Chapter 36

Alrighty, let’s dive into this anime-style chaos! Here goes:

To cut straight to the chase, the “Knight Shin Chronicle” festival was an absolute smashing success.

From the main event—a life-size Knight Shin model that attendees could ride—to the meet-and-greets between voice actors and fans, everything wrapped up with flying colors.

But for me, the word “success” didn’t mean all that jazz. It meant THIS: “All the merchandise and goods I prepared for this festival sold out completely!”

In other words, every single item I whipped up to drain those hardcore otaku wallets flew off the shelves. Who would’ve thunk it?

“I knew the nobles would snap up all the Knight Shin figures, but I never expected the related merch and knick-knacks to sell out too!”

For this festival, I had two types of products lined up. First, a 1:44 scale alloy Knight Shin figurine aimed at rich nobles. Second, stuff like posters, keychains, lighters, mugs—little goodies from the series designed to raid the pockets of commoners who don’t have much cash to spare.

Now, back on 21st-century Earth, the latter would probably bring in more dough than the former. Sure, you might think selling these little trinkets wouldn’t amount to much, but here’s the kicker—they’re cheap, accessible, and people buy them without thinking twice. Surprisingly lucrative!

On the flip side, those super-expensive figurines? Yeah, they don’t move as fast because of their hefty price tags, so their profitability isn’t exactly through the roof. But that’s just how things go in a world where anime culture is everywhere… or so I thought.

Even though “Knight Shin Chronicle” has been a massive hit across the entire empire, there was no guarantee people would actually shell out money for related merch or figures. So when EVERYTHING I prepped before the show even aired sold out? Well, nothing could top THAT good news!

“This one festival alone blew past the profits I made from ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Eli and Hammel’!”

Of course, I couldn’t hog all the profits like some greedy pig—I had to share with others—but even after splitting it up, the amount of cash rolling in was astronomical.

“Now if I could just screw with the audience’s expectations for the finale of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle,’ this setup would be perfect.”

With that thought swirling in my mind, I entered the conference room deep inside the palace, brainstorming ways to subtly slap viewers upside the head.

“Ah, Director! You’re here.”

Karlreya greeted me warmly, already waiting inside.

“Our guest has already arrived.”

“Did I arrive late?”

“Not at all. Technically, I showed up earlier than scheduled.”

As she spoke, a man seated opposite her stood up, extending his hand toward me. This guy was someone I’d never seen before despite frequent visits to the palace for “Knight Shin Chronicle”-related business.

One standout feature? His face was so handsome it practically intimidated anyone who looked at him.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kaizel von Richard, here on behalf of cultural exchange from the Richard Kingdom.”

“…Von Richard?”

At the mention of his last name, I froze mid-sentence. Why? Because as far as I knew, only members of the royal family were allowed to use the surname “Richard.”

So then, the identity of the man standing before me became crystal clear—

“Could it be… Your Highness, the Prince of Richard Kingdom?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“…Your Highness, greetings.”

When he nodded affirmatively, I hastily dropped to my knees. Even though I’d been hanging around emperors and dukes lately, my actual status was still pretty low in this noble caste system—second son of a baron. In normal circumstances, making eye contact with someone of such high rank would’ve been forbidden, so bowing respectfully seemed like the smart move.

But then…

“No, no! Please stand up, Director! How can someone as brilliant as you ever bow to me?! Speak to me as an equal!”

“…Excuse me?”

“After learning about the existence of animation, I devoted all my resources to watching every single work you’ve ever created! From ‘Nymph and Goblin’ to ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Eli and Hammel,’ and now ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’—I’ve seen it all!”

“…Wait, what?”

That part threw me for a loop. Sure, the others are fine, but “Nymph and Goblin”? That was something I only showed to random kids visiting our estate. How did he even get his hands on that?!

“It doesn’t stop there. The elemental dolls tied to ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Eli and Hammel,’ along with the various Knight Shin figures and merch from this festival—I bought everything I could afford! Though admittedly, there’s still so much more I want…”

“…”

His eyes sparkled brighter than any star as he stared at me intently. Honestly, it was kinda creepy.

“I truly believe you, Ragnar-sama, are a genius of the century. Not only did you invent the art form of animation, which didn’t exist in this world until now, but your storytelling techniques and utilization of animation’s strengths are unparalleled! Do you have any idea how amazed I was while watching ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Eli and Hammel’ or ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’?”

“…”

“For example, in ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Eli and Hammel,’ the mainstream interpretation is that Eli represents purity while Hammel symbolizes human arrogance. However, I disagree. During the climax scene, Hammel’s true self reveals something far purer than Eli’s intentions—”

It wasn’t until he got THAT far into his explanation that realization dawned on me.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.

This prince wasn’t just any royalty—he was a full-blown otaku.

Realizing this, my opinion of him improved slightly. After all, us otakus tend to bond quickly over shared interests. Back in school, when the popular kids took over the classroom during lunch, we bookish nerds found solace in the library discussing manga and anime. Same deal here.

Still, while I harbored a newfound fondness for the prince, I continued listening attentively as he rambled on.

“By the way, in ‘Knight Shin Chronicle,’ there’s speculation that Saya might be a clone of Kai’s younger sister. Is this theory true by any chance?”

“Uh, well…”

“And why does the Zero Unit go berserk while the other Knight Shins don’t? Is it due to differences in materials used to construct them, or perhaps the contents within their cores?”

“Hmm, that’s…”

“At the moment of awakening in Episode 25, Dr. Rachel mutters something about the Genesis Ritual beginning and false creations being wiped out. Does this imply Earth hasn’t yet experienced its proper Genesis? From that, could we deduce the Outsider’s true identity is actually—”

“—”

“One more question, if you don’t mind…”

While I knew otaku tend to talk twice as much when passionate about something, even accounting for that, this was ridiculous. And to make matters worse, each question delved dangerously close to critical plot points I couldn’t spoil.

Drenched in sweat, I struggled to answer each query as best I could until finally…

“Phew…”

After peppering me with nonstop questions for what felt like hours, the prince sighed deeply.

“Truly, ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ deserves to be called the masterpiece of this century. Unfortunately, importing it officially into our kingdom will likely prove difficult.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you know, the citizens of our kingdom hold less-than-favorable opinions toward the empire. Regardless of reason, many automatically reject anything originating from the empire.”

The strained relationship between the empire and the kingdom was common knowledge to me.

“While His Majesty desires to import ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ officially, public opposition will undoubtedly be fierce, preventing swift action. Considering how masterpieces like this should spread globally, this situation represents a significant loss for humanity.”

“—”

Ah, so THAT’S why the emperor sent me here.

Indeed, having the kingdom officially import “Knight Shin Chronicle” would benefit me greatly, considering I’d likely receive a nice chunk of the profits.

Unfortunately, I simply didn’t have time to meddle in diplomatic affairs.

“Between managing animation production and modifying Knight Shin prototypes for combat, I’m swamped as it is…”

Speaking of which, why did the emperor suddenly assign me this “Giant Robot Project” anyway?

Sure, creating real-life giant robots powered by magic intrigued me, but still…

Between producing anime and reengineering Knight Shins, I barely had time to breathe—let alone handle diplomatic issues.

“Hold on…”

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me. A plan so ingenious it could solve ALL my problems in one fell swoop.

“Prince…”

“Yes, Ragnar-sama?”

“Come to think of it, wasn’t there an incident where your kingdom mistakenly believed the Knight Shin models we developed were secret imperial weapons?”

Upon hearing this, the prince chuckled awkwardly.

“Yes, that happened. Our envoy misunderstood the situation since they weren’t familiar with ‘Knight Shin Chronicle.’ But now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, you don’t need to worry too much about—”

“Why not turn that misunderstanding into reality this time?”

“…Pardon?”

If importing “Knight Shin Chronicle” faces backlash from the public…

Then why not SHOW them a live Knight Shin protecting humanity right before their very eyes? Let’s see how brave they are THEN!