To cut a long story short, every single thing I planned ended up in utter failure.
More precisely, everything went to hell the moment Serika burst into the scene.
Why, you ask?
Because Serika’s face radiates such overwhelming charisma that any normal guy would automatically believe everything out of her mouth as gospel truth and view all her actions as noble deeds for the world.
And when Serika claimed all controversies surrounding “Knight Shin Chronicle” were hers—not mine—it was pretty much game over right there.
‘Not to mention, introducing herself as Saya’s voice actress didn’t help either.’
After all, Saya is already one of the top three most popular characters in “Knight Shin Chronicle.”
But once it came out that Serika voiced Saya, all the affection directed toward Saya somehow transferred straight to her.
So here we are.
“Hmm, now that I think about it, Eli from ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Eli and Hammel’ sounds strikingly similar to Saya. Are they related in some way? Could it be that you, Serika-sama, also voiced Eli?”
“Serika-sama! Could you possibly recite Saya’s famous line from Episode 5? You know, the one where she says, ‘Just looking at you makes my heart feel so soft and fluffy!'”
“Serika-sama, do you really think Saya has an immense crush on Kai? Isn’t Saya clearly the true heroine of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’?”
‘Shit… This isn’t what I had in mind.’
I had planned to host a WWE-style debate with critics of “Knight Shin Chronicle,” stir up maximum outrage, and then bask in the backlash. But instead…
This place feels more like an anime fan-meets-famous-voice-actress event.
As I stood there drowning in despair, gazing blankly at the sky, someone stepped in.
“Now, now, everyone! I understand your excitement, but please calm down just a little!”
Ricardo, the leader of this group, stepped forward to regain control of the situation.
“I know you’re all hyped up, but isn’t this getting a bit out of hand? Have we forgotten why we gathered here today?”
“Our purpose… Wasn’t it to worship Serika-sama?”
“Damn… There’s Serika-sama again. I’ve seen her now. It’s my destiny to worship her…”
“No, no. We convened here today to discuss the 17th episode of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle.’ And we even have a special guest for that discussion, so let’s not delay things further.”
Upon hearing Ricardo’s words, those entranced by Serika blinked their eyes.
“Special guest?”
“Who could it be?”
“Allow me to introduce him: Professor Hermion, former conductor of the Royal Orchestra and current Dean of Arts at the Royal Academy!”
With that, Ricardo gestured toward a middle-aged man who’d been quietly sitting off to the side during the entire commotion. The crowd gasped in astonishment.
“What, what did he say?”
“Professor Hermion himself is here? For real?”
Meanwhile, I was equally surprised.
‘Isn’t that the guy who constantly criticizes “Knight Shin Chronicle” in the morning paper?’
While other newspapers kept praising the series, he stood alone like a Dark Knight, relentlessly pointing out plot holes and criticizing its lack of depth.
For someone trying to steer “Knight Shin Chronicle” into pure chaos, he was practically my dream teammate.
As I looked at Hermion with hopeful eyes, he cleared his throat and surveyed the room before speaking.
“Hello, everyone. I am Hermion, a humble professor of arts at the Royal Academy. You probably recognize me as the person who writes constant criticisms of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ in ‘Greedyel Times.'”
Hermion gave a self-deprecating smile, as if mocking his past ignorance.
“In the past, I dismissed ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ as nothing more than cheap melodrama. I criticized how it rushed developments for immediate thrills or disregarded settings entirely for dramatic impact.”
I nodded unconsciously, finding nothing wrong with his assessment so far.
Indeed, his words dripped with wisdom befitting someone well-educated.
But then…
“However, after watching Episode 17 last night, I realized how wrong I was. Every single detail in this story has been meticulously calculated. And people like me, who only see part of the picture, fell right into its clever trap.”
Wait… What?
Meticulously calculated? Calculated where?!
His absurd claims left me speechless.
“Some might criticize the sudden rampage of Knight Shin killing Luke in Episode 17 as rushed development.”
Of course, criticism is expected since that’s exactly what I intended—to provoke outrage.
“But it wasn’t rushed development. Everything had been foreshadowed beforehand.”
“Huh?”
Foreshadowed? What kind of foreshadowing?
Is he talking about some secret subplot I don’t even know about as the creator?!
“Back in Episode 1, Knight Shin went berserk while Kai was unconscious. However, the key point isn’t the berserk itself but the fact that the berserk stopped automatically after defeating the outsider.”
“And what’s strange about that?”
“The automatic stop implies that Zero judged there was no immediate threat to Kai’s life. Conversely…”
“…If Zero perceives a threat to Kai, it will attack without hesitation?”
“Exactly. Zero identified Seven, corrupted by the outsider, as an enemy and eliminated it despite Kai’s protests. This foreshadowing has existed since Episode 1.”
“…”
No, that scene was just me throwing in a classic mech anime cliché!
It’s common knowledge in mech anime that berserking stops automatically after defeating enemies!
Why is he assigning meaning to a cliché?!
“Why?”
“Most importantly, remember the commander’s line in the final scene of Episode 1 and the flashback in Episode 10—‘Everything is going according to my plan’?”
“Oh yeah, that scene exists.”
“Also, in the final scene of Episode 17, the commander smiles upon seeing Luke’s corpse. Is this all just coincidence? Really?”
Hermion clenched his fists dramatically, like Conan revealing the criminal’s tricks.
“In short, Knight Shin’s rampage and the destruction of Seven were all part of the commander’s grand scheme!”
“Th-The Commander’s Scheme!”
“He wore sunglasses indoors because he was plotting something sinister behind the scenes!”
Everyone in the room gasped at Hermion’s revelation.
Everyone except me.
‘What the hell is this supposed to be foreshadowing?!’
I only included those scenes because it’s a cliché in mech anime for the organization’s commander to secretly plot something devious!
I merely injected these clichés to maximize dopamine hits for the audience.
Yet somehow, people keep mistaking them for foreshadowing and trying to connect dots that don’t exist.
Is this all karma catching up to me?
“I criticized the show for being poorly written based on isolated scenes like these… Now I’m ashamed of my past ignorance. How foolish and pitiful I was.”
Hermion sighed deeply.
“If the director of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ were an ordinary person, they would have angrily defended themselves against my ridiculous criticisms in the newspaper.”
“But our director isn’t ordinary. He silently endured my baseless complaints for the sake of delivering this magnificent scene in Episode 17!”
Saying this, Hermion looked at me with admiration.
“Aah…! So that’s how it was!”
“So, to entertain the viewers, the director sacrificed himself as a scapegoat?”
“Khh…! What sacrifice… What have we done to deserve such dedication…?”
People collapsed to their knees, muttering emotionally.
Honestly, it was quite cringeworthy to watch live.
“Therefore, I take back every word I’ve ever said. And I declare: the old Hermion who criticized ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ is dead. From now on, I shall be reborn as its ultimate fan!”
“Waaaah!”
“Resurrection! Rebirth! Blessing! Judgment!”
“Reborn lamb Hermion, let us grant him honorary membership in our club!”
“So, which heroine does Professor Hermion personally support? If you favor Eilian or Chloe, we’ll have to consider ourselves enemies, right?”
“…”
On that note, I quietly slipped away from the chaotic scene.
All hope is lost.
