

Something flew over Aisha’s ear from far in the distance. She turned to her side, and saw an arrow coming straight towards her, and Leporina, who must have fired that arrow, standing on a large boulder.

A sniper?! Oh, no!

Aisha tried to chase off the incoming arrow, but it came directly after Hal and Kuu’s attacks, leaving her off balance. There was no way to dodge or block it like this.

Am I out of options? she thought, only to be interrupted by the sound of hooves and the whinny of a horse...

“You let your guard down too much, Aisha.”

The person who came riding in on a white horse cut the arrow down. When they saw who the sudden interloper was, everyone’s eyes went wide.

“Lady Liscia?!” Aisha exclaimed.

“Whaa?! Bro’s Wife #1?!”

“Huh?! The princess... No, the queen?! Why is she here?!”

“It looks like fun, so I want in,” Liscia said with a smile. “Aisha, leave the rabbit over there to me. You stop these two.”

“...Oh! U-Understood!”

Having come to her senses, Aisha managed to give that much of a response, and then Liscia was off at a gallop, heading towards Leporina.

“Huh? I have to face Queen Liscia?! Master Kuu?!”

Kuu heard Leporina’s bewildered cries in the distance, but unable to do anything about them, he just gave her an off-handed, “Good luck!”

Leporina loosed arrows as she fled, but Liscia cut them out of the air as she gave chase. The fleeing Leporina and pursuing Liscia. It was a scene that looked like a rabbit hunt.

“Eeek! Stay away from meeee!”

“You’re fast, and you’ve got good aim. But a challenge always gets me fired up.”

Liscia looked like she was having fun, and she kept chasing the teary-eyed Leporina. As he watched, Kuu couldn’t help but mutter, “All of Bro’s wives are a little too energetic...”

“...You’ve got a point.”

Halbert could find no words to disagree with him.

“Liscia’s so full of life,” I said to myself, sighing as I watched her enjoy her rabbit hunt on the other side of the simple receiver.

She was really in her element. Having to look after the children all the time lately must have left her itching for this. Cian and Kazuha were cute enough that she didn’t mind, but she was a warrior trained by Georg, and she must have wanted to really let loose sometimes.

Suddenly, one of the bureaucrats came in and said, “Y-Your Majesty! This is big!”

“What is? What happened?”

When I asked him, the bureaucrat caught his breath and gave his report. “They’ve breached the walls! Please, head to the hall and prepare to meet them at once!”

“They broke through... Seriously? I thought it was a stalemate...”

I looked to the simple receivers, but all I saw was my wives and companions fighting, the same as before. No matter where I looked, it seemed like the fighting was even.

“Yes. The heads of the attacking and defending teams have thrown the major players at one another, so the places that are being recorded are all at a stalemate. However, in the more ordinary spots, the ones not picked up by the broadcast, there was an ordinary fight, fought with ordinary means, and it has broken through the walls in an ordinary way.”

“Oh... Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It’s not like we’re seeing the whole battlefield.”

I was satisfied with their explanation. There was fighting in the places Ludwin and Excel weren’t concerned with, too, and a result had been decided there.

“It’s not really a satisfying conclusion, but... I guess that can’t be helped. I’ll take it on board as something to learn from.”

I didn’t know if we would be doing this a second time, but if we did, I wouldn’t have them fight in a big, chaotic melee like this. There would be proper routes, and the broadcast jewels would be placed along them.

I feel like that’ll bring it closer to *******’s Castle, though.

“Sire, hurry.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going.”

At the bureaucrat’s urging, I returned to the hall where I gave my initial speech.

“...And so, the winners are the attacking team! Also, the special award for the person who did the most to make things the most exciting goes to Miss Dran for blowing away both Silvan and Akki Taitei.”

“Yayyyyyyy!” ? The crowd roaring.

“...Th-Thanks.” ? Carla wanting to crawl into a hole and die.

“Whew, it’s all done. Lady Roroa was cute as a button, and the whole project was pretty interesting, on the whole, I’d say.”

“Yes. Lady Aisha was as strong and cool as ever.”

With the song battle over, Lucy and Velza, who were both at a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the fountain plaza, both gave their opinions.

Tomoe nodded in satisfaction as she sipped her tea. “Big Sister Liscia was so brave and wonderful, too. And Naden was cool.”

“The fighting was incredible, but the loreleis’ performances were amazing, too. That duet between Madam Juna and Madam Komari was simply enthralling,” Ichiha added enthusiastically.

Tomoe noticed that Yuriga was watching the broadcast in silence. There was no enjoyment on her face, only seriousness.

“What’s wrong, Yuriga?” she asked.

“...Hm?” Yuriga grunted hesitantly. She inclined her head towards Tomoe as if to say, “What?”

“No, um... it’s just that you were just staring so intently.”

“Ohh... I guess I was, huh? I spent the whole time thinking about the purpose of this broadcast. If he’s doing something on this large a scale, there must be some reason for it.”

“P-Purpose...”

Tomoe jumped a little at the mention of it. She had heard from Souma that this was all to, “Investigate the effect of music on magic.” But that information had not been made public. They might figure it out much later, but for now, the people only saw it as another show.

“Big Brother is trying to put on broadcasts that will entertain the people. I guess this is part of that,” Tomoe said. “Look, everyone seems to have enjoyed it, right?”

“Is that a job for the king?” Yuriga said with a sigh. “Honestly, your brother isn’t regal at all, is he?”

“Huh? Uh! Well... Yeah.”

Tomoe was (only slightly) miffed to hear her speak so disrespectfully about the brother she admired. Still, if it meant Yuriga would be satisfied with that answer, that was for the best, so she didn’t push back.

“Did you really think I’d buy that?”

“Huh?!”

Yuriga stared at Tomoe with eyes that seemed to see everything. As Tomoe shuddered, Yuriga shrugged her shoulders in dismay.

“I’ve gradually come to understand it, too. The way your brother’s politics work, I mean. I know the things he does that look pointless often aren’t, and the events he seems to have put no thought into have some deeper intent lurking in the shadows. Even if I can’t figure out what that is.”

“.........”

As Tomoe sat there, unable to respond, Yuriga stared at the broadcast image of Souma. “He’s someone my brother is wary of, after all. I guess you could say that while I may not know what he’s thinking, I know he’s thinking something, at least.”

“Yuriga, you’re...”

Tomoe felt like she saw something in Yuriga’s eyes that resembled the big sister she admired. Liscia once told Souma, “I may not have faith in you, but I do trust you.” ...and Tomoe was reminded of that now. Souma did all these crazy, off-the-wall things, but she knew there was a reason he did them.

Maybe Yuriga feels the same, Tomoe thought. Come to think of it... Yuriga’s personality is similar to Big Sister’s, too.

As a princess who was serious, with a strong will that would not bend once she made up her mind, and a willingness to take up the sword to fight herself, it was true she had a lot in common with Liscia. Even more than Tomoe did, though that was to be expected because they were not blood-related sisters.

In that case... I wonder if Yuriga will grow up to be like Big Sister. She admired Liscia, but though her ability to talk to animals was a valuable asset, it was not suited to combat. No matter how hard she tried, she likely couldn’t be a brave warrior like Liscia.

But Yuriga had that potential.

That’s... kind of frustrating. Tomoe clenched her fists. This was the first inkling of feminine pride inside Tomoe.

The fact was, though she couldn’t touch Yuriga in the realm of physical abilities, in terms of academics, she far exceeded her. This was to be expected, since they each had their own specialties, but Tomoe’s newfound pride as a woman could not accept the loss when it meant she was somehow less of one.

I’m not the same type as Big Sister. I can try all I want, but Yuriga is the one who’ll be more like her. That’s why I have to aim to be someone more womanly than Big Sister... The image of her adoptive big brother’s blue-haired partner flashed through Tomoe’s mind.

The first secondary queen, Juna Souma. Though Juna was also a fighter, her true value was in her beautiful appearance and her refined manner. This was a lady that other women strove to emulate, and one who even Liscia felt slightly inferior to as a woman. I want to be like her, too.

Tomoe felt like she could envision the future she wanted for herself. To be a talented and sexy woman who could support her big brother politically.

I’ll ask Juna for help when I get back. I need her to teach me to be a more wonderful woman. So I won’t lose to Yuriga. Tomoe worked herself up as she clenched her fists.

The other four looked at her mystified.

From this day onward, Tomoe began to learn how to be a woman from Juna, and took her first step towards becoming Tomoe the little devil, who played havoc with the lives of men around her (primarily Souma, Hakuya, and Ichiha), but... that’s a story that comes a little later.