Chapter 32

“…Protest? Again?”

The next morning, after hearing the news that a protest had broken out in front of the palace square, those were the exact words that slipped out of my mouth.

Of course, it was undoubtedly astonishing that protests by commoners could occur in a class-based society.

But to me at least, protests had become something utterly trivial.

Because, in this world, there existed a guy who carried on the terrifying will of the ‘Hi Clan,’ even more fearsome than the ‘D Clan.’

As long as that guy was alive and breathing, I was sure I wouldn’t be surprised if the Imperial Household collapsed tomorrow and the Third Empire was proclaimed.

So, thinking it was no big deal, I tried to casually brush it off—

“Uh… Director. Sorry about that… Ah, I apologize. Really.”

“Hm?”

Seeing Kayla awkwardly apologizing to me, which was quite a rare sight, I realized that the situation was different from before.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Well, it’s that…”

That’s when I learned from Kayla what was currently going on.

“So, His Majesty watched Episode 26 of Knight Shin Chronicle with the nobles? The one that hasn’t even aired on TV yet?”

“Yes… I’m sorry…”

Apparently, the Emperor showed only the highlights of Episode 26 to the nobles and then cut off playback midway.

In short, the Emperor basically pulled off countless trolling and deception tactics on the nobles.

Listening to Kayla’s explanation, I couldn’t help but feel utterly baffled.

After all, I didn’t hand over the pre-release episode of Knight Shin Chronicle to the Emperor so he could troll the nobles.

“It seems His Majesty has been itching to talk for a while now. After all, aside from the production staff, he was the only person who knew how the story of Knight Shin Chronicle would unfold.”

“Hmm.”

To be honest, I could somewhat understand the Emperor’s feelings.

Human psychology works in such a way that people still post things like “Is this good after 10 years of not trying?” on community forums, fully aware that it’s just trolling.

However, while I understood the Emperor’s feelings, other people couldn’t comprehend his actions.

“No one knows where the rumor spread from, but once the news got out to the citizens, public opinion exploded. And the protests are essentially happening because of that fact.”

Yeah, well, that makes sense.

If Marvel fans heard that members of Congress gathered to watch Endgame before its official release in theaters, they’d probably be the first ones setting fire to Congress.

Anyway, since I couldn’t leave this issue alone, I let out a quiet sigh.

“Regardless, we need to resolve this problem before it gets out of hand.”

“Do you have any solutions, Director?”

“Yeah, sort of. There is one.”

At first glance, calming down an angry mob might seem extremely difficult.

But gamers in Korea know that it’s actually simpler than it looks.

After all, the company known as the ultimate boss of the Korean gaming industry, ‘3M,’ specializes in exactly this kind of thing.

No wonder Korean gamers gave their methods the self-deprecating nickname of “pig training.”

And right now, I planned to borrow just a little bit of the expertise that 3M had built up over a decade.

“First, we need to throw out some… rewards.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“To calm an angry mob, throwing something out is the best solution.”

The correct example of an apology:

Writing a long, detailed apology is less effective than simply throwing out rewards during that time.

***

Now, it may seem obvious, but this world is a fantasy world, vastly different from Earth in the 21st century.

For instance, there’s no internet accessible to everyone like in Korea.

In other words, even if I wanted to tell people something, I had almost no way to widely announce it.

If this were Earth, I could’ve just posted a notice on the official website and called it a day.

But I had a method even better than posting on a homepage.

Which was…

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Oh, it’s just part of my job anyway.”

All I had to do was go to Ricardo and tell him there was a major announcement regarding Knight Shin Chronicle.

With that alone, I could ascend to the podium, capturing the full attention and focus of the protesting crowd.

“Wait, is that person…?”

“Director! It’s the director of Knight Shin Chronicle!”

“What? The director is here? Really?”

“Of course! There’s no one in this world as friendly and communicative with viewers as him!”

Since people recognized my face from a past discussion group hosted by Ricardo, they started cheering excitedly.

“Hey, welcoming the director is great, but don’t forget why we’re here today, right?”

“Director! Please explain the leak incident of Knight Shin Chronicle Episode 26!”

People who were cheering suddenly turned to glare at whoever brought that up.

“Why bring that up in front of the director who hasn’t done anything wrong?”

“If it’s true or not, it’s still just a rumor. You can ask the director personally later!”

Though people scolded the one who brought it up, I spoke up.

“It’s fine. Feel free to ask such questions. In fact, it’s a very good question.”

With a wry smile, I began speaking.

“A few days ago, there was a rumor that His Majesty and the nobles gathered to watch Episode 26 of Knight Shin Chronicle early. Right?”

“Yeah…”

“To be straightforward, that rumor is true.”

“…What?”

Suddenly, the eyes of everyone gathered widened in shock.

Of course, because I should’ve denied the rumor fiercely, not admitted it so easily.

“I-Impossible…”

“The rumor was actually true?”

People gasped in disbelief at my explosive revelation.

But this was merely a step back to move forward.

“However, His Majesty and the other nobles did not do this for their selfish desires. It was all for the viewers.”

“…For the viewers?”

Honestly, even I thought it sounded ridiculous, but since there was no other option, I decided to push through boldly.

“That’s right. Think about it logically. Why would His Majesty and the nobles bother with illegal actions when they could just wait a week to watch Episode 26? There was a reason behind everything.”

“What was that reason?”

“That reason… is…”

I paused briefly before gesturing dramatically to the audience, reminiscent of Steve Jobs.

“…To host a festival related to Knight Shin Chronicle for the viewers!”

“Huh?”

“A festival?”

People stared wide-eyed at my sudden declaration.

“That’s right. Over the past few months, Knight Shin Chronicle has received overwhelming love from the viewers. So, I thought about how I could return that love and decided to host this festival.”

Actually, this festival was originally planned to milk money from viewers after the series ended, but I resolved to push this concept shamelessly without changing my expression.

“His Majesty and the nobles watched Episode 26 early for this reason too. As you might guess, there’s a major twist in Episode 26, and it was judged necessary for others to know this in order to prepare the festival smoothly.”

“…”

With that, I knelt down dramatically in front of everyone.

“So, it’s all my fault. In preparing this festival for you, I inadvertently caused you unbearable pain. This entire situation stems from my incompetence and original sin. If you must throw stones, please direct them at me, the foolish and ignorant one. I beg of you.”

A complete show, pure nonsense.

But there’s always a reason why politicians in Korea love putting on such shows.

Because…

“No, no! Director! We were wrong! We apologize!”

“The floor is cold! Please get up quickly! Let me help you!”

“Ah, indeed. We were foolish. Director always thinks of the viewers, and we almost made a grave misunderstanding.”

“Exactly. Director sacrifices himself for the viewers; he wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Once I confirmed the atmosphere had completely shifted in my favor, I delivered the final blow.

“By the way, at this festival, there will be fan meetings with the voice actors of the main characters, exhibitions of various figures and models, and most importantly…”

Twang.

I snapped my fingers and cast a magic spell to create a giant screen.

[Roarrrr-!]

“This is a life-size model of Knight Shin. Naturally, it’s a perfect recreation of the 0th unit from Knight Shin Chronicle in real life.”

“…”

“Among those attending the festival, we’ll draw lots to give some of you the chance to board the 0th unit! Through this festival, you too can become pilots defending humanity from outsiders!”

Wowwwwww!

In an instant, people seemed to erase all thoughts of protest, raising their hands high and cheering enthusiastically.

“Long live Knight Shin Chronicle! Long live Director Ragnar!”

“Damn, I believed in you from the start!”

“Of course, a true hero!”

“Also, there will be events related to the heroines Saya and Eilian, so fans of these characters, please attend actively. That’s all.”

Just as I was about to close and step off the stage, someone raised their hand and asked me a question.

“Uh… Excuse me…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Um… Are there any events related to Chloe prepared?”

“…”

I subtly avoided answering the question by looking away.

“Whoa, big surprise. I’ve never seen a Chloe fan before! Everyone, look! A Chloe faction member spoke!”

“Guys, be quiet when the Chloe faction speaks. We can’t hear our friend clearly!”

“…”

All fans of Knight Shin Chronicle are equal.

But Eilian and Saya factions are slightly more equal than the Chloe faction.