Please Vote for Your Knight! Chapter 18

A huge screen had been installed in the circular arena.

It was made by drawing a broadcasting magic circle on a special cloth.

Similar screens had been installed on broadcasting towers throughout the Empire, allowing the people to watch Cartamen just like they were watching a movie.

The broadcast time was in the evening, when people had finished their daily work and could relax.

They had deliberately chosen the time slot when the greatest number of people would be able to watch.

Thanks to David’s sacrifice, the event had also received plenty of publicity.

The broadcasting towers and screens were usually installed in the largest square in each region.

After watching Cartamen there, the people could use their identity cards to vote for their favorite participants.

The identity-card registration booth was a mana-stone tablet designed like a kiosk beneath the broadcasting tower’s screen.

Edith had added one more function to the mana-stone tablet.

The ability to leave reviews about the show.

People could read the opinions of others regardless of their region and add their own thoughts.

In other words, once one person posted something, people across the entire Empire could see it.

It was a space where people could exchange opinions, somewhat like a community forum.

Of course, it was anonymous, with neither names, identities, nor places of residence revealed.

Since this was a world with a rigid class system, Edith had emphasized this point in particular so that people could give their opinions without fear.

‘I feel like I’ve lost ten years of my life making all this.’

Edith was grateful that she was a ‘genius alchemist.’

Otherwise, she would never have been able to create these magical devices.

 

***

 

And finally, Cartamen Episode 1 was broadcast.

“They’re really doing this.”

“They’ve completely lost their minds. How is this any different from Tyrant’s Bloodbath? Why are they doing this again?”

“I feel sorry for Duke David. They dragged him into a place like this and forced him to fight.”

“I heard they even have someone who used to be a slave participating?”

“They couldn’t get enough participants, so they’ve completely gone off the deep end.”

“Then why did you come here to watch?”

“Ah, no, well. I came to see it with my own eyes so I could criticize it. What about you?”

“I came with an academic mindset to verify whether the new video-broadcasting magic device is working properly.”

“True. As if anyone would care about something like Cartamen.”

“Exactly. Ah, move over a little. It’s too cramped for me to sit!”

The squares throughout the Empire were in an uproar.

In other words, most of the squares were packed with crowds.

There was no way they wouldn’t be.

A huge, eye-catching screen.

And a broadcast unlike anything they had seen before.

“My name is Pavel Shurbe. Ah, how do I feel about participating? I’m really nervous and scared. It’s my first time participating in a competition like this.”

(Then, in the next scene, he wildly swung a greatsword.)

“What the hell is that madness?”

“He looks so cute, but he’s swinging a sword as big as his own body like that… He’s seriously insane.”

“I’m voting for him.”

Even people who had merely been passing by eventually found themselves sitting down to watch.

“You want to become a knight?”

“Yes, yes! I’ve never seen a more wonderful profession in my entire life!”

“Would you refuse to become a knight if it weren’t wonderful?”

Cheers erupted throughout the squares at Count Moncho’s disgraceful behavior and Ines’s charisma.

“As expected of Lady Ines! She’s really going through all this trouble by appearing in a place like this.”

“Count Moncho was all bark and no bite.”

“Let us vote for Lady Ines instead of those bastards!”

By the time the broadcast was nearing its end, people began heading over one by one with their identity cards to register their votes.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the circular arena was so heated that it was on the verge of exploding.

“Those guys and our faction are on completely different levels. Of course I’ll win.”

The scene of a participant confidently saying that during the entrance evaluation was shown.

“Gah! Agh!”

“Participant No. 47 has failed as well!”

Laughter erupted throughout the arena.

The participant couldn’t even raise his head.

But there were also many who couldn’t bring themselves to laugh.

Their own attitudes hadn’t been much different.

Participants who had trained miserably while trembling in fear.

Participants who had done no training and were all talk.

On the other hand, those who had taken care of themselves properly watched Cartamen Episode 1 without being shaken.

David was one of them.

“Duke David! Please understand the feelings I have for you!”

“I hope that isn’t… love.”

David remained stoic even in the face of all the praise directed at him.

“I’ll admit, it was pretty cool when Duke David took Kusto’s side.”

“The guys who mocked him ended up looking like idiots.”

“Ah, I should’ve pretended to be friendly with that slave too.”

Shameless whispers came from behind Kusto.

‘I can hear every damn word, you bastards.’

“Should I try getting close to Dimitri, at least?”

“No. Not him.”

Many people had assumed that the Princess would only show Dimitri in a favorable light.

But the scenes actually being broadcast were different from what they had expected.

The broadcast portrayed Dimitri with a rather cold and objective perspective.

It showed that he was a traitor to the Empire, that everyone was hostile toward him, and that he neither regretted nor repented his actions.

The only special attention paid to him was making sure his sorrowfully radiant appearance looked good on screen.

‘Although perhaps that’s his biggest advantage.’

As the broadcast approached its latter half, many participants began to grow anxious.

“Why haven’t I appeared?”

“I haven’t appeared even once.”

“I only flashed by briefly while crying pathetically.”

With a hundred participants, it was impossible to spotlight every single one of them.

Those who at least appeared in quick group shots were fortunate.

There were even participants who didn’t have so much as a single strand of hair shown.

But it was somewhat understandable.

Those participants were either too ordinary, too incompetent, or simply lacked any distinctive qualities worth showing.

‘They’re definitely focusing on the participants who stand out.’

The sailor who spread his net like a whip during the entrance evaluation to avoid the traps, the pink-haired participant who swung a greatsword with his cute face, and the academy’s top student who calculated the order in which the traps would appear and made it through the maze, among others.

Among the lower-skilled participants, Maurice received the most screen time.

“I’m sorry! I’ll work harder!”

The way he answered cheerfully even after receiving harsh criticism definitely made him likable.

Kusto also received a fair amount of screen time.

The scene where he fought barehanded passed by quickly with some impressive editing.

The problem lay elsewhere.

“That slave bastard, why is he even here?”

(Kusto with a stiff expression)

‘When was I ever like that? Why are they making me look like that?’

Kusto had ignored whatever people said to him, but in the video, he looked as though he had been hurt by the harsh words people threw at him.

It was absurd.

There was another problem during the judges’ evaluation.

“It cost quite a lot of money to make it all the way to the capital. So I ended up spending all my money.”

“What?”

“I even sold the weapons I had, so I didn’t have enough money to buy new ones.”

(Sad music)

Suddenly, sad music began playing while Kusto was speaking.

As a result, even the scene where Ines lowered her head and chuckled looked as though she were wiping away tears.

It was an outrageous sob story.

‘What the hell is this?’

It was an editing trick with a little extra seasoning, designed to make viewers more accepting of a participant who had come from slavery.

But Kusto had no idea what was going on.

Nor did he know that passionate reactions were erupting all across the Empire.

 

***

 

Feel free to leave your opinions about Cartamen.

[Chat] That slave was so pitiful

He must’ve gone through so much because he wanted to participate in Cartamen even though he had no money.

I’m gonna treat slaves better from now on.

– Even the slave guy next door doesn’t get paid properly. So damn pitiful.

ㄴ Report that to the authorities and they’ll come arrest them.

ㄴ Acting all nice, lol. You’re calling him a slave instead of even using his name.

– ★Sensual Sailor★ Please vote for Denny Binosh★

 

[Chat] In my opinion, the only person worthy of receiving ‘Grade 1’ is David Vertier.

– Agreed.

– They should’ve just given him Grade 1 from the start.

 

[Chat] They said nobody was going to watch this, but everyone’s here lol. What is this?

– Says the guy who’s here too.

– ★Sensual Sailor★ Please vote for Denny Binosh★

 

[Chat] That slave who beat everyone up barehanded was so sexy.

– The fact that he’s sexy but still has that youthful charm is insane.

– He’s still just a slave, though.

ㄴ He’s not a slave, his name is Kustoㅠㅠㅠ Remember the wistful guy who overcame adversity to participate.

ㄴ I wanna make him my slave ♥

 

[Chat] They seriously picked these guys as Di Equus? It’d be better to just kill them allㅇ

– Still, you shouldn’t side with the tyrant.

ㄴ Seems like they’re doing this on purpose. Let’s not engage.

– ★Sensual Sailor★ Please vote for Denny Binosh★ ㅗㅗ

 

[Chat] The guy who uses the greatsword was so cute. He’s my number one in my heart from now on.

– His reputation isn’t very good in his hometown…

ㄴ What kind of rumor?

 

[Chat] That orphanage director? What happened to the kids? How did he come out here by himself?

– ★Sensual Sailor★ Please vote for Denny Binosh★

 

[Chat] The Two Great Maniacs 1. Whip Guy Pierre Simon 2. Blood-Red Hair Pavel Shurbe

– Not blood-red hair, he’s an adorable pink-haired guyㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ

– Who the hell is voting for these crazy guys lol? Yeah, me.

– Whip Guy seems completely insane… but the more I watch him, the more I’m getting hooked… I already gave him a vote..

 

[Chat] Why the hell did that XXX Dimitry even participate? My eyes nearly rotted out.

– He acted all cool but only got Grade 2 hahaha

– I still don’t understand why they didn’t execute that bastard.

 

[Chat] Isn’t using nothing but your brain to avoid all the traps and get through the maze without using your body basically cheating?

– I don’t understand why they gave that guy a knight’s rank.

ㄴ If you’re unhappy, go complain to him yourself.

– Probably because he’s the princess’s knight.

– ★Sensual Sailor★ Please vote for Denny Binosh★

 

***

 

Three people sat around a round table.

They were Emperor Carlus I, his advisor Duke Frederick, and Princess Edith.

Duke Frederick, a close aide to the Emperor, reported the results of Cartamen Episode 1’s broadcast to the emperor.

“The number of registered identity cards was lower than we expected. Less than one-fifth of the entire continent registered.”

The Emperor’s expression darkened at those words.

Princess Edith’s expression, however, remained composed. She was confident in her plan.

Duke Frederick glanced at Edith before continuing his report.

“However, more than ninety percent of those who registered their identity cards actually participated in the voting. In other words, they were engaged enough to watch Cartamen all the way to the end. It also means Your Highness’s editing was effective.”

“Oh, Edith. Congratulations.”

Only then did the emperor’s expression brighten.

Edith smiled modestly.

“It is something for the Empire to celebrate. Cartamen and Di Equus are for the people of the Empire, after all.”

“You certainly know how to speak, Your Highness.”

Duke Frederick said it with an incredulous tone. His expression, however, was pleasing.

“And there is still one more thing I have to report.”